History was written on the back of the horse.

By Danielle Lisle

As Wednesday, August the 1^st, is the horses celebrated birthday here in Australia, I thought I’d honour them by discussing their input into history.

"History was written on the back of the horse," an inscription at The Horse Park in Kentucky, USA.   How very true.

The Nobleman, groom and steed.

Our four-legged friend, the horse, has played a substantial role in the world of historical romance. From the simple but strong carriage horse in the Regency novel, to the adaptable mountain pony in the Scottish Highlands, or the stunning steed which the duke rode upon as he whisked his future duchess off her feet, the horse has always been by our hero’s side.

These days horses do not appear in modern day novels as much as they once did, simply because ownership of horses has turned from an essential form of transport, to an ownership of pleasure.

Like today, horses were not a ‘cheap’ commodity to own or maintain. Horses ranged in price, depending on their use. Where they part of a matching team for a stately carriage, a well breed hack for a gentlemen or lady, or perhaps a horse with superior speed offering the gentlemen a potential taste of victory on the track. I read somewhere (of which I can’t recall, much to my frustration) that William Cavendish, the 6th Duke of Devonshire, paid a thousand pounds (about $100,000 today) for a race horse which had to be shot two weeks later as it broke it leg in its first race. Bummer...

In the Regency, one could not own a carriage or keep the horses to draw it if you didn’t earn at least 1,100 pounds a year. This equates to about $110,000 in today’s markets. Don’t forget it is not simply just the initial cost of buying the steed that will set you back, which could range from one to several hundred pounds for a midrange animal, but you had to maintain the horses and keep grooms and drivers. A horse kept in stable in London cost a lot more to feed than a horse at a country estate. It wasn’t like the London horses had access to pasture to graze and therefore cost more to feed in grain.

A post-chaise carriage

Instead, most people hired horses and drivers when they travelled or used the services of a hackney coach (taxi) while in London. While still rather expensive, they did not tie one down to the ongoing costs of the animals keep or their handler’s wages. An example of costs for a longer journey, hiring two horses and a post-chaise carriage and a postilion (rider/driver) at the cost of 1/- per mile (1.6kms). The distance from Longbourn to Rosings we know was about 50 miles (about 80kms), so the cost of travelling there would be 50/-, 2 pounds ten, or in today’s equivalent about $250. This was the most cost effective way for people to travel.

**Please forgive me if I’ve offered a seemingly large section on how much it all cost, it just blows my mind! Allrighty, different track – jockeys ready?

Tattersall's 1865

What do you think of when you hear, “Tattersall’s”? I think of my mother and her weekly trip to the newsagency to buy her lotto ticket.
Well, back in the Regency, Tattersall’s was a horse sale yards in London, established in 1766 by Richard Tattersall, horse master to the Duke of Kingston. These sale yards become a popular place to buy and sell horseflesh, carriages and even hounds, with sale days being twice a week in winter and one a week in summer. It housed stabling for over a hundred horses with plenty of room to inspect carriages or the yapping hounds in their kennels (think of the noise!).

While there was always the opportunity to visit the sale yards, most of the gentry took an avid interest in breeding their own horseflesh, some actually became well known for it.

Horses were also fashion statements. Who had the best horse or the most stunning steed?

"I say, did you see the stallion Lord Percy rode upon in Lester Square yestereve? The beast was simply the most stunning horse I have ever laid eyes upon!"

In 1711, Queen Anne established regular race meetings at her park at Ascot (heard of it anyone?) while several gentlemen also arranged private ‘match races’ between themselves, the stakes often quite high.

But we woman cannot be forgotten. Flat and steeple racing was also held for women. Mrs. Bateman wrote in 1723, "Last week, Mrs. Aslibie arranged a flat race for women, and nine of that sex, mounted astride and dressed in short pants, jackets and jockey caps participated. They were striking to see, and there was a great crowd to watch them. The race was a very lively one; but I hold it indecent entertainment." Some women--such as the infamous Letty Lade, who reportedly swore like a coachman, rode and drove to please themselves, and made their own fashion statement by bucking the trends for demure ladies. (I think I would have liked these woman...)

But horse racing was a increasingly expensive sport (yes, at the costs again). Prince Regent’s stud farm for his horses was rumoured to have an annual cost of 30,000 pounds a year for its upkeep. That’s 3 million a year today! Sheesh!

