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:

1. A cover that has nothing to do with the story. I realize the authors have little to do with this so it’s really a gripe at the publishers. But it is nonetheless valid. Real examples abound: A handsome pirate with black hair and dark eyes on the cover, but the hero has blond hair and silver eyes! A Victorian costumed woman on the cover of a Restoration romance.  A Highlander in a plaid kilt on the cover but the story takes place centuries before they wore kilts. A heroine described as “plain and plump” but the cover shows her a beauty with a devastating figure. Please. Why is it the publishers think readers don’t notice? Well, we do and it’s irritating!

2. A title that doesn’t describe the story or cheapens it. I know the publishers are selling romance like the cable outfits sell sex, but when they use a dime store novel title just because it sounds like a book that is selling well, or they think the words “seduced,” “ravished,” or “in bed with” will make us buy it, to me it cheapens a serious historical romance. And don’t use words in the title that aren’t related to the story, like “pirate” if there’s no pirate in the romance (yes, I encountered one like that!), or “seduced” when there’s no seduction. The authors I’ve talked to hate it when publishers do this, though they have little say about it. That is sad, really. I have heard this from several authors, who I will not name for fear of getting them in trouble with their publishers, but still. Do the publishers think we readers would like the books any less if they used more honest, serious, worthy titles? (Like perhaps the one the author prefers?)

3. Not enough emotion to engage mine. Witty dialog, clever storylines and great hooks may be preferred by today’s publishers, but if you can’t engage my emotions, if you can’t make me care, I won’t be rating the book 5 stars. And it takes time to build characters, to tell me why I should love or hate them. Only some authors get my 5 star emotional rating: Penelope Williamson (a two-Kleenex box author), Kathleen Givens, Nadine Crenshaw, Marsha Canham, Virginia Henley, Betina Krahn and Iris Johansen, to name a few.

4. Simpering, whiny or weak heroines. Some people might like the weak, simpering females. Not me. I like my heroines with backbone. Not snippy or snarky, mind you. I’m talking about real character. Inspire me with courageous heroines who won’t be dictated to, who rise to meet life’s challenges and you just might make me a fan. A good example is Sarah in BROKEN ARROW by Judith James. Sarah is one of the best heroines out there: strong, compassionate—a unique individual who swims against the tide—and a woman who fights for the man she loves. Another is Fallon in PRINCESS OF FIRE by Heather Graham (aka Shannon Drake), who refused to be cowered by William the Conqueror. My reviews on Amazon that give romances 5 stars are replete with other examples. There is no quicker way to turn me off to a story than to make the heroine a whimpering, whiny female. (I could give you examples of those, too.) And it doesn’t make me happy if, later in the story, she suddenly becomes a Valkyrie. Not buying it. Mind you, I expect the heroine to cry for a valid reason. People do. But if she is constantly teary eyed and whimpering, I won’t finish the book nor read another by that author.

5. Contrived plot elements. I’m reading along, enjoying a great romance when suddenly, wham, out of nowhere something happens that just doesn’t fit—and isn’t believable. I know it’s romance, but it has to be natural…not contrived just to get the story moving in a certain direction. This is really important and can turn me off to an author quicker than anything. I have found that authors who engage in this do so again and again. I won’t mention names but suffice it to say these are the ones I’ve given 2 or 3 stars; and they are not on my lists of “Best” romances.

6. A research dump. I really appreciate it when the historical romance reflects the author’s thorough research. I can always tell and I give them high marks for it in my reviews. But don’t dump everything you learned into long passages in the story. If the heroine is a potter, I don’t need the encyclopedia version of everything there is to know about pottery—or fossils, or painting, or stone masonry, etc. I don’t need to go back to school. If I want more details, I’ll look them up. I can give you many authors who incorporate their research very well. A few whose names come to mind are Virginia Henley, Heather Graham (aka Shannon Drake), Nadine Crenshaw, Marsha Canham, Cynthia Wright, Elizabeth Stuart, Meredith Duran, Judith James, Joanna Bourne and Penelope Williamson.

7. Moral lectures disguised as romance. Yes, I know poverty existed in the past centuries (as it does now), and I don’t mind if this is reflected in the story, but don’t lecture me on the importance of being socially responsible. Don’t lecture me on the evils of slavery, natural healers that aren’t really witches, the benefits of vegetarianism, being charitable to the poor, etc. I get it. Reflect it, but don’t moralize. If you feel strongly, write an editorial, not a romance.

