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Marriage A Glimpse Of Heaven Or Hell

Vanessa here,

Glad you can join me here, today. Well, the porch at the Regency Reflections Blog now possesses new paint, a bit of a makeover. We’ve been posting here since 2012. We love being able to showcase different glimpses of Inspirational Regencies, talking about the stories and the motivations behind them. We’ve even given tastes of the Regency romances that hooked us long before the first traditionally printed Christian Regency was released.

But our fire had grown cold.

It was time find our love again.

The reason I write Regencies is because I found my voice in the 1800’s.  It sounds of a woman, with dreams of a happy-ever-after, challenged by the circumstances, the very skin she’s born within. These stories, gifted by my first love, a passionate, merciful God must be told. It is my first love. And this blog will now share stories of authors and characters who possess the same fire.

Now some of my friend’s stories may be secular authors.  Before you throw holy water at me, I just have to say it. Not everyone is meant to entertain the pews. All types of stories are needed to edify, entertain, and to educate. All of my friends, regardless of what they write use their God-given talents to bring joy and hope into this world. This is something all should see.

 


The Fabulous Jude Knight


My first guest is the wonderful Jude Knight.  Jude traveled all the way from New Zealand to have tea with me on my Atlanta porch. Jude writes strong determined heroines, heroes who can appreciate a clever capable woman, villains you’ll love to loathe, and all with a leavening of humor.

“Jude, I know you must be tired, so have a seat. Let me fix you some tea. How would you like it?”judeknight

“Thank you, so much for your hospitality. I’d like a green tea with a slice of lemon, or black tea with a small dash of milk.

“Green it is. Here you go. It’s quite hot. While it cools, tell the good readers what a happy ever after means to you.”

“My view of ‘happy ever after’ is shaped by my life and my beliefs. Falling in love is not enough. A wedding is not enough. Good intentions are not enough. To believe that a romance has a happy ending, I need to believe that the couple’s love will last for a lifetime; that they have what they need to work out the inevitable problems that will try to tear them apart.”

“I don’t mean to get you kicked out of any ‘ABA’ bad girl societies, but tell me what love and faith means to you.”

“My beloved and I have known one another for 47 years, and been married for nearly 44. In that time, our love has been tested over and over, but each challenge we’ve surmounted has made our relationship stronger.
I joke that our marriage has survived because his parents and mine were both against it, and we were too stubborn to admit they were right. He always adds that it also survived because we lived at the end of a long country road and were very poor. Walking out on the marriage would have meant a literal walk — and it was a long way.”

“I love that. Please continue.”

“More to the point, though, we both believed that we had to work things out. Our Christian faith told us that marriage was a permanent commitment. We promised ‘as long as we both shall live’, and we meant it. And we both came from fractured marriages; we knew what disharmony did to children. We were determined to find our ‘happy ever after’, and we did.”

“Tell me how your beliefs have shaped your writing.”

“My husband is a Catholic, and I converted to Catholicism some eight or nine years after we first met. Catholic marriage theology holds that marriage is a sacrament — a visible sign of the presence of God in the world. Just as water is the sign of Baptism, and the bread and wine are the signs of the Eucharist (Holy Communion), so the man and the woman are the sign of Marriage. Water signifies (and becomes) the cleansing grace of God. Bread and wine signify (and become) the presence of Christ in the church community and each individual. The couple signify something very wonderful: Christ’s union with the Church, God’s union with His creation. A person could spend a lifetime thinking about the implications of this, and some people have.”

“Wow. That’s deep. I’m Baptist, and I get it. More so, I feel the same.”

“For today, suffice it to say that building the kind of marriage that is a true signifier of this mystery is not a magic trick taking place in front of the altar on a couple’s wedding day. It is the work of a lifetime together.”

“Ok, tell the good folks about A Baron for Becky.”

“A Baron for Becky is my Regency about marriage, which is why it is a book of two halves. In the first part of the book, my heroine — rescued from dreadful danger — becomes the mistress of a kindly libertine whose view of marriage is extremely jaundiced. Their relationship is founded on lust and convenience on his part, and gratitude on hers.”

