Elizabeth stalked across the foyer, a falcon confined in a too small cage. If she did not spread her wings soon she would surely lose her mind. Where were they? They should have returned by now. Lady Catherine joined her, matching her step for step, fan fluttering, an impotent substitute for the wings Elizabeth wished for.
“I should have gone with Father and Piper—”
“You cannot fix everything, Lizzy dear.” Lady Catherine caught her hand. “I know activity is much more satisfying, but there are moments in life there is nothing one can do but trust in Providence.”
“How? Are you not—”
“Turned inside out with worry?” She tapped her fan in her palm. “Everyone that I love in this world is out there, in danger. Of course I am upset. Yet, worry changes nothing.”
“But how can you know—”
“I do not and never will.” Lady Catherine tucked her arm in Elizabeth’s and led her outside.
The heat of the day had broken and the sun hovered between afternoon and sunset, between hope and despair. A breeze tasting faintly of evening wafted through. Though Elizabeth usually relished those delicate gusts, today it only fueled the flames of anxiety within. She tried to increase her stride to outpace it, but Lady Catherine held her back with measured, controlled steps.
“Do not think I make light of what is at stake here. I know only too well. Do not forget, I lost my husband. I lost my ancestral home. I lost my daughter. So many hopes and dreams I once had, gone without a possibility of reclaiming them.”
Elizabeth peeked at her. The waning sun cast shadows over her face, hiding her eyes. Elizabeth could only imagine the pain that lay within them.
“I could focus on all the loss and disappointment—no one would fault me for it. But I would become a bitter old woman whom no one would care to entertain. I would not even like myself I expect.”
“How have you borne it?”
“Through it all, Providence has always made a way. I managed Rosings for many years and always found the help I needed when I needed it. Darcy came in to help when we were most desperate. I lost Anne, but I have…” Her voice cracked and she turned her face away. “I have my grandsons. I know many of my peers who are not so blessed. I have faith that whatever comes to pass, I will be sustained through it, even…even if it is not as I wish it to be.”
Elizabeth stared at her, eyes burning. No wonder Papa esteemed her so greatly. She would be the kind of mother sensitive little Philip needed.
“There—look!”
Three men trudged up the path from the stables. Just like Papa to insist they tend the horses first.
Lady Catherine grabbed her hand and they sprinted toward them. Blast and bother, gowns were not designed for haste!
Papa and Mr. Darcy hobbled forward, one arm draped over each of Piper’s shoulders. Papa’s other arm was bound tightly to his chest. They were both wet, dirty and bedraggled. Worse, the boys—
“Colonel Fitz be fetching the boys here, don’t be worrying none, Miss Lizzy, Lady Cathy.”
“Oh, thank heavens!” Lady Catherine gasped and swooned slightly catching herself on Elizabeth’s arm.
“And you?” Elizabeth forced the words out.
“As you see.” Papa grumbled.
“I shall have Mrs. Reynolds send to town for the—”
“No on my count.” Papa looked at Darcy. “And you?”
“Just, ah, a bit bruised but no need for a surgeon.”
Lady Catherine and Elizabeth marched directly to them and stood toe to toe with their men.
Lady Catherine planted her hands firmly on her hips. “I do not believe I asked a question.”
Elizabeth mirrored her. “She merely gave you to courtesy of telling you what she was planning to do.”
“And I will not have you—” Lady Catherine poked Papa’s chest.
Elizabeth rose upon tip toe. “Ignoring what could become serious wounds—”
“In order to satisfy some manly need—”
Darcy traded glances with Piper and Papa. The three of them snorted and collapsed on each other’s shoulders in peals of groan-punctuated laughter.
“Call your surgeon, Lady.” Piper scrubbed his face with his hands. “I’m quite sure he will find my bone-setting up to scratch.”
“At least one among you has some sense left.” Lady Catherine positioned herself beside Papa and waved Elizabeth to Darcy’s side.
By the time they made it into the house, Mrs. Reynolds had already sent for the surgeon, ordered baths prepared with water she had heating and had a pile of towels in the hands of Darcy’s valet greeted them at the door. The woman was worth her weight in salt.
Darcy waved off his man and promised to be upstairs directly. He caught Elizabeth’s hand and ducked into the parlor, pulling the door shut behind them.
“Papa will—”
“Not notice anything. Lady Catherine attends him.” Darcy pulled her close.
