Launching the Captain

Captain Quillan St. Claire, that is. He is the Lord of the Smugglers in 1804 Dorset, England. Okay, so I have a soft spot in my heart for witty, dashing, slightly dangerous heroes, particularly when they're humbled by the love of a strong-willed woman. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been eagerly waiting to write the sixth, and final-for-now, story in my Grace-by-the-Sea series. The Siren’s Captain officially released July 19 and has been getting lovely reviews.

“FIVE STARS! A fantastic conclusion to the series! Long have I waited to read Quill’s story and I am in no way disappointed. It was definitely worth the wait.” – Huntress Reviews

“Regina Scott is a dab hand at a Regency tale, and these stories are super good. Well done!” – Simply Susan Review Blog 

Here’s the story in a nutshell:

French singer and spy Marie-Louise Fortier has spent her life protecting idealistic men like her father, who died trying to wrest France back from Napoleon. So when the British War Office asks her to safeguard a former naval captain in the little spa village of Grace-by-the-Sea from the emperor’s threats, she doesn’t hesitate, even if it means pretending to be engaged to the legendary Captain St. Claire to remain at his side.

Quillan St. Claire has been taking care of himself since he was a foundling. He’s fought Napoleon in battle and now smuggles the tyrant’s secrets from France to aid England’s cause. He’s certainly not willing to trust the pretty soprano with his life, yet her siren’s voice seems to call to him. As danger draws closer, these two must work together to protect the friendly little village that welcomed them, only to discover that protecting each other may mean risking their hearts for a real chance at love.

Those of you who have been following the series may also enjoy the courtship of another resident of Grace-by-the-Sea, Maudie Tully. I couldn’t resist giving our whimsical wise woman a happily ever after.

You can find The Siren’s Captain at fine online retailers in ebook format and print on Amazon:

Smashwords 

Amazon (Affiliate Link) 

Barnes and Noble 

Apple Books 

Kobo 

Set your sails for Grace-by-the-Sea today.

Here’s Your Chance: New Release and Three-Book Sale

She’s out! The Lady’s Second-Chance Suitor, the fifth book in my Grace-by-the-Sea series, launches this week.

Hester Todd hoped never to run into her first love, Rob Peverell, again, until she does just that at the annual Grace-by-the-Sea Harvest Ball. Rob broke her heart seven years ago, sending her flying into the arms of a dashing naval lieutenant instead. Now a widow with a daughter she adores, Hester has finally found a little peace with her past. But one moment in Rob’s company, and her heart begins to whisper of a different future.

A tragedy propelled the rapscallion younger son to the title of viscount, and Rob is struggling to become the man his sister and tenants need. Romance at the moment is out of the question, but Hester always knew the way to his heart. When smugglers once more try to infiltrate the little coastal village, Hester and Rob must find a way to trust each other and protect their families and friends. In doing so, they may find that true love always deserves a second chance.

To celebrate, I’ve lowered the prices on the first three books in the series. Through April 21, the ebook version of The Matchmaker’s Rogue is 99 cents, The Heiress’s Convenient Husband is $1.99, and The Artist’s Healer is $2.99. Tell your friends!

The Lady’s Second Chance Suitor is available as an ebook (print too on Amazon) at fine online retailers such as

Smashwords  

Amazon (affiliate link) 

Barnes and Noble 

Apple Books 

Kobo 

Return to Grace-by-the-Sea, where romance and adventure come home.

Hearing Grace-by-the-Sea

It’s not surprising that authors hear their characters in their heads. Sometimes they start talking before a story is plotted. Sometimes they start talking during the plotting. Sometimes they’re particularly stubborn and don’t make themselves truly known until the book is fairly far along. What’s really surprising, at least to me, is when someone else hears those voices too.

Such is the case with my new audiobook, The Matchmaker’s Rogue. My wonderful narrator, Jannie Meisberger, had done such a good job with the Fortune’s Brides set that I asked her to try her hand at making the characters in Grace-by-the-Sea come alive. She did a fantastic job, as always, with my hero and heroine, and even managed to sing in Lord Featherstone and Mr. Crabapple’s voices when called for.

