Tricky Titles

Historical romances, especially Regency-set, abound with titled lords and ladies. There’s nothing quite like a handsome, fabulously wealthy, but misunderstood English duke who doesn’t yet know that he’s waiting for the perfect woman to capture his well-guarded heart. Such a man can make even the most pragmatic of heroines swoon with a breathy, “Oh, my lord, you make my heart flutter…”

…wait. That’s not right. Or is it? Not the heart fluttering part -- yeah, pretty weak dialogue, I admit it -- but should she call him ‘my lord’? Not in the higher-power sense, but as a form of address.

The answer is no. An English duke is referred to as ‘your grace’ or ‘his grace’. They’re dukes – much too grand for a mere ‘my lord’. All the other titles are ‘my lord’. No, wait, not all of them. Baronets are referred to as ‘sir’. Mustn’t forget them. But their wives do get to be ‘my lady’.

Now if the hero in question is an heir the dukedom, then matters get a bit more complex. The heroine can still swoon “Oh, my lord…” if he is the heir apparent and eldest son of the current duke. In that case, the fellow would be granted the use of his father’s 2nd most lofty title to use as a courtesy title until he inherits the fabulous dukedom. If his father is the Duke of Fabulous, the Marquess of Awesome, then the eldest son gets to use the Marquess of Awesome title. He’d be Lord Awesome and would be the heroine’s ‘my lord’. But if he’s a mere younger son, then he’s simply Lord John Smith (first name, surname), and she’d swoon “Oh, Lord John…”. But not Lord Smith. Never that.

Confused yet? I hope not. But English titles can be tricky beasts. Get them wrong, and an author can ruffled a reader’s feathers. But it’s not too difficult to get them right, as long as an author has a good reference book or site at her fingertips.

My absolute favorite, go-to reference site is this one -
Correct Forms of Address
I thank Laura for creating all those wonderful, neat and tidy tables every time I click on the link. Most anything an author would need on the subject of English forms of address is right there, in those lovely tables.

Jo Beverly also has a wonderful article on English Titles –
English Titles in the 18th and 19th Centuries

So that’s all for me today on the subject of tricky titles and how to make them not so tricky. And if you have a great resource for English titles, I'd love to hear about.

Thanks!!
Evangeline
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Evangeline Collins
www.evangelinecollins.com
HER LADYSHIP’S COMPANION – Berkley Sensation
Lush. Elegant. Sensual Historical Romance

Ava March
www.avamarch.com
CONVINCING ARTHUR – Loose Id/July 2009
OBJECT OF HIS DESIRE – Samhain Publishing
Gay Erotic Romance…in the Regency era

Gratuitous Pimping Post

Today is May 5th 2009. When I picked a day for a monthly post on the Seduced by History blog, I specifically choose the 5th of every month…because of today. The very first book I contracted releases today. If you hear a faint squee in the distance, it is likely me.

Yes, I am quite pleased it is 5/5/09. The last year passed quickly, yet also very slowly. The print publishing world moves at a different pace than the two e-publishers I also write for. But today did finally arrive, and I shall be one happy chick for the next week or so. I plan to make several visits to local bookstores, just so I can gawk at my own book on the shelf. And point at it, and smile at it, and pick it up and pet it, …oh, and take pictures. And I will likely buy a copy at every bookstore I visit. Yes, I get author copies from Berkley, but like I’m going to walk out of a bookstore and not buy my own book??? Yeah, don’t think that will happen. I have author friends with books releasing in May as well, so I foresee myself parting with a nice chunk of change on those visits to bookstores.

In case you haven’t guessed yet, I tend to get rather ridiculously excited about release days. This is actually my fourth book release (I’ve had three Ava March books release since Sept’08, and yes I got all giddy over each of those), but as Her Ladyship’s Companion was my first sale to any publisher, this book holds a special place in my heart.

