Word Wenches

Hallowe'en

Anne here. Shh, I'm typing this furtively in the half-dark, hoping nobody can hear me.

It's Halloween*! Once again it's caught me unprepared — my head's been in 19th century London where it's Spring, not Halloween. And so I'm sharing this brilliant Halloween photo of Harrod's in London, because I'm feeling slightly floored, too.  I never get Halloween right.

(* For those of you who are reading this and thinking "What's wrong with the woman, she still has plenty of time to get ready for Halloween!" I would remind you that downunder, we're nearly a day ahead of you. And Halloween is happening now!)

So flocks of small, costumed children have been ringing my doorbell all evening, and since the first horribly disappointed lot, I'm hiding out, not answering the door. Because I have nothing to give them, not a sausage! (Which doesn't mean we give out sausages at Halloween in Australia, it just means my cupboard is bare. Exceptionally so.)

There are two or three slightly softened, possibly furry cough lollies left over from my last cold — do you think they'll do? No, I didn't think so. Which is why I'm sitting here in the twilight, typing as quietly as I can, avoiding disappointing more kids. I never get Halloween right.

Last year I was heading off to the supermarket in my car and saw flocks of little ghosts and witches excitedly roaming the neighborhood demanding sweets with menaces, and I thought, "Aha, this time I'll have something for them," and I bought chocolates and sweets and felt very Halloween prepared.

And I waited. And waited.
And... not a sausage. 
All the little ghouls and ghosts and witches had disappeared off the streets and gone in to have their dinner and do their homework and watch TV shows set in places where kids have proper neighbors who know what to do at Halloween.

And there I was with all kinds of goodies of the kind that I don't normally allow in my house because I would eat them. 

And yes, you know the rest. I did, gradually, nibble my way through the entire Halloween collection.

Which really was not the plan.

The thing is, we don't really do Halloween in Australia. The first time I ever saw a carved Halloween pumpkin was the year we went to live in Scotland, when I was eight, and it wasn't a pumpkin, it was a carved Hallowe'en turnip. People hung them on their porches and sat them on front steps and they glowed eerily in the dark. I thought they were wonderful, and I tried to make one myself — it was a miserable failure — turnips are quite hard to carve —but we managed to hollow it out and stick a candle inside the poor wonky thing and I was thrilled anyway.

When I was growing up in Australia the big day was 5th November -- Bonfire Night, part Guy Fawkes Night, part clean up the rubbish before summer to clear away fuel for bushfires. It was the highlight of my year. I love a good bonfire, and I adore fireworks. 

We used to burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes, and though we kids knew it was because he'd tried to blow up parliament, it was a trifle bewildering, considering the way our parents talked about politicians and the government. But he'd clearly botched the job so we thought that was probably why he was being burnt. 

Bonfire night was something we prepared for for months, dragging fallen branches up from the bush, and collecting old car tyres and other burnable rubbish. The bonfire was lit as darkness fell — echoes of Samhain — and the blaze that went up thrilled my little heart every time and still does. All the neighbors would be there, and in the dark you'd see other bonfires in the distance. It was such a connection — with the community, and with the past.
(Courtesy of www.hauntedbay.com) 

We'd have fireworks — we'd saved up for months to purchase them —  sky rockets launched precariously from coke bottles, and various others with intriguing names — Roman candles, Vesuvius, Catherine wheels. Little kids waved sparklers, and older ones let off crackers, from the tiny tom thumbs (or squibs) to "penny bungers" or "thrupenny bungers" that made the loudest bangs. I adore fireworks and the scent of crackers going off takes me back to those nights every time.

We'd stay up as late as we possibly could, and the last thing we'd do before being forced to bed was to tuck dozens of foil-wrapped potatoes into the ashes. Then next morning at crack of dawn, we'd creep out and start raking the warm ashes for the potatoes, and eat them, still hot, with butter and salt. We'd rekindle the fire from the coals and cook sausages for breakfast. Bliss.

We don't seem to have Guy Fawkes night any more in Australia. I think it disappeared because they banned fireworks, probably because there were always injuries, what with huge fires and kids throwing crackers. And maybe because bonfires and fireworks started bushfires — November is the beginning of the dry summer period here and we're always in danger of bushfires. Or maybe it's because I live in the city now. I'm not sure.

However, thanks to watching so many TV shows from the USA, the kids in Australia have started to go Trick or Treating. I don't blame them. What's not to love about dressing up in scary costumes and going around the streets legitimately demanding sweets from strangers?

It's not widespread yet — some years you get no kids knocking on the door, other times (like tonight) you get lots. The thing is, it's probably the first time any of these small polite ghouls and ghosts and witches have gone trick-or-treating, polite because usually their mothers or fathers are with them, hovering discreetly in the background. The parents have never gone trick or treating either. There's no protocol for it here — none of us know any more than we've seen on TV.

And it's risky business, trick or treating in Australia. Apart from people like me for whom Halloween is a non-event on the calendar, and who forget to stock up with chocolate and lollies, or just stare at you blankly, people are just as likely to greet them with a diatribe about Halloween not being our tradition and how you kids today watch too much American TV!
And then the question is, who is scaring whom. LOL

It's all a long way from the old Celtic festival of Samhain where all this started. But traditions are not set in stone and are constantly evolving, and so the old Celtic practices of Samhain  gave way to the celebration of All Hallows Eve, Christian festivals and celebrations grafted onto pagan ones, and resulting in a mix of both, and so it goes. These days for most people Halloween is just an excuse for some fun, and I'm all in favor of fun.

One day I'll get it right and bake barmbrack, a kind of fruit bread my grandmother used to bake, in which silver tokens symbolizing various future events would be baked. There's an Irish recipe here. And here's a recipe that doesn't involve yeast. Lots of fun and delicious too. And I love the range of ghoulish halloween food I found on this site. I'm definitely going to try those spider chocolate crackles and those adorable witches hats. If I'd been better prepared, I might even have baked some of these for the little neighborhood ghoulies.

So what are your plans for Halloween? Do you have any special seasonal traditions, or bonfire and firework memories to share? And how do you prepare for trick-or-treaters? 

Taking A Gamble . . .

Cara/Andrea here,

We take a lot of gambles in life. Falling in love . . . getting married . . . writing a book. There’s an element of risk in making yourself vulnerable. So many decisions requires a leap of faith, a clench of courage. Some of us are cautious by nature, while other thrive on dancing along the razored edge of risk. For them, danger can be like a drug, bubbling through the blood, tantalizing and tempting a be-damned-to-the-devil recklessness.

Risk and reward. How badly do you want something?

The Regency was gambling-mad. The bucks of the ton would bet on anything, from the races at Newmarket to drunken dashes to Bath in their curricles, from marriage matches to which raindrop would be the first to wiggle its way down a pane of glass. The betting book at White’s is an iconic element of the era. I imagine the pages range from the sublime to the ridiculous.

And then there was cards, of course. The flutter of a few pieces of painted pasteboard and poof! Lady Luck could be a friend or a fiend.

Wheeling and Dealing

Now, the first written record of a card game comes from China during Tang Dynasty where it is said that Princess Tongchang played the "leaf game" in 868 AD with members of her husband’s family. (Leave it to the women to know where the action is!) The Chinese printed playing cards—as well as books—around this time, but it took a number of centuries for them to spread to the West.

It’s speculated that the first sets came into Europe from Mamluk, Egypt in the late 14th century. The Mameluke deck was made up of 52 cards, and four "suits"—polo sticks, coins, swords, and cups. Each suit contained ten cards with “pips,” or numbers, and three "face" cards named King, Viceroy and Under-Deputy, though as is traditional in Islamic art, no depiction of a person was shown.

The earliest European cards were painted by hand—there is a record from 1392 of Charles VI of France paying for “the painting of three sets of cards.” Like devotional cards, and other early ephemera, playing card decks were soon printed from woodcut blocks, with the colors often added by stencils, which allowed a “mass” distribution. Engraving, a much more expensive technique, was also occasionally used. Hearts, Bells, Leaves and Acorns became popular for the four suits (there were sometimes five suits in early play) The four suits now used most commonly throughout the world—spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs— originated in France in the late 15th century. (The tarot deck is thought to have originated in Italy sometime during the 1400s, but that is a whole other story.)

Most of England’s early playing cards came from France, but in 1628, Charles I granted a charter to the “Company of the Mistery of Makers of Playing Cards of the City of London” and all future importation of playing cards was forbidden . . . which brings us back to the Regency and its games of hazard, faro and vint-et-un.

Going for Broke

Playing at cards was an immensely popular pastime, not just in the many gaming hells that abounded in London, but also in the mansions of Mayfair. Many of the evening entertainments offered a card room, and as it was respectable for a lady to play in such an environment, it offered one of the few places where she could “take a risk.” Most play was for small stakes, but there were many females who found the heady rush of gambling as addictive as the men did.

  Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire is perhaps the most famous example, (though a few years before the Regency.) She played for very high stakes and was constantly in debt (a fact she tried to hide from her husband and the Spencers.) With few funds of her own, she borrowed heavily from friends and acquaintances—and brokered her influence for money. It’s said she got funds from Thomas Coutts of Coutts bank for the promise of introducing his daughter into Society. On her death, she  left debts totally nearly 20 thousand pounds. When told, the Duke supposed said, “Is that all?”

Taking A Gamble

My new book, TOO WICKED TO WED, which released this week, is all about taking a gamble. The hero, a penniless earl who decides to recoup the family fortunes by working for a living,  owns a gaming hell . . . the heroine, a practical country miss who has a head for numbers, wins a half of it in a high stakes card game while masquerading as a man . . . now how, you may ask, is this going to play out? Well, you can read an excerpt here!

