Charlotte Henry's new release, A Rogue Not Taken

Join me today in welcoming RITA® award-winning author Charlotte Henry!

An Accomplished Woman

by Charlotte Henry

In Pride and Prejudice, Caroline Bingley famously defines an accomplished woman:

“… no one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.”

“All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.”

Jane Austen might have been describing the expectations of womanhood during her lifetime, but Lizzie Bennet seems to doubt Miss Bingley’s list could be achieved by any mere mortal. The definition of accomplished changes with time and a woman’s circumstances. What of a poor woman in Regency England? What she considered accomplished probably looked very different—keeping a tidy house, managing a tiny budget, and if she could, being able to read enough to entertain and inform herself and to write well enough to correspond with those she cared about. Even today, many opportunities to learn such things as art, music, and languages are no longer found in the home, but are transferred to schools (if students are lucky).



In The Rogue Not Taken, the second book of the Rogues of St. Just trilogy, my heroine Rowena Penrose is getting tired of people referring to her as “the accomplished one,” as though her sisters were not and she herself has nothing more to offer than the ability to entertain. The sisters are only one generation removed from the clay pits of Cornwall, so their father has been rigorous in seeing that they are brought up to be gentlewomen. With one sister a painter and the other an amateur sculptor, all of the girls have their talents, but Rowena wants her reputation in the parish to include more.

In her mind, an accomplished woman doesn’t merely entertain others. She must have other qualities, more than her address or her air. Qualities such as compassion, powers of observation, and an ability to make decisions quickly in the service of others. Don’t you think that an accomplished woman looks, in fact, far more like Anne Elliot in Persuasion than like Caroline Bingley? As for my Rowena, her real talent is in the herb garden, making cures for their tenants and anyone else in need. She’s learning from an old herbwoman with a dodgy reputation, which means she has to be discreet about her mentor. I had a little fun with expectations when I revealed the herbwoman’s true identity, forcing the hero to acknowledge that he has to appreciate people for who they are, not who they seem to be—and that includes Rowena.

What do we expect from a modern woman, I wonder? What do we consider accomplishments, or do we even think of them in those terms? For instance, I learned to sew when I was five, was cooking my own breakfast and making my own clothes by ten, babysitting the neighbors’ children by twelve, and taking the train to another city to visit by fifteen. To my family, these kinds of accomplishments were normal. (I never could master the washing machine, though, and to this day wonder why they don’t all look the same so you can figure them out!) Piano lessons were a luxury, but in my parents’ minds, music was a necessity; art not so much. So I didn’t begin to learn to paint until I was in my fifties. But while I think self-expression and a good education can round out a character and give it direction, people still can develop those extra qualities that are not so much observed, as felt by others. Care and compassion. A sense of humor that doesn’t depend on someone else’s humiliation. A world view that values the bus driver or the auto mechanic as much as the professor (spoken as the daughter and sister of auto mechanics).

And unlike in fairy tales, where the angelic heroine is given everything she wishes for simply because she’s angelic, an accomplished woman is happy to work out her own ambitions, sharing what she learns and how she grows with the people around her. In the expression of her talents and her personality, she can make the world a better place. And in that, I think, no matter the size of our sphere of influence, we all have the ability to be accomplished women!

Charlotte Henry is the author of 24 novels published by Harlequin, Warner, and Hachette, and a dozen more published by Moonshell Books, Inc., her own independent press. She writes the Rogues of St. Just series of Regency romances, and as Shelley Adina, writes the Magnificent Devices series of steampunk adventure. She holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction, and is currently at work on a PhD in Creative Writing at Lancaster University in the UK. She won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award® for Best Inspirational Novel in 2005, and was a finalist in 2006. She appeared in the 2016 documentary film Love Between the Covers, is a popular speaker and convention panelist, and has been a guest on many podcasts, including Worldshapers and Realm of Books. When she’s not writing, you can find Charlotte sewing historical dresses, traveling for research, reading, or enjoying the garden with her flock of rescued chickens.

