So glad to see you here at Duck Chat once again!

Today we have a special treat for you – Laura Kinsale is here and she’s going to be talking a bit about her latest book, Lessons in French, and some other tidbits.

Be sure to leave a comment or question for Laura today. Sourcebooks is giving away two copies of Lessons in French to two lucky comments, but, sorry, for U.S. and Canada only.

Now let’s chat!

DUCK CHAT: Welcome, Laura!  I’ve heard writers often say their stories take them in surprising directions, or dialogue flows from some unknown place. Is it the same with you? Do your characters surprise you sometimes?

LAURA KINSALE: Definitely!  I have to write them to find out about them.  It wouldn’t be any fun if they didn’t surprise me.  The hero, Trev, in Lessons in French, was originally supposed to be much more cynical and selfish than he turned out to be.  Instead, he is very much a “guy” in that he really wants to do the right thing, but just finds himself in trouble.

DC: If you could retire any question and never, ever have it asked again, what would it be? Feel free to answer it.

LK: “Tell us a little about yourself.”

DC: Do you ever argue with your characters while you’re writing? Who usually wins?

LK: No, I never argue with them; it doesn’t feel like that.  It might feel that I’m trying to push the story in a direction that it just won’t go, as if I’m shoving at a blank wall.  Sometimes when I back up and take a fresh tack, it works.

DC: Now let’s talk about Trev and Callie in Lessons in French. Would you give us a look into their relationship and story in this book?

LK: If you love those stories where the shy, plain girl gets the hot dashing guy in the end, Lessons in French will be your kind of book. Lady Callista ought to be quite a catch—she’s the daughter of an earl and wealthy to boot–but she’s been left standing at the altar by three different men. She’s long ago resigned herself to spinsterhood, and her greatest desire is to win the silver cup at the agricultural fair with her prize bull, Hubert. That’s until Trev d’Augustin waltzes back into her quiet life. The son of French émigrés, he was run out of town by Callie’s father years ago for stealing a bit more than a kiss from her. Callie and Trev share quite a past, in fact, full of secret adventures and harebrained antics that no one else knows about, not even Trev’s very shrewd mother. On his return, Callie is instantly drawn willy-nilly into scandal and deception–the sort of deception that involves trying to hide a huge bull under the bedsheets. She goes from having no suitors to having more than she wanted. And in the midst of these escapades, she finds herself falling in love again with the worst possible man for her.

DC: What’s the one thing you’d like readers to come away with after reading Lessons in French?

LK: I want them to smile.  I hope readers find that it’s like a great romantic movie that makes you laugh, and shed a few tears, and come out feeling good about the world.

DC: What is sure to distract you from sitting down and working/writing?

LK: Don’t let me turn on a video game!

DC: What advice would you give to your younger self?

LK: Don’t spend so much time at the computer!

DC: Growing up in Texas, one would think you might have chosen to write westerns. Was that ever a consideration throughout your career?

LK: I didn’t actually grow up in Texas, though I visited my grandmother there every summer.  I’m not sure why westerns don’t really ring a bell for me–I seem to be more of an Anglophile in my stories.  In real life, I love the American west.

DC: If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

LK: A romance novel can be more.  More fascinating characters than you ever anticipated.  More unexpected depth.  Emotion to engage your heart and your mind.  Stories that keep you awake and words you will remember long after you close the book.

DC: Your first book was published in 1985. Is there any one of your stories that really stands out twenty-five years later, it flowed so easily, it was the most difficult to write, the most emotional, or anything along those lines?

LK: For me, the character of Allegreto stands out the most, in both of the books he appeared in, For My Lady’s Heart and Shadowheart. He started out as a minor character, just a servant really, but he became more real than real, to me and to many readers.  I could never predict or control him; he was always an active entity operating by his own rules.

DC: If you had never become an author, what do you think you would be doing right now?

LK: Riding/owning/training horses in some capacity.

Lightning Round:

- dark or milk chocolate?      – dark

- smooth or chunky peanut butter?     – chunky

- heels or flats?     – flats

- coffee or tea?      – tea

- mountains or beach?     – mountains

- flowers or candy?    – both

- pockets or purse?     – pockets

Be sure to come back later today to read an excerpt of Lessons in French!

Our three blog hosts cum Western Romance experts have taken the time to tell you a little more about their thoughts and feelings concerning this beloved genre of theirs. So sit back and have fun with these ladies as they answer the same questions from their very differing points of view!

