Friday, June 01, 2012
Summer Beach Bag Giveaway!
Each participating author will have an activity planned on their website for their special day. You may be asked to comment on a blog, do a scavenger hunt, or visit a Facebook page. For each day you participate, your name will be entered into the Grand Prize drawing.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Introducing Our Exciting New Regency Series, Castonbury Park
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Harlequin Historical Authors' First "Round Robin"
Does this title intrigue you? I hope so. Starting on June 18 some of the Harlequin Historical authors are coming out to play. They are bringing you a round robin story. And it will appear right here on this blog, one chapter per day for two weeks.As you might imagine, it is unlike anything we normally do!
Each day an author will write a chapter following on from the previous one, having never seen it before. No one knows where the story is going, or where it will end up. Writing tends to be a solitary endeavor, so this is something different for us. You can imagine how much fun we will be having and the surprises we will spring on each other.
To get our muses fired up, we are going to ask you to participate in the fun. Get involved as the story develops. See it you can guess what might happen next. Ooh and aah as the surprises roll out.
And perhaps you can tell us which bachelor you think our heroine will decide is a keeper.
So mark your calendars and join the fun.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Mr Oldman Travels to London in 1795
Sometime in December 1795 Mr Oldman, an agent of Sir John Musgrave of Edenhall near Penrith, set out on a journey to carry out business for his employer and the expenses claim is the one he sent Sir John on his return. (Prices given below are shown as £ s d ie pounds, shillings and pence).
We do not know why Sir John needed Mr Oldham to travel all the way to Kempton Park via York and London, a journey by modern routes of over three hundred miles each way, but the details of the trip are fascinating for anyone wondering what things cost in the Georgian period.
Mr Oldham started out by sharing a post chaise from Penrith to York with two others. His share of this – the hire of the chaise, driver, turnpike tolls and food cost him £2. 4s 8d and, as no cost for overnight accommodation is given, they must have accomplished the hundred miles in the day. Post chaises were an expensive mode of travel (the total bill for the three men was £6.14s), but it was faster than the public stage. The photograph below is of an original postchaise taken in the Mossman Collection (Luton, England).
Whether it was more comfortable was debateable – they had privacy and were not jammed in with total strangers possessing various degrees of personal hygiene, but the post chaises were not known as Yellow Bounders for nothing and travel sickness was not uncommon. The print below shows a post chaise driven by postillions thundering through the countryside causing chaos – although this one does contain an eloping couple, which might explain it!
Mr Oldham needed a day and a night in York to recover, which cost him 10s 6d before he then set out on the stagecoach for London. The bill for that was £3.3s for his ticket, 4s 6d in tips to the drivers, 5s 6d for his luggage and 11s 6d for eating and drinking on the way.
He would have undoubtedly been exhausted by the time he arrived at the White Horse, Fetter Lane in the City of London. The White Horse was a major coaching inn, dating back to 1766 at least, and it survived until 1899 when it was rebuilt and finally demolished in 1989. He would have expected a good room and food at such a reputable inn.
His room cost Mr Oldham 6s and then on top of that he had to find 4s 11d to tip the maid and the waiter, pay for his hot shaving water and for a cab to take him to the local stage coach stop for the Chertsey stage coach which took him to Kempton Park at a cost of 5s.
Finally, after a couple of meetings with his employer (during the course of which Mr Oldham had to lend him 6s 6d) he caught the stage coach back from London to Penrith, apparently going direct that time. It cost him £5 plus £1 for his luggage and £1.7s 9d in sundry expenses, including tips and food. The photgraph below shows the cramped seating inside a stage coach - imagine sharing these thinly upholstered benches with five other people in their thick travelling clothing for over three hundred miles! (Coach in Mossman Collection).
The entire trip cost Sir John £17. 19s . Price comparisons are not easy, but that is approximately £900 ($1,453) in today’s money.
Find details of my books at www.louiseallenregency.co.uk along with my Et Cetera page of Regency research.
Louise Allen
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Rake with a Frozen Heart Giveaway
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Titanic: A Date with Destiny
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Captain Corcoran's Hoyden Bride

The hero of my latest release "Captain Corcoran's Hoyden Bride" spent most of his early life in His Majesty's navy. The "crew" who work for him now that he has gone to live ashore permanently, form quite an important thread to this story, because it is through their attitude to him that my heroine comes to understand him. (Which isn't easy for her to do at first, since he virtually press-gangs her into marriage!)
I wanted to find out, in particular, what their uniform would have been like, so that I could give them a similar one as their new livery.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that at that date (1815), ordinary seamen did not have uniforms. Officers got one, in 1748, but the navy administration at that time thought it would be counter-productive to issue men, particularly pressed men, with a decent set of clothes. "It is not intended to clothe men...to make them handsome to run away..."
