I’m guest blogging today at Chicks In The Kitchen, sharing recipes and doing a book giveaway. Drop by to get my Italian mom’s authentic spaghetti and meatballs recipe, and for a chance to win a copy of my latest book, An Invitation To Sin.
Oh, and here’s a picture of the finished dish. Doesn’t it look great?
See you at the Chicks!
My next book, My Favorite Countess, will be released on May 3rd. The hero of this book, John Blackmore, is a bit of a departure for me. He’s a Regency physician, and you can read more about my inspiration for him here.
Like today’s doctors, Regency physicians often worked in hospitals as well as attending to their own practices. That’s the case with John, who administers to high-born members of the ton as well as working in a large hospital in London. In fact, I chose the oldest hospital in the city for John – St. Bartholomew’s in Smithfield. St. Bartholomew’s or, Bart’s, is actually the oldest surviving hospital in England, and holds great historical and architectural value.
It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, an Augustinian who suffered a malarial attack while on pilgrimage to Rome and had vowed to build a hospital when he returned to England. The picture above is of the famous King Henry VIII gateway, built in 1702 by Edward Strong. The stone statue of Henry is by Frances Bird, and is apparently the only public statue of that monarch in the city. On an adjoining wall is a plaque to William Wallace, who was executed nearby in 1305.
Over the years, there were a significant number of architectural and cultural beauties added to the grounds and the buildings, including the inner courtyard and the Great Hall.
The hospital was rebuilt in four blocks around this inner courtyard in the 18th century, and would have looked much like the above illustration when my hero, Dr. John, was attending to his patients.
Bart’s is also home to not one but two magnificent paintings by Hogarth, who was appointed a governor of the hospital in 1734. Apparently, the hospital originally intended to commission art from Italy. Hogarth, annoyed that the administrators would choose Italian painters, donated these two murals instead. The one depicted below is called The Pool of Bethesda, and depicts Christ healing the sick. The mural figures in a scene in my book, as the place of reconciliation between my hero John and my heroine, the fiery-tempered Bathsheba.
St. Bartholomew’s survived the Great Fire of London and The Blitz, and is a grand historical and cultural institution. And it continues to be one of England’s best hospitals, with a medical school and a renowned international reputation. For anyone interested in the history of London or of medicine, it is well worth the visit.
To celebrate the upcoming release of my book, I’ll be running some fun contests in March and April. Today, I’m giving away signed cover flats of all four of my books: Mastering The Marquess, Sex And The Single Earl, An Invitation To Sin, My Favorite Countess. Just leave a comment telling me who’s your favorite fictional doctor from either books, TV shows or movies. Is it Dr. McDreamy from Grey’s Anatomy? Or how about one of the crew from E.R?
And don’t forget to check out the great contest I’m running all month on my website. I’m giving away ARCS of My Favorite Countess, as well as tee shirts and tote bags!
I normally try to blog three days a week, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Despite my best intentions I didn’t manage to do that yesterday, because I was too busy making up fabulous gift baskets for the First Coast Romance Writers mini-conference that’s happening this Saturday, March 12, in Jacksonville, Florida.
Okay, I have a confession to make. I didn’t really make up those baskets; my uber-talented stepmother did. I did buy all the candy and treats for the baskets, though, and made sure my stepmom was well supplied with high-test coffee while she worked. As you can tell by the pictures, she does do great work.
Here’s the basket that contains a whole mess of books from Kensington Publishing. My editor, John Scognamigio, very kindly contributed a box of books to the conference, and other generous Kensington authors like Kate Douglas, Susan Fox, Marilyn Brant, Diane Whiteside, and Elizabeth Amber all sent books.
It will be a lucky pup who wins that basket, I can tell you!
And here are the two baskets I’m contributing.
The basket on the left contains books donated by friends and some of my favorite authors, like Eloisa James and Courtney Milan. The basket on the right contains my books, including Mastering The Marquess, Sex And The Single Earl, An Invitation To Sin, and also contains an Advanced Reader’s Copy of my upcoming May release, My Favorite Countess.
How do get your hands on one of these lovelies? Easy! Just go to the First Coast Romance Writers website and sign up for our mini-conference on Saturday. Our featured speaker is the fabulous CL Wilson, and we’re also hosting pitches with Avon editor Tessa Woodward and literary agent Emmanuelle Morgen. It’s going to be a great day!
For something a bit different this Friday, I’m visiting at RT Book Reviews with Jo Beverley, Sally MacKenzie, and Kaitlin O’Riley. We’re talking about our new anthology, An Invitation To Sin. RT asked us to share any secrets or surprises we discovered while writing our novellas. It’s a really fun topic – stop by and check it out!
I’m guest-blogging today at Book Lovers Inc, talking about why I love the Regency period and giving away a copy of my new anthology, An Invitation To Sin. Stop by and join the fun! I’ll also be at the Romantic Times blog later today, appearing with the other authors of Sin: Jo Beverley, Sally MacKenzie, and Kaitlin O’Riley. It’s sure to be a great interview with a swell group of romance writers. You don’t want to miss it!
As you can imagine, historical romance writers tend to be research geeks. I have several blogs and websites I visit when looking for just the right bit of research, but two of my favorites are Two Nerdy History Girls and Patrick Baty. Patrick runs a family paint business called Papers and Paints in Chelsea, London. He’s an expert in the use of paint and color in historical buildings and has worked in some of the finest structures in England. Although he specializes in the Georgian era, he’s consulted on projects as diverse as a Tudor garden and a 1950’s concert hall. His work is simply fantastic and really fun to read about. Patrick always includes lovely, lush photographs in his blogs, so have a look.
The Two Nerdy History Girls are Loretta Chase and Susan Holloway Scott. Loretta writes Regency-set historical romance, and is one of my favorite writers of, well, anything. And Susan writes wonderful historical fiction set in the time of Charles II. These women know their history inside and out and talk about it in a very down-to-earth, entertaining way, bringing their respective periods to life. Take my word for it–you’ll love this blog!
I’m heading over to my guest blogs, now. Hope to see you there!