Rather than cross-post, I'm going to refer you to the blog at which I am guesting today. Please visit me at Prairie Chicks Write Romance. I'm there all day today, Sat March 14, answering questions and comments. We're talking about scheduling new releases, the juggling act that writers do sometimes, and other authorly problems. Please join me at Prairie Chicks.
I'm delighted to announce that my new release, "Emilina's Conquest" is now available at Uncial Press http://www.uncialpress.com/books/emilinas/emilinas.html This is my fourth Novel Byte and will be followed in October this year by a fifth, "Lost in Almack's".
And by the way, do check out my Regency Fancies store again. We have updated it and added new products.
Till next time,
Lesley-Anne
Showing posts with label Emilina's Conquest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emilina's Conquest. Show all posts
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Have you heard of Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin?
I only just heard of him myself! He is a creation of author C. S. Harris and you can investigate him and his creator more thoroughly at http://csharris.net/
The viscount is the damaged, enigmatic hero of a series of very dark Regency-set mysteries, and I'm in love with him already. I just finished reading "What Angels Fear" and it was excellent. The Regency world that Sebastian inhabits is very different from the Regency world my characters live in. But it did exist, and Ms. Harris has given it an authentic feel. If you like a dark mystery (warning: lots of violence and dirt), you will find this series intriguing. I don't usually read anything like these books, but I found this bleak underbelly of the Regency fascinating. I think it is important for me, to give my work credence and authenticity, to be very aware that this other side of London and its society existed.
On another note entirely, some very good writer friends of mine have just started their blog. They are going to cover all kinds of topics of interest to writers, and I may show up there occasionally as a guest blogger. Check them out at Prairie Chicks Write Romance http://www.prairiechickswriteromance.blogspot.com/
As well, you might want to check out my website and enter the new contest. I just posted it a day ago--there will be a draw on February 28, 2009 for a CD-ROM copy of my latest book "The Education of Portia". Go to http://www.lesleyannemcleod.com/contest.html to view the details.
And the details about my March release "Emilina's Conquest" are posted on my home page!
Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were wonderful and you are all prepared for the bright and shiny new year. My New Year's resolution--to blog more often. Come back and see if I keep my resolution :)
Lesley-Anne
The viscount is the damaged, enigmatic hero of a series of very dark Regency-set mysteries, and I'm in love with him already. I just finished reading "What Angels Fear" and it was excellent. The Regency world that Sebastian inhabits is very different from the Regency world my characters live in. But it did exist, and Ms. Harris has given it an authentic feel. If you like a dark mystery (warning: lots of violence and dirt), you will find this series intriguing. I don't usually read anything like these books, but I found this bleak underbelly of the Regency fascinating. I think it is important for me, to give my work credence and authenticity, to be very aware that this other side of London and its society existed.
On another note entirely, some very good writer friends of mine have just started their blog. They are going to cover all kinds of topics of interest to writers, and I may show up there occasionally as a guest blogger. Check them out at Prairie Chicks Write Romance http://www.prairiechickswriteromance.blogspot.com/
As well, you might want to check out my website and enter the new contest. I just posted it a day ago--there will be a draw on February 28, 2009 for a CD-ROM copy of my latest book "The Education of Portia". Go to http://www.lesleyannemcleod.com/contest.html to view the details.
And the details about my March release "Emilina's Conquest" are posted on my home page!
Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were wonderful and you are all prepared for the bright and shiny new year. My New Year's resolution--to blog more often. Come back and see if I keep my resolution :)
Lesley-Anne
Monday, November 17, 2008
New Release - The Education of Portia
Well, "The Education of Portia" is at last released, and I have promoted it everywhere I can think of at the moment. I'm in the middle of a rash of on-line chats--one tonight at Romance at Heart, Thursday night at Fallen Angels. It is very satisfying to have a project come to completion, but one always wonders about the changes one could have made, and whether or not the sales will follow on the release.
But it's time to put all that aside and get on with the next project. "Emilina's Conquest" is going back to the editor as soon as I finish writing here; the cover is done (it's wonderful--a charming departure from the last few) and the editing is pretty much finished. It will be released in March.
I've added a new gadget in the right hand column. I'm making a list of other Regency and Jane Austen-related blogs that I have visited. They are well done blogs, worth reading if you love the Regency period. Please let me know if you have visited other blogs that are not on this list. I'd like to include them.
Happy reading!
Lesley-Anne
But it's time to put all that aside and get on with the next project. "Emilina's Conquest" is going back to the editor as soon as I finish writing here; the cover is done (it's wonderful--a charming departure from the last few) and the editing is pretty much finished. It will be released in March.
I've added a new gadget in the right hand column. I'm making a list of other Regency and Jane Austen-related blogs that I have visited. They are well done blogs, worth reading if you love the Regency period. Please let me know if you have visited other blogs that are not on this list. I'd like to include them.
Happy reading!
Lesley-Anne
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Beau Brummell: This Charming Man
I finally had the opportunity to watch my new DVD about Beau Brummell. It really wasn't at all what I expected--I think I had Jane Austen movies too much in mind. But I did enjoy it.
