I’ve just read a fantastic post by Mary Balogh on why she writes historical romance; it speaks eloquently to me as both a reader and a writer.

She begins by saying, “I believe in love. I believe in the power and ultimate triumph of love.”

And why historical romance in particular?

“Readers like to be transported away from their everyday lives. They like to be taken to a different world to read about people who are essentially like themselves. Past eras often seem more romantic than our own. Regency England, for example, conjures marvelous visual images of fashions for both men and women that were perhaps the most attractive and sexy of any age; of stately country homes and the spacious parks surrounding them; of horse-drawn carriages bowling along the king’s highway; of couples waltzing at grand balls in the light of dozens of candles in the crystal chandeliers overhead; of enchanted evenings strolling the lantern-lit walks of Vauxhall Gardens in London; of picnics and garden parties in rural surroundings; of drives in Hyde Park at the fashionable hour. The possibilities are endless, all coming with an aura of the romance of a bygone age. It is a happy illusion, of course. Most of us would not want actually to live in Regency England or any other bygone era, but we are quite happy to enjoy it from the comfort of our twenty-first century homes. That is the magic of reading.”

Click here to read the full post.

A fantastic word for a writer of historical romance.

Here it is in You May Kiss the Bride, during a scene in which my heroine, Livia, despite being ravenously hungry, still manages to display her good manners:

Quite a good description of my usual day.

More about the artist, Grant Snider, here.

A terrific word for a romance writer, don’t you think? 

I used it a variant of it in You May Kiss the Bride:

A surprisingly accurate depiction of my writing process.

Here’s a fantastic word for a romance writer, as our work is imbued with emotions of all kinds, and often very strong ones.

In fact, I used it in You May Kiss the Bride. My hero, Gabriel Penhallow, who has previously taken great pride in his cool sangfroid, has just had a public — and widely observed — altercation on a busy street in Bath, during which he effectively rips to shreds the character of a man whose carriage has nearly run over my heroine Livia:

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice plays a small role in You May Kiss the Bride, so I was especially delighted to come across these images from the Folio Society’s recently published edition of P & P. Aren’t they spectacular?

The artists are Anna and Elena Balbusso. More here.

Another excellent word for a romance writer, in whose work tensions often run high. 

I used it at least once, in adverbial form, in You May Kiss the Bride:

Livia looked balefully at the rumpled heap of expensive, fragile gowns lying on the floor. So Cecily thought one of her old cast-offs might suit her for the ball? And Lady Glanville thought that she’d be thrilled, grateful, to peek out from behind a potted palm to enjoy a glimpse of luxury?

Well, they were wrong. 

Dead wrong. 

Livia jumped to her feet and went over to the gowns. She snatched them up and shoved them onto a low shelf of her armoire. 

She was not going to the ball. 

This snippet appears in Chapter 1. You can read the full excerpt here.

I always love to hear what Eloisa James has to say about her books, writing, and creative process. Julie Tetel Andresen recently interviewed Eloisa — or, really, Professor Mary Bly — and I especially enjoyed this pearl from Mary/Eloisa:

“. . . romance has a rhythm and a promise to it that appeals to me. Romance reminds me that if there’s a pattern to the universe, it’s shaped around and by love. We can all use that reminder now and again.”

Read the full interview here.

“Get off the computer now and again.” It’s not always so easy for writers to do, especially for those who — like me — try to write every day. But tomorrow I’m off for a nice long holiday visit with family, and I’ve vowed to be offline the whole time.

illustration by Lizzy Stewart

More from me again a bit further down the road. In the meantime, here’s a link to the site of the wonderfully talented Lizzy Stewart.