Fall In Love (Again) Blog Hop -- Learn About the Authors

Harlequin Historical has authors to meet every mood and so over the next few days, we will be telling you about the authors who are providing the books for the giveaway.
First up
Carole Mortimer.

With more than 165 published books and a career which started in the late 1970s, Carole Mortimer is  truly a Queen of Romance. Earlier this year because of her services to literature, she met the Queen at one of the Queen's garden parties at Buckingham Palace.
Although she has written mainly contemporary romance for the Presents/Modern line, Carole recently brought  her unique voice to the Regency period. Her Regencys are great romps. Her latest is Some Like It Wicked and a sign copy is up for grabs in the Fall in Love (Again) giveaway.
DEVIL BY NAME… Rupert Stirling, Duke of Stratton, has long since acquired the nickname Devil. And with outrageous exploits both in and out of ladies’ bedchambers, my, has he earned it! Risqué behaviour is beyond Pandora Maybury, widowed Duchess of Wyndwood – although with her dark secret she’s far too well acquainted with being the subject of ribald gossip for her liking. If only the Ton knew just how innocent she really was…including Rupert who, after rescuing her from a compromising situation, seems intent on wickedly compromising her himself! Daring Duchesses They’ll scandalise the Ton"
 You can read an excerpt here.

Rita award winning author Diane Gaston also writes in the Regency period but has a different slant than Carole.  Diane 's books often concentrate on the Regency underworld.

Her latest Born to Scandal is published in December.
"‘PEOPLE TALK AS IF THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG ABOUT LORD BRENTMORE. SOMETHING ABOUT HIS PAST.' Lord Brentmore – half Irish peasant, half English aristocrat – grew up under a cloud of scandal. Even money and a title aren’t enough to stay the wagging tongues of the ton. But he’s vowed that his children will never experience the same stigma. After the death of their infamous mother they need a reputable governess. Anna Hill is too passionate, too alluring, but she fills Brentmore Hall with light and laughter again – and its master with feelings he’d forgotten… But a lord marrying a governess would be the biggest scandal of all!"

Diane is generously giving away a complete signed set of her Soldier books. You can read more about the  series here. You can learn more about Diane and her books on www.dianegaston.com

If you haven't entered the Fall In Love Again giveaway, you may do so here.
a Rafflecopter giveaway



You can blog hop and find more giveaways here.

Waterloo Days

Valiant Soldier, Beautiful Enemy is in bookstores this month. This last book in my Three Soldiers series, takes place, in part, in Brussels in the days before Waterloo. Brussels is where Captain Gabriel Deane finds the woman he and the two other officers rescued at Badajoz and it is in Brussels where Gabe’s and Emmaline’s love story really begins…and almost ends.

After Napoleon was exiled on Elba, Europe opened up again for the British, who’d had to give up their Grand Tours of the Continent’s grand cities. Many British from aristocratic families, but lacking aristocratic fortunes moved to Brussels where they could live in luxury at low cost. When Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned in triumph to Paris, the British army amassed at Brussels, anticipating a march into France to do battle with Napoleon’s new army. Consequently in the spring of 1815, Brussels was brimming with British.

In June 1815, Miss Charlotte Waldie (married name Eaton) wrote a memoir, Waterloo Days: The Narrative of an Englishwoman resident of Brussels. Accompanied by her brother and younger sister, Charlotte traveled to Brussels, arriving the day of the Duchess of Richmond’s ball.

Charlotte found a city bustling with British soldiers, civilians, and other foreigners. She described it as lively, gay, and festive, “… everything spoke of hope, confidence, and busy expectation.” That very night her sleep was interrupted by the bugle’s call to arms. She rose and went outside to witness the hasty departure of the soldiers, marching off to battle.

She wrote:

“Numbers were taking leave of their wives and children, perhaps for the last time, and many a veteran's rough cheek was wet with the tears of sorrow. One poor fellow, immediately under our windows, turned back again and again, to bid his wife farewell, and take his baby once more in his arms; and I saw him hastily brush away a tear with the sleeve of his coat, as he gave her back the child for the last time, wrung her hand, and ran off to join his company, which was drawn up on the other side of the Place Royale.”

