Word Wenches

Sweet Inspiration: On Heroines, Plots . . . and Chocolate!

Andrea here, I’m just putting the finishing touches a new Lady Arianna mystery, which got me to musing on how a series takes shape in an author’s head . . .

But first allow me set the scene: For those of you who follow the series, you may recall that the last Lady A book, SMOKE AND LIES, took place on Elba amidst international intrigue and deceptions as Napoleon plotted his escape from the tiny island off Italy in order to re-seize the French throne. In A QUESTION OF NUMBERS, Lady Arianna and Lord Saybrook’s latest adventure, (which will be released in early Spring) the action moves to Brussels, a city aswirl in rumors and treachery as all of Europe waits to see if Napoleon will once again march his army into battle against the rest of Europe. (Brussels, you might ask? But honestly, what Regency historical author could possibly resist the chance to feature the Duchess of Richmond’s ball—one of the most famous parties in history—in a scene!)

Now, if you had asked me when I first started to envision the first flutters of Lady Arianna if I ever imagined her matching wits with Napoleon, the answer would have been a resounding . . . Well, er, no. (You see, it’s a trick question—but I’ll get to that in a moment.)

So, that’s where Lady A and her friends are now . . . but how did they actually come to life? The process was a little different than the usual way ideas happen for me, so I thought it might be interesting to share, as readers often ask, “How do think up your ideas?” The answer is, sometimes creativity takes some twists and turns.

Christmas snippets

Anne here, starting something a little bit different. We're putting up Sunday posts containing an excerpt from our stories in the Last Chance Christmas Ball — one each Sunday in the lead-up to Christmas.

The anthology was such a fun—and sometimes tricky— thing to do. We wenches had written a Christmas anthology before with a linking theme, but for this one we decided all the stories would be linked to an event, based around an annual Christmas ball, held by Lady Holbourne known as Lady Holly to her friends.

The emails flew back and forth as we tossed around ideas, made plans and thrashed out the details of the setting. Some of us wrote interweaving stories, some of us made our stories linked, but separate, several of us had our people not actually make it to the ball. But we all had such fun doing it, we wanted to share it again.

Here's the blurb for the collection:  Christmas 1815. Upstairs and downstairs, Holbourne Abbey is abuzz with preparations for a grand ball to celebrate the year’s most festive—and romantic—holiday. For at the top of each guest’s wish list is a last chance to find true love before the New Year…

My story is called Mistletoe Kisses, and it's about Allie Fenton, a young woman who, for various reasons, has never been able to attend a ball. Now orphaned and on the shelf, she's planning to become a teacher at a girl's seminary in Bath. But first there's her last Christmas at home and then, Lady Holly's famous annual Christmas ball. 

Here's a short excerpt:

"You'll come to my Christmas ball, then," Lady Holly told her. "Don't bother trying to think up any excuses — you're coming and that's that. Your year of mourning will be up, and you have no reason to stay here moldering away when I've gathered an excellent range of eligible gentlemen for your perusal."

Allie laughed. "For my perusal? As if I'm going shopping?"

"That's exactly what you'll be doing."

"Don't the gentlemen have any say in it?"

The old lady sniffed. "Women have been making men believe they have a choice for generations. Now don't be frivolous, Allie — I am determined to give you one last chance to find a husband before you go off and bury yourself in this, this school of yours." She pronounced 'school' as if she really meant 'zoo.'

Allie smiled. For all her caustic tone, Lady Holly had a very kind heart. "I would love to attend your ball, Lady Holly. . . "

The old lady frowned. "I hear a 'but' coming."

What We're Reading—October

Anne here, hosting this month's What We're Reading post. As always there's a lovely range of books for all tastes. And just a reminder -- these are not promo posts; they're genuinely what we've read and enjoyed in the last month. 

We'll start with Pat, who says: I'm on a hunt for light-hearted, humorous, feel-good books these days, so I'm over the moon when I find one.

180 SECONDS by Jessica Park qualifies, even though I suspect it's probably called a New Adult romance since the protagonists are in college. But this isn’t about the normal trials and tribulations of overworked, under-loved students. The protagonist Allison has been in foster care all her life, until she was adopted by a gay dad when she was sixteen. She’s closed off, shut down, prepared to peel out of the life of anyone who gets close. She does her best to avoid people entirely. She wants to love her adopted dad, who is a real gem, but she can’t even open his care packages. And then in one freakish moment when she’s forced herself to go into town, she’s caught up in an internet video where she has to stare at a boy for 180 seconds. That scene alone is worth reading the book. Esben, the hero of this story, is almost too good to be true, but he has his major hidden flaws as well. The romance is a rollicking ride of self-discovery and interconnectedness of the internet and how it drives the lives of these kids. So, it’s almost fantasy, but it’s fun fantasy. For a feel good read, try this one. 

Mary Jo read and recommends  David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter Series & Dogtripping

Lessons in Longitude

Andrea here, thinking about . . . Time. This month, most of us in the U.S. turn the clock back an hour for Daylight Savings Time (I don’t know about you, but I very much dislike the darkness that settles in around 5 pm in winter.) Now, where does that hour go? Yes, I know that we get it back in Spring, but it seems a cavalier attitude to play games with the ticking of the Universe.

My mulling on this has been amplified because I’ve been thinking of working in marine chronometers in a future Wrexford & Sloane mystery book. I happen to love antique mechanical wristwatches, as I think they’re both beautiful and functional. The intricate inner workings are exquisite works of art—for me it’s very cool when functional objects can also be intrinsically beautiful.

But back to marine chronometers! From the first stirrings of humanity, time is an elemental concept that regulates so many facets of our existence—our age, the cycle of the seasons, how calculate speed and distance . . . The first really precise timepiece was the pendulum clock, invented in 1656 by Christiaan Huygens (shown above), a Dutch scientist who was inspired by Galileo’s experiments with pendulums.

