Hi, here's Jo and with a picture of Charlie and the toys with Lady Notorious.
We're taking a little break at home between the book tour of the south of England and the upcoming one of the north. In the south we mostly followed the route Cyn and Chastity took in (My) Lady Notorious. (The UK publisher dropped the my.) The picture on the right is at Southampton, which they didn't actually visit, but as they swung south or their way to Winchester, they would have come close.
The handsome young men in their regimentals, which were the sort Cyn would have worn, are to intrigue the passers-by, which they did very well as you can see. You'd like a closer look? If you click on any of the pictures here you can get a larger version.
The tall one on the left is Mr. England. Andreas is 24, which is a good age for some of my heroes. The other young man was local and I forgot to get his name, but he was very handsome with a lovely smile. Alas, he isn't smiling on any of my pictures, but here's a close up of the two with Everlyn's PR genious, Claire.
Lady Notorious is the first book of my Georgian series about the Malloren family, and if you've wondered, I pronounce that with the emphasis on the first syllable. MALLoren. And Mall as in pal, not as in a North American shopping mall.
You do all know that The Mall in London is pronounced like pal, yes? Ah, those English pronunciations. So tricky.
I've blogged with pics on my personal blog Jo Talk but I'll repeat some details here.
We started in Shaftesbury,which is still a lovely old town with plenty of old coaching inns, most converted to other uses, as in this one. You can see the pinkish building with the big, arched doors through which a coach would go to access the inn yard behind.
Here's a picture showing a coach leaving through such an arch. The old woman in the basket on the back looks in danger of a bump on the head! This is from "A Visit To The Wells" in Tunbridge Wells (home of my eccentric old Trayce ladies in Winter Fire, who also turn up in The Secret Duke.) It's a wonderful place to visit.
By the way, have you ever wondered what an EO table was? It's an early form of roulette with only even and odd. Here's a picture from A Day At The Wells.
We moved on to Salisbury, where Cyn and Chastity stay at the Black Horse. This old inn still exists, but cut down to the main building. The arch now leads to a parking lot for a nearby office block.
We had a lovely launch party there, attended by the mayor of Salisbury.
Then we were on to Southampton and Winchester, then Cardiff where Everlyn Books is based. There, one of my soldiers was Mark Tancock, Mr. Wales. You might enjoy the slide show of all the finalists.
Wednesday, 11th was Newcastle and Stockton. Thursday, Scarborough and Whitby.
Today is Blackpool, and Saturday is my home town, Morecambe.
Here are a few more pictures from the tour. The Bear in Maidstone, mentioned in Lady Notorious. (The Saracen's Head, where they stays, has given way to a Marks and Spencers.) Thatched cottages in Shaftesbury. An old street in Winchester. A view into the Cathedral close in Winchester.
And in case you've forgotten,Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed is out now.
Cheers,
Jo