Jenna Petersen writes Regency-set historicals for Avon, and erotic romance under the name Jess Michaels. In addition to writing, Jenna runs the Passionate Pen website, an amazing resource for romance authors. She’s recently joined the writers’ blog the Jaunty Quills. Desire Never Dies, the second book in her Lady Spies series, comes out December 26. Leave a pertinent comment on today’s post, and your name will be entered to win a copy of Jenna’s latest book (mailed out when Jenna gets her author copies).

Welcome to the Riskies, Jenna. Thanks for joining us.

1. You’ve been writing for a long time. What were your first books like? How did they differ from the ones you’ve published with Avon (as Jenna Petersen) and as an erotic author (as Jess Michaels)? What is the one piece of advice you would give an aspiring author?Do you plan on revisiting any of those earlier unpublished books and trying to get them published?

Hi Megan! Thanks for having me, Riskies! I’m excited to be here. I visit the blog every day. Yes, I started writing seriously in 1999, though I technically finished my first book in 1996. So coming up on 8 years seriously, I guess. I’ve always written historical romance. My first couple of books were quite dreadful, though (I sold my 10th historical manuscript). Clichéd and poorly plotted and no sense of place. Hopefully that has changed over the years. If no, just put me out of my misery now! There are a couple books in my ‘unsold backlist’, though, that I wouldn’t rule out revisiting. Though I’m having so much fun with new work now, that I’m not sure when or if that would happen. As for advice, most of my best advice is on my site for writers, The Passionate Pen, http://www.passionatepen.com

2. Which of your books is your favorite?

Of my own books? Mean question, Megan!! That’s like choosing which of your kids you like best. Um, I really love Desire Never Dies, and not just because it’s the book that’s out on December 26 and I want you all to buy it. I really loved watching my heroine’s (Anastasia) character grow and blossom. She starts out so unsure of herself and trapped in her own grief, and then she’s thrown into a strange situation with a tempting man and her life is irrevocably changed by love. Which is pretty cool.

3. Desire Never Dies is the second book in your Lady Spies series. What was the spark that inspired the series? Did it start with a character, a setting, or some other element? How many books do you have planned for the Lady Spies?

I actually started working on my Lady Spies series before I sold my first book, Scandalous, to Avon in 2004. A friend and I were batting around ‘what ifs’, looking for some high concept spins for me to give to my agent. She said, Charlie’s Angels. I said, “In Regency? Yeah, right.” But by the next day, that was all I could think about. So it was the concept that came first, then I built my ‘girls’ and the kinds of stories they would have (investigating the one you love, From London With Love; male and female spy working together, Desire Never Dies; Spy v. Spy, Seduction Is Forever). There are three books in the series, but I’ve left the door open for more books in their world, so you just never know…

4. How much research do you do?

It really depends on the book and the situation. Some stories are going to be more character driven, like Scandalous, where I just needed a basic grasp of the period and the setting. Others might be more in-depth and I might need more specific information. Like in From London With Love, I had some research on Regency art houses. I didn’t need it for more than a chapter, but I wanted to make sure what I was describing was possible, at least.

5. You write very quickly. Can you describe a typical writing day?

There is no real ‘typical’ here, but when I’m fully in writing mode, I put out no less than ten pages a day. Generally more like 12-15. I make a weekly/daily page goal and try to put butt in chair until I’ve hit it. So some days I’m up and out by noon. And some days it is 10:30pm and I’m still sitting.

That means I can write a book in about 6-8 weeks, plus two week to a month for revision before I turn it in. Outside career stuff also gets done every day. Website updates, blogging, and I’m very active on the AvonAuthors.com message board.

6. What are you working on now?

Actually, I just finished revisions on Seduction Is Forever, which is the last Lady Spy book (for now) and will be out October 2007. After the new year, I’ll be back working on my new historical called The Promise of Pleasure, which is an ‘estranged husband and wife reunion’ storyline. Very sexy.

7. In your writing, do you feel as if you are taking risks? How?

I think writing in general is a risk! Just doing it and pushing through the times when I’d rather just watch CourtTV or mop the floor. But I think I’m pushing the boundaries with my heroines. Charlie’s Angels female spies? How fun is that? And in my next book, the heroine is posing as a courtesan to save her friend’s life (and it doesn’t hurt that it pisses off her estranged husband). It’s always an interesting balance to write such strong heroines, but try to keep them befitting to their time, as well. They’re constantly walking a tight rope, and so am I.

