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As many of you may know, our beloved sister hostess SHARON DONOVAN, tragically passed away on 11th April 2012. We who knew her, loved her, and were inspired by her courage and determination to face head on whatever life threw at her. When she could no longer see to paint she turned to writing and showed her amazing talent in the Inspirational Romance and Romantic Suspense genres, and her story 'Charade Of Hearts' was awarded the coveted Predators and Editors Award in January 2011.

This Blog was a source of great delight to her, she was one of the founder hostesses and she contributed to the fun and silliness in her own original way, and was kind enough to let her unique creation, the hunky butler 'Oliver' join us for our Friday romp and prepare 'virtual breakfast' for the guests on the following morning. It's beyond hard to have to go on without her, but we know that she would have been the first to insist that 'the show must go on.' She is, and will always be with us in spirit.
Sharon, dear friend, we will never forget you.
The Author Roast and Toast is part of the legacy you left us. Let's raise a Toast to you as well as all our guests.
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Saturday, December 19, 2015

HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR VISITORS, GUEST AUTHORS AND SUPPORTERS!

Have A Blessed Christmas

and wishing you all

A VERY HAPPY, PEACEFUL AND SUCCESFUL NEW YEAR



Look out for our next Roast Party on 15th January 2015, with Tena Stedtler


...and we're sad to say goodbye to sister hostess Mac Crowne. Thank you for all your support and clever 'introductory skits', we'll miss you but hope you'll come and visit from time to time!

Friday, December 4, 2015

The Bluestocking Belles - Celebrate 'Mistletoe, Madness & Mayhem with a Regency Christmas Party



The hostesses emerge from a sleek black carriage  parked outside of Mrs. Marlowe's Book Emporium
and Tearoom dressed in the height of Regency fashion. Mary adjusts the plunging decolletage of her pale blue evening gown and sighs.

Laverne snorts. "That empire waistline and your bust size don't go well with a scoop neck, Mary. The 'girls' are about to come out of that thing."


Mary holds her head high. "Well, at least I'm wearing the appropriate fashions for the appropriate times. Lilly's bustle is so big, she could have stepped right out of a Harper's Bazar magazine from the 1870s."


"That shows how much you know." Lilly pouts. "This is a Regency gown, and I'm not wearing a bustle."

Lyn pats her on the shoulder. "It's okay, Lilly. You just have a big bum, and that dress is really quite lovely, but perhaps you should have forgone the petticoats."

"Perhaps." Lilly says, still pouting.


"Hey, at least your shoes aren't as big as Lyn's," Mary says. "Her slippers look like small boats under that dress."

   "As long as I don't  have to wear heels," Lyn says with an emphatic nod.

Debby pats her poofed up hair. "Aren't the hairstyles of this era just grand?"


"If you're going for the Marie Antoinette look, then you nailed it," Mac mumbles under her breath. Then she scans the streets, her eyes crinkling up at the corners as she stares up at the large, Greek Revival style architecture of Mrs. Marlowe's Book Emporium. "Tell me again why we're going to a
bookstore dressed to the nines in Regency attire."

"So forgetful," LaVerne says with an indulgent smile. "The Bluestocking Belles are seven Regency authors who've written an anthology about seven runaway brides and their holiday heroes."


"These ladies have put out a Christmas box set,  Mistletoe, Marriage, and Mayhem just in time for the holidays. Since they run the Bluestocking Bookshop, we're here at Mrs. Marlowe's Book Emporium to help them celebrate with their heroes and heroines," Lyn says.


"Oh, I do love a good soiree," Lilly says.


"Come on," LaVerne says, leading the way inside. "The party is in one of the entertainment rooms."


Mary whistles. "This place is huge."

The hostesses enter the book emporium and are met by the seven lovely Bluestocking Belles: Jude Knight, Amy Rose Bennett, Susan Ellis, Sherry Ewing, Mariana Gabrielle, Caroline Warfield, and Nicole Zoltack. 

