Unusual Historicals

Dynasties: Moonshiners and NASCAR

2009-11-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

By Lorelie Brown

So how did we get from these guys:

To this one?

And really, how am I going to manage to stretch this into a dynasty post? Aw, come on, think of the money in NASCAR. That's power with a capital P, right?

Moonshiners are those people who make alcohol in illegal stills. They get their name because their work is often done by the light of the moon.

They didn't start out as lawbreakers. Originally, they were farmers who converted their excess crops to booze. It was easier to transport than in grain form, and could often be used as a form of currency in the barter system.

But when the newly-formed government of the United States needed a way to pay for their war bills, they taxed whiskey producers in 1791--and they taxed the small time producers at a significantly higher rate than large producers. Considering that many of them made whiskey precisely because they were low on cash, the farmers weren't at all stoked about it. Hence the Whiskey Rebellion began, and had to be put down by President George Washington himself.

Though the tax that started the Whiskey Rebellion was repealed in 1801, others soon followed. And mountain men and others kept brewing their own white lightning in rural areas, the best to stay out of sight of the revenuers.

When the United State's ban on alcohol began in 1920, moonshiners were in a prime position. All they had to do was step up production, and they'd make oodles of cash. One problem--how to get their product from the rural production areas to the cities, where it sold for the most money?

The answer? Fast cars, naturally, the better to outrun Prohibition agents. Moonshine runners took their normal cars and made the engines bigger and badder, at the same time they tried to lighten the rest of the car and make more room for the booze.

And we all know how men are, right? My--ahem--engine is bigger than your engine. It wasn't enough to race law enforcement. They started racing each other. The wide, hard packed beach at Daytona made a great track, down A1A highway a couple miles, out onto the beach and back again.

It wouldn't be until 1948 that NASCAR was formally founded, but it has roots solidly embedded in moonshining, which didn't end with the repeal of Prohibition either. There were still those pesky IRS Agents to elude.

Junior Johnson is often considered one of the best NASCAR drivers ever, with a total of 53 races won as a driver (and 132 as an owner). Where'd he get his skills? Running moonshine on back-mountain roads for his family! In fact, 1955 was his first NASCAR season, but in 1956 he was convicted of moonshining after he was busted at his father's still. (They never did catch him driving!)

Nowadays NASCAR is huge business, raking in billions of dollars a year. Racing fans like to claim it's the biggest sport in the US, but I can't find the stats to back that up. One thing's for sure: it's popular enough for Harlequin to have an entire line of NASCAR oriented books. If you ever get a chance to see a live race, give it a shot. There's a good chance the speed might bite you, same as it did the moonshiners.

Now, let me leave you with this little gem:

Fun, ain't it?

ALL HE DESIRES Winner!

2009-11-08T12:00:00.000-06:00

We have a winner for Anthea Lawson's ALL HE DESIRES guest blog. A free copy goes to:

Mary McCall!

Contact Carrie to provide your mailing address. The book must be claimed by next Sunday or another winner will be drawn. Please stop back later to let us know what you thought! Congratulations!

Guest Author: Amanda McCabe

2009-11-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

We're happy to welcome back Harlequin Historicals author Amanda McCabe as she celebrates the release of her Elizabeth-set Christmas romance, THE WINTER QUEEN What a gorgeous cover for such an evocative title!

Sent to Serve...
As Queen Elizabeth's lady-in-waiting, innocent Lady Rosamund is unprepared for the temptations of Court. She is swept up in the festivities of the Yuletide season and, as seduction perfumes the air, Rosamund is drawn to darkly enticing Anton Gustavson...

Seduced By A Master!
With the coming of the glittering Frost Fair, they are tangled in a web of forbidden desire and dangerous secrets. For in this time of desperate plots and intrigues, Anton is more than just a handsome suitor--he may have endangered the life of the woman he is learning to love...

***

"A delightful holiday gift of romance and intrigue! McCabe mixes in historical fact with fiction to create a fascinating page-turner of a novel" -- Fresh Fiction Reviews

***

When Elizabeth I became Queen of England in 1558, she inherited from her half-sister Queen Mary a war and religion-torn country on the verge of bankruptcy. It was an unpromising beginning, but Elizabeth was a brilliant politician, and she understood that what England needed was sparkle and pageantry. A majestic Court, with herself as its shining star and her ladies as her foils, would be her backdrop for a renewed and empowered England. Not all of her ladies were content to be mere background, though--and most of them didn't care to emulate Elizabeth in her famous virginity.

By 1564, the year when my story THE WINTER QUEEN takes place, the structure of the Royal Household had become very elaborate, with a definite hierarchy of service. There were the heights--the Ladies of the Bedchamber; the middle--the Ladies of the Privy Chamber; and the lowest (but still pretty good)--the Ladies of the Presence Chamber. The latter seem to have had no set duties except to attend on the Queen when she wanted to impress someone, such as a foreign ambassador.

The six unmarried Maids of Honor (the position of my heroine, Rosamund) went with the Queen on her morning walks and to church services, clad in the regulation white and silver. When the Queen took the throne, her old nursery maid Blanche Parry was named Chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber, while a Mistress Eglionby had the unenviable task of shepherding the Maids of Honor.

Obtaining a place at Court was very difficult, with fierce competition whenever a position came open. It was especially tough in Elizabeth's time, as hers was the only household. (When there was a king and a queen, and presumably royal children, there were many more households with more attendants required). In return for their services, the ladies received modest stipends. Privy Chamber ladies got 34 pounds a year, while the Maids of Honor received 40 (as they were usually of very high families). In addition, the Court was responsible for their room and board while they were on duty, and they had a lively social life and a measure of influence they wouldn't have otherwise.

Not that life was all banquets and strolls in the garden! Elizabeth was a very strict employer. Ladies couldn't be absent from Court without the Queen's permission, which was hard to obtain (she was very possessive). She also liked to berate her ladies, "her sarcastic tongue and withering wit...combined to render her an object of terror to her apprehensive attendants" (Somerset). She also sometimes threw things at them in a fit of Tudor temper, which couldn't have been much fun!

The housing was also not the most luxurious. The Maids of Honor lived in one dorm-style room, and a palace could only be lived in for a short time before the stench of so many inhabitants became overwhelming. Several of the Queen's ladies defied her by indulging in love affairs with her courtiers, and some (like her cousins Katherine Gray and Arbella Stuart) paid for it with stints in the Tower.

Despite those drawbacks, the life of lady-in-waiting gave upper-class women an opportunity they could find nowhere else. They were at the very center of power in Renaissance England at a pivotal moment in history. All the intrigue and glamour also makes it a terrific backdrop for novels!

Here are a few fun sources I used to research THE WINTER QUEEN:

Ladies in Waiting by Dulcie M. Ashdown (Arthur Barker, 1976)
The Palaces and Progresses of Elizabeth I by I. Dunlop (Jonathan Cape, 1962)
Elizabeth and Leicester by Sarah Gristwood (Viking, 2007)
Tudor Women by Alison Plowden (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1979)
Elizabethan Renaissance: The Life of a Society by A.L. Rowse (Macmillan, 1971)
Elizabeth I by Anne Somerset (Knopf, 1991)
Ladies in Waiting: From the Tudors to the Present Day (Orion, 1984)
The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir (Ballantine, 1998)
Queen Elizabeth's Maids of Honor by Violet A. Wilson (Bodley Head, 1922)

***

*sigh* I just love history. Thanks so much for sharing with us, Amanda. Now readers: If you leave a question or comment for Amanda, you'll be entered to win a copy of THE WINTER QUEEN of your own--just in time for holiday reading! Void where prohibited. I'll draw a winner next Sunday. Best of luck, and thank you again to Amanda for sharing with us today!

Weekly Announcements - 7 Nov 09

2009-11-07T11:16:00.001-06:00

Blythe Gifford has a title and a date for her next Harlequin Historical. HIS BORDER BRIDE will be released in May of 2010. Set in the 14th century Scottish Lowlands, it continues her "royal bastard" series. The hero, son of an English royal and a Scotswoman, is hated on both sides of the Border. The heroine, daughter of a Scots Border lord, takes him in before she discovers his parentage, and when her father returns from the war, she faces a marriage choice she can't refuse.

***

The book trailer for Jennifer Linforth's upcoming release, ABENDLIED, the second in her continuing novels of The Phantom of the Opera, is now available. Jennifer will be with us on November 22 as our featured author. Enjoy:

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Jennifer Mueller's HISTORY LESSONS is now available in print from Phaze.

Ayda Rogers can't believe her luck: she's been invited to a Scottish castle for the summer to research her doctoral thesis. When she gets there she finds with 800 years of history to contend with, where the past is always present. Steamy tales of previous castle owners meld within the modern story as she learns all she needs for her paper. Sometimes it's not the past but the present which makes you change your whole way of thinking, especially when that change comes in the form of the future duke named Hunter.

***

Michelle Styles' newest Viking romance, THE VIKING'S CAPTIVE PRINCESS, won't be released in print until December, but you can download it now at E-Harlequin! Also, A CHRISTMAS WEDDING WAGER is being released in Italian as Valzer d'Amore.