8. Did you run across anything new and unusual while researching the Ladyu Spies series?
I was really surprised by how little information I could find about female spies during the period in general. Most of the information about women undercover comes from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars in America. That was frustrating in some ways since I would have loved to add a little more depth with some real facts, but it was also freeing since I could create my own world. In the end, I just tried to do what I felt like made sense. And hopefully it does.

9. Is there anything you wanted to include in the book that you (or your CPs or editor) felt was too controversial and left out?

Actually, I just took out a subplot from my last Lady Spy with a stolen artifact. It was really fun, but it detracted from the romance and the end of the book was SO BUSY. My editor and I agreed the story would be better if it went away, so it did. Honestly, I’ve never had my editor ask for anything yet that really made me flinch. She’s spot on with her comments, so I’m lucky in that way. We mesh well.

As for controversy, nothing. Yet…

10. You’ve just joined the Jaunty Quills as an official blogger, but have been online for years, long before you were published. How has the internet helped or hindered your career?

Oh, gosh, the internet is totally my friend. When I stared Passionate Pen almost 8 years ago, I never thought I’d reach so many people, or that they would begin to care about me. At some point, I looked at the stats for the site and thought, hey these people might actually buy a book of mine if it came out.

And then they did! I completely credit my Passionate Pen platform with why I hit Waldenbooks Mass Market with my debut. Hopefully, they liked the book enough to keep buying me. But it was definitely, and continues to be, my best promotional tool (even though it was accidental). I really enjoy the activities I do online. Like blogging or message boards or chats or my author sites. And I love how it connects our writer and reader communities. The moment I’m feeling completely depressed, I can hit Tess Gerritsen’s blog and read that she’s having some of the same experiences. And she survived, so there you go.

Of course, it can be a naughty way to procrastinate, but I’ll just pretend that isn’t true.

11. Is there anything else you’d like the Risky Regencies readers to know about you?

Well, Desire Never Dies hits shelves on December 26, of course. And even though it’s part of a series, it can be read on its own, so if you didn’t get From London With Love, you won’t be lost. And also just that I enjoy reading this blog and I’m so flattered you’d ask me. I’ll be around today if anyone has any questions!

Thank you!

Thank you, Jenna!

At this time of year, it’s natural for one’s thoughts to turn to…castrati. (Isn’t it?)
The castrati craze peaked in Italy in the eighteenth century, when a distressingly large number of musical lads from ambitious families had unfortunate encounters with pigs. (Castration, even of your nearest and dearest, was illegal.) Castrati were never very popular in England, where their existence was naturally equated with foreign, Papist nastiness. Only the superstar of the castrati, Farinelli (real name Carol Broschi), was wholeheartedly accepted and applauded.

So what did a castrato sound like? We don’t really know. There’s a recording of Alessandro Moreschi, The Last Castrato, made very early in the twentieth century when he was old and past his (debatable) prime. What we do know is that the singers were tall, with huge lung capacity and physical stamina, and with a vocal range of three and a half octaves and superb technique

Check out this excerpt from the movie Farinelli (and isn’t he a handsome young…thing). He’s singing a Handel aria. Is it a real voice? Yes and no. The voices of countertenor Derek Lee Ragin and coloratura Ewa Godlewska were digitally blended to create this astonishing sound. More info here for you techies here. Great movie, by the way, even if it tinkers massively with the truth–sex, drugs and arias. More about it here.

Consequently, very few singers today can handle the castrato repertoire, with one notable exception–mezzo-sopranoVivica Genaux. Here she is performing an aria by Farinelli’s brother, Qual guerriero in campo armato.
(Isn’t youtube great!)

So, in response, tell me if you’ve seen Farinelli, or about your other favorite musical movie, or what sort of Christmas cookies you’re making.

Janet

I’m still fighting this stupid sinus infection and feeling very holiday-challenged. All I really want to do right now is curl up under the covers.

When I feel this way I crave Comfort TV, less caloric than comfort food and possibly a bit healthier. My Comfort TV consists of makeover, decorating and cooking shows, and a smattering of comedy. Some of my favorites are What Not to Wear, (both the American and British versions), Changing Rooms (crazy decor, cute designers and all the different British accents–what’s not to love?), Emeril and Whose Line is it Anyway?.

