I Love History
A Guest Post by Author Jane Goodger
One of my favorite parts of writing historical romances is the history part of it. Yes, I ignore the inconveniences my heroine has to live with and focus instead on the glamour—the clothes (yes, they were torture devices, but so beautiful!), the mansions, the servants at your beck and call, the always handsome heroes. Living in a modern world, it does take quite a bit of imagination to wonder what it would be like without phones, toilets, electric lights, computers…air conditioning.
Once in a while, our family likes to rent a house on Martha’s Vineyard in the cozy little town of Oak Bluffs. Martha’s Vineyard can be expensive, but you can get bargains if you’re willing to sacrifice on luxuries like, say, air conditioning. I’d like to refresh everyone’s memory about the SCORCHING summer we had in the northeast. We’re babies here. We don’t like the heat and can’t imagine living in a place where you need A.C. all year long. When I booked the house in the cold days of February, I pictured balmy summer days and cool, breezy nights—not the stagnant oven we were forced to endure for a week.
I can honestly say, I’ve never been so hot, so sweaty, so miserable in my life. Like I said, I’m a baby. Every winter when the ice cold air makes my cheeks hurt, when I can’t smile too much because if I do, my teeth start to ache, I say I will never complain about being hot. Well, here I am, complaining.
Worst of all, we had another house all set to go, one with A.C., but one that was a tad more expensive. My DH said, “I want to stay in a gingerbread cottage, get the real flavor of Oak Bluffs.” I remember thinking he might rue the day he said such a thing, and I am not the type of person who can let things lie. Every time someone in our group wiped their shiny forehead or took their third or fourth cold shower of the day, I might have mentioned that I’d had another house ready to go, one in which we could be basking in the cold, cold air blowing on us even as others sweltered outside.
My latest historical romance, Lady Lost, is set on the moors in a ramshackle old house without central heat, which I’m sure was plenty miserable in the winter and in the summer. But, unlike me, my hero and heroine never complained. Sort of makes me wonder if I would have been hearty enough to have survived what my heroine had to!
Here’s a little peek at LADY LOST:
Seek, and love will find . . .
All Marcus Granton wants is to be left alone to lick his wounds after the humiliating scandal of his wife’s death in another man’s bed. Secluded in his moldering seaside estate on the cliffs of the North Sea, he suddenly finds himself host to Lady Lilian Martin, one small child, and an annoying cache of servants all bent on ruining his solitude. Seems the lady got herself into a bit of a pickle and is accused of murder, of all things. Now she must rely on him for protection—and to keep his thoughts and hands away from her delectable body.
Lilian has no intention of spending any more time with the insufferable Lord Marcus Granton than she has to. But at every turn, circumstances force her into his company, and by the time she’s ready to make her escape, it’s far too late for her . . . and her heart.
Buy Links:
Kensington Books
About the Author:
Jane Goodger lives in Rhode Island with her husband and three children. Jane, a former journalist, has written seven historical romances. When she isn’t writing, she’s reading, walking, playing with her kids, or anything else completely unrelated to cleaning a house.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaneGoodger
Website: http://www.janegoodger.com/