Jude smiles. "Welcome to our little book shop, ladies. We are so thrilled with what Oliver and your decorators have done with the place, and we can't wait to celebrate our release with you."


"Decorators? We hired decorators?" Mac gawks as the seven authors lead the hostesses
to a large room in back of the emporium. "When did we get decorators?"

"Mac," Lyn says, "you, Lilly, Mary, and Debby live in the states. Lavern lives in New Zealand, and I live in Wales. We can't always get together to decorate, so we get Oliver to contact his people, and the magic happens."


"Is there nothing that man can't do?" Mac asks before falling silent.


The hostesses are amazed at the beauty of the Regency style Christmas decorations and the array of scrumptious foods laid out before them: turkey, Christmas goose, Christmas pudding and tables filled with tempting deserts. The Bluestocking Belles sigh in unison.














"It's so much more than we ever expected," one says.


"I feel as if I'm actually in a 19th century salon," says another.


"You might well be in a different century," Lilly says. "When Lyn says Oliver and his people perform magic, she's not whistling Dixie. When Oliver creates magic, he creates magic"

"Even I am amazed," Mary says, "And I've known Oliver longer than you have."

"It's truly perfect," Lyn adds.


Debby beams and pats her coiffed hair. "Don't you just love it! Everything is so Christmasy."

Mac looks at Lilly. "I could use a drink."


"Oliver!" Lilly shouts, and as usual, Oliver is more than up to the task, offering a selection of eggnog, champagne, rum punch, and negus. Lilly goes for the rum punch, made with rum, brandy,lemon, hot water, and sugar, wanting a little more kick in her punch.


Mac reaches for negus,* a type of mulled wine made with wine, hot water, lemon juice, sugar, and nutmeg, created by colonel Francis Negus in the early 18th century.


Once all the hostess and the Bluestocking Belles have a drink, Oliver proposes a toast. Afterward, a string quartet begins to play softly in the corner as the authors of Mistletoe, Marriage, and Mayhem  introduce the heroes and heroines of their novellas, and the party begins.



Today's skit written by Lilly Gayle



MISTLETOE, MADNESS & MAHEM
Genre:
Regency romance, historical romance

Heat rating:
From G to PG-13

Giveaway:
ABOUT MISTLETOE, MARRIAGE, AND MAYHEM
Mistletoe, Marriage, and Mayhem: A Bluestocking Belles Collection
In this collection of novellas, the Bluestocking Belles bring you seven runaway Regency brides resisting and romancing their holiday heroes under the mistletoe. Whether scampering away or dashing toward their destinies, avoiding a rogue or chasing after a scoundrel, these ladies and their gentlemen leave miles of mayhem behind them on the slippery road to a happy-ever-after.

***All proceeds benefit the Malala Fund.***

Cover design by the eighth Belle, Vanessa Riley.

All She Wants for Christmas, by Amy Rose Bennett
A frosty bluestocking and a hot-blooded rake. A stolen kiss and a Yuletide wedding. Sparks fly, but will hearts melt this Christmas?

The Ultimate Escape, by Susana Ellis
Abandoned on his wedding day, Oliver must choose between losing his bride forever or crossing over two hundred years to find her and win her back.

Under the Mistletoe, by Sherry Ewing
Margaret Templeton will settle for Captain Morledge’s hand in marriage, until she sees the man she once loved. Who will win her heart at the Christmas party of her would-be betrothed?

’Tis Her Season, by Mariana Gabrielle
Charlotte Amberly returns a Christmas gift from her intended—the ring—then hares off to London to take husband-hunting into her own hands. Will she let herself be caught?

Gingerbread Bride, by Jude Knight
Traveling with her father's fleet has not prepared Mary Pritchard for London. When she strikes out on her own, she finds adventure, trouble, and her girlhood hero, riding once more to her rescue.

