Two Nerdy History Girls – Vanessa Kelly, Author

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!

One of the best things about writing historical romance is that I get to do research about the clothing of the period. By the strictest definition, the Regency period coincided with the tenure of the Prince of Wales as Regent while his father (George III) was deemed unfit to rule. But in terms of cultural and social definitions, most of us recognize the Regency as spanning the years between the 1790’s all the way up to 1830. Fashions changed pretty drastically during that time and there’s lots of research fun to be had when setting a book during the Regency.

I stumbled across a very entertaining website that allows you to dress up your Regency hero and heroine like paper dolls. There’s everything from undergarments to accessories, including a gentleman’s pistol and a lovely bouquet of flowers to give to his latest flirt.

Two other great stops on the web to learn about clothing of the Regency period are Candice Hern’s lovely and hugely informative website and Loretta Chase’s Two Nerdy History Girls blog, which she writes with historical fiction author, Susan Holloway Scott. If you love the Regency period as much as I do, I guarantee you’ll really enjoy following both Candice and Loretta.

So, what’s your favorite historical period for clothing? Is it the Regency period with it’s beautiful, flowing dresses, the Tudor and Elizabethan eras with dresses that were more like works of art, or do you love the changing fashions of the Victorian Age? One commenter will win a copy of my novella in the upcoming anthology, An Invitation To Sin.

Regency Friday Fun & Awesome Links

Regency Friday Fun and Giveaway!