The next day she, her brother and sister heard the cannonade at Quartres Bras and received mixed messages about the fate of the army, most indicating that the British were overwhelmed by the French. The next day, Charlotte and her party joined the numbers of British civilians fleeing Brussels. Like so many others, they traveled to the relative safety of Antwerp.

On June 18 they again heard the cannons and experienced “the dreadful, the overwhelming anxiety of being so near such eventful scenes, without being actually engaged in them; to know that within a few leagues the dreadful storm of war is raging in all its horrors, and the mortal conflict going forward which is to decide the glory of your country, and the security of the world.”

The next day, wagons full of wounded soldiers poured into Antwerp and the news was everywhere that Wellington’s forces could not overcome the French. Eventually, however, they heard that Wellington had won the battle.

Then the wounded poured into Antwerp, many unable to find shelter, merely lay in the streets.

Charlotte wrote:

“If such were the horrors of the scene here, what must they be on the field of battle, covered with thousands of the dead, the wounded, and the dying! The idea was almost too dreadful for human endurance; a there nd yet were those of my own country, and even of my own sex, whom I heard express a longing wish to visit this very morning the fatal field of Waterloo!”

A month later, Charlotte and her brother and sister visited the battlefield. She had this to say:

“I stood alone upon the spot so lately bathed in human blood—where more than two hundred thousand human beings had mingled together in mortal strife: I cast my eyes upon the ruined hovels immortalised by the glorious achievements of my gallant countrymen. I recalled to mind their invincible constancy—their undaunted intrepidity—their heroic self-devotion in the hour of trial—their magnanimity and mercy in the moment of victory: I cast my eyes upon the tremendous graves at my feet, filled with the mortal remains of heroes.”

Charlotte ends her memoir with her return to England, writing:

“I returned to my country after all the varying and eventful scenes through which it had been my lot to pass, more proud than when I left it of the name of....An Englishwoman.”

I have long been captivated by the battle of Waterloo and the men who fought it, but for the purposes of writing about my heroines, reading Charlotte’s memoir gave a whole other perspective to the battle.

Is there a moment in history that captivates you?

There is still time to get your copy of Valiant Soldier, Beautiful Enemy. If you have been following my Three Soldiers series, you will also be pleased to know that Claude’s story is told in October’s Harlequin Historical Undone ebook short story, The Liberation of Miss Finch.

Harlequin Historical Advent Day 9 --Diane Gaston

Rita winner Diane Gaston offers a $10 Amazon gift certificate and a signed copy of her latest. Visit http://www.dianegaston.com/  and answer the question on the contest page. Everyone who enters will be put in for the Kindle 3 g giveaway. Void where prohibited.

Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady by Diane Gaston

The young man wanted only regimentals to make him completely charming--Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen knew there was something about a man in regimentals and my hero on the cover of Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady, released December 1, is no exception. He is definitely sigh-worthy. But for Jack Vernon being a soldier is what he does, not what he is.

After Napoleon is sent in defeat to the isle of Elba, battle-weary Jack seizes the chance to pursue his dream of being an artist. He is hired to paint London theatre's newest sensation, Ariana Blane, his most important commission to date. As this stunningly beautiful actress ignites feelings Jack thought long destroyed in battle, another man has Ariana in his sights.

Ultimately the only way for Jack to win Ariana is to don his regimentals again and fight on the battlefield of Waterloo.

Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady was selected by Michelle Buonfiglio as one of her Fave 2009 Romance Books for Barnes and Noble's Heart to Heart blog.

4.5 Stars! "Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady is a beautiful story with realistic, excellent characters...Another great novel for Diane Gaston." — Debby Guyette, Cataromance

4 Stars! "Gaston displays an innate sense of time and place as she brings her characters from the battlefields of Spain to London's world of theater and the arts." — Kathe Robin, RT BOOKreviews

For more about Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady and all my books visit my website Sign up for my newsletter. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and the Risky Regencies Blog.

