A common definition of ballroom is "a large room for dancing". That's certainly true, as far as it goes, but those of us who read and write historical romance know it's so much more. The ballroom is often a refined venue where young ladies are formally introduced to society but it can also be a place of intrigue and flirtation where political deals are hatched, matrimonial deals are sealed and sensual affairs are begun.
For the past month, Lady B's Ballroom has been the place to see and be seen. Bestowing her patronage on six illustrious historical romance authors - Gaelen Foley, Katharine Ashe, Miranda Neville, Sabrina Darby, Sarah MacLean and Tessa Dare - has brought readers, authors and fascinating characters (especially those of the male variety) out in droves. You never know who you might encounter in Lady B's Ballroom!
Today, Andrea, Buffie, Gannon and I are delighted to welcome these talented authors to our humble establishment to answer a few questions about their new endeavor. Please welcome Lady B, her intrepid parrot, Albert and the ladies of the Ballroom!
Good Morning, ladies! You too, Albert! It's so lovely to have you with us today! Congratulations on the success of your new blog where, according to your banner, daring ladies, dashing lords and deliciously juicy gossip await. Who came up with the idea and name for this blog? Was it one person or a group effort?
Katharine: I received my first invitation to The Ballroom late one night when I was just about to climb into bed. Of course I was shockingly underdressed (bedtime, you know); I couldn’t possibly wear a t-shirt and boxers to a ball. Also, I thought it’d be more fun to go with a friend. So I called Sarah, hoping she would attend with me (and bring me something pretty to wear on her way over). We decided it’d be even more fun to drag- er- bring Tessa, Sabrina, Miranda and Gaelen to the ball with us. So we all donned gloves and jewels, slipped our dance cards onto our wrists, and—what luck!—arrived just as the party began.
Whose idea was Lady B and Albert? We love them both!
Lady B unquestioningly assumed the name of Beaufetheringstone (pronounced Batman, in true English fashion, of course) upon marrying her lesser-in-rank husband, Lord B (he of the smashing calves). Albert entered the family upon their first anniversary as a token of Lord B's love. You’ll find an early portrait of the Lady and her parrot prominently displayed in the ballroom.
Lady B, all of these ladies portray the very picture of innocence but I’m sure they get into more than their fair share of trouble in the Ballroom. Just between us, who’s the mischief maker of the group? The comedienne? The “good girl” who does her best to keep the rest in line?
When I invited the authoresses, I had a feeling that they would be something of a scandal—part of why I included them on the guest list, honestly—and they haven’t disappointed.
Miss Neville’s knowledge of sexual memoirs is fairly scandalous, and she’s something of a bawd. Miss Dare continually surprises me with her rapier wit as she’s such a well-behaved, charming woman. Miss Foley is quite the agitator, (Irish blood, don’t you know) but I suppose with all those strapping men around her all the time, it would be hard not to cause a scene.
If we must have a “good girl”, Miss Ashe will fit the phrase well enough. After all, I prefer keeping anyone too good from my ballroom, and of course there is her penchant for secret identities, so I’ve long suspected her “goodness” is a mask. Speaking of scandal and intrigue, I’m not entirely certain about Miss Darby. She’s been far too polite for her reputation. I’m certain something is brewing. And Miss MacLean, while she laughs a touch too loudly, appears to enjoy a good party and knows how to be a good guest. After all, she brought that wickedly charming man the other day. What was his name?
Ah yes, good ole what's-his-name. He definitely was charming...and delightfully wicked...and so very, very tall. I must say, Miss MacLean, he is one gentleman we are all looking forward to meeting!
Albert, you must be a virtual fount of information about all the heroes and heroines who follow their creators around waiting for exciting storylines and sensual encounters in shadowy ballroom alcoves. What’s the most memorable ballroom encounter you’ve witnessed thus far?
Squawk! Ladies in pursuit! Squawk!
**Albert flies up to perch on the Corinthian scroll of a nearby column.
Lady B: Oh, yes, Albert, I quite agree. While we’ve had ladies hiding in cupboards and handsome half-wild gentlemen and authors with no small amount of gossip to share, the most memorable encounters in the ballroom have been from the other female guests—I believe the authoresses refer to them as “commenters”—It’s quite exciting to see all these ladies angling for introductions and waltzes from the eligible gentlemen attending the festivities.
