Lord of Scoundrels Interview: Part Deux

An interview with Loretta, by Susan/Miranda

Welcome back to the second part of my interview with my fellow Wench Loretta Chase, marking the reissue of her legendary historical romance, Lord of Scoundrels -- a book that's simply too magical to be contained in a single blog. As I mentioned last time, Lord of Scoundrels is the winner of numerous awards and honors, and most recently has been named again as the number one favorite romance of all time in the All About Romance Top 100 Romances Reader Poll (#1 in the 2000, 2004, and 2007 polls; here's this year's AAR Poll if you'd like to see the rest as well.) An extra tidbit about this poll: among the thousands of romances eligible for this honor, Lord of Scoundrels appeared on over 40% of the voters' ballots.  Now that's reader loyalty!

Avon Books will be releasing a new edition of Lord of Scoundrels this week.  In addition to a beautiful new cover, the new edition includes a special letter from Loretta. If you've yet to discover this marvelous book, then you have a treat waiting for you.

This time, Loretta answers more of our most pressing questions about Dain, Jessica, and exactly how she researched Dain's underwear....

Susan/Miranda:   When Lord of Scoundrels was first published, Dain was a most unusual hero: an English peer, but one whose Italian mother made him somewhat suspect in polite society.  I’ve heard you call him a “mongrel”, an outsider.  How did you invent this pedigree for him, and how did it shape his character for you?

Loretta: What can I say?  I have a weakness for things Italian. (That's a painting of one of the Medici guys, Ippolito.) The other night I watched an Italian movie, Ginger and Cinnamon, and simply sat there in utter delight:  the language, the attitude--and the men.  Before this book, I’d written Captives of the Night , whose hero was Albanian; so it wasn’t a big stretch to create a mongrel English aristocrat.  Having Dain be half-Italian fit so many aspects of his story:  his background as well as his behavior, which does get operatic at times.  Sometimes people from two different cultures complement each other; sometimes it’s a horrific collision.  The latter is the case with Dain’s parents, and this is what warps him and makes him a misfit.  In a loving household, he would have grown up with a better self-image, and would have dealt with bullying at school in a different way, and thus would have grown up into someone altogether different from the man Jessica meets in that antique shop.

Susan/Miranda:   Smart, funny, practical heroines like Jessica Trent are rare creatures in historical romance, especially one who is also a virgin with a great deal of knowledge of men and sex.   How did her character come to you?

Loretta: If Jessica were like what we assume to be the typical young lady of her time, she could never handle Dain, and he’d think her too boring to live.  But Jessica is more like the ladies of her grandmother’s (and great-grandmother’s) generation.  They had a more practical, frank attitude toward sex.  These were bawdier, more rough and tumble generations (think of Tom Jones).  By the 1820s we’re seeing the prudery & hypocrisy that foreshadows the Victorian era.

Still, I’m not sure this was a conscious decision in creating her.  I knew instinctively that she had to be a woman Dain couldn’t crush.  Other than that, she more or less assembled herself as a character, as Dain did.  These, like every other character in the book, were quite clear from the start, while I was writing the outline. 

Susan/Miranda: Word Wenches readers are always fascinated by cover art.   Avon has given the reissue of Lord of Scoundrels a handsome new cover.   How do you feel this cover better captures your book?

Loretta:  I think the artist has definitely caught something of Jessica--certainly as Dain sees her--and I like the way the hero is a distant figure approaching her.  I love the colors--and I think it’s great that the inside clinch is actually the old one, but touched up so that it better resembles the hero and heroine.  What I have loved about my recent Avon covers (and I’m hoping to be able to show the one for Your Scandalous Ways soon) is the feeling that we are seeing the heroine as the hero sees her.  So they’re not simply beautiful paintings, in beautiful colors, but they capture the feel of the story.  There’s a consistent look, yet each cover has its own distinct feel.

Susan/Miranda: Fashion is important to Jessica, and her clothes are a constant puzzle to Dain.   You’ve already told us something about how you dressed Jessica (http://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2007/10/dressing-jessic.html)   Why did you make the delightfully extreme women’s dress so crucial to the story?