Okay, since we’re talking about risk, what about you? Are you a risk taker? Or do you err on the side of caution? And I’m also curious—do you enjoy cards? Bridge? Poker? “21”? (I confess, I’ve been to a few casinos in my travels and found “21” fun . . . but as I’m very conservative, I set aside a certain sum as “play” money, figuring it is like paying for an evening of entertainment. And that is it! When it's gone, I get up and leave. I’d make a very boring duchess.)

The Regency Romance

Here's Jo, with some quick thoughts on the Regency romance, which has been in the light recently because of the Georgette Heyer biography. This is a bit of a rant, in fact, about the occasional regency-set book that seems to have been written by someone who doesn't truly like Regency Romance -- or my vision of Regency Romance.

(The Jane Austen Made Me Do It anthology isn't Regency Romance, though my story takes place there.)

I see the appeal of the Regency as a playground -- a place to move through glittering high society where at least some of the men are both handsome and witty, and where a heroine can marry into love and luxury. Therefore, I have little interest in the seamier side of the period, though I don't mind the practical. By that, I mean, I don't mind elements of food limitations by season, cold houses in winter, and long journeys. I don't want the focus on the plight of the poor and oppressed. That might be shallow, but I'll read text books for that, not fiction.

I can't understand why anyone would write a regency romance with a sour tone of disapproval, pointing out the silliness of many social activities, peopling the ton with lazy, greedy, rude people, and presenting protagonists who are so much more worthy because they have started out in a lower class, or, that matter, in another land, such as America.

To me, that rather like Disneyworld giving lectures at every turn about idleness and self indulgence, and papering the place with pictures of inner city poverty and the lonely aged.

Also, the engine of the Regency Romance is Society, definitely with a capital C. Society can bring together two people who would not otherwise have connected, or stand in the way of two people who love. Its rules can compel. Quite a few Regency historicals ignore rules for plot convenience, but I think to do so loses the energy of the genre. 

Very often, a good Regency involves two opposites confronted by society. Heyer did very well with opposites. She knew her craft! Nora Roberts has said that if the hero is a firefighter, the heroine had better be an arsonists, and her JD Robb books match a thief (reformed) with a cop.

Here are some examples.

The maiden and the rake: Venetia, Devil’s Cub

The innocent and the jaded sophisticate: Arabella, Sylvester, Corinthian

The lively lady and the stuffed shirt: Grand Sophy

The lady and the outsider: Black Sheep,

Ward/guardian: Regency Buck

Sensible woman and the grand catch: Frederica, Sprig Muslin

What other opposites can you think of in Regency Romance? And do you agree with me about anti-elegance romance, or do you enjoy them? Are you a revolutionary or republican at heart?

Or the ultimate question -- if you enjoy Regency-set romances, why?

Jo

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jo Ann Ferguson's Ten Best Cathedrals in England

as assembled by Mary Jo 

I’m always looking for interesting Word Wench topics, and one that charmed me was author Jo Ann Ferguson’s article about her choices for the “Ten Best Cathedrals in England.”

 The article was written for the Quizzing Glass, the newsletter of RWA’s Beau Monde chapter, and was so delightful that I immediately asked Jo Ann if she’d be willing to let us run the article here.

She was willing, so I want to give a brief background on Jo Ann, who has one of the more interesting resumes to be found among romance writers!  After her choices, some Wenches mention their favorite cathedrals and chapels.  (Left is a ceiling boss from Norwich Cathedral, taken by Jo Ann.)

But first, our guest, Jo Ann Ferguson. She was a pioneering female army officer and is a member of RomVets, a group of over a hundred romance writers who are former and active duty military women.  She is also a former president of the Romance Writers of America (surely a position in which military experience is useful!)

Jo Ann is one of the most versatile authors I know, and has written 90+ novels under the names Jo Ann Ferguson, J. A. Ferguson, Jocelyn Kelly, Joanna Hampton, Jo Ann Brown, and Rebecca North.  Not only has she written traditional Regency historicals, but also other time periods, mysteries, adventure, and a number of paranormal romances.

 MJP:  Jo Ann, thanks so much for visiting us with your cathedrals!  Did you have trouble narrowing your list to 10?  Are there other you’d like to have added?

 JAF: I did have trouble narrowing it down to 10 because each cathedral in England is unique. I would have liked to add Carlisle Cathedral, a small gem just south of the Scottish border. Truro Cathedral in Cornwall is more modern and is set in a charming town with lots of interesting shops. And then there’s the one I plan to visit next spring – Durham. Maybe that will be in a future article.
 

MJP:  What new releases do you have??

JAF: This month I have a cozy mystery from Guideposts: A House on Lookout Mountain. It’s part of the Patchwork Mysteries series. Next month, I have a novella in Regency Yuletide – “Lord of Misrule” – from Forever Regency at ImaJinn Books. But the project I’m really excited about is a yet untitled non-fiction Regency dictionary/reference book that I’m currently working on. It should be released late next year or early in 2013.

 MJP: Do you have any particular comments for the Word Wenches?

JAF: First, thanks for asking to share this article. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel extensively through England, Wales, and Scotland. I strongly recommend if you’ve got the chance to go there (or anywhere), go beyond the cities and explore the countryside. That offers you the chance to get to know the people, because I’ve discovered that citizens of other countries like talking to us as much as we do them. And locals are always ready to share insider information that you might not even considered researching.

Ten Best Cathedrals in England
by Jo Ann Ferguson

As always, this list is completely biased. It includes cities I’ve visited and cathedrals I’ve been able to wander through. There are several cathedrals I still have on my future visit list – Ely, Salisbury, and Winchester (just to hum the 1960's drinking song if nothing else <g>), so they don’t show up on the list.

Cathedrals, like parish churches, provide an architectural and social snapshot of England. Most of them have been built, rebuilt, added onto, and rebuilt again over the centuries as money and need were available. They reflect the industries (both manufacturing and agricultural) in the area where they were built.

Some have their histories going back before the Norman Conquest. Maybe there wasn’t a church on that site so early, but it was a holy place. All of the cathedrals I’m listing are Church of England, but there are also Catholic cathedrals in England. You can find out more about them at http://www.catholic-church.org.uk/
Most of the websites listed below have contact information. I’ve had extraordinary luck with getting answers from the librarians or the deans when I’ve emailed them my questions.
 
1. St. Albans Cathedral – If you’re staying in London, this cathedral is an easy train ride just outside the M-25 orbital. It was named (as the city was) in honor of the earliest English Christian martyr who died during the Roman occupation. It is also the birthplace of English Heritage. When a wealthy merchant from York decided to pay for the renovation of the cathedral, he went for pizzazz instead of historical accuracy.

Historians were so outraged that they established English Heritage to protect other historical buildings and sites from misplaced good intentions. When you visit the cathedral, look for the green man which is hidden on a wall near the gift shop. You can see some brasses on the floor, but most were destroyed during the Protestant Reformation. Wall paintings are original, and don’t miss the saint’s chapel.  http://www.stalbanscathedral.org/

2. Norwich Cathedral -

My family has a close connection to this cathedral. My however many times great-grandfather was a dean of the cathedral and has a memorial stone at one end. Usually there are chairs set on top of it, but I doubt he minds...as his body was buried at the other end of the cathedral, and the stone was moved during one of the renovations. Shades of Poltergeist. When you visit this beautiful cathedral, make sure you go into the cloister. Walk around with your head tilted back so you can see the astounding number of carved bosses.

Bosses are decorations set at the intersections of vaulted ceilings. Each boss is unique. Many are supposed to represent the likenesses of the men who carved them. (Boss photo above) 

In the center of the cloister is a labyrinth that offers a place for quiet meditation. Apparently they were the first English cathedral online because their address is: http://www.cathedral.org.uk/  

3. Coventry Cathedral 

Coventry Cathedral is actually two buildings connected by a roof. The original St. Michael’s Cathedral was destroyed by bombs in World War II. All that remains are the outer walls and the church tower (with its bells).

The new cathedral, an ultra-modern glass and stone building, was built next to it. Visit the old cathedral first, and see the cross found amid the burned interior. Then go into the modern cathedral. Great glass walls spread color and light throughout the sanctuary. Make sure you take the time to visit the many chapels and exhibits attached to the new cathedral. The restaurant is a great place to stop for lunch...and I strongly suggest the ploughman’s lunch. http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/

4. York Minster

Our visit to York Minster was on a foggy, rainy day, but that didn’t halt us from climbing the tower. If a cathedral (or a church) has a bell tower you can climb, do it! The admission charge is usually small and goes toward preservation of the building. The view from the top of the Minster shows you a complete history of this city from the Roman wall to the Viking and medieval sections to modern-day York. Go down in the undercroft where you can see the layers of buildings raised in that location. We were fortunate enough to be in the cathedral when the choir was practicing. Walking through a cathedral, weaving through the chapels, and being accompanied by glorious music is a special treat. http://www.yorkminster.org/

 
5. Canterbury Cathedral – Canterbury has been the epicenter of so much of England’s history from the murder of Thomas   Becket to the pilgrimages there through the centuries. Don’t hurry through this cathedral. Take time to view the stained glass and the various chapels and imagine the horror of that December night. http://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/

 

6. St. David’s Cathedral – Set in the Welsh city of St. David, this cathedral is dedicated to the patron saint of Wales. Some of the earliest parts of the cathedral were constructed under orders of Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald the Welshman) who wrote a history of Wales in the 12th century. At that time, Wales was so far from the center of the English population that two pilgrimages to St. David’s counted the same as a holy pilgrimage to Rome! If you have time, head down a side street and find St. Non’s Chapel and Holy Well. http://www.stdavidscathedral.org.uk/

7. Westminster Abbey

We all got an excellent view of this magnificent building during the royal wedding this spring. Kings and queens of England have been crowned here since 1066. There are so many wonderful places to visit in this magnificent building. The famous and infamous of English history are buried here, so take the time to go around and look at the effigies and memorials. http://www.westminster-abbey.org/

 

 

8. Chester Cathedral – This cathedral still has its ecclesiastical court room. You can go in and see how it looked 150 years ago. The choir carvings are outstanding (including misericords and a Joshua tree panel) and there are a lovely collection of chapels, each one unique. You’ll see a great collection of flags dedicated to various wars and units who served in those wars. The cathedral’s bells are housed in a separate building in its memorial garden. http://www.chestercathedral.com/index.asp

 

9. St. Edmundsbury Cathedral

This cathedral I visited on my own while my husband made his own pilgrimage to that important site in Bury St. Edmunds – the Greene King Brewery. Like St. Albans, this cathedral is dedicated to an early Christian martyr. In this case, Edmund, king of the East Angles. The church has an extraordinary garden open to the public. The sanctuary underwent a renovation several years ago, and unlike St. Albans, it was a very sympathetic renovation. http://www.stedscathedral.co.uk/

10. Lincoln Cathedral

– If you saw The Da Vinci Code movie, you’ve seen Lincoln Cathedral. This cathedral suffered the usual fires and neglect issues, but, in 1185, the cathedral shattered in an earthquake. The rebuilding began soon after. A history of the various buildings on that site is posted close to the entrance.

