Loretta Chase's Blog, page 14

Queen Victoria's Stormy Wedding Day as Inspiration

Sometimes inspiration comes from weather.

[image error](between 1820 and 1821), courtesy Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

On 10 February 1840, Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The rotten weather on the previous day stuck in my mind. I pictured a soaking wet, deeply angry (and hurt) nobleman, banging on the door of a house. And so began “The Jilting of Lord Rothwick,” one of two...

A Duke in Shining Armor Amazon UK Kindle Deal

Good news for my UK readers: Amazon UK has included A Duke in Shining Armor in its Valentine’s deal, dropping the Kindle price to £0.99.

This deal is good from now through 21 February.

If you haven’t yet read my first Difficult Dukes book (the second one is still in progress), here’s your chance to try it for almost-but-not-quite-free!

Dressing and Undressing My Characters

A funny thing has happened in terms of my historical setting.

From the last Carsington book (Last Night’s Scandal) on, I’ve been setting my stories in the 1830s, when clothes looked very, very different from those we associate with the Regency era and Pride and Prejudice. Below are a few fashion plates displaying the vertical style of the Regency.

Many people find 1830s styles ridiculous, even hideous, but I love them because they are so flamboyant and inventive and over-the-top. I...

Looking Toward the New Year

This was a tricky year, professionally, as my last couple of blog posts have indicated. Since my life revolves around my writing (to the detriment of my housekeeping, among other things) and since I had an extremely recalcitrant book on my hands (exactly like its hero and heroine, surprise, surprise) there was a lot of growling and stomping around and swearing, 19th, 20th, and 21st century style (what can I say, I’m a multi-century curser). Also tears. What else do you do but weep, when you...

Endings and Revivals in the Blog Department

Harry Willson Watrous, Just a Couple of Girls circa 1915,

As many of you are now aware, Susan Holloway Scott and I have decided to write “The End” on the Two Nerdy History Girls blog. The blog brought us many delights and benefits. Among other things, we got to meet virtually and in person a great many more history lovers than we ever dreamt was possible, made contact with historians and historical bloggers worldwide—many of whom welcomed us into their libraries, museums, and historic houses...

Difficult Dukes #2 is Recovering from Its Sulks

A few readers have contacted me recently, to ask about the second Difficult Dukes book. Those who subscribe to this blog may remember a plaintive post last spring, wherein I lamented the book’s refusal to cooperate with its author.

Matters did not improve.The Duke of Ashmont’s story did not proceed smoothly during the summer and early fall. Oh, I managed to write the first quarter of the book, and there were some good scenes, but something was off. I had no idea what it was, only that every...

International Editions from Japan and Romania

One or two of my publishers abroad use the same covers as my U.S. editions. For the most part, however, the various publishers go their own way. Titles change, and the cover art shows a wide variety of aesthetics. Some covers are steamier than others. Some look more modern, some go for a period look, in an array of time periods. Though all my recent books have been set in the 1830s, cover heroes and heroines have been dressed in clothing from the 1700s to the present day. This is the case fo...

Your Scandalous Ways for $1.99

My spy vs. courtesan book, Your Scandalous Ways, is on sale through 13 August for $1.99

"A New York Times bestselling author delivers a tale filled with 'sizzling sex appeal and a surprising amount of pathos' (Publishers Weekly)."

 

A Duke in Shining Armor for £0.99 in the UK

I'm a little late with this, but not too late, luckily...

As part of Amazon UK's May Bank Holiday promotion, A Duke in Shining Armor is on sale through 8 May for £0.99.

I'm so pleased to be able, finally to offer a deal to my UK readers!

That's all for now, folks!

My Musket Training at Colonial Williamsburg

I’d never fired a weapon in my life. The closest I’d come was holding Baron de Berenger’s unloaded rifle at the Kensington Central Library.

Yet lately three seemed to be a lot of pistols and such in my stories. I watched many videos and read books. What I learned from the books was how difficult it was, once upon a time, to load a gun and then shoot straight. Actually, the loading part, with practice, could be done quickly and efficiently. Shooting straight was another matter. The pinpoint acc...