JAFF novels VS Jane Austen Originals.

Thoughts on how differently people interpret historical romance novels written by the likes of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, and how they interpret Regency based novels written by modern day authors. Jane wrote lighthearted romantic comedy of manner plots, and the Bronte sisters wrote dark romantic dramas. But today I’m focusing attention on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

There were no rules in writing romance, nor was there a romance genre in olden times!

If you’ve ever read “Romance and Legend of Chivalry” by A. R. Moncrieff you would see how romance tales were a thing of poetic prose, 500 and more years past, which gradually developed into fairy tale romances of Knights and Fair Maidens derived from fact and mingled with fiction. It is easy to visualise the knight riding away to do battle the weeping maid waving from the battlements of a mediaeval castle, and will he return or is this the last time she will see him?

Or, take the white (good) knight jousting with the black knight (baddy), most often the latter is in lustful wont, the former in love with the same woman. The same old romances of legend are still written today in differing romance genres. The fairy tale Snow White and the Wicked Queen (step-mother) a rival in the Beauty Stakes, and no less dramatic in Pride and Prejudice between Elizabeth and Caroline, with Caroline longing to snare Darcy. (a mere snip of characters impressions from Snow White with a touch of Cinderella rags to riches is there in Jane Austen’s Bennet tome) Both are old tropes and each time as exciting as the author cares to make them and expand on them.

We can snatch almost any sequence from a fairy tale as read to us as children and find it in modern authors’ renditions of Regency romances a million times over. There were no rules in the chivalric novels for an HEA. King Arthur’s Guinevere loved Sir Lancelot, but neither could be together, their love was pure and untainted by sex, and shared at a discreet distance according to the chivalric Christian based tales, whereas who knows, they could have been lovers! Later novels depicted them as lovers, so you take your fairy tale characters as did Jane Austen and you play theatre manager with them and have them perform on stage to your script. And yet, around the globe similar if not identical fairy tales were accountable to the Greek classics, Persian classics et al.

Whereas the romance genre of today as developed in the 20^th century rapidly acquired pseudo set rules, namely rules set in stone by Mills & Boon of the early years:

 The Begin  - boy meets girl and—

The Middle – they’ve fallen in love, or deny they have to selves, or something arises to keep them apart – known as Contention. (Contention can range from parental disapproval, circumstances beyond their control re military/other, or to the fact one may not trust the other sufficiently and for numerous reasons. Basically the author chooses a plot structure or writes on a wing and prayer known as Panster or Pantser = by seat of pants).

The   End - contention resolved and the HEA – Happy Ever After is guaranteed

All well and good as basic templates for romance, but what of follow-on novels and prequels – before and after a couple are married?

Prequels give huge insight to the main protagonist/s, and provide information relevant to their previous existence.

Sequels depend greatly on excitement and thrills aplenty, but where is such to stem from, if the sequel is a merely a couple who have each other and all is rosy in the ongoing romantic closet. Unless something dramatic happens – an accident, fear of death, tragic consequences for the family, murder, mayhem with a spate of burglaries, kidnap, blackmail, otherwise, what is the author conveying if the plot merely revolves around a happy couple, other than the author has fallen in love with her characters and simply cannot let go of them.

Sequels  can and do lend opportunity to explore other characters from a previous book, and again scope is endless in how they progress to an HEA.

Caroline Bingley and Darcy

Fan Fiction is not a new phenomenon. It’s been around for a long while, but Jane Austen Fan Fiction has experienced an explosion of new and old talent authors treading the dangerous corridors of hallowed ground. Ms Austen reigns as far as die-hard fans of her works will tell you, and woe betide anyone who dares to alter her plots.

But Fan Fiction Variations are alternative Jane Austen makeovers. And why not, and books in this sub genre of JAFF (Jane Austen Fan Fiction) ranges from Regency era to modern reflections of her plots, and Time-Travel too.

So what to do when writing a JAFF sequel with Jane Austen’s characters? That is anyone’s guess and authors go in all sorts of directions. But as I said above, writing a book about a married couple when the honeymoon is at end requires a great deal of author imagination, because whilst Jane Austen provided fully-fledged characters and a plot template to work from, authors of sequels and prequels are flying alone with no laid out Austen plot. Imagination is key to creating the former life of a Jane Austen character based on the barest snips of information in the original novel, thus creation of an ongoing life experience of existing characters tests author ability to create a new environment. That is not an easy task, for there will always be those who will expect Jane Austen formal prose before all else, and other readers will prefer more modern less formal text and a more modern character attitude: irrespective of formal etiquette within the given historical era.

