Month: August 2024

Reading Challenge

Hey guys, Camy here! I absolutely love Goodreads.com. It’s a website for readers and I could literally spend hours surfing the site, looking up books and authors, reading reviews. I belong to several reading groups including Christian Fiction Devourers, and I joined an A-Z Reading Challenge for 2014. Basically, you read authors or titles from A-Z.

I chose authors. This isn’t a requirement of the challenge, but I set myself a personal goal to read Regency romance and historical romance authors for the challenge!

So far, I’ve read:

6600275Miss Mouse by Mira Stables

 

 

 

 

3313519The Torpid Duke by Pauline York

 

 

 

 

 

156538

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

 

 

 

 

1729712A Debt of Honour by Diana Brown

I’m a bit stuck for an author with a last name that starts with X. I just found a historical author with a last name that starts with Z, so I’m glad about that! I just ordered the book through Paperbackswap.com. It’s set in Medieval times, which isn’t my favorite time period, but the storyline and heroine sounds interesting!

So if any of you have recommendations for a Regency or historical author with a last name that starts with X, I’m all ears!

What reading challenges have you entered for this year? I’d love to hear about them and your progress! I know I need to step it up if I’m going to make my challenge this year …

On the writing front, I got my ARCs for my upcoming Regency romance, Prelude for a Lord! Here’s a copy with my reluctant Vanna White:

IMG_1793

Originally posted 2014-05-19 05:00:08.

A Pressing Engagement: Part 2

If you missed part 1, click here.

Insufferable man. Already planning her future. All of Mama’s wonderful training about reserve fled Sara Hargrove and a groan welled inside. “I’d don’t think I’ll be able to finish this painting. I’m too flustered.”

He took the paintbrush from her tight fingers and slipped it onto the easel’s ledge. “Miss Hargrove, your prospects are endless. Both of the earl’s sons are smitten.”

“The obsessive heir or the humorous flirt, for me?” She shook her head. Maybe Jeremiah Wilton didn’t know her soul. How could the man suggest such poor matches? Providence surely misled her. Her heart sunk even lower.

“I see how they’ve taken notice of you.” His sea blue eyes swept over her as if he hunted for agreement. “My dull nature will stifle you. You must concur.”

Dull? She counted upon his steadfast manner, so like, Papa. For a brilliant man, Jeremiah could be dense. “This must be a courtroom, barrister. You’ve declared your judgment. My feelings are not material.”

He hovered so close she could feel his soft breath on her crown. Pushing away from him, she knocked her easel. Jeremiah thrust his arms about her catching the canvas, but imprisoned her within his embrace. The warm smell of his sandalwood surrounded her, shrouding her in hopeless dreams.

Unwanted tears pregnant in her lashes fell. “Have you come to torture me?”

He eased the canvas back upon the easel, but kept his arms about her. “I didn’t know the strength of your feelings, not until this moment. You do love me?”

“You came to gloat?” She balled her fist and punched at his gut. Her knuckles stung against the iron muscles of his stomach as if she’d hit a metal washbasin. Undaunted, she struck him again.

He grunted and released her.

“Good day.” She picked up her paints and headed toward the house.

“Miss Hargrove. Please don’t go.” The hitch in his voice stopped her.

She wiped her face, then glanced over her shoulder.

Jeremiah, so tall and handsome in his crimson tailcoat and cream breeches, wrenched his arms behind his back. “Miss Hargrove, lovely Sara, I love you. With all my heart, but I cannot hold you to a long engagement. I don’t know how long the war will burn.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh air. The sweet scent of apple wood met her. His confession didn’t salve her heart. Maybe, if she ran to thickest part of the orchards, her composure would return among the hearty trees, her safe haven.

Something yanked on her hem.

Jeremiah’s head covered in thick ebony hair hung near her hip. On bended knee, he gripped the muslin fabric of her paint smock. The proud giant humbled himself at her feet.

“I’m desperate for you. This is against my reason. I shouldn’t propose, but I can’t find a way not to. Accept me?”

“Get up, Mr. Wilton.” With another quick tug on her skirts, she’d be free.