***

Many unusual historicals authors are featured in The Season's 2009 cover contest, including contributors and past guests Margaret Mallory, TJ Bennett, Kimberly Killion, Anthea Lawson, Lisa Marie Wilkinson, and Blythe Gifford. Be sure to vote for your favorites!

***

Zoe Archer received another stunning review from Mrs. Giggles, this time for her debut LADY X'S COWBOY.

I keep smiling and laughing and even sighing a while here and there as I keep turning the pages, and by the last page, I feel as if I have struck gold or something. I love this book. I LOVE it.

***

Join us Sunday when Unusual Historicals welcomes the return of Harlequin Historicals author Amanda McCabe. She'll be talking about her newest release THE WINTER QUEEN, set in Elizabethan England! She'll also be giving away a copy. Don't miss it!

***

We'll also draw the winner of Anthea Lawson's ALL HE DESIRES. You still have time to leave a comment or question for your chance to win.

***

And stay with us through the coming weeks when we'll be featuring the best unusual historical authors! Elizabeth Lane, Jennifer Linforth, Margaret Mallory, and Michelle Styles will be our guests. We hope you'll join us!

***

Have a good weekend! Remember, you don't have to be an Unusual Historicals contributor to submit good news to the weekend announcements. If it has to do with unusual historicals, we'd love to shout it out to the world! Send announcements to Carrie. See you next week...

Excerpt Thursday: Amanda McCabe

2009-11-05T07:45:00.004-06:00

This week on Excerpt Thursday, we're welcoming back Amanda McCabe as she celebrates the release of her newest unusual historical from Harlequin: THE WINTER QUEEN, set in Elizabethan England. Join us Sunday when Amanda will be here to talk about THE WINTER QUEEN and give away a copy!

As Queen Elizabeth's lady-in-waiting, innocent Lady Rosamund is unprepared for the temptations of Court. She is swept up in the festivities of the yuletide season and, as seduction perfumes the air, Rosamund is drawn to darkly enticing Anton Gustavson...

With the coming of the glittering Frost Fair, they are tangled in a web of forbidden desire and dangerous secrets. For in this time of desperate plots and intrigues, Anton is more than just a handsome suitor—he may have endangered the life of the woman he is learning to love...

***

Lady Rosamund Ramsay is traveling from her home to the Court of Queen Elizabeth at Whitehall, in the middle of the coldest winter in living memory. Almost there, she stops for a walk in the woods, and encounters a dangerously attractive young man...

***

Rosamund emerged from the woods into a clearing, suddenly facing a scene from another world, another life. There was a frozen pond, a rough circle of shimmering, silver ice. On its banks crackled a bonfire, snapping red-gold flames that send plumes of fragrant smoke into the sky and reached enticing tendrils of heat toward Rosamund's chilled cheeks.

There were people, four of them, gathered around the fire--two men and two ladies, clad in rich velvets and furs. They laughed and chattered in the glow of the fire, sipping goblets of wine and roasting skewers of meat in the flames. And out in the very center of that frozen pond was another man, gliding in lazy, looping circles.

Rosamund stared in utter astonishment as he twirled in a graceful, powerful arc, his lean body, sheathed only in a black velvet doublet and leather breeches, spinning faster and faster. He was a dark blur on that shining ice, swifter than any human eye could follow. As she watched, mesmerized, his spin slowed until he stood perfectly still, a winter god on the ice.

The day too grew still; the cold, blowing wind and scudding clouds hung suspended around that one man.

"Anton!" one of the ladies called, clapping her gloved hands. "That was astounding."

The man on the ice gave an elaborate bow before launching himself into a backward spin, a lazy meander toward the shore.

"Aye, Anton is astounding," the other man, the one by the fire, said. His voice was heavy with some Slavic accent. "An astounding peacock who must show off his gaudy feathers for the ladies."

The skater--Anton?--laughed as he reached the snowy banks. He sat down on a fallen log to unstrap his skates, an inky-dark lock of hair falling over his brow.

"I believe I detect a note of envy, Johan," he said, his deep voice edged with the lilting music of that same strange, northern accent. He was not even out of breath after his great feats on the ice.

Johan snorted derisively. "Envy of your monkeyish antics on those skates? I should say not!"

"Oh, I am quite sure Anton is adroit at far more than skating," one of the ladies cooed. She filled a goblet with wine and took it over to Anton, her fine velvet skirts swaying. She was tall and strikingly lovely, with dark-red hair against the white of the snow. "Is that not so?"

"In Stockholm, a gentleman never contradicts a lady, Lady Essex," he said, rising from the log to take her proffered goblet, smiling at her over its gilded rim.

"What else do they do in Stockholm?" she asked, a flirtatious note in her voice.

Anton laughed, his head tipped back to drink deeply of the wine. As he turned toward her, Rosamund had a clear view of him and she had to admit he was handsome indeed. Not quite a peacock--he was too plainly dressed for that, and he wore no jewels but a single pearl drop in one ear. And not the same as Richard, who had a blond, ruddy, muscular Englishness. But undeniably, exotically handsome.

He was on the tall side, and whipcord lean, no doubt from all that spinning on the ice. His hair was black as a raven's wing, falling around his face and over the high collar of his doublet in unruly waves. He impatiently pushed it back, revealing high, sharply carved cheekbones and dark, sparkling eyes.

Eyes that widened as they spied her standing there, staring at him like some addled peasant girl. He handed the lady his empty goblet and moved toward Rosamund, graceful and intent as a cat. Rosamund longed to run, to spin around and flee back toward the woods, yet her feet seemed nailed into place. She could not dash off, could not even look away from him.

"Well, well," he said, a smile touching the corner of his sensual lips. "Who do we have here?"

Rosamund, feeling utterly flustered and foolish, was finally able to turn around and flee, Anton's startled laughter chasing her all the way back to the safety of her litter.

Dynasties: Gangland Leaders of Chicago

2009-11-04T06:00:00.001-06:00

By Delia DeLeest

Not all dynasties are created by a family, not a genetic one anyway. Some are created by "The Family."

In order to be the head of the Mafia, you must be Sicilian, and contrary to popular belief, Al Capone was not and could never be the head because of his lack of foresight. He was born in New York, after all, to non-Sicilian parents. But Al didn't let something as simple as an accident of birth prevent him from becoming one of the most powerful men in America.

Before there was Al Capone, there was "Big Jim" Colosimo. Big Jim was the undisputed boss of Chicago in 1902. He owned a string of gambling dens and brothels. He was ruthless and powerful, but like anyone else, he had his Achilles heel--or, in Jim's case, two of them. His head was turned by a pretty young thing. Eventually he left his wife and, in 1920, married his latest crush. Like many men with a new trophy wife, Big Jim lost interest in the day to day running of his empire and started turning much of his power over to underlings.

The second thing, which, combined with his new wife, resulted in his downfall was Big Jim's refusal to see a golden opportunity to expand his kingdom and make a lot of money for a lot of people. When Prohibition began in 1920, any entrepreneur willing to ignore that nasty 18th Amendment was destined to make a whole lot of money with bootleg liquor. When Big Jim's second in command, Johnny Torrio, presented him with his new business plan, Big Jim didn't see the need to expand his financial horizons, satisfied with the profits being made by gambling and prostitution. Besides, starting up a new branch of business would take away precious time he'd rather spend with his new wife.

Not one to take no for an answer, the charming Mr. Torrio took matters into his own hands. Torrio informed Colosimo of a shipment being delivered to one of his cafes. While Big Jim was there awaiting delivery, he was shot and killed, presumably by Frankie Yale, an associate of Torrio's, though neither was ever convicted.

In order to promote peace in the city, Big Jim had attempted to divide Chicago up between its various gangs, each outfit taking a section of the city for their own business purposes and leaving the other sections alone. Johnny Torrio wasn't a big fan of this plan, and when he took over upon Big Jim's death, bitter squabbles between the different factions erupted, elevating into full out gang wars.

To help him strong arm control of the city, Torrio called on his good friend from New York, Alphonse Capone, to lend him a hand.

Al was an ambitious young man and soon made himself indispensable to Johnny Torrio. Soon Al had a grasp of Chicago gangland politics, which worked to his advantage when, just a few years after Al arrived in Chicago, Johnny Torrio suffered an assassination attempt by a rival gang. Though Torrio survived, he was shaken enough to turn over the reins of his empire to Capone. Johnny became one of those rarities, a gangster who died of old age. He lived quietly in Europe for five years before returning to the U.S. to become somewhat of an elder statesman for the U.S. Underworld. He died in 1957 at the age of 75 after suffering a heart attack.

Which brings us back to Al. He finally got what he so desperately worked for all those years--control. His control became absolute when he took power over the mafia. Though he could not be its head, as was stated earlier, he could and did, place a puppet leader at its helm. Al Capone was now at the top of the world and his empire complete.

