Author Archive

Join me, dear duchesses and friends, as I celebrate my release week for the latest story in my Secret Brides series, Secrets of a Runaway Bride. (3/26/13 St. Martin’s Press)

I like to refer to my work as Racy Regency Romps and if I do say so myself, this story delivers on all three of those promises.

Why romps, you ask?

Well, because they are the types of stories I most like to read. Many of our dear duchesses write such wonderful tales, though the duchesses’ styles range from the quite serious and dark to full-on drunken-night-of-revelry frolics! And we do adore our differences. But I’ve always been a huge fan of the farce, the comedy, and the romp. So much so that my entire next series is going to be based on famous comic plays. Read the rest of this entry »

Happy (nearly) New Year Ladies and Gentlemen! May 2013 find you and your families in good health and good sprits. I, myself, have spent the last week a bit under the weather but realized about halfway through my bout of illness that sleeping, reading, and eating was actually a fantastic vacation after all. I quickly got over my melancholia at being bedridden.

Tomorrow is a big day for me! My first ever novella, A SECRET PROPOSAL, will be released on 1/1/13 by St. Martin’s Press and I’m so excited to share this story with everyone. It’s the tale of Amelia Templeton. Amelia was introduced as a minor character in my debut novel, SECRETS OF A WEDDING NIGHT, and in the novella, you finally get to find out what happened to her.

Amelia’s story is set against the backdrop of a Regency-era boxing saloon. I did a bit of research on the sport  to ensure that my premise was sound. The Regency did, in fact, have a great love of pugilism and pugilists, the most famous of the lot being John Jackson or “Gentleman Jack.” He owned and operated a boxing school of sorts from rented rooms on Bond Street and this is the inspiration for the boxing saloon operated by the hero of A SECRET PROPOSAL, Thaddeus Hammond. Read the rest of this entry »

Greetings one and all. Originally published for SheLovesHotReads.com, I thought I’d share with you my Regency romance rendition of Walking in a Winter Wonderland. Enjoy! And happy, happy holidays!

To the tune of Walking In a Winter Wonderland…

by Duchess Valerie Bowman

Dukes are hot; earls are to–oo.
Viscounts make me want to dro-ool.
If he wears a cra-vat, he’s super hot.
Oh, Re-gen-cy, his-tor-i-cal romance.

Make a be-et in White’s bo-ok.
Run off and kiss, inside a no-ok.
A romance novel for me, must be Re-gen-cy.
Oh, Re-gen-cy, his-tor-i-cal romance.

(In the meadow…)
In the novel, there may be a wedding.
Someone could run off to Gretna Green.
Maybe toss in a virgin widow.
And all the fun tropes in between.

Dance cards and…reti-cu-les.
Someone may just fight a duel.
Full of corsets and tea; our beloved Prin-ny.
Oh, Re-gen-cy, his-tor-i-cal romance.

Don’t forget about the war-rs.
And the ma-ny social more-es.
A country house par-ty.
Makes me squeal with glee.
Oh, Re-gen-cy, his-tor-i-cal romance.

(In the meadow…)
What the heck is a pianoforte?
And how come they take so many baths?
Why is hot chocolate so thrilling?
And why are all the heroes good at maths?

Arch a brow, crook a finger.
Steal a kiss and let it linger.
Scandals and misdeeds; see ‘em on SheLovesHotReads.
Oh, Re-gen-cy, his-tor-i-cal romance!

Duchess Valerie Bowman writes Racy Regency Romps! Her debut novel, Secrets of a Wedding Night, was published by St. Martin’s Press in October 2012 and has been nominated by Romantic Times Book Reviews as  Best Historical Romance debut of 2012!

Her first novella, A SECRET PROPOSAL, will be published by St. Martin’s Press on 1/1/13. It is the story of what happened to Amelia Templeton from Secrets of a Wedding Night. Please join Duchess Valerie on the Dashing Duchesses blog on 12/31 while she kicks off the launch party for this fun story and gives away a copy of the novella!

Find Duchess Valerie on the web at www.ValerieBowmanBooks.com, on Twitter @ValerieGBowman or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ValerieBowmanAuthor.

Today, the Dashing Duchesses are pleased to welcome Regency author (and attorney) Ella Quinn.  Ella has agreed to share with us some fascinating tidbits about estate law, Regency style. So, pull up a leather chair in the study, dears, and let’s learn about the law.