8. A character acting inconsistently. You know this one…a smart, savvy heroine who suddenly does something really stupid. In once romance I read, the heroine, who had been pretty smart up until this point, suddenly goes along with an abduction. Doesn’t scream, doesn’t fight. Nada. It was so disappointing it threw off my whole feeling about the story. Or, consider the hero who has always been a noble, forthright guy, who suddenly believes the worst about the heroine with no real evidence or provocation. Ugh!

9. Manufactured sexual tension. It’s gotta be real. It should come naturally out of the circumstances and the lives of the characters, but in some 2 and 3 star romances, it comes out of thin air. That will sour me on a story quicker than anything. You know what I’m talking about: arguments that should never have happened; misunderstandings any normal human being would clear up with one sentence—those things! I give highest marks to an author who has an intriguing plot that naturally develops and holds my attention, one who does not throw a wrench into the works merely to create conflict or separate the hero and heroine.

10. Love scenes that don’t match the characters or are the same in every one of the author’s books. If the heroine is an innocent virgin and suddenly she is seducing the hero with moves like a practiced courtesan (and especially the word “Please” as a euphemism for “do it now”), you just lost me. The love scene has to match the people involved and their experience. If you want a courtesan’s moves, then make the heroine an experienced woman of the night. A failure to match the love scene to the characters can be subtle. If the heroine is insecure and her past reflects bad experiences with men, she isn’t going to jump into bed with the hero and take the initiative in lovemaking. No way. It must seem like the kind of love scene these two people would share. And, please don’t make all your love scenes the same in every book you write—readers notice!

Regan Walker

(http://reganromancereview.blogspot.com)

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.

TBM Forum Debut:   Working on the Web

This month, the Beau Monde Chapter of the Romance Writers of America is pleased to announce the debut of a new section in the Chapters/Special Interest Groups area of the myRWA.org forum. This new section is entitled "Working on the Web." It is intended to be a place where Beau Monde members can come to learn, or to share, tips and tricks on how to enhance our outcomes when working on the Internet.

The World Wide Web is now a fact of life for most authors, but we all have different attitudes, needs and levels of experience as we work in the online environment. This new section of the myRWA forum will be devoted to discussing those issues so that members will have one place where they can come to ask questions, get information and/or share it. Thus, we can all better understand and maximize our usage of the Web to our mutual advantage and benefit.

Some of the topics in this new forum will include:

• Blogging:   Tips and Best Practices
• eBook Publishing:   Authors’ Advice and Experiences
• General Web-Related Topics
• Online Safeguards:   Protecting Your Work & Safe Surfing
• Search Engine Optimization:   Getting Found on the Web
• Social Media:   FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter &c.
• Web Site Usability and Accessibility

This month, articles have been posted in the Working on the Web forum which explain the basic theory of search engine optimization (SEO) and how to select the necessary keywords in order to optimize your own web site. There is also an article which discusses the different digital denizens who inhabit the web and why each group tends to approach the use of the web in different ways. Visit the new Working on the Web forum to determine into which "digital" category you fall.

Next month, articles planned for the new forum include details on taking maximum SEO advantage of the single most powerful HTML tag on any web page, as well as a safe-surfing article on the whys and hows of constructing strong passwords to increase the security of your online accounts. In addition, all Beau Monde members are invited to drop in to this new section of the forum any time, to ask questions, or to share any information you have gleaned in your online travels and adventures.

If you are not yet a Beau Monde member, and would like to join us, please visit our Membership page for details.

Of Jehus and Jarvies

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

Readers of Regency romance novels are familiar with the ubiquitous figures of the jarvey and the Jehu on the box of one kind of vehicle or another. These two words are commonly used in modern writing interchangeably, as though they were synonymous. Yet, my reading of various Regency documents such as books, letters, diaries, newspapers and other periodicals over the years has led me to the conclusion that in actual fact these two words are quite antonymous. A jarvey is not a Jehu, nor is a Jehu a jarvey. Not to mention that a jarvey is not a coachman, but a Jehu might be.

So what is the difference between a Jehu and a jarvey?

What is Nielsen’s BookScan?   By Cheryl Bolen

In today’s article, Cheryl Bolen, award-winning romance author, tells us about Nielsen’s BookScan, which tracks point-of-sale statistics on book sales at a number of retail outlets. This article was written in 2005, and sadly, some of those retail outlets have fallen to the economic pressures of recent years. Nevertheless, publisher’s do use this list to guide many of the decisions they make, including whether or not to acquire another book from one of their authors.

