Coming up next week...

Have you ever wondered where the fan came from? It's such a small, seemingly insignificant, part of a lady's costume that is really only used to push air around in a stifling ballroom or heated salon. Or was it? Come and join us on Monday and Cassandra Samuel will fill you in on the language of the fan and how with a flick of a lady's wrist, she could communicate all she wanted and so much more...

What is an Ancient Historical Romance, Anyway?

Since my debut historical romance, Forbidden, was published last year I’ve had quite a few people tell me it sounds fascinating – but what exactly do I mean by ancient historical romance?

Well, ancient history is the period known as Classical Antiquity, the beginning of recorded Greek history in about 776 BC. It also roughly coincides with the traditional founding of Rome in 753 BC. Western scholars use the fall of the Roman Empire in AD 476 as the end of ancient European history and the start of the Middle Ages.

Forbidden is set in AD 50 in Cymru (ancient Wales). The Romans invaded Britain in AD 43 and it took them seven years before they invaded the western peninsula, where they faced fierce resistance from the local tribes. But Rome wanted the gold and other precious minerals Cymru had to offer – and Rome wasn’t going to let a primitive little province of the Empire get away with rebellion.

My hero, Maximus, is a Roman Centurion, a patrician and loyal to his Emperor and Rome. When he discovers his heroine, Carys, (who’s been spying on his bathing rituals for the last three months, the little minx!) he’s instantly captivated. Who is this woman and why hasn’t she been seen in any of the villages the Legion has vanquished?

Carys is, in fact, a Druid princess and acolyte of the Goddess of Wisdom, Cerridwen. She and the rest of her clan of Druids escaped into a magical enclave before the Romans invaded, and are waiting for a sign from their gods before they attack their enemy. But despite knowing this Roman would strike her dead if he knew who – what – she is, Carys is irresistibly drawn to him.

Claudius, the Roman Emperor at the time, hated Druids with a passion and wanted all trace of them wiped out across his Empire. Happily for me, this tied in nicely with my plot! I now had historical back up for my Romans’ determination to hunt down and eliminate any Druid who had escaped them during the initial invasion.

But why was Claudius so determined to eradicate the Druids?

While there’s plenty of written and archeological evidence when it comes to the Romans, unfortunately there’s very little when it comes to the Druids. Caesar explains this lack of documentary evidence when talking of the Gaulish Druids: “they consider it improper to entrust their studies to writing.”

But here’s what we do know about them. They were widely respected as the priests of Celtic society, held responsibilities for lawmaking, were the keepers of knowledge and wisdom and were known as magicians. They were also, according to the Romans, the rallying force behind the rebellious tribes that inhabited Cymru and the Druidic stronghold on the Isle of Mon (now known as the Isle of Anglesey, off the west coast of Wales).

The Romans saw Druidism as a serious menace against the might of their Empire, and Claudius was convinced that as long as Druids remained in Britannia then rebellion and resistance would continue to flourish among the tribes.

 

This period of history is so rich with inherent conflict that as a romance writer I find it hard to resist! In Forbidden, Maximus has been charged by his Emperor to eliminate all Druids. And Carys, the Druid princess he falls in love with, is one of Rome’s bitterest enemies. Together they have to overcome the prejudice of their preconceived notions, their warring cultures and their vindictive gods if their forbidden love is to survive.

You can read the first chapter of Forbidden here - over 18s only, please!

Winners Blog

We’re drawing in on the end of the second week here at Historical Hearts and let me say what a whirlwind adventure it has been already. Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by during the week and took the time to comment. We really appreciate all of your support and shenanigans.

Next week you’re in for a treat as Christina Phillips explores Ancient Historical Romance and why the Emperor Claudius hated the Druids so much. And then the week after that we find out more about the history of fans with Cassandra Samuels.

To recap our launch week we had over four hundred comments and gave away a stack of awesome prizes. The winners drawn and/or decided by a one quarter Scottish twelve year old, names picked out of a hat, Scottish hubbie, best answer and first answer.

