Word Wenches

New Year's Eve

Anne here, and it's New Year's Eve. This is the third time I've been given the blog for New Year's Eve, so I looked up the old blogs to see what I'd written previously. My 2009 blog was quite interesting, as I was reflecting on how much had changed in the past decade, but now it feels like ancient history—which I suppose it is!

It's hard to believe 2022 is ending — the last few years have been quite extraordinary, with the pandemic — but when I look back on 2022, I can't decide whether it dragged or it whizzed by. Thinking about where I was and what I was doing a year ago, it seems as though it was years ago. But then I think about what has happened to me this year, and its as if only a handful of months have passed in a blur. So I'm confused. But I'm celebrating the coming of the new year anyway.

Do you do anything special on New Year's Eve? I vary. Sometimes I just meet up with a few friends for a quiet night, and we watch the fireworks. I love fireworks, and though there are various local ones, I enjoy the Sydney ones, where the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the reflections on the water make for a brilliant display. (The photo above is by Andreas Dress on Unsplash) 

I have friends who often hold a party on New Year's Eve, with a fire outside — it's summer in Australia, remember, so think warm, balmy nights. And sometimes stinking hot ones. I do love a fire, but we can't have proper big bonfires here because of the danger of bushfires.

I always drink a toast to "Auld Lang Syne." My Scots blood always comes out in me at this time of year, and one day I'd like to be in Edinburgh for Hogmanay (the Scots name for New Year's Eve.) Hogmanay is a big event in Scotland — bigger than Christmas for many — and fire plays a major part. One year they had a "Viking" torchlight procession — I would have loved to be there for that. There are some fabulous photos here. And more Hogmanay photos here.
There are so many rituals and traditions for ushering in the new year. Click here to read about some from other parts of the world.

Do you make resolutions for the new year? I usually reflect on the past year and think about my intentions for the new year, but I don't make resolutions. But if you do, there's a useful guide to sticking to your resolutions here.  

So, what about you? How do you celebrate the New Year — or is it just another day for you? (I also celebrate Chinese New Year. ) Do you love or loathe fireworks, or make resolutions? What are you hoping for next year?
HAPPY NEW YEAR from me, and all the wenches.

Jubilee Jubilation

Nicola here, in the UK, where we are marking Queen Elizabeth II’’s 70th anniversary on the throne with Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The series of events being held to celebrate this milestone reminded me of 1977 when I was twelve years old and was living in Leeds in Yorkshire. We had a street party and in the park down the road from us there was a big concert which you could hear from our garden - which was great as my parents wouldn’t allow me to go as I was too young!

Jubilees don’t come around that often. They mark a major milestone in the reign of a monarch and only start after 25 years on the throne with the Silver Jubilee. They are named in the same way that anniversaries are: silver, golden, diamond and platinum but there’s no pearl or sapphire jubilee and none of the smaller anniversaries in between. However, they may be infrequent but they have a long history. The origins of jubilee celebrations go back to Ancient Egypt when a pharoah would take part in various ceremonies to demonstrate his or her fitness to rule. The word “jubilee” derives from the Hebrew word ‘Jobel’ which refers to the ram’s horn with which these ceremonies were proclaimed. Jubilees are, as the name suggests, times of jubilation.

Once a Laird

Anne here, and today I'm interviewing Mary Jo about ONCE A LAIRD, her final book in the "Rogues Redeemed" series, which was based around five men held captive in a cellar in wartime, facing execution as spies in the morning. Of course they escaped and lived to tell some wonderful tales.  (Ramsay was using the name Chantry at that time for various sneaky reasons.)

Once a Laird is about Ramsay, who made the biggest impression on me in Once a Scoundrel, where he was instrumental in freeing three ladies from a harem in Constantinople after they'd been taken hostage by Barbary pirates. I've been waiting for his story ever since.

There have been some lovely reviews of Once a Laird."  Here's one from Booklist:

"In the latest splendidly crafted addition to her Rogues Redeemed series, Putney (Once Dishonored, 2020) brilliantly utilizes all of the key elements her readers crave—engaging characters, an expertly evoked setting, an intriguingly different story line, even a quintessential cat—and the result is another exemplary-in-every-way romance.” – Booklist

 

2021 Anniversary Part 2

Anniversary Garden Party & Giveaway, Part 2

Collected by Mary Jo

Welcome to the second part of the Word Wench anniversary garden party, and this time, we're giving out books!  The Wenches will give books to seven winners chosen at random from among the commenters by Tuesday night. So tell us your thoughts!  (Commenters from both days of the anniversary posts are eligible.)

As on Friday, each Wench will summon one of our fictional couples from Pat Rice's magical library. Because libraries are all magical, here we can meet people from all places and times.  The invitation will invite our people to a party in Anne Gracie's Bellaire Gardens, which is a wonderful garden square that is completely surrounded by grand residences.  The garden is essentially the back yard of the houses, so residents can stroll and meet and mingle.

Come meet the other guests!

 

2021 Anniversary Blog, Part 1

You're invited to the Word Wenches' Anniversary Garden Party! (Part 1)

Collected by Mary Jo

The Word Wenches blog is 15 years old!  This is ancient beyond words in internet terms, yet we're still here because we love talking about our books and our travels and delicious odd bits of history. Most of all, we like the chance to interact with our readers. 

