The Vanishing Viscountess
by Diane Gaston
ISBN 10: 0373294794


The prisoner stood with an expression of defiance, leather shackles on her wrists. Adam Vickery, Marquess of Tannerton, was drawn to this woman, so dignified in her plight. He didn’t recognize her as the once innocent, hopeful debutante he had danced with long years ago.

Marlena Parronley, the notorious Vanishing Viscountess, was a fugitive. Seeing the dashing, carefree marquess of her dreams just reminded her that shecouldn’t risk letting anyone, especially Tanner, get caught up in helping her escape. He would face the same punishment she did. The hangman’s noose.

Diane will be giving away a copy to one lucky commenter, so ask away!!!

What do you like least about this period? Anything that constrained you or that you had to plot carefully around?

The Vanishing Viscountess is set in Regency England. I love the Regency! What’s not to love about it?

I suppose if I were forced to find something, it would be that there is so much history packed into the few years of the Regency that an author has a lot to plot around. You really have to make a careful check of important events of the time in which you set your story because there is bound to be something there that would affect your characters’ lives.

In The Vanishing Viscountess, it was not the history that constrained me, but rather the geography. My hero and heroine had to travel across the UK, so I had to be certain that I gave them a realistic route and didn’t bump them into mountains or dunk them in rivers. You can see this route on a Google Map on my website.



What sparked this book? Was it a character? An historical event? A scene you just couldn’t get out of your head?

The hero of The Vanishing Viscountess, Tanner, first appeared in Innocence and Impropriety. He was the marquess who coveted the Vauxhall singer with whom his secretary fell in love. He also was a strong, vivid personality who demanded a book of his own. So Tanner made me write his story! In Innocence and Impropriety, Tanner is accustomed to solving all problems by using his influence and wealth. I wanted to strip him of those advantages and make him live by his wits and resourcefulness.

But a scene also begged to be written. I had read several accounts of shipwrecks in my Annual Registers. Annual Registers are a bit like almanacs, giving the noteworthy political, society, cultural and news events of the year. I’m lucky enough to own Annual Registers from 1810 to 1820.

Peppered through the “Chronicles,” the news events in the Registers, are accounts of shipwrecks. The saddest thing about them is that the women and children never survive. I couldn’t get that idea out of my mind.

On Jan 17 I’m going to blog here about the Annual Registers and accounts of shipwrecks, so come back and take a peek.

Did you have to do any major research for this book? Did you stumble across anything really interesting that you didn’t already know?

I had to do tons of research on setting. Because this is a road story, I had to research a route for my characters to travel. My friend Delle Jacobs gave me the actual coaching route of the time period and I used that as my model. Then I had to research the towns and villages along the way, and what the the terrain would look like in autumn. I relied heavily on Google Maps and Google Earth. I wrote a little article in the January Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine about it.

I learned a lot about researching itself. I found that searching on Google Images almost always saved me time. I learned to use Answers.com for factual information about the towns and villages Tanner and Marlena would pass through, then I’d turn to Google Images for visuals.

I found a wonderful site for researching setting in Scotland: Undiscovered Scotland.

What/Who do you like to read?

I love to read Historical Romance, Regency Historicals most of all. But since I’ve been writing I find I am more compelled to read my research books, of which I have sooooo many. (Kalen and I are in a competition to see who can buy the most research books. I’ll bet she’s winning, but I give her a good run for her money) I just finished a biography, The Girl in Rose: Haydn's Last Love by Peter Hobday, which was pre-Regency but interesting. Before that I read Perdita: The Literary, Theatrical, Scandalous Life of Mary Robinson by Paula Byrne, also Georgian era, and Mistress of the Elgin Marbles : A Biography of Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin by Susan Nagel. I’m into biographies of women these days.

Care to share a bit about your writing process? Are you a pantser or a plotter? Do you write multiple drafts or clean up as you go?

Now that I’m writing for a publisher, I have to write a synopsis and that means figuring out a plot ahead of time. If I didn’t have to do that, I’d be a complete pantser, although, like having my Google Map, I think having a roadmap for the plot makes the journey easier.

Even if I have a general idea of the main plot, I often don’t have a clue what the next scene will be. That’s the hardest thing for me, thinking up what comes next, what my characters will do next, how to get them from one big plot point to the other. There is no way I could do this ahead of time. I could never outline every scene; I just couldn’t do that!

What are you planning to work on next?

I have one book finished and due for release in October 2008. Scandalizing the Ton is my Regency paparazzi story, what I imagine it would be like if a lady was suddenly hounded by the press who are desperate to know the identity of the father of her unborn child.

After that I have an idea for a trilogy featuring three soldiers, and I have a novella for a Regency anthology with Amanda McCabe and Deb Marlowe.

I’m out most of the day today, Jan 15, but I’ll be back in the evening to answer any questions you might have. I’m also doing a chat tonight at Mystic Castle at 9 pm ET. Everyone is invited!