I'm being interviewed at the Romance Bandits - Scroll down for 5 on Friday - Set 101

Please join me for a rollicking good time over at the Romance Bandits, where I'm being interviewed by Anna Campbell, regency noir romance author extraordinaire.









Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

For my first set of the new year, I'd like to dedicate these tunes to my kick-ass main character, Tanwen, the Dark Ages Welsh chieftain's daughter who not only discovers her betrothed perished on the battlefield, but that her father expects her to marry another.

Let's just say Tanwen isn't the kind of daughter to take this news well...

1 - These Boots Are Made For Walkin' - Nancy Sinatra



2 - One Way or Another - Blondie



3 - Weapons - Carole Pope and Rough Trade



4 - Supervixen - Garbage



5 - God is a DJ - Pink



You can read about Tanwen in my debut novel, SAINT SANGUINUS.

Thursday Thirteen - 166 - 13 Blogger Spotlights

A few Thursday Thirteen's ago, my fellow Weekend Writer's Retreat blogger Alice Audrey (who writes the serialized story Suzie's House) showcased thirteen bloggers she likes to visit - which I thought was a marvey idea.

So I'm stealing - er, running with that bit of inspiration - and here are thirteen bloggers from my blogroll.

These are all bloggers which draw me back again and again. Some of them I've been blogging with for years. Some are brand new to me. All are delightful.





1 - Apprentice Writer

Maya Missani is a budding comedy writer marking milestones on the road to dropping the 'apprentice' portion of her name. Posting from the Toronto area, she writes book reviews which include comments on the cover art, posts in-depth author interviews and shares hilarious visual humor in the name of mental health.








2 - Around the Island

Robin blogs from just outside Tel Aviv in Israel, the originator of the Sunday photography meme, Summer Stock Sunday. She sells her fine art photography on Etsy, and shares incredible glimpses of life in a country that shimmers with the energies of today and its ancient yesterdays.





3 - Art Predator

Gwendolyn Alley is a published poet from California and an exhibiting artist. She's a returning participant of the Burning Man festival, and is an environmental and social activist.





4 - Elephant Small

Stan Ski has a poetry blog, which I found through Poetry Train Monday. He posted new work without fail for the month of April (National Poetry Writing Month challenge.) He began life in England but now has a family in Thailand, and shares some of his everyday moments along with his highly-accomplished poetry.





5 - Everything and Nothing

Akelamalu blogs from Lancashire, England, where depending on her mood, she may tell us everything, or she may tell us nothing. She travels widely and always takes us along, and is an expert at crafting short, twisty tales.










6 - In The Midst of This Season

Toni is a homeschooling mom of four who blogs from Indiana. Her liquids-spurting-through-nose-inducing humour portrays the anything-but-ordinary lives of herself and her family. She remains ever watchful for those daily blessings that help her to view her cup as half full.







7 - Ire...

Nikita Banerjee blogs from Mumbai in India, posting photography, short fiction and lately the path leading to her upcoming wedding. Keep in mind - Nocturnal Mire. You Mess With Her. You Perish In Her Ire.




8 - Janet's Journal

Janet Corcoran is a new addition to my writer's group here in Nova Scotia. A Real Life friend as well as a Blog Buddy! She posts serialized humorous romantic suspense for the Weekend Writer's Retreat, shares the highs and lows of the writing life and calls us People of Blogland.








9 - Ma Vie Folle

Sheila's Crazy Life chronicles family shenanigans with a wry sense of that’s okay because that’s what life is all about…and if you can’t laugh at yourself then you’re in trouble!






10 - Romance Bandits

The Romance Bandits are a collection of 20 romance writers who turn every blog post into a party once it hits the comments section.





11 - Sans Pantaloons

Andy blogs from Aulde Scotia where he works on new sources of income and hopes someday to grow up and become a useful adult. A self-described curmudgeon, his irreverent humour appears as remarkable photoshopped jokes. I've followed his development as a graphic artist with admiration, especially his obsession with the rose imagery of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.









12 - The Gathering Nest

Debby blogs from Ontario, where she creates incredible collage art, both 3-D and digital versions. She posts photos of all the vintage material she gathers to make her creations, as well as the pieces she swaps with other art bloggers.






13 - Trav's Thoughts

So here's the thing, Travis' blog header says. I have thoughts and I'm sharing them. Travis' previous header reminded everyone that Diversity need not be divisive. The originator of the 5 on Friday music meme, he also writes passionately from the Pacific Northwest about dance shows, shares outstanding poetry, composes moving tributes to those who pass to the Other Side, and fills us in on military history with a sense of immediacy and always with humanity.

Colleen says I'll be sure to check out a few. Thanks!

Kim Richardson says Thanks for sharing these, Julia! They sound really interesting!

Jehara says I can see why you read all these blogs regularly. They all sound lovely. I am off to check them out now.

Thursday Thirteen - 145 - 13 Reasons to Read Captive of Sin by Anna Campbell

I met Anna Campbell online through Christine Wells, when Christine used to be a co-contributor to my group blog, Popculturedivas.