Website: shelleyadina.com/charlotte-henry

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorcharlottehenry 

Twitter: twitter.com/ShelleyAdina

BookBub: www.bookbub.com/authors/charlotte-henry

Amazon author page: www.amazon.com/Charlotte-Henry/e/B07MPVJ8R1

Regan Walker's Best of the Regency with Becca St. John

Regan here with the Best of the Regency. My guest today is Becca St. John, author of eight books including three Medievals. Her Regencies are romance mysteries with a touch of Gothic. She considered writing a tool, not a toy, until a stay in a haunted hotel and a bookcase full of dog-eared romances changed her mind. Hooked, Becca read old romances, new romances, both sexy and sweet, until her own tales begged to be written.

Living in Florida, Becca divides her time between dreaming up stories, diving deep into history, kayaking, and swimming. Her husband gives her the space she needs by fishing in the mangroves and waterways, or watching football (the English sort) with his British buddies. Becca and her hubby break the routine with adventure travel; though, at heart, Becca is a homebody believing there is no greater playground than inside the mind.

Today she shares with us how her characters took over. And she is offering a giveaway... her book Summerton, so comment and leave your email! 

 

Lost in the storytelling: How characters take charge

by Becca St. John

My dirty little secret? Lord Stephen’s Lady by Janette Radcliffe, also known as Janet Louise Roberts, turned me into a Regency junky. Yes, I know, all good Regency authors adore Jane Austin, and I do, but Lord Stephen was the first straight-out romance I ever read. Since that first reading, I have craved the wit, the intrigue and, of course, the intricacies of Regency society.

What I hadn’t expected was the similarity between getting lost in reading a Regency and writing one. As you read, you immerse yourself in another world, solely designed by the author. On the other side of that, one would expect the author dutifully sets about to flush out a story with characters behaving exactly as the author pre-determined in an outline.

Except, characters are dreadfully stubborn. The cheeky devils have wills of their own.

They lure authors down difficult, unanticipated, paths, until the storyteller is as lost in the story as any reader could be. Worse, the characters are always right! It’s humbling.

Lady Eleanor played me like the proverbial fiddle. Stately, imperturbable, she entered the first draft of my Regency romance, Summerton, as a very minor character. With succinct remarks and pithy barbs, she nudged the young couple beyond their differences. What luck! I’d unearthed an elderly aunt with a delightful penchant for matchmaking. She needed to stay in the story.

A quarter of the way into the book, the romance took another unexpected turn: Lady Summerton’s abigail is murdered in her lady’s stead.  Lord Summerton is determined to protect his wife. Lady Summerton is just as determined to defend him. As the take their stances, neither wholly trusting the other, Lady Eleanor unearths the killer.

  

Apparently, she’d been solving crimes for decades. Nobody bothered to tell me this when I set out to write the book.  Characters are sneaky like that. But Lady Eleanor made her point.  She transformed a minor character into a series. A simple Regency romance, Summerton, took on mystery overtones with a female sleuth and created  Summerton - Lady Eleanor Mysteries book 1.

If you haven’t met this formidable woman, think Jane Austen meets Agatha Christie in mid-nineteenth century England. At least, the first two books take place in England. After that the series changes course and … Oh, dear … another twist in the path.

It came about in a short scene in The Gatehouse, book 2 in the series. It’s after dinner in a grand home. The ladies have left the men to their port. French doors are open to the terrace outside. Chandeliers, crystals glittering, illuminate the table, aided by candles in ornate candelabras.

The atmosphere is casual, smoke curling in the air, men leaning back in their chairs having discussed, in this instance, murder.  One gentleman leans over to Lord Bentwood, and asks a question that sets the dominoes toppling.

“What were you speaking to Lady Eleanor about?”

