Regina Scott's Blog, page 7
October 3, 2022
Announcing the First Ladies of Almack’s Omnibus!
I’ve had so much fun releasing the stories in the Ladies of Almack’s series one per month, in something that’s somewhere between a serial and a conventional book series. But I know that some readers prefer to read shorter works bundled together in chunks, which is why Countess of Shadows: The Ladies of Almack’s Omnibus No. 1 releases today.
Countess of Shadows contains the first three stories in the series: The Forgery Furore (Who is forging vouchers to Almack’s…in Annabel’s name?), The Vanishing Volume (When book fandom in Regency London is foiled by magic, the Ladies come to the rescue), and Lyrics and Larceny (Annabel’s cousin is in love, and London’s jewels are being spirited away…might there be a connection?) together with all the accompanying author’s notes and other materials. It’s a great way to meet Annabel and the Ladies and follow their earlier adventures in fighting supernatural crime in Regency London.
Countess of Shadows will be widely available in November from all the usual online bookstores…but if you want a copy now, you can purchase it directly from the publisher, BookView Café, in both EPUB and MOBI formats. And (ahem!) subscribers to my newsletter will be receiving a coupon for it at the Book View Café bookstore…so if you haven’t yet made the Ladies of Almack’s acquaintance (or signed up for my newsletter!), now is a great time to do so.
Happy reading!
September 27, 2022
The Ladies Have Triumphed!
Tomorrow, the third book in my Regency steampunk alt-history adventure with Shelley Adina, The Lady’s Triumph, launches! I can hardly wait for the book to be in reader hands. The series was so much fun to write! After their daring adventures behind enemy lines in France, Loveday Penhale and Celeste Blanchard cannot settle into everyday life at home. Has the Tinkering Prince forgotten them entirely? What of the prize he promised? Then, with the flourish of a royal messenger’s hand, their lives are changed. Not only have they won the prize, they are to join the Prince’s Own Engineers in London!
They must overcome many a stone in the path, however—leave all they love, find a suitable house, and worst of all, cope with a chaperone—before they can take their rightful places among the most intelligent and forward-thinking minds in the kingdom. Their goal? To develop an airborne fleet that will end Napoleon’s dreams of conquering England forever.
But the saboteur who has been plaguing their efforts for months has not yet been caught. And along with battling for acceptance among the engineers, tiptoeing closer to falling in love, and receiving invitations to Almack’s, they must discover the traitor’s identity … before the Prince Regent steps forward to command the fleet and finds himself playing right into Napoleon’s hands.
Rest assured, all threads are tied up, including the romances! You can find the story in ebook and shortly in print at fine online retailers like the following:
Amazon(affiliate link)
September 19, 2022
No Slang Like Old Slang...Unless It's New! Part the Six
With school back in session, it seems like an appropriate time to call class into session at NineteenTeen and spring a quiz on you all: it’s time to play “No Slang Like Old Slang…Unless it’s New, the Nineteenteen game where you have to identify whether a word or turn of phrase was used in the 19th century, or has a later (20th century) origin. I’ll post the answers in the comment column...and don’t worry, this won’t count toward your final grade. 😊 Answers are in the comments section.
Pick up your pencils…and GO!
1. Ripsnorter: something of exceptional strength, someone of remarkable qualities. (The raspberry cordial our stillroom maid makes is such a ripsnorter that no one under the age of twenty-one at our house is ever served it.)
2. Wreak havoc: Create chaos or devastation. (That rule was established after my younger brother sneaked a thimbleful and wreaked havoc in the pantry.)
3. Rush one’s fences: To act precipitately. (His parents wish that Herbert would stop rushing his fences and proposing to girls after the second dance.)
4. Rush Hour: A time of day when traffic is at a peak. (The cleverest young men dine at their clubs in St. James’s on Wednesdays to avoid the rush hour traffic around Almack’s.)
5. Hocus-pocus: Nonsensical words used by magicians as an incantation preceding a trick. (My younger brother is much dismayed by the fact that no matter how often he mutters “hocus pocus” when riding his pony, he does not in fact transform into the Duke of Wellington on Copenhagen.)
6. Hang out: A place where one is accustomed to spend much time. (It is monstrously unfair that my brothers practically live at Brooks's, but that my friends and I are not allowed anywhere to hang out.)
7. Viewpoint: A person’s way of looking at an issue, or a physical place from which to look at a scene. (Of course, from our parents’ viewpoint that is probably a blessing, as we are much more likely to hatch nefarious plots together.)
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Don't forget that the answers will be posted in the comment section. So how did you do?
September 13, 2022
Happy Birthday, Nineteen Teen!
