In which it's de-lurk day!

A somewhat lurker; I think I comments a little over a year ago. I also am a frequenter to your blog and I appreciate that you update it every day!I have read all of your books (and loved them) and your UK publisher is a block away from where I live, so I consider you a "local" author. :)No question, just thanks!~Another Elizabeth

Yesterday morning, my sister-in-law gave me your trilogy to read. I was helping out babysitting my tween niece and nephew. She had to work, I had a day off, it's summertime thus full-time aunty duties. Needless to say it is always great to spend time with them.But i spent the day and night engross in reading your books, in the world of Julia Grey & Nicholas Brisbane. I just finished the last one. And I just loved it. Now I want more stories from the rest of the March Familly. Will Plum find love or will he become an accomplish artist instead of a dilletante? Will Val finally be a doctor? Will Portia find love again? Will Father March marry Fleur? And i want more of Julia & Nicholas adventures. So many questions and right now I feel very sadden to leave behind their world and lives... a newbie from Gatineau/Ottawa CanadaPS: First visit on your blog but I usually lurk a while before I post :)

Well, okay, I will de-lurk with everyone else. I've been reading your blog since the NANOWRIMO pep talk, and instantly wanted to be your BFF. Finally decided since I liked your blog so much I should read your books and recently finished the first one and am about half way through Silent in the Sanctuary. Like you I am a history major but my reading is more non-fiction than fiction, so I've rather enjoyed seeing how this half of the literary world lives.No really question, just a shout out from San Diego, and saying thanks for such a delightful blog.

Not a consistent lurker, I do comment occasionally. Of course I love your books. Of course I wish for more. But, my curiosity has to do with the non-pictures of the shoes you wore with those beautiful but expensive-to-dry-clean dresses at the RITA awards. Need shoe pics (insert sounds of desperation here).

Lurker sounds so sinister, while not remotely sinister, I do confess to lurking. One aspect I've always noticed regarding Nicholas Brisbane is that initially, in Silent in the Grave you painted him as having many parallels to Sherlock Holmes. Both are private detectives, both are pugilists, both play the violin, both explore a wide range of odd and curious activities, both are loners with a loyal servant and physician sidekick, both have a vague childhood that emerges as the series go on. Obviously as the Grey-Brisbane relationship develops some of this dissipates. Do what degree is it conscious? I know that Sherlock Holmes is one of the literary works central to the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras, do you think that you can write about any detective from that time without some comparison being made. Finally is it Brisbane's feeling that separate him from Holes, and likewise from greatness as a detective, because clearly Julia seems to impact his professional performance to a degree. Its always a pleasure to read your blog, and you and your family were very charming when I went to the signing in Williamsburg. Thank you, try to keep cool.Elizabeth of the Red Dress, in equally hot Rhode Island

Atlanta lurker checking in. Just want to say how much I enjoyed your work and the blog. I love gothics and I think you have what it takes to write a great one. Have you ever considered doing a gothic? There are still a few fans of the genre waiting for the next Victoria Holt or Dorothy Macardle.

Yet another lurker here. Hello from Richmond, VA. I read your blog faithfully and also got into reading thepioneerwoman.com blog via your link. I recall reading that some of your favorite authors are Jane Austen and Elizabeth Peters (ditto for me). I adore characters like Amelia Peabody and Lady Julia! Mixing history, mystery and romance in one story is magical! Thank you!

Hi, lurker here. I love your books and can't wait for your next one. I also wanted to thank you for turning me on to Georgette Heyer; she's wonderful and I'm a definite convert!Joslyn

Look at us lurkers! I too, read your blog often and love your books. I'm looking foward to your upcoming book.Elizabeth

Thanks for putting up the funny links. We still laugh over 'First year of Spanish love song', the kitty who sings 'I love you, you're better than ice cream' and even 'the wedding dance' which I had not seen. My 17 year old and my DH (dear husband) and I have laughed and laughed!

Okay, another lurker. I prefer "silent but supportive." My mom gave me the series to read; I enjoyed them so much - can't wait for the next book! I recommend them to anyone who'll listen.I enjoy the blog because it's a bit of a peaceful stop in a busy day.Questions: How long does it take to finish one of these books?Also, I expect summers are much nicer in Virginia, but how about winters?Thanks for all you do.Suzanne

I'd also like to hear a few more details about your next book, or the next Julia Grey book. I know you can't give too much away but a little information to hold us over until they come out would be great!

