Michelle Styles's Blog, page 16

New major Viking tv drama

I just found out that the people behind the Borgias and the Tudors are doing a tv series on the Vikings starring Travis Fimmell.
The drama focuses on Ragnar the Hairy Breeches  who is a semi-legnedary figure from around 850. Ironically, he was orginally based in the approximate area where I am currently writing. And the Viking book that was accepted back in Januaray but still does not have a publication date is set in England in 874 and is about the aftermath of the invasion by his 3 sons. The sons were responsible for the capture of York on All Saints Day in 866 as well as invading Ireland and taking over East Anglia. They apparently did a blood eagle of Aella the man who was responsible for murdering their father. There had been a bloody civil war raging in Northumbria at the time.
The term Hairy Breeches refers for a pair of trousers Ragnar wore and were impervious to weapons and poisons.(extra thick fur, dipped in pitch and then rolled in sand) They were created by his first wife. His first wife is really interesting as she is reupted to have been the daughter of a desposed king and brought up by a simple family. She was supposed to be exceptionally intelligent and a very good strategist. When Ragnar attempted to set her aside, she promised him that she'd show him the truth with the child she carried. That son (who did not go raiding but defended the lands at home) was Sigurd the Snakeeye as one of his eyes had the image of a snake running about his outer iris.
As with anything Norse, there is a ton of adventure, violence and sex so given the company's track record, it will be a good match.
It is good that Vikings are back and cool once more.

Kate Hardy's 50 book celebrations

My very dear friend, Kate Hardy has just published her 50th book with Harlequin. Her first was published in 2002 so that is incredible.
I have burnt dinner because of her books and every time a new book comes out, it does go to the top of the TBR pile.
Anyway, to celebrate this wonderful achievement, she has invited a number of her friends to do blogs. My blog is up today and if you leave a comment there, I am giving away a signed copy of His Unsuitable Viscountess.
Friend are very precious and friends who are writers even more so. I bless the day Kate Hardy came into my life.

Mills and Boon celebrates Team GB Olympic success

 One thing I have been very aware over the past two weeks is how big the Olympics have loomed  at the Mills & Boon office. There have been various pictures appearing on Pinterest of various editors cheering on the Olympics (they are being shown live) and an improvised medal tally on one of the pillars.
So when Mills and Boon announced an up to 70% off sale on 100 titles of print and ebooks combined to celebrate the success I wasn't surprised. The offer is only good for 24 hours and only good at www.millsandboon.co.uk, rather than on their mobile site apparently. But it is a chance to pickup some bargains of books people might have missed. The Viking Captive Princess is in the sale with a price of £1.49. I think it is for the ebook only as I believe the print edition was remaindered some time ago.
But there are some good bargains to be had. The UK print version of Donna Alward's rita nominated book --How A Cowboy Stole Her Heart is available for £1.49. And Kate Walker's The Devil and Miss Jones can be had for £0.99  You can see the full list here.
But the offer ends at 12 noon on 13 August 2012.

I am looking forward to the closing ceremony. I have spent FAR too long watching the Olympics and so have been making sure my words are done before I start having anything to do with the Olympics. My deadlines looms (and I want to be free and clear to enjoy my holiday at the end of September!)

Scandali e Matrimoni Giveaway

To Marry A Matchmaker is out in Italian this month. And for once I have my authors copies in a timely fashion. So I am doing a giveaway on Goodreads for a signed copy. It is open to people living in Italy, the US, Australia, Canada and the UK. I figure that there are Italian communities in those countries and someone might like to read it in Italian.

Inghilterra, 1848 - Lady Henrietta Thorndike nasconde la propria solitudine divertendosi a recitare la parte di Cupido, e benché spesso le sue vittime l'accusino di interferire nella loro vita, lei preferisce vedere la propria attività come un modo per aiutare il prossimo. Robert Montemorcy, tuttavia, sa che questo deve finire. La sua giovane protetta, Sophie, è infatti appena sfuggita a una situazione compromettente e l'ultima cosa di cui ha bisogno è di essere coinvolta nei complotti matrimoniali dell'intraprendente gentildonna. Così, per arginare l'esuberanza di Lady Henrietta, le propone una scommessa. Senza immaginare che così facendo rischia di perdere anche il cuore.

You see more about the book here on the Eharmony website. It is also available as an ebook in Italian wherever ebooks are sold.

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Goodreads Book Giveaway Scandali e Matrimoni by Michelle Styles Giveaway ends August 24, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win

The Cover for Hattie Wilkinson Meets Her Match

This morning's inbox brought the cover for Hattie.
Once again, the dress is exactly Regency but I love the colour! (NB I have given up hoping for an absolutely accurate dress and now go on -- would I like to wear that dress. Answer yes.)
it releases in November.

Article at SBTB or the research behind His Unsuitable Viscountess

I have long been a fan of Smart Bitches Trashy Books. Several weeks ago I contacted Sarah Wendell about His Unsutiable Viscountess and explained about some of the research I had done. Sarah asked me to write an article for SBTB and I was happy to do so.
You can read the result here.
I really do hope more people are inspired to do more research on this unresearched area and also to write Regency novels which feature as businesswomen as heroines. They did exist! And sometimes it feels like they are air brushed from history.

