Sunday 7 February 2010

Valentines

All my stories come from looking at pictures of people. Obviously, I need a range of inspiration. Well, that's my excuse for storing all the gorgeous faces I can find. Valentine's day is fast coming up, so here are three possible hero models.

George Clooney would fit into any category of romantic novel. What's not to like? Who would say no to a male with so much beauty and charm. Just lose yourself in that smile.



If you want a young, cheerful Valentine for a hero, Roque Santa-Cruz has a wonderful smile and exudes energy and fun. If he were the hero in a historical story I feel sure his name would be Rupert.



A true Valentine dream, the smouldering eyes of Ildebrando d'Arcangelo would set any girl's heart fluttering. Add to that the serenade he would sing in his incredible baritone, the allure of his physical beauty and this is the Valentine dream par excellence. What a gorgeous hero for a romantic novel set in any period.




Tuesday 12 January 2010

Prinny and his Pavilion #MarinePavilion


On 12th August, 1783, George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales, celebrated his 21st birthday.



Shortly after this date he arrived in Brighton for an eleven day visit to his uncle, the infamous Duke of Cumberland. The pair threw themselves into an endless round of entertainment, all spiced with lavish amounts of food and spirits.

The Prince liked Brighton so much that he returned again and again. In Brighton his lifestyle consisted of gambling, boxing, riding, horse racing, cricket, balls, theatre visits, banquets and love affairs. At first he rented a farmhouse and eventually bought it. This building was situated at the end of the main road from London to Brighton, ideally placed to create a stunning impression on all visitors to the town.

It became known as the Marine Pavilion. Initially, the Prince added to his new home in the French Neo-Classical style.



     


As with all his interests, however, he constantly changed his tastes. Thus, the Pavilion underwent further enlargements and modifications. By 1802 there was a new banqueting room and a confectionery room. [The Prince kept three confectioners on his domestic staff!]

In 1801 the prince received a gift of some oriental wallpaper. From that point he had the Pavilion redecorated in a range of oriental styles, featuring Indian and Chinese elements. This was accompanied by further remodelling of the exterior to the highly exotic appearance it has today.




By the time the Pavilion looked like this

George IV looked like this...

                          


The Prince Regent and his Pavilion feature in The Rake's Challenge, 
the story of a seaside holiday that nearly went horribly wrong.

Thursday 10 December 2009

A wonderful surprise



      
        



  In All Honour 
 has been shortlisted by

Red Roses for Authors

for their Christmas Award.

The reviewer said: 'This book is a great read, it has many similar qualities to G.Heyer's books. A must for lovers of this genre. 

I award this lovely book 5+ Red Roses. AS.'



Blurb
Sarah Davenport's brother has gambled away his entire fortune. Lord Percival implies he will accept Sarah in lieu of the debt. Major Greg Thatcham's family apparently also owes money to Lord Percival.When Greg seeks help from Sarah, attraction flares between them. But, in all honour, he is the one man she can never marry. Then Lord Percival kidnaps her and only Greg can save her...


Also available as an ebook from Regency Reads








Saturday 14 November 2009

A new Regency tale - April and May


Rose Charteris is the practical member of the family. Arriving in Constantinople with a sick aunt and a lovelorn younger sister to care for, the last thing she expects or wants is to come face to face with Tom Hawkesleigh, the man who broke her heart four years previously. But in return for help, she is forced to work with him on an urgent secret plan for the Sultan.

The powerful and handsome Ottoman minister, Kerim Pasha, is bewitched by Rose’s English beauty. He whisks the English ladies away to his mansion and a life of luxury. It seems Rose must choose between East and West…



April and May published by Robert Hale, http://www.halebooks.com/
This title will be released in April 2010...
The cover is another splendid design by David Young, showing the hero and heroine in a kiosk as the sun sets over Constantinople.
What does the title mean?
Rose seemed to have found love and happiness on her first visit to London but that was cut short. It took almost four years before she had another chance to find love - so her spring and summer were widely separated.

Saturday 24 October 2009

Hats and cravats





















Before starting to write a story I need to gather people and places using photos, pages from magazines, whatever it takes to build up characters , wardrobes, homes, hobbies, and the places they live in and visit in the course of the novel.

As soon as I start to get the story written, the characters tend to take over and then I must just follow and record the events. But at the planning stage I'm still in control. This bunch are going to be wealthy and dandified, hence my obsession with hats and cravats. However, the biggest dandy may not be the one I now intend for that role....

[PS. Shhh...any excuse to gaze at a picture of Alan Rickman...]

Saturday 26 September 2009

Regency Brighton


Brighton is another town with a great many Georgian style buildings. Its popularity in the early nineteenth century meant that a huge building programme was undertaken. This has given the town a rather grand and harmonious appearance. It is also useful as research material for a new Regency tale.

The small streets with their tiny cottages, the maze of medieval alleys, even the House of Correction, give the impression of a small town. Around this nucleus a new town grew all the way from Marine Parade to Brunswick Town. There are many fine examples of elegant villas and sweeping terraces of tall, colonnaded buildings so beloved by Regency architects.

Set at the end of the main road from London to Brighton and calculated to catch the visitor's eye as he arrived, was the Prince Regent's Pavilion. It is so incredible that normal criticism or comments cannot apply. The Prince loved his summer palace and was a generous and kind host to his guests. I have to confess that I would have loved to dine with him in that awe-inspiring dining room, under the massive chandelier with its mirror palm leaves glittering and twinkling above the candles. No doubt the other ornaments and decorations reflected the lights in fascinating ways also. And then I would have loved the Prince to take me on one of his tours of the kitchens, where fantasy gave way to practicality and he could demonstrate his pride in all the up-to-date gadgets he had installed there.

Just a dream.... but in my story, perhaps some of my characters can live the dream for me.

Saturday 19 September 2009

All things Jane Austen - A Regency day out at Chawton


On a bright and beautiful September morning I took my French friend down to Chawton. Jane Austen's cottage and garden looked their best in the sunshine. The garden was full of colourful flowers and the peaceful atmosphere helped to capture a sense of what it must have been like to live there two hundred years ago.


You enter through a door surrounded by late-flowering roses, to find the interior full of items that bring Jane vividly before you. Her topaz cross and a delightful blue bead bracelet, her small writing table, the letters and papers concerning her books, the fine needlework she produced, all create a sense of her daily life in this home.

On that day, Chawton House, "the Great House" as the Austen ladies called it, was open to the public. This complemented the impressions gained at the cottage, of life as lived by the gentry in a less hurried era.


                                                 Chawton House - 'The Great House'


Diana demonstrates the language of the fan to her beau


A display of Regency era dancing by the Winchester Dance Group

We were fortunate to see a display of Regency dancing - a waltz and several quadrilles, performed in costume. Even more fortunate, we were able to join in the dancing at the end of the display, but I fear we did not perform with as much skill as our teachers.

Diana, the lady in the white dress in the photo, is using her fan to communicate with Regency gentleman David Caldo. Diana gave us a lesson in 'The language of the Fan'.