Love Inspired Historicals discussion

Can it be August already?? I guess it must be, because the August LIH authors are waiting in the wings for next week's Q&A. Not only to we have returning reader-favorites Lacy Williams, Regina Scott, Lily George and Lyn Cote, but July LIH debut author Laura Abbot will also join us for a chock full week of booky goodness starting on Monday, August 5th!!

As I told the authors, I hope I can keep Lacy, Lily, Laura and Lyn all straight. :) Lyn told me I call her Cote!

See you Monday!

Sounds like a great group, Deb!

Sounds like fun!

Sounds like fun! Looking forward to the August Q&A!

looking forward to it also

Good morning, everyone! I think we're in for a great week, with FIVE authors dropping by to chat.

Our first author up for this week is Lacy Williams! Lacy is celebrating the second anniversary of her LIH debut with Marrying Miss Marshal in August of 2011. She's been busy and productive since them, publishing three more novels and a novella, with more on the way!

Her August novel Roping the Wrangler, is about a couple who got off on the wrong foot years ago. Schoolmarm Sarah Hansen and horse-trainer Oscar White do NOT have pleasant memories of one another from their teenage years. What they do have in common is their concern for three motherless pupils of Sarah's. Will that be enough to help them overcome negative impressions from the past and see each other in a new light?

Lacy also has a digital novella released in July, Courted by a Cowboy about a cowboy-turned-banker who must make a difficult choice between obligations and following his heart.

Lacy, you've been one busy lady! Congratulations on the back-to-back releases! I understand that Roping the Wrangler is related to The Homesteader's Sweetheart. Also, Courted by a Cowboy is part of a series called "Wyoming Legacy." Since I know many readers love connected books, can you tell us a little about the connections of your current stories with your past and future ones?

Welcome Lacy so good to see another book. Can you tell us any fun tibits you learnt in your research?

I have been super busy but I am so glad that things have slowed down so I can enjoy this week!

I am looking forward to hearing about all these great books. Roping the Wrangler sounds really good Lacy. How are the books in your series connected? Is everyone part of the same town or does it feature siblings?

Hi, everyone! I'm excited to be here and I'll be checking in as I can around the kiddos. We now have three--almost four year old girl, 2 year old boy and a 5 month old girl. Yes, we are busy around here!! But it's fun.

So new releases. Readers seemed to love The Homesteader's Sweetheart and I *loved* writing about Jonas (and Penny too, but Jonas stole my heart). When I was considering where to go next, my editor suggested writing the stories of the adopted kids from Homesteader's Sweetheart and that's how the Wyoming Legacy series was born.

Courted by a Cowboy is Sam Castlerock's story. He was in Homesteader's Sweetheart (he's Penny's brother), and when we wanted to do a promotional ebook (it was free during July) for this series, I thought it would be fun to write his story. Plus he was so ornery in the Homesteader's Sweetheart that I wanted to redeem him, LOL. He is good friends with the brothers and shows up in other books in this series, so it was neat to be able to write his story.

Then Roping the Wrangler features Oscar White, the oldest son. He is a horseman (think Clancy from the movie "Man from Snowy River"), a horse trainer and also rides in cowboy exhibitions all over the west (rodeos). He re-meets someone he knew and didn't like very much from his school days--Sarah Hansen. She is looking for someone to marry, but wants someone responsible. Not a reckless cowboy. Until things happen that bring them together and she starts to see the real Oscar. It's a fun story.

Then in December, I have Return of the Cowboy Doctor. This is Maxwell's story. He's back from medical school but didn't have the funds to finish his education. He starts helping the local doctor in his clinic and that's where he meets and falls in love with Hattie, the doctor's daughter. Only she wants to be a doctor herself (almost unheard of for a woman in that day!) and is afraid falling in love will get in the way of her life's dream. But Maxwell is very charming in a beta hero kind of way (he reminds me a lot of Jonas) and manages to change her mind.

Then next year I've been contracted for four more stories in this series, so I'll be starting with Edgar and going from there. That's what I'm working on now.

Hi, Jenny and Laura!

Jenny, I've had a lot of fun researching this series (you already know I'm a research junkie!). Some of the things that were most interesting was how the medical field has changed since the Wild West days. I learned a lot researching Maxwell's book and it would've been kind of scary back then. People didn't practice proper sanitation back then and some of their medical work was just guesswork... and some of their cures were crazy! One thing I read said for a snakebite they would recommend putting cow manure on it (that was a hometown cure, not from a doctor, but STILL!).