Sybil in Sybil-ese:

GREAT WESTERN DRIVE: What was the first western romance you ever read?

SYBIL: No clue. Whirlwind Bride by Debra Cowan is the first western I see reviewed on TGTBTU on 3/14/05, but was nowhere near my first western. Or my first Harlequin Historical. I want to say prolly Nicole Jordan’s The Outlaw or Elizabeth Lowell’s Winter Fire, which lead to the Only Series (Winter Fire is still my FAVE and the only series ROCKS).

BUT back when I read trash (I say that with so much love and why I am confused to this day why romance is called ‘trash’), but from 13 to early 20s (I slowed down around 17 cuz I was verra busy causing trouble, uh I mean working), in between reading all of V.C Andrews, Sidney Sheldon, Daniele Steele, Jackie Collins I read a western romance. All I recall, it’s a cover with a bathtub type thing (barrel like) with the outlaw behind her. She was kidnapped. And uh… that is just about it… This is the time to I read Glitter Baby by SEP.

I always say my first romance was Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale because that is when my OCD blogness started. When I went searching for like minded people, found Maili’s blog and AAR. It is when I started my blogspot and blah blah blah (I warned you I ramble, yes?) AND didn’t figure out until after I was blogging for a few years? that Glitter Baby was THE SEP. So I still don’t really ‘count’ that nameless book.

GWD: Do you have a favorite western romance author?

SYBIL: I have favorites I like to bitch about *g*. No longer writing westerns but SHOULD BE faves would be Susan Kay Law, Maureen McKade, and Dana Ransom.

GWD: How about a favorite western hero? Heroine?

SYBIL: Oh I suck at this type of question, can I phone a friend?

GWD: When reading, what do you look for in the perfect cowboy?

SYBIL: Oh holy hell, these questions were put together while I was dealing with the website cuz yuck. I will go with K and W gave amazing answers and point you to them. [Ed. you could try, Syb!]

GWD: And the perfect cowgirl to go with that cowboy?

SYBIL: Someone who can hold their own…

GWD: How do you know when you’re reading a bad western romance? Are they any signs?

SYBIL: The author takes the idea that alpha means abuses, demeaning, or assholish. But oddly I can read and LOVE Elizabeth Lowell’s old westerns. For some reason they don’t trip my switch as being ‘too much.’

If the characters all sound like they are in 2009, I can’t read that, or if the cheese is just too fantastic. The whole drama over Cassie Edwards was odd to me because her writing seems like such a bad joke, I was not at all surprised it was copy and paste.

GWD: What’s the one thing that will really turn off you when reading a western romance?

SYBIL: LOL the above

GWD: How do you know when you’re reading a good Western

SYBIL: LOL I make it through the first few chapters without a headache from rolling my eyes.

GWD: Is there one Western that stands out above all others?

SYBIL: Ride the Fire by Pamela Clare. There is something about a book that opens with a man pointing a gun at a very pregnant woman demanding she doctor him and she gets the upper hand in the first few chapters.

GWD: Who is the Western Author who no longer writes them that you miss the most?

SYBIL: Oops, I answered this, huh? Did I miss anyone? Lorraine Heath REALLY should come back as well as Patrica Potter

GWD: Why do you think westerns have seen such an ebb and flow over the years?

SYBIL: I think it is totally about glitz and glam. People think west and think of the work, sweat, work, bawdy women, work and go ewwwww I want that pretty, pretty, pretty Regency book. Waltz me baby, which is all well and good, but people tend to forget a lot of the Regency history in those books are painted with the same romance brush as westerns.

Personally I don’t ‘put myself’ into the shoes of the heroine. I don’t want to fall in love with the hero as much as I want to fall in love with the love story. And some of my themes lend themselves so well to westerns – Second Chance stories, Road Romances, ‘Cabin Romances.’ People also forget America had a lot of money and glam in the East, so some of those ‘westerns’ can give them both things. They even have virgins in the west… honest.

Ramblin’ Kristie J:

GWD: What was the first western romance you ever read?

KRISTIE: I’ve been reading Westerns for years, so I can’t remember exactly which one it was – but I have a feeling I was at a UBS looking for Rexanne Becnel and forgot her name and ended up getting a Rosanne Bittner instead. I can’t remember what book it was – but it blew me away and I was hooked from then on.

