Playing Catch Up

Oops how did this happen.

No fashion since April? Right. Sleeves rolled up. Back on it.

I'll be posting couple a week until we are all caught up to August.

Where have I been in the meantime? I had a great trip to England. Stayed at a house Jane Austen used to visit. More on that to come. I feel a blog coming on. But I have to say it was quite a thrill.

I also visited my editor and the editorial team at Harlequin, Mills and Boon in London as well as other interesting spots.


Since then  have been to the Romance Writers of America Conference in San Diego, where I learned much, and this week gave a talk at the Limestone Genre Festival in Kingston.

Oh, I have been busy, have I not.?Well now I am back to my writing in full force,and to the blog.

Look out for the first fashion post on Thursday.

Brighton Revisited

I anticipated this post would be purely selfish. And yet after digging a bit deeper, perhaps it has some relevance to Regency-world lovers also.

As I have mentioned, Brighton has family associations for me. My dear mother in law, Kit, lived there as a girl, and it is where she met her husband Richard Samuel.  And it is not every family that can lay claim to a huge building in a major town - or at least a small part in its beginning.

This is the Burton Tailors building on the corner of North and West Streets in Brighton.

Richard Samuel and his brother Lawrence had a hand in its construction in 1926.  They were bricklayers.  And this is how Sam, as he was known, who originated in London's East End, met Kit, because just up the road from here lies Wyckham Terrace. Clearly whoever designed the building was trying to capture some of the Regency style of the town.

If you are wondering about the blob at the top of the picture. That is a rain drop. England, people! Raining!  Naturally, I could not resist investigating the building's history. Burtons occupied the store until the 1990's. But what a wonderful surprise, look the tailors are gone to smaller premises and now it hosts a lovely bookstore.  Waterstones.  Such a thrill to find such a neat connection.





Travelling back in time, courtesy of the regencysociety.org the corner was occupied by Geo. Bull, Grocer and Tea Dealer in 1875




http://regencysociety-jamesgray.com/volume21/source/jg_21_003.html


But here is the real treasure, North Street in 1851.  G. Bull occupies number 71 on the corner. Father or grandfather, perhaps. I think North Street might well have looked similar in the period of the Regency, don't you?

http://regencysociety-jamesgray.com/volume21/source/jg_21_001.html 


Until next time....................

Sneak Peek

Coming Soon

Vampires are showing up in Vauxhall Gardens and dying in droves on London's streets. Watch this space for more information.

This is part of the multi author series "A Most Peculiar Season"

For the earlier books check out the author's websites:

Michelle Willingham A Viking for the Viscountess

Deborah Hale  Scandal on his Doorstep 

Barbara Monajem The Lady of Flames - March 2015


Until next time…..

Susana's Parlour - It's all True

Drop by for a visit and learn more than you ever wanted to know about me at Susana's Parlour, writing, about research and other fun stuff.

We all know how shy we writers are but when someone asks us friendly questions, there's no stopping the words pouring forth. I wold love to see you over there.

We will return to our regular program next week, until then

New Year's Resolutions

First let me wish you and yours a Happy and Healthy New Year. I also wish that you prosper in all that you undertake.

And so, here we are, the start of a new year and the opportunity to look back and look forward as if standing at the top of a hill after a long climb.



This year, for me, saw the final book in the Gilvry's of Dunross Series, The Return of the Prodigal Gilvry. I am going to miss my whisky smuggling Highlanders. It was a fun series to write, and I look forward to visiting Scotland again at sometime in the future.



  


In 2014 I returned to Beresford Abbey with a spy story Captured Countess, to be followed in 2015 by the last of the three Beresford Abbey stories, The Duke's Daring Debutante.


 It also marked my first toe in the water of Indie publishing with my short story Remember.


On a more personal note, there have been ups and downs. My little dog is slowing fading, but still game, so we carry him in and out of the house. His appetite is good and he is pleased to see us, so we keep him happy. I lost a dear family member early in the year, and so the year's blessings are mingled with sadness. Once more I joyfully travelled to Europe for research for this blog as well as to catch up with family members. 