But Maudie, ah Maudie. She was difficult.

That shouldn’t surprise me. Those of you who have read the series know that Maudlyn “Maudie” Tully, the elderly aunt of my heroine, Jesslyn Chance, is her own person. Having been widowed young, she retreated into a fantasy world and never came out. Maudie has tea with fairies, picnics with mermaids, and an ongoing battle of civility with trolls. I hear her dear, droll, prophetic voice so clearly.

Funny that others don’t.

“Close,” I said to Jannie. “But a bit more mysterious.”

“Closer, but perhaps a little higher?”

“Nice, but too slow. Try it faster.”

I’m so glad Jannie has the patience of a saint.

In the end, she did Maudie and the others justice. Here’s a little listen:

Voice by Jannie · The Matchmaker's Rogue

The Matchmaker’s Rogue is now available at Audible and Amazon, and soon iTunes.

Celebrating The Governess’s Earl and Timeless Love Giveaway

A new book is always reason to celebrate at my house, and particularly because The Governess’s Earl, the fourth book in my Grace-by-the-Sea series, was nominated for a Swoony Award on Goodreads within days of release. The Swoonies are a Reader’s Choice Award recognizing excellence in sweet, secular romance. I may swoon!

Rejected by the man she loved, quick-witted bluestocking Rosemary Denby is determined to win the position of governess to the temperamental Lady Miranda, daughter of the Earl of Howland. Surely helping another young lady find the joy in learning is just what she needs to regain her confidence.

Drake, Earl of Howland, is struggling to find his footing as a widowed father, new earl, and suddenly penniless owner of the castle near the cozy spa village of Grace-by-the-Sea. But the new governess has him even more off balance. He loved once and saw his wife die in childbirth. The more he learns about Rosemary, the more he begins to wonder whether he can open his heart again. As danger once more draws closer to the castle on the headland, he and Rosemary must work together to keep the village and his daughter safe. Could his bluestocking governess be the one to teach him a lesson, in love?

You can find the book in print and e-book at fine online retailers like

Smashwords

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Apple Books 

Kobo

Another reason to celebrate is a giveaway taking place between February 1 and 15—multiple winners will win a print copy of 18 romance novels crossing the ages, including The Governess’s Earl, and books by Karen Witemeyer, Laura Franz, Rachel Fordham, and Jen Turano. Enter here and join the celebration.

Date That Word!

Many authors of historical fiction work hard to use period-correct terms. For many years, I coveted a copy of The Oxford English Dictionary, which dates the origin of words. I was overjoyed to come upon an abbreviated version (The Oxford Universal Dictionary, only 2,515 pages) at a rummage sale a few years ago. I also knew about Google ngrams, which track the use of words in digitized books held by Google. For example, from 1804 to 1810, the use of the word redingote increased, only to plummet from 1810 to 1812 before increasing again. But this week I stumbled upon the Merriam-Webster Time Traveler site, which I must admit is rather addicting!

The Time Traveler shows which words first appeared in print for a particular year. For my Nothing Short of Wondrous, set in 1886, I might have used apochromatic (describing a lens that corrects aberrations), attackman, and Broncobuster. My hero and heroine might have eaten French fries and drank milkshakes. I thought snow-in-summer particularly appropriate for Yellowstone.

On the other hand, 1804, the year my Grace-by-the-Sea series is set, debuted such gems as apiculate (ending abruptly in a sharp point), chicken-livered, shunpike, and underclothing. Dr. Bennett of The Artist’s Healer might not have been pleased to see medicinal leech come into vogue, and Rosemary Denby, who will be the heroine in the upcoming The Governess’s Earl, would not like to be called a vulgarian. But what surprised me most was that 1804 was the first year Sir Roger de Coverley appeared in print. I had thought both the dance and the fictional character to predate that time.

Then again, words that first appeared in my birthyear included biodegradable, DEFCON, hovercraft, microcircuit, radio-galaxy, and upmanship. I think I’ll take apiculate instead!