Jeremiah held fast. “I’ll give you the power to dictate our course, but for your sake say no to my proposal.”

“This is a proposal?”

“It is Miss Hargrove, but it’s not rational. It’s inappropriate to obligate you. Say no.”

Did he think mere words could free them from this bond? She licked her lips. “No.”

He swallowed hard then stood to his full height. Head drooping, he kicked a rock with his boot. “Tell…. Tell your father and mother I called.”

Her heart beat hard at his stutter. He’d gotten his way, but maybe his spirit, his proud spirit, was breaking too.

He soldiered away, his shoulders hunched as he marched to his dapple-grey mount.

Could she let him go, forget him? No, he was for her. Since the day she climbed Papa’s tree and witnessed Jeremiah besting the town beaus to save his friend, Jeremiah Wilton owned her heart. “Is this how you wish to leave things, sir?”

“No.” He scooped up his gloves, but hadn’t turned.

“What type of husband will you make, if you can’t admit to be being wrong? And what would it say about me, if I waited for such a man?”

“Perhaps, you’re just as foolish as I?” He trudged back to her, took her hand, and placed it over his heart. “I need to trust that our thoughts are the same, shared of one spirit. I’ll not doubt us again. But, if you find you can’t withstand a long engagement—”

Putting a shaking palm to his mouth, she stopped the voicing of his misgivings. Her gaze lowered from his searching eyes to the gold braiding of his epaulet. Only time would prove her commitment.

Yet, how could he be so uncertain of her character? Perhaps each passing day would lessen the sting.

He moved her fingers, bent his head, and slowly covered her lips. His arms tightened about her as she let his affection deepen. In spite of his words, Jeremiah’s actions seemed clear. He had to love her as much as she loved him.

Tossing her paints, she wrapped her arms about his neck and reveled in his possessive grip of her waist, the heavy coursing of his pulse.

He tugged her closer, snuggling her against the smooth floss of his waist sash. “Come, we must go convince Mr. Hargrove. I know Mrs. Hargrove won’t be happy. They may not give their permission.”

“Mama, may be more difficult to persuade, but who can withstand my Mr. Wilton.” The clouds in Sara’s spirit receded as she slipped her palm into his. They soon trudged the path to the great portico of the main house. “If the war can end by spring, we should take our wedding breakfast on the lawn or even set a table on the entry.”

Jeremiah looked off into the distance. An unreadable expression set upon his thinned lips. “If we can convince your parent, then I’ll make this war as short as possible, even capture Napoleon to return to you.”

 

Originally posted 2014-05-15 09:00:00.

A Pressing Engagement: Part1

Hampshire, England March 1810

It must be easier to face Napoleon’s cannons than witness the anguish in Sara’s dark eyes. Jeremiah Wilton’s heart clenched at her tears. A woman’s cries always gnawed at him, and these were his fault.

“Good day, Mr. Wilton.” She swiped at her chin and pivoted to her easel. The thick meadow grass lapped her pale skirts. “Must I count the seconds ’til you depart?”

“Miss Hargrove.” He searched in vain for a handkerchief. His regimental held no pockets like his comfortable tailcoat. “Will you allow me to explain?”

“Two. Three.” She fussed with her paint jars. “I understand that certain gentlemen make a sport of pursuing ladies. You should’ve saved this game for Miss Helena Smithers. She’d be a very willing mark.”

“She’s Smithers’s little sister with a child’s infatuation. My intentions to you were honourable.”

“Yes, Mr. Wilton. Your letters describing a future, a home, …arm loads of children are full of honour. You pursued me, made me hope for a future that will not be. Oh, leave.”

Unable pivot and ride away, he stood there like a dunderhead staring at her rare display of emotion. Had she been this partial to him all along? No. It was only his heart breaking.

A slight breeze rustled the leaves of the bordering apple trees. He’d met her in these orchards and lost his reason shortly after.

“Nine, ten. Mr. Wilton, can’t you let this parting be done.”

His boots were rooted in place. Why did she have this power to make him question everything, even when he was in the right? The ambitions Providence called him to do, couldn’t be achieved love-struck.