As for my resolution: Be More Organized.

I have some ideas about what that entails, more lists, a strategy, and so on. The trouble is that I am a dreamer, and those dreams appear on the pages of my books, and so organizing is not natural for me.

We will see how it goes.  Have you made any new year resolutions? Are they doable or merely a wish list? Do you have a strategy in place to help you accomplish your goals?

I will be interested to hear.

 Until next time.

More RWA 2014

It is always great to come away from a conference feeling inspired. RWA 2014 did that for me.

Not only did a friend Molly O'Keefe win the RITA, the most prestigious award of all in the Romance Writers world, Go Molly but I attended several really great sessions that will help me moving forward.

And who could not enjoy San Antonio with its river walk wandering through the centre of downtown and all those marvellous historic sites (more about them later).  And all the local people I met were just so darn friendly.  I felt right at home.

And if there were a couple of snags, like leaving my phone at home - eek all those people I am supposed to call and now I don't have their numbers and yes, I did sit in something in my new white pants -- all easily fixed. Now Fedex and dh are now the best of friends, and it is quite easy to do laundry in your hotel sink. Hotel soap makes a great detergent.


Oh and it was hot hot hot. Weather I mean. But a shady tree and a marguerita with lots of ice works wonders. (With a nap to follow.)

Here I am wandering the city after a visit to "the Alamo" historic site. The new white pants are back in the hotel drying off.

And thereis nothing like bumping into your glamourous editor in your hotel pool. umm. Oh well, she knows the crazy things my head, she might as well know what I look like in my swimsuit.

And then there were the parties.  Thank you Harlequin Mills and Boon.

The historical authors were taken to tea in the King William district and as always the Harlequin Party was amazing. Red socks this year. They must have known I planned to wear a red dress, don't you think?

Anyway I was having too good a time to take many pictures, but here is a glimpse into a writer's life (once a year anyway).

And I have to say I was so lucky to share my experience with my sister Erika this year. We had a blast.

Until next time…..







RWA San Antonio

It is always fun to go to a conference in a City you have never visited before. This year RWA's (Romance Writers of America) conference  is being held in San Antonio.  And who hasn't heard of The Battle of the Alamo. So naturally the history buff in me just had to visit.

And as luck would have it my sister decided to join me on this adventure.  We arrived on Friday, and after a long day of travelling it was dinner and bed.  But Saturday we set out on our travels. The Alamo would be first on our list. But first is breakfast. It was recommended that we go to Shiloh's, a very popular deli. So we headed out and were surprised to find ourselves lining up.  Of course it has to be good if you have to stand in line.

And it really was an excellent breakfast.  And more so because, when we went to pay, the couple at the table beside us, who were fascinated our English accents, had already paid the bill. You can imagine our surprise.  That couple had already left and the gentleman had left a message.  "Welcome to Texas."  So as you can imagine, we will always feel very welcome here.


Our next stop was the Alamo itself.  We made the mistake of wandering around some of the other parts of the museum and exhibits and when we went to go inside, lo and behold there were hundreds of people in the line up, whereas there had been only a handful when we first got there. So we decide we would go on the next day.

And moved on to Market Square a traditional Mexican market with small stalls.





Give Away ~ Return of the Prodigal Gilvry

Return of the Prodigal Gilvry


My last book in the Gilvrys of Dunross Series is currently being offered as a goodreads give away. You can sign up through the widget in the sidebar.

BEHIND THE HIGHLANDER'S SCARS…
Reeling from betrayal, the once devastatingly handsome Andrew Gilvry has returned to Scottish shores to fulfill a promise made to a dying man. The widowed Rowena MacDonald has been entrusted to his care, and Drew must do all he can to protect her….

LIES A DARK PASSION!

But Drew's honor is about to be tested—because there's something in Rowena's dove-gray eyes that awakens a flame long extinguished. And on a perilous journey across the Highlands, with only this alluring woman for company, how long can he deny his desires?