Our characters have so much to say that this blog will be divided in two with Part 2 posted on Monday the 24th.

The invitations are going out now.  Will you join us?

 

Word Wench Anniversary Ball

Compiled by Mary Jo

This year, we're holding a ball!  Each Wench will bring one of her favorite heroes. (Not the favorite, because how can one choose just one from among so many fabulous men?  <G>)  

I'm wearing the burgundy velvet gown I was married in, but I'm not the star of this occasion!  That would be Lord Ross Carlisle, hero of one of my earlier books, Silk and Secrets, second in my Silk Trilogy.  Though by nature he's rather reserved and scholarly, he's also deeply interested in all kinds of people and distant places.  Which is why he became one of those amazingly intrepid early Victorian explorers who crossed mountains and deserts and dared all kinds of dangers to explore the mysteries of the unknown. 

Ross was on his last expedition to Central Asia when he discovered his beloved, long estranged wife Juliet Cameron.  Together they risk the lethal journey to Bokhara in hopes of rescuing her brother--and in the process they discover each other again.  Ross and Juliet are generally inseparable, but she's starting the evening by joining a group of other wives in the library where they can sip brandy and claret and catch up on each other's news. 

I've now published Silk and Secrets as an e-book and later this year there will be an audio edition narrated by Siobhan Waring.  I chose this illustration from the NAL first edition because it's one of my all time favorite covers  and Ross and Juliet both look so gorgeous,  They are also dancing, though not anything you'd see in an English ballroom!  Ross, endlessly interested in all kinds of people, is looking forward to meeting the tribe of Wenches and our companions!

 

 

Come From Away

by Mary Jo

One of the great pleasures of going to a conference in NYC is the opportunity to go to a Broadway show, by which I mean something generally fun and upbeat, with music.  (Past choices have included HAIRSPRAY, BILLY ELLIOTT, and SOMETHING ROTTEN, all wonderful in different ways.)

Since Pat Rice and I were rooming together, we looked at what was currently available and she suggested the Canadian musical, Come From Away which she'd seen in California and was willing to see again, which was high praise.  I wasn't familiar with the show, but she said it was about the Newfoundlanders who took in the passengers and crews of 38 airplanes that were diverted to Gander airport after 9/11. 

I'd heard in general how amazingly hospitable the Newfoundlanders were, so I watched clip of the show's opening number, and immediately said YES! 

This was one of my better decisions. <G>  Come From Away is moving, entertaining, and sometimes wildly funny.  It was also brilliant showmanship, with only twelve actors, six men, six women, very diverse in age and race.  The set was a plain stage with tables and chairs which could be swiftly moved around and magically transform into a plane full of passengers, a bus carrying people through the night to unknown destinations, to legion halls filled with plane people and the Newfoundlanders working to provide food, accommodations, and comfort. 

 

 

Anniversary Winners

Here are the winners of the Wench 13th Anniversary #giveaway.

 

Each wench will contact her winner individually to obtain a posting address.

 

Thanks so much to everyone who left good wishes and participated in the discussion and the competition. Thanks also to all those who've followed us in the past. We hope you'll all continue with us on into the future. 

 

Wenchly readers are the BEST!

 

Andrea's winner:  Vicki W.

Mary Jo's winners: Molly M. and Ghazal M.

Pat's winner: Pat--Annette N.

Susan's winner: Nancy M.

Jo's winner: Kareni

Nicola's winner:  Lucia 

Susanna's winner:  Margot

Anne's winners: Theo and Shelley

 

(The flowers are mostly Australian native flowers, arranged by Swallows Nest Farm in Tasmania. Photo used with permission)

It's our Wenchiversary!

By Mary Jo and the rest of the Wenchly Crew

Has it really been thirteen years since we cautiously launched the Word Wenches blog? Indeed yes, and so much has changed in the world, in publishing, and in us. We've lost beloved Wench sisters Edith Layton and Jo Beverley, entered into new genres and new forms of publishing, and we've expanded to having Wenches from Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US so we can truly say that the sun never sets on the Wench Empire!

Here is the very first Word Wench blog post, also written by me. (I thought I was better at not volunteering!) Here is also a link for the first month of blogs, as we felt our way into this new enterprise and learned how to use the blog site's tools.

And we're still here, musing three times a week on books, history, travel, and other intriguing topics. Blogging is work even if we each only write one about every two weeks. When on deadline, there can be a mad scramble to swap dates, whip off something very quickly, or republish an older post. But we've kept blogging all these years because, basically, we like doing this.

We like connecting with our readers. We like being able to do quick, low stakes riffs on things that catch our attention. We LOVE telling readers about our new books, or new authors we've discovered.

For our first anniversary, we did a three part series on Getting Naked With the Wenches, and very popular it was! Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

 

The Erie Canal: The Road West

by Mary Jo 

I've got an old mule and her name is Sal,

Fifteen years on the Erie Canal!

She's a good old worker and a good old pal,

Fifteen years on the Erie Canal!

We've hauled some barges in our day,

Filled with lumber, coal, and hay,

And every inch of the way I (we) know,

From Albany to Buffalo!

 

 

Twenty Years Ago

Nicola here, inviting everyone to join me in a small celebration! Twenty years ago this year my first book for Harlequin Mills & Boon was published. True Colours was named in homage to Georgette Heyer; the writing style probably owed a fair amount to her as well for she, along with Alice Chetwynd Ley, Clare Darcy and others had been strong influences on my developing love of the Regency romance.