Wenches and the Wild

 Joanna here, bringing you tales of Wenchly encounters with wild things.  We Wenches had been chatting by email about chickens and copperheads, as one does.

Mary Jo, first up, brings us her stories from further to the the Wild Side:

I love animals and grew up on a farm, but I have no tales of devil red hens, mega-roosters, or sinuous copperheads.  There have been plenty of cats and dogs in my life, and my woodsy suburban neighborhood has lots of squirrels and chipmunks and deer and foxes and bunnies.  (I hope those last two don't meet up often!) 

But for real drama, I'll have to turn to Botswana.  Two years ago, we did a safari there after I spoke at a conference in Johannesburg, and it was great.  We traveled several vast nature preserves in open sided safari trucks.  The wildlife there is not tame, but many of the animals have become accustomed to the trucks and pretty much ignore their human visitors as long as we behave.  So a leopard ambled by a few feet away and lionesses lounged in the dirt roads, supremely confident.  

But my most dramatic encounter was our last night in one of the three safari camps we stayed in.  This particular camp housed guests in glamorous tents.  (Hence, "glamping.")  The camps were completely dark when we returned to our quarters after dinner, and we were told to always have a guide escort us back.  On that last night, I was walking ahead of the Mayhem Consultant and our guide, only a single flashlight to guide our path through the African night. 

As I neared our tent, I heard something rustling in the underbrush.  It didn’t sound large  but it could have been a hyena or some other critter I didn't want to startle.  I returned to our guide and said there's something up there, it didn't sound like a big beast like an elephant, but he might want to check it out.  He did and came back and said calmly, "It's an elephant."

Sure enough, standing smack dab in front of the entrance to our tent, maybe four feet from the canvas, an elephant was chomping on some greenery.  I thought we'd retreat to the headquarters until the elephant moved on, but our guide just said that we could get in through the end entrance of the tent. Oooh-kay, if he thought it was safe… 

I unzipped the end door entry and we went inside.  (I peeked out the front entrance and saw the vast curved back of the elephant silhouetted against the stars, and felt the presence of that great bulk just a few feet away.)

For the next half hour or so we could hear the elephant brushing around the canvas sides as it continued to foraged.  I wasn't frightened but I was wary.  The Mayhem Consultant wanted his shower so he took it.  ("brush, brush, brush, a crunch of a branch, brush, brush, brush…)  I didn't want to be caught starkers if the elephant absented-mindedly took down part of our tent, but that didn't happen.  Eventually the elephant wandered off and all was calm.

But I didn't forget that encounter with a Wild Thing!

Strokes of Genius

Andrea here, musing today about art and history, two subjects near and dear to my heart. One of the fundamental reasons I love the Regency era is because it was a time of challenging of the old order and served as a catalyst for new ways of thinking about all aspects of society—the birth of the Modern! Art was no exception. The blossoming of Romanticism—individuals suddenly free to express an emotional reaction to the world around them—ignited a whole new realm of creativity.

Color, brushstrokes, draftsmanship—the traditional ways of depicting subjects gave way to experimentation and imagination. Turner began dabbling in a bold new way that inspired Impressionism. And the French artist Delacroix . . . hmmm, well, Delacroix has been a conundrum to art critics over the years. But a grand new retrospective of his work currently on view at the Met in New York City, is generating raves and new appreciation of what a revolutionary artist he was. (You can listen to the Met curator of the exhibit give a short talk on Delacroix’s genius here.)

Through the Looking Glass . . .

Andrea/Cara here, Like my fellow Wenches, I find doing research is an integral part of the creative process for my books. Digging deeper into elements I want to weave into a story and learning little details often spark ideas that embellish the plots. One of the very fun aspects of my summer sojourn to England was the chance to explore up close and personal some of the scientific inventions that I feature in my Wrexford and Sloane Regency-set mystery series.

My current WIP features a voltaic pile (named after Alexander Volta, it was the first electrical battery and could generate a current.) But you’ll hear more about that in the future. I also have Wrexford and his assistant solve a key part of the mystery using a microscope. And as I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford during my trip, I was, as they say, in hog—or rather, lens—heaven!

A tasty slice of culinary history

Andrea/Cara here, feeling in a pizza state of mind today. (There is a reason for this, but honestly, does one really have to a have a specific reason? I mean, who doesn’t like pizza?) I’ve been spending time in New Haven, Connecticut recently, as I mentor freshmen students as they arrive for their first semester at college. I find it really rewarding to help students navigate such a huge change in life as they begin to decide on courses, extracurricular activities, and just how to adjust to roommates and living away from home. And I love the intellectual energy and excitement of a university town, with all its museums, libraries and cultural offerings. But in the spirit of full disclosure, I also love spending time in New Haven because it has the best pizza anywhere. Bar none.

Peak Performance—the oldest golf club in Switzerland!

Andrea/Cara here, As many of you may have noticed, some of us Wenches have gallivanted hither and yon this summer and have been taking you on a virtual tour of our travels to historic places. (Trust me, your armchairs are SO much more comfortable than airline seats, and you don’t have to stand in security lines!) I’m going to continue the peregrinations today, but with a slightly different twist. I’m the resident Wench “jock,” so today instead of visiting castles or museums or Viking ruins, we’ll be taking a peek at some sporting history!

I just returned from playing golf at the oldest course in Switzerland (and the seventh oldest course in continental Europe.) The Engadine Golf Club, located a short drive from the legendary mountain resort village of St. Moritz, is not only set in a breathtaking beautiful setting, but it also has a fascinating history . . . so let’s tee it up and hit the fairways!