Anna and Christine contribute to their group blog, Romance Bandits.

I quickly noticed that whenever Anna posted, the comments section immediately turned into a party and the comment numbers shot up into the 100-200 mark. No exaggeration.

This didn't happen only at the Romance Bandits - no. Whenever Anna posted at her other group blogs or did a guest post, the comment numbers shot up there, too. It's not like I was stalking her or anything. But I did follow her around slavishly to all her blog posts in the hopes of winning a copy of Captive of Sin - which I finally did! Woo hoo! Yeah, baby.

Check out a few of her bloggy gems:

The Sex is Never Just About the Sex guesting @ Vauxhall Vixens
Dust Never Sleeps @ the Romance Bandits
Christmas Reading Bonanza @ Tote Bags 'n' Blogs

1 - Captive of Sin is an Avon Historical Romance imprint from HarperCollins. It released last November in North America and more recently in Australia, Anna's home and native land.

2 - Captive of Sin is Anna's fourth book. She has also published:

Claiming the Courtesan
Untouched
Tempt the Devil

Upcoming in June:

My Reckless Surrender

3 - Anna takes us into the world of Regency Noir. A phrase coined by Stephanie Laurens in a quote for Claiming the Courtesan, Regency Noir has since become a subgenre that gives the normally light Regency period a Gothic undertone, for those of us who love our heroes to be tortured.

Literally.

4 - We meet Lady Charis Weston, who gives a false name to the man who discovers her cowering in the inn stables after she escapes a brutal beating at the hands of her fortune-hunting step-brothers. Being a wealthy heiress has its advantages. But Charis has yet to experience any of them, and now doubts she will live the few weeks till she reaches her majority, when her funds will finally be at her disposal.

5 - Sir Gideon Trevithick returns from India a national hero, having survived capture as a spy and imprisonment under intolerable conditions. Named 'the bravest fellow in the empire' by Wellington and knighted by the king, all Gideon wants to do is return to his family's seat in Cornwall - and forget.

But the battered young woman he coaxes from her hiding place in the stables brings his own torment rushing to the surface.

6 - Those who know me, know I love a tortured hero. It has been ever so. As a child I was wildly attracted to the animated sight of Sleeping Beauty's Prince Philip chained up by Maleficent.



He doesn't flinch from fighting off the dragon version of the evil fairy, even when her enormous size and strength dwarfs him as he takes refuge under his shield. But Prince Philip never loses his grip on his courage or his sword, and I know he's the archetype of all of my favorite romance heroes.

Including Gideon, who was awarded the 2009 KISS Award (Knight in Shining Silver) from Romantic Times

7 - Publisher's Weekly named Captive of Sin one of their top 100 books of 2009: "Gideon tries to fight their growing attraction, believing the beautiful and warm Charis deserves better than a man so damaged by trauma and survivor's guilt, but Charis's clever plan to heal his wounded soul reveals delightful insight and leads to luscious love scenes."

8 - Remember the noir in Regency Noir. I like my characters to truly suffer on their way to a happy ending. I love to feel my heart crush in my chest in sympathy with the hero and heroine. I love brushing tears away when my heart springs back to life, just when I thought there was no possible way it could ever work out for them.

As I read about Anna's book, and as I pursued my copy with the hope-hope-hope that it would come to me, I felt the wild dream burn in my heart that a truly gutsy story with the perfect hero was waiting for me between those pages.

Once I got to the reveal about Gideon's past, I was truly impressed by the nightmare of his imprisonment. Many stories promise tortured heroes, but few actually deliver. For a woman like me who can't resist Joe Harmon from A Town Like Alice, Edmond Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo or Anton Gorodetsky from Night Watch and Day Watch, Gideon lives up to every expectation and then takes me even deeper into Noirsville.

9 - Something that really shines about this book is the youth of the heroine. In fact, I'm certain this love story is only possible because the heroine is young enough to truly believe in the healing power of her love for Gideon. A more seasoned woman would be put off by the warnings of Gideon's post traumatic stress disorder. Despite that youth, Charis, having been put through the mill herself by her own relations, has that essential common ground to answer Gideon's litany of reasons as to why she should forget him.

10 - Anna really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

"Wheels clattered on cobblestones. A moving carriage forced people out of the way.

'Come on. Run. And keep your head down.'

She scuttled at his side, floundering to keep up with a man who made no allowance for her shorter legs or her injuries.

Akash flung open the carriage door and tossed her inside. She landed against the seat with a jolt that sent pain slicing through her. Ignoring her discomfort, she slid across the seat to press her face to the carriage window.

Through the joyful hordes, Akash pushed his way toward his friend. Gideon retained that frozen, remote expression, but he didn't break away from his devotees.

She couldn't hear what Akash said to Gideon over the hubbub. She saw Gideon turn and head with jerkily precise movements toward the carriage. With visible reluctance, the crowd parted before him. Voracious hands stretched out to pluck at his clothing, delay his departure, compel his attention. Doggedly he continued his automaton-like progress.