Another gust of wind mussed the curls peeking from her mobcap. His best friend, Gerald Smithers, called the lock’s colour, cinnamon, more apt to describe the silk than brown. The night of the harvest dance, she’d lost a pearl comb, and her chignon spilled into Jeremiah’s fingers. A luscious accident, a memory to fortify him on the battlefield.

“Twelve, thirteen.” She tapped her paintbrush against her easel. “Go to Hargrove Manor and say farewell to my parents.” With a flip of her dainty wrist, she swirled some blue and grey, and another grey, probably green onto the center of her palette.

Should he comment on her art to regain her attention, maybe win one last smile? Tightness gripped his stomach. He must tread carefully and not expose his difficulty distinguishing colours, or she’d think him forward and a fool. Maybe if he were vague…. He coughed. “Your painting is beautiful.”

Her strokes made a mirror image of the sky, every fluffy cloud, even the streaks of light beaming down. The texture of the bark matched the roughness of the boughs as if she’d inked the trunk and pressed the canvas against it. How could such a dainty woman, barely up to his armpit, possess such great talent?

“Papa’s favorite Pippin. It will bud in the spring with shimmering cream blossoms, pretty enough for wedding flowers.” Her tone soured. “Leave.”

She waved at him to go, shooing as one would do to scatter chickens.

No more horrid indecision. He marched the short distance to Sara. A hint of her lilac fragrance touched his nose, and he gulped a deeper portion of the scented air. “If there was another way—”

“You’ve made it clear that these decisions, yours and your grandfather’s, are made.”

He reached for her but dropped his hand to his side. “I should never have imposed upon you.”

“Well, Mr. Wilton, you did.” She stroked her jaw with her cuff. Droplets stained the lace trimming. “If you’re not going to see my parents, please run and catch your regiment.”

“Don’t dismiss me.”

With her chin jutted, she spun around, her eyes wide with fire. “This is not my fault. I’m not the one who sought this meeting. I’m not the one breaking a promise.”

“Technically, I never made a promise.” He shouldn’t have said that. Now was not the time for precision.

Her lips pursed. She gripped her paintbrush as if she sought to throw it at him. “No, you haven’t made an offer.”

Would an oil paint stain sponge from his uniform? “I have family obligations. With my brother’s early death, someone must fight in his stead.”

She lowered her weapon to a rag and cleaned its bristles, and he caught her balled fingers. “There are many things that weighed on my mind. Miss Hargrove, I must know you forgive me.”

“Why care now what I think?” She bit her lip, then caught his gaze.

“I planned to propose, but, I must distinguish myself in military service. Perhaps regain some of the respectability my father wasted.”

She shook her head. “His scandals never mattered to me. You excelled at the law. There is honour in that.”

“You paid attention to my prospects?”

Her expression softened as her tender lips released a sigh. “There is nothing about you which escapes me. Why else would I avoid wearing rose trims or anything emerald?”

Red and green, baneful hues. He rocked back on his heels. She knew of his difficulties? How ironic for a man with vision challenges to love a vibrant artist. “You never said anything.”

“You don’t seem to be comfortable with colour, and it pleased me to know you worked hard to admire my art even sending a friend to spy”

“Smithers’s my constant ally, but he’s not terribly discreet.” Jeremiah tugged off his gloves and dropped them away, then tucked a loose tendril behind her ear. “He’s to look after you while I’m gone, that is until you marry.”

Catch Part 2 on Thursday

 

Originally posted 2014-05-12 08:00:00.

From Ackerman’s to Almack’s ~ Dressmaking in Regency England

Much is made of the fashion trends and inspirations of the early 19th century, but have you ever considered what it took to turn those gorgeous Ackerman’s drawings into actual gowns?

With no sewing machine, no electricity for decent lighting, and no ready-to-wear size guide, creating clothing for the masses was no small feat.

1817 fashion plateThose of lesser means had to find time to make their own clothing, which meant they often had limited wardrobes and much plainer pieces. Those who could afford to purchase their clothes couldn’t just stroll down to Bond Street and come home with a new look. Purchasing a dress took time.

