Last year, seven Harlequin Historical and Mills&Boon authors were invited to write short stories about real historical royal weddings to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton. They were released in digital formats only in April 2011 and were a big hit with readers looking for stories about some of William’s ancestors or those on the throne (before he will be.) Since we know that not all royal matches have been love matches, we were invited to choose either the actual royal couple involved or to use our own fictional couple and set their story at the royal wedding.

And we were off! Time was short – we were invited right around Christmas week in 2010 and the stories were needed by mid-January for publication in April – so we were writing at breakneck speed. The collection spans more than 8 centuries and all include Author’s Notes to give some historical background or context to our choices and research. While others were shopping for fascinators to wear while watching Wills and Kate, we were hard at work creating these stories!

We were recently thrilled (and surprised) to learn that Mills& Boon would be publishing the collection IN PRINT as a February Special release and so it has – ROYAL WEDDINGS THROUGH THE AGES is a beautiful trade-sized paperback now available in the UK.

So — what are the stories about? Why did the authors choose their particular time period, royal couple or wedding? Let’s ask the authors!

My own story – WHAT THE DUCHESS WANTS – is about Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry of Anjou(who would be Henry II of England). I have always been drawn to Eleanor and have featured both her and Henry in several of my medieval HHs. I have always through that, since Eleanor had the extremely rare opportunity of choosing her (2nd) husband, there must have been something more personal, more attractive, more passionate in her choice of Henry of Anjou. She could have her choice from among Europe’s elite and eligible nobles and royals – so why Henry? That drove me to tell this story!

Michelle Willingham set her story in 1191 – LIONHEART’S BRIDE is about King Richard and Princess Berengaria. “I write primarily in the medieval time period, and choosing the story of Richard the Lionheart allowed me to create a second generation story from my MacEgan Brothers series of Irish warriors,” Michelle said.

Bronwyn Scott’s PRINCE CHARMING IN DISGUISE is set at the wedding of Prince George and Caroline of Ansbach in 1704. “I wanted to pick something in the Georgian period and mostly I wanted to pick a real marriage that was considered happy,” Bronwyn said. “When I saw this, I knew I had the one I wanted. I’ve always wanted to write ‘historical fiction’ ala Philipa Gregory or others of that genre and this seemed like a perfect chance to experiment with that.”

A PRINCELY DILEMMA by Elizabeth Rolls is set at the ill-fated wedding of George, Prince of Wales, and Princess Caroline of Brunswick in 1795. “I chose Prinny and Caroline because their marriage was such an unmitigated disaster from start to end and the scandal surrounding it from the start gave me lots to work with. I have to admit that with the Maria Fitzherbert – Prinny – Princess Caroline situation I could see certain parallels with a more recent royal marriage. Which just goes to show that there really is nothing new underneath the sun. Plus it was fun to slip back a little further in time into the late 18th century.

Going back to the continent, Lucy Ashford featured Napoleon and Marie-Louise’s wedding her THE PROBLEM WITH JOSEPHINE. “I chose the wedding of Napoleon and Princess Marie Louise of Austria in 1810, partly because I love the Napoleonic era, and partly because it was such a huge, lavish wedding – fabulous celebrations, ending with fireworks all along the Seine. The wedding took place in the Louvre, which was full of Napoleon’s prized art collection (much of it looted!),” Lucy reports. “And while I was reading up about it further, I discovered that at the last minute, some unknown courtier suddenly discovered that there were lots of portrayals of Napoleon’s previous wife, the notorious Josephine, still in the Louvre – but painted into larger works, which were impossible to remove. So, at the last minute, they had to be painted out, or Napoleon would have gone crazy when he saw them on his wedding day!”

Ann Lethbridge chose Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold’s wedding in 1816 for her story – PRINCESS CHARLOTTE’S CHOICE. “I chose the wedding of Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold because it happened in the Regency, which is when all my books are set, and despite all the odds against it, theirs was a real romance.”

And last, or most modern of the historical stories is Mary Nichols’ WITH VICTORIA’S BLESSING set at the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. “I chose Victoria and Albert for my Royal Wedding because I wanted to write a love story and theirs was a love true love match. So many Royal weddings in the past have been politically driven and consequently disastrous and I wanted to my fictional hero and heroine to overcome obstacles and be happy too.
In trying to be both romantic and also historically-accurate, the authors discovered some fun facts while researching for theirs.”

Since readers ask us where our ideas come from, I thought the authors could share a tidbit or two that they found interesting!

Elizabeth reported that “Since Prinny took back the pearl bracelets he gave Caroline and gave them to his current mistress, Lady Jersey, I thought I should try to find something positive to write about him, so I focused on his legacy to the British Nation which was quite extensive. Windsor Castle, the British Museum, Buckingham Palace, a Royal Collection to rival that sold by Charles I – and the Brighton Pavilion, which the Rev’d Sidney Smith described as looking as if, ‘…the dome of St Paul’s went down to the sea and pupped’! You can sort of see what he meant and it just made my day reading that.”

Bronwyn discovered that shortly after they married, Caroline came down with small pox and nearly died. George was so devoted to her that he stayed by her side at the risk of his own life—and it was a risk. He did contract the disease and nearly died as well. But they both recovered and went on to have a long marriage.

