Read More Romance - Part I (Historical)

So, I've been promising a list of my favorite romance novels to Irish, Alea and Tiffany. As most of you know, I've been a little busy, writing a book that I hope will be on someone else's list of favorite romance novels some day, but now I am done (yay!) and ready to FINALLY make that list!

Of course, when I sat down to make the list, I realized that my favorite romance novels fill WAY more than one list. So...I'm splitting them up. Over the next few days, I'm going to list my top 10 Historical Romance Novels, Contemporary Romances, and YA Romances. I'm going to start with Historicals, because that's what I'm thinking about right now and, between us, it's the genre that I've probably definitely read the most of (read: literally thousands of books. it's borderline embarrassing, but I console myself with the fact that I now write historical romance novels, so...nyah).

Here we go...in no particular order, my top 10!

But, wait. I can't do it. It's too hard. Because I could name 10 Johanna Lindsey books that are my favorites alone. Same with Lisa Kleypas. Same with...well...all of these authors. So...I'm actually going to name the top 10 historical romances written by ten different authors all of whom I hope to someday have my name uttered in the same sentence with. For the most part, you can't go wrong with a book by any of these incredible women. But these are, in my humble opinion, their best.

**Clarification. This list was designed for Alea. Who is not a romance novel reader. At least, not yet. So this list includes some classics. I like to think that what we're talking about here is a full on list of the top ten books that should be included in the CANON of romantic literature. Yeah, some of them are old. But you know what? They're awesome.

• The Black Lyon by Jude Deveraux - I can remember reading this one for the first time. I can remember falling in love with the hero...and the heroine...and their incredible story. And I can tell you that this book is, quite possibly, the reason why I have so long dreamed of being a romance novelist.

• The Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas - This is the third book in a four-book series and, I'm sure that many would say that it's breaking a pretty serious reading rule to start with book three. However, I say hang the rules and start with this one, as there is, quite possibly, no more perfect wallflower-rake romance than this one. And there is, quite possibly, no more incredible hero than Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent.

• Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey - This was definitely the hardest choice. Because, the truth is, I cut my teeth on Johanna Lindsey and the gorgeous, incredible, amazing Malorys. And asking me to choose only one of her books is like asking mothers to choose their favorite child. But James Malory is a pirate and Georgina Andersen is a perfect match for him (and he calls her George, which I think is were Alex got her somewhat masculine moniker). More than that, they are a heckuva couple. And Fabio is on the cover. And the Canon has to have at least one of those.

• Till Dawn Tames the Night by Meagan McKinney - Ok, so...this one can feel a little bodice-rippery...the hero is a pirate. and not the most gentlemanly of them. BUT...if you can see your way past that, you'll see that he's dark and brooding and, well, pretty darn perfect. And you'll want to be abducted on his ship anytime it's convenient for him. (Also...this one is out of print...so if you find one, snatch it up!!)

• The Duke & I by Julia Quinn - You have to live under a rock to have not heard of Julia Quinn, who many say is a modern day Jane Austen. I sure say it. This is the first (and my favorite) of her famous Bridgerton Series. I love love love it. Of course, as I wrote "(and my favorite)," my head was screaming...no! What about The Viscount Who Loved Me? What about It's In His Kiss? This list is IMPOSSIBLE.

• The Gift by Julie Garwood - Best. Prologue. Ever.

• The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt - Elizabeth exploded onto my bookshelf a year or so ago with this, the first in her Prince trilogy. Smart heroine meets dark, wounded hero...and saves him. Yummy.

• Devil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens - Ok. I'm in love with Devil Cynster. Seriously. My husband makes fun of me for it. But I don't care. If Devil were flesh and blood, Eric would have a serious problem on his hands.

• The Dragon and the Jewel by Virginia Henley - I'm not wild about some of Henley's more recent stuff, but I was so obsessed with The Dragon and the Jewel when I was in high school that I actually wrote my final paper for AP European History about Simon de Montfort, the hero (who was actually a REAL PERSON!) of the book. So, it makes the list.

