Blogging from National, Part 1

Well, Regina and I are here at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, NYC for the Romance Writers of America’s 31st Annual National Conference. It’s hotter than you-know-what, but honestly, at these conferences you’re so busy that you don’t have to stir out of the air-conditioned building.

This hotel is huge. I mean, really reallyreallyreally huge. It has to be, to house this conference of 2000 attendees…but check this out!

The elevators are in a column running up the center of this huge hollow space, and they’re glass…just a trifle dizzying the first few times you go whizzing up to the 35th floor where we are, but you quickly learn to look at your feet rather than out.

We both arrived Monday night, and after squealing happily at each other (hey, we only get to see each other once a year!) we trundled down to dinner (good food, but oh the NYC sticker shock!), spent a lot of time just yakking, then called it a night, because Tuesday was…

The Beau Monde Conference
Regina and I are both members of the Regency writers chapter of the RWA, called The Beau Monde …in fact, Regina was elected chapter president for the year! Madame President and I arrived in time for a yummy continental breakfast and to help lay out the Silent Auction (an annual fundraiser for the chapter, which features research books and other fun historical and Regency-related items). Then Regina conducted the Annual Meeting, and at last we heard our guest speaker, the much-loved (and deservedly so) Mary Jo Putney.

After that, it was time for workshops! I attended one on traveling and researching in England, given by my friend Jo Ann Ferguson, then a second workshop session on the Battle of Waterloo and visiting Belgium to attend the annual reenactions of the Battle (oh my gosh, wouldn’t that be so cool?) I grabbed lunch with a group of Regency writers before coming back for a session on researching Regency interiors, and learned that there are hundreds of images from Regency magazines like Ackermann’s (where I get most of my Fashion Forecast images) available at the New York Public Library’s website (http://www.nypl.org/).

After that, it was, of course, time for tea! We feasted on an assorted of tea sandwiches (yes, including cucumber!) and pastries, then went to get ready for the big book signing RWA sponsors each year at National to benefit literacy programs in the host city. Alas, my books didn’t arrive so I couldn’t sign, but Regina was there to sign her June release, The Irresistible Earl.

After that, it was time to get ready for…

The Beau Monde Soiree
After years of attending this event, I decide it was past time I got myself the appropriate togs…so this year, I obtained a Regency gown, with the requisite chemise and corset to wear underneath. The undergarments really are necessary to give the proper lift to the bust in these very high-waisted dresses, which modern brassieres just can’t manage. Aren’t we just a pair?

Plenty of other Beau Monders came in Regency attire as well...and danced to the live music performed by a three piece ensemble and a caller, who led everyone through Regency period dances. Neat, huh?

It's been a great couple of days...look for a further report on our further doings from Regina later in the week.

How a Prince Parties

Marissa’s written several posts on George the IV, who became Prince Regent two hundred years ago, in 1811. This week marked the anniversary of his first official party, a Grand Fete to celebrate the exiled French royal family.

Wait, what?

Yes, celebrating the French does seem like an odd way to began your march toward ruling Britain. After all, in June 1811 Napoleon’s army was still madly fighting away, and British troops were dying on foreign battlefields. Then too, June was traditionally when the King, George’s father, held his birthday party, and he was too ill to attend. So partying, for any reason, seemed a bit crass.

But that didn’t stop Prinny. He invited 2,000 of England’s elite as well as the younger brothers and family of the executed King Louis XVI to join him at nine in the evening on June 19 at his Carlton House address in London. More than 60 servants in blue livery with gold lace served hot and cold soups, roast beef, and exotic fruits, and champagne and fine wine flowed. The supper table was so long it crossed the dining room and ran down the center of the conservatory beyond, the entire length groaning under the weight of all the silver serving dishes and place settings. To top things off, a stream meandered down the center of the table, bubbling from a fountain in front of the Prince. Little bridges spanned the stream, flowers and moss decorated its banks, and live goldfish wove through the waters.

Well, live for awhile. The poor things quickly asphyxiated and lay there dying, causing more than one guest to lose his appetite. But that wasn’t the only thing that gave the rest of the Prince’s subjects pause. The entire affair cost 120,000 pounds, an amount equivalent to more than 4 million pounds (or 6 million dollars) today.

Well, that’s one way to start your summer. Here’s another. If you can be in New York City on Tuesday, June 28, stop by the Marriott Marquis Times Square. More than 500 (yes, you read that right—five hundred!) authors of romantic fiction will be signing books for charity from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Marissa and I will be among that number. We’d love to have you say hi! More on our New York travels next week.