Imagine the poor pressed sailor, often coming on board in torn and dirty clothing, after a few weeks at sea. The harsh conditions on board would ruin what they wore so that one comment was that they ended up "...so naked that they are not able to undergo the duty of their watches and labours..."
Navy surgeons advocated such men were issued with clothes as a matter of urgency, "to avoid nasty beastliness, which many men are subjected to by the continual wearing of one suit of clothes."
The "nasty beastliness" to which the surgeons referred wasn't B.O. which I first assumed, but the lice which infested such men, resulting in often devastating outbreaks of typhus.
The sailors, it was true, could purchase clothing, or "slops" provided by the purser. The cost of these clothes was deducted from any pay they would be issued if they ever finished their voyage. By all accounts, not many of the men took advantage of the navy's "generosity". And good grief - they were even expected to buy their own hammocks!
Only a couple of groups of ordinary seamen, so far as I could discover, were provided with some kind of uniform. The first group were the ones who found their way into the navy by way of the Marine Society, which was set up to provide work for destitute men and boys. Not only did the founders believe that doing so would prevent spread of disease, but apparently young landsmen on first going aboard were at risk of bullying. Their clothing marked them out. Professional seamen, who wore short round jackets referred to the newcomers as Long Toggies. So the Marine Society boys got a pea jacket, a waistcoat and breeches in either blue or white kersey, a felt hat, two worsted caps, two pairs of hose, three shirts, one pair of shoes with buckles, a knife, a pillow, a blanket - and a bundle of religious tracts.
The other group of men who sometimes, (and only sometimes) got given a uniform, were the Captain's barge crew - those responsible for rowing him ashore. And their uniform was entirely at the Captain's whim. The captain of the Caledonia, for example, issued his with Scotch bonnets. Another, who had fought in the Greek war of independence and been very impressed by the Greek army's uniform kitted his men out in "petticoat trousers". The captain of the Harlequin gave his barge crew a "theatrical costume" (whatever that means - though I have visions of the diamond logo used by our publisher today!)
And then there was the captain of the Blazer, who issued his barge crew with striped blue and white jackets, ornamented with flashy brass buttons. I could not verify this beyond a shadow of a doubt, but I do believe that this is the origin of the garment still known today as a blazer.
Nor could I verify the other snippet of information which I found the most interesting -which was that when designing uniforms for the officers, somebody in their wisdom decided to place a row of brass buttons on the cuffs of the midshipmen's jackets to prevent them from wiping their noses on their sleeves.
I couldn't tell you how long I spent delving into the fascinating world of naval uniforms. As usual, I did not manage to shoehorn any of it into the book. But at least it helped me to understand why those poor deprived men were so fanatically loyal to their captain, when he gave them work ashore.
(If you'd like to receive a copy of Captain Corcoran's Hoyden Bride, please leave a comment)
You can find out more about my books on www.annie-burrows.co.uk
Or come and "friend" me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AnnieBurrowsUK
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
RoNA Rose Award - The Winner is.....
Having been a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association for more years than I care to remember, I have attended many of the awards lunches and celebrations, clapped heartily for the winners and had a really good time. This year was different. I was on the shortlist for the RoNA Rose. This was formerly the Love Story of the Year, and the winner gets to look after the beautiful Betty Neels trophy for a year (and please, no more jokes about having to polish it - I will clean it, I will!) as well as a lovely cut glass star to keep.My Regency Romance, The Dangerous Lord Darrington, was published in North America in September and came out in the UK in January 2012, and when I heard it had been shortlisted I was thrilled, it felt as if I had really arrived as a romance author. Well, let's be honest, Louise Allen was last year's winner, so to have my name on the same trophy is fantastic!
When I looked at the shortlist, I was in company with some great authors, Liz Fielding, Jessica Hart, Kate Hardy, Mary Nichols and Jan Jones (Jan is the only one not writing for Mills & Boon, but she is a good friend and her romantic historical adventures are consistently good).
In such august company I was just happy to be on the list and went along to the Gladstone Library at One Whitehall Place determined to enjoy myself amongst friends - and a chance to catch up with Lucy, who had edited "Darrington". When the announcement was made I was sitting back and preparing to clap the winner - it took me a while to realise that Sarah Mallory was me!It was a wonderful moment, and everyone was so pleased for me - that is what I love about romantic novelists, they are all such genuinely lovely people. I am getting all emotional just thinking about it.
The champagne is gone, I am sitting at my desk and life is as it was before - but not quite, because I have a lovely star sitting on my desk and that silver rose bowl keeps winking at me.....
So, forgive me if I indulge in one more look at those photos!
Sarah Mallory
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Goodreads Giveaway...
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I like when the new year comes and gives us all a new beginning. We start anew and the year seems full of possibilities.
