Posts Tagged ‘19th century’

Do you have a friend who is so fabulous, sometimes you can hardly believe she’s your friend? Duchess Máire Claremont is like that for me. I adore her. Sometimes my phone will ring and I’ll look down and see her name (and, of course, her gorgeous author photo!) and I’m like, Me? Lovely Miss Máire wants to talk to me?

But the fact is, Máire and I go way back to 2006, when we met in Atlanta at the RWA National conference. I even have photographic evidence! It was love at first sight, and we’ve been critique partners–with BFF benefits–ever since. That is why I absolutely had to be the one to interview her on The Dashing Duchesses Blog. So, without further fangirling from me, here she is! Read the rest of this entry »

Ash: Greetings, and welcome today. I’m very excited because my debut is coming out tomorrow, and…

Jen: Good day, your grace. What are you doing here?

Ash: Oh, you’ve heard. It’s the day before my book release. It’s called A Most Scandalous Proposal. Thank you for dropping by to congratulate me. *smile smile*

Jen: Erm, actually… It’s the day before my book releases, too.

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Never in my wildest dreams had it occurred to me that I would one day live in Budapest. Little old me, a girl from Minnesota, living in Hungary? A former Communist country? Eastern Europe?

What a remarkable and beautiful city Budapest is. What fascinating history. I have fallen in love with it all. It just so happens that my favorite royal fell in love with this country as well. The Empress learned the language, considered to be the second most difficult language in the world, and was so loved by the Hungarians, she became a historical icon. They built a summer palace for her just outside Budapest. One can find any number of statues bearing her likeness throughout the city, and one of the bridges crossing the Danube that connects Buda to Pest is named after her.

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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 »

Today is the day I’ve been dreaming of for eight years! THE TROUBLE WITH BEING WICKED is available in the US at all of the major e-tailers, and will soon be available at The Book Depository for those of you outside the US. I hope this is a story you fall in love with!

THE TROUBLE WITH BEING WICKED is my debut novel and the first book in my Naughty Girls series. The Naughty Girls is a six-book series set to be released over the next two years, and can be summarized as a double trilogy featuring three courtesans and three country hoydens who marry into the notorious Alexander family. These five charming Alexander rogues (and their deliciously starchy neighbor) give my girls six excellent reasons for behaving badly. 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. 

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When one is attending a country house party with as beautiful and talented an assortment of aristocrats as we have here at Dashing Duchesses, one must take special care of one’s appearance. Today we’re going to take our hints from Baroness Blanche Staffe’s book, The Lady’s Dressing Room, published in 1893. Read the rest of this entry »

Lighting is something a lady often requires but rarely thinks about. I, certainly, never gave it much consideration until the gloomy day I arrived at Bantry House in Ireland. Bantry House is a lovely 17th century ancestral pile in County Cork. On the day my family and I rapped on our coach’s roof to request our driver pull to a halt just outside of Bantry House’s expansive gardens, clouds hung low in the air. They roll in off Bantry Bay, which the charming property overlooks. (Please take no notice of the cannons. The staff were quite friendly!)

Once inside, my family and I marveled at the grand French furniture and shockingly lifelike portraits belonging to the Shelswell-White family, which owns the property even today. But when we left the checkered foyer and entered the drawing room, we came to a startling realization. Despite the overcast day, the drawing room glowed with light. We flipped through our guidebook and quickly learned why: the room had floor-to-ceiling windows, which is surely to be expected in a house this large, but the soft glow actually came from a reflection of the meager light cascading through the windows onto the gold carpet beneath our feet. Read the rest of this entry »

Find a cool bit of shade on the terrace, Dear Readers, and ring for a glass of lemonade. We extend a warm Duchess welcome to Her Grace Heather Snow today. You will not wish to miss the pictures of her lovely library, nor the chance to win a copy of her latest novel, SWEET DECEPTION.

Heather burst upon the historical romance scene earlier this year with the release of her debut, SWEET ENEMY. RT Bookreviews says “newcomer Snow makes a mark on the genre” and BookPage boasts “Readers will be delighted to add Ms. Snow to their list of must-read authors.”

Not to be outdone by the glowing reception of her first book, SWEET DECEPTION is garnering stellar reviews of its own. The Reading Reviewer writes ”Heather Snow is a genius with plot, characters, and intricate information. Readers must embrace the magic that is the romance of her words, and appreciate the brilliance of her ability to write a mystery no one can figure out.” Read the rest of this entry »

Happy August, Dear Readers! As the temperatures continue to rise, and the last, quiet month of summer becalms the publishing world (and some of our schedules), it is the perfect moment to dive into a new book. Below you will find reading recommendations provided by Her Graces, as well as a list of books currently available for scorching hot deals.

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Duchess Anne Barton recommends: For a historical romance junkie like me, it can be hard to leave behind
castles and ballrooms, even for a brief time. But I’d heard so many great things about Jill Shavis’s Lucky Harbor series that when I saw AT LAST at my favorite beach bookstore, I snatched it up. Now I can’t wait to read the rest of this series!

But back to AT LAST: Amy is a waitress (and talented artist) who’s tough and vulnerable at the same time. I think I fell in love with her when, after a little hiking mishap, she worries that (incredibly hot) forest ranger Matt will see her granny panties. Also, she has a deep and abiding respect for chocolate, which I (shockingly) identify with. Matt is an ex-cop who’s trying his damnedest to keep Amy out of trouble. And he’s really good at fighting bad guys and protecting the people he loves. A sigh-worthy hero—even if he doesn’t have a title or a castle in the countryside. A wonderful summer read for any duchess!

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