And even if you can’t get to New York, don’t forget to comment on any post between now and July 12 for a chance to win an Irresistible Earl tote and goodies!

My Brother, the Irresistible Earl

We are pleased today to have with us Lady Phoebe Dearborn, younger sister of Chase Dearborn, Lord Allyndale, the so-called Irresistible Earl. Like her brother, Lady Phoebe was born in Yorkshire, on the edge of what today is the North York Moors National Park. She was raised at home on their family estate and, at nineteen, has just completed her first Season in London. Welcome, Lady Phoebe.

LP: Thank you so much for having me.

19 Teen: So how did you enjoy the Season?

LP: Oh, it was marvelous! All the balls, all the shopping! I was having a wonderful time until my brother cut it off short.

19 Teen: Why was that?

LP: Well, let’s just say that a certain gentleman caused trouble, and my brother thought I would be better off somewhere else.

19 Teen: So you went to Scarborough. That seems like a strange spot for someone who prides herself on being fashionable.

LP: Well, I actually suggested Scarborough, after I learned that’s where. . . um, that’s where Chase would prefer to be. Of course. He’s a bit strong on tradition, my brother. He says Scarborough is perfect because it’s full of company in the summer but close enough to home that he can pop off to the estate for the day and see to his affairs. He’s also strong on doing his duty.

19 Teen: He sounds a bit bossy.

LP: He’s terribly bossy! I suppose that’s because I’m more than ten years younger than he is. Our father died when he was only twelve, and he had to take on responsibility for me, Mother, the estate, and all our tenants. But he seems to have forgotten that I’m quite grown up now. I don’t need him to make my decisions for me.

19 Teen: Certainly not. Have you had luck convincing him of that?

LP: SIGH. Not as much as I’d like. But I have great hopes. He’s changed since he met Meredee Price. She’s had quite the civilizing influence on him.

19 Teen: Didn’t I hear you met Meredee under interesting circumstances?

LP: She saved my life! I had gone out to bathe in the waters on Scarborough Bay. You see, if you go to Scarborough, you must do two things: drink the waters and dip in the sea. It’s supposed to be good for your health. Only I slipped coming out of my bathing machine and went under. If Meredee hadn’t come along, I don’t know what I’d have done!

19 Teen: I imagine your brother was very thankful for her intervention.

LP: Very! He invited her to dinner the very next night. And then he decided to help her hunt for seashells. You see what an influence she’s had? Who would ever have thought of Chase hunting shells!

19 Teen: If he’s so strict, how did he get the nickname of the irresistible earl?

LP: You all have a saying, I believe: “Resistance is futile.” That’s pretty much Chase. But he does strike a commanding figure. I’ve heard ladies sigh when he passes. Even Meredee was smitten. I could tell. All my plans are working out perfectly.

19 Teen: Your plans?

LP: Oh, just a manner of speaking.

19 Teen: But you do have other plans for your time in Scarborough.

LP: I certainly do. But I am not at liberty to divulge them.

19 Teen: Oh, come now. Surely you can tell us.

LP: Well. . . [Glances both ways and lowers voice.] I do have hopes of attracting the attentions of a certain gentleman. But you mustn’t tell Meredee; she might think less of me. And please don’t tell Chase. He’d ruin everything.

19 Teen: Goodness, this sounds serious.

LP: I certainly hope so. [smiles]

If you’d like to know more about Lady Phoebe and her irresistible brother, check out The Irresistible Earl from Love Inspired Historical, available now online and in fine stores near you. To learn more, see Regina's website.

And don't forget--if you comment on any post between now and July 12, we'll enter your name in a drawing for an Irresistible Earl prize package. Hope to hear from you!

Summertime!

Well, temperatures have already zoomed up to the high nineties--unheard of so early in the season for New England!--so I think summer is here, even if the calendar says it’s still officially spring. And so it seems to be a good time to let you know what we’ll be up to this summer at Nineteenteen…and I’ll save the best part for last.

First, we thought it would be fun to launch a series on what a proper 19th century miss might have done after the Season was over…so look for posts throughout July and August on What I Did on my Summer Vacation from both me and Regina. We’ll explore the great vacation destinations around England back in, say, 1820 (so jaunting to Legoland® Windsor or popping across the Channel to Disneyland® Paris is out of the question!)