Even now I can remember the sense of disbelief to see a book I had written actually in print. For years I had written in my spare time – 12 years to be exact. True Colours was begun when I was at college and was a long time in the writing and re-writing. Life went on around it – marriage, moving jobs, moving house… And then suddenly there it was in my hand and on the shelves. It was an extraordinary and almost unreal feeling. I also remember being a tad disappointed by the cover which looked rather vampirish to me (the US version that came later was much prettier!) I also remember spending my first royalty cheque on a new bicycle! Later that same year (August, in fact) my second Regency romance, The Virtuous Cyprian, was also published. I wrote two books a year in those days even though I was working full time in an office as well. Her I am in a bookshop looking very excited to be on the shelves with Penny Jordan and Sidney Sheldon! This is a photo of an old photo so apologies that it isn't that good!)

National Days!

by Mary Jo

Most countries of the world have national days that celebrate their identity. That usually usually means the day that independence was proclaimed, as in the US, or negotiated, as was the case in many countries that had been colonized like much of Africa. But there can be lots of variations.

Hungary, for example, celebrates St. Stephen's Day. The United Kingdom doesn't exactly have a national day, though sometimes the Queen's Official Birthday the second weekend in June is treated as such. (Her birthday is actually April 21st, but the weather is better for speeches and parades in June.) 

However, the UK is composed of four separate countries and they all have celebrations on the day of their patron saints: St. George for England, St. Andrew for Scotland, St. David for Wales, and St. Patrick for Northern Ireland.

A lot of countries have a Constitution Day since creating and affirming a constitution creates a nation in a real sense. (There are Americans who believe crafting and confirming the US Constitution was more vital than declaring independence, and they have a good case for that.)

There are other interesting national days. Albania celebrates Albanian Day on November 28th, for example, and it's a celebration of its independence. Alderney, one of Britain's Channel Isles, celebrates Homecoming Day on December 15, which was the day in 1945 when the German occupation ended and islanders who had fled were able to return home.

Our neighbor Canada has a neighboring national day as well: July 1st is Canada Day, which commemorates the 1867 joining of several British colonies into one, the Dominion of Canada. Happy 151st birthday, Canada!  Here's a picture of the giant rubber ducky that visited for last year's sesquicentennial celebration. (I love that duck. <G>)

France's national day is Bastille Day, July 14th, and it commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789, which is considered the beginning of the French Revolution.  France and the US have a lot of history in common

Australia Day is January 26th and commemorates the 1788 landing of the First Fleet of British ships when they arrived in New South Wales and raised the British flag in Sydney Cove, which became the site of the great city of Sydney.

Celebrations are similar around the world. Parades are always popular. In my Maryland county there are three Independence Day parades in different areas of the county, and the timing is staggered so that local politicians can attend all three, riding in convertibles and waving at their constituents, which is about as close as we usually get to them.  Fireworks are definitely popular world wide because--noisy and pretty, something for everyone.  <G>

There are floats and bands and social clubs marching together, but my very favorite local parade entry was the tattooed and bearded biker slowly cruising along on his hog, with his two very well behaved basset hounds draped over the big  fenders. Great fun!

The Fourth of July is also a time for family gatherings and barbecues with hot dogs, hamburgers, and watermelon. From what I've heard from friends in other countries, this kind of celebration is global, though the food and drink might vary. 

But mostly, national days are for honoring our countries and the best that is in them. What are your national days, and what do you do on them? Because all nations are special, and we are part of our nations.

Wherever you live, what are your special days and how do you celebrate them?  With pride and gusto, I hope!

Mary Jo

 

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!

 

 

Afternoon tea time

Anne here, and today I'm throwing a special afternoon tea party because tomorrow is the 12th anniversary of the word wench blog. Mary Jo will be heading up a group blog on Wednesday, explaining how the blog started, and each of us will talk about what the word wenches means to us, so today is just about eating, drinking and being merry.

So I'm getting out the good china cups and setting out the food, just as I did when I was a kid and Mum would have people over for afternoon tea. 

You will note I say afternoon tea, not "high tea." These days hotels offer "High Tea" —  serving several tiers of dainty cakes and elegant little sandwiches with the crusts cut off, all at a hefty price. They call it ""high tea" I suppose because they think "high" sounds posh, but in fact it's the opposite. 

High tea in the UK was traditionally the evening meal for working people, substantial rather than dainty, and served at the normal dinner table. It was often something hot, like pies or pasties or eggs, or cold cuts and cheese, served with plenty of bread and butter (crusts included) and a big pot of good strong tea.

Canada, O Canada!

by Mary Jo

Happy birthday, Canada! Canada Day was actually Saturday, July 1st, but this is one of those big birthdays that end in a zero: Canada is 150 years young!

I grew up in Western New York, quite close to the Canadian border. As a kid, I remember driving over the Rainbow Bridge from Niagara Falls, NY to Niagara Falls, Ontario with a lovely view of the famous falls from the car. (That's the Rainbow Bridge below, lit up at night.)  Of course, lots of Americans grew up close to the Canadian border since it runs 3,000 miles across North America from sea to shining sea.

