Archive:
TBM Forum: Working on the Web Round-Up
This month, new articles have been posted in the Working on the Web forum. A search engine optimization article explains how to get the greatest value from the single most important HTML tag on any web page, not only for improving your site’s search engine rankings, but also to enable your visitors to easily return to your site. An article in the safe web surfing category details how to construct strong passwords which will protect your online accounts, yet will be easy to remember, written specifically for romance authors. In this article you will also find a URL to a site recommended by online security experts where you can test your new password for strength. Drop into the Working on the Web section of the forum to learn how to build your own strong passwords, and then share those skills with your family and friends to help keep them safe on the web, too.
Next month, articles planned for the Working on the Web forum include a cautionary tale on the correct use of the keyword tag and a review of a web site which is a massive treasure trove of resources which will be of great value to any historical author, and they are all there, free for the taking.
If you are not yet a Beau Monde member, and would like to join us, please visit our Membership page for details.
The Moral Premise By Cheryl Bolen
Do the scenes in the novel on which you are working sometimes play in your mind like a movie? That could very well work to your advantage as you write. In today’s article, Cheryl Bolen shares tips from screenwriters which can help you strengthen the structure of your story.
Lord Byron, the Father of Computer Programming?
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:
Truth or fiction? Essentially, true. Though mathematics confounded him and he was by no stretch of the imagination a computer programmer himself, Lord Byron was the father of the very first computer programmer, his daughter, Augusta Ada Byron.
Impossible? Computers are a twentieth-century invention, right? Not so.
Annual Mini Conference & Soiree!
The Beau Monde’s annual one day mini-conference and soiree will be held Wednesday, July 25th during the RWA National conference at the Anaheim Marriott in California.
Starting with breakfast and the annual general meeting, the conference will include a variety of Regency-themed workshops throughout the day with knowledgeable presenters, including Candice Hern, Isobel Carr and this year’s three time RITA nominee Vicky Dreiling. Our luncheon keynote speaker is the amazing Delilah Marvelle. Plus there will be a silent auction with plenty of Regency-themed items, critiques, etc. for you to bid on!
The evening’s soiree will include music, dancing and the winners announcement of the Royal Ascot writing contest.
Registration fees are as follows:
Soiree Only Member: $60
Soiree Only Non Member: $75
Early Bird Members: $155
Early Bird Non-Members: $175
Regular Members: $170
Regular Non-Members: $190
Early bird registration ends June 15th.
For more information and to register, please visit the conference page.
New Book Releases – May, 2012
More New Book Releases from authors at The Beau Monde Chapter
( Regency historical ) of Romance Writers of America.
RUINED BY RUMOR by Alyssa Everett
Regency Historical - Release date May 21
Carina Press, [ASIN] B007BBVC6M
After waiting five years for her fiancé to return from the war and marry her, Roxana Langley has been jilted! She may have longed for excitement, but this was not what she had in mind…
Who could possibly throw over a woman as beautiful and vivacious as Roxana? Certainly not Alex Winslow, the Earl of Ayersley, who has spent years trying in vain to forget his unrequited love. When he learns she’s been abandoned by her cad of a fiancé, he finds himself offering a shoulder for her to cry on. Comfort soon turns into a passionate kiss—and scandal when they are caught in an embrace.
Only one thing will save Roxana from certain ruination: marriage to the earl. The match may save her reputation, but responsible, tongue-tied Ayersley is a far cry from her dashing former fiancé. She’s convinced Ayersley is merely doing his duty…while he’s sure Roxana is still in love with another man. Are they trading one disaster for another?
http://twitter.com/Alyssa_
http://www.facebook.com/
INVITATION TO SCANDAL by Bronwen Evans 
Regency Historical – Released 1 May 2012.
Kensington ISBN: 9780758259219
Her secrets are coming undone…
Plagued by scandalous rumors, Rheda Kerrich will stop at nothing to restore her reputation and make an honest living for herself-and she’s determined to do it without a husband.
But times are hard, and smuggling is a risky though profitable trade. So when a dashing agent for the English government catches her in the act, she desperately resists his charms and conceals her illicit profession. Until she realizes he may be the key to her ultimate freedom-and unbridled passion.
Rufus Knight, Viscount Strathmore, has never had trouble beguiling the ladies of Kent. When his search for “Dark Shadow,” a cunningly elusive smuggler, leads him to alluring and headstrong Rhe, her objections to his amorous advances merely incite a tantalizing game of cat and mouse. Soon, they’ll find the very secrets driving them apart could ensnare them in a love they can’t escape…
http://regencyseductions.
