Today, I am turning this space over to Emily Bryan – she’s doing a great blog tour, giving away books and talking about her work. So, without further ado….Here’s Emily!
Short bio: Award-winning author Emily Bryan learned much of what she knows about writing from singing. A classically trained soprano, she gleaned the elements of storytelling while performing operatic roles. She describes her light-hearted stories as Gilbert & Sullivan . . . with sex! VEXING THE VISCOUNT, her newest release from Leisure Books, will hit the bookstore shelves on Feb. 24th
Reviewers on Emily Bryan:
Publishers Weekly: “Bryan has a great handle on the material and her characters, creating a charming, colorful story with an intricate, fast-paced story line.”
Booklist: “Wickedly witty writing and wonderfully entertaining characters are the key
ingredients in Bryan’s sinfully sexy historical romance . . .”
LifetimeTV: “Great writing and research skills, as well as her ability to weave a good old-fashioned story with heft, make her an author to watch.”
Thanks for having me here today, Lisa. I’ve been on a 50day/50blog tour celebrating the release of VEXING THE VISCOUNT (Feb 24th, Leisure Books) since the beginning of January. Minds Alive on the Shelf is the first blog I’ve visited that is not primarily a romance site. With that in mind, I thought I’d share a bit about why I enjoy writing historical romance.
Part of the fun of writing historical romance is the research.
VEXING THE VISCOUNT is set in London in 1731 for the most part. George II, the second of the Hanoverian kings, is on the throne and Walpole is directing parliament. This George, like his father who spoke no English at all, was born in Germany. He was the last foreign born king of England. There was always rumor of Scottish uprising brewing after the defeat of the Jacobites in 1715 (and the pitifully ineffective rebellion of “19”) so I made use of that unrest as a motivation for my villain.
My hero has unearthed some ancient Roman ruins on his estate along with a cryptic wax tablet detailing the theft of the payroll for the entire Legion stationed on Britannia. So I also researched life in Roman Britain for my secondary plot—the love story and the resulting theft in Londinium 405 AD. The clash of cultures between the Romans and the subjugated Celts provides a rich backdrop for a secondary love story which resulted in the theft set in Londinium 405 AD. For more about the Romans in Britannia, stop by http://www.emilybryan.com/Roman%20Forum.htm
Since my heroine is masquerading as a courtesan (the Georgian era equivalent of a rock star) of course I researched the fashions of the period. This was the age of deception and men as well as women were often guilty of embellishing their attributes and trying to negate their faults with paint, wigs, and padding. For more on this please visit http://www.emilybryan.com/Courtesan%20Closet.htm
But the more I study history, the more I realize that men and women have been coming into this world with the same wants, needs and desires since Eden. Technology changes. People don’t. At the deepest level, we’re still looking for a connection to that Other, a way to matter to someone else, to be accepted completely by one other person for who and what we are. And that’s what romance is about.
Thank you for having me here today, Lisa. I’d like to offer a free copy of VEXING THE VISCOUNT to someone who posts a comment or question on your blog today. And please come back tomorrow to see if YOU are the winner.