It turns out Lord Bentwood, a character in The Gatehouse, had invited Lady Eleanor on a trip to the Far East. He’s just learned his sister is there and has gone missing. He hoped Lady Eleanor would help him find her. During the exchange we learn that Bentwood loves his wife but believes she has always loved another man. A man she would have married if Bentwood hadn’t interfered. 

In one short scene, without plan, which would pose a problem later, book 3 was born.

Knowing nothing of the “Far East” I headed there, for three months’ worth of research. Total immersion in a world of temples, dynasties and, better yet, historical intrigue. Lower wives murdering those of a higher order, concubines drawing danger by earning too much attention and the ever-faithful eunuchs willing to do anything for the women they protect.

Back home, with piles of notes and even more ideas, that problem mentioned above? It re-emerged. This is 1816. The telegraph hadn’t come into use, the telephone not yet imagined. There were no steamboats or railroads to quicken travel. The missive Lord Bentwood received about his missing sister would have taken a good six months to reach him. Double that time for this trio, Lady Eleanor and Lord and Lady Bentwood, to reach the Far East. The story is unbelievable. Or is it?

This is where the author takes charge, dictates and molds the story to make it work. But let’s not spoil the chance to get lost in the reading. The Journey – Lady Eleanor Mysteries book 3 will be released in the summer of 2018.  There you can find out why Lady Eleanor was willing, even eager, to take such a long arduous journey, how much danger lurks aboard a ship and what the trio will do to sort it out, and experience both the best, and the worst, of Lord and Lady Bentwood.  

From there, the series will carry on with love knotted in impossible tangles, more exotic ports, strange lands and intriguing customs. At some point, Lady Eleanor will find her new home, far from the early days in England.

In the meantime, get acquainted with Lady Eleanor in the first two books of the series; Summerton and The Gatehouse.

Ta for now. I’m off diving into another story, sailing the high seas amid murder, and unrequited love. No telling where this will lead … 

Becca has a question for you: 

The first Regency romance I read was Lord Stephen’s Lady by Janette Radcliffe. What was yours? Let me know for the chance to win a copy of Summerton.

He married for money, she wed by force. Neither considered love part of the bargain.

On the brink of losing everything, the Duke of Summerton marries heiress Caroline Howlett, but at what cost? She wants neither his crumbling estate nor his title, and what is he, as a man, without them? Before he can resolve this dilemma, something more dangerous than doubt threatens their marriage.

When Caroline said she’d rather be dead than married to the duke, she hadn’t meant it literally. Forced into marriage by her guardian, Caroline doesn’t give a fig for the idle life of the aristocracy. She wants to run her father’s enterprises, and she will, once dead bodies stop getting in the way.

Aided by Summerton's widowed aunt, amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor, the duke and his reluctant bride scramble to discover just who is trying to kill them.

Buy on Amazon.

Keep up with Becca on her Website, Facebook, Twitter.

Celebrate Christmas in Scotland!

Regan here. I'm so excited to tell you about my new release. If you are looking for an escape this holiday season, or if you're home alone and wish you were celebrating Christmas with a group of wonderful friends, I have the story for you!

My brand new release, A Secret Scottish Christmas, is a Regency set on the northeast coast of Scotland. Celebrate Christmas in Scotland with spies, Scots and shipmasters—and the Agents of the Crown!

“A bit of a love triangle, handsome spies, artistic heroines and secrets, traditions and romance all wrapped up with a big Christmas bow. Seasonally enchanting and romantically perfect!” 

– Chicks, Rogues & Scandals

Scotland 1819

Twin brothers Nash and Robbie Powell of Powell & Sons Shipping, London, sail with their fellow Agents of the Crown to Scotland for a secret celebration of Christmastide, a holiday long frowned upon by the Scottish Kirk. But more than Christmas is being kept secret. The two brothers have accepted an assignment from the Home Secretary Lord Sidmouth to ferret out a fugitive fomenting rebellion among the Scots.