Surprisingly, Ann found that people often assume that women during this time were prim and proper and thoroughly subdued. Princess Charlotte was a very strong-willed young woman, who grew up in an exceedingly dysfunctional family. She regularly broke the rules set down by her father, the Prince Regent, and got into all kinds of scrapes. Sometimes the ladies set to watch over her turned a blind eye to her shenanigans and sometimes she found ways to avoid their eagle eyes and do what she wanted to do. In the summer of 1814 after Napoleon’s abdication Britain received a great many visits from European nobility and since the Princess was not officially “out” she was unable to participate in many of the festivities. Many thought this was unkind of the Prince Regent. Those Princes were a bit like the rock stars of today, and Princess Charlotte found her own way to meet with the glittering young men at her home and then rid herself of her chaperones. She walked a very fine line and could have been utterly ruined. It seemed to me, reading about her pushing the boundaries she was set, that she wasn’t much different to teenagers today.

Mary revealed that one of the things she learned was that Prince Albert was terribly seasick on his way to England and most of his staff succumbed too, and that also worked well her story, because it gave Richard the opportunity to speak to the Prince and meet a long lost relative destined to help with his courtship of Emily.

And scandalously, Lucy found a fact of ‘artistic’ interest — Jacques, her hero, talks about the famous Canova sculpture of a naked Napoleon, which Napoleon rejected in 1811 as being ‘too athletic’. This statue later came into the possession of the Duke of Wellington and is now on view to the public at Wellington’s former home, Apsley House, in London. How (in)appropriate!

So, real history, seven royal couples, seven weddings – seven phenomenal love stories in one collection for you all to enjoy! Different styles and voices from seven leading Harlequin authors – something for everyone and we hope you’ll give it and us a try!

The authors will be dropping in during the day from all over the US, England and even Australia, so please ask your questions — we all have more interesting tidbits to share and will tell you all about our other upcoming releases, too! Five lucky commentors will be chosen to win either a copy of the anthology or a copy of an author’s backlist — so post away!

For anyone interested in purchasing this special UK edition in print, I would suggest Book Depository – free shipping to most countries world-wide. (Digital copies will be available through only the UK sites like Mills and Boon or Amazon.co.uk.)

OHMIGOSH!! I nearly forgot to invite you ALL over to chat live with us tonight – Wednesday, February 8th — at 9pm EST on Romance Reviews Today. Here’s a link to their chatroom –just click on Mo’s Book Buzz — please stop by — we’re not really dangerous, we just write characters who are! LOL!

When I visited last time, I talked a little about SWEET ENEMY and how I came to write it. (If you missed that visit and want to know what I said, you can find it here.) I know that I should probably be promoting the book today, too, but as I sat down to decide what I wanted to write about on my release day, my story wasn’t what was on my heart. Instead, I thought I’d talk about what got me to this place.

It all started with an armadillo…

Last time I visited, I mentioned I might bring Armando, my cravat wearing armadillo, to meet Jaunty! Well, as promised, here he is (standing so suavely next to Jane Austen, of course!)

Isn’t he cute? And oh, so dashing! Now, let me tell you the story of Armando and what he has to do with how I became a romance author.

I’ve always been an avid reader, and it wasn’t until my early 30’s when I decided I wanted to try my hand at writing. When I did, I set upon the task with fierce determination, and like any good scientist—with research. First I had to decide what I wanted to write. I flirted with mystery/suspense (a genre I love to read), but realized I just didn’t want to write something so dark. Literary fiction? While part of me loved to read it, the endings so often left me frustrated or sad. So I decided I should write historical romance—my first love after Nancy Drew, and my rekindled love after a foray into horror and crime novels for a few years (blast that Stephen King for being such a good writer and leading me astray!). With my decision made, I got to work.

First, I dissected six of my favorite historical romance novels to see what made them work (yes, Robyn, I promise one day to do a post on that!). Then, I went the library and checked out “The Idiot’s Guide to Writing Romance”. Oh yes, I did. I don’t remember anything about that book now, except that it was the very first time I’d heard of Romance Writers of America®. A professional organization of romance writers? Who knew? The book urged me to look into them, and I quickly joined my local chapter. Then I learned of a national convention that was coming up that summer with Lisa Kleypas as the keynote speaker (LISA KLEYPAS, OMG!), and I decided I really must go, to see if writing historical romance as a career would really be for me. I found some ladies to room with and off to Dallas I went.

What an eye opening experience. 2500 romance authors, writers, and industry professionals, all gathered in one place to bond, confer, network and celebrate romance. It was amazing. It was overwhelming. It was inspiring.

I’ll never forget Lisa Kleypas’ speech. I was already in awe of her, as a fan. Her writing is truly sublime…interesting, engaging, highly emotional…just beautiful. I also knew she was smart and savvy, a graduate of Wellesley College. Her career was flourishing. She was exactly what I wanted to be as an author and I was really interested in what she would say about it.