How many of you out there dreamed of owning your own horse, riding it off into the sunset and feeling the wind fly through your hair?

My boy, Rain Ridge

I was one of the few lucky kids out there, owning my own horse since the age of seven. To this day I still own the Thoroughbred I brought (after working and saving for a year as a checkout chick at Woolworths) when I was fifteen. Rain, or Rain Ridge as was his racing/show name, carried me through the years of Pony Club and Eventing. We even tried PoloX once, but after my teammate hit me in the head with a bat, I determined the sport was not for me. Today he lives the cosy life in retirement, with the occasion weekend trail ride through the bush or on an excursion to the beach. It’s not a bad life for a horse in his late twenties, though once a horse ‘retired’ in the days gone past, their fate was not always guaranteed to be a relaxing one.

Once a horse became old, no longer able to keep up with the other horses in the team or simply because it became injured, the quickest answer was a bullet. This was not always the case and sometimes if the horse was deemed favourably by its owner or horse master, it would be sent out to a farm to work for its remaining days. But sadly, a true retirement, of lazy days roaming a lush paddock, wasn’t a rarity. Good to see some things have changed.

Happy Birthday Horses! Have a carrot on me.

In my debut novel, THE ROSE’S BLOOM (that coincidently hits the shelves today) my hero and heroine relied a great deal on their trusty steeds, whether it be to take them on a hunt, journey or simply a pleasure ride. My hero was actually out on a hunt when he noticed a young woman by the riverbank, her unexperienced fingers seeming to get her nowhere. He was a gentleman after all, and who is he to allow this poor damsel to go unaided? *giggle*

THE ROSE'S BLOOM

THE ROSE'S BLOOM is the first instalment in my ROGUES OF DECEPTION series with Total-E-Bound Publishing.

Comment below to go in the running for a change to win your very own copy! Just remember to leave your email address so I can contact you if you’re the lucky winner!

Danielle can be contacted on her Facebook and Twitter accounts or alternatively comment below.

Quote reference: Website, Rakehell, Regency Horses

Historical Hearts Good News, New Releases & Cover Love!!

Danielle Lisle

has signed a contract with Total E Bound  for

PORTRAIT OF A SCANDAL

book one in my new SCANDALS OF NOBILITY series.

Available 29 October 2012.

Congratulations Danielle!!


Tamara Gill
has signed a second contract with Crimson Romance
for her Medieval time travel romance
DEFIANT SURRENDER
Available later this year
Congratulations Tam!!


Bronwyn Stuart
Scandal's Mistress
Available August 13 from Carina Press
It's a beautiful cover, Bron. Congratulations!!

blurb:

London, 1805

Justin Trentham, third son of the Earl of Billington, is determined to get himself disowned from his cold and unloving family. Despite his numerous affairs with questionable women of the ton, his parents continue to be dismissive of his ploys, but Justin spots the perfect scandal in the form of a beautiful, exotic Italian opera singer...

Carmalina Belluccini refuses to become his mistress, despite being tempted by his charms. But after losing her singing voice, she finds herself destitute. She agrees to be Justin's mistress for one month, until she has enough money to return to her beloved Italy.

She intends to keep their arrangement strictly business, but after witnessing Justin's vulnerable side, she finds herself falling more in love than in lust with him. Carmalina is having second thoughts about leaving England...but is their love strong enough to survive the scandal of the season?

Annie Seaton

Blind Lust

Available June 15 from Musa Publishing

blurb:

A wager between the gods can change your life. Even if you are a witch…

When Venus has a wager with Cupid, that prudish librarian, Lizzy Sweet cannot be enticed to love, she neglects to tell her son that Lizzy is a three hundred year old witch. The first man Lizzy sees after Cupid shoots his arrow is Josh Deegan, a famous country and western singer who has come to town to rediscover his muse, in an old farmhouse haunted by a culinary ghost.

Local warlock, Wesley Gordon, who has been hitting on Lizzy to no avail for over one hundred years, is not impressed. The quirky old folk of Silver Valley watch fondly as the battle between love and lust plays out. Leaden and golden arrows zing around, spells are magicked, potions stirred, and ghosts hunted. Who will fall in love and who will let the other go forever?

