One of the most popular historical romance eras is “The Regency” which runs according to Wikipedia, “The Regency in Great Britain was a period when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent. On the death of George III in 1820, the Prince Regent became George IV. The term Regency (or Regency era) can refer to various stretches of time; some are longer than the decade of the formal Regency which lasted from 1811–1820. The period from 1795 to 1837, which includes the latter part of the reign of George III and the reigns of his sons George IV and William IV, is often regarded as the Regency era, characterised by distinctive trends in British architecture, literature, fashions, politics, and culture. The Regency era ended in 1837 when Queen Victoria succeeded William IV.” But Elizabeth Hoyt went earlier, not medieval, but to the time during the reign of George III when he was “fit to reign” or during the fun times, you know, American Revolution, skirmishes with the French and so on. The time periods are distinctly different in clothes, culture and attitides so we asked Elizabeth to tell us…

THE SECRET, the third book in the Butler Ranch series, is set on the Central Coast of California, one of my favorite places on earth. I started visiting this area with my mom when I was a little girl, and through the years, it became my place. Regardless of who I took along with me, we always stayed in one of the inns or motels on Moonstone Beach Road in Cambria. In the first two books, THE PROMISE and THE TRUCE, the characters Peyton and Alex live in Cambria, and its Main Street is the location for Stave. Cambria is a seaside village in San Luis Obispo County, California, midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, along California State Route 1. The name Cambria, chosen in 1869, is the Latin name for Wales. The village is situated amidst Monterey pines, in one of only three such native forests. Every book in this series includes multiple scenes on the Moonstone Beach and its boardwalk. Famous for its dramatic coastline and breathtaking views, this one-mile-long section of oceanfront is a great place to view sea otters, whales and dolphins, or simply soak up the sun, while sinking your toes in the sand….

Every writer is also a reader. I mean, if we didn’t love books, we wouldn’t spend our time trying to create more, right? So, I read fast and I read constantly. But, strangely, I find my choices are affected by the seasons. Spring is the time for something new and strange. Summer is the time for high-flying suspense and the dramatic thriller. Fall, though, is the time to get back to the classics. Collins. Dickens. Christie. Sayers. DuMaurier. Josephine Tey. Wait. Who? Josephine Tey. Quite possibly the best mystery writer nobody ever heard of. Tey was a pseudonym for Elizabeth MacKintosh. She wrote during the great heyday of English mystery, from the mid-1920s to the early 1950s. A playwright as well as an author, her output of mysteries was small, just seven books. But Oh! Those books! I discovered Tey in the back of Aunt Agatha’s bookshop, which is where I go when I want to find, well, anything mystery or crime fiction related. I picked up THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR, at random, and didn’t put it down. THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR a stand-alone English village murder mystery. It’s written in a clean, comfortable, infinitely, entertaining style that still comes across as…

Thank you for having me here today to discuss my Christmas novella, JOYFULLY HIS. Originally, I’d only planned three books for the Sterling Canyon series—one for each friend. But Avery’s twin, Andy, who first appeared in the first book when he injured the hero while driving home from happy hour, kept popping up. By the end of the third book, I felt he’d suffered enough and deserved his own happily ever after. At the start of this novella, Andy has just completed his yearlong probation following the accident mentioned above. His persona non grata status has made it difficult for him to find work and integrate back into the social fabric of his small Rocky Mountain town. What he really wants is his old job back as a ski instructor, but his criminal record makes that a near-impossibility. Enter Nikki Steele, his former boss and long-time friend. Unbeknownst to him, Nikki feels somewhat responsible for Andy’s predicament because, on that long ago evening, she’d left him at the bar instead of taking his keys. She’s also harbored a crush on him for many years. Due to these circumstances, she goes out on a limb with her boss to get Andy…

Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Surrey UK. This is a sweet little house where Jane lived for a short period of her life. There is a tea room and you can tour the house and I posed at her writing desk when no one was looking! The Algonquin in New York City. This was the place where the famous Round Table met. I have been there several times for drinks and I always find it inspiring. Ernest Hemingway in Paris. To be fair the entire of city of Paris was an inspiration to the Lost Generation authors and I loved visiting Shakespeare & Company but at the Ritz they have Hemingway’s Bar where you can see a lot of Hemingway memorabilia they have collected over the years and after a pricey cocktail I decided to give his typewriter a try! Charles Dickens house in London. There are several blue plaques in London notated the different houses he lived in. One of them is an attraction where they have recreated the way the house would have looked when he lived there including his writing space. John Muir and the Sierra Nevadas. I have visited Yosemite a few times and found it…