Here they are;

Day 1

Tamara Gill
Winners - To Sin with Scandal and A Captain's Order - A Duke's Command - ebooks
Eleni
Nikki Logan
Winners - Bookmarks
Joan Kilby
Keziah Hill
Nikki Logan
Eleni
Iwasntbloggedyesterday
Helen Sibbet
Kelly Ethan

Suzie Love
iwasn’tbloggedyesterday

Sheridan Kent
iwasn’tbloggedyesterday


Day 2

Allison Butler
Winners – Catherine and Danielle

Christina Phillips
Winner – Helen

Erin Grace
Lace Book Mark..... Iona Jones
First Chap crit .... Dana
Synopsis crit......Joanna Lloyd


Day 3

Alison Stuart
Winner – Marilyn

Mary deHaas
Winners – Anonymous, Marilyn and Eleni

Dana Scully
Winner - Roseanne


Day 4

Annie Seaton
Winner – Kelly Ethan

Elle Finlay
Winners – Vivian Davis and Kat Sheridan

Cassandra Samuels
Winner – Joanna Lloyd

Danielle Lisle
TBA


Day 5

Cheryl Leigh
Winner – Helen

Sandie Hudson
Winner – Robin

Maggi Anderson
Winner – Kelly Ethan

Bronwyn Stuart
Winners – Helen and Annie


Now, if you haven’t been notified by one of us then we don’t have your details so leave a comment here with your details and your prize giver will get in contact with you or you can email me bronwynstuart2001 at yahoo dot com dot au

Congrats and please stop by again to discover more about our worlds.

Author Interview: Jeannie Lin

Written by Danielle Lisle.

Jeannie Lin, wow! This woman has opened my mind to a whole new world of Historical Romance and she’s doing it with the Tang Dynasty in the background.

I’ll confess and admit I knew nothing about this period in time, until I opened BUTTERFLY SWORDS and Jeannie and her characters carried me away to a time like no other. My extent of knowledge on any type of Asianonic history was limited to Monkey Magic, a poorly dubbed child’s martial arts TV Show that I adored as a youth, and The Last Samurai starring the couch hopping Tom Cruise. I am fairly confident in saying none of these took place in the Tang Dynasty.

For those of you, who like me, have little knowledge on this time in history, let me attempt to educate you.

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China during 618-907AD. In the 7^th and 8^th century it was estimated to have a population in the region of 50 million and later in the 9^th century increased to 80 million. With its large and ever growing population base, the dynasty was able to raise armies of hundreds of thousands of troops to contend with nomadic powers in dominating Inner Asia and the lucrative trade routes along the Silk Road. The Tang Dynasty also had a powerful cultural influence over neighboring areas such as those in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. So in essence, it was a powerful time in Chinese history. Though not everything was rosy sailing throughout the Tang’s history, but as an overview, The Tang Dynasty was one of the most evolved and dominating civilizations of the Middle Age. Even women came to have an important role in government offices, something Jeannie pays tribute to in her books.

BUTTERFLY SWORDS, published by Harlequin in October 2010, was the first installment of Jeannie’s Tang Dynasty series. This month sees the release of the next installment, THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL. The former Emperor’s consort, Ling Suyin, is renowned for her beauty and being the ultimate seductress. With a desire to know her life, quietly alone, she’s thrown into disarray when the most ruthless warlord in the region comes and steals her away.

Li Tao lives life by the sword, and is trapped in the treacherous, lethal world of politics. The alluring Ling Suyin is at the center of the web. He must uncover her mystery without falling under her spell. Is she the woman who can entrance the man behind the legend?

Jeannie Lin has been kind enough to join us today and has gone under the microscope to answer some tough questions. Buwhaha!

Danielle: What was it about the Tang Dynasty that appealed to you so much as a writer? Both your novels in this series, BUTTERFLY SWORDS and THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL, so vividly capture the time in my mind. I can’t help being curious about the driving force behind the time and setting for you.