If you are not already aware of the importance of the Nielson BookScan, let Cheryl Bolen explain …

Sophia Nash – Featured Beau Monde Author

Sophia Nash is today’s Featured Author for The Beau Monde Regency chapter of Romance Writers of America.

Sophia Nash’s first three novels won eight national awards including the prestigious RITA Award and a spot on the American Library Association’s “Top Ten Romances of the Year.”

Sophia was born in Switzerland, raised in France and the United States, but says her heart resides in Regency England. Her ancestor, an infamous French admiral who traded epic cannon fire with the British Royal Navy, is surely turning in his grave.

Before pursuing her long held dream of writing Historicals, Sophia was an award winning television producer for CBS, a congressional speechwriter, and a nonprofit CEO.

Now writing for Avon/Harper Collins, Sophia’s back to back releases of her brand new Royal Entourage series are: Between the Duke and The Deep Blue Sea and The Art of Duke Hunting.

Find Sophia Nash at  – Web       Facebook

Twitter @SophiaNash1

Sophia Nash - Between the Duke and the Deep Blue Sea

Related articles

• The Art of Duke Hunting by Sophia Nash – $4.99 Historical Romance Kindle Deal(kindleebookdeals.com)

  ---

• Review — Between the Duke and the Deep Blue Sea(theromancedish.com)

  ---

• Review & Giveaway: The Art of Duke Hunting by Sophia Nash(theseasonforromance.com)

  ---

A Primer on Regency Era Women’s Fashion by Kristen Koster at Impulsive Hearts.

A Primer on Regency Era Women’s Fashion by Kristen Koster at Impulsive Hearts.

"Parisian Ladies in their Full Winter Dress for 1800", an over-the-top exaggerated satirical Nov. 24th 1799 caricature print by Isaac Cruikshank, on the excesses of the late-1790s Parisian high Greek look, and the too-diaphanous styles allegedly sometimes worn there. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is an overview of women’s fashions in the Regency Era and the apparel they changed in and out of multiple times per day. This list isn’t exhaustive by any means and is rather representative of the upper classes rather than the working classes, but should give a good foundation in recognizing what an author is talking about and why they’re so focused on their characters being fashion conscious.

Before we get into the individual items of clothing, it’s important to realize some phrases we use today didn’t mean quite the same thing 200 years ago. For example, when we say “She was in a state of undress.” or “She was caught en dishabille.” The folks of the regency wouldn’t have batted an eye. It was quite common for ladies to entertain guests in their boudoirs while dressed in comfortable, but concealing gowns and robes. The terms “undress”, “half-dress” and “full-dress” were degrees of formality, not coverage.

“Undress” meant simply casual, informal dress in the Regency period. This would be the type of dress worn from early morning to noon or perhaps as late as four or five, depending on one’s engagements for the day. Undress was usually more comfortable, more warm, more casual, and much cheaper in cost than half dress or full dress.

“Half Dress” is perhaps one of the most difficult concepts to grasp about Regency Fashion. Basically it is any dress halfway between Undress and Full Dress. In modern terms it might be thought of as dressy casual or casual business attire in terms of formality, if not style.

“Full dress” was the most formal kind of dress in a Regency Lady’s wardrobe. Full dress was worn for the most formal occasions — evening concerts and card parties, soirees, balls, and court occasions. “Evening dress” referred to outfits suitable only at evening events, but was a specific subset of “full dress”.

1817 walking costume (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Art of the Cravat for the Regency Gentleman by Kristen Koster

Following on from her Primer of Men’s Regency fashion, Kristen Koster now explains The Art of the Cravat for the Regency Gentleman.

One of the fun things about writing historicals is you have to learn all this really cool trivia. You need to be able to set the stage and do it in a believable manner. This includes how to properly dress your characters.

Contemporary heroes have life easy. They pretty much only have to know how to tie a half-Windsor knot and their heroines always step in to rescue the day if they’ve forgotten or get fumble-fingered. And then there’s the clip-on bow tie for formal wear.

Not so the Regency rake! His valet was under much more pressure to make his master presentable and indeed, even to shine above the rest and be perceived as unique. Instead of a couple of basic ways to tie that already nicely formed strip of silk that’s decorated in a rank suitable fashion, the Regency buck (or at least his man) was expected to be familiar with a far more numerous array of styles.