A Royal Romp Through Kensington Palace

Andrea/Cara here, And as you might have guessed from my last post, I’ve recently been in a palace state of mind. (A reseach trip to England will have that effect on you!) Today we’re journeying from the outskirts of Oxford into the heart of London to take a look a Kensington Palace, which figures prominently in the opening scene of my next Wrexford and Sloane mystery. In fact, the title is MURDER AT KENSINGTON PALACE! (tentative release date—September 24, 2019) So of course I had to do a thorough walk-through of the rooms and gardens!

Vale Janga

Anne here, writing on behalf of all the word wenches in a special Sunday post, a tribute to Janga Rholetter — one of our long time wenchly readers and a friend to many of us here, readers as well as writers. Janga passed away suddenly last week — we knew she was desperately ill, but the speed of her passing took us all by surprise. 

Janga loved words; she loved stories and poetry and romance and writing. She was an intelligent and insightful reviewer — I suspect many of us here became addicted to her reviews and have added to our TBR piles because of Janga. She was very active in the romance community; she was a wenchly reader from the very first — enter Janga into the search bar and you'll see so many comments over the years. She was also very active on the Eloisa James boards, she blogged and reviewed on The Romance Dish and also on her own blog.

I felt very privileged to know her. She wrote to me about my very first book, and that began a correspondence between us that lasted almost 20 years. We talked about books, about poetry, about writing, about teaching, and about life. She was a wonderful critic, perceptive and articulate and encouraging. She saw things in my work that I wasn't aware of. She made me feel a better writer than I am.

I am sad, though, that her own fiction never saw the light of day. She was, I suspect, her own toughest critic. She was a private person—there are no photos of her on her sites—and very modest. But though her fiction might not be out there, Janga left behind a rich legacy of her writing, in reviews, interviews, essays and blogs. 

Her good friend PJ Ausdenmore wrote a wonderful tribute to Janga on The Romance Dish. You will also get a lovely sense of the person Janga was by reading this blog that she wrote back in 2012, her gratitude list for Thanksgiving. 

I might be the one writing this post, but Janga was beloved of all the wenches. Goodbye, dear Janga, thank you for sharing your thoughts, your books and your wisdom, from Mary Jo Putney, Pat Rice, Susan King, Andrea Pickens, Nicola Cornick, Joanna Bourne, Susanna Kearsley and Anne Gracie. Rest in peace.

The Splendors of Blenheim Palace

Andrea here, As you probably know, a number of the Wenches traveled through England, Scotland and Ireland in the last fortnight (and got to spend time together, both exploring and speaking at the RNA Conference, which was so much fun!) So here is the first of many “show and tell” blogs from our experiences. But as most of you love history as much as we do, I hope you’ll enjoy these vignettes of places that captured our fancy.

 

The Many Delights of What We're Reading --June

Joanna here with our monthly round up. What have the Word Wenches been reading in June? What wonderful books have we discovered?

We have particularly exciting books this month.

First up, Anne.
[Warning: cookbook ahead]

Anne here. As usual, I've read a lot of books in the last month. I've always been a prolific reader and it doesn't matter how busy my life gets, reading is a necessary part of my life. 

 

I caught up on my Louise Penny reading, with GLASS HOUSES, a book I bought a year ago and discovered I hadn't read. Absorbing and entertaining, as always, this is #13  in her Chief Inspector Gamache crime series. 

 

Sharon Shinn -- Mary Jo put me onto Sharon Shinn's fantasies first, and after her recent post I discovered that some more of Shinn's books were now available to me on kindle. I read and enjoyed the first two in the series -- TROUBLED WATERS and ROYAL AIRS then discovered that book 3 and 4 are not available to me on kindle. Sigh. So frustrating to know that they are on kindle but not if you live where I do. I really HATE geographical restrictions.

rump grump grump.

 

Finally I read a biography, which I don't often do. It was Writing at the Kitchen Table: The Authorized Biography of Elizabeth David. She was a food writer,  famous before I was born, but who taught me a lot about cooking when I was a student living in a share house, and using an old penguin paperback of hers, FRENCH PROVINCIAL COOKING. I think it was as much the quality of her lyrical, evocative  prose and the little stories and anecdotes that prefaced some of the recipes that enticed me most. I bought all her books I could find, some from used book stores, and am happy to say they're all back in print.

 

I blogged about Elizabeth David some time back -- you can read it here -- and I found her biography fascinating, not least for the portrait of the difficult and unconventional woman behind the elegant and evocative writing, but also because of the difficulties she had with her various publishers. 

 

Pat brings us magic and what I'd call a "comfort read."

 

Pat here--I'm desperately seeking escape of any sort and a good getaway is hard to find. But here's a couple I've read in recent months that fit the bill.

THE LIBRARY, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDER,  Mindy Klasky

Mindy writes fun paranormal chicklit, and one of her best characters is Jane Madison, a librarian who discovers she’s a witch. In Jane’s books, she has a magical warder assigned to keep her from creating magical disasters. David Montrose, that powerful DC warder, has his own series now, and we get to see all the problems he’s facing behind the scenes. Not only are his personal problems mounting, but magical DC is on the brink of warfare because of his best friend’s actions, while Jane’s talent is blossoming. He’s juggling more than fire balls to solve everything at once, without being demoted again. It’s a fun fantasy ride!

THE SEVEN YEAR SWITCH, Claire Cook

Lovely women’s fiction with a protagonist who was deserted by her adventure-seeking husband and left to survive on her own. She buried herself in raising their child, giving up the travel and hope of family she’d always wanted—until her husband comes home and wants back in her life again. She has to learn to live and trust and develop new relationships. There’s a lot of fun travel tidbits since she acts as a home-bound travel agent. I would have liked to see her learn enough to actually achieve some of her goals instead of just a potential new love, but it was a pleasant journey worth taking for the fun.

Mary Jo with what sounds like a fun read.

