Firstly I’d like to say what a great pleasure it is to have been invited to blog at the Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills today and thank you very much to the wonderful Shana Galen for inviting me.

A reader pointed out to me recently that a lot of my books feature an instantaneous attraction between the hero and heroine. Sometimes they act on it pretty quickly, other times they don’t, but in almost all cases they set eyes on each other and it’s a case of lust if not love at first sight.

Desired, my new book, out next week, is slightly different because it is a marriage of convenience story or perhaps more accurately, a betrothal of convenience story. Tess, the heroine, has been unhappily married before and has absolutely no desire to wed for anything other than mutual benefit. In contrast Owen, the hero, is very attracted to a fantasy version of Tess, the beautiful, scandalous widow with the bad reputation. Despite this attraction he woos her slowly and it is only as he gets to know her properly that Owen discovers that the real Tess is completely different from his somewhat heated imaginings.

Tess is not accustomed to feeling physical attraction. In fact she has never felt it in her life. Her feelings for Owen disturb her because she is drawn to him but it is his protectiveness, his intelligence and his chivalry that she falls in love with first. On her wedding night she runs from him but what she has not yet realised is that she has already started to trust him. Owen has courted her with such patience and sincerity that she knows he would never hurt her. She then has to take the step of deciding if she can trust him enough to confront her fears and give herself to him. She is committed emotionally to him even though she doesn’t yet realise it. The question is whether she can commit to him physically too.

I haven’t written a marriage of convenience story for years and it was a great pleasure to revisit the idea for Desired. There’s something very appealing about the idea of a couple who are thrown together through need or circumstance getting to know each other and then finding a love that can be as powerful as it is unexpected. The marriage of convenience story is said to be a favourite with historical romance readers but what do you think? Do you enjoy the slow burn as characters get to know each other and fall in love or do you prefer the instant attraction as eyes meet across a crowded ballroom? Or both? I have a copy of Desired to give away to one commenter.

Congrats to Minna! You’re the randomly selected winner of Colleen’s book, THE PHANTOM OF THE FRENCH QUARTER. Check you inbox or email me at shana@shanagalen.com

The Lure of the Dangerous Hero by Colleen Thompson

Marcus Le Carpentier had her in his sights. So ethereal, so fragile, she looked as though she might crumble into dust with the weight of the slivered sunbeam that pierced the fog layers like the devil’s darning needle.

Like the light, his caress came from a distance, focused by a lens that captured the rising bands of moisture, the single, slanting ray and the wings of the stone angel atop the mossy tomb. He blew back thick dark hair from darker eyes, his skin tightening with delicious anticipation.

—From Phantom of the French Quarter,
Harlequin Intrigue

In real life, he’d be frightening—-this stranger in the shadows, intent on watching your every movement (and in a dawn-tinted New Orleans cemetery, of all places!) He’d cause your heart to beat faster, all right, but you’d probably be reaching for your cell phone, or maybe even a can of mace.

In the world of a good book, however, the stranger in the shadows can be as seductive as he is scary. Perhaps part of the sexiness is the element of danger, the mystery that’s impervious to a quick Google search or a history of all-too-out-there comments on his Facebook page. (Talk about something that destroys the mystery!)

Let’s face it, one of the reasons we read romance is to vicariously enjoy the thrill of getting to know a potential lover for the first time, to the peeling back of layer after delicious layer to get to a treasure well worth knowing. And the best part is, we can experience the journey—-even one made with a potentially dangerous stranger in the shadows—-from the safety of our favorite reading nook.

In Phantom of the French Quarter, Marcus Le Carpentier is not only a photographer of funerary art, he’s a man on the run from a potentially deadly secret. Would that be the guy you want to go out with on a blind date? Probably not. But who wants to read a romance where the road to true love is wisely-chosen and convenient? (Snooze-fest!)

So who’s your favorite “dangerous hero” from a book you’ve read or movie you’ve enjoyed? Identify the guy, the source, and yourself in the comments for a chance to win an autographed copy of Phantom of the French Quarter.

Anna is the randomly chosen winner of Vanessa Kelly’s My Favorite Countess. Anna, check your Inbox or email me at shana@shanagalen.com

I’m so happy to be visiting with the Sisterhood today, and a special thanks to Shana for having me on the blog.

One of the best things about writing historical romance is that I get to do a lot of cool research. My books are set during the Regency period, so my research is focused on British history from the late 1790’s to about 1820.

And what a time it was! If there was one thing the aristocracy knew how to do back in those days, it was party. Actually, most Brits seemed to party fairly hard back then. Beverages included ginger beer, ale, punch, gin, fortified wines like sherry or port, brandy, negus (mulled wine), cordials, and lemonade for the Regency misses. And, of course, everyone loved champagne.

And then there was the food. The upper classes in particular could really pile it on, often serving two or three courses that had up to twenty dishes in a course. Some of the favorites were roast chicken, stewed or boiled game birds like partridges, ragout of beef, stuffed goose, mutton, pastries, soups, fish with sauce, puddings, custards…well, you get the picture. No wonder so many people had gout!

Research isn’t all fun and games, though. My latest book, My Favorite Countess, features a doctor hero, who spends quite a bit of time in the slums delivering babies and caring for pregnant women. I had to do a fair amount of research on women’s medicine during the Georgian and Regency periods, and I can use one word to describe it—gruesome. Trust me, having a baby back in the 19th century wasn’t for the faint of heart.

I did get a few laughs, though, from period illustrations of Regency doctors—dressed like Colin Firth in Pride & Prejudice—discretely groping under the dresses of fashionable ladies. Touch but don’t look seemed to be the way many examinations were conducted.

