Free Books!

Yes, you read that right. I’m so excited about the publication of The Bride Ship that I’m giving away a handful of it and other books. If you leave a comment on today’s blog, even a “hi, I’m here!” kind of comment, I will enter you in a drawing for your choice of the following:

A paperback copy of The Bride Ship

A paperback copy of The Husband Campaign

An e-book copy in the format of your choice of Secrets and Sensibilities, the first in my Lady Emily Capers series

An e-book copy in the format of your choice of Ballrooms and Blackmail, the most recent in my Lady Emily Capers.

If you already have all of the above, choose one to give away to a friend or family member for Christmas.

I have five copies of each of the books up for grabs. All you have to do is say hello, tell me why you like the blog, suggest something for the future--anything. That’s the only way I’ll know your name so I can list it when you win. Feel free to let others know about this giveaway, so they can get in on the action too.

And do come back next Friday when I will announce the winners.

And the Winner Is ... Me and You!

It’s that time of year again.  Hollywood has its Oscars and Golden Globes.  Genre fiction authors have similar events.  For Marissa and me, one of the biggest honors is the RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Awards. 

The reviewers for RT Book Reviews read hundreds of books a year.  Having them choose your book as a finalist is a huge honor, and winning is, well, marvelous.  Of the many categories, one is for best Love Inspired Historical novel of the approximately 50 books published in that line for the year.  The nominees were

His Mountain Miss by Karen Kirst

The Outlaw’s Redemption by Renee Ryan

Return of the Cowboy Doctor by Lacy Williams

The Courting Campaign by Regina Scott (I've heard she's good)

The Heiress’s Homecoming by Regina Scott

And I am tickled pink to announce that the winner for best Love Inspired Historical novel for 2013 has been selected and it is The Heiress’s Homecoming! 

Really!  I’m pinching myself. 

But the good news doesn't stop there.  Around Easter I usually hand out a bonus.  This year, I've written a short online story telling how Peter Quimby, that charming valet from The Wife Campaign, met his match.  It’s set just after the close of The Husband Campaign.  I hope you like it.  You can read it free here.   

You might just call it a win-win situation.

Quiz: The Search for the Ideal Husband

The Master Matchmakers series focuses on servants who think they know the perfect match for their masters.  What about you?  Given your personality, which of the gentlemen featured in the series would your servants have considered a good match for you?  Take the quiz to find out, but beware!  I've added a fourth gentleman to the list, and he just might steal your heart!  (See the first comment for his identity and how to score your answers.)

1.  When traveling from one location to another, your ideal husband would prefer to

a.  Ride on a powerful horse

b.  Stroll along chatting with friends

c.  Walk as quickly and efficiently as possible

d.  Convince the duke with the largest carriage to give him a ride

2.  Your ideal husband’s leisure time reading would include

a.  A good treatise on the birthing of foals

b.  Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler

c.  The Transactions of the Philosophical Society

d.  Wordsworth’s poetry

3.  Your husband’s preferred outfit would consist of

a.  A coat, breeches, and riding boots

b.  A waistcoat, linen shirt with good range of movement for his arms, and water-proofed boots

c.  Whatever was closest to hand, regardless of whether it was clean or matched

d.  Perfectly matched, refined coat and trousers tailored to his person and indicative of his style

4.  Your husband would tie his cravat in this style

a.  Simply knotted

b.  The Corinthian, a fold currently popular among sporting gentlemen

c.  The Mathematical (but only when his valet was involved)

d.  An elegant fold that others struggle to copy

5.  Your husband would prefer to spend his time with you

a.  Riding across verdant fields, then a quiet picnic under the trees

b.  Holding you in his arms while he teaches you the fine art of fishing

c.  Listening to your stories in ardent appreciation

d.  Taking you on an adventure, whether sailing on the Thames or venturing into the deepest cavern in search of gold

6.  If your husband wrote his own wedding vows, he might say the following:

a.  “I will never be worthy of your love, but if you allow me, I will treasure you all the days of your life.”

b.  “I promise you will always come first in my life, no matter the requirements of my station or interests.”

c.  “You are my equal in all ways, and I will never be whole without you are at my side.”

d.  “Come with me and be my love, and we will all the pleasures prove.”

