This week Jane of Dear Author wrote a provokative blog titled We Should Let The Historical Genre Die. She cited dismal sales, an over-saturation of Regency-set Historicals with stories that all feel the same, and readers who are reluctant to try something new. Her main point was that the Historical Romance market was in need [...]
In just a couple of days I’ll be giving my Washington Romance Writers Spring Retreat workshop on What Downtown Abbey Can Teach Us About Writing Historical (And Other) Romance. Yesterday I worked all day on fine-tuning the workshop and finding relevant clips to use. Cross fingers that I can manage to make the audio-visual equipment [...]
Formal tea at four p.m. was a Victorian practice, but I am fairly certain that Regency ladies served tea and refreshments when their friends came to call. I had the pleasure of attending a tea at my friend Catherine’s house last Saturday and I could not help feeling a little bit like a Regency lady. [...]
I belatedly learned that today is the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I should have blogged about that at Risky Regencies today. Instead I talk about what to wear in winter. Happy Anniversary, Pride and Prejudice! And thank you Jane Austen for giving countless readers such enjoyment for 200 years.
Continuing with my Mansfield Park theme, today I’m talking about alternative endings at Risky Regencies. What book or movie would you end differently?
Imagine my surprise. I opened a package on Tuesday and discovered that one of my books, Innocence and Impropriety, was released in Japan as Manga! In case there are one or two of you (vbg) who have not read Innocence and Impropriety, here is the back cover blurb– A resolute man Jameson Flynn is a [...]
Fresh from watching the Academy Awards and enjoying all the celebrities who attended, won, and otherwise took part, I’m over at Risky Regencies talking about that first celebrity, Lord Byron. This is a 19th century pen and ink drawing I own. I believe it is Lord Byron in his Albanian costume. What do you think?
I am busy writing my Marquess and Governess story, due next week, and my brain is consumed with the story. I thought you might be curious about what research I’ve done for this story. Most of it has been done as I’m going along. Here are some of the things I’ve researched so far (In [...]
On Tuesday, my friend and fellow Risky Regencies blogger, Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee talked about the romantic fantasy about reforming the rake, a theme we repeat over and over in our romance novels. This got me thinking about romance heroes, one of my favorite topics. In 2006, I blogged about Romance Heroes and I thought I’d [...]
A couple of weeks ago on one of my loops my friend Cecelia Dowdy mentioned this blog. The blog is one of those supposedly positive articles about romance writing which winds up to be insulting anyway. “You only have to read one. They are all the same.” Oh, yeah???? “These books are admittedly too simply [...]