“You are so cold!” She nestled into his shoulder, but the scents of murky water, horse and sweat did nothing to settle her soul. He did not smell like himself and she would not be easy until he was entirely himself again.
“Yes, cold and dirty and tired and bruised and sore.” He kissed the top of her head.
“But the boys are safe.”
“Yes.”
The room spun slightly. She clutched his arm and swallowed back a cry.
“They were thoroughly frightened, at least Philip and David, but unharmed. Fitzwilliam brings them here for your father and I to deal with.” He chuckled, but it ended with a groan. “I expect they need their lesson reinforced most strongly. George is certainly old enough to demonstrate far better judgment.”
“So are Francis and especially Philip. I would have expected so much more from them.” She bit her lip. “And Wickham? What of him?”
“He did not force the boys to come with him. He enticed them away. When Philip and David wanted to leave, he did not force them to stay. So there is little evidence to support a charge of kidnapping.”
“You think him innocent?” She jumped back.
“Hardly.”
She exhaled heavily.
“I only said he did not take them by force. I do not know what he meant to do, but he had no right to have them.”
“Where is he?”
“I do not know.”
“What do you mean you do not know? You say him and you let him go?” He had not changed at all? What deception was she practicing on herself? To think that he could have—
“We left him in the Alston woods when we discovered David and Philip missing. With the flood—”
Foolish girl! Of course!
“I expect he is where we left him. He was in no shape to go far. The wound you dealt him has turned septic. I may have left him with a broken rib as well. He is very weak.”
“He will not last long on his own in the woods.”
“I expect Fitzwilliam will have men scouring the woods for him. He will not escape us this time.”
“What will you do with him when you find him?” She held her breath.
“I do not know, except that I will not provide him succor any longer.”
She exhaled heavily.
“You had doubts?” He cupped her cheek in his palm. “I promise you, he will never trouble us again. His crimes, even apart from all this today, are sufficient to guarantee him transported. I will talk to your father—”
“I would rather you talk with me.” She stood on tiptoe, nose to nose with him.
“So would I.” He pulled her so close there were no secrets. “I am a mess. You will ruin your dress.” He growled into her ear, pausing to nuzzle her neck.
“If I cared in the slightest do you things I would still be here? Besides, it is already soaked through.” She giggled.
“If your father—”
“As you pointed out, he is occupied with his lady and I dare say they are far more scandalous than we. I dare say, if Piper allows it, she will be helping him—”
He kissed her lips, hard. She squirmed a moment, but quickly accommodated, tangling her hand in his matted hair. The warmth of his lips melted away all other thoughts and stirred a tantalizing heat within her belly. He had been away far too long.
“Please, dearest—” he nibbled at her ear. “There are some images I simply do not want in my mind.”
“And Lady Catherine with my father—”
“That is most definitely one of them.”
“What of me assisting you—”
He groaned into her neck, fingers clutching her waist and drifting further.
Oh, that he would not stop!
“For now, that is another dangerous imagination. I fear, though, it is now there and will haunt me until the day you perform that service for me.”
She lifted a brow and glanced at the stairs.
“Dear God woman, show a little decorum!” He kissed her throat. “A man only has so much self-control!”
“You are not marrying me for my great displays of decorum.”
“Indeed I am not.” He pulled the pins from her hair and helped it tumble down around her shoulders. “That is much better.”
He tangled his hands in her hair and drew her closer. His breath seared her self-control to bear threads.
How could she so desperately want what she had never had? She melted into his embrace, his kiss that stole every breath away.
“My Elizabeth,” he murmured into her ear as he nibbled it. “My trip was far too long. I will never be away from you for so long again.”
“I should like that very much.” She panted hard.
A door slammed and footsteps echoed in the hall.
They jumped and separated.
“The boys will arrive soon and we must—”
“Be a good example for them” She grinned and winked.
“Minx.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Besides, your father and I have resolved our issues and are on good terms now. I have no desire to give him grounds to reopen those grievances.”
Elizabeth giggled. “If you go upstairs now, I have no doubt you might find them—”
“I will do no such thing! Whose side are you one? That would surely not earn his favor.” He slapped his forehead. “What kind of mischief are you going to teach my sons?”
“The same variety I have taught Francis and Phillip. I have a list you see. They must know how to climb trees, and skip rocks and race boats made of paper down the stream—”
“And leave their father alone when he demands their mother’s attention.” He nuzzled that lovely spot right behind her ear.
