Friday 28 August 2020

A special offer

Enjoy a free armchair journey to some traditional Turkish hospitality, adventure and romance...




Image may contain: text that says "April and May Beth Elliott Regency Romance FREE"

 Spanning the magical land of Constantinople and the traditional streets of London, Beth Elliott's heart-warming Regency romance tells of a love that knows no boundaries 💞


Now available to read for #FREE for a limited time only, so grab your copy here: https://geni.us/fIHjH7


 


File:Beypazarı Sofrası.jpg

Typical Ottoman meal [picture from Wikipedia]




Saturday 1 August 2020

Items that play a significant role in the story


It's not just people and places that make up a story. 
Certain objects also have huge importance.



In A Lady's Honour, the hero, Joachim de Montailhac, is an energetic young man, in charge of running his father's estate. Always busy with an outdoor life, his choice of ornaments is simple. However, he treasures this jade stickpin, given to him by his oldest brother, Henri. At one point in the story, this item takes on a huge importance.





His father, the Marquis de Fontanes, is heavily involved in local affairs as well as the political life of the south-west of France. Much of his time is spent writing letters, too secret even to be entrusted to his secretary. Of course, he has a desk writing set, with ink, pens, wafers and a sand shaker [to dry the ink]. 
www.elcoleccionistaeclectico.com

 Joachim fiddles absentmindedly with these little pots, revealing his inner turmoil to his father.


 The Marquise de Fontanes is an elegant Turkish lady, always immaculately dressed. Her favourite accessory is her fan - well, over the years she has collected a large number of them, so there is always one to match her dress. When Nell wants to bring a gift for the marquise, the only problem is what type of fan to choose. She selects a simple but charming one, made of mother of pearl and lace.




Of course, the ladies in the story possess some jewels. The marquise has a fine collection and by the end of the story Nell inherits some valuable items. Enough for a separate post, especially as the wicked lady of the tale also has a fabulous collection of gems.

Friday 3 July 2020

The Third Brother

The Marquis de Fontanes and his Turkish wife, Princess Mihriban [Miri]
have five children. 

Both their daughters and two of their three sons have found their life partners
and are happily settled.

That leaves Joachim, the youngest son.  

 Twelve years younger than his oldest brother, everyone still sees Joachim as a boy. And "everyone" means not just his loving family, but all the people on his father's estate.
So, this year, when both his brothers are away and his father is busy with political affairs, now is his chance to prove he is capable of managing every aspect of the work involved.


          "  This year was his first time of being in charge of running the whole estate and he was determined to make a success of it. He could put up with the steward being somewhat patronising over dealing with the accounts. But it was embarrassing to know he was under constant inspection by every person on the estate, from the grooms and stablehands to the shepherds and the peasants in the mining village. He took a deep breath. I’ll make everything work as well as ever, if not better.  "    A Lady's Honour


Of course, he didn't allow for added complications, involving a pair of visitors who upset matters in a range of ways.       But we'll get to them later.


Two details about Joachim that are important in the story -

He wears a cologne that has a spicy and invigorating scent [it's called Carmelite Water,
made using cloves, lemon, lemon balm and brandy].

He treasures his jade stickpin, an 18th birthday gift
from his oldest brother, Henri, 












Sunday 3 May 2020

Brand new editions for May


                                                                    


                 

                 Two  Regency Tales  now published in Kindle by JOFFE BOOKS


image (7).png


THE WILD CARD

THE UTTERLY ABSORBING TALE OF ONE YOUNG WOMAN CAUGHT UP IN A DEADLY GAME OF ESPIONAGE AND ROMANCE






                                IN ALL HONOUR  

  THE TALE OF ONE YOUNG WOMAN’S FIGHT TO TAKE CONTROL OF HER OWN DESTINY  AGAINST IMPOSSIBLE ODDS 

                                                                            IN ALL HONOUR a sumptuous unputdownable Regency romance            



 
“Beth Elliott’s books are witty, engaging and totally entertaining.” Nicola Cornick, USA Today Best selling Author

An adventurous love story . . . a lively and most enjoyable read. The likable characters and the combination of romance, intrigue, and adventure kept me turning the pages.” T.D







Thursday 19 March 2020

Talking with Arabella Sheen on her Chit-Chat Blog

Arabella Sheen invited me for a fun chat with her about Regency times and stories




Research for my novels includes trips to all kinds of interesting places...

