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Monday, August 5, 2013

Guest Post with Author Manda Collins and Giveaway

Please give a warm welcome to one of my most favorite people, author Manda Collins. Manda is celebrating the recent release of her newest book, Why Dukes Say I Do and has stopped by to chat.

Manda Collins spent her teen years wishing she’d been born a couple of centuries earlier, preferably in the English countryside. Time travel being what it is, she resigned herself to life with electricity and indoor plumbing, and read lots of books. An affinity for books led to a graduate degree in English, followed by another in Librarianship. By day, she works as an academic librarian at a small liberal arts college, where she teaches college students how to navigate the tangled world of academic research. A native of coastal Alabama, Manda lives in the house her mother grew up in with three cats, sometimes a dog, sometimes her sister, and more books than strictly necessary.

Places to find Manda:

I Know What You Did Last Season: What if Your Favorite Scary Movies Were Moved to the Regency?

As some of you might have heard, my latest series started as a joke. I've always loved coming up with punny titles taking contemporary movies and turning them Regency. (Rakes on a Plane, anyone?) A friend and I were kicking around some funny titles and I jokingly said I Know What You Did Last Season. A few months later I was still thinking about it and when it came time to pitch a new series to my publisher, I decided to go for it. The resulting first book in the trilogy, Why Dukes Say I Do, is pretty different from the Jennifer Love Hewitt movie-there isn't a supernatural element, for instance-but I never intended for it to be a literal thing, but instead more of a reimagining.


So today I thought we could have a bit of fun with some more scary movie classics...

1) Impassioned Cry -- In this Regency revamp of the popular Scream franchise, a band of unknown assailants terrorized London by re-enacting some of the most horrific scenes from popular Gothic novels like The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Monk. Our protagonists are a hapless Bow Street Runner and a very popular bluestocking journalist.


2) All Hallows Eve -- A pretty young governess, while looking after her charges on October 31, is terrified as one by one her three closest friends on staff in her employer's country house, are found dead. As in the classic film Halloween, the culprit turns out to be the governess's own brother Michael, who managed to escape Bedlam where he was imprisoned after murdering their elder sister when he was a child.


3) Lady Carrie -- In a stunning shift, the classic film Carrie, is moved to the Regency where Lady Carrie, a day student at the local school for young ladies is tortured and humiliated by her classmates by day, and tortured and humiliated by her zealously religious mother by night. Until, that is, Lady Carrie develops some terrifying supernatural powers and woe betide her enemies!


So, gentle readers, which of you favorite scary movies do you think would work in another time period? Or, which ones do you think might work if they were transformed into a romance? (I'm thinking of the romance between Dewey and Gail in the Scream movies.) Or, if you can't answer either of those, what's your favorite scary movie? One commenter will win a copy of Why Dukes Say I Do!


Even in London society—where everyone knows what you did last season—you never know who’s next in line to walk down the aisle…

TRUE LOVE IS OFTEN FOUND

With her whirlwind social life in London, Lady Isabella Wharton has little interest in the customs of the country. But when her godmother asks her to pay a visit to her bachelor grandson in Yorkshire, Isabella can’t refuse. It behooves her to please the old dowager, since she harbors one of Isabella’s most scandalous secrets. So off she goes to see the newly-titled—and notoriously rustic—Duke of Ormond…

WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT IT

Trevor Carey doesn’t care about what goes on behind ballroom doors. He is content with the simple life—and isn’t ashamed to admit it to a society flirt like Lady Isabella. But the country air brings out a different side of Isabella—one full of longing and passion. Can her sophistication be hiding a desire for love? When a blackmailer from the city arrives to threaten Isabella, Trevor will shield her from harm—even travel to London. Can the duke tackle the ton on Isabella’s behalf …and manage to keep her all to himself?

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

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Check out what's up for grabs.


Up For Grabs:

To Enter: 
  • Please answer the question: So, gentle readers, which of you favorite scary movies do you think would work in another time period? Or, which ones do you think might work if they were transformed into a romance? (I'm thinking of the romance between Dewey and Gail in the Scream movies.) Or, if you can't answer either of those, what's your favorite scary movie?
  • Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 
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50 comments :

  1. Hmmm...this is an interesting question. I think one of my favorite scary movie would be "The Amityville Horror". I guess there could be an extremely haunted manor somewhere, etc... Actually, I'm more into tv shows that have a scary element (such as "Supernatural") than movies. Imagine a couple of hot-looking Regency lord brothers going across the English countryside getting rid of ghosts and supernatural beasts, etc...Hmmm...I think it could work! ;)

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    1. I like the idea, Sandra! Dean and Sam would make fabulous Regency gents!

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    2. Can't forget Castiel! He may be an angel, but he is hot!

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  2. I’m going to totally date myself here, but I remember seeing “House on Haunted Hill” when I was a kid and it totally scared the hell out of me!

    Love your novels, Manda, and cannot wait to read, “Why Dukes Say I Do.” Thanks so much for offering your generous giveaway.

    Connie Fischer
    conniecape@aol.com

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    1. You're welcome, Connie! And I love The House on Haunted Hill too!

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  3. don't remember if this had more of a name but I remember 666 and that's my scary movie.