Aileen Stephen, the only daughter of an Aberdeen shipbuilder, had to be clever, devious and determined to gain her place in the family business. She succeeded to become a designer of highly coveted ships. One night, a man’s handsome face appears to her in a dream. When two men having that same face arrive on a ship full of Londoners, Ailie wonders what her second sight is telling her. Is the face she saw a portender of the future, a harbinger of danger, or both? And which of the two Englishmen is the one in her dream?

Two brothers vie for the affection of the Scottish lass but only one stirs her passion. Which one will it be? And what will she do when she learns they are spies?

On Amazon US, UK & Canada 

Read an excerpt and join Ailie and the Powell twins in the woods for a snowball fight:

After traveling for a while, Will had the groom stop in a wooded area where there was a stand of mature birch trees, the bark partially covered by snow. “Will’s been scouting the best trees for the Yule log,” Ailie explained.

Nick and Tara alighted from the sledge first. Nash climbed down and helped Ailie to the ground, Robbie right behind her.

They all gathered around Will, who pointed to the trees behind him. “There are some good choices for your Yule log behind me, but to save a lot of labor, I’ve spotted a few we can root out of the ground where they fell. The older ones are better for burning, too, the more knotted the better.” The groom handed Will a rope. “We’ve brought a sled to haul the log back when you’ve found the one you want.”

With that, Will released them to hunt for the log.

Ailie gazed into the forest. The carpet of snow made the woods appear lighter. She surveyed the birch trees within easy range, almost certain her brother had identified a log he liked. But Will would not deprive their guests of having a hand in selecting the one that would burn during the celebration of the English Christmastide.

Plunging into the woods, Nash cried, “Come on, Ailie, let’s find a good one.”

“Not without me,” said Robbie, taking her elbow and urging her forward.

Though it was low in the sky, the sun had not yet set as they entered the woods, their boots crunching on the ice-crusted snow.

A snowy owl, disturbed by the invaders, launched from its perch. Their English guests gasped as the huge bird with its five-foot wingspan flew over their heads.

“Never seen one of those before,” remarked Nick.

“Magnificent bird,” said Nash. “I’ve read about snowy owls.”

When the owl had gone, Hugh leaned up against the thick trunk of one birch, crossing his arms over his chest. Fixing his eyes on Will, he grinned. “Are you certain you don’t want to cut down this one?”

Before Will could respond, Mary pelted her husband with a snowball.

Hugh’s searching gaze found her, a teasing smile on her face. Looking highly offended, he said, “We’ll see about that!” Ailie could tell by his expression as he reached for the snow he was not offended at all, but excited. Forming his own snowball, he launched it into the air to hit Mary’s back just as she turned to run.

The fight was on.

Ailie joined up with Tara, who led the ladies in a battle of great proportions as snow flew all around them. “We shall bury you in snow,” Tara shouted to the men.

Nick tossed a snowball, hitting his wife’s head, thankfully covered with the hood of her cloak. “Not likely!”

Ailie threw a snowball at one twin and then the other. Everyone was so covered in snow she couldn’t tell one Powell twin from the other. She, too, was covered in white, panting for the effort at returning the many snowballs aimed at her. It was great fun.

After a blizzard of snowballs whizzing everywhere, Will called a halt to their battle. “My hands are frozen. Time to hunt the log before ’tis full dark.”

 

GIVEAWAY: Tell me why you’d like to spend Christmas in Scotland (in your mind, at least) and enter to win one of three copies of The Holly & The Thistle, the “prequel” to A Secret Scottish Christmas. It's the story of William Stephen, Scottish shipbuilder, and Lady Emily Picton, who host the Agents of the Crown for Christmastide. 

A chance meeting at Berry’s wine shop, a misunderstanding and Christmastide all come together to allow the most handsome Scot in London to give Lady Emily Picton the best Christmas gift ever: a marriage not of convenience, but of love.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Regan Walker's Best of the Regency with Author Vonnie Hughes

Hello all! Regan here with my guest, Australian author Vonnie Hughes. As with many writers, Vonnie began writing stories during middle childhood. Over time, she won several writing contests, garnering a variety of prizes that included a pony, cash and an overseas trip. When she looks back over her family tree, she can see why the compulsion to write is inherent.