“Mmm, yes. Definitely. I shall be sure to teach them that.”
Darcy pulled away, gasping for breath. “Yes, yes, but for now, I must attend to these wet clothes. And no, today, my valet will assist.”
“I suppose then, it is left to me to wait for the boys’ arrival—”
“And to keep them in order until your father and I deal with them.”
“Of course. You will not object if I brew some willow bark tea for you and Papa in the meantime?”
“So Piper has trained you?”
“He and Lady Ellen.”
“It took both of them to keep the Admiral hale and hearty I suppose.”
“Quite so.”
“Then by all means. Considering what I saw today.” His eyes lost all their sparkle “Truthfully, Elizabeth, I do not know one in ten men who would have endured what he did and survived. He was swept into the flood because he would not leave…my son…behind. I do not know how he managed to do all he did with his arm broken.”
“I have no doubt he owes a great deal to you as well.”
“And I to him.”
“Like he and Piper.” Elizabeth laid her head on his shoulder. “Both of you will be paying for you exploits in the morning. I dare say you will scarcely be able to haul yourself out of bed—”
“All the more reason why I must clean up and deal with the children tonight.” He kissed her and dragged himself away.
She followed him upstairs with her gaze. No doubt Papa owed Darcy his life. She swallowed hard. She was not prepared to lose him—not yet. How close had she been to losing them both? She pressed her head against the wall. No, no need to dwell upon that now. Both of them were safe and well.
Mrs. Reynolds’s rapid footsteps broke her reverie. The boys must be near. She brushed the moisture from her cheeks and hurried out. Fitzwilliam would surely need assistance managing them.
Join me in welcoming Paula Lofting this morning, on her book tour for Sons of the Wolf.
I have always had a book in me. When I was a little girl at school I always wrote the longest stories in Composition and when I came home from school I would sit and write stories. I Hand wrote a 500 page epic set in 5thc Wales inspired by Mary Stewart’s Merlin books but I never finished it and I think it ended up in the trash. I was in my late teens or early 20’s then and because I couldn’t type or afford a type-writer I sort of gave up on it. Later when I got into my 40’s I’d come through a lot of turmoil in my life and I picked myself up, dusted myself down and went to college and university to become a nurse. Learning how to use a computer gave me a sense of confidence and it came to me that I could write the book I’d always wanted to. I work fulltime as a nurse but writing is like a hobby to me. I can’t afford to give up my day job but I use the money I earn to fund what I like doing best, writing.
I have always had a love of history and loved to read books set in historical times. I also like modern reading and did toy with a modern thriller recently but put it on the back burner. There is something exciting about historical events, characters, the castles, medieval villages that they lived in and still exist, battles and tournaments and knights and ladies, they are so inspiring. They always make me go ‘wow’.
Writing a story from scratch is the hardest part. I love the editing stage because its then you get to flesh it out and make it more of an exciting pleasurable read because you have the framework which inspires your imagination, triggering it into a more expansive dimension.
There is always some snippet of research that you find fascinating when you research and I love finding more and more books on the period that I write in. The best research for fleshing out any historical novel is re-enactment and I do so with www.regia.org
I have been building a database of the characters in my period of interest, what their roles were in events of the time and a bio of their lives if I can build one, obviously depending what has been written down about them and how important they were. My period of interest is the 11thc so there is a great paucity of information about the people themselves, for example, Harold Godwinson was an Earl and a King and there is no recorded birth date for him. It was like that back then. The advent of 1066 seems to have changed that however it could be that the scarcity is due to Viking raids on churches and monasteries that have destroyed that kind of information.
I keep a list of characters and what they look like and update it as the years go by to accommodate them aging. I also write an account of each chapter so I can remember who did what, what did who and who did what to who. It’s like a sort of synopsis.
The best piece of advice was from Helen Hollick. She nagged me about having my book professionally copy-edited. And now I swear by it. Very few people can edit their own work successfully.
I am writing a sequel to my current available novel Sons of the Wolf. It’s called The Wolf Banner. Sons of the Wolf is set in the years leading up to the Norman Conquest, about a Sussex thegn, Wulfhere, identified as the name of the man who held the land of Horstede in the Domesday Book before it was given to its Norman owner. It incorporates the historical events of the time and alongside the fictional characters we see Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwinson and his brothers and many others. It also has the sense of being like a family saga, a kind of 11thc soap opera if you like but I hope my characters are more realistic with not so outlandish storylines! It has battles, love, betrayal and intrigue and it essentially centres round the feud between Wulfhere and his neighbour Helghi. The Wolf Banner continues to follows the events that culminate in the Norman Invasion and Wulfhere’s feud with Helghi becomes more and more sinister as it threatens to affect more than just the two communities. Again there will be battles and exciting adventure as more of Wulfhere’s story unfolds.
