Review: Virginia Henley’s THE DRAGON AND THE JEWEL: Enthralling 13th Century True Love Story, on of my Favorites

In the words of the author, “The story of Simon and Eleanor is one of the great love stories of the thirteenth century,”—a story which Henley masterfully brings to historical romance, a tale of two passionate people and the historical events that swirled around them.

Many women never find one true love; Eleanor Plantagenet was blessed with two, though one, William Marshall, was much older and perhaps more a father figure. The book is divided into those two love stories and each is well told and very precious. Much of this is actual history, but Henley weaves fictional romance in so wonderfully, you’d never know it wasn’t fact.

This is the second in Henley's Plantagenet trilogy (The Falcon and the Flower, The Dragon and the Jewel and The Marriage Prize). When King John died, his oldest son, though still young, became King Henry III. Henry had a brother, Richard of Cornwall, and a sister, Eleanor. This is the story of the three siblings, and particularly Princess Eleanor and her second husband, Simon de Montfort, the Earl of Leicester.

When she is nine, Eleanor is wed to William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (the son of the great William Marshal and equally as honorable). Eleanor has loved and admired William her whole life. The fact he's 30 years her senior is not a negative for her. William does not take her as a wife in truth until she is 16, wanting to allow her innocence as long as proper. Meanwhile, King Henry takes as his queen an impoverished and ambitious French Provençal, also named Eleanor, who is jealous of the king's sister and thinks to diminish her. Others are plotting the demise of William Marshall for his influence with the king.

Original cover and Virginia's favorite

On the night William would finally claim his bride, he suffers an attack and suddenly dies. Poison is suspected. Eleanor is devastated at his death, and in front of the clergy takes a vow of chastity and perpetual widowhood. A year later, the great War Lord, Simon de Montfort, enters her life. Once he sees her, he decides Eleanor is the woman he must have.

There is no question Henley knows how to write historical romance. (She is one my mentors!) Her story reflects the weak king that was Henry III and the constant fights he had with his nobles who were concerned he was allowing England to be run by foreigners and unworthy men. Henley’s attention to detail in dress, food and the environment is meticulous. She is so good I simply devoured this novel. Like her others, this is a complex, well-written, lusty tale with splendid characters, a strong feisty heroine, a drool-worthy hero (two of them!) and an interesting plot. You won't be disappointed, I promise.

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The Definitive Interview with NY Times Bestselling Author Paula Quinn!

My guest today is New York Times bestselling author Paula Quinn. Paula claims to be “a sappy romantic moved by music, beautiful words, and the sight of a really nice pen.” She lives in New York with her three beautiful children, six over-protective Chihuahuas, and three adorable parrots. She loves to read romance and science fiction and has been writing since she was eleven. She's a faithful believer in God and thanks Him daily for all the blessings in her life. She loves all things medieval, but it is her love for Scotland that pulls at her heartstrings.

Paula has graciously agreed to answer all my questions, so here goes!

 

1.     Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind?

Music is my muse. I can’t write without it. I’ve met some of my characters while listening to a song. It can be any kind of music, Celtic, classic, rock, anything as long as it moves me.  I think I listened to “Come What May” from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack at least three hundred times while writing Laird of the Mist.
 

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    2. Which of your characters would you most/least invite to dinner, and why?

      I would love to invite Callum MacGregor, and not because he’s big, brooding, and gorgeous (at least, that’s what I tell myself) but because I would want to hear more about the history of the MacGregor proscription. I did so much research, but I’d still love to hear about it from the perspective of someone who actually lived it. Least would be Connor Grant because I’d end up being rude and staring at him all night. I might possibly take a bite out of him at some point, too.

     3.  Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Yes, I read them. We all want to know how our “children” are being perceived. Bad reviews don’t bother me. I don’t pay attention to the overly critical reviews. You can’t please everyone and I realize that. I do try to learn from constructive criticism though. If some of my faithful readers aren’t happy with something, I try to fix it in future books.

4.     What color would you make the sky if it weren’t going to be blue anymore, and why?

Wow! What a great question! I’d like the sky to be crimson or dark pink. I think it’s so soothing. Just think how good we’d all look in such warm tones. Besides, pink is my favorite color!

 5.     What will always make you smile, even on a bad day?

Praising God always takes away my worry and makes me happy. Also, I find great joy in my dogs. Their love is all consuming and unconditional.

