Wednesday Wanderings visits The Season!

Welcome to Wednesday Wanderings! Last week we visited Coffee Time Romance (CTR),

http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/

and learned about the staff’s connection to the military. Thanks to the 15 commenters! The winner of the weekly prize is Paty Jager! Paty, please email your mailing address to sos.america@yahoo.com.

I discovered Coffee Time Romance after co-owner Karenne McConkie participated in a chat with Cathy Maxwell and Beverley Kendall for Romance Radio on May 6,

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/romanceradio

This week, we visit Beverley Kendall’s blog site,
The Season, “Romance … it’s all about the dance.”

http://historicalromancereleases.com/wordpress/

The Season offers book reviews, author interviews, and book giveaways for historical, contemporary, and paranormal romance books. Upcoming interviews include:

May 27 ~ Shery Thomas - His At Night
June 2 ~ Kris Kenndy - The Irish Warrior
June 7 ~ Elizabeth Amber - Dane
June 10 ~ Margaret Rowe - Tempting Eden

Beverley is also a published author of historical romances,

http://www.beverleykendall.com/

Beverley’s debut novel, Sinful Surrender, received four stars from Romantic Times. During the radio interview, Cathy noted that she read advance copy of Beverley’s second book, A Taste of Desire. Cathy added that it was a shame the radio audience had to wait until January 2011 to read this book!  

From Beverley’s website,

”I have always loved books, romance and wished that everyone (most especially me) would find their happily ever after. Add in my love of London, England set in a period when ladies strived to be genteel and dresses could barely fit through doors, and it was obvious I could write nothing but historical romances.

As the mother of one too bright and mischievous young boy, I pull full-time duty on all fronts. When I'm not working at my techy-type job, mothering, writing or reading, I'm probably sleeping and dreaming of a time when I'll have time for my favorite hobbies: knitting, crocheting and sewing."

Wow, Beverley! You accomplish more in one day than I do in a week in Hawaii!

Like Beverly, I am an Anglophile – I love anything related to England. Perhaps its in my blood – my mother was born in Plymouth and raised in Exeter. I was fortunate to visit my grandmother in Torquay every summer until I turned 16. That summer, Lady Diana married Prince Charles (oops ... dating myself).

I was also fortunate to travel to England when I lived in Germany and the Netherlands – a three-hour drive to the Calais, 30 minutes on the Chunnel train, and viola, Merry Ole England! It is another hour’s drive from Folkstone to Greater London.

During the Regency era (1811-1820), England’s preeminent families returned to London after Easter for "the season" attend debutante balls, dinner parties, and special events such as the Chelsea Flower Show, Trooping of the Colors, and Ascot. Lords attended to their Parliamentary duties, ladies shopped on Bond Street, and rogues gambled away their inheritance. Despite the fact that England initiated the War of 1812 and burned the White House, Americans remain fascinated by the Regency Era – I am!

The Regency Era marked a distinct change to Hawaii. In 1810, King Kamehameha successfully united 8 islands into one kingdom, naming it after his home island of Hawaii. King Kamehameha relied upon Western weapons to unite his kingdom. He then relied upon Western advisers to rule his kingdom, including English sailor John Young. Left behind by his ship, Young aided Kamehameha in his military strategies. He was rewarded with the Governorship of the Big Island of Hawaii (and King Kamehameha's home).  Recalling his sailor days, Young frequently commanded, “All Hands”, inspiring the Hawaiians to name him ‘Olohana. He married into the Hawaiian Royal Family and was the grandfather of Queen Emma, Consort to King Kamehameha IV and friend to Queen Victoria of Great Britain.

I invite you to leave a comment about The Season, Beverley Kendall, Regency Romances, why Americans love English history, or anything related to Hawaii! A randomly selected winner will receive a Hawaiian tote bag filled with English treats!

Next week we go further back into English history to Medieval Times to celebrate Margaret Mallory’s newest release, A Knight of Passion, the 3rd book in her All the King’s Men series.

For a preview, log onto Margaret’s website,

http://www.margaretmallory.com/.

For a review, log onto The Season’s website,

http://www.historicalromancereleases.com/theseason_june_1.html

Happy Reading!

Kim Adams
(en route to the Mainland for the summer)