Happy birthday! Marissa and I always look at each other in amazement this time of year. We started blogging together in September 2007, meaning that Nineteen Teen just turned 15! My word!
And there have been a lot of words. We have posted more than 1,300 times on aspects of our writing, our research, and our lives. We’ve posted about a lot of books, too. When we started, we were awaiting the publication of our first YA novels, Bewitching Season from Marissa and La Petite Four (revised and retitled Art and Artifice) for me. Now we both have many more books under our belts, both YA and adult.We’ve also branched out. Marissa’s latest series, The Ladies of Almacks, is a delightful set of reads that seamlessly blend humor, mystery, romance, and fantasy elements. I’m finishing my Regency-set romantic steampunk adventure series with the incomparable Shelley Adina, The Regent’s Devices.
Along the way, we’ve had our share of wonderful and not so wonderful covers. I don’t know if I will ever get over the pink prom dress on the cover of the original La Petite Four, but I fell in love with the cover for A Distance Too Grand, particularly after my publisher purchased an antique camera for the photo shoot. And I cannot help but adore Marissa’s covers.
One thing that has remained the same is our delight in having you join us on the journey. Thank you for reading the blog so faithfully and commenting when you can. As always this time of year, we’d love to hear your thoughts. What would you like more of? What else can we share with you?
Here’s to another year of Nineteen Teen!
September 5, 2022
Blackmail is Such an Ugly Word…
In
The Missing Missives
, the seventh book in
The Ladies of Almack's
series, questions are answered...but more are asked.
Poor Annabel is still reeling from the shock of being cut dead by Quin when she receives a summons to a special investigation by the Lady Patronesses of a highly sensitive nature. Someone has stolen letters written by Princess Amelia, George III’s youngest daughter, to her secret love, and is threatening to send them to the king unless a substantial payment is made. Worse yet, the king’s health is so precarious that such a shock might send him back into madness. The Ladies need to find the blackmailer and get those letters, but nothing is as simple as it seems here.
This is a story of contrasts—the high emotion of Annabel dealing with Quin’s rejection and the sheer silliness of the lovelorn pigeon whom Annabel tries to help…and oddly enough (or perhaps not so oddly), everything is somehow connected. There’s a lot going on here, and the foundation for the remainder of the series is revealed—a little. And I should really stop teasing now…
The Missing Missives can be purchased directly from the publisher, Book View Café, in both EPUB and MOBI formats as well as from all the usual online bookstore outlets. Print versions can be found at Barnes and Noble and Amazon via the link below. And you can read a sample here.
Google (new!)
Happy reading!
August 30, 2022
Guest Blogger Barbara Monajem on Why the Caricature is Mightier than the Sword
We’re welcoming author Barbara Monajem as today’s guest blogger. I fell in love with her Lady Rosamund Regency-set mysteries because she takes such care to stay true to the history and culture of the times…and writes a darn good story! An important part of the Lady Rosamund stories are caricatures—basically the political cartoons of the 19th century, though they went far beyond politics to comment on many different aspects of society and life as well. I’ll let Barbara take it from there…
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Do you read the tabloids at the supermarket? I don’t, but I can’t help but notice the photos of celebs and royals. Often, the tabloids take a grimace and blow it up into a feud, doctoring the photos to show people screaming at one another. Horrid, isn’t it? And so unkind.
Believe it or not, this is nothing new. The Regency equivalent of the tabloid photographer was the caricaturist. Caricatures were printed from etchings or engravings and distributed all over England. They ranged from social and political commentary to downright scandal. Wealthy patrons might have subscriptions, while others purchased copies at stationers or print shops. Even illiterates benefited from the entertaining spin on current affairs, as the prints were displayed in shop windows, and a literate onlooker might helpfully read the captions aloud.
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My favorite of the well-known caricaturists is James Gillray. He was relentless in his satires of the royal family, in particular the Prince of Wales (who, one has to admit, was really asking for it; he wasn’t at all well-behaved). Here is one where the King, Queen and Prince are all eating gold coins, enriching their coffers at the expense of the people. But while the King and Queen hold onto their money in craws attached to their necks, the Prince’s craw is empty, for he wasted vast sums.
Gillray drew a very famous caricature imagining what it would be like if the royal family were ousted, like in France. This enraged the Prince of Wales so much that he paid to have the print suppressed and the original plate destroyed (it wasn’t). Gillray also satirized Napoleon, whose outraged reaction was much like the Prince’s.
Gillray also depicted current issues, such as controversy over the cowpox vaccination to prevent smallpox. His caricature shows vaccinated people with little cows growing out of their arms, heads, bums, etc. Doesn’t sound too different from the vaccine controversies of today!
