I’m so excited to be hosting the wonderful Anna Campbell, who truly needs no introduction. Oh, heck. I’m going to introduce her anyway! Anna writes the most lusciously sensual, fantastically lyrical Regency-set historical romances, with brooding heroes, intelligent heroines, and tons of passion and drama. Her first book, Claiming The Courtesan, rocked the romance world. It finaled in the presigious RITA Awards, and won the Best First Historical Romance Award in the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Awards. Her books have finaled in or won numerous contests, and have received great critical acclaim.
Anna’s latest book is Midnight’s Wild Passion, and it’s bound to be another fantastic read! Welcome to the blog, Anna!
A Classic Is a Classic Is a Classic
As Gertrude Steinway said, tinkling away on her Mozart sonata in Paris.
Hiya Vanessa! Congratulations on all the buzz about your latest release . Gorgeous cover! Thanks so much for having me as your guest today.
When people ask me about my latest historical romance, MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION (out 26th April, yahooooooo!), I tell them it’s a classic Regency romance with Anna Campbell touches. And it is!
This book includes a whole stack of elements that have been the mainstay of Regency romances since their inception (going back to PRIDE AND PREJUDICE!). There’s an elopement. Actually there’s more than one elopement! There’s a duel. The characters join the glamorous social whirl that is the London Season. There’s an event-filled house party in Surrey. I could go on – you get the picture, I’m sure!
In fact, I went so far as to say to someone who asked me about MWP that in this particular book, my heroine gets to dress up rather than take her clothes off. Which is a bit of an exaggeration as I wrote quite a few luscious love scenes for the Marquess of Ranelaw and his heroine Antonia Smith.
You can read the blurb and an excerpt from MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION here.
In my other books, the characters operate outside society in many ways so their chances to go to parties are pretty minimal, poor dears. So I wondered where this sudden penchant for ballrooms and waltzes and brittle exchanges on the terraces of stately homes in MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION came from.
Then I remembered a significant fact, although its true significance had escaped me until now. Back about the stage I started MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION (about eighteen months ago), I had begun to re-read Georgette Heyer’s classic Regency romances published between 1921 and the mid-1970s. I devoured these books first as a girl in primary school – they’re terrifically popular down here in Australia, especially in libraries – then I re-read them as a teenager, then in my late 20s. Loved them every time, although interestingly my particular favorites changed from reading to reading.
About 18 months ago, I was asked to review DEVIL’S CUB for The Romance Dish site and I have to admit (shame on me!) that I picked up this book published in 1932 quite reluctantly. I worried that after having dined almost exclusively on modern dishes lately, this older read might have a slight whiff of being past its use-by date. And hey, I love sex scenes and I knew there weren’t going to be any of those!
But I gulped down the delicious story of wicked Lord Vidal and his stalwart heroine Mary in the space of a (very late) night. And I’ve been gradually picking up the ones I remember as favorites ever since. So far, I’ve been through THE UNKNOWN AJAX, VENETIA, THE GRAND SOPHY and FREDERICA. Every single one of them has been marvellous – sparkling and sexy and witty and beautifully written.
Georgette Heyer established the parameters of the classic Regency romance and I think one of the reasons this period continues to be so incredibly popular is that people just want to return to that world. I can see why – and it seems I’ve done an unconscious tribute to her genius in MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION.
So do you like the classic elements of a Regency romance? Do you have a particular favorite element? The parties? The rakes? The wit? The dresses? Are you a Georgette Heyer fan? Do you have a favorite?
One lucky commenter today will win a signed copy of MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION! Good luck!
Mhm…I love the new cover of Anna’s book. Midnight’s Wild Passion? I can only imagine…such a thing too! What I love and I mean really love about the Regency romance…is EVERYTHING! The rakes are always a favorite…and the beautiful descriptions of the dresses of the days. Yum. I really have no favorite and I am such a big fan of Romance! 😉 I’m a fan of any author out there who writes amazing novels!
Danielle, love your selection of what you like about Regencies! Everything just about cuts it, doesn’t it? Isn’t that cover lovely? I adore that dress! Speaking of dresses, I’m dying to see what Kate wears tonight. It’s prime time for the royal wedding in Oz!
Mhm… Btw…Georgette Heyer’s books have amazing and beautiful covers…I love them all 😉
Hachigatsu@live.com
I adore Georgette Heyer, Danielle. She’s the reason I started loving the Regency!
Oh, how wonderful, Vanessa! By the way, thank you for having me as your guest today! I’ve been looking forward to this ever since we booked the day ages and ages ago.
I love these romantic paintings editions of the GHs. They’re beautiful!
I am a beginner with Regency. I have just recently started reading them. So far I like them. I’ve read Cara Elliott, Vicky Dreiling, and a couple others. I do plan on reading more. I definitely plan on reading Ann Campbell. I had not heard of Georgette Heyer until this post. She’s on my TBR list now.
Thank you for the giveaway.
Oh, Linda, what fun you’ve got ahead of you. GH’s books were written between the 20s and the 70s with probably her best work being done 30s, 40s, 50s. I love them but they have a very different feel to the ‘modern’ historicals. No naughty stuff but fabulous sexual tension. Good luck in the giveaway!
I admit, I’ve never read any of Heyer’s books (don’t think I ever even saw any until a recent trip to the book store). I admit I enjoy regencies quite a bit — I think it’s the combination of elegance & glamour, status & pomp, and all those handsome well to do but near do well (till properly redeemed by love) gents.
congrats on the release — I’m looking forward to reading it.
Donna Ann, lovely to see you again! Ooh, you’ve got fun ahead of you as well! I think it’s a tribute to how good GH is that all her books are still in print. Shows you how people still love her work. I definitely think you’re right about that glamorous milieu being partly responsible for the Regency’s popularity as a setting for romance novels. And the wicked gentlemen definitely improve the view! 😉
Georgette Heyer is definately the grand dam of Regency romance and the very first historical romance writer that I read (many years ago). I must admit that as much as I loved them they weren’t as sensual as the books I love to read today.
Anna, I love your stories because they always have something in them that is unexpected. I love the way that you develope the relationships between the characters and in such a way that I often feel like am in the same room with them. I picture myself sometimes when I’m reading your stories as one of the chaperones that is relagated to the seats that aren’t quite as comfortable and not as close to the fire but close enough to hear that intimate conversation that is going on between the rake and the debutane or married woman. The secrets I’ve learned! The tales I have to tell!
I also always look forward to the unexpected that’s going to be on the next page and where your next book is going to take me.
I love the situations that the characters can get into when I’m reading Regency romance and look forward to reading Midnight’s Wild Passion and what mischief the hero and heroine will manage to get into this time!
Jeanne, there’s plenty of mischief that my hero and heroine create! What a lovely description of the books. Thank you so much. And I had to smile – Antonia, my heroine, is just one of those chaperones you mention, the ones on the uncomfy chairs stuck in the corner trying to keep an eye on things.
Anna =
I love the way you make you can make an unexpecged person always stand out in your stories and often one who is not one of the main characters. Is there one character that you first wrote the appeared in a story that you later had to write a book featuring?
Jeanne, interesting you should say that. I’ve got a few ideas on the backburner for a couple of past characters (including Cassie from MWP). There’s Akash from Captive of Sin – would LOVE to do his story. There’s Roma from Tempt the Devil – I always thought she had more story to tell. One day!
Georgette Heyer and Barbara Cartland were my very first favorite romance authors. I read something the other day that reminded me of Barbara C., but I haven’t thought of Georgette in years!! Don’t know why..I always loved her. She was the perfect introduction to the romance genre for a teenager. Romantic but not overly mushy, fast paced and usually a good bit of humor (which I still want in a lot of my books). I can read almost any kind of romance…and I usually do…though my faves tend to be paranormals (esp time-travel) and anything that can make me LOL, no matter where I am or who is around. As much as I love a good steamy sex/love scene, I actually prefer lots of humor more. And GH made me giggle even as a teen. So now I’m gonna have to copy you, and go back and re-read some of GH. Frederica was one of my very favorites..maybe I’ll start there 🙂
Betty, clearly we shared a library when we were kids. I devoured Barbara Cartland. She comes in for quite a bit of mockery now but she taught me a LOT of history and her heroines weren’t the doormats people assume they were. My first BC had the heroine dressing up as a boy and following Wellington’s Army in Spain. Hardly a wimpy act! And as you say, both GH and BC were great for teenagers! I just re-read Frederica and it’s still one of my favorites. I think my favorite so far on the re-read is Venetia.
I also did the regular Harlequin’s for a long time, but I love to read so much, and I’m fairly quick(when I get the time to read) that I went through them too fast. It wasn’t that I wanted racier or more explicit stories, but by the time I was 15 or 16 I was reading romances more like I do today. I think that was how I first got started on GH. BC and the Harlequin’s were sooooo SKINNY. I could read 2-3 a day even back then. (Not bragging, just that my mom taught me to read before I started school, so I was an advanced reader from the beginning. By the time I was 15 I was at a college level.) My first “real” romance was The Eagle and the Dove by Ruth Freeman Soloman, and I will always love it. I still have a copy in my collection 🙂 But once my step-mom gave me Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers, I was HOOKED!!! I fell in love with Ginny and Steve..re-read the whole series numerous times, and have been reading the same general type of books for 35 years.