Loretta:  Here's another link. It's for 1829, but it’s gives a good sense of what Jessica wears in 1828.  The time period was predetermined, since this book was part of a series.  But it worked out beautifully, because to me Dain is the Extreme Male & Jessica’s love of fashionable (and very expensive) clothes makes her look like the Extreme Female.  I liked having her clothes be a fun contrast to her very level-headed outlook and behavior.  She wears the frills and furbelows but she’s not a sissy girl.  Her clothes give Dain a chance to exercise his caustic wit.  Yet he enjoys the excess.

He’s an expensive man, and as I point out in the book, “his attire, unlike his character, was always comme il faut.”  He’s used his brains to make himself very, very rich, and he likes spending the money on nice things.  It was clear to me that he’d take pride in spending money on an elegantly expensive wife.  He’d like being one of the few men in the world who could afford her.

Susan/Miranda: During the (very hot!) love scenes between Dain and Jessica, you’ve spent as much care on documenting his undergarments and their removal as hers.  Men’s underwear is notoriously hard to document.  What’s the story behind your research?

Loretta:  I’ve always said that if you’re going to describe clothing in a story it has to serve a purpose:  character or plot development, preferably.  This is why, in so many books, I don’t get into details until people are dressing or undressing.  Because Jessica’s being a fashion plate was a crucial part of her character, and because Dain is so observant and articulate as he makes fun of it, there are reasons to describe her clothes.  In his case, it was important to communicate that he, too, dressed in the height of masculine fashion, down to his undergarments.  Still, as you note, men’s underwear is very difficult--and it was more so when I wrote this book.  My main sources were the Cunnington books and, IIRC, some museum visits.

Susan/Miranda: Most heroines reform their wayward heroes, but Jessica embraces Dain’s past, even his illegitimate son –– definitely not a typical saccharine romance-child, but a scruffy, ill-mannered, very real little boy.   How did you decide to include him in your story?

Loretta:  Dominic was there when I first developed the story.  He had to be part of it, and I could write a dissertation about what he symbolizes and the role he plays.  But to keep it simple:  Love in my stories is usually about a second chance of one kind or another.  In one sense, the boy is Dain:  looks like him, acts like him.  Once Dain can let himself accept and love the child, he can truly accept and love himself.  (The child in this picture is wearing a skeleton suit.  This is what Dominic dons after his bath at the inn.)

As to Jessica’s accepting the illegitimate son, it’s an interesting situation.  Today we’re more likely to see a single mother raising her children.  In those days--at least among the upper classes--the child was more likely to be with the father.  After all, it was no disgrace for a man to sire bastards; it was the woman who was disgraced.  Since a man “owned” his offspring--while the mother had no rights to them--bastards were often part of his household, or that of one of his relatives.  Lord Byron, for example, took charge of his daughter by Claire Clairmont.  So Jessica is not behaving strangely at all.  As she points out, Lady Granville brought up her husband’s two illegitimate sons by her aunt.

Thank you so much, Loretta! 

Now, Dear Readers, here's your second chance to ask a question or post a comment, and be eligible to win an autographed copy of the new Lord of Scoundrels.  The winner will be drawn later this week, so post (and enter) now!

Comments

[Maggie Robinson]

Since LOS is considered by sooo many people I know to be THE romance novel, do you ever just want to rest on your laurels? Please say no.

[francois]

It's great to see the clinch cover updated. A bit like going back to rewrite history. I couldn't stand the old one, and this is somehow nearly the same but so much better.

I would welcome any book that has any similarity to LoS, so I have no questions except when will Your Scandalous Ways be out?!

[Margaret Garland]

Since I don't speak French, what does this mean? “his attire, unlike his character, was always comme il faut.” I'm assuming it sort of means dressed to a fault but would love to know exactly.

I have read and re-read "Lord of Scoundrels" 3-4 times and never get tired of it. Two of my favorite scenes are Dain's removing Jessica's glove in the tea shop . The outcome of that wasn't expected. Then, the scene where he kisses her against a lamp post after following her from his house. Oh yes. The scene where he stood under a tree and watched a house where she was attending a party just broke my heart and made me fall in love with him then and there.