Selecting the Materials

Fabrics, trimmings, and matching accessories were not all to be found under one roof. While a dressmaker might have a selection of ribbons and beads to add to the piece, the cloth itself came from the linen-draper.

Since fabric making was one of the first industrialized products, inventory at these large establishments could be massive indeed. If a person were particularly indecisive, they could spend hours, if not days perusing the options.

Buttons, ribbons, and other embellishments could be had from the haberdasher.

Linen DraperSelecting the Design

Once at the dressmaker’s, it was time to scour the Ackerman’s drawings and determine the dress you wanted. Some dressmaker’s were also designers and could create unique pieces, but most were altering the drawn designs to best compliment their customer’s figures. Because all pieces were custom made, flattering a person’s individual figure was crucial.

Adorning from Head to Toe

Once the outfit was done, there was still the matter of accessories. Hats were purchased from the milliner. Stockings could be had from the hosiers. For the affluent, even their shoes were custom made. Custom boots were particularly valued amongst men, as they would hold up considerably longer than a lady’s fragile dancing slipper.

Some stores, particularly in less populated areas, would carry a variety of accessories from muffs and bonnets to slippers and reticules, possibly even fabric and ribbons. In the large city, shops could afford to be more specialized.

 

With all these stops and shops, it’s no surprise that a woman could spend an entire day or possibly even a week selecting a new look. Imagine the time and effort it took to select a new wardrobe, particularly for the upper classes that could wear upwards of four outfits in a single day.

What do you think? Would you like to go through all those steps instead of driving to your local Kohl’s?

 

 

Originally posted 2014-05-08 05:00:10.

Concluding our Spring Release Extravaganza

We have winners! We enjoyed hearing from everyone who stopped by during our promotion for A Lady’s Honor by our very own Laurie Alice Eakes. Thank you to those who participated in answering a variety of fun questions, encompassing everything from whether you’d rather read a story set in London opposed to the countryside, to what novel setting you’d like to visit in real life.

The winner of the Celtic knot necklace and $15.00 gift card is Janet Estridge.

Celtic Knot Necklace

 

The winner of the hand blown glass ring dish and $15.00 gift card is KayM.

Ring Holder

Today officially concludes our Spring Release Extravaganza, and our blog will be back to normal and posting about Regency history on Thursday. We wanted to take a quick moment and thank everyone who stopped by over the past month in a half. We enjoyed sharing our enthusiasm about new books by three authors here on Regency Reflections.

A Heart’s Rebellion by Ruth Axtell

A Heart's Rebellion

 

The Soldier’s Secrets by Naomi Rawlings

Naomi Rawlings The Soldier's Secret

 

A Lady’s Honor by Laurie Alice Eakes

LadysHonor_FINAL

Originally posted 2014-05-05 01:00:00.

A Lady’s Honor …Finding True Love

A Lady’s Honor by Laurie Alice Eakes deals with a person’s inability to receive love because they have never really known love. From growing up with her grandparents who love her but demand a certain standard of behavior to having parents who are living off in London society, Elizabeth Trelawny has come to feel she is only as good as the size of her dowry.

220px-Trebarwithstrand01
Trebarwith Strand on north Cornish coast- Wikipedia

 

The story opens with her fleeing from an unwanted suitor–a much older man who wants her for her money, but whose suit has been sanctioned by her parents. She escapes to her ancestral home in Cornwall, hoping for the protection of her grandparents. They give it, but no sooner is she safely behind the walls of the Cornish estate on a cliff than they are foisting another older man on her.

When the hero Rowan Curnow begins to show his attraction, she doesn’t trust his love. Her grandparents try to point her toward the Savior, but she feels their love is conditional–if she behaves properly, they will love her and give her their blessing. If she acts the way she wants to act, which is an unconventional way for a gently-bred young lady of the regency period, they will be shocked, displeased, or, worse, disappointed.

It’s not until her life and those of the ones she loves are threatened by an outside danger that Elizabeth begins to understand why she has been running from God’s love all these years and why she has put her trust and love in her ancestral home.

220px-Land's_End,_Cornwall,_England
Land’s End, Cornwall

A Lady’s Honor takes the heroine on a spiritual journey without which she is not able to give and receive the kind of love the hero both demands and deserves.

