Review of Christmas at Rakehell Manor

Christmas at Rakehell Manor has been reviewed by Angela, a guest reviewer over at The Armitage Authors Network.

You can check out the review (and the rest of the AA network blog) by clicking on the book cover link below :)

Christmas at Rakehell Manor giveaway

To celebrate the release of Christmas at Rakehell Manor, I'm running a giveaway until the end of August.  Just click on the Rafflecopter Giveaway to get started :)

*Update*  Thanks to everyone who entered - winners have now been randomly selected and are displayed below.  I'll be running more giveaways soon so keep checking back!  :)



   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas in July

Here in merry old England, it's July, it's the height of summer and, unusually, we're melting in 30 degrees of heat - so of course that means it's time to talk about Christmas! :D   (Well, I like to be different *g*)

Actually this blog post isn't to tell you that there are only 149 days, 4 hours, 2 minutes and 41 seconds left until Christmas ;0) but that my latest release Christmas at Rakehell Manor is now available.

If you've visited here before, you might have read about my writing process on Christmas at Rakehell Manor.  Rakehell - its working title - started out as a novella but very soon developed into a novel.  It turned out that hero Hugo and heroine Prue demanded a much more detailed story than I'd planned :D  I hope readers will enjoy their romance as much as I enjoyed writing it.

It seemed crazy to wait until nearer to Christmas to share Hugo and Prue with you all so if you're sunbathing on a beach or by a pool, why not enjoy some very early Christmas cheer with Christmas at Rakehell Manor?

I don't want to venture into spoiler territory so I'll say no more except to reveal the beautiful cover (designed by Sheyna Watkins)....*drum roll*  Ta Dah!!...

...and the blurb...



A house of sin...shrouded in mystery and steeped in ever more scandalous gossip, where debauchery and wild parties are rumoured to take place.

A notorious rake...whose wicked reputation sends neighbours swooning over their tea cups. Can he really be as bad as he seems?

A lonely paid companion...whose prim and practical exterior hides a lush sensuality waiting to be awakened.


Prudence Eylesbarrow is resigned to dreary spinsterhood and to never finding love. All she wants is one Christmas where she’s not at someone’s beck and call. 

But when Prue finds herself snow-bound at the infamous Rakehell Manor, her curiosity with Hugo, Marquess of Warwick – mysterious, handsome, world-weary, cynical – tempts her to reveal passions she never knew she possessed. Even so Prue is under no illusions. It was fool’s game to think a penniless nobody could tame the master of Rakehell, for that way lay heartache and social ruin.

Or has the time come for the power of passion, the promise of love and the magic of Christmas to unite two people from very different worlds? 

... and the buy links ...

Amazon.com    Amazon UK  



Check back here or my website and/or sign up to receive my newsletter, visit my Facebook author page or follow me on Twitter (@liz_hanbury) and look out for the chance to win a cute little prize inspired by Regency fashion:)

Oh and the paperback edition of Christmas at Rakehell Manor will be coming soon :) 

The first ever concert

Some weeks ago, I did a blog post as part of the My Writing Process blog tour and listed some of the sound track I'd been listening to while writing Christmas at Rakehell Manor.

As you can see it's an eclectic mix :D   Many writers need silence to work and I do too, sometimes, but I find music a good way of getting my creative muse going.

These days we're fortunate enough to have music of every sort available at the push of a button, the click of a mouse or better still, live at a concert or gig.  Public concerts have been around for a while of course but it might surprise you to know that the first ever  public concert took place in 1672.  I'd love to know if there was dancing in the aisles!

John Banister * see below for image credit

It happened one late December evening at a house in Whitefriars, London.  For the first time in London, and it is believed in the world, a public concert was given at which people paid at the door.  The Restoration of Charles II to the throne had seen a rise in enthusiasm for opera and a composer and violinist John Banister, a
protege of the King, began a series of organised concerts.

Banister charged the princely sum of one shilling for entry to a large room where the audience sat at tables, arranged as they would have been in an alehouse.   The musicians on the small stage, led by Banister, accepted requests for particular music and 'very good musick' was said to have been played during the next few years.  Public concerts and recitals rapidly gained further popularity with the opening of the new pleasure gardens in London.

When the pioneering Banister died in 1679, an unlikely figure emerged to carry on his work.  Thomas Britton
was a coalman in Clerkenwell - by day he walked the streets selling coal, by night he indulged his passion for music over a rented stable off St. John's Square.  For the next 36 years the concerts he staged there every Thursday night had a great influence on the spread of popular music.

Thomas Britton (Wikimedia Commons)

Britton was self taught and also built most of the musical instruments he and his fellow musicians used.  Initially he didn't charge for his concerts, asking only one penny for a cup of coffee.  Later he asked for a subscription of just ten shillings a year and by then some of London most famous musicians, including Handel, were climbing the stairs to perform at Britton's loft.






