The Consequences of Using Nine Pins All the Time

All right, I admit it. I like the game of Nine Pins, what some of us call Table Skittles. My brother and I had a set when we were young, and we loved the sound of those wooden pins hitting the block. The game dates back to the 1700s, when what was an outdoor or pub game similar to lawn bowling was miniaturized for parlor play. So it’s no surprise that when I need someone to play a parlor game in the book I’m writing, Nine Pins is usually top of my mind. Vaughn and Samantha play a round or two in The Rake’s Redemption, and my widowed hero and his daughter will play a round in my August 2013 book, The Courting Campaign.

But in the book I’m currently writing, which won’t be out until December, I have a whole bunch of people ranging from 20 years of age up to 60 stuck at a country house party with rainy weather outside and feeling a bit at loose ends.  Nine Pins simply wasn’t going to work either logistically or from an interest factor.  So what should I have them do?

We’ve talked about using an electric shock as a party game, but I couldn’t see my fifty-year old marchioness unbending for such a display.  There were rhyming games, but one of my younger gentlemen was much too likely to get carried away, and then bluestocking in the group would have to take him to task. 

The game, however, that I thought would cause the most laughter, and the most havoc between the hero (the poor fellow who tumbled into the Blue John cavern) and heroine, was Consequences.

In Consequences, players take turns answering a series of questions, one question per player, and each player has no knowledge of what the others have written.  Questions involved the name and characteristic of a lady, the name and characteristic of a gentleman, how they met, what they wore, what they said, and what the consequences were.  You can imagine the results:

Wobbly Bill met skinny Alice at an ice cream parlor.  He was wearing a footman’s livery, and she was wearing an ostrich plumed hat.  He said “I have an itch under my right elbow,” and she said, “Does this outfit make me look fat?” The consequences were that they both called before the magistrate.

Ahem.

Now, I wasn’t sure how to keep previous words from you in a blog post, but I thought perhaps we might play, if you’re willing, and see how very silly we can get.  So, I’ll start:  “Pock-marked Charles met . . .”

Four Things on a Friday

Lovely conversations about "Sense and Sensibility," my dears! If you haven’t weighed in yet, please do! In the meantime, I have four things you might find interesting on this cold January day:

1. BBC is planning to recreate the Netherfield Ball to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice! Oh, to be one of those attending! Experts in nineteenth century dance, music, and even food will be advising. It’s supposed to be aired around Easter on BBC2 (which we don’t get—stamps foot, pouts, rails at the ceiling). See the full report in The Independent.
2. Most of my books have been mass market paperbacks. Every once in a while, though, another publisher buys the rights to create a hard cover, and I am usually the last to hear about it! Such was the case recently when I was tooling about Amazon and discovered that a hardcover, large print version of The Rake’s Redemption is going to be available soon! Amazon shows a March 18 publication date. Thorndike, the publisher, shows a February release. It’s pricey at around $29.00, but the publisher sells mostly to libraries. Vaughn, in libraries everywhere—the mind boggles!
3. Ever wonder exactly what an early nineteenth century wardrobe entailed? The talented misses at Historical Sewing have compiled a complete list, from undergarments to main garments and outwear to accessories. Note that Mr. Darcy, Mr. Ferris, and Mr. Willoughby are among the required accessories.
4. You may have heard that RT Book Reviews is the premiere review magazine for the romance industry (though they review many other genres as well). I heard this week that the reviewer there has given my upcoming March release, The Heiress’s Homecoming, the highest honor: 4 and a half stars and a Top Pick for the month! I’m tickled pink!

Hope you have a similarly delightful Friday!

Win a Date with an Everard

The three books in the Everard legacy miniseries thus far feature three very different gentlemen, and some of you have indicated preferences on the heroes. But do you know which gentleman really aligns with you, which one would make your heart go pitter patter, which one you’d be tempted to join in a walk down the aisle?

Take our Win a Date with an Everard quiz below and find out! Just tally how many of each letter you choose, then look in the comments section to see which Everard is your match. Let us know how you did in your own comment by midnight next Thursday, November 8, and your name will be entered to win an autographed copy of any one of the three books, even this week’s release The Rake’s Redemption. Your choice. Good luck!

1. When it comes to a gentleman’s physique, you prefer them:
a. Tall, dark, and handsome
b. Mustachioed and manly
c. Athletic and wiry

2. A pleasant activity to share with a gentleman on a sunny afternoon would be:
a. Riding in Hyde Park
b. Sailing on the Thames
c. Taking in a pugilistic match

3. When discussing literature, you’d prefer your stories:
a. Nonfiction, true-to-life
b. A good adventure or romantic yarn
c. Stirring poetry

4. When attending the theatre, you lean toward:
a. A Shakespearean drama
b. A witty satire
c. A compelling opera

5. As for partnering a gentleman in a dance, you gravitate toward:
a. A stately minuet
b. A lively country dance
c. The waltz

6. You believe that an intimate conversation with a gentleman should be:
a. Clever and engaging
b. Quiet and heart-felt
c. Intense and personal

7. When it comes to courting, you prefer a gentleman who will:
a. Follow all the traditions of society, from showering you with flowers to taking you driving
b. Become your closest friend before confiding his secret love
c. Sweep you off your feet and into his arms.