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A PERILOUS JOURNEY by Gail Eastwood 
Regency Traditional – Available May 15, 2012
A Regency Romance ebook reissue – Signet Regency (ebook),
Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, itunes.apple.com
Beset by troubles, a young runaway and her twin brother are helped on their journey by a handsome stranger who they later learn is the Earl of Brinton.
Crowded inns, bad weather, thieves and Bow Street Runners in pursuit are not enough to stop either the growing attraction between Gillian Kentwell and the earl or the trio’s progress across the miles to Scotland where Gillian hopes to find freedom and a new life.
But will even greater setbacks ahead shatter the fragile trust forged on the road and destroy their chances for true happiness?
Gail Eastwood - Winner of the 1994 Golden Leaf Award “Best Regency” and finalist for CoRWA’s Award of Excellence
THE MALORIE PHOENIX by Janet Mullany 
Regency Historical – May 2012
eISBN: 978-1-937776-29-9 Amazon, B&N, Apple
She plays a deadly game, but nothing is as dangerous as love.
Benedict de Malorie, Earl of Trevisan, can never forget the masked woman he met one night at a London pleasure garden. The clever pickpocket stole his heart and his family’s prized jewel – the Malorie Phoenix. But the family treasure reappears in Benedict’s darkest hour, returned by its thief, along with the unexpected gift of his infant daughter.
Believing that she is dying, Jenny Smith leaves her daughter in the custody of the baby’s blueblood father. Seven years later she finds herself in good health and alone, yearning for her only child. To raise enough money to support them both, she takes part in a daring escapade that requires her to impersonate a woman of quality. She fools the ton and Benedict himself.
When Jenny finds herself entangled in a murderous plot against Benedict, the father of her child, her carefully laid plans begin to fall apart. All she wants is her daughter back, but she never thought she’d fall in love with Benedict. Revealing her part in the plot means she will almost certainly lose Benedict and their daughter forever. But continuing to play her role puts them all in terrible danger.
Twitter: @AnnaRandol
Regency Historical Novella
Harlequin, 978-1-459-23427-7 Release date July, 2012
THE UNREPENTANT RAKE, Available Now
TO RESCUE OR RAVISH? July 2012
www.BarbaraMonajem.blogspot.com
twitter / @BarbaraMonajem
facebook http://www.facebook.com/
Regency Historical - e-book Published May 17th, 2012
Evernight Publishing, 978-1-77130-026-1, asin B0083WA1G0
Available at Evernight, Amazon, and Amazon UK
What’s the harm in a little white lie?
Especially when it could carry so much good—a new life for a wounded soldier, catharsis after long years of war, and an opportunity for lady composer Olivia Delancey to finally hear her music played in public.
Newspaper publisher Will Marsh refuses to compound the sins of his father’s generation by taking money to print propaganda. But with the end of the wars in France and America, he needs something new to drive Londoners to grab his paper first. Why not publish the score of the “Tune That Took Waterloo,” by a wounded vet, no less? As Olivia struggles to keep her secrets from this unsuitably alluring publisher, and Will fights to find the truth without losing his hold on this bright-eyed angel who has descended into his life, both discover another sort of truth.
Being the talk of London can be bad—or very, very good.
On Twitter, @sunshinyday
On facebook, Nicky Penttila writes
Tamara Gill
A MARRIAGE MADE IN MAYFAIR by Tamara Gill 
Regency Romance – Released June 2012
Decadent Publishing - http://www.decadentpublishing.
After a frightful first season, Miss Suzanna March is after one thing, revenge on the elusive rake, Lord Danning.
But with pockets to let, Lord Danning has other ideas and the newly improved Suzanna fits all his credentials as a future wife. But will Suzanna fall for such pretty words from a charmer only after one thing.
Or will Danning prove to Suzanna and himself that she is more than his ticket out of debtor’s prison.
Related articles
- Aloha to Alyssa Everett and A TRYST WITH TROUBLE (sosaloha.blogspot.com)
Assembly Room – Roundup of Regency posts by Angelyn Schmid
Assembly Room – A Roundup of Regency and other historical posts byAngelyn Schmid
Related articles
- Oh, Foolish Foolscap! (main.thebeaumonde.com)
Spotlight on Barbara Dawson Smith By Cheryl Bolen
Over the past few years, Cheryl Bolen has been publishing a Spotlight series of biographical sketches of a number of romance writers at her web site. She has graciously allowed us to re-post those biographical sketches here at the Beau Monde blog.