After the Wolf Banner is published in the Spring hopefully, I plan to write another two in the series that will take the reader to the Battle of Hastings itself and then to the wild fens of Ely with the last English leader of the English resistance, Hereward. I intend to do more book signings and library events also with the help of my fellow-re-enactors.
My book can be purchased here.
Viisit Paula online:
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Austen Author’s Reader’s choice event
Readers get to choose where the story goes next! Each week features a different Austen Author!
JAFF gathering Aug 16-19 at the Cedar Hill Retreat Center, Duxbury, Massachusetts
ALL are invited! You can still join with authors and fans for a great weekend at Cedar Hill Retreat Center in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Check out our Facebook page for information.
Abigail Reynolds, Mr. Darcy’s Noble Connections
Historical Enticements at English Epochs.
Tim Vicary has a new Pinterest Board, How women fought for the Vote!
Don’t miss my interviews with Linda Banche, Abigail Reynolds, Linda Wells, Mary Lydon Simenson, Jack Caldwell, Barbara Monajem,
Kim Zollman Rendfeld interviews Gillian Bagwell and Susan Spann.
Amanda L. V. Shalaby interviews Becky Lower
InD’Tale is having a drawing for two $50.00 gift certificates.
They are also hosting a book cover contest. Come vote for your favorite!
Tess Quinn, Pride Revisited
Maggi Andersen, THE FOLLY AT FALCONBRIDGE HALL
Karen Aminadra, Rosings
Kara Louise, Pirates and Prejudice
Colette Saucier, Pulse and Prejudice
E.M. Powell, The Fifth Knight
Zoe Saadia, The Young Jaguar
Michael Phillips, Angels Watching Over Me
Just for fun
Home Inspection Tips: Survival Guide for Buyers and Sellers
Cookbooks
Betty Crocker 20 Best Summer Drink Recipes
Classics
Snuff, pencils and Saxon queens, today in History a’la carte.
How about brushing up on you British History with your serving History a’la Carte. We’re now up to the Middle Ages.
*~*~*~*~*~*Regency*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~* General history*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*1800*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*1700*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*1600*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*1500*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*General Medieval*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*1400*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*1300*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*1200*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*1100*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*1000 and earlier*~*~*~*~*~*
“Papa!” Philip ran into Darcy’s back.
He grabbed the boy before he tumbled over the edge. “Free the rope!” He pointed to the tree trunk.
Both boys dashed to loosen the rope.
Darcy gathered it and looped it in his hands. “Go to Alston with the horses. Your brothers are there. Tell Hill what has happened. I will get your father.”
“Yes, sir.” Philip saluted and grabbed David’s hand. They ran off.
Darcy sprinted down the ravine, struggling to watch the path with one eye and Bennet with the other. God help him, somehow he would keep his promise and return Bennet to his family.
The roiling waters carried Bennet along like a leaf caught in a rain driven stream, dragging him under momentarily then releasing him just enough for him to steal a breath above the waves. Twice he caught hold of a ledge or tree trunk, only to be torn away again. The waves tossed him up high against the side wall and slammed him into the stones hard enough to force a cry from his lips. Somehow he managed to cling to the rocks as the waves peeled back.
“Hang on!” Darcy skidded to a halt just above Bennet. He looked around. Bloody hell! Nothing to tie the rope to. “Damn!” He wedged his foot behind a large rock close to the edge and dug in his heels. “I’m sending the rope.” He threw it over the edge and peered down after it.
Bennet’s left arm rested at an odd, remotely stomach-churning angle across his chest.
“You’re hurt?”
“Bloody arm’s broken, I think.” He took the rope in his uninjured arm and struggled to knot it around his waist. Clearly he could have done this in his sleep, and had probably done so, but now his motions were slow and clumsy. How much pain did the calm demeanor hide? Finally, he tugged the rope against Darcy’s grasp. “Ready.”
Darcy wrapped the rope around his hands and braced his feet. The coarse fibers bit into his hands as it pulled taut. The sudden weight yanked his shoulders. A one-armed admiral was much heavier than two small boys..
