Bronwyn's Writing and More

On New Year's Eve, Valerian makes a fateful resolution while he waltzes with Philippa on p. 58 The tradition of making resolutions on the new year is reported to go back to Ancient Babylon in 153 BC. Later, the Romans brought the custom to England as the empire spread throughout Europe. I had some difficulty with the web address, so I didn't post a link for today's news on resolutions. But I thought it was interesting that resolutions have been around for a long time! Good luck with yours! Bronwyn

We're almost there. Since banking plays a large role in the villain's life, I thought I'd focus on the banking system today. Lucien is an investor, and he opens up the Provincial Bank of Truro as the first step in establishing his mining cartel. I had fun learning about 19th century banking in England. What I learned in a nutshell was this: Noblemen had access to very stable and established banks in London like Coutts, the Bank of London and Childs. But others who didn't have the means to travel to London to bank, relied on county or provincial banks. These banks weren't regulated and often went bankrupt. The bank managers in these cases often used the money put in the banks to back investments and if those investments didn't pay off, funds were lost and not replaced. To read more about banking options, check out this link: http://www.books.google.com/books?isbn=0521893739

It's Dec. 29, just a few days to go until The Viscount Claims His Bride hits bookshelves. To celebrate, this entry looks at St. Piran's Day. On page 166, Valerian and Philippa go down to the village to celebrate St. Piran's Day, a Cornish holiday among miners. St. Piran is believed to be the Saint of mining and miners in Cornwall. The day is filled with fair booths, games for the children, contests for the men, local folk food and dancing in the evening featuring Cornish style dances like furries and scoots. To read more about St. Piran, check out this link: http://www.an-daras.com/customs/cu._stpirans.htm Here's another neat link too: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/content/articles/2008/02/06/stpiran.shtml The image posted on the righthand side is the St. Piran's flag! see you tomorrow Bronwyn

One question I asked myself as I began plotting the book was "what happened after the Napoleonic Wars?" Sure, there was the Vienna Conferences and all that, but surely foreign policy didn't stop in the 1820s. The answer to my question was that Britain devoted to their interests on the European Continent, primarily in the eastern region because it was so unstable in the wake of Napoleon's defeat. Kingdoms were restructured, some were even eliminated, and there was a strong nationalist movement throughout the continent. The Eastern Question focused on what the west was going to do about an unstable eastern European arena plus and unstable Turkey in the face an empire minded Russia. The balance of power in Europe made this an important consideration in order to avoid another Napoleon. Also, it was important because the Eastern theatre represented a huge economic opportunity as well as the avenue for lucrative trade routes into Asia Minor and India. Britain'...

Valerian is a dab hand at languages and his two wards, Lilya and Constantine, speak a language called Koine. You can find the reference to Koine on page 215. Koine was the language of the Phanariots. Koine rose in the 4 and 5th centuries around Macedonia and became a regional 'super dialect' for business and trade. Koine also influenced 'New Greek.' I didn't post a link today because most of my information about Koine was contained within articles that dealt with other issues as well. However, for a quick review of Koine, there's a decent write up on wikipedia (which is not one of my preferred sources of info in general).

Welcome back from the holidays. Here's part II of the Phanariot bit. The Phanariots were eager to break away from Ottoman rule and in 1822 their rebellion surged in the province of Negush. The uprising found some success and spread to neighboring areas but ultimately was squashed by the Ottomans. Valerian was involved in the rebellion and several references are made to this event in the second half of the book. Apparently, not much is known about the uprising, which makes it perfect for the story. If you to read more about Negush uprising, check out this link: http://makenews.com/html/articles/stefov/stefov144.html

Merry Christmas Eve! Today's viscountdown factoid is about the Phanariots. This is part one of two items I'll mention here about the Phanariots. First, what is a 'Phanariot?' The Phanariots were a group of powerful Christians living in the Ottoman Empire. They often held government positions, controlled business and trade. Many were wealthy and involved in shipping. At one time in the early 19th century, the Phanariots were responsible for controlling 600 ships between the Black Sea and Venice. However, some Phanariots were interested in breaking away from Turkish rule and establishing their own powerful Christian State. During Valerian's time abroad, he worked with the Phanariots. At first, Britain was sympathetic to the 'idea' of the Phanariots' cause, but later as it became apparent that a strong Christian state in the east would create issues for Turkey that boded ill for British water rights and a British passage to India, Britain changed sides. The...

