Love Inspired Historicals discussion

Welcome to our Q&A with authors who have books out in Novermber 2012 – Regina Scott, Janet Lee Barton, Lyn Cote and Christine Johnson!

Regina Scott is starting things off for us today, taking questions about The Rake's Redemption and the other books in her Everard Legacy series: The Captain's Courtship, The Rogue's Reform and An Honorable Gentleman

Welcome, Regina and thanks for joining us! I have a couple of questions. Will The Rake's Redemption be the last book in the Everard Legacy or are you planning more? Also, I love that your hero is a poet! Did you have to write any pieces of poetry to include in his story?

What do you want to ask Regina about the Everard Legacy series?

I have really enjoyed The Everard Legacy. I didn't realize that An Honorable Gentleman was part of the series. I love the regency time period and was wondering what are you currently working on? Is it also going to be set in the regency time period?

Good morning Regina, I confess I have not read this series but do like the regency type stories. What inheritance are the cousins pursing when they find treasures in Love? sounds like a story I would like to read. thanks for sharing today with us...

Hi Regina! Just stopping in to say how much I love your books. I rushed out to get The Rake's Redemption as soon as it appeared on store shelves. What do you have planned next?

Good morning, ladies! So glad to be here and thanks to Deborah for arranging this every month!

I must have given her the wrong impression (sorry, Deb!), because An Honorable Gentleman isn't part of the series.

Laura, I'm currently working on the first book of a new series that is tentatively called Serving Up Marriage (no firm title on the book either-LOL). The series is about four gorgeous estates in a dale in the Peaks District of England where the staffs realize their handsome masters are taking their time about marrying and decide to play matchmaker. All the books are set in the Regency, between 1813 and 1814.

Hi, Paula-O! The four male cousins in my series are trying to help their sixteen-year-old female cousin fulfill the requirements of the will left by her rascal of a father. In order for any of them to inherit his sizeable fortune (the Everard legacy), she must be presented to the Queen, be accepted in all the houses that refused to associate with him, and receive no less than three offers of marriage from eligible gentlemen. With Samantha being a chip off the old block, they have their hands full!

Hi, Christine! Thank you for your kind words! Next up for me is the final book in the series, The Heiress's Homecoming, which is Samantha Everard's story. It's set 8 years after the others, so we get to see how all the couples have done in life as well as how Samantha is coping with adulthood. It will be out next March. I thought of you recently, with your love of sailing ships and captains. Did you see the Bounty went down in Hurricane Sandy? So sad, but so glad most of the crew was taken off safely.

A very warm welcome to you, Regina! I haven't read the Everard series yet, but plan to correct that situation soon. From the time I discovered Georgette Heyer as a teenager, I have been hooked on Regencies and am delighted to see them in the Love Inspired line. I also read British murder mysteries, small village setting, so I guess you could say I enjoy British fiction in general.

I must have given her the wrong impression (sorry, Deb!), because An Honorable Gentleman isn't part of the series.

That was totally me! I had to get an early start this morning and posted before I was properly caffeinated... :p

Hi Regina. Yes, I saw the news about the Bounty sinking. So sad. My husband and I toured that ship many years ago. As for captains...I'll admit I'm partial to Captain Richard Everard from The Captain's Courtship. Loved the "fish out of water" storyline. His reactions were quite realistic for a seafaring man.

Sounds like an interesting book. I am not sure if I have read any of the series. I just saw I have the first book in the series. I am so behind in reading this year that I doubt I will ever catch up.

Thanks, Christine. I'm glad you liked Richard. I pictured him as Jonathan Frakes of Star Trek fame. :-)

Hi, Ausjenny! One of the good things about books is that they will wait patiently for you to pick them up and read. :-)

Of course, sometimes that To Be Read pile is another matter! I had to move mine recently when the dog discovered it. Who knew he'd like hardcovers more than I did?

I am so glad to hear that Samantha will get her own story. And your newest series sounds like it will be a lot of fun!!

Thanks, Laura! I'm having fun writing it, that's for sure.

Regina, I noticed that you wrote several books for the Zebra Regency line some years ago. As I said earlier today, I'm a big Georgette Heyer fan, and the covers of your books remind me of her writing. I just wondered if you would recommend your Zebra books for Regency fans today?

Well, it's hard for an author NOT to recommend her books. :-)

That said, I hope most of my Zebra Regencies would appeal to the same audience that enjoys Love Inspired stories. The books were written for a secular publisher, so the faith element isn't always obvious, but they are definitely from a Christian worldview. The two books I would be cautious of are Perfection and Utterly Devoted. Perfection has a scene where the heroine has to find a way to rescue herself from an unsavory maskerade, which some people might find offensive. And the hero of Utterly Devoted is a "bad boy" who is finding redemption through the challenges of the heroine. Now I would write how faith moved him, but I couldn't do that then.

