TALK LIKE JANE AUSTEN DAY with Regina Scott and Marissa Doyle

Today is TALK LIKE JANE AUSTEN in honor of the 200th anniversary of the publication of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY. I invited two Regency authors to join us, Regina Scott and Marissa Doyle. They contribute to NINETEEN TEEN, www.nineteenteen.blogspot.com, “being a teen in the nineteenth century.”

Correct that – I invited the heroines from their upcoming books.

Kim:  Please introduce yourself - your name, age, where you live, the time you live, and the book which details your life.

Lady Everard: My name is Samantha Ev - - - oops! I beg your pardon. My name is Samantha, Lady Everard. I just learned I had a title, so you'll excuse me for forgetting to use it. None of us knew my father's title could go down the female line until he died a few months ago. I'm sixteen years of age, and I currently reside in London though I was born and raised in the north of England in Cumberland. I live during what you call the Regency period, though for much of my life the Prince wasn't Regent yet. And you can learn more about me in a series of three books coming out in 2012, the Everard Legacy. The first book is called The Rogue's Reform, and it will be published in February. 

Lady Sophie: This is a most interesting experience! My Aunt Isabel always says that a lady never draws attention to herself--but then again, my Aunt Isabel says a lot of things, many of which I disagree with, so.... I am Lady Sophie Rosier, and I am eighteen years of age. My papa is the Marquis of Lansell, and just now we are at our London house, though I mostly grew up at our country seat, Lanselling, with my two younger brothers. My mother and little sister died two years ago, and I nearly did too...and ended up with this cursed limp as a result of what I believe you these days call polio. Papa has been frightfully busy with his work for the War Office ever since that monster Napoleon escaped from his exile on Elba and retook his throne in France--1815 is turning out to be quite an eventful year, as you will find out if you read Courtship and Curses, which will appear in all fine bookstores next summer. 

Portrait of Benjamin Everard circa 1813
available from antiques.com

Kim: What is your favorite past time? school subject? music? dance? 

Lady Everard: Must I name just one? I love to play the piano and ride, but my cousin Vaughn Everard, the famous poet, is teaching me to fence. And my cousin Captain Richard Everard taught me to navigate by the stars. But I suppose what's kept me busiest is trying to match each of them up with the proper lady. Cousin Jerome was the hardest. They say he can charm the birds from the trees, so why did he fight so hard to keep from falling in love with my governess? With three rogues for cousins, my work is never done! 

A woman fencing?!?!
blogs.princeton.edu

Ladie Sophie: It is a little difficult for me to talk about this...you see, when I was ill, I not only ended up with a shrunken right leg, but also lost--oh, please don't breathe a word about this to anyone--but I lost my ability to do magic. It's coming back slowly--at least, I hope it is, but I can't rely on it. And dance...I used to love dancing. In fact, Mama used to have a dancing master visit Lanselling for a few weeks every year when I was younger, and all the gently-born girls and boys in the neighborhood would come for lessons, to prepare for entering society. But not any more. When your right leg is inches shorter than your left, dancing is not something you can expect to do. It hurts to go to balls and watch others do what I no longer can.

thecultureconcept.com

Kim: What are the rewards and challenges of being a nineteen teen?

Lady Everard: Rewards? Beautiful dresses, dinner by candlelight, dancing until dawn Challenges? Did I mention my guardians are three rogues? And I have the title and all the money? That's a big responsibility. Too bad so many people seem to think it shouldn't be mine.

Lady Sophie: At first, I wasn't sure there would be any rewards for me in being a young lady entering society. People, even otherwise intelligent ones, presume that just because I'm lame means I must also be feeble-minded or even evil--and yes, I've had several run-ins with people like that (though I did get my magic to work well enough to give the loathsome Lady Lumley her comeuppance!) But three things--or I should say, three people have kept my life from being a complete horror: first, my best friend Lady Parthenope Hardcastle, who is something of a madcap but who is the truest, dearest friend I could ask for...I believe you may have previously met her in a book called Bewitching Season, though in that book she's an adult with daughters of her own (which I own quite amuses me!) The second person is Madame Amelie Carswell, the widow of one of my Papa's school friends who is staying with us right now, and who is so sympathetic and has helped me to once more see myself as a whole person. The third person...well, I am not sure it's quite proper to discuss him, but if you promise not to tell...is Parthenope's cousin Peregrine, Lord Woodbridge. Our friendship had a rocky start, and I am still not sure where it will lead, though I do have my hopes...! 

Regency Ladies
womanofnotes.blogspot.com

Kim: What intrigues you about your creator?

Lady Everard: Why she took so long to write about us! I've been nagging her for five years. Do you know how hard it is staying sixteen for five years? [Note from creator: some characters have to learn to wait for their turn.] [Note from Samantha: pffft!]

Lady Sophie: I am interested in how she used her childhood memories of a dear family friend to help bring my disability to life. I suppose that for authors and authoresses, all life experiences can contribute to their creations. 

Susan Gee Heino, Marissa Doyle, Regina Scott, and fiend
at the Beau Monde Soiree
wendylacapra.com

Kim: What's next for your creator? 

Lady Everard: Me! I understand her editor, God bless her, has asked her to write the story of how I fall in love. I can hardly wait to find out! [Note fromcreator: see note above.] 

Lady Sophie:  Er, me, I suppose! You can read about how I come to London, meet Parthenope, fall in love, and try to discover who is trying to assassinate the members of the War Office (and later, the Duke of Wellington when we travel to Brussels!) when Courtship and Curses comes out from Henry Holt Books for Young Readers in August 2012. And right now, I believe she's occupied with a very different time and place--the United States in 1901, and more specifically, the Gilded Age in Newport, Rhode Island...but I don't think she's quite ready to discuss that yet... 

Mahalo, Lady Everard and Lady Sophie, for joining us at SOS Aloha! I met your creators through the Beau Monde – the RWA Special Interest Chapter for writers of Regency Romance. The website, www.thebeaumonde.com, has a special tab for Readers.   What’s a party without a goodie bag? I am giving away a Beau Monde tote blag with Regency goodies to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway, 

1. Leave a comment about Jane Austen, Regency Romances, or being a teen in the 19th century. 

2. This giveaway is open to all readers. 

3. Comments are open through Saturday, November 5, 10 pm in Hawaii. I’ll post the winner on Sunday, November 6. 

Mahalo, 

Kim in Hawaii 

To learn more about Regina and her book, log onto her website at www.reginascott.com. 

To learn more about Marissa and her books, log onto her website at www.marissadoyle.com.