Hi everyone! I’m over at Romantic Crush Book Junkies today! I’m talking about A Hint of Wicked and its sequels, where I get ideas for my books, and lots more! I’m also giving away a copy of A Hint of Wicked to one responder. Please come stop by and say hi!

https://romanticcrushjunkies.blogspot.com/

Today’s winner, selected by random.org:

First Name: Pam

Last Name: P.

Email: pambook@o…

Congratulations, Pam! Please go to my contest page and select the two books you’d like. Then email me with your books and your snail mail address.

Thanks to everyone who entered! The answer to the question “Who is Jennifer’s alter-ego and what is her current release?” is “Dawn Halliday and Highland Obsession.” Just about everyone got it right!

This week’s question is:
Which character in A HINT OF WICKED dreamed about visiting Egypt when he was younger?
(Hint: read the excerpt of A HINT OF WICKED)

So head on over to my contest page and enter! Have fun!

I’m blogging over at Grand Central Cafe about the end of summer today! What’s going to be most memorable to you about this summer?

Please come on over and say hi. 🙂
https://grandcentralcafe.blogspot.com/

Today’s winner, selected by random.org:

First Name: Brenda

Last Name: R.

Email: dancealert@a…

Congratulations, Brenda! Please go to my contest page and select the two books you’d like. Then email me with your books and your snail mail address.

Thanks to EVERYONE who entered! Of course, the two most common answers to the question “A TOUCH OF SCANDAL features one of the heroes from A HINT OF WICKED as its hero. What is his name?” were “Tristan” and “Garrett.” I’m not going to tell you which one is right! 😉

This week’s question is:
What is the name of Jennifer’s alter-ego, and what is the title of her current release?
(Hint: check the blog archives, the answer is found in August 14th’s post…)

So head on over to my contest page and enter! Have fun!

I’m researching the eating habits of the 1820’s. It’s easy to find massive amounts of information on breakfasts and social dinners, but lunch seems to be the ignored meal, and I think I’m figuring out why. It’s because lunch is for ladies! Its purpose is to provide a light meal. Heh…here’s a description of this “light” meal:

London persons breakfast at nine, ten, eleven, and even twelve o’clock and dine at eight or nine. Between these meals comes the luncheon composed generally of cold meats such as pates, fowls, pheasants, partridges, ham, beef, veal, brawn, and generally whatever is left fit to be introduced, part of which is to be placed on a side table. On the table is to be served a little hashed fowl and some mutton cutlets broiled plainly with mashed potatoes. The repast itself is insignificant…

Insignificant? LOL! I love it…

But, you see, real men don’t eat lunch! The true purpose of lunch is to give the ladies something to eat so that they’re not so hungry at dinner they make piggies of themselves:

[Luncheon] is only taken by certain young ladies who wish to preserve the elegance of their figures, the beauty of their complexions, and above all the becoming manners of good society which interdict as vulgar eating at table like gluttons. For unless frequent meals are taken too much must be eaten at once.

So there you go. Lunch was invented so ladies could pretend to eat like birds and hence carry forth the image of being elegant and beautiful (basically, so that nobody would see them truly eat with a healthy appetite…).

Sigh.

FROM: THE FRENCH COOK, A SYSTEM OF FASHIONABLE AND ECONOMICAL COOKERY ADAPTED TO THE USE OF ENGLISH FAMILIES By Louis Eustache Ude, 1829

In honor of my husband’s birthday today, the winner of this week’s Fun Friday contest was entry #28!

First Name: Gail

Last Name: H.

Email: ghurt110@b….

Congrats! Gail, please go to my contest page and select the two books you’d like. Then email me with your books and your snail mail address.

Thanks to EVERYONE who entered! And…everyone had the right answer! LOL! Here is the question for week #3:

Book #2, A TOUCH OF SCANDAL, features one of the heroes from A HINT OF WICKED as its hero. What is his name?
(If you haven’t read A HINT OF WICKED, you can guess! I won’t penalize you if you get the wrong answer, as long as it’s a good guess! :))

So head on over to my contest page and enter! Have fun!

As my hero prepares to undress my heroine in my current book (A SEASON OF SEDUCTION starring Lady Rebecca from A HINT OF WICKED!), I am researching stays (corsets) and how they were worn in the 1820’s, and I came upon a story of a mother who has three children, like I do.

Matilda is a fine woman of good breeding, great sense, and much religion. She has three daughters that are educated by herself. She will not trust them with any one else.

Gee, so far Matilda sounds like the kind of mom I am. 🙂 So I read on:

Matilda never was meanly dressed in her life; and nothing pleases her in dress but that which is very rich and beautiful to the eye.

Okay, I’ll admit to being attracted to nice clothes. In fact, just today I bought my daughter a very cute outfit at Gap Kids…

I continue reading on:

She stints them in their meals and is very scrupulous of what they eat and drink and tells them how many fine shapes she has seen spoiled in her time for want of such care. If a pimple rises in their faces she is in a great fright and they themselves are as afraid to see her with it as if they had committed some great sin.

Oh dear! My kids aren’t at pimple age yet, but I sure hope if they ever get pimples, I’ll not blame *them* for it! Now I’m beginning to worry about this Matilda…

It goes on to say that if the girls begin to look flushed, she calls in a doctor to keep their complexion from becoming too “coarse and ruddy.”

Uh. Okay.

By this means they are poor, pale, sickly, infirm creatures vapoured through want of spirits, crying at the smallest accidents, swooning away at anything that frights them, and hardly able to bear the weight of their best clothes.

This is seriously beginning to depress me. And then I read this:

The eldest daughter lived as long as she could under this discipline and died in the twentieth year of her age. When her body was opened it appeared that her ribs had grown into her liver and that her other entrails were much hurt by being crushed together with her stays which her mother had ordered to be twitched so strait that it often brought tears into her eyes whilst the maid was dressing her.

Wow. Just wow. 🙁

From A serious call to a devout and holy life: adapted to the state and condition
by William Law – Religion – 1821 – 346 pages

At least, they don’t mix for me. I mean, I don’t have time to be a gourmet cook! I hardly have time to go to the grocery store. It takes me a full day to plan and execute a “good” meal. I’m so super jealous of all those writers who can just “whip something up.” If I only had that talent!

Anyway, I’m blogging over at Pens Fatales, where I’m talking about my hopelessness when it comes to food and begging for some easy (and hopefully kid-friendly!) recipes. Please come say hi!

Blogging At Pens Fatales: https://pensfatales.com/2009/08/not-quite-foodie.html

Hi Everyone! The answer to the question: “What is Jennifer’s next book?” is “A TOUCH OF SCANDAL,” which will release in late March, 2010. I used random.org to help me pick the winning entrant.

The winner is:
Simone S.
simone2045@h…

Yay! Simone, please go to my contact page and send me your two book choices and your snail mail address.

Thanks so much to all who entered. I still have tons of books, and I’ll be doing this until there are none left, so please go to my contest page and enter this week’s contest. The question for this week is, “Who are the three main characters in A HINT OF WICKED.” Easy, right? 🙂

Congrats, Simone!

I just added a new contest over in my Bonus Features section. It’s an ongoing contest, and I’ll be giving away two historical romances (winner’s choice) every week. Most of them are signed! I’m totally giddy about this contest–these are great books, and I just love giving cool things away !

Here are the books I’ll be giving away:

Pretty cool, huh? So head on over to my contest page & enter!

Stay tuned–I’ll post the first winner right here on Friday, August 21!