New Christian Regency romance from Camy

Yes, you read that right! I have a Christian Regency romantic mystery novel releasing … tomorrow? I think? Called Prelude for a Lord, and I’m writing it under a pen name, Camille Elliot. Neat, huh? Here’s the back cover blurb:

An awkward young woman. A haunted young man. A forbidden instrument. Can the love of music bring them together . . . or will it tear them apart?

Bath, England—1810

At twenty-eight, Alethea Sutherton is past her prime for courtship; but social mores have never been her forté. She might be a lady, but she is first and foremost a musician.

In Regency England, however, the violin is considered an inappropriate instrument for a lady. Ostracized by society for her passion, Alethea practices in secret and waits for her chance to flee to the Continent, where she can play without scandal.

But when a thief’s interest in her violin endangers her and her family, Alethea is determined to discover the enigmatic origins of her instrument . . . with the help of the dark, brooding Lord Dommick.

Scarred by war, Dommick finds solace only in playing his violin. He is persuaded to help Alethea, and discovers an entirely new yearning in his soul.

Alethea finds her reluctant heart drawn to Dommick in the sweetest of duets . . . just as the thief’s desperation builds to a tragic crescendo . . .

"This very enjoyable book will appeal to fans of Jane Austen and Linore Rose Burkard." —CBA Retailers + Resources

Camy here: I’m so excited for this book! I wrote it originally on a dare. My editor at Zondervan, Sue Brower, loves Regency romances as much as I do and we’re always talking about Regencies we’re recently read and enjoyed. So on a trip to visit my publishing house in Michigan, she tells me, “I want you to write a Regency romance for your next book.”

I was apprehensive because even though I’ve been reading Regencies since I was thirteen years old and I even read Regency research books just for fun, I never seriously attempted to write one. So I listened to a bunch of Jane Austen novels on audiobook and then dove in to the writing.

My marketing team at Zondervan chose my pen name: Camille since it’s close to Camy and Elliot because my favorite Austen character is Anne Elliot from Persuasion. They wanted to use a pen name because Regency romance is SO different from my normal genres of contemporary romance and contemporary romantic suspense. We didn’t want any readers feeling confused or betrayed if they picked up a “Camy Tang” book but was surprised that it was historical romance, so we decided to print it under a different name entirely. It’s almost like reinventing myself!

Around mid-August, I’m planning a fantastic giveaway here on my blog! I’ll be giving away not only copies of Prelude for a Lord, but also hand-knitted lace scarves made by Moi. :) The knitting patterns are late-Regency, early-Victorian patterns, so they’re almost authentic to my book’s time period. I’m also include Jane Austen tea ordered from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, and little violin Christmas ornaments, all in keeping with my book’s storyline and setting.

If you belong to my Camy Tang email newsletter, you’ll be sure to hear when the contest goes live! To sign up, go to http://www.camytang.com/ and look for the purple chair. My new CamilleElliot.com website should be up this week, too!

Comments

Becca-expressions said…

I am so excited about this book! Not only because it's a Camy...uh, Camille Elliot and a Regency, but because I play the violin. Yeeee!!!

Wed Aug 06, 02:02:00 PM 2014

Camy Tang said…

Becca! I didn't know that! I should have come to you for help rather than all that painstaking research!!!!!

Wed Aug 06, 04:17:00 PM 2014

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th

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Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

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No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

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Toilet seat cover

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Captivating, chapter 3

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Keriah's Narrow Crescent Scarf

In my series Lady Wynwood’s Spies, my character Keriah is more emotional than her friend Phoebe, and so when writing about her in Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 6: Martyr , naturally I described her scarf as having more lively colors than the greens and blues that Phoebe favors. I didn’t really have a particular yarn colorway in mind when I wrote the scene, but when looking through my stash to knit her scarf, I found the Carnival colorway in Knit Picks Chroma Twist Fingering, and it was absolutely perfect for her. Chroma Twist Fingering is discontinued, but you could knit this in Chroma Fingering or any other color-transitional yarn. In the Regency era, a tri-color 3-ply yarn like Chroma Twist Fingering would probably not have been sold in shops, but it also may not have been completely unheard of. It is made by simply dying the wool rather than the finished yarn, and then the dyed wool would be split into 3 parts and each part spun into a single ply, before all three plies

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Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter

I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter

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Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter