It’s Time to Play Name that Novella

All right, Nineteenteen readers. It’s time to help an Authoress in distress.

This summer, I plan to self-publish a novella for all the readers of Bewitching Season who’ve asked for a story for Charles, a.k.a. Chuckles, Persy and Pen’s younger brother. I am delighted to finally oblige you, and am working on having the story edited and proof-read and a cover designed and all the things that must be done to ensure a quality product. But one thing is holding me back, and that’s where you come in.

I need a title.

I’ll confess here and now that I’m terrible at book titles—simply terrible. And you have been so good at coming up with wonderful ones when Regina and I have asked for your help…so I’m here today to ask you to help find a name for Charles’s story.

Here’s a blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Charles Leland is not looking forward to his summer holidays from Eton—not when he has to spend them studying history to make up for a less-than-stellar grade last term. Not even the thought of spending them with Persy and Lochinvar while his parents are in Ireland visiting Pen can cheer him up.

But as it turns out, cramming history takes a back seat to finding out what has happened to Persy, who disappears from home the day he arrives. All signs indicate that she’s been abducted by gypsies…but a gypsy boy named Nando convinces Charles that her disappearance has a much more otherworldly explanation.

Now Charles must brave the perils and sheer strangeness of the fairy lands to try to rescue his sister from being forcibly married to a powerful fairy lord, with the help of the fairy lord’s own younger and very insistent sister, a copy of History and Policy of the Norman and Angevin Kings that he must read before September, and Queen Victoria. But will he also be able to rescue himself?

There you have it, dear Nineteenteen readers. Can you help me come up with a title for Charles’s story? You’ve done it before…can you do it again?

Which (Witch) Sister Are You?

Between your wonderful comments and the great reviews for Betraying Season, Marissa is really feeling the love this week! Booklist, the review magazine for the American Library Association, says, “As in the previous book, this is a full-bodied story that wonderfully combines elements of romance, fantasy, and history....Whether Doyle is describing the Irish countryside, a magical incantation, or a lover's kiss, her writing is compelling, and it will be hard for readers not to be swept away by this invigorating story."

Kirkus, which can be one tough reviewer said, “The mixture of historical detail and magic makes this...another page-turner...."

And VOYA, the journal for librarians, educators, and other professionals who work with young adults , said, “Seamlessly weaving elements of historical fiction, romance, and magic, Doyle creates believable characters in a realistic setting set in a fascinating plot. Extremely well written and utterly delightful, this book should appeal to female readers fourteen and older."

How cool is that!

So, in honor of Betraying Season’s debut, we offer you a quiz. Many of you know that the heroines of Marissa’s books are twin sisters with unique personalities. Which personality is most like yours? Answer the following questions, and let us know the results in the comments section. Remember anyone who comments today will be entered in a drawing to win a signed copy of Betraying Season.

1. On a rainy day, you'd rather
a) Curl up with an obscure magic text and learn a new spell
b) Take tea with the handsome viscount next door

2. When attending the first ball of your London Season you
a) Dance with your gangly cousin out of kindness and retreat to watch the rest of the ball safely from behind a potted palm
b) See how quickly you can fill your dance card

3. In your family you're known for your
a) Intelligent conversation
b) Witty banter

4. Your stockings are
a) Sensible white silk or cotton--after all, who will be seeing them?
b) Any color but white, and definitely embroidered--even if no one can see them, *you* know what they look like

5. You'd prefer to live in
a) The rolling countryside
b) A bustling city

6. You find your abilities in a kind of magic that is
a) Traditional and passed down through the ancient literature
b) More earthy and passed down by story and deed

7. That forward hussy Miss Oliphant has been flirting dreadfully at a ball with your innocent younger brother, who seems in a fair way to having his head turned. You
a) Cast a concealing spell on him so she can't find him when the orchestra starts up a waltz
b) Cast a dissolving spell so that her corset strings suddenly fall to shreds, forcing her early retirement from the dance floor

If you have more a’s, you’re more like Persy, heroine of Bewitching Season; more b’s and you’re more like Pen of Betraying Season. Me? I’m a Persy all the way!

Oh--and the winner of a signed copy of Betraying Season from Tuesday's post is ChaChaneen! Please contact Marissa through her website to arrange mailing. And don't forget, there's another copy to be won for commenters on this post!

