Step Into The Story

I've always suspected that it was true and now it's official - napping is good for you. According to research, a nap at midday will boost alertness, creativity, mood and productivity later in the day. Apparently one Harvard study has shown that a 45 minute nap improves both learning and memory as well as having health benefits. For too long napping has been dismissed as a sign of laziness but in fact humans, like other mammals, are programmed for two periods of intense sleepiness rather than just one in the middle of the night. (Actually if we're talking about my pets then they are programmed for one period of intense sleepiness and it's 23 hours long). So let's hear it for napping. It's officially a Good Thing!

So it’s bash romantic fiction week, as usual. Oh no, not again, I hear you cry. When will this end? Not in the near future, I fear, but we can but try to tackle these prejudices about OUR genre. On Open Book on Radio 4 yesterday the BBC managed to be stereotypical and snide (in my opinion!) about Regency Romance as a fiction sub-genre. A reader had contacted the Open Book Reading Clinic to ask for help in breaking an addiction to Regencies, which she had developed during her studies for a PhD. Personally I can’t think of anything nicer than relaxing and being entertained by Georgette Heyer after a hard day’s study, but I can see that if you genuinely cannot pick up anything other than a Regency romance you might be looking for some advice on how to expand your reading. That’s fair enough. What is neither fair nor courteous, in my opinion, was the view put forward by the studio guest, a novelist and playwright, whose contention was that an intelligent, educated “grown up” woman had a “...

Today the historical passion I'd like to share is for Lydiard House and Park, near Swindon in Wiltshire. If you like to visit places that are off the beaten tourist track then Lydiard is for you. Once the home of the rich and powerful St John family, Viscounts Bolingbroke, Lydiard is a beautiful Palladian Mansion set in stunning grounds. The ground floor apartments are open to visitors and show the original furnishings and decoration, with portraits and photographs of the St John family. The "Blue Closet" is of particular interest as it is devoted to the 18th Century society artist Lady Diana Spencer who shares a common ancestry with the late Princess of Wales. Lady Diana married into the St John family - becoming the 2nd Viscountess Bolingbroke, and by her second marriage, Diana Beauclerk. Her delightful wall panels, pictures of her children and Wedgwood China incorporating her designs are on display. There is also a fascinating 17th Century painted window by Abraham Van...

Tomorrow, Thursday 22nd January, I will be the guest of the fabulous Anna Campbell for a chat on the Eloisa James and Julia Quinn Bulletin Board ! There will be lots of talk about hot historicals plus two copies of my NEW Regency historical, Kidnapped: His Innocent Mistress up for grabs! Please join me there!

A fascinating article in the latest edition of Romantic Times Magazine suggests that the dark hero who is wrestling with an addiction makes a strong romantic lead. With Regency heroes we certainly have plenty of addictions to choose from – gambling, alcohol, opium, anyone? But is this really attractive in a hero? Is it a sign of a character’s weakness or is his triumph over his dependency actually a sign of strength? A study of real life Regency addicts isn’t altogether encouraging. Samuel Taylor Coleridge became, in the words of his friend and fellow addict Thomas de Quincey a “full-blown opium addict.” He originally turned to the drug as a painkiller and cure for physical illness, but soon resorted to it in times of stress and nervousness. It can’t have helped that he dissolved his opium in brandy. By 1817 he was clinically depressed and alienated from his family. And then there was drink. Alcohol was an inherent part of Regency life (some would say an inherent part of British li...

The best laid plans... I sat down to write this blog and after a few moments became aware of a strange scratching noise. Now given that this house definitely isn't haunted (that was the last one) and that as far as I know we don't have mice, this had to be a bad sign. One of the cats had shut herself in the Forgotten Room again. We call it the Forgotten Room because it is down the end of a corridor and it's the place we use to store things. For some reason it has a fatal attraction to the cats who will sneak in there whenever the door is open. Looking round I saw Petra sitting neatly behind me by the radiator, looking smug. Not her then. Which meant it was neurotic Bob who would be even more demented after a night spent in solitary. Sure enough, when I went to the rescue, Bob had dug up the carpet so I couldn't get the door open. However, the Forgotten Room has french doors - if only I could find the key. Rummaging through my cupboards I finally found the spare set of k...

This week a very exciting thing happened – I received the draft cover for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Golden Anniversary anthology and I'm sharing it here. The book, called LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT, is a collection of romantic short stories written by the RNA’s members to celebrate the RNA's 50th anniversary. It will be published by MIRA books in hardback in December 2009 with a paperback edition coming out early in 2010, the anniversary year. Contributions cover all the romantic fiction sub-genres, including contemporary and historical romance, regencies, sagas and chick lit with stories from some of the RNA’s finest authors from Joanna Trollope to Adele Parks! The book promises to be a total treat and I am very proud and honoured that my own story, a regency called The Elopement, is to be featured in this volume. The Romantic Novelists' Association started in 1960, mainly through the efforts of Alex Stuart, with 115 members. Over the years, membership has grown unti...

Today I am blogging on UK Regency Novelists Blog about my January book, which is a reprint of Miss Verey's Proposal, originally published back in 2000. I like the book very much because it is light-hearted and fun and something of a Regency romp. Jane Verey and her friend Sophia are fifteen when they discover the Legend of the Eve of St Agnes and go to bed without their supper, convinced that if they do so they will dream of their future husbands. Sure enough, that night Jane sees an enigmatic stranger. Four years later, a marriage is arranged for Jane with Lord Philip Delahaye. But Jane is determined she will not marry Lord Philip. Not only is he rude, insulting and a drunkard but he is not the man she saw that night four years ago... I won't give any more of the story away here but there is more on the UK Regency Novelists' Blog plus something on the inspiration behind the story. There's also a copy of the book to be won on my website .

Welcome to my new blog and very best wishes for 2009! 2008 was a wonderful year for me writing-wise and I am very excited about the opportunities that this new year will bring. Last year was a double celebration for me work-wise: It was Harlequin Mills & Boon's centenary and I wrote a special Edwardian set historical for the occasion, The Last Rake in London. Last Rake was also my 25th book in 10 years. (Mind you, it took me 12 years to get published in the first place!) Unmasked, my third Regency single title historical for HQN books was published in the US. It was so exciting to learn that Unmasked had been chosen to launch Harlequin's Enriched Editons, a new interactive e-book programme. Seeing the book cover on a billboard in Times Square was a career highlight! I also had a video made for Unmasked by the wonderful people at Book Candy Studios, which was intriguing and very sexy! I spoke at the Oxford Literary Festival in the distinguished company of Daisy Goodwin, Mat...