Author of the Month: an interview with Julie Eberhart Painter

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It’s been a while, guys– but I’m back with this month’s Author of the Month interview! This month’s author is Julie Eberhart Painter, the multi-talented, genre-spanning author of such cozy mysteries as “Kill Fee,” thrillers like “Mortal Coil,” and 20th century historical romances as “Tangled Web.” She’s here today to talk with us about her latest novels– as well as mynah birds, “Prime Suspect,” Casey Anthony, and how her own scandalous and mysterious family background informed her own bestselling books.

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Hi Julie! Where are you from? What’s your background? What led you to become a writer?

As an adopted person, my story is a mixed blessing, my life is still a mystery. I look to my middle aged children for the answers to my background now. I was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA. After three months of foster care, I was sent to Germantown in Philadelphia and adopted at nine months of age by some very creative people who’d been married 14 years. Which means that most of my parents’ contemporaries were old enough to be my grandparents. My adoptive grandmother was born in 1876 and lived to be 105. She had a big influence on my interests. Continue reading “Author of the Month: an interview with Julie Eberhart Painter” »

Happy December: An author chat and a chance to win free books!

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Today, on this lovely (but cold) first day of December, I’m participating in an all-day chat over at Beth Wylde’s Yahoo forum with my fellow Champagne Books authors. A lot of us are hosting mini-contests to win copies of our books, and I’m doing the same. My debut time travel romance, “A Question of Time,” isn’t being released until November 2012, but I do have a copy of my short story, “The Ash-slave”– an ancient Persian retelling of Cinderella– to give away to one lucky commenter on the Beth Wylde chat group.

My question is: If you could travel in time, and be guaranteed a certain amount of safety, what period would you visit, and what would you do once there? The person who posts the most creative answer here wins the story!

Revolutionary Comics

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For the final post of Georgian History month, I’d like to introduce the talented writer and comic artist Laura Neubert, the creator of “The Light Eater” webcomic, a lovely and atmospheric Gothic paranormal fantasy set during the time of the French Revolution. She’s here to discuss her favorite 18th century set comics– focusing mainly on ones set during the American and French revolutions. These comics by groundbreaking comic artists like Lora Innes, Ryoko Ikeda, and Dylan Meconis are all revolutionary comics, in both senses of the word.

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Ahh the 1700’s. What a romanticized point in Western history. Certainly, this is due in no small part to the two revolutions that capped off that century. Is it any wonder that so many artists, authors and artistic types have turned their attentions toward the latter end of that 100 year period? The drama of revolution is inescapable, hell, the word itself means to change, or to turn. Place nearly any sort of character in the context of such turmoil and the drama is just about inherent. In some ways, it seems even terribly fitting that creators of comics would take on this period in time, since William Hogarth’s prints, which are considered an early precursor to sequential art appeared during this time, and often commented on many of the conditions and social misconceptions that helped lead to some of the revolutionary fervor in France. With that in mind, let’s take a step back in time and give the works of a few talented authors a closer look.

First off, let’s handle things a bit chronologically. So let’s turn our attention to “The Dreamer”, arguably one of the most well-known web-comics in America. Written by Lora Innes, the story concerns a young modern-day lass named Bea who seems to travel back in time to the American Revolution when she sleeps. Perhaps it’s only a dream, a vivid, intense dream, but, Bea seems to have an established life in the past, she even has a paramour there, the dashing, charming Alan. It is not only Bea, but also the reader who must wonder which time frame is real and which is the dream. Is our heroine merely imagining this complex story of such an important point in American history, or is she actually rushing back and forth through time? Is she only one person, or two? How can one person exist in two places at once? Continue reading “Revolutionary Comics” »

A Killing Frost: more fun adventure in the Blue Satan series

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I was really excited to read “A Killing Frost,” which is the latest installment in the Blue Satan and Mrs Kean historical mystery series– “The Birth of Blue Satan”, the first book in the series, is possibly one of my favorite historical mystery novels of recent years. Set in the early years of King George I, it was a swashbuckling story of how a young nobleman, Gideon Fitzsimmons, the Viscount St Mars, is falsely accused of his father’s murder and in the process loses his birthright; and how the purehearted Hester Kean, the poor relation of St Mars’s frivolous fiancee, strove to help him regain what was rightfully his, even when he ends up becoming a legendary highwayman.

