Update:  The winner of IN A TREACHEROUS COURT is…Khelsey. Congrats!!

Today’s special guest is an author not to be missed. Michelle Diener‘s debut IN A TREACHEROUS COURT, promises to be a fabulous tale of adventure and action.  I am super excited for Michelle’s upcoming release, and I’m very glad that she’s guest blogging with me today.  Welcome, Michelle!

RULES OF BEHAVIOUR

Thank you to Cynthia for inviting me back to blog! As I count down to August 9th, the release date of my debut historical novel, In a Treacherous Court, which is set in the court of Henry VIII, I thought I’d get everyone into a courtly mood by doing a show and tell on some of the quotes I have at the start of each chapter in IN A TREACHEROUS COURT.

I couldn’t use the language of the time in the book (it would be like reading a book in Shakespearean English), but I wanted to set the scene, give readers a taste of the cadence and poetry of the speech of the time and some context to the rules and mores of behaviour under which my characters would have lived. My solution was to use quotes from THE COURTIER, an Italian book on courtly manners written by Count Baldessar Castillo around the time IN A TREACHEROUS COURT is set, which was translated into English by Sir Thomas Hoby a number of years later. The book is in four parts, and the first part is really the ‘quick guide’ or cheat sheet for the rest of the book, containing the main DOs and DON’Ts on how to behave at court. It was great fun choosing a rule for a courtier (my hero, Parker) and a rule for a lady in waiting (my heroine, Susanna) for the start of each chapter.

The main characters in IN A TREACHEROUS COURT are based on real people. My heroine, Susanna Horenbout, was trained as an artist and illuminator in her father’s studio in Ghent (in modern day Belgium), and art historians are sure she was sent over to Henry’s court ahead of her father and brother. The hero is John Parker, one of Henry VIII’s ‘new men’, courtiers who were not noblemen, but in the meritocracy Henry was trying to establish, loyalty, and usefulness, could definitely overcome a lack of blue blood. They are both outsiders, but talented enough, and intelligent enough, to find a place for themselves in the world they find themselves in.

The Count Castillo’s advice on the fitting and proper behaviour for those who wanted to advance at court just worked so well. Where I could, I tried to match up the quotes (sometimes tongue-in-cheek) to what was happening in the scenes of that chapter. Some of my favourites include:

The Chiefe Conditions And Qualities In A Courtier: Not to be a babbler, brauler, or chatter, nor lavish of his tunge.

Of The Chief Conditions And Qualityes In A Waytyng Gentylwoman: To shape him that is oversaucie wyth her, or that hath small respecte in hys talke, suche an answere, that he maye well understande she is offended wyth hym. (LOVE this one! :))

The Chiefe Conditions And Qualities In A Courtier: To be handesome and clenly in his apparaile.

Of The Chief Conditions And Qualityes In A Waytyng Gentylwoman: To be heedefull and remembre that men may with lesse jeopardy show to be in love, then women.
The Chiefe Conditions And Qualities In A Courtier: His love towarde women, not to be sensuall or fleshlie, but honest and godly, and more ruled with reason, then appetyte: and to love better the beawtye of the minde, then of the bodie.

Of The Chief Conditions And Qualityes In A Waytyng Gentylwoman: Not to be lyghte of creditt that she is beloved, thoughe a man commune familierlye with her of love.

As you can tell, the Count Castillo had some great advice for the men and women of court 🙂 .

Seeing as we’re talking about advice, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? There is a giveaway of a pre-release copy of IN A TREACHEROUS COURT to one randomly-drawn commenter (US residents only, unfortunately).

Looking forward to hearing some great advice!

Michelle Diener

Michelle Diener lives in Australia with her husband and two children. She’s worked as an editor, a publisher, managed a small IT business, and now writes full time. Her debut historical novel, IN A TREACHEROUS COURT, is due out with Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books on August 9th, and the second book in the series, KEEPER OF THE KING’S SECRETS, is due for an early 2012 release. You can find out more about her at her website (http://www.michellediener.com), her group blog (http://www.magicalmusings.com) or follow her on twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/michellediener ) or Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Diener/196593580366013)

About the book:

Henry VIII’s most lethal courtier and his newly appointed artist become the only thing keeping him on the throne – and if they survive, neither will ever be the same.

John Parker is one of Henry VIII most useful courtiers — utterly merciless and completely loyal. But one small favour for his King will pull Parker into a deadly plot against the throne, one that will test his courage, his resolve, and most especially, his heart.

A commission from Henry VIII should have been the crowning achievement of Susanna Horenbout’s career, but before the beautiful and talented artist even sets foot in England, she finds herself in possession of a secret that could change its history. With Parker as her only protection against killers who will stop at nothing to silence her, Susanna has to trust the dangerous, enigmatic courtier. She’s used to fighting in a man’s world, but she never expected to be fighting for her life.

What people are saying about IN A TREACHEROUS COURT:

“IN A TREACHEROUS COURT is an action-adventure-mystery-historical that grabs the reader on page one and doesn’t let go. It reminds me of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE in the way it captures the “feel” of Tudor England, moving with equal aplomb from royal palace to refuse-clogged London street to leaky rowboat on the Thames.” Kate Emerson (Author of BY ROYAL DECREE: Secrets of the Tudor Court)

“Awesome! History woven flawlessly into riveting fiction.” Tammy J. Schneider (Special Features Editor and book reviewer at “Affaire de Coeur” magazine)

“Just when readers think there is nothing new to be learned about Henry VIII, debut author Diener delivers a taut suspense . . . that will keep you turning the pages.” Kathe Robin (4 star review in RT Magazine August 2011 issue)

Update: The winner of the Kindle copy of THE LOST IS…Natasha A! Congrats, Natasha!