And speaking of dating words, Marissa and I are going to time it so that we take turns posting on Tuesdays, so look for a post from her next week and me the week following.

The Artist Arrives, and Regina Hits 50!

Fifty books, that is. 😊

While Marissa and I were off celebrating Independence Day, the third book in my Grace-by-the-Sea series made its debut! The Artist’s Healer picks up where The Heiress’s Convenient Husband leaves off, with the discovery that French spies might be lurking in the little village by the sea and the accidental shooting of Abigail Archer.

Spunky artist and entrepreneur Abigail Archer is determined to see her friend, Jesslyn Denby, restored as director of the spa at Grace-by-the-Sea, even if that means ousting the news physician who took her place. A shame she was recently injured and requires him to dance attendance on her. But if he thinks she’ll meekly accept his orders, he’d better think again!

Doctor Linus Bennett came to the little coastal village with his young son to escape a troubled past. He’s not about to lose his post to some crusader, but the pretty painter awakens feelings he’d thought long buried. When it appears the French are about to invade, Abigail and Linus must work together to save the village. In doing so, the doctor may just find that falling in love with the outspoken Abigail is the best prescription to heal his wounded heart.

This book is near and dear to me because it is my fiftieth. That’s right, Regina Scott has 50 books to her name. I am so honored and blessed to be able to make that claim.

To celebrate, I’m giving away an e-book copy of my first published Regency romance, The Unflappable Miss Fairchild, and a $50 gift certificate to Amazon to one winner. To enter, go here, starting on Monday, July 13 and ending July 19. Open internationally. 

Fifty books! Who knew? Here’s to reaching for your dreams!

Don’t Go Near the Waters!

I must admit to some trepidation when I decided to make the hero of my upcoming release, The Artist’s Healer, a physician. Medicine and the medical profession aren’t subjects I delve into much today, so tackling them in the nineteenth century seemed daunting. But once again, I was delighted that my research (lovely, lovely research) turned up some wonderful source materials, including a treatise that was used to teach medicine during the early nineteenth century. My copy was the sixteenth edition, published in 1798 and authored by Dr. William Buchan, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh.

Dr. Buchan was something of a celebrity. His treatise was first published in 1769, and the last edition was published in 1871, decades after his death. It was translated into most European languages. The full title (and it’s a whopper!) is Domestic Medicine; Or, A Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases by Regimen and Simple Medicines, With an Appendix, Containing a Dispensatory for the Use of Private Practitioners. To which are Added, Observations on the Diet of the Common People Recommending a Method of Living Less Expensive, and More Conducive to Health, Than the Present. Phew!

But what tickled me most about the book was the entire chapter devoted to saltwater bathing and drinking mineral waters at a spa.

Dr. Buchman has a number of concerns about spas. “No part of the practice of medicine is of greater importance, or merits more the attention of the physician, as many lives are lost, and numbers ruin their health, by cold [saltwater] bathing, and the imprudent use of the mineral waters.”

According to Buchman, only a physician in residence at a spa will have occasion to both know the properties of the waters and to apply them to cure disease. When used improperly, he claims saltwater bathing can cause apoplexy, fever, and diseases that outlast any benefit. He thinks even less highly of warm water bathing but acknowledges that it is little used in Britain. (Personally, I wouldn’t brag about that!)

He does, however, believe that saltwater bathing is particularly useful for those living in populous cities, who “indulge in idleness and lead sedimentary lives.” He advises it for the nervous, which “includes a great number of the male and almost all of the female inhabitants of great cities.” Humph! He also discusses the practice of throwing cold water over a person coming out of a warm bath. “Though this may not injure a Russian peasant, we would not recommend it to the inhabitants of this country.”

He has more to say about drinking mineral waters. He recommends drinking a little over time, because too much too fast will cause a “purge.” (Anyone who has endured the preparations for a colonoscopy will understand fully.) He prescribes a half pint glass at bedtime and an hour before breakfast, dinner, and supper.

But my favorite recommendation? When one goes to a spa to drink the waters, it is best to relax, breathe the fresh air, stroll the shops, and enjoy the company. My hero physician, and the citizens of Grace-by-the-Sea, would agree.