Squawk! Lobster patties! Squawk!
Lady B: Yes, darling. The lobster treats are memorable. My cook is unparalleled when it comes to crustacea.
Switching from food to fashion (two of our favorite topics), if you were to attend a ball set in one of your novels, what color gown would you wear and why?
Katharine: Blue. The color of the sea, of course!
Tessa: I’m partial to a deep, wine red. Because I like red, and because it lets me drink claret without worrying about spills!
Sabrina: Since The Ballroom Blog debuted, I’ve been attending several of balls a week (although I believe I slept through one) and I haven’t worn the same color twice. I like prints, however, and would likely wear something that incorporates a bit of blue, brown, orange and cream. Yes, I am a daughter of the 70s.
Miranda: I love the drape of satin, the rustle of silk, the magical illusion
of gauze. When it comes to color I draw the line at puce. My preference is always to wear black, one reason I enjoy writing widows (also they are rarely virgins).
Gaelen: Mine would be a rich, dramatic teal with a low neckline, a vandyked lace collar, and long gauze sleeves.
Sarah: Green for me . . . a lovely emerald, simple and A-line to the floor, ruched through the bodice to hide all those unseemly bits. And you can bet I’d be corseted to the nines!
What a beautiful rainbow of colors you would all make!
It seems in every historical romance novel, the ballroom is the place for dancing and flirting. Do you have a memory from your own life where dancing and flirting went hand and hand?
Miranda: I have attended a number of English balls and I found them much less fun than an evening in a seedy club or a grungy bar with the right man. A good deal of my misspent youth was spent dancing to the Rolling Stones in poorly lit establishments.
Gaelen: Why I actually met my beloved Prince Eric while out dancing. Of course it was not at so elegant a place as Lady B’s ballroom. I’m afraid the occasion was a jollification at a low establishment, as unmentionable as that which some of our heroes might recognize from their rakehell excursions into the wee hours of the night. These days, I assure you, I am much more respectable.
(Shut up, Albert.)
Tessa: Mr. Dare and I went out dancing for one of our first dates. It was a Radiohead album release party in a crowded little San Francisco club. Not precisely an elegant ballroom, but I did wear a quite smart frock! And because it was such a crush, the flirtation mostly took place afterward.
Katharine: The high school gymnasium, low lights, pounding rock, beers in bottles snuck in under the bleachers (don’t tell Lady B; she thinks I’m “good”), and heart-throbbing flirtations. We danced too, but honestly, I remember a lot more kissing going on than dancing, which is how I like my balls best to this day!
Sabrina: Haha, I have many, many, many times. Dance has played an important role in my life, whether at clubs or through studying ballroom dance. However, the time when it was most romantic was about six months into my relationship with my (now) husband, when we were dancing at a friend’s house.
Sarah: I was actually taught to dance by a Broadway actor at a summer stock theatre when I was in college. For a full summer, we’d two-step under the stars outside the theatre’s pub. He was a shameless flirt . . . but ultimately, I wasn’t his type. Wrong parts, if you catch my drift. Too bad, really. He was a handsome, handsome devil.
Lady B: Miss MacLean! Really . . . such scandalous talk for our ballroom! And you, Miss Ashe . . . Did I hear you refer to ale? At a ball?
Time to fill in those dance cards, ladies! Which historical romance hero (by any author) would you most want to waltz you around the Ballroom?
Tessa: Is it wrong to choose one of my own heroes? I think I’d like to waltz with Spencer, from One Dance with a Duke – because he doesn’t require any small talk, he only ever dances one set, and at the end he’d promptly whisk me out of the ballroom and on to other adventures!
Miranda: Being hopeless at the waltz, I’m torn between the deliciously wicked Saint Albans from Suzanne Enoch’s London’s Greatest Scoundrel and Eloisa James’s Earl of Mayne, from several books. Saint wouldn’t bother to dance for long while Mayne could, I’m sure, make any woman feel light on her feet.
Sabrina: This isn’t a historical romance hero nor, I’m sorry to say, a hero in a published romance novel. However, a friend of mine wrote a choreographer hero that I found incredibly attractive. I would dance with him any time.