On p. 185 in Chapter 14, Valerian and Phillippa and her brother, Beldon, have a dinner conversation about a man named Bickford who is patenting a new kind of fuse for blasting in the mines. Valerian and Beldon decide to ride over the next day and talk with him about his invention. The Bickford fuse was a big step forward for mining safety since it took away a significant amount of risk miners faced when lighting the traditional reed fuses. Bickford did exist, he did craft this fuse and did design his own production line for mass producing that fuse in the 1830s. If you're interested in reading about this piece of Cornish mining history, try this link: http://www.cornwall-calling.co.uk/famous-cornish-people/bickford.htm

Welcome to Day 3 of the Viscountdown! Today is all about Trist House where one of the chapters is set. On p. 75 in the book, Lucien suggests that Valerian would enjoy a visit to Trist House to see the new landscaping being done. Trist House is located in Veryan, very close to Truro and it was indeed renovated at that time by Samuel Trist, who wanted to improve the lands. Many of the items mentioned in the chapter as being 'plans in progress' for the landscaping did actually come to pass. Estimates guess that 1,000 pounds were spent on the landscaping renovations. If you want to read more about Trist House, try this short but informative link http://www.trystproductions.org.uk/Mum/history2.html Have a great day and stay warm! Bronwyn

on Page 154, Valerian is re-planting a Chusan Palm he'd sent back from his travels in Italy. The story of the Chusan palm is an interesting one. It's origins actually date back to the Chusan Island in China and it grew on high mountain tops as well as thrived in warmer Meditteranean climates. If you'd like to read about the history and care of a Chusan Palm, this website is extremely informative: www.wintergardennursery.com/plants/wind-palm.php I've also included a photograph taken in Cornwall of Chusan plams. Also of interest is the history of the palm in Britain. I took a little liberty here. The Chusan Palm doesn't show up in Britain until 1849 thanks to the efforts of Robert Fortune who brings some seeds to Victoria and Albert for planting in the gardens at Kew. I decided Valerian would beat him to it, after all, the Chusan or fan palm was popular in Italian gardens and it was becoming a common practice for British citizens abroad to bring home exotic items. It...

As of December 20th, it's just twelve days until 'The Viscount Claims His Bride" hits bookstores on January 1, 2009. Here's my version of the 'twelve days' of Christmas--twelve links, one each day, that relate to scenes and information used in the Viscount. Our very own Viscountdown, if you will. Here's day 1: The geography and weather of Cornwall. I'm in the Seattle area and we've been doused with a beautiful round of snow that has the kids out early for Christmas break. They've been out for three days now and the roads have been far too slick to drive on and it's been extra cold. BUT, Cornwall is actually a bit more temperate than Seattle or most of England during the winter months. Spring comes much earlier to the Cornwall region and fall sticks around a bit longer than it does in other parts of England. (That's not to say Cornwall doesn't get cold, because it certainly does) In the book on p. 90-92 there's a fun scene where...

My next e-book for the Undone Shorts officially has its own title now: Pleasured by the English Spy. Ohhhh that title sounds so great! I can hardly wait to see the cover. I just finished the "Dear Reader" letter for it this morning. The short features Valerian Inglemoore's friend from Libertine Lord, Pickpocket Miss, Andrew Truesdale. He's off to Italy to see if there's any substance to an independence movement being planned. If so, he's to squelch it. His efforts lead him to a villa in the hills overlooking Florence and into the arms of the lovely Olivia. Val and Camden Mathison from Libertine Lord Pickpocket Miss make an appearance at the end for the romantic wedding in San Lorenzo church!