GWD: Do you have a favorite western romance author?

KRISTIE: Well, Rosanne Bittner *g*. Also Patricia Potter, Cheryl St. John, Lorraine Heath (Westerns only). Those are the ones who first come to mind.

GWD: How about a favorite western hero? Heroine?

KRISTIE: Hero – there are too many to choose from!! Heroines one of my favorites is Miranda Hayes from Outlaw Hearts by Rosanne Bittner.

GWD: When reading, what do you look for in the perfect cowboy?

KRISTIE: I always love a hero who is wrecked for the heroine – in any genre. I also love the tortured hero. Lobo from Patricia Potter is one who fits both those bills.

GWD: And the perfect cowgirl to go with that cowboy?

KRISTIE: As for cowgirls – one who is strong, who doesn’t rely on the hero to bail her out. One who wears dresses for the most part, although I did just finish Stacey Kayne’s latest, Mountain Wild, and she was a trapper yet I really liked her. I think it was because she was forced into her circumstances rather than choosing it. [Ed. See, Sybs, not so hard!]

GWD: How do you know when you’re reading a bad western romance? Are they any signs?

KRISTIE: I started reading one not long ago and the author put in “Western” speak!! It was awful – even worse than Scottish speak. I couldn’t get past the first chapter. It may have been a good story, but I’ll never know. Wooden stereotypes are also annoying.

GWD: What’s the one thing that will really turn off when reading a western romance?

KRISTIE: Bad writing, bad writing, bad writing. As much as I love Westerns, a poorly written book will turn me off.

GWD: Is there one Western that stands out above all others?

KRISTIE: Outlaw Hearts by Rosanne Bittner. If someone asked for my choice for one that embodies most of what I love about the genre, this is my number one pick.

GWD: Who is the Western Author who no longer writes them that you miss the most?

KRISTIE: Lorraine Heath – without question. Her Westerns had a poignancy – every single one – and I don’t think she has captured that as well in her English historicals.

GWD: Why do you think westerns have seen such an ebb and flow over the years?

KRISTIE: I think all genres have an ebb and flow but the Western more so then most. I don’t think a lot of readers have tried them, so they don’t know what they are missing. I think a number of readers who have tried them just haven’t read the right one for them. And I think some readers like being carried away by the fantasy of England. But if they read the right one – and see what a good Western can offer – I think they can be swayed. There are a lot of genres I thought I’d never try and yet when I read that one book, I was converted. And I think there are quite a fan of Westerns who have kind of ‘forgotten’ about them. We are really hoping to reach all those groups with this Drive.

Wendy, the SuperLibrarian:

GWD: What was the first western romance you ever read?

WENDY: Nevada Nights by Ruth Ryan Langan, a 1980s-tastic western romance that I read when I was around 14 years old and the first book I read that had gasp s-e-x in it. This book features some of my favorite old-skool tropes. Convent-raised heroine? Check. Mysterious gunslinger named Colt? Check. Soap opera style plot featuring heroine’s odious long-lost family? Check. I wouldn’t recommend this book to readers today, but, dang, as a doe-eyed teen I flipping loved every single word.

GWD: Do you have a favorite western romance author?

WENDY: Hands down Maggie Osborne. She wrote fantastic heroines and never took the easy way out in her stories.

GWD: How about a favorite western hero? Heroine?

WENDY: This is tough. I have a huge soft spot for Beta heroes, so probably Dillon Hennessey from The Horseman by Jillian Hart. Although I also have a soft spot for younger heroes who feel like they have to ‘prove themselves’ – so on that front I think Austin Leigh from Texas Splendor by Lorraine Heath wins.

GWD: When reading, what do you look for in the perfect cowboy?

WENDY: I’m looking for a hero with a strong moral code. Heroes that, while they might have terrible reputations, will ultimately do what’s right.

GWD: And the perfect cowgirl to go with that cowboy?

WENDY: Generally speaking, I like heroines with gumption. They don’t have to kick ass and rescue themselves necessarily, but I also want them to do more than sit in the corner, ring their hands and cry. A lot of western heroines start out their romances literally up against a wall (and no, not in a good way!) and I like reading about a woman who isn’t going to simply roll over and die or pray for a hero to come along and rescue her.

GWD: How do you know when you’re reading a bad western romance? Are they any signs?