In 1931, Al was convicted of tax evasion and sent to prison. Though a successor took his place as leader of Chicago, with the ending of Prohibition, along with the concerns of the Great Depression, the time of the celebrity mobster was over. Soon they were replaced by the likes of Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger, loners with no obvious gangland ties. Though the mob is still going strong today, it tends to lay low and doesn't flagrantly flaunt the law out in the open as their predecessors did. When Capone fell, his kingdom went with him.

Dynasties: The Roosevelts

2009-11-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

By Carrie Lofty

While most people know that the United States has had two presidents named Roosevelt, very few can identify how they were related.

"Roosevelt" means "Rose of the Fields" in Dutch. The first Roosevelt, a Dutchman named Claes van Rosevelt, arrived in Nieuw Amsterdam in the middle of the 17th century. He bought a twenty-acre farm in mid-town Manhattan, including the site of the Empire State Building. By the 18th century, however, the family divided into two branches: Johannes Roosevelt (1689-1750) founded the clan in Oyster Bay, New York, while his younger brother, James Jacobus Roosevelt (1692-1776), founded the Hyde Park branch.

Fast forward a hundred years and you'll find that the Roosevelts were incredibly influential in New York, successful in business, and active in politics (on opposing sides: the Oyster Bay family became Republicans after the Civil War, while the Hyde Park membership remained Democrats). Among their number included an inventor, an Assistant Secretary of the Navy, a portrait painter, the co-founder of the Bank of New York, an opera singer in Paris, a diplomat, the wife of a Massachusetts governor, a famous poet and orator, a pianist and composer, a gold medal-winning yachtsman, and an Archbishop of Baltimore.

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, was born in 1858. A sickly child, he learned all about the natural sciences and history before applying himself toward growing physically strong. He became an avid boxer when he attended Harvard. After serving as a Lieutenant Colonel in the US military during the Spanish-American War, he was elected vice president. William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, which made Roosevelt the youngest man ever to assume the presidency. He was 42.

Theodore's brother Elliott was two years his junior. Elliott sired three daughters, one of whom was Anna Eleanor Roosevelt. Her Uncle Teddy, while he was still president, gave Eleanor away when she married Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the Hyde Park Roosevelts. Their marriage not only solidified a political dynasty but reunited the families. (Here they're pictured courting in 1903.)

If you do the math, Theodore and Franklin were fifth cousins, which meant they were more closely related by marriage than by blood.

Franklin Roosevelt, of course, went on to set his own records as the 32nd President of the United States. He was elected to more terms (four) and served more years in office (twelve) than any other leader, and presided over two monumental crises in US history: the Great Depression and World War II. He remained a Democrat, in keeping with the rest of the Hyde Park branch, but his left-wing policies single-handedly shifted the political spectrum so that "Democrat" came to mean "liberal."

The Roosevelts' children did not shirk service to their country just because of their influential fathers. Teddy's son, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., went on to become a brigadier general. He and his brothers Kermit and Archibald served in both world wars. Their youngest brother, Quentin, was killed in action over France in 1918. All four of FDR's sons served during WWII: James in the Marine Corps, Franklin Jr. and John in the Navy, and Elliott in the US Army Air Corps.

While Teddy's and FDR's offspring have not achieved the stellar successes of their forebears, there are plenty of Roosevelts to tip the odds of future achievement in their favor. For example, Teddy Roosevelt sired six children by two wives, who then bore 11 grandchildren. Not bad, but FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt had them beat. To quote Wikipedia, their five surviving children produced among them "...nineteen marriages, fifteen divorces, and twenty-nine children."

We can assume that the Roosevelts will be a part of American life for generations to come--if not in prominent political placements, then in the myriad towns (at least ten), schools (six institutes of higher learning, plus countless grade schools), streets, buildings, and public works named after these two incredibly influential leaders.

Dynasties: The Beauforts

2009-11-02T06:00:00.002-06:00

By Blythe Gifford

For most writers of historical romance, the "mother of all dynasties" is the English royal family. Many of us have a vague notion of the medieval segment of the story: the Plantagenets, Lancaster, York, and the War of the Roses, the Tudors, and finally, the Stuarts/Stewarts from Scotland after Queen Elizabeth died childless.

The official family tree is hard to follow, but if you study the genealogy, you will discover that the Lancasters, the Yorks, the Tudors, and the Stewarts all have a direct and clear line of inheritance back to the Beauforts, the children of one of the Middle Ages' most romantic couples: Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.

Many readers are familiar with Katherine Swynford because of Anya Seton's Katherine, published in 1954 and still in print today. It fictionalizes the love story of Katherine and John, who was a younger son of Edward III. (Now Katherine has finally gotten her due as two biographies have recently been published: Mistress of the Monarchy by Alison Wier, and Katherine Swynford: The History of a Medieval Mistress by Jeanne Lucraft.)

Among the facts we know is that John and Katherine were lovers for many years, she bore him four children, and the two finally married very late in life. After their marriage, their children, called the "Beauforts" after a French castle John claimed but did not hold, were legitimized. (It is a myth that the children were born there. Neither John nor Katherine ever set foot in the castle.)

Katherine was governess to Gaunt's children by his first two wives and most evidence suggests the siblings of the blended families (her children by her first husband, his children by his previous wives, and their bastard children) got on well.

John's son with his first wife, Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster, became Henry IV of England and the founder of the Lancaster faction in the later War of the Roses. John and Katherine's second son, Henry Beaufort, held the post of Chancellor of England under Henry IV for a time, and subsequently served as Chancellor for his son and grandson, Henry V and Henry VI.

John, the eldest Beaufort son, held the title of Marquess and Earl of Somerset. Somerset served Henry IV, his half-brother, on several diplomatic and military missions. (His shield is pictured above.) Along with him, he often took Thomas Swynford, Katherine's son with her first husband.

The other two first generation Beaufort children were Thomas, who became Duke of Exeter, and Jean, whose second husband was Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland. The Yorkist kings descended from the Neville family, who have been known by history as "Kingmakers."

So the legitimized children took their rightful, active places in the power structure of England. But in 1407, new words were inserted into the Parliamentary document that had legitimized the them ten years before. The addition read that the Beauforts had all rights excepta dignitate regali, that is, all except the royal rights of succession.

Depending on which biography you read, these words were added by Henry IV or by his Council, but regardless, because the change was never ratified by Parliament, they were conveniently forgotten, or ignored, in the years to come.

The full story of the Beaufort family is too long to recount here. They were in and out of favor over the years, but when you follow Katherine and John's descendants, the path of royal succession is clear and direct.

-- From John's son by his first wife Blanche, Henry IV, comes the line of Lancaster (Red Rose) kings. Through Blanche, John held the title of the Duke of Lancaster.

-- From Katherine and John's daughter, Jean, you have a direct line to two Yorkist Kings: Edward IV and Richard III, both of whom were Katherine and John's great-grandsons. Their great-great-granddaughter, Elizabeth of York, was the first Tudor queen.

-- From Katherine and John's oldest Beaufort son, John, you have a direct line to the first Tudor King, Henry VII. So the founders of the Tudor line, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, were both great-great-grandchildren of John and Katherine! In fact, this was clearly recognized at the time and because of consanguinity, the two had to get papal dispensation to marry.

-- Joan, who was John and Katherine's granddaughter, married James I of the Scottish Stewart kings. So when James VI of Scotland became James I of England many years later, it was, again, a direct Beaufort descendant who took the throne.

So today's English royal family name might more accurately be not Windsor, but Beaufort!

KISS OF SCANDAL Winner!

2009-11-01T07:01:00.001-06:00

We have a winner for Isabel Roman's KISS OF SCANDAL guest blog. A free copy goes to:

MMW!

Contact Carrie to provide your mailing address. The book must be claimed by next Sunday or another winner will be drawn. Please stop back later to let us know what you thought! Congratulations!

Guest Author: Anthea Lawson

2009-11-01T07:00:00.001-06:00

Welcome to our weekly author spotlight on Unusual Historicals! Anthea Lawson is the pseudonym of a husband-wife writing team whose romances are set in the early-Victorian period and feature travel to exotic locales. Their first book, PASSIONATE, centered on a botanical expedition to Tunisia, and was nominated for a Best First Book RITA in 2009. Their November 3rd release, ALL HE DESIRES, returns to the Mediterranean for more romance and adventure.

Far from home and her noble relatives, Miss Caroline Huntington has been injured in a fall from her horse. Called to her side, Alex Trentham knows he must assist her, though he has not practiced as a physician for a long while. Just to see so lovely a woman in a state of undress is a hard test of his self-control. Caroline is all that is warm and feminine, beautiful and pure.

Brave to a fault, she does not flinch under his hands, and soon she is on the mend. Alex struggles to hide his feelings, knowing that his dark past shadows any hope of a future. But Caroline's radiant innocence is dangerous to a worldly man, and she seems achingly eager to experience all the pleasure he could show her...

***

Your new release, ALL HE DESIRES, opens on the Isle of Crete. Tell us more!

The British were such travelers, and their empire spanned the globe. What were these people doing when they weren't going to balls and riding around Hyde park in carriages? They were off seeing the world. We picked Crete because it was rich in mythology, a site of major archaeological discoveries, and also because it had a sunny climate with sparkling oceans. We started the novel while on vacation (a five-day downpour on the Oregon coast), and the setting reflects our own wish for clear skies and warm sunshine. We also did a lot of research on the Mediterranean basin for our first book, so Crete was "on the map" so to speak.