A Cover for An Artist

Have you seen the lovely graphics so many authors use on social media and their blogs? I must admit to jealousy. While period paintings abound, and can often be used royalty free, it’s harder to find actual pictures of historical places and things without pesky reminders of the modern world. Lovely Regency-built townhouses sport television disks. Stately interiors betray electrical outlets. And who decided to park a BMW in front of Boodle’s!

All that said, it takes a talented artist to make a modern photograph look as if it depicts the nineteenth century, particularly the idealized nineteenth century we love to embrace in our romances. That’s only one of the reasons I’m so tickled with the cover for The Artist’s Healer, the third book in my Grace-by-the-Sea series. As I have mentioned, my little spa village on the Dorset coast is modeled after a real village, West Lulworth; its horseshoe-shaped cove on the Channel; and Lulworth Castle on the headland. It’s relatively easy to find a photograph of the village streets, but I hesitated to use them because of the modern touches like curbs and street signs on poles.

“Let me worry about that,” my artist, Kim Killion of The Killion Group, said.

Turns out, I didn’t have to worry at all.

I give you the cover for The Artist’s Healer, featuring landscape artist Abigail Archer.

Spunky Abigail Archer is determined to see her friend, Jesslyn Denby, restored as spa director, even if that means ousting the new physician. A shame she must submit to the fellow’s attentions as he attempts to heal her recent wounds. Doctor Linus Bennett came to the little village of Grace-by-the-Sea with his young son to escape a troubled past. He’s not about to lose his post to some crusader, but the pretty painter awakens feelings he’d thought long buried. As the French edge ever closer to the little village, could Abigail be just the prescription for healing Linus’s wounded heart?

You can preorder The Artist’s Healer ahead of a June 29, 2020, release date at fine online retailers:

Smashwords  

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Apple Books 

And I do hope you enjoy the upcoming Memorial Day holiday as well as you can right now. I will be taking next Friday off to celebrate. Look for the next post from me on May 29.

Welcoming an Heiress

The Heiress’s Convenient Husband, the second book in the Grace-by-the-Sea series, launched this week. I hope you’ll want to return to where romance and adventure come home.

The magistrate over the little Regency coastal village, James Howland, takes pride in protecting Grace-by-the-Sea from ne’er-do-wells, including his distant cousin, the Earl of Howland. So, when he discovers a young lady hiding in the family’s castle, his heart cannot decide which comes first—her rescue or his duty.

Outspoken Eva Faraday has been exiled to the castle for refusing to marry the man the earl picked for her. Her late father appointed the earl trustee over her considerable inheritance, which she cannot access until she turns twenty-five or marries. And if she marries, her husband controls the money. She’s not about to trust any Howland, but James seems ripe for rebellion. To thwart the earl’s power, the two agree to a marriage of convenience, only to discover there are others intent on using the earl’s castle for nefarious purposes. Eva and James must work together to solve the mystery and stop the earl once and for all so they can make a marriage that is far more than convenient.

I want to give a shout out to two bloggers who honored the book with their reviews. Hott Book Reviews gave it an A+ and said, “I have to be honest, I’ve read most of Regina Scott’s books. And loved them. BUT The Heiress’s Convenient Husbandis extra-special. There is just something about the characters that pulled at my heart. I’ll definitely be reading this one again!”

Among the Reads awarded it five stars and said, “Regina Scott’s books make me happy! I can always count on her to provide a story that is witty, adventurous, and sweetly romantic.”

You can find the book at fine online retailers in e-book (and print on Amazon) such as the following:

Smashwords  

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Kobo  

Apple Books 

Dressing an Heiress: Cover Reveal!

So, what does a Regency heiress wear?

