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Writing and reading historical romance are my two modes of relaxation. Without them, I don’t relax. I do relax a little on my one vacation a year to England, but I’m thinking that’s not a great answer. Sleeping relaxes me. Can I say sleep?

There’s not a lot of time for relaxation because there’s always other demands on my time. Literally, every friend I’m thinking of at this moment would relate to that: a stay-at-home-mother of five, a social worker, an investigator for the Illinois DCFS, a...

My new historical is the story of an English explorer and a shy heroine who sail by steamship from England to Bombay, and back. Seth Mayhew and Wilhelmina Adams make the perilous journey for different reasons: Seth to find a lost sister, and Mina to wed a civil servant stationed in India. (Spoiler alert: Mina’s plans are gonna change.)

In 1851, that journey takes 99 days, with caravan travel across Egypt before getting back on a boat at Suez. In 2016, that journey takes 20 hours. There’s...

What kind of research did you do to write Discovery of Desire? What was the most interesting thing you discovered?

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON LORI'S READING CORNER, 5 September, 2016

Seth and Mina’s story begins in 1850’s Bombay (now called Mumbai) before returning to London, so I had a fascinating (and dark) history to research. In 1850, India was under British rule, a colonization made possible by the first forays into the territory by the East India Company, an organization that came into...

Discovery of Desire is set in a very unique location for a Victorian romance, what inspired you to set the book outside of England?

Originally posted on RAMBLINGS FROM THIS CHICK, 2 September, 2016

The beginning of Discovery of Desire is set in Bombay, and the second half returns my hero and his heroine to London, and parts north of London, in Derbyshire. I needed to send my explorer-hero, Seth Mayhew, away from England as he’s on a quest to find his lost sister. The search for Georgiana...

First, it may help the readers of this blog to know a bit about my hero and heroine, Seth and Mina. Imagine them a little like Rocky Balboa and Adrian. At least, that’s how I sometimes imagined them. Seth is honest and kind and good to the core, but he’s a simple man who was raised in poverty. He’s physically powerful, but gentle. Expert at what he does, but not highly-educated. Mina is not as awkward as Rocky’s Adrian, but she is unassuming, and shy in the company of men.

Mina and Seth both...

Probably one of the best bits of writer’s “life” advice I received came from my editor, Deb Werksman, at Sourcebooks, who wisely told me: Don’t read the bad reviews. I’ll tell you if you’re doing something wrong. Reading reviews is crazy-making, and that goes for both good reviews and the bad ones. Sharing something you’ve written is a vulnerable space to live in and too often, romance writers question whether all the effort and emotion they put into their book is even worth it. But I can...

Mary Balogh was the writer who lured me into my love of historical romance. I started with Lord Carew’s Bride, and after that first wounded beta hero, I went on a Balogh-binge. I bought her entire backlist and read them all, and have bought every book since. Mary Balogh has the ability to transport me to my idealized view of rural, Regency England. The stone cottages, the small churches, the manor house of the wealthiest family in the village—no one conjures that landscape like Mary. The way...

Back in May, I joined a panel of historical romance authors to participate in a Q&A regarding our writing lives. Someone asked the question: How much control do you have over your book cover?

The answer is, a little.

I've got a little, the creative director at my publishing house has a little, as does the photographer who shoots the models, the retoucher who composites a background behind the characters and finishes the image with a beautiful, painterly effect, and the cover designer who...

"Lord builds a charming Victorian-era tale of romantic destiny on a subplot from her novel IN SEARCH OF SCANDAL.

"How do two lovers, with nary an aristocratic title or fortune between them, find their happy-ever-after in 1850s Bombay and London?

In this lovely historical romance, Lord (In Search of Scandal, 2015, etc.) presents her protagonists with the challenge of joint penury. Seth Mayhew is a world explorer who finds botanical specimens for the avaricious East India Company but has little to show for it except a cottage in need of repair. His current voyage to India, moreover, is not for work but to...

The original draft of In Search of Scandal contained even more brooding and tortured longing for Will and Charlotte. The following is the deleted Chapter 7. Charlotte has kissed Will (disastrously) at Spencer's dinner. The couple are again at odds. The lost scene occurs the next day at Hyde Park, as Will agonizes over the kiss, and waits for Charlotte to appear...

Hyde Park on a Saturday afternoon was where Will Repton came to battle his demons. He had too many demons, to be sure. Mammoth,...

My favorite promotion for IN SEARCH OF SCANDAL was the "London Explorer Fast Facts" that appeared on various blogs and on twitter and facebook. I had a lot of fun going back through all my notebooks and index cards of research to find those factoids I thought were most interesting. (And then pairing them with some beautiful graphics, courtesy of the British Library's 'Flickr Common' album of over 1 million digitized images now in the Public Domain.)

To visit my Pinterest account, click here: ...

As an author with Sourcebooks, I’m fortunate to have been granted the talents of a lovely publicist, Amelia, to help me launch my book. Poor lady. She’s forced to brainstorm ways to promote a complete unknown, and one of the many suggestions she made was that I might write about ‘my go-to place to write.’

Well. I was doubtful that anyone would care as I don’t have a rustic cabin in Maine or house overlooking the Atlantic with a Labrador and cool collection of sea glass in the windowsill. But...

In the weeks leading up to the release of my first book, I was asked to prepare answers to interview questions that, on the surface, seem entirely pertinent and natural and relatively easy.

Well. They're not easy for me. 'Where did you get the idea to write your book?' completely stumps me. I can sort of make up an answer, but it might change from week to week and no one wants to listen to me try. Susan Elizabeth Phillips answered that question once with, "From a warehouse in Tucson," which...

All right, it’s immodest but I have never been able to pinpoint a favorite scene in IN SEARCH OF SCANDAL. I enjoy every scene in the book—now. I won’t lie and tell you that revising was a joy, but as a new author, I had to revise and re-work continually. I’d still be rewriting if my publisher didn’t insist on that deadline. But there came a point in the revising process when I realized how much the story was improving with the heaps of editorial feedback I received.

But if I have to choose,...

On such a poignant day (Veteran's Day), I was so surprised to receive the news that In Search of Scandal has been nominated for Best First Historical by RT Book Reviews. So thankful for their generous review.

Thank you to Booklist for the lovely review!

Thank you, RT Book Reviews, for the wonderful review!

For one weekend in September, London opens many of their glorious buildings to the public, who would normally not be allowed in. A couple weeks back, Charlotte and I enjoyed amazing access to many of the City’s historic buildings and visiting many of the locations mentioned in IN SEARCH OF SCANDAL. (Images of these places are on my pinterest inspiration board for the book, and in the Victorian London board.)

There is so much incredible history in the city, and so many places written of in my...

Charlotte and I woke to an exceedingly fine September day and decided to leave our charming room at The Bell Inn to hike the Cotswold landscapes about Moreton in Marsh. In preparation, I laminated my survey maps, brushed up on my compass reading skills and dusted off my trekking poles. And Charlotte donned her sturdiest kid leather boots. (I realize you can't see them under the yards of satin and foreground of peonies, but trust me. They are very elegant.)