Jeannie: I remember watching these epic costume dramas about Empress Wu and her daughter, Princess Taiping when I was younger so the Tang Dynasty has always been a muse for me. As I began to research Chinese history, what really drew me in was the ideal of meritocracy that existed during this period. There are many stories of remarkable and powerful women, and though they weren’t the norm, they were in many ways a product of their time and not complete anomalies. The Tang Dynasty was when the civil exam system gained the most influence. This meant that a person could hope to rise from his station in life through hard work and education. There are many Tang Dynasty short stories and poems celebrating this sort of rags to riches achievement. At the same time, it was a time of war and political strife. I feel like the Tang Dynasty with its wealth and emphasis on art and culture provides the refinement of Regency times combined with the danger and adventure of medieval times. It’s a period where I can truly believe that two people from different worlds can realistically fight for love and win.

In terms of visualizing the time, there are so many images of the Tang Dynasty in paintings and the look and feel of it influenced so much popular media (at least Asian media) that it was easy to re-create it in my mind.


Danielle: In THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL, simply from the excerpt alone, (clink here to visit Jeannie’s site and read) I feel many deep layers toward both the former Emperor’s consort, Ling Suyin and the ruthless warlord, Li Tao. When creating these two characters (or any other for that matter), is there a particular type of hero or heroine you feel you lean towards as a writer? For example, the damaged soul, scorned by a failed relationship, destined for a life lived in bitterness or the shameless rogue, who’s driven by his ‘nether-region’.

Jeannie: Ling Suyin and Li Tao both appeared in BUTTERFLY SWORDS, so I had a chance to delve into their characters a bit before embarking on their romance. For heroines, I’m always drawn to empowered females who have found a way to really work their sphere of influence to its maximum potential. For Li Tao, I never wanted him to apologize for being a villain. I wanted him to have the same hardness he had shown in BUTTERFLY SWORDS, yet still somehow be redeemed. My heroes tend to have a fatalistic point of view, even go so far as having a death wish. I think this comes from the Chinese heroes I draw inspiration from. They’re very strong in their convictions, even if it leads to their own destruction. In THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL, I was additionally fascinated by taking two people who were larger than life and making them human. They’re the types of characters who are often depicted in big, tragic epics, but it’s not always about warfare and intrigue. It was interesting to see how they would deal with basic human drives such as love, acceptance and security.


Danielle: What is it about writing historicals that you love so much? Is it the time, the place, the people or a combination of all three?

Jeannie: Tee hee...history was my weakest subject in school, but history classes never gave me the context to connect and make sense of historical events.

Something about looking back into the past to reflect upon the present appeals to me. As a result, my characters are undeniably historical in attitude and culture, yet visualized through a modern lens. Some readers may not believe this seeing how independent the characters seem, but writings completed during the Tang Dynasty show such desire to achieve and find romantic love. Also a lot of ideas people have about historical Chinese culture come from depictions of the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912) or post-imperial China which is a completely different ballgame. I personally don’t believe people of the past and people of the present are as disparate as some would claim. In Asian culture, where there’s such an emphasis on our ancestors and our past, I can see a clear connection from the empowered women who were my ancestors with their small defiances to the strong, independent women in my family today. Modern people didn’t evolve in a linear fashion to become better, smarter, more civilized people.

Perhaps it’s also that thinking of contemporary storylines always starts to remind me of my day job, my bills, and my daily worries. It doesn’t free me to really let my imagination run wild. :)

Danielle: PIECES OF PAPER (click here to buy!) is another of your amazing works based in Tokyo and explores questions of identity and connectedness in the digital age. While it is not set in the Tang Dynasty, nor an historical (don’t worry my fellow historical lovers – it’s really good and goes toward a worthy cause!), you are donating all author profits to the relief effort in Japan. Can you tell us what motivated you to release this story and donate the proceeds?

Jeannie: Wow, surprised to see this mentioned here! This story is actually a semi-autobiographical re-telling of a pivotal time in my life when I worked in Korea and visited Tokyo for a weekend. I leave it up to the reader to try to determine what parts were true.

