Psst! See my note at the bottom of this post! ~DD
Thanks so much to Delilah for the chance to visit! I write hot Regency romances as Maggie Robinson for Kensington Brava and hotter ones as Margaret Rowe for Berkley Heat. Since March is Women’s History Month, I’ve been thinking a lot about my historical heroines and the difficulties they face simply because they are women.
Some readers complain when a fictional character exhibits too much of a 21st century sensibility, but it’s easy to see why a writer rewrites some boundaries. We’ve sure come a long way, baby. A Regency era wife could own no property of her own; anything she might bring into the marriage belonged to her husband. And even if he was head-over-heels in love with her, he could only leave her money after he was dead, but not gift her property in life. If they were not head-over-heels, a wife could not sue her husband for divorce, even if he was unfaithful or beat her. After 1857, he could sue her, though. If they did separate, the kids belonged to him, no matter what his sins might be. A husband and wife were considered one person in law, and woe to the independent woman who did not marry. Her father would be bossing her around instead.
Sounds pretty grim, doesn’t it? And we’re not even talking about voting. No wonder I don’t want to write about these poor creatures who were totally dependent on men. So my heroines sometimes walk on the wild side of the street, perhaps historically inaccurately, but I can’t help it. They’re not sitting in the parlor stitching samplers waiting for a suitor to come to dispel the boredom, marry him and then die in childbirth.
My current heroine Frederica Wells in Margaret Rowe’s erotic March release Any Wicked Thing is a medieval scholar who writes (accurate) history books, but she finds herself the ward of her childhood friend and adult nemesis Sebastian Goddard, Duke of Roxbury. Devilish Sebastian is the last person in the world who should be in charge of demure Freddie, so sparks fly. Pretty soon Goddard Castle is on fire as Sebastian teaches her all the things he’s learned while she stayed home. But Freddie is a quick learner and gives as good as she gets, doing any wicked thing and then some. ;).
Which Regency ladylike activity would you excel at? Sewing, singing, playing the pianoforte, painting, archery, riding or perhaps something else? Comment to win a copy of Any Wicked Thing!
One disastrous night…
At twenty-one, Sebastian Goddard, heir to the duke of Roxbury, desperately sought diversion from a life smothered by peerage and position. His quest led him to one night of reckless passion, resulting in betrayal by his oldest friend Frederica Wells, and the discovery of his father’s darkest secret. Reeling from the devastation, he embarked on a ten-year debauch that well earned him the nickname–”Lord of Sin.”
One delicious bargain…
Now Sebastian has returned to find his late father’s estate in ruins and Freddie more seductive than ever. He’s determined to drive her from Goddard Castle to pay her back for her deception and to protect his own dark secret. But Freddie makes him an offer he can’t resist…she’ll be his mistress for a month if he’ll consent to sell her the crumbling castle afterward.
Everything he could desire…
The Lord of Sin plans to shock and scandalize Freddie—to tease her every desire and leave her wanting. But his fiery-willed lover soon teaches him the past may not be what it seemed, the present more tempting than he could have imagined, and the future filled with more promise than he dared dream. For thirty-one nights is not nearly enough when you’ve been given a license to do any wicked thing…
www.margaretrowe.net
www.maggierobinson.net
[It always happens! My Access Romance blog doesn’t follow a regular schedule, so I couldn’t plan this in advance. Maggie’s my guest today, but you can also find me at Access Romance, with a pretty picture for you to “Tell Me a Story”. Be sure to say hello to Maggie before heading over to the Access Romance blog. ~DD]