To celebrate that today is finally 5/5/09, I’m giving away a copy of Her Ladyship’s Companion to a commenter. So leave a comment and on Wednesday, 5/6, at 7pm EST I’ll pick a winner at random and post the name on this blog. The winner can then e-mail me with their name and address, and I’ll have the book winging on its way to the winner.

I should probably tell you a bit about the book, since the object of this post is to pimp the book. Her Ladyship’s Companion is a Regency-set historical romance. It’s a sensual romance, with sex and angst (two things I love in a romance). At its core it’s a love story between a lonely young woman and an equally lonely man, who just happens to be a male prostitute. Two individuals very deserving of love, but who have yet to find it, for various reasons. In Gideon’s case, self-imposed reasons…but as he spends time with Bella, she manages to slip past his defenses until she’s stolen his well-guarded heart. But Bella’s a married lady, and while Gideon plays the part of a gentleman, he's definitely not one by birth. So there’s no hope for them. Or is there? Love can conquer all, can’t it? Of course it can – we’re in Romanceland. :D

And now for the official blurb -

Her Ladyship’s Companion
Available from Berkley Sensation in Trade format

His job was to please her. Not to steal her heart.

In the Scottish countryside of Selkirk, Isabella, Lady Stirling resides at Bowhill Park, serving penance for a sin that nearly ruined her family. For five years she has been condemned to a loveless marriage and confined to the estate where she does little more than tend her rose garden. With her husband absent for months at a time and few visitors, Bella lives a lonely existence, denying the passions that burn within her very soul.

Then her cousin comes for a visit and makes an outrageous suggestion: what Bella needs is a lover. A hired lover. Despite her need, Bella says no. But soon Mr. Gideon Rosedale arrives – and he is at her service for two weeks. Indulging in what she intends to be a harmless flirtation, Bella is overcome by Gideon’s intoxicating presence. And when she at last permits him to satisfy her desires, she discovers she’s done the unthinkable – she’s fallen in love.

Interested in an excerpt? I hope so, because here it is - excerpt.

To my great delight, the book’s also received some nice reviews. To check them out, go on over to my website - reviews. If you go to the ‘About’ page and scroll through the FAQ, you can also find out about my next work in progress for Berkley, currently titled Seven Nights to Forever.

That’s all for me today. Don’t forget, if you want to win a copy, leave a comment and I’ll pick a winner on Wednesday.

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****UPDATE*****

AND THE WINNER IS....

I took all the names of everyone who commented and used the list randomizer on random.org. And the name that came out on top is...

ALLISON'S READS

Congrats!!! :) Send me an e-mail at Evangeline @ EvangelineCollins.com with your name and snail-mail address, and I'll have a copy of HER LADYSHIP'S COMPANION winging on its way to you.

Thanks bunches to everyone who commented!!!! :)

Evangeline
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Evangeline Collins
http://www.evangelinecollins.com/
HER LADYSHIP’S COMPANION – Berkley Sensation
Lush. Elegant. Sensual Historical Romance

Ava March
http://www.avamarch.com/
BOUND TO HIM – Loose Id
OBJECT OF HIS DESIRE – Samhain Publishing
Gay Erotic Romance…in the Regency era

Historical Romance - How Much Heat is Too Much?

...or perhaps there isn’t a ‘too much’? :) As this is my very first blog post – ever – it took me a while to decide on a topic. So after much debate, I decided to post about something I know well. Heat. In historical romance books, at least.

Historical romances range the full spectrum, from mild to blazing hot erotic romances. While the bulk of the market falls somewhere along the middle, there seems to be a trend of late – the spicier the better. Just open up a Romantic Times Book Reviews magazine and the majority of the historical books reviewed are tagged ‘Hot’, where the bedroom door is thrown wide open. The sex is explicit, even graphic at times, yet the books are not erotic romances. Yes, there is a difference between a spicy/sexy historical and an erotic one. Sylvia Day, co-founder of the Passionate Ink RWA chapter, offers these definitions:

Sexy Romance: stories written about the development of a romantic relationship that just happen to have more explicit sex. The sex is not an inherent part of the story, character growth, or relationship development, and it could easily be removed or “toned down” without damaging the storyline. Happily Ever After is a REQUIREMENT as this is basically a standard romance with hotter sex.