And what she said was this: to make it in this business, an author has to be an armadillo. I’m paraphrasing here, and do keep in mind this was 5 years and 2 kids ago, but she said basically that armadillos are tough. The only way you can kill them is to run them over with a car. Everything else bounces off their impenetrable shell, making them resilient little creatures. And authors need to be, too. Like when rejection letters arrive in the mail, or when your book gets a bad cover and there’s nothing you can do about it, or when your editor quits mid-book, or when you get a negative review, or when you’re interviewed on a radio station and the man says something like, “Lisa, you’re obviously an intelligent, talented woman. When are you going to start writing real novels?” You just have to yell “Armadillo!” and keep shuffling along.

That part of her speech was very funny and she makes a great point. Having only been in the business a short time, I’ve met a few obstacles that I had to let bounce off of my shell. However, the part that really moved me was a story she told about losing her home. Apparently there was a devastating flash flood that came out of nowhere and wiped out many homes in her area, including hers and her parents’ homes. They lost everything, including their 14 year old cat…very sad. They were staying at a cramped hotel and Lisa and her mom made a trip to Walmart to get essentials for the family. Since they were in such tight quarters, they promised only to get what was absolutely necessary before splitting up to cover their list. When they met back at the check-out, besides their essentials, each of them had a romance novel in their hands, too. And that’s when she realized that writing romance was truly important. When she and her mother were faced with such a difficult time, they both turned to romance for comfort and escape. They needed to be swept up into that author’s world for a time. It would make them feel better.

And that’s when I realized that writing romance was what I wanted to do. I’d been struggling a bit, you see. I’d just finished 5 years of running a prison ministry inside USP Leavenworth, and I was wondering if I was turning my back on something very important to write fiction simply to entertain. Would I really be using my talents and my time to do any good in the world? To help anyone? Was I being selfish by wanting to write?

Lisa’s speech made me think about times in my life when I turned to a romance novel to get through a difficult situation. Yes, I read mostly for pleasure, but there have certainly been times in my life when I NEEDED to read, NEEDED to escape. And that’s when I realized that pursuing a career as a writer WAS important. I COULD help people, though I’d probably never see them face-to-face. Romance is a genre that celebrates love, growth, positive emotions and happy endings, and putting more of that into a world where endings are not always so happy, putting more of that hope out there, IS important work.

Now, back to Armando. Later that year, one of the ladies who’d roomed with me at that conference gave Armando to me as a gift. She bought a beanie-baby armadillo and actually went and found that fancy doll vest and made a cravat for him, complete with a “diamond” stick pin! (Fran Abram, YOU ROCK!). Armando sits on a shelf in my office, and while yes, he reminds me that I have to be tenacious and thick-skinned in this business, what he REALLY reminds me is that my work matters. Because one day my stories will be there for someone who needs them, if only for a few hours of escape.

Has there ever been a time that a good book was just what you needed? I’d love to hear what reading romance means to you.

One lucky commenter will win a signed copy of SWEET ENEMY, as well as your choice of DREAMING OF YOU or DEVIL IN WINTER, my two favorite Lisa Kleypas novels.

Sweet Enemy…
A Veiled Seduction Novel ~ Book One
“Historical intrigue and heart-pounding passion make Sweet Enemy a great read. Romance fans will love it.” ~#1NYT Bestselling Author JULIE GARWOOD

Geoffrey Wentworth, a war hero and rising political star, never wanted to be the Earl, but when his brother dies, he knows his duty—take up the responsibility for his family’s estates. His mother’s definition of duty differs from his, however, and can be summed up in one word—heirs. When Geoffrey rushes home to answer her urgent summons, he finds himself host to a house full of women, all vying to become the next Countess of Stratford. But his love is Parliament, where he wields his influence and reputation to better the lives of ex-soldiers, until a tempting houseguest and a secret from his past threaten his freedom…and his heart.

Liliana Claremont, a brilliant chemist, doesn’t want to be any man’s wife, much less a countess. If she had tuppence for every time she’d been told her place was filling the nursery, not experimenting in the laboratory, she could buy the Tower Bridge. However, when she receives a coveted invitation to the Earl’s house party, she trades in her beakers for ball gowns and gladly takes on the guise of husband hunter—for the chance to uncover what the Earl had to do with the murder of her father.

Liliana believes the best way to get the answers she needs is to keep her enemy close, though romance is not part of her formula. But it only takes one kiss to start a reaction she can’t control…

Heather Snow is a historical romance author with a degree in Chemistry who discovered she much preferred creating chemistry on the page, rather than in the lab. She is forever trying to wrangle her left and right brain to work together (some days with more success than others!), but if her two sides had to duke it out, left would win every time—which can be a creative challenge. Luckily, she loves challenges…she just goes about solving them analytically.

Heather lives in the Midwest with her husband, two rambunctious boys and one very put upon cat. She sincerely hopes you find her stories have just the right chemistry.

Please visit her at www.HeatherSnowBooks.com, on Facebook www.facebook.com/authorheathersnow or on Twitter

The Jaunty Quills are thrilled to welcome Marie Ferrarella to the sisterhood today. She and I are chatting about her new book, FORTUNE’S VALENTINE BRIDE, the second book in the brand new Special Edition series Fortunes of Texas – Whirlwind Romance.

Nancy: Welcome, Marie! Please tell us about your latest book.