• Pleasure for Pleasure by Eloisa James - The last in the four-book Essex Sisters series...Josie is the youngest sister and her hero, the Earl of Mayne is about as debauched as heroes get...but oh does that make for a lovely lovely story. Le sigh.

OK! That was, seriously, one of the hardest things I've ever done. WOW. And now I'm already second guessing the list...what about the newer, closer-to-debut authors? What about the other women who I religiously buy? I'm going to have to make lists of those, too. And this is going to have to become a recurring feature. Because three lists will not be enough.

But, for now...what Historicals did I miss? I welcome additions and debate! (And recommendations, as always!!!)

---
Looking for Contemporary Romance instead?  Here's that list!

Samar on Inside the Characters Studio!

This week on Inside the Characters' Studio, Samar, the star of Neesha Meminger's Shine, Coconut Moon.

Seventeen-year-old Samar -- a.k.a. Sam -- has never known much about her Indian heritage. Her mom has deliberately kept Sam away from her old-fashioned family. It's never bothered Sam, who is busy with school, friends, and a really cute but demanding boyfriend.

But things change after 9/11. A guy in a turban shows up at Sam's house, and he turns out to be her uncle. He wants to reconcile the family and teach Sam about her Sikh heritage. Sam isn't sure what to do, until a girl at school calls her a coconut -- brown on the outside, white on the inside. That decides it: Why shouldn't Sam get to know her family? What is her mom so afraid of? Then some boys attack her uncle, shouting, "Go back home, Osama!" and Sam realizes she could be in danger -- and also discovers how dangerous ignorance can be. Sam will need all her smarts and savvy to try to bridge two worlds and make them both her own.

Let's get to it!

What is your favorite word?
Lush. I first really noticed it with the bath and beauty products store, but now I think it's my favorite word, EVER.

What is your least favorite word?
Heimlich. Ew.

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
To feel like I really belong somewhere. There's no question about it. And if I weren't there, people would notice that there was a big hole where I'm supposed to be.

What turns you off?
Ignorance. Definitely.

What is your favorite curse word?
Sh*t. I don't know if it's my favorite, really, but it's the one I use the most :D.

What sound or noise do you love?
Windchimes. My mom has some in the backyard and when there's a soft breeze, you hear this little tinkling and it just soothes you.

What sound or noise do you hate?
People coughing up phlegm.

What profession would you like to attempt?
Astronomy. I'm not stellar at science (ha ha, get that? Stellar...? Astronomy...? Anyway), but I'm fascinated with the movement of the planets and the stars. There's SO much up there that we know nothing about.

What profession would you not like to do?
Be a therapist working with domestic violence survivors. That's what my mom does and, even though she says she loves it, she comes out of her office looking totally stressed sometimes.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"Eternal Paradise; down the hall and to your left."

----
Check out other interviews from Inside the Characters' Studio here.

5 things that are helping me stay focused.

those of you who follow me on twitter and facebook know that i'm in radio silence for the weekend because i'm trying to finish the book by sunday night. this is how it works when i get so close to the end of a book that i can smell it. i hibernate. i go underground and don't look up or come out until it is done. i try to ensure that this happens on a weekend, so i can take friday off from my day job and really power through. this is where i'm at right now. and it hurts. some writers say that the last three chapters of a book feel exhilarating...like all they can imagine doing is running a marathon afterwards. not so with me. the last three chapters of my books feel like what i imagine the last three miles of the new york city marathon feel like. ie...you're doing it because dammit you won't get this far and not finish, but you question your motives, your sanity, and your will to live the entire time. welcome to the end of a book, sarah maclean style.

so...here are the five things that keep me focused during this time:

1. Cranberry Juice. I don't know why, but I go through gallons of the stuff when I'm down to the wire.
2. Beethoven. Specifically, Piano Sonata 23, aka the Appassionata.
3. Baxter. Because warm, fuzzy dogs who love you even when you're gross and cranky are possibly the best thing in the world.
4. My bookshelves. They are full of published books. Most of them were finished successfully.
5. My friends, because they don't call me. And because they won't be mad when I finally call them. Because they will know precisely where I have been.

and...this wouldn't be an honest post if I didn't list the five things I'm depriving myself of because they are too distracting and awesome.