Once upon a time, Canada and the US were both part of British North America when all the colonies were pretty much separate. (Thirteen of them are now the US.) The French colony of Quebec was a different matter, but in 1763 France ceded it to Britain as a result of the Seven Years War.

America's Independence Day is tomorrow, July 4th, and most of us learned early the story of how the 13 colonies got stroppy with Britain and fought the Revolutionary War, after which those colonies became the United States of America (though really, they could have called it the United Colonies of America. UCA??)

Canada, however, continued as a number of separate colonies for some time, including Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Looking at this map (from Wikipedia), you'd think Upper Canada would be the green bit because, well, it's upper. But no, in this case upper and lower refer to the mighty St. Lawrence River and "upper" is nearer the headwaters and covered an area this is now the southern part of the Province of Ontario. "Lower Canada" is farther along the river and is the now the southeastern part of the Province of Quebec.

In 1841, Upper and Lower Canada were united into the Province of Canada, which lasted until 1867, when the Dominion of Canada was formed of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. And the 150th anniversary of this act of union is what is now being celebrated.  (Picture below is one I took in a park in St. John, New Brunswick.  Beavers are the national animal of Canada.)

Canada was the first Dominion within the British empire and the name indicated that it was a self-governing entity within the empire. As a side note, a while back I listened to an audiobook course on the history of the British empire, and one of the things that stuck with me was that the British statesmen decided after the American Revolution that Britain had handled the 13 colonies badly, and they needed to do better.

And they did, which is why nations like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others were comfortable staying within the big tent of the British Commonwealth.

There were good reasons for Canada uniting, not least of which was a wariness about all those people south of their border. (Canada is the second largest country in the world after Russia, but much of it is so very cold that the population is only about a tenth that of the US.)

One of the hoped-for goals of some Americans in the War of 1812 was to annex Canada, which after all is much closer to the US than Britain is. Very efficient, yes? Well, Canadians were NOT on board with this, and not only because tens of thousands of America loyalists had emigrated to Canada after the American Revolution and they hadn't changed their minds about being part of the United States. (The War of 1812 ended as basically a draw without a significant exchange of territory in either direction.)

There's lots of going back and forth between the US and Canada--we Word Wenches have had two Canadian Wenches, Jo Beverley and now Susanna Kearsley, and our site manager is Melissa Beverley, who lives in Ottawa, the capital of Canada.

While Canada and the US are generally pretty good friends, there is a certain amount of caution on the Canadian side. It's rather like a mouse and an elephant sharing a bed. They may be friendly, but when the elephant turns over, the mouse had better be alert! (I'm reminded of the story of a Mexican president who once said, "Pity poor Mexico. So far from God, so close to the United States." <G> I'm sure Canadians sometimes feel the same.)

"The Murdoch Mysteries" is a favorite tv series for me and the Mayhem Consultant. Made in Canada, it's set in Toronto around 1900 and features a scientifically inclined detective called William Murdoch. The series is great--and now and then the characters show that wariness when arrogant American authorities shows up. <G> (I believe the series is the most popular in Canada.  Yes, Yannick Bisson who plays Murdoch is Very Handsome.  <G>  Yes, there's a very nice romance in the series. )

Canada has grown and flourished in the last 150 years. Like the US, the country has expanded westward and is now comprised of 10 provinces and 3 territories. (The 10th province, Labrador and Newfoundland didn't become part of Canada until 1949.)

Canada's global image owes much to its long history of peacekeeping missions. The world LIKES Canadians--American backpackers in Europe have been known to attach Canadian flags to their backpacks in order to be received in a friendlier fashion.

And now Canada is throwing itself a grand birthday party! Fireworks, parades, speeches--and one giant yellow rubber duck. <G> Six stories high, it was created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, who thought of it as a symbol of global unity (and humor). It's hard to look at that duck without smiling. (This image is from the CBC news site and my Toronto friend Ali Cunliffe referred me to it.)

The duck will spend three days in Toronto, then tour other ports in Ontario, bringing smiles wherever it goes, I'm sure.

So happy birthday, Canada, and long may you be smiling. I hope the US will always be as good a neighbor to you as you are to us.

Mary Jo

 

Edith Layton: Word Wench, Mom & A True Lady

Update 6/26: A TRUE LADY is now available as an ebook

*

First, I'd like to thank the Wenches for inviting me to post during their anniversary celebration. I am continually impressed by how the Wenches not only endure, but continue to innovate, entertain, and open the circle to new authors and guests. 

Secondly, yes, that's a cover reveal just to the left of this copy, and no I didn't write it, but more on that in a moment... 

Third, well, I probably should introduce myself first, right? OK, here goes...

Dear Readers,

I'm Susie Felber. No, that is not a very romantic name, and that's exactly why my mother, Edith Felber, was persuaded by her publisher to take a pen name in 1983 for the publication of her first regency romance: The Duke's Wager.

Edith Layton a/k/a mom, went on to publish over 30 novels and many more short stories. She blogged with the Word Wenches for many years, and only stopped because... well, because she died.

I lurk and read the Wenches often, and admit I go back and read the beautiful post and comments Layton readers left here.

Of course I miss her. Mom was funny, smart, and would've bragged about me even if I was in prison. e.g. "The warden says Susie's license plates have a certain Je ne sais quoi."