Mary Jo here. I had a delightful time reading the latest Trisha Ashley book, The House of Hopes and Dreams.  Her books are usually about creative heroines in their thirties who are rebuilding their lives (probably in Lancashire), and in the process they find a great eccentric guy who is just right for them.  In HHD, the heroine, Angelique Arrowsmith, known as Angel, is a passionate and talented stained glass artist whose life has just fallen apart. 

Angel's lifelong best friend is Carey Revells, whose enthusiasm and skills as a home renovator have made him a reality TV star on a cottage makeover show, but he and Angel haven't met much in person since they left art school and she went north to work with her older lover, a famous stained glass artist.  The book begins with Carey recovering from an accident that left him bedridden for months and cost him his TV show and his girlfriend.  Then a solicitor informs him he has inherited a large, historic, and rundown house from an uncle he never knew he had. 

The house needs lots of work, and it happens to have a stained glass workshop created by Carey's great-grandmother, a noted glass artist.  So very shortly, Angel is living in the house, helping Carey, fixing up the glass shop, and coping with an alien looking black Chihuahua mix that likes biting male ankles.  Soon the house is flowing with friends, workmen, a film crew--and plenty of hopes and dreams fulfilled as well as an old mystery unraveled.  If you like friends-to-lovers stories, this is for you! 

The House of Hopes and Dreams is right up there with my very favorite Trisha Ashley, The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Which, by happy chance, is only $2.99 in the US Kindle store.  So if you haven't read it, here's your chance for a Christmas in July.  It will make you happy and hungry. <G>

 

Andrea brings us some frank words about a favorite author,
and dives into Sharpe's Rifles.

Andrea says:  I’ve been a fan of Elizabeth George’s long-running Thomas Lynley detective series for ages. But after she shook up her readers by killing off a major character, I , like many, had a hard time getting back into it, feeling some of the books that followed lost the the sort of subtle psychological insights and interplay that made the books so interesting. I decided to give the last one a try and was heartened to feel George was getting back her mojo. I recently read her latest one, The Punishment She Deserves, and was happy to feel that George is back in top form. 

The plot begins with the apparent suicide of a well-respected churchman in a sleepy English college town. He ’s been picked on an anonymous tip accusing him of abusing children. Lynley’s sidekick, Barbara Havers is part of the two-person police team from Scotland Yard sent to do a routine investigation as the suspect supposedly hanged himself while in local police custody. Her superior is anxious to do a drive-by check up, but feisty Barbara can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right . . .

 

And so begins a probing to college binge drinking, protective parents and an intricate weaving together of mother-daughter relationships from a variety of backgrounds, probing into parental expectations/yearning for their children’s future, and what a parent will do to protect a child. I found it a complex, nuanced and sensitive story that deal with many modern day issues. Watching Lynley and Havers work through some of their own personal issues was also interesting to, as I like them both very much. It’s good to see them back in fine fettle and moving on with their lives! 

 

This month I also re-read Bernard Cornwell’s Waterloo, one of the swashbuckling Richard Sharpe books set in the Napoleonic Wars. My current Lady Arianna WIP is set in Brussels and the battle, and I had read that the book is used in many military colleges because it’s such an accurate description of the battle. Cornell is a masterful storyteller, and the non-stop action is riveting—and heartbreaking because of the carnage. I’ve made some notes for my own story about battle locations and timing (don’t worry—there won’t be so much blood and gore!) and reminded me of how much I enjoyed the entire series. If you haven’t read it yet, get Sharpe’s Tiger, the first book, which is set in India . . . you’ll be in for a rollicking ride!

 

As for me, I was reading S.A.Chakraborty's The City of Brass. This is the first in a fantasy trilogy based on a Middle Eastern mythos. It's a road trip through magical lands -- unfriendly lands full of demons. Much adventure. If I say Djinns and flying carpets it doesn't come close to describing the intricate worldbuilding.

 

There's Revolution and palace intrigue among the magical. So satisfying.

 

City of Brass is Book One of Three so the ending is problematic It's not quite a cliffhanger, but close. And it's good enough to have me looking forward to Book Two.

 

So that June in the Wench Reading Year.  A good 30 days. How's it been with you?

Napoleon Loses a Hat . . and a Battle

Andrea here, musing today on how I always enjoy it when a snippet of history unexpectedly comes to life when I least expect it. I was perusing the digital front page of the New York Times the other day (a rather depressing exercise of late, I must confess) when a small article caught me eye that actually make me smile. Now, I knew, of course, that this past Monday was the 203rd anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. But what I didn’t realize what that at some point in the raging conflict, Napoleon lost his hat . . .

Ask A Wench — childhood reading

Anne here, introducing the topic for this month's AAW (Ask A Wench): In your childhood reading was there a place you fell in love with?

Pat:  England, hands down. I read tons of Brit lit in elementary school. They used to sell Austen and Bronte in the Scholastic Library book fairs, the only time my parents gave me money for books. So I went for the great big fat books, and they were all about the white cliffs of Dover and the misty fog over the Thames and the thatched cottages in the Cotswolds. I had no idea where any of those places were, but I wanted to see them all. 

And then there were all the books about the kings and queens in the library that I had to research to figure out their relationships, because they were obviously all related, right? So then I wanted to see all their grand castles, the Tower of London, the towns and. . . I suspect I expected to see horses and carriages as well, but the cottage gardens would have sufficed! 

Guest Tracy Grant Dishes on Scandal and Historical Novels

Andrea/Cara here, Today I'm welcoming back mt dear friend and fellow author Tracy Grant to tell us a little about the some of the real-life history behind her latest book. Many of you are familiar with Tracy's Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch historical series (and if you aren't, you're in for a treat!) and know that she has a passion for history, and her books always have such fascinating backstories to the inspiration behind each book. So, without further ado, I shall pass the pen to Tracy!