Dain & Jessica are two of my favorite characters and I will be most happy to buy the new release as the other book is getting a bit tatty. I don't buy hardback books often for several reasons. But, if I did, this would be one I would plunk down money for.

Congratulations, Loretta, on writing 2 such memorable characters. I think I love "The Last Hellion" for pretty much the same reasons. Wouldn't part with it either.

Margaret

[Cory]

After reading part I of your blog, I knew I just have to reread LoS again. I just love this book. No matter how many times I reread it, it never goes stale. There's always a certain freshness to it. And while I find it funny, it also has a certain poignancy to it. My heart always goes out to Dain, especially when the emotions he has tried to bury deep down keeps resurfacing. I felt exactly the same way as Margaret did about that scene under the tree where Dain watched Jessica with Esmond. You could really feel his loneliness and yearning for love. I just want to hug him. The prologue was also gut wrenching. I felt so much for that little boy. I'm glad that Dain was able to find love with Jessica, who is such an extraordinary woman.

[Gretchen F]

I really enjoyed the pictures you included with this blog, and the previous one. Just like I was picturing the characters! I love this book.

[Kalen Hughes]

***Most heroines reform their wayward heroes, but Jessica embraces Dain’s past***

Yes! Yes! Yes! This is why LoS is one of my favorite romances!!!

[Maya]

1. Dain is chock full of interesting paradoxes (paradoxi? paradoxa?). One I found especially telling was how he felt compelled to own the icon Jessica snatched, so to speak, from under his nose. If I remember correctly, he thought his motivation was due simply to its value/rarity, yet there were two other outstanding points that (am I misremembering?) he doesn't touch on - the subject matter of love between mother and son, and icons as symbols of spirituality and meaning of life questions.

2. So now I've finally seen what a skeleton suit is. I still don't get why it's named that way.

[Phyllis Lamken]

Lord of Scoundrels is the perfect romance. Glad to see it being reissued. I think that I will buy copies for my two older daughters. My favorite scene is when Dain unbuttons Jessica's glove. It really is one of the sexiest scenes ever.

[Elaine McCarthy]

Margaret: "Comme il faut" means "as it should be." An elegant phrase for an elegant appearance.

I've said before how much I love LoS. Yes, the glove scene, but even more so the kiss under the lamp-post, not least because of the humor in Dain's observation that Jessica is trying to beat him to death with a piece of millinery. My FAVORITE, however, is when she shoots him! I laugh out loud every time I read it.

[LorettaChase]

Maggie Robinson, sometimes I fantasize about not having to work. Sometimes I think I've told all the stories I had to tell. But then I get drawn into a new story, and retiring is unthinkable.____BTW, the inability to retire helps explain my coming late to the discussion today: The copy edit for YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS is keeping me busy.___ So to answer your question, francois, YSW will be out in June 2008.___Margaret Garland, thank you! The Last Hellion is still a special book for me, too, and I'm really looking forward to the reissue.___And thank you, Elaine for translating my dab of French. ___Cory, thank you. Dain did need an extraordinary woman. Readers know what's really going on with him, but it seems to me that only Jessica understood him, really--and even when she didn't understand everything, she figured out how to communicate with him.___ Maya, the things Dain doesn't understand about the icon--mainly, his issues regarding his mother--are the things Jessica starts showing rather than telling him once they are at his childhood home. I did not have spirituality or meaning of life questions in mind, but that doesn't mean one can't find them. It's a huge compliment to an author when readers discover more or deeper meaning than what she was aware of.

Gretchen F, thank you. One of the things I totally love about the blog is the opportunity to offer illustrations and additional information for those who'd like to know a bit more.__Maya, that's why I hunted for a picture of a skeleton suit. I first came upon the term in Dickens, but I don't recall if I ever knew where the name came from. If anyone knows, please chime in.

Here are some links to more information:

http://www.songsmyth.com/children.html
http://www.janeausten.co.uk/magazine/page.ihtml?pid=210&step=4
http://www.answers.com/topic/skeleton-suit?cat=biz-fin

Thank you, Phyllis Lamken. And to all who've cited the glove scene--it's one of my personal favorites, too.

