v. 1, #1

Have you ever wondered what happened to the characters in a book after you closed the pages?

Did they really stay in love? Did they live “happily ever after”?

Or, as Angela Barron McBride wrote:
Why do fairy tales always end with the prince and princess marrying? Why don't they tell you what happened to the couple in the next fifty years? How did the prince and princess feel when the babies started coming? Did Cinderella ever wake up in the morning to the cry of her baby, feeling as evil and fussy as her stepsisters? (quoted in Around the Circle Gently)

Sometimes authors revisit their characters in a later book featuring other characters from the earlier books. We may give you a small glimpse of those lives as they continued. But other times new stories carry us far afield from earlier ones.

“You carry on about them as if they are real,” you may think. They are real, I assure you. At least as real as their refusal to cooperate with the story until we get the details right. “I don't want to be a cowgirl,” one may say. “I want to be a female Pinkerton agent.” Whatever it is, they go on strike and can make writers' jobs very difficult if we don't please them. So why don't we just give them what they want? It's not that easy. They live in an alternate reality, sometimes very dimly seen. Who they are and what is their story isn't always possible to discern, especially when the connections are new and tentative. We feel our way with them, afraid to frighten them away.

Anyone who's experienced this phenomenon and discovers how beautifully cooperative the characters can become once we understand what they've been trying to tell us never again doubts the “reality” of our characters.

But once we've come to truly know them, it's magical. After living so long with them, they become a part of our lives, and whether or not we share their continuing tales with others, they return to us from time to time and whisper news of their doings.

With that introduction, I'll give you a brief report on the latest news of the characters of The Lady Is Mine since the book ended. If you haven't yet read the book and don't like the endings spoiled, you'd better close your eyes at this part and skip over it.

What's happening as of the autumn of 1811.

Harriet and her Rolleston, Lord Beldon, as you know, were about to marry and leave two weeks later for India. They are still in India, having an extended honeymoon. Harriet was quite seasick on the way out. She got over it by the time they reached India, and, she believes, has overcome the tendency. She is in no hurry to put it to the test by a return journey, however, especially delighted as she is by the sights, scents and sounds she is experiencing. Beldon is equally entranced, and, as well, has discovered ways to enlarge his already vast fortune.

Harriet's next-older sister, Iphigenia, known as Genie, never appeared in TLIM except in the thoughts and mentions of other characters. She gave birth to a daughter at the end of the summer. She has been recuperating and delighting in motherhood. Her husband, Gowan Harborough, is as smitten with his daughter as he is with his beautiful wife. The couple with their daughter will make an appearance in The Lady in Question. (See more about that below.)

Piers Luchan and his bride, Marianne, are honeymooning in Scotland. Piers is deeply involved in the building of his mill to provide work for those who are dependent on him. The mill will be operated along the guidelines of those of Robert Owen, whose enlightened management was far ahead of his time. You can read more about the mill workers and Robert Owen in my article, Who's Doing the Work, in the July-August issue of the Regency Plume. (Also to be archived on my website if you don't receive the Plume.)

Near the end of TLIM, Harriet's mother announced that her second-oldest daughter, Clytie, and her husband Lord Robert Darwin, are expecting their first child finally, after five infertile years of marriage. The news was quite a relief to the Darwin family, for although Lord Robert as a younger son isn't in line for the succession, his older brother, the Marquess of Ashburton, so far has produced only two daughters. He and his wife are still young enough to hope for a son, but it would provide extra insurance if Clytie also gives birth to a boy.

Not long after TLIM ends, Harriet's eldest brother, Eustace, and his wife, Lettice, also discover that she is enceinte. In their case, because they already have two sons, they are rather hoping for a daughter.

Some of the Vernons and the Earl of Rayfield will be in my next book, The Lady in Question, due out next month. It opens approximately six months after the end of the events in TLIM. Huge Brooks, the Earl of Rayfield, has a secret life that not even his close friends, such as Lord Beldon, know about. Since he is very reticent about this secret, I'll say nothing more until it is revealed in The Lady in Question.

As I write this, I'm getting ready for the RWA National conference in Reno. It's a very tight-packed four days of workshops and other educational events, meetings, social occasions and networking, and trying to squeeze in a little sightseeing. On Wednesday, I'll attend the Beau Monde (the Regency chapter) conference, including the Soiree after the Literacy Autographing, at which the awards for the Royal Ascot contest will be given out. I have been the coordinator of the contest for the past two years. It's been a wonderful experience and has brought me in contact with some great people--the co-coordinators who have worked with me, contest entrants, judges, and the editors who judged the final round. Of last year's finalists, half have sold in the past year. I'm waiting to see what will happen with this year's group! (You can check out who the finalists are, and, after July 27, the winners, at the Beau Monde website, www.thebeaumonde.com)

Wednesday, between the Beau Monde conference and their evening event, I'll be signing The Lady Is Mine and (I hope) The Lady in Question at the Literacy Autographing. I'll be one of some 450 authors taking part for a great cause, raising money for literacy. It's been a dream of mine for many years to be able to take part in this event.

After the conference, I'm flying to Oakland and having a reunion with my granddaughter Candice (Candis) and son Ron (Rani), who's flying up from LA to join us. They don't spell their names the same way I do. I'm too stubborn to give in and spell them their way, but I do have to acknowledge their wishes!

Last month I spent two and a half weeks in England, doing research for a proposed third book in the Beldon-Rayfield-Hollesley trilogy, about Philip Hollesley.

Although Kensington Publishing Corp. has recently announced the demise of their Zebra Regency line, I'll still write the book and hope for it to have a home. I know that the people who love Regencies are still out there, and it's a strong belief of mine that other markets and other venues will open up. For now I'll most likely be concentrating on writing single title historicals set in the Regency period.

On my trip, the weather wasn't very cooperative, but England, as always, was wonderful. I was with a great group of people on a tour organized by Patty Suchy at Novel Explorations. Our group had some unique experiences, such as our tour bus being “held up” by highwaymen, the “wedding” of one of our couples in Gretna Green, and visiting the home believed to have been the model for Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre, including the attic room where Rochester's mad wife was confined.

Having been so recently in England, the outrage perpetrated in London (after I returned home) only makes me sadder and angrier. As far as I know, all our friends in England are safe, but my heart goes out to those who are victims, or who have family or friends who were in the carnage.

I hope you will all join me in prayers for peace. With enough people on earth working towards that goal, I do believe it's achievable. If you doubt it, read a little gem of a book called The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell. Its premise is that “when small numbers of people start behaving differently, that behavior can ripple outward until a critical mass or 'tipping point' is reached, changing the world.” (from the Publishers Weekly review) Or, as quoted from Margaret Mead in Around the Circle Gently, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

I know it seems an impossible goal, with so many people so filled with hatred, and so many people who believe the best answer for violence is more violence.

But I deeply believe the answer for violence is love. For that reason, although I enjoy reading and writing in other genres, I'll always feature love in my stories. Nothing is more powerful.

Until next time, happy reading!

Judith Laik

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