I must say, knowing this is the last time I will visit the characters in these books is very sad.  I have grown fond of them. And yet... there are lots of other stories floating around in the mish mash of my brain. Stories I have been wanting to write for ages.

Until next time...



Falling for the Highland Rogue - Cover

Getting the cover of an upcoming book is always filled with excitement and trepidation.

At least for me.

This one is for my December 2013 book.  Falling for the Highland Rogue.

I am delighted, I must say. It captures the dark streets of Edinburgh where much of the plot takes place, and I have no doubt this is my whisky smuggler hero, Logan.

Of course, its too early to be telling you too much about the plot: the book won't be out for a good while yet. But getting a cover is always the first sign that the book is a reality, and no longer just a figment of my imagination.

I'll be posting more about the story in the coming months. In the meantime, enjoy the cover.

Until next time, Happy Rambles.


RWA 2013

My RWA conference started with the my Regency Chapter's mini conference.

The Chapter is called the Beau Monde and it is a
group of authors who write Regency Romances.

Each year, the day before the main conference, we get together to talk about research in our era and in the evening we dress up and learn to dance the way they did in Jane Austen's time. Umm ...  well sort of.  We have fun pretending anyway.

As you can see, some of us dress for the occasion. I didn't this year, because I was up for an award and had to attend another event at the same time the soiree got going.  While I didn't win the Bookseller's best this time, it was a great honour to be nominated.

I attended a great many RWA workshops and learned a great deal about the business side of writing in this changing publishing world as well as catching up with old friends and making new ones.

 This is me with my editor, Joanne Grant from Harlequin Mills and Boon, at the Beau Monde Soiree, and Michelle Willingham who also has Joanne as her editor.  Michelle writes about Vikings as well as the Regency.

Always a big hit for Harlequin authors is the annual party where we celebrate our successful year with our publisher.

The goodies were amazing especially the design your own cupcake bar and we all got to make little flip books as a souvenir of our
evening. A sort of flicker film. Fun.

If you are wondering what that is hanging on the wall behind me, that is the wall of socks. Everyone got a pair of pink wooly socks so we could kick of our shoes and dance the night away. 


  Everyone gets up to dance, even Nora.  And if you don't know who I mean, you are so not a Romance reader, vbg.

One of my favourite events is always the booksigning.

It was busy this year as I was giving out trading cards and albums and was thrilled to have so many readers of my books drop buy to say hello.  I also signed at the Harlequin signing event.


Oh and now its back to the real world of trying to get my ideas on the page, so you can enjoy my stories. 





Until next time, Happy Rambles





RomCon 2011 and more

If you are wondering what I have been up to. ie why I have been missing from here for a while, these  are my excuses. 

I had two stories to finish in the month of July.  A Christmas Undone. Yep Christmas in July. I had to turn up the air conditioning to get in the mood.

I also had to hand in the follow up story to Captured for the Captain's Pleasure (Harlequin Historical) which came out in the UK in June 2010 and is coming out in North America in December 2011. (Yay) You know I only just found that out when I went on to Amazon. So fun.

Anyway, the follow up book is about Alice's best friend Selena and is set in Scotland.

Last weekend I attended Rom Con 2011 in Denver Colorado.  This is a conference for readers and I was honoured to meet so many readers of romance, to spend time with them, and have fun playing some hilarious games and talking about, you guessed it.  Books!


I really enjoyed the fashion show put on by Deanne Gist with a variety of authors modelling the costumes from the Victorian era. Here you can see me in my outfit a la Scarlett O'Hara. Lots of Fun

And here is myself and Mary Sullivan with reader Marelou, who so kindly sent me these pictures.

And for the final piece de resistance (the words in italics are to be read with a French accent, tho' the spelling might be off they will sound correct).

This is me at the build a hero workshop and contest.  Our group cheated as you can see. Words failed us, so we brought in the real thing!  Now our group/table did win the prize, but that was because everyone was tied so we did a lucky dip. Our luck was in, in more ways than one.