It was the first time I had been to Asia and I was sort of thrown into the deep since it wasn’t a vacation. I commuted to work each morning, pushed my way into the subway, grabbed lunch from little food stands I passed on the streets, and haggled for good prices in a language I could barely speak. Those short few months dug up so many thoughts I never realized were inside me. I reflected on my family and my past and also had to make some big decisions about my future. It’s a time in my life that I’ve returned to, again and again, and that’s why I wrote that story. I had been hanging onto it forever and had considering posting it as a free read or self-publishing it for a while. Then the earthquakes hit Japan and my thoughts revolved around the people I’d met who lived there and the streets and train stations I had wandered. If you believe in such a thing, it felt like fate to publish it and donate the proceeds to the Red Cross.


Danielle: When you’re not busy working on your next masterpiece, what is sitting on your bookshelfor coffee table, waiting for you to pick up and read?

Jeannie: I’m trying very hard to divide my reading between my print book TBR and my Kindle TBR because the print pile was getting unruly. Right now I’m reading The Scarlet Pimpernel on my Kindle as sort of a reference work for my next project...which by the way is NOT set in France. I think Joanna Bourne has that one in the bag. (By the way, I HIGHLY recommend her upcoming historical romance, THE BLACK HAWK. I read an advance copy and it totally rocked my world. :) )


Danielle: Jeannie, do you have a question for our readers? One lucky commenter will win a copy of THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL!

Jeannie: Since it’s a historical blog, I wonder what truly draws you to a period as a reader? Is it the way of life during that time—the details of daily life, the clothes, the etiquette and customs? Or is it more overarching details like the political climate and society? Or is it to discover more about a time and place you’re unfamiliar with?

If you want to be in the running to win a copy of Jeannie’s newest release, comment below, answering her question and don’t forget to leave your email so I can contact you if you’re the lucky winner.

I would like to thank Jeannie for her time today. It was my hope that everyone reading this blog post can now clearly see, there is more to historical romance than first meets the eye.

For any further information of Jeannie or her books, please visit her website.

Danielle XXOO
Danielle is a romance writer who can be contacted at her website, facebook or twitter accounts.

Historical Hearts Launch Party - Day 5

Hi! I’m Bronwyn Stuart and I write Regency Romance. I first started writing about 7 years ago when I read a particularly unsatisfying historical romance one night when working the night shift at a security company. Like so many others, I thought, I can do this better! If they bought this romance and it’s crap, surely I can write one that will be ten times better and sell it. Boy was I wrong. But that’s a story for another time. Today I want to share with you why I write Regency romance when there are so many other time periods and genres out there in the big wide world of fiction.

I can’t remember the first book I read. There were so many. I do remember the first one that really made my brain tick. I’m not sure if it was the horror or the way the book was written and now I can’t even remember the title but it was the book that the movie The Village of the Damned was based on. You know the one with a younger Nicole Kidman? Where all the people in the town fall asleep and can’t recall whole hours. Then all the women get pregnant and have babies with crazy hair and eyes that can do strange things with strange powers. I loved that book! I’m not sure if I read it now what I would think but back when I was 14 I thought it was the bomb! The first historical author I fell in love with was Candace Camp. I loved Stephanie Laurens and Johanna Lindsey too but the author I went out of my way to find was Candace Camp (maybe it was because mum already had all the others). I really enjoyed her humour and her characters.

I got off track (big surprise there). What got me started with Regency wasn’t the world itself or any one book. It’s what you could do with that world. You have everything from chimney sweeps and mudlarks to princes, princesses and kings. And you can pretty much have any level of emotion. Eloisa James makes me laugh like no other author but it’s Anna Campbell who really draws me into her dark, emotional, meaty stories. So I decided to write that. They say ‘write what you know’. I didn’t live in the 1800’s. I don’t know what it’s like to wear three petticoats, a heavy gown, two coats, gloves, hats, and all the other accoutrements of the era but I’ve read enough to get a good idea. I have a good imagination and so I use it. That’s it. I’d like to say it’s simple but this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done (and I have two kids) but I love it. If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t do it. I also dabble in the occasional contemporary but it’s always the Regency world I come back to. It’s like I’m drawn there over and over and over. Even my reading pile has more historical than any other genre. It’s hard to explain in words but there it is.