Anne Brear

The Gentle Wind's Caress

Available Now in print and ebook format

from Knox Robinson Publishing

blurb:

Halifax, 1876. On the death of her mother and sister, Isabelle Gibson is left to fend for herself and her brother in a privately-run workhouse. After the matron's son attempts to rape her, Isabelle decides to escape him and a life of drudgery by agreeing to marry a moorland farmer she has never met. But this man, Farrell, is a drunkard and a bully in constant feud with his landlord, Ethan Harrington. When Farrell bungles a robbery and deserts her, Isabelle and Ethan are thrown together as she struggles to save the farm. Both are married and must hide their growing love. But despite the secrecy, Isabelle draws strength from Ethan as faces from the past return to haunt her and a tragedy is set to strike that will change all of their lives forever.

Particulars not available

Tamara Gill

A Marriage Made in Mayfair

Available June 15 from Decadent Publishing

blurb:

Miss Suzanna March wished for one thing, the elusive, rakish charmer, Lord Danning. But after a frightful first season sees her flee to Paris, such dreams seem impossible. That is until she returns to London, a new woman, and one who will not let the ton's dislike of her stand in her way of gaining what she wants. Revenge on the Lord who gave her the cut direct and perhaps a little flirtation to show the mighty Viscount what he'll never have.

Lord Danning unbeknown to his peers is in financial strife and desperate to marry an heiress. Such luck would have it Miss Suzanna March fits all his credentials and seduction is his plan of action. Yes, the woman who returned from Paris is stronger, defiant, and a little argumentative, but it does not stop Lord Danning finding himself in awe and protective of her.

But will Suzanna fall for such pretty words from a charmer only after one thing. Or will Lord Danning prove to Suzanna and himself that she is more than his ticket out of debtor's prison...

Alison Stuart

Has two new fantastic covers for her novels

By the Sword

and

The King's Man

They look great, Alison. Congratulations!!

Both these titles are available as an ebook from Kindle, Apple, Sony, Kobo, Diesel, Barnes and Noble or in any format from Smashwords. Or in print from Book Depository, Amazon or Wordclay or directly from the author.

Historical Hearts Good News

More great news for our Historical Hearts members.

This week we congratulate...


Alison Stuart

who has a fantastic new cover

for her September release with Lyrical Press

Gather the Bones

Alison also finaled in the

Hearts Through History Romance Writers

Romance Through the Ages Contest

with her manuscript

Lord Somerton's Heir


And if Alison wasn't busy enough

she has also print published her

collection of short stories

Tower of Tales

through Lulu.

Congratulations Alison!



Anne Brear's novel

The House of Women

available from Knox Robinson Publishing

reached number 1 on the

Amazon free kindle historical romance bestseller list.

Congratulations Anne!



Erin Grace

has signed a 6 BOOK DEAL

with Knox Robinson Publishing!!

More details of these fantastic stories to come.

Congratulations Erin!! Fantastic news!!



Tamara Gill

has sold her first single title manuscript

A Stolen Season

to Crimson Romance.



Tamara will also be celebrating the release of her

Regency romance novella

A Marriage Made in Mayfair

Available June 15

from Decadent Publishing

by holding a month long blog hop.

You can read more details of the hop at her blog here.

And last but certainly not least

Danielle Lisle

has two wonderful new covers to show off

for her manuscripts

The Rose's Bloom

and

The Virgin at Goodrich Hall

Available soon from Total E Bound

Congratulations Danielle! They're fantastic!



And that wraps up our good news this week.

Thanks for celebrating with us.
HH

A snippet into Dutch History.

By Danielle Lisle

There are a number of things that pop into my mind when I think of the Netherlands or Dutch history. First of all - windmills, the slow and steady turn of the old sails as they grind the flour to make those delectable pastries, the flaky and sugary texture as it touches your lips sending one into a moaning mess of pleasure, ignoring the calories running to your hips as your tastebuds dance in rapture. Or perhaps the clank of the wooden clogs jumps to your mind as you see blonde, busty women in little maid outfits such as I now wear for Oktoberfest, and while not likely historically correct, it is still what first jumps to mind.

Second to that is Amsterdam, and all its red light fun! One of the (if not the only) places in the world where cannabis and prostitution are legal. The home of live sex shows and the ‘Red Light District’ a place where, if one is so inclined, can for 30 Euros, find pleasure in the arms of a willing woman before talking the walk of shame, the whistles and cat calls following you as you exit your lovers door and zip up your fly, all before the eager eyes of the tourists smoking and drinking in the cafes.

Yet like any place or moment in time, it was not always as you see it today.