The production is only 80 minutes long, and I wondered how they would capture such an intense, expansive life in so short a time. But actually it worked well for it emphasized Brummell's meteoric rise to fame and his equally swift fall to disgrace.
James Purefoy did an excellent job of playing the Beau. He captured very well the careless bravado, the insecurities, and the unfulfilled needs that must have marked the man. His depiction of Brummell moving from a free, determined spirit to a dependent of the Prince Regent and back again to freedom albeit poorer in all things, is masterly. The sexual license that marked the period in some circles is well illustrated; Brummell died of syphilis and the film leaves us in no doubt as to how he might have contracted that disease. The hint of homosexual activities is questionable, but as likely as anything else. I'm going to investigate how well Brummell knew Byron. I was not aware that there was a connection between the two, but they must have known each other of course.
The servant Robinson is beautifully portrayed by Philip Davis and Hugh Bonneville is outstanding as the Prince Regent. Too often Prinny is portrayed as a total buffoon, but Bonneville's version is much more believable: a man wily, intelligent, immature and not without his own charm.
The Regency period is well-presented--the dim candlelit interiors, the echoing halls of Carleton House, the casual violence and the stultifying idleness of the well-to-do. The costuming is convincing (those awful fops!) except for the Beau's fine shirt--which buttons all the way down the front! But they needed to do that for dramatic effect so I guess I'll repress my anal need for historical accuracy this once.
All in all "This Charming Man" is well worth watching. It's not a happy representation of the Regency period, but it is credible. Now I'm going to read that copy of Ian Kelly's "Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Dandy" that has been in my TBR pile for too long.
"The Education of Portia" is being released tomorrow, and "Emilina's Conquest" is finished editing and will be prepared for publishing as soon as I return it to Uncial! It's a busy time around here--
All the best,
Lesley-Anne
The production is only 80 minutes long, and I wondered how they would capture such an intense, expansive life in so short a time. But actually it worked well for it emphasized Brummell's meteoric rise to fame and his equally swift fall to disgrace.
James Purefoy did an excellent job of playing the Beau. He captured very well the careless bravado, the insecurities, and the unfulfilled needs that must have marked the man. His depiction of Brummell moving from a free, determined spirit to a dependent of the Prince Regent and back again to freedom albeit poorer in all things, is masterly. The sexual license that marked the period in some circles is well illustrated; Brummell died of syphilis and the film leaves us in no doubt as to how he might have contracted that disease. The hint of homosexual activities is questionable, but as likely as anything else. I'm going to investigate how well Brummell knew Byron. I was not aware that there was a connection between the two, but they must have known each other of course.
The servant Robinson is beautifully portrayed by Philip Davis and Hugh Bonneville is outstanding as the Prince Regent. Too often Prinny is portrayed as a total buffoon, but Bonneville's version is much more believable: a man wily, intelligent, immature and not without his own charm.
The Regency period is well-presented--the dim candlelit interiors, the echoing halls of Carleton House, the casual violence and the stultifying idleness of the well-to-do. The costuming is convincing (those awful fops!) except for the Beau's fine shirt--which buttons all the way down the front! But they needed to do that for dramatic effect so I guess I'll repress my anal need for historical accuracy this once.
All in all "This Charming Man" is well worth watching. It's not a happy representation of the Regency period, but it is credible. Now I'm going to read that copy of Ian Kelly's "Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Dandy" that has been in my TBR pile for too long.
"The Education of Portia" is being released tomorrow, and "Emilina's Conquest" is finished editing and will be prepared for publishing as soon as I return it to Uncial! It's a busy time around here--
All the best,
Lesley-Anne
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Clare Darcy
Please note that the Clare Darcy mystery has been solved by an anonymous comment on this blog post. Please check the comment by Anonymous for the details. And go to Wikipedia and search under Clare Darcy for more information and here for the definitive answers. Thanks, Anonymous--whew, what a relief to finally know. Lesley-Anne 2011/06/29
I've contracted for three new works of Regency fiction over the next two years, but in between working on and worrying about those, I've been re-reading the books of Clare Darcy. She wrote in the 1970's, just as Georgette Heyer was ending her career. At the time, she was the closest thing to GH that I could find, and I loved her for that.
On re-reading, I find her books stand the test of time. She has a very authentic voice, a wide variety of heroes, heroines, and plots and a wide knowledge of England and the period. In fact, if her book jackets did not specifically say she was from Ohio, I would have thought she was British born and bred.
I would give my eye-teeth to find out more about Clare Darcy. There is nothing on line about her. Every biographical clue leads to a dead end. Who was she really? What was her real name? I have no doubt that Darcy is her penname. Why did she stop writing? Is she still alive? She was an experienced writer, no doubt of that, so the Regencies may have been a side-line to her (or his?) main work.
If you ever hear anything about Clare Darcy, please, let me know! In the meantime, if you love Regency romance--read her books, and enjoy.
Back to work on 'Emilina's Conquest'...it's the first of the three new contracted works. It will be released in early 2009 by Uncial Press.
Until next time,
Lesley-Anne
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