So I was researching garters today (for my heroine Olivia, in Secrets of an Accidental Duchess), and I came upon this, from a book written in 1813. I didn’t know the garter custom was this old; and I really didn’t know it got this…um…wild!

GARTERS at WEDDINGS

There was

I love Christmas and I love romance, so I consider myself so lucky to be able to write about both of them. When my editor asked me to have my characters offer seduction tips to readers, though, I was lost… Seduction tips? I’ve known my husband since I was sixteen! … read more ↦

I’m researching the winter holidays in England today. Don’t ask me how this came up when I did a search for winter holidays, but it did. Quotes like this are so grouch-inducing for me!

-From the London Magazine, Vol VII, 1827

Yellow?!?!?! Really?! I mean, I know old, ugly woman … read more ↦

Gentlemen’s fashions are a touch more difficult for me than the ladies’ fashions. It’s a real challenge to find pictures and corresponding descriptions. Even more important, I want my heroes wearing…well, for lack of a better word, manly clothes. Look at these descriptions of some of the men’s fashions of … read more ↦

I’m always on the search for examples of fashions during the time in which I write. Women’s fashions are easy enough to find, though they can be challenging to decipher. (For me, anyway…even today’s fashions befuddle me, so going back two hundred years definitely makes my brain spin!) Read this … read more ↦

So I’m researching what kind of eggs my hero and heroine would eat for breakfast, and I came upon this:

He goes on to recommend not eating fruit at breakfast (you might feel “heavyish” all day!) and eggs–yuck! He doesn’t want to have pullet-sperm in his stomach all day!

But … read more ↦

Well, I’m drowning in this deadline, but I have a fun contest going on over at the Dawn Halliday site! Go check it out at www.dawnhalliday.com. You could win an advance copy of A HIGHLANDER CHRISTMAS, an anthology containing one of Dawn’s stories that will be released in … read more ↦

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. … read more ↦

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, … read more ↦

I’m researching scandalous marriages today and came across a lecture entitled “On Woman” delivered by Colonel Willyams at the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Society in 1819.

The good colonel spends some time extolling the virtues of women, but then turns to their more despicable qualities. Then he says he’s set … read more ↦