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Vivian
Regencies, Regencies, can we ever have too many? No, I didn't think so, and so here are a few more for your delectation. First off, this is a new version of an older title from Rachel Van Dyken, Upon a Midnight Dream. On Amazon it has a 4.1 average rating from 98 reviews, and can you believe it, it's FREE! Here's a link. Go ahead and grab it right now; we'll wait for you. This one's been out for about a year, but you know I'm a sucker for a gorgeous cover and this one's outstanding. This is A Tempting Ruin by Kristin Vayden, and it's got a 4.8 average rating on Amazon with 20 reviews. And hey, this one's only $2.99. Here's a link, so check it out. This is Time for a Duke by Ruth J. Hartman, another new-old title with new editing and a new cover. Aren't the colors pretty? It has a 4.6 average rating with five reviews, and it's 99¢ on Amazon. Here's a link. Finally, this is my latest, Whispers on the Hampstead Road, the fourth release in the series The Scoundrel of Mayfair. It's got an average 4.7 rating with six reviews on Amazon, and it's 99¢. Here's a link. The baby blanket for little Ezra is finished and the pattern posted in the previous missive. Now I'm crocheting a shawl for my sweet friend Deanna, and I'll post that pattern, too, as soon as it's finished and I can get a few photos. And soon I should have some updates for As the Prince Does, the final book in the series The Scoundrel of Mayfair.
Thanks for stopping by. Cheers, Vivian
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What a gorgeous cover! This isn’t exactly a new release, since it came out in late July, but somehow I missed it. And once I saw those beautiful colors, and the expressions on the models’ faces, I just had to post this. It's A Tempting Ruin, the latest Regency romance by bestselling author Kristin Vayden. Here’s the blurb: He might be a gentleman by title, but he was a rogue at heart... Beatrix Lamont is in hiding. Sequestered at Lady Southridge's country estate, she assumes the identity of a lady's companion: never once expecting her past would catch up with her. It does, however, in the vexing and seductive form of Lord Neville. Determined and far too charming for his own good--after all who simply demands a woman marry him? Not a gentleman. Lucky for Lord Neville, being a gentleman has never been an option, especially when it comes to Beatrix, the woman would try the patient of a saint, and every encounter with her leaves his body yearning for more. Caught between wanting her for himself and needing to protect her from dangers that lurk in the shadows of both their pasts, he must eventually make a choice. Become the gentleman he's never been--or play the seducer she brings out in him, and hope in the end she'll forgive him for using her to catch a killer. (end blurb) It's hard to decide which attracts me more — the wonderful set-up described in the blurb, or the cover itself. And which is more stunning, the single splotch of blue of the man’s coat, or the delicate wash of pink and violet over the woman and the bed? A Tempting Ruin is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, and Smashwords. It’s $2.99 and has 19 Amazon reviews with a 4.8 star average rating. Here's Kristin Vayden's website. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers and happy reading, Vivian Have you noticed the new Regencies with beautiful covers? Here are three of my favorites. This is The Governess’ Debut by Wendy May Andrews, released in late September, and I love those muted greens and blues. The way the artist has interwoven the decoration with the cobblestones on the lower half is pretty neat, too. The Governess’ Debut is available from Amazon, of course, for 99¢. I like muted tones, but I’m also drawn to cooler shades, and the mixture of blues, from the royal at the top left to the icy blue of the lady’s dress, on this cover are just gorgeous. This is Captivated by a Lady’s Charm by Christi Caldwell, and it’s on Amazon for $3.99. This is my latest cover, and it’s got both the pure dark red of the lady’s gown and the muted purple of the evening sky, with the moonlight coming down. I love love love this cover! The book is Whispers on the Hampstead Road, book number four in the series The Scoundrel of Mayfair, and it’s at Amazon for 99¢. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers and happy reading, Vivian Cover reveal! This is book #4 in the Regency series The Scoundrel of Mayfair, and it's called Whispers on the Hampstead Road. You can click on the cover for a larger size. Are those not some of the most gorgeous colors you've ever seen? Release day is September 30, from Dingbat Publishing. It should be available for pre-order sometime this week. The other books in the series The Scoundrel of Mayfair include: Scandal on Half Moon Street Mischief on Albemarle Shenanigans in Berkeley Square The fifth and final book has the working title As the Prince Does. Yeah, I know, it breaks the pattern. *shrug* It's what the book wants to be called for right now. We'll see if that changes. