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Tag Archives: The Three Disgraces

Three_Disgraces_CoverWhile my critique partners and beta readers have been reviewing Lord Langdon’s Kiss, I’ve been working on another project: reuniting my “Three Disgraces” Regency series in an ebook bundle.

Comment on this post for the chance to win one of 5 copies on either Kindle or Nook. (Apple and Kobo are still in the works.)

The Three Disgraces includes reissues of The Incorrigible Lady Catherine, The Redwyck Charm, and Saving Lord Verwood. Although many Regency ladies were educated by governesses at hom, my three heroines met at one of those select schools for girls we sometimes read about. Although they’re very different in terms of birth, interests and temperament, none of them quite fit in for various reasons. And so they developed a warm friendship while defending themselves against the catty set at the school.

I had so much fun writing this trilogy. I didn’t really plot ahead, other than coming up with the issues each heroine would have to deal with and what sort of hero would challenge her the most. Somehow it all came together.  I’ve mostly written standalone books, but I have to admit it’s also a lot of fun to spend some time with characters you loved in a previous book, and help beloved secondary characters get their own stories.

Now I’m contemplating another series. This one involves more characters over a longer period of time, so I’m thinking I should maybe plan a little. Luckily, I have a writers’ retreat coming up which will be a perfect time to brainstorm.

Do you enjoy series? Why or why not? And for my fellow authors, how much planning do you do up front for your series? Any tips and tricks?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

oddgirloutSometimes as a parent, I need to read books like this one: Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls by Rachel Simmons, which addresses the covert bullying many girls partake in lieu of more overt, physical bullying which is more common in boys. Simmons explains that in many segments of our society where girls are still expected to be “nice” (while boys are encouraged to be competitive), girls do not develop healthy ways to be competitive or healthy and straightforward strategies for resolving conflicts. Instead, they develop alternative forms of aggression: manipulative “friendships”, shunning, gossip, etc.., often carried out under a veneer of “niceness”.

Although many of the cases described are saddening, Simmons doesn’t demonize the aggressors, pointing out that roles often change and that the aggressors’ behavior is rooted in insecurity and the fear of being excluded themselves. There is a high price paid by those who are part of the “in” clique.

On a personal level, I found Simmons’s insights useful, along with some of her suggestions for parents and schools. It also shed some light on behaviors I’ve seen in adult groups that are predominantly female. Not everyone outgrows this stuff.

As a writer, I also found the book interesting in light of fiction and character development.

mansfieldparkDiane’s recent post, Mansfield Park Revisited had me thinking about how Jane Austen depicted alternative female aggression in her books. Clearly, it’s not a new phenomenon.  Ladies of the gentry and aristocracy were certainly expected to be “nice” so alternative aggression likely flourished. One can see it in the relationship between Caroline Bingley and Jane Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, in the friendship of Catherine and Isabella in Northanger Abbey and definitely between Fanny and Mary in Mansfield Park.

Here’s an image from the infamous scene with lesbian undertones in the 1999 version of Mansfield Park. Although I’ll agree with critics that I never saw anything like that in the book, it does fit in with the model of manipulation, the pressure for the victim to tolerate behavior that makes her uncomfortable, with the underlying threat of loss of friendship.

My second full length Regency romance, The Incorrigible Lady Catherine, was the beginning of my “Three Disgraces” trilogy with heroines who met at boarding school and who, for various reasons, didn’t fit in and formed their own defensive alliance. So I’ve played with this issue before in my writing, although at the time of writing, I certainly didn’t understand the aggressors as well as Jane Austen must have.

Have you read other books, romance or not, where the concept of alternative aggression was used effectively?

ElenaGreene_TheIncorrigibleLadyCatherine_200pxTo celebrate the recent release of The Incorrigible Lady Catherine in paperback, I’ll give away one copy to a random commenter.  Comment by next Thursday (1/17) and I will announce the winner on Friday (1/18).

Elena
www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene

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