That is all from me this evening.  The pictures seem to be going better so I will get back to posting the last bits about Devon, before we move on to a new locale.

Until next time -- Happy Rambles

Have your say!

Every now and then I am asked to help a student studying some aspect of the romance genre. This time is a little different.  Here is your chance to have input to a survey of romance readers on a variety of topics.

Help a student learn more about our genre and complete the survey.  Here is the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/65TCL33

I'll be blogging again later in the week trying to finish off my trip to Clovelly, if blogger will cooperate on the uploading of the pictures, that is.

News

by Ann Lethbridge

First let me say it is good to be home. I have many many photos and places to share with you. I also bought some amazing fashion prints in Hay on Wye and will be sharing those too. I had a wonderful time in England, met some old friends, visited some new places and walked down some memory lanes. Yet seeing husband, daughter and little dog waiting at the airport was probably the best sight of all.

Today is all about catching up with writing news.

First up, is that Captured for the Captain's Pleasure is now available in the UK. So I am stoked about that.

Predator by name, passionate
by nature!

Captain Michael Hawkhurst relishes his fearsome reputation, for he lives only to wreak revenge on the Fulton family, who so cruelly destroyed his own.

Spirited Alice Fulton knows a ship is no place for a lady, but she is determined to save her father’s business…

When fate delivers him Fultons virginal daughter as his captive, Michael faces a dilemma – should he live up to his scandalous name and find revenge with sweet Alice, or
will his honourable side win out – and win the girl…?


The second piece of writing news that happened during my absence was a nomination in the Historical Category in the Daphne Du Maurier contest for published authors for taaa daaa The Rake's Inherited Courtesan. This was my debut book for Harlequin Mills and Boon and I must say I am very excited about being nominated.

I will let you know what happened after the award ceremony in Orlando in July. As an aside, I am just writing a follow up story to this one, the hero's brother. Another bad boy.

Last but not least, Michele's story in The Mammoth Book of Regency Romance Anthology ~ Remember ~ will be available in stores any day now.

Until next time, Happy Rambles

Interview with a Lady of the Road

by Ann Lethbridge

Madly getting ready for our trip to England, which means getting the next book in by Friday. So I apologise for my lack of chatter. I will try to put one up later in the week. Of course there will be lots of pictures when I get back, to make up for this hiatus. I will be gone for three weeks, but hope to visit here with some impressions as I travel around England.

Naturally, all of this depends on being able to fly on Saturday. That is in the lap of the gods and a volcano whose name will not pass my lips. Because I can't say it. lol.

Here is an Interview on another sitewhich you might not have already seen.


Ann Lethbridge is interviewing Lady Eleanor Hadley, who has taken up a rather unusual occupation for a noblewoman in 1811.

AL: Ann looks around: this is a rather lonely stretch of road in the English countryside. Fortunately there is a moon. Ah there is our interviewee, standing in the shadows of a large oak tree beside the lane. Ann strides closer. Lady Hadley is that you?

EH: Hush, you fool, do you want everyone to hear you?

AL: Lowers voice. Sorry. Lady Hadley, welcome to the RomCon blog. It is kind of you to take time from your busy schedule to join us.

EH: Thank you for inviting me. It is wonderful to have an opportunity to set some of the record straight.

AL: Tell our readers why you decided to become a Lady Highwayman?

EH: Big sigh . During my military brother’s absence, an investment I made on his behalf failed. wince ~ I forged his name on a document because it seemed like such a good opportunity. I still hold out hope the ship will make it to port even if it is months late. Unfortunately the bailiff has taken over our house because of the Marquess of Beauworth’s unreasonable demands we pay off the mortgage. I believe he is behind the investments failure and I need money to support me and my sister while I tried to find out what is
going on.

AL: While it isn’t unheard of for a woman to take to the High Toby as we Regency buffs call the activities of highwaymen, you are trying a somewhat different approach to the trade. Can you tell us about it?