Look for the Lincoln Imp, a small imp carved high on one wall (I won’t tell you exactly where because that will ruin your search). The cathedral owns one of the earliest copies of the Magna Carta. It’s on view at Lincoln Castle only a short distance away at the top of the hill. http://www.lincolncathedral.com/ 
 
Be aware that many cathedrals charge an admission fee. These go to support programs in the cathedral and the community. Some also charge a “photo fee.” This small amount (usually £1-3) allows you to take photos inside the cathedral. Again, the money goes toward upkeep on the cathedral.

Some cathedrals, like York Minster, ban photography in certain areas of the cathedral. Always check before taking photos, especially with your flash.
Most cathedrals have a gift shop and a restaurant. It’s a good idea to visit the gift shop first and pick up the guide for the cathedral, so you can understand what you’re looking at.

Most also have docents available to answer your questions. Take advantage of this, because they will show you aspects of the cathedral and its architecture that you might have overlooked otherwise.

Obey the rules of the cathedral. If any area is roped off or restricted, don’t go there. Be aware that the cathedral may be “closed” for a service or event. If that is so, there usually is someone near the door who will let you know when it will be open for tourists again that day.

Enjoy yourself as you take a walk through England’s history...all in one building.

MJP:  Thanks, Jo Ann!   I asked a couple of Wenches if they had particularly favorite cathedrals, and got these two suggestions from France.

Joanna Bourne:  I like the cathedrals idea.  I'm a big fan of stained glass and Reims cathedral has just beautiful stuff.  I was there last time to see the total eclipse.

It not only has the Chagall, there's a whole series of glass about  wine-making.  

http://www.wineterroirs.com/2011/03/winemaking_cathedral_reims_stained_glass.html

This has angels pressing wine if you scroll down a bit.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Susan King: Beautiful!! I haven't been to Reims but studied it, and its association with Joan of Arc is cool too.

I love cathedrals, love them.

My favorite in France I think is Amiens, the tallest complete Gothic cathedral - the quality of light is amazing, the jamb figures exquisitely elegant. I was stranded in Amiens with some friends, unable to find a hotel; interesting weekend when I was in college. And I love Notre Dame, where I saw a hunchback crossing the square (no kidding), but my true favorite is la petite Sainte-Chapelle, which is not a cathedral, but a jewelbox of a medieval chapel. 

Mary Jo--Christ Church in Oxford

There are two great churches I fell in love with when I lived in Oxford.  The first is Christ Church Cathedral , which is both the cathedral of the Diocese of Oxford, and also the chapel of Christ Church College.  It’s one of the smallest cathedrals in Britain, and just a gem of a sacred space. 

Though it isn’t a cathedral, the New College chapel is also splendid.  With typical British understatement, New College was founded in 1379, which makes it one of the oldest colleges in Oxford.  (Or Britain, for that matter.)  Like Christ Church cathedral, it’s famous for its choir, and it has a magnificent organ. 

When I lived in Oxford, it was still possible to make brass rubbings of the old funerary brasses in the floor, and believe me, to kneel there doing rubbings while the organ plays or the choir sings is to feel that heaven is very near!

 

Again, my thanks to Jo Ann Ferguson for sharing her descriptions and photographs of these marvelous cathedrals.

Do you have any cathedrals or splendid churches you're particularly fond of?  Please tell us about them!  I'll give a copy of my Fallen Angels book, Thunder and Roses, which has a lovely romantic scene set in Westminster Abbey, to somone who leaves a comment between now and midnight Tuesday.  (I've just uploaded Thunder and Roses as an ebook, too!)

Mary Jo

GUEST JO ANN FERGUSON:

Do you like European cathedrals?  Then join us on Monday, October 24, when Jo Ann Ferguson (who also writes as Jocelyn Kelley, J.A. Ferguson, and Jo Ann Brown) visits the Word Wenches to talk about cathedrals, among other things.  Jo Ann's latest book is Gentleman's Master, a Lady Priscilla Flanders/Sir Neville Hathaway
romantic mystery historical.

 

WINNERS:

Margaret Dean won a book from guest Jennifer Kloester. JaneAnn Railey-Clear won a book from Mary Jo, who used her blog topic suggestion. C.D. Thompson won a book from guest Laura Resnick. Annie Donahue won a book from Jo. Leslie Lemon won a book from Mary Jo.  Congratulations, winners!

Wenches on Wheels . . . and Wings . . . and Paws

Cara /Andrea here . . .well, er, actually, I’m NOT here, I’m on the road heading to the New Jersey for NJRW “Put Your Heart In A Book” Conference. I’m a tad nervous, as this is my first time giving a solo worshop, but hopefully the butterflies will settle in my stomach, and I I’ll manage to say something halfway coherent about “How to Make Your Historicals Come Alive.” The nervousness, however, is more than offset by the fun of getting to hang out with old friends and make new ones. Listening to the various other presentations is always inspiring. And kicking back with buddies and talking shop not only provides a chance to catch up on industry scuttlebutt—and vent to people who understand what you’re talking about—but it also affords the opportunities to share marketing strategies and bounce ideas around. What better way to spend a weekend!

My good friend Lauren Willig will also be there giving a workshop, (here we are at this year’s RWA) and we’re going to have dinner tonight with her good buddy, Tasha Alexander, who writes the wonderful Lady Emily historical mystery series. I’ve been a huge fan of Tasha’s books, and I’m having a “fangirl” moment of squeeing with delight that I’m going to meet her.

Work AND play—these conferences really are a wonderful change of pace from the solitary writer cave where I spend so much time. Frenetic though they are, I always come home feeling revved up and inspired to get back to work on the WIP. (Here are Anne, me, Joanna and Jo at this year’s RWA)

Now, funnily enough, it turns out that this weekend is filled with Writerly travels for many of the other Wenches too, so we thought it might be fun to share what we’re all up to!

Pat
I'm an introvert and my career goal is to be a hermit (with a large library), but the one conference I never miss (as Mary Jo tells us) is the Novelists Inc conference. It's relatively small, as conferences go, but the quality of the attendees and panels is so top notch that I figure I get a year's worth of conferences packed into one--just look at all the wench attendees if you need verification! Not only that, it isn't just romance writers. Since I'm interested in mystery and urban fantasy (out next July) as well as romance, and because so many of my writer friends have migrated from romance to other genres, this has to be my go-to conference. (here's a pic of Pat Mary Jo and me at the 2008 RWA in San Francisco)

Besides, it's in Florida. In October. On the beach. Need I say more?


Mary Jo
Wenches Away! October is a great season for traveling and conferences, so I’m traveling to a conference: specifically Novelists, Inc.,  which is in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida this year. The organization is for career popular fiction writers, and the conferences are small, relaxed, and very professional. 

Up until last year, Pat Rice (looking happy to be on the beach!) and I were the only Ninc members to have attended all the conferences. Then I fell off the wagon by booking a Dalmatian coast cruise, so Pat stands alone as Best Ninc Attender. (She’s a former president and treasurer of the organization.  I avoid becoming an officer, always.  I’m a faithful minion instead.)

The conference has an amazing line up of publishing professionals who will be sharing their knowledge, and this year’s theme is “New Rules, New Tools: Writers in Charge.”  There will be much talk about e-booking backlists and other amazing new opportunities available to authors.

But truthfully?  I go to hang out with friends. To make new ones, too. It was at a Ninc conference in San Diego that I first met Anne Gracie, and look how well that has turned out! (Note—Mary Jo, Pat and Jo will be soaking up the sun and literary light together this weekend, so St. Pete will be aglow with Wenches!) (Here are some pictures from last year’s conference)

Anne
I’m feeling very sad that I'm not able to come to the NINC conference and waving wistfully to Mary Jo and Pat and so many of the other NINCsters. I've had such good times with NINC. I'm also sad not to be in London for the launch of Jennifer Kloester's biography of Georgette Heyer and the RNA celebrations with Nicola and Jo. I would also love to be with Andrea at the NJ Romance Writers Conference. I've never been to any of the smaller US romance writers' conferences — many of which are larger than the entire Australian one.

But I can't complain — the reason I'm not at any of these events is because I was booked, more than a year ago, to give two one-day writing workshops in Queensland, Australia's favorite holiday destination and a gorgeous part of the world. I really enjoy writing workshops  - it's great seeing different writers voices emerging on the page, and I've met so many lovely people this way. And though I'll be working, there's also time to catch up with some of my writer friends from that part of the world. On Friday I'll be leaving Surfers Paradise and heading up to Brisbane for the first workshop, and on Saturday evening I'll land in Rockhampton. I'm hoping, when the workshops are done, I might even get to visit beautiful Great Keppel Island.

