Research by Wendy May Andrews – Guest Blog and Giveaway

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Wendy will be awarding $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Research
I’m really lucky in that I actually love doing the research for my books. I write historicals so research is always necessary for setting, facts about the timing, costumes, descriptions, etc. So far, all of my published books have been set in Regency era England. There are millions of references online for this time period, which is fantastic. The MET in New York City had a visiting exhibit about women’s clothing that was really great. We have also travelled to England a few times so that I could get a feel for my locations. Last summer we went specifically for research. It was wonderful!! We toured Wilton House and Blenheim Palace, visited Bath and Brighton, wandered around London, and even went to a research centre set up by two counties to consolidate their records. That was amazing! They had handwritten receipts for rent paid three hundred years ago! And they let me touch it! That was the amazing part. They had so much stuff that they weren’t even particular about most of it. I could have spent days there. My husband and I both love to travel so when I can combine both my interests, it is particularly rewarding.

One thing that I can never keep straight in my mind and have to research for every book is the proper use of titles and how to address the aristocracy. So I have a good reference book that explains it all and I look it up whenever I’m introducing a new character. For example, an earl’s daughter might be Lady Jane. But depending on who she marries, she will remain Lady Jane or become Lady Husband’s Last Name. Then there are the heirs who get courtesy titles until they inherit… Yeesh… That is the hardest part about writing Regencies for me. Other than that I love it  And I hope you’ll love reading my newest one. 🙂

The Duke of Wychwood seeks retribution from the Earl of Pickering. When he finds out the earl has a beautiful young niece, the duke thinks to involve her in his feud, but is shocked to discover he is attracted to her.

The orphaned niece of the earl, Lady Victoria, serves as governess to four of his children and is made to feel like an interloper in her own home. A chance encounter with the duke affords her the opportunity to enter Society, but to take it means risking what little security she has.

Revenge and love don’t sit well together, to have a future can they learn to give up the past?

Enjoy an Excerpt
from chapter 3 – first time heroine sees hero

All she could do was try to cuddle the small child until he began to calm. She hugged him to her and spoke soft, comforting words into his ear. As his wails began to slowly subside, she again glanced up to the bank of the river. She almost dropped Daniel in surprise, as on the bank staring down at her were three handsome men.

A fierce blush stole over her entire body, which served to momentarily warm her against the chill of the water swirling around her. One of the men was particularly striking, and, despite herself, Victoria had trouble tearing her eyes away from his. The man did not seem to care how rude he was being in staring at her, and seemed mesmerized by her nonsensical mutterings to her young charge. Finally, he caught himself from his reverie and sprang into action.

Stripping his perfectly tailored coat from his shoulders was a momentary effort. Disregarding the hard work of his tailor and valet, the duke shrugged out of it and tossed it to his brother as he called over his shoulder to Fred. “Bring our horses closer. If I cannot leverage her up the bank on my own, they can be of assistance.”

Keeping his voice as low and calm as possible, Bryghton reached down towards the frightened child. “Hand him over to me. We shall get him on shore first, and then we can more easily pull you up.”

Despite having calmed down, at these words Daniel tightened his grip on his only means of survival and let out another frightened wail.

“Daniel, my darling, it is going to be all right. This kind man is going to pull you up and give you to Pansy. Pansy will have a lovely warm blanket to wrap you in and I am quite sure she still has a couple of those delicious cookies you loved so much. If you are very brave and let go of me, I promise you can have the biggest piece of dessert that Cook has prepared for us tonight.”

About the Author:

Best-selling author, Wendy May Andrews, has been in love with the written word since she learned to read at the age of five. She has been writing for almost as long but it took her some time before she was willing to share her stories with anyone other than her mother.

Wendy can be found with her nose in a book in a cozy corner of downtown Toronto. She is happily married to her own real-life hero, who is also her best friend and favourite travel companion. Being a firm believer that every life experience contributes to the writing process, Wendy is off planning her next trip.

She loves to hear from her readers.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
 

Buy the book at Amazon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comments

  1. James Robert says

    Congrats on the tour and thank you for the excerpt and giveaway.

  2. Thank you for hosting today.

  3. Nikolina Vukelic says

    I was really enjoying following this tour, thank you for all the great blog posts and excerpts!

  4. Congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win 🙂

  5. Thanks for having me for a visit 🙂

  6. SOunds like a good read.

  7. The book sounds great.

  8. beautiful cover, love the excerpt! fun learning about the research.

  9. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed following the tour for The Reluctant Debutante and I’m looking forward to reading it. Thanks for sharing all of the great posts along the way 🙂

  10. Wow, I had no idea that titles were so complicated in the Regency era. I think it’s great that you work so hard to make your books historically accurate in this regard.

  11. bernie wallace says

    Who is your favorite literary character of all time. Thanks for the giveaway. I hope that I win.

  12. Congrats on the new book and good luck on the book tour!

  13. Gwendolyn Jordan says

    Congrats

  14. Thank you for the giveaway!

  15. bernie wallace says

    What is the best book that you have read recently? Thanks for the giveaway. I hope that I win.

Leave a Reply to denise Cancel reply

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.