The Pavilion of the Mirrored Poplars, on the north bank of the Golden Horn in Istanbul. It was used for diplomatic ceremonies in the 1800s, and so was my hero's official home in Scandalous Lady.





The Royal Pavilion, Brighton, is more exotic than the royal Istanbul pavilion [above]. In The Rake's Challenge, Anna is so excited to attend a concert in the Pavilion, and listen to the Prince Regent himself playing in the orchestra.



Hartwell House, where King Louis XVIII of France lived in exile from 1809 - 1814



The prehistoric caverns at Niaux in the French Pyrenees



I transferred my fear of being a full kilometre inside these caves to my heroine, Louise, in The Rake and his Honour. Then she was terrified and I felt better.



Tuesday 10 March 2020

New name and website for my Publisher - LUME BOOKS


    

                 

https://www.lumebooks.co


My Regency Tales titles with LUME BOOKS

       

                                        


                               



Beth Elliott's Regency Tales are "witty, engaging and totally entertaining"

Nicola Cornick, USA Bestselling Author







Saturday 15 February 2020

Confiding in a friend [as you do]




                 ".... I do love him with all my heart..."


   
             Promenade time along The Steyne, BRIGHTON. The Prince Regent is on 
      Horseback, close to Donaldsons shop and tearoom.   Photo from  Sussex PhotoHistory Index


                                                                                    Parkland House,              
                                                                                Marine Parade,
                                                                                Brighton,       31st August 1814



Dearest Emily,

Today I shall not be present at Donaldson’s for the teatime meeting. It is a great pity when the weather is so mild and the sea is calm. However, Lady Fording is fatigued and so we must remain quietly at home. She won quite a large sum at cards last night, and continued playing longer than usual, encouraged by her success. I do love her for being such a sprightly old lady. And she is very kind to me, but even so, I cannot tell her anything about the Events of last night, even though it is thanks to her that I had the means to escape a Horrid Fate.

Emily, you swore to me you would keep anything I told you a Secret and so I will set down what happened. Let me begin from the moment when that odious Mrs Chetwynd interrupted our little gathering at the Castle Tavern last night. By the by, did you see how low cut her gown was? If she had so much as sneezed...! She took me into the other salon, into an alcove and [I shudder as I write his name] that horrible roué, Sir Bilton Kelly, was there, with his dissipated face and oily manner. They insisted I must go with them to the Prince Regent’s private party.

My dear Lord Longwood had warned me repeatedly against accepting any such invitation, and indeed, I was very Angry, but could not push my way out of that narrow alcove with Mrs Chetwynd blocking the way. It was most humiliating to see that many people in the room were watching, some more discreetly than others. And, oh, thankfully, at the far end of the room was Lord Longwood. He noted the general silence and turned in my direction. Lady Fording has been instructing me in the language of the fan, and so, even though my hands were shaking [with anger, not fright, you understand], I hastily took mine in my hand, waved it, then snapped it shut, laying a finger on the top of the sticks. That signals ‘I wish to speak with you’, and Lord Longwood understood.

At once, he made his way over towards me. Mrs Chetwynd was angry but he ignored her. When Sir Bilton Kelly blustered, he stared at him through his eyeglass in a truly Terrifying manner. Then he offered me his arm and so I made my escape. Once we reached the hallway, my knees began to shake. You know how Lord Longwood’s face goes dark when he scowls, and his black hair falls over his forehead. He assured me he was not angry with me and suggested we should take a turn along the path up towards the Pavilion and back, so I might compose myself.

In his company I soon felt calmer. But then he announced that he would be leaving Brighton today to return to London. That made my heart sink into my boots, for he is always so kind and helpful towards me and, as you have suspected, I do love him with all my heart. On an impulse I begged him to kiss me goodbye. But I asked for a proper kiss. He was shocked and then, his face changed, those wonderful green eyes glowed and he did, indeed kiss me. 

In those moments, I went to heaven. But now I am Wretched, for I want more of those sensations. Oh, Emily, I depend on you to support me through the next days as I struggle to appear calm.

Truly, Emily, I cannot decide if being in love is a blessing or a curse.

Your friend,                                                   


Anna









The Rake's Challenge  

The story of a summer holiday which nearly went disastrously wrong.