Nicola
October really does seem to be the month for reading and writing conferences and events, with the Wenches out and about doing very interesting things! I had a wonderful time meeting up with Wench Jo in London for the Romantic Novelists Association Regency Day. It was a fabulous occasion packed full of talks, walks around St James's, and lessons in Regency dancing, parlour games and how to make Regency perfume! You can read all about it here, complete with photographs. (Jo took this shot of Nicola with a regiment of admirers!)
 
This coming weekend there is also the UK's first ever Festival of Romance taking place at Hunton Park in Hertfordshire.  It promises to be lots of fun!
 
Unfortunately I'll be missing out as I shall be playing truant for a well earned holiday and research trip in Scotland. I am planning a new Scottish-set series and am visiting Skye and the West Highlands. You'll find me at Eilean Donan Castle, Dunvegan Castle, Armadale Castle... You get the idea! Here is a photo of me on a previous trip!

Joanna
For me, October is turning out to be a stay-home-and-write sort of month. I'm emptying my mind and getting ready to start on the next book.  This involves a lot of walking around in a contemplative mood with the dog wandering off, investigating the bushes and annoying the wild life.

Brittany, my canine sidekick, flushes a deer now and then.  She's herder dog mostly, in that general melange of ancestry.  She doesn't 'hunt'.  She doesn't 'retrieve'.  No good with balls and sticks at all.  She doesn't 'point'.  When she wakes up a deer, she just just lets it bound off and wanders back in my direction, looking pleased with herself.

You're going to ask -- "How does this help you clean all the feathers and old lumber out of your mind and let the story in?" I dunnoh.  It just does.  I have a zen dog, probably.

And lastly, Susan reports that she is very happy to be hunkered down at home, relaxing in the comforts of her own cozy abode while we scuttle through airports and along highways.

So what about you? What are your plans for the weekend? Any fun travel plans, or are you hanging around the homefront, carving pumpkins for Halloween? Is there any special place or gathering that you look forward to as way to recharge your batteries?

Scottish Island Reads!

Nicola here! I’m feeling pretty happy because in a few days time I am heading North of the Border on a holiday and research trip to the Isle of Skye and the Scottish Highlands. I’ll be visiting Dunvegan Castle, home to the Chiefs of the Clan Macleod for centuries and one of the most imposing medieval castles in the islands. My research will also take me to the Talisker Whisky Distillery – strictly for academic study purposes, of course.

Then there’s the holiday reading. I have every intention of spending a lot of time eating, drinking and reading (and I need to be prepared for rain or even snow) so I must have a good supply of books. One thing I do enjoy about staying in cottages all over Britain is discovering the books left on the shelves there for visitors to peruse at their leisure. But just in case it rains for the whole holiday I also like to take along my “Scottish Island Keepers,” old favourites to re-read and new books to delve into. Here are a few of those books that are already in my bag (yes, I’m so keen to go that my book bag is already packed!)

The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff

An all time keeper for me, I loved this book from the first time I read it at school in my teens. The story of the Ninth Legion disappearing into the Scottish mists has been one of my favourite historical mysteries ever since. I even watched both recent films based on the story, Centurion and The Eagle.

Glenrannoch by Rona Randall

I can’t believe this books dates for 1976! Does any one else remember this? It's another throwback to my youth when I first read and adored romantic suspense. This book has a wonderful Highland setting and a fabulous Scottish alpha hero. Like The Waiting Sands by Susan Howatch it’s a Scottish set book that inspired my love of that country.

Heartstone by C J Samson

This is the latest Tudor mystery featuring the lawyer Matthew Shardlake. You can practically taste and feel Tudor London in the pages of Samson’s books and I do love a good historical mystery. This is 600 pages of a vivid, riveting historical read!

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Elizabeth Woodville, wife to King Edward IV, has always fascinated me as a historical character. This is her story written with Philippa Gregory’s trademark passion for history.

Persuade Me by Juliet Archer

Juliet Archer writes contemporary versions of Jane Austen’s classic books and I adored her first book in the series, The Importance of Being Emma. Persuade Me is a modern take on the story of Ann Elliot and Frederick Wentworth, and as I love Persuasion more than any other Jane Austen book, this is one that I can’t wait to read. In fact I’ve already started – cheating, I know, but I already love this Wentworth as much as the original.

Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart

 Set on the Isle of Skye, this always was one of Mary Stewart’s books that both terrified and fascinated me. Romantic, vivid and compelling but also so atmospheric that I’m not sure I will dare set foot outside the door of my Skye cottage after I’ve read it!

Which books would you pack for your desert island – or Scottish Islands – reads? 

Reflections on the Gentle Art of Letter Writing

Anne here, sitting in a hotel room 1000 miles from home, pondering the gentle art of letter writing. I'm up in Queensland (Australia) and I just had lunch with a bunch of local authors, some of whom are my very good and dear friends, even though I could probably count on my fingers the number of occasions we've actually met in the flesh - usually at conferences, along with hundreds of other people. We do, however, email regularly, and that's how we've become such good friends.

That's the thing with email — it's very easy to get in touch and keep in touch. And there's an everydayness about email, a casual approach where we can email one or two line messages back and forth, not greeting, no sign-off or salutation at the end  very — it's very much like the way we speak. And we keep up with the minutiae of each other's lives, as well as the bigger things. 

Because I knew it was my turn to blog today, I started thinking about the way communication — written communication in particular — has become so much easier and also how much the style of written communication has changed as a result. 

Here I am, far away from home, and whereas in the past I would have sat down and written a couple of letters, telling friends and family about my trip and my day and the lunch and my impressions of where I'm staying, all I did was dash off a couple of quick emails with a few lines. And I'll probably never write a letter.

I used to write hundreds of letters, and I know that people often used to keep them, which pleases me — I used to take a lot of trouble over the letters I wrote. Some I wrote when I was traveling, especially if I was in some land where I didn't speak the language. But often I wrote them for my own and others entertainment, just being silly. I loved writing letters but sadly,  I can't think when I last wrote one.  Email or blogging is just not the same.

These days people who are traveling put up a blog for everyone they know and don't know - one size fits all. There's a loss of personal intimacy in the general travel blog, I think. And a loss of detail with email, I find.  

One of my favorite sources of historical research is letters of the time and place. For my book Tallie's Knight I relied heavily on the letters of a young Irishwoman taking the Grand Tour with friends. She wrote dozens of letters to her brother back at home, and they were wonderful — entertaining, informative, funny, sometimes wittily scathing, and always interesting.  

For my book To Catch A Bride, I also used letters and journals of people traveling in Egypt, and came across all kinds of amazing and peculiar little details I never would have found otherwise. These letters have survived because they were interesting enough for the recipients to keep and entertaining and well written enough for them to be published in some form or other much later.

What will happen today to the many thousands of emails we write? Will the few gems we produce disappear, swamped by the dross of the everyday?

And how will anyone find, say, their grandmother's emails, fifty years from now? If you discover a box of letters in the attic one day, you can read them immediately and decide whether they're interesting and worth keeping, or not. Or you can oput them back for another generation to discover. Would you examine an ancient dead computer for its contents? I doubt it. Would a dead compouter even make it to the attic? And even if it did, could we read it?

When my sisters and I were clearing out our parent's house, we found some wonderful old letters, including some really romantic ones. It reminded me that my aunt and uncle "met" through writing letters in secret while my uncle was overseas at war. My aunt was only 16 and her mother wouldn't have allowed it had she known. But they fell in love long before they met —people will sometimes write things they might not say aloud.  I know a few people who fell in love through email exchanges, but will their correspondence ever remain for their children or others to read? 

Where would we be without Jane Austen's correspondence? Would it have been as much of a source of fascination to us today if she was texting her sister, or emailing? Csandra R U OK?  

The thing is, when we sit down to write a letter the thought processes are, I believe, different. Certainly we probably put a bit more thought and effort into writing letters than we do with most emails. Was it because  we felt the need to use up the required space -- a sheet or two? Was it because it costs money to send a letter? Was it because people often read letters more than once - and special ones get reread over and over?

They took letter writing more seriously in the past. Children learned the correct way to write formal letters, they'd copy them out of books, and for many people it was treated as an art. Certainly writers and poets and philosophers and others knew letters were an art form. 

In the Regency it was quite expensive to send letters — that's why they crossed them. Do you know what a crossed letter is? There's one here. They filled a page, writing normally, then turned it 90 degrees and filled the page again, crosswise. A little tricky to read, but you soon get the hang of it, especially if the handwriting is familiar to you. 

It was cheaper if you had a tame lord on hand -- as hereditary members of the Upper House of Parliament, the House of Lords, their mail went free, as long as they "franked" it — marked it with their signature or signet ring or seal. Of course they'd happily frank letters for any of their family or household — there was a lot of abuse of the system, so much in fact that the franking requirements got more detailed — lords had to write the town of dispatch and the full date in words on the letter in their own hand. In the end the abuse caused such a drain on the mail system it was abolished in 1840.

Letters also took a long time to arrive, so they were quite prized when they did arrive.
I get hundreds of emails. I do prize the occasional one, but even those are mostly lost when I upgrade my computer every three or four years.

So I wonder and worry a little about the future historians and what kind of historical footprint we'll leave behind. And yet here I am blogging, and planning to do more emails after that when I probably should be writing a letter. 

What about you — how has email changed your life and communication style? Do you have good friends you have made via email? Are you more in contact with loved ones, and is it a deeper kind of contact or do you think it's more superficial? Do you care? Do you still write letters?
And if you were Jane Austen, what kind of text would you send Cassandra?

 

Ask-A-Wench: Hooks for our Books!

by Mary Jo

Today’s Ask A Wench question was submitted by JaneAnn Railey Clear.  JaneAnn will receive a copy of one of my books.  Also, because of the nature of this blog, there will be a second book giveaway.  Read on!

The Question:

"What book would you give a person that you think would hook me/them to go looking for all your books?  
 
