September 2010

Last month at RWA in Florida, I met a reader who presented her hardcover copy of Silent in the Grave for autographing. I opened it to find it full of post-it notes full of words. She smiled and explained that when she read my books she always kept a running list of vocabulary words she wanted to look up. I was absolutely delighted. (And I am totally stealing that idea.)

Victorian fashion, of course! Today I am guest-blogging at my publisher's website and chatting about the fashions in the Lady Julia Grey series. Drop by and have a read, and don't forget to enter the contest!

With Dark Road to Darjeeling coming out in a matter of days, I've been very kindly invited to visit various spots in the blogosphere. (And with Dark Road to Darjeeling coming out in a matter of days, I've accepted them all!) Today you can find me discussing Agatha Christie during the month-long Agatha Christie tribute in the Barnes and Noble chat rooms and talking about the power of armchair travel in the writing process at eHarlequin. Drop by and leave a comment or two if you're so inclined.

Reader Diana emailed me the following questions and has been waiting most patiently for a response:

1)  What will Julia's married name be?  Will she be referred to as Lady Julia Brisbane?
2)  Was it more difficult to maintain the romantic tension between Julia and Nicholas in Dark Road to Darjeeling (and the next one!) than in the first three?
3)  There's a quote from you on the back of Charles Finch's The Fleet Street Murders, so I was wondering if you have reviewed any other novels lately.

Julia would indeed be styled Lady Julia Brisbane. As the daughter of an earl, she takes her rank from her father's position. (The general rule of thumb is that a lady can't marry down, meaning even if she marries below her father's rank, she won't have to give hers up.) As the wife of Sir Edward Grey, a baronet, she would have been Lady Grey, except that she already had the more prestigious title of Lady Julia which she retained upon her marriage.

I do get this question from time to time from readers who are confused by Julia's title since the wife if a baronet is usually styled "Lady Lastname". The best example to use for illustration is that in Pride and Prejudice. Darcy's mother and aunt are the daughters of an earl. His mother, Lady Anne, marries plain Mr. Darcy and is styled Lady Anne Darcy. His aunt, Lady Catherine, marries Sir Lewis De Bourgh, and is styled Lady Catherine De Bourgh. (If Sir Lewis had married a lady without a title of her own, she would have been styled Lady De Bourgh upon her marriage to him.)

The romantic tension was different in book four because the question is no longer "will they or won't they?" Um, they do. The question at the heart of their relationship is now how will they reconcile their very different approaches into a harmonious marriage that still keeps the reader guessing. Tricky, but a very interesting challenge for me, so I enjoyed it.

I have recently given a quote for Elizabeth Loupas for her book, The Second Duchess, to be released next March. It's DIVINE. Go and order it at once, I insist! (And I feel compelled to point out, Charles Finch is a very nice guy.) Also, Stephanie Barron was kind enough to send me her newest for endorsement, and Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron was absolutely delicious. Go order that too!