The threat of being cast off by society hangs over many stories written or set in the Regency. Think of the Bennets, devastated by Lydia’s elopement, not just because she has run off with an unscrupulous man but because of the effect the scandal will have on her sisters’ marriage prospects. Or of the gossip that arises simply from Marianne Dashwood’s very public obsession with Willoughby - writing to him, confronting him at a party.

The Art of Research . . . AKA Down the Rabbit Hole!

Andrea/Cara here, I have a hard act to follow this week, as on Monday Anne plied you with tea and scrumptious goodies, followed by Mary Jo hosting our birthday celebration on Wednesday, complete with cyber chocolate and champagne. By now you are all replete with sweets and good cheer . . . leaving me wondering what titillating fun I can offer.

Well, at the Wench birthday there was much mention of how you all enjoy jumping into the research rabbit holes with us—so let’s all get down and dirty on the subject of botanical illustration in early 1800s London!

 

12 YEARS! REALLY!!!

Happy Anniversary to the Word Wenches!

by Mary Jo

This is the 12th anniversary of the Word Wenches!  I hope you joined Anne's celebration tea party on Monday.  (The cakes and tea cups were splendid!)

Today, we continue the celebrations with reminiscences and book giveaways. 12 years is a long time, and in the way publishing has changed, it's eons.

Back in 2006, blogs were the Hot New Thing. Authors wanted to be able to reach readers, interact with them, and sell books. But it seemed like so much work! Surely better to put together a group and take turns?

The idea was sparked when Susan King and I had lunch with Eileen Buckholtz, a web goddess and friend. We decided to ask a few friends if they'd like to join with us, and to my surprise, everyone we asked said yes, even the most extreme of introverts. Turns out we all wanted to chat, interact, and sell books.

Blogging seemed very mysterious at the beginning, but we eventually figured it out. (Regency writer Candice Hern was a great help since she was already an experienced blogger and has fabulous collections on her web site.) Our first post was on May 22nd, 2006, and we're still standing after all those years. <G>

Much has changed over the years as we've lost some Wenches, and acquired wonderful new ones who bring their own special stories and talents. As the writing world has changed, some of us have moved in different directions like mainstream historicals, mysteries, and paranormals.

In 2006, I was in my paranormal historical phase. I love fantasy, so I loved blending magic with real history and romance. In 2006, Stolen Magic, Book 2 of my Guardian Trilogy, was published, and I was working on Book 3, A Distant Magic. I wrote seven paranormal historicals all together, 4 adult and 3 young adult, but a year later I moved back into more traditional historical romance because in this business, things are always changing.

As one of the original Wenches, I figure I've written over 300 blogs. (!!!) But I like doing these short pieces about all sorts of topics, I love interacting with readers, and most of all, I love hanging out with my wonderfully talented, good-natured fellow Wenches. Good times, then and now!

 

 

A Royal Botanical Treasure

Andrea/Cara, musing today on gardens—specifically the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, as it figures into the plot of my current WIP. It seems fitting, as May is traditionally the month when flowers burst into bloom in the northern hemisphere. But here in the Northeast it’s been a very cold spring and things are way behind schedule (the leaves on the trees are not quite unfurled) so I decided to take a walk through the early history of Kew to brighten a very grey day here.

The seeds for this spectacular botanical enclave were sowed in the 16th century when Henry VII established a palace and royal hunting grounds on a swath of land by the River Thames in Richmond. It became a summer retreat for the royals, which in turn drew courtiers to build their own fancy houses in the area.

An intriguing Emperor . . .

Andrea/Cara here, I recently finished a new Lady Arianna mystery—the first full-length addition to the series since its original publication by NAL—which was great fun, as I love writing these books. In Smoke & Lies, (it releases on May 15, and is available for pre-order now) the mystery takes Lady Arianna and Lord Saybrook to Elba, where the scheming and intrigue of Napoleon’s court in exile tests their mettle . . .

Now, weaving a plot line for this was an interesting challenge, given that we all know what ultimately happened! Since I wasn’t about to change history and have my intrepid protagonists stop him from returning to France, I had to figure out how to create tension and a compelling mystery within that context. I really enjoyed weaving together actual history with my own inventions to give them a compelling conundrum to solve (at least I hope readers find it compelling! You can read an excerpt here.)

 

Fact and Fiction . . .

Andrea here, musing today about the balance of reality and an author’s creative storytelling in historical fiction. I got to thinking about this (actually, I think about it a lot, but for different reasons) because I happened to be alerted to a reader comment on Goodreads about my new mystery, Murder at Half Moon Gate. Now, like most experienced authors, I’ve learned not to take negative comments too personally, but this one got my attention because it raised an interesting question in the broader context of writing fiction.

An Incredible Discovery

Anne Gracie here, very excited to be sharing with you all an amaaaazing and incredible discovery I've recently made. As some of you may know, over the last few years I've been digging into genealogy and my family history — and have even done a bit of DNA tracing — and wow!  

I could hardly believe it when this information started to turn up, so I said nothing about it for quite a while, but little by little the evidence has mounted, and once I told a few of the wenches about my discoveries, they also got excited and chipped in their bits and pieces. It's been an extraordinary journey, but now, at last, we've agreed to go public.

Art, Murder and Science—Regency Style!

Andrea/Cara here, MURDER AT HALF MOON GATE, the second book in my Wrexford & Sloane Regency-set mystery series, releases on March 27th, (it's available for pre-order) and I thought I give you all a little backstory on what inspired the series, and on the specific theme in this upcoming book.

The series is inspired by two fascinating developments in the Regency. First is the birth of modern science in Britain—the spirit of curiosity, analytical observation and creativity. (I confess there is a certain irony about me writing about science, as the last formal class I had in the subject was ninth grade biology.) I now really regret not realizing how fascinating science is, but better late than never!