Marie: In a nutshell, it’s about a woman who has been in love with the hero forever. She even went to college and majored in business so that she could come to work for him and show him how indispensable she was to him (men can be so dumb). When the hero has his near-death experience, he decides to live life to the fullest, which in his case means winning the woman he let slip though his fingers in college. He comes up with a campaign to make her fall in love with him and to help him, he decides to utilize the heroine. He uses her as his sounding board. Because she loves him and wants him to be happy, the heroine goes along with this—much to the horror of her best friend, the hero’s sister.

NRT: What life lessons do the hero and heroine of FORTUNE’S VALENTINE BRIDE learn before they earn their happily ever after?

MF: The hero discovers that what you wish for doesn’t always turn out to be what you actually want. In his case, he thought the woman he’d been with in college was the woman of his dreams—but she was everything he didn’t want—and the woman who could make his dreams come true was right there beside him all along (Like the Taylor Swift song You belong with me).  As for the heroine, she realizes that wishing and hoping that the man she loves will come to his senses and realize that she’s his perfect match isn’t “just” going to happen. She has to take a proactive stance with him.  And, in the end, she does.

NRT: Why will readers enjoy this story?

MF: Ah, it’s the eternal girl-next-door-in-love-with-the-handsome-but-blind-popular-boy  story—with enjoyable banter (I hope).  We always root for the girl next door because most of us arethat girl. And who doesn’t love a happy ending?

NRT: Why will they enjoy the Fortunes of Texas series?

MF: This particular installment of the Fortunes of Texas series deals with the family coming to terms with and recovering from having a near-death experience because of a storm and Mother Nature’s wrath. They’ve all gone through an ordeal and we watch how that ordeal has affected them and how it makes them grow as people.

NRT: Marie, you are amazingly prolific. You write for three different Harlequin lines, and you have books out every month this year. How in the world do you do it?

MF: I don’t sleep—and there are family members stuck to my kitchen floor.  (Okay, maybe I exaggerated the last part, but I only sleep between 4 and 5 hours a night). By my standards, I’m slower than I used to be because back when my kids were little, I took care of them, my husband (men require care and feeding and occasional watering) the dog, the house and my mother-in-law who lived with us and needed to be taken to most of the doctors in the lower half of the state.  Still got the husband and the dog, the kids are mostly taking care of themselves, my mother in law still requires daily servitude, but sadly, my house no longer looks as if it belongs to Martha Stewart. All I can say is if I wasn’t lucky enough to have editors and a publisher who want me, I’d still be writing and trying to find a market—it’s an addiction.  I love escaping into the worlds I create and having a scene come together or a page of dialogue “pop” is one of the greatest natural highs I’ve ever had.

NRT: What was your journey to becoming a romance writer?

MF: It was a very bumpy journey fraught with self-doubt.  I collected my first rejection slip from Children’s Digest at 11 and enough rejection slips after that to decorate two of the walls at Grand Central Station. I wrote musicals, historicals, teleplays, poetry, you name it, I wrote it—the only thing I’d never written was a flat out romance because I’d never read one. The agent I had suggested I try my hand at that. I did and we sold my first book 4 months later (November 15^th to be exact).  My agent called to tell me the good news—and my then 3 year old daughter threw up all over the kitchen floor right after I hung up. Things like that keep you grounded.

NRT: What advice do you have for aspiring romance writers?

MF: The best piece of advice I can give them is to never give up. If you believe in yourself and want this badly enough, hang in there no matter what anyone says. I had an English teacher in college spend half an hour once telling me that anyone who ever said I had any talent in writing had lied to me;  and the editor who eventually bought my first book at Silhouette initially told my agent she really didn’t like my writing (I have the letter to prove it). She also told me (after buying several Desires) that I didn’t have what it took to write a larger book (like a Special Edition). But you see, you never say never in this business and if an editor says “No” take it as a “Maybe” and keep hammering at Heaven’s door. It’ll open eventually if you just keep trying (and don’t pay attention to your bleeding knuckles).

Born in West Germany, arrived in the U.S. at four, I began writing when I was eleven. I began selling many years after that. Along the way, I acquired a Masters in Shakespearean Comedy from Queens College in N.Y, a husband and two kids (in that order)—the dog came later. My first romance was bought by Second Chance At Love November of 1981. The road from there to here has two hundred and six more sales to it. I’ve been published by Silhouette, Harlequin, Zebra, Harper, Bantam and Berkeley. I’ve been fortunate enough to have received several Rita nominations from the Romance Writers of America Association over the years, with one win for FATHER GOOSE (in the Traditional Romance Category). I’ve also been nominated several times in various categories by Romantic Times Magazine.  I hope to be found one day—many, many years from now—slumped over my computer, writing to the last moment. But before then, I would dearly love to write a successful screenplay. My goal has always been to entertain.

I saw this game on Facebook and thought it would be fun to play here since we love authors and books. The Rules: list fifteen authors (poets included) who’ve influenced you and made an impression. Don’t take too long to think about it. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.

Here’s my COOL FIFTEEN list:

VICTOR HUGO – For LES MISÉRABLES alone Hugo will always be on my best-loved list.

EMILE ZOLA – Nineteenth century France is one of my passions. So many things about that period speak to me – the Impressionist painters, post-Haussmann Paris, the literature… One of my favorite writers is Emile Zola. Like Hugo, Zola provides a vivid window into this world.

