Hi everyone! Hope your December is going well! My life is a little hectic, especially since I got even further behind by catching a cold a few weeks ago that evidently became bronchitis and really got interesting for a few days. Anyway”¦I was delighted to hear that one of the topics for today is historical romances, because that is one of my favorite genres, starting with the iconic title, Pride and Prejudice. I was fascinated by the foreignness of the speech patterns and mannerisms, and the comeuppance as Darcy deals with the fiery Elizabeth Bennet appealed to my imagination. From there, I was compelled to find other romances and discovered the delightful Georgette Heyer and moved from her to other period romances by authors such as Patricia Veryan and Sylvia Thorpe. I discovered a bloodthirsty trait in myself as I was mesmerized by the danger that the main characters dealt with and I haunted used bookstores looking for other titles by these authors. I daresay this started my love affair with romantic suspense titles.

I have also enjoyed other historical romances, such as the Francesca Cahill series that is set in America, during the early 1900s. I was startled to realize that these were penned by the prolific Brenda Joyce, as I had forgotten who the author was, I just remembered being fascinated by this intrepid young woman who defied convention and was both a sleuth and a rather radical personality, and I believe she was caught in a compelling romantic triangle. My current list of favorite historical authors includes the amazing Stephanie Laurens, whose Cynster family has spread out to include several generations, and who has several other popular series that feed my love of the pomp and pageantry of the period in addition to providing sensual and romantic stories. I also am a very big fan of Mary Balogh, whose Survivor’s Club series has presented remarkable heroes and heroines who have not survived war unscathed yet eventually find a way to not only survive but to flourish. There are plenty of other mesmerizing titles that showcase Ms. Balogh’s ability to paint vivid word portraits with tortured yet loveable characters and I am always lost in her spell immediately when I pick up one of her books. Sabrina Jeffries has long been a favorite and I adore the whimsical folks populating her pages, and I have developed a love affair with another Sabrina, Sabrina York, who has a talent for creating historical romance tales that combine heat and humor. Karen Ranney’s heroines tend to be feisty and have a wonderfully snarky sense of humor, which I adore, and who can resist the kilts! I also had the pleasure of reading about other sexy Scots in tales by Melissa Blue this year, and enjoyed them immensely.

Sadly, I am not at home right now, so I can’t look on my shelves to prompt my memory, but among the other historical authors I have enjoyed over the years are: Jude Deveraux, Julia London, Grace Burrowes, Eloisa James, Julia Quinn, Kathleen Woodiwiss. I also recommend Winston Graham’s Poldark series, which is set in Cornwall. I know that my mind will be percolating over all of my favorites who I have forgotten to list, so, by all means, why don’t you share some of your favorite historical romance authors?