I also did research on London slums. Also gruesome and disturbing, but fascinating in terms of social history. One of the interesting things about the Regency period was how frequently the upper and lower classes jostled up against each other. The worst slums of the city were only a few blocks from the luxurious mansions of Mayfair, and it was very common for wealthy young bucks to cut loose in the more unsavory districts of London. Mayhem, as you can imagine, was often the result.

Doing this kind of research is both fascinating and fun, but the part I like best is incorporating the really interesting bits into my story in a way that enhances plot and character. My Favorite Countess has the glitter and glamour we’ve come to expect in Regency-set novels, but I also included a riot, some dramatic scenes in the slums—an attempting kidnapping and murder, for one—and a birth that could go tragically wrong if my hero doesn’t arrive in time. Whew! That’s one of the great things about writing historical romance. You can use all those interesting, true-to-life elements to ramp up the drama and conflict.

But My Favorite Countess is first and foremost a romance, and I do have a lot of that good stuff too—including a very sexy scene between the hero and heroine in a deserted ruin in the woods. I won’t give you the details, but I will say that it takes place on a hot summer day, and that things get a whole lot hotter before my hero and heroine get out of there!

There’s always a lot of talk about period accuracy in historical romances. How much accuracy do you like to see in your romance fiction? Do you like lots of history and the nitty-gritty detail of what life was really like? Or do you prefer to keep the nasty bits out of your reading? One person who comments will win a copy of My Favorite Countess.

Named by Booklist as one of the “new stars of historical romance,” Vanessa Kelly writes Regency-set historical romance for Kensington Zebra. Her second novel, Sex And The Single Earl, recently won the Maggie Medallion for best historical romance. Vanessa also writes contemporary romance with her husband, under the pen name of V.K. Sykes. You can find Vanessa at www.vanessakellyauthor.com. She also blogs at www.vanessakellyauthor.wordpress.com.

Congrats to Deb and Betty Hamilton. You’ve been randomly chosen to win the signed copies of The Making of a Gentleman. Email me at shana@shanagalen.com with your address, or look for my email in your inbox. Thanks to everyone for your wonderful comments!

There’s nothing as exciting to an author as a new book cover, and my new cover is even more exciting to me because I have been waiting a long time to see it. Finally! Here is Bastien’s book!

Some of you have been waiting a long time too. This is the third in my Sons of the Revolution series, and it was pushed back from publication in April. It will now be published in February 2012.

If you’re thinking that the title changes as well, you’d be right. It was originally titled The Making of a Rogue, but as you can see that morphed into The Rogue Pirate’s Bride.

I’m so sorry for any confusion this has caused, and I’m sure all of you who were kind enough to pre-order The Making of a Rogue and then Once a Rogue will sigh with frustration when you have to go and pre-order The Rogue Pirate’s Bride.

Maybe I can ease that frustration for you? How about an excerpt? Click here to read an excerpt.

Want more? How about a copy of The Making of a Gentleman? How about 2 copies? Great! Just let me know what makes pirate heroes so sexy, and I’ll randomly pick two people to win signed copies of The Making of a Gentleman (the story of Bastien’s twin brother Armand).

The winner of the copy of REALITY TV BITES is Johanna J! Johanna, email me at shana@shangalen.com, or check your inbox later for an email from me. Congrats!

In August I decided I needed to get back into shape. My clothes were a little too tight, and I was huffing and puffing on my way up the stairs. As many of you know, it’s not easy to find time to exercise when you run a house, write books, and have a toddler who wants your attention every waking moment. I tried going to the YMCA and working out, but Baby Galen would nap too long or I would need to run errands or…there was always something.

And then I saw a boot camp class advertised in the YMCA booklet. It was three days a week from 5-6 a.m. Nothing is going to get in the way at 5 a.m., and Ultimate Sportsfan is home with Baby Galen. So I invited a friend to join me and signed up. To my shock, my friend agreed to do it too, which meant I actually had to show up. I couldn’t exactly invite someone else to be tortured in the wee hours of the morning and then sleep in.

So I’ve been going to boot camp for a month, and I am getting in better shape. I’m still sore and still huffing and puffing, but I’m doing it. And I’ll probably sign up for the next session too.

I feel like I’ve learned a few things from fitness boot camp I can pass on to you.

1. Pace yourself. Learn to slow down or say no when you’ve already got a lot on your plate. There’s usually 20 push ups still to come!

2. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. I am not embarrassed to admit I’m one of the last people when we do relays or sprints or pretty much anything. I’m not fast, but I am persistent. I can run three miles. I just can’t do it fast. And you know what? That’s okay. This is my workout, and it matters what I’m getting out of it. So don’t compare yourself to others (especially those bouncy college girls). Just do your best.

3. Just do it. September was probably the worst month for me to decide to wake up at 4:30 a.m. three times a week. I had a book due October 1st, a book out September 1st, book signings, a blog tour, and Baby Galen’s birthday to plan. But I knew if I didn’t do it then, I might never do it. So I went for it. Yes, September was inordinately hard, but October feels like a piece of…healthy celery stick compared to September. So don’t hold back. If you want something, make it happen.

Have you ever done a fitness boot camp or something else that was a real challenge for you? One person who comments will win a copy of my contemporary Reality TV Bites (written as Shane Bolks). The main character in the book has some real challenges to overcome.

The winner of IMPROPER GENTLEMEN by Mia Marlowe is Chelsea B! Chelsea, email me at shana@shanagalen.com with your address, and I’ll send it on to Mia.