But not only does her memory live on (think of her daily), but of course I have her books to enjoy (reading her books is like having her in the room with me), and Layton HQ is still going strong. Here's some news and updates:

On Mother's Day this year, my brother Adam (the famous NPR / Hollywood guy) and I appeared on Faith Salie's Audible podcast on an episode called When Mom Writes Romance. <-- that's a link there, and it's fun. You can hear about how my father sent out her manuscripts under our German Shepherd's name when she got discouraged by rejections, and much more.

Backing up, two and a half years ago, I finally got it together to bring the Layton books that were out of print but in demand, back into the world as ebooks. As you can imagine, or know too well, this is hard work.

A Wenchly Celebration and a Memorial

by Mary Jo

Welcome to WenchLandia!  The Word Wenches blog is now ELEVEN YEARS OLD!  Which is quite amazing in this age of ephemera. Over the years, our membership has changed, but I think the essential Wench spirit of intelligence, kindness, and acceptance has remained true and strong, traits we share with you wonderful readers.

Looking back to our first anniversary blog in 2007, we did a week long rumination on nakedness in history.  Last year, we celebrated our tenth anniversary by inviting back some of our guests from those ten years.

This year, we're creating a bouquet both for our eleventh anniversary, and also as a memorial for our Wench sister Jo Beverley, who died the day after last year's anniversary. I'm starting with a picture of my blossoming chives for Jo because they are pretty, tasty, and a gift from the garden.  And I'll add some of my irises just because.

More thoughts from the Wenches:

From Susan King:

I've been with the Word Wenches since literally the first minute, when a few authors, all good friends, bravely set off to try this blogging thing. Eleven years later, we're a strong sisterhood--our roster has changed as we've lost dear friends and gained new ones, our look has freshened up, our lists of books has grown, we've written thousands of blogs by now (surely it must be!), and we've even written two holiday anthologies as the Word Wenches, a unique achievement for any blog.

And most importantly, absolutely, this blog has become a place for so many readers to drop by, read a bit, comment a bit, share their thoughts and experiences. You all have made this blog what it is, you have given us longevity, you've made all of us laugh and learn and crave the stories you all are reading. We show up every day for you all, and we value your contributions and friendship as much as we value our own. Thank you, and happy anniversary to everyone!  

What being a Word Wench Means to Us

 

Nicola here. Today, as part of our Word Wench Blog 10^th anniversary celebrations, we’re talking about what makes the Word Wenches such a special group to be a part of. Some of us are founder members of the blog and talk about the reasons it was set up in the first place and the ways in which it has grown and changed. Others, myself included, became Wenches along the way and joined a blog that continues to be dynamic, diverse, and fascinating, and a group of writers who are wonderfully insightful and supportive. Then there are our readers and regular blog commenters. Again, some have been with the blog since the beginning and others have joined in along the way, and together we have created what feels to me to be a special community. That’s my view of the Word Wenches, anyway – here is what my fellow Wenches have to say, plus some photos of Wenches having fun - at conferences, at weddings, with hats and even by the sea!

Pat:

Ten years ago, the Word Wenches came together because our NYC traditional publishers requested that we begin interacting with our readers through social media. For introverted writers accustomed to spending all our days in our writing caves, only coming out to meet readers on special occasions, this was a huge technological and social leap into the unknown. So we banded together and held each other’s hands and took the leap. At that time, in 2006, I was finishing up the Magical Malcolm series, starting on the Rebellious Sons, writing an urban fantasy, and wishing I could publish my satirical mystery. My how time flies!

Celebrating with Susanna Kearsley & Pamela Hartshorne

Anne here, with Susanna Kearsley and Pamela Hartshorne dropping by to celebrate our 10th anniversary with us. Both Susanna and Pam are  'dual timeline/time slip' authors and Honorary Word Wenches (HWW). They're also representative of international wenchdom, as Pam is from the UK and Susanna from Canada. Welcome, Susanna and Pam!

Susanna here, happy to be here to share in the Word Wenches’ tenth anniversary!

I am, as it happens, an Honorary Word Wench—a  noble and cherished designation that not only comes with the perk of being able to add the letters “H.W.W.” to my signature (always much appreciated by someone like me, who never finished university), but also stands as a sometimes much-needed reminder that I’m never really writing on my own.

It’s a thing about writing: so much of it needs to be done on your own in a room by yourself, shut away from distractions, that it would be easy to feel disconnected…if we didn’t have this amazing community.

The first time I took my elder son to FanExpo here in in Toronto, he looked across the lines of people standing in their cosplay costumes waiting to get in, and said, “My people!” And I knew exactly how he felt.

I feel it, too, whenever I’m with other writers and readers who treasure historical romance. When I don’t have to explain why I’d rather shut myself away with a pile of 18th-century newspapers and a big pot of coffee than go to the mall. When I can say I’ve just surfaced from being in another time, and people understand. It’s a wonderful feeling, to be understood.

It’s in places like this one, with hosts like the Word Wenches, that we’re all able to find one another. We cheer each other, teach each other, share our craft and learn in equal measure; and, as evidenced by this past week, we give each other comfort.

Back when I was gifted with my Honorary Word Wench title, on September 23 of 2009, this group was a mere three years old, and I only knew Nicola. Since then I’ve met nearly all of the Wenches, and from sharing an event with Joanna to sharing drinks and laughter with Anne, to having her and Mary Jo come and stand at my shoulder when I won my RITA, the Word Wenches really and truly are “My people”. (Susanna's first interview with the wenches is here.)