This is intriguing and difficult, particularly since we’re all reluctant to gush too much about our own work.  But we did come up with selections, and at Anne’s suggestion, many of us are including mini-excerpts to give an idea of what we do.  First up:

Patricia Rice:

It would depend on who you are and what you like to read. I've published over 40 books from sexy medievals to sweet Regencies, Victorian era Americana, westerns, magical islands, and that doesn't even touch my mystery or my contemporary romances that cross the country.  I can't possibly hook everyone with just one book, more's the pity. I need to learn to limit myself.

So, since this is a blog about historical romance, I'll excerpt a line from The Wicked Wyckerly, my most recent Rita nominee:

    John Fitzhugh Wyckerly, newly styled seventh Earl of Danecroft, tilted back his late father’s wooden office chair and plopped his muddy boots on a towering stack of yellowed invoices. From that position, he contemplated the gun collection on the far wall left to him by his freshly departed brother.
     If guns were the solution to his problems, he had a vast array from which to choose.
 
And for those of you who might prefer contemporary romance, here's the first line from my digital reissue of Almost Perfect.

    I am a rotten person.
     Biting her lip, Cleo Alyssum painstakingly printed this fact into her journal.  She thought the whole idea of a journal of emotions about as silly as it got, but if the counselor wanted honesty, that’s what he would get

Anne Gracie:

I never know what to say when people ask me this — different books appeal to different readers — but I know that readers often recommend my first Berkley book, The Perfect Rake.  Before I'd started writing it, I'd planned to make the hero dark and brooding and dangerous, but then this hero called Gideon just strolled onto the page, being flippant and funny and very dangerous to a girl's heart, and he walked away with the book. It sparked a series, so that's the book of mine I recommend you start with.

Here's a short excerpt:

    "I asked you to stay away from me."
    He simply smiled, and Prudence could see why so many women had made fools of themselves over him. Well, she would not be one of them! 
    "I would appreciate it if you would stop . . . stop . . . ogling me like that," she hissed, tugging her very modest neckline higher. "It is very embarrassing." She folded her arms across her breasts defensively.
    He tried to look contrite. "It wasn't me," he confessed. "It was my eyes. They are bold and easily led and have no sense of propriety."

Here's a longer excerpt of when the hero and heroine first meet.

Joanna Bourne:

I'd send folks off to read Forbidden Rose. 

This is the first in my Spymaster series, chronologically, so there's a certain logic to handing this one over.  I like all my books, which is a good thing since I have to spend a long time writing them, but I particularly like this Romance pair.  My Maggie and Doyle. 

This is my French Revolution book, so there's lots going on.  Here’s an excerpt.

Nicola Cornick:

I always struggle when someone asks me to recommend one of my books but if you put me on the spot I would say try Unmasked. Readers have told me that they particularly like the unusual historical background, the element of adventure and the gorgeous protector hero (their words!). I loved writing a book set in my native Yorkshire and I hope it channels something of that place's wild spirit. In fact I loved writing Unmasked, altogether and I hope that that comes across in the writing.

Here is a short excerpt:

    Nick stepped forward and took Mari’s gloved hand in his. “You seem very well recovered from your fall yesterday, ma’am,” he murmured. “We were sorry to miss you in the evening but it is a pleasure to see that you are now restored to good health and spirits.”
     “I am very well, I thank you,” Mari said, removing her hand from his grip. “Pray do not let me keep you from your business.”
    Nick grinned. “You do not seem particularly pleased to see me again, ma’am.”
    “I have no feelings on the matter,” Mari said, very sweetly. 
     “You claim to be indifferent to me?”
     “I make no claim to anything at all.” Mari said.

There is more information on the book and the research behind it on my website:

Cara Elliott

Interesting question! And a tough one. I always find that “what’s the ONE book you love, recommend” question exceedingly difficult to answer. It’s the old “which one of your children do you like best” dilemma. So I really had to think long and hard about it . . .

I like to think there are compelling characters and an engaging storyline in all of my books. For me, I strive to have humor, sharp banter, “chewy”—that is, complex—characters, who have meat and gristle on the bone. (The heroine is usually a little offbeat) I also like weaving a mystery or adventure into the plot.

I’m constantly trying to play with all those elements, and sharpen my skill at weaving them together. So maybe it’s taking the easy way out, but I’d recommend my latest book, Too WIcked to Wed, which comes out in two weeks.

Here's an excerpt-(the encounter takes place in a gaming hell and brothel):

    A low bark of laughter sounded, and then tightened to a gruff snarl as the man turned to Alexa's companion. “Are your brains in your bum, Stiles? What the devil do you mean by bringing a respectable young lady here? Your message mentioned Becton, not-”
           “It's not the captain's fault. I gave him no choice,” she interrupted. “I am Alexa Hendrie, Lord Becton's sister. And you are?”
           “This isn't a damn dowager's drawing room, Lady Alexa Hendrie. We don't observe the formalities of polite introductions here.” The sneer grew more pronounced. “Most of our patrons would rather remain anonymous. But if you wish a name, I am called the Irish Wolfhound.”
           “Ah.” Alexa refused to be cowed by his deliberate rudeness. “And this is your Lair?”
          “You could say that.”
           “Excellent. Then I imagine you can tell me straight off whether Sebastian is here. It is very important that I find him.”
           “I can.” His lip curled up to bare a flash of teeth. “But whether I will is quite another matter. The place would not remain in business very long were I to freely dispense such information to every outraged wife or sister who happens to barge through the door.”
           “Is it profitable?” she asked after a fraction of a pause.
           “The business?” The question seemed to take him aback, but only for an instant. “I manage to . . . make ends meet. So to speak.”
           “Now see, here, Wolf-” sputtered Stiles.
           “How very clever of you,” went on Alexa, ignoring her companion's effort to cut off any more risqué innuendoes. Smiling sweetly, she shot a long, lingering glance at the Wolfhound's grey-flecked hair. “I do hope the effort isn't too taxing on your stamina.”
           “I assure you,” he replied softly. “I am quite up to the task.”
           “Bloody hell.” Stiles added another oath through his gritted teeth. “Need I remind you that the lady is a gently bred female?”
           The quicksilver eyes swung around and fixed him with an unblinking stare. “Need I remind you that I am not the arse who brought her here?”

Mary Jo Putney:

Like Cara/Andrea, I hate being asked which book I'd recommend.  I love them ALL!  But the book that keeps getting listed on ‘all time best romance’ lists, which is not only close to my heart but also characteristic of what I write, is The Rake, aka my “alcoholic hero” book.  It has all my favorite themes: the tormented hero, the strong, independent woman who probably has to work for her living.  And now and then, some humor.

The inspiration for the story was my exasperation with all those hard drinking Regency rake heroes who never suffered consequences for their behavior.  In The Rake, the consequences of alcoholism almost destroy my hero, Reginald Davenport. 

I’m delighted that Kensington is going to reissue The Rake next April, and I hope they keep it in print for a long time.  This snippet is from the scene where Reggie has reached the breaking point, and the heroine, Alys Weston, must check up on him: 

    Alys chased the concerned watchers away, saying the man would never come out if he had an audience.  Then she took the prepared tray and entered the library.  
    Reggie was a lean, silent shape slouched in his favorite chair, half turned away from her.  The room too shadowed to see his face, but his clothing was neat.  With luck, he had not availed himself of the liquor cabinet.  
    She set the tray on a table to the left of the door and said quietly.  “Are you still among the living?” 
    His head turned in her direction.  After a lengthy silence, he said in a slow, rusty voice, “I've read of penguins that jump around on an ice floe, trying to decide if there are sharks in the water.  Eventually they push one of their number into the sea.  If the sacrifice isn't eaten, they all dive in.  You, I assume, are the sacrificial penguin.”
        She had to smile.  Obviously there was some life in the old boy left.  “I’ve have been called many things in my life, but never a sacrificial penguin.  How did you know there was a committee outside trying to decide what to do about you?”
        “Occasionally the door would open, very quietly, then close again.”
    “After they had determined that the shark was still lurking here.”  Without asking if he wanted any, she poured two cups of tea, with heavy dollops of milk and sugar in Reggie's cup, then went and put it in his hand. Close up, he looked dreadful, with haunted eyes and a gray tinge to his dark skin.  As he stared at the dainty cup, she said helpfully, “It's called tea.  People drink it.  It's the British cure for whatever ails you.”
    He smiled faintly, then raised the cup and took a deep swallow.  “In that case, you had better order a larger pot.”

A longer version of this excerpt. 

Jo Beverley:

Though it seems odd to pick an early work, I think Emily and the Dark Angel is likely to appeal to a wide range of potential readers. It won't shock the sensitive with sex or violence, but there's plenty of action and desire. It also has humour, which few can resist. Emily and the Dark Angel won a number of best Regency awards, including one from Romantic Times, and also a RITA from Romance Writers of America.  An excerpt:

       "Lost for words, Miss Grantwich?" he challenged.
     Emily was perilously close to it. Nothing in her life had prepared her for Piers Verderan. "All I can say, Mr. Verderan," she said primly, "is that your conversation is not that of a gentleman."
     "Ask anyone. They´ll tell you it´s been my life´s work to avoid being anything so tedious as a gentleman."
     "What pray are you, then?"
     His smile widened into that devilishly charming one, and it was as if little flames sparked in his eyes. "Why, Miss Grantwich, haven´t you guessed? I´m a rake. And I´m also Casper Sillitoe´s heir. I believe this land is contested between our two estates. I´ll have to consider carefully this matter of your sheep."
     Before she could say a word, he turned his horse and set it back the way he´d come at a gallop, flying over a fence with elegance. Emily felt Nelson twitch with the urge to follow and challenge that dark beauty. She felt the same urge herself, but it was not a riding challenge that called her. It was something else.