Her employment has usually involved writing in one shape or form e.g. composing resumés, compiling technical books and drafting legal documents. She has accrued an eclectic group of useless qualifications such as a radio announcer’s diploma, a diploma in journalism/creative writing, the major part of a Diploma in Business, part of a Bachelor of Arts degree and an interior decorating diploma.

Vonnie has settled into writing two genres, historicals, primarily Regencies, and contemporary suspense although all her writing includes mysteries of some sort or another. She loves the two-faced restrictive Victorian lifestyle, the intricacies of the social rules of the Regency period and the far-ranging consequences of the Napoleonic Code.

Be sure and comment and leave your email as Vonnie is giving away to one lucky commenter the paperback Two Regency Sisters consisting of three novellas. To be posted anywhere in the world.

 

I asked Vonnie why she writes Regencies and this was her answer:

It was such a short period in Britain’s history, but has given rise to many things such as the development of canals (as trade with its trading partners hotted up with the imprisonment of Napoleon, freeing up trade routes and resulting in large numbers of goods that needed to be transported all over England), the Royal Astronomical Society was founded, the early prototype of the bicycle, the development of the railway system, the Act of Union with Ireland in 1801 etc. All this is from the British point of view. In the USA Whitney came up with the principle of manufacturing interchangeable parts as pertaining to firearms. The statue of the Venus de Milo was discovered in Greece (1820) and so it goes on.

And this is one of the prime reasons I enjoy writing Regencies. In spite of many Regencies persuading you that it was all about Almacks and dukes, the Regency era was actually a time on the cusp of great changes, not just in Britain but all over the world. Minds were opening up, no longer relying on the dogma of the past.

Today, Vonnie is sharing with us an interview with her unconventional heroine in her newest release, Dangerous Homecoming.

They are both scarred by war; she because of the shattered men she nurses; he because of the loss of friends and the horrors he must endure daily.

Then Colwyn Hetherington is given a chance to put it all behind him and return to England.

Juliana Colebrook desperately wants to go to England to seek out her only living relatives.

Col and Juliana take an almighty chance and travel together, setting in train a series of events that neither could have anticipated. With only their love to sustain them, they clash head-on with the reality of England, 1813. 

Get Dangerous Homecoming on Amazon and Smashwords. And keep up with Vonnie on her Website and on Facebook.

 

Unconventional Heroine Interview

 

1.     Introducing myself: Good day. I’m Juliana Carlotta Ervedosa Colebrook. As you can tell, my Mama was Portuguese and my father was an Englishman. You will find me in the book Dangerous Homecoming. Of course, the English would never get their tongues around ‘Ervedosa’ so I only use my full name when signing documents.

2.     Do you consider yourself to be unconventional? No. In no way do I consider myself unconventional; at least I didn’t while I lived and worked in Portugal, but since coming to England I have discovered that I am unconventional because I am loosely classed as a ‘lady’ yet I work for a living. I am a nurse with experience in tending very sick soldiers. Then again, I am a murderess twice over and one must suppose that could be called ‘unconventional.’ They were murders of necessity, I must hasten to add. I did not set out to murder anyone, but in each case I had no choice. Life is not easy for women in the nineteenth century.

3.     Do you embrace your uniqueness? I don’t think I embrace my uniqueness. I never thought about being unique when I was in Portugal, but once I arrived in England I did my best to fit in. The English can be very cold to those who do not fit in. And I did not want to upset my relatives whom I had not met for many, many years. So, yes, it was a struggle to fit in. In Portugal, since I was raised in a convent that specialized in training young women to nurse the sick or teach the children of the wealthy folk their basic reading and Latin, I was not at all unusual.