Today, we begin with a biographical sketch of award-winning romance author, Barbara Dawson Smith …
A Romance Reader’s Pet Peeves: The 10 That Set Me On Edge Every Time! By Regan Walker
A Romance Reader’s Pet Peeves: The 10 That Set Me On Edge Every Time! By Regan Walker
All readers have their pet peeves and it’s why we love some romances and hate others.
I found it rather cathartic to set mine to paper. I wanted to speak for other readers whose reviews I see on the Internet (along with mine). Though I read primarily historical romance, these aren’t limited to that genre. Hopefully this will help authors who want to please their readers avoid some pitfalls.
Here are my top 10:
1812: A Turning Point in British History by Laurie Alice Eakes
1812: A Turning Point in British History by Laurie Alice Eakes
For those of us immersed in the Regency time period, the year 1812 holds numerous significant incidents–incidents that set history on a course from the old world and into the new. Power changed hands in government and wars, the Industrial Revolution dug in its heels, and Great Britain, for all it became the most far-flung empire in history, began to receive its first glimpse of a shocking truth—it would not always rule the waves.
George IV Prince Regent
By 1811, few people denied that the king was permanently mad and could no longer be head of state. The Regency bill passed making his eldest son, also a George, the Prince Regent, or the head of the government. The king, however, still showed enough glimpses of restoration to health that “Prinney” didn’t assume full powers of his role until 1812.
A gamester and profligate spender, the Prince Regent was forever petitioning Parliament for money. This placed him in the power of Parliament and the role of royalty in actually running the government of the kingdom began to diminish.
While Prinney assumed his role as head of Great Britain, a man known as Captain Ludd assumed a different kind of leadership role mostly in the north. The Luddite Rebellion fills books it is such a complex subject, a small war that ultimately took soldiers into Nottingham and York and Lancashire to put it down. Many men died.
Comfits — Regency Tic-Tacs®
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:
Not only did a great many people regularly brush their teeth during the years of the Regency, they were also concerned about bad breath when socializing with others. For that reason, many people carried small sweets about with them. In Shakespeare’s day they were called "kissing comfits," but by the time of the Regency they were referred to simply as comfits.
What exactly were these Regency breath-mints? Of what were they made, how were they made, and how were they carried?
Maria Edgeworth – Regency Promenade by Nancy Mayer
In our Regency Promenade today, Nancy Mayer looks at Maria Edgeworth, a prolific writer of adults’ and children’s literature who held advanced views on estate management, politics and education.
Maria Edgeworth by John Downman 1807
Maria Edgeworth 1767-1849
“As a woman, my life, wholly domestic, can offer nothing
of interest to the public.” Maria
*****************
Maria Edgeworth was one of three children born to her father’s first, and least loved, wife.
Richard Edgeworth had four wives and twenty-one children. He had a large estate in Ireland. He experimented with education , using his children as subjects. Maria adored her father.
He brought her home from school when she was sixteen and set her as an assistant teacher to her siblings.
Maria Edgeworth
Maria’s family knew her as a warm, practical, volatile, loving person.
She became agitated over little upsets but was calm and efficient in major upheavals; she scoffed at the use of the supernatural and overly comic in books but enjoyed reading about them with her family.
She accepted her father’s philosophy of utilitarinism and incorporated its lessons in her stories for children.
Minature of Maria Edgeworth by Adam Buck c1790
She believed that a woman’s best profession was that of wife and mother, but never married.
She considered herself a critic of the feminist movement of Wollstonecraft and Mary Hays, but her writings mark her as a closet feminist; she also demonstrated an interest and competence in “masculine subjects” such as science, accounting, and logic.
At first, Maria wrote her books in collaboration or with the suggestion of her father. However with Letters for Literary Ladies and Castle Rackrent she wrote both of them without the knowledge of her father.
Hannah More and Her Circle By Cheryl Bolen
Today, Cheryl Bolen reviews a book on Hannah More, who was an important figure campaigning for social reform in Regency England. But did you know that in her younger days the proper Hannah More had written for the stage and had become friendly with some of the leading lights of English theatre and literature? Once you have read Cheryl’s review of this biography of Hannah More, you may want to seek out the book at your local library to learn more about this fascinating woman.