Happy release day to my writing buddy (and awesome author) Caridad Pineiro! Her latest paranormal romance, THE LOST, is available today.

Adam Bruno is no ordinary millionaire. The heir to an ancient race possessing a dark, powerful magic, he can shapeshift and create energy. His gifts make him a living weapon and have forced him to live in seclusion. But now an inhuman force hunts down Adam-just when he finds someone who makes him feel more human than he ever imagined possible . . .

Home from combat in Iraq, Bobbie Carerra wants only peace, yet soon joins Adam in a terrifying battle against paranormal enemies who hide in plain sight. She’s drawn to his strength of mind and body; he’s attracted to her courage and intoxicating energy. Their scorching passion can either transport them to the heights of ecstasy or-if Adam’s powers rage out of control-destroy them. But when an invisible brotherhood tightens its nets and someone Adam trusts betrays him, only a heartrending decision can save them.

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Want to read THE LOST?  I’ll give one random commenter an ebook version (sent from Amazon) of THE LOST.  (And remember, you don’t have to own a Kindle to read the Kindle version–you can use the free Kindle for PC program.)  Want to win?  Then just tell me a great book you’ve read this summer.

But wait…there’s more…

On Wednesday night, I will be participating in a video chat with Caridad. We’ll be talking books, answering questions, and giving away prizes (aren’t prizes always fun?).  Here are the details:

DATE: July 27th, 2011
TIME: 6:00PM Pacific / 9:00PM Eastern
DURATION: 30-45 Minutes

Where:  Book Candy Author Chats

– use the guest tab (not registered users tab)
– enter your name in the guest field
– click enter button to join

Hope to see you there!

It’s sale time!  ETERNAL FLAME is on sale for $2.99 (Kindle version).   In case you haven’t read this book, it’s about one hot demon (Zane), a paranormal bounty hunter. And my heroine? Well, she’s a woman who enjoys playing with fire…

No one that deadly should look that good. Hybrid demon Zane Wynter specializes in tracking the most lethal criminals, whether human or Other. But Jana Carter is nothing like his previous targets. She’s an Ignitor, able to conjure and control fire. She’s also sexy beyond belief—and used to playing dirty…

Jana knows she’s being set up. She even knows who’s responsible: Project Perseus, a secretive group that plans to rid the world of paranormals by any means necessary. From Louisiana’s sultry swamps to its desolate cemeteries, Jana and Zane must race to destroy the mastermind behind Perseus before their world goes up in flames—and with it, a desire that burns too hot to resist…

Want to read an excerpt?

I’ll confess…Zane is one of my favorite heroes. There’s just something about a bad boy, and Zane is very bad.

What bad boy heroes do you enjoy?

Today, I thought I’d take a moment and just talk about writing.

Do you want to write a book? Have you always thought about creating your own story?  Do you plot and dream and wonder what would happen in your tale?

If you want to write a book, if you’ve been thinking about taking the leap for a while but you’ve hesitated, give your dream a chance.  Why not?  What are you waiting for?

The lovely folks from Open Road Media asked me to give some writing tips a while back.  When I talked about the writing life, one of the things I said was that many people thought they could write a book and get it published quickly–no problem. However, I said that wasn’t the case. This situation rarely happens. Why?  Because few people actually finish writing the book that they talk about. And if you don’t finish it, how can you sell it?

I think one of the hardest parts of writing can be finding the time to create your novel. If you’re working, if you’re raising a family, if you’re dealing with the thousand issues that can develop during the course of a day, it can be hard to find the time to write.  It can be incredibly difficult to stay focused and churn out 400 pages. In theory, maybe writing that book may have sounded easy. In reality?  Hard.

But if you want to write, if story-telling is in your blood and you can’t get it out, do it.  Take small steps. Plan to write for 30 minutes a day.  Write on your lunch hour.  Write when the kids sleep. Set you alarm to wake you up extra early so that you can get your time in before the rest of your family wakes up.  Be creative, and you can find the time to write. Heck, I’ve written in the car pool line plenty of times.  Use those extra minutes!

And don’t go the writing road alone. Join a local writing group (I love my local RWA chapter).  If there isn’t a local group that you can join, participate with an on-line organization.  Attend writing conferences. Network. Learn as much as you can about the craft. But, above all, write. Don’t just talk about writing–do it.

Kensington is currently running  a great writing contest for unpublished authors.  Have you ever wanted to write for the Brava line? (My paranormals are published through the Brava line.) Check out the 2nd Writing With the Stars Contest.  Enter your novella–and you could be published with Kensington.

If you have any questions about writing, please, ask away!

Here are some more writing tips for you. Good luck!

Update: Thank you for all the great comments! 🙂  There sure are some wonderful adventures out there.  I randomly picked a winner, and that commenter was…Kim! Congrats, Kim! I will email you with prize details.

My writing buddy Marie Force as a great new release–READY FOR LOVE.

For four of the best summers of his young life, Luke Harris was in love with Sydney Donovan, a wealthy seasonal visitor to Gansett Island. Then Sydney went off to college and never came back. She married another man and had two children while Luke remained on the island, working at McCarthy’s Gansett Marina and wondering what had gone wrong between him and the only woman he ever loved. Fifteen months after Sydney suffers the tragic loss of her husband and children, she’s returned to Gansett to figure out what’s next, and that may very well be a rekindled love affair with the one man from her past she’s never forgotten. But is she ready for a second chance at love?

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So, to celebrate her release, I’m going to share the love today. Would you like to win a Kindle copy of this ebook?  (And you don’t have to own a Kindle to win–you can use the free Kindle for PC program to read the book right on your computer.)  To win, just tell me the best adventure you’ve had so far this summer. I’ll let the contest run until 5 PM Central time on 7/8/11. Good luck!