Introducing Vaughn Everard from The Rake's Redemption

[We are pleased to once again welcome Samantha Everard to Nineteenteen. The sixteen-year-old Lady Everard, a baroness in her own right, has proven rather adept at interviewing her recently discovered cousins and their roles in the Everard Legacy miniseries. The third book of the series, The Rake’s Redemption, is out this week from Love Inspired Historical. Be sure to come back on Friday for a special quiz and a chance to win an autographed copy.]

Samantha: Delighted to be back. I have with me today my most dashing cousin Vaughn Everard. Or at least he was here with me. He has a bit of an obsession with trying to discovery who murdered my father. Excuse me. (Hops off chair, peers around corner, beckons to someone, returns with a tall, striking platinum-haired man.) Yes, well, Vaughn, introduce yourself to our delightful readers.

Vaughn, sweeping a dramatic bow that reveals the sword at his side: Dear ladies, your servant, Vaughn Everard.

Samantha: I see you couldn’t leave your blade at home. Did you bring the book of poetry I asked?

Vaughn, flicking a speck of dust off the lapel of his crimson coat as he straightens: Alas, I fear not. But if you need a recitation, you have only to ask.

Samantha, brightening: Oh, yes, please. Say something poetic.

Vaughn, raising his head and gazing off into the distance:

Faith finds what mind and will deny
And lights the heart that wanders lost.
Love fills each void and heals the cry
Of one who could not count the cost;
Who spent a lifetime wondering why
And squandered time as so much dross.

Now hope flies close on gilded wing
And love can blossom in a kiss;
The dark dethroned like aged kings
That now will nevermore be missed.
And I who scoffed at many things
Believe again, and rise to bliss.

Samantha, fanning herself: Oh, my. Was I the inspiration for that?

Vaughn, lowering his gaze and chucking her under the chin: Not precisely, infant.

Samantha, dropping her hand with a frown: Oh? Who was? You’ve fallen in love, that’s clear as day! What lady has finally touched your heart?

Vaughn, turning away: Don’t ask questions to which you won’t like the answers.

Samantha, with a gasp: You mean? Oh, Vaughn, not her. She’ll break your heart. And if she doesn’t, her father certainly will see to it she’ll never wed you. After all, you think he murdered my father!

Vaughn: Enough! It matters not. I set out to find a killer and traitor to England and bring him to justice, and I won’t be swayed, for anyone. Now, if you’ll excuse me.

Samantha, watching him go: All right, but I’ll be here if you need me.

You can learn more about the poet and duelist Vaughn Everard, his quest for vengeance, and the lady who has stolen his heart, in The Rake’s Redemption, available from fine retailers like these:

Harlequin
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Powell’s Books
Independent Bookstores Near You
The Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)

Autographing Authors, Wandering Writers, and Poetic Proposals

We interrupt this blog to provide you with three messages from the Regina-Marissa Broadcast Network. This is not a test.

First, if you are anywhere near Anaheim, California, Wednesday, July 25, you may want to drop by the Anaheim Convention Center, third floor ballroom, between 5 and 8pm. Why, you ask? Because more than 400 authors, including Marissa and me, will be signing books! Admittance is free, and all proceeds from the books you buy will go to supporting local literacy organizations. Marissa will be at table 605, and I will be at table 405. Stop by and say hi!

Second, the fact that we will be signing books with so many other authors for charity means two things: 1) it’s time for the Romance Writers of America annual conference, and 2) it’s Regina and Marissa sleepover time. :-) So, next week, we will leave our families behind and spend a week in the rarified air of editors, agents, writers, and chocolate. Not necessarily in that order. Our posts, therefore, may not be quite on the usual days or times, because we’ll want to tell you the most juicy tidbits soon after they happen. Check the blog next week for details.

Finally, I just received a copy of my cover for The Rake’s Redemption, the third book in the Everard Legacy miniseries, and I couldn’t wait to share. As some readers suspected, my favorite Everard is Vaughn (golly, does it show?), so you can imagine how anxious I was to see how the cover artists depicted him. He’s a romantic poet (in more ways than one), with a flair all his own. I knew he wasn’t going to be easy to capture on canvas.

But they did it!

I have only one quibble: his hair. Anyone want to guess why?