JANE AUSTEN – What’s not to love about the original romance writer and her body of work?

F. SCOTT FITZGERALD – Nick Carraway had me at chapter one. When I reached the end of GATSBY, I was hungry for more Fitzgerald.

ALICE HOFFMAN – She’s brilliant with magical realism.

SYLVIA PLATH – The way she weaves words and turns phrases brings me to my knees. In my book, she’s a literary goddess.

JK ROWLING – Harry, Ron and Hermione are like personal friends.

DOROTHEA BENTON FRANK – She speaks to the southern girl in me. I want to be her when I grow up.

TRACY CHEVALIER – The beauty of her smart books takes my breath away.

NORA ROBERTS – Nora is the one who made me want to write romance. Her well-crafted storied still sweep me away.
As an author, one of the perks of the job is meeting other writers and getting to know them beyond the pages of their books. It’s only natural that some of my favorite authors have become my friends. I dedicate this portion of “15 Cool Authors” to them:

KATHERINE GARBERA – Kathy was the very first published author I met…way back when. We became acquainted through our local RWA chapter. Since then, she’s became one of my very best friends. I’ll never forget the day I met Kathy. It was my first RWA chapter meeting. I was nervous and unsure of why I was even there. It just happened that on that same day, Kathy walked in with the cover of her very first book (THE BACHELOR NEXTDOOR wasn’t even out yet and she’d just received the cover flat). I was awe struck. Standing right in front of me was a living, breathing author, who was so talented, yet so personable and approachable. She made me feel as if I’d always been part of the chapter. Her smart, sassy prose hooked me from the get go and her sweet personality has made her friend for life.

CINDY KIRK – Cindy and I met at my first RWA conference. Synchronicity had a hand in our friendship when by chance we found ourselves at the same luncheon table two days in a row (amid 2,000 women and no assigned seats). We were both unpublished, but dogged determined to change that. We became fast friends and corresponded over the years – mind you, this was pre-email, back in the prehistoric days of the telephone and letter.  Now, Cindy is not only a good friend, she’s my plotting and brainstorming partner. Her books are fun and heartfelt and I always look forward to reading her next release.

CATHERINE KEAN – Catherine writes rich, beautiful historical romances. I’ve always described Catherine’s books as “jewel boxes” full of exquisite treasures. Her beautiful touch has influenced my work, too, since she’s been my critique partner for fourteen years.

KATHLEEN O’BRIEN – Kathleen is the wise woman in my life. She has such a poetic soul that radiates from the pages of her books. She was an established author when I met her. Now, I am so very fortunate to call her a friend and brainstorming partner.

KRISTAN HIGGINS – Kristan is fabulously funny and talented, and she has one of the most generous spirits of any writer I’ve met. Her Rita-winning novel “Catch of the Day” was the one that hooked me. Now, I count the days until next Kristan Higgins release.

So, there you have it…my Cool 15. I’m dying to hear who’s on your list. Since I’m celebrating being part of a group of six more very cool authors who have each crafted books in the latest FORTUNES OF TEXAS series (I’m book five out of the six-book series – book one launched this month. My title FORTUNE’S UNEXPECTED GROOM will be released in May 2012), I will give away the first two titles in the FORTUNES OF TEXAS series: Karen Templeton’s FORTUNE’S CINDERELLA and Marie Ferrarella’s FORTUNE’S VALENTINE BRIDE to one lucky person who posts their own 15 Cool Authors list.

Happy Friday and Happy 2012! I know it’s the middle of the month already (already?!? *sigh* Time just flies by faster the more brain cells my children kill… ), but this is my very first post of 2012, and I am thrilled to see what this year holds. I’ll get to the reason for the post title in a moment, but for now, I’d like to list a few reasons why 2012 is already off to a great start for my family.

1) SuperGirl (my 2 year old) has officially started potty training. Although terrified of the process (truly, there seems to be nothing as horrifying as this in our parenting experience so far), my husband and I started with her after the first of the year. I am excited and *relieved* to report that after a few horrifying incidents (see, we knew it would be bad, although I must say these incidents DID happen on my husband’s watch ), it looks like it’s working. I’m keeping my fingers crossed still, though.

2) My husband is chasing after his dreams. Not only does he plan to publish his first upper middle grade novel at the end of the month under his pseudonym Lukas Holmes (seriously, the book rocks, and I’m not just saying that because I’m his wife. Well, maybe I am a little bit…but it still rocks ), he also has decided to start performing as a stand-up comedian. If you’ve read any of his guest interviews with me this past year on various blogs, you know that this is ideal for him, as he’s one of the funniest people I know. As much as I love what I do, it’s a wonderful feeling to see my significant other having the chance to do what he loves to do, too.

3) WonderGirl (my 1 year old) is still not sleeping through the night. Okay, I have to admit, this isn’t something I like saying. I’d *prefer* for the sake of my sanity to be able to say that she sleeps through the night every night, especially since SuperGirl began sleeping through the night when she was 7 months old. But I’m choosing instead to say that this is a wonderful thing because, the truth is, I love that she still needs me. It seems like the time with SuperGirl has gone by really fast, and knowing this makes me treasure the very early years with WonderGirl even more. (And can you really complain when all she wants to do is snuggle? It melts my heart.)

