Kit Marlowe: My Inspiration, P. G. Wodehouse

One of the key influences on my Jazz Age novella The Big Splash was the writer P. G. Wodehouse (pronounced "wood-house"). The name isn't as well know today as it was in his hey day, but I bet many of you will recognize the names Jeeves & Wooster. They serve as the inspiration for my Constance and Collier. Wodehouse wrote 96 books in his 94 years, plus a lot of journalism and a bunch of Broadway musicals. People as varied as Evelyn Waugh, Stephen Fry, Douglas Adams, Zadie Smith and Christopher Hitchens count him as the model of comic writing.

Undoubtledly most people's favourites among his characters are the hapless but eternally cheerful Bertie Wooster and his reserved though incomparably adept "gentleman's gentleman" Jeeves. Bertie's always getting into scrapes, as are most of his mates.  Jeeves sorts them all out with much application of his astute observation, encyclopedic knowledge and savvy judgment of character. While occasionally the two have disagreements -- usually in the realm of divided opinions about straw boaters and white dinner jackets -- they both know they've got the best of all situations. Of course that doesn't stop Bertie from thinking he might know better than Jeeves this time, inevitably the latter will come to his rescue in some inventive way, leaving Bertie marveling yet again at his astounding good fortune.

Kit's portrait by SL Johnson

Ironically, the most common scrape Bertie gets into is getting engaged to some woman, which would put an end to the freewheeling bachelor's days of indulgence -- and surely curtail Jeeves' control of the home. Of course I flipped that around for my story. Collier's reputation is that she seems to always find a husband for her charges. The flighty Constance Wynn Hare, who can't get her favourite guy to propose, finds that after just one day with Collier she's got two proposals -- what to do now?

Amusingly enough, Wodehouse created a romance novelist named Rosie M. Banks. The men find her rather frightening -- after all, she'd dedicated to promoting romantic notions that they feel anxious about living up to in reality -- but she ends up married to Bertie's pal Bingo. I hope I'm a worthy successor to both Wodehouse and his fictional creations. I gave The Big Splash the same madcap air and filled with the glittering party-goers of wealth and fashion. I sure had a lot of fun writing it! If you want to find out more about Jeeves and Wooster and Wodehouse, I highly recommend the series Jeeves & Wooster which stars Stephen Fry and Hugh ("House") Laurie.

What writer makes you laugh?

-- Kit Marlowe

Tamara Gill - From Down Under

How an Aussie girl came to write Regency Erotic Romance

G’day! Tamara Gill here, all the way from Australia and taking a turn at the Noble Authors blog. Today I’m going to talk to you about how I came to be a writer and my latest release, A Captain’s Order – A Duke’s Command, a Regency Erotic romance.

Now, about this writing gig. Let me tell you, I was the debutante who forgot to go to Almacks. No doubt, you’ve all read biography’s of how authors wrote from an early age, forever scribbling through high school. Well, that wasn’t me…at all. In fact, up until my mid twenties I didn’t even read romance. Please don’t gasp, I did read romance eventually, just not then. So, up until my mid twenties, I read mostly non-fiction or if it was fiction, Dan Brown type books, you get the picture.

But then I fell pregnant with my first son and I stumbled upon a Stephanie Laurens novel. I hadn’t read her before and the cover intrigued me enough to buy it. Let me tell you, after reading and having my eyes opened to what was out there, my poor bank balance suffered while I hunted down all the books she had available. Thus, Eloisa James, Gaelen Foley, Elizabeth Boyle were on my hit list too. Poor ladies.

I then read voraciously for a couple of years and it wasn’t until I was pregnant with my second son, (I know, must be the hormones) that a story started to play out in my mind. It became so bad living with these characters that one night while watching TV I decided to write a book. And I did, and I haven’t stopped since.

I scribbled away for three years, didn’t join any author or critique groups. In fact, I was so naive about it all, I didn’t even know of RWA (America), RWA (Australia), how to set out a manuscript, or that some authors had agents. Who were those people, I wondered? Then, surfing the net one day I spied a group in Adelaide called SARA, South Australian Romance Authors who were having a mini Romance Roadshow. I took a leap of faith and went. Met some fabulous published authors and talented writers and it hit home that what I was doing, could, if I wanted it enough, be a career for me.

I’m now an owner of many editing, craft and how-to books. I’m a member of RWA, RWAust, SARA, The Beau Monde and have a wonderful critique partner who I couldn’t possibly live without. And of course, I’m published with Noble Romance Publishing, who, no matter where my writing takes me, will always have a special place in my heart.

So, talking of books, I’m giving away a copy of my latest Regency romp, A Captain’s Order – A Duke’s Command to one lucky guest who comments today. To give you a little taste of the novella I’ve included the blurb for you all.

Lady Eloise Bartholomew's trip to Australia on the shirttails of her adventurous brother ends in tragedy when he dies from a fever. But with the conventions of English society suspended on the high seas, she finds passion and excitement in the arms of a rugged ship's captain – only to be dumped back into the ton still burning from the fire ignited in her and the loss of the only man she could ever love.

More at home on his ship than dallying with the ton, Gabriel Lyons, now the Duke of Dale intended never to set foot in London again. But when an elder brother dies, and the woman who claimed his heart over his love for the ocean brings him home, he knows he has to face the secrets of his past. Will their love survive the scandal that sent him away, the lies he has told her and the duel he must fight for his honor and her hand.

Thank you for joining me today, and good luck!

Tam

Tamara Gill - Historical Romance Author
Where love is worth risking one's reputation...
To Sin with Scandal – Available now from Noble Romance Publishing
A Captain's Order - A Duke's Command - Available January 24 from Noble Romance Publishing

 

http://www.tamaragillromanceauthor.com
http://tamaragill.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/Tamara_Gill
Need a critique group that thinks outside the historical square? Join Risky Regency Critique Group today!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RiskyRegencyCritGroup/