EH: I suppose it is a little different. Country people can be superstitious as you know. There is an old legend in Sussex, about Lady Moonlight, a women who took to the road during the English Civil War to feed her family. I play the part of her ghost. People tend to be afraid of ghosts. It makes them more cooperative. Less likely to fight back, especially when they see Martin, my accomplice, with his pistols.


AL: You held up the Marquess of Beauworth very soon after you started.

EH: It was only our second hold up. We had agreed to only stop carriages of the very rich, and his was an obvious target with its flashy horses and fancy equipage. But things might have turned out better if I had know exactly who was in the carriage.

AL: Can you tell us what happened?

EH: Well... I really don’t want to spoil the story. Looks a bit red-faced. Let us say things became unexpectedly heated. Well, I had never seen such a handsome man. And he wasn’t the slightest bit afraid of my pistols. Reckless, in fact. You would think he didn’t care about life and limb.

AL: He surprised you, didn’t he?

EH: She nods. He dredged up some old legend of his own. He said Lady Moonlight always kisses her male victims, if they are young and handsome.

AL: Oh my word. And did you?

EH: She ties on her mask and pops on her tricorn hat with an enigmatic smile. The most handsome man in the world with the most charming French accent was at my mercy at pistol point offering a kiss....... What would you do?

AL: Don’t keep us in suspense.

EH: I suppose you will have to read my story to find out.

AL: I thought you were a respectable noblewoman, not a tease. EH: I used to be respectable. Not any more. Not after meeting Garrick. But if you don’t mind, I really have to get back to my night job. There is a small matter of needing to put food on the table. She whirls around in a flutter of long black cloak and disappears into the night.

AL: There you have it folks. More questions than answers.



Wicked Rake, Defiant Mistress by Ann Lethbridge, a Harlequin Historical is in stores May 1 2010.


And you can find her newest Undone short story e-book, The Laird and the Wanton Widow on line at e-harlequin Check out Harlequin eBooks! Save 10% off ePrices!
.



Her next book, Captured for the Captain’s Pleasure is due out in June in the UK and in the Fall in North America.

Special Offer from Harlequin
Get 2 Free Books from Harlequin Historical today.

Excitment is Building

by Ann Lethbridge
There is never any doubt that the days before a book comes out are full of excitment and trepidation

Of course they are also full of the current projects too.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be blogging at other sites and will post the links here.

Today you can find me at Miss Bluestocking If you have a moment I would love to see you there.

Until next time, Happy Rambles

Launching

by Ann Lethbridge


The excitement of a book coming out, never dwindles.

I am also really lucky, I get to celebrate new releases twice.

Once when they come out in the UK, and again when they come out in North America.

Wicked Rake, Defiant Mistress, is now out in the UK, probably on shelves around February 4, so if you live in the Britain, this is lots of notice that you can find my book there later this week. and to make sure you can recognize it, here is the cover (again).

Bear with me, I am excited.

For those of you in North America, you have to wait until May for this book. But I have posted the cover below just as a teaser, to whet your appetites.



Such a different take on the cover, but I find I like them both very much.

Oh, and by the way a little bird told me that Captured for the Captain's Pleasure will be out in North America in June!

Oh be still my fast beating heart!


and then it will be almost time for Michele's next book!



Watch out for my next newsletter, coming soon. As usual there will be a prize!


Regency Fashion for February, coming up next time here on Regency Rambles

Until then, Happy Rambles.

Happy New Year


It is always difficult to get back into routine after a holiday, isn't it? But here we are.

Family is very important to us all when there are celebrations, and we were lucky enough to communicate with all of ours over the past two weeks.

There is also the surfeit of food to contend with and the odd glass of cheer, and those couple of extra pounds. All in all, though, it was a great holiday for us.

I am glad to be back with you all. 2010 promises to be an interesting year, with at least 2 full length and two (or is that three) short stories coming out. We look forward to sharing our research, travels and jubilations with you. (You won't find any snark here. Ever.)

For me that is the key to the New Year. Looking forward, making plans, tucking the regrets away in a private corner and rambling on.

Wishing you all the very best for a happy, healthy and rewarding 2010.