A Dangerous Nativity, by Caroline Warfield
With Christmas coming, can the Earl of Chadbourn repair his widowed sister’s damaged estate, and far more damaged family? Dare he hope for love in the bargain?

Joy to the World, by Nicole Zoltack
Eliza Berkeley discovers she is marrying the wrong man—on her wedding day. When the real duke turns up instead, will her chance at marital bliss be spoiled?

ABOUT THE BELLES

The Bluestocking Belles' books carry you into the past for your happy-ever-after. When you have turned the last page of our novels and novellas, keep up with us (and other historical romance authors) in the Teatime Tattler, a Regency scandal sheet, and join in with the characters you love for impromptu storytelling in the Bluestocking Bookshop on Facebook. Also, look for online games and contests and monthly book chats, and find us at BellesInBlue on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Come visit at www.BluestockingBelles.com and kick up your bluestockinged heels!

BUY LINKS

Amazonhttp://ow.ly/RJ4Cc
Amazon UK: http://ow.ly/RJ4Fx
Amazon Australia: http://ow.ly/RJ4Kd
Amazon Germanyhttp://ow.ly/RJ4OQ
Amazon Francehttp://ow.ly/RJ4SY
Amazon Japanhttp://ow.ly/RJ4Wg
Amazon Spainhttp://ow.ly/RJ4ZJ
Amazon Italyhttp://ow.ly/RJ51s
Amazon Netherlandshttp://ow.ly/RJ53G
Amazon Canada: http://ow.ly/RJ55t
Amazon Brusselshttp://ow.ly/RJ57U
Amazon Mexicohttp://ow.ly/RJ596
Amazon India: http://ow.ly/RJ5aJ

Barnes & Noble: http://ow.ly/RPqwp

Goodreads Reviews: http://ow.ly/RPqBl

Smashwords: http://ow.ly/RPqE9
CreateSpace: http://ow.ly/RPqFD

BLUESTOCKING BELLES ON THE WEB

Website and home of the Teatime Tattler: www.BluestockingBelles.com
Bluestocking Bookshop online storytelling: www.Facebook.com/groups/BluestockingBookshop

Bluestocking Belles’ Guide to a Good Time
The Bluestocking Belles are known for having a good time! Along with short excerpts from all of our books, we wanted to share the fun with you, offering up puzzles to solve and games to play. All royalty proceeds are donated to the Malala Fund.


*Recipe for negus:



“It is made with rum, brandy, lemon, hot water, and sugar.  . . .  Put in as much sugar as the water will dissolve. If you brew, say, a quart of punch, let it contain the juice and the rind of one lemon. The juice, I say; not the pulp. The rind also; not all the peel; none of the white pith: only the yellow outside pared off thin . . .  Mix your hot water, sugar, and lemon. Let the water be boiling hot—fresh from the kettle on the fire.  . . .  put a wrapper consisting of a folded napkin over the mouth of your jug, and lay a thick octavo or some other equivalent body, over the mouth of that vessel, and let it stand for five minutes. Then add the liqors"
Digital Christmas Card by EKDuncan using digital Christmas ornaments of Regency ladies

***GIVEAWAY***

To win a copy of 'Mistletoe, Marriage and Mayhem', all you have to do is just leave a comment and your e-mail address.
Contest ends on Sunday and everyone who comments is eligible.
(We reserve the right to waive the prize in any week when there are not enough contestants for a draw to be deemed fair and unbiased.)

AUTHOR ROAST AND TOAST

AUTHOR ROAST AND TOAST
authorroast@btinternet.com
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE OUR GUEST? DO YOU WANT TO PROMOTE YOUR NEW RELEASE OR EVEN AN OLDER ONE?IF YOU FANCY BEING GUEST OF HONOUR AT ONE OF OUR PARTIES JUST EMAIL US AT THE ADDRESS in 'OLIVER'S RULES'!(PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A 'G' RATED BLOG SO NOTHING HIGHER THAN THIS RATING, PLEASE.)