Hope this helps!

Thank you for taking the time to respond, Regina! Nothing you described sounds offensive, and I'm glad to see your out-of-print books now available in ebook form. Looks like I've got some enjoyable reading ahead of me.

In scanning through your books on Amazon, I was intrigued by the novella you wrote in the Mistletoe Kittens collection. Now that's a book I would love to read!

You're welcome, Carole! The story from Mistletoe Kittens is actually available as part of an e-book. It's "A Place by the Fire," one of the three novellas in the collection called Be My Bride. Good time of year for it too. :-)

Regina wrote: "Hi, Ausjenny! One of the good things about books is that they will wait patiently for you to pick them up and read. :-)

Of course, sometimes that To Be Read pile is another matter! I had to mov..."

Seems like your dog has good taste! My tbr pile got moved yesterday when I moved some furniture. its actually grown to 3 tbr piles in order of need. (have a few request ones.) this doesn't include the kindle tbr pile.

Today’s guest author is new to Love Inspired Historicals, but not to inspirational romance readers. Janet Lee Barton has written many novels and novellas for Barbour Books, but this month she makes her LIH debut with Somewhere to Call Home!

Janet, I see your book is set in New York City near the end of the 19th century. Was it different for you writing a book set in the bustle of a big city rather than a small town? What did you enjoy most about this setting and what were the biggest challenges?

Good morning Deborah! I am thrilled to be here today. It was different writing a book set in a city--especially one as large as New York City. I think the biggest challenge was to make sure I did my research. :) But that was also something I enjoyed so much--finding out what businesses were there, the real people who might turn up in the story, what was actually going on in the city at that time and trying to make sure I got it right. I love that the city offered so much for my characters to do and see and that made it so much fun to write!

Janet, I loved this book. In fact I didn't want to say goodbye to Michael, Violet, and the other boarders. Is there a chance that there will be more books with the boarders from Heaton House?

Hello Janet, it's lovely to have you here with the LIH authors. I'm very familiar with your work through your Barbour collections having enjoyed & .

How is writing for LIH different from writing for Heartsong Presesnts?

Dawn, sorry I'm late getting to this--we went out to vote. :) I've turned in the second book in the series to my editor and am working on the proposal to a third. I'm so glad you liked Somewhere to Call Home and hope you'll like the next one too. It should be out sometime next year. I think around September. :)

Hi Wendy,
Thank you for welcoming me to the LIH group! Writing for LIH is different from Heartsong Presents in that it gives me more room for story, which I love. The guidelines are very similar, but each editor has their preferences within the line too. And the hero and heroine get more time together in LIH. :) I love the extra wordcount!

Hi Janet! I really like the idea for your book. I will have to check it out. What made you choose the end of the 19th century for your time period?

Hi Laura,
I just love that time period. So much was changing, women were joining the workforce in large numbers-- either to make their own living or to help their famiies out. As a writer, setting these stories in New York City and tying them together with a boarding house gives me many options for stories.

Hi Janet, I too have read some of your novellas and I think hp books. I recognise the name.
In your research did you find any interesting tidbit that surprised you?

Thanks for the question, Ausjenny! I did find some tidbits. I was surprised to find that Theodore Roosevelt was the police commissioner of New York city at the time of my story. He only served in that capacity from 1895-1897, and it was fun to mention him in the story. He was only 37 when he began to try to clean up the corruption and reform the police department. His time there served to launch his career in government.
Research can turn up all kinds of interesting things. :)

Sorry did not get by yesterday Janet but looking back at your book "Somewhere to Call Home" I see it is one of the LIH Giveaways, I have signed up for it. the story and the era are ones that I like to read-thanks for sharing with us and I hope your move is very good for you...It can be scary make choices and doing things differently but sounds like you are happy with this move and that has to be good for you..

Sorry I'm late getting started today...

Our Wednesday guest author is no stranger to the LIH Goodreads Group! Lyn Cote is a prolific author of inspirational romance with a number of publishers. Lyn’s November book, Their Frontier Family, is the first book in her Wilderness Brides series.

Lyn, I love the Wisconsin setting for this book! Was it inspired at all by Laura Ingall’s Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods? Can you tell us anything about future books in the Wilderness Brides Series?

Hello Lyn, this book with Sunny & Noah sounds really good. I like the idea of Noah needing to learn to love again after the war and Sunny needing a new start...
Did you do these characters after someone you knew in real life?

I'd love to win a book from this author.

Hi Paula-O and everyone! This story is very dear to my heart. My heroine is one of those characters that was a minor character in another book and then wouldn't let me go till I told her story.

Sunny was born to a mother who was a prostitute. In that day, that meant that Sunny would also follow that path. The chasm between respectable women and unrespectable could not be bridged.
But now Sunny is a mom and can't stand the idea that her daughter will be forced into the same violent and damaging life. She's willing to do anything--even marry a complete stranger and move to the wilderness with him to start a new life.