[Barbara M]

This is a little off topic, but recently I read The Last Hellion (fun!)and I have a question...
Lydia's study is a converted "light closet." Is this just a closet with a window, or what?

[LorettaChase]

Oh, and before I forget--
Because the interview appeared in two parts, commenters get two--count 'em--two separate chances to win a signed copy of Lord of Scoundrels. Sherrie will announce the two winners next Sunday.

[LorettaChase]

Kalen, NOT reforming Dain was so crucial to this story. Whatever Jessica did, I wanted it to help Dain find his true self yet not diminish his larger-than-life persona in any way. Also, as Honorary Word Wench & visiting costume expert, can you answer Maya's question regarding the naming of "skeleton suit"???

[piper]

Well, I went out and ordered the book from Chapters, so hopefully it will come soon - although it says 3-4 weeks for delivery!! Yikes! I did find The Last Hellion in a UBS, so am in the midst of reading this, but am afraid I am more interested in LoS. In any event, how can I complain- I was in tears in the prologue.

[LorettaChase]

Barbara M: From LIFE IN THE GEORGIAN CITY--""The light closet...was an extension off the back groom and well lit by windows. This type of light closet could be used as a dressing-room cabinet or small bedroom." So yes, basically it's a closet or small room with a window. For servants and others, both these and "dark closets"-- without windows--might serve as bedrooms.___piper, thank you for going to all that trouble for my books. I hope you'll decide they were worth it.

[Kalen Hughes]

The answer about the skeleton suit is floating around in the back of my head and I just can't seem to make it come to the fore . . . I'm pretty sure there's a whole section about it in one of my costume books. I'll have to check it when I get home.

I THINK the answer is that it was called that because it was form-fitting, and showed the lines of the body (as opposed to the skirts/dresses that children of both sexes had worn up until the skeleton suit came along).

[Janice]

I'll be honest, when Lord of Scoundrels first came out, I read a bit of it and decided it Wasn't My Thing. I won't go into the reasons why because I suspect that the things that made me decide it Wasn't My Thing are the very things that others most love about this book. Perhaps it was just that I had read Ms Chase's earlier Avon trad regencies and wasn't ready for a switch to regency historical, with its tight focus on hero and heroine, looser writing style, etc. However, since that time I have read the Carsington series that begins with Miss Wonderful, and I liked them much better; I actually laughed out loud at Rupert's singlemindedless, and that's a thing I seldom do anymore. So I guess I'll give Lord of Scoundrels another try when it gets republished.

[Terri Mahler]

I am curious as to what kind of physical shape a lady in her mid-twenties would have been in during the Regency era. Dominick is an agile and fleet child, but Jessica manages to catch him. Did it spoil the image of a life of privileged ease if a lady actually partook of some exercise? Was it considered eccentric? The memory of Scarlett O'Hara being cinched into her tiny-waisted dresses shows the (painful) lengths to which a woman who is a slave to fashion will go. While corsets sound painful, high-waisted dresses have to be a bit more forgiving of an extra inch on the waist (at least they are according to Stacy and Clinton). Would a woman as practical as Jessica deny herself a meal in order to maintain her figure? I know Dain plowed through a whole plate of pastry, but Jessica did not deny herself the pleasure of indulging in a sweet before the glove came off.

[AnneH]

Thank you for the picture of the little boy in the skeleton suit. Now that I know what it looks like, I can understand why Dominick wouldn't feel comfortable in it.

Re the icon, I always felt that Dain was attracted to it not only because he has an eye for quality and art but that the icon - the Madonna and Child - represents so much about his childhood issues, his mother, the abandonment, his yearning for love.

And Loretta, I love the fact that, as you said, Jessica did not seek to change Dain but help him find his true self. I liked Dain in all his outrageousness and operatic tendencies. That's what makes him so interesting. I don't want a watered down version of him. And I'm glad to see that he's still the same opinionated and "know it all guy" in the Last Hellion.