Laura, the stories are connected by the family and so far they take place in Wyoming in two small towns. I could see maybe going to a bigger city (Cheyenne, Wyoming?) for some of the future books but we'll see where the writing takes me.

Working with the different brothers and discovering their different personalities has been fun. I'd love to know who some of your favorite alpha and beta heroes are. Any books or movies that stick out in your mind?

And what makes a hero that really sticks with you? Damaged? Dark past? A good guy in general?

Some that really stick out for me are Kim Vogel Sawyer's beta heros in some of her Mennonite books and also Linda Goodnight's heroes from her LI books.

Missing my fun on goodreads, vacation time in Ky and will be home tomorrow so will ck out these authors...looks like a great line-up, glad I wont miss all the comments..

Lacy, you are a wonder! Writing with little ones under foot. Your stories sound lovely and intriguing.

Lacy, I'm actually reading this book right now so good timing! I read your novella first and had to remember Sam since it was awhile ago. Now I am enjoying Oscar and Sarah's story. Just started reading it last night but read the first 5 chapters. It's very good and can't wait to get deeper into it! I'm loving the little motherless girls. Tugs at your heartstrings!

Hi, Lyn! It can be hard to find writing time, but I think of it like a part-time, work from home job. I want my kids to see that it's important to chase their dreams, and what better way to show that than to lead by example???

Valri--thanks for reading. I had a lot of fun writing Oscar and Sarah. I actually didn't know she was afraid of horses until I started writing the book. And that developed into a whole fun sub-plot.

Also... ::spoiler alert!::











Sarah issues a marriage proposal to Oscar. Had a *lot* of fun writing that scene and imagining how she would say it.

Hi Lacy,
I did download Courted by a Cowboy back when it released for free on Kindle. Should I plan to read others before it in order for it to make sense or is it stand alone in that respect? I love series!

Hi Brittany! They all stand alone, but Sam's story is technically first in chronological order. :)

Lacy, you're doing an incredible job writing with those three precious little ones! Your life is certainly full, but treasure every moment because the time passes so quickly. My daughter got married five years ago and has been serving as a missionary in Germany ever since. Let's just say that I'm very thankful for Skype!

I just saw that I already have "The Homesteader's Sweetheart" and "Courted by a Cowboy" on my Kindle, so having you here makes me want to move them to the top of my reading list. I love when characters overlap and this looks like a fun series. Thanks for taking the time to be with us today.

Good morning, everyone and a big thanks to Lacy for making time to be with us yesterday! Today's guest author is Regina Scott, who brought us the wonderful Everard Legacy series. With her August book, The Courting Campaign, Regina begins a brand new series - The Master Matchmakers!

I love, Love, LOVE the cover of The Courting Campaign and I'm sure the book inside is every bit as good. Sir Nicholas Rotherford is just the kind of hero I love -- a clever scientist who is working on an invention that could save many lives. Unfortunately, his emotions are not quite as well-developed as his intellect. It takes his daughter's nanny, Emma Pyrmont, to make Sir Nicholas see that he needs to balance his scientific endeavors with attention to little Alice. In turn, can he help Emma overcome a painful past and win her heart?

Regina, this sounds like a terrific story to begin a new Regency series! Can you tell us a bit about how many books we can look forward to in The Master Matchmakers series and how they will be connected?

I loved the Everard Legacy and regency is my favorite historical time period so I am really looking forward to The Master Matchmakers series! The questions I was going to ask Deborah already asked but if I come up with another one I'll post it. :)

Thanks, Deb, and waving hi to Laura. Sorry I didn't chime in sooner, but it's still 0-dark-thirty on the West Coast. :-)

The Master Matchmakers series is set in a little dale in Derbyshire with four homes of various types for the aristocracy, where the servants meet every Sunday afternoon on their time off to share stories. They have all realized that none of their beloved masters is getting any younger, and none seems willing to find a bride. What's a servant to do but play matchmaker? So in the three books planned for the series, the connection is the various servants and how they go about finding their master the perfect wife. The Wife Campaign is scheduled for a December release, followed by The Husband Campaign in April.

Sorry, Laura! ;)

Maybe I don't really need to post a question to get the discussion rolling, you ladies always jump right in with such good ones.

Regina, what a fun premise for a series!!!

Good morning from the east coast, everyone!

Regina, I finished The Courting Campaign yesterday and really enjoyed it. One of my favorite genres is the Regency period and I love it when the servants are involved. Reminds me of a series M. C. Beaton did, writing as Marion Chesney.

What got you interested in the scientific aspect of this story? Didn't I read somewhere that you used to work with scientists, or did I totally imagine that?! LOL!

