Canadian Bestselling Author Sharon Page

I'm Sharon Page, author of over 20 Regency historical romances and now two 20th century historical women's fiction novels—An American Duchess and The Worthington Wife, both published by Harlequin HQN.

Research Trip to England

I’ve had many fun experiences as an author, but taking a research trip through England was one of the most enjoyable. My plan was three-pronged: to see Regency settings in London, the streets where Jack the Ripper prowled (for a future book idea), and the moors of Dartmoor.

My research on Dartmoor would lead to my first major self-published book, Escape with a Rogue. (The gorgeous cover is by Croco Designs.)

 Here's one of my first views of the moors:

Here's the blurb for Escape with a Rogue:

Can a gently bred young lady prove that a notorious gaming hell owner who escaped from prison is innocent of murder? Wrongfully convicted, Jack Travers has spent two years in jail, first on a dismal prison hulk, then in isolated Dartmoor Prison. Can Lady Madeline Ashby heal his wounded heart and troubled soul?

In the story, Lady Madeline is determined to prove Jack’s innocence and she helps him escape Dartmoor Prison. At that time, local farmers brought in their goods for market days, a fact that allows Madeline a chance to sneak in.

Above is the entry gate to the prison. I stayed in a lovely inn that was the former prison governor’s house. I was able to walk in my character’s shoes—even following a track across the moors that I use for their escape route. All went well until I found a fork in the trail. Desperate, I even asked the sheep for directions and they weren’t impressed. In the end, I made a choice—fortunately it was the right one.

The moors are still remarkably desolate. There are many dangerous bogs.

Back in London, I toured Mayfair and even went up to the front steps of White’s Gentlemen’s Club on St. James’s Street, a setting I have used in many Regency England-set romances. A friend and I took our pictures there (though the doorman came out and told us it was for members only).

It was a dream trip. I took hundreds of photographs to have for reference (including the ones here). And the research came in handy for my latest book, The Worthington Wife, set in the 1920s in England.

Thanks so much for having me here.

Sharon

About the Author

Sharon Page is a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller of historical romance. She has also penned two romantic women’s fiction titles, An American Duchess and The Worthington Wife. A mother of two, she lives in Canada.

See all of Sharon's novels on her website www.SharonPage.com. 

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It's Not What I Have...

Dear Readers

This month brings us Thanks Giving in the USA. Here in New Zealand, we don’t celebrate Thanks Giving but I like the idea. You’d think being a romance writer that I’d constantly remember to spread the love and not take anyone for granted. But we all need a reminder of what life is about. It’s about those we love and the achievements and battles we go through.

I’ve had a pretty tough year this year. I lost a family member to cancer in July after a ten-month ferocious battle. I also have three friends currently battling cancer, and I’m praying for great outcomes for each of them.

During this time I had to write. I had publishing commitments and unfortunately I was late delivering my book. Sometimes it’s hard to write when life gets in the way. However, my editor and agent were so supportive. I’m thankful for that.

I have just finished writing my latest book, A Touch of Passion, book #3 in my Disgraced Lords series, due for release 24 March 2015.  I’ve had to write it during a terrible time but I think it’s made the book stronger. It really focused me on love and loss, just what the book is about.

My hero, Grayson, has experienced loss and is now scared to love. Lucky for him, my heroine, Portia, shows him loss is nothing to fear, for the fabulous memories stay with us and we are much better for having known those we lose. 

Here is the blurb:

In the latest Disgraced Lords novel from USA Today bestselling author Bronwen Evans, a vivacious thrill seeker clashes with her dutiful defender—causing irresistible sparks to fly.

Independent and high-spirited, Lady Portia Flagstaff has never been afraid to take a risk, especially if it involves excitement and danger. But this time, being kidnapped and sold into an Arab harem is the outcome of one risk too many. Now, in order to regain her freedom, she has to rely on the deliciously packaged Grayson Devlin, Viscount Blackwood, a man who despises her reckless ways—and stirs in her a thirst for passion.