Authors know they cannot please all readers, and whilst some will write to established fan base tastes, other authors will write with a broader perspective to wider readership, or write for the pleasure of experimentation in a new genre. We all start somewhere in our writing careers, and whether you’re with a publisher, whether you’re Indie, or whether you’re an old timer as I am and have had conventionally published novels under differing pseudonyms, and now Indie novels under present nom de plume, you will know how tough the industry really is. But always, always, authors who love writing historical romances and love history, they will do their damn best to write an HR with historical input seamlessly interwoven to add that little essence of historical authenticity.

Jane Austen had no need to include historical fact to render her books historical in content simply because she was writing novels contemporary to her time. But when we are writing Regency novels we add aspects of a heroine’s outfit, or other in colourful description, because a book is not a movie, even though authors can make a book read as though rolling on screen with those very descriptions. A carriage is a carriage, yes, not necessarily. It can be any number of horse drawn vehicles, but it is always a conveyance, whether on two or four wheels. Does it have one horse, two, or four abreast, or two in tandem pushing that conveyance, and remember horses don’t pull they push when in harness.

I’ll use my own Pride and Prejudice as an example in stepping out with a mystery element, for when the old routine for the master of a vast country estate kicks in, and Mr Darcy’s Pemberley was in Jane Austen’s novel a sizable estate, how is an author to seek out something to render the novel more than a mere continuing love affair?

P. D. James, the great English crime novelist wrote a P and P sequel as a murder mystery Death Comes to Pemberley. I thoroughly enjoyed it, other readers trashed it, so no there is no accounting for personal tastes, and I did get the feeling from reading Amazon reviews an awful lot of authors who read it had no idea who P. D. James was, or that numerous TV series of her books have graced BBC and ITV for ions, as did Death Comes to Pemberley.

And so, I went out on a limb and depicted Elizabeth’s adjustment to life at Pemberley as a testing time for her. After all Elizabeth would initially be faced with a very different kind of life at Pemberley. Think back to how Jane Austen suddenly gave Elizabeth a vast empty house devoid of chattering siblings and an excitable mother in the last chapter. I thought hard about the experience of being presented with a remote house far from family and friends at a time when telephones didn’t exist, and letters had to be written, sent, and reply waited upon. Similar happened to me when first married, and the telephone was a lifeline! I therefore assumed the silence of Pemberley would be deafening for Elizabeth, and Darcy did have an estate to oversee, and God forbid his harbouring a secret which amounted to a belated wedding present.

Elizabeth is a character of curiosity in the original novel and she’s observant, and questions others motives, judges some worse than others, and can misconstrue things in a contrary manner. And when one pokes one’s nose into another’s private correspondence, well, it may not be good for one. In my novel curiosity gives rise to overt imagination on Elizabeth's part when she reads a letter not meant for her eyes - does Darcy have a mistress?  Remember cases of 21^st century wives cutting up Saville row suits, keying or paint daubing hubby's swanky car when dejected by discovery her husband had a mistress? Of course you do. But in Regency England a wife was a chattel, her husband's property, and by law he could exact his conjugal rights by force, slap her arse, and any money or property she owned before marriage (Elizabeth Bennet had neither) it automatically became the property of her husband on marriage.

Elizabeth is suddenly in a strange house with no friends immediately to hand, and if she confronts Darcy over a letter she will be subject to accusation of prying into his private correspondence, and the potential for a row that may destroy what is or was a perfectly good marriage. Yes she dwells on her findings, but she is also beholden to her husband for the roof over her head, food on the table, and wifely allowance. Bide her time she must, and bite her tongue rather than admit to poking her nose into Darcy’s affairs, but as the blurb states, nothing is as it seems, “oh what a web of deceit is spun, when authors practice to deceive a heroine and readers alike with a mystery thread!” The novel actually, as someone else said, has a triple happy denouement, and it does.

So why do readers and viewers interpret books and movies differently, and how many are influenced by others opinions? Not surprisingly only one reader has grasped part of the context of my story - which is the underlying French Farce aspect and Comedy of Errors. Most readers could only think in terms of a squabbling married couple, which in the story they are not, but they do spar with words in competitive spirit, and Elizabeth’s prickly edge amuses Darcy. But why would a reader say it has an unhappy ending, when it has three happy endings? What is the purpose of that comment? I’m totally baffled by it.

