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Notes and News
Winter 2008
Theft of Shadows to be released Feb 5
The next book in the Darkness series will be released from Signet Eclipse on February 5, 2008
England 1799: A lady thief robs a spy–and from that moment on, the price of love is highway robbery...
Former spy Gabriel d’Aubrigny, the Chevalier de Lesgardes, returns to England with a purse of gold and plans to start a new life. His luck vanishes like mist on the heath when a highwayman takes even his horse. Penniless, Gabriel must turn to the enigmatic spymaster, Sir Alaric Fitzwilliam, for work. His mission: to pose as a courtier and unmask a man suspected of using dark magic against the Throne.
After stealing from a handsome traveler, Anne Tremaine uses her new fortune to pose as a wealthy widow. While hunting London society for an old enemy, she meets Gabriel once more. Every encounter with the Frenchman is a dangerous game, for his touch ignites desire--but one slip might send her from his embrace to the gallows. Then again, she would wager her stolen jewels that Gabriel is not as he appears...
“A powerful new voice in paranormal romance”
- Mary Jo Putney
News bites:
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Step into Darkness has been released as Pasos en la oscuridad. This Spanish language edition is from El Ateneo (Argentina)
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Cora Verlag (Germany) and Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Spa (Italy) have bought Step into Darkness and Draw Down the Darkness for foreign language editions.
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Penguin Australia will release Theft of Shadows April 7, 2008
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Draw Down the Darkness has been nominated for the 2007 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award in the Historical Paranormal category!
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Check out the February 2007 issue of Canadian Living for the article Naomi Bellis: A Woman to Know!
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Check out my blog at Live Journal! http://naomibellis.livejournal.com/
There, now you’ve heard all my good news!
Today is brilliant, sunny, and frosty – the perfect kind of winter day for curling up with my cats and working on my next book. They like to help, and occasionally crash the computer with an ill-advised poke of the paw when the flashing lights and fun noises get too much to resist. Jordan is a particular fan of mySpace – there’s lots of interesting sounds and sights there. He seems to always know when I’m logging on to that site and sits on my lap for the best view of the laptop screen. I have no idea what the cats actually think about the little black box I stare at so much, but it’s nice to share some of that time with them. It helps me remember there’s a “real life” to come home to once I’ve done playing with my imaginary friends …. I’ve got a photo of “the boy” on my mySpace photos page for those who adore cat pics as much as I do (www.myspace.com/naomibellis).
I hope this finds you all healthy and well and looking forward to spring. In Victoria, the snowdrops are already up and a few cherry trees are starting to bloom …
What’s in your garden? Who are your pets? I’d love to know! Write me (send pictures!) at Naomi@NaomiBellis.com. I’m always happy to hear from you.
“A sparkling new voice in romance”
- Jo Beverley
Tales of Courtships Past
Since February is the month for Valentine’s Day, it’s interesting to look back at old courting customs. The path of true love may not always run smoothly, but it sure takes some interesting detours along the way.
St. Valentine’s Day was well-established in England from an early period, but it did not fare so well when it first came to the Puritan New World. Along with other “frivolous” celebrations, it was aggressively repressed. When a sea captain returned to Boston on February 14, 1764, and kissed his wife in an enthusiastic greeting, he was promptly put in the stocks. So much for the Hallmark moment.
Other traditions survived transplantation to our shores more easily, especially in rural areas. The practice of “bundling” or bed-fellowship involved an unmarried couple sharing a bed as part of their courtship. The reasoning behind this includes the fact that rooms were cold, beds were in short supply, and farmhouses could be too far apart for a courting swain to trudge home after dark. It was also a good opportunity for a young couple to enjoy relative privacy in a crowded home. The practice was said to decline with the advent of improved housing, although instances are still recorded as late as the mid-nineteenth century in the New England area.
Nightclothes were designed to prevent bed-fellowship from progressing to something more. The “bundling stocking” was a single-legged pyjama worn by the female. Other measures included tightly-tied nightgowns and petticoats armoured with impenetrable knots. Of course, in some agricultural communities, celibacy was not the goal. Proof of fertility could also be an asset.
Clothes were often used as love-tokens as well as barriers. In Scotland, if a man accepted the gift of a shirt (or “sark”) sewn by his sweetheart, it was a binding pledge of marriage. Elaborately-carved busks (a piece of bone or wood that stiffened the front of a corset) were also favorite gifts, perhaps because they sat between the breasts and over the heart of the beloved.
Other courtship gifts included spoons, pincushions, crockery, and even rolling-pins decorated with expressions of affection. Given the familiar cartoon image of a woman whacking her husband with a rolling pin, practical gifts have limited power to invoke domestic harmony. He should have given chocolates instead.
Not all wedding customs derive from romantic sentiment. Making a lot of noise, including bells, banging pots, and even the stag night itself, came from a desire to frighten off evil spirits who might wish the couple harm. The bridal party itself, with bridesmaids and groomsmen, was originally there for protection. In an era when many brides were the prize of conquest, guards were necessary to prevent untimely rescue by the woman’s kin. Thankfully, these aren’t associations we need to make now, but they do remind us of a time when marriage had powerful political and economic implications. When a man conquered a woman, he did so literally as well as euphemistically.
Much nicer to contemplate is the old rhyme, most appropriate for this time of year:
Marry when the year is new,
Always loving, always true.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Sources for this information include Margaret Baker’s Wedding Customs and Folklore, Rowman and Littlefield, New Jersey, 1977 and Susan Waggoner’s I do! I do!, Rizzoli International Publications Inc, New York, 2002.
February 05, 2008