After losing his mother and two siblings in a carriage accident years ago, Grayson Devlin promised Portia’s dying brother that he’d always watch over his wayward sister. But having to travel to Egypt to rescue the foolhardy girl has made his blood boil. Grayson already has his hands full trying to clear his best friend and fellow Libertine Scholar of a crime he didn’t commit. Worse still, his dashing rescue has unleashed an unforeseen and undesired consequence: marriage. Now it’s more than Portia he has to protect . . . it’s his battered heart.

Learn more about the book and Pre-Order here:

This year has made me even more conscious of remembering to take the time to speak and share time with those I love. Don’t take anyone for granted.  I’m grateful for the time I had with my family and they are all in my heart.

Here’s a little picture that sums it up nicely.

Happy Thanks Giving to you all.

Swimming Upstream, or Bucking a Romantic Cliché

Here’s the thing…

Romantic clichés come under two headings: what the uninformed THINK romance stories are about, and what they EXPECT romance stories to be about.

The THINK part is easy, and pretty much goes across all romance genres: ripping bodices, sex, handsome men, sex, flawless heroines, sex, exotic settings, sex, fantastic fashions, sex, and then ~ there’s the sex. And always guaranteed is the Happily Ever After, cheesy or not.

The EXPECT part gets a little narrower, especially when it comes to Historical Romance (which happens to be what I write). Here, you get the Regency period (which, I don’t write) with British words like “Ton” spoken by rakish dukes, innocent would-be duchesses, nasty earls, and grasping uncles. Think Jane Austin on steroids.

Or, you have countless kilted warriors (which, I don’t write either): tall, muscular Scots with long red hair, impervious to cold and rain, swashing around with their longswords (pun intended) and dropping the T from the end of “Not” with their thick brogues, calling everyone “lassie.”

Catch any clichés there? *wink*

The reality is that there ARE stories that fit these clichés. Good ones, even. They are popular in part because they are familiar and comfortable ~ and what many of us cut our romance-reading teeth on. After all, America was very heavily populated by immigrants fleeing from, or being thrown out of, England, Scotland and Ireland. We speak (mostly) the same language, and generally have the same cultural values.

But there are a lot of us who have broken away from this mold, and taken our historicals from the Bronze Age through World War II. We also moved them out of England and Scotland in the process, placing our characters on other continents and in less-well-known cultures. Places not as familiar to the average American reader.

What an uphill battle this has proved to be! Who knew? Not every reader is willing to step out and try something different. Those who do, however, are reaping interesting and imaginative rewards by the pageful. Dark-eyed Indian Rajas from Mumbai, powdered and beautifully coifed Geishas from Japan, muscular Roman soldiers building a wall.

Though I cannot prove any Norwegian ancestors directly, my DNA is “100% Northern European” ~ and with four grandparents with English, Scots, Irish, and German surnames I figure I am most definitely Viking spawn. As if the Scots and German weren’t enough, throw in some Norse and I can be a bit stubborn. No, really.

So, dang it, I am going to succeed with my Norwegian heroes. Big, blond, buff and beautiful, with eyes the color of seawater, and the blood of their Viking ancestors flowing through their veins.

Can you feel it?

It’s time to buck a few clichés. Go on, swim upstream. You’ll see ~ the water is wonderful.

Emotional Novellas-It’s All In The Plotting

I’ve written 5 x long romance stories (over 95,000 words), 1 x category contemporary about 50,000 words and 3  x 39,000 word novellas. Many writers, and readers, have asked me whether I find writing different length books difficult. How do I develop deep, believable characters, in a shorter book? The answer is it’s not difficult!

It’s in the plotting.

When I write a romance, I love immersing myself in the characters' world. I try to make the characters real, likeable and human –that often means flawed. When you have a character who has deep, inner emotional problems, you need to be able to write a character arc that allows them to face their fears and grow. How can you do that in a novella?