There is a dark and somewhat chilling history surrounding a place that is now known to house such willing pleasure. A murky past during the Holocaust, Anne Frank’s diary is a chilling reminder of that, as well as the poverty that was faced by the lower and middle classes in the days gone by.

For some reason when I think of the struggles of poverty, I conger up images of Oliver Twist asking for more, his smudged cheeks and tattered clothes at the forefront of my mind. Was this always the case? I don’t know but I wanted too. It was then I found a fellow author, R. A. Padmos who actually writes Dutch historicals. She was kind enough to lend me some insight by allowing me to review her latest manuscript, UNSPOKEN. She was also nice enough to allow me to interview her, see below;

You’ve set your latest release UNSPOKEN in 1935, in a unnamed ‘Dutch city’. What motivated you to write about that time and place?

R: Simply told, it’s where I grew up as a child in the sixties, my own grandparents are roughly of the generation of the main characters. Though the characters, and their story, are of course as fictional as can be.  

What research did you undertake and did you try to focus on the history and accuracy of the time, or did you let your creative mind as an author rule the world you produced in UNSPOKEN?

R: I actually didn’t have to do much research for this story. As I child and teenager I heard countless stories of my grandparents about the Depression and the German occupation (they always called it “the war”) And what they most talked about, of course, were the details of daily life and how they managed with a growing family and my granddad out of work half the time.

As for the gay part: I always thought it’s important for any gay person to be aware of our history, so by the time I was ready to write this story, I had most knowledge I needed already in my head. It goes without saying that this is a work of fiction, not one of science, and I’ve taken some liberties for the sake of the story.

You main characters resolve around the Dutch working class, with your hero actually commenting on how close he and his family were to starvation, how his body looked malnourished. Why did you choose to focus on this class of people adverse to the commonly portrayed gentry, like so many other authors?

R: I come from a working class background. I studied social history. And as a gay woman I can’t help but notice that working class people seem to be underrepresented in (romantic) historical gay fiction, except as “rough trade” or as more “authentic”, but also somewhat primitive “real” men, observed and lusted after by the more refined, but also less manly middle and higher class men. Both, of course, tell only half of the truth.

As for the poverty: the Doffer family manages to keep themselves fed and clothed, thanks to Marije being a hell of a housewife and Stefan handing over every cent he brings home. But it’s on a level that’s always one or two steps away from real hunger. Things like paying the rent on time, making sure the family was properly dressed was a matter of pride. There didn’t seem to be much envy of what the middle class could afford, but to deteriorate to the level of the ones who had already given in to their poverty was a constant fear. You don’t want to know how often my grandmother corrected even the slightest improper or incorrect use of language of her children and grandchildren, and she had left school when she was 13.

 At first the German occupation didn’t seem so bad and even with a complex system of rations, there was enough food for everyone. But that changed after a while and became downright dramatic during the winter of 1944, when no food, fuel or medication was allowed into the western part of the country as retaliation against a big railway strike against the Germans. Later the canals and rivers were frozen and it was simply impossible for the inland ships to get food to the people, even when the Germans allowed it.  

The relationships in your story UNSPOKEN are so complex. You show us the struggle the hero found when he discovered desires towards another man. Did you find this aspect difficult to write, weighting the ‘expected’ behaviour for a man of the time in addition to the hero’s love and responsibilities towards his family and devoted wife?

R: You’re right, they are complex, because reality is complex. Homosexuality was for the most part invisible in those days. There was a strong idea that a homosexual man was essentially female in nature, so any man who didn’t recognise himself in that picture might well have thought he couldn’t be “that way”. Combine that with the tendency for working class men to marry young and it’s no surprise Stefan finds himself in a marriage without even having the slightest idea about his true sexuality until he actually meets a man he feels so attracted to. He learns there’s a huge difference between the amicable, but essentially passionless relationship with his wife, and what he feels for his male lover. He fights that knowledge, but in the end, there’s no denying the facts.

What have you found, as a published author, to be the hardest hurdles in writing an historical romance?

R: In this case, translating very specific Dutch situations and words into something outsiders hopefully can relate to. Not only the physical stuff, but also the way of thinking, the culture.

I wonder if we, with internet and TV making homosexuality so visible for so many people, can truly understand how deep and total the silence was for the majority of (working-class) gay men. For that reason, I can’t say in honesty that Stefan is bisexual or gay-for-that-one-man. Had he been of his grandchildren’s (my) generation, he would have known as a teenager, experimented a bit with a few boyfriends (perhaps even one time with a girl) to finally meet the love of his life. And I bet he and Marije would have been the very best of friends.