Originally, we thought we'd have an archaeologist hero, but characters don't care what the author plans for them. They often have their own history and personality that the writer discovers as the story is unfolding. It turned out that our hero, Alex Trentham, is not an archaeologist; he is a handsome, passionate and most unwilling doctor with a mysterious past. We still have an archaeological dig, but it is not the focal-point in the story we had originally imagined.

Your first book, the RITA-nominated PASSIONATE, also featured an unusual setting: Tunisia. What draws you to these exotic locales?

The rain-drenched winters of the Pacific NW! Seriously, we take any chance to dive into research about warm, dry climes. The sound of the drizzle outside transmutes to rustling branches in an olive grove, glints of sunlight off the sea, the scent of oranges. For those who prefer London, much of PASSIONATE and half of ALL HE DESIRES is set firmly to the world of the ton. After all, we can't abandon the balls and teas entirely.

In addition to your interesting locales, you've chosen a less-usual time period. What draws you to the Victorian era?

It's a time of great change and energy, where the British were fanning out all across the globe as amateur scientists and observers as well as simply traveling for pleasure. There's an endless wealth of wonderful, exciting stories to be told against that backdrop.

What's one of the most unusual scenes in ALL HE DESIRES?

Definitely the love scene that's completely in the dark. No light at all. That was a fun challenge to write, and all the hotter for it. You'll have to read the book to find out why!

What are you working on now?

We're musicians as well as writers, and are having a great time with our new series which is set against the glittering backdrop of 19th century musical celebrity. Musical stars have been bad-boys in every era, and the 1800s are no exception. We are excited about the concept, and the first book is turning out to be everything we hoped and more.

Finally, tell us a little bit about writing together.

It's both satisfying and challenging and we'd have it no other way. Both of us bring our strengths and weaknesses to the process, and together we do better work then either of us could do alone. It's great to have your life-partner also be a creative partner, and when a new book comes out and readers respond positively to the story, our joy is even greater because it is a shared joy. We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to create together in this way.

Thanks for having us here at Unusual Historicals! Please come visit us at our website, follow us on Twitter, and friend us on Facebook. ALL HE DESIRES hits the shelves November 3rd. Pick up a copy and let us know what you think!

***

Reviews:

"This husband-and-wife team's second novel sweeps from the shores of Crete to the streets of London...readers will enjoy the characters and the beautiful descriptions in this nice tale." -- Romantic Times

"I find this to be a wonderful example of historical romance. Ms. Lawson tells a powerful love story and draws the reader in within the first chapter. This tale comes with a high recommendation from this reviewer." -- Coffee Time Romance

"This entertaining Victorian romance stars an intriguing lead male and an intrepid heroine...fans will enjoy Anthea Lawson's exciting mid nineteenth century tale, as Caroline and Alex make for a wonderful historical." -- Harriet Klausner

***

Yay for Mediterranean adventure! If you'd like to secure your chance to win a copy, leave Anthea and Lawson a comment or question. I'll draw a winner of one signed book in one week. Void where prohibited. Good luck!

Weekly Announcements - 30 Oct 09

2009-10-30T09:00:00.009-05:00

Margaret Mallory is giving away signed copies of her Nov 24th release, KNIGHT OF PLEASURE, the second of her "All the King's Men" series from Grand Central. See her contest page for details!

***

SCOUNDREL'S KISS, Carrie Lofty's Spanish-set medieval romance, received its first review. Working Girl Reviews says: "Reading this extremely well plotted novel was much like watching a really great action adventure movie. Add to that elements of betrayal and deception, a few well placed love scenes, and political intrigue and you have a genuine nail-biting, can't-put-downable reading experience." SCOUNDREL'S KISS hits the shelves on January 5th and is available for pre-order.

***

Join us Sunday when Unusual Historicals welcomes the return of RITA-nominated husband and wife team Anthea Lawson. They'll be chatting about their November 3rd release ALL HE DESIRES, set in Crete and London! They'll also be giving away a copy. Don't miss it!

***

We'll also draw the winner of Isabel Roman's 19th century Russian romance, KISS OF SCANDAL. You still have time to leave a comment or question for your chance to win.

***

And stay with us through the coming weeks when we'll be featuring the best unusual historical authors! Amanda McCabe, Elizabeth Lane, Jennifer Linforth, and Margaret Mallory will be our guests. We hope you'll join us!

***

Have a good weekend! Remember, you don't have to be an Unusual Historicals contributor to submit good news to the weekend announcements. If it has to do with unusual historicals, we'd love to shout it out to the world! Send announcements to Carrie. See you next week...

Excerpt Thursday: Anthea Lawson

2009-10-29T07:00:00.003-05:00

Today on Excerpt Thursday we're welcoming back Anthea Lawson as this RITA-nominated husband and wife team celebrate the November 3rd release of their newest exotic romance. In ALL HE DESIRES, a troubled English doctor, self-exiled on the Isle of Crete, meets the one woman who can bring him out of the shadows and into the light. Anthea and Lawson will be joining us on Sunday to discuss their latest release and give away a copy. I hope you'll join us!

Far from home and her noble relatives, Miss Caroline Huntington has been injured in a fall from her horse. Called to her side, Alex Trentham knows he must assist her, though he has not practiced as a physician for a long while. Just to see so lovely a woman in a state of undress is a hard test of his self-control. Caroline is all that is warm and feminine, beautiful and pure.

Brave to a fault, she does not flinch under his hands, and soon she is on the mend. Alex struggles to hide his feelings, knowing that his dark past shadows any hope of a future. But Caroline's radiant innocence is dangerous to a worldly man, and she seems achingly eager to experience all the pleasure he could show her...

***

"This husband-and-wife team's second novel sweeps from the shores of Crete to the streets of London...readers will enjoy the characters and the beautiful descriptions in this nice tale." -- Romantic Times

***

In this excerpt, Caroline Huntington has been thrown from her horse and is finally found after dark by her friend, Maggie, with help from an older Frenchman who has been living on the island.

Crete, 1848

"Thank you, Monsieur Legault," Maggie said. "Your assistance tonight has been invaluable. When Miss Huntington did not return from her ride..." Her breath caught on the words.

"There now. We foreigners must look after one another, is it not so? Though without the help of these good men we would not have found your friend."

"But we did. We did." Maggie supported Caroline, holding firmly to her uninjured arm. The flames reflected off Maggie's gold-rimmed spectacles. "When you had not returned by supper, I knew something was wrong. The owners of the villa directed me to Monsieur Legault, and he helped organize the search."

Caroline swallowed. "I'm so glad." She leaned against her friend and closed her eyes. How could she have been so thoughtless, so careless? She would make it up to Maggie, somehow.

"Ah," Monsieur Legault said. "Here is the cart. It will not be comfortable, but the aid we seek is not far."

Maggie led Caroline to where the rustic vehicle waited. "I would not think a village of this size boasted a doctor. How fortunate."

The Frenchman smiled, though there was something cautious in his expression. "We shall see. Come."

The cart rolled forward over the rough track, and it did not take long for Caroline to fall into a hazy, pain-filled daze. The night sky, the flaring torches, the jolting ride wove together into a disjointed tapestry. She did not realize they had halted in front of a cottage until Maggie coaxed her upright and helped her from the cart.

Monsieur Legault went to the door. He pounded, and pounded again until at last it was opened by a figure who remained in the shadows. Caroline blinked, her vision still blurred. A tall man, she thought.

"What do you want?" His voice was gruff.

"Mr. Trentham, we require your help." The Frenchman waved to where Caroline stood, supported by Maggie. "The mademoiselle is injured."

The man shook his head. "I cannot help you." He began to close the door, but Monsieur Legault set his foot in the jamb.

"I ask you not to be stubborn. She is hurt--she must be seen."

The shadow moved closer to the light. He was tall, his hair the color of night. The torchlight painted hollows under his cheekbones and cast his uncompromising nose in sharp relief. He did not look like a doctor, not with his creased clothing and untamed hair, a scowl making his face even more forbidding. When his gaze moved to her, Caroline felt it, a nearly physical sensation, like standing under a storm cloud just before the fury of wind and rain lashed down. She shivered.

He regarded her for several moments, measured by the rapid beat of her heart. His eyes seemed black in the flickering light. That intent gaze moved down to her dusty boots, then returned to her face.

At last he turned to the Frenchman. "The woman is on her feet. She looks well enough. Take her to Rethymno." He stepped back and made to close his door again.

"You must help us," Monsieur Legault said, a pleading note in his voice. "Rethymno is too far, and you know how little talent the doctor there has."

"Enough to care for an injured arm. Good night."

"Wait!" Maggie stepped forward, bringing Caroline with her. "You cannot refuse--you are English!"

"Oh?" He paused with one hand on the door frame, his lips twisted as though he had tasted something bitter. "I don't see that it signifies."