HH October Release: Scandalizing the Ton by Diane Gaston

Lady Wexin, once the Ton's foremost beauty, has been abandoned by her family and friends, and creditors hound her. Her husband's scandalous death has left her impoverished, and the gossip-mongering press is whipped into a frenzy of speculation when it becomes clear the widow is with child. Who is the father? Only one man knows: Adrian Pomroy, Viscount Cavanley. He has cultivated the reputation of a rake, but in truth yearns for something useful to do. Delicate beauty Lydia Wexin could pose an intriguing—and stimulating—challenge….

Read the excerpt

Buy
Scandalizing the Ton

January HH release: The Vanishing Viscountess by Diane Gaston

A woman of innocence and notoriety…The prisoner stood with an expression of defiance, leather shackles on her wrists. Adam Vickery, Marquess of Tannerton, was drawn to this woman, so dignified in her plight. He didn't recognize her as the once innocent, hopeful debutante he had danced with long years ago. Marlena Parronley, the notorious Vanishing Viscountess, was a fugitive. Seeing the dashing, carefree marquess of her dreams just reminded her that she couldn't risk letting anyone, especially Tanner, get caught up in helping her escape. He would face the same punishment she did. The hangman's noose.

Read the excerpt

Buy
The Vanishing Viscountess

Innocence and Impropriety Attends King's Theatre by Diane Gaston

My latest book, Innocence and Impropriety by Diane Gaston is out in bookstores this month.

Rose, the heroine of Innocence and Impropriety, is a Vauxhall singer who aspires to sing opera at the King’s Theatre, a dream her mother was unable to fulfill in her own youth. The hero, Flynn, makes Rose’s wish come true.


















The King’s Theatre of 1817, when Innocence and Impropriety is set, was located in Haymarket in London and possessed the exclusive right to hold performances of Italian Opera. The first theatre on the site was built in 1705. It burned down in 1789 and was rebuilt in 1791--the theatre of the story.














The theatre had five tiers of boxes for which the beau monde purchased subscriptions for the season.

Mozart’s Don Giovanni had its London premiere at King’s Theatre in 1816, and was performed at the theatre in 1817 when the story is set.

Invoking the name of his employer, the Marquis of Tannerton, and providing generous payment out of Tannerton’s funds, Flynn arranges with Mr. Ayrton, director of the season, to have Rose tutored in the opera by Miss Hughes-Gatti, who sang Elvira in Don Giovanni, and Signor Angrisani, who played Don Giovanni.

Mr. Ayrton really was the musical director who brought Don Giovanni to the London stage and Signor Angrisani and Miss Hughes-Gatti did perform the opera.

When Victoria ascended the throne, The King’s Theatre became Her Majesty’s Theatre. By 1847 it no longer carried the title Italian Opera House, and it became the London theatre to showcase romantic ballet. In 1867 the theatre burned down and another was built but later demolished in 1892 and replaced by the present building.


Today Her Majesty’s Theatre in the Haymarket is home to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, premiering at the theatre in 1986 and remaining there ever since.

When I am able, I love to pepper my books with real historical characters such as these. To me, it brings the history alive and makes the story more real. And setting my stories in real places like King’s theatre and Vauxhall Gardens helps to transport me to the era I love the most--The Regency.

What Regency settings have you enjoyed the most?

(Images of the theatre and some of the above factual information comes from Wikipedia)

Cheers!
Diane

Read Reviews of Innocence and Impropriety at Amazon and Romance Readers Today.

Vote for Diane’s A Reputable Rake for Favorite Historical and her Mistletoe Kisses for Favorite Anthology at eHarlequin.com.

Visit Diane every Monday at Risky Regengies.

HH And M&BH March Release: Innocence and Impropriety by Diane Gaston

Jameson Flynn is a man with a mission. Nothing will knock him off course. Until one summer's evening in Vauxhall Gardens, when a woman's song reminds him of the world he left behind.
Rose O'Keefe's beautiful voice and graceful, earthy sensuality have made her a sensation among the pleasure-seekers of the night. In such dissolute company, how long can it be before her virtue is compromised?
The man who can make or break Flynn's career desires Rose as his mistress. Soon Flynn will have to choose what matters to him most—success or love….

Read the excerpt

Buy
Innocence and Impropriety