WIN ME!

To experience more into Dutch History during the 1930’s, R. A. Padmos will be giving away a copy of her latest novel UNSPOKEN to a lucky commenter. Comment below for your chance to win! The winner will be announced Sunday 20^th of May, Australian time here! Please leave your contact emial to go into the draw.

Danielle can be contacted on her Facebook and Twitter accounts or alternatively comment below.

A snippet into the History of Utensils in Europe

Ever wonder the origin of what you’re

sticking in your mouth?

The likelihood is that you haven’t and I can’t blame you in your ignorance – it’s truthfully not the most fascinating subject, but I think it’s still rather interesting.

The first fork was brought back to England by a fellow called Thomas Coryate from his travels to Italy in 1608. The English laughed off the fork at first, rumoured to have claimed, "Why should a person need a fork when God had given him hands?".  Still, the reluctant-towards-change English upper-class soon adopted the fork into their dinning ritual. They actually became prized possessions made of expensive materials intended to impress guests. They quickly became dining luxuries and thus markers of social status and sophistication among nobles.

“I say, what a grand device you have here, Lord Pettlebottom. I must acquire one! I will be envy of every gentleman in the district to hold one made of gold!”

The English to me have always liked to show off; grander is better, appeared to be the case in most instances. It looked as if their cutlery was no exception.

Small, slender-handled forks with two tines were generally used for desserts or sweet, sticky foods. Like the foods with berries and such which were likely to stain ones fingers.

Dinner or meat forks were modelled after general kitchen forks with two fairly long and widely spaced tines ensuring that meat would not twist while being cut. However it became rather annoying as small pieces of food regularly fell through the tines and could land in ones lap. Hardly classy, no matter how pretty the fork. Therefore later that century, larger forks with four curved tines were developed. The additional tines made diners less likely to drop food, and the curved tines served as a scoop so people didn’t have to constantly switch to a spoon while eating. What a bother that would have been!

Knives, as I am sure will be little surprise to most of you, had been used as weapons, tools, and eating utensils since prehistoric times. However, it was only in fairly recent times that knives have been designed specifically for table use. Apparently, hosts did not provide cutlery for their guests during the Middle Ages in Europe. Most people carried their own knives in sheaths attached to their belts. These knives were long and narrow with sharply pointed ends used to spear food and then raise it to one's mouth. Yum, yum!

However, long after knives were adopted for table use, they continued to be used as weapons. In other words, the multi-purpose nature of the knife always posed the conceivable threat of danger at the dinner table. I’m sure all of us can attest to sitting at a business dinner and feeling a knife or two etched with our names in it.

Nevertheless, once forks began to gain popular acceptance, (forks being more efficient for spearing food), there was no longer any need for a pointed tip at the end of a dinner knife. In my research it made me chuckle to read that in 1669, King Louis XIV of France decreed all pointed knives on the street or the dinner table illegal, and he had all knife points ground down like those to the right in order to reduce violence. I wonder how many knives had his name on them?

While the above is only a small snippet into the shiny things beside our dinner plates, I wonder how many of you will peer around your dinner table tonight. Hopefully your guests or family don’t hold any ill will your way.

Be kind to each other....

Danielle. XXOO

Danielle can be contacted on her Facebook and Twitter accounts or alternatively comment below.

References: The History of Eating Utensils

Courtship Throughout History - Regency England

By Danielle Lisle

Over my next few posts, I plan to take us all on a ride through time and witness some of the differences society standards and geological distance played in regards to young lovers and their courtship. You might be surprised to learn it was not as you thought it to be.

Regency England (early 1800’s)

 

Have flowers and candy always been the way to a woman’s heart?

Seemingly not.

I often wonder while I sit in my comfy recliner, watching regency movies or reading a new and exciting historical novel; Are the happy ever afters truly accurate? Do they really happen like we dream, watch or read about?

It turns out that fiction is simply fiction and majority of the time love has very little to do with a couple’s courtship. How sad.

Now this is not always the case, but it sadly occurred with some regularity among noble houses in the Regency period. People married for money and station in the past, with love having little or anything to do with the union. I guess I can see why it was so accepted to have a mistress back then. It makes me want to weep at the idea of a woman never finding her true love or happy ever after in life. Am I alone in this thought?