I’m a plotter, so I usually know how their character arcs are going to develop before I start writing the story. I use Michael Hauge’s Six Act Story Structure (I think I’ve mentioned him before).  His tried and true plotting method is structure into 6 acts that have approximate percentages for growth across the book, all centred around 5 turning points. For instance, the first 10% of the book is about the here and now. What does the character believe about himself at the beginning of the book (even though he may be kidding himself)?

Michael says: The opening 10% of your screenplay must draw the reader, and the audience, into the initial setting of the story, must reveal the everyday life your hero has been living, and must establish identification with your hero by making him/her sympathetic, threatened, likable, funny and/or powerful.

If you use a plotting tool like this, you can see how easy it is to write any length book. Simply take the percentages and apply them. If I want to write a novella of say 20,000 words, then Stage 1 will be 2,000 words. Stage 1 will be 9,500 for a 95,000 word novel.

Shorter stories mean tighter character development. I thoroughly recommend having a road map to follow, or a plot outline of the story first, because showing a believable character growth in shorter books is the key to an emotionally engaging novella.

My first novella, To Dare the Duke of Dangerfield, was a Top 5 Finalist in the Kindle Book Review Indie Romance book of the Year 2012 and was a finalist in RomCon Best Historical 2012.

It’s currently FREE over at SMASHWORDS with the following Coupon code REW25 at checkout ow.ly/uf9FT 

Who Took My iPhone...

I’ve been on holiday the last few days. It’s the school holidays here in New Zealand and I went up to the lovely wine growing region of the Hawke’s Bay. 

I had to laugh when I learned this month’s topic on Romancing the Genre’s blog was mysteries because I lost my iPhone in the Hawke’s Bay and I have no idea how.  

I’ve been busy cancelling sim cards and phones. As it turns out it’s a very expensive lesson for me. To replace my iPhone is around $900NZ! I got my iPhone FREE on a 24 month plan, which I’m locked into and I’m only 11 months in. So I have to buy a new phone. It might not be an iPhone. I’ll clarify that, unless my insurance comes to the party it won’t be an iPhone. I’m checking out my insurance as I type this.

So, I am facing my own little mystery, where did I lose it, and how did I lose it? Did someone steal it out of my bag? Curses on them if they did!

I much prefer being an author writing a mystery into my stories, than being an author facing my own personal mystery in real life. I’m pretty certain I’ll never solve the mystery of my missing iPhone. It’s gone. BIG SIGH.

I do write historical romantic suspense. Mysteries or suspense in a romance story lifts the game. Not only are the couple facing relationship issues, there is usually someone, or something, set on ensuring they never find their happy ever after. It raises the stakes, the tension, and the satisfaction at the end.

I do love writing romantic suspense type stories. My latest Regency historical romance, To Challenge the Earl of Cravenswood (due out late October 2012), is a Cinderella type romance. Here’s the blurb:

To live happily ever after...
Henry St. Giles, the Earl of Cravenswood, longs to find his soul mate. Now that his two best friends, both reformed rakes, are happily married, the need becomes an obsession. When they challenge him to find a wife by the end of the season or marry his neighbor, the innocently alluring Lady Amy Shipton, he can’t believe his luck. He wins, either way.  But a darkened garden, a case of mistaken identity, a drunken kiss, and a dropped emerald earring, leads Henry on a Cinderella hunt. He knows the woman he held in his arms could be the one he's searched for all his life. He just has to find her.

Lady Amy Shipton is determined to marry for love instead of sharing her husband like her mother did. So why did she let her handsome neighbor and romantic fantasy, the Sinful Saint as he's called for his bedroom prowess, seduce her in his garden? And what can she do when in the middle of their passionate encounter; he whispers another woman's name. Now Henry is hunting the owner of the earring Amy left behind, and she's determined to retrieve it before her identity is revealed. She's not about to give her father the ammunition he desperately wants to force her down the aisle.