With October comes Halloween, and with Halloween comes… SCARY MOVIES. * dun dun dun * Even though I rarely watch them anymore, I thought it would be fun to tell you about my top five scary movies that made me not want to watch scary movies anymore. 13 Ghosts. I don’t know why, but this movie MESSED me up. I was so scared after seeing this, and I still, to this day, get nervous when I go into a dark bathroom. I always look at the bathtub and picture that woman all drenched in blood staring at me. Shudders The original. I don’t even remember it, or much about it, but I know I watched it as a kid, and ever since I hate clowns. Always have. Always will. Pet Semetery. Dead pets coming to life and attacking people? Yeah. No thanks. I’ll pass. The Shining. Red-rum. Red-rum. Yeah, I’ll red-run my ass outta that hotel, thank you very much! The Ring. Yep, that one got me, too. I still don’t like the static sounds on TV, and get nervous when people talk about watching it. Like, ya’ll could die now. As a bonus, I’ll tell you about the Twitter…

Hi, I’m Rebecca Brooks and I have a confession: I love mountain men. Scruffy men, rugged men, growly men who aren’t afraid to get down and dirty. They’re sexy, strong, and powerful—and sweet as can be underneath the tough exterior they show to the world. Although I’m a city girl, my heart belongs outside. Any time I have the chance, you can find me hiking, skiing, kayaking, picking blueberries, or drinking a cold beer while watching the sun set. So it’s no wonder that I love writing books set in the great outdoors, with dirty-talking mountain men ready to sweep the women they love off their feet. But it’s not just incredible views and racing down ski slopes. Writing sexy books about mountain men naturally means one thing. Hot. Outdoor. Sex. The more creative the better, IMO! In MAKE ME STAY, Austin is an Olympic skier and racing coach. He and Samantha discover that up against a snowmobile is the perfect place to get it on—especially when they can warm up after with hot chocolate and round two in front of the fire. In MAKE ME BEG, chef Connor prepares bartender Mack a picnic—and feeds it to her blindfolded by…

My favorite scene is at Darach’s keep in his great hall when Caitlin’s worst fears come to pass—her uncle, who’d kept her under guard for three years with the intent of marrying her to the highest bidder, has found her and threatens to take her back. But instead of trusting in Darach and letting him handle it, Caitlin takes matters into her own hands. In the process, she messes up all of Darach’s well-thought-out plans and brands herself a besom in the hopes that she’ll be “ruined” in her uncle’s eyes, and he’ll leave without her. Her uncle’s jowls quivered with outrage. “She was a maid when she left my keep, I made sure of it. ‘Tis someone here who’s ruined her. I had other men lined up if Fraser fell through. Now who will want her?” “MacInnes,” Darach said, “I’m sure Caitlin isna a—” “I am,” she said, cutting him off in her haste. If she had no value to her uncle, maybe he would leave too. “None will want me now. My bastard children will roam the halls wherever I live. They’ll overrun your keep, Uncle. More mouths to feed and bodies to clothe. You best leave me…

The third book in my MURDER BY DESIGNS series, ONCE UPON A GHOST, has a pesky ghost who likes to wake up medium Bailey Burke by singing. Celine Dion off-key by a dead mobster at three in the morning is so not romantic, but it got me thinking about the power of music and love songs. For me, music has always been a huge part of my life and it inspires my writing. Since Bailey’s relationship with Marner heats up in this book here is my list of top romantic songs. I Will Always Love You. I do love the original Dolly Parton version, but the Whitney Houston version from the movie The Bodyguard is just stunning. Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley. This song is just so sweet and stands the test of time. I could see Marner secretly listening to some Elvis music. Your Song by Elton John. I always said that the first man to serenade me with this song would be my husband. Sadly, my hubby, who we call Mr. Writer, did not sing it to me at any point, but I did use it to walk down the aisle at our wedding. Love…

I love the national parks. In fact, my husband and I have visited over 20 of them. To me, nothing is more romantic than a beautiful alpine lake at sunset or sitting around a campfire on a starlit evening. That’s why each of my books is set in a national park. With so many amazing parks to choose from, it’s difficult to limit this list to only five, but here are a few gems for the romantic adventurer in all of us. North Cascades National Park – The Cascade Mountains in Washington State are among the most beautiful in the world. The views and lakes along the North Cascades Highway are truly stunning, but further south is one of my favorite hikes—the Cascade Pass trail. It’s well worth the challenging climb to see the sweeping views of the picturesque valley surrounded by snowcapped mountains. The remote location and pristine beauty of Cascade Pass make it the perfect romantic hike, and the natural choice for the setting of Avalanche, the first book in my Peril in the Park romantic suspense series. Yellowstone National Park – This is the most fascinating national park I’ve ever been to, with its extraordinary geological features…