And now for the reason of this post’s title. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you probably already know this, but for those of you who haven’t heard, I’ve decided to change my name to Elise Rome in celebration of the new journey I’ll embark on this year with self-publishing.Very soon, the name on the Jaunty Quills website will change from Ashley March to Elise Rome–but I promise, it will still be me! =)

You probably know a lot of authors who have changed their name over the course of their writing careers, most often because they switch genres or publishers. While I still intend to write Victorian romances (they’ll always be my first love), I also intend to explore other historical periods in the coming years, such as the 1920s and the Elizabethan era, World War II and the medieval ages…and more. And I even have ideas for contemporary novels rolling around in my head, too.

For now, though, I’m looking forward to publishing a new Victorian series under my new Elise Rome name at the end of January/beginning of February (I’ll be sure to keep you posted with a specific date!). The UNMASKED series is about four women who discover their independence by becoming owners of a gaming hell after the previous owner dies and leaves the establishment to his lover (Rachel, his lover, is the heroine of the second full-length book). They create an exclusive environment where only people who receive an invitation may enter the hell, and to protect their identities and add to the mystery of the place, the women all wear masks. The series launches with THE SINNING HOUR, a novella featuring Miranda, the hell’s maid, and Simon Astley, her former employer–whom you may recognize as the portraitist who painted Charlotte’s nudes in my Ashley March title, SEDUCING THE DUCHESS. I’m so excited about this series. I’ve always wanted to write about a gaming hell, and here I also I get to explore characters of different classes along with the changing roles of women in the Victorian era.

Here is a sneak peek at Simon Astley, the hero of THE SINNING HOUR.

***

Simon lifted a brow at the sight of yet another door—the seventh so far. Unlike the others, this one was covered in green baize, a relief to the previous monotony of uninspiring brown wood.

To any other man, this change might have signaled that something interesting was soon to come. Another man might have leaned forward, anticipating his entrance—at last!—into the secret rooms within. Yet, since Simon was unreasonably perverse, he neither leaned forward nor encouraged himself to care what lay ahead; instead, he allowed the color of the door to summon thoughts of her.

He tried to recall her eyes, the emerald green of the baize taunting his powers of recollection. Had they been jewel bright like this, or a softer, darker moss? For a moment she wavered before him, her lashes thickly fringed, her gaze wary as he attempted to coax her from her shyness. Her irises—

Simon blinked, dismissing the vision. Enough. Attempting to remember her clearly had become something akin to self-flagellation, and he’d never been one to enjoy the cutting whips of his conscience.

His giant of an escort knocked against a grate inlaid within the baize, and soon a different pair of eyes peered through at Simon.

“It’s the artist. Let him in.”

At the mildly disgusted way in which his escort said artist, Simon’s other brow lifted. He waited wordlessly as the seventh door swung open to reveal— Ah, the inside of the hell. At last. Then again, he supposed eight doors would have been too much.

With the barest trace of a smile–to annoy the guards, not to show his amusement–Simon acknowledged the summary of directions from his escort, then continued forward on his own.

The gaming hell was much as he’d expected and yet surprising all the same. He climbed the grand staircase to the first floor, studying the mark of wealth and privilege on each side. Ivory silk hung on the walls, adorned with gold flecks and glinting beneath the heavy crystal chandeliers. Plush carpet sprawled underfoot, the soft, welcoming color of a woman’s bare thigh. Smoothing his hand along the stair banister, he admired the gleaming mahogany, the polished slide of it sensuous beneath his palm. Velvet curtains were drawn at the windows, blocking out the harsh invasion of the afternoon sun. At night he presumed they guarded against envious gazes, maintaining the hell’s reputation of exclusivity while keeping safe the identities of those fortunate enough to have been invited inside.

It was this, perhaps, which roused his curiosity. Finally stepping onto the floor of the gaming area, he searched for something magnificent, a clue as to why the proprietors felt confident enough to demand a hundred pound fee simply for entrance into the establishment. A reason why the most coveted invitations in all of London for the past month came not from the Queen or the Duchess of Sayers’ pen, but rather from 114 Jermyn Street.

He glanced at the hazard table and roulette wheel. The balcony to his right and the ceiling above. The building carried the hushed air of a museum, silent and provocative with secrets, concealing a spectacular history of things which had gone before. He wasn’t a man who usually cared to wager recklessly on a spin of the wheel, but even he felt a tug of promise as he surveyed the room, a whisper of possibility for winnings beyond imagination.

A man could begin anew with such a fortune. Doubtless he could also acquire a new sort of morality, something which wouldn’t cause him to surrender to tireless nudges of nobility and honor.

Alas, he hadn’t received an invitation to play. He was here to sketch.

Following the guard’s directions, Simon ducked inside an alcove set into the right corner of the room and climbed up the private stairs. He paused outside the owners’ suite and listened, his satchel of paper and instruments tucked loosely beneath his arm.

He’d heard the rumors, of course. Most everyone in Mayfair was privy to the stories of those sated with victory and broken by loss, of the men who had passed through the hell’s doors and returned to regale those less fortunate. Even so, and even though the notes Simon had received were written in a decidedly feminine script, he’d had his doubts.