The second was the sense of camaraderie between scientists and artists during the flowering of the Romantic movement. They saw each as kindred souls, exploring the nature of life and the world around them. The Lake Poets attended scientific lectures at the Royal Institution and Percy Shelley was captivated by astronomy. In turn, Humphry Davy, the great chemist, wrote poetry. They cross-pollinated each other and helped each other see things from different perspective. I thinks it’s part of the reason for the great energy and excitement in both disciplines.

What We're Reading — February 2018

Anne here, hosting our discussion of the books we've read in February.  

We start with Pat's find of the month, THE READERS OF BROKEN WHEEL RECOMMEND, by Katarina Bivald. Pat says: I love this book! It’s a quiet book about a quiet book reader who summons the nerve to leave Sweden to visit an elderly penpal in a quiet small town in Iowa. Not just a quiet small town, but a broken one. The economy has struck the town hard. Residents have mostly died or moved away.

Amy, the penpal Sara comes to visit has also died, but the town insists that Sara stay in Amy’s home because they all knew how much Amy enjoyed reading her letters and how much Amy had been looking forward to her visit. Stunned by her situation, by the graciousness of the residents, and by the enormous library of books in Amy’s empty house, Sara quietly begins to change everything without even realizing she’s doing so.

There’s even a quiet romance. It’s an amazing journey for readers who loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Highly recommended! (And right now, it's only $2.51 at Amazon)  (Anne adds that she and several wenches have read and enjoyed this book, bought on Janga's recommendation on this blog back in September. Thank you Janga.)

 * * * * *

Mary Jo is sailing down a river: Her recommendation this month is The Rivers of London Series, by Ben Aaronovitch. The first book in the series is: Midnight Riot, PC Peter Grant, Book 1

Said to be a cross between CSI and Harry Potter, this series has been mentioned by a couple of other Wenches, Joanna and Pat, perhaps.  I was a little leery since I couldn't quite figure out what it was about, but once I read an excerpt of the first book, Midnight Riot, it made perfect sense.  In a fantasy-ish sort of way.  <G>

Peter Grant is a diligent young London constable with a mother from Sierra Leone and a father who is a talented but often addicted jazz musician.  His mixed heritage plays into the story in various ways, including his being a bit of an outsider.  He become much more of one when he has a chat with a ghost and is seen by a DCI Thomas Nightingale, who turns out to be the only licensed wizard in Britain and in charge of investigating all crimes involving magic and 'other beings.'

In no time at all, Peter is working for him as an apprentice wizard, which turns out to be dangerous but far more interesting than being a police paper shuffler.  Peter is a great character--smart and funny and committed to helping people even when it takes him into mortal peril.

What kind of reader were you as a kid?

Joanna here, asking the Wenches "What kind of reader were you as a kid?"
Maybe I'm asking, where do adult readers come from?

 

Anne begins:

 

What kind of reader was I?

In a word? Insatiable — and I still am now. By day I was happy to be out and about, playing and exploring with my dog, but come night-time it was essential to my happiness that I always have something to read. (We didn't have TV -- my father didn't approve of it.) I don't remember not being able to read, but probably that's because my parents and siblings read to me a lot. AA Milne — the poetry as well as the Winnie the Pooh stories, Pookie the flying rabbit, whatever they had, and once I could read I read everything I could lay my hands on. Not so much cereal boxes though — for me it was stories every time. Enid Blyton was a very prolific English children's writer, and I read everything I could find of hers, starting with Noddy, then The Magic Faraway Tree, and moving on to the Famous Five and many other series.

We always went away at Christmas (which are our long summer holidays) and my presents always included a book or two, so in the caravan or tent I read  my new books and then went on to read my brother's and sisters' books, even though they're a decade older than me. 7 isn't much of a playmate for 17, so whether it was tennis, or card games or scrabble in the evening, I couldn't join in. So it was usually a book for me.

 

Luckily we moved a lot, and in any new town the first place I sought out was the local library, and then when I started school it was the school library. In one school, another bookworm friend and I became a bit competitive — we were reading a decent sized book a night. The school librarian didn't believe we could read that fast and he'd grill us about each book before he'd let us borrow another one. 

 

Now I live in a house filled with books, my childhood friends and my adult companions. Some evoke special times or events, and with some I recall exactly where I was when I first read them. I wonder sometimes what kind of person I'd be if I'd been raised in a home with no books. Would I be a writer, or not? I really don't know.

 

Pat comes in with:

As I suspect most of the wenches and the majority of writers will say—I was an eclectic and voracious reader. One of my earliest memories is of lying on the floor with a book my librarian great-aunt had sent me for Christmas. I knew my alphabet but couldn’t read, and I had no one to read me the story promised by all the exotic pictures of foreign countries. So I lay there day after day, puzzling out the words on my own.

I begged for the Little Golden Books in the grocery store and to this day can probably quote from Poky Little Puppy and The Little Engine That Could. We had no library or bookstore, so I would read the stories over and over, making up my own to go with the pictures. 

Once I was able to access the school library, I knew no bounds. I’d pretty much read everything in the elementary school library by the time I was in sixth grade, including all the sports books meant for boys. I was reading Austen and Bronte because I could buy them through the Scholastic book club. I read Wheaties boxes at breakfast.

Those days are long gone, and I’m much too particular now. I can’t decide if that’s regrettable or not. I mean, Wheaties boxes? Let’s have a little discrimination!

 

 

 

 

Nicola:

 

Like so many other bookish children I was a reader who read anything and everything. It was an amazing voyage of discovery finding out about people and places I had never imagined, past, present and fantastical. I look back on those days with nostalgia and some envy because I don’t think it’s possible to capture quite the same rush of excitement and drive for reading that I had then. I read about children who went to boarding school, who had ballet lessons, who kept horses, who lived in the middle ages or in different countries. I particularly loved stories about big families with siblings because I didn’t have any.

