I almost always have music playing when I’m writing or editing. I put together playlists for each book so I can get myself in the right mood. Here are all the songs I’ve been listening to while writing and editing Her Runaway Lady, a sapphic romance set in Paris in the 1880s. The setting is a Belle Epoque That Never Was but the music in this playlist, titled Sapphos, is all over the place.
It includes Fever Ray, k.d. lang, Billie Eilish, Unwoman, Sinead O’Connor, Morphine, Satie, songs from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, Cat Stevens, Kate Bush, Baby Rose, Girlpool, Suzanne Vega, yeule, Saint Avangeline, Kiki Rockwell, Aimee Mann, Nouvelle Vague, Florence + the Machine, Christine and the Queens, Julien Baker, dodie, India, Tove Lo, Cecile Chaminade, Arlo Parks, Floor Cry, chloe moriondo, Debussy, Jill Tracy, Willow, and Sharon Van Etten.
These songs have ALL the feels of two young women falling in love but resisting that with everything they’ve got.
If you listen to it, leave a comment and let me know what your favorite track is.
Melissa Addey writes historical fiction and has just released her first Regency romance, Lady for a Season, a delightful addition to the genre. I asked her about her book and writing in general. Here's what she has to say.
What were the differences between writing historical fiction and historical romance and why did you try that new genre?
I’d just finished a series set in Ancient Rome which follows the backstage team of the Colosseum as they stage the gladiatorial Games. Some of the material was quite dark and I wanted something lighter. I thought writing a Regency romance would be full of pretty clothes, elegant manners and falling in love – so I wrote Lady for a Season and it’s been all of those things but also came with darker elements. History isn’t all sunshine! It’s been interesting just how shocked romance readers have been about some of those darker elements compared to my usual historical fiction readers, I think less pleasant parts of the Regency era are sometimes skimmed over, but I wanted my world to be accurate. I think it’s a warm love story and definitely a romantic ending, but it starts a little bleakly. My books have always had a romantic streak but I knew with a proper romance I’d have to make sure romance was always front and centre, I learnt a lot by reading many other Regency romances and seeing what I liked about that genre. I found my ‘mentor’ in Mary Balogh, who I feel often brings in something unexpected from the era which makes the romance harder but adds a lot of authenticity. I hope I can do the same.
What inspired you to write this book?
I had this idea of a My Fair Lady makeover for a girl pretending to be a lady, but also what happens if you’re locked away as ‘mad’ (which covered rather a lot of conditions in those times, many of them not really serious mental health conditions at all) and then have to come out of that place and be launched into high society? I like that it isn’t just Maggie (a maid) who is out of place, it’s Edward too, because although he was born into the ton, he’s been locked away for a long time and he doubts himself. I wanted them to grow together. And I’ll admit I liked the My Fair Lady element of making over Maggie, I spent an entire morning of research just creating a moodboard of her entire wardrobe, choosing pretty bonnets and gowns! You can see a fair bit of it on the Pinterest page for the book. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/melissaaddey/lady-for-a-season/
Who is your favourite character and why?
Although I love Maggie and Edward as the main characters and really like that they have an equal journey to feel sure of themselves and know their own worth, I got a surprise while writing when Honora (Lady Fortescue) opened her mouth. I plot my books, but my notes just said I wanted her to be a friend to Maggie and not be intimidated by high society because she was so intimately part of it. I wrote her opening lines where she lists all the eligible bachelors of the season and comments on each of them and found myself thinking “Oh, you’re a lot of fun.” I liked that she knew what the rules were but also could see high society for what it really is and make fun of it. She’s very scathing of that hallowed institution, Almack’s! She will get a book of her own as part of the series one day, as will many other minor characters… try and spot them as you read! I also liked Old John, the head of the stables. He says something important to Edward which made me (and Edward) a little misty-eyed. Often, it’s minor characters who catch my attention because I’ve spent so much time thinking about the main characters that I know them intimately but the characters around them may surprise me once I start writing.
Where do you write your books?
I’m very lucky to have a little office in my house, one whole wall is books and papers (mostly research) and I face the window. I have plants along the windowsill, including a cactus which started out the size of my thumb and now has turned into a huge mad Dr-Seuss-like creature with octopi-like tentacles everywhere, I love it. I have a little space just by my computer screen currently full of pretty shells as a sort of visual mood board for the next book I’m writing, The Viscount’s Pearl, another Regency romance in a standalone series I have planned. The series is called the Regency Outsiders because the main characters are somewhat out of the norm but still need to play by the rules of the ton.
What’s your go to beverage while writing?
In winter, Redbush Chai by Dragonfly Teas, it’s yummy. In summer, 1/3 beetroot juice topped up with ice and sparkling water, very refreshing though it does make it look like I’m downing pints of red wine!
If you’d like to explore Melissa’s writing, check out her website at www.MelissaAddey.com. If you’re a fan of historical fiction, you won’t be disappointed!
Mary Mecham’s Hunting Sirens is billed as a sweet romantic retelling of the Little Mermaid.
But I wasn’t sure what to expect: how do you make a romance with a Deaf, grumpy blacksmith and the creature she’s sworn to kill? While one lives on land while the other in the sea? No spoilers here but Mary Mecham managed it very cleverly.
