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Storytellers create fun out of chaos
Have you ever wondered what would happen if
characters from one fictional Regency world could wander into another? If
Georgette Heyer’s Lady Sherringham had benefitted from the support and wisdom
of Stephanie Lauren’s extended family of Cynster matriarchs? If Grace Burrowes’
Duke of Mercia had been able to spend time with Mary Balogh’s Survivor’s Club?
Or if the rakes and rogues of countless stories stopped to exchange a
flirtatious word with the protected sisters and daughters of others?
There’s lots of room at the inn
Such an interactive collision of fictional
worlds is currently happening at the Bluestocking Belles’ pre-housewarming
party (until March 12). We can’t promise such illustrious guests (though one of
us is swoony-eyed at the rumor that the Duke of Roxton may drop by). However,
an assortment of characters from the books of the Bluestocking Belles have
gathered at an inn (with guests and their characters) to flirt, fight, chat,
and behave according to their various natures.
It started in a small way, when a couple of
us turned up at a Facebook party escorted by our characters, and they began to
chat with one another and the guests. When we realized we were in danger of
turning into that cheerful drunk who dominates the whole affair and stops the
hostess from running her own party, we took the chat onto the page we’d set up
for our own Housewarming Party, and the Bluestocking Belles’ fictional-world-
and time-spanning, infinitely expandable inn was born.
Meet the Bluestocking Belles
Backing up yet another step, let me
introduce you to the Bluestocking Belles. We are a group of authors who write books
set in or around the Regency. By getting to know us, readers can ‘taste’ the
writing of eight very different authors, and decide whether they want more. We’ll
be posting blogs, running a book club chat, hosting Facebook events, and
publishing boxed sets of our work. And we hope to improve the universe a little
on the way; we’ve agreed that income we earn jointly will go to the Malala
Fund, a non-profit associated with Malala Yousafzai, the young girl—now Nobel
Peace Prize winner—assaulted by extremists because she claimed her right to an
education.
Relax and have fun
Back at the inn, what started as a way to while
away a pleasant evening has become an exercise in interactive story building,
and our guests are warned to be careful about reading our threads at work if
they don’t want to explain why they’re laughing.
Mariana Gabrielle’s Duke and Duchess of
Wellbridge (from Royal Regard) are hosting the party, having taken over the inn
for the purpose. His Grace hopes his budget expands as rapidly as the inn’s
guest list and its walls. He also hopes (somewhat forlornly) that his niece,
Lady Anne, will make it through the party with her virtue intact.
Wellbridge specifically invited his old
friend Aldridge, Jude Knight’s dissolute rake. We’re not sure whether
Wellbridge wants to recover his lost youth, or simply avenge himself on
Aldridge for the incident that saw the two of them banned from an entire town
when they were young rakes racketing around England.
Caroline Warfield’s Glenaire has arrived at
the party with Jamie Ross (both from Dangerous Works). Glenaire is
working with Jude Knight’s thief taker, David Wakefield (from the upcoming Farewell
to Kindness), to work out whether new guests Arnaut de Montailhac and
Louise Fauriel are foreign spies. Jamie divides his time between drinking,
flirting, and finding cats to distract Lady Anne from her husband hunt.
Sherry Ewing’s medieval knight, Sir Dristan,
and his lady, Amira (from If My Heart Could See You), are at
the inn, which sits outside of time and can be entered from any era. They have
spent some time closeted with their descendants, while Sherry’s Margaret
Templeton was defending her innocence from Aldridge.
Nicole Zoltack’s Lady Vanessa, daughter of
the Duke of Honcaster (from Love Before Honor), is playing the
pianoforte for the delight of ladies from a dozen novels. The Duchess of
Wellbridge having expressed the desire to dance, His Grace added a ballroom to
the inn forthwith.
Lady Beauchamp, Amy Rose Bennett’s heroine
(from Lady Beauchamp’s Proposal), is
fleeing from her evil husband in the guise of a widow, and has sought refuge in
the inn on her way north to work as a governess. The Duke of Wellbridge has
ordered that she be left alone, but Her Grace may not be able to keep herself
to herself when faced with a lady in distress.
Meanwhile, Amy Rose Bennett’s Lady Bianca has
flirted with a handsome dragoon major penned by Jude Knight and kissed an itinerant
artist introduced by one of our guests. Much to her dismay, her erstwhile
paramour has been stolen by Mariana Gabrielle’s Lady Anne, who is determined to
discover whether kisses are as delightful as they sound.
Susana Ellis has brought her heroine, Lucy
Barlow (from A Twelfth Night Tale), and Glenaire’s
attentions threaten to derail the young lady’s expected romance with a retired
and maimed Peninsular veteran, let alone her engagement to a respectable
middle-aged gentleman.
Anne Townsend, Eileen Richards’ heroine,
has arrived at the inn under the influence of a wish. Her earnest suitor, Mr.
Nathaniel Matthews (both from the upcoming An Unexpected Wish), is concerned
she will be tempted by the number of eligible men in the inn.
Please join us
These are just a few of the characters
running amok at the inn. With several from each Belle, and characters,
dialogue, and storylines from many of our guests (most likely including some of
your favorites—Madame Gilflurt included), who knows what could happen?
The party is running until March 12, with a
“Bluestocking Ball” planned for March 14, from noon to 8 pm EDT, on Facebook, Twitter (#BellesInBlue), and in our own chatroom (open on the
day of the Ball).
Almost anyone could turn up, and when it’s
over, we may find ourselves with the world’s first crowd-sourced, post-modern, extempore
Regency novel, all to benefit bluestockings everywhere through the Malala Fund.
Written content of this post copyright © Mari Christie, 2015.
Written content of this post copyright © Mari Christie, 2015.
8 comments:
Jude, I'm smiling into my coffee. When guests began to pop in bringing or inventing characters, things got even more lively. What a hoot! We're having a blast with this.
It's amazing how well this experiment has taken off at our virtual coaching inn. Thank you Catherine Curzon for hosting The Belles on your blog!
Indeed! The days of "I wish other people would join in" are long-since over, and what a change with our "guest" characters!
I mean, my Anne (who we figured out late is the Honorable Miss Findemoor, not a Lady) is about to marry Madame Gilflurt's Anthony Lake, so she is quite happy he appeared.) Huzzah!
it really is so much fun!
It's my pleasure!
And he is delighted to have met her!
Can't contribute in writing, sadly, due to basic ignorance about these wonderful characters. But if it's for the Malala Fund, then somehow count me in.
Thank you; it's such an important initiative and lots of fun too!
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