What I've written (Baa! Another sheep joins the meme)

[pbray]

Following along with the friendslist, here's a summary of what I've written over the years.

The Earl and Elizabeth, a Regency romance. My first novel, written in 1993-1994. It was good, but not good enough. Unsold.

Jane and the Black Sheep, also a Regency. Written in 1994-1995, it was a Golden Heart finalist in 1995. It sold in 1996, and was published by Zebra in 1997 as A LONDON SEASON.

AN UNLIKELY ALLIANCE, Zebra Regency, 1998.

Charlotte's Kitten, a novella in the BEWITCHING KITTENS anthology. Zebra Regency, 1998.

LORD FREDDIE'S FIRST LOVE, Zebra Regency, 1999.

THE IRISH EARL, Zebra Regency, 2000.

Following THE IRISH EARL, I felt the need to try something different, which was CAROLINE AND THE CAPTAIN, a proposal for a historical romance set in the Regency era. Rejected by Zebra in 1999, revised proposal rejected by both romance and historical publishers as being neither fish nor fowl (too Patrick O'Brian for the romance publishers, too Jane Austen for the historical publishers.) Proposal shelved, never finished this novel.

A MOST SUITABLE DUCHESS, Zebra Regency, 2000.

THE WRONG MR. WRIGHT, Zebra Regency, 2001.

And then for a change of pace:

DEVLIN'S LUCK, epic fantasy, Bantam Spectra, 2002.

DEVLIN'S HONOR, epic fantasy, Bantam Spectra, 2003.

DEVLIN'S JUSTICE, epic fantasy, Bantam Spectra, 2004.

THE FIRST BETRAYAL, epic fantasy, Bantam Spectra, 2006.

THE SEA CHANGE, epic fantasy, Bantam Spectra, 2007.

THE FINAL SACRIFICE, epic fantasy, Bantam Spectra, available July 2008.



A LONDON SEASON holds a special place in my heart as my first published book. It's not a perfect book by any stretch of the imagination, but there's nothing like that feeling the first time you walk into a store and see your book on the shelves. My favorite Regencies are the novella Charlotte's Kitten and LORD FREDDIE'S FIRST LOVE. These were the most fun to write, and Freddie is my favorite romantic lead--how could you not root for a man who's just proposed for the twelfth time only to hear yet again, the dreaded words "I think of you as a brother."

From my publication credits it looks like a straightforward transition from Regencies to epic fantasy, but the truth is a little more complicated. The opening chapters of DEVLIN'S LUCK were written way back in 1996, right before my first Regency sold. The rest of the novel was written in the spring of 2000, in a brief break before my final two Regencies. By then I'd realized that I wasn't satisfied writing Regency romances, and knew that my attempt to switch to the longer historical format wasn't going to sell. I put my head down and wrote DEVLIN'S LUCK in a flurry of productivity, then reluctantly turned back to the Regency format. By the time I was writing THE WRONG MR. WRIGHT I knew that this would be my final Regency, so there was a certain sense of freedom that came with that knowledge.

If I had to pick a favorite book, I'd pick DEVLIN'S LUCK. Again, not a perfect book, and there are things I would change if I was writing it today. But the character of Devlin rings true, and my voice comes through clearly. I can flip open a copy of DEVLIN'S LUCK, start reading a random page, and lose myself in the story. And that's as good as it gets.

Comments

[quietselkie.livejournal.com]

I can flip open a copy of DEVLIN'S LUCK, start reading a random page, and lose myself in the story. And that's as good as it gets.

Yes.

:-D

[jlawrenceperry.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness. The first few chapters of Devlin's Luck are some of my favorite first chapters in Fantasy. First chapter of R.A. Salvatore's The Highwayman is the same way, as well as the first few chapters of The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

*blushes* Thanks!