The Viscount Claims His Bride earned a 4 star review in the Dec. Romantic Times. This is great news. The book comes out Jan. 1, so we still have waiting time until it's on the shelves, but definitely get it on your reading lists!.

Here's the first research link to whet the appetite. One of the scenes (I won't tell you which one or what they're doing there, you have to read the book to find out) is set in Karlskirche, a beautiful baroque church in Vienna. Here's a link to read more about this church in Valerian Inglemoore's neighborhood. Read my book to find out what Val's friend Julian is doing there. www.sacred-destinations.com/austria/vienna-karlskirche.htm

Happy Halloween, the Harlequin Undone Shorts Virtual Tour kicks off today. Today the four of us (Nicola Cornick, Ammanda McCabe, Me, and Michelle Willingham) are guest bloggers at Greyhaus. Our topic there is writing for dark moments and dark heroes. Check out our thoughts and make a comment. We'll be hanging out live off and on throughout the day and one lucky visitor to the site will win a free down load to be used on one of the e-shorts being released in by us in November. It's our personal trick or treat to you! Here's the link www.greyhausagency.com See you there! Bronwyn

Harlequin reader reviews are a great way to read more about what people about my books! Just google search Pickpocket Countess or any other title and harlequin communities should come up with their reviews. Stay tuned later this week as the Undone Shorts starts off their e-book virtural tour.

Here's a review by Katherine T. Thought you'd all enjoy reading it. Stars! ~~~ Ms Scott had me enchanted with this story right from the opening scene! Pickpocket Countess by Bronwyn Scott Harlequin Historical # 899 – March 2008 Ah, I love this cover! ~~~ So much so I had to make it larger than I normally post! ~~~ What do you think? ~~~ Wouldn’t you just love to be that Pickpocket? ... It’s 1831 and the Industrial Revolution is picking up speed in England, bringing with it unrest amongst the working class. Brandon Wycroft the fifth Earl of Stockport needs to build a textile mill in order to protect his earldom’s financial future. His plan is to set precedent with a safe mill, one that doesn’t employ children and the workers receive a decent day’s wage. But there is opposition to the mill, and the men who have signed up to invest have found their homes burglarized. “The Cat” of Manchester is quickly becoming notorious for his escapades leaving no house of distinction untouched,...

Here's the great cover. The characters actually do look like Sophie and Julian. I've been busy blogging away for the virtual tour. That's been a fun experience. And Harlequin has asked me to do another quick e-book for them. So quick it's due Oct. 31~ It will be about Julian Burke's friend from Libertine Lord, Andrew Truesdale. He gets to go to Tuscany and a villa overlooking Florence to ferret out the possible plot of revolution. There, he meets the luscious Tuscan Widow, Olivia (it's so new I don't have a last name for her yet). But I did write four chapters this weekend and have 5 more to go, so we're half way there and the story is turning out well.

The virtual tour kicks off in two weeks, roughly. Here's where we'll be: Halloween, Oct. 31, blogging at Greyhaus Literary Agency on writing Dark Moments and Darker Heroes. Nov. 2 Risky Regencies Nov. 3 Romance Bandits "Battle of the Heroes" Nov. 7th UK Regency Readers Blog Nov. 11 Romance Vagabonds We'll also be at eharlequin and at the Good the Bad and the Unread with dates to be announced. As soon as I get jpg files for the covers I'll get them posted. Right now I only have them in adobe and can't upload them here. All my best, Bronwyn

