I have absolutely nothing to say today, so I thought I’d treat you to some Regency pictures in honor of St. Valentine’s Day.

All these pictures are from http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/rgnclfil.html
a site that will occupy you for hours.

How might our Regency Lady and Gentleman, budding lovers, occupy themselves on St. Valentine’s Day?

Maybe they will go up in a balloon

Or go ice skating

Maybe they will attend a ball and dance.

Or be very naughty and play some parlor games.

Our Regency Lady and Gentleman have great passion for each other, so they must share a lovely kiss.

And, last of all, maybe all this Valentine’s day activity will lead to a hasty trip to Gretna Green!

If I lived in the Regency, I would probably be too repressed for the parlor game and much too scared for the balloon ride. I’d be too cold ice skating, so that leaves me to dance! (And to dream of a kiss like the lovely one depicted here…and maybe an elopement to Gretna Green)

If you lived in the Regency, how would you like to spend your Valentine’s Day?

May all your days be filled with love,
Diane

Welcome, Kate! Tell us about your road to becoming a writer of Traditional Regencies for Cotillion.
I set my first two books Langley’s Choice (Zumaya Publications) and Restitution (Cloonfad Press) in Maryland since I live here and thought it would be easiest to research in my own backyard. It was tremendously interesting to research colonial life, but not as easy as I’d expected–although my experience as a living history interpreter helped–since Maryland has not traditionally received as much study as New England, Virginia, etc. The editor of my first book observed that it was obvious I was a Jane Austen fan, so I decided to try to write a Regency before the publishers dropped the lines entirely.
I was too late. By the time I had the story revised and ready to send out, the publishers had already frozen new acquisitions, and soon they announced the end.
I was surprised to learn that Ellora’s Cave decided to bring out a traditional Regency line–after all, they’re not known for books with lots of witty dialogue from fully clothed heroines. But not only are they launching the line, they’re really supporting it with ad money and an earlier than usual print launch. They’re fighting a tough battle though, because their main print seller, Borders, says they won’t stock traditional Regencies.

What’s your Cotillion debut, A Certain Want of Reason, about?
It’s the story of a guy who decides that the best way to get out of a bad engagement is to pretend he’s crazy. The heroine, who has spent most of her life watching out for a younger brother and sister who really do have mental issues, is somewhat less than pleased when she learns that the hero would stoop so low just to break an engagement. In a way, the book shows that everyone, certainly those in society, exhibit a want of reason at times.

How did you research the topic of madness and its treatment in the Regency, and what interesting facts did you turn up?
I found an excellent, detailed history of Bedlam, or Bethlem Hospital, as the institution prefers to be known. I had no idea that the facility began treating mentally ill patients back in the middle ages, nor had I realized that by the 18th century, the physicians actively worked to cure patients. I thought they just locked them up to keep them from bothering people. My research on Bethlem provided the date for the story–I decided it should be set soon after the hospital moved to St. Georges Fields, because the layout of the buildings at that location worked better for the scenes where the heroine and her friend disguise themselves as nuns to sneak her brother out. Thank heavens for inter-library-loans!

You’re a very diverse writer. Tell us about your other projects, and your next book.
I have a three-book series of contemporary cozy mysteries coming out with Barbour Books, but since they’ve pushed back the launch of their new mystery line until next year, I’ve been able to set those aside for a while to keep working on the historicals. (And I’ve managed to sneak history into the contemporaries as well. The first one, George Washington Stepped Here, deals with conflicts between living history interpreters at a historic site. And the sequel deals with an antique gallery.)
This May, I have a book coming out about another of my favorite subjects, pirates. (And I could go on for a long time, so I won’t even get started.) I had so much fun writing Avery’s Treasure (Zumaya Publications) that I felt rather let down when I finished the first draft. I wanted to crawl into the book and live there (probably because it’s set in the Caribbean and Bahamas while I’m stuck wintering much further north). Right now, I’m just finishing the first draft of the sequel to A Certain Want of Reason. This is the story of what happens to the sisters left behind in London while everyone else is breaking out of Bedlam, etc. It’s actually as much fun as writing about the pirates, but with no rum or tropical islands.

And the Riskies question: What are the risky elements of A Certain Want of Reason?
I think some of the subject matter is politically incorrect. There are characters in a rich asylum in the country playing chess with toys and bowling in the hallways, etc. I will make fun of anyone, if given the chance. Nothing is sacred.
The book is also risky because it’s ridiculous and unrealistic. It’s a goofy, silly, Wodehouse world, and the romantic relationship is probably not any more realistic than the rest of the book. I spend enough time in the real world. When I read or write, I want to go someplace else.

Come and chat with Kate–as usual, a question or comment makes you eligible to win a copy of A Certain Want of Reason, today only!

Hello, I am Elena and I am a compulsive reader of self help books for writers.

Last weekend at a writers’ workshop I saw Natalie Goldberg’s WRITING DOWN THE BONES in the stack brought by the co-leader of the workshop. I couldn’t resist borrowing it and diving in. (In my defense, I have rewritten a chapter and a half while reading it so I am not completely dysfunctional.)

I found it interesting and unsettling. While I loved Julia Cameron’s THE ARTIST’S WAY, Natalie Goldberg’s style and suggestions go further, making the control freak in me very uncomfortable. I also get the feeling that some of her ideas lend themselves more readily toward the writing of poetry and short stories than to novels. Still, I think there are things there worth trying.

A major theme is “writing practice”, doing free writing in notebooks (with goofy pictures on them to keep one from feeling pressured to create masterpieces in them). My reaction to this idea was something like, “And how is this going to help me complete a manuscript to send to my agent in mid-April per plan?” But I’m trying it, just 10 minutes here and there, as a warm-up. I also think it might help keep me from getting rusty during the months when I’m doing early drafts, when I concentrate on story rather than writing. Anyway, it’s been fun. I even wrote a poem, only the second I’ve written since school. No, I promise I won’t inflict it on you! 🙂

Another of Goldberg’s suggestions is to write in different places, outdoors, in restaurants or cafés. There are lots of examples of writers penning bestselling novels that way (J.K. Rowling for one). Some writers need to get away from household cares, or they like stimulation, or they feel trapped behind a desk. And it sounds so very chic and sophisticated to write in a café.

But it doesn’t usually work for me. When I started writing my first novel I tried out different locations: libraries, cafés, parks, and found that I was always too anxious to get much done. I’m better off hiding in my “writing cave” (albeit a well decorated and comfy one) where no one can look over my shoulder or interrupt me and I can forget there’s an outside world that might not love my characters as much as I do.

When you read a book, do you ever think about whether the author wrote it sitting in some chic café (like this one in Paris) or at home in her jammies? For the writers amongst you, have any of you read Goldberg? What do you think? Do any of you do practice writing or keep journals? Do you write in the same place every time or do you like to change the territory now and then?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com