Historical Romance & Forbidden Touches
Hi peeps,
Historical romance is such a fun genre to write, especially if it’s set in England. The English love the ‘stiff upper lip’, restraint and understatement in everything they do. An Englishperson could have an arm cut off and bleeding all over the place, but they will only say it’s a bit of a scratch, nothing to worry about…and this lends itself wonderfully to romance. Hmm. Maybe not the bleeding profusely and amputated limbs bit
Think about it. A man desperately in love with a woman and yet his upbringing will not allow him to express it. Instead, it’s demonstrated in a brush of a hand against hers, a lingering glance with passion smouldering beneath. It’s Mr Darcy longing for his dearest, lovliest Elizabeth. It’s Sir Percy Blackeney consumed with love and passion for his wife and yet unable to display such as it will compromise his true identity as The Scarlet Pimpernel. It’s Batman*…Sigh. You gotta love it!
Restraint is so sexy, and when there are rules governing how men and women can interact, it becomes even more so. When a flick of a fan is used to flirt and entice, when one thing is said and another is meant…and when a single kiss in a darkened garden can be hotter than the sun…Oh baby!
SILK & SCANDAL has its fair share of forbidden touches. Thomas is determined to resist Nicola, but she doesn’t make it easy for him…and neither do his feelings for her. It all comes to a head when they are caught in an embrace, in a forbidden touch, and the aftermath could tear them apart forever...You’ll just have to read SILK & SCANDAL to find out what happens!
I love writing about forbidden touches and restraint and Englishness and stiff upper lips…so much fun!
Thanks for stopping by, peeps!
*what? Batman totally counts! I know he’s not a traditional Romantic hero, but my word that Christian Bale is a fine looking man…and Batman is all about the restraint and secret identities :)
THE SILK SERIES, BOOK 1
Eight years ago…
Thomas Cartwright and Lady Nicola Fitzgibbons were friends. Over the wall separating their homes, Thomas and Nicola talked of all things – his studies to become a barrister, her frustrations with a lady’s limitations.
All things end.
When her diplomat father gains a post in Hong Kong, Nicola must follow. Bored and alone, she falls into scandal. Mired in his studies of the law and aware of the need for circumspection, Thomas feels forced to sever their ties.
But now Lady Nicola is back…and she won’t let him ignore her.
Available NOW from
Thomas took a breath, knowing he had to phrase this just right. “Lady Nicola, while I am cognizant of the honor you do me, I don’t believe it appropriate you visit me in my chambers. Shall we arrange a time that suits us both, perhaps for a walk about the park?”
China-blue eyes laughed at him. “Oh, pish. Don’t be such a fuddy-duddy, Thomas. We never stood on such ceremony before.”
Didn’t she know he couldn’t be her friend? Not since their ways had parted and she’d become who she was, while he had become who he was. “Our situations were different before, Lady Nicola. It is not appropriate for a lady of your standing to visit a bachelor in his chambers.”
“Who is going to comment? No one knows I’m here.”
Was she serious? “My clerk knows you’re here. By now, the senior clerk undoubtedly knows you’re here. Before ten minutes have passed, everyone in the building will know you’re here.”
“Well, then, they are a bunch of shocking gossips, and I should not like to know them any better.” She folded her hands in her lap.
“Not the point, Nicola.” Bloody hell, but she drove him mental. She tore at him and picked at him until he didn’t know where he stood. Always she’d done this, taken what little sense he had and driven it right out of his brain.
“I should say it is the point. Our visit would not distress you, if it weren’t for them.”
“It should distress me in any case. You should not be here.”
“Do you know what I’m hearing, Thomas? I’m hearing a vast amount of negativity, when you’ve not even greeted me properly. Why, you’ve yet to kiss my hand, or perhaps give me a h-hug.” Chin up, she looked at him with eyes brimming, and he saw right through her facade. She was truly hurt he’d not yet greeted her as he should.
Helpless, he stared at her. How did she do it? How did she turn his brain to mush? She’d been here less than five minutes, and already she had drawn him back in.
But she was right. He hadn’t greeted her as he should.
Standing, he went to her and drew her to her feet. “Welcome home, Nic.” And he hugged her.
Cassandra grew up daydreaming, inventing fantastical worlds and marvelous adventures. Once she learned to read (First phrase – To the Beach. True story), she was never without a book, reading of other people’s fantastical worlds and marvelous adventures.
Fairy tales, Famous Fives, fantasies and fancies; horror stories, gumshoe detectives, science fiction; Cassandra read it all. Then she discovered Romance and a true passion was born.
So, once upon a time, after making a slight detour into the world of finance, Cassandra tried her hand at writing. After a brief foray into horror, she couldn’t discount her true passion. She started to write Romance and fell head over heels.
The love affair exists to this very day.
Cassandra lives in Adelaide, South Australia.
LINKS!
The review is up, see it here: Silk & Scandal