The new covers are here for the upcoming books. The E-book covers are great. Those are coming out November first and the four of us will be guest blogging lots of places to promote those titles. I'll be posting our 'virtual book tour' schedule here in the next couple days. Bright yellow tones of the Viscount Claims His Bride look great to me. The book comes out Jan. 1 and I am hoping people love it because I think it's a very sophisticated story and I absolutely adore it. My son looked at the cover and said "It's yellow because of the scene in the yellow ballroom and because she wears yellow dresses a couple times in the story." Wow, what a memory. Of course he's nine and I don't read the steamy parts to him. I also liked that the cover got the hair color right. Philippa is auburned haired and Valerian's hair is very dark. I also love that this guy looks hot. Stay tuned for more information. Nikki

The Viscount Claims His Bride eHarlequin.com Community : "Valerian Inglemoore, the Viscount St Just, was forced to give up his love for Philippa Stratten for her family's sake. Nine years later, he's back to claim the woman he wanted to marry: but will shadows of Val's dark past interfere in their tentative love? This was a good, easy read, well-written and well-paced. Coming January 2009 to Mills & Boon Historical. --review by Vicki So, proofreader."

Review of NOTORIOUS RAKE, INNOCENT LADY by Bronwyn Scott

Review of PICKPOCKET COUNTESS by Bronwyn Scott

Here's what's new as you get ready to plan your fall/winter reading lists. This November, "Libertine Lord, Pickpocket Miss" will be released as an e-book with Harlequin. Readers will be able to download the story to their computers, Kindles etc. Stay posted here for easy links, which I'll put up as soon as I have them. I am so excited about this project. Harlequin is branching out into short e-book historicals with some spice to them . Libertine Lord is one of the first four "undone shorts" to debut for the historical line. Be sure to check out the other three debuts also available in November from Ammanda McCabe, Nicola Cornick and Michelle Willingham. I will be posting their covers and titles as all that becomes available. I know you'll like the stories! Available January 1, 2009 in time to kick off the New Year right, is "The Viscount Claims His Bride." I love this story much! Valerian and Phillippa are characters you'll adore. The J...

Hi, I am home from a great four days in San Francisco. I had a super time meeting people and hearing about all the latest trends in romance. I also picked up books from some of my favorite authors; Julia Quinn, Stephanie Laurens to name a couple. There's so much to share about the conference, so I'll just pick a few highlights. Wednesday night was the literacy book signing for the American literacy project. I sat next to Amanda Scott and signed copies of Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady. It's such a thrilling evening to see the grand ballroom filled with rows and rows of authors. I loved being part of it. I liked talking to people who would come over and say 'I loved the cover of pickpocket countess.' or "You have the best covers." Lucy Gilmour from Harlequin made my night by coming over to say hi. Thursday started with the Hussies breakfast--I loved this so much. I got to meet everyone from the website and put faces with names. This was followed by the Har...

Here's the gang with the great editors from Mills and Boon! Here I am with Michele Young. I just wanted to share these pictures with you. I also wanted to let all of you know that my wonderful editor emailed this morning and wants to add three more of my books to their line up. That's right, the brothers will get their stories told. More later!

Hey all, Sorry for the delay in getting back online, but things have been really hectic around here with the writing thing. I finished the online historical for Harlequin. Right now it is called Seduction in Venice but we'll have to wait and see. This one will be out in November with the launch of the new Historical E-Books! This one is REALLY hot and brings in some of the great characters from the current series. Valerian is making an appearance in this one. I set this one in Vienna and that city can only mean hot romance. I'm currently working on the second book in the Avalon Series. The first one NEWPORT SUMMER will be out this winter. This second should be done (hopefully) by the end of the week. It all depends on how much time I get to write between packing for RWA Nationals and the events going on at nationals. I do want to remind all of you to make sure and see me at the Literacy Signing on Wednesday night. I'll be signing both Pickpocket Countess and Notorious Ra...

