Weekly Announcements - 11 Sept 2010

As we continue to revamp our contributor line-up, we'd like to introduce another fine author joining our ranks. Please welcome Victorian author Anthea Lawson, the husband-and-wife writing team who penned ALL HE DESIRES and the RITA-nominated PASSIONATE! Here's more about this fantastic addition to our blog:

Anthea is one-half of the writing team Anthea Lawson--husband and wife authors who live in the Pacific Northwest. They love unusual locales and situations. Their first Victorian-set romance, PASSIONATE, was released from Kensington books in October 2008. It features a botanical expedition to Tunisia, and was a nominee for the prestigious RWA RITA award for Best First Book. Their second novel, ALL HE DESIRES, was released in November 2009. Set partially on the Isle of Crete, ALL HE DESIRES "deftly combines danger, desire, and a deliciously different Victorian setting into a sexy version of Victoria Holt's classic gothic romances." ~ Booklist Reviews.

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Congratulations to long-time contributor Karen Mercury, who sold a M/M/F story set in during the California gold rush to Siren/Bookstrand. Her new release will hit the shelves in January 2011, title TBD.

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Zoe Archer's WARRIOR has certainly made a splash for its debut last week. The first of the four-part "Blades of the Rose" series received great reviews over at Fresh Fiction (WARRIOR is one of the best books I have read in years.) and The Misadventures of Super Librarian (This is the stuff of old-fashioned Saturday matinees, Errol Flynn movies and Indiana Jones.). Congratulations!

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As part of the New Voices competition and the reopening of Haltwhistle Library celebrations, Michelle Styles will be giving a workshop on "Creating a Page-Turning Read" from 10:30-11:30 am on Saturday, September 18. The workshop is free but limited to 25 spots. Contact the library on 01434 321863 for more details.

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Carrie Lofty will also be giving a workshop on September 18, from 9:30-noon for Mad City Romance Writers in the Middleton Library in Middleton, WI. The topic will be Starting the (Academic) Year off Right. Hope to see you there!

And although this doesn't have anything to do with Unusual Historicals, Carrie is quite happy with the artwork for her June 2011 apocalyptic paranormal romance, NIGHTFALL, co-written with Ann Aguirre under the name Ellen Connor.

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Join us Sunday when Harlequin Historicals author Lila DiPasqua will be here to chat about her debut, a short-story collection based on classic fairy tales called AWAKENED BY A KISS, set in 17th century France. She'll also be giving away a copy to one lucky commenter! Be sure to join us then.

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We'll also draw the winner of Jeannie Lin's "THE TAMING OF MEI LIN" guest appearance on Sunday. You still have time to leave a comment or question for your chance to win.

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Stay with us through the coming weeks when we'll be featuring the best unusual historical authors! Christina Phillips, Sarah Parr, and Zoe Archer will be our guests. Join us!

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Have a good weekend! Remember, you don't have to be an Unusual Historicals contributor to submit good news to the weekend announcements. If it has to do with unusual historicals, we'd love to shout it out to the world! Send announcements to Carrie. See you next week...

Guest Author: Anthea Lawson

Welcome to our weekly author spotlight on Unusual Historicals! Anthea Lawson is the pseudonym of a husband-wife writing team whose romances are set in the early-Victorian period and feature travel to exotic locales. Their first book, PASSIONATE, centered on a botanical expedition to Tunisia, and was nominated for a Best First Book RITA in 2009. Their November 3rd release, ALL HE DESIRES, returns to the Mediterranean for more romance and adventure.

Far from home and her noble relatives, Miss Caroline Huntington has been injured in a fall from her horse. Called to her side, Alex Trentham knows he must assist her, though he has not practiced as a physician for a long while. Just to see so lovely a woman in a state of undress is a hard test of his self-control. Caroline is all that is warm and feminine, beautiful and pure.

Brave to a fault, she does not flinch under his hands, and soon she is on the mend. Alex struggles to hide his feelings, knowing that his dark past shadows any hope of a future. But Caroline's radiant innocence is dangerous to a worldly man, and she seems achingly eager to experience all the pleasure he could show her...