1. The West Wing. Because Aaron Sorkin wrote that show specifically to keep this book from ever being written. He's prescient. Its a little-known fact.
2. Mike Doughty. Because while I usually love listening to him and he did, after all, write Alex's theme song, his music is not always Regency appropriate.
3. Facebook. I should think that would be self-explanatory.
4 Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn novels. Because I could read them over and over and I'm just a severe enough procrastinator to do just that.
5. My bed. Because right now, I could seriously take a nap.

and, finally...here are the five things i will do to celebrate the end of my book.

1. do a little dance in my living room.
2. wear my new, custom made, yellow chucks. more on that later. but i'm too superstitious to wear them yet.
3. buy myself a bonnie cashin bag.
4. watch the entire first and second season of The Tudors.
5. play the new Quantum of Solace video game that has been in its shrink wrap SINCE CHRISTMAS because i am a goddess at resisting temptation.

but in order to do those things, i gotta leave you.
peace out, internet.

Let the Wild Rumpus START!!!!

I am totes wearing my wolf suit. :)

Cece Charles on Inside the Characters' Studio!

This week on Inside the Characters' Studio, Cece Charles, the star of Cynthea Liu's The Great Call of China.

Chinese-born, Cece was adopted when she was two years old by her American parents. Living in Texas, she's bored of her ho-hum high school and dull job. So when she learns about the S.A.S.S. program to Xi'an, China, she jumps at the chance. She'll be able to learn about her passion—anthropology—and it will give her the opportunity to explore her roots. But when she arrives, she receives quite a culture shock. And the closer she comes to finding out about her birth parents, the more apprehensive she gets. Enter Will, the cute guy she first meets on the plane. He and Cece really connect during the program. But can he help her get accustomed to a culture she should already know about, or will she leave China without the answers she's been looking for?

For the record, Cece is a blast to hang out with.

What is your favorite word?
That's easy. Artifacts. Especially when Will says it.

What is your least favorite word?
Objectivity. Not because I don't like the idea of it. It's just hard to live up to that word.

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Old, dusty stuff that no one knows the whole story behind. Another time, another place.

What turns you off?
Weird guys who crush on me that I'm just not into.

What is your favorite curse word?
Oh! I don't curse! "Dang" is about as far as I go.

What sound or noise do you love?
The din of Xi'an's busy streets. Vendors selling roasted eggs, the obnoxious honks of crazy motorists, old guys arguing over a game of Go on the sidewalk.

What sound or noise do you hate?
Jessica whispering into Will's ear.

What profession would you like to attempt?
Curator for a museum. No doubt!

What profession would you not like to do?
Anything involving a parking lot and a stuffy toll booth.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Cece, you've just one a million dollars! (Just kidding.) Actually, I know exactly what I'd want to hear but mum's the word. You have to read the book!

----
Check out other interviews from Inside the Characters' Studio here.

uhm...hello, sparkly edward.

have you seen this?



wow. i renew my desire for RP to play Gavin in the movie of The Season. :)
That said...isn't New Moon the one without Edward?

Meet Anna Godbersen!

Ok...I'm SUPER JAZZED that this week, I get to host the lovely and talented Anna Godbersen here at MacLeanSpace! 

It's no secret that I'm a huge Luxe fan...Since that very first book with that gorgeous pink dress on the cover, I've been hooked. lined. and sinkered. Envy is one of only a handful of books I've read during the last few months--I simply couldn't wait to finish my book to finish Anna's! And now, I'm on pins and needles waiting for the last book in the series...

Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn.
Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions.
White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups.
This is Manhattan, 1899.

Dear HarperTeen,
Any chance you could hurry up and publish Splendor now??? Because I'm DYING to find out what happens!!!
Love, Sarah

Aside from writing sweeping, epic, incredible historical fiction, Anna is also a pretty great person (who said some lovely things about The Season, which you can read on the back jacket of the book).  I'm so happy that she agreed to come chill here for the week! 