Hey, that title sounds like a great contemporary? Must look into it. Anyway, just wanted to say that I am done with the edits of THE VISCOUNT CLAIMS HIS BRIDE and dang, I'm a great writer. O.K. that is my ego talking here but dang, it is good. I simply forgot how HOT the hero is in this one. Ladies, you need to watch out for this guy. Valerian is one guy that will keep you dreaming very yummy thoughts at night. Now, I'm off to work and to later type up the comments for my editor (They are on their way soon Joanne!). Bronwyn

My agent contacted me last week and told me about a new project that Harlequin is doing. After the success of the Spice Briefs, the Historical editors decided to get together and do their version of the same hot and spicy stories with the great historical twist we all love. My wonderful editor made sure that I was one of the debut authors for this new line! In November, I will be released with 4 other authors for the new E-Book line. That was exciting. What was more exciting is that one of my best friends (and we also share the same agent) got a slot as well. Now, here was the twist that made this weekend totally psychotic. I was all ready to take this weekend and really spend time on the next book for my Avalon series (a Nikki Poppen book). This new book for Harlequin has a deadline of Aug. 1, so the Avalon book slid to the side and I got to writing. Add to the fact that my husband got sick with not just strept throat but a viral infection on top of that and the house was in chaos. We...

I know it has been a while since the book signing. I just ran out of time to sit down and type this in. Congratulations to Katherine Szyperski for winning the gift certificate to WATSON'S NURSERY! The check is in the mail Kate!

My agent just told me that my fantastic editor has gotten me this great writing gig. I am totally excited about this new project. Of course, I will be putting aside THE MADCAP for Avalon for a brief time to do this project but it will be worth it. For those of you that read Grayson Prentiss's Seduction, you will love this new story. This one is set in the Balkan's with a REALLY HOT HERO! This week has also been great with another invitation. I'll be sitting on one of the Harlequin Author Panels in San Francisco. Make sure to stop by and say hi.

I finally had some time to sit down and get to work on the next book for the Avalon series. It felt so good to see words forming on that blank computer screen. I didn't get much done on it but some progress was made. Up until this point, I have been trying to wrap up my work at the college for Spring quarter and start thinking about Summer quarter. Yep, I continue to teach throughout the summer. The nice thing though, is I do wrap up the teaching each day by noon. This new series for Avalon (written under my real name) is a Victorian series. I have been really fascinated by the early Victorian period in the US, especially with the lives of the people who would frequent Newport for their version of the season. You know, the Astors and their friends. This new one will be based out of San Francisco, New York and London. I'm loving this as it gives me a chance to really dive back into some great research. I'll keep you posted and for those of you coming to San Francisco, I'...

My writing life never seems to stop. I always have something new on my plate and right now is no exception. I have so many writing projects ahead of me, I sometimes wonder if I wil get to them all. Add in the fact that I am writing for both Harlequin and Avalon and things get really hectic. So, this weekend I sat down to make a plan. On tap next is Book 2 of the new Victorian series I am writing for Avalon. Really excited about this one since I get to explore some new historical territory including Victorian San Francicso. Hmmmm, research this summer? Then it is back to Harlequin for a couple more projects with my favorite characters. Yes, Crispin is getting his own story as well as Jack and Dulci, and Beldon and Lilya. I guess, if there was one thing I would recommend to any new writer, it would be to have a plan. Know where you are going to and how you are going to get there. I know I have to when I balance my work schedule and my family life. Still, it is possible. Let me know how y...

If you're new to me, here's where I am at. It's been a great year. I just wrapped up writing a multi-book deal for Harlequin which includes the sexy adventures, "Pickpocket Countess" and "Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady." Both books were in stores this spring. Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady" is in stores until May 31, so there's still time to snatch up copies. "The Viscount Claims His Bride" is the next release but won't be out until winter 2009. This coming writing year will include finishing up the Ramsden brothers' series at Harlequin. Paine, who's featured in Notorious Rake has two older, sexy brothers who will be getting their own stories. The brother of the heroine in "The Viscount Claims his Bride" will be a getting his own appearance in his own book and the witty, charismatic Jack from Pickpocket Countess will be getting his own book too. Over at Avalon, I am excited to announce a new three book deal that wi...