Yup, Betty, clearly separated at birth! 😉 Except for me, it was the Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen Woodiwiss. That made me want to grow up to write historical romance! I still read a lot of Harlequins – as you say, you can get through two or three on a good reading day. Love it!
You had to mention Woodiwiss, didn’t you? For some reason, I’ve been seeing her name come up a lot lately, mostly people saying that was who they first read. Now I have this wild urge to re-read Shanna..my first Woodiwiss. Then it will have to be Ashes in the Wind or Come Love a Stranger…a toss up between those two of which was my fav. And funny about the BC with the heroine dressed as a boy, since that was the same in AITW..guess it will be that one after Shanna. I’m off to Amazon to see if I can still buy a copy…
Betty, the KWs are still in print – which I think is an amazing accolade for her. I think they still sell pretty well too. I was absolutely mesmerised by those books! Happy reading!
I love Anna Cambell and cant wait to read her new book. If she liked Devils Cub, she should try These Old Shades, my favorite Heyer.
Suzanne, I love These Old Shades. That’s definitely on my re-read list. I love that bit where Leonie says to Avon that she doesn’t care that she’s not his first love. She’d much rather be his last love. Sigh! Thanks so much for swinging by and saying such nice things!
Hi Anna!
What a thrill to hear from you! Avon is my favorite dark hero…..he’s everything I love in a hero: dominant, defiant, yet courtly and a wicked sense of humor.
And I’ve read all your books and can’t wait to read the new one! You are one of my favorite romance writers!
Wow, Suzanne, thank you!!! I love the way blogs give us all the chance to interact and talk about wonderful books. Oh, I SOOOO agree with you about Avon. And I love that he’s so clever – love that in a hero. And double wow, thank you for saying such lovely things about the books! So glad you love them!
love love the cover. and love Anna 🙂
really like to read this book !
Hey, Mariska, thank you! Good luck!
Just love that cover Anna your books are just amazing!
I’d love to read this book. Is this contest international? 🙂
Stacey, the contest is international – good luck. I’m in Oz – it would let the side down if I didn’t make it international 😉 Thanks for swinging by again!!!!
By the way, Miss Vanessa, thank you for that fabulous introduction. Can I have it printed on a T-shirt? 😉 And thank you for having me as your guest today.
You sure can! Randy and I will make it up for you. He says hi, btw. You know how much he adores you!
Oh, mutual (shhh, don’t tell Vanessa! LOL!). Laughing at the T-shirt. I look forward to seeing it. So sorry we won’t catch up in NY this year!
Love both covers of the book…but there is just something about tha Aussie cover that I love, I guess it is because it so different that the usual US covers. What do I love about the Regency era: the rakes, of course, but also the balls, the elegance, the rules of behavior and what happens when you are caught breaking those rules (love compromised position books!), the clothing, and just so much more. This is probabaly my favorite time period to read about. There are just so many great authors who write books set during this time.
June, I think you’re right about why the Regency is so popular. I especially think people like seeing the rigid rules in action and then seeing our heroes and heroines kick over the traces and suffer the consequences. You’ve automatically got high stakes right there! Thanks for saying you like the Aussie cover. I love that they kept the look so gothic here.
Anna has the most incredible covers. My favorite heroes are the very naughty rakes.
Sheila, naughty rakes, huh? Works for me too! Thanks for saying you love the covers. Me too – especially these new two.
Hi Anna and Vanessa
I have to put my hand up and say I still haven’t read a Georgette Heyer book and I know I must do.
Congrats on the release I am soo looking forward to reading this one I love your heros
Have Fun
Helen
Helen, Helen, Helen, how long have I been nagging you about GH? Yeah, I know, you’ve got a million books in your TBR pile already. Excuses, excuses! 😉
Thanks for saying you’re looking forward to Midnight. I hope you find it soon!!!!!
What always makes me smile is when a very proper lady, uses her rep to pull a fast one on the ‘experienced’ rake! LOL Always fun!
Oh, Lisa, I always love it when the girl turns the tables on the guy. Works for me every time!
Well, this is what happens when a gal puts up a post and then goes to bed – everyone is having a party without me! Welcome to the blog, Anna! So glad to have you here.
Say, is anyone else watching the Royal Wedding?
Vanessa, loved the wedding. Thought they both looked beautiful and the ceremony was lovely. Made my good old British Commonwealth heart beat faster 😉
It was so gorgeous! She’s dignified and beautiful, and they both seem like gracious people who really love each other. It made me happy to see them!
I love Heyer’s books. Total classics in my opinion. I think I love the balls, the dresses, the whole hero falling for heroine part in regency romances… It’s like fairy tales for grown-ups… although I love kids’ fairy tales too… 🙂
May, I 100% agree with you. I often tell people I write adult fairytales. There’s definitely a Cinderella thing going on in Midnight’s Wild Passion that I hope you enjoy.
