Writerly Stuff: Blogging Today on Unusual Historicals Blog

Today's Unusual Historicals Blog contains a piece I wrote about Smuggling as a profession. It also contains a scene from my upcoming historical romance novel, "Fire at Midnight."

If you have time, and are so inclined, I'd appreciate it very much if you would read the short article and leave a comment on the blog.

Here is the link: http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2009/01/professions-smuggling.html

Also...big exciting news...my novel just been given a 4-star rating by RT Book Reviews in the March edition. I've been doing the "please, please a 3! Not a 2, but a 3!" mantra for a few months now because the RT magazine is an influential publication and a 3 is a highly respectable rating for a debut novel. When I learned yesterday that my book had received a 4 (their ratings range from 0 to 4 1/2), I was absolutely thrilled, humbled, grateful...you get the idea!


Lisa Marie

Writerly Stuff: Do People Sometimes Predict Their Own Deaths?

Because I write historical novels, and they tend to be, ah, unusual, I've had the honor of being invited to become a regular contributor to the Unusual Historicals blog. My first article as a contributor falls under the category "Famous People," and I've chosen to create a fictional interview with inventor Henry Winstanley, whose wish to test the lighthouse he designed and built during "the greatest storm there ever was" proved to be prophetic. I also managed to work in an excerpt from my upcoming Medallion Press release, "Fire at Midnight," into the article as well. The famous lighthouse figures prominently in my novel. The following link will take you to the article:



http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2008/07/famous-people-henry-winstanley.html

Book Review: Scandal's Daughter by Christine Wells

The aspirations of many an unpublished romance writer includes winning the coveted "Golden Heart" award sponsored by Romance Writers of America. In 2006, "Scandal's Daughter" won the Best Short Historical Romance category, and after reading this charming Regency-set novel, I believe the accolade was well-deserved.

Author Christine Wells paints the English setting beautifully and introduces us to Gemma and Sebastian, two likeable characters whose lifelong friendship forms a bond that gradually evolves through tenuous bouts of passion into a deep love capable of healing the wounds of the past.
Gemma is plucky without being obnoxious, and Sebastian is a complex character driven by a dark childhood filled with abuse and culminating in the loss of his beloved brother. The author's skill at portraying the deep emotional ties between the hero and heroine brings an emotional context to the story that makes it a very satisfying romance.

Ms. Wells employs a skillful balance, using humor to occasionally lighten the mood and deftly working in the Regency-era details that form the flagstone of this type of novel without making them an intrusion. She creates an interesting world populated with endearing characters and provides the requisite happy ending. As a reader of romance, I couldn't have asked for more.