Happy Christmas!

The wonderful day is only a week away. Marissa and I will be spending the next two weeks with family and friends, but we wanted to start our holiday by wishing you and yours all the best.

And to give you Christmas presents. J

First, if you need inspiration for decorations (or you simply like to ooh and ah), check out these pages showing the 2015 decorations at Windsor Castle. The decorators went with a Regency theme, with a nod to the Battle of Waterloo on the year of its 200th anniversary. Squee! 

Then, while you’re waiting to eat your roast goose, you might play this fun online memory game featuring characters from Jane Austen’s novels. 

Finally, as you’re relaxing at the end of the day, you might wonder about which novel to read next. The Bluestocking League has put together a collection of long excerpts (not the full novels, just enough of each story to whet your appetite) from our books. It’s available free online in a variety of formats. 

Happy Christmas, my dears! Here’s to a New Year filled with good stories and great friends to share them with. We will see you on January 5 when we celebrate the launch of Instant Frontier Family.

Four Things on a Friday: Excerpts!

So many cool items have come to my attention, I had to share them with you.  So, here are four nineteenth century- or reading-related things you need to know:

1. Looking for other nineteenth-century romances to read?  The Bluestocking League, a group of sweet Regency romance authors (sweet as in the books feature nothing more than kisses, although the authors are pretty sweet gals themselves!), is featuring themed excerpts from their books online.  The first two up are “Do let us have a little music,” on the website of inspirational Regency author Camille Elliot and “So you think you can dance,” on my own website.  Check them out--you just might discover a book you have to read.
2. Wondering what else might be out there in the wide wide world of romance books?  Romance Writers of America has a free reader app called Novel Engagement that will help you discover even more authors.  You can browse by keyword, author, title, and more.   
3. Ever wonder who popularized the Regency time period after Jane Austen?  This year marks the 80th anniversary of the modern Regency, as first published by the incomparable Georgette Heyer.  The Beau Monde Chapter of Romance Writers of America is celebrating with a series of discussions about her books.  The most recent is The Grand Sophy.
4. Want to know what was really happening in Washington Territory during the pioneer years?  The Washington Secretary of State has made available digitized copies of newspapers from all along Puget Sound and across Eastern Washington, some dating as early as 1852. I found it was fascinating to read not only the stories, but the advertisements of various businesses and products.  In fact, reading one legal notice gave me an idea for Simon Wallin’s book, which will be out in November or December 2016, after Frontier Engagement (James Wallin) in August 2015 and Instant Frontier Family (Maddie O’Rourke) in January 2016.

May you find many more things to delight you this Friday, my dears!