So what do you love? I don’t want to know the first book you read (most people lie about that anyway. Mine was probably The Little Engine Who Could.) I want to know the first author who really struck a chord in you. Do you write like them or in the genre they do? But the first prize winner is going to be the first one to give me the name and author of the village of the damned book (I don’t think it’s called that) and not a movie book but the original one and a link either to Kindle or Book depository so I can buy it =) The first one to go to all that effort gets a contest critique of 3 chapters up to 30 pages. If you don’t want the critique, just leave me a comment with your favourite chord striking author and I’ll pop your name in a hat and get one of my kids to draw a winner. You’ll get a copy of Candace Camp’s Scandalous.

Thanks for coming by today and stay tuned for more historical tid-bits that delight us, and we hope, you too.

Good Luck!

Bronwyn.

It's the last day of the Historical Hearts blog launch but the fun isn't over yet!

I'm Cheryl Leigh and I love all historical periods, especially the eighteenth century, which is where I set my as-yet-unpublished historical adventure romances. With a background in interior design, it's no wonder I'm drawn to the elegance of the Georgian era. Ah, the symmetry of Georgian buildings, exquisitely carved furniture, rich fabrics, gowns - oh, the gowns! - landscaped gardens, masked balls, music, art, literature, and, of course, men in breeches. *grin*

The Georgian period was not all beauty and glittering ballrooms. Crime, drunkenness and gambling abounded. Fewer strictures gave men and women the opportunity for liaisons with less censure from society. Though a decadent age, it was also a time of enlightenment as well as revolutions - agricultural, industrial and political. All great fodder for historical authors!

In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing snippets of history - Georgian and more - from my travels. To celebrate our blog launch, I'm giving one randomly picked commenter a box of note cards, embellished with fabulous shoes, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and stored in a cute shoebox, together with a small note pad to jot down story ideas ... or shopping lists. Just tell me what is your favorite historical period and why?

Good Luck!
Cheryl.

Hi all, I’m Sandie Hudson, and I write Regency and Australian Historical romance. My love of history start with the stories my Dad would tell me about my ancestors. I’ve done extensive research into the lives of my ancestors and hope to one day be able to use that information in one of my novels.

Why write Regency? I love Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. I love the beauty of the era, the sense of romance, but most of all I love the heroes and heroines I’ve on the pages of many of my now favourite authors, including our own Anna Campbell, Anne Gracie and Elizabeth Rolls.

You can visit my website to find out more about the novels I’m working on as well as my heroes and heroines.

To help celebrate the last day of Historical Hearts launch week I’m offering a copy of Deanna Raybourn’s ‘Dark Road to Darjeeling’ and a heart shape trinket box. My question:

What was the smash hit Showtime TV series, Anne Gracie, novelized?

Good Luck!
Sandie.



Hi, I'm Maggi Andersen. I write sensual historical romance where dark-haired heroes meet their match in feisty heroines. Add a dash of adventure, a murder or two, a mystery or an intrigue. What better time to set them than the Georgian period. It offers so much for a writer.

When I think of the Regency era, Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy come to mind. While it’s certainly nice to think of Darcy – emerging from the lake with his wet shirt plastered to his broad chest for instance – the Georgian era offered much. It was a fascinating period in history, in which the French Revolution changed the world.

The Regency was a time of both opulence and abject poverty. Of economic and social change: the Napoleonic wars, the power struggle for the Americas, and the Industrial revolution when people began to desert the country and crowd into the cities.

Lord Byron became a celebrity with his dark romantic poetry, and Beau Brummell defined and shaped fashion into a period of simplistic elegance. Men abandoned brocades and lace for linen trousers, overcoats with breeches and boots, and women abandoned corsets for high wasted, thin gauzy dresses.