You do come up with lines that are just deliciously wicked and funny. I liked that one about Dain and his high opinion of his consequence - "Dain answers to nobody but the king and only if he's in a mood to do so". This was pointed out by someone at another site and I just had to go and reread the whole book again.

[Nathalie]

I totally agree... blogs are great, especially with some great pics as the ones on this post!

[Lily]

Thanks for blogging with us... I just wanted to say I think the cover is very nice and was it a shock to discover you were number amoung all romance books!

[Lila N.]

A question... what do you think made LOS such a success... did you envision it to be so huge and loved when you first wrote it.
Thanks :)

[Christy H.]

I think both covers for the book are beautiful. I want to read this just so I can learn more about your clothing and undergarments descriptions.

[Jane]

Loretta, I have not yet read Lord of Scoundrels but it sounds fascinating! I've certainly enjoyed every book of yours that I have read, so I am looking forward to this one!

[ariana]

Although LOS is my all time favorite romance, it was only like at first sight. I remember really enjoying it the first time I read it, but I wasn't blown away or anything. It wasn't till I picked it up again a few months later and was planning on just rereading a favorite scene (when Dain gave Jessica the ring) when I was sucked back into the story. I couldn't put it down and had to reread the whole book again. From then on, every month or two, I just have to pick LOS up again to reread it. For me, this is what makes a book timeless.

Also, this is probably one of the very few books that I like both the male and female leads equally. Usually there is always one character I like a bit more (or a lot more!). But for LOS, Dain and Jessica fit so well together than I can't imagine one without the other.

[Jane George]

I love that eighteenth century painting of the tree swing! Especially the looks on the faces of the cherubim and the one with a finger to his lips.

I'm not all that widely read in romance and missed LoS. I'm planning a winter weekend double-feature with Lord of Scoundrels and Kalen's Lord Sin. Squisito!

[Santa]

I think Jessica is able to keep up with Domenic because she was forever chasing after her nasty male cousins which also explains, in my mind, why she is so knowledgeable about men and sex even if she is a virgin.

BTW, I've added LOS to my TBR pile but really since I've re-read it over and over again I guess I can't really put it on that pile! Reading about Jessica and Dain again makes me want to dive in just one more time...or two.

[AnneH]

Santa, I also think she's more knowledgeable about sex because, not only did she help rear 10 male cousins plus Bertie, she also has her grandmother, Genevieve, who's not only eccentric, but very experienced, worldly and frank about sexual matters to her.

[Sue A.]

Loretta you have such dedicated fans! Who better than fans like Ariana to recommend your books to others like me who have yet to discover the wonders of your books. Lord of Scoundrels sounds like a must read book, considering Ariana's read it over and over, I think I need to read at least once.

[Sally]

How very vexatious! After reading the blogs on "Lord of Scoundrels", I've been struck with a desire to read it, but can only find horridly expensive versions or an ebook online. I did, however read the first chapter on the Avon books website -- quite whetted my appetite. I'm now left waiting with bated breath for the new publication -- can't come soon enough!

[Robin Bayne]

LOS is definitely a classic! Of course, anything with the word "scoundrel" in the title has to be entertaining : )

[Kalen Hughes]

Baumgarten says in WHAT CLOTHES REVEL that the skeleton suit is so named because of the boy’s skeletal appearance when wearing it (which really makes me what to have a chubby little boy running about in one in a book, LOL!). I don’t quite remember how old Dain’s son was, but I think he was a bit older than the little cherub in the green skeleton suit. The ones for older boys look more like a jacket tucked into trousers. Something more like the one this little Victorian boy is wearing:

http://memorialhall.mass.edu:81/lizardtech/iserv/getimage?