The one thing Jane Austen told us about Elizabeth & Darcy = they sparked off one another, and despite love blossomed between them Darcy was not a man that would change over much in his set ways. Darcy was meticulous in everything he did, as Jane Austen tells us. Thus I had Darcy retaining copies of letters sent to others. Copies of letters sent was a well known practice in the past in how to keep up with what was said in previous letters and a means to allay repetition of same subject matter in follow-up correspondence to friends and family. And thank God many persons in the past did so, for those letters have proved invaluable to historians and authors alike. And Behold, for, at the beginning of the book Darcy reads through an old letter, an incriminating letter where he declares he suffered a moment of self doubt in proposal of marriage to Elizabeth, and worse, that he had made a second fool of himself. Elizabeth never sets eyes on that letter— else she may have shot him on arrival back at the house. The letter in question was written before he was actually wed to Elizabeth, during a spell of self doubt. But how many couples or individuals suffer pre-wedding fears and ponder their sanity, especially men?

I decided one could either write a mushy extended post wedding love story (and nothing wrong with that) but once married if there's no contention as in the original Pride & Prejudice, and no build up to romance then Jane Austen's characters have lost that very spirit which made them who they were. Darcy was no great romantic, he blundered in his first proposal and insulted Elizabeth for a second time, and yet he as good as sleep walked into a marriage proposal by default of declaring his feelings had not changed. He didn't actually on that wintry walk ask Elizabeth "Will you marry me" but she assumed it was so and he went along with it as any man who is less than able to express himself to best advantage— unlike the smooth talking Wickham!

Sometimes I do wonder if readers actually grasp Jane Austen's wicked sense of mischief! And there is a lot of underlying mischief in Jane Austen's writings. She sometimes sets her characters up for heady heights of passion and then a crashing downfall, and another hero to the rescue, and I’ll wager you know which plot I’m referring to, yes, Sense and Sensibility. Whereas in P/P contention between Elizabeth & Darcy was stretched out with gradual sense of other, equally any nuance of romance was a fragile thread throughout.

In effect Jane Austen created two characters of similar personality, both outspoken; both opinionated; both given to quick and misguided judgement of others (Elizabeth nonetheless duly enchanted by Wickham initially, whilst her opinion of Lady Catherine is later justified). Darcy has Caroline in tow with Bingley, and clearly Caroline is acceptable and part of his small entourage, and Caroline assumes she will become Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy. Why did Caroline assume Darcy was interested in her? We don’t really know the answer to that question, because we don’t know if Darcy had prior given that impression. After all, he was fairly inept in communication with females, and Caroline was in his company prior to his visit to Hertfordshire?

Lady Catherine de Bourgh

In first impressions of Elizabeth he is rude about her appearance. This is instant “contention” and Caroline enhances Elizabeth’s faults and that of her family thereafter in blind belief it will be to her own benefit. Either way, Elizabeth and Darcy are at odds, and as we know tension builds as physical desires overwhelm Darcy the more he encounters Elizabeth – a natural enough response for any young man, and from physical desire love blossoms but he blunders with his ardent proposal by immediately insulting her. (blundering idiot)

But is it love Darcy feels for Elizabeth or raw physical desire at that point, hence his insult? He has an estate, he requires an heir, and one could assume his attitude to be that of “better a woman who sparked him to a raging furnace of desire than the sniping Caroline.” And yet, when one stops and thinks and compares Elizabeth and Caroline, they do have more in common than at first glance. They not only become rivals from Caroline’s perspective, Elizabeth is not immune to the fact Caroline dislikes her as much as she dislikes Caroline, nor can Elizabeth ignore the fact Caroline has Darcy at her elbow, or seemingly that is so, for wherever Bingley and Darcy are, so is Caroline. Both Elizabeth and Caroline have cutting tongues, as we witnessed in Elizabeth’s retort to Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s insulting remarks. So in some respects one can see why Darcy may have been attracted to Caroline prior to meeting Elizabeth.

Nevertheless, infuriated by Darcy’s blundering and insulting proposal Elizabeth would have liked to tear his hair out and shred him, and yet, when she later sets eyes on Pemberley reality hits her in all that she could have had. Can she in all honesty, have prior forgiven him his insult at that point in time? Pretty damn unlikely in real life, methinks.