It’s very much in the vein of Sabatini and Farnol, wonderfully old-fashioned, with highwaymen, courtesans, fops in periwigs, and Jacobites lurking behind every bush. There are tons of books set around the French Revolution, but fewer in the earlier part of the century, which I think is a pity. (Patricia Wynn, in her earlier guest blog post, explains why she decided to use this sadly neglected period.)

“A Killing Frost” is the fourth book in the series. As you could probably tell by the title, is set during the Little Ice Age, when the Thames regularly froze over solid. It’s the winter of 1715-16, and St Mars is still living on the fringes of society, while his undeserving and useless cousin Harrowby has taken over his inheritance as Earl of Hawkhurst, and has even married St Mars’s slutty blonde ex-fiancee Isabella. Hester Kean (mainly called Mrs. Kean– however, at this period, Mrs was just an abbreviation of ‘Mistress’, it didn’t mean a lady was married, it was just a title of respect), Isabella’s poor cousin, is her downtrodden waiting woman, and at this point pretty much utterly in love with St Mars. Their romance has been a very slow burn, and at this point in the series they’re just dying to fall into the sack; they haven’t yet because St Mars is super honorable and Hester’s a good girl. Continue reading “A Killing Frost: more fun adventure in the Blue Satan series” »

Presenting Patricia Wynn: The turbulent reign of King George I

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My last author feature for this month is Patricia Wynn, the very talented author of the Blue Satan mystery series. Her first book in this series is “The Birth of Blue Satan,” one of my favorite historical mysteries ever– in the vein of Dumas and Rafael Sabatini, it’s a wonderfully old-fashioned and swashbuckling adventure story set in the turbulent years of 1715-1716, when the Catholic prince James Stuart vied with newcomer the German Protestant George for the right to the British throne. Most authors, when writing about the 18th century, prefer to focus on the later half, particularly the decades between the American and French revolution. Ms. Wynn is here to tell us a bit about equally revolutionary first few decades of the Georgian era, and why she chose to write about it.

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Thank you, Joanne, for inviting me to blog about the early Georgian period. Writing and researching the Blue Satan Mystery Series, I’ve been immersed in the reign of George I for the past twelve years. Before that I wrote Regency romances and a historical romance set in the 1770’s, but when choosing a period for my mystery series, I wanted to stake a claim to a setting that had not been so thoroughly explored. Continue reading “Presenting Patricia Wynn: The turbulent reign of King George I” »

Artist of the Month: an interview with Niroot Puttapipat

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"Sense and Sensibility" Bath Bicentenary ed. cover by Niroot Puttapipat

Happy Georgian Month! For this month’s Artist of the Month, I’m interviewing Niroot Puttapipat, a Thai-born London-based illustrator already renowned for his gorgeous, intricate, historically savvy paintings that recall such fin de siècle artists like Edmund Dulac and Arthur Rackham at the height of their powers. He’s illustrated many books for Walker Books, the Folio Society, and Palazzo Editions, most recently the Bath Bicentenary edition of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility.” He’s here with us to today to discuss his artistic process, his love of costume, and his thoughts on the current Austen mania sweeping the publishing world.

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Hi Niroot! Where are you from? Where did you grow up? Your official bio for Walker books says you’re “the grandson of a Lanna princess.” Would you like to tell us more about that?

I was born and grew up in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. I first came to live in London with my family when I was about ten. I spent about two and a half years here before going back to Chiang Mai again for a year. Then I returned to London again and have been here since. Continue reading “Artist of the Month: an interview with Niroot Puttapipat” »

A brief history of 18th century fashion

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Today’s guest post is courtesy of historical fashionista Andrew Schroeder, who brings us a brief (and highly illustrated) history of 18th century fashion. In today’s article, in honor of Isobel Carr’s eloquent guest post about the allure of 1780s style and my most recent review and giveaway of “Ripe for Scandal,” he mainly discusses the many facets of late 18th century ladies’ fashion.

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“The fortunate few of the eighteenth century dreamed and lived and danced in one of history’s most glorious periods.” So said Diana Vreeland in the introduction to “The Eighteenth-Century Lady,” and her declaration is not without merit. The elegance and style of these fortunate few have been preserved for posterity by the likes of Boucher, Fragonard, Le Brun, and Watteau, transporting us into one of most beautiful ages of fashion the Western world has ever known.