Leave us a comment to let us know who the servants would have campaigned for you to marry, and what you think about the matter.

No April Fool’s Here--How to Win Your Husband’s Heart

April 1 seems a strange day for launching my new release, The Husband Campaign.  I keep expecting my publisher to shout, “April Fool’s!”

But it’s no joke.  The Husband Campaign hits bookstore shelves and online retailers everywhere today.  This is the finale of my Master Matchmakers series, where servants play a key role in helping their masters find that perfect mate.  In this case, brassy maid Dorcus Turner is on loan from Rotherford Grange to help Lady Amelia become accustomed to her new role as mistress of Hollyoak Farm.  You see, Amelia caused a quiet scandal when she spent the night in Lord Hascot’s abandoned stable, and her parents insisted that she had no recourse but to marry the stern horse breeder.  Yet Amelia cannot help noticing there is more to John than his rough exterior implies.  How can she break through his hardened shell to the tender heart she is certain lurks inside?

Here’s some of Turner’s advice on how to win your husband:

“If you ask me,” she said as she helped Amelia into her nightgown, “a gentleman shouldn’t spend two nights in a stable, especially after being wed less than a fortnight.”

“Lord Hascot has a sick horse,” Amelia explained.

“He has a sick wife, too,” Turner replied, “sick of being alone, I warrant.”

“That will do, Turner,” Amelia said.

The maid’s lips compressed. She said nothing more until she had Amelia settled in bed. Then she stepped back.

“You ought to show him what’s what, your ladyship,” she insisted. “Just like you did with the butler and cook today.”

“Turner,” Amelia warned.

The maid drew herself up. “I warned you I can’t hold my tongue, your ladyship. Not when I see something amiss, and there’s plenty amiss with this house. You can send me back to the Grange tomorrow for saying so, but that man needs you. Everyone in the dale knows he’s lonely.”

Amelia frowned as she leaned back against the pillow. “Lonely?”

Turner took a step closer. “Yes, ma’am. How couldn’t he be, no one but horses and horse-mad folk to talk to?”

She made it sound as if John’s servants and buyers were somehow crazy. Or he was. “He seems content to me. I think he simply doesn’t like change.”

“He’s stuck in his ways, you mean.” Turner snapped a nod of agreement. “You could help him, your ladyship. Draw him out, make him smile.” She grinned. “I warrant he could be a handsome fellow if he smiled.”

Amelia had thought the same thing when she’d seen one of his rare smiles. “Thank you for your advice, Turner,” she said, unable to still a grin of her own. “That will be all this evening.”

With a curtsey, the maid left her.

But Turner’s words lingered. Was John as lonely as Amelia? Would he accept her companionship? Or would he even care? How was she to make a marriage when the other half of that marriage had no time or interest?

How indeed.  You can discover how Amelia won the day in The Husband Campaign at fine retailers near you or your keyboard:

My Publisher 

Amazon

Barnes and Noble 

A Nearby Bookstore 

Kobo 

The Book Depository (Free Shipping Worldwide) 

Dowering Doddering Dowagers

Whether you’re watching Downton Abbey, reading a novel set in nineteenth century England, or keeping up with the Royals today, sooner or later, you’ll run into a dowager.  Often times, literature and productions show them as silver-haired ladies with a will of iron.  But that wasn’t always the case.

Take the lovely Lady Hascot of my upcoming release The Husband Campaign.  Caro married Lord Hascot, who had a twin brother named John.  When her husband died, John became the new Lord Hascot.  Caro remains Lady Hascot, but once John marries, she is the dowager.  A young, curvaceous, cunning dowager who causes no end of trouble, but that’s a story for another time. 

So, what exactly is a dowager?  The term originally applied to a widow who could apply for dower, or a certain portion of her husband’s estate that would be hers to use while she lived.  So some estates had a dower cottage, a house where the dowager might live after the new title holder moved into the larger house.  Although dower was still legally supported in nineteenth century England, more often families arranged matters of what the wife would inherit before the wedding in marriage contracts.  The term dowager, then, was generally used to distinguish between two ladies whose husbands had held the same title. 