But the voices and shouts of laughter echoing from within the room were obviously female. Yes, they could belong to the proprietors’ mistresses or hired doxies. Or the rumors could be true. The gaming hell could actually be owned by a group of women, masked and mysterious, beautiful and wickedly remote. It was impossible. Inconceivable. And also…rather delightful.

Simon rapped against the door and waited.

***

Hope you enjoyed the excerpt!

One of the things I’m most looking forward to in writing as Elise Rome is being able to continue to write Victorian romances as well as romances in other historical periods. If you could ask your favorite historical authors to write about specific times/places outside of the Regency or Victorian England, what would those time periods/places be?

For your convenience, here are my new links:

www.eliserome.com

www.facebook.com/eliseromeauthor

www.twitter.com/eliserome

Take almost any contemporary novel. The main characters are usually engaged in some kind of work or profession, right? An author who’s done her research can give some insight into what those professions entail. I’ve read scenes that make me feel as though I’m actually sitting at a police detective’s desk in a tiny cubicle, or flying over the mountains in a small plane. Or driving a tractor through a field. I read a novel recently that was about the characters who worked and lived near a hospital in Ethiopia, and I almost felt as though I could find my way around the little town where the book was set.

Sometimes it’s the author’s insight into personalities that hooks me. Maybe it’s not specific details about what anarchitect or an FBI agent does, or how to create the perfect bakery pastry – but an understanding of what makes those characters tick. It’s relatable to real life. An author can make the sorrows and joys of the fictional characters resonate. It makes me stop and think about people I know… or situations I might not have understood before.

I love it when I read something that makes me want to delve deeper into the subject matter. Whether it’s historical detail or something about astronomy. Or cooking. Or race car driving.

I’m guessing most of you are book lovers – is there anything besides the romance that  compels you to sit down with a book?

I recently wrote an article about how I fell in love with romance novels. Namely, how romance made me feel: the breathlessness at the beginning of the attraction, the physical ache in your chest when it seems the hero and heroine won’t end up together, and the near heart-bursting joy at the end of the book when they do. I was thinking about this, about all three of the feelings that–in my opinion–are requisite for a wonderful romance novel, and I realized something.

A lot of romance novels I’ve been reading over the past few years simply don’t meet all three requirements. And–also sadly–I have to admit that even my books to date have focused on one or two of these rather than all three.

Digging further, instead of “romance novel”, a lot of books that I’ve read in the past few years could be described as “lust-sex-heartbreak-HEA” novels. To me, they’re not the same at all. Part of it, I think, is that we as a society have become more skeptical and cynical in this first decade of the 21st century. It’s easier to believe in the heartache of a romance novel than in the actual romance (and please understand that I’m not talking about the HEA, but the journey of the couple to that HEA). I recently read my first book from a bestselling contemporary author, and I loved it. It didn’t need an intricate plot or anything extraordinary, because what made me fall in love with the characters and the book itself was how romantic it was. Imagine that. Yes, there was sex in it as well, and well-written sex, but the main focus of either character was not how to get into bed with the other; the focus was on their relationship and their growing love. (Edited to add: the book was EVERYONE LOVES A HERO by Marie Force.) It seems lately that I’ve read too many romance novels (and I’m not talking about erotic romances) where more attention is paid to physical desire than emotional development (i.e., turning the reader on instead of creating those warm, gushy feelings that made me fall in love with romance in the first place). I, like most readers, enjoy great sex scenes in the romance novels that I read–I believe they’re an integral part of the love story–but I want to see more from the relationship, to be honest.

This perspective has already changed my view toward my own writing. Recently I was plotting out a novella that, for some reason I couldn’t quite put my finger on, didn’t feel right. There was something missing. I knew there would be angst (lots of it!) and sex (of course), but something felt as if it were lacking. I would like to say that this was a momentary obtuseness on my part, but the truth is that until I wrote the above-mentioned article about why I fell in love with romance novels, I didn’t realize that the plot was focused more on heartache and lust than romance. And I’m a romance writer!

I truly felt as if a lightbulb had gone on in my head. When did the genre start moving away from the romantic side of romance? I’m certainly not saying there aren’t any books out there that are focused on romance (other JQ authors have wonderfully romantic books!), and I’m not even saying that this is prevalent among the genre–but it is something I’ve seen increasing lately. And it’s something that I’m committed to correcting in my own writing from now on.

Perhaps this is an epiphany only for me, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject, as either a reader or a writer. Have you noticed a declining trend in the romance in romance novels? What are your requirements for a satisfactory “romance novel” that truly fits the term? Thank you for your comments!

Now, if you’ve never heard of Michael Bublé before, please don’t be worried–I forgive you. With our hectic lives and all the media screaming at you for attention, it’s easy to miss pieces of awesomeness. However, I would be remiss in my duty as a romance writer–nay, in my duty as a woman–were I not to share the goodness that is Michael Bublé with you.

Please note: I am not in any way related to (he has a gorgeous Argentinian wife–*sigh*) Michael Bublé (you can’t just say Michael; he’s a first name and last name sort of guy), nor am I getting paid for my gushing (I wish!).

