The second book in my Penhallow Dynasty series, The Laird Takes a Bride, takes place in Scotland. So, yes, there are sheep. Toward the end of the story, sheep play a small and (if I may say so) delightful role. I imagine them looking rather like this.

“Hardwick Ewes” by Seren Bell; more about her here. This image was posted on Twitter by Helen Warlow.

You can preorder the Kindle edition of The Laird Takes a Bride here. It’ll be available on August 29, 2017. (More info about other formats coming soon.)

Oh my goodness, You May Kiss the Bride is on Snapchat! And all dolled up, too.

Just so you know — those aren’t my kiss-marks there. But they might have been if I’d had the chance. ;)

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:

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.

Here’s another excellent word for a romance writer. For example, in You May Kiss the Bride, impetuous behavior on the part of both Gabriel and Livia catapults them into an unexpected betrothal — much to their mutual dismay.

Curious to meet them? You can read Chapter 1 here.

Yes, yes, I know the figures aren’t grounded in the same plane, but whatever. I love this collage! I’m writing Regency-era historicals and dwelling, as it were, in the Land of Neckcloths. So it’s kind of like a vision board.

via the Jane Austen Centre on Twitter

More about the Jane Austen Centre here.

A scene in You May Kiss the Bride that was very fun to write has my heroine, Livia, going to the Upper Assembly Rooms in Bath, where she meets a mysterious — but very affable — stranger. (More about that another time.) I wanted to get a strong sense of what the setting would be like and was glad to find a wealth of information about it. I particularly liked a post on the Jane Austen’s World blog, which included the photograph below. It really sparked my imagination; I loved imagining my characters here.

via Jane Austen’s World

You can read the post here.

This is an excellent word for a romance writer to deploy. One of my characters, for example, is feeling this right now. But not to worry — all will end well. :)

Another reason to love writing historical romance: I get to research the different types of shoes my characters might wear. Here are a couple of examples that I looked at while working on You May Kiss the Bride.

Images via English Historical Fiction Authors.