WENDY: There’s a long-lost gold mine in the plot. Seriously. Every terrible western I’ve read tends to feature a long-lost gold mine. Also, there’s a bathing scene. Hero and/or heroine spies the other one taking a bath in a stream, pond, lake, whatever and they get all tingly. Sort of like spies in Regency historicals, the bathing scene has been done to death in westerns and it needs to be taken out behind the barn and shot.

GWD: What’s the one thing that will really turn you off when reading a western romance?

WENDY: Too-stupid-to-live heroines who aren’t dead yet. Look, living in the west was hard. There weren’t a lot of comforts, and for that matter, there wasn’t a whole lot of structured law. When I read about a heroine doing something stupid in a western, I think to myself, “How is she not dead yet?”

GWD: How do you know when you’re reading a good Western?

WENDY: Westerns aren’t all that different from other romance subgenres. I’m looking for what I call the Emotional Gut Punch Moment. That moment when the author takes all the emotion, heartbreak, angst, etc., rolls it up and smacks the reader over the head with it. Every book in my keeper stash has such a moment. That moment where the author literally rips my heart out, resurrects it, and stuffs it back into my chest cavity.

GWD: Is there one Western that stands out above all others?

WENDY: This is tough because I’ve read so many great westerns over the years. I would say Lorraine Heath’s Texas/Leigh brother trilogy, mostly because it’s one of the few times in my life I’ve ever read a series back-to-back-to-back. Also, A Reason To Live by Maureen McKade, just for the sheer emotional intensity of that story. That story knocked me out.

GWD: Who is the Western Author who no longer writes them that you miss the most?

WENDY: Definitely Maggie Osborne, who retired after her last book in 2004. I really admire many of her books and, frankly, I think the romance genre desperately needs more writers like her.

Of authors who are still publishing but have left the west? Probably a toss up between Lorraine Heath and Nicole Jordan.

GWD: Why do you think westerns have seen such an ebb and flow over the years?

WENDY: Demographics have changed. The baby boomers literally grew up on westerns, in books, films, and TV. You couldn’t turn on a TV in the 1960s without tripping over a cowboy. But as time has advanced, publishers (like every other industry) is desperate to court that 18-49 year old demographic, and frankly? Those readers (of which I’m one) didn’t necessarily grow up on westerns. Also, publishers want to make money – so they’ll hop on The Next Big Thing, whatever that is, when it starts to sell. Hey, the western romance was king at one point, but like everything, it couldn’t last forever. Readers got burnt out. They got tired of slogging through crap to get to the gems. So they went looking for something “new.” I think readers will come back to the western, especially those readers hungry for real emotional stories. It’s just going to take publishers willing to take the “risk” and talented authors churning out quality stories.

GWD: And there you have it, Western fans, the be-all, end-all last word of the biggest fans in blogdom about reading those famed Western romances. You ready to gnaw on some bones with these gals?

Recently I read on a list that history is all a matter of opinion, not of specific facts, so I thought it was worth revisiting the historical romance, and the knotty topic of accuracy. Does it add to a romance, or take away from it?  [Gwen ed.: read more about the Ducks' views on historical accuracy by following the Accuracy tag here.]

If you take the various Acts of Parliament, the political history in general (it’s all documented, word for word, always has been), plus the economic developments then you have a sound basis for discussion and opinion. But you can’t do it without that framework, and in my mind it’s unalterable. There are certain facts you can’t change, and some that evolved and arrived gradually, but there are some things you can’t alter.Sometimes it’s because they never happened, and there has to be a reason why not, other times it’s anachronisms.

To take things I’ve seen in historical romances, there are some things that just couldn’t have happened.

• A known, famous courtesan marrying a peer of the realm and them being accepted into society with open arms.

Never happened. Couldn’t. Various authors (including me, I have to admit, in A Chance To Dream) have played with the trope, but you have to work really hard for it to become probable.

• Peers of the realm becoming pirates.

It never happened. You have to dig into the wherefores to work out why, but since it never happened, there must have been a reason why not. (Lots of reasons, any of which would work). The most important thing – it never happened.

• Regency gentlemen drinking whisky or whiskey from a decanter on the sideboard.

Whisky (which is Scotland-specific) or whiskey (anywhere else) wasn’t legalised until 1823 and the great technical development, the Coffey still, which made it possible to produce Scotch in bulk, wasn’t invented until 1831. A gentleman could have it distilled for his own use, but it wasn’t a common drink, and didn’t really get popular until the 1840′s. Give the darlings brandy instead.