First, a few pictures. (I don’t know what you’re doing looking at these, but as I said, I’m doing research. )

I think I’d like this one made into my own personal romance novel cover.

Here he’s telling me you not to be shy. He’d like a hug.

And now he’s looking soulfully into my your eyes, torn because he just can’t express how much he adores me you.

But wait! At this point you might be thinking to yourself: “I guess he’s alright looking. I’m not that impressed.” If you have a crush on Richard Armitage like I do, you probably thought the same of him before you watched the BBC’s North & South and heard his voice (please tell me you’ve done this!). Well, my friends, prepare to fall in love while you watch this very short video.

Link to YouTube

I admit, I did have to watch several videos to find just the right one for you guys–one where you could hear his speaking voice and his singing voice. And in case you were wondering…yes, it was a hardship.

Now that you’ve been treated to a little Michael Bublé to get your weekend started off right, what do you think? Were you already a fan? A new fan? Shall we all go to his next concert together?

Partly, because I’m two weeks out on a deadline on a book unlike anything I’ve ever written. This is my favorite part of the writing process. It’s when the book starts to really take shape and feel like a book. But it’s also the time when I’m putting in extra long writing days and it feels like the book is just kicking my butt.  So at the moment I got the complement, it didn’t feel like I have a gift.

But the other reason the complement made me uncomfortable is that I generally don’t think of myself as having a gift. No, I’m not fishing for complements. I’m not being coy. I just don’t see it that way. I know a lot of truly gifted writers. People who write gorgeous poetic sentences and will make you want to weep. I’m not one those people. My friend Skylar White is like that. Omg, her writing is so beautifully lyrical, sometimes all I can do is shake my head. My friend Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adams/Tracy Deebs is like that too–oh, and she’s prolific too, if you can’t tell from the grocery list of pseudonyms. Sherry Thomas is another writer I know who’s like that. Just gorgeous prose! And she’s not even a native speaker of English.

All of these people can sentences so pretty they make you cry. Metaphors that make your heart sing. Me? Not so much. Me crafting a metaphor is a bit like those apes at the beginning of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s awkward and uncomfortable and everyone just wants it to end so we can get on with the story.

That’s what I mean when I say I’m not a gifted writer. I don’t do that pretty prose thing.

What I am, is a determined writer. I have wanted to tell stories since I was a kid. Telling stories is the thing I was meant to do. It’s woven into my brain and my blood like nothing else. My entire adult life has been about learning to tell stories well. Not so much because I wanted to be published (but, yeah, that too), but because I want to do justice to the stories  and characters in my head. I want them to be as vivid and real to other people as they are to me. It’s that determination that brings me to the keyboard everyday.

Sometimes, I wish like hell that I was a gifted writer, but I’m learning to make do with my determination. Determination probably will never earn me literary accolades, but it’s won me friends and fans. And I’m damn proud of that. My journey as a writer has taken some interesting twists and turns this year, partly because I’ve stretched and grown and tried new things. Partly because I’ve wrestled with issue of writerly gifts. There’s something to be said for making peace with your limitations. For embracing them even. I hope that doing so will make shore up the bedrock of my strengths.

Are there any gifts you wish you had?

Yesterday I turned in the final final final final edits (I say this so many times because it seems like I’ve been on a perpetual deadline for the past two months) for my third NAL Penguin book which will come out in May, MY LADY RIVAL. I cannot even begin to express how excited I am. I might even go to sleep one night before midnight sometime soon just to spoil myself. I’m certainly looking forward to having a chance to respond to all the reader email which I haven’t been able to get to (unfortunately, email is one of the first things to go; otherwise I get sucked in and am good for nothing else). I’m also looking forward to reading some amazing romance novels! (First on my list: the new Kristan Higgins book and the new Joanna Bourne book–yes!)

But I have to tell you the truth, and this might make me sound like I’m simply a glutton for self-punishment. I’m also *really* looking forward to starting in on writing a new book or two. I have so many characters and ideas running around in my head, and they’ve been getting very impatient while I’ve spent so much time with Alex and Willa, the characters in MY LADY RIVAL.

You’re the first ones to know what I’ll be working on next (seriously–even my writer friends don’t know this). First, there’s the love story between Joanna and Ethan, two secondary characters from SEDUCING THE DUCHESS that readers have been asking me about ever since SD came out. (I’m so happy to be able to write their story!) And I’m also thrilled (when I say “thrilled”, I mean I’m giddy because I get to conduct a lot of research, which just goes to show you how much of a dork I am ) to announce that I’m also going to be working on a new romance series set in 1920s Long Island (likely with a spin-off series in 1920s Chicago). It was very difficult to decide on these two projects when I have so many ideas, but they’re the ones knocking on my heart the loudest right now and I hope you’ll love them when they’re done.

And if I eat an extra piece (or ten) of Halloween candy this weekend, just know that it’s all in my plan to party first. I am nothing if not a disciplined hedonist.

As you can see, writing really is a passion for me. As soon as I finish with one book, I’m off to the next! What are your passions? And what other romance books do you think I should add to my TBR list after Kristan Higgins and Joanna Bourne? Hope everyone has a great weekend!