Release Day for His Unsuitable Viscountess

His Unsuitable Viscountess is available as an e-book wherever e-books are sold in the North America and the UK. (I  am not sure what it means for the rest of the world -- if you are reading the book in English)
One I have noticed is that the ebook market is growing and that more and more people download their books, particularly romance. I know I do. There remain some books that I buy as print but often with romance I want that immediate hit. (It also means that I don't get comments from my sons or husband). It is funny how men can be intimdated by a woman reading a book for escapism. I certainly never remark on my eldest's penchant for reading guys with gear who go books. My daughter who received a kindle for Christmas also said that she downloads most of her romance. She also said that she is starting to realise that there is a difference between a cheap book and a good one. Simply being free or inexpensive is no guarantor of quality. She tends to use the sample function much more. I will admit to doing the same. It has saved me time. For example I recently read 50 Shades of Grey to see what the fuss was about. (Little Red Riding Hood trope with magic hooha, and a very Harold Robbins/Taylor Caldwell/1970's approach to sensual scenes -- good point one man/one woman. NB I read a lot of that genre in my early teens as I used to borrow the books from my brother who got them off a friend.) I downloaded the samples for the next two and decided that I had read enough. The time scale was far too short and the hero turned me off. I didn't like the emotional games he was playing. And you know that is fine and my opinion. Other people have obviously really enjoyed the remainder of the trilogy.
The one thing that struck me was that like Twilight (yes I know 50 shades started as fan fiction), and The Da Vinci Code, it was a very easy read.When you want escapist ficiton, you want an easy way in. You want it to hold your attention. It is about engaging the reader and making them want to read on. EL James has obviously engaged a lot of readers and this is good. Many of them may not have recently read a book but picked this one up because of the furore surrounding it. (One wonders if the New York media types who started it ever read Erica Jong or Harold Robbins) It is about time people realised that you can get  a wonderful experience from reading that you can't necessarily get from other forms of media and if it gets people into reading so much the better.

I am at Hot Pink Typewriter with a giveaway of a signed copy of HUV to one commentator.

Finer details make a difference.

My sister went and saw my brother's Aids quilt. Finally they told her where it was displayed.  She was able to see the finer detail of my brother's quilt.  We had both only see photos that my cousin took before, so were unaware of  the finer detail. (or perhaps I had forgotten)
For example, I didn't know that my sister and I were mentioned in the cloud next to the rainbow.  Or that his partner's name is stitched on the flag at the top of the sailboat. Or that the tree had *Uncle Eric* stitched on it. He was close to his partner's niece and nephew, but he was  also very proud of being a proper uncle to my son. He died before I became pregant with my daughter or indeed before my sister married, but he would have adored all his nieces and nephews.
It is the finer detail that makes the quilt. My brother would not have necessarily approved of the fabric choice but he would have approved of the sentiment and in the end, the sentiment is the most important thing.

The same is true for writing. It is the little details that bring a story to life. It helps to create the awe moment. Or the little bit that you remember. Or the bit that brings a character to life.

My editor had given me her thoughts on my latest Viking. Some work needs to be done, but I needed her eye to see it. She is right in her assessment and it goes straight to the finer detail.

Now comes the hard part -- the writing of the full. But I need to remember the detail makes it.

How old is the bra?

A recent find in an Austrian castle is aparently set to rewrite fashion history. Basically they have discovered two bras and a couple of pairs of skimpy string briefs which date from pre 1480 when the castle was extended. Prior to this the earliest date for a bra was the early 18th century, according to the article.
However, if you know your Roman mosiacs, you will know about the bikini mosiacs in Sicily. Roman women were certainly wearing garments which were skimpy!
It does make sense that women wore skimpy briefs, particularly at the TOM when they had a need for padding.  less washing and less potential for mess. As fashion history did not become popular/a serious object for study until the mid 20th century (the main driver was the movie industry), and mostly intimate garments were tossed rather than preserved, it makes sense that we do have a huge gap in our knowledge. People would not be comfortable talking about the subject, particularly in eras when even a glimpse of an ankle was shocking, so why would they keep those types of garments?
With bras, or over the shoulder suport, again it doesn't surprise me. Women are practical. I suspect over the centuries many different forms of suport were used. If you look at the history of undergarments in the late 19th century and early 20 th century (the sample size is large), the sort of undergarment required is dictated by the shape the woman wished to have. If you have a decollete with off the shoulder sleeves, you are going to need under the bust support, for example. The shape of the bust has changed as well. The pigeon breast of the 1890s and Edwardian age gave way to the flatness of the Flapper and eventually you get the pointed bras of the 1950s.
You can see the shape women have today is dictated to a certain extent by spanx and other support clothing.
The bra comes into its own with the advent of elastic. To make a correct fitting and comfortable bra without elastic is a highly technical job. Far easier to push them up sort of thing.
But it is one of those things, we can only have an educated guess about what Viking women or medieval women wore under thier clothes.
I also suspect that if I suddenly have my  Viking heroines wearing bras and skimpy briefs all the time, readers will complain or be drawn out of the story.  But it is something to be aware of certainly.

Hattie Wilkinson Meets her Match blurb

My editor sent through the blurb for my November release:
WHEN OPPOSITES ATTRACT…!


In the eyes of the ton Hattie Wilkinson is a respectable widow, content with her safe, if somewhat modest life.


On the other hand Sir Christopher Foxton prides himself on being regarded as one of London’s most notorious rakes, with a particularly mischievous streak!


Upon their first meeting Kit threatens to shatter Hattie’s well-ordered peace—and her reputation!—if only she’ll allow herself to succumb to his playful advances. This time they’ve both finally met their match…


I also discovered that Richard and Sophie are pencilled in for a April 13 release. The Viking which was accepted in January is being held until the 2nd half of 2013 because it makes more sense  to release it after Richard and Sophie as I shall be doing Vikings here on out for Harlequin.