For Harlequin Historical authors, we'll be starting new books. At this point, the books could be about anything in any time period. So I ask you:
1. What time period would you like to see most in 2012? Regency? Medieval? Ancient Rome? Old China? Or something new and different, like WWI?
2. What story line would you like? Marriage of convenience? Beauty and the Beast? Cinderella? Secret Baby? Or do you like a treasure hunt?
3. What kind of hero? Noble or not? Alpha or Beta? Blond or Dark-haired?
4. What kind of heroine? Poor or Noble? Bookish or Horse-mad? Vicar's daughter or Vicar's illegitimate daughter?
5. Where set? British Isles? Australia? American West? France? North Africa?
6. Level of sensuality. Hot? Not-so-hot? Sweet?
Monday, January 16, 2012
Since my latest Undone, The Unrepentant Rake, is out this month, it's positively de rigueur for me to blog about it here. (And anyone who comments has a chance to win a free download. Just letting you know up front.)
My unofficial title for this story is The Romance of the Toe Bone, because a holy relic, the toe bone of St. Davnet, is instrumental in bringing about the happy ending. (It was my muse's idea, and I do what she tells me.) St. Davnet was an Irish saint of the 6th or 7th Century, and little is known about her. She is a patron saint of the mentally ill and women in danger, and (according to one site I can't find anymore) family harmony as well. What is more important to family harmony than true love, I asked myself, and a story was born. In spite of my muse's enthusiasm, I didn't think my editor would accept this story, even though she asked for revisions and didn't complain that the toe bone was too weird. I sent in the revised version and put the story out of my mind.
Shortly afterward, I went to Ireland for the first time and spent a day in Dublin. I visited the National Museum of Ireland, which has a superb collection of prehistoric gold items, Celtic metalwork, Viking artifacts, jewelry, and so on...including an ornamental pilgrim's staff said to have belonged to St. Davnet. I oohed and aahed about all the amazing stuff there. I wanted to stay forever, but nature got in the way and we had to go eat.
I guess when I put the story out of my mind, I put the staff out, too. A few days later, when I was well out of reach of Dublin with no chance of returning, my editor accepted the story. Of course, that's when I remembered the staff. I'd totally forgotten to look for it in the museum!
Duh! I'm going back to Ireland, and this time I won't forget.
Anyway, to give you a better idea what the story is about (lest you think it's littered with toe bones and such), it's the sequel to The Wanton Governess, which came out last year. The brother of the hero was an annoying rake who insisted on having his own story. My muse relented, but she pitted him against a governess with plans of her own and a holy relic. Guess who won?
Comments welcome! Don't forget -- I have a download to give away. :)
Friday, December 23, 2011
Harlequin Historical Authors Holiday Winners Final List
Our thanks to everyone who participated in our second Harlequin Historical Authors Holiday Giveaway. It was a terrific way for us to enter in to the Holiday Spirit.
November 29 – Michelle Willingham --- Winner: Felicity S from UK
November 30 – Elizabeth Rolls --- Winner: Nina C from Ireland
December 1 – Charlene Sands --- Winner: Lorraine C
December 2 – Diane Gaston --- Winners: Dec 2 Adele from UK; Dec 23 Beichyl from FL
December 3 – Annie Burrows --- Winner: Jennifer from Puerto Rico
December 5 – Elaine Golden --- Winners: Patti P; Ebony M; Shelley B; Ubah K; Brooklynshoebabe; Karen G; Kim; May P; Victoria D; Laura M; Michelle B
December 6 – Barbara Monajem --- Winner: Dec 2 Amy K; Dec 23 Jessica S
December 7 – Michelle Styles --- Winner: Elizabeth and Venetia
December 8 – Deborah Hale --- Winner: Michelle B
December 9 – Marguerite Kaye --- Winners: Annie from NY; Tammy from WV
December 10 – Lynna Banning --- Winner: Carol from FL
December 12 – Carol Townend --- Winners: Charlotte M from UK; Jean S; Grandmareads
December 13 – Blythe Gifford --- Winner: Margaret from FL
December 14 – Julia Justiss --- Winner: Angeles W from FL
December 15 – Terri Brisbin --- Winner: Rakisha W
December 16 – Ann Lethbridge --- Winner: Vonda R
December 17 – Bronwyn Scott --- Winner: Louisa Cornell
December 19 – Sarah Mallory --- Winner: Samantha L from CA
December 20 – Kate Bridges --- Winners: Carrie B from MN, Jennifer W from GA, Lisa W
December 21 – Amanda McCabe --- Winner: Elena G
December 22 – Jeannie Lin --- Winners: Marjorie, Bessamy, and Annie
December 23 – Grand Prize Drawing --- Melissa from TX