Meet Anna Godbersen

The Luxe series is juicy and fantastic and, while I'm certain it would be no matter what the setting, the historical period doesn't hurt! What is it about Victorian New York that makes for such meat fictional food?

Thank you for saying so! I agree, the era is really rich for a writer, and I think this is in part because of the fantasy and pretension of the period. Just look at the architecture and the clothes—that is some overblown, self-important and yet also deeply romantic stuff! And also because the rules of behavior were so stringent—any time you have a situation where flesh and blood humans are trying to conform to very narrow codes of being, you're going to have a lot of wrenching decisions and drama.

From one historical writer to another, what were the best and worst parts of writing historical fiction set in Victorian New York?

I think that historical fiction is always a particular kind of challenge, because you deprive yourself of your own individual observations and have to depend upon the watered down accounts of memoir, newspapers, etc. Luckily, the culture in which my series is set was a very verbal one—there is a lot of source material to work with. But the flip side of that is that I, as well as most readers, come to the project with a lot of preconceived ideas of what Victorian era New Yorkers looked and talked like, and I as a writer don't want to fall into clichéd images or notions or phrases, and I hope that my readers won't be distracted by the pictures of Michelle Pfieffer and Daniel Day Lewis stored in their cerebral cortexes.

You write about four very different, very compelling young women and, while you're supposed to love all your children equally, we all know you definitely like some more than others. So who's your favorite, and why?

I adore them all, and they've each in their way taken on some traits of their creator, but Diana is my favorite—she is really the beating heart of the series, the character with the greatest mistakes to make and lessons to learn. She is the one readers will most likely relate to also, because she is an imaginative, dreamy reader type, and because she is full of this rather modern desire to seek out what the wider world has to offer her, rather than just accept the joys and sorrows of her native milieu.

You live in New York and set so much of your book in places that remain part of the fabric of the city...tell us a story about Anna in one of these great locations.

I remember walking out of the New-York Historical Society one hot October afternoon—I had been doing research, this was after my series had sold, but before I'd finished writing it—and into Central Park. The Historical Society is in a grand old building, next to the Natural History Museum, and it might be a good location for a costume drama. And the park, of course, neutralizes the signs of aging that you see around the rest of Manhattan; it might be any time in the last century and a quarter or so. I strolled through the park, feeling kind of keyed up with all the possibilities, and exited near the Plaza and went to Bergdorf's and bought an outrageously expensive sweater. Then I had this sensation of having been in a Woody Allen movie—everything seemed very zippy and New York and I could hear a little ragtime in my mind.

And finally, Anna Godbersen on:

Wealthy Families:
Carnegies? Or Rockefellers?

I don't actually know much about the Carnegies, but I think you'd have to go Rockefellers for the sheer scale of their wealth, their weirdness, and the aftershocks of their business dealings and importance on the twentieth century.

New York Parks:
Gramercy? Or Central?

Gramercy is charming, but Central Park has grand vision and mystery going for it. Not to mention the fact that anybody can experience it—what good is a park with a locked gate to me or almost every other New Yorker?

Authors of the Gilded Age:
Wharton? Or James?

I love Wharton, and that kind of shrewd observation greatly appeals to me both as writer and reader. But Portrait of a Lady is a book that teaches me something new about the character and myself and life every time I read it, so I think if I were heading to a desert island, it's the gentleman I'd bring with me in my tote.

Writing:
Outline? Or see what comes?

I live by outline. Of course small details and realizations come to me magically out of the air when I am writing, and I can go by intuition on the arc of a paragraph or scene of dialogue, but there's no way I could get narrative build or explore my themes without having a very clear sense of a book from above.

Coastal living:
East coast? Or West?

I won't choose, and you can't make me! I grew up in California, but I became a grownup in New York—I moved there for college at eighteen. I currently have this low rent bicoastal existence going—my apartment is in Brooklyn, but I do a lot of visiting friends in Los Angeles and my parents in the Bay Area—and I wouldn't give it up for nothing.

----

Thanks so much for coming over to play, Anna!

For everyone else...find Anna on her MySpace page. I also think she'd appreciate you ordering The Luxe...or Rumors...or Envy.
----
Meet someone else here!