I appreciate you leaving links from Facebook to the blog because I'm better commenting over there and I can still feel connected :-) I love your books and it's opened up a new world of Victorian and Regency literature that has been so fun.

I was having trouble leaving comments for a while but it works now! So saying hello now. Your blog is my daily treat and of course I love your books. And thank you for that tip on Dryel!Also I thought you might like another link. One of the other blogs I liked to read talked about getting a custom perfume made from Etsy and a book called 'Style Statement'. I thought you might enjoy that so here's the link : http://inkonmyfingers.typepad.com/ink_on_my_fingers/2009/07/two-things-a...

I'm guilty of lurking without commenting. Are you?

Good morning! From scanning the posts above I see I am not alone in the world of blog lurkers. No questions this morning. However, I would like to say that I absolutely adore your books! Accidentally, I started with Silent in the Sanctuary first, but immediately fell in with the characters and style of writing. Eventhough I started with the second book of teh series, I did not feel completely in the dark with your allusions to Silent in the Grave. Thank you so much for such an entertaining and delightful series!-Marissa (Bossier City, LA)

Ok, I'll bite and add my 'hello' to the chorus of lurkers (sounds rather sinister!). No questions just at the moment, but a big thank you for making it very easy for me to answer the 'now what shall I get xyz for their birthday present?' question since I discovered your books a year ago. Everyone to whom I've given Silent in the Grave has thanked me very much indeed after reading it! I've just finished the first year of my doctoral degree in Renaissance English - so my 'work' reading is a bit before Julia and Brisbane's time - but I do love the Victorian era and books from/about it. I also adore mysteries, so your books are a perfect combination! ~ Sophie (Oxford, UK).

Hello, I've commented a couple of time. Could we hear a little about your next book? I have such a hard time finding info out online about up and coming books. Second are you writing what you would like to write? Or writing what they want you to write in order to be published? If it's the first what type of stories would you love to write?Thanks for putting yourself out there. ~LK~

I was reading an interview you gave a while back where you mentioned a manuscript that had been rejected and was sitting in a box somewhere. Do you think that now you're an award-winning author it has the potential to see the light of day and be published? Revenge is best served with scones, ya know.

I can tell that /Silent on the Moor/ is set in dialogue with /Wuthering Heights,/ and when I contrast the actions and comments of Julia and Nicholas with those of the protagonists in /Wuthering Heights/ (whom I have always had some issues with, I'll just be honest,) the themes that emerge are, I feel, central to the entire Julia Grey series. And then when you add in the relationships between the inhabitants of Grimsgrave--! Very interesting, indeed. So my questions are, what led you to want to explore the territory of /Wuthering Heights/? And are there any other books that might have a similar relationship with the Julia Grey series? And I know this puts the writer on the spot, but what do /you/ think are the central themes of the books? What would you have the reader come away with? :-)~Meredith (a lurker from Cincinnati)PS~ Thanks for the scone recipe! I am a scone fiend and that one looks great.

Hello Deanna,I have been following (and lurking around) your blog since its first incarnation--the one before typad that got swallowed up...I was also one of your very first paying readers, since SITG was put out in late December '06 at my local Borders! I would like to thank you for the books and for the blog. As an aspiring writer, I have so enjoyed your posts on writing, and I would like to ask you this: when you started your first novel, how did it feel? Did it come easily? I am finding it scary and difficult, and I can only hope it gets better.

Hello, I just wanted to let you know that the BBC is currently airing an amazing drama called 'Desperate Romantics' about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the Royal Academy is showing an exhibition of J.W. Waterhouse. Thought you might be interested.

Hi! I'm a lurker. I've been reading your post everyday since I discovered it. I don't have a question but I will say that I am a librarian from Michigan and recommend your books to anyone I think will enjoy them. Keep up the great work! Also, I love your book recommendations as through them I have discovered Fiona Hill whom I had never heard of before. I really liked The Country Gentleman and look forward to reading more of her novels. Thanks. -Krista

I'll just de-lurk to say hello, as I was also going to ask what books you recommend, and what your favorite books are. I just picked up the first Lady Julia book a couple of months ago, and read all three in one weekend because I couldn't put them down! Can't wait for more :)