During the Regency period, the Hardwicke Marriage Act of 1753 was in effect. The purpose of the Act was to regularize all aspects of marriage and the ending of a marriage. The Act itself was not very specific about many matters except that it had to be performed by clergy of the Anglican Church. The Church rules were specific as to marriages.

There were three ways to marry: reading the banns, buying a license, and elopement.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today, the Duchesses are thrilled to have a visit from Georgian historical author, Isobel Carr. Isobel is a former Golden Heart® finalist and her soon-to-be released, Ripe for Seduction, earned a starred review from PW and 4-stars from RT BOOK REVIEWS! 

Her grace, Duchess Isobel is an expert on historical clothing and she’s stopping by to inform us about that delightful subject, the lady’s dressing room, specifically the apron-front gown. I had the pleasure of being in one of Isobel’s historical clothing workshops last summer at the RWA conference and was delighted by the details she shared with us and the items of clothing she passed around for all to see. 

Read the rest of this entry »

It is my pleasure to introduce you all to debut author, Anna Lee Huber! Anna’s book, The Anatomist’s Wife, is soon to be released (November 6th, to be exact) and I cannot wait to read it. Join me for an interview with Ms. Huber and leave a comment to win a copy of her debut novel!

Her Grace, Anna: First of all, thank you so much, Duchess Valerie, for having me.  It’s quite a thrill!

Duchess Valerie: The pleasure is mine. Please, your grace, tell us a bit about yourself. What do you like to do in your spare time, for instance?

Her Grace, Anna: I was raised in a small town in northwest Ohio, graduated from high school in South Carolina, college in Nashville, TN, and currently live in northern Indiana.  So I know the Midwest and Southeast fairly well.  I’m from a large family—I have four brothers and one much-younger sister, so I never lacked playmates, though I usually had to play GI Joe and Matchbox Cars, unless I wanted my Barbie’s undressed and/or pretend blown up.  (You can see where my love of action movies comes from.)  We were a fairly creative bunch, playing Star Wars swinging plastic baseball bats as light-sabers, and wearing my mother’s old nightgowns.  (In actuality, they were old nursing-gowns, and we used to poke our arms through the breast holes because we didn’t know any better.  By the way, my mother is going to kill me for mentioning that.  Especially since we used to run around outside in them.)  The riding lawnmower became our A-Team van, and I must say the running plates were perfect for hanging off of and firing pretend guns, just like the guys did on TV.  I always played Hannibal.  (I love it when a plan comes together.)  I was a somewhat bossy child. Read the rest of this entry »

Hooray! This week is such a happy time in my house. I’m proud to announce the birth, er, debut of my Regency romance novel, Secrets of a Wedding Night.

Ever see a book dressed up like a baby? You’re about to!

Ok, so here she is. My baby, I mean, book. Humor me, people, I’ve got no actual kids.

Her birthday is tomorrow, 9/25/12.  Her name is Secrets of a Wedding Night, I call her SOWN for short and she was a twinkle in my eye back on June 3, 2007 when I started typing my very first story.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today, I’m excited to announce that we have the pleasure of welcoming her grace, Vanessa Kelly, to the duchesses’ drawing room.

Vanessa Kelly writes Regency romance that sizzles. She was named by Booklist, the review journal of the American Library Association, as one of the “New Stars of Historical Romance.”  Her romances have been nominated for awards in a number of contests, and her second book, Sex and The Single Earl, won the prestigious Maggie Medallion for Best Historical Romance.  Her latest book, My Favorite Countess, was nominated for an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Regency Historical Romance.

So please do draw up a chair and have a cup of tea, as we hear from Vanessa on rascally smugglers and help from her friend.  Read the rest of this entry »

Today the Duchesses of Dash welcome wonderful, witty USA Today bestselling author of Regency Romance Kieran Kramer.

Duchess Valerie: Thank you for visiting the duchesses today, Kieran. You’ve had a varied and interesting employment history. Please share with our readers a little of that. You were a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, no? And an CIA agent?

Read the rest of this entry »

Manda Collins

Today, darlings, I am thrilled to introduce my friend and sister St. Martin’s Press Regency historical romance author, Manda Collins.

Manda’s highly anticipated debut, How to Dance with a Duke, hits stores and the web on January 31st and you can bet, I have this one pre-ordered.

Not only does it have one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen (swoon/see below), but it’s already racking up a ton of accolades including a 4-star review from Romantic Times!

Manda and I share a publishing house, an editor, and a love of Regency romance novels.

Manda, we really must discuss what else we have in common some time, my dear. I’m sure there is much more.

But I digress. Let’s get to the real fun, your book!

Read the rest of this entry »