Guest Blogger ~ Lindsay Townsend

Greetings, Title Magicians, today we have a wonderful lady and a most splendid author, Lindsay Townsend, with us who pens remarkable and atmospheric romance novels, the kind of novel you can lose yourself in, and simply be transported to another time and place.

Reading Lindsay Townsend's Flavia's Secret is an opportunity to experience living in Roman times, and to immerse yourself in a love story as it could have occurred in that culture. There is something truly magical about how Lindsay writes, as if she herself is living during the Roman period, observing, then transcribing the story for all of us.

Five Reasons Why I Love the Genre of Historical Romance.

Hello, and thank you to TITLE MAGIC for having me along today! I'm a British writer, living and working in the United Kingdom, mainly in Yorkshire. I'm married and I write full time for Kensington Zebra and Bookstrand of Siren-Bookstrand.

When I was first published, I began as a writer of modern romantic suspense. I still love that genre but writing for Kensington and Bookstrand has given me the chance to return to my first love, historical romance.

"Why do you like it so much, a girl-friend asked me over coffee recently. History is the past. Everyone's dead!" That made me think - WHY do I like historicals and history so much? I suppose in a wider sense we all live always in the past - we are a collection of past memories and experiences that forms us and makes us what we are. My mum, who is 85, has sadly lost most of her short-term memory and is tremendously affected with the loss of that personal 'history'. Even on a one to one basis, history is important.

Here are 5 more reasons why I love the genre:

1. The chance for high stakes and adventure. (This is where history and romantic suspense tend to come close together and perhaps why so writers of romantic suspense such as Mary Stewart tend to write both historicals and moderns.) In a historical romance, I can choose when and where to set the story, so I choose to set my stories in situations of great personal conflict and outer tension. With my ancient historical novel, FLAVIA'S SECRET, set in ancient Roman Britain in AD206, the stakes for Flavia and the hero Marcus are life and death. To save her life and the lives of her fellow slaves, Flavia has forged a vital document, and she does not know if she can trust her new master Marcus, to whom she is also passionately attracted. For his part, Marcus wishes to expose a corrupt and brutal Roman official, the Decurion Lucius Maximus, a man who, if crossed, is quite happy to commit murder.The whole issue of slavery is also explored in FLAVIA'S SECRET - it's many terrors and cruelties. There is also love and tenderness, as there was in the Roman world itself, where we have gravestones showing that masters did free and marry their slave-women companions.

2. Glorious Heroes. In the past, the roles of men have been perhaps more defined by martial qualities, by their roles as warriors. This can lead to unpleasant, brutish individuals but I like to explore its other positive aspect in my historicals - the man as a valiant protector. The ideals of chivalry explored in my medieval historical romances for Kensington did inspire men in the twelfth century to be less crude and consider their womenfolk - at least noble-womenfolk. In my writing, I make this chivalry extend to all women and children, as I feel the ideal was intended. I love the idea of a strong man who can rescue the heroine. So in my Kensington Zebra Debut title, A KNIGHT'S VOW, I have the hero Guillelm care for and protect the heroine Alyson - who also cares for and protects him in turn.

3.Enterprising Heroines. Because women sadly are still oppressed in many parts of the world and were particularly oppressed in the past, writing about my heroines in a past where they were automatically belittled simply because of their sex gives me lots of opportunities for conflict. My heroines must battle for their places in the world and they do so, with their wits and beauty and knowledge. Often in the past women could also be powerful figures - think of Eleanor of Aquitaine - with control of lands and men. I like to explore that in my stories, too and I think it's very empowering for women.

4. Exotic and Exciting Settings. I can show cathedrals and castles when they were new or being built. Living in the United Kingdom, I can explore many part of the medieval and Roman worlds - as I did when I set FLAVIA’S SECRET in Bath, in the Roman baths at Bath. (This is a wonderful, sensual, sexy setting!) For my forthcoming new Kensington Zebra medieval, A KNIGHT’S CAPTIVE, I explore the mysterious fenlands in 1066 and London under Norman occupation.

I can also show the pyramids when they still had their white limestone coverings and Egyptian temples when they were vibrant places of faith, as I do in my forthcoming Bookstrand historical BLUE GOLD. I can also use the setting in a more intimate way, as I do in my forthcoming Bookstrand historical ESCAPE TO LOVE, where the hero and heroine are at the Roman holiday resort of Baiae, infamous even then for its wild boating parties and debauchery.

5. Lovely costumes. I know this is possibly a frivolous reason for enjoying writing about the past, but throughout history there have been some truly spectacular fashions! Read about what Roman and Medieval women really wore in my books and you'll see why I like them so much. And I must admit, I'm a sucker for a man in armour...
Thanks again for having me along, Title Magic! I hope people find this interesting and enjoy it. If people have any questions, please contact me here or on my email at lindsaytownsend@yahoo.co.uk .

Flavia’s Secret
Lindsay Townsend

How far dare you trust your lover? Especially when your lover is also your master.....
Spirited young Celtic scribe Flavia longs for freedom. She and her fellow slaves in Aquae Sulis (which in modern England is the town of Bath) have served the Lady Valeria for many years, but their mistress's death brings a threat to Flavia's dream: her new master, Marcus Brucetus, a charismatic, widowed officer, toughened in the forests of Germania. Flavia finds him overwhelmingly attractive, but she is aware of the danger. To save her life and those of her 'family', she has forged a note from her mistress. If the deception is discovered, all the slaves may die.
For his part, torn between attraction and respect, Marcus will not force himself on Flavia. Flavia by now knows of his grief over the deaths of his wife, Drusilla, and their child; but how can she match up to the serene, flame-haired Drusilla?
As the wild mid-winter festival of Saturnalia approaches, many lives will be changed forever.

RED ROSES FOR AUTHORS/REVIEWS
An exciting mystery set in ancient Italy and Rome. The romance between Flavia and Marcus is strong and passionate and the mystery is intriguing. Very enjoyable. 4.5 red roses. Morna

For my Bookstrand titles, on the Sirenbookstrand blog: http://sirenbookstrand.blogspot.com/ as well as at the publisher’s website: http://www.bookstrand.com
FLAVIA'S SECRET: http://sirenbookstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=139

A Knight’s Vow
Lindsay Townsend
Kensington Books

'Sir Guillelm has returned! The son of Lord Robert has come back to us!'.....
Would he remember her? She had been fourteen years old when he had answered the call of his kinsman, Raymond of Poitiers, and gone with him to the Holy Land. He had been in the exotic, dusty lands of Outremer for seven long years and she had despaired of ever seeing him again.

A KNIGHT'S VOW: http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/finditem.cfm?itemid=12109

You can read more about my novels, blurbs, extracts and reviews, on my blog: http://lindsaysbookchat.blogspot.com/