Category: romance tropes
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ReRelease of “Darcy’s Passions” from Ulysses Press, Arriving 2/3/2026
In June 2025, my original publisher of “Darcy’s Passions” approached me about rereleasing the book, along with another title from the nine books I did for them back in the early 2000s. Like many publishers they wanted back on the Austen train, especially with the resurgence of Austen’s popularity after her 250th birthday. When all…
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New Year’s Resolutions from Classic Literature Characters
New Year’s was not always celebrated on 1 January. Ancient cultures celebrated the New Year in mid-March with the planting of a new crop. It is said that the Babylonians were the first to make New Year’s resolutions. That would be more than 4000 years prior. They would hold a 12-day religious festival, which is…
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“Lyon in Disguise: The Lyon’s Den Connected World” from Dragonblade Publishing, Releasing December 17 from Regina Jeffers
Lyon in Disguise: Lyon’s Den Connected World A handsome rake meets his match in a red-headed enchantress who is his enemy! They may be on different sides of the law, but Lord Navan Beaufort is not going to permit that to stop him from protecting Miss Audrey Moreau. Navan has never thought truly to love…
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The Upcoming Release of “Lyon’s Obsession” from Dragonblade Publishing and How the 1797 Restriction Act Plays into the Plot
Lyon’s Obsession will release on 17 September 2025. It is the second of a five-books romantic suspense/mystery series that I am writing for Dragonblade Publishing. Books 2 and 3 are connected because the hero of book 2 is the brother of the heroine of book 3 is his sister. I have set the series between…
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To Epilogue Or Not to Epilogue
As you know, I am preparing my latest work, An Interrupted Proposal, for publishing. It is currently with the editor, but I have also received feedback from readers. One of the requests I received was for an epilogue and it got me thinking. For years, I heard that writers should not write epilogues, but readers…
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Thaddeus Ever Valiant
There’s always the hope that there might remain a brilliant female writer from the 1700s or early 1800s who has been lost to obscurity. That’s why, over the years, I go back once in a while to read someone new to me. One of these is Jane Porter, who along with her sister Maria became…
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A Resurgence of “St. Jane,” the Never-Ending Reverence to All Things Austen
Literary lovers across the world are celebrating 250 years since the birth of one of England’s most beloved authors. I am doing my part with a June Regency tea at my local library and another program on Austen scheduled closer to her actual birthday in December. When I first started writing Austen variations in 2006,…
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What Might We Learn of Jane Austen’s Life and Writing from the Fabrications in the Film “Becoming Jane”?
Before I begin my analysis of this film, I hold fond memories of it. I was still teaching (had only begun to play with the idea of retirement, which was still was some three years away). On August 7, 2007, I took my Advanced Placement Language class out to celebrate their scores. Yes, I was…
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Preview of “Four Misses Bennet Come to Brighton”
I am working on a new Austen tale to be published later this year. That is to say, I am working on a new Austen tale AND book 4 of a series of Regency romantic suspense/mystery books for Dragonblade Publishers AND a novella for a summer Regency anthology from Dreamstone Publishing. [This discounts all the…
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Gothic Hilarity: Comparing Northanger Abbey to The Reluctant Widow
In my ongoing series comparing Jane Austen novels to those of Georgette Heyer with similar elements, I’m up to Northanger Abbey. I admit this wasn’t one of my favorite reads until I saw the movie with Felicity Jones and JJ Field. Mr. Tilney wasn’t that appealing to me until I saw him, and ever since,…