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Rose here! My next book, Sweet Disorder,  is set during a Parliamentary election in a small town. The Regency political system is so different from the modern one that I wanted to do plenty of research to make sure I didn't mess it up (for example, one thing that consistently confused my beta readers was that each voter got two votes!). Luckily I'd already done a little research on Parliament for a book proposal that didn't go anywhere (although I haven't given up hope for the future). One book I read was The Great Palace , by Christopher Jones, about the Houses of Parliament themselves. It was published in 1985 so not up to date, but that didn't matter for my purposes! Some things I learned: "The Mace, the symbol of Royal authority, must always be present when the House is sitting. Without it, the House is totally powerless." "The Lord Speaker, accompanied by the mace and doorkeepers, makes her way to Sovereign’s Entrance to await the arrival of the...

Left: 1230-1242 Michigan Ave., early 1970s. Courtesy Bruce Beresh. Right: The future look of 1236 Michigan Ave. Courtesy Detroit Institute of Bagels. The first landmark one encounters when entering Corktown from the east is an unassuming shoe box of a building on the north side of Michigan Avenue. Although it could be mistaken for a mid-century utilitarian structure, it is in fact the last remnant of a massive commercial building erected in the 1890s. On April 6, 1893, the city of Detroit issued a permit to the architecture firm of A. C. Varney & Co. to construct a three-story brick building measuring 120 feet wide by 86 feet deep, containing six stores and twelve apartments. The estimated cost of construction was $30,000. The chief architect of the firm, Almon Clother Varney, was one of the most productive architects in Detroit at the time. Some of the homes he designed for wealthy Cass Corridor residents stand today, including the George W. Loomer House at 71 W Hancock, th...

1886 Dennison House, site of the 1822 Guthrie House At first I wasn't sure what to title this post, or exactly how to approach writing it. In it, we'll look at two properties along Limestone Road that were associated with a family that's been mentioned before, but never directly featured -- the Guthries. What's a little odd about the houses we'll focus on is that neither was the family's home for the bulk of their tenure in the area. One was built by the subsequent owner of much of the original farm, and the other was built for the widow of the last Guthrie to farm in the area. What ties the sites together is the family, whose ties to the area stretch back into the mists of the 18th Century. The Guthrie family in Mill Creek Hundred is, depending on when and where you look, either fairly easy or very frustrating to try to follow. Thankfully for the purposes of this post, the branch that resided along Limestone Road is pretty easy to trace. The other main branch i...

As historical novelists, the Hoydens all spend a good portion of our writing time delving into the past and finding creative ways to bring it to life. I did that on my most recent project, but in a different way from my usual historical research. The project, His Spanish Bride , is a novella about how my characters, Suzanne and Malcolm Rannoch/Mélanie and Charles Fraser, became betrothed and married. At this point, I know Malcolm and Suzanne/Charles and Mel very well. One of the joys of writing about them is that their dialogue and interactions come very easily while at the same time I feel I'm always finding new aspects of them and their relationship to explore. Several of the books I've written about the Rannochs/Frasers have been out of chronological order, and I've always found it quite easy to pick up with them at different points in time. But in all the stories they've been married and the parents of at least one child. There are secrets between them, yet in man...

      Many of the Hoydens will be in Anaheim for Romance Writers of America's annual conference, so the blog will be quiet until August. If you happen to live in Southern California, please come see us at the 2012 "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing! It will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, Wednesday, July 25, 2012, from 5–8 p.m. in the Ballroom (third floor). You can find a complete list of authors here. The event is free, though you have to pay for the books, but the proceeds go to ProLiteracy Worldwide, Read Orange County, and Literacy Volunteers—Huntington Valley. Please note: No outside books will be allowed in, which I know is a change from past years. Sorry.

I’m going to be a bit ranty today. I just saw something on The Daily Mail that really concerns me. Supposedly Hilary Davidson, the fashion curator at the Museum of London, says that the discovery of these two items “totally rewrites” fashion history. To which I say BOLLOCKS! These items were found in Lengberg Castle in east Tyrol (Austria). They are thought to have been buried c. 1480. I’ve spent 30+ years as a re-enactor studying late 15th century and early 16th century “German” Landsknechts. It’s probably the period I know the most about, and these garments don’t rewrite ANYTHING from where I’m sitting. In fact, they appear to be rather common. Let’s start with the underpants (please click on the images to enlarge them, I had to make them small to fit them all in). I haven’t the slightest idea how Davidson came to the conclusion that the underwear were for women. Every scrap of evidence I’ve seen supports the opposite conclusion. Here is a detail from The Men’s Bathhouse by Albrech...