This was a wonderful story, reminiscent of the gothic novels of Victoria Holt and Daphne Du Marier. I could just imagine being in Cornwall, smelling the sea spray, hearing the tide come up, tasting the pasties at the fair, and shivering at the mysterious threats around every corner.

First the Cliffs of Cornwall series, Lady's Honor by Laurie Alice Eakes.
Cliffs of Cornwall series, Book 1, A Lady’s Honor by Laurie Alice Eakes.

 

Originally posted 2014-05-01 10:00:00.

Vanishing Cornwall, The Book behind the Novel by Laurie Alice Eakes

Vanishing Cornwall, The Book behind the Novel by Laurie Alice Eakes

Once upon a time, I read a book called Jamaica Inn by Daphne DuMaurier. It was swashbuckling romance with smugglers and a dashing, dangerous hero and nasty villains and I was enthralled. And the setting was Cornwall, a land given to such dark, romantic adventures. A few years later, I was visiting my sister and picked up a book called Demelza by Winston Graham. This is the second book in an epic historical series set in Cornwall. More adventures and romance, danger and dark deeds filled my reading hours as I worked through the series. And learned more of this land that claims it is the birthplace of King Arthur.

Wanting to know more, I went to the library for books on Cornwall and discovered Vanishing Cornwall by the author of Jamaica Inn. She also wrote the book behind The Birds, that creepy Alfred Hitchcock movie that gave me nightmares for weeks after watching it. Her most famous book is probably Rebecca, a gothic novel at its best and most disturbing.

But I digress…

In Vanishing Cornwall, DuMaurier gives us a history of the lore and romance and true history of this peninsular county of England. Her beautiful writing fired my imagination, and The Cliffs of Cornwall series was born.

First the Cliffs of Cornwall series, Lady's Honor by Laurie Alice Eakes.
First the Cliffs of Cornwall series, Lady’s Honor by Laurie Alice Eakes.

Cornwall is the western most point in England. It points a finger into the Atlantic Ocean, with the English Channel to the south and The Irish (Celtic) Sea to the north. The county of Devonshire is to the east. The north coast of Cornwall is soaring cliffs and thousands of caves, rocky beaches and pounding surf. In other words, this harshly beautiful land is far removed from the Regency world of Georgette Heyer or even Jane Austen. The gentry enjoyed their entertainments, young women sought husbands, and all the other trappings of the time, and yet poor roads and distances lowered the frequency. A smaller population limited the choices of appropriate spouses. If they could afford it, the upper classes, the landed gentry and noblemen, traveled to London, but it was a long journey taking as much as two weeks with rather difficult travel conditions.

And Cornwall was not a wealthy county for the most part. Mining and fishing are the primary industries at the time of my story, 1811. Both were a poor way to make a living. Mines petered out and families went hungry. Sometimes the pilchards didn’t run and the stew pots offered up thin fare. To supplement these meager forms of subsistence, men—and likely a few women, even those of the landed classes—turned to the lawlessness of smuggling.

Smuggling was a serious crime. A man could be hanged at worse and jailed in England at best if they were caught. Usually they faced transportation to the penal colony of New South Wales—Australia. To protect themselves, they maintained a code of silence. A man simply did not tell anyone who was involved. If he wasn’t punished by the revenue officers and courts for being involved himself, he would be punished by his peers and more seriously. Too often the punishment was death.

When one’s family was starving and one’s roof leaking in a time before safety nets like food and housing subsidies existed, do we condemn people for engaging in this lawless activity?

You can answer that question, or answer this: Do you like stories set in the ballrooms of London or the more open setting of the countryside?

Originally posted 2014-04-28 10:00:00.

Red Velvet Kisses: An Interview with Laurie Alice Eakes

Vanessa here,

I am so excited to interview my friend and mentor, Laurie Alice Eakes and celebrate her new Regency, A Lady’s Honor. Welcome Laurie Alice to my southern porch. I know you are steeped in writing the second book in this series, I’m just glad you could make it.

 LAE: I am working on the second book in the series, and can’t say too much about it or I’ll give too much away about the first book.