"Of course it does. This is Miss Caroline Huntington, the niece of the Earl of Twickenham. How can you consider yourself a gentleman if you turn her away?"

"Who says I consider myself a gentleman?"

Research: Men's Underpants

2009-10-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

By Erastes

When you write romance, particularly historical romance, you need to know a lot about the clothes. For me, part of the sensuous and pleasurable aspects of writing in eras other than our own is to picture exactly what my characters are wearing, what those clothes are made of, how they are created, dyed, woven, etc. A historical writer has to be partly geek, and would fit right in with any society of living history buffs.

When you write books which are going to have the protagonists stripping off, then you need to know what's under those clothes, and when--like me--you write about homosexual men, you need a good grounding in what men wear under those breeches, those kilts (if anything) and those dandified trousers. And how they go on. And how they come off!

So I'd like to share a little with you about things I have learned about men's undergarments whilst researching for my books. Here I cover up to the Elizabethan age, I'll share later eras perhaps in another month.

Loincloths might still be around (roll on global warming!!), but they have been found in burial sites on the bodies of men living over 7,000 years ago. Who knows what sparked man to start covering his bits--it would hardly be warmth, after all. It would offer some level of protection from thistles I suppose, but not if a sabre toothed-tiger was coming at you at groin level.

Tutankhamun was buried with 145 loincloths. This seems either a lot, or not enough, depending on your point of view of how long the afterlife is going to be. Of course by this time, the loincloth was worn under a skirt. Still--roll on global warming!

The Ancient Greeks obviously didn't have to worry about sabre-toothed tigers, and consequently didn't wear any underwear at all. Good for them! Φοβάμαι τους Έλληνες όταν είναι πηγαίνοντας καταδρομέας!*

The Romans did, though00big sissies. Possibly because their empire stretched into chillier areas. They'd wear something called a subligaculum, which in modern terms means a pair of shorts or a loincloth and was worn under a toga or tunic.

Pull-on undergarments were invented around the 13th century, large baggy drawers called "braies" made from linen were worn by men under their clothes. This style of undergarment did not really change in design for 500 years--Plus ca change...I know some men who change them about as frequently--other than to be fashioned from better, finer fabrics and to have ornamentation.

These knickers shrank considerable during the Renaissance as the familiar image of cod-piece and hose emerged. The hose themselves were an open garment--not like our tights or hose of today. Tight on the legs and open at the front and back which could not be worn openly as the privities hung lose. As the doublet became shorter clearly something else was needed! The braies shrank to show off the hose, and the codpiece was developed to protect the wearer's modesty.

Or at least at first.

Gradually the codpiece evolved, became padded, shaped to fit and as some clearly showed were frankly showing off--and obviously exaggerating. Some of the most "impressive" are those belonging to Henry 8th and shown at the Tower of London.

What is interesting about fashion today is that of showing off one's designer underwear is not a new thing at all. The rich would commission the most exquisite undershirts, and underwear, fabulously expensive fabrics and meticulously embroidered. Why, they reasoned, am I paying for such incredible work that will never be seen? Well, partly because Sumptuary Laws came into force in many European countries, restricting the sumptuousness of dress in order to curb extravagance, protect fortunes, and make clear the necessary and appropriate distinctions between levels of society.

This led to the "slashing" fashions that we see in the Elizabethan period, where the overclothes had slits, the better to show off the gorgeous clothes being worn beneath, and thus bypassing the laws.

After these excesses calmed down, and waistcoat shirt and breeches took the place of doublet and hose, men returned to wearing braies or "strossers." During the English Civil War the only difference between undergarments and overgarments were the weight of the wool they were made from.

*I fear the Greeks when they go commando.

Sources:
A history of Men's Underwear
Revival Clothing
Vintage Skivvies

Research: Life in Ancient Egypt

2009-10-27T08:51:00.000-05:00

By Jean Adams

Daily life in ancient Egypt was harsh. Despite being the most advanced nation of the then world, most people didn't live beyond 40 years of age. Because of this, they usually married at a young age.

Egyptian culture expected women to marry at around age twelve. Marriage was a secular activity regulated by custom rather than law. Instead of a marriage contract, men and women drew up property contracts at the time of marriage in the event of death or divorce. The woman then travelled to the home of her new husband.

In the home, women were responsible for the day-to-day running and decisions. Women had the same legal rights and status as men under the law. The men were usually gone from the home much of the time because of seasonal work or warfare. Tomb builders had their own towns and villages near their current work, enabling their families to live with them.

The division of labor within a household evolved from environmental conditions. The men did heavy physical labor in the hot sun, while women labored inside or in the shade. Women attended to the household's gardens and orchards. Kitchens were situated outside the home because of the intense heat and meals were eaten outside or on the flat rooftops.

Twice a day, women fetched water and filled huge clay vessels that stood in the courtyard or by the doorway of every house. Women did most of the weaving, spinning linen thread from flax fibers. As farmers, women never handled tools with blades. They winnowed the grain, separating the stalks and seeds, and then they ground the grain for baking. Women helped to make wine and beer, and they pressed oil from nuts and plants.

How about this, ladies. Women did not wash dirty laundry! It was the men who handled the laundry because it was washed in the Nile and there was a constant threat from crocodiles along the river banks.

If they had the means, bathrooms were built right in their homes. There is evidence that in the New Kingdom the gentry had small bathrooms in their homes. In the larger homes next to the master bedroom there was a bathroom that consisted of a shallow stone tub that the person stood in and had water poured over him. There is no evidence that the common people had bathrooms in their homes.

It was the responsibility of each household to dispose of their garbage at the communal dump - the irrigation canals. As a result, these dumps were breeding grounds for vermin and disease. Some homes in the cities may have had trays of earth for drainage and disposal of waste. For the most part, however, ancient Egyptians simply dumped their waste in canals or open fields.

There were no formal schools for girls, so mothers educated their daughters in the home. Women attended professional schools, such as the school of medicine at Heliopolis and the woman's school at Sais, to learn to become doctors.

Women in Egypt were free to seek employment outside the home. Many women worked as musicians or dancers in the temples and during festivals. Wealthier households employed women as maids or nannies, and sometimes as professional mourners for funerals.

Some women would operate a small business out of their home, such as linen or perfume manufacturing. These activities increased the household income because these items were much in demand for funeral rites.

Professional opportunities for women included physician or midwife, director of dance or singing troupes, and overseer. The women who became doctors mostly attended to other women as gynecologists. Their skills were such that they performed Cesarean sections and surgically removed cancerous breasts.

Legal rights, responsibilities, and status were divided along class lines rather than gender lines. Within a given class, men and women had the same rights. Women were free to buy and sell property, enter and execute contracts, and file lawsuits. A woman could acquire possessions, property, and debt separate from her husband through labor or inheritance. A woman was entitled to inherit one third of their joint property on the death of her husband, the remaining estate was divided between the surviving children and siblings of the dead man.

Women were also equally accountable under the law. A woman who was convicted of a capital crime in a court of law would be executed, but only after the court determined that the woman was not pregnant. If one was found to be pregnant, her execution was stayed until she could give birth to the child.

Research: My Research Library

2009-10-26T07:28:00.004-05:00

By Zoe Archer

If you've been reading the Unusual Historicals website this month, you have probably noticed a commonality between all the authors who post here. Sure, some of us write about Celtic Britain, some favor Medieval Spain, and others, like me, set their books all over the map. But one shared attribute is that we all, in our strange way, love to do research. If we didn't, you can bet we wouldn't spend our vacations dragging our significant others through dusty archives and to obscure historical sites in order to take pictures of grass-covered ditches.

Some of the best research is the kind we perform ourselves: physically going to the location that we write about and absorbing, first hand, the experience and sensations of place. A few years ago, in preparation for a historical novel which I am currently writing, I traveled to several National Trust homes in England that offered access to the servants' quarters and kitchens.

Unfortunately, travel can get pretty expensive and it takes a lot of time. That means that the majority of the research has to be done through the internet or, even better, via books. Lots and lots of books. Some books can be found at libraries (especially university libraries), but eventually, the avid researcher is going to create her own research library.

Ask my husband: whenever we travel, I invariably find my way to a used bookstore and pour through the shelves, searching out the perfect, obscure out-of-print tome about 18th century fencing academies. He patiently carries armfuls of books as I ransack the shop. But once the books are paid for and hauled home comes the next, crucial step: storing and organizing them.

I'm a firm believer in the principle of organization. If I have to search all over the house for the book about Roman prostitutes, I waste time and could lose valuable threads of inspiration. If I have a place for everything, and everything in its place, then I can zip right to the book I need and move on. Great theory--but theory isn't practice.

For many years, my research books were scattered all over the house. I had some culinary history books here, some there. Books stacked up on the floor next to my desk. Books in boxes stored in closets. Books everywhere but where I needed them. When I finally was able to write full time, my husband looked at this "system" and vowed to do something about it.

Reader, never let it be said that romance novelists lack romance in their own lives. Sure, my husband isn't a spying duke or aristocratic pirate, but he's hero material all the way.

He built me a custom bookcase to hold my research library.

Could anyone ask for a more swoon-worthy guy? I don't think so.