He also satirized various excesses of fashion, such as tight lacing or preposterously high ostrich feathers. Here is one suggesting that the current style of gown was too revealing.
Other famous caricaturists were Isaac Cruikshank and his sons, Isaac Robert and George. This 1850 drawing by George Cruikshank satirizes the crinoline. Isaac Robert Cruikshank caricatured dandies and their absurdly high collars/cravats.
Lastly, another of my favorites is Thomas Rowlandson. I like this caricature of the Bluestockings – intellectual or literary ladies – who are violently brawling with one another. It probably implies that women are incapable of intellectual pursuits, and that those who attempt to do so are unladylike, and squabble like women of ill repute. But to me it also suggests that when it comes to allowing petty differences to escalate into violence, men and women can be much the same. I suppose it depends on who is interpreting it!
I guess all this explains why I chose to make a caricaturist one of the main characters in my Lady Rosamund mysteries. It’s just so much fun imagining the spin a clever caricaturist could put on anything he chose. He could comment on the follies of society, poke fun at the rich and famous, and even invent a scandal for the fun of it. (And no one gets harmed in real life, because this is fiction.)
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In addition to the Lady Rosamund series, USA Today bestselling author Barbara Monajem is the author of more than thirty novels and novellas. She wrote her first story at eight years old about apple tree gnomes. After publishing a middle-grade fantasy, she settled on historical mysteries and romances with intrepid heroines and long-suffering heroes (or vice versa). Sometimes there’s a bit of fantasy mixed in, because she wants to avoid reality as much as possible. She lives near Atlanta with an ever-shifting population of relatives, friends, and feline strays. Learn more at www.BarbaraMonajem.com. August 23, 2022
Twisting History
Did you feel a little twist in your middle at the title of this post? I do my very best to make sure all of my historical novels are historically accurate, from clothing to language, from setting to action. I realize it’s impossible to know every fact, and not all of my heroines conform to the expectations of a young lady of means during that time period. But there are real-life examples, many we’ve covered, that didn’t conform either. But when it came to actually changing key historical facts to fit the story? Oh, how daunting!
Yet….
Every author plays a game of “what if.” What if a lady who had been betrayed too often learned to rely on how her cat responded to people to decide whether to trust? (Fortune’s Brides) What if a lady was so kind and sensible that she attracted the most ridiculous and heart-broken suitors? (The Unflappable Miss Fairchild) What if Napoleon, who was a devout admirer of science, invested in that science to such an extent that he was able to stay in power and threaten Britain?
And so, Shelley Adina and I twisted history, though not as much as you might think, to write the Regent’s Devices series. The inventions of Jules Verne were exaggerations of things available in his time. Likewise those of H.G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs. In fact, I would propose that it is impossible to write science fiction or fantasy or even a mystery story without a little twisting of reality.
Look for the final twists coming your way in The Lady’s Triumph, launching September 28. More info at my website.
August 15, 2022
A Very Clever Young Lady
As you know, I’m an avid collector of 19th century dance cards, those delightful little confections of silver and bone and shell that young ladies carried to keep track of their dance partners at balls. As we’ve discussed before, the ones that I collect date to the middle-ish part of the century, from around the 1830s to maybe the 1870s, when printed cards or booklets given out at balls became the standard (and a clever one, too: it gave you a tangible memento of your evening.) It also made sense: it meant you didn’t have to remember that you’d promised the first polka to Mr. Twinkletoes or the galop to Mr. Fleetfoot, because it was all right there in writing.
I recently found this delightful carnet de bal online. Four and a quarter inches long by one and a quarter wide at its widest, it’s my favorite form—for some reason, I just love the fan-shaped ones. It’s a tad rickety—the chain and ring by which it would have hung from a young lady’s finger or button is gone, as is the pencil—and the coil of brass which would have held the pencil and formed a catch to keep it closed is partially detached from the back panel. The ribbon that held the leaves in place is still there, though detached from the front panel. But what makes this little trinket so marvelous (at least to me) is that its owner was a very organized young lady who also evidently did not like to have to keep track of to whom she’d promised that first polka. Look carefully at the individual leaves:
She carefully inked a heading on each leaf! They read (I apologize for the image quality—it was very hard to photograph!) from left to right, Valses (waltzes), Polkas, Quadrille (that one was a bit hard to make out), Galops, Polka Mazurka, and Schottishe [sic]…and then below that, six numbered spaces for names. Faint traces of names penciled in and erased are there, though alas, too faint and jumbled to read.