The rope suddenly went slack and water splashed over the edge. Blast! Bennet bobbed in the embrace of yet another wave.
The rope snapped and yanked Darcy off his feet. His hip bounced off the rock that he had braced against. Searing pain lanced through his side as he slipped into churning, frigid water that ripped the breath from his lungs.
The leviathan current grabbed him in its jaws and plunged him beneath the surface. Swirling sands and debris blinded him. He kicked hard against it, gaining enough headway to break the surface for breath. The rope, still wrapped around his hand and attached to Bennet at the other end, took possession of him, like a fish on a line, and wrenched him forward.
Air! He clawed to the surface, gasping. Bennet clung to a bobbing tree trunk, fighting to keep his head up. So close, perhaps—
Hand over hand, Darcy hauled himself toward Bennet. The trunk teased and danced out of reach until an errant wave pushed him into range of the remains of a large branch.
“Gah!” Darcy lunged forward and grabbed hold. A new wave slapped his face, blinding him. He shook his head, spitting and sputtering. The trunk spun with the new force upon it. He kicked against it, not to be bested by this final obstacle.
The slick wood slipped through his fingers. “No!” A powerful kick propelled him forward to grab inches of a broken branch in his fingers.
“That’s the way son!” Bennet cried.
The unreserved praise surged like lightening through him and he lunged again. He draped his arms around the rugged tree trunk. “Permission to come aboard sir.”
“Granted.” Bennet’s arm slipped. The dark waters hurried to claim him.
Darcy dove over the log and grabbed Bennet’s shirt. Their makeshift craft bobbed and spun and slipped away, abandoning them to the hungry currents. Watery jaws snapped over him. The beast would have him today if it could.
But there was too much to fight for—his boys, Pemberley…Elizabeth! He kicked against the monster and shattered the surface for a glorious breath, then another.
Bennet grabbed his wrist.
“There!” He jerked his head, toward the side wall where the washed out remnants of a foot path offered a tantalizing ledge.
Darcy maneuvered to Bennet’s injured side and wrapped his arm around Bennet’s waist. Several powerful, tandem strokes brought them within reach. Darcy caught hold with one hand and propelled Bennet into the side with the other. Bennet dragged himself up and helped Darcy throw himself up onto the muddy niche.
A sunbeam danced over them, caressing their bruised, scoured limbs. Something trickled down the side of Darcy’s face, whether flood water, sweat or blood he knew not nor did he care. The ground was solid beneath him—and dry, more or less. His ribs screamed with each gulp of air, but no waves stole breath from him. He would never have made a seaman.
“Bloody good thing we’ve got no storm to go with this torrent. A good stiff wind would kill as quick as those waves.” Bennet pulled up to his knees. He stifled a groan and hunched over his injured arm. His cheeks drew up tight around his pressed lips. What colorful nautical invectives did he suppress?
Darcy rolled. His left side throbbed, its cries muted by the protests of his rope burned palms as he pushed himself up. “Can you make it up the path?”
“It’s no slicker than a main deck in a storm.” Bennet planted one foot down solidly and rose. How could he be so steady on his feet after all he had just endured? What sustained him? Fitzwilliam had not exaggerated the stamina of seamen.
Darcy, on decidedly less steady feet, shook his head and followed Bennet up the slippery trail. How welcome the final steps that landed him on solid ground. A soft patch of grass and clover formed a carpet before them, calling and welcoming them. A sunbeam blanketed the grass and demanded they pay homage to it. They collapsed in its embrace, warmth penetrating numbed limbs. Dry ground never welcomed him so warmly as the blessed patch of grass beneath them.
“This will make quite the tale.” Bennet laughed hoarsely. “No, the sea would not take me, but a spell on dry land nearly drowned me.”
Darcy stared, eyes bulging. “Apparently dry land wants nothing to do with you either.”
Bennet threw back his head and laughed.
No wonder Elizabeth admired him so.
Pounding hooves approached. Darcy considered turning to look, but that was far too much effort for now.
“My God, Darcy!” Fitzwilliam was on the ground, pelting toward him before his horse stopped.
Piper grabbed both horses’ reins. “Did you find them?”
“Yes.” Bennet struggled to his feet.
“Damnation! You done got yourself hurt!” Piper muttered and hurried to Bennet.
“The boys should be at Alston by now.” Darcy croaked.