The Lady Is Entitled

Have you noticed that many times in books the young lady is angling to marry a title, but the gentlemen all want a wealthy heiress? That’s because, sad to say, very often the lady’s title, if she even had one, couldn’t be passed to the next generation. It couldn’t even be shared with her husband. If Miss Annabelle Pretty married the Duke of Studley, she became Lady Studley. But if Mr. Studley married Lady Annabelle, he stayed Mr. Studley and she became Mrs. Studley!

She could, if she were very high in the instep (read conceited), continue to be called Lady Annabelle, but she would never be Lady Studley. The lady’s rank rose or fell to that of her husband.

If you weren’t married yet and your father was a duke, marquess, or earl, you were entitled to call yourself Lady Firstname. That’s why Lady Emily, the heroine of La Petite Four, is Lady Emily Southwell, not Lady Emerson (her father is the Duke of Emerson and Southwell if the family’s last name). Daughters of other titled fellows might be the Honourable Miss Lastname, such as Persephone and Penelope Leland in Marissa’s Bewitching Season, but the term “honourable” was usually only used in formal correspondence.

Your father’s rank gave you a few other privileges. A young lady took the same precedence as her eldest brother. So, if, as Marissa mentioned Tuesday, your papa was a duke, and his first-born son held the courtesy title of a marquess, than your “Lady” was equivalent to a marchioness (the female version of marquess). That meant that in social situations, you sat below the marchionesses at the table but quite a bit above your younger brothers. (Look for more on this whole precedence thing in a future post.)

Once in a rare while, you might also have your own title. The title of duke and baron could go to a daughter, if she had no brothers. If she had sisters, they all took the title (duchesses or baronesses), but they couldn’t act on it until the reigning monarch settled which one was considered the title holder. That didn’t have to be the oldest sister. But in no case in the 1800s could a lady take her seat in the House of Lords, and in many cases the responsibilities that went with the title had be to undertaken by her husband. That didn't change until 1963.

So, I guess the lady wasn’t very entitled after all!

Quiz: What Do Marissa and a Nineteenth Century Miss Have in Common?

Fun Facts about Marissa Doyle and the Honorable Persephone Leland

People always ask about how much an author puts herself into her books. There are some surprising similarities between Marissa Doyle and the heroine of Bewitching Season, Persephone Leland. See if you can tell which is which!

1. This person shares her home with a loving family that includes a Lop.
a. Marissa Doyle
b. Persy Leland
c. Both of them

2. This person casts love spells.
a. Marissa
b. Persy
c. Both

3. This person has a twin in the family.
a. Marissa
b. Persy
c. Both

4. This person solves mysterious disappearances.
a. Marissa
b. Persy
c. Both

5. This person spends summers at the seashore.
a. Marissa
b. Persy
c. Both

6. This person loves magic and faraway times and places.
a. Marissa
b. Persy
c. Both

7. This person graduated from a prestigious women’s university
a. Marissa
b. Persy
c. Both

8. This person belongs to an arcane society dedicated to understanding the past.
a. Marissa
b. Persy
c. Both

9. This person’s story is read by both young and old alike.
a. Marissa
b. Persy
c. Both

Interesting how life mimics art. Or is it the other way around? Either way, be sure to comment before Monday, May 12, to be entered in the drawing to win an autographed copy of Marissa's book, Bewitching Season.

Ladies and Gentlemen, May I Present . . . Persephone Leland

Marissa and I are very pleased to welcome two guest bloggers today, kicking off our week of celebration for the release of Marissa’s Bewitching Season. Ladies?

Priscilla: Perhaps we should start by introducing ourselves to our many fascinated readers. I’m Miss Priscilla Tate, best friend to Lady Emily Southwell, the daughter of the Duke of Emerson, and related to all the finest families in England. Our adventures are chronicled in the book La Petite Four. And you are?

Persephone: My goodness, if you're related to the finest families in England we must be cousins, then. I’m the Honourable Persephone Augusta Caroline Leland. My papa’s Viscount Atherston, and my maternal grandfather is the Duke of Revesby--Mama is his eldest daughter. We live at Mage’s Tutterow, in Hampshire, and I do believe you can learn more about us in Bewitching Season.

Priscilla: And speaking of Seasons, here we are on our first. What did you wear to your debut?

Persephone: Our presentation dresses were white silk…oh, pardon me. When I say ‘our’ I mean my twin sister, Penelope, and me. Mama chose many of our dresses the same but with differing trims so that we wouldn’t be completely alike. They were our first silk dresses...don’t you love the way silk rustles over petticoats?

Priscilla: Absolutely! But a twin sister? What fun! Do tell us what it’s like to have a twin.