“Did I mention to you to tell the PG version for Regency Reflection readers? Just kidding. So in a A Baron for Becky, the heroine makes wrong choices, but that didn’t disqualify her from finding true love. Now that is a message for today.”

“Yes. The second half of the book is about just that between, Becky and Hugh. The libertine arranges their marriage, which takes place at the midpoint of the book. But Becky and Hugh build that marriage. I poured my heart into showing them falling in love; showing how their past experiences almost destroyed them; showing the slow painful process of rebuilding.”

“He was sorry for hurting her, for not trusting her, for manipulating her into marriage, for being a representative of the men that had hurt her. He was sorry for it all, and he could never make it up to her. But he would live his life trying.”

“Dear hubby and I just made 19 years. An accomplishment in this age, but tell us your 44-year secret.”

“The trick of a happy marriage (and a happy life) is to go on loving one another between trials, and to consistently fall in love with the same person, over and over and over. Because love is not about being in love, pleasant though that state is. Love is an action, not a state, not a feeling. Love is making breakfast for the person you want to brain with the frypan. Love is listening to the same joke for the twentieth time and laughing yet again. Love is walking hand in hand for no better reason than that you are fond of one another. Love involves feelings: lust and affection, familiarity and friendship, mutual respect and regard. It grows on shared experiences, memories—both good and bad—of the things you’ve lived through together. But above all, love is what you do when your feelings prompt you against being loving.

How could it be otherwise when love is an echo of Love Himself, the One who loved His people even though they betrayed him, rejected him, and even killed Him? Love is far too important to depend on chemical soup. Love is an action.”

Now that is a message to kick off the new Regency Reflections. Thank you Jude. While my friend takes a swig of her green tea, I just want to thank her for traveling to Atlanta and being my guest. Below is more about Jude and links for A Baron for Becky.baronforbeck

About Jude Knight

Jude Knight is the pen name of Judy Knighton. After a career in commercial writing, editing, and publishing, Jude is returning to her first love, fiction. Her novella, Candle’s Christmas Chair, was released in December 2014, and is in the top ten on several Amazon bestseller lists in the US and UK. Her first novel Farewell to Kindness, was released on 1 April, and is first in a series: The Golden Redepennings.

Follow Jude on social media:

Visit Jude’s Website http://judeknightauthor.com/

Like Jude on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JudeKnightAuthor

Buy links

Amazon http://amzn.to/1C3hFNl

Amazon UK http://amzn.to/1H3YmTk

Amazon Aus http://bit.ly/1HzUZ9R

Smashwords http://bit.ly/1HzUXPf

Barnes & Noble  http://bit.ly/1GRTvkR

iBooks http://apple.co/1FVFNfU

Kobo http://bit.ly/1NzI2LK

 

Originally posted 2015-10-05 06:00:00.

Look at what’s Happening in the Regency World

Here is some of the most interesting Regency content I found today. Click the headline and you will be taken to our custom feed of delightful articles, the best from around the Regency World.

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Originally posted 2015-10-04 19:48:20.

New Romances by Kristi Ann Hunter

Vanessa here,

It’s my pleasure to have Kristi Ann Hunter on my porch today to talk of her latest novels.  Really, I should have had you here sooner since we are both Georgia Peaches, but we’ve both been a little busy.

Kristi Hunter and I enjoying the music.
Kristi Hunter and I enjoying the music at RWA 2013.

Please have a seat on the pollen free chair. So Kristi Ann what made these stories come to life in your head?

There are always stories in my head. It’s a very noisy place.

Isn’t that always the way. Please continue.

There are a few things I do to streamline my thoughts enough to actually pull a coherent tale together, though. Usually I start with a question, a “What If” sort of scenario, or I start with a character that I’d really like to explore. Once I have both of those pieces, I know I’ve got the basis for a real story.

 

In A Lady of Esteem I started with the idea of Amelia. On the surface, Amelia had everything she needed to make a good connection – respectable family, connections to aristocracy, and a home in a fashionable area of town. Even though she had the necessary elements, they were useless because she had no way to utilize them. She’s a Cinderella figure oppressed by circumstances instead of people. The big question then was what do I do with her?