I guess there is an ideal example of the hardships woman faced back in the Regency in regards to marriage. The truth is, a woman had very little choice in the matter of her husband-to-be. Fathers ‘owned’ their daughters in a sense and contracts were drawn up once a settlement was agreed upon by the future groom and the bride’s father. But first, a woman needed to be chosen. And how was that done? *very big grin*

House parties and balls were a good opportunity for fathers and eager mothers to parade their young daughters around like horses up for sale at the stockyards. The young women (around seventeen years old) would be dressed in the latest fashion, jewelled in extravagant pieces and educated in the art of snagging a husband. After all, it was a woman’s goal in life to marry and run their own household. *can you hear me snorting people?*

The girls would be introduced to the men in attendance either by the host, their mother or a friend. It wasn’t like today, where you (okay, like me) would sashay up to a fella in a nightclub or bar and wink, ‘Hey stud, wanna dance?’ He would in turn give you a saucy grin and pull you onto the dance floor where you would bump and grind to the latest song on the pop charts. *snort* Hardly. A lady could never appear eager (I clearly wouldn’t have survived back then) or approach a man, especially if she had never been formally introduced to him before. There was a format that needed to be followed and strict unwritten rules that governed everyone, from the royalty to the labouring poor.

It wasn’t always peaches and cream for the men either, they were ‘expected’ to dance with all the girls making their come out, if not for the prospect of finding a bride but to appease their mothers, whether because they felt sorry for the wall flower sitting by the sideline or because they were a friend of a friend of a friend etcetera, it was still the expected thing to do. It was in these moments that a lady needed to shine. Her dancing needed to be precise and angelic, her manner needed to be demure and educated and her appearance needed to capture the man’s attention. Low necklines exposing the ‘girls’ was not unheard of either. But snagging a young buck was not always the easiest thing to manage.

A Regency Brothel

Men or boys (depending on your point of view) were ‘expected’ to sow some ‘wild oats’ before settling down and choosing a bride, likely because their father before them had done the same thing. College, at either Oxford or Cambridge, had little to do with education (in their mind anyway) and more to do with exploring life away from under their mother’s hand. Gaming Hells and Brothels catering to high society gentleman were a lucrative establishment to run, with regular visits from young gentlemen to their favourite courtesan or card table.

As a result, gentlemen did not generally marry at a young age and the men who were truly available to a debutant was likely quite older than she.

But what happened once a young lady actually caught a gentlemen’s eye?

Well, the idea of flowers and candy was not at all a reality back then. ‘Feel sorry for em now, huh?’ It was prohibited (not by a law, but simply society standards) that a man and woman could not correspond or exchange gifts. It was only into the Victorian era that flowers and candy became acceptable gifts, but that was all. The first gift a man would generally give his wife was her wedding ring and oddly they were not always expected or common.

So how did they get to know each other then? Well, in my opinion they didn’t, but I’m sure that’s debatable. A young lady’s most precious asset was her ‘virginity’ and it was not wise to call that into question or unmarried you would stay. It was therefore important that an unmarried woman was chaperoned at all times when outside of her home. She was accompanied by her mother, a member of the family or maid at every moment, whether it be a carriage ride in the park, a shopping trip or making a call to a friend, ensuring her ‘maiden state’ was never called into question. She was never, ever, left alone in the company of a man, courting or otherwise. Can you imagine trying to date a bloke with your mother listening to your every word? *shudders* I, for one, am glad times have changed.

I like thinking back to the Pride and Prejudice movies, either the early miniseries or the recent movie to explain this next point. Do you ever see Mr Darcy and Miss Bennett touch? Do you see them kiss? Well, they do kiss, but only AFTER they’re married. They never hold hands, or show any affection towards each other in any form of physical contact, simply because it just wasn’t done back then. Nor do they address each other by their given names, as that would appear far too ‘vulgar’ and call the poor woman’s virtue into question. *sigh* So, how did they truly do it? It was trying, to say the least.

While there is just something romantic about the Regency period, I think it is fascinating to learn that the idea of sending flowers and candy was not a reality in any way, shape, or form. But then again, there was always the opportunity to go riding with the handsome gentlemen, just sadly with your mother in tow. 

WIN ME!

Comment below for your chance to win a copy of Regency Pleasures by Louise Allan.

Danielle can be contacted via her website, Twitter or Facebook accounts.