Susan King:

Oh, it's never easy for an author to choose among the books, but I do have a certain fondness for my Sarah Gabriel quartet of historical romances set in Regency Scotland. I'd happily recommend those to anyone looking for a fun adventure-romance (I also write bigger, deeper mainstream historicals, and if you like that sort of thing too, please give them a try!). Here's an edited bit from The Highland Groom, as our heroine Fiona, amateur geologist, walks through the remote Highlands in the fog and suddenly looks up the slope:

    A man stood on the rise above her, one booted foot propped on a rock, kilt draped over powerful thighs. Leaping to her feet so quickly that she almost tripped, Fiona looked up. "Who—are you?” she asked breathlessly.
         He stepped downward, extended a hand. “Come up to me,” he said, beckoning.
         Fiona gaped. The man looked fierce, powerful, and wholly not of this earth in the enveloping fog on the hillside. He seemed to have stepped out of time, in kilt and jacket, strong legs swathed in stockings to his knees, with chestnut hair sifting to his shoulders, jaw dusted with a dark beard, eyes greenish and glaring.
         She had heard stories of the Sidhe—an ancient fairy race of tall, magnificent beings who sometimes appeared to humans, even captured them.  And this stranger had stepped too suddenly out of the mist in this remote place. 
        The Highlander gestured again. “Miss. Come up to me.” He grabbed her arm and drew her toward him.
        “Let go!” She pulled back. “You would steal me away!”
        “What?” He looked down, the angle making him seem tall as a giant. “Who the devil do you think I am?”
      “One of the, ah, Sidhe--?” Now she realized how foolish that sounded.
      He chuckled, his laugh not otherworldly, but warm and delightful. "Not bloody likely,” he said.

And now over to you.  As readers, which Wench books would YOU choose to encourage a new reader to read more of that author?  I’ll give a second book to someone who leaves a comment by midnight Saturday.

Mary Jo

The Last Invasion of Britain

Nicola here, dusting down a classic blog post that sank without trace (appropriately enough!) when I last posted it up on my own site!  I love this story and wanted to share it on the Word Wench blog because not only is it a real life tale of Georgian adventure but it also throws light on a little known episode in British history, that of the last invasion of Britain. The major invasions – the Romans, the Normans – are well known. And of course Napoleon planned to invade Britain and the country was on high alert against such an event… And it happened in Wales in 1797.

This time last year I went on a holiday in Wales. As with a lot of my holidays it turned into a research trip when I stumbled across the Last Invasion Tapestry in the little town of Fishguard. The tapestry was made in 1997 to commemorate the bi-centenary of the last invasion. This took place in February 1797 and was the last time that a foreign military force was successful in landing on British soil, albeit the invasion itself was an abject failure. The invasion force consisted of 1400 troops from Napoleon’s Legion Noire (The Black Legion) so called because they wore the uniforms of captured British soldiers dyed dark brown or black. They were led by an Irish American colonel, William Tate, who had fought against the British during the American War of Independence. The fact that Tate was one of Napoleon’s colonels fascinated me because at the time my book One Wicked Sin had just come out, which had an Irish hero who had been fighting for the French. Tate’s background and that of a number of his troops confirmed the research I had done, which showed that a number of officers in the French army were Irish, supporters of Irish republicanism under politician and revolutionary, Wolfe Tone.

Tate’s force consisted of 800 regular troops plus another 600 deserters, convicts and Royalist prisoners. They sailed in four ships of the French Navy, two frigates, La Vengeance and La Resistance, a corvette La Constance and a small Lugger, Le Vauteur, the fleet under the command of Commodore Castagnier. Despite the fact that the invasion descended into chaos, it was no poorly planned or undermanned expedition; it was a serious attempt at invasion and the troops were well-armed. The initial plan was to land the men at Bristol and raze the city to the ground before marching North to take Chester and Liverpool. Napoleon believed that the working classes would join the revolution and that the release of French prisoners of war from the gaols in Britain would add up to an overwhelming force.

Matters went awry from the start. Adverse weather and the treacherous tides in the Severn Estuary forced the fleet to land their men in West Wales instead of at Bristol. Although the fleet was flying British Colours they were spotted off the coast of Pembrokeshire by a retired sailor who raised the alarm. An attempt to land in Fishguard was driven off by cannon from the fort and so the fleet landed 3 miles away in the bay at Carregwasted under the cover of darkness. They began to move inland and Tate established his headquarters at Trehowel Farm, Llanwnda. The French forces had been instructed to live off the land and this was where things started to unravel. The convicts and pressed men deserted as soon as they set foot on British soil and began to loot local villages and hamlets. One group broke into Llanwnda Church to hide and burned the bible and the pews to keep warm.

By the morning of 23 February the French had moved two miles inland and occupied strong defensive positions on the high rocky outcrops of Garnwnda and Gangelli giving an unobstructed view of the surrounding countryside. However discipline had collapsed amongst the convicts when they had discovered that a Portuguese ship had been shipwrecked on the nearby coast a few weeks previously and the locals had stashed away all the wine on board. The convicts rebelled, mutinied and got blind drunk or simply ran away. One French soldier was so drunk that on hearing the ticking of the grandfather clock at Trehowel he thought it was a soldier creeping up on him and shot it! The clock with the bullet hole still  exists. Morale declined as indiscipline grew. Meanwhile the British, although outnumbered, with forces of only 300 reservists, 250 militia and 150 sailors from two revenue cutters, had decided to attack. The Welsh local population were not particularly friendly either and had already been involved in skirmishes with the French – they flooded into Fishguard volunteering to fight alongside the troops.  Welsh heroine of the hour was Jemima Nicholas, who rounded up a dozen French soldiers armed only with her pitchfork and imprisoned them in St Mary’s Church. Late that day the British troops under the command of Lord Cawdor advanced on the French position  at Gangelli but withdrew in the failing light. They had narrowly missed walking into a French ambush.

That evening, two French Officers arrived at the Royal Oak Inn in Fishguard Market Square, where Cawdor had set up his headquarters. They wanted to negotiate a conditional surrender but Cawdor played a very cool bluff. Claiming to have a superior numbers of troops he issued an ultimatum to Tate, stating that he would only accept the unconditional surrender of the French forces. Tate had until 10am the following morning to surrender on Goodwick Sands or Cawdor’s men would attack. The following morning, at 8am on the 24th February 1797, the British forces lined up in battle-order on Goodwick Sands. Up above them on the cliffs, the inhabitants of the town had come to watch and await Tate’s response to the ultimatum. It is said that the French mistook the red cloaks of the Welsh women for more British troops in their red uniform and so thought themselves outnumbered. Tate surrendered and at 2pm the French drums led the column down to Goodwick. They piled their weapons and were marched away through Fishguard to prison. Later a group of prisoners made a daring escape from the Golden Prison in Pembroke by stealing Lord Cawdor’s yacht. It is said that they were helped by two local women who had fallen for the charms of two of the French officers and who ran off and married them.

The French naval squadron did not fare much better than the ground troops. On 9th March 1797 Sir Harry Neale of HMS St Fiorenzo and Captain John Cooke in HMS Nymphe encountered La Resistance and La Constance, which had been crippled in bad weather off Ireland. Cooke and Neale engaged the ships for half and hour, after which both ships surrendered.  La Resistance was re-fitted and renamed HMS Fisguard and La Constance became HMS Constance. Commodore Castagnier, on board Le Vengeance, made it safely back to France.

This whole story is told in stunning visual detail in the tapestry. (I've reproduced the pictures quite large so that you can see the detail.) The exhibition also gives the bigger picture in the country at the time; everyone was on high alert against the possibilities of a Frech invasion and the population was very jittery. When the invasion happened the British economy was within hours of crashing. Only some cool heads in London and the speedy defeat of the French troops prevented the country from going bankrupt.

In 1853, amidst fears of another invasion by the French, Lord Palmerston conferred upon the Pembroke Yeomanry the battle honour “Fishguard”. This regiment has the unique honour of being the only Regiment in the British Army, regular or territorial, that bears a battle honour for an engagement on the British mainland. (Culloden is not recorded as a battle honour for any regiment and rightly so!) It was also the first battle honour awarded to a Volunteer Unit of the British Army. In 2003 divers discovered the wreck of one of the boats that had been used to ferry troops and ammunition from the French fleet to the mainland.

After we had seen the tapestry on display at Fishguard Town Hall we went out to Llanwnda to see where the French had made their HQ and where they had looted and burned the church. We had intended to go for a walk to Carregwasted to see the memorial stone at the landing place but the weather was so bad by now that instead we went home for Welsh cakes and tea! The Last Invasion tapestry is a superb piece of work and I would encourage anyone visiting West Wales to drop by and see this wonderful exhibition. And I think there is definitely inspiration for a book in there somewhere. Perhaps someone has already written it! 

Apart from the Bayeux tapestry I’ve never previously seen an historical event recorded in this way. Have you ever seen a story told through a tapestry or similar work and do you like seeing stories visually?

Sex in the Regency

Jo here, back home in Devon after a brief jaunt to London for the Romantic Novelists Association's Regency Readers' Day. Wench Nicola was there, too. I don't have a head count, but I think over 100 people attended and a great time was had by all. The programme contained some panels sessions, a talk by Honorary Wench Jennifer Kloester on her biography of Georgette Heyer (if you missed her visit to the Word Wenches a short while ago, it's here), and some active sessions on Regency dance -- always fun -- and Regency parlour games.

There were also a number of people in costume, including some handsome soldiers.

I moderated the panel on Sex and the Georgians, which was rollicking good fun. We started with a short talk about the Celestial Bed. You can read more about it here.

Graham was a late 18th century experimenter with electricity for healing purposes. It's tagged quackery, but electricity continued to be used in medicine throughout the 19th century, and it might sometimes have been effective. After all, we now use TNS -- Trans-neural-stimulation -- electricity for pain.

"The centerpiece of the Temple of Health was the 'Celestial Bed,' which was reserved for those able to afford the fee of £50 a night. Graham advertised that anyone who rented the bed for the night would be "blessed with progeny." Sterility or impotence would be cured." (From the linked article above.)