 

That’s where the big What If question comes into play. What if the servants of London decided they wanted something to happen? These people are so deeply embedded in the lives of the aristocracy that it’s hard to believe they couldn’t do something is they put their collective minds to it. That was the birth of the story.

She said free everyone. Please go find this free romance. http://www.kristiannhunter.com/#!a-lady-of-esteem/c2407ALoECover

What do you want people to think about when they read a Kristi Ann Hunter book.

While they’re reading it I hope they’re not thinking much of anything. My books are meant to be an enjoyable escape. I hope the story takes them into the world of Regency England until they’re completely immersed. A laugh or two would be good. Mostly I want them to enjoy the story. Once they’ve closed the book is another story. If an element of the story resonates with them and gets them to think about life a little differently or come to a better understanding about God and how much He loves us, then I consider that a success.

A Lady of Esteem is available now as a free eBook!

Miss Amelia Stalwood may live in London at her absent guardian’s townhouse, but she’s never actually met any nobility, and instead of aristocrats, her closest friends are servants.

Kristi Ann Hunter and Julie Klassen in Regency garb
Kristi Ann Hunter and Julie Klassen in sweet Regency gowns.

Quite by happenstance, she’s introduced to the Hawthorne family and their close family friend, Anthony, the reformed Marquis of Raebourne. They welcome her into their world, but just as she’s beginning to gain some confidence and even suspect she may have caught Anthony’s eye, she’s blindsided by an unexpected twist in her situation accompanied by nasty rumors.

Will she lose her reputation when the world that has only just accepted her turns its back on her, or will she rest in the support of the friends who’ve become like family and the man who’s shared his faith and captured her heart?

It’s free people! : http://www.kristiannhunter.com/#!a-lady-of-esteem/c2407 

On September 8th Kristi Ann Hunter’s first full length Regency Romance Will be Available.

A Noble Masquerade will be available everywhere on September 8!

Lady Miranda Hawthorne acts every inch the lady, but inside she longs to be bold and carefree. Entering her fourth Season and approaching spinsterhood in the eyes of society, she pours her innermost feelings out not in a diary but in letters to her brother’s old school friend, a duke–with no intention of ever sending these private thoughts to a man she’s heard stories about but never met. Meanwhile, she also finds herself intrigued by Marlow, her brother’s new valet, and although she may wish to break free of the strictures that bind her, falling in love with a servant is more of a rebellion than she planned.NobleCover

When Marlow accidentally discovers and mails one of the letters to her unwitting confidant, Miranda is beyond mortified. And even more shocked when the duke returns her note with one of his own that initiates a courtship-by-mail. Insecurity about her lack of suitors shifts into confusion at her growing feelings for two men–one she’s never met but whose words deeply resonate with her heart, and one she has come to depend on but whose behavior is more and more suspicious. When it becomes apparent state secrets are at risk and Marlow is right in the thick of the conflict, one thing is certain: Miranda’s heart is far from all that’s at risk for the Hawthornes and those they love.

Let’s all go order a copy:  http://www.kristiannhunter.com/#!a-noble-masquerade/c190y

Thanks for visiting with me. Next time I’ll serve cake.

Originally posted 2015-08-06 10:17:10.

Dark, Lovely, and Loved: The Diverse Regency

Vanessa here,

I’ve been away for a bit as I immersed myself in my latest writing projects. As you all know, I love the Regency, the mannerism, the wit, and the fashions. I am intrigued by the challenges the people of the times faced: the complexity and aftermath of war, the stark differences in the rights of women versus men, and the growing social consciousness.

But there is more, much more.

Did you know London was very diverse with large Jewish and African populations? Yet, it is very rare to see these aspects in Regency fiction. Except for my dear friend Ruth Axtell’s book, The Winter is Past, you do not typically see a racially diverse cast of characters.

