Ramblings From This Chick: Guest Post with Author Elizabeth Keysian and Giveaway

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Guest Post with Author Elizabeth Keysian and Giveaway

Elizabeth first started writing fiction when she was eight, encouraged to do so by her Head Teacher father, who needed something to keep her quiet during school holidays. Her favorite topics were mermaids, ghosts, Norman knights and quests, and she illustrated and decorated her own books. She emerged from the world of her imagination to read History at the University of London, after which she spent many years working as an archaeologist and artifact illustrator. She then became a primary school teacher, after which she moved to museum education work, and display and collections management.

Elizabeth has been involved in Medieval, Tudor, and English Civil War re-enactment and has enjoyed sword-play and traditional archery, excelling in neither. She lived for seven years on a Knights Templar estate in Essex where she pursued her interest in historical textiles, cookery and medicine. She loves anything to do with the past, and still looks down holes in the ground to see if there’s anything archaeological in them. There generally isn’t.

She has written fifteen historical romances since moving to the West of England in 1997, the landscape and history of which have inspired the “Wayward in Wessex” series. Book #1 in the series, “Distracting the Duke”, has recently been published by Entangled Publishing.

Me and my books

Ever shown any signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder? I'm sure I show many, but I'm pleased to discover my obsession with collecting books is NOT the psychological condition known as "bibliomania". The latter involves buying books simply for the fact that they are books, although one bibliomaniac was known to have repeatedly had sex with a book. I cannot, alas, discover if it was the same book each time and if so, what the title was.

I have often made use of my personal library when writing my romances, two of which, Distracting the Duke and Unmasking the Earl are currently out with Entangled Publishing. The books have been useful for many things, ranging from: what was in fashion in the historical era during which the books were set, what the latest gossip was, how long it took to get from A to B in a horse-drawn carriage, and as a source of illustrations for use in blog and social media posts.

As my published novels are both Regency romances, and the Regency period favoured the Classical style, I thought I'd share with you an illustration of Cupid's arrow piercing a Roman's breast. I don't know about you, but I reckon an arrow that thick would kill the poor fellow—I was under the impression that Cupid's love-arrows were more like tiny darts!

Getting the clothing right is very important to me, hence my slight obsession with fashion plates, like the one on the left. I don't believe in writing long descriptions of what the heroine was wearing, but I like to give an authentic taste of her ensemble where it gives colour to the narrative.

What do you fancy yourself in? The elegant classical-style gown on the left, or the wedding cake-style confection from 1755 on the right? There's one thing I know for sure—my waist is definitely the wrong size and shape for the fashions of 1755!

So, if you want some fun Regency romance with an authentic flavour taken from primary sources, why not try reading one of mine? I'd love to know what you think. You can connect with me on Facebook and Twitter, or sign up to my newsletter. Thank you!

Devastated by the disappearance of his sister, the Earl of Stranraer has gone to extraordinary lengths to find the notorious rake responsible, and enters his household incognito to wreak his vengeance. But his enemy has an unexpected protector—the innocent but headstrong Miss Cassandra Blythe.

Cassie is determined to learn the art of seduction. But she is blindsided by her body's thrilling response to the wrong man—a mysterious servant who shows up at the most inauspicious moments to spoil her lessons in love with warnings of her imminent ruin. When she learns the handsome servant's identity and the reason for his deception, she resolves to help Stranraer, but only if he abandons his vow to destroy his enemy.

The earl is sorely tempted to give the meddlesome beauty a lesson in seduction she’ll never forget. But she turns the tables, and he gets his own lesson in forgiveness…and love.

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