Persephone: Only if you can tell me what it’s like not to have one! It must be rather lonely for the rest of you, not to have your best friend near you all the time…and Pen is my best friend, even though we’re often very different. And yes, twins can be completely different…we might have the same hair and eyes and nose and everything, but we’re not the same underneath. Our little brother Chuckles--um, I mean Charles--can always tell us apart, even when we intentionally try to fool him.

Priscilla: What’s your favorite part of the Season?

Persephone: Oh dear…you won’t laugh if I say ‘the end’, will you? I would so much rather stay at home and read and study. Besides, I…well, I don’t much care for all the strangers because I just can’t seem to chat and be sociable, the way my sister can. And besides, they’re dull as ditch water after the tenth or eleventh ball. The one time I tried slipping a book in my reticule before we left for a reception then sneaking into the hostess’s boudoir for the rest of the evening so I could read earned me two scoldings--one from Lady T., whom I surprised in the middle of a rather intimate moment with a gentleman that I’m not entirely sure was Lord T. (he hid his face rather quickly), and one later on from Mama.

But I must admit that I did love the clothes…the dresses and the gloves and slippers and shawls and everything. How can any girl not?

Priscilla: What do you think is the most important thing a young lady should remember on her first Season?

Persephone: There are several things, actually:
a. She should learn how to yawn without opening her mouth.
b. She should practice smiling for months before the Season starts. Do you know how tiring it can be to smile non-stop for two months? My cheeks began to positively cramp after the first few parties.
c. She should be careful about drinking too much brandy punch at the Gilley’s house…or anywhere, for that matter.

Priscilla: Most of us are burdened with practicing the usual pastimes--embroidery, watercolors, singing. You chose something rather unusual--magic. Why?

Persephone: We didn’t choose magic--it chose us. Magic runs in our Papa’s family, but chiefly in the females…and my sister and I were the first Leland daughters in the direct line born since King Henry VIII’s time. We were astoundingly lucky that the governess Mama hired for us, Miss Allardyce, just happened to be a witch as well, though from what I’ve recently learned it may not have been such a coincidence.

And we didn’t just learn magic. Our dear Ally is a very accomplished woman--her father is a bookseller and scholar--so we were taught Latin as well as history and arithmetic and orthography and dancing and drawing. I just wish we could have learned Greek as well. I hope to study it someday. My sister says she wishes we could have been taught to fence, if only to help keep our brother in line.

Priscilla: And I hear you cast love spells. Have you had much success? How would I, er, our readers go about that?

Persephone: My dear Miss Tate, please don’t ask! I didn’t intend to cast that love spell--really I didn’t. But I’d just gotten back from our first party and had consumed rather more of the Gilley’s punch than I should have (Freddy just kept refilling my cup) and I felt so dreadful because I thought Lochinvar Seton was starting to like my sister Pen…not that I’d blame him, because she’s so lively and fun and not at all shy…but I know she wouldn’t care for him in that way, whereas I…well, you know what I mean. And then I found that spell in Ally’s room, and I thought, “Well, why not?” I didn’t understand the “why not” till later: do you want the man of your dreams to love you because he was enchanted into it, or because he really does love you more than anything else in the depths of his soul? Do you see the difference?

Priscilla: Oh, yes! How romantic! And I understand you’re a close personal friend of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. How did that come about?

Persephone: Gracious, I wouldn’t presume that far! But I hope Her Majesty knows how much Pen and I like her as well as revere her. Did you know we all have the same birthday? That’s part of why Pen and I were so fascinated by her, growing up, and were quite excited whenever there was mention of her in the illustrated magazines. And as for how we became friends…it’s not something that I can discuss in public…you see, we all swore mutual silence after the horrifying events and narrowly-averted disaster at Her Majesty’s coming-of-age ball…but Pen and I are thrilled and proud that we were able to be of service to her. I’m sorry to be such a tease, but really, I can’t break my oath.

Priscilla: Well, I for one want to know more! We’ll have to have a little chat another time. And if you all want to know what really happened at Victoria’s birthday ball, how Persy’s love spell ended up, and the other exciting event of the London Season of 1837, you’ll simply have to find a copy of Bewitching Season, available now in bookstores nationwide!

Thank you , my dears! And I quite agree with Priscilla! If you’d like an autographed copy of Bewitching Season, be sure to leave us a comment! Everyone who comments this week will be entered into a drawing for a free copy of Marissa’s delightful debut novel. And she didn’t even wear white silk to write it!