For example, if Lord Whistlewait marries Amelia Peascoat, she becomes Lady Whistlewait.  Let’s say they have a charming son named Horace.  When Lord Whistlewait dies, Horace inherits his father’s title and proposes to his one true love, Constantinople Trubadore.  Dear Connie now becomes Lady Whistlewait, and Horace’s mother becomes the Dowager Lady Whistlewait.

Now, there is some question as to whether the term was ever used to the lady’s face.  Then as now, most women who became dowagers were of a certain level of maturity to which I am currently aspiring.  As you can imagine, not all ladies of such maturity took well to being called a dowager, even behind their backs.  Certainly, if only one of the Ladies Whistlewait was present, there would be no need to mention the term dowager.  Even if the two were together at an event, conversation might easily be arranged to avoid the potentially offensive term.

Could anyone offer a restorative cup of tea while I ponder becoming the Dowager Mrs. Scott?

Behold the Horseman, and His Bride

I must deeply apologize, my dears!  Normally, I share with you the cover for my upcoming books as soon as I receive them.  But it appears with all the excitement of the holidays and the busyness of winter that I completely forgot to share the cover of my April release, The Husband Campaign, here on Nineteenteen!

Today I rectify that.  I’m sure some of you have already spotted this cover around the web.  The Husband Campaign is the final installment of my Master Matchmakers series, where downstairs servants play matchmaker for upstairs aristocracy.  I think the artists did a great job connecting Lord Hascot’s love of horses with quieter pursuits of his bride, Lady Amelia.  There is something wistful in the way Lady Amelia regards him that fits with the theme perfectly.

The book is due out April 1, and you can be sure we’ll have a celebration here that week.  In the meantime, as I have traditionally done, let me give you a few hints as to who was in my mind when I sent information to the Art Department for this cover.

The role model for my hero has acted in a period piece at various points of the compass, but his talent lately appears dwarfed in a royal way.  My heroine was an actress who set out to catch a thief before her own brush with royalty.

Anyone want to guess?

Presenting Miss Ruby Hollingsford

Good day, gentle readers of Nineteenteen!  I am Lady Amelia, daughter of the Marquess of Wesworth, and I have the great privilege of interviewing my new friend, Miss Hollingsford, for your edification.  Ruby is the heroine of Regina Scott's new book, The Wife Campaign.  We met at a house party hosted by the Earl of Danning . . .

Ruby:  Actually, he didn't host it, as we learned.  His valet had the audacity to invite us to Fern Lodge.  I knew there was something I liked about Peter Quimby.

Lady Amelia:  Yes, of course.  But I think we should start by telling our readers a little more about you, dear Ruby.

Ruby, with an airy wave:  Why on earth would they want to know about me?  I'm the daughter of a jeweler, a self-made man, I might add.  Born and raised in London.  Hair too red and eyes too green to be considered a classic beauty.  What else is there to say?

Lady Amelia:  I don't think you're doing yourself justice.  From what I've learned, there's a great deal more to Ruby Hollingsford.

Ruby, frowning:  Such as?

Lady Amelia, counting on her fingers:  Kindness, bravery, an outstanding sense of style . . .

Ruby, patting her stylish feathered bonnet:  True.

Lady Amelia:  Loyalty, intellect . . .

Ruby, holding up both hands:  Stop right there!  If there's an intellect in the group attending the house party, it's Henrietta Stokely-Trent.  She's the one everyone calls a bluestocking.

Lady Amelia:  Yes, she is quite well read and knowledgeable.  But you were the one who first realized that someone was out to harm Lord Danning.

Ruby:  That's because I'm naturally suspicious of aristocrats.  My opinion of you all was fairly low, until I became better acquainted with you, Amelia. 

Lady Amelia, blushing:  Thank you, but I think perhaps it was your closer acquaintance with Lord Danning that made you begin to see the aristocracy differently.

Ruby:  Perhaps.  Whit is so unrelentingly honorable!  And handsome.  And sweet.  And have you seen him when he plunges into that stream after a trout?  I've never seen such grace, such fire, such determination.

Lady Amelia:  You admire him.  Admit it.