I, an African American writer, am guilty of this, too. In my debut book, Madeline’s Protector, Justain’s conscience figure, Mason, was originally a free black, but I edited it out, thinking that such a close relationship between an earl and his black man-of-all-work wouldn’t pass the sniff test or even would upset some because he’s killed early in the book. I didn’t trust my audience as much as I should’ve, nor did I trust my ability to tell the tale. And if I had such worries, I can imagine how others feel when they lift pen to paper trying to write a historically accurate, compelling, and marketable tale. Those three components differ based on the eye or pocketbook of the beholder: Traditional Presses versus Indie Pubs, niche marketing versus mainstream pitches, Christian Bookseller Association versus American Bookseller Association, etc.

I applaud everyone brave enough to write their story in the way that they feel is right. I just know that for me and my pen, my laptop and smart phone, we shall tell the story and the whole story from now on, so help me God.

But London was diverse. And doesn’t love always win?

Let me show you some images. At first glance they may offend, but that is not my intent. With the sweetness of the Regency, one must also accept the bitter dregs, the things that have been swept away, because it is ugly.

Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University
Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University – Drawn by William Austin 1773

This is William Austin’s 1773 caricature: ‘The Duchess of (Queensbury) playing at Foils with her favorite lap dog Mungo’. This cartoon was meant to shame the duchess for spending 10,000 pounds (1 Million pounds in 2015 dollars) to teach one of her loyal servants, Soubise, how to fence. Soubise was treated like a son to the duchess.  Think of the trust the duchess must’ve had in this black man to invest that sum in his education and to trust him to wield a sword. But was he so unusual in the Duchess’s world?

By Regency times, historians, Kirstin Olsen and Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, estimate that Black London (the black neighborhood of London) had over 10,000 residents. While England led the world in granting rights to the enslaved and ending legal slavery thirty years before the American Civil War, it still had many citizens who were against change.  Here is another image from an anti-abolitionist.

The_New_Union_Club_Being_a_Representation_of_what_took_place_at_a_celebrated_Dinner_given_by_a_celebrated_society
The New Union Club Being a Representation of what took place at a celebrated Dinner given by a celebrated society – includes in picture abolitionists, Billy Waters, Zachariah Macauley, William Wilberforce. – published 19 July 1819. Source: Wiki Commons

This image is from 1819, a cartoon by George Cruikshank. It is supposed to depict an abolitionist’s dinner party, but it just shows fear of the races intermingling. It serves as a reminder of how many thought of blacks and how it was ingrained in the times. Notice the half-black half-white baby, the promiscuous woman sitting on the gentleman’s lap, the black-face additions to the artwork, the violence and chaos, even the blood shed amongst the party goers.

How many laughs did it draw in the parlors and drawings rooms of polite society? Moreover, how did the enslaved and free servants or the black men who owned shops feel fetching this paper to their masters, their employers, or watching it enfolded in the hands of their patrons?

Cruikshank drew fear, and he wouldn’t have, if Regency society didn’t possess it. For Cruikshank, a rising black middle class, intermingling in society, gaining in social power and wealth, was something to dread. Is this ugliness, this truth, the reason the fictional landscape of Regency exhibits stories abscent diversity and color? Does showing black or brown or yellow historical faces mean that the ugliness must also show?

Perhaps, or perhaps not. But to pretend it did not exist is to dishonor every person who received a racial slur and turned the other cheek, the unknown man lynched for the fault of his birth, or every fallen soldier felled on the road to equality.

My goal is to show through the stories pressing upon my spirit that truth and love can coexist on a diverse canvas. When love arrives, the picture changes and even the bad can be borne and overcome.

Here’s a picture showing love winning.

Lady Elizabeth Murray and Dido Belle, once attributed to Zoffany
Portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay (1761-1804) and her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray (1760-1825) painted in 1778. Source: Wiki Commons

Look at these two cousins, Dido and Elizabeth. Their great uncle, Lord Mansfield, loved them both and had them arrayed in fashionable apparel and pearls for this portrait. Both ladies are trapped by their circumstances, Dido by her race and Elizabeth by her lack of an inheritance. Johan Zoffany paints them, particularly Dido with no grotesques features, no overt subservient positioning, no hint of promiscuity or evil, just two lovely women.

It would be great if the date of these images showed progress, the growing changes in London society. They don’t. No, they just show truth. The landscape of Regency London was diverse and enlightened hearts embraced the diversity with love.