But before that, we’ll be having our annual trip to the Romance Writers of America’s National Conference, held this year in New York City. We’ll blog our adventures there which will include The Beau Monde's (Regency writers’ special interest chapter) annual conference and Soiree. Look for a lot of interesting photos from this year’s Soiree (she said mysteriously…!) But this year the adventures will continue as Regina comes to visit me on Cape Cod post-conference for a few days (hey, she isn’t on this side of the continent very often!) Look for pictures of two proper YA historical fiction writers spending a lot of time on the beach!

And now, the best part I promised…Regina’s latest book, The Irresistible Earl, arrives in bookstores this week!! To celebrate, we’re holding a contest…anyone who comments on a Nineteenteen post between now and July 12 will be entered in a drawing to win an Irresistible Earl totebag containing a lovely scarf and a sandalwood fan (an assortment of items our 19th century miss would have wished to have with her on vacation!) and of course a signed copy of The Irresistible Earl (which she definitely would have enjoyed!!).

So it’s shaping up to be a busy summer…and we hope you’ll be here to enjoy it with us. Make sure you stop by on Friday when Nineteenteen will be interviewing Lady Phoebe Dearborn, who’ll have a thing or two to tell us about her brother, the Irresistible Earl. And don't forget to comment on posts to be entered in our contest!

Sometimes, It Just Comes Together

My husband calls the writing business a roller coaster. One day you finish that manuscript, and you know it’s the best you can make it, and that feels incredibly good. The next day, you see a review for the last book, and someone absolutely hated everything about it, and that can sink you into a black hole for weeks!

But sometimes, everything comes together. That happened to me this week. You see, as part of my contract with Love Inspired Books, I provided thoughts on what the cover might look like for my first novel for them, The Irresistible Earl, which will be out in June. Now, I am no artist. I had a dear friend who passed away who was an amazing artist, so I know what an artist can produce. I sadly lack that gene. But I blathered away on my art fact sheet, telling the folks at Love Inspired that I envisioned the hero to look a bit like Daniel Craig, giving them examples of nineteenth century clothing and interiors, and suggesting that, given the title, we might want to center on the hero on the cover. I have been waiting patiently (okay, with fear and trembling) to see what they would make of all that.

The cover showed up on Amazon on Thursday. And, oh, what a lovely job those artists at Love Inspired did!



Meet Chase Dearborn, Earl of Allyndale. [Swoon-worthy sigh.] Is he perfect? No, but he has character, he looks like he could be standing in a nineteenth century room, and the warm colors evoke the tone of the book.

Sometimes, it just comes together.

Title, Title, Who Has a Title?

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming with a request for assistance. You see, my editor on my second book for Love Inspired Historical would like additional suggestions on a title for the book. In the past, you all have been very helpful to Marissa; this group helped come up with the name Betraying Season for her award-winning YA novel. So, will you put on your thinking caps for me?

Here’s the situation: My hero, Trevor Fitzwilliam, is a bit of a bad boy. (I picture him as looking a bit like Brandon Routh--tall, dark, and brooding.) A commoner by birth, he’s managed to use his considerable talents to help a few lords clear up embarrassing matters like blackmail and gambling debts. One was so thankful, and powerful, he petitioned the King for a baronetcy for Trevor. So, at the beginning of the story, Sir Trevor is on his way to the Lakes District to see the estate someone kindly donated to his title (the below picture shows my vision of the place, sans the cars, of course). Trevor quickly learns why someone wanted to get rid of the place. Any income from the estate came from a graphite mine that is now closed, and Blackcliff Hall is in dire need of repairs. He’d just as soon ride back to London and pretend he never saw the place, but the daughter of the former steward, Gwen Allbridge, is determined that he live up to his new title of Lord of the Manor. In the resulting struggle of wills, secrets come to light that will change Sir Trevor and Gwen’s lives forever.

My editor would like the title of the book to play on Sir Trevor’s title. Officially, he’s Sir Trevor Fitzwilliam of Blackcliff. And, of course, he’s a baronet. I had originally titled it The Bold Baronet, but she’s not keen on it. And yes, he has to stay a baronet. He’s a secondary character in my first book for them, The Irresistible Earl, and changing all those Sir Trevors to something else isn’t in the cards.

So, ideas? Thoughts? Suggestions?

If you happen to offer the title my editor picks, you may have your pick: a copy of La Petite Four now or an unbound advanced reading copy of The Irresistible Earl in January or February when I get my copies. I have to have suggestions back to my editor by Tuesday, so I will take any suggestions until midnight on November 8.

Thanks! Oh, and by the way, happy Guy Fawkes Day! Today would have been a great day for fireworks in the nineteenth century. Learn more from Marissa’s original post on the subject.