But then again, one has to look at the fact she is a product of her time, a time when marriages were not always the result of a love match! He is nonetheless handsome, and a man of substantial property income, which is not to be sniffed at nor snubbed, and she plays her cards to perfection as a markedly demure young lady caught snooping and duly flutters her eyelashes.

Darcy senses all is not lost, that Pemberley has achieved what he could not, and he would still prefer Elizabeth in his bed than Caroline. There you have it, he has to learn to hunt his prey, run it to ground and conquer the day, so he dreams up how, and decides introduction to his sister will show he is a caring man, and you know the rest. Elizabeth looks on him in a new light, but Wickham, dastardly Wickham intervenes by eloping with Lydia, and in turn tears Darcy and Elizabeth apart. Darcy’s ultimate good deed in paying Wickham to wed Lydia, and the purchase of a captaincy in the regular army, renders Darcy worthy of Elizabeth’s hand in marriage. And why not for who else is lining up to court Lizzie? No one. Thus, on that wintry walk Elizabeth swallows a dollop of humble pie in gratitude to Darcy’s purse, and his unstinting kindness to the Bennet household. Darcy in turn conveys for the first time heartfelt feelings, not a proposal of marriage, but could be construed as such if wanted and Elizabeth bites off his hand (metaphorically speaking). Even though her father views it an ill advised alliance, whatever Elizabeth wants her father agrees to, and Darcy did it right and proper by approaching the father in orderly fashion. The end.

Don’t you just love evaluating characters and why the author chose them and set them up for a rough ride to romance? Given the era and the fact war was raging on the Continent in Jane Austen’s time, the scope for JAFF novels is endless.  

History is Infinitely Fascinating!

Taking the title of this post as guideline, how far can fiction tread on history and not impede or alter historical fact, and yet render history intriguing and thought provoking? 

I’m one of those authors who have it in mind historical detail (fact and rumour) is just as important for authors of Historical Romance as is it for hard-nosed authors of general Historical Fiction. If no authentic backdrop is apparent then how are readers to enjoy sense of time and place past? That's not to say huge sections of a book need be given to historical detail, that's the job of the characters who can reveal what they see, what they hear, and their knowledge of events as they unfold in their world. I also love it when author's provide family lineage, not as merely a family tree map, when again the characters themselves can afford greater depth aside from the main story. After all, what goes around can come around, and the past can reveal much about individual personalities and the outlook of elders and their respective influence on younger generations. Sometimes aspects of the past are shrouded until a key is found which will unlock elements that no one cared to talk about, or it was deemed no one would talk about after a particular event. The incident, whatever, may have been of little or greater consequence at the time, and over the years the telling can become distorted because a secret is never a secret if more than one person knows of that secret. And a dark secret is the underlying threat to the Dempsey family, because one man covets something the Duke of Leominster owns. Thus the crux at issue is what does a French marquis covet, the why of it, and why did he have an English duke assassinated (?) in book 1. 

Book 1

Amazon UK  ~  Amazon US 

In the novel “To Risk All for Love – The Dempsey Fortune” is where the demise of Louis Dempsey, Duke of Leominster heralds the beginning of a vendetta with roots as far back as three generations to King Louis XIV and the Grand Dauphin. Although the story revolves around the new young duke and his sister, and his sister is the leading light in the novel alongside her unusual hero, her brother unwittingly invites guests into their home who consist of French gamblers, and people masquerading as other than selves. The year is 1790 the era of the French revolution, and as events unfold mystery escalates, murders occur, and threat of death reaches a climax when all had thought the danger was at end and peace reigned once more until a letter dictates otherwise.

Book 2 

Amazon UK   ~ Amazon US 

Book 2 “To Tempt a Duke – The Dempsey Ring” the young duke is finally made aware of the Marquis de Chartre’s desired object which the French aristocrat believes will beget a greater object of desire. In the meanwhile the duke desires something that belongs to the marquis by absolute legal right, but there is no way they can strike a bargain and both gain their ultimate heart’s desire. Thus both plan counter moves to thwart the other’s ambitions, and whilst murders abound, and French spies are assisting the marquis in his endeavours, flames of romance burn hot, but who will concede defeat and win the day? There you have the baseline of the plot, but there’s so much more to the lineage of both men, and history itself came into its own as the tapestry of a tragic tale three generations past as the backdrop to the two books.