My second full length novel, Unmasked Heart releases on June 15, 2015. Gaia Telfair is a different kind of heroine. She’s a mulatto, with both black and white blood coursing within her veins, only she didn’t know it until she reached for love.

unmasked heart cover3cvNew72

 

Originally posted 2015-06-08 09:00:00.

Stephen King has never read Jane Austen

Horror author Stephen King admits he’s never read Jane Austen. I don’t have much interest in “relationship” novels or romance. I’ve never read Jane Austen. I do not say this with either pride or shame (or prejudice, for that matter). It’s just a fact. We are moved to quote the film Miss Austen Regrets: If…

Originally posted 2015-06-04 18:31:00.

Life below stairs – the duties of a Georgian housemaid

Originally posted on All Things Georgian:
‘Maid of all work’ – courtesy of Lewis Walpole Library ? Many of our posts take a look at the upper echelons of Georgian society, so this time we thought it might be interesting to look at what it would have been like to have worked ‘below stairs’ as…

Originally posted 2015-05-21 17:38:19.

Sharks

It is a truth universally acknowledged that websites are like sharks: they must continually move forward or die.* So it’s time for AustenBlog to make with the fin and big teeth. Those who have read Deborah Yaffe’s delightful book Among the Janeites already know that I have been planning to shut down AustenBlog for a…

Originally posted 2015-05-15 08:00:00.

Why would I move from London or all of England?

Vanessa here,

Migrations have happened through the ages. So peoples in even during the Regency had wanderlust, a strong desire to see the world. And dare I say it, they even moved beyond the ballrooms of Almack’s. They traveled, they went on holiday, and upon occasion they conquered.

After the Seven-Year War,  George Macartney in 1773, talked of the vastness of England’s reach, “the British Empire on which the sun never sets.”

The common attitude of having at least 184 colonies (accumulated from the 1700’s to 1950’s) around the globe supports the concept, making adaptations of the phase very popular:

  • “The sun never set on the British Flag” (Rev. R. P. Buddicom, 1827)
  • “The sun never set on British Empire” (Christopher North 1839)

When I study the list of colonies, I believe they are quite right:

Antigua and Barbuda Dog Island, Gambia Mombasa Sabah
Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina East Jersey Colony of Natal Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla
Province of Avalon Essequibo (colony) New Brunswick Saint Kitts and Nevis
Bangladesh Falkland Islands Dependencies New England Colonies Sarawak
Barbados Fiji New Hampshire Crown Colony of Sarawak
Basutoland Florida Province of New Hampshire Sheikhdom of Kuwait
Belize British Gambia New Hebrides Singapore
History of Belize Gambia Colony and Protectorate New Jersey Singapore in the Straits Settlements
Bengkulu The Gambia Province of New Jersey Post-war Singapore
Berbice Georgia (U.S. state) New South Wales South Africa
Bermuda Province of Georgia New York South Australia
Black River (settlement) Gibraltar New Zealand South Carolina
British Honduras Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony of New Zealand Province of South Carolina
British Bencoolen Gold Coast (British colony) Newfoundland and Labrador South Sudan
Colony of British Columbia (1858–66) Grenada Newfoundland Colony Southern Colonies
Colony of British Columbia (1866–71) Guadeloupe Nicobar Islands Stoddart Island
British Kaffraria British Guiana Nigeria Straits Settlements
British West Indies Heligoland Nikumaroro Sudan
British Western Pacific Territories Hilton Young Commission North Australia Swan River Colony
Brunei History of West Africa Crown Colony of North Borneo Tasmania
Burma Hong Kong North Carolina Colony of Tasmania
British rule in Burma British Hong Kong Nova Scotia Thirteen Colonies
Canada India Nyasaland Tobago
Province of Quebec (1763–91) Jamaica Ohio Tokelau
Province of Canada Colony of Jamaica History of Ohio Transvaal Colony
The Canadas Jordan Ohio Country Trinidad
Cape Breton Island Kunta Kinteh Island Operation Sunrise (Nyasaland) Trinidad and Tobago
Cape Colony Crown Colony of Labuan Orange River Colony United States
Province of Carolina Lagos Orange River Sovereignty Historic regions of the United States
Carriacou and Petite Martinique Lagos Colony Pakistan Upper Canada
British Ceylon Lakshadweep Territory of Papua Van Diemen’s Land
Chesapeake Colonies British Leeward Islands Pennsylvania Colony of Vancouver Island
Chopawamsic Lower Canada Province of Pennsylvania Victoria (Australia)
Colonial Nigeria Maine Plymouth Company Colony of Virginia
Colonial Fiji Malabo Prince Edward Island Walvis Bay
Côn Đảo British Malaya History of Pulicat Weihai (British Colony)
Connecticut Malayan Union Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands Wessagusset Colony
Connecticut Colony Malaysia Queensland British West Africa
Cook Islands Malta Restoration (Colonies) West Indies Federation
Cook Islands Federation Crown Colony of Malta Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations West Jersey
Cyprus Massachusetts Northern Rhodesia Western Australia
British Cyprus (1914–1960) Province of Massachusetts Bay Colonial history of Southern Rhodesia Western Samoa Trust Territory
Delaware Mauritius Southern Rhodesia British Windward Islands
Delaware Colony Middle Colonies Rivers State Wituland
Demerara Minorca Rodrigues Zimbabwe
Demerara-Essequibo Mississippi Rupert’s Land Zulu Kingdom