A fairy tale for grownups is a good way to describe Regency romances, May!
I really love the cover art for Anna’s book they entice you into reading them and I am sure they will not disappoint. I would love to read this.
Hey, thanks, Dani! I’ve been SOOOOO lucky with the covers! Good luck in the draw!
I also started with Heyer & Cartland… I love the romance of the beauty of the era… although I have a sneeky feeling that the book characters bathed more than the people in real life… Anyway I love being transported to another time.
That’s probably true for some, Cate, although Beau Brummell was a fanatic about cleanliness and really brought it into vogue for the fashionable male. But then there was the Regenct’s wife, Caroline of Brunswick, who was apparently a bit challenged in that department!
Vanessa, I always think the comments about how bad Caroline smelled are a sign that generally people were pretty clean in the Regency – otherwise they wouldn’t have noticed. Well, at least clean in the upper classes. They definitely changed their linen pretty often so they wouldn’t have had that stale aroma!
Cate, I adore being transported away to a larger than life world too. It’s worked for me with historicals ever since I was a little girl.
Hi Anna
For me classic elements of a Regency romance is the way to go and The rakes is what it is all about for me and Anna you do it so beautifully just like Vanessa I guess that is why I am addicted to your and Vanessa’s writing!
Thanks, Desere! That’s so sweet!
Awwww, Desere! That’s lovely. Thank you. By the way, I’ve got Vanessa coming over as my guest to the Romance Bandits to talk about MY FAVORITE COUNTESS on 16th May. You’ll have to swing by and say hello!
Your both very welcome and thanks Anna I am there !
I think I’ve read two Heyer books, both in the recent months, and one was “Devil’s Cub”. Her language took some getting used to. I, too, think of romances as fairy tales for grownups: “once upon a time in Regency England…”, “once upon a time in an alternate city/universe…”, “once upon a time in a small town…”, etc. (I suppose this works best for historicals and paranormals)
Devil’s Cub is a good one to start with, and I love Venetia, Arabella, The Grand Sophy, and Frederica. I also have a soft spot for The Talisman Ring, which I think is set in the Georgian era. Very funny book.
Infinitieh, I think she definitely repays a little bit of patience, getting back to the slower style of older books. Although I have to say I ripped through Devil’s Cub.
Hello, my dears!
Thanks for an interesting blog “today” (better late than never to the party, right?). Any time Anna is “on the blogs”, I hope to be there too (eventually, LOL).
You said it earlier: “tons of passion and drama”. Yippers. You’ve got me on that one. What puts a book “over the top” for me, though, is the humour. Witty dialogue and repartee get me every single time and put those books in my “to be read again” pile. There aren’t a lot of books in there so far….
Have a lovely weekend!
Thanks for stopping by, Laney!
Laney, interesting about the witty dialogue. Heyer DEFINITELY does that beautifully. I always find myself chuckling at the exchanges between her heroes and heroines. And the wit hides a depth of sexual tension. Yum! Thanks for swinging by!!!! I’m definitely on the blogs this week (and next). And then I’m going back to my deadline cave for a while to recuperate 😉 Or maybe eat chocolate…
Did someone say chocolate?
No. NOOOO! No chocolate here. No, look elsewhere, Ms. Kelly. South America looks good! (Hides chocolate under sofa cushions – oh, no, sat on sofa cushions. Need upholstery cleaned!)
Anna, I told you that you should have given me your chocolate!
Vanessa, you can have my left arm but NOT my chocolate 😉
Anna, Akash from Captive of Sin definately has to have his own book! Oh the fun you’ll have writing his story! I already couldn’t wait to read more about him when I was reading Captive of Sin and you couldn’t tease us like that and not follow up with his book!
I think I start a campaging among your readers and we’ll all start posting on your web page for his story!
Jeanne, he’s probably a couple of books away but don’t despair! He WILL get his time in the sun!
Thanks very much Anna and Vanessa for picking me. I can’t wait to get Midnight’s Wild Passion, and start reading it! This has been a very lucky month for me, as I also won a copy of My Favorite Countess on another blog from Vanessa that I’m watching my mailbox for (I share a box with the landlord, so I get very anxious LOL). Now i know I have 2 great books to read for the month of May. It’s been a great weekend, and now I’m looking forward to an awesome month 🙂
Congratulations, Betty! And thanks for swinging by. Sound like you’ve had a GREAT month!
Thanks, Vanessa and everyone who swung round to say hello! I’ve had a blast here!
The best thing about Regency romance is the class, isn’t it? 🙂 Ah! Gotta love those dresses….