I direct your attention to these photos of my research library. Now my piles of books have somewhere to go. Each shelf has been organized and labeled. Shelves for Victorian books. A shelf for Folklore & Mythology. Social History. Science & Technology. It's a research dork's dream. I also have boxes holding loose papers and photocopies.

I turned to my research library many times whilst writing my upcoming novella, "The Undying Heart," to learn more about the Crimean War, as well as information about military uniforms of the 1850s and the telegraph. What a relief to know that the knowledge I needed was right beside me the whole time, so I could focus not on hunting down the books but on writing about undead soldiers and the women who love them!

Granted, the bookcase doesn't hold all of my research materials. There just isn't enough room in my office to hold them all. The Food History section extends to the bookcases my husband put in the dining room. There are books about the History of Jazz and Los Angeles in the hallway. And my theory texts, left over from grad school, linger in the living room. It's a fair assessment to say I have books in every room of my home.

But my pride and joy stands right beside my desk, shelves laden with information. It has room to grow, yet somehow I know, given my insatiable appetite for books and research, that the shelves will soon fill and my wonderful, handy husband will build me yet another bookcase. Because I'm that kind of research glutton and because he's that kind of hero.

MATILDA'S SONG Winner!

2009-10-25T19:34:00.000-05:00

We have a winner for JoAnn Smith Ainsworth's MATILDA'S SONG guest blog. A free copy goes to:

ALISON!

Contact Carrie to provide your mailing address. The book must be claimed by next Sunday or another winner will be drawn. Please stop back later to let us know what you thought! Congratulations!

Guest Author: Isabel Roman

2009-10-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today we're helping one of our long-time contributors, Isabel Roman, celebrate the release of her latest historical romance. KISS OF SCANDAL is set in mid-19th century St. Petersburg. Although release by Ravenous Romance, the print version is available exclusively through Home Shopping Network.

Isabel has stopped by to answer a few questions about this very unusual romance! Here's the blurb:

In the wreckage of a friend's death, Countess Katria Markova finds her perfectly ordered life irrevocably altered. Russian politics proves more dangerous than the front lines of war, and when her fiancé's future is threatened by rumors of treason, their cat-and-mouse game ends. In its place, a political game, one that puts their very lives at stake, begins.

Count Nikolai Orlov will do anything to clear his brother's name. Anything but put Katria in harm's way. Attracted to her from the moment they met, he's spent their time together breaking the wall that surrounds her heart. He wants the passionate woman beneath, wants to shatter her cool exterior.

With her life in danger, Nikolai's only course of action is to exact revenge. From the snowy streets of St. Petersburg to the River Neva's icy depths, they search for the answers to clear Nikolai. But in their search, will they lose each other?

***

What made you pick 1855 Russia?

It's a little known time period and yet offers an enormous amount of history and intrigue. Who isn't curious about the life of the tsars? The Russian Royal Court? The glamour and gilt of the era? I wanted to take a peek into court life, and since Tsar Nicholas II has been done a bunch of times, I went further back to his great-grandfather, Tsar Nicholas I.

Did you have to make any adjustments with your characters living in Russia as opposed to England or America, where most romances of this time period take place in?

Absolutely! Russian culture is very different than Western culture. They have a different way of viewing life and life experiences. And I did my best to ensure my characters were in the Russian head space. I took my examples from Russian friends, history, and lots and lots of research. Lots of research.

How do you view the Western characterization verses Russian characterization?

Tsarist Russians are more pragmatic in their actions, they seem to take action faster when it came to their own personal intrigue. And there are many intrigues, personal, political, a combination thereof. It's what their life--or the lives of the upper classes---revolved around. I found there are two distinct styles of Russians--those who will manipulate you around and around, and those who will simply shoot you between the eyes. Many in between, as with all cultures, but those are the main two.

What are some themes in KISS OF SCANDAL?

Murder, betrayal, the sharp knife of scandal, control and love, romance, and sex. What more could you ask for?

For an historical romance suspense, you kept a lot of action through the story. How do you accomplish this in an historical setting?

The first thing I have to say about that is that it isn't easy! I'm all about the car chases and shootouts, the contemporary action movie. But to move all that to the carriages and sleighs and six-shooters of 1855 is tricky. Still, it's not like they didn't have all that 150+ years ago, you just have to be careful how and when you use it. I often take a potential action scene and see how it plays out in a contemporary movie (I see movie scenes in my head). Then I go further and see how it fits in whenever I'm writing. It's harder, I don't have the luxury of a lot of today's sequences, but it makes for a more challenging scene, and (I think!) a better and more well-rounded one.

The bottom line is that whether you're writing contemporary or historical, the action scene needs to transport the reader through and into the adrenaline rush.

Reviews:

4 Cups from Coffee Time Romance

"This remarkable story paints a vivid picture of life in the Russian court with all its intrigues and dangers. The characters are well written and their emotions are brought to life. The action is fast paced and believable. You will enjoy this story."

***

Thanks, Isabel! We were happy to have you stop by today! Leave a comment or question for Isabel and be entered into a drawing for a PDF version of KISS OF SCANDAL. We'll draw a winner one week from today. Void where prohibited. Good luck!

Weekly Announcements - 23 Oct 09

2009-10-23T21:00:00.002-05:00

Carrie Lofty has lovely new bookmarks available to celebrate the upcoming release of SCOUNDREL'S KISS, which hits shelves on January 5. Take a look and request your free bookmarks today!

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Blythe Gifford's IN THE MASTER'S BED came in a strong second as Favorite Historical of September at The Season. Thanks to all who voted! That's a great showing for an unusual historical!

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Zoe Archer's 2006 release LOVE IN A BOTTLE received an astonishing 93 from Mrs. Giggles. She wrote, "For the few hours I was reading this book, I couldn't stop feeling..." Congratulations! Zoe's next release is a novella in the HALF PAST DEAD duology due out in late December. You can pre-order it now!

***

Michelle Styles' latest Viking romance from Harlequin Historicals, THE VIKING'S CAPTIVE PRINCESS, received 4 Stars in the December issue of the Romantic Times. Kathe Robin said, "Basing her love story on an ancient Viking legend, Styles spins the tale of a Viking warrior and a princess. She maintains the myth while adding sexual tension, nonstop action and spice." Congratulations on another great review, Michelle!

***

Lisa Marie Wilkinson's Medallion debut, FIRE AT MIDNIGHT, was named winner of the Fiction and Literature-Romance Category of "USA Book News Best of 2009" contest. Great news!

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Join us Sunday when Unusual Historicals contributor Isabel Roman will chat about KISS OF SCANDAL, set in 1855 St. Petersburg! She'll also be giving away a copy. Don't miss out!

***

We'll also draw the winner of JoAnn Smith Ainsworth's 12th century British romance, MATILDA'S SONG. You still have time to leave a comment or question for your chance to win.

***

And stay with us through the coming weeks when we'll be featuring the best unusual historical authors! Isabel Roman, Anthea Lawson, Amanda McCabe, Elizabeth Lane, and Jennifer Linforth will be our guests. We hope you'll join us!

***

Have a good weekend! Remember, you don't have to be an Unusual Historicals contributor to submit good news to the weekend announcements. If it has to do with unusual historicals, we'd love to shout it out to the world! Send announcements to Carrie. See you next week...

Excerpt Thursday: Isabel Roman

2009-10-22T07:15:00.001-05:00

This week on Excerpt Thursday we're featuring Isabel Roman, whose Ravenous Romance novel KISS OF SCANDAL is set in mid-19th century St. Petersburg. Please join us Sunday when Isabel will be answering questions and giving away a PDF of it. Here's the blurb:

In the wreckage of a friend's death, Countess Katria Markova finds her perfectly ordered life irrevocably altered. Russian politics proves more dangerous than the front lines of war, and when her fiancé's future is threatened by rumors of treason, their cat-and-mouse game ends. In its place, a political game, one that puts their very lives at stake, begins.

Count Nikolai Orlov will do anything to clear his brother's name. Anything but put Katria in harm's way. Attracted to her from the moment they met, he's spent their time together breaking the wall that surrounds her heart. He wants the passionate woman beneath, wants to shatter her cool exterior.

With her life in danger, Nikolai's only course of action is to exact revenge. From the snowy streets of St. Petersburg to the River Neva's icy depths, they search for the answers to clear Nikolai. But in their search, will they lose each other?

***

His nearly black eyes seemed to look through her and discover her secrets. Beyond that, his confidence was arrogant, but not, she sensed, unwarranted. Katria knew many arrogant nobles, men and women. In Nikolai, she knew it wasn't misplaced. But she'd never tell him so.

Recognition passed between them at their first meeting. It had been a connection she couldn't explain even now. She'd known his brother, Peter, for years, but hadn't met Nikolai until a few months ago when he returned from Austria.

That meeting changed everything she'd ever thought about herself and her life, awakened apart of her she hadn't known slept. Sharpened her senses. Even made her reckless in her desire for Nikolai.