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Your new release, ALL HE DESIRES, opens on the Isle of Crete. Tell us more!

The British were such travelers, and their empire spanned the globe. What were these people doing when they weren't going to balls and riding around Hyde park in carriages? They were off seeing the world. We picked Crete because it was rich in mythology, a site of major archaeological discoveries, and also because it had a sunny climate with sparkling oceans. We started the novel while on vacation (a five-day downpour on the Oregon coast), and the setting reflects our own wish for clear skies and warm sunshine. We also did a lot of research on the Mediterranean basin for our first book, so Crete was "on the map" so to speak.

Originally, we thought we'd have an archaeologist hero, but characters don't care what the author plans for them. They often have their own history and personality that the writer discovers as the story is unfolding. It turned out that our hero, Alex Trentham, is not an archaeologist; he is a handsome, passionate and most unwilling doctor with a mysterious past. We still have an archaeological dig, but it is not the focal-point in the story we had originally imagined.

Your first book, the RITA-nominated PASSIONATE, also featured an unusual setting: Tunisia. What draws you to these exotic locales?

The rain-drenched winters of the Pacific NW! Seriously, we take any chance to dive into research about warm, dry climes. The sound of the drizzle outside transmutes to rustling branches in an olive grove, glints of sunlight off the sea, the scent of oranges. For those who prefer London, much of PASSIONATE and half of ALL HE DESIRES is set firmly to the world of the ton. After all, we can't abandon the balls and teas entirely.

In addition to your interesting locales, you've chosen a less-usual time period. What draws you to the Victorian era?

It's a time of great change and energy, where the British were fanning out all across the globe as amateur scientists and observers as well as simply traveling for pleasure. There's an endless wealth of wonderful, exciting stories to be told against that backdrop.

What's one of the most unusual scenes in ALL HE DESIRES?

Definitely the love scene that's completely in the dark. No light at all. That was a fun challenge to write, and all the hotter for it. You'll have to read the book to find out why!

What are you working on now?

We're musicians as well as writers, and are having a great time with our new series which is set against the glittering backdrop of 19th century musical celebrity. Musical stars have been bad-boys in every era, and the 1800s are no exception. We are excited about the concept, and the first book is turning out to be everything we hoped and more.

Finally, tell us a little bit about writing together.

It's both satisfying and challenging and we'd have it no other way. Both of us bring our strengths and weaknesses to the process, and together we do better work then either of us could do alone. It's great to have your life-partner also be a creative partner, and when a new book comes out and readers respond positively to the story, our joy is even greater because it is a shared joy. We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to create together in this way.

Thanks for having us here at Unusual Historicals! Please come visit us at our website, follow us on Twitter, and friend us on Facebook. ALL HE DESIRES hits the shelves November 3rd. Pick up a copy and let us know what you think!

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Reviews:

"This husband-and-wife team's second novel sweeps from the shores of Crete to the streets of London...readers will enjoy the characters and the beautiful descriptions in this nice tale." -- Romantic Times

"I find this to be a wonderful example of historical romance. Ms. Lawson tells a powerful love story and draws the reader in within the first chapter. This tale comes with a high recommendation from this reviewer." -- Coffee Time Romance

"This entertaining Victorian romance stars an intriguing lead male and an intrepid heroine...fans will enjoy Anthea Lawson's exciting mid nineteenth century tale, as Caroline and Alex make for a wonderful historical." -- Harriet Klausner

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Yay for Mediterranean adventure! If you'd like to secure your chance to win a copy, leave Anthea and Lawson a comment or question. I'll draw a winner of one signed book in one week. Void where prohibited. Good luck!

PASSIONATE Winner

We have a winner for Anthea Lawson's PASSIONATE giveaway:

PAM P!

Contact Anthea to give her your address. The book must be claimed by next Sunday or another winner will be drawn. Please stop back later to let us know what you thought of her book! Congratulations!

In addition, no one claimed the copy of MADRIGAL from last week, so we've drawn a new winner:

BEE!