4.     Who is your role model? My role model? Well, I’m not sure. I cannot think of any woman I admire—stop! Of course, I have a role model. My role model is the Marchioness of Trewbridge. What an amazing woman. Unlike most women of her class she is industrious, holds her family together with kindness and talks a great deal of sense. Yes, I’d like to be like the Marchioness.

5.     If you could do anything without concern for the consequences, what would it be? Marry Colly Hetherington of course. But my background would bring him down, so I must drop that daydream.

6.     Is your ideal man unconventional? Not really. Colly is what he is. I cannot think of other men when I think about Colly. Other men cease to exist. He is kind and so very honourable. Screamingly so. Ah, what a man.

7.     Any juicy details to share? Hah! Read the book.

Delving Deep and True Into History With Elizabeth Ellen Carter

Historical romance lovers are in for a treat with our Get Lost in a Story guest today, Elizabeth Ellen Carter! Elizabeth doesn't shy away from a challenge, let me tell you! One of the books on my must-read list for 2017 was her mystery/suspense/romance novel set in ancient Rome – Dark Heart. But she’s equally at home in the 19^th century, swashbuckling with pirates, and that's where we find her latest novel, Revenge of the Corsairs, which is out later this month.

About Elizabeth Ellen Carter...

Elizabeth Ellen Carter is an award-winning historical romance writer who pens richly detailed historical romantic adventures. A former newspaper journalist, Carter ran an award-winning PR agency for 12 years. The author lives in Australia with her husband and two cats.

Connect with Elizabeth Ellen Carter on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube, or you can sign up for her newsletter for all her latest news

 

Rescued after two years a concubine in an Ottoman harem, former debutante Laura Cappleman faces a difficult journey back to normal life. As she travels to Palermo aboard Kit Hardacre’s ship, the Calliope, she is deeply traumatised – and pregnant to her kidnapper.

Laura rejects the emotional support of her long-time admirer, Calliope First Officer Elias Nash, and her cousin, Sophia, Kit’s wife. She withdraws into herself and her art. Finally, after giving birth, she decides to return to London, hoping to erase the torment of harem life from her mind.

Powerful Emir Selim Omar died on the day of Laura’s rescue, but his wickedness lives on in his third wife, Rabia, in whose household Laura was held. The ruthless widow may yet hold onto the favour and power she wielded as mother to Omar’s only male heir. However, as opportunists pick the Emir’s empire apart, the child is killed.

When Rabia learns Laura has given birth to a boy, the solution is obvious–the concubine is stolen property and so is the child sired by her late husband. She will take the boy and kill anyone in the way.

As Rabia’s assassins close in, Elias – both embraced and rejected by the damaged woman he loves, uncertain she will ever return, and alone in Palermo with a child to whom he has given his name – must take the battle to the enemy. Otherwise, there may be nothing for Laura to come home to.

Read a little...

And what of your love?

What about it? She knew very well how he felt for her. What about her love? She did nothing but tug him back and forth. He was never certain of what her answer would be. If he was to declare openly how he felt for her, he may as well hand her a knife and pull his coat open for her to plunge the blade through his heart with her reply. Yet if he denied his love for her now, it would be a betrayal of himself.

“You’re asking too much of me,” he said.

“Am I?”

“Yes–until I know my feelings are returned,” he answered.

Laura turned away.

“I don’t know if I even want to keep the child. I don’t know if I want to live in Sicily for the rest of my life. I don’t know!”

One time, during a raid, Elias had been blindsided by a corsair, the blow from a solid timber fid sending searing agony through his head and a second blow across his chest expelled all the air from his lungs. He was blinded and winded. As he sank to the deck Elias had opened up his eyes to see his bearded assailant turn the club-shaped tool in his hand, until he held its sharpened end over him like an awl, ready to plunge it through his heart.

Laura’s words brought back that moment and that pain.

“Then that’s the end of the matter.” Elias turned on his heel.