Rococo style grew out of a reaction to the heavy oppression of the Baroque aesthetic. Artists and designers looked to natural elements, such as the shell, from which the term “rococo” takes its name, to create ornate, fanciful designs that ambled and meandered in s-shaped curves. These new modes were reflected in women’s dress of the period. This rigid yet hyper-feminine trend gradually gave way, toward the end of the century, to a more natural inspiration, spurred by Rousseau’s writings and an increased emphasis on the individual.

Undergarments of the eighteenth century were complicated but ubiquitous, being worn by all members of society. A woman’s most intimate garment was the chemise, which was made of linen and served to protect the clothing from the body’s oils, as well as protecting the body from the stays. These were the eighteenth century version of the corset. Stays were not worn to constrict the waist, but to give a conical shape to the torso and perfect, erect posture. By the 1780s, a more natural shape was achieved through the use of less boning, creating a “prow” front and a more pronounced bust. Women could then tied a pocket around their waists, which could be accessed by pocket slits in their skirts and petticoats. Continue reading “A brief history of 18th century fashion” »

Ripe for Scandal: a review and giveaway

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While “Ripe for Scandal” is a very different story than Arabella Stokes’ “Proof of Love” or Sylvia Halliday’s “Summer Darkness, Winter Light,” it manages to capture another aspect of Georgian society in that it’s an earthier, more matter-of-fact romance. It’s not “Perfume” (thank God) but it feels less sentimental and romanticized, with a more practical, erotic, sanguine approach to love, which was refreshing to read.

This is the second book of a trilogy (the first was “Ripe for Pleasure”), so at first I felt a little as if I had plunged halfway into the middle of a miniseries, but I was able to get the cast sorted out in my head soon enough. The heroine of “Scandal” is one Boudicea “Beau” Vaughn, the daughter of an antiquarian duke (hence her odd name) who is a high-spirited, sporting girl who is not only a bit of a libertine, but she won’t take shit from anyone. The hero is her brother’s BFF, a guy she’s always had the hots for– one Gareth Sandison, a rakish silver-haired fellow (who I kept picturing as a 1780s Sesshomaru) who rescues her from the hands of Nowlin, a mysterious Irishman, who seems determined to abduct her off to Gretna Green to forcibly wed and bed her. (Or does he?) Continue reading “Ripe for Scandal: a review and giveaway” »

Presenting Isobel Carr: “Why I prefer the Georgian era”

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Happy Thanksgiving! The holidays are here, but Georgian month rolls on as acclaimed romance novelist and costume historian Isobel Carr (aka Kalen Hughes)– the author of “Lord Sin,” “Ripe for Pleasure” and “Ripe for Scandal”– is here to tell us why she prefers the Georgian era to the more popular Regency.

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I’ve often been asked “Why Georgian? Why not set your books in the more popular Regency?” And I have a lot of answers, but in a nutshell, it’s the clothes. I know a lot of people have major Austen-fueled dreams of Regency elegance, but as a re-enactor, I vastly prefer the clothing of those characters’ parents’ generation. And it’s that love of late 18th century clothing that originally pushed me into writing books set in the 1780s. Continue reading “Presenting Isobel Carr: “Why I prefer the Georgian era”” »

Marie Antoinette’s Big Hair

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Marie Antoinette in Coronation Gown

Lauren P., who runs the fantastically readable and fun 18th century site, Marie Antoinette’s Gossip Guide to the 18th Century, has stopped by to tell us about some of the fashion trends Marie Antoinette herself started– most notably that of the pouf, the most famous (or infamous) hairstyle of the entire Georgian era. Satirized and mimicked in books, comics and movies for centuries, the pouf blazed the way for big hair. Before the bouffant, before the beehive, there was Marie Antoinette and her two-foot-high coiffures.

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One of the most tragic figures of the 18th century was the young French queen Marie Antoinette, who only lived to be 37 years old. The beginning of her career as queen was also the beginning of her career as a fashion icon in Europe. Marie Antoinette was making major fashion decisions as early as the coronation of her husband, Louis Auguste in 1775. At just nineteen years old, Marie Antoinette had an important decision to make: what to wear! Continue reading “Marie Antoinette’s Big Hair” »