Guest Tracey Devlyn: Becoming a Spy

Linda Banche here. My guest today is Tracey Devlyn and her debut Regency historical, A Lady's Revenge. A Lady's Revenge is a spy story, and Tracey tells us all about Regency spies.

Leave a comment with your email address for a chance to win the copy of A Lady's Revenge which Sourcebooks has generously provided. Tracey will select the winner. Check the comments to see who won, and how to contact me to claim your book. If I cannot contact the winner within a week of selection, I will award the book to an alternate. Note, Sourcebooks can mail to USA and Canada addresses only.

And the winner Tracey selected is Mel K! Congratulations, Mel K, and thanks to all who came over.

Welcome Tracey!

Tracey Devlyn:

First off, a big thanks to Historical Hussies for having me today here today!

Cora deBeau’s journey to becoming the Raven, England’s most valuable spy, began at the inconceivable age of ten. The year she witnessed her parents’ brutal murders. That fact alone, though, wasn’t enough to propel her into a life of intrigue and loneliness.

A deeper motivation drove her to greater, almost obsessive, lengths to track down a murderer. What, you ask? Oh, I cannot share, for the answer would spoil one of the suspense elements of the story. J

What I can tell you is how Cora gained her special skills for becoming a British secret service agent. Cora grew up in an interesting family. The deBeaus traveled all over the world, exposing a young Cora to many different cultures and philosophies. But the most significant impact on Cora’s future vocation was the fact that her father led an elite group of international spies known as the Nexus. The Alien Office housed this secret division within the walls of the Foreign Office. Now some of you might be aware that the Alien Office was actually under the auspice of the Home Office, but my special group of spies took their direction from the Foreign Office. Fiction’s great, isn’t it? Thankfully, I found a reference in Elizabeth Sparrow’s Secret Service: British Agents in France, 1792-1815 that the Foreign Secretary appointed the Superintendent of Aliens, so my scenario isn’t outside the realm of possibility.

Pardon my digression—I love talking about a great reference book! Given Cora’s father’s access to intelligence, he believed there to be a looming threat of civil revolution in England, similar to what had occurred in France. To give Cora, her brother Ethan, and their friend Guy the best chance at survival—should the worst happen—he taught them how to pick pockets, gather intelligence, and self-defense tactics. Cora’s father never counted on his pupils’ aptitude for nefarious pursuits. What began as a means to ensure their safety wound end up securing them a spot with the Nexus.

Especially Cora. Her specialized training provided her with a means of avenging her parents’ murders. Something she desperately desired, even knowing her course would prevent her from ever taking her rightful place in society. For nine years, every decision she made, every task she mastered, and every sacrifice she endured had but one focus—find the killer.

Until the eve of her first mission, when her childhood friend and comrade in nefarious pursuits became her one regret. During her last summer in England, Cora began noticing small things about Guy Trevelyan, like the magnificent length of his ebony eyelashes, the adorable dimple in his right cheek, and the fine hairs that peppered the backs of his hands. Her newfound awareness made her feel awkward and guilty around him. Guy was her friend, a brother to her in so many ways. But her preoccupation grew and her admiring gaze had drifted from small things to intimate things like the breadth of his shoulders, the musculature of his thighs, and the beauty of his angular face. Her friend had become her living hell. He kept her insides in a quivering knot and her easy quips would lodge in the back of her throat with just one of his teasing winks.

When she started imagining all her days spent in his company and when her lifelong quest began to fade, Cora set off for France, leaving Guy behind. Distance and distraction, she hoped they would be enough to rid her of the unbearable longing Guy stirred in her heart.

She hoped in vain.

So now you know how my Regency lady became a notorious spy. J

Have you ever run away? Even for an hour? What can you tell me about spies in the Regency period?

BRIEF SUMMARY OF A LADY’S REVENGE:

A British agent flees her French captor’s torturous dungeon and falls in love with the decoder responsible for her imprisonment.

British agent Cora deBeau has spent the last three years seducing secrets from the most hardened of French spies while searching for her parents’ killer. When her latest assignment goes awry, she suffers at the hands of her French captor until Guy Trevelyan, the Earl of Helsford and master cryptographer, saves her during a daring rescue. Scarred and wary of men, Cora shies away from the one man who could heal her savaged heart.

After rescuing Cora from a French dungeon, Guy discovers it was one of his deciphered messages that led to her captivity. Guy strives to earn her forgiveness while outwitting their enemy. But will he find the scars on her wounded soul run too deep?