Can you see the high-jinx involved here? I love that Henry and Amy are at crossed purposes. Of course we know it all ends happily ever after, but the mystery, the cat and mouse game, and the hoops they both have to jump through builds the story up and makes for an extremely satisfying ending.

Do you like a bit of suspense or mystery in your books? If so, why? Have you ever lost anything and been stumped as to how?

What is it about a Romance Book?

February, The Month For Love...

Okay, you’ve got me. Just because February has Valentine’s Day, doesn’t mean every month isn’t the month for love, especially if it comes in the form of tension filled romance novels.

I love a good romance. It’s the best part of my Sunday afternoon.  If I have a very busy week, I always ensure I read a romance on Sunday. It’s my special treat!

What is it that makes you want to snuggle up with a romance story?  If you’re like me it’s the full package.

I get to

1.       Meet new and interesting people

2.       Visit new destinations, or live in the past, or sometimes out of this world!

3.       I meet people who have problems they have to overcome

4.       I get hooked into the emotional intensity of their struggles

5.       I befriend them and empathize with their situation

6.       I watch them take that LEAP of FAITH and risk their hearts

7.       I scream that they’re perfect for each other – can’t they see it?

8.       Then, thank goodness, there is a happy ever after

9.       I give that heartfelt satisfied sigh of pleasure

10.   And maybe shed a few tears...

I’m hoping that’s the reaction you’ll get from my latest release, To Dare the Duke of Dangerfield.  A Regency romance novella for $2.99 available on Amazon (soon to be on all other eBook sites).

Let the Wicked Wagers Begin...

Lady Caitlin Southall’s temper has finally got the better of her. She’s challenged Harlow Telford, the Duke of Dangerfield, the most notorious rake in all of England, to a wager. She wants her house back. The one her destitute father lost to Dangerfield in a card game. But if she doesn’t win their bet, she not only loses her home, she loses her dignity and pride and damn it all, maybe her heart... For the handsome Duke has decreed, when he wins, she must spend the night in his bed.

Harlow Telford is amused by his hellion neighbor, Caitlin, or Cate to her friends, who seem to encompass everyone on earth except him. When she bursts into one of his private gatherings, he mistakes her for the entertainment. Her slap across his face sets him straight and raises the absurd desire to seduce the unconventional beauty into his bed. When she issues her daft challenge to win back her father’s pile of rubble, the terms are set. And he’ll do anything to win—except fall in love...

As soon as Caitlin popped into my head I knew the perfect male for her, only Harlow didn’t know it. So I set them on a course for conflict and love. They have a pretty rocky road to their Happy Ever After.

Since it’s the month for love, let me know what you love about reading romance and one lucky commenter will win an ePub or Kindle copy of To Dare the Duke of Dangerfield.

Closes 14^th Feb 2012 open internationally.

Pirates, the stuff of fantasy

Why are people so fascinated by pirates?

As a child, one of my favorite rides at Disneyland was "The Pirates of the Caribbean. I loved Peter Pan, Treasure Island, and any other pirate story I found. Pirates of the Caribbean, the movie, made millions with fans divided between Captain Jack Sparrow and Will, who pretty much turned pirate to save Elizabeth. When my husband and I were in Las Vegas, we went to the (then) new Treasure Island Hotel which used to (maybe still does?) put on a great show outside with a reenactment of the navy battling pirates. When the pirates defeated the navy, everybody cheered.

Really? We cheered when the good guys lost and the bad guys won?

Are we all a bunch of sociopaths?

Nah. I think it goes back to the bad boy allure. Bad boys, and pirates in particular, are non-conformists. They have the courage to buck the system. Pirates wore blousy white shirts instead of those stuffy coats and ugly hats and white powdered wigs that fashionable English and American gentlemen wore in the 1700's. They were totally free to go where ever they pleased and do anything they wanted. And they had the money to do it, thanks to the plunder they took. And in the case of Las Vegas, the pirate captain was hunky and drop-dead gorgeous, which never hurts :-)

We think of pirates as swashbuckling hunks who carried big curved swords, laughed, loved and lived freely.