Erotic Romance: stories written about the development of a romantic relationship through sexual interaction. The sex is an inherent part of the story, character growth, and relationship development, and couldn’t be removed without damaging the storyline. Happily Ever After is a REQUIREMENT to be an erotic romance.

So, there you have it. Explicit sex doesn’t equal an erotic romance. Still, the sex content in mass market historical romances tends to be increasing, to the point where it’s common place to have detailed sex scenes in a historical romance book. Even the erotic historical romances are getting spicier. Kink and ménages have been standard fare for small presses and e-publishers for years, and now even the traditional NY erotic romance print publishers are dipping their toes into the kinky waters and putting out books which feature not only m/f/m romances (where the heroes are heterosexual) but m/m/f romances (where the heroes are bisexual). Running Press is launching a new line of mass market m/m historical romances this month, and the books are not labeled erotic romances. I would wager that most traditional romance readers would label a m/m as kinky, but if the sex isn’t an inherent part of the story, then it’s not an erotic romance. It’s simply a love story between two men.

All of this makes me wonder if readers have become well, not immune to sex, but if their tolerance has increased. What was once scorching hot is now perhaps considered standard fare. Personally, I see the line blurring between spicy historicals and m/f erotic romances. My May release from Berkley, Her Ladyship's Companion, straddles the fence. The hero in the book is a male prostitute, so of course sex is a part of the plot and conflict. The sex scenes can’t be removed or toned down without damaging the character arcs. Yes, the sex is explicit and graphic, yet it’s vanilla (i.e. no kink, no outrageous positions, no use of fun toys) and every chapter isn’t littered with sex scenes. Some may consider it an erotic romance, but I certainly don’t. I write erotic romance under the pen name Ava March – explicit, graphic m/m historical erotic romance (and yes, with kink and sometimes even fun toys) – so Her Ladyship's Companion is quite tame in comparison. Perhaps I am simply an example of someone who has become desensitized to m/f vanilla sex – I simply don’t consider it erotic. Hot, but not erotic. It makes me wonder if readers who are looking for heat in their books are now going a step further and branching out into non-traditional pairings to amp up the heat level.

Or perhaps the trends in romance indicate that readers are simply broadening their horizons, expanding their own internal definition of a romance book beyond a m/f pairing. After all, love is love, regardless of gender or the number of partners invovled.

Do you think your craving for heat in romances has increased? And how much heat is too much? Where do you draw the line? Do you think that line has changed over the past couple years? And what do you think about m/f/m, m/m/f, and m/m in historical romance novels (erotic or not)?

And to celebrate losing my blog-posting virginity, I'm giving away a copy of one of my books to a commenter. Monday, April 6th, at 7pm I'll pick someone at random at post the name of the winner, and I'll leave the choice up to the lucky winner - either an ARC of Her Ladyship's Companion by Evangeline Collins, or an e-book copy of Object of His Desire or Bound by Deception by Ava March. All right...one e-book novella versus an ARC...if you're interested in the Ava books I'll send you both. ;)

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UPDATE -

And the winner is ....HELEN SCOTT TAYLOR!

Helen, send me an e-mail at Evangeline@EvangelineCollins.com and let me know if you'd prefer an an ARC of Her Ladyship's Companion, or e-book copies of Object of His Desire and Bound by Deception.

Thanks!!!
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Evangeline Collins
http://www.evangelinecollins.com/
Her Ladyship's Companion – Berkley Sensation/May 2009
Lush. Elegant. Sensual Historical Romance

Ava March
http://www.avamarch.com/
Object of His Desire – Samhain Publishing

Bound by Deception - Loose Id
Bound to Him – Loose Id/April 28, 2009
Historical Erotic Romance