I’ve heard several readers of modern romances say that they don’t like to read historicals because they’re just not as hot and steamy as modern romances. Not true! In fact, Regency era romances are brimming with opportunities for sizzle, if you know where to look. No underwear = quick trysts. That’s right. People during this time period did not wear knickers, and a man who claimed to wear “small clothes” would be laughed at for being effeminate. There was simply no need for underwear when a woman wore multiple layers that went all the way down to her ankles and when men’s shirts had enough fabric to keep anything from being seen once it was tucked into their pantaloons or breeches. No underwear also made it much easier for women to use chamber pots…and much easier for both sexes for intimate encounters, when they don’t have to remove their clothes (considering how long it took to get dressed during this time, this is a huge bonus). While “drawers” for women emerged around this time, very few women actually wore them, and they were still open in the crotch. Carriage sex. With small compartments, pitch black darkness inside at night, and…

I wrote traditional Regency romances for six years with Kensington. I read Regency romances. I researched the period, read about the period, loved the period, so when I switched to longer format historical romances, I would naturally write about the Regency period, right? Well, no. I veered off to the late Georgian era. My Awaiting series (Awaiting the Moon, etc.) was set in 1795 Germany, and Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark (Sourcebooks Casablanca – April 2009), the first book in a new series, is set in Yorkshire 1786. Why? At first, I didn’t know a thing about the period, except that George the III was mad (he wasn’t really… oh, he was ill, but it was physical not emotional or mental) and… well, that was pretty much it. You think I’m exaggerating? Click to read the rest of Donna’s blog and to leave a comment. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Trapped in the past for nearly two years, I have written four historicals in a row! I much prefer to mix in Contemporary Romantic Suspense, but contract obligations made it impossible. The good news is, when you are writing in a certain time period, you begin to get a feel for that period. Mostly, my historicals have been set in the Regency Period, but a few years ago, I got an itch to move on, and so I set The Heart Trilogy: HEART OF HONOR, HEART OF FIRE, and just released, HEART OF COURAGE, in London in the 1850’s. The books are all set around the London ladies’ gazette, Heart to Heart. I chose the period because it was a time when women were beginning to be involved in activities outside the home. They worked, they owned businesses, they were becoming more outspoken. I thought this time would give me an opportunity to explore a broader range of stories and I think it has. Currently I am immersed in The Bride’s Trilogy, books about three brothers, also set in the Victorian period. The first, ROYAL’S BRIDE, will be out next September. In the meantime, I hope you will watch for…

As an author of Regency Historicals, I love to imagine myself in Regency England. At this time of year that means imagining a Regency Christmas. The Regency (1810 – 1820) was the time period of the Napoleonic War, of literary greats such as Jane Austen and Lord Byron. Many familiar Christmas traditions–decorating Christmas trees, singing Silent Night, waiting for Santa Claus–did not emerge until the later Victorian times, but a Regency Christmas did have other traditions still celebrated today. Regency families decorated their houses with holly and ivy and evergreens of fir and pine. Mistletoe was hung and the tradition of a gentleman and lady kissing beneath it would have been part of a Regency Christmas. With each kiss the gentleman plucked a berry from the mistletoe. When the berries were gone, so were the kisses. Christmas was mainly a religious holiday during the Regency. Gifts were exchanged, church attended, and guests might be invited to Christmas dinner. At Christmas dinner a goose or turkey would be served. A Regency household would also serve a Christmas pudding that was made on Stir Up Sunday, the Sunday before Advent, and served on Christmas day. The pudding was a porridge of sugar,…