I <3 My Dog...

especially when he sleeps like this...

This Thursday! Rhode Island!

Be there or be square! (You don't want to be *square* do you???)



Barnes & Noble
Warwick, RI
4pm

Ideas on what passage I should read from The Season?
Leave them in comments!

Wordle Journal Winner!

Yay! The (randomly-generated) winner of the Wordle Journal contest to celebrate historical fiction and Publishers Weekly is Deltay, from Lucid Conspiracy!

Y'all gave some awesome reasons for reading and loving historical fiction, from language, to being able to travel in time without fear of LOST-like repercussions, to manners, to reminding you to thank your lucky stars for modern conveniences like plumbing and electricity, to the way history, politics and culture all intertwine!

Thanks, all, for playing...and keep checking back, because I've got more fun journals to give away! Which I will do soon!

AS King Makes Baxter Famous!

The fabulous AS King, author of The Dust of 100 Dogs (which you should all go read RIGHT NOW), is featuring Baxter on her blog today as part of her regular feature, Wagging on Wednesday!

Go learn more about my pup...and about Amy!

Publishers Weekly Review, 3/02/09

The Season Sarah MacLean. Orchard, $17.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-545-04886-6

In Regency London, Alexandra is about to embark on her first season of balls and dinners, and while nothing “would steer her mother from the course of marrying off her only daughter,” 17-year-old Alex is put off by men’s seeming lack of interest in women with “any amount” of intelligence (“Evidently, it scares eligible gentlemen off”). Her opinions about romance change when she develops feelings for her brothers’ friend Gavin, who is mourning the sudden death of his father (making Gavin the new earl of Blackmoor). MacLean’s debut is well paced, and as readers fill up on descriptions of dresses and society’s rules, another plot line develops: Alex overhears a conversation proving that Gavin’s father was murdered, and she puts her relationship, reputation and life in danger to help him. Readers will appreciate the clique lit/historical romance hybrid: headstrong Alex rolls her eyes and gossips with friends, but still knows the steps to the quadrille. Clever conversation in the spirit of Jane Austen makes this quite a page turner. Ages 12–up. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly! And Happy Author Giveaway!

Ok...so I SWEAR I won't do this often...but when you wake up on a miserable, snowy, grey Monday when the last thing you want to do is drag yourself to work...and an email from the lovely and talented Saundra Mitchell is in your inbox containing the long-awaited Publishers Weekly review of The Season...AND it has the greatest compliment you could ever ask for in it...you can't help but squee.

And immediately post it to your blog.

So...forgive me for the momentary bragging, but...Oh. Em. Gee.

"Clever conversation in the spirit of Jane Austen makes this quite a page turner."

Oh. Em. Gee.

That's about my book. And it references Aunt Jane. Are you KIDDING me, PW?!?!

Ahem. By which I mean to say, of course, "Thank you. Very much."

Ok...I was raised never to have a great day without paying it forward...so here we go with our first Happy Author giveaway! In comments, tell me the one thing you love about historical fiction...Regency or otherwise, and I'll enter you in a drawing to win a The Season Wordle Journal! Contest is open through Friday!

Tell your friends!

xoxo

This is What I Want to Tell You

ok...I'm knee elbow neck deep in ROMANCING A RAKE, but I just had to post quickly and tell you all that my fellow Brooklyn 2009 Debutante Heather Duffy-Stone's book is out today! This is What I Want to Tell You is out from Flux and is edgy and amazing.

Don't believe me? Come hear Heather read from TIWIWTTY on Wednesday night as part of Teen Author Reading Night at the Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library (6th Avenue and 10th Street)!

Aside from me (reading from The Season) and Heather reading, you'll also get a taste of books from the awesome Donna Freitas (The Possibilities of Sainthood), P. E. Ryan (In Mike We Trust), and Siobhan Vivian (Same Difference). The whole shindig is hosted by David Levithan (who needs no introduction), so I can guarantee it will be super fun!

So...if you're free on Wednesday from 6-7:30, come celebrate with us!