6.     What was the first story you remember writing?

Embarrassing, but okay. My mom had gotten me an ADAM (that’s right, not Apple) computer with a dot matrix printer. Oh, how I loved it. I had a little desk in my bedroom and a corkboard nailed to the wall with pictures of Jack Scalia pinned to it for character inspiration. I sat down and wrote Eternally Yours, a book you will never read about a demon named Jerry who falls in love with a woman who has already been claimed by God. It was so bad, but I was so proud of myself. I printed it up and still have it. I’d written some short fantasies before that. All bad but I knew that I wanted to be a writer. Numerous jobs, a marriage and three kids later, I returned to a newer model computer and was back at it again. The rest, as they say, is history.

7.     What sound or noise do you love?

Birds chirping. Oh, I love it. I try to make a point of going to the park everyday to feed the sparrows. I love how busy they are and always wonder what they’re saying to each other. J I also love the sound of the chipmunks voice from Alvin and the Chipmunks LOL.

    8.     What drew you to write the genre(s) you write?

I grew up reading sci-fi/fantasy, which was a very small genre way back then. No paranormals back then. Not one. I loved everything from David Eddings and Raymond E. Feist, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and my all time favorite, Guy Gavriel Kay. I was a romantic kid and as much as I loved these authors (and still do), I yearned for some romance. I switched over to authors like Rosemary Rogers (Sweet Savage Love, baby!) and Johanna Lindsey. My first published books were medieval romances set in the time of William the Conqueror. I’d toyed with the idea of writing Scottish romance, but my affinity for Scotland scared me. I didn’t think my emotions would hold up. Seriously, bagpipes make me cry. Research on the MacGregors made me a weepy mess, but their story needed to be told and I got through it and finally wrote Laird of the Mist. And yes, I cried through most of it. [Regan's note: You and I, Paula, have the same affinity for Scotland!]

After eleven Scottish romances and two novellas, I decided it might be time to go back to my first love, fantasy, which I write under as my alter ego, Genevra Thorne.

9.     What is your favorite book of your various series?

Ah, I love them all. If I had to choose one from my Scottish series, Laird of the Mist takes the lead by a slight margin. [Regan’s note: Laird of the Mist is my favorite by Paula.] From my fantasy series, A Faerie Tale, I probably favor The Beloved a little more because of the meaning of the book. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

     10. In what time period do you most like to set a story?

Anywhere from the eleventh to the seventeenth century. I love history!

11.  What’s coming next?

   I’m working on Book 6 of my Highland Heirs series and also something new in paranormal will be coming soon! Can’t say just yet, but it will be good!

Paula's question to the readers: 

What is the most important element in a book you want to read (wounded hero, reformed rake, danger, sex, etc.)? 







GIVEAWAY!
One commenter will win a signed print copy of Paula’s latest release, A Highlander's Christmas Kiss and a digital copy of either The Enchanted or The Beloved (your choice).

Order A Highlander's Christmas Kiss and The Beloved on Amazon. And keep up with  Paula on her Website, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads

Interview with Favorite Author Karen Robards

Today my guest is Karen Robards, author of more than a dozen historical romances and a a New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author whose fiftieth novel, the romantic thriller Darkness, was just published. The winner of six Silver Pen awards for favorite romance novelist, as well as numerous other awards, she lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband, Doug, and their sons Peter, Christopher, and Jack. She says, "I read, I write, and I chase children. That's my life."


Karen is giving away to one lucky winner the ebook of Dark of the Moon (reviewed below this post), so be sure and comment!

Here’s a list of Karen's Historical Romances:

Pirates: Island Flame and the sequel, Sea Fire
Forbidden Love
Amanda Rose
Dark Torment
Loving Julia
Dark of the Moon
Desire in the Sun
Tiger's Eye
Morning Song
Green Eyes
This Side of Heaven
Nobody's Angel
Banning Sisters: Scandalous, Irresistible and Shameless

The Interview:

When and why did you start writing historical romance?