A spend-thrift aesthete known for his scandalous affairs, George IV, the Prince of Wales was made Regent in 1811after his father was declared too mad to rein. Prinnie presided over the elegant society of the ton, the so called upper ten thousand, who defined themselves by an incredibly formal etiquette code which set them apart from the rising middle class.

I delight in finding ways my characters can break those rules and not only get away with it, but live happily ever after. Together of course.

I am offering a choice of two of my books, either e-book or print, for the first to visit my website and name the title of my book coming in October to New Concepts Publishing.

Good Luck!

Maggi.

Note: For your chance to win today's prizes, when answering the trivia questions or replying, please leave your name, email address and what draw you'd like to enter. Of course, you are more than welcome to enter all prize draws up for grabs. Good Luck!

Historical Hearts Launch Party - Who's up for day 5?

Want to win some wonderful prizes and meet the talented

Historical Hearts ladies kicking off day 5 on the Blog?

Then don't forget to drop in for a full day of gossip, fun and prizes at:

http://historicalhearts.blogspot.com/

16 September 2011

Historical Hearts ladies eager to meet you on our fifth and final day are...

Bronwyn Stuart

Cheryl Leigh

Sandie Hudson

Maggi Andersen

 

Love to see you there!!

Historical Hearts Launch Party - Day 4

Dear Reader

I am so glad you have found your way to our Historical Hearts Blog. I’m Annie Seaton and I love all things historical. I write Steampunk romance.

I live on the beautiful east coast of Australia, where I spend most of the day sitting in my writing chair, gazing at the ocean and dreaming up stories. I have found my niche writing steampunk, where strong heroines and brooding heroes fight together to make their alternative world a better place.

I have recently signed with Lyrical Press, and I am looking forward to seeing my first novella, Winter of the Passion Flower released in March 2012. I am currently working on my second steampunk project, Summer of the Moon Flower, a novel length follow up.

Steampunk? What is steampunk you ask? Sounds slightly steamy?

Steampunk as a literary genre began to gain popularity in the 1980s. It began as a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy, and developed as a rebellious response to the science fiction that preceded it. Steampunk includes the core elements of

· Steam power

· Alternate history settings (mostly Victorian/Edwardian era England, and sometimes the wild, wild west)

· SF/Fantasy elements

· Devices that reflect the period but are ahead of their time. For example, difference engines, airships, and all sorts of clockwork and steam powered devices

I will let you peek at a directional perambulator, a device in my upcoming steampunk novella (March 2012) as an example.

“Steam lift,” Indigo spoke loudly above the humming. “Precision movement defined by the cogs. The perambulator ascends, descends and moves sideways if needed." 

Steampunk is warm, sassy, and larger than life. The new direction is now steampunk + romance and a major appeal is the historical setting, and a steampunk author can use familiar settings and times.

Steampunk romance has the potential to offer something familiar, yet different. Authors can stretch their creative wings. Sassy heroines can stretch the limits of Victorian dress codes...

Her signature red bustier topped an emerald green skirt embossed with the symbols of industry flowing around her ankles, neither satisfying air safety dress regulation for dirigible travel. 

Both excerpts from Winter of the Passion Flower – Annie Seaton (Lyrical Press March 2012)

So welcome to our blog, come along and say hello. I have some beautiful postcards and elegant pens for the person who can list three steampunk romance novels in a comment below!

Enjoy our launch week, come back and visit again.

Good Luck!

Annie.

Hello everyone. My name is Cassandra Samuels and I love everything Regency. The clothes, the manners, the people, the history, the entertainments, the clothes, the furniture, the music – did I mention the clothes? I think you get the picture and he looks a lot like Colin Firth. Hmmm I’ll let you think on that for a moment....

Right, onward! I am currently unpublished and writing – you guessed it – Regency Historical Romance. I love dashing Dukes, masterful Marquis’, enigmatic Earls and virile Viscounts – I mean who doesn’t? I love to write strong sassy ladies who give my heroes an adventure in love they never expected all with a touch of humor.

