Tag Archives: Diane Gaston

No Conventional Miss by Guest Author Eleanor Webster

Updated on January 24, 2023 by Diane Gaston

I love to feature new authors! I love it so much I gave up my blogging day to tell you about No Conventional Miss by Eleanor Webster. No Conventional Miss is Eleanor’s first published book and I’m delighted Harlequin Historical took her on! You see, Harlequin Historical has tended to back away from paranormal elements in their line, but they’ve taken the plunge with No Conventional Miss!

Here’s the backcover blurb for the book:

She’s always been different…

Amaryllis Gibson is an unlikely debutante. She favors fact over fashion, cares not for “proper” conversation and is haunted by ghostly visions which could land her in the madhouse! Marriage is definitely the last thing on Rilla’s mind…

But when she’s caught in a compromising position with Viscount Wyburn, suddenly she finds herself betrothed! And worse, his powerful presence only increases her visions. By shedding light on the viscount’s past, can Rilla gain his trust and win him round to her more…unconventional traits?

And some Goodreads reviews!

“…the perfect book to read at Hallowe’en if you like just a touch of spookiness mixed in with your historical romance.”

“…well-researched and emotionally gripping.”

“The author has spun a tale which kept my attention from beginning to end.”

Eleanor has generously agreed to give away a signed copy of No Conventional Miss to one lucky, chosen-at-random commenter from North America or the UK.

So here she is! Welcome, Eleanor!

Tell us about No Conventional Miss?

Thank you for inviting me to Risky Regencies, Diane.

The protagonist, Rilla, is a fascinating and unusual character. She is an inventor. She has a keen interest in force, momentum and any number of ‘unladylike’ activities. However, she has always been plagued with moments of second sight and rejects this aspect of herself. Indeed, a maternal aunt had been institutionalized for similar traits. A part of Rilla’s interest in the scientific is that this will serve to subdue that mystic element within her nature.

Paul is also conflicted. He believes love to be destructive based on his mother’s suicide which he thinks was caused by his parents’ unhappy marriage. Therefore, he has little interest in marriage and even less in love.

But a scandal forces the match and Rilla faces her greatest fear as she is increasingly haunted by Paul’s mother’s ghost,

The question is; can Paul and Rilla work through these challenges and achieve acceptance of self and each other or will these challenges destroy them?

This is your first book! Tell us about your writing journey and “The Call”.

My writing journey has been long, like two decades! I’m a multi-tasker which has both positive and negative aspects. I believe that one seldom has sufficient time to properly commit to one’s long term goals and, if one waits for that perfect moment, one can procrastinate into ‘never’. Therefore, each day I put aside time, however small, to write,

The downside – it took 18 years. On the flipside, I eventually made it.

‘The call’ felt surreal. I live in Canada and my editor is in England, so we had to communicate via e-mail to ensure that it wouldn’t happen at 2 a.m. Therefore, I had a good idea what was coming!

However, I believe I had quite the mega-grin at my day job that morning.

What is risky about No Conventional Miss?

No Conventional Miss is a departure from the traditional Harlequin historical because it involves a paranormal element. In fact, I was advised somewhere along my journey to remove that element from the plot as it did not fit with the traditional regency.

I have gladly accepted a lot of feedback during this journey. It is how I have learned and grown as a writer. However, this did not feel right and, although I knew it kindly meant and from a knowledgeable source, I chose not to take it. I felt that to remove it would take away that spark. In any element of life, it is a risk and takes courage to know when to take feedback and when to follow one’s own path.

Did you come across any interesting research when writing your book?

Yes, absolutely! As I described Rilla’s inventions, I wondered whether any ‘real-life’ Regency woman might be similar to Rilla. Then I found Sarah Guppy (1770-1852). Sarah was born in Birmingham and patented numerous designs. Indeed, she achieved considerable financial success, earning a contract from the British Navy worth £40,000 for a device to prevent the growth of barnacles on ships. And then there is my personal favorite; Sarah’s invention of a tea or coffee urn which also cooked eggs and warmed toast.

What is next for you?

I have a two book contract with Harlequin so a second book will be released at some point… This is set slightly earlier with the backdrop of the French Revolution.

And now a question for the readers–If you could chat with any Regency hero or heroine from any book, who would you choose and why?

Answer the question or just make a comment and you’ll be in the running for a signed copy of No Conventional Miss! (selection will be made after midnight Weds, Oct. 7)

Posted in Diane Gaston, Guest | Tagged Diane Gaston, Eleanor Webster, Harlequin Historical, No Conventional Miss, Sarah Guppy | 13 Replies

We Have A Winner

Updated on January 24, 2023 by Diane Gaston

Deborah Swift!