There’s a lot of action and adventure with plenty of thrilling heroics. Mostly on the part of Treva, the Siren Hunter, a very tough young woman forced into fighting the sirens because of her immunity to their call. Her resistance to her feelings for one of the sirens and her (eventual) falling in love with him feels real, not forced by the plot. I enjoyed this gender-switched retelling of the Little Mermaid a lot. The main characters are great and even the side characters well-fleshed out with plenty of their own agency and motivations.
Sirens. With every fiber of my being, I hated them. I hated that their existence trapped us on our island and that our people were starving. More than anything, I hated the feeling that we were powerless to stop them.
Hello friends! I am so excited that I was chosen to be part of a blog tour for Erica Ridley’s new book, Taming the Rake. I love her books; they are so much fun. The characters are likeable and she does a great job of making the book world feel real and authentic.
Erica Ridley will be awarding a Winner’s choice ebook or paperback copies of the first TWO books in the Wicked Dukes Club series! (ebooks international) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions book tour, please click on the link in the image above. Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better you chances of winning.
Erica Ridley is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of witty, feel-good historical romance novels, including THE DUKE HEIST, starring the Wild Wynchesters. Why seduce a duke the normal way, when you can accidentally kidnap one in an elaborately planned heist? In the 12 Dukes of Christmas series, enjoy witty, heartwarming Regency romps nestled in a picturesque snow-covered village. After all, nothing heats up a winter night quite like finding oneself in the arms of a duke!
My review: Erica Ridley’s second installment in the Lords’ in Love series, Taming the Rake, is a delight. In this series, we’re in the fictional town of Marrywell, the site of a marriage festival, the May Day Matchmaking Festival! You just know there are going to be all sorts of goings-on in that setting. In this book, I loved seeing the romantic convention of rake seducing innocent upended into a tale of a woman taking back her power. Gladys, our heroine, is smart and bookish while managing to be a sensual, lovely sought-after courtesan. She is so cool and collected while being witty. Her nemesis (and love interest) Reuben is all rakish charm on the outside while being horribly insecure. His evolution from a superficial jerk into a lovable, sweet man worthy of Gladys was great fun. Gladys kept Reuben guessing without it getting tiresome. I kept waiting to see what she would do next to torture him. I particularly loved her use of an hourglass to keep him on his toes. There was plenty of heat between them without a great deal of physical action. And as always, Ms. Ridley’s humorous writing kept me smiling throughout. I recommend this one highly to anyone who enjoys a funny, sexy (without a sex scene in every chapter) historical romance.
**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations**
Enjoy a fiery, passionate enemies-to-lovers revenge romance from a New York Times bestselling author!
All her life, Miss Gladys Bell was a wallflower whose parents despaired of her ever attracting a suitor. Then she met the man of her dreams, who said she was the woman of his. One passionate night later, Gladys awaits a marriage proposal that never comes. Reuben Medford, the ton’s most notorious rake, doesn’t even remember her name.
Thanks to his cold-hearted callousness, Gladys lost her reputation, her dowry, and her chance at love. But now she’s back, and bent on revenge. He’s trifled with the wrong woman: This wallflower has thorns. Once Gladys holds that damnable rake’s arrogant, fickle heart in her hands… She’ll crush it, just as he did to her.
Reuben smiled. “If you’re wondering why our paths haven’t crossed before, it’s because I rarely attend gatherings of the beau monde.” She gazed back at him, neither indicating she’d held any curiosity as to why they hadn’t met before, nor asking any of the obvious questions, like Why would you avoid the aristocracy? Or, What have you been doing instead? “May I accompany you through the maze?” he offered.
“What about your friends back at the grotto?” “They…” don’t mean anything to me was absolutely the wrong answer. In fact, Reuben couldn’t think of a right answer. It was as though his mystery woman had laid a verbal trap for him, which was absurd. Reuben himself had chosen to entertain his harem in the grotto. It was nobody’s fault at all that this woman happened to walk past an extremely public place in the center of a celebrated landmark in the middle of a festival. He ground his teeth in consternation. Usually he was much smoother than this. Or rather, usually he needn’t try to be smooth at all. The women he surrounded himself with didn’t much care what Reuben had to say. They wanted what his body could give them, and he was happy to comply. Being forced to impress a woman in a rapidly diminishing minute-and-a-few-seconds was dizzying and confusing. He’d never had to work this hard. If anything, he’d never had to try at all. He was the one who could pick and choose, who never dallied with the same woman twice, who had a waiting list a mile long. “Are you staying for the entire festival?” he blurted out. “I had planned to.” “Are you here to find a husband?” “Are you here to find a wife?” “No,” he answered honestly. If she didn’t know of his wicked reputation, the least he could do was set that much straight. “I’ve no intention to marry.” “No one has caught your eye?” Everyone caught his eye. It was his heart that would never be caught.
Giveaway info: a randomly selected winner will get their choice of ebook or paperback copies of the first two books in the Wicked Dukes Club series. Like this post and comment to enter the contest. And don’t forget to go to the other stops on the tour to enter there too.
BJ Sikes, author 