Fitzwilliam caught Darcy by the elbow. “Were they with—”
“Wickham, yes. We left him on the path to the old shed in Alston’s woods. He won’t have gotten far—infection.”
“He can rot for all I care.” Fitzwilliam spat.
Bennet groaned loudly.
Darcy looked over his shoulder in time to see Piper jerk Bennet’s injured arm. Darcy’s stomach roiled as Bennet’s arm settled into a more natural angle. Piper snapped a branch over his knee and whipped out his knife to smooth the crude splint.
“He’s quite a useful fellow, Piper.” Fitzwilliam nodded approvingly. “Ought to have him teach you a thing or two. With all the boys about these days—”
“Gah!” Darcy snorted and spat more remnants of flood waters. Would he ever be free from that foul taste? “That old fish is tougher than an old pair of riding boots. Few men could have survived what he did with two arms, much less with one.”
“The Navy breeds ‘em strong and stubborn or she kills them.” Fitzwilliam pulled Darcy to his feet. “I know he has been an arse to you—”
Darcy lifted his hand. “He nearly died saving my son.”
“And you nearly went west saving him—”
“We have exchanged that debt now. All is forgotten as far as I am concerned.”
Fitzwilliam rolled his eyes. “You are as stubborn as he! It only took both of you being carried away in a flood to come to that conclusion. About bloody time.”
Darcy spat again, this time grit lodged in his teeth. When had he swallowed that? “Go find the boys—the bridge you and I built stood above the flood. Bring the boys to Pemberley and let Alston know we are well. Piper will see us to Pemberley.”
“Right. Jane must be beside herself—”
“No doubt.”
Darcy swayed and Fitzwilliam lodged a hand under his arm. He limped to Piper and Bennet. Getting back to Pemberley might take longer than he anticipated.
Fitzwilliam took to his horse, saluted and rode off.
“He will bring the boys to Pemberley?” Bennet asked.
Darcy nodded. “I expect we will be having a most memorable conversation with them later this evening.”
“You wish to address this matter together?”
“Yes. I will expect my sons to mind you as they do me.” Darcy met his gaze with eyebrows raised.
“My same thoughts indeed—“ Bennet glanced at Piper.
Darcy nodded. “And Piper too.”
Bennet extended his good hand. Darcy took it and shook it firmly. Elizabeth would be pleased.
Join me this morning in getting to know author Linda Banche.
• Writing is such a challenging endeavor. What got you started on it and what keeps you doing it?
At one point, I went on a romance reading binge. I went to the library twice a week. I took out piles of books. The librarians all knew me. I had a great time wallowing in romance. Sigh.
And then the unthinkable happened: I ran out of the type of books I like to read. Panic! What was I to do? The solution–write my own. Which I did. I like my stories. I hope others like them, too.
• What did you do with your earliest efforts? Did anyone read them? Did you still have them?
My earliest efforts are two Regency romance novels that I have to rewrite. I think the ideas are good, but the writing needs a lot of work. Two other novels that I wrote in NaNoWriMo complete the series. I intend to rewrite them all.
• What made you choose to write in the genres/time periods you write in?
I write Regency romances. I love regencies. I never tire of them.
I love to read. Reading has always transported me from the here and now to a place better and brighter than our current world. I read mysteries and fantasy as well as romance, and I’ve always found books I liked, but when I read my first Regency, something clicked. The Regency is far enough in the past for some fantasy, but our modern world began then, so the era is not so far past as to be unrecognizable. I like the sense that the old world is about to give way to a new world in the Regency. And the clothes are pretty, both men’s and women’s. Just my cup of tea.
• What do you enjoy most in the writing process? What parts of it do you really dislike?
Actually, I like rewriting. I like taking a bland sentence and making it more vivid.
The hardest part is coming up with something to write, since I start out with a general idea of the story, but not the details. Pantser am I. *g* So, I rewrite a lot as I think up new things to add. I wind up with dozens of versions before I finally reach the finished product. But, somehow, no matter how daunting the story seems at page one, I finish.
• If you write in multiple genres how do you make the switch from one to the other? Do you find it a welcome change, crazy-making or a little of both?
I write Regency romance only, and most of my stories are sweet. My books are overwhelmingly historical, but paranormal or science fiction elements can creep in. I can’t imagine writing another genre, although you can never say never.
• Historical fiction takes a lot of research. What is the most memorable or interesting thing you’ve learned along the way?