The one drawback to Comfort TV at this season is the commercials, which bring out my inner Scrooge like nothing else. Tops on my Most Egregious Commercials List:

• Singing greeting cards held by mute human beings swaying to the tinny electronic tunes. Blech.
• The one that says it’s not your clothes (music, favorite color, neighborhood, etc…) that say the most about you, it’s your watch. Blech again. (Did they not think to include the books you read? Philistines.)
• Electronic learning toy commercials that imply your child will not get into college if you don’t buy them. (How about buying them books instead? How about actually reading with them?)

The good thing is one can escape to commercial-free Comfort Reading. My favorite providers are Georgette Heyer and Loretta Chase. When I’m done with this post I’m slinking back to bed with LORD PERFECT.

Do you indulge in Comfort TV or Comfort Reading? What are your favorites?

And which holiday commercials bug you the most?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

P.S. The picture is of Bill Gorman playing Scrooge at the Cider Mill Playhouse in Endicott, NY and looking a good bit better than I do at the moment!

Announcement! Next Tuesday, our own delightful Regency time-traveler, Bertram St. James (a.k.a. Bertie the Beau), will join us to blog about his thoughts on the Regency Christmas anthology Mistletoe Kisses. (He promises to read it by then.) So do join us!

Now, on with today’s very important, very serious debate, in which YOU will decide the fate of….. (Drumroll please)…. JANE AUSTEN!!!

Okay, not really. But you will really decide the fate of…. THE JANE AUSTEN ACTION FIGURE!!! (Pictured here. Genius sold separately.)

Just answer the following questions, and the majority will determine her future! (After all, ActionFigureLand is a democracy. Hmm…. Now that I think of it, if it is, it must be one in which the actual action figures don’t get a vote. Not sure that’s fair. Then again, I’m not an action figure, so who cares!)

QUESTION ONE: If the Jane Austen action figure sits down one day and reads all of her own novels — oh, and lets throw in some Heyer for good measure, surely Austen would have read her given the chance — so, she reads all of Austen and Heyer, feels very romantic, and decides to find her true love.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, perhaps), she finds she has only three choices. So…. WHO DOES SHE PICK?

Does she pick the Sherlock Holmes Action Figure?

Or the Casanova Action Figure?

Or does she go for Herr Beethoven’s Action Figure?

And which of the three would give her the most talented offspring???

Now… for QUESTION TWO!!!!!! This one has two parts.

A. If the Jane Austen Action Figure gets into a fight with Barbie, who wins?

Keep in mind that Barbie may be more physically active… But Jane probably knows how to gouge with her quill (as well as her wit). Who’s the victor? To whom the spoils? (If Jane wins, she gets all Barbie’s shoes.)

B. If the Jane Austen Action Figure had a knock-down, drag-out fight with the Marie Antoinette Action Figure, who would triumph, and who would be guillotined???

Ooh, I so love this doll. Ejector head!!!

(Amanda, if you don’t have this one already, you need it!!! Hello Kitty wants to play with it!!!)

Cara
Cara King, author of MY LADY GAMESTER
Starring the Atalanta James Action Figure

Is it Byron?
Almost two years ago, I saw this in a local antique store, advertised as an 19th century hand-drawing. Believe it or not, I passed it up, then decided I was nuts and went back and purchased it for about $40.00. I refrained from saying to the cashier, “Do you think this is Lord Byron? I really think this is Lord Byron.”

When I went to England in June 2005, I looked everywhere for a similar portrait of Byron, especially when we visited Newstead Abbey, but I never saw anything like it. So I am leaving it up to you. I have reversed some well-known Byron portraits and put them in black and white, for comparison.

Is my sketch Lord Byron?

This is what I imagine. A young Regency miss was infatuated with Lord Byron. Perhaps she even glimpsed him in Mayfair, at a ball or the theatre. She and her girlfriends sighed over his Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, bought engravings of his portrait at the local print shop. She did what I did when I was a teenager. She drew her own picture of Byron, putting him in exotic dress, like she would have imagined Child Harold to wear.

Of course, when I was a teenager, the hearthrob I drew a portrait of was Paul McCartney of the Beatles. I’d scan that too, if I knew where it was. I still have it someplace. I just went on a long search and found all sorts of other things (including my photo of William Shatner as Captain Kirk) but no Paul McCartney.

Weigh in here with your opinions. Do I have a portrait of Byron?
Confess. Who would you have drawn in those tender years of infatuation?

Cheers!
Diane (who has so far refrained from drawing Gerard Butler–or anyone else for a brazillion years)