Regency Ladies and Double-Barrel Flintlocks

In my Regency Romance, The Guise of a Gentleman, my Regency lady was faced with a group of bad guys. Since I'd done my research, I knew if she were to defend the man and boy they were trying to kill, she'd only be able to get off one shot because of the time and difficulty loading guns. So, I'd decided to either have her ride with two loaded guns or have a groom riding with her. Then I found just what I needed: a double-barrel flintlock which could fire two shots, without having to reload. Huzzah!!!

Most Flintlock pistols were from 10 to 16 inches long, from butt to barrel muzzle. They would weigh from one to four pounds, depending on the caliber and the number of barrels. There were a number of double-barreled pistols during the Regency, but they were generally big and heavy. There were two types, the over and under, with a revolving lower barrel, but only one hammer, so that the pan had to be primed before firing again. Ladies’ pistols were generally six to eight inches long. Here is a small example that was only eight inches long, making one of the smallest of it’s kind and close to a ladies’ pistol.A bullet would be no wider than this: / /.

The real problem was that the flint, amount of powder, and mechanisms has to be smaller, which made them firing them successfully more difficult.

Here's a picture of small or woman’s pistol. It's is six inches long. You can see that too small to hold a ramrod. The ladies’ pistols weighed bewteen 12 oz to one and a half pounds.

Here's a shotgun, circa 1798 to 1804. Overall length is 44 1/2", barrel length is 29", and the gun weighs 7.3 pounds.

It has a side-by-side barrel, like a double-barreled shotgun . And like the shotgun, it has two hammers, though you can't see the second one behind the first. It also has two triggers, one for each barrel. It's a .54 cal. and the damascus barrel is nine inches long and weights close to three pounds.

This Double-Barrel Flintlock Pistol of Napoleon is a replica of the original of this side-by-side double-barreled flintlock pistol from Napoleon's private armory and bears his insignia on both sides of the grip. Made by Gribeauval, Napoleon's personal gun maker, the pistol originated in the French unmaking center of St. Etienne in 1806. Unusual for its day, the double-barrel configuration provided a decided advantage over its single-barreled counterpart, given the notoriously slow reloading procedure for flintlocks. The barrel is just under eight inches long and it weighs about 2 pounds .

Even though ladies’ pistols and double-barreled pistols look different, they were loaded the same way as all flintlocks. Most all flintlocks were smoothbores. Some were rifles, with spiral rifling in the barrels. They were difficult to load because the bullet had to be seated against the rifling groves to actually spin the ball, so it was hard to ram home. Cloth or leather was wrapped around the ball, and the cloth against the rifling was easier to get down the barrel.

So, if you wondered what Elise used to save the hero and the boy from the cutthroats about to kill them, here you are, proof and everything.

The Guise of a Gentleman, winner of the Golden Quill Award

"Combining Jane Austen with swashbuckling adventure, The Guise of a Gentleman is a fine specimen of pirate romance!" NY Times bestselling author Jennifer Ashley

The widowed Elise is a perfect English lady living within the confines of society for the sake of her impressionable young son. Her quiet world is shattered when she meets the impulsive and scandalous Jared Amesbury. His roguish charm awakens her yearning for freedom and adventure. But his irrepressible grin and sea-green eyes hide a secret.

But his irrepressible grin and sea-green eyes hide a secret. A gentleman by day, a pirate by night, Jared accepts one last assignment before he can be truly free. Elise gives him hope that he, too, can find love and belonging. His hopes are crushed when his best laid plans go awry and Elise is dragged into his world of violence and deceit. She may not survive the revelation of Jared’s past…or still love him when the truth is revealed.