You do know how to leave a girl hanging.  Any way tell me about A Lady’s Honor‘s Elizabeth Trelawny.LadysHonor_FINAL[1]

LAE: Elizabeth has issues with God’s provision, or simply God in general. Rowan Curnow gave me trouble. He’s is too self-reliant. Pride, I think, is the main problem both of them face, the roadblock between them and a relationship with the Lord.

As you set your heroine(s) on their journey, do their lessons model your own life experiences or something else?

LAE: I think all my books give away a little part of where I have been at one time or another in my life. In A Lady’s Honor, my heroine deals with perfection. I have soooo been there.

Been there too. It takes so much: God, the love of friends and family, and a big pot of coffee to be comfortable in your own skin. What was the most difficult or interesting research fact that you discovered that you used in this book?

LAE: It’s probably only interesting to a nerd like me and is tangled up in inheritance laws, entails, and marriage laws.

Given the strict societal norms of the Regency, how did you challenge or use it in this book?

LAE: Ah, that’s part of the journey. My heroine engages in actions that would likely ruin her in society and probably get even her small freedoms greatly curtailed. All through the story, she struggles with this behavior until… Well, sometimes we have to make decisions that are in someone else’s interest rather than ours. That’s how I use the strictures over females’ behavior during the time period.

What spiritual truth would have made the difference to your heroine’s journeys, if they had realized it at the beginning.

LAE: If she knew them at the beginning, then her journey would probably not have been worth telling. Elizabeth–Elys in Cornish–thinks she has to be above reproach to be loved–and she keeps failing at the former.

I love food. I love passion.  I have a passion for food. How would you rate the passion of this novel on a scale of yummy goodness?

LAE: I probably would have said chocolate mousse, but red velvet will do nicely–rich, sweet, and heady. 

OooLaLa, Laurie Alice. Ok, now you have have to dish. Tell me about that first kiss.

LAE: I love that first kiss in reading or writing a book. It is a special moment, a turning point in the novel. Nothing is the same after that kiss. What I am thinking is what I believe the hero and/or heroine are thinking. If the scene demands chocolate or music, then, yes, I’ll think about one of those. As a general rule, however, I rarely use props to write. It’s all in my head and my heart. Or perhaps it’s in the heads and hearts of the people kissing.

How would you describe your career? What do you define as successful?

LAE: Ha! The bar seems to keep moving. Once upon a time, I answered that question with: When I can sell the book without having to write it first. Now that I have done that many times over, I haven’t figured out where the bar has gone. Perhaps when I’m more than an Amazon bestseller?

Please, pretty please. Tell us about the series.

LAE: The series is The Cliffs of Cornwall. The second book will come out early next year and features the blacksheep cousin introduced in A Lady’s Honor. The third book will follow and focuses on the return of the heroine’s exiled older brother. All three books probably can be called historical romantic suspense. I can’t seem to write without a dead body or two popping up somewhere, or else the hero and/or heroine getting into danger.

If there is one take away you want the reader to know after finishing this book, what would it be?

LAE: You will only find unconditional love through in our Lord and Savior. Seeking it elsewhere will lead to heartache and disappointment.

Thank you so much for spending time, answering all my questions. Next time we meet up at conference, I buying the red velvet cupcakes. Can I find some with a dollop of chocolate mousse insides?

To kick things off, Laurie Alice is hosting a special contest. It starts today and runs through midnight on Sunday, May 4.  To enter the giveaway, answer the question at the end of the blog post. A new question will be given with each post, so a person can enter up to four times. At the end of the contest, there will be two winners chosen, and the prizes are from Cornwall, England, where A Lady’s Honor is set. The winners will receive:

1.  Either a Celtic knot necklace:Celtic Knot Necklace

2.  Or a hand blown Cornish ring dish.Ring Holder

3.  Both winners will also receive a $15.00 gift card to either Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Now here’s a little more about the book:

A tarnished reputation. A distant home. A forced engagement to a dangerous man. When Elizabeth Trelawny flees London, she has more than one reason to run. And when her carriage, pursued by her would-be fiancé, is caught in a storm, she quickly accepts the help of a dark stranger. Anything to get back to Cornwall.