"I'll see you soon, Uncle," she said, squeezing his arm. Katria moved into the crowd with her well-practiced smile. She nodded in greeting to those she passed and stopped to receive a compliment on her attire or a bit of gossip. Her mind, however, still mused over Nikolai.

It had taken her years and many near misses to assert a semblance of control over her own life. Her father used her ruthlessly. Viktor had promised her at age fifteen to one of the tsar's favorite ministers. The minister had been a diseased old man of sixty-eight, and she'd been saved only when he died mere weeks later. Since then, she'd maneuvered around her father's machinations, skillfully avoiding unwelcome marriages.

Control was what she wanted, and Nikolai was uncontrollable. Her feelings toward him represented a seismic shift in the way she considered her future. Her carefully constructed façade cracked just enough to peer out at him.

Somehow Anatoli knew it, too, when he'd introduced them. One day, she'd ask her uncle about that introduction.

Research: Primary Sources and the Vikings

2009-10-21T06:00:00.001-05:00

By Michelle Styles

Iris Murdoch in her novel The Nice and The Good stated about early Greek history, 'It sets a special challenge to the disciplined mind. It is a game with very few pieces, where the skill of the players lies in complicating the rules.' The same could be said for the Viking era.

There are very few primary source written documents from actual Vikings and what little we do have from them is inscriptions on stones, rather than long passages which give insight into what they believed or how they live. These stones are also mainly concentrated in a few areas of Scandinavian so how representative of the Vikings as a whole is open to debate. Equally much of the wood and textiles date from the Oseburg ships and the early Viking era rather than the later period. We know about the beds, the sleighs, the bone ice skates and the buckets, but not necessarily what they symbolised to the Vikings.

The contemporary writing about the Viking tends to be from monks who had no reason to be sympathetic to the Vikings and sometimes it is hard to discern if the events actually happened or if indeed the Vikings were convenient scapegoats for other raiders or disaffected warriors. To the monks, it is clear from their tirades that the Vikings with their pagan ways were the Antichrist sent to punish. They were responsible for plundering, raping and pillaging the countryside, particularly as they had no respect for the Christian church and its teaching. Amongst other things, the monks condemn the Viking habit of bathing.

To accept the monk's view of the Vikings are face value is to ignore the very real contribution the Vikings made. For example the founding of various cities and towns including Dublin and Kiev as well as any town ending in the suffix "--by" in England. Their street names which often in "--gate," meaning street, still are used in London and York. Recent excavations in York and other places have revealed small scale industrial craft making including jewellery, combs, tools and the like. The quantity of feign items Vikings did engage in trade as well as plundering.

The other major contemporary source is various travel writing from Muslim travellers in particular The Travel book of Ibrahim ibn-Jakub. But how much was real and how much was fantasy for consumption back home is open to debate. For example, one Muslim traveller describes human sacrifice in a Viking settlement in Russia. The only problem is that nowhere else is such a thing described.

The other major source of written information about the Vikings--the Icelandic sagas--were composed after the Viking age ended. And it is possible they reflect the concerns of medieval Christian Iceland rather than the Vikings. The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson which purports to give all Norse mythology and thus providing our only knowledge of Viking religion and religious practices was composed in the 13th century. With its emphasis on the destruction of the world and volcanic imagery, The Prose Edda does speak to the Icelandic experience rather than necessarily the Scandinavian.

Sturluson is also responsible for the History of the Kings of Norway, also known as The Great Orb for its majestic opening lines. Again because the history was oral tradition until the mid-13th century and the Viking age ended for all intents and purposes in 1066, one must question its accuracy. How much can it actually tell about what happened and how much is coloured by Christian perception and nostalgia for a vanished world?

Adding to the complications is the Victorian rediscovery of the Icelandic texts and how they reinterpreted to suit the author. For example, do the sagas show heroic leadership or proto-socialism? Equally as Tolkien used many of the sagas as a basis for his Middle Earth, can readers believe in a king called Gandalf?

However, the problems with primary source documentation is part of what makes writing about the Vikings exciting. It means that you can go searching for nuggets and seeing how they stack up against the archaeological sources. But really the skill comes from using the meagre sources to create a vivid and believable world.

Michelle Styles has written three historical romances set in early Viking times. Her latest, THE VIKING'S CAPTIVE PRINCESS, will be published in December 2009.

Research: 12th Century Armor

2009-10-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

By Jacquie Rogers

When I wrote "Faery Much In Love," a short story in FAERY SPECIAL ROMANCES, I knew very little about 12th Century Europe, let alone about the specifics of armor. To lend authenticity, I had a lot of work to do. Here's what I learned about the nuances regarding armor and defense of this century.

Misconceptions

When most of us think of armor, we think of the full plate armor of the 16th Century, which soon became obsolete with the introduction of firearms. But armor took many hundreds of years before it finally evolved into such finely tuned equipment. One of the first things I learned was that my knight needed a bit more armor than was actually used in 1199 A.D., so my 12th Century knight wears late-13th Century armor. So far, no one has noticed (and now you know my secret). :)

But back to the 12th Century . . .

Before we get into the specifics, we need to know the weapons in use. Swords were the weapon of choice but very expensive. A warrior carried his sword in a sword belt worn around his waist, and sported a diamond-shaped shield held by a shoulder strap on his back. Crossbows came into popularity along about this time, as well as the Welsh longbows. Infantrymen used spears and whatever else they could afford and/or carry; and the cavalry, which became vitally important in this century, carried heavy maces as well as swords, and sometime battleaxes.

Well, then, what did they wear?

So the armor had to defend primarily against swords, arrows, spears, and maces. Let's take a look at some of the individual pieces of equipment.

Mail

Warriors used mail since the 4th or 5th Century, so it was nothing new. Skilled armorers created complicated hauberks, chausses, and even gauntlets out of mail. Under the mail, they wore heavy quilted garments to protect their skin from the rough mail, and also to cushion the blows from their enemies' weapons. Mail protected against slashing, but not piercing, nor did it protect against bone-crushing strikes.

We'll talk a little about most of the parts of armor.

Helm

In the picture to the right, we see he's wearing a steel helm (or bascinet) with mail to protect his throat and neck, with no facial protection other than a bar over his nose.

Hauberk

A hauberk is a mail shirt, usually long-sleeved and knee-length, with a slit up the front and back so the warrior could ride a horse. It's made of iron wire, was very expensive, required a lot of maintenance, and was quite heavy. (Remember, your knight will be wearing a heavy quilted shirt underneath the mail hauberk.)

Gauntlets

Gauntlets were worn over the hands. Gloves, if you will. They were sometimes made of mail but leather gauntlets were more common in the 12th Century.

Chausses

Chausses were leg protection made of mail, and very similar, although more form-fitting, to cowboy's chaps of today.

Sabaton

To protect their feet, warriors wore sabatons. These chain mail foot coverings extended past the toes and ended in a point. This grew longer and longer over the years, and toward the end of the armor era, some classes could wear sabatons with toes two and a half feet long!

Plate armor

Nope, not in the 12th Century. Sometimes plates of heavy leather were sown together and worn over the mail hauberk, and in the 13th Century, they started wearing plates of steel armor attached in much the same way, but the mail hauberk was still the main piece of equipment.

Pros and Cons

The advantage of 12th Century armor over later armor is that these knights were much more agile and mobile. The disadvantage is that they weren't nearly as well protected as the 15th and 16th Century warriors. In any century up until modern times, warriors had to buy their own armor, and a good suit cost more money than most common men would see in a lifetime.

Sources
European Historical Overview by David Kuijt
12th Century Arms and Armour

Jacquie

Down Home Ever Lovin' Mule Blues (See the Book Video featuring Justin Saragueta) * Jacquie Rogers * 1st Turning Point * Myspace * Twitter * Facebook * Faery Special Romances Book Video * Royalties go to Children's Tumor Foundation, ending Neurofibromatosis through research.

Research: Inspired by True Events

2009-10-19T05:00:00.013-05:00

By Jeannie Lin

When a movie claims to be "based on true events", it's almost a joke now. It usually means there's a loose link to actual events at best. In historical fiction, it's common to have a basis in research and then play a little game of "What if?"

Research into ancient Chinese texts presents an interesting quandary. Historical accounts are so imbued with romanticism and legendary exaggerations that history and fable become blurred. The research for the "East meets West" elements of BUTTERFLY SWORDS took an interesting twist and surprisingly, had quite a bit of documentation behind them.

The first thread of inspiration came from comparative history. As history buffs, we tend to focus on one period or one area. But out of curiosity, I tried to match up one of my favorite eras, the late Tang dynasty, with western history and found an interesting correlation: the Golden Age of China coincides with the Dark Ages of Europe. The Dark Ages were a time of flux. Rome had fallen and an array of different barbarian tribes wandered into the lands once controlled by the Roman Empire. At the same time, China was at one of its heights of culture and learning. This was the heyday of Silk Road trade. It also happened to be a time when women enjoyed more freedom and several prominent females such as Empress Wu rose to the highest ranks of power.