Lately, I have been thinking about the hopes and dreams that sent people on a journey to an unknown world. Was it religious freedom like the Quakers? Could it be the quest of gold or the hope for eternal gold by proselytize a different people? What attitudes did they bring? Did social station withstand the hard work of building a colony timber by timber?

For my birthday (March 13 – shameless plug), my lovely husband bought me two copper engraved maps, one of England (1810) and one of South African (1835). I see stories brewing. Stay tuned.2015-03-09 00.22.32

 

References:

  • Bartlett, John (1865). Familiar quotations (4th ed.). Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 388.
  • Bacon, Francis (1841). “An Advertisement Touching a Holy War”.
  • Maritime Enterprise and the Genesis of the British Empire, 1480-1630.
  • Wikipedia: English Possessions Overseas.
  • Wikipedia: British Colonization of the Americas.
  • Wikipedia: British Empire.

Originally posted 2015-03-09 08:00:00.

Get to Know Michelle Griep, Strawberry Hater but Regency Enthusiast

Vanessa here,

For me, the month of February is a time to reflect on history and progress, as well as love. So, it is my pleasure to spend a little time with Michelle Griep on my southern porch. She’s a woman that writes both historical fiction and nonfiction. I thought you would like to get to know another side of one our Regency authors.

As I gussied up things, I decided to offer ripe strawberries dipped in a healthy dose of chocolate. I hadn’t had quite enough on Valentine’s Day, (thank you, Dear Hubby).

But my friend Michelle won’t have any. Not one bite.

“I hate fruit,” she said, “No, really. Not even strawberries.”

Ok, as I put the tray away for munching later, I begged Michelle to tell me more about herself, something far from London and the 1800’s.

“I am a Trekkie at heart, though I am not fluent in Klingon. Yet. I love to garden, specifically flowers and herbs. Reading is a huge passion of mine, as is eating chocolate, rollerblading, or walking my dog, Ada Clare, Princess of the Universe.”

Brentwood's Ward Cover PeekSeriously, Michelle is a writer’s writer and has carefully studied the craft of writing for years, and as we celebrate her latest release, Brentwood’s Ward, she has also released a book on craft. How did you find the time between rollerblading and the Princess?

“I needed to get this book out. Writers of Regencies and other genres need to know, how do you go about composing and selling the next Great American Novel? WRITER OFF THE LEASH answers these questions and more–all in an easy to understand, tongue-in-cheek style. This is more than a how-to book. It’s my attempt to blow the lid off stodgy old-school rulebooks and make it clear that writing can–and should–be fun.”

Michelle Griep’s been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. Michelle Griep HeadshotFollow her adventures and find out about upcoming new releases at her blog, Writer Off the Leash, or stop by her website. You can also find her at the usual haunts of Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

 

Originally posted 2015-02-19 08:00:00.