And, since I couldn't possibly end this blog post without some music *g*, here's my latest listen, a fabulous ear worm that makes me smile from the new album 'Man on the Rocks' by Mike Oldfield.  This track is called 'Sailing' and features great vocals by Luke Spiller from The Struts :)






* Image of John Banister copyright National Portrait Gallery, used under Creative Commons Licence.

My Writing Process

Today's post is part of a blog tour where writers answer four questions about their writing process. My fellow Regency author Beth Elliot posted her entry last week and sent me an invite (thank you Beth!).   So now it's my turn...



1)     What am I working on?

I'm currently finishing off a story called Christmas at Rakehell Manor. 

'Rakehell' started out as a novella but on the way it turned into a short novel so now I'm not sure what to label it!   I was hoping to publish before Christmas (that would make sense, right?!) but 2013 has been a difficult and stressful year and I haven't been able to write often.  Consequently, I'm waaaaay behind.  I'm keeping everything crossed for better times in 2014. 

The good news for those interested is that you won't have to wait until next Christmas to read Rakehell;  I'm sending it out into the world early next year.  I think the hero, Hugo, is worth waiting for and I’ve had heaps of fun throwing together this oh-so-masculine but conflicted man with my practical heroine, who disrupts his carefully planned Christmas  ;0)

The idea for Rakehell was sparked when a dear friend sent me details of a real house called Rake Manor which is tucked away in the English countryside. 

We laughed about it at the time and said it needed a story so it's going to get one.  Gilly, Christmas at Rakehell Manor is for you :)

2)     How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I try to write stories that are captivating, passionate, have a dash of humour and are worth re-reading.   I liken it to baking a cake - strive for an ideal blend of ingredients, cook carefully with attention to detail until romance peaks and a memorable result is achieved :D

When they buy a book, readers are investing not only their money but their precious time so I want them to feel satisfied, to experience that warm, fuzzy, emotional, happy-ever-after glow. The quality of what I produce matters a lot to me.

It's also important to get historical details right, as far as possible.  As a British author I'm writing about my history and heritage.  I feel obliged do it justice.  Of course the language and some other aspects need to be accessible to modern readers - they want romance not a dry history lesson - and all historical writing is interpretation anyway, but deviate too far and it turns into a contemporary romance with fancy dress.  And glaring anachronisms pull readers out of historical romance faster than you can say Jack Robinson ;0) *

(* According to Grose's Dictionary, published in 1785, Jack Robinson was an individual whose social visits were so short that he would be departing almost before his arrival was announced! )



 3)     Why do I write what I do? 

I write for people like me, who just need a little escape from the stresses of daily life.  

I'm a romantic at heart and love the magic of romance novels.  Historical romance, particularly that set in Georgian and Regency periods, is the genre I've always enjoyed most. It seems natural to write what I like reading. 

  
4)     How does your writing process work?

Ideas are never a problem - the difficult decision is usually which ones to develop further! I do a rough plan and character outlines before starting a new project.  I might research some details if I know they are going to be needed, but otherwise I look things up as I go along.  Over time I've built up a collection of reference material and background knowledge.  I find it impossible to plot a novel in fine detail before starting to write.  I need to jump into the room where the action is rather than standing outside and pressing my nose against the window pane.

Writing has to fit around everything else but that usually works out OK because I write best in late afternoon and evenings.  If I get chance to sit at my PC before then, I'll avoid the creative stuff and answer emails, update my blog and web site or waste time on Facebook instead ;0)

Then I read through what I have written previously and resist the urge to edit too much.  This is tough because I prefer to edit and add detail as I go, but it's not the best way of getting a book written.  When I start writing I hope to make it to the end of a scene or a suitable break point before finishing. I can touch-type so it's quicker for me to type than write longhand. I've learned not to beat myself up if I don't achieve my daily word count, given everything that's happened this year. 

Sometimes I listen to music while I'm writing.  Here's the very varied playlist for Rakehell in no particular order.  Some of these have a connection to the plot and characters but some were simply right for the mood I was in, or trying to convey in a particular scene  :)

Truly, Madly, Deeply - Savage Garden
Fields of Gold - Sting
How Long Will I Love You - Ellie Goulding
Back In the Night - Dr. Feelgood
Bad Case of Loving You - Robert Palmer 
Sentinel - Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells II
You're Right, I'm Left, She's Gone - Tom Jones and James Dean Bradfield
Breathless - Camel
Fluff - Black Sabbath
Better Days - Bruce Springsteen
Concerto Grosso in G minor Christmas Concerto Pastorale by Corelli

In Dulcio Jubilo - Mike Oldfield
Gaudete - Steeleye Span
Somewhere Only We Know - Keane, cover version by Lily Allen for John Lewis Christmas Advert 2013
Holding Out for Hero - Bonnie Tyler (watch from around 2 mins 40 secs  ;0) )


Thanks for stopping by and reading, and please feel free to comment!


Next week (on 23rd December) it's the turn of Georgia Hill 

Georgia writes contemporary rom-coms for Harper Impulse. She loves dogs, Belgian chocolate and Strictly Come Dancing. She lives in rural Herefordshire, in the UK, with her beloved spaniels and  husband (also beloved).