Here’s a fun fact. Formal attire for men in the Regency consisted of knee breeches and silk stockings. Now, silk stockings are thin and transparent. So the men usually wore cotton stockings under the silk stockings to hide the hair on their legs.
• What do you do to keep all your research information and plot ideas organized and accessible?
I organize everything by book title. I name a top level folder on my computer with the book title and I put everything under that. In that folder, I keep the doc file of the book, itself named with the book title. I put all my research into a file named <BookName>Notes.doc. In the Notes file, I keep links along with a copy of the pertinent information from that link. The Notes file is a bit of a jumble, and sometimes I have a hard time finding things in there, but if I come across a good link, I don’t want to lose it. I also keep two copies of the book folder, one each on a second and third computer. My husband is a computer nut and has multiple computers all networked together. I work in my main folder, and at the end of the day, I copy everything new to the other two folders.
• What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever gotten?
Write something. Forget about spelling, descriptions, emotion and whether something logically fits. Get the story down first. Once that’s in place, you add the rest. And most importantly, never rewrite until the story is all there. That original pass won’t be pretty, but that’s why it’s called the first draft.
• Tell us a little about your current project.
My latest book is the Regency comedy novella, A Mutual Interest in Numbers, Part 2 of my Love and the Library series.
A Mutual Interest in Numbers available at Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble
And if you want to start with A Similar Taste in Books, Part 1 of Love and the Library, the blurb, excerpt and buy links are here:
http://www.lindabanche.com/1352.html
• What’s up next for you?
Next up is Book 3 of Love and the Library, which is the story of Francis Wynne, Regency gentleman #3 of my quartet. I hope to have it out for October.
I also have a full length Regency with science fiction elements, which is finished. But it’s a Christmas story, so I’ll wait until October or November to publish that one.
My links:
http://lindabanche.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/LindaBanche
http://www.twitter.com/LindaBanche
Austen Admirer’s App is now live for itunes and android. Get all your Austen inspired sites in one place.
Austen Author’s Reader’s choice event
Readers get to choose where the story goes next! Each week features a different Austen Author!
JAFF gathering Aug 16-19 at the Cedar Hill Retreat Center, Duxbury, Massachusetts
ALL are invited! You can still join with authors and fans for a great weekend at Cedar Hill Retreat Center in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Check out our Facebook page for information.
Regina Jeffers, A TOUCH OF MERCY
KaraLynne Mackrory, Bluebells in the Morning
Jenno Bryce, Jenno’s Gangs
Linda Root, The Other Daughter- The Midwife’s Secret II
Ginger Myrick, Work of Art
Don’t miss the last day of the Summer Banquet Blog hop. Start here and hop around for food trivia from all time periods and giveaways
Historical Enticements at English Epochs.
Tim Vicary has a new Pinterest Board, How women fought for the Vote!
Don’t miss my interviews with Abigail Reynolds, Linda Wells, Mary Lydon Simenson, Jack Caldwell, Barbara Monajem, Janet Taylor, TJ MacKay
Layered Pages interviews Lisa Ard and Evan Ostryznuik
InD’Tale is having a drawing for two $50.00 gift certificates.
They are also hosting a book cover contest. Come vote for your favorite!
Barbara Kyle, BLOOD BETWEEN QUEENS
Scott D. Southard, A Jane Austen Daydream
P O Dixon, Lady Harriette
Cassandra Grafton, A FAIR PROSPECT: DARCY’S DILEMMA
Mary Jane Hathaway, Emma, Mr. Knightley And Chili-Slaw Dogs
PO Dixon, Lady Harriette
Joan Strasbaugh , The List Lover’s Guide to Jane Austen
Phillippa Jane Keyworth,The Widow’s Redeemer
E.M. Powell, The Fifth Knight
David Pilling,The White Hawk, 99 cents
Therese Stenzel, A British Bride by Agreement
Sarah Woodbury, The Good Knight
Aaron McCarver and Diane T. Ashley, Lily (Song of the River)
Joanne Lewis, The Lantern, a Renaissance Mystery
Angela Hunt, Roanoke
Just for fun
It’s Only Natural: 200 natural cleaning product recipes
Running Free – Breaking Out From Locked-In Syndrome
Nail Polish Techniques to Make Your Nails Stand Out
Cookbooks
The 2011 Book Blogger’s Cookbook
The Tomato Cookbook: Tomato Recipes From Soup to Grilled
Classics