Hi, Carole! Glad you enjoyed the book. You are quite right--my previous job (and one I still dabble in) involved working with scientists to help them communicate their work to non-scientific audiences. I really enjoyed learning about how the scientific process evolved in the Regency period, from more of a "hobby" for the wealthy to an actual profession. Either way, though, these men and women were dedicated! Many even injured themselves in the pursuit of knowledge.

And thanks, Lyn. I'm hoping it will be fun for readers. I'm just putting the final touches on The Husband Campaign this week, and I'm at the "why did I write this!" stage. ;-)

I'm at the "why did I write this!" stage. ;-)

I know that stage all too well, Regina. I'm sure it's much better than you think it is at the moment and readers will love it!

Thanks, Deborah! I hope so too! I know we all work hard to give readers a story they'll love.

It's okay for you to ask questions at the beginning of the intro Deborah! At times I feel like a broken record because I am always asking the same questions to each of our authors. LOL

Regina, would it give too much of the story away to tell us a bit about Sir Nicholas's invention and the background behind it?

Regina, you described your job as "helping scientists to communicate their work to non-scientific audiences." Now that's something I can really relate to because my husband is a scientist with an extremely high IQ, who works on projects like guiding missiles through the enemy's bedroom window, while I'm a church musician who loves to read fiction. I can appreciate the importance of what he does, but we don't really have a lot of conversations about his job. You might be a welcome addition at our dinner table!

I did enjoy the natural philosopher theme in your book, especially as it related to saving lives in coal mines. It took me a while to figure out that "philosopher" had a different meaning than we think of today, though.

I hope you quickly get past that "why did I write this" stage, because I'm looking forward to your next book.

Not too much of a spoiler, Deb. :-)

Nicholas is working to invent a safety lamp for coal mines. During the early Regency, coal was much in demand for new industrial processes, but the mining of it was laborious and dangerous. One of the biggest dangers was firedamp, what we call methane gas today. Miners actually worked underground using unshielded candles. Combine an open flame with methane, and you get a huge explosion. Hundreds had already died from these types of accidents.

A prominent group of coal mining owners approached several scientists and engineers to come up with some kind of lamp that could be used in the harsh conditions and not ignite the firedamp. Several versions were put forward and tested, and one finally proved the best of all.

In my story, because Sir Nicholas has a coal mine on his property and derives some of his income from it, and because he's seen first-hand the damage that can be caused when firedamp encounters a flame, he's committed to developing a solution. Sometimes, that means neglecting his daughter and his own health. That's why he needs Emma, to help him put things in perspective.

What a cool job your husband has, Carole! He sounds like my kind of guy! I lulled my second son to sleep by singing "polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons" while I edited. Good thing my husband was once an engineer and loves science, because he's definitely heard a few enthusiastic stories from me.

Oh this sounds like a cool idea. Wondering if regencies ever focus more on the servants or lower classes than just the aristocracy?

Hi, Jenny! Many of my Regencies focus on at least the middle class (natural philosophers like Nick, astronomers, architects), although I tend to include at least one aristocratic family. The heroine of The Wife Campaign, the next book in the series, is a jeweler's daughter. And I know some of the older traditional Regencies included the middle class and servants. One of Emily Hendrickson's had a hero who was building the first paved roads. One of Elizabeth Mansfield's included a hero who was a footman.

I think, though, that part of the fun of a Regency for many readers is the idea that someone like a governess or nanny could "marry up" and find a life of leisure.

Youe book sounds so interesting, Regina! I love that you take an issue, like the problem of fire with miners, and make it a part of your story. That's the kind of thing that makes us feel like we're really there when we read your books.

Thanks, Janet! I know those of us who write stories set in a historical period do so in part because we love history! There are so many fascinating aspects to explore. Twenty-five books, and I feel like I haven't even scratched the surface. I'm sure you've experienced a similar feeling with your Dry Creek books.

Yes, Regina -- I feel like I could go on and on with writing stories! The more we write, the more ideas we have, I think.

That's one thing I love about reading! There are so many "issues" that can be "tackled" within a book that makes people think. The book I'm reading right now is like that and it's great!

Is it Wednesday already? ;) Our August Q&A Week is going fast! Our guest author for today is Lily George, who is here to chat about her latest LIH book Healing the Soldier's Heart. I love that title!

This book tells the story of Ensign James Rowland who has been traumatized by his experiences during the Battle of Waterloo. But the companionship of Lucy Williams, a volunteer at the Veterans' Group in Bath turns out to be the best possible medicine for James. When their friendship begins to blossom into something deeper, Lucy and James must become allies in the battle for a future together.