I was in my first year of law school when I decided to take a nighttime graduate level course in creative writing. The assignment for the class was to write fifty pages of something publishable. I thought, okay, what's publishable, exactly? I didn't know, so after class I went to my local bookstore to check out what was currently being published. What I saw were racks and racks of historical romances. I had never read a historical romance, because at the time many of them had titles like Evangeline's Ecstasy with lots of heaving bosoms on the covers and there was no way I was going to be seen in public carrying around something like that. But I bought some and read them, and was absolutely blown away by how good they were, covers notwithstanding. 

Then I thought, I can do this. So I tried. Over the course of that fall semester I wrote fifty pages of a historical romance I called The Pirate's Woman. I wanted a good grade in the course, so I crammed those fifty pages full of everything that, in my opinion, had made the historical romances I had read so entertaining: there was action, adventure, and sex. Actually, lots of sex. (Hey, I was twenty-one years old!) 

I finished the assignment up right after Thanksgiving, and was sitting in class feeling pretty smug when the professor said something like, "Oh, by the way, we're going to be reading these aloud in class." I nearly died! Believe me, if I'd known we'd be reading what we'd written aloud in class, I would have written something entirely different. But there was no help for it. It was too late to write anything else. As I listened to my classmates reading their magnum opuses, I realized that everyone else had been trying for the Great American Novel. They had subtext, images, meaning. 

And I -- I had Sex and the Pirate Ship. Finally it was my turn. I got up in front of the class and, with my best dramatic inflection, read my work aloud while my face turned tomato red and my eyes stayed glued to the pages. At last I was finished. I dared to look up -- and found my classmates staring at me. Google-eyed. Open-mouthed. Absolutely silent. For one wondrous moment I thought, I've wowed them. Then they started to laugh. They laughed so hard they practically fell out of their seats while I stood up there in front of them taking the color red to a whole new level. Finally my professor - oh, yes, he laughed too - stopped laughing long enough to say, 'Karen, you're a really good writer, but we're going to have to do something about your choice of reading material."

Do I have to tell you that I slunk out of that class? I did, absolutely mortified. But two years later, those fifty pages were the beginning chapters of the first book I ever had published. The Pirate's Woman became Island Flame, and was published by Leisure Books in 1981. Island Flame is still in print (and e-book) and those first fifty pages are the same ones I wrote in that never-to-be-forgotten writing class.

[Regan’s note: I loved Island Flame and Sea Fire, the sequel. Both were real sizzlers. I bet those people in the class aren't laughing now.]

Of those you have written, do you have a favorite and why?

I don't have a favorite. I love them all, for different reasons. Connor D'Arcy is such a hero in Dark of the Moon. Alec and Isabella have so much chemistry in Tiger's Eye. Preacher's daughter Susannah in Nobody's Angel is the kind of plain, no-nonsense, it-could-never-be-me heroine that a gorgeous hero and a hot romance is made for. Stuart/Clive in Morning Song as a gambler doing his best to be a bad guy who finds himself turning into a better man than he ever thought he could be because a lonely, love-starved girl hero-worships him won my heart right along with Jessie's. Then there is the Pygmalion story of Loving Julia, where cold, arrogant aristocrat Sebastian turns lovely, foul-mouthed guttersnipe Jewel Combs into Lady Julia and falls in love with her along the way. All these stories as well as the ones I didn't mention have a special place in my heart.

Some of your romances are bodice rippers, such as Forbidden Love and the duology, Island Flame and Sea Fire… all of which I loved. Did you find it easy or difficult to keep up that kind of sexual tension between a couple and still deliver the happy ending?

The sexual tension arises naturally out of the interplay of the characters, and the happy ending occurs because in the end the hero and heroine realize they are made for each other. If you start with the right characters, the kind of characters who strike sparks when they come together, keeping up the sexual tension and giving them a happy ending is easy.

How much history do you include in your historical romances? Is the research fun for you or a drudge?

I include what I think is the right amount of history to tell the story. As a writer, I never want to bog the story down with historical details that are irrelevant but I do want to put the characters, the social mores under which they lived, and the setting in context. And I love doing research!

You have wonderful characters in your novels. Is there a secret to how you develop them?

There's no secret. I make them people. I don't do any kind of charts or background sheets. I just sit down and write the story, and as I do the characters come alive in my mind.

When you read, do you read romance? If so, what genre? Can you give us a list of your favorite historical romances?

I read everything, including just about every genre of romance. I love Regencies. I love historicals. I love contemporaries, with and without suspense. Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Gone With the Wind, Mary Stewart, and everything Georgette Heyer wrote are among my favorites.