Tracey Devlyn writes historical romantic thrillers (translation: a slightly more grievous journey toward the heroine's happy ending).

She’s a member of Romance Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Australia Romance Readers Association and the Windy City, Beau Monde, Women’s Fiction, and PASIC Romance Writers of America chapters. Tracey’s also co-founder of Romance University, a group blog dedicated to readers and writers of romance, and Lady Jane’s Salon-Naperville, Chicagoland’s exciting new reading salon devoted to romantic fiction.

An Illinois native, Tracey spends her evenings harassing her once-in-a-lifetime husband and her weekends torturing her characters. For more information on Tracey, including her Internet haunts, contest updates, and details on her upcoming novels, please visit her website at:

TraceyDevlyn.com | Twitter.com/TraceyDevlyn | Facebook.com/AuthorTraceyDevlyn

LadyJanesSalonNaperville.com

Guest Stefanie Sloane: Regency Spies, and the Elizabethan Inspiration

Linda Banche here. Today I welcome Stefanie Sloane and the three books in her Regency Rogues series: The Devil in Disguise, The Angel in My Arms and The Sinner Who Seduced Me. Those of you who like historical spy stories (I LOVE spy stories) will want to check out the series.

Leave a comment with your email address for a chance to win a copy of the Regency Rogues book of your choice. See below for more details.

And the winner Stefanie selected is Maria! Congratulations, Maria, and thanks to all for coming over.

Welcome, Stefanie!

Stefanie Sloane:

First, thank you to the Historical Hussies for kindly inviting me here for a chat. Now, here’s a question that I’m asked quite often: what inspired you to write about spies?

In many ways, the inspiration behind my Regency Rogues series began with the movie, Elizabeth. Oh, I’d heard of Sir Francis Walsingham during my school years, of course. But it wasn’t until the Working Title film that Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster got me thinking. I know, I know—Elizabeth was absolutely riddled with historical inaccuracies and artistic license taken to the limits.

But the fact remains that the man captured my imagination.

Turns out, I’m not the only one who found him to be keenly unforgettable. Queen Elizabeth met Walsingham through mutual friends, including such notable men as Robert Dudley and Sir William Cecil. In 1570, Elizabeth assigned Sir Francis as ambassador to France—a terrible honor, if ever there was one, considering the queen’s desire to establish an alliance between England, Charles IX, and the Huguenots. Despite Walsingham’s best efforts, Catholic opposition proved too powerful and he returned to England defeated—but not undone. Elizabeth saw in Walsingham a man she could trust and put to good use.

And put to good use she did. He’d no more crossed the channel and set foot on British soil before the queen appointed him joint principal secretary alongside Sir Thomas Smith. Smith retired in 1576, leaving Walsingham in charge. One of his many duties included foreign intelligence—a subject matter close to the man’s heart. It is rumored that he’d been spying for Cecil from as early as 1567, reporting on the movements of foreign spies in London. His new position put an official stamp on his favored pastime, and he set to work building an efficient and impressive intelligence network the likes of which the world had never seen before.

He’s long been considered a forerunner of modern intelligence methods, one of the first to use agent provocateurs with 53 agents at foreign courts and another 18 whose duties are, to this day, a closely held secret. His men were trained in the art of deciphering correspondence, forgery, and many other, less reputable skills. As for the identities of his spies, the famous playwright Christopher Marlowe was rumored to be in Walsingham’s employ, as was Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno. But these are all just rumors, still—which, in my opinion, speaks to the man’s significance.

Yes, Rumors. Even more than his having thwarted both the Throckmorton and Babington plots to regain Elizabeth’s throne for Catholic rule, Sir Francis Walsingham’s ability to keep secrets—even from beyond the grave--is part of his mystique, at least for me. Sure, spies are all about secrets. But Walsingham managed an intricate network that included both Catholic and Protestant alike, stars of the stage and political big-wigs—all without any real rulebook, so to speak. He created and managed, directed and oversaw, during one of the most turbulent times in English history.

Fascinating stuff. And ripe for fictional pillaging, wouldn’t you agree? What if Walsingham’s men were as fascinating as the time they lived in? Why would anyone assume that they were immune to love’s lure? And if an author was to imagine an agent in Walsingham’s employ, where and when would their story best blossom and grow? I asked myself all of these questions, and more.
And found my way to the Regency Rogues.