Many of us our mothers, we know how Sunny felt about her little Dawn.


If you'd like to read about Sunny in the original book, here's the link http://booksbylyncote.com/SWBS/new-bo...

I remember Sunny! I am so glad to see her get her own story. If I don't win I will have to pick this book up. What are you currently working on?

I really love the sound of this book and am interested in where you take the story and how you weave it.

Did you find anything interesting in your research for the book that you didn't expect?

Janet wrote: "Thanks for the question, Ausjenny! I did find some tidbits. I was surprised to find that Theodore Roosevelt was the police commissioner of New York city at the time of my story. He only served in t..."

Wow that is so cool Janet I know have learnt something also.

Janet wrote: "I was surprised to find that Theodore Roosevelt was the police commissioner of New York city at the time of my story."

Janet, I love the time period you write in and look forward to reading your book soon. After watching Copper on TV and reading a couple of mystery series set in historical NYC, I'm intrigued by this setting. And I actually learned about Theodore Roosevelt from one of those mystery series!

Lyn, I became a fan of your writing after reading your Blessed Assurance series. The connection to one of my favorite hymns drew me in, and I loved the way you used phrases from the song as book titles. Very creative and inspirational! I look forward to reading more of your books, especially your Love Inspired Historical series.

Rounding out our November Q&A week is Christine Johnson! Legacy of Love is Christine’s fourth book for Love Inspired Historicals set in the early 20th century.

Welcome Christine. Legacy of Love sounds right up my alley – I love a wounded warrior! I’m intrigued by your time period because I can imagine your characters as contemporaries of my grandparents. What drew you to writing about this time period?

Good morning Christine Legacy of Love sounds interesting-how can she trust this man after he evicted her and her mother before, I see God working tremendously in this woman as she plans to find a treasure to Help HIM...
I dont think I could be that forgiving.

I really like the sound of this book. Is it connected to any of your earlier releases? Also what are you currently working on?

Good morning, everyone! I'm thrilled to be here today. Thank you, Deborah, for hosting these Q&A discussions.

Deborah, we must be around the same age, because my grandparents were young adults in the 1920s. They also kept journals and took photographs, which have been a real treasure. Their memories are one inspiration. I also love this time period because it's on the cusp between modern and the 1800s. A lot of change was happening, and it was coming faster and faster. Sounds a lot like today, doesn't it! I'm fascinated by how people dealt with that change, which brought both positive advancement (cars, telephones, penicillin, women's suffrage, etc.) and horrible misery such as the first World War, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and the terrible results of the noble idea of Prohibition. So much happening!

Hi Paula-O! The blurb on the back of the book doesn't tell the whole story of the eviction. Brandon's father is the one who sold Anna's house. Then he died before initiating the eviction. Brandon's stuck doing the dirty work, but he does his best to make up for this injustice. That helps ease the sting, but you're right that God does have some work to do in her heart before she can fully forgive Brandon.

Good morning, Laura. Yes, Legacy of Love is connected to my other books. It's Anna Simmons' story, and you'll see many familiar characters and places throughout the book. After all she went through in The Matrimony Plan and All Roads Lead Home, I had to give Anna her own book.

My next book, The Marriage Barter, will be totally different. It's the second book in next year's Love Inspired Historical continuity series, The Orphan Train. It's a marriage of convenience story set on the Nebraska prairie in 1875. And yes, there are lots of orphans! The first book in the series, by Allie Pleiter, will come out in April, mine will be in May, and the last, by Linda Ford, in June. It's a really fun series, so be sure to put it on your wish list!

I am a huge fan of Regency romance novels but I have also become more and more enthralled with romance novels of the early 20th century. The American Heiress was a fabulous novel and I am eagerly awaiting Elise Rome's upcoming trilogy of that time period. I'm pleased to see more and more authors "jumping on the bandwagon" and writing about it. Historically, it was full of so much change not only for women's rights, but also so many industrial improvements. In addition, WWI brought such difficulty and sadness for so many people, yet made our country stronger and started to "level" the classes of people.

Christine, I am loving your book! I think it is my favorite of the series.

I also love an old-fashioned younger woman/older guy story. How did this dynamic affect how you wrote the story?

Peace, Julie

Hi Connie! I love Regency romances too. And I positively adore that LIH includes so many different time periods. It's so fun!

Julie, thank you so much for the encouragement! I'm delighted you're enjoying the book.

The younger woman/older man dynamic came into play due to Anna's background. Since she lost her father at a young age and lacked a father figure in her life, it seemed natural that she would be drawn to an older man.

I'll have to admit that when I was young, I didn't understand how any heroine could fall for an older man. Ah, the eyes of youth! I think that changed for me with Jane Austen's "Emma." Mr. Knightley is just so wonderful that I couldn't help but adore him.