Based on the spelling of the dances and the quick research I did on when dances became popular, I’m guessing that this carnet is French, from the 1850s, while the Quadrille was still being danced and the Schottische a popular newcomer. So its owner was evidently well ahead of her time when it came to asset management—er, keeping track of her dance partners. 😊 I like to think that she was a popular young lady who was forced to find a creative way to manage her engagements. Who knows—maybe she helped popularize the printed programs of the future to help her daughters keep track of their swains!
August 9, 2022
Blast from the Past: Nineteenth Century Heroines: Beloved the World Over
I’ve wanted to be a writer all my life, though I realized fairly early that I probably needed some other vocation to fall back on when those rejection letters piled up. In the nineteenth century, many young ladies were taught the opposite. They were told to learn how to be wives and mothers first, and maybe they might have to fall back on a accomplishment like writing well if they ended up spinsters. That was certainly the case for nineteenth-century writers Ann and Jane Taylor.
Ann and Jane were born in 1782 and 1783, respectively, into an accomplished family. Their father and grandfather were engravers who illustrated books and sometimes set portraits, first in London and then in smaller towns around England. Ann and Jane had an unusual education: their father taught them at home then started Sunday Schools for poorer children, where they were expected to help teach. They learned reading, writing, math, history, and geography by working through practical problems such as artillery attacks on local towns, engraving issues, and household chores. Between learning and chores, they were busy from sunup to sundown, but that didn’t stop them from writing.
They wrote essays on various topics, they wrote little plays and put them on with the neighboring children, and they wrote poems. At age 15, Jane was invited to join a local society for reading essays and improving the intellect. When Ann was 17, she responded to a puzzle in the Minor’s Pocket Book, an annual publication for children, with a poem, and the editor was so impressed he asked her for more. By 1804, both Ann and Jane were providing poems to the magazine. Over the next few years, they put together collections of children’s poems, some by friends, family, and acquaintances but mostly theirs. When the first book brought in money, their mother decided writing wasn’t so bad. She graciously allowed them a half hour a day to devote to it!
But that seemed to be enough. Each of their children’s poetry books grew more popular. Their books were translated into French, German, Russian, and many other languages. They were so successful, in fact, that their mother decided to start writing too! She published nine books between 1814 and 1825, all explaining how important it was for women to marry and take care of their families.
Ann Taylor married a minister who had written her a fan letter for her work. She stopped writing for a time to raise eight children, then took up the pen again until her death in 1866. Jane never married and was the more prolific writer. Sadly, she died of breast cancer when she was only 40.
Perhaps because they wrote for children, you don’t often hear their names today. But I’ll wager you know this poem, written by Jane in 1806 and beloved all over the world:
Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky.
Did you know it has four more stanzas?
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Then the traveler in the dark
Thanks you for your tiny spark!
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.
In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye
Till the sun is in the sky.
As your bright and tiny spark
Lights the traveler in the dark
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle little star.
August 1, 2022
A Horse of a Different Color: AN EVENT AT EPSOM is here!
Annabel and the lady patronesses of Almack's are about to embark on their sixth adventure, this time venturing farther from London for their latest investigation in AN EVENT AT EPSOM.
It’s June, which means that the fashionable of London are off to Epsom for the annual race meet. A newcomer is favored to win the Oaks Stakes—a mysterious filly who came from nowhere to win the spring races left and right. It will be up to the Lady Patronesses to discover her identity—while Annabel discovers what her true feelings are for Lord Quinceton… I knew almost nothing about Epsom and Regency-era horse-racing before writing this story, and barely scratched the surface of racing history. My favorite bit is probably the origin story around the Derby Stakes: in 1778 the Earl of Derby and a group of friends had sponsored the first Oaks Stakes, a race for three-year-old fillies, and decided the following year to establish a race for three-year-old colts--but what to name it? According to legend, a coin toss between the Earl and his friend and fellow racing enthusiast Sir Charles Bunbury decided the matter, though some think that Sir Charles deferred to his host--after all, the race was run on his land. Sir Charles's horse, Diomed, won the first Derby Stakes the following year--not a bad consolation prize!
And the larger story that's been simmering in the background of the series is about to come forward--so fasten your seatbelts!
An Event at Epsom is available directly from Book View Cafe as well as from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Smashwords, and others, as well as in print from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Amazon(affiliate link)
Enjoy!
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In other news, What Lies Beneath, my WWI young adult fantasy, has been gaining some exciting recognition: it is a finalist in Georgia Romance Writers' Maggies Award, in Orange County Romance Writers' Book Buyers Best Award, and in the young adult category of the Silver Falchion Award (sponsored by Killer Nashville).