You are Risky Regencies winner of Sarah Mallory’s Temptation of a Governess!

Sarah will be in touch with you soon.

Thanks so much for visiting the Riskies!

Posted in Diane Gaston, Winner announcement | Tagged Diane Gaston | Leave a reply

Guest Author Sarah Mallory

Updated on January 24, 2023 by Diane Gaston

I have another guest today! Today it is my pleasure to turn my blog day over to Sarah Mallory, who is here to talk about her latest release, Temptation Of A Governess, out now from Harlequin Historical.

To celebrate the release of the book, Sarah will give away one signed copy of Temptation Of A Governess to one lucky commenter chosen at random.

Here’s Sarah!

Tell us about your book.
Temptation Of A Governess is the second in the Infamous Arrandales series and is the story of Diana Grensham, a shy young woman who becomes joint guardian to two young girls along with Alex Arrandale, the new Earl of Davenport. She has to protect the girls’ interests against Alex’s plans to remove them from their home, and in doing so she grows in confidence as she joins in a battle of wills and wits with the earl.

What is risky about your book?
Women during the Regency faced huge risks. Most gently born ladies had no money of their own but were dependent upon husbands or family for support. Reputations, too were very brittle, and while it was accepted (almost expected) that men would take mistresses and have affairs, a woman was required to preserve at least an outward appearance of respectability. Diana has lived her life in the shadows, first as a daughter, then a governess, but to protect her wards she must put herself forward, into the limelight. Anyone who has ever suffered from a lack of self-confidence or shyness will know just how it feels to suddenly be the centre of attention. Diana feels exposed and vulnerable, but by the end of the book she knows she doesn’t want to go back into her shell and she takes the biggest risk of all to achieve her happy ending (I am not telling you any more than that as I don’t want to give the story away!)

Did you come across any interesting research while writing the book?
I had to read up on the life of a governess in Regency England. Of particular interest were the journals & letters of Agnes Porter, edited by Joanna Martin and published as “A Governess in the Age of Jane Austen”. Agnes was a governess to the children and grandchildren of the second Earl of Ilchester from 1784 until 1806, so this was a perfect time period for my story. The accepted view of governesses at that time is rather downtrodden, unhappy women, but Agnes made the most of her situation. There is some evidence that she would have liked to marry, but never had the chance. However, she never complained of her lot and was respected and valued by her employer. She had friends, both men and women, with whom she corresponded regularly and also went to stay with some of them. When she went to London with the family she appears to have had quite a full social life of her own. She would spend the mornings “at our studies” with her charges but in the afternoons and evenings she would go out, taking tea with friends and acquaintances or walking with them. On one occasion she took two of her pupils to her sister’s house, where they were “…entertained with a dance and musick until the gentlemen came up from dinner to tea…”

I also enjoyed researching a little gem of an English manor house which I used as the model for Chantreys, the house Diana and her charges call home. It is the beautiful 17^th century Ashdown House as my model (Here’s the link, if you want to have a peep: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ashdown-house).

You also write as Melinda Hammond. Tell us about those books.
In the dim and (very) distant past I began writing sweet Regency and Georgian romances as Melinda Hammond. I also use the name when I want to try something a little different, such as dual time novels. I have now published many of my backlist, as well as a couple of short stories, as e-books and plan to expand the list as time goes on.

What is next for you?
The third in the Infamous Arrandales series, The Return of the Runaway, will be published early 2016 and I am currently writing book #4. After that … well, my head is so bursting with more stories that the problem is which one to pick! Watch this space.

Here’s a question for all of you.
Tell me what you like best about Regency stories, is it the history, the manners, or just the excitement of living in another time? I’d love to know!

Diane, here, again. Remember. One lucky commenter will win a copy of Temptation Of A Governess.

Posted in Diane Gaston, Guest | Tagged Diane Gaston, Sarah Mallory | 24 Replies

It Happened One Christmas

Updated on January 24, 2023 by Diane Gaston

It Happened One Christmas is one of my favorite holiday things–a Regency Christmas Anthology! Even better, it features three novellas by my fellow Harlequin Historical authors–all award-winners: Carla Kelly, Georgie Lee, and Ann Lethbridge.

These ladies have generously offered to give away one copy of the anthology to one lucky commenter, chosen at random. Winner will be announced by Monday.

Praise for It Happened One Christmas:

“…three wonderful Regency authors showcase the joy of yuletide in novellas that shine with the magic of the season.” —RTBook Reviews

Tell us about It Happened One Christmas.

Carla Kelly

Georgie: In The Viscount’s Christmas Kiss, Lily and Gregor both learn to overcome their past missteps while dealing with crazy family members during Christmas.

Ann: Instead of a wicked stepmother in Wallflower, Widow…Wife, I thought it might be interesting to have a wicked stepson. Adam, our hero is grumpy, and not ready for the two little girls whom Cassandra has rescued from their charming but villainous stepbrother. Adam, drawn in by the spirit of Christmas he thought long forgotten, finds himself thoroughly embroiled and enchanted.

Georgie Lee

Carla: Christmas Eve Proposal is one of several Christmas novellas for Harlequin and my story takes place during the Napoleonic wars.

What was it like to write an anthology? Did you coordinate your stories or collaborate?

Ann: I love Christmas so I was pleased to be invited to participate in the Anthology. Each story stands alone, but it was lovely to be in a book two other others whom I enjoy reading.

Ann Lethbridge

Georgie: I wrote The Viscount’s Christmas Kiss during Christmas last year and through the beginning of the New Year. It was fun to celebrate Christmas with a story and to keep the holiday spirit going through January.

Carla: I have always enjoyed the added challenge of writing short stories. I also have a Christmas anthology with just my three stories In it, called “Regency Christmas Gifts”. We did not connect our stories in any way.

Did you come across any interesting research in writing your stories?

Carla: I developed a much deeper appreciation for the Royal Navy’s warrant officers, those men who were specialists in their fields. My character Benneit Muir was one of those. The sailing master on a Royal Navy frigate was the senior warrant officer who literally ran the ship, from location of ballast in the hold, to the set of the sails. His job was to be master at speed and maneuverability. A good sailing master could make or break a ship. My father was a warrant officer in the US Navy, and his specialty was aviation electronics, or avionics.

Georgie: I enjoyed researching how people in the Regency celebrated Christmas and then weaving some of their traditions, like Christmas dinner and a servant’s ball into my story. It was also fun to read about how excited students were to be on vacation and to go home for Christmas, just like today.

Ann: My heroine has fled from her home and must support herself and her stepdaughters, and what speaks of more Christmas than the warmth of candlelight? When Cassandra left home, she brought with her a swarm of honeybees and is making candles to sell at the market when the hero kisses her the first time. Researching the keeping of bees and the making of candles during this time was fascinating even if little of the actual research found its way into the story.

What was risky about your stories in It Happened One Christmas?

Georgie: Gregor takes a risk by apologizing to the woman he wronged while winning her heart. There is also a risky Christmas Eve kissing beneath the mistletoe scene where the hero and heroine almost get caught.

Carla: The Napoleonic Wars were still in full force in my story. It’s always risky to give your heart away under wartime circumstances, both for Ben and for Amanda. Even now, people do it, and I respect their courage.

Ann: No, not the bees! After a disastrous marriage, Cassandra takes a big risk in trusting Adam with her secrets. He could easily take the legal position of the day, laws established by men of course, and return her and the girls to their brother.

Tell us something about Christmas in the Regency and how it is shown in your stories.

Georgie: The Christmas carols Hark! the Herald Angels Sing and The Twelve Days of Christmas were both sung in the Regency era and I used them in my story. The Twelve Days of Christmas was really great for when I needed a long Christmas carol to keep the family distracted while the hero and heroine enjoyed a stolen moment together.

Ann: Being British, I realized that many of my family traditions go back to these times, for example making Christmas Pudding and decorating the house with holly and ivy. Though Christmas trees did not become standard in Britain until later in the century, they were traditional in European countries, so like Victoria adopting Prince Albert’s tradition, some other families must have done so as well. Also we know that Charles Dickens speaks of a decorated table top tree in his childhood home and he was born 1812, right at the beginning of the Regency, so I incorporated a German tree lit with real candles in my story.

Carla: The full-blown Christmases that we enjoy today were much less in evidence during the Regency. Ben and Mandy get together during a church service, which, along with a good meal on Christmas day, and perhaps a few presents constituted Christmas.

What is next for each of you?

Carla: Typically, I write two books a year, plus several novellas. Writing is an enviable (at times) job, from which one never need retire.

Georgie: My next book is A Too Convenient Marriage coming out February 1, 2016. It is book two in my Business of Marriage series.

Ann: My next book ties into an earlier book (More than a Mistress) is More Than a Lover and comes out in May 2016. You can find out about all my books at http://www.annlethbridge.com and if you sign up for my newsletter, you will receive a free short story e-book.

The three of us are delighted to offer one lucky winner a copy of It Happened One Christmas.

Please tell us about what you like about Christmas or the Holiday Season. Does your family have any unusual Christmas traditions or funny stories that Happened One Christmas?

Wishing you all the joys of the season and a happy and healthy New Year.

Carla, Georgie and Ann

Bios

Award winning author Georgie Lee was born and raised in San Diego where she also attended college, majoring in television and film production. She began her professional writing career at a local cable TV station writing marketing videos, promotional spots and public service announcements, some of which still haunt the airwaves.  Blinded by the dazzling lights of Hollywood, she headed north to Los Angeles where she earned her MA in Screenwriting, met her husband, and settled into a career in the interesting but strange world of the entertainment industry.   A lifelong history buff, Georgie hasn’t given up hope that she will one day inherit a title and a manor house. Until then, she fulfills her dreams of lords, ladies and a season in London through her stories. When not writing, she can be found reading non-fiction history or watching any movie with a costume and an accent.
http://www.georgie-lee.com

Award-winning author Carla Kelly is a veteran of the New York and international publishing world. Carla is best known for her Regency Romances, those novels of manner and wit, made popular more than two centuries ago by Jane Austen. Carla has made certain types of Regencies her own, particularly novels and stories about people who are not lords and ladies. Many of them are hard-working and hard-fighting members of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines in the Channel Fleet, and the British Army on the Spanish Peninsula.

Carla’s interested in the Regency Era is mainly fueled by her scholarly interest in the Napoleonic Wars on land and sea. She credits her own upbringing with some of this interest. As the daughter of an officer in the U.S. Navy, she crossed the 180th Meridian as a child, and has the certificates to prove that she is a member in good standing of The Domain of the Golden Dragon, since the age of 13 months.

Carla’s other major historical interest is the U.S. Indian Wars (1854-1890). She began her writing career writing short stories about the people who lived in army garrisons throughout the American West. She wrote these stories as a direct result of working as a ranger in the National Park Service at Fort Laramie National Historic Site. Currently, she has gone back another century to write a series about a brand inspector and his wife in the 18th New Mexico. Other novels set in the West are forthcoming, probably along with more Regencies. http://www.carlakelly.com

Ann Lethbridge is an award winning author who has over 30 stories in print and e-book published around the world. She is particularly proud of her 2009 win of the Daphne DuMaurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense for The Rake’s Inherited Courtesan her very first novel with Harlequin.

An army brat, born in England, Ann lived all over Britain in her youth and grew up with a deep appreciation of history. The turn of the millennium seemed like a great time to try something new and the stories in her head were looking for an outlet. Given her love of all things Georgette Heyer, regency romance seemed like a no brainer.

The stories are still calling, the ideas pushing their way forward at the most inopportune moments, and she is ejoying every minute of it. Ann loves to hear from readers and you will find her on facebook, twitter and her website. For all the links go to http://www.annlethbridge.com

Posted in Diane Gaston, Risky Regencies | Tagged Diane Gaston | 9 Replies

John Carr Architect

Updated on January 24, 2023 by Diane Gaston

I’ll bet if I say “Robert Adam” most readers and writers of Regency romance will know that he was a famous architect who greatly influenced architecture, interior design, and furniture design of the times–mostly Georgian times, but I imagine my Regency characters in houses designed by Adam all the time.

On my England trip last year, though, I learned of another architect of the same period, even more prolific than Adam–John Carr.

John Carr designed Basildon Park, one of the houses we visited on the Duke of Wellington Tour and one I blogged about here shortly after. He, too, was a neoclassicist like Adam.

If you saw this, would you guess it was by Robert Adam?

It’s an interior of Basildon Park by John Carr.

Carr was born in Yorkshire and decided to remain there rather than settle in London, thinking there was plenty of wealth in the area to support his business. He lived into his eighties and produced an incredible number of projects.

Tabley House is another house designed by John Carr similar to Basildon Park.

One characteristic of both these houses is that you have to go up stairs to reach the front entrance which is on the first floor, not the ground floor. I thought that was rather grand when we visited Basildon Park.

In my current work in progress, Genna’s story in the Scandalous Summerfields series, I used Basildon Park as my model for Summerfield House. It was especially helpful to find floor plans online.