Grand Dauphin

In brief, the Grand Dauphin entered into a Morganatic marriage with Marie Émilie Thérèse de Joly, 'Mademoiselle de Choin' (2 August 1670 – 1732).

She was a French lady-in-waiting to King Louis XIV's morganatic wife, Madame de Maintenon. No children were, purportedly, born within the marriage of le Grand Dauphin and Marie Émilie, and yet there is evidence (Saint Simon chronicler) that Marie Émilie did give birth to one child, the rumour being the infant died shortly after birth, which was not unusual in the circumstance of (illegitimate royal infants) born to the French royal household by commoner wives.

Marie Émilie Thérèse de Joly, 'Mademoiselle de Choin'

There is no absolute proof a girl or boy was born and died, and no proof there were other infants born and removed. Much of the Dauphin and Marie Émilie's life together has been veiled and remains relatively vague whilst much speculation abounds. Despite rumour, all children born at Versailles to his once favoured mistresses, and the king's legitimate offspring were taken away and reared elsewhere. Many of the illegitimate children were farmed out to other households to cause no future embarrassment to the royal house of Bourbon, barring those of his most favoured mistress Madame de Montespan. On that basis of farming out infants I took poetic licence and created a link to the Dempsey family and the marquis based on rumours that became rife in the years of Louis XIV's court and the Grand Dauphin.

Louis XIV

And so I rest my case for fiction being fiction and letting fiction play with historical rumour, in that there was indeed a child or children begotten from the Dauphin and Marie’s Morganatic marriage, but King Louis being Louis probably removed any possible threat to less than pure royal blood standing in line for succession to the throne. The Grand Dauphin did on several occasions rebel in wilful manner but his father of a devious nature did thwart the younger except in the instance of the morganatic marriage. After all, Louis XIV had entered into same with Madame de Maintenon.

And then there are the aside factors in which houses to use as the fictional residences alongside known royal residences etc. The name les Muids equates to Hogs Head. Hogs head is a weight measure for wine = 300L (66 imp gal. 79 US gal). I therefore named the Dempsey's French residence as Château les Muids, and the inspiration for their château was a beautiful abandoned one.  Unloved but beautiful inside and out. 

This is my fictional Dempsey residence in France

  

In real terms there is a Château les Muids by that name and it is a hotel now, not merely a family residence and it was only built in 1790.  Which really reflects the later architectural influence of the late 1700s instead of 17th century architecture (1600s).

You can visit this hotel

What of ship parts etc in novels?  The taff rail surrounding the poop deck. 

Who would have thought how important research is even for 

Historical Romance novels?

But it all comes down to author pride and the constant learning curve, hence history is infinitely fascinating!  

 

Venturing to the darkside of erotic fairy tales!

For this novella I've stepped back in time with an erotic fairy tale theme, admittedly with a twist in the tale that may, or may not please some readers. But there really are no rules in the game of writing love stories, and predictable stereotypical romance heroes are just that, predictable from the moment they step to the page. Thus, this story is far from predictable, and the hero far from stereotypical in the way he conducts himself, or in the way he wins the heroine's heart.

The back cover blurb:

~

A Gothic tale of lust and love in the vein of Beauty and the Beast: the classic fairytale.

Thus, on Putney Heath in the year of 1783 stands a house renowned for two ghosts of a scandalous bent, none of which deters patronage to Madame DuPont’s infamous abode by wealthy gentlemen. With the sudden death of Madame DuPont, and accrued debts of which her daughter has no hope of paying, Celeste is faced with the horrors of the debtors’ prison or the unspeakable of having to sell her body for monetary gain: as had her mother. But fate intervenes with a guardian angel, and marriage to Captain Wendover is soon the answer to her prayers but not her dreams. Life though has cruel twists and turns and Celeste discovers true love runs deep, much deeper than she had anticipated when a man from her past steps back into her life.

  

Amazon UK   Amazon US



New Release (Historical Novel)

This is Book 2 in the Royal Series - now out on release.

This particular novel is dedicated to Lord George Scott O.B.E, a descendant of Lucy Walter & James Scott Duke of Monmouth. Needless to say much new evidence of Lucy Walter's fidelity (not infidelity) and her loyalty to Charles II has come to light. In this novel, in part I redeem her honour through the eyes of others. But once the Royal Series (4 books) is complete I shall set out to pen a new account of Lucy Walter's life as Mistress or Wife?