Katharine: Liz Carlyle’s Bentley “Hell-Bent” Rutledge. Actually, we don’t really need to waltz. He could just stand there being dangerous and gorgeous and I’d be in heaven. Now, if he picked up a sword… I couldn’t be held responsible for what I’d do then.
Sarah: Oh . . . is it my turn?
Fans self. Sorry, I was distracted by the idea of dancing with Mayne.
Ok . . . Well, I have to choose Stephanie Laurens’s Devil Cynster—mainly because I would take any moment I could get with Devil. He’s the only man of whom my husband is jealous.
Lady B: I assume all these gentlemen have nice calves?
All, in unison: Oh, yes!
You ladies excel at taking readers back in time with the wonderful stories you write. If you could go back in time to when your characters lived, what one item would you insist on taking with you?
Sarah: I think the failing of being an historical novelist is that we know far too well the kind of deplorable conditions in which London lived. At the risk of being utterly improper, I’m going to go with tampons.
Sabrina: A time machine that lets me go back to the present whenever I feel like it. Barring that, I’d like to take my husband. (My sister chides me for being eminently practical.)
Katharine: Barring people (grinning nod to Sabrina), nothing! Er, well, maybe a bar of chocolate to eat on the trip.
Gaelen: I’m going to have say a port-a-potty. How’s that for romantic! LOL. Sorry, practical, aren’t I? Well, Regency plumbing left MUCH to be desired.
Tessa: I’m going to pull a Claire Fraser (from the Outlander books) and say antibiotics.

Miranda: Damn, Tessa stole my answer. I’ll see your antibiotics, Miss Dare and raise you a jumbo bottle of Advil
Great answers! We're sensing a theme here with Sarah's tampons, Miranda's Advil and Katharine's chocolate. ;-)
Do you ladies have any plans to do a panel at a future RWA conference as The Ballroom Blog?
We’d love to . . . cross your fingers for Anaheim . . . but be warned, Albert doesn’t like the idea of Southern California. He’s a cold weather parrot.
Don't worry, Albert. As cold as they keep those conference rooms, you'll feel right at home!
What’s up next for each of you?
Katharine: IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS (coming August 30!), the story of powerful lord, a passionate lady, and an enduring love to defy the world.
Sarah: Lady Penelope Marbury, the unfortunate fiancée in ELEVEN SCANDALS TO START TO WIN A DUKE’S HEART gets her own love story in February 2012’s
A ROGUE BY ANY OTHER NAME, the first book in my new Rules of Scoundrels series, following four of the kings of London’s Underworld as they find love.
Gaelen: Drake, the most tortured hero spy of the Inferno Club goes off on a suicide mission to destroy the evil Promethean conspirators for once and for all—until he realizes he’s been followed by the girl who has loved him since childhood. Emily is bound and determined to bring him home safe and help him heal, in
MY RUTHLESS PRINCE, coming Jan. 2012.
Tessa: A NIGHT TO SURRENDER comes out August 30th, too – it’s a steamy, humorous battle of the sexes set in Spindle Cove, a charming little seaside village for unconventional ladies.
Miranda –
CONFESSIONS FROM AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE will be out April 2012.The heroine is Minerva Montrose, who has already had a lot to say in The Dangerous Viscount and The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton. The identity of her hero is yet to be revealed, but I can promise Minerva hasn’t gotten any less opinionated.
Sabrina: Highwaymen, smugglers and spies. Oh and mistresses. In my stories, there are always mistresses.
Sarah: Prizes! Lady B will happily gift six commenters with one of our books! She requests that they tell her who *they* would like to waltz with at her next ball. :)
Ladies, thank you so much for visiting with us today. It's been a pleasure to host you! We wish you success with The Ballroom Blog and with all of your upcoming literary endeavors as well.
For more information about today's guests, be sure to visit The Ballroom Blog or stop by the individual websites of the authors (links below) and don't forget to tell the ladies who you would most like to waltz with for a chance to win one of their wonderful books!
Gaelen Foley
Katharine Ashe
Miranda Neville
Sabrina Darby
Sarah MacLean
Tessa Dare