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers and happy reading, Vivian Do you like to wait until a Regency has a few reviews, positive and negative, before adding it to your collection? Here's a relatively new release (March of this year) with a 4.3 star rating on Amazon from twelve reviews. This is A Gift for Fiona by S.G. Rogers. She's best known for sweet fantasy romance, but lately she's been releasing some lovely historical romances, too. This one's set in the Victorian era. Here's an oldie that remains a perennial favorite. This is A Lot Like a Lady, by twin-sisters-from-different-mothers Kim Bowman and Kay Springsteen, originally published by Astraea Press (a/k/a Clean Reads) and now with esKape Press. Lady has a 4.2 star rating with 99 reviews, and was re-released in August of last year. Here's another recent release (April of this year), Maid for Romance by Ruth J. Hartman. It has a 4.7 star rating on fifteen reviews, and while the cover's not precisely Regency, it's gorgeous and that counts more. Be sure to watch out for the cat; there's one in every book Ruth writes. Another backlist title (from January of 2013), this is my own Regency sailing ship adventure~romance, A Different Sort of Perfect. It's been a thrill and an honor watching readers award it a 4.4 star rating on 21 reviews. Gives me happy dance feet! Thanks for stopping by. Happy reading!
Vivian Making jam, jelly, or preserves hasn’t changed much through the centuries. Sure, there are a few things we do now that they didn’t do then, but the process remains the same since probably the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. And it’s not hard to reproduce. Here’s how they did it, and I’ll include the modern shortcuts as we go. Definitions: after cooking, preserves still have bite-sized bits of fruit remaining; jam has mushed-up smaller bits; and jelly is smooth, pure jellied syrup. Jelly making is a different process, since you strain the fruit after cooking but before adding the sugar; if you're interested, the wonderful website PickYourOwn.org has directions and recipes. 1. Pick or buy the fruit. During the Regency, if your heroine lives or works in a manor or large farmhouse, the fruit would come from the gardens or orchard. If she’s in the village, she could find it in the nearby market town on market day, or perhaps she’s got a friend in the manor house’s kitchen. If she’s poor, she might steal blackberries from the manor’s woods. These days, the grocery store or farmer’s market works just fine. You can use fresh or frozen, the latter with or without syrup, if you prefer low sugar jam. Fresh fruit needs to be washed, of course. Stone fruits, such as peaches or plums, need the pits removed, strawberries need to be hulled (removing the woody white or green stuff in the berry’s center and tip), and all of it needs to be chopped to bite-size bits and then crushed. Potato mashers work great. In a pinch, I’ve used a wooden spoon and smushed the fruit against the side of the pan. Be careful not to prepare too much fruit. If you try to make the batch of jam or jelly too large, it won’t jell. For strawberry preserves, I use two pounds of fresh fruit per batch. That’s a conservative estimate, since it’s a bitch when the stuff refuses to cooperate. The instructions say you can use as much as six cups of prepared fruit; I say, why take a chance? It’s better to make two small batches and KNOW it’s going to jell, instead of trying to make one batch with all the fruit you bought and crossing your fingers. (Remember reading and re-reading Little Women back in school? Remember the scene where Meg tried to make jelly in her new, married home, and had a fit because it wouldn’t jell? I’m pretty sure that’s what happened.) For more exact measurements and canning recipes, PickYourOwn.org is a FABULOUS website. 2. Dump the prepared fruit in a heavy pan, like this one. Add a quarter cup of lemon juice. It won’t change the flavor and the acid will help the fruit to jell. During the Regency, lemons would be found in the orangery or greenhouse, and possibly imported from the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and India. After about 1800, Royal Navy sailors drank grog (rum mixed with lemon juice and sugar) during their voyages around the world. If each sailor aboard each ship could have three to four ounces of lemon juice each day, then lemons came from somewhere and were fairly widely available. 3. Meg didn’t have pectin back during the Civil War; nor did my mother have it during the Great Depression, so we know Regency heroines wouldn’t have had any. But we have it today and lemme tell you, it’s a life saver. Pectin is a natural product made from apples, and a few tablespoons added in at this step almost guarantees good results. For the two pounds of fresh strawberries, I add three level tablespoons of pectin to a quarter cup of sugar. (I buy pectin in canisters, but it also comes in little boxes of individual servings.) Stir the sugar and pectin together, then stir the mixture into the fruit and lemon juice. Get the actual amount you need from the pectin container; it will vary according to the amount of fruit and sugar you’re using. It’s better to use too much pectin and be sure of good results than to use too little and hate yourself hours later. If your Regency heroine is part of a manor house or good-sized village, it would be believable for an experienced cook or local wise woman to know about adding crushed apples or citrus fruit to the mixture as it cooks, to help it jell. All fruit contains some pectin, but apples don’t affect the flavor. Without pectin, the alternative is to let the jam or jelly boil for a long time. A very long time. Say several hours. As long as it takes. On your feet, stirring it constantly. I add pectin. 