[LorettaChase]

Janice, you are incredibly open-minded to give LOS another chance. I think every one of us has experienced a situation where a movie or book seems to be a big favorite yet it does nothing for us. It's just personal taste. I'm delighted that not beeing thrilled with LOS didn't stop you from trying my later books and enjoying them. I hope you like it better on the second try--but if you don't, there is a brand new book coming out in a bit over seven months. :-)___Terri Mahler: Scarlett O'Hara is some thirty or forty years away from Jessica and part of a vastly different culture. Definitely they are not wearing the same kinds of corsets. Please check out Kalen's page on corsets:
http://kalenhughes.com/_wsn/page5.html _________As Santa points out, Jessica's had something of a tomboy background though she doesn't look like a tomboy at all. And ladies could be very active physically. They rode and hunted, for instance. Walking was a popular form of excercise--William Hazlitt's wife Sarah, "while waiting for her Scottish divorce in Edinburgh, walked a total of over 200 miles to visit places of interest." The quote is from THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN. Dorothy Wordsworth was a great walker as well.____ AnneH: As I saw it, Jessica & Dain's marriage was the kind that allowed them to be, fully, the people they truly were--and I've always felt they'd be that way all their lives. With Jessica, for instance: She's always been intelligent and capable, but with the marriage she has a the perfect outlet for her loving--and passionate--nature._____ Nathalie: I do long at times for the old days. When Dickens was writing, for instance, his books had illustrations. Hmmm. Now I'm wondering about graphic novels--which I love, BTW.____ "what do you think made LOS such a success... did you envision it to be so huge and loved when you first wrote it. Lila N: When it was finished, I felt sure it was a good, strong book. I was as closed to satisfied as I've ever been. I thought it might appeal to more readers than my previous books had done. But I never guessed it would resonate so strongly with so many readers.___
Christy H: LOS and THE LAST HELLION may have more clothing details than my other books. But YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS, the Venice book, has some fabulous jewelry!___
ariana: Thank you. For me this is a huge compliment. It's great to write a book that readers like. But to learn that they continue to read it, and it doesn't get stale--that's just amazing.___ Jane: I hope you like it--and I hope the pictures in the interview make it more fun.___ Jane George: I love the insouciance--the guy looking up under her dress--the expressions on the faces. There are also some Rowlandson pictures that capture this spirit but so far I'm having an awful time finding any that aren't copyrighted.___ Sue A.& Sally: I do worry sometimes that people coming new to the book might have overly high expectations, which it can't possibly meet. But I shall cross my fingers and hope you have a good time with LOS.____ Thank you, Robin Bayne!___ Kalen, I've seen a couple of versions of the skeleton suit. One is like the llustration, where it looks like overalls, but maybe that's all one color? The other version has a tight jacket with the endless ornamental buttons, and high-waisted trousers that button to the jacket and over it. It was my understanding that boys wore this or some other children's attire between the time they were "breeched" (out of dresses and into breeches) and their teens. With the teen years come adult clothes. The question for me was whether 1828 really is too late for a skeleton suit. Some books say they went out of style in the 1830s. Others say the 1820s. I had this same problem with breeches. Not all the "authorities" agree on dates.

[LorettaChase]

Kalen,I've tried the link you provided but it won't let me in.

[Kalen Hughes]

*grumble* Sometimes I hate links . . .

The skeleton suit seems to appear in the 1780s and you see versions of it up into the Victorian period. It fills a niche between the period in which all children wore dresses (say up to age 2 or 3) and when boys were then put in to smaller versions of adult clothing (say age 8 to 10). Previously, boys were dressed the same was as girls until they were "breeched" (first put into trousers) somewhere between five and ten). During the Victorian period it’s relegated more and more to the scions of the very wealthy families, and looked down upon by the rising working/middle class as effete.

Part of what happens with the Enlightenment is a reevaluation of childhood, and what it meant to be a child, and a new emphasis on that being a special and important period in which the child should be allowed to be a child, rather than just a tiny adult (at least this was true for the children of the middle and upper classes; poor children were still working 12 hour days just like their parents in the new fangled factories).

I would guess that a skeleton suit would be considered appropriate casual attire for any boy not yet old enough to be sent to school, but that he might be dressed in a miniature suit like his father’s for any more formal occasion (not sure how many of these children were included in, though).

[KeiraSoleore]

Many congrautlations once again, Loretta, was the re-issue. LoS remains one of the seminal works in romance and a top reader favorite year after year after year.

[Jane George]

**I do long at times for the old days. When Dickens was writing, for instance, his books had illustrations. Hmmm. Now I'm wondering about graphic novels--which I love, BTW.**

I looked at a Sony reader today and wondered if e-readers will bring back illustration. No prohibitive printing costs!