 

My favourites were The Brydons (especially the Brydons on the Broads because there was a ghostly Viking ship involved) and the Fell Farm Campers because I lived in a city and the countryside seemed a strange and exotic place. I loved science fiction, I scared myself with ghost stories, and I cried over The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. Happy Days!

 

Valentine Tidbits

Andrea/Cara here, musing about traditions and how they evolve. This is, of course, the month of Love, with hearts, flowers, and chocolate—not to speak of a dizzying array of bling—filling the stores and airwaves in anticipation of Valentine’s Day. Now, I’ll confess right away that I’m rather curmudgeonly about this holiday. It’s always struck me as crassly commercial . . . I like to think Love doesn’t need to be scripted and that gifts should be personal and heartfelt—quirkily offbeat rather than perfectly polished.

I know, I know, as a romance writer, I should be embracing it. And at heart I am, as anything that encourages the expression of love and friendship is a Good Thing. However, the history nerd in me couldn’t help but be curious about the history behind the holiday. And in doing a little research, I discovered some interesting—at least they are to me—things. So allow me to share a few randomly-chosen Valentine’s Day tidbits.

There are three different Christian saints named Valentine. One legend says St. Valentine’s Day is named after an early priest, who defied the decree of Roman emperor Claudius II that forbade young men to marry. (He thought single men made better soldiers.) Valentine continued to perform marriages, for which he was put to death.

Another variation of the legend say that while Valentine was in prison, waiting for his execution, when he fell in love with the daughter of his jailer, and sent her love letters signed “from your Valentine.”

Others claim that the origin of Valentine’s Day lie in the Roman pagan fertility ritual of Lupercalia that took place every spring in February. Goats would be sacrificed, and young men would roam through the streets slapping young women with strips of the bloody hide—its touch was supposed to make them more fertile in the coming year.

During the Middle Ages, a common belief in England and France was that February 14th was the start of the mating season for birds—and thus the date became associated with the day of Love. Chaucer reinforced this idea in his writings—a quote from him reads: “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day
/When every foul cometh ther to choose his mate."

The first Valentine poem is to have been written in 1415 by the Duc d’Orleans to his wife from the Tower of London, where he was imprisoned after his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (It still exists and is in the British Library’s manuscript collection.)

In the 1840s, Esther Howland created the first mass-produced Valentine cards, complete with lace and ribbons, in America. Today, it’s estimated that over a billion cards are sent worldwide. (And in case you were wondering, over 110 million roses are purchased for Valentine’s Day.)

In the early 1860s, Richard Cadbury, who took over his father’s chocolate and cocoa business with his brother, had the inspired idea to package their fancy chocolate “assortments” in fancy decorative boxes. He was the first to create a heart-shaped box!

Okay, now that I’ve revealed my sentiments and regaled you with some “bon-bons” from history, let’s hear your thoughts about Valentine’s Day. Do you like the holiday? Do you send cards? What gift do you most like to receive? (Aside from chocolate, which I’m assuming is a given. I mean . . .who wouldn’t want chocolate. Even a curmudgeon like me!)

Foyled Again!

Andrea/Cara here, confessing to having felt a little blue-deviled last night as I finished streaming an episode Foyle’s War and realized that I’ve almost come to the end of the show’s eight seasons. Now, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the series, it’s a BBC period police procedural set in a coastal English village during WWII, and deals with the drama of ordinary people coping in a world of conflict and change

The mysteries deal with wartime issues—profiteering, pacifism, cowardice, among others—and the plots are vey well done. But to me the real appeal of the show is the subtle and layered characterizations and the exploration of human nature. Friendship, loyalty, love—all elemental themes that transcend any specific era. I’ve learned a lot about storytelling from the episodes, and I shall miss seeing my “friends” continue to grow and develop.

The Magic of History

Andrea/Cara here, thinking about how delightfully magical it is when actual history confirms an author’s fanciful imagination! See this amazing artifact—I will explain in a moment. But first, a brief preface . . .

Although I write fiction, and am allowed to take artistic license and make things up when my plot requires it, I feel very strongly about creating an accurate Regency world for my make-believe characters. I try to get all the little details right, from manners and titles, to fashion and food, and all the other elements of daily life. And when actual events are part of the story, I do a lot of background reading to make sure I stick to the facts. (Granted within those events, I let my characters create their own reality.)

Ask A Wench - Which Movie Character Would You Like to Be?

Nicola here with this month's Ask A Wench. For our question this month we’re trying to decide which movie character we would like to be. When we discussed this amongst ourselves this raised some interesting questions. Would we go all out in pursuit of adventure or would we prefer something more reflective of our own lives? What makes a super-hero(ine)? What qualities do we admire and would like to possess, on screen or in real life or both? The Wench thoughts on this are below. But what would your dream movie role be?

For me this is a difficult choice. My first inclination would be to take the part of a historical character such as Elizabeth I or Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion In Winter. However since I’d be playing the role and not the actual historical character this would probably be frustrating because I’d want to depict them as I see them, not as the part was written. I’m going for Yoda for two reasons. Firstly I love the way he constructs his sentences. He always gets his point across yet sounds poetic at the same time. Also, he is measured and wise and as I get older I value wisdom very highly and I would like to be more measured in my response to things sometimes. Yoda combines all this with agility, courage and skill with a lightsaber, plus he is keen on encouraging the younger generation to achieve their full potential – quite a role model.

Mary Jo: What movie character would I be?  Well, since Nicola has dibs on Yoda, I think I'll go for Wonder Woman.  Not just any of the decades-long evolving version of the character, but specifically the current manifestation as played by Gad Godot. 

I admit that I'm blending both role and actor together.  Israeli Gal Godot was not only Miss Israel 2004, but during her tenure in the Israeli Defense Forces, she was a combat instructor.  She said the military was learning about discipline and respect--and aren't they great traits to have?  Her Wonder Woman is powerful as well as beautiful, both idealistic and wise.  Gad Godot has also studied law and international relations. What a role model!