• A medieval Scottish warrior brandishing his claymore.

No claymores until the late 16th century. They weren’t even called that until then. I’ll leave it to the weapons experts to explain why, because it’s not my area.

• A medieval Scottish warrior wearing a skirted kilt in his clan’s tartan.

Skirted kilts weren’t developed until the 18th century. Before then, they had a plaid, sometimes known as the “great kilt.” No clan tartans until the 19th century, although there were geographically-specific patterns and colors from which the tartan was developed. So you’d be able to say “from the Lomond area” but not “You’re a Campbell.” Or something. If you could see the colors, because the plaid was never washed. It served as a blanket, as well as an item of clothing.

If you know anything about history, it’s likely these details will jerk you out of the story. If you don’t, it’s likely the story will be the “generic” type and if the reader has experience with lots of historicals, they’ll notice how flat the story is, and not be able to put her finger on it. If it’s labelled “historical fantasy,” go girl, put a dragon in and I’ll run all the way to the bookstore to buy it!

Writers owe it to their readers, and to the people they are writing about to make it as real as they can – and that includes sound world-building and accurate history. By all means, speculate, discuss, but base it on a knowledge of what happened then, how people thought then, and you’ll have a great story.

Are there any books based in American history that are this far out? Would a writer of contemporaries get away with sending the traffic the wrong way up Madison Avenue, or having all the avenues in New York have two-way traffic? Why should we expect anything less of the historical writer?

It’s an insult to say “it’s only a romance, so it’s okay, I can write what I like and get away with it” or something else I’ve overheard, “They’ll never notice.” So what? The other person a writer should respect is herself and her art.

I’ve only read one Elizabeth Hoyt so far, for instance, and I already know I love her work and I can forgive her the odd slip, if she makes them, but I’m too busy reading to notice. She gets the feel right, the spirit of the age, and she works hard to fit her characters into a recognisable era and voice. I don’t ask for absolute accuracy, only that the author tries. Or calls it something else.

So if the writer respects the genre they right in, the people and the times she is writing about, and her own writing ability, she should think about getting the details right. Please. So I have more historical romances to read. I dearly love a good historical romance, and I haven’t read too many recently.

And when is the new Kinsale coming out? Please make it soon, my copy of Shadow Heart is worn out!

Recently, I honestly forgot why, we were chatting about the greatness of Laura Kinsale. Or lack of greatness? Or it might have been Shannon C’s lack of knowledge of Laura Kinsale’s greatness.

I don’t recall much more than going on and on and on about my lurve of Seize the Fire, Shadowheart, and The Hidden Heart. Along with how happy I was that I was introduced to romance with the book Shadowheart.

I am difficult. I know – you find this shocking – but if I had been reading romance for a while and discovered that the ‘smart romance‘ was Laura Kinsale and only her or her, Judith Ivory (I still think this is a big reason I can’t read her) and err oh someone else. And all the praise that is can be tossed on her at times in ways that makes it seem that if you hate her writing well… that is ok… romance needs stoopid readers too. ::pats head:: Hey it turns people off, I know shocking.

Of course, I also hate a trend as well. No seriously, if I walked in now, it would take a shit load of work to get me to pick up J.R. Ward. And uh, I loveses me some Ward. I admit d-i-f-f-i-c-u-l-t.

The point of this long winded post is Laura Kinsale is reprinting some of her out of print books with SOURCEBOOKS (not that I can find the info on the site).

And my personal fave is going to be back in print as of October 1, 2008 and without the horrid cover! [Ed.: a cover you can see if you float your cursor over the cover above.] WOOT! I must email mishy. Oh and it looks like it is on Fictionwise and has been there for a while (if you go by the release date which uh 2001?), Seize the Fire:

     Olympia St. Leger is a princess in desperate need of a knight in shining armor. Sheridan Drake, amused by Olympia’s innocence and magnificent beauty, but also intrigued by her considerable wealth, accepts the position of white knight. Unaware that Sheridan is a notorious scoundrel, Olympia willing allows herself to submit to his protection and potent embrace. Theirs is a love born in deception. But as they weather storms on the high seas and flee from nefarious villains, the love sparked by lies begins to burn uncontrollably. Taking shelter on a desert island paradise, the princess and dark knight battle overwhelming odds to keep their adoration burning bright.
     Read an excerpt.

via the Smartest Bitches.