He climbed in and sat opposite. He didn't speak. He didn't look at her. He didn't appear to know she was there at all.

Akash slammed the door on them. There was a burst of patriotic cheering outside. Someone started to sing God Save the King.

The celebrity straightened and shot Akash an angry glare. 'For Christ's sake, let us go.'

'God keep you, my friend. I'll see you soon.' He stepped back and sent Charis an elegant bow. 'Miss Watson. Your servant.'

Before Charis could respond, Tulliver whipped the horses to a pace dangerous in town streets. She clutched at the strap and stared bewildered at her companion.

He looked ill. As though he suffered intolerable pain. With a shock, she realized the set expression was endurance, not distain.

Automatically, she stretched out to take his gloved hand. 'Sir Gideon...'

'Curse you, don't touch me!'

He wrenched out of reach. But not before she felt his desperate, uncontrollable shaking."

11 - The interwoven elements of impending doom turn the stakes up as high as they can go. Charis is pursued by her dangerous step-brothers as she fights to free Gideon from his personal demons. The genteel distresses of Regency stories turning on misheard phrases or undeserved reputations, and whether or not the heroine will be invited to the soiree, are laid aside in favor of cruel gender politics, psychological character study and personal redemption.

12 - Yet Gideon, for all of his haunted agony, is not called the Hero of Rangapindhi for nothing. His compassion for Charis and his assured offer of sanctuary when they come under physical attack sets Gideon squarely in the pantheon of great romantic heroes. Gideon has made many readers' Top Hero lists, and easily makes a place for himself on mine - right next to Jo Beverley's Rothgar.

13 - I leave you with an excerpt. Enjoy!

"Half an hour ago she'd left him in the parlor. He'd been drinking brandy, and the bleakness in his eyes had made her want to weep. The desolation had always been there, but now she knew his past, it cut her to the bone.

She looked up from her troubled thoughts to see Gideon standing in the doorway. She hadn't heard him arrive. He always moved like a cat, so that was hardly surprising. His hair was ruffled, and one gloved hand negligently encircled a glass. He'd removed his neckcloth, and his shirt was open, giving her shadowy glimpses of his hard chest.

He didn't advance into the room.

She licked lips dry with nerves. His gaze fastened feverishly on the movement. His gloved hand tautened on his brandy. The warm air swirled with sudden sensual turbulence.

He cleared his throat and shifted his gaze above her head. 'I'm sleeping in the parlor. I think...I think it's best.'

With unsteady hands, she grabbed a shawl and slid out of bed. Ignoring the resistance in his face, she stepped close enough to read ravaging torment in his dark eyes. 'Don't be ridiculous, Gideon. It's cold and uncomfortable.'

He looked at her. 'After Rangapindhi, it's the height of luxury.'

'Oh, my dear, Rangapindhi is over,' she said in a low voice. It seemed a sign of progress that he mentioned his captivity without prompting. She extended one hand toward him, then let it drop to her side. 'You're free.'

His smile held no amusement. 'I'll never be free.'

This acceptance of his fate angered her. 'If you don't fight, you won't.'

His tall, lean body vibrating resentment, he stalked across to the fireplace. He tossed back his brandy and set the glass down sharply on the mantel. He focused a furious glare on her. 'Don't talk about what you don't understand.'

Her mind filled with a sudden memory of the stark desire in his face as he'd looked at her last night. Had she nerve to use that weapon to break him?

'I understand you've decided to wallow in self-pity for the remainder of your days,' she said, knowing she wasn't fair. But this wasn't about fairness.

'You have no right to say that.' A muscle jerked erratically in his cheek. He was close to losing patience. He turned away and closed his eyes as if he couldn't bear to look at her. 'I won't forgive you if you make this more a nightmare than it already is.' He flung his head up and glared at her like he hated her. His furious black eyes threatened to incinerate her where she stood. 'Damn it, Charis, I hurt you.'

'It doesn't have to be like that,' she said in a ghost of her usual voice.

'For us, it does.' He sounded heartbreakingly sure.

'I'm not giving up, Gideon.'

His mouth thinned with anger, but when he spoke, his voice was frigid. 'You will. This is a war you can't win.'

She spread her hands in helpless bewilderment. He had so much strength. Why didn't he enlist it in his own cause? 'Don't you want a real life?'

His short laugh was so harsh, it flayed like flying shards of glass. 'Of course I do.'

She fought the impulse to retreat. She'd known when she chose this path that her greatest enemy would be Gideon himself. 'Your memories aren't always in control,' she said hoarsely. 'I saw you in Portsmouth. You knocked down any man within reach. You weren't afraid to touch people then.'

'Yes, I find relief in violence.' His voice roughened into sarcasm. 'Are you suggesting I beat you?' "

- Anna Campbell, 2009

Hootin' Anni says Those photos on your sidebar of all the great lovers of our times is a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day fast approaching!!!

Travis says This is not my genre, but I'll check with my Lady and see if she might be interested. Thanks for the tip!