“Wait!” Hurt and confusion, was written across Laura’s face, mirroring his own. Elias watched her pull together a large breath. Tears danced along the inside of her lids.

“You do me the greatest honor, and if I thought my gratitude alone was enough to make you content, then I would answer yes without hesitation.” Molten silver now trailed down her cheeks. “But it wouldn’t be enough, not for you, when you deserve so much more. How can I give you another answer when I don’t know my own mind – let alone my heart?”

Follow Elizabeth Ellen Carter on Amazon to be notified when Revenge of the Corsairs becomes available! 

And out now...

 

As a spy deep in the heart of Revolutionary France, Michael St. John hopes to make amends for a wasted life his by helping the citizens of the Vendée stage a counter-revolution.

Jacqueline Archambeau, tavern owner and cook, accepts that life and love have passed her by. She never dreamed she would fight her own countrymen for the right to keep her customs and traditions.

When they plot together to steal plans at a regimental dinner will they risk their lives — and their hearts?

Read a little, buy the story...

“Bonjour.” The smile on Jacqueline’s face was unexpected, as was the greeting and he found himself returning it.

Until he felt the unmistakable press of a gun barrel at his lower back. It seemed that Madame Jacqueline was not alone.

“Your knife, monsieur.” Jacqueline held out her hand.

Michael obliged, handing the weapon over hilt first.

“So, Jacques is really Jacqueline?” he asked, feeling like the world’s greatest fool.

“And I’ll take any other weapons you might have on your person,” she continued.

He hesitated, and the barrel pressed at his back became silently insistent.

“Please?” she asked as pleasantly as if she had simply asked him to pass the butter.

Michael raised his arms, threaded his fingers, and placed them at the back of his head.

“You’ve completely disarmed me, madam, but you are welcome to check for yourself.”

Hazel eyes clouded with mistrust. Jacqueline glanced to the person behind him as though looking for instruction.

“Who sent you?”

The voice behind him was that of another woman.

Michael gritted his teeth. He would kill Colonel Jeffers when they next met. The man knew his contacts were women and thought it amusing not to tell him. To further his bona fides, Jeffers had even made him memorize the first stanza of a poem, Ode To Him Who Complains, no less, by scandalous poetess Mary Darby Robinson.

Buy The Night of the Feast HERE

Let's Talk...

AVRIL: Revenge of the Corsairs is book 2 in a series – how do the two stories fit together and are there more to come? 

ELIZABETH: Revenge of the Corsairs picks up toward the end of Captive of the Corsairs with the escape of Laura and Sophia from the harem, rescued by Elias and Kit. Sophia was more psychologically prepared and emotionally stronger than Laura who has been left devastated by her experience. Revenge of the Corsairs is as much a character study as it is an adventure romance.

The Heart of the Corsairs will have third title, Shadow of the Corsairs. This will be a prequel to Captive and Revenge. I’m looking forward to starting this title for a number of different reasons. It will feature an interracial romance between Jonathan and Morwena (they were married in Captive of the Corsairs) and it will reveal what makes the bonds of friendship so strong among Kit, Elias and Jonathan. In the third book, Kit is right on the edge of madness and Jonathan is given the opportunity to walk away. Any sensible person would, so I want to explore why Jonathan doesn’t.

Hopefully I can soon reveal news about a new series set in the same universe.

AVRIL: Can you tell us a little of the time period? What’s the attraction?

ELIZABETH: Many romance readers are familiar with the Regency period but only from an Anglo-French perspective (the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars etc) but few people recall the Ottoman Empire and its influence on Mediterranean and eastern European history until we reach the beginning of the 20^th century and the First World War.

Right up until 1830 when the French finally colonized North Africa, shipping in the Mediterranean was menaced by Barbary Coast pirates from client states supported by the Ottomans. From 1650 up until 1830 between 800,000 and 1.25 million Europeans (some from as far away as Iceland) were forced into slavery (which is, by the way, why you see some Arabs and Turks with striking blue or green eyes. At some point, one of their ancestors was most likely a European slave).