Rowan Curnow is not exactly a stranger. Not quite a gentleman either, class disparity once kept him from courting Elizabeth . . . even if it didn’t keep him from kissing her.

The couple elude their pursuers and reach Bastian Point, Elizabeth’s future inheritance and the one place she calls home. But in the very act of spiriting her to safety, Rowan has jeopardized Elizabeth’s inheritance—if her Grandfather ever learns she spent the night, however innocently, in the company of a man.

When smugglers unite the pair in a reckless, flirtatious alliance—an alliance that challenges the social norms that Elizabeth has been raised to revere and rattles Rowan’s fledgling faith in God—Elizabeth must choose between the obedience of a child and the desires of a woman: whether to cling to the safety of her family home or follow the man she loves.

A Lady’s Honor received 4 1/2 stars from The Romantic Times, which said, “Beautiful 19th century Cornwall offers a contemplative setting for this dramatic romance that involves murder, suspense and a surprise villain.  Elizabeth and Rowan are both on a journey to discover that they are worthy of love.”

And Publisher’s Weekly stated,  “Eakes delivers beautifully written romantic suspense set in Cornwall during the Regency era.”

Today’s quiz question:  A Lady’s Honor is about a couple who are of different classes. The hero’s not quite a gentleman. If you’ve been romanced by a bad boy, someone from the wrong part of town, what was the most surprising thing you learned about yourself?

Be sure to come back Monday for a post about the history surrounding A Lady’s Honor and another chance to win.

 

Originally posted 2014-04-24 08:00:00.

Introducing A Lady’s Honor by Laurie Alice Eakes

Laurie Alice Eakes A Lady's HonorFor the next two weeks we’re looking at the last book in our Spring Release Extravaganza, A Lady’s Honor, by Laurie Alice Eakes. We’ve got prizes, quiz questions, book reviews, and more lined up for you.

To kick things off, Laurie Alice is hosting a special contest. It starts today and runs through midnight on Sunday, May 4.  To enter the giveaway, answer the question at the end of the blog post. A new question will be given with each post, so a person can enter up to four times. At the end of the contest, there will be two winners chosen, and the prizes are from Cornwall, England, where A Lady’s Honor is set. The winners will receive:

1.  Either a Celtic knot necklace,
Celtic Knot Necklace
2.  Or a hand blown Cornish ring dish.
Ring Holder
3.  Both winners will also receive a $15.00 gift card to either Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Now here’s a little more about the book:

A tarnished reputation. A distant home. A forced engagement to a dangerous man. When Elizabeth Trelawny flees London, she has more than one reason to run. And when her carriage, pursued by her would-be fiancé, is caught in a storm, she quickly accepts the help of a dark stranger. Anything to get back to Cornwall.


Rowan Curnow is not exactly a stranger. Not quite a gentleman either, class disparity once kept him from courting Elizabeth . . . even if it didn’t keep him from kissing her.
The couple elude their pursuers and reach Bastian Point, Elizabeth’s future inheritance and the one place she calls home. But in the very act of spiriting her to safety, Rowan has jeopardized Elizabeth’s inheritance—if her Grandfather ever learns she spent the night, however innocently, in the company of a man.

When smugglers unite the pair in a reckless, flirtatious alliance—an alliance that challenges the social norms that Elizabeth has been raised to revere and rattles Rowan’s fledgling faith in God—Elizabeth must choose between the obedience of a child and the desires of a woman: whether to cling to the safety of her family home or follow the man she loves.

A Lady’s Honor received 4 1/2 stars from The Romantic Times, which said, “Beautiful 19th century Cornwall offers a contemplative setting for this dramatic romance that involves murder, suspense and a surprise villain.  Elizabeth and Rowan are both on a journey to discover that they are worthy of love.”

And Publisher’s Weekly stated,  “Eakes delivers beautifully written romantic suspense set in Cornwall during the Regency era.”

As I’ve personally come to expect from Laurie Alice Eakes, the suspense in A Lady’s Honor is riveting, and you can’t help sympathizing with Elizabeth’s plight right from the beginning. You certainly won’t find me complaining about the American hero either. Furthermore, the Cornish setting is beautiful and seems like a breath of fresh air when compared to the endless Regency books set in London.

Today’s quiz question:  A Lady’s Honor is set in the romantically beautiful and wild county of Cornwall, England. I’ve wanted to go there since I read my first book set in that remote county. Have you ever visited or wanted to visit a setting for a book you loved?

Be sure to come back Thursday for a post about the history surrounding A Lady’s Honor and another chance to win.

Originally posted 2014-04-21 05:00:00.

The Husband Campaign ~ Guest Post by Regina Scott

Like many of the wonderful writers on this blog, I work hard to make sure my stories are true to the historical period, but there are some areas of the Regency that frankly scare me. I am in awe of the writers who can name every battle Wellington fought in or the color of the braid on the 95th Rifle’s uniform. I admire authors who manage to study period medical books without growing queasy. And if you can figure out how to do more than describe the colors of horses as they pull the appropriate carriage to whisk a heroine away to a ball, well, you have my respect.

Regina Scott The Husband CampaignAnd then along came John, Lord Hascot, the hero of my April Regency-set romance from Love Inspired Historical, The Husband Campaign. John who raises hunters, those powerful horses that carried gentlemen into the hunting field and, occasionally, into battle. I was fairly certain I would never be able to think about horses the way John, Lord Hascot, does. Horses are John’s life. But they would need to become the life of any lady he wed. How could I possibly describe Lady Amelia’s response to John’s horses or her own?

Luckily, research led me to an exceptional little book, lovingly recreated online, called The Young Lady’s Equestrian Manual. Though its original publication date of 1838 (taken from material dating from 1829) post-dates the Regency, it is close enough that I felt comfortable relying on it. The manual describes such things as how to choose a proper ladies mount, the various parts of the horse and its accoutrements, and how to mount, manage the reins, and find your seat. It confirms that the way a lady sat upon her horse was very important to many Regency era gentlemen, as this passage indicates:

“A lady seldom appears to greater advantage than when mounted on a fine horse, if her deportment be graceful, and her positions correspond with his paces and attitudes; but the reverse is the case, if, instead of acting with, and influencing the movements of the horse, she appear to be tossed to and fro, and overcome by them. She should rise, descend, advance, and stop with, and not after the animal. From this harmony of motion result ease, elegance, and the most brilliant effect.”

And how, you might ask, can a lady have the best deportment on horseback? The manual explains that as well. A lady must

• Keep her shoulders even but back
• Put no weight on the stirrup
• Incline partially backward
• Keep her head in an even, natural position looking straight ahead
• Hold her elbows steady and near her side, with the lower part of the arm at a right angle to the upper
• Above all, never carry the whip in a way that might tickle the horse.

Got all that? Good, because according to the manual, “Nothing can be more detrimental to the grace of a lady’s appearance on horseback, than a bad position: a recent author says, it is a sight that would spoil the finest landscape in the world.”

All I can say is that I’m glad Amelia gets to ride the horses and I only have to read about them. What about you? Do you ride? Were you given any rules of the road for how to sit on horseback? Are you glad women are no longer constrained to riding sidesaddle?

reginascott11-07mediumAfter 27 sweet historical romances set in the Regency period, Regina Scott knows there is still much to learn. You can learn more about her at her website at www.reginascott.com, her blog she shares with author Marissa Doyle at www.nineteenteen.com, and her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/authorreginacott.

 

 

 

 

Book Blurb
The moment John, Lord Hascot, encounters a young woman sheltering in his abandoned stable, his future is sealed. To prevent scandal, and protect Lady Amelia Jacoby from her parents’ ire, he must propose. John’s ability to trust vanished when his former love married his twin brother. Yet he offers Amelia everything she could want, except affection.

Amelia sees John’s true nature shine through when he cares for his horses. But the brooding aristocrat seems determined to keep her at arm’s length. Little by little Amelia will turn Hollyoak Farm into a home, but can she turn a marriage of convenience into a joyful union?

Originally posted 2014-04-17 10:00:00.