Ruby:  Fine.  I admire him.  But you know it will go no further.  What earl marries a Cit?  And why would I want to spend my life having to toady up to all his friends and relatives?  Or worse, have them condescend to me.  I would either go mad or take the pistol out of my reticule and shoot someone.

Lady Amelia:  That's right!  You're also a crack shot, and you know how to box.  I will note that on my list of accomplishments and be certain not to omit them next time. 

Ruby, eying her:  You truly are a dear soul, Amelia.  I hope you have better luck finding the right man, someone you can love and who will love you for who you are, not because you're your father's daughter.

Lady Amelia, dropping her gaze:  I don't believe such a man exists.

Ruby, nudging her:  Come now, what about Lord Hascot?  He might be the finest horseman in all of Britain, but he had eyes for no one but you when we visited his horse farm with Whit a few days ago.

Lady Amelia, blushing again:  I think perhaps that's a story for another time.

Indeed it is.  Look for Lady Amelia's story, The Husband Campaign, in April 2014.  In the meantime, you can find Ruby's story in The Wife Campaign, available at fine stores online or near you.

The Proper Ladies Mount

I truly enjoyed the guest posts from Shannon Donnelly last week, especially because the proposal I’m writing involves a baron who raises horses.  My heroine is easily one of the most typical aristocratic females I’ve ever written.  She’d be the nineteenth century equivalent of Barbie if she hadn’t decided to throw off some of the shackles her parents have put upon her and discover what she’s made of.  But given that her father would have picked a horse for her, I was interested to see what sort of creature he might have chosen.  What exactly was considered a ladies mount in the early nineteenth century?

 

Thank the Lord for The Young Lady’s Equestrian Manual. It’s a very handy little book, published in 1838 and lovingly recreated in e-book form complete with the original illustrations.  It tells a young lady the history of riding, the proper terms to use for one’s horse (“A horse is never spoken of as being so many hands tall, but so many hands high.”), what to wear when riding, and how to ride.  It also describes the type of horse to look for.

The writer acknowledges that finding the perfect lady’s horse isn’t easy.  It seems a proper lady’s mount should be

 

• Superlatively elegant in form
• Exquisitely fine in coat
• Unexceptionably beautiful in color
• Of a height to compliment its rider
• Graceful and completely safe in every pace
• “Light as a feather” in the hand
• Bold in the extreme yet superlatively docile
• Free of vice and excellent in temper
• Gentle, but not dull
• Rarely requiring the use of the whip but submitting temperately to it when needed.

Such a paragon!  But the requirements don’t stop there.  Here’s the description of what to look for in the animal:

“The head should be small, neat, ‘well-set’ on the neck, and gracefully ‘carried.’ The nostrils should be wide; the eyes large, rather protruding, dark, yet brilliant; the ears erect, and delicately tapering towards their tips. The expression of the countenance should be lively, animated, noble, and most highly intelligent; the neck rather arched and muscular; the ridge of the shoulders narrow and elevated; the chest full and fleshy; the back broad; the body, round or barrel-like; the space between the hips and tail, long, and very gradually depressed towards the latter organ, which, it is essential, should be based high on the croup. The fore and hind limbs should be distant, the one pair from the other; the “arms” muscular; the knees broad, the hocks (laterally) wide; the legs flat and sinewy; the pasterns rather long; and the hoofs large, and nearly round.”

Got all that?  In addition, ladies are advised to look for a smooth, brilliantly polished coat and the proper manes and tails. 

“The mane, if too long and thick, will interfere with that delicate management of the reins so desirable to a lady on horseback; and the tail, if of immoderate length, will, by the animal’s whisking it towards his sides, prove inconvenient to the fair rider, at all times; but, especially so, in dirty weather. Neither of these appendages, however, on the other hand, should be ungracefully brief or scanty.”

And as for color, the writer insists that the best color is bright bay with mane, tail, and lower parts of the legs black.  A few specks of white is fine, but too much is undesirable.  A chestnut comes second, with no white on the legs.  Gray is tolerable, particularly a silver gray with black mane and tail.  Brown and black are deemed too dull.  And roan, sorrel, dun, piebald, mouse, and cream are “to be eschewed.”

It seems to me the choosing of a horse is as much a character statement as a fashion statement!