The Historical Romance Retreat

Last month I did something truly amazing. I was invited to be one of the featured authors at the Historical Romance Retreat, a dedicated reader event which took place in the opulent Historic Davenport Hotel sleepy Spokane, Washington. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the entire event blew me away. The attention to detail was staggering and all credit must go to historical romance authors Renee Bernard and Delilah Marvelle.

The readers were fabulous and all dedicated fans of the historical romance genre. One of the best things about the five days I spent with them, is that I spent it with them. You are not an author behind the table. At HRR you are very much part of the event, whether that being the table host serving tradition English afternoon tea to the readers, being a croupier at the period themed gambling night or leading the dancing at the fabulously ostentatious Grand Ball. Authors host workshops. Mine was entitled The Discerning Lady's Guide to Regency London, a raucous romp through my home town in the 19th century that started and ended in the gutter.

Other workshops mixed perfumes, delved into the fascinating world of herbal medicine and we all got to make hats with Eloisa James. My was a doozy which was coveted by all (or so I am led to believe!).

The best part of the whole event was being with friends. I went with my good friend and fellow Totes Bags 'n' Blogs historical author Nicole Locke. I knew nobody else. I left with so many new friends- both authors and readers alike- that I cannot count them.



Next year it is in California and the author line-up is being announced soon. If you love historical romance YOU HAVE TO GO! It is the most fun you can have with your (period) clothes on.

Childhood Treasures!

by Anna Campbell

2014 is going to be a year of many changes for me, not least the fact that I'm putting the family home on the market and moving to something much smaller and much more central.

Please take note of those two words 'family home.' That means family junk reaching right back into childhood for my brother and I. So downsizing is a mammoth job.

So far I've tackled a lot of the easy stuff - books, papers, sheet music, CDs. Some of it in fact, has been really pleasurable to see again, especially the childhood books. This month on my website in My Favorite Things, I talk about some books from the 1930s that my mother won as academic prizes. Check them out!

Today, I'm talking about a real treasure that brought back so many memories. THE GIFT BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES was my baby brother's book (his name is neatly inscribed inside in my father's lovely handwriting) but I placed dibs on it pretty much straight away. You can't see it in the picture above, but I wrote my name all over the cover - I was a possessive young wench!

The minute I opened this book I remembered my childhood fascination with the beautiful historical costumes in the illustrations. I really think this book may have in the end resulted in me writing historical romance!

The illustrations are the work of two English twin sisters, Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone, who were active in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s until Anne was tragically killed in a fire. You can read about their amazing partnership here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_and_Anne_Grahame_Johnstone

So I thought today, I'd share some of these beautiful illustrations with you. I think the costumes are just exquisite!

So did you have any books illustrated by the Grahame Johnstone sisters? Perhaps even this one? What was your favorite childhood book?