The second thread of inspiration came from one of the barbarian tribes that challenged the Roman empire: The Huns. The Huns originated from the steppes of Eastern Asia but by the time they migrated to Europe, they had gathered a whole mix of cultures and ethnicities. Attila the Hun became embroiled in court politics when the Emperor's sister, Honoria, appealed to Attila to try to escape marriage to a Roman senator. Hmm...what if the barbarians went from the West to the East instead and their leader somehow got mixed up with an imperial princess of the Tang Dynasty?

Now that things were starting to stew, I had to figure out how much contact there actually was between the East and the West before Marco Polo. It turns out that there are records of early contact in the Han Dynasty(AD 25-220). The explorer, Gan Ying, was sent on an expedition to Rome. It's believed that he made it to the shore of the Mediterranean Ocean before turning back. His travels are documented in the Hou Hanshou, a historical account of the later Han Dynasty.

Direct contact between the two cultures was rare, but there are accounts of Roman ambassadors visiting the Chinese imperial court, sent by various Roman Emperors from the first through the third century.

To Rome, China was known as Seres. Chinese silk was brought to Rome through the Silk Road and Roman good were traded in China. A 4th century Chinese document, the Weilue, contains a section called the People of the West where the kingdoms of the Middle East, India and Rome are described. Rome was called "Da Qin" or "Ta Chin" which means Great China. This document indicates that at the very least, China was aware of Rome and curious about gathering information about the great empire that existed on the other side of the world.

So did western Europeans ever venture into China in the 8th century? Probably not. But was it possible? Maybe. More importantly, if they did, is that a story people would want to discover? I'm hoping so. All in all, it is hard, hard work "making up" any historical world, regardless of whether you are using actual historical figures or simply inspired by true events.

HIGHLAND DRAGON Winner!

2009-10-18T08:01:00.001-05:00

We have a winner for Kimberly Killion's HIGHLAND DRAGON guest blog. A free copy goes to:

CAROL LUCIANO!

Contact Carrie to provide your mailing address. The book must be claimed by next Sunday or another winner will be drawn. Please stop back later to let us know what you thought! Congratulations!

Guest Author: JoAnn Smith Ainsworth

2009-10-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Sundays here at Unusual Historicals mean guest authors, and our guest today is JoAnn Smith Ainsworth. Her latest release from Samhain Publishing is MATILDA'S SONG, a fiery star-crossed tale of a Norman man and a Saxon woman in 12th century Britain. Here's the blurb:

Duty requires sacrifice...but the heart will not be denied.

At the time, pretending marriage to her middle-aged widower cousin seemed like the best way to escape a politically motivated betrothal to a brutal knight.

Now, Matilda's journey toward a new life has landed her in hot water--she's been waylaid by a local Norman baron who's mistaken her for a real bride. And he demands First Night rights. Hot water turns to steam in a scalding night of passion...passion she has never known. And now must live without.

Lord Geoffrey is entranced at first sight of the Anglo-Saxon beauty and finds that one night in her arms is not nearly enough. But all he can offer the low-born Matilda is a life in the shadows--as his mistress.

Her head warring with her heart, Matilda resigns herself to her duty in a masquerade of a marriage. It's a choice that could cost her life. For the knight who first sought her hand is back with murder on his mind. Now it's Geoff who's faced with the ultimate choice: which is more precious...his estates or the love of the one woman who can heal his soul?

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Reviews:

"One of the best books I have read this year." ~ Coffee Time Romance
"If you enjoy a good medieval tale, don't miss this one." ~ ParaNormal Romance
"I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book." ~ Literary Nymphs
"Great story" ~ RT Book Reviews

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What's different about your medieval romances?

I write stories about ordinary folk faced with extraordinary circumstances. A reviewer for Paranormal Romance says about MATILDA'S SONG: "One thing I really liked about this story is the fact it isn't about lords and ladies, instead it tells a tale of a common born woman."

How did you choose the 1120 A.D. settings for MATILDA'S SONG and its companion novel OUT OF THE DARK?

My choice of a novel highlighting medieval Britain derived from the roots of the Ainsworth family in 900 A.D. The name is Anglo-Saxon, meaning the property of Ains. It has a coat of arms with fearless courage as its motto.

I needed a time period when women had a certain amount of freedom to choose their husbands. After research, I learned that 900 A.D. would not work. The first generation after the Norman Conquest gave me the right blend of social conflict with the diminishing of Saxon laws, religion and healing practices while the Norman culture was gaining a toehold--but with relative political calm and no war.

What is unusual about your medieval romantic suspense, OUT OF THE DARK?

A reader review on Barnes & Noble says: "Having a blind relative, I especially appreciated reading a story in which the leading lady is blind."

The heroine for the novel comes from personal experience. I worked with a blind woman who ran the department for disabled students at a local community college. I admired how much she could accomplish in a day with only one reader to help her. While my heroine is not totally blind, I wanted the challenge of writing about a limited sight experience.

Besides my critique partners, I had Lynne Laird, a retired instructor for the California School for the Blind, read the OUT OF THE DARK manuscript. Like my heroine, Lynne is sight-impaired. I had to print the manuscript in 16 point Courier for her. It took almost a ream of paper. It must have pushed her eyes to the limit, but when she was done I was confident I had a heroine who was acting within the abilities and limitations of her sight.

How do you strive to write realistically?

A reviewer for Affaire de Coeur says I write "vivid descriptions of time and place."

I write vividly of medieval times because personal experiences bring realism. When I carried wood as a pre-teen so my Great Aunt Martha could stoke up the iron stove to prepare dinner, I wasn't thinking, "I could use this in a novel someday." Yet, the skills I learned from my horse-and-buggy ancestors translate into backdrops for my historical romance novels.

Growing up with these experiences provided me with a sense of everyday life before labor-saving devices: an out house, a great aunt who had a root cellar, hand-pumping water, an ice box, wash boards, home-made lye soap, canning, growing our own food, feeding chickens, plucking feathers, reading and embroidering by candlelight, and Saturday night baths in a metal tub with water heated on the kitchen stove (with wash basins for sponge baths during the week). While technological change happens rapidly these days, changes were slow centuries ago. My youthful experiences weren't that far away from those daily household chores needed to add realism to my historical settings.

It was hard work, but we didn't know better at the time. To us, we lived in "modern" times.

Can you describe some of those experiences?

Take lye soap, for instance. It's caustic. It sears your lungs and burns your skin if you don't handle and mix it just right. Once it's made, you still have to shred it into detergent flakes by scraping the bar of soap across a metal slicer. When the soap bar gets small, there's a good chance you'll shave your fingers.

Then there is plucking chicken feathers. The headless chicken is dunked in scalding water to loosen the feathers. The bigger feathers are easier to pull. But the little ones! Besides being hot to the touch, the pin feathers just didn't seem to want to come out. If you leave them, they become part of your dinner.

Beating dust out of rugs was fun. Grandpa would hang the rugs over the clothesline on a spring or fall housecleaning day. We kids grabbed the wooden handle of a woven-wire tool with a head about as wide as a shovel blade and beat the hell out of the rug. Dust would go everywhere. Being outdoors, it blew away. One catch--we didn't have dust masks in those days. These early childhood experiences make the "vivid descriptions" in my novels.

Thank you for inviting me to share my writing with you. I invite you to visit my website.

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Hmmm, a blind heroine who knows her caustic lye? Sounds like my kind of story! Leave a comment or question for JoAnn and you'll be entered into a drawing for one of her books. Your choice: either MATILDA'S SONG or OUT OF THE DARK. I'll draw a winner at random next Sunday. Void where prohibited. Good luck!

Weekly Announcements - 17 Oct 09

2009-10-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

Michelle Styles is excited that Kindle is going international, which means all the Mills & Boon ebooks are going to the Kindle platform. Her UK ebooks--AN IMPULSIVE DEBUTANTE, A QUESTION OF IMPROPRIETY, and IMPOVERISHED MISS, CONVENIENT WIFE--are now available on Kindle.

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RT Book Reviews gave KNIGHT OF PLEASURE, the 2nd book in Margaret Mallory's "All the King's Men" series, 4 Stars! "[A] riveting story, intertwining adventure and history...with a constantly increasing level of sensuality....[A] rare treat." KNIGHT OF PLEASURE will be in bookstores November 24th, and we'll be featuring her here on Unusual Historicals that week.

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Lindsay Townsend is also thrilled with her 4-star review from RT Book Reviews for FLAVIA'S SECRET. "The ancient locale that is now modern Bath lends a vivid backdrop to a tender love story surrounded by mystery, danger and deceit. Readers will appreciate Townsend's thorough research and fluid style. Well-written secondary characters complement the action."

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Join us tomorrow when author JoAnn Smith Ainsworth will be here to chat about MATILDA'S SONG, set in 12th century Britain!

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We'll also draw the winner of Kimberly Killion's newest Scottish romance, HIGHLAND DRAGON. You still have time to leave a comment or question for your chance to win.

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And stay with us through the coming weeks when we'll be featuring the best unusual historical authors! Jennifer Linforth, Anthea Lawson, Amanda McCabe, and Elizabeth Lane will be our guests. We hope you'll join us!

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Have a good weekend! If you have an announcement to make for next week, email Carrie. See you next week...