A Primer on Regency Era Men’s Fashion by Kristen Koster

A Primer on Regency Era Men’s Fashion by Kristen Koster at Impulsive Hearts.

Beau Brummell wears a Regency period dress coat as daytime dress. The coat is able to close and the tails are knee length. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Regency Men’s Fashion.

The terms Undress, Half Dress, and Full Dress were applied to men and women.

For men, “Undress” would include having his jacket and cravat removed, something that was not done in polite or mixed company if the gentleman could avoid it. Dressing gowns and robes also fit this bill for gentlemen lounging at home. “Half Dress” for men would be less elaborate knots in their neck cloths, much simpler and more casual styles of clothing. “Full Dress” and “Evening Dress” are the equivalent of today’s black tie affairs. Almack’s was a special case, where gentlemen of the ton were expected to wear breeches instead of trousers.

Alphabet of Gems:  The Language of Stones During the Regency

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

First introduced in France as the eighteenth century slipped into the nineteenth, and despite the ongoing Napoleonic wars, this particular type of sentimental jewelery soon crossed the English Channel to become all the rage in England, just as the Prince of Wales was poised to become Regent. The majority of this kind of jewelery had a romantic theme, though there were instances when it was used to register political protest. Though these jeweled messages were very popular in Regency England, they have yet to find their way into any Regency romance which I have come across.

How precious gems first began to express tender sentiments, two hundred years ago …

Regency Promenade – Henry Paget From Scandal to Hero by Nancy Mayer

 Nancy Mayer looks at the life of Henry Paget in today’s Regency Promenade.

Sir Henry William Paget (1768-1854), 1st Marquess of Anglesey, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge

From Scandal to Hero.

Lord Paget, Earl of Uxbridge, Marquess of Anglesey.

 When Henry was born, his father had the surname of Bayly and  was Lord Paget. 

The father adopted Paget as a surname when he was created  the Earl of Uxbridge in 1784 . At that time, Henry became Lord Paget by which name he was known until 1812.

Henry, Lord Paget married Lady Caroline Villiers, daughter of the 4th Earl of Jersey  in 1795, and had eight children with her.

Lord Paget was a member of parliament from 1790 to 1804 as well as between  1806 to 1810. Though he was elected to a seat in Parliament, Paget was also an active military officer.

Wikipedia says: Paget raised the regiment of Staffordshire volunteers and was given the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1793. He rose rapidly in rank after he had some experience. 

The Regency had the Lord, but not the Tea

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

Earl Grey, that is.

In the last several months, I have read at least three novels set in the English Regency in which the characters are depicted drinking Earl Grey tea. Which was completely impossible, since Earl Grey tea was not introduced in England until the reign of William IV. The tea was named after King William’s Prime Minister, who had been instrumental in the abolition of slavery, the restriction of child labor and the passage of the Reform Act of 1832, which finally brought sweeping changes to the British electoral system.

The legend and the facts behind Earl Grey Tea …

Traveling to the UK – What to Know Before You Go by Jo Ann Ferguson

Shannon Donnelly – Featured Beau Monde Author

Shannon Donnelly is today’s Featured Beau Monde Author.       

Shannon Donnelly’s writing has won numerous awards, including a RITA nomination for Best Regency, the Grand Prize in the “Minute Maid Sensational Romance Writer” contest, judged by Nora Roberts, RWA’s Golden Heart, and others.

Her writing has repeatedly earned 4½ Star Top Pick reviews from Romantic Times magazine, as well as praise from Booklist and other reviewers, who note: “simply superb”…”wonderfully uplifting”….and “beautifully written.”

Her latest Regency Historical Romance, Paths of Desire, can be found as an ebooks on Kindle, Nook and at Smashwords, along with her Regency romances, and her free novella, Cats Cradle. She has had novellas published in several anthologies, has had young adult horror stories published, and is the author of several computer games.

Shannon is a regular speaker at writing conferences, and will be speaking at the 2012 RWA  National conference in Anaheim. She gives online workshops and is the author of Story Telling; Story Showing, an ebook that compliments her popular online class Show and Tell: An Interactive Workshop. She lives in New Mexico with two horses, two donkeys, two dogs, and the one love of her life.

Find Shannon at –  sd-writer.com              

twitter.com/sdwriter     facebook.com/sdwriter

Google+ as SdonnellyNM@gmail.com

Oh, Foolish Foolscap!

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

Or, something like that. How many characters in how many Regency romances have written or received a missive on a sheet of foolscap? More than I can count. So, just what is foolscap?