4. Turn on the heat and bring your concoction to a good, hard boil. Keep it stirred. The juice will separate from the fruit, forming a thin syrup with the fruit bits floating in it. It looks and smells yummy. When it reaches the point that you can’t stir the boiling away, then you’re ready to add the rest of the sugar. You need a little bit of plain granulated table sugar to help the mixture jell. The minimum would be the quarter cup mixed into the pectin. During the Regency, the cook would add three or four more cups of table sugar at this point, or a very generous dollop of honey. For modern cooking, you can choose your sweetener: more table sugar, honey, grape juice, or a sugar substitute such as the Truvia baking blend. The fabulous PickYourOwn.org website has information on the amounts of each needed for various types of fruit, or you can mix it to taste. And oh, the joy of tasting! 5. Stir the sweetener in well and bring the jam back to a hard boil. This time, let it cook for a few minutes. If you didn’t use pectin, let it cook until the jelling test in the next step works. The fruit juice syrup will thicken a bit, but not much. Remember to keep it stirred. 6. You can test the jelling with a small spoon and a cup of ice water. I use a measuring cup, filled to the top with ice, with enough water to let it float a bit. Dip up a spoonful of the cooking jam, set the bowl of the spoon in the ice water without letting the water mix with the jam, and let it cool for at least a minute. With a measuring cup and lots of ice, I can set the spoon in that cradle and let it balance there, cooling while I keep stirring. After it cools, hold the spoon vertically. When the jam doesn’t budge, it’s cooked enough. During the Regency, some of the richer houses might have ice remaining by summer and early autumn, when fruit would be harvested. Most wouldn’t. Regency cooks would have to remove the pot from the heat source, let it cool a while, and then try spooning it out and letting it cool to test the jelling. If it didn’t jell, the cook would have to boil it longer. Stirring it until it jelled or until, like Meg, she threw up her hands and screamed. I use pectin. 7. This part is optional. You can let the jam sit and cool for about five to ten minutes, then stir it and ladle it into canning jars. If you don’t, the fruit will float to the top and after opening the jar, you’ll need to stir it before use. Because I’m lazy and mostly make jam for use here at home, I generally skip this step. You can also skim off the foam that’s formed during the cooking. There’s nothing wrong with it; it’s just hardened syrup. But if you’re making presents, it does look better without the foam. 8. It’s a good idea to warm your glass canning jars before filling them with hot jam. When filling, you can use a canning funnel, and I imagine Regency cooks would have had something similar. Or you can use a ladle, as I do. Then lay a clean canning lid on top of the filled jar’s mouth and screw a band on that to hold it down. No need to screw the band down tight; the lid has a ring of wax at the edges, which melts and forms a good seal. During the Regency, the cook would soften the wax, apply it to the jar’s mouth, and seal it with either a stopper or a metal lid and more wax. I think stoppers were more common, but don’t quote me on that. 9. Final step, and while we have the option of skipping this one today, Regency cooks would not. This would be mandatory: it’s the preserving part of preserves, making them last longer without spoiling. Get a big pot (or a real canning bath with wire rack), put your filled, sealed, and partially cooled jars of jam in it, and fill it with water to an inch over the lids. Put it on the stove and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for ten minutes (longer at higher altitudes); this will seal the jars (you’ll hear the sucking sound they make as the seal takes hold) and kill off any remaining bacteria. Then you can turn off the burner and fish your jam jars out of the pot. I use metal tongs, but there’s also a jar grabber specially made for this task. And just like with the canning funnel, I imagine Regency cooks in estates or well-to-do farmhouses would have had a specially made set of tongs. Process your jam this way if you intend to store it on the pantry shelf or give it as gifts. A tightly sealed jar will keep for up to a year. If your preserves are for home use, you can skip this step and store the jars in the freezer. For that matter, you can also store the jam in those little plastic containers that lunch meat comes in; you just have to cool it some first and then freeze it. Remove it from the freezer to the fridge a day before use. Kept refrigerated, it should keep for a month to six weeks. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers and happy reading, Vivian ON SALE! My traditional Regency romance, Shenanigans in Berkeley Square, is now on sale for only 99¢. Here’s an excerpt: # “Coralie.” The music stopped and fell away, and Coralie released her breath in a controlled sigh. Franklin’s presence invaded the music room, interrupting her practice again, just as he’d done a week ago. But this time, his voice forced a sharpness into her unadorned name, something hard and preemptive, that didn’t foretell happy joshing, and a prickly foreboding filled her. Mrs. Lacey’s fumbling hands tried to still the harp strings, the liquid notes stuttering to humming then silence, and Coralie shook off the music’s spell. Franklin stood in the doorway, weak morning sunlight spilling across the carpet to his shoes and leaving his face in gloom. His fisted hand held something at his side in a crumpled ball, an unlovely mixture of cream and grey. Newspapers? He leaned toward her, accusation and anger in his stance, and her heart began beating faster. She tried to swallow an attack of nerves, but they refused to vanish. “Good morning, Franklin. Is something wrong?” “Is it true?” She swallowed again. She had no reason to be afraid, and yet she was. “Is what true?” “Is it true?” His voice cracked like a coach whip. One whispered note jarred the hush, off-key and trembling. Behind the harp, Mrs. Lacey pressed her hands against the strings, stilling them. But her hands continued to shake, drawing another forlorn note, and she released the strings, kneading her fingers in her lap instead. A thread of anger drove out Coralie’s irrational fear. Mrs. Lacey was her companion and her responsibility. “Franklin, do please moderate your voice. You’re frightening the servants and I do not have the pleasure of understanding you. You’ll have to explain your curious question.” “It’s all over town.” He strode into the light and loomed over her, his brows drawn together into a tangle and his eyes narrowed to furious, worried slits. His fist tightened around the broadsheets — gossip sheets, not respectable papers — and he shook them beneath her nose. “It’s in all the sheets — well, not in that confounded preachy one. But all the others swear you were seen coming home early last night in Lady Gower’s carriage, and the figure in the carriage with you was not Lady Gower’s. They say you left the Maynards’ rout with Cumberland—” “And you believe this?” Fury pounded through her. Blasted nosey cats couldn’t even get their own slander straight. There’d been no one in the carriage with her; His Grace had ridden tiger on the footman’s perch behind. But even furious, she’d not blurt out that little fact. Somewhat counterproductive, it would be. “Do you believe that of me, Franklin?” He paused, his eyes widening until the worry seemed to drive out his own anger. “I don’t know what to think. Please, enlighten me.” What to say? She’d already decided not to mention the duke’s presence, neither on the carriage nor in it. Sucking in a deep breath, she said, “I have done nothing wrong.” The fire relit in his eyes. “Did you or did you not leave the Maynards’ with Cumberland?” Evasion clearly wouldn’t help, and as she paused, Franklin’s lips rolled together into a thin line. “By— Coralie, you know his reputation. You know he’s ruined entire seasons full of débutantes. How could you put yourself in his power—” A gasp from the corner, away from their verbal boxing match. Mrs. Lacey huddled over her lap, her lifted hands trembling to the sides as if she reached for comfort, support, something solid to hold onto. Coralie turned back to the fight and glared at Franklin until he lowered the fistful of crumpled broadsheets. “I have done nothing wrong, nothing for which I need feel shame.” He crumpled, like the broadsheets, where he stood. “It’s not your shame that concerns me.” Enough, and with her fury broiling, she was in no condition to assist Mrs. Lacey. Coralie whirled and stalked from the music room. “Mary! Mary! My pelisse and bonnet, please, then see to Mrs. Lacey. Bring her a cup of tea and stay with her until I return.” # Thanks to my publishers, Astraea Press! Once again, a great edit, a great cover, and always great support! Thanks for stopping by. Cheers, Vivian Shenanigans in Berkeley Square It’s here! Shenanigans in Berkeley Square, the third installment in the Regency series, The Scoundrel of Mayfair, is now on sale at quality booksellers everywhere. Here's the blurb: # The right man doesn’t know she’s alive. The wrong man’s out to change that. Coralie Busche can only admire Kenneth Rainier from afar. He’s a most handsome philosopher of the Romantic movement and for months she’s eavesdropped on his conversations at the coffee house. If only she had the courage to join his debates... and perhaps more. Her feminine education of singing and sewing could be of no interest to such a man -- but then that vexing rake, the Duke of Cumberland, brings her to Rainier’s attention and she can’t hide any longer. Rainier has lived with his mercenary sisters for too long to suffer any illusions about women. They value money, position, and precedence, not life’s important things such as poetry or painting, and only very lucky men find true love. But when he notices Cumberland staring at a dark-eyed beauty hiding in the coffee house’s corner, Rainier is smitten. Perhaps there’s a chance he could be one of those lucky men. Cinderella meets Romeo and Juliet with a gorgeous gown, an unusual ducal matchmaker with motives of his own, and two cynical, jealous sisters. With All Hallow’s Eve approaching, tempers flaring, and a duelist’s challenge thrown down, how can His Grace, the Scoundrel of Mayfair, teach some loving sense to two soaring sensibilities?