I love illustration. I graduated top of my class with a degree in illustration, earned a couple decent awards, but failed to break into a minimizing market.

My favorite version of Jane Eyre is the one with those gorgeous, dramatic b/w prints.

[Pam P]

Loretta, I'm really enjoying these posts about my top romance story. Congrats on being #1 yet again at AAR, and on the re-release, LOS is always recommended as a must read by historical fans to those who haven't read it. Think it's time for another re-read for me with all the latest discussion.

[Simone]

I love the new cover, Loretta - but I have to say, honestly, that I'm one of the few who really loved the old one. It was so over-the-top. The last time I read it on my commuter train I got more than a few double-takes. Made me laugh every time.

I'm glad the new cover is out in time for me to buy my mother a copy for Christmas. She doesn't read much romance and trusts me to send her only "the good ones."

[LorettaChase]

Jane George, maybe you could write & illustrate your own book. I make illustrations for certain parts of my stories (to make sure I keep stuff in the right place), but they're very primitive, due to extremely limited drawing training--and very little patience for it, I must admit. ___Pam P, thank you. When I hear about people re-reading my books, it's the closest I can come to feeling like Dickens, one of the few authors on my re-read list.___ Simone, it's nice to hear from those of you who liked the old cover. Feelings seem to run strongly one way or the other: readers either love it or hate it.

[LorettaChase]

Keira, thank you! This has been quite an exciting couple of weeks for me. Good thing I have a copy edit (for the new book) on my desk to keep me grounded.

[Cynthia Parker]

Loretta,
I have reread LoS every year since 1994. No other book has that honor.My favorite scene is when Dain and Dominick come home and find a furious Jessica beating Vawtry up for stealing Dain's icon. How did you come up with such a scene?

[Chez]

Thank you Loretta for writing one of my most favourite rereads. LoS is such a wonderful book and is one of the first books I reach for to reread. The humour and wit you gave the characters makes this book one that can be revisited often without getting old.

[LorettaChase]

Cynthia...may I just say Wow. And thank you. That's a major compliment. I don't know where the scene came from, but I do know that I like to have my heroines rise to the hero's defense or try to rescue him from physical danger. I love the irony of a normal-size woman (elegantly dressed, of course) in a rage, beating up a bad guy.___Chez, thank you. What an honor--to be re-read and enjoyed!

[Jane]

Margaret

Comme il faut actually means "as it should be/ought to be"

Il faut que is a common expression meaning effectively "I must"

Jane

[Kayne]

Your pictures and links were wonderful and helped me visualize the story, characters and costumes. I haven't seen anyone mention this question yet but I would love to know more about Dain's arm not working. Congradulations on LOS being named AAR reader's favorite romance book of all time. Many thanks.

[Lynda Tisdell]

Hi, Loretta,
I have been looking forward to your coming to Warwick, R.I.'s Barnes and Noble, but when I called them today, they didn't know anything about it, and I notice that you no longer have it under your calendar.
Are you still coming? I know I am not the only Rhode Islander looking forward to your coming, so may I suggest that if you can't make it, that you post something here?
And a second suggestion, if that's true: reschedule soon!

[LorettaChase]

Lynda, you're not the only one who had an unpleasant surprise. This was to be a group author signing, and I had been told months ago that the date was arranged. Today, after weeks of fruitlessly seeking confirmation from the coordinator, I found out that there is no booksigning. :-(
Huge disappointment!
Please tell your friends, and please apologize like crazy to everybody. I should have checked with B&N sooner--but I never dreamed I'd be given a date and time and then find out no one had actually scheduled it!

[LorettaChase]

I meant to write, "Please apologize to everyone _for me_." I can't tell you how disappointed I am, as this was to be my first RI signing.

I just checked to see whether RI had an RWA chapter conference but I saw nothing online. However, I am planning to attend both the New England Chapter conference 11-12 April 2008 and the CTRWA 30-31 May, both of which will have booksignings. In the meantime, if an opportunity to sign in RI offers, I'll be there!