I had also read that in the very early 1800s, the United States was paying 10 percent of its GDP as ‘tribute’ to the Barbary Coast pirates. Thomas Jefferson had had enough and used that money to found the US Marines to defend merchant ships.

I found this era fascinating because it filled in so many gaps in my own knowledge of history.

AVRIL: Are there time periods you’d like to see represented more regularly in romance? 
ELIZABETH: That’s a loaded question for me! I love any era in history but I do worry that every now and again historical romance appears fall all too quickly into Regency and Medieval/Highlander.

I know these are the most popular eras and there is a lot to work with, but every now and again, I like to poke the bear with an uncommon time period – such as late Empire Rome from Dark Heart. I have a concept for a historical set during the reign of Henry VII that I’ll get to one of these days.

AVRIL: What are the most challenging aspects of researching past eras?

ELIZABETH: Challenging assumptions is a big part of it. Most of us only have a gossamer thin knowledge of past events and even that has been influenced on depictions in popular culture which is why, to the average person, ‘medieval’ is synonymous with ‘backward’ when that is far from the truth.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been fortunate to get to know a number of historical scholars who have been especially helpful when I’ve been stuck. Basic research, however, is very straight-forward with a lot of academic research freely available online.

AVRIL: Heroines through the ages – what’s the secret to making a modern reader get on board with them?

ELIZABETH: The secret is developing well-rounded characters. I believe human nature is transcendent – we live, love, laugh, and hate pretty much all the same things we’ve always done. The only thing which changes is technology.

If you’re writing a heroine who is going to do something that a modern day woman is not, then it’s up to you as author to provide sufficient motivation and build a world so real that your reader understands exactly why she’s made that decision.

Laura, the heroine in Revenge of the Corsairs is suffering from what we now know as PTSD from her experience in the harem. During the course of her recovery, she is going to make some decisions that cause pain to the ones who love her, but it is vital to her own internal journey back.

I’ve been absorbing a lot of development psychology over this year which has really helped in articulating motivation.

AVRIL: I know you also have a story in an historical anthology – what can you tell us about the anthology and your story?

ELIZABETH: The Night of the Feast is a short story in the Bluestocking Belles’ annual anthology called Never Too Late. Set in a variety of locations around the world over eight centuries, Never Too Late features eight different takes on four dramatic elements selected by our readers—an older heroine, a wise man, a Bible, and a compromising situation that isn’t.

We’re delighted to say that 25% of the proceeds from the sale of Never Too Late supports the Malala Foundation.

The Night of the Feast is set in the Vendee region of France during the French Revolution and a little known campaign by the inhabitants to resist the dictates of the Parisian revolutionaries. As a spy deep in the heart of Revolutionary France, Michael St. John hopes to make amends for a wasted life his by helping the citizens of the Vendée stage a counter-revolution. Jacqueline Archambeau, tavern owner and cook, accepts that life and love have passed her by. She never dreamed she would fight her own countrymen for the right to keep her customs and traditions. When they plot together to steal plans at a regimental dinner will they risk their lives —and their hearts?

AVRIL: What’s your pet hate as an historical romance reader?

ELIZABETH: Ahistorical characters is my number one pet hate in which every heroine seems to be a proto Emmeline Pankhurst railing against the patriarchy.Women, men, and society at large, are a lot more nuanced than that. I think we do our readers a disservice to not have greater lighter and shade in our characters and the goals, motivation and conflicts which drive them. Not every heroine has to rail against the system, she could be struggling for survival, protecting the ones she loves, or navigating the social mores of her time in search for true love.

Elizabeth Ellen Carter has an e-book copy of her novel, Captive of the Corsairs and an e-copy of the Bluestocking Belles Never Too Late collection to give away. To go into the draw, just tell us in the comments if you have a favourite historical romance time period, and either leave your email address with your comment or via Rafflecopter.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway