Huge Announcement: Pomroy’s Story (What I affectionately call the book, because my editor and I –and my best title supplier, Julie Halperson–have been unable to come up with a title) is done!

Some Titles that have been in consideration:

The Scandal Season
An Illicit Liaison (guaranteed to be misspelled)
A Proper Scandal
One Notorious Night
An Innocent Scandal
The Notorious Lady W (akin to The Mysterious Miss M!!)
A Wanton Woman

So far I like Pomroy’s Story the best.

I’m not going to say too much about this story yet. Too much of it is tied to the next book, The Vanishing Viscountess (Hmmm. New title idea: The Licentious Lady….) , but I know my title examples will have you guessing!

I finished the book at about 6:00 am this morning, which is why my blog is coming in a little late and why my title ideas are deteriorating. It was due July 31 and I hate to be late.

The harder I chased the deadline, the worse it got. With about one week to go to my deadline, I discovered that I had set the end of the book to take place during the Season of 1820 (Hence the title idea The Scandal Season). One problem. Not only did Prince Edward Augustus, the father of Queen Victoria, die that January, but a few days later, the mad king himself, George III, died, and the Prince Regent was very ill. My characters were supposed to enter a lively social season that spring? I didn’t think so. I went back to the beginning of the book and rearranged things to fit a new time frame.

Luckily (although not lucky for the poor victims), the Peterloo Massacre happened the previous August, making that autumn an important time for Parliament. The Peterloo Massacre was an event that took place in Manchester, August 1819. A crowd of people gathered in St. Peter’s Field to listen to the great orator, Henry Hunt, speak against the Corn Laws and other social issues. The city officials became worried about the huge numbers and called in the Cavalry, who (drunk, they say) rode through the crowd swinging their sabres. Eleven were killed and hundreds wounded. That autumn, in fear that there would be other such protest demonstrations, Parliament passed laws restricting public gatherings and suppressing radical newspapers.

I figured London that autumn would be pretty busy, making it what Heyer called “The Little Season.” It would be credible that my characters interacted socially in this Little Season.

It was now September, 1819, in the book. I decided to send my characters to the theatre, although I did not know if the London theatres were dark or not in September. An internet search found a citation that a Mr. Webb performed at King’s Theatre within days of the day I needed. That was all I needed. I wrote the scene, pulling out the research books I’d purchased when I wrote Innocence and Impropriety, which featured King’s Theatre and gave more authentic detail.

Something nagged at me, though. King’s Theatre did opera and Mr. Webb was an Irish humorist and vocalist. I did more digging and discovered that Mr. Webb had performed in the King’s Theatre in Richmond, a few miles outside London.

I had to rewrite the scene. I’d spent a whole day researching and writing the original scene. Sigh!

These are just a few examples of the bumps in the road that made writing this book more…ah…turbulent than I would have desired. From now on, I vow I will manage my time more efficiently and meet my deadlines with enough time to spare for reading over the book and polishing it to a fine shine.

I’ll let you all hold me to my vow.

What research roadblocks have you discovered in trying to finish your books? Surely I am not the only one….

I realize you have no idea what the book is about, but do you have any title ideas?

Next Monday! A report of my Williamsburg, VA/Jamestown vacation with Amanda, with special appearances by fellow Harlequin Historical authors, Deb Marlowe and Michelle Willingham.

One of the set-backs during the writing of this book was all the work that went into my new website. Please take a look and tell me it was worth it!