Writing to Order

I received this picture and a lovely thank you this week from the reader who won one of my contests last year. The prize was a short story for which she chose specifications. In this case she wanted a scandal caused by a cat. That took some thought! She also wanted a gruff alpha hero, […]

All the Time in the World

Highlighting Elizabeth Ellen Carter with some thoughts about time and its historic context—while giving us a bit of her Revenge of the Corsairs. In the 21st century we might be ‘time poor’, but at least we can tell the time – in fact, there is no avoiding it! Personal timepieces are everywhere! Just about all […]

Black Friday and Cyber Monday—Regency Style

Julia Justiss highlights shopping! The frenetic pre-Christmas shopping rush used to be typified by US residents leaving their Thanksgiving Thursday dinners to camp out at midnight, the better to score early-bird shopping bargains on Black Friday morning. With the advent of technology, the madness expanded to the on-line shopping bonanza of Cyber Monday. Skipping over […]

Believeable Reasons For a Virgin Hero

Highlighting Monica Burns and her thoughts on her unique trope, the virgin hero. (And don’t forget she offers a FREE book for subscribers) My September 25th reissue, PLEASURE ME, has a virgin hero. When I decided to write Garrick as a virgin, I was faced with a tough question. What reason does a virile, alpha […]

Greenery and Kissing Balls

Highlighting Emma Lane’s thoughts on historical holiday decor. Seasonal Decorations.  My pulse quickens as the holidays approach. It sparks my imagination. In my “real” world I play (work) with flowers and decorations weekly. One of my favorites for Thanksgiving is a ceramic rooster which I fill with dried flowers. My family hooted when they saw […]

Never Too Late at Vauxhall Gardens

Highlighting Susana Ellis’s love of Vauxhall Gardens.   Vauxhall Gardens has become a bit of an obsession with me. I even visited there last September, even though it has become little more than a small grassy area between the Vauxhall Underground station, Kennington Lane, and the busy Vauxhall Bridge. The Orchestra building being long gone, […]

A Hero, A Barrister, An Escape

Highlighting Linda McLaughlin’s hero, Stephen Chaplin, a barrister. I recently visited Stephen Chaplin, Esquire at his offices in London’s Lincoln’s Inn to interview him. LM: Mr. Chaplin, thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me. Can you tell me a bit about yourself? For instance, are you originally from the London area? SC: […]

American Heiresses/ English Dukes

This week Donna MacMeans shares her research with us. One of the things I love about writing is how everything you’ve done, every place you visit, inspires stories. The stories might not be immediate, but they percolate in the brain until they fit with the perfect storyline. That’s the way it worked for me with […]

A Viscount, Irish History, and Plumbing

Alina K. Field joins us this week Thank you for having me as your guest today, Caroline! I love historical romance that draws on the current events of the story world. (Your most recent novel, The Reluctant Bride, does that beautifully!) So when I came up with the idea for a series about the children […]

The Fate of Prisoners

Research about Fortune’s Foe from Michele Stegman Ever since I visited El Castillo, the fort in St. Augustine, Florida, and saw the small space where 20 English captives were held in 1740, I wondered what happened to those men. Apparently, no one made any effort to rescue or help them during that awful war between the […]