That’s what my cover designer, Kim Killion of The Killion Group, had to figure out when I asked her to create the cover for the second book in my Grace-by-the-Sea series. The Heiress’s Convenient Husband tells the story of outspoken Eva Faraday, orphaned daughter of a wealthy financier. Eva’s father was a self-made man, and he never wanted his daughter to lack for anything. As a result, Eva can have the most beautiful gowns and the most expensive jewels. Except, she’s not that sort of girl. And her late father tied up her inheritance until she reaches the age of 25 or marries, so she’s living on pin money while the Earl of Howland acts as trustee over her accounts and tries to force her to marry his heir.

Here’s how she described her recent clothing choices:

"Eva had always favored brighter colors, but the earl’s wife had wrinkled her nose and declared that young ladies wore pastels. So, Eva had promptly used her allotment of monthly pin money to buy a length of purple satin, purple embroidered gauze, and a sash the color of the fuchsias in Kew Garden. The countess had averted her eyes whenever Eva wore the outfit."

I hope you didn't avert your eyes!

The Heiress’s Convenient Husband is available for preorder now as an ebook at fine online retailers (print book coming shortly):

Smashwords  

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Kobo  

Apple Books 

The book arrives April 20, 2020.

Smugglers and Spas and Romance, Oh My!

I am delighted to announce the publication of the first book in my new Regency series: Grace-by-the-Sea, where romance and adventure come home. Grace-by-the-Sea is a spa town, like Bath and Lyme Regis, where people come to see and be seen. I had so much fun figuring out the shops and shopkeepers, the local gentry and aristocracy, and all those fascinating visitors. But there’s more to this sleepy little town than many dream…

Polished Jesslyn Chance has one of the most enviable positions in the little Regency coastal village of Grace-by-the-Sea. She is the hostess of the spa, arranging introductions and entertainments and playing matchmaker to the ladies and gentlemen who come to take the waters, promenade through the shops, and dance at the assembly. But when a rogue returns from her past, Jess finds herself suddenly at sea.

Always an adventurer, Larkin Denby left Grace-by-the-Sea to right the wrongful death of his father. Now he’s back on a mission: to identify the mysterious Lord of the Smugglers who allegedly sails from Grace Cove and takes England’s secrets to France. But Grace-by-the-Sea is the perfect little spa town, run by the still oh-so-perfect Jesslyn Chance. When the village’s future is threatened, Jess must work with Lark to solve the mystery and protect the town’s own. In doing so, the matchmaker of Grace-by-the-Sea may just find that the best match for her is the rogue who stole her heart years ago.

The Matchmaker’s Rogue is available at fine online retailers as an e-book and at Amazon as a print book (as of the writing of this blog post, it hadn’t linked with the ebook, but you can find it here). Here are the other links for your convenience:

Smashwords  

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Apple Books 

Kobo 

Grace-by-the-Sea: I hope you’ll want to visit often. 😊

Spa Day!

I’ll say it right up front—I’m not a spa person, at least not today’s version of a typical spa. I don’t do facials; massages make me uncomfortable. But I would have loved visiting a Regency spa.

A number of cities during the early part of the nineteenth century in England had risen to the position of being considered a spa, either because of the opportunity to bathe in the sea or the opportunity to partake of mineral waters, or both. While the prominence of the city of Bath in Somerset waned as the century wore on, it was still one of the most popular. Bath had the benefit of having actual hot water baths, built in Roman times. It also boasted the Pump Room where you could drink the water and visit with friends. With assembly rooms just up the hill and parks for promenading on a sunny day, Bath would seem to have everything one could want in a spa.

Though Jane Austen is often associated with Bath, a family favorite was Lyme Regis in Dorset. The town along the seashore also had a fine set of assembly rooms and saltwater bathing. It also featured shops, tearooms, and bookstores. You can see why Jane liked it. 😊

Scarborough in Yorkshire had the best of both worlds, with saltwater bathing and mineral waters to drink. It also had a nearby castle being used as a barracks for soldiers. That red uniform can go to a girl’s head!

Other towns also made a play for the title of spa. Before he went mad, King George frequently took his family saltwater bathing at Weymouth in Dorset, and his son, Prince George, was inordinately fond of Brighton in Essex. 

Come back next Friday when I will tell you about one more special spa that I hope you’ll want to visit again and again, for I’m starting a new series set there!