May they continue another ten years, and beyond that.
And I’ll keep on adding “H.W.W.” after my name, with great pride.

Susanna Kearsley  

Susanna's most recent publication is A Desperate Fortune 
Her website is here.

And now, here's  Pamela Hartshorne:

It is a great honour to be an Honorary Word Wench, especially when I spent so many years writing strictly contemporary romances for Mills & Boon as Jessica Hart. But I have always been fascinated by the relationship between the past and the present, and in fact started writing to fund a PhD in medieval history (although I ended up as an early modernist) so my historical leanings have always been there.

Throughout the (very) many years it took me to complete that PhD, the question I was asked most often - after ‘Have you ever thought about writing a real book?’, of course - was whether I was going to use my research to write a historical romance. My answer was always ‘no’: I fretted about authenticity and how I could possibly get modern readers to identify with characters who thought and spoke and acted so differently in the past.

But after writing 50 romances, it felt like time for a new challenge and I decided to get over myself and have a go at writing not a romance but a ‘time slip’, part historical novel, part ghost stories, part psychological thrillers – and, in my case, part romance too, because romances are about emotions, and emotions are what connect us to the past, whether that past is our own, or a more distant one. I let go of the authenticity issue; the truth is that no amount of academic research will tell us what it was ‘really like’ in the past. The only way we can know that would be to somehow go back and re-experience life as somebody who lived then (ooh, precisely the premise of a time slip!)

For me, the real appeal of historical novels, romances or otherwise, lies in the tension between everything that is different and intriguing about the past, and everything that is the same – and what never change are the human emotions that lie at the heart of every great story - love, hate, fear - and that we can all identify with, wherever and whenever we live.

The temptation for all those of us fascinated by the past is to get bogged down in details, and squeeze in every interesting piece of our research (I can’t tell you how much about dung heaps and cleaning gutters I had to force myself to jettison from my first drafts of Time’s Echo) but this is where historical romance comes into its own: focusing on the emotional relationship between the characters gives it the perfect structure to draw readers into the story while keeping them interested and intrigued with a dazzling backdrop of historical detail. (Pam's first interview with the Wenches is here.)

So let’s hear it for historical romance – and let’s hear it for the fabulous Word Wenches, and a blog that has been invariably interesting, entertaining and inspiring for an incredible ten years. Many congratulations to you all!

Pamela Hartshorne 

Pam’s latest book, House of Shadows (not to be confused with Nicola Cornick’s House of Shadows!) is out now.
Pamela's website is here.

Anne again — thank you so much, Susanna and Pam for coming to celebrating this exciting milestone with us! And dear readers, to quote Pat Rice, "we would love to shower all of you with champagne and cake. But instead, at the end of the week, we'll be handing out gifts to random commenters."
And here's a question for readers: — what historical period or geographical location would you love to see explored in a time slip or historical romance? 

Wench Tenth Anniversary Guests

 
The Word Wenches are presenting comments from readers, authors, and other industry professionals on the last ten years of romance, history, and the world in general. Welcome our guests, please!

Christina Courtenay

I’ve been in love with romance ever since I first read a fairy tale – in fact, I was probably born a romantic!  The princesses in peril, the dashing princes to the rescue, the treasures and magic; I just didn’t want any other stories.  After discovering Georgette Heyer in my teens, I was totally sold on historical romance and I’ve never found anything else as satisfying.  There’s just something about immersing yourself in a fictional past, with strong heroes, lords and ladies, beautiful clothing and endless adventures that will never cease to pull me in, and I think historicals remain a favourite with readers for a reason – it’s just such fun!  The Word Wenches produce some of the very best in this sub-genre and, as well as the lovely books, I’ve enjoyed each and every post on this blog over the years – such diversity and I always learn something new.  Congratulations on this wonderful anniversary and I hope you’ll continue for a long time to come!

Christina

 

Eileen Dreyer

I was a historical romance reader before I was a historical writer. In fact, through the first 20 years of my career, I wrote contemporary category romance as Kathleen Korbel and medical/forensic suspense as Eileen Dreyer. And then one day the wonderful RT reviewer Melinda Helfer and I were talking Regency Romance, and she sealed my fate. “You should write Regencies.”

I laughed at the time. Six regencies later, I'm not laughing. Why do I love writing them? First, I love history, especially in the times when the world was in upheaval. And if there's one thing you can say about the Napoleonic Era, it's that the world was in upheaval. I love to see how it played out in the lives of normal people. The soldier, the debutante, the companion. I especially like to write a strong woman hemmed in by the mores and expectation of the society and time in which she lives. And of course I love to give her a man who's worthy of her. And clothes. Beautiful clothes. And humor. And suspense(which is easy then, since they were at war and we can imagine all the nefarious spies we want, even if it isn't entirely correct). And so was born DRAKE'S RAKES, who are all gentleman spies in service of the crown, who run afoul of a nefarious plot and strong heroines.  Just the kind I like to write. To learn more(you know you want to), stop by my website www.eileendreyer.com www.facebook.com/eileendreyer @eileendreyer 

 

Nina Paules, ePublishing Works:

Ten-ish years ago, while on an extended business trip, I bought my first romance novel, Mary Jo's A Kiss of Fate. I was embarrassingly (because "good girls" didn't read romance) hooked, and unknowingly fated.