What is your favorite location and era for setting an historical romance? If you could time travel, would you want to go there?

I like just about every era and setting. For me, the characters are what make a story work. And if I could time travel, I'd like to go everywhere. (Just as long as I could get safely back.)

When you are not writing, what do you do for fun? Relaxation?

I read. I paint. I hang with my children. I walk the dogs and dangle feathery toys for the cats.

Karen wants to know what is your favorite historical setting for a novel? Be sure and leave your contact info as you might win her book!

Keep up with Karen on her Website and on Amazon.

Interview with Favorite Author Amanda Hughes

There is one name you will see frequently on my best lists and her heroines are on my Favorite Heroes & Heroines list... Amanda Hughes, author of historical romance with a different approach. 

I invited Amanda to be on my blog today to talk about her different style for her stories set in America's past. She tells me that all her life, she has been a "Walter Mitty", spending more time in heroic daydreams than the real world. As a child, she would light tapers, decorate the basement with her mother's pewter and act out elaborate adventures with imaginary playmates. To this day, the characters in her novels are shadows whispering their stories to her. As an adult, she found an outlet writing adventures about audacious women in the 18th and 19th century, and much of her writing today is a grown-up documentation of her childhood fantasies.

The Interview:

Thank you, Regan for having me on your blog today. It is a wonderful resource for historical romance junkies everywhere! I have been following your writing career as well. Congratulations on your success and all of the awards.

What kind of books do you write, Amanda?

I write novels about gutsy, risk-taking women called, “The Bold Women Series.” They crossover between historical romance and historical fiction. I think you called me an “outlier” once, Regan, and that’s true. For a long time I could not decide which genre was the most appropriate fit for my books since they do not fit the standard format of either genre. I have since given up. 

What is it about your content that make your novels crossover books?

I try to balance history equally with the romance. My books always describe historical settings in detail; the clothing, the food, the furnishings, the landscape and the times. The character, background and upbringing of my “bold women” is always established in the first half of the book and not until the second half of the book do I introduce the love story. My novels are an adventure about the main character’s life. Love is just one component.

Why did you choose to write this way?

It was never a conscious choice. I never studied a genre and wrote to fit within those boundaries. The books were inside me and I wrote them. I have always felt my stories are accurate reflections of life. We all have many experiences in this world and love is just one of them.

So your content is different. Are your characters unusual as well?

Yes, they are quite different from mainstream historical romance novels. My characters are always involved in some way with the gritty and sometimes seamy side of life. I always portray people that live on the fringes of society. Many authors write historical romances that are a form of escapism heavily laden with beauty and charm, and many readers prefer this style. But I think they are missing so many opportunities to meet varied and edgy characters. After all, these are the people really that shaped our history, particularly in this country. Again this reflects my outlier attitude!

In what time and place are you books set?

                            

All of my books are set in America in the 18^th or 19^th century. Although several start out in another country, frequently Ireland, my main characters always end up here in America.

Why do you choose America’s past for settings?

Without question I choose America because of our rich and varied heritage. Nowhere on earth is there a culture as diverse as ours. This melting pot in which we live provides a writer with endless opportunities to tell stories, from the Salem witch trials to the Oklahoma land rush, to riding the rails during the Great Depression. The subjects are endless and I wish I had time to write about it all of them.

What do your readers tell you they like best about your books?

The one comment I receive time and again is that my books are page-turners. Some of my readers blame me for not getting their errands or housework done. I’m happy to oblige.

What are you working on now?

My sixth historical romance is about a bold woman in 19^th Century San Francisco. To support her young siblings, this Chinese American woman runs an opium den catering to the very rich in Chinatown. Amid the squalor and danger of a city bursting at the seams, she partners with a man who has many secrets and who may endanger her life.  

Thanks, Amanda, for helping the readers understand the difference between your wonderful stories and others. For my followers, Amanda has a question to ask you:

Since this is Favorite Heroes and Heroines Month, I would like to know if readers prefer seeing a heroine saved by the hero, or if they prefer the heroine saving herself.

One lucky commenter will win my latest ebook set in the time of
America's Civil War, Vagabond Wind. 

Keep up with Amanda:

Website, Facebook, Amazon.