But give me half a chance and I might choose go for Princess Leia.  In the original Star Wars
movie, she shows up as a gravel-voiced rebel leader, kicking ass and taking names and far more competent than her male acolytes, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo.  She was not a female character we'd seen before, and while Carrie Fisher, who played her, is now sadly gone, Princess Leia has become a cultural icon.

Anne: I always find this kind of question -- one with lots of enticing choices -- difficult to answer. Will I choose to be some fabulous heroine, living an extraordinary life, having adventures with a handsome and charming hero?  No. So exhausting, having adventures. And besides, Cary Grant is dead.

So I'm choosing to be Maggie Smith's character in MY HOUSE IN UMBRIA. It's similar enough to my life, in that she is a romance novelist, but she lives in a beautiful and luxurious house, in a stunningly lovely part of the world, and her clothes in this movie are gorrrrgeous.  Chin chin.

Pat: I am a wimp. Give me a good comedy or maybe a nice character study, but I never watch action movies with bigger than life heroes. Give me Marian the Librarian or a singing nun, please (not just Maria in Sound of Music but how about Whoopie Goldberg in Sister Act?). My idea of a super heroine is a good librarian handing out culture, creativity, history, and education every day. Or a teacher trying to make kids THINK when all they want to do is arm wrestle. But I'd make a lousy librarian or nun. So maybe I should aim for the romance writer in Romancing the Stone? At least she got out of the house.

Jo: I wanted to say Xena, because I can really get into that Warrior Princess stuff and I’d like living in a Greek Mythos world. Kinda.
Then I noticed Xena isn’t a movie person. She’s a TV series. Rats.

My mind kept tossing up good choices and I kept batting them away. “That’s a Book!” I’d yell. “Book. Book. Book. Book. Book! Give me movies!” You see my problem.

Then it came to me. What would I like doing? I am not a woman given to bounding over the countryside, jumping on a horse, and setting off to battle demons whose halitosis alone would fell a Roman legion. I am not, in short, Buffy. Or even Willow. Confronted with Evil — note the upper case to say it’s a bad evil — my immediate impulse is to murmur “You do you, okay?” and back away to seek expert help.  That aforementioned Legion, perhaps. I’m more an “I’ll track ‘em down. You stomp on them.” kinda gal.

So. Jane Marple.
That’s me. Going through life, knitting and murmuring, “​Well, you know, Inspector, this poisoning reminds me of little Bobby Fisher in St Mary Mead.”

Andrea/Cara: I love the theme of strong women developing here! Okay, I’m not really sure I’d have the courage and determination to be this movie character, but I’d choose to be Katherine Johnson in the movie Hidden Figures, which is based on her true-life story. Johnson was a a brilliant African-American mathematician who went to work as a “computer” for NASA during the 1950s. With grace, wisdom, composure and quiet self-confidence, she overcame the dual prejudices against her race and her gender (NASA was a very high-testosterene place) to win the acceptance and ultimately the admiration and respect of all her colleagues. In those early days, the complex calculations for orbit trajectories and re-entry angles were done by individuals, using only an adding machine. The lives of the astronauts were literally in the hands of the “computers.” Johnson was so impressive in meetings that’s said that John Glenn refused to get in the capsule for the first U.S. space flight to orbit the earth until she okayed the numbers. She's a real-life super hero, an inspiration and role model for believing it’s possible to reach up and touch the stars.

Susan: So many great choices! Which movie character would I want to be? Wonder Woman and Princess Leia would be among my picks ... though I would also love to inhabit the characters of Lady Isabeau in Ladyhawke, or Merida in Brave. Both are strong female leads with courage, cleverness, integrity, compassion and heart--and both must find their own strength of character to face up to supernatural power. 

Isabeau's inner beauty glows even more than her outer beauty--her compassion and love for Navarre surpass everything for her, even her own life. What she endures, under the magic spell that makes her a hawk by day and a woman on her own at night, helps her discover true courage and independence, so that she is finally able to stand up to the evil and hatred that would have destroyed her and her love, and she steps forward as Navarre's true equal as well as true love. Movie or not, I think I could live as Isabeau, finding happiness at last ... and it would be amazing to fly as a hawk! 

Princess Merida in Brave is all that I love in a medieval Scottish heroine--strong-willed, independent, spirited, yet aware of the needs of others and capable of facing her fears, admitting mistakes and changing for the better. She's a fun, feisty, and adorable heroine, fearless and a bit reckless, handy with a bow ... and that great mane of curly red hair is gorgeous. An added bonus, if I could be Merida, would be the chance to live in the wild Highlands -- and someday (because Merida is a young heroine) find the perfect kilted, brawny, wonderful hero to share romantic Highland adventures....

So there you have it; a whole host of different takes on movie characters and what would make us want to step into their shoes. Now it’s over to you! Which movie character would you like to be and why?

Questions? Suggestions?

Dear wenchly readers, many years ago, when we first started this blog, we asked readers to send in questions and suggestions for things they'd like us to try to answer or blog about.

Two kinds of questions came flooding in -- some were more substantial than others. Some could be answered in a paragraph or two.

If a wench uses one of the meatier questions for a blog, whoever sent in that question wins a wenchly book.

We use the shorter questions for our Ask-a-Wench mid-monthly post, where a handful of wenches would respond to the same question.

The thing is, dear readers, that early flow of questions and suggestions has slowed to a trickle, so we thought we'd put out a call for more, just as a reminder. We like to stay relevant to our readers. And a timely question or suggestion can inspire a wench deep in deadline frenzy.

You can either post them here, in the comments stream, or email them directly to Melissa, our Wenchly Whip at  thewordwenches@gmail.com

Thanks so much

Anne, on behalf of all the Word Wenches. And sending a small splash of summer color to keep all you chilly folk warm.