Historical Hearts Good News

Congratulations go to the following HH authors

for their FANTASTIC news to kick of our

Good News Posts for 2012!!!

Bronwyn Stuart has signed her FIRST writing contract

with Carina Press for her Regency historical romance

'Scandal's Mistress'

to be released before the end of the year.

Congratulations Bron, we're all so happy for you

and can't wait to read 'Scandal's Mistress'.

 

To wet your appetite here is the blurb for Scandal's Mistress:

Love. It’s the cruelest mistress of all. When you have it, it hurts. When you lose it, it nearly kills you. But what if he doesn’t believe in it and she doesn’t want it…

Italian opera singer, Carmalina Belluccini, has been alone with her bad luck and morbid thoughts for too long. When a man who is no angel offers her an affare, dignity and desire start to battle within her. She is no courtesan and certainly not mistress material, only, when her beautiful voice fails she finds herself in a position too difficult to refuse Justin Trentham’s protection. But what is he hiding and why is he so desperate to create the scandal of the season?

Danielle Lisle has signed her second publishing contract with

Total-E-Bound Publishing for her

erotic Regency historical

'The Virgin at Goodrich Hall'

2nd story in 'The Rogues of Deception' series.

We'll keep you posted on the release date!

 

 

To wet your appetite here is the blurb for 'The Virgin at Goodrich Hall':

 

The rumour of a place housing mindless pleasure is too much temptation for this young maiden to ignore. Lady Margaret knew her father would choose her a suitor soon, but how could she find passion with a man twice her age? With the fear she would never experience anything with her husband other than her duty of providing him an heir, she set out for Goodrich Hall, a whispered about mystery of the ton. Propriety and good sense be damned, she would not die without experiencing the pleasure a real man could offer!

 

As soon as the young maiden entered the Hall, Victor knew he would have her. Her masked face and barely there silks, which clung to her body with a lust of their own, sent a rush a need through his body. It was not until she melted against him later, her passion fully stated, did he realise he might have taken on more than he first thought. He needed to her, regardless of if she wanted him or not.

 

 

Such wonderful news. Congratulations again

and keep the good news coming, ladies.

 

 

 

 

Historical Hearts Good News

Well, it's been another great news week for the writers of Historical Hearts.

So without further ado, we congratulate...

Maggi Andersen, who has signed a contract with

Knox Robinson Publishing to publish her Georgian Romance

'The Reluctant Marquess' available 8th March 2012

Also...

Knox Robinson Publishing have signed Maggi's two
Regency-set historical romances

'A Baron In Her Bed' available September 2012 and

'The Folly At Falconbridge Hall' available December 2012

Maggi has also been busy creating a wonderful new
book trailer for

'Surrender to Destiny'

This week Anne Whitfield celebrated the release

of her Victorian historical saga novel

'To Gain What's Lost'

To wet your appetite, here's the blurb:

Anna Thornton leads a privileged life, but she's not content. When the dashing Matt Cowan sweeps her off her feet, she thinks her boring existence has changed for the better, only all is not as it seems. betrayed and faced with family secrets, Anna flees her home. Taking her trusted maid with her, she begins a new life, which is filled with events that will test her strength and self belief. However, fate sends a man to heal her heart, but will she trust herself to another again? Will the past recede enough for her to see a brighter future?

Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords all all good book stores.

Our very own talented, Annie Seaton (Anne-Marie Smith)

has become a content editor with Lyrical Press Inc Publishing.

If you would like to see what manuscripts Anne is acquiring

please refer to her page at Lyrical Press here.

And last but certainly not least

Danielle Lisle has signed a publishing contract with

Total-E-Bound Publishing for her

erotic Regency historical

'The Roses Bloom'

1st story in the series called

'The Rogues of Deception'

And it looks like Total-E-Bound are going

to publish the other two as well. Woo HOO!

Huge congratulations ladies

and keep the good news coming!

Historical Hearts Good News

A huge congratulations go to the following

Historical Heart Members

for their accomplishments so far this month!

Bronwyn Stuart who won

Spacecoast Authors of Romance

Launching A Star contest

in the Historical category with her ms

'Behind the Courtesan'

Annie Seaton who signed a contract for her

Paranormal Novella

'Blind Lust' with Musa Publishing

Danielle Lisle who came second in the

Heartland Romance Authors

Show Me the Spark contest

in the Erotica category with her ms

'The Virgin at Goodrich Hall'

Congratulations again on a job well done, ladies!

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.