  There's a review of a book on the subject which gives more detail.

 

The panel -- Elizabeth Moss, Jan Jones, Annie Burrows, and me -- discussed our own take on the reality of sex in the Georgian era, and the way we portray it in romance novels.

The Georgian period is long, taking us from the tail end of the Stuarts and Restoration mores almost to the Victorian period with its hypocricritical prudishness, so today let's only look at the Regency -- 1811 - 18203

Want to have a go at these questions?

When a novel's heroine is a spinster, how much might she know about the male body, and about sexual intercourse, on her wedding night?

How much might she know after it? LOL!

How much might she know about pregnancy -- how it happens and the risks of different sexual acts?

How much might she know about contraception?

Is it believable to have women in Regency-set romances driven beyond reason by sexual desire?

Do you have a strong preference between novels with explicit sex and those without it?

If the novel ends before the characters make love, is that okay, or do you feel cheated?

If the characters make love in the book, but the author "closes the bedroom door" is that okay, or annoying?

I'll answer that one. For me, infuriating! I don't mind "sweet" books at all, as long as the story ends before they make love, but if they do, I want to continue the same deep connection I've experienced during the rest of the story. I don't necessarily need detail, but I want to understand what happened, because it isn't a given.

 

(Picture here is the sort a young lady might well see around the stately home.)

Sometimes people will say that we don't need to go there because "everyone knows what happens." But that simply isn't true. Sex, particularly the first sex a couple has, is highly revealing about them and their relationships. Sex is also unpredictable -- sometimes it just doesn't work out, and how do they respond then? Sometimes it turns hilariously funny. Again, how do they respond to that. Sometimes it's complicated, sometimes simple. And so it goes. I want to know.

When I was a teenager reading Georgette Heyer I often continued the book in my mind, especially to the marriage bed. Before I had practical experience to bring to that I could still spin it out pretty well because sexuality is hard-wired in our brains.

So, have a go at the questions and there'll be a pick of my booklist prize to a random pick of the most entertaining or illuminating comments.

Jo

 

(Statue she might see around the house.)

 

 

 

Winners!

Break out those reading glasses--we have two new winners!

Olivia Searcy won a book from guest Eileen Dreyer, and Dee Thompson won a book from guest Laura Resnick.  Congratulations, ladies!  Your books will be in the mail shortly.

Would you like to be eligible to win a book, too?  All you have to do is leave a comment!  Winners are most often chosen from those who leave comments.  Your next chance will be coming up the end of this month:  on October 24 Mary Jo will host guest Jo Ann Ferguson, who'll be blogging about European cathedrals!

Laura Resnick: Honorary Word Wench with Extra Stars

by Mary Jo

Thanks so much for telling us about Esther Diamond's latest adventure, Laura!  As you know from previous visits, it's our custom to give virtual gifts to our honored guests. 

Since Vamparazzi is a vampire novel for those who don't like vampires, I thought that a suitable gift would be Apotropaics to dispatch any vampires who might appear because they want to convince you that they're real, even if they're not seductive and witty.

This Carpathian Beechwood Stake from Vlad the Impaler's homeland is resistant to shock and is dense enough to burn for a long time. 

 

At 8-9" long, it can be worn on a thong around your neck, ready to hand should it be needed, or useful for burning in your fireplace should the power go off.  And being virtual, it takes no space and requires no dusting.  Enjoy!

MJP

 

Laura Resnick: A Brief History of Vampyres

by Mary Jo

My guest today is returning Honorary Word Wench Laura Resnick.  In the past she’s talked about Disappearing Nightly, first of her humorous Esther Diamond urban fantasy series, and her humorous collection of columns on the writing life, which is called Rejection, Romance, and Royalties: The Wacky World of a Working Novelist  

Now she’s here to talk about her October book, Vamparazzi, fourth in her Esther Diamond series.  Laura describes Vamparazzi as a book for people like her who don’t like vampire novels.  Over to you, Laura!: 

A Brief History of Vampyres

I describe my latest novel, Vamparazzi (DAW Books, October 2011), as a vampire novel for people who don't like vampire novels—that is to say, people just like me.

Apart from the fact that vampires have become so ubiquitous that I am frankly sick to undeath of them, I have also never understood what the attraction is. Yes, of course, I recognize the less-than-subtle sexual metaphors of vampirism.

But, speaking as someone who grew up working in a kennel, I also know that when sharp fangs break my skin and draw blood, the pain is mind-numbing rather than erotic. Lustily piercing a lover's major vein or artery would be, in fact, really messy; in the unlikely event that the bitten partner didn't have to go to the ER, she'd be fully occupied with throwing out the gory bed sheets and replacing the ruined mattress. And an undead lover would have unpleasantly cold genitals (eek!).

So when I decided to write a vampire novel as the next book in my urban fantasy series (and, no, you don't need to read the books in chronological order to understand what's going on), there was very little chance that Esther Diamond, the series heroine, would swoon in the arms of a seductive vampire anti-hero.

Esther is a struggling actress in contemporary New York City who gets involved in various paranormal misadventures. In Vamparazzi, she is cast as a vampire victim in The Vampyre, a (fictional) off-Broadway adaptation of the (real) 19th century story by Dr. John Polidori, who is mostly remembered in our era because he was briefly a traveling companion of Lord Byron.

In this Esther Diamond novel, The Vampyre is produced as a showcase for an eccentric D-list celebrity who claims to be a real vampire. The theater is surrounded nightly by volatile vampire groupies and pushy paparazzi; and before long, there's a murder by exsanguination.

In her quest to prevent the killer from closing her show, Esther is drawn into the bizarre and wholly separate worlds of vampire fanatics and real vampires—while meanwhile wrestling with the unwise desire to rekindle her erratic romance with a skeptical cop who's trying to prevent her from becoming the next murder victim.  A short sample:

    "Let me make sure I understand," I said to Max. "Vampires are real... but everything I know about them is wrong?"
    The elderly mage beamed at me. "That's an admirably succinct summation, Esther!"
    "Thank you," I said. "Now that I know what a vampire is not—i.e. Lord Ruthven, Count Dracula, and the like—can you be equally succinct in explaining what a vampire is?"
    His face scrunched up briefly as he sought a way to reduce his normally loquacious descriptions to as few words as possible in this case. "A vampire is a mystically animated undead individual driven by mindless, voracious survival instinct to prey upon the living for sustenance." 
    "Ah. So Polidori and Stoker did get that part right."
    "In essence," Max conceded. "But unlike their portrayals, the vampiric undead are not beings whom you'd ever meet at a social gathering. And they certainly don't make engaging quips about not drinking... wine."
    "I gather they'd stand out in a crowd?" 
    "Being undead isn't just a matter of lacking a pulse," Max said. "An undead vampire is always in some stage of decomposition, and this is, er, quite noticeable."

Doing the Research

When I started working on Vamparazzi, my biggest concern was: How do I write a vampire novel that isn't a retread of other vampire novels?

As was the case with my previous Esther Diamond book, Unsympathetic Magic (a tale of voodoo and zombies), I soon discovered that the answer was surprisingly simple: Just do your research. Ahhh...

Vampires are so pervasive in pop culture, I mistakenly thought I knew the subject well. Um, no. What I knew, it turns out, were just the fictional tropes of my contemporary society. And most of those familiar conventions were invented by novelists and movie makers, and are wholly unrelated to vampire folklore and history.

Recognizable vampire mythology goes back as far as ancient Babylonia and the Sanskrit tales of classical India. There were blood-drinking demons (known as lamiae) in ancient Greece and Rome, in the medieval Islamic world (ghouls and affrits), and in Renaissance Europe. Various forms of vampire lore exist in Asia, the Pacific Rim, Africa, Central and South America, Australia... and, of course, Eastern Europe.

The Slavic folklore of Eastern Europe is where much of our own culture's concept of vampires originated. And it began with notorious vampire epidemics in the 1720s—which are so fascinating that I incorporated these historically documented events into Vamparazzi.

The problem was serious enough to require several government investigations at the time; you can read translations of the 18th century official reports in Vampires, Burial, and Death by Paul Barber.

Vampire Epidemics

Vampire epidemics had probably been occurring for centuries in Eastern Europe before they made their way into the historical record. Then in the early 18th century, imperial wars and treaties resulted in the Ottoman Empire losing much of its Eastern European territory to the Habsburg monarchy of Austria.

Upon hearing about vampire epidemics for the first time, a few years after taking over control of the region, the Austrian government's reaction was (I paraphrase): "Whoa, they're doing what in those provinces?" Followed by: "We need to send someone to investigate this and find out what's going on."

Two particular vampire cases of that era created considerable interest in their time and are generally credited with introducing Eastern European vampire folklore to Western European culture: the separate and unrelated cases of Peter Plogojowitz and Arnod Paole. After these two men each died in their respective Serbian villages of Kisilova and Medvegia, the local mortality rate increased. As a result, Plogojowitz and Paole were accused (in absentia) of being vampires and starting vampire epidemics. Panic and paranoia quickly spread—as did gruesome anti-vampire activities.

In the early 1730s, the authorities who were assigned to investigate these incidents wrote detailed accounts of strange phenomena for which they had no explanation. The contents of these reports were repeated and disseminated, and thus the folklore of Slavic villages entered the imagination of Western Europe.

The vampires preying on the terrified inhabitants of Kisilova, Medvegia, and other impoverished villages were not suave aristocrats using seductive tactics. In life, they had been ordinary peasants; in undeath, they were mindless, ravening, and quite grotesque monsters. And this was typical of the vampire lore of the region.

So, okay, what really happened in Serbia—and other provinces experiencing vampire outbreaks—centuries ago?

The two typical features of historical vampire epidemics were (1) a rash of mysterious deaths and (2) the fear-driven exhumation of corpses... that looked ruddy and well-fed, and which often had blood dribbling from their mouths.