Contact Jennifer to give her your address.

Guest Blogger: Anthea Lawson

This week we welcome husband & wife writing team Anthea Lawson as they celebrate the release of their debut from Kensington, PASSIONATE.

An award winning story and Golden Heart finalist, this debut Victorian-set historical takes the reader on a romantic adventure from the ballrooms and parlors of London through the Mediterranean to the exotic valleys of Tunisia. Fans of Julia Quinn and Connie Brockway will enjoy this witty foray into the outer edges of civilization--and propriety.

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Before she must wed, Lily Strathmore decides upon one final adventure--a botanical expedition through the wilds of North Africa with her uncle and his family. In search of a fabled bloom, James Huntington soon joins them. Handsome to a fault and rakish to boot, he has the maddening habit of catching Lily at her most improper. And his sensual kisses are only the beginning of their passionate intimacy. Huntington finds the beautiful Miss Strathmore impossible to resist. With each passing day, their desire for each other grows. And in his wildest dreams, Lily is his--and his alone. Forever...

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"A lush, exotic tale of romance and adventure." – Sally MacKenzie, USA Today bestselling author

"An offbeat adventure romance...readers will enjoy the wordplay and intriguing characters as they search for a mysterious plant." - Romantic Times

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Your debut novel, PASSIONATE, is set in 1847. Why the Victorian era?

It's a vibrant, exciting time when boundaries were being pushed in every direction. The British were fanning out all over the globe, amateur scientists were investigating the world around them, and the industrial revolution was in full swing. So many historicals stay within the bounds of London. We wanted a fresh, interesting setting to go with the unique plot of the book, and the era lends itself to all kinds of travel possibilities.

What inspired you to take your characters on a journey to exotic Tunisia?

We wanted a blend of the familiar and the foreign, and it made more sense for our characters to organize a botanical expedition to the Mediterranean than to the Amazon. Tunisia itself was trying to hold on to its independence at the time, and it's a very romantic locale!

A botanical expedition? Tell us more.

The heroine, Lily Strathmore, is a passionate artist. She paints the botanical illustrations for her uncle's horticultural collection and accompanies him and his family into the field. The hero, James Huntington, needs to go to North Africa in search of a fabled bloom, and ends up co-opting the family's current travel plans. Sometimes travel leads to unexpected romance, whether it's a week away at summer camp, traveling around Europe for a semester, or in this case, setting out on a fabulous adventure to someplace sunny and exotic. Did we mention we live in the Pacific Northwest where the climate is anything but sunny and exotic?

What's the most interesting thing you discovered while researching this book?

One of the great joys of writing in this genre is researching the places we take our readers and searching for those authentic historical tidbits that can be worked into the story. This time around we learned about Victorian plant collecting methods, adventure botanists, ancient roman mosaics (very improper!), sailing steamships…. And did you know there's a species of orchid that closely resemble a naked man? Orchis Italica. We had fun with that little detail, too.

Speaking of unusual, how do you make the husband-wife writing team work?

It can be a challenge because writing fiction is dreaming a vivid, detailed, and very long dream--then writing it down. It is inevitable that two minds will visualize things differently, but it's great to have someone else to share in the creative process. We know that between the two of us we can solve any plot and characterization issues that come up. We both bring different strengths to the process, and it's nice to have that support. Sometimes we joke that if it were up to us as individuals that Anthea would have written a dozen unpublished books by now, and Lawson would have completed one perfect paragraph.

What's next? Do you have more exotic settings in store?

Our next book, due out in November 2009 from Kensington, opens on the Isle of Crete for more delicious fun in the Mediterranean. What is that handsome English doctor doing hiding out there anyway? After that, we've been looking into India, or the courts of Europe...so many possibilities! Keep track of what's next by visiting us at www.anthealawson.com.

Thanks for having us here at Unusual Historicals!

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Would you love a shiny new copy of PASSIONATE? Course you would! Leave a comment or questions for Anthea Lawson. A winner will be drawn a week from today!