Would you like to try one of my Regency Rogues books before you buy? Tell me which book you’d like to win, and you’re automatically entered to receive the Sloane book of your choice.

Good luck!

Please visit me on the web:

http://www.stefaniesloane.com
http://www.facebook.com/stefaniesloaneauthor
http://www.twitter.com/stefaniesloane

The Regency Rogues Series

The Devil in Disguise
Ballantine Books
ISBN-10: 0345517393
ISBN-13: 978-0345517395
May 24, 2011

The Angel in My Arms
Ballantine Books
ISBN-10: 0345517407
ISBN-13: 978-0345517401
June 28, 2011

The Sinner Who Seduced Me
Ballantine Books
ISBN-10: 0345517415
ISBN-13: 978-0345517418
July 26, 2011

Guest C. Allyn Pierson: Regency Spies

Linda Banche here. Today I welcome C. Allyn Pierson, whose latest book is her Jane Austen historical romance, Mr. Darcy's Little Sister. As you can tell from the title, she continues Pride and Prejudice with Georgiana's story. But here she talks about Regency spies. Mr. Darcy and spies?

Leave a comment for a chance to win one of the two copies of Mr. Darcy's Little Sister which Sourcebooks has generously provided. C. Allyn will select the winners. Check the comments to see who won, and how to contact me to claim your book. If I cannot contact the winners within a week of their selection, I will award the books to alternates. Note, Sourcebooks can mail to USA and Canada addresses only.

C. Allyn has selected the winners Tiffany Green and gigi. Congratulations! I've sent you both emails. If I do not hear from you by October 8, I will select alternates.

Welcome, C. Allyn!

In my latest release, Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister, many of the characters from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice make appearances, including Col. Fitzwilliam and we learn more about what I thought he might be up to while in the military. I selected the Horse Guards as Col. Fitzwilliam’s regiment because I felt that the son of an Earl would be in one of the elite regiments, and the cavalry was the most glamorous branch of the service. In addition, the Horse Guards and the Life Guards were part of the Household Cavalry so they would be stationed in London and not sent off to the battlefields of Europe to fight Napoleon. I decided upon the Horse Guards because one of their primary functions at that time was to guard the safety of the royal family, so I could give Colonel Fitzwilliam access to the highest levels of the court.

In the Regency Era, England had not yet developed an organization dedicated to covert operations (sorry, no MI6 or James Bond!). Various ministers, such as the Foreign Minister and Prime Minister, however, needed a source of information about the actions and plans of the enemies of the state. What these leaders did was develop their own system of contacts and informants, and these sources would then develop their own information systems. Because of the individual nature of these systems there was a great deal of duplication, and sometimes, holes in the system. The Horse Guards were not charged with carrying out covert actions, but I felt that their access to the most powerful men in England would make them an obvious choice when it came to sub rosa activities. I envision the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister getting to know Col. Fitzwilliam over the years and coming to realize that his easy-going appearance hid a trustworthy man who could keep his mouth shut and deal with problems diplomatically.

Eventually, the Horse Guards headquarters in Whitehall became the army headquarters and the term “Horse Guards” came to be used as the name of the building, like we use the term “Pentagon” for our military headquarters.

The English government first established the Secret Service Bureau in 1909 and it eventually changed name to the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). Foreign intelligence became Military Intelligence, Section 6 (MI6) just before WWI. Until this time, all covert operations were strictly individual plans by powerful Ministers.

I hope you will pick up a copy of Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister to see how the Horse Guards are represented! Thank you to all of the Historical Hussies for having me on the blog today!


MR. DARCY’S LITTLE SISTER BY C. ALLYN PIERSON—IN STORES SEPTEMBER 2010

Pride and Prejudice continues...

Georgiana Darcy grows up and goes in pursuit of happiness and true love, much to her big brother's consternation.

A whole new side of Mr. Darcy...

He's the best big brother, generous to a fault. Protective, never teases. But over his dead body is any rogue or fortune hunter going to get near his little sister! (Unfortunately, any gentleman who wants to court Georgiana is going to have the same problem...)

So how's a girl ever going to meet the gentleman of her dreams?

About the Author
C. Allyn Pierson is the nom-de-plume of a physician, who has combined her many years of interest in the works of Jane Austen and the history of Regency England into this sequel to Pride and Prejudice. She lives with her family and three dogs in Fort Dodge, Iowa. http://www.callynpierson.com/