A steamy romance set against the backdrop of Charles Stuart’s attempt to wrest England from Oliver Cromwell’s clutches (1651), and that of the royal court in exile.

Once renowned as the Toast of Clifton, Elizabeth Mountjoy strives to shake off rumours she was ever mistress to Charles II, for she’s madly in love with Captain Thomas Thornton: a Parliamentarian Captain of Horse. Unfortunately, past betrayal haunts Thomas, and when the chance to right a wrong comes his way he once again fights for the King. But to lose his estate lands is a high price to pay for heroism in defeat. Worse, the love of his life suffers the wrath of one of Cromwell’s officers, and Thomas is finally forced to decide who must come first whilst in exile, wife or King? He’s not alone in facing a dilemma, for the King too is forced to put his country first before his heart as court intrigues in exile take precedence.

Amazon .co.uk

Amazon .com

Book 1 is also out on Kindle and, as a Paperback.

A 17th century story of Undying Love and Scandalous Seduction, and all set against the backdrop of the English Civil War in which swashbuckling Cavaliers and Musketeers abound.

To live a privileged existence is one thing, but to dare to assist a much loved and wounded enemy soldier is to tempt fate of a ruinous downfall. Her blooded gown when discovered brings the wrath of Anna Lady Maitcliffe's guardian and betrothed upon her head, the punishment unimagined.

Torn between penniless flight or succumb to the inevitable, fate steps forth to cause pain and heartache Anna never thought to experience. For war has finally come to Axebury Hall Estate. In the wake of tragedy and death she ponders how it is possible when the enemy is in the house to love and hate with such intensity?

Amazon .co.uk

Amazon .com

New Kindle Book - Scandalous Whisper!

I have again indulged in the Regency period with this love story, but unlike my Georgian novella "The Highwayman's Mistress" this one is set entirely within England.  While heroic officers & gentlemen abound, two of the latter prove themselves more rogues than gentlemen!     

blurb:

England, September 1818, and the Hon Mrs. Napier views the Earl of Kilder as a most desirable suitor for her daughter’s hand in marriage. Forced to engage with the extremely handsome and charming earl, a darker side to his nature is revealed and Christina despises his very presence. Worse, her twin brother cavorts with the earl in unmentionable pursuits, and equally bent on seeing her married to his favoured friend. Luckily, with the return of the 11th Dragoons from France, their eldest brother’s homecoming affords Christina brief respite from the earl’s overt attentions. 

So too, the man Christina admires above all others has returned to the Netherwood Estate. A chance meeting and lingering eye contact with her heart’s desire stirs rebellion within her. Her mother impervious to an act of wilful subterfuge insists Christina will marry the earl, but Christina indulges in secret liaisons with the man of her dreams. With deception retribution must follow and a cruel price is to be paid when Robert Lord Devonish is recalled to duty, the regiment bound for India. What will become of her now there is no one to save her from the earl’s clutches? 

See book trailer here.

Dreams can come True!

Thanks for dropping by my blog.

Like all good romance stories, it's up to the hero to find the key to the heroine's heart!

As far as my heroines' go, once the key is found and her heart unlocked, no matter what may occur to cause a parting of the ways all roads lead back to where they came from.   ;) 



As this blog is essentially about my writing, I don't want to clutter this window with waffle about moi.  After all, what am I but a writer casting characters; setting scenes and creating lavish backdrops. Sometimes a hero and/or heroine may cause moi to tread a dangerous path, all the while passion and obsession luring them and me toward a romantic liaison. Sometimes insane jealousy enters play, maybe even revenge when dark emotional pits of despair lie in wait for the unwary and trap them in its evil grip.

Yet always, dreams can come true: but how?  The latter being the reason why - as readers of romance - we love the thrill of the chase, intimate eye contact, fleeting touch of hands, the first sensual kiss and, the moment when the love between hero and heroine becomes all consuming, all possessing and downright hot hot hot! For  now, though, it's back to a second historical novel: one in sequence of three set within same period of history.  ;)  

See what other writers said

(August 2010) re 700 word snippet taken from the Historical featured in sidebar.





Romance is all about placing obstacles in the way of a hero so that an HEA (happy ever after) fails to happen seven pages into a book. 

All barriers, as we expect, will be overcome, eventually.
How that is to happen is the burning question, and whether the execution of the turning point renders believable or ridiculous!