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  4. Maybe this film "The Sixth Sense" the supernatural thriller with Bruce Willis! I love Regency stories; and your story seems very interesting to read.Beautiful soft cover! nlaverdure88@videotron.ca

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    1. Hi Nicole--The Sixth Sense was such a good movie! Totally scary, but melancholy too. Great pick!

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  5. I am not a big fan of scary movies, so I have no idea which ones would turn into good romances. I've seen The Sixth Sense and the old Freddy Kruger movies. Also, The Shining might be a candidate.

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    1. Oh Marcia! The Shining is one of the most terrifying movies I've ever seen.

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  6. I am scared of scary movies! I would say Scream is as scary as I can take.

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    1. To tell the truth, May, I'm not a huge horror fan either. I like suspense much more.

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  7. I'm a big wimp so I don't watch a lot of scary movies :) But i don't think they'd translate very well. Congrats to Manda on the newest release! I love her books!!! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Congrats on her newest release! I think Possessiom would go well with all the Victorian dresses and nursery rooms and such. *shudders* haha cool topic! And thanks for the giveaway!

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  9. I do not do scary movies. I remember when Friday the 13th came out and I watched it on cable. I had bad dreams for months.

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    1. Yeah, slasher movies aren't my favorite either! Thanks for coming by!

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  10. I don't really watch scary movies. The birds by Alfred Hitchcock is probably my favorite.

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  11. I'm not a big watcher of scary movies, but two that I do watch are Tremors and Arachnophobia - both of those would be fun in a Victorian timeframe.

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  12. I don't watch scary movies.
    Thanks :-)
    Lori

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  13. I'm not a big fan of scary movies. When I do watch them, it's those scary movies with comedy in it that way I won't get scared. Congrats on your latest release!

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    1. Smart to choose scary movies with a bit of humor in them!!

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  14. I am with Sandy - not a fan of scary movies. I recently watched a Zombie romance movie with my teen-aged daughter, called Warm Bodies. Don't think it would make a good historical romance, though!

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  15. My favorite scary movie is a little-known one, The Changeling with George C. Scott (1979). Creepy!

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    1. Oooh! I've seen it, Maria!! Great (and terrifying) movie!

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  16. don't remember if this had more of a name but I remember 666 and that's my scary movie.

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  17. I never watch scary movies. I get spooked even from the music. I remember sitting in a dark cinema as a kid with my eyes tightly closed & my fingers in my eyes!

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  18. Oh my goodness Manda I love your ideas! All those scary turned regency books sounds fabulous and I want in on it. The first scary movie I though of that would be great if turned Regency is The Shinning and Misery. But then Children of the Corn popped up.....
    But my favorite is The Sixth Sense.

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  19. I don't normally watch scary movies, but the only one that I have is The Exorcist. I Can't watch them...I am a chicken

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  20. I don't really like scary movies too much, but my favorite scary movie is one I didn't realize was going to be so scary until I got in the theater - Aliens. Of course then I had to see the sequels, even though they scared me so much, I still had to see them. :D

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  21. I don't like scary movies so the last one I've seen was The Sixth Sense. So I'm going with that one and I'm sure it could be turned in to a romance.

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  22. I don't think "favorite" is the word for what I feel about the most memorable scary movie I ever saw. It was Psycho with Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. I saw it at a drive-in and I don't think the guy I was with was too happy about my reaction. I screamed and was upset the rest of the night--and he had to take me home early. I really don't like scary movies at all and that's why I don't usually watch them and don't have what you would all a favorite--Psycho caught me by surprise. And I don't think it would make a good historical movie unless the hero has a too-fond obsession with his mother. :-( jdh2690@gmail.com

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  23. The Mothman Prophecies. I loved that one.

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  24. I could soooo see Fright Night as a regency romance with just a few tweaks. I would definitely see that one at the theater.

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  25. I love scary movies!!! Grew up watching all the Halloween, Friday the 13th, & Nightmare on Elm Street movies (along with so many more). One movie that I think could be adapted to the Regency period would be The Others (starred Nicole Kidman). Great thriller. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Others_(2001_film)

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  26. I abhor scary movies, not my thing at all! It's been years (eons maybe) since I willingly allowed someone to drag me in front of one. I'm a wuss, I just can't handle them :P

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  27. I love horror, freaky one :D really big fan..
    my most fave is Shutter (the Thailand version-original one), got the shock, got the story, perfect! You have to try it, if you haven't. ;)
    Then the another best one is still showing now, The Conjuring, this movie is great, and better than the last Insideous. (but I patiently wait for Insideous 2, next month)
    Have you watched it?

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  28. I tend not to watch scary movies. HARRY POTTER is about the amount of scary I can manage.

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  29. I'm really not a fan of scary movies at all, I try to avoid them if I can! I'd much rather watch a romantic comedy or action movie.

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  30. I try not to watch scary movies, but sometimes my boyfriend persuades me to watch them.

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  31. Dark Shadows was a scary tv show and it did have stories set in two different eras. The recent movie version was ridiculous.

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  32. I don't really do traditional horror movies. Favorites for me are more on the speed of Ghostbusters and The Mummy.

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  33. My favorite is any of the Friday the 13th movies.
    Thanks for the chance to win!

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  34. I enjoyed The Covenant and I know that could easily be a historical romance.

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