Lily, I'm intrigued by the idea of a Veterans' Group! Did such organizations exist during the Regency and what can you tell us about their work?

Hi Deborah, thank you for hosting me! I am so honored to be a part of this group.

I am really not sure if veterans' groups existed in the Regency era or not--I know this was a time of great social growth and charitable societies as we know them today began to form and take shape during this era. I've read a lot about modern soldiers and PTSD and it seems that having support once they retun home is invaluable as they make the transition back to civilian life.

So...my feeling is that the soldiers of the Regency era probably dealt with PTSD as well, and I wanted to create and nuture a world where they would be supported and helped. And thus, I created the veterans' group at Bath. :)

Welcome, Lily! I haven't had the pleasure of reading one of your books yet, but hope to soon. I'm a big fan of Love Inspired Historicals.

I noticed on your profile that you listed Grace Livingston Hill and L. M. Montgomery as influences. What excellent choices, Lily! I've read a ton of their books and continue to reread them.

Carole wrote: "Welcome, Lily! I haven't had the pleasure of reading one of your books yet, but hope to soon. I'm a big fan of Love Inspired Historicals.

I noticed on your profile that you listed Grace Livingston..."

Hi Carole! Thank you for stopping by. It surprises me that so few people know or remember Grace Livingston Hill--her books were the staples of my childhood. My mother owned a Christian bookstore and I gobbled up every GLH reprint that was released. My favorite is The Enchanted Barn.

LM Montgomery does get plenty of rememberance, though. I really hope to visit Prince Edward Island someday. Wouldn't it be amazing to see the Lake of Shining Waters in person?

Hi Lily! I like the sound of your book so I will have to keep my eyes out for it. Is it part of a series?

Laura AKA Loves 2 Read Romance wrote: "Hi Lily! I like the sound of your book so I will have to keep my eyes out for it. Is it part of a series?"

Hi Laura! Yes, this is the third and final book for my first series, the Brides of Waterloo. The other two books are Captain of Her Heart and The Temporary Betrothal. Thanks for stopping by!

LM Montgomery does get plenty of rememberance, though. I really hope to visit Prince Edward Island someday. Wouldn't it be amazing to see the Lake of Shining Waters in person?

Let me know if you ever do get to come, Lily, and I can tell you about the best spots to visit and places to stay. Did you know they've recreated Avonlea in Cavendish with old buildings that might otherwise have been demolished? It's such a fun place to go and spend the whole day. There are wagon rides and concerts in the church in the evening. You can buy raspberry cordial and eat at the tea room. You enter through the railway station where Anne first meets Matthew. There are pony rides and barn kittens to pet and all through the day groups of actors portray scenes from the Anne of Green Gables. At the schoolhouse Anne breaks the slate over Gilbert's head and, etc. http://www.avonlea.ca/

And you won't want to miss Anne of Green Gables The Musical in Charlottetown. It is such a faithful adaptation of the book with a score of great songs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJvP2l...

It's always nice to meet fellow kindred spirits!

Okay, now you all are making me envious. I would SO love to visit PEI and all the Anne attractions, but I'll just have to dream and enjoy its pictures online.

Lily, I also noticed that you rated "Devil's Cub" with 5 stars. Have you read a lot of Georgette Heyer, and do you write in her style with humor, etc?

I am an avid Heyer fan. Of all that I've read so far, "These Old Shades" and its sequel, "Devil's Cub," are my favorites. "The Grand Sophy" is right up there also.

I love books where soldiers are having to overcome the stresses of returning from battle and making their way back into society. I guess it is the idea of soldiers who have given so much to protect others now having to overcome the resulting trauma and being vulnerable from that. Makes for an interesting story.

Deborah wrote: "LM Montgomery does get plenty of rememberance, though. I really hope to visit Prince Edward Island someday. Wouldn't it be amazing to see the Lake of Shining Waters in person?

Let me know if you ..."

I actually ordered the PEI travel guide! I need all the advice I can get. I want to stay there for at least a week and soak every detail up. I want to introduce my daughter to Anne, too. She's 6, so still maybe a little on the young side to understand the story.

What's the best time of year to come to PEI?

Carole wrote: "Okay, now you all are making me envious. I would SO love to visit PEI and all the Anne attractions, but I'll just have to dream and enjoy its pictures online.

Lily, I also noticed that you rated "..."

Hi Carole--Oh, I just love Georgette Heyer. The Devil's Cub is still one of my favorite books of all time. I devoured her books growing up and have as many of them as I can find. She's the grandmother of all of us Regency writers--we all owe her so much.