I love highlight strange clothing tidbits. Something I’ve yet to see appear in a novel is a printed glove. They seem to have been quite popular during the Regency period, with many extant examples c. 1800-1830 showing up in museums and at auction. All the examples I've seen are white kidskin with black printing. Some have stripes of classical patterns, others are commemorative, and some are just fanciful. Can’t you just see ladies wearing something likes these for Nelson or Wellington? RIPE FOR PLEASURE is still on salefor just $2.99: B&N http://bit.ly/LCsNCe Amazon http://amzn.to/LCtlrK Sony http://bit.ly/N1cB0e Kobo http://bit.ly/Ru9fDh

Marriage Bond of William Morgan and Martha Williams Last year I did a post about the William Morgan Farm , a beautiful gray stone house and barn along Doe Run Road in Corner Ketch. At the time, I lamented the fact that there was little information I could find about the farm's builder and namesake, William Morgan. Several weeks ago, though, I was contacted by Marcia Healy, a Morgan descendant who does happen to have more about him and his family. In graciously providing this information about her family (she's actually a descendant of one of William's sisters, if I understand it correctly), she managed to both confirm and refute some of the assumptions I had made about Morgan. But thanks to her, we'll now have a more complete (and accurate!) picture of who William Morgan was. First the part I got right -- The William Morgan buried at Pencader Presbyterian Church in Glasgow is the correct one. He was born in Pencader Hundred in about 1762 to John Morgan, also likely a ...

While researching smuggling for The Ghost and Miss Moore,  there's one problem I run into again and again: the bulk of the records of the customs service were lost in the 1814 London Customs House fire. To me the greatest loss is that every revenue officer was required to keep notebooks detailing his daily activities and submit them to his superior officer. There are almost none extent from before 1814 because of this fire. "The fatal Conflagration of the Custom House, on the Morning of the 12th February 1814" (British Museum) The fire was discovered by the porter at 6AM. By 7 the fire engines had arrived, and by 8 the flames were so high they had given up on saving the Customs House and began trying to save the surrounding buildings. [A] report was circulated that many barrels of gunpowder were deposited in the vaults, and that consequently an explosion might soon be expected. This report had nearly a magical effect. All withdrew to a distance, both firemen and spectator...

For the month of July only, RIPE FOR PLEASURE is discounted to $2.99! Get it while it’s hot (ok, it’s always gonna be hot, so get it while it’s indie-priced). "Ripe for Pleasure is a very naughty pleasure indeed." -Bertrice Small, New York Times bestselling author of The Border Vixen "Sensuous and sexy with flirty, witty dialogue. Truly a pleasure." -Maya Banks, New York Times bestselling author of Sweet Possession "Sexy, sumptuous, and wicked smart." Pam Rosenthal, award-winning author of The Edge of Impropriety "Carr is a born storyteller." -RT Book Reviews London's most sensual former courtesan, Viola Whedon, is incapable of being seduced-she does the seducing. Until she meets Leonidas Vaughn. Her salacious memoirs have made her the target of half the lords in England, and Vaughn is the only man she can turn to. When he promises to protect her-and to make her beg for his touch-the alluring beauty finds both offers impossible to refuse. Leo...

Largest standing wall of the Craig Barn For (I think) fairly obvious reasons, most of the structures profiled on this blog are, or recently were, still standing. Occasionally we'll look at a house, school, or mill that disappeared long ago, but in those cases there's usually nothing at all left of the building. In this area, that's normally because the land that the historic building stood on has since been developed. Once in a while, though, you can find the ruins of an old house in an area that hasn't been developed, if you know where to look. I didn't know where to look, but I was contacted recently by someone who does. He was kind enough to take me on a hike one morning and show me what he had found, which was A) the remains of some old structures, and B) a fascinating example of just how fast a landscape can change. Roger Suro has been hiking the woods northwest of Corner Ketch for about thirty years now, always with an eye toward nature and history. Among th...

My daughter Mélanie and I just got back from a lovely few days in New York, including fun visits with my editor and agent. There we are to the left at the Nancy Yost Literary offices. As often happens, I'm in multiple stages on multiple projects. I’m revising The Paris Affair which will be out in April 2013, I just got copy edits for His Spanish Bride , the novella about Malcolm and Suzanne’s wedding which will be out in e-format in late November, and I’m starting to plot the next Malcolm and Suzanne book, which is one of my favorite parts of the writing process. And of course, inevitably plotting involves research. I usually interweave the research and plotting. Often the plot idea comes from research. But then I need to start thinking about the plot to figure out what direction my research needs to take. And as I do more research, that further drive the plot. Even though I've written in the Regency/Napoleonic era for over twenty years (hard for me to believe!) it se...