Well, a wave of unexplained deaths in 18th century peasant villages isn't actually mysterious if you consider the conditions in those communities; disease was spreading through a vulnerable population that didn't understand epidemiology. Various fatal contagions, including the plague, were often blamed on vampires in the good old days. (For example, tuberculosis is considered the likely culprit of a vampire scare in New England in the 19th century.)

The Truth About Vampires

And the hysteria provoked by digging up plump, ruddy-looking corpses with bloody lips... was based entirely on not understanding the stages of decomposition. As were all the other "classic" signs of vampirism, such as claw-like fingernails and strange noises coming from the corpses. What the living were seeing in those unearthed graves was, unbeknownst to them, the normal appearance of the decomposing dead. (For an explicit example, see a fascinating National Geographic documentary called Forensic Vampires—but not while you’re eating.)

Moreover, even well-trained doctors (which some of the Austrian investigators were) in the 18th century had a level of medical knowledge that wouldn't earn them so much as a Boy Scout merit badge today. Although the written reports of the Austrian officials demonstrate an ability (nay, a Teutonic determination!) to observe, investigate, and record strange phenomena with precision and detachment, they simply didn't understand what they were encountering in their vampire investigations.

This misunderstanding of disease and decomposition was at the heart of Eastern European vampire folklore, and also at the heart of Western Europe's fascination with it. That fascination was robust nearly a century later, when the notorious Lord Byron, summering at the Villa Diodati in Switzerland in the summer of 1816, challenged each of his houseguests to write a ghost story. In response to this, Mary Shelley began work on Frankenstein, which famous novel is the primary reason the challenge is remembered now.

However, the incident is equally important in vampire history. Participating in that game, Byron wrote a fragment which he soon abandoned... and which was then adopted and adapted by Dr. John Polidori, who was serving as his personal physician at the time. Byron (who fired Polidori that same year) subsequently supported the doctor's claim of being the author of the resultant story, The Vampyre. Byron was also reputedly the inspiration for Lord Ruthven, the title character in Polidori's Vampyre; Ruthven is an alluringly sinister aristocrat who uses and abuses others without compassion or conscience.

Polidori died in 1821, only two years after the initial publication of his story, while still a young man. There is speculation that he committed suicide, though his death was officially attributed to natural causes. Either way, he didn't live to see his story's effect on the popular concept of vampires—an effect which is still relevant in our own time.

First published in 1819, and reprinted many times and in multiple languages, The Vampyre was an enduring commercial success, and it ignited the reading public's love affair with vampires. It was the first vampire fiction written in English, and also the first characterization of a vampire as complex and sophisticated; the elegant and manipulative Lord Ruthven is wholly unlike the grotesque, mindless creatures of Slavic folklore or the infamous vampire epidemics.

Polidori's vision of the vampire was fresh, innovative, and unique in its time. He popularized the undead, created the first-ever seductive persona for a vampire, and influenced other fiction writers for nearly a century—including Bram Stoker, who came along several generations later and wholly eclipsed Polidori's tale with Dracula, which iconic novel has dominated our image of vampires ever since.

So now I know who to blame for the romanticization of the bloodsucking undead. It's all Polidori's fault.

Therefore, due to having done my research, the plot of my 21st century urban fantasy novel has one foot planted in 18th century Serbia and the other in Polidori's gothic tale of Regency-era English gentry. And I thank the Word Wenches for giving me this opportunity to share a little vampire history with you!

Vamparazzi, the latest Esther Diamond novel, is available, in print or e-book format, wherever books are sold. You can find the author on the web at http://www.LauraResnick.com/.

Here’s a longer excerpt 

Back to Mary Jo:

Laura will be giving away a signed copy of Vamparazzi to someone who leaves a comment between now and midnight Saturday. 

So now—tell us how you REALLY feel about vampires!

My Fatal Attraction to Nefarious Spies

Pat here, opening the door to invite in Honorary Word Wench, Eileen Dreyer to talk about her new book, Always a Temptress, the third in her Drake's Rakes series--romantic historicals with lots of adventures.

 From Eileen:

It should come as a surprise to no one who's ever read me that I love suspense. Don't get me wrong. I love romance. I love to play puppet-master to two people who don't realize how perfect they are for each other. But for a long time, that just hasn't been enough. The last romance I wrote, I spent all my time terrified that my audience would grow tired of people Just Talking. (well, not just talking). So I brought in a man with a bomb strapped to his waist. That's when I knew that I might as well just surrender.
    Admittedly it's easier to write suspense in contemporaries. After all, there might have been serial killers before, but they were mostly conquering tyrants. No technology or ticking wristwatches. Tough to mount a reign of terror with a gun that could only fire once every three minutes. But people were always people, and power was always power.  Shakespeare would have had little to write about if there had never been a lust for it.
    The good news for me, as I move into historical romance, is that one of my very favorite historical periods is the Regency era. It was a time of upheaval, with war, unrest, and the beginnings of great social change to mark it. It was a time, therefore, when power shifted. People jockeyed for more, fought to protect what they had. They saw danger everywhere, and were happy to go to any lengths to quell it.
    Do you hear my evil chuckle? Who wouldn't want to take advantage of that? If you were a person at the top, who had once owned all the power, what would you do to hold onto it? If you were an honorable man who believed that power corrupted, how would you stop its misuse?  

    Why, if you're in my books, you belong to a group of well-born gentlemen who have ranged themselves against the men who plot insurrection. Yes, I know it's been done before, and well. It's still a trope I love. Kind of like the closest you can get to a team of Navy SEALS in the nineteenth century. Handsome, successful, dangerous, sexy. What more could you want? And because each of my heroes, Drake's Rakes, is involved in a pitched battle with aristocrats who are attempting to overthrow the throne, I can put everybody in danger as my couples fall in love.
    Always a Temptress, my third book in the series, pits one of those honorable gentleman, Sir Harry Lidge, against his old love, Lady Kate Seaton, who could well be one of those nefarious spies. An old soldier, Harry only has his title by dint of battlefield courage. Kate is a duke's daughter and widow of a duke. But the two meet almost as equals and fight it out toe-to-toe, even as they battle the....wait for it....yes! Nefarious spies.
    I tell you, an author couldn't be happier. Well, this one couldn't. As a reader, how do you feel? Do you prefer bullets with your teacups, or would you prefer the evildoers to stick to other books? I'd love to know. And I'd love to hear from you.

 

Eileen would like to give away a signed copy of ALWAYS A TEMPTRESS along with trading cards to one lucky person who posts a comment on the blog. Secondly, Eileen would like to announce that between now and October 15th, 2011, anyone who like's her new Drake's Rakes Facebook page and posts a comment and/or follows her on twitter and posts a comment, will be entered in a drawing for a lovely silver filigree bracelet from India.

Reading Holiday

Susan here, dusting off a Wench Classic post for today... and since I just sent in a manuscript a few days ago, the topic seems completely appropriate!  I am once again gearing up for a reading binge, having finished my latest -- I always look forward to just reading-reading-reading once I've finished writing-writing-writing. And I would love some recommendations. 

... I've just finished another manuscript, with the last section written at top speed deep into the night (which is unfortunately the best writing mode for me). I tried a more civilized pace, but eventually with every book, I gotta kick the writing engines into overdrive. I'm hardwired as a Hare, making a wild and crazy dash for the finish line... this time I really tried to be a Tortoise, organized and all, but I plodded along, not very inspired, until I let the inner rabbit run free. And now I'm tired and ready for some rest, and ready to start a new writing project.

But before that happens ... I'm taking a reading holiday!

I have a real craving, a need-to-read, so all else will go on hold for a while ... housework (lots of that after a book goes in), shopping, email, TV (OK maybe not Dancing With The Stars, on which I am *shamelessly* hooked)... nope, I'm scanning bookshelves in my house and poring through my stacks of To-Be-Reads looking for just the right read. And the craving will soon drive me out to the bookstores and libraries (even on cold and rainy nights) in the search for the sometimes elusive satisfying read ....

So there it is. I'm all set to plunge into a substantial reading frenzy, and I need your help. There's a zillion books in my house, and a pretty fair number of TBR's, and yet -- I'm not sure WHAT I want to read. I want something new. I want something unexpected.

So I hope you'll tell us ...

What are you reading now that you love, love, love? (and can't wait to recommend?)

What have you read lately that has thrilled you, surprised you? What characters have camped out in your mind and heart?

What are you reading that is new for you -- a new genre, a new author, a new twist on a familiar theme?

Have you read an oldie lately, a favorite comfort read? What do you turn to when you need a relaxing read with a familiar author voice and familiar characters?

Have you read something lately that sucked you in and didn't let go until the last page?

What have you put on your keeper shelf lately?

So there you go -- tell us what books have grabbed you lately! I'm looking for recommendations... and this way we'll all get some great suggestions!

Thank you!

Susan

 

 

GUESTS THIS MONTH

GUEST EILEEN DREYER 

On October 5, returning Honorary Word Wench Eileen Dreyer will stop by to talk about her latest Drake's Rakes release, Always a Temptress.  Eileen explains her penchant for action in romance and will be giving away a signed copy to a commenter.

GUEST LAURA RESNICK

But wait, there's more!  October the 7th, returning Honorary Word Wench Laura Resnick will visit to talk about her October book, Vamparazzi, fourth in her humorous urban Fantasy Esther Diamond series.  Laura describes Vamparazzi as a book for people like her who don’t like vampire novels.  Besides talking about the history of the vampire legends, she’ll be giving away a signed copy to a commenter.  Fangs not included. *g*

 GUEST JO ANN FERGUSON

Then on October24 Jo Ann Ferguson will be dropping by for a visit.  Jo Ann is a veteran writer of historical romances, Regencies, and paranormals. Her recent research had to do with cathedrals and Jo Ann will be blogging about this subject on the 24th.