As a wanna-be author, I emailed Mary Jo to say how much I enjoyed her book, and for reasons I still can't pinpoint, we became fast friends. That was Fate's first move.

Many fun and educational conversations on the Word Wenches' blog led me to create three Regency gowns (with all the underpinnings), and ultimately a two-part guest post about a modern-girl trying to live in a Regency Corset. The rewarding effort convinced me I could write.

A few years later, Mary Jo asked if I could use my computer "expertise" to make an eBook (when eBooks were a novelty), which opened the door for ePublishing Works. Today, ePW proudly publishes and promotes books for five of the eight current Wenches, plus nearly 100 other authors. Funny what a little romance novel and a blog can do.

Much has changed in how we read romance: paper giving way (mostly) to digital, and perusing physical bookstores exchanged for curated reading recommendations received via email. But the thrill of a good story with a powerful hook, that's peopled with engaging characters who grab the heart and mind, remains unchanged. Even better, a well-written Historical Romance is timeless in its ability to entertain, even as the delivery mechanisms change at lightning speed.

Thank you, Word Wenches, for all you have given me, for your faith in me, and for all you continue to do for the author and reader communities. It excites me to know that digital publishing assures the great stories that captured my heart a decade ago will be equally available to new readers for the next decade and beyond. Congratulations on the first 10 years!

 

Thank you to our dear friends and colleagues for celebrating a remarkable milestone with us! And dear readers, we would love to shower all of you with champagne and cake. But instead, at the end of the week, we'll be handing out gifts to random commenters. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Wit and Wisdom from Eloisa James and Lauren Willig

 

by Mary Jo

Today, we're resuming our sadly interrupted anniversary celebration, and I have the pleasure of welcoming Eloisa James and Lauren Willig, both of whom have wonderful insights to share with us.  

First up is Eloisa James, who has been a visitor to Word Wenches for both her romance and for her delicious memoir, Paris in Love.  Today she ponders romance and what might lie ahead in our genre:

 

Eloisa James:

I read widely in romance sub-genres, with the exception of scary Romantic Suspenses.  I’m just going to make a more-or-less haphazard list of the trends I’m seeing, skipping Historical because the Word Wenches have that covered.  Please tell me in the comments what I’m missing or where I went wrong!!

The Word Wenches' 10th Anniversary Celebration!

by Mary Jo

Can you believe it?  Today is the 10th anniversary of this blog--that's 597 years in internet time, you know. <G>  The world has changed, publishing has changed, we've all changed--yet here we are, still musing about romance and history, interviewing interesting guests, and inviting you all to join in the conversation!

The idea for a historical romance writers' blog was sparked when Susan King and I were having lunch with Eileen Buckholtz, our friend and web wizard, and she suggested that since we were interested in blogging, a group blog was the way to go: more content, less work. <G>  This sounded like a fine idea to us, so Susan and I listed people we'd love to have join us.  To my surprise, everyone we asked agreed, and a blog was born.  Sherrie Holmes, our first site manager and cat herder, came up with the name Word Wenches, which we all loved, and here we are, ten years later.  

I believe we're the only romance blog to have published two Christmas anthologies, Mischief and Mistletoe and The Last Chance Christmas Ball, both with Kensington. Both were great fun to write. 

To celebrate this anniversary, we decided to invite back a few former guests to muse or reminisce with us.  Because we received such thoughtful responses, we'll be posting every day this week, with Friday being wrap up comments from all of us Wenches.  

And because we love giving books away, we'll be doing eight giveaways to eight lucky commenters from our Anniversary Week celebration.  (Winners to be chosen by the end of May.) Let the celebration begin! 

Our first guest: Candice Hern, one of the old gang of Signet Regency writers where so many Regency writers started our writing careers.  Candice is not only a fine writer who has one of the best Regency websites anywhere, but because she was already an experienced blogger, she was extremely helpful when we started our own blog.  Thank you, Candice!  

Congratulations, Word Wenches, on your first TEN YEARS!

Quite a milestone on the internet. Not many group blogs survive that long. I have been reading your blog since Day 1 and continue to do so. I always learn something new, especially when one of you dives into an historical research topic. I love the diversity of the group, both in your books and your blog posts. (And I still miss Edith.) Here's wishing you all another ten years of entertaining and educating those of us who love historical romance. Way to go, ladies!

Next up: Mary Balogh. A romance star ever since her first Signet Regency was published a lot of years ago, Mary offers these insights:

Where Romance is going:

Romance is going in whatever direction the imaginations of romance writers take it—or should I say directions? In the past several years we have seen it explode into innumerable sub-genres and trends, some of them enduring, some not.

I decided almost as soon as I started writing more than thirty years ago (ouch!) that I would no longer read romance or take any notice of trends or jump on any bandwagons. I cheat (a lot) on that first decision, but even so I would say that 90% of my reading is non-romance. So who am I to talk about where romance is going? I will continue to follow my own imagination for as long as I am willing and able and as long as I still have readers.

One thing that has pleased me greatly this month of May is the almost overwhelmingly positive response I have had to my new book, Only Beloved, the final book of the Survivors’ Club series. The hero is 48, the heroine 39. I held my breath as the publication day dawned. But readers had no objection to the older characters.