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER! Shenanigans in Berkeley Square, the long-awaited third installment in my Regency series, The Scoundrel of Mayfair, is now available for pre-order. Here's the blurb: # The right man doesn’t know she’s alive. The wrong man’s out to change that. Coralie Busche can only admire Kenneth Rainier from afar. He’s a most handsome philosopher of the Romantic movement and for months she’s eavesdropped on his conversations at the coffee house. If only she had the courage to join his debates… and perhaps more. Her feminine education of singing and sewing could be of no interest to such a man — but then that vexing rake, the Duke of Cumberland, brings her to Rainier’s attention and she can’t hide any longer. Rainier has lived with his mercenary sisters for too long to suffer any illusions about women. They value money, position, and precedence, not life’s important things such as poetry or painting, and only very lucky men find true love. But when he notices Cumberland staring at a dark-eyed beauty hiding in the coffee house’s corner, Rainier is smitten. Perhaps there’s a chance he could be one of those lucky men. Cinderella meets Romeo and Juliet with a gorgeous gown, an unusual ducal matchmaker with motives of his own, and two cynical, jealous sisters. With All Hallow’s Eve approaching, tempers flaring, and a duelist’s challenge thrown down, how can His Grace, the Scoundrel of Mayfair, teach some loving sense to two soaring sensibilities? # You can pre-order Shenanigans from Amazon, Kobo, and Smashwords. The book goes live on September 10, 2014. Cheers and thanks for stopping by, Vivian The right man doesn’t know she’s alive. The wrong man’s out to change that.
Coralie Busche can only admire Kenneth Rainier from afar. He’s a most handsome philosopher of the Romantic movement and for months she’s eavesdropped on his conversations at the coffee house. If only she had the courage to join his debates… and perhaps more. Her feminine education of singing and sewing could be of no interest to such a man — but then that vexing rake, the Duke of Cumberland, brings her to Rainier’s attention and she can’t hide any longer. Rainier has lived with his mercenary sisters for too long to suffer any illusions about women. They value money, position, and precedence, not life’s important things such as poetry or painting, and only very lucky men find true love. But when he notices Cumberland staring at a dark-eyed beauty hiding in the coffee house’s corner, Rainier is smitten. Perhaps there’s a chance he could be one of those lucky men. Cinderella meets Romeo and Juliet with a gorgeous gown, an unusual ducal matchmaker with motives of his own, and two cynical, jealous sisters. With All Hallow’s Eve approaching, tempers flaring, and a duelist’s challenge thrown down, how can His Grace, the Scoundrel of Mayfair, teach some loving sense to two soaring sensibilities? # September 9. Mark the date. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers, Vivian |
Vivian Roycroft
Vivian Roycroft is a pseudonym for historical fiction and adventure writer J. Gunnar Grey. And if she’s not careful, her pseudonymous pseudonym will have its own pseudonym soon, too. With its own e-reader, a yarn stash, an old Hermès hunt saddle, and a turtle sundae at Culver‘s. Archives
June 2016
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A Different Sort of Perfect
Works in progress:
Kissing the Toad: In Berkeley Square, book #1
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