I will be blogging - Cassie’s Regency Tidbits. There will be interesting people of the period, historical trivia and other interesting things. My first blog will be about the language of the fan. It seems amazing that so much could be conveyed simply by placing your fan in a particular way. I hope you will enjoy my Regency tidbits’ and will let me know what you want to know about the Regency Period.

What do you like about the Regency era? As an incentive to creative answers there is a small prize up for grabs, an “I love Darcy” key ring all the way from the Jane Austen Tea House in Bath.

Good Luck!

Cassandra.

G-day all! I'm Danielle Lisle. The girls of Historical Hearts have asked that I introduce myself. My first thought was to shake your hand, but the limits of cyberspace make it rather difficult. Instead, I’ll have to give you a hot and steamy mental image of what I read and love to write. Surely that will imprint me in your memory? Well, let’s see... 

Men is skirts. In know it’s not all that sexy (well, perhaps it is if you swing that way) but stick with me and think of a Scottish warrior with a deep, thick accent (Gerard Butler *moan*) with bulging muscles, softly furred chest, his long, bulging and deliciously thick .... sword and eyes that could slay a woman’s soul. Oh yes, I have your attention. Now, this man in a skirt IS sexy!

Every writer writes for a different reason. I write stories of love, desire and passion, for a simple reason – I want to live it! Yep, I want to be that heroine, the damsel in distress who is saved by the hunky (and yes, sometimes damaged too) hero. I want him to whisk me away, cave man tactics and all, exposing me to the deep and dark passion of his soul. *sigh* Name me a woman who doesn’t want that?

You can likely gauge from my thought process in writing the above, that I write ‘naughty’ historical romances. Yep, I like it hot and there is nothing hotter than some hot and heavy passion leading the way to everlasting love.

I love reading all types historical’s as well. It’s not always romance, though granted most times it is. I find the path our ancestors have travelled to get the world to where it is today, remarkably fascinating. It is therefore my goal to have my stories as detailed and accurate as possible. Well, settings and events are at least. Everything else is totally my imagination. *cheeky grin*

Come on a whirlwind ride with me as I travel the strange and distant lands of our past and meet some very hunky men along the way.

Win Me!!!

Tell me what gets your blood flowing in the books you read. What is it about the hero or heroine that makes you refuse to put the book down regardless of the time of night? What is it that makes you say ‘to hell!’ with the pile of dishes in the sink or the dirty washing vying for your attention? All comments will go in the draw to win a copy of Judith Ivory’s, Angel in a Red Dress.

Good Luck!

Danielle.

Welcome to our Historical Hearts Blog. Hi I’m Elle Fynllay, one of your tour guides as we take the magical journey back through the mists of time. We’ll be passing back through Victorian time , stopping for a quite extensive view of the Regency period, back, back through the time of Cavaliers and Roundheads, deeper and deeper in to the mists to Medieval period and even deeper to the Time of the Romans and Druids.

My period is a medieval time where Kings, Lairds and heroes lusted for land, love and glory and their women lusted for…their alpha males, of course. My first novel “Siege of the Heart” is an alliance between an Anglo-Saxon Laird’s daughter and the Norman knight that brings his wealth and strength to the marriage but can the castle survive the turmoil between its fiery Lady and the Norman knight who has staked his wealth on a betrothal and can they both survive the treachery within the castle. There is more than one way to win a castle; through siege, battle or treachery. Who will win? Who will survive?

Back to modern times: The deeper we go in time the less we have evidence of the period. From the Medieval period we have manuscripts and a few drawings to refer to. In Regency, we often hear accounts of the plethora of ancestral paintings on the wall. Well Reader, look around you. How much of your history is on display? In this day and age of digital display there is little “Hard Copy“, that is, actual paintings or photographs of family that we can put our hands on. I have three silver finish photo frames, that will hold a 5’’x7” (13x18cm) photograph to give away to a reader who comments on their favourite time period and why.

Good Luck!

Elle.

Note: For your chance to win today's prizes, when answering the trivia questions or replying, please leave your name, email address and what draw you'd like to enter. Of course, you are more than welcome to enter all prize draws up for grabs. Good Luck!