The same thing happened with the novella that came out with one of Grace Burrowes’s in Once Upon a Dream in April. The hero and heroine are both 40 or close to it. With so many aging authors still writing (ahem) and so many aging readers still reading, maybe this is one direction I will take more often in the future. Love, even romantic love, is not an exclusive preserve of the young, after all, is it?

And on the subject of the passing of time…congratulations Word Wenches for keeping your really excellent and intelligent blog site going for ten years. That is a remarkable achievement. May you continue for at least ten more.

To wrap up today's posting, Carola Dunn joins us.  She started out writing Walker Regencies, which were the first such romances I discovered in the library when I began to look beyond my well worn Georgette Heyers.  She moved from Regency romance into historical mysteries--I've been obsessively following her 1920's set Daisy Dalrymple series for years--and like Mary Balogh, she has some thoughts about older characters.

Pass Time with Good Company

I wrote my first Regency 37 years ago (Toblethorpe Manor, published 1981) and followed it with 31 more, as well as a bunch of novellas. As in most romances, the heroines were almost all youthful—even the oldest, at 42, seems youthful from my present age! When I started writing mysteries, I made my amateur sleuth, Daisy Dalrymple, 25. For reasons I won’t go into, over the course of 23 books she’s aged by only 5 years.

A decade ago, after turning 60, I decided I wanted a protagonist nearer my own
age. That was the genesis of Eleanor Trewynn, the main character of my Cornish mysteries. For many years, she and Daisy have been living in my head. Luckily, I find them excellent company. It’s gratifying to hear from so many readers that they too think of Daisy and Eleanor as good friends they want to spend more time with.

Thank you, Candice, Mary,  and Carola!  You've all created wonderful characters we want to spend more time with.  (And you're all on my personal keeper shelves.)  

Visit Word Wenches again tomorrow, when the inimitable Eloisa James and Lauren Willig will share their thoughts on romance! And remember, commenters might win books, and what reader doesn't love winning books?

Mary Jo

Our New Look

Anne here. As many of you have already noticed, we're making a few small changes to the WordWench blog, leading up to our 10th anniversary celebrations.
The most obvious is the gorgeous new banner, designed by wench Andrea/Cara, in consultation with us all. We love it — what do you think?

Last year, our long-time blogmistress Sherrie retired to spend more time with her beloved animals and work on her own creative projects, and we thank her for all the hard work and enjoyment. The lovely Melissa Beverley (Jo's daughter-in-law) has been managing the blog for some time, and is now feeding in the website changes in increments, as and when her energetic toddler allows it. Melissa's photo has just gone up on the sidebar. We're still experimenting with small and subtle changes (like the new border color) so keep your eyes peeled and let us know how you like it.

Mary Jo will be launching our 10th anniversary celebrations this coming week — stay tuned. We'll be interspersing new posts with posts from some guest authors, and a few golden oldie posts from the past. And there will be giveaways.

Starting our Celebrations Early

 

Hi! I'm Melissa, the Wench blog mistress.  As part of our gala 10th Anniversary celebration, which officially kicks off on May 23, we all would like to share some of our favorite posts from the last ten years.  To start us off, here is a post on Mothers from Jo Beverley talking a bit about mothers in books.

 Mother's day has always been quite enjoyable for me, I have a wonderful mom, an amazing mother-in-law, and in the last few years I have had the joy of celebrating as a mother myself.  Jo asks such thoughtful questions in her post, so I will leave you with them. 

Do you feel that the role of mothers has changed in the last few years, or is the post still on point?  Please remember that the copy of the Secret Wedding was for 2013, but there is still a book prize for a lucky commenter!

 

From Jo Beverley, May 2013

We celebrate Mother's Day in March in Britain, but having lived in Canada for a long time the May date feels more traditional to me, and it's made me think about mothers in our novels. The picture is of my mother, Mildred, as a teenager, on her wedding day, and her 40th wedding anniversary.

I have to say that my work is short on great mothers. No reflection on my own mum, but for some reason my heroine's good mothers are usually dead before the book starts. Mind you, most of the bad ones are, too.

If I consider my recent books I have a cold mother for Georgia is A Scandalous Countess, and a dead, unappreciative one for Prudence in An Unlikely Countess. In my upcoming book, Seduction in Silk, the heroine's dead mother is a stinker, and the hero's is the same as in Scandalous C as Perry is Georgia's brother.

To look on the bright side, both Christian's parents in A Secret Wedding were loving, though also such an embarrassment to him at times with their seemingly endless production of healthy children and unashamed enjoyment of the getting of them. Sometimes parents in novels can make life difficult, as in Perry's case in Seduction in Silk.

There's an excerpt here, but no mothers present.

I have some questions for you.

What great mothers for heroes and heroines have you found in historical romance? What makes them particularly great?

In general, if the protagonists have a mother, does that help or hinder? Does being motherless lead to a stronger plot? Does a loving mother weaken the drama? Examples?

If you have a great story about your mother, share it here. My mother, a devout Catholic, used to invite Jehova's Witnesses in for tea and try to convert them. I think she got put on their blacklist in the end as they stopped coming by.

I'll give a copy of The Secret Wedding to the writer of one of the interesting comments, randomly picked.

Cheers,

Jo