Heather Snow creates 3 different bluestocking heroines
Heather Snow, whose Sweet Madness came out Tuesday (April 2), introduces us to three bluestocking heroines from her Veiled Seduction series. And if you don't know what a bluestocking heroine is, she explains that, too. Sweet!
Heather: Dictionary.com defines a bluestocking thus: a woman with considerable scholarly, literary, or intellectual ability or interest. In the world of historical romance heroines, it can mean many other things as well. Some people consider any heroine who is direct and outspoken in that time a bluestocking. Some describe a bluestocking as any female who is independent, spirited and free-thinking. Others would say simply being shy and bookish or wanting something more in life than a good match constitutes bluestocking-hood.
I love bluestocking heroines. When I rediscovered historical romance after college, I found myself gravitating toward them — women who, like me, were more interested in libraries than ballrooms. I tore through the works of Amanda Quick, Lisa Kleypas and Loretta Chase, to name a few. I read about historical heroines who were bookish companions, yes, but also about businesswomen, private investigators, school mistresses, treasure hunters, antiquities dealers, authors, fossil collectors and even a linguistics expert. And I enjoyed them all. But I longed for more. I wanted my bluestockings, well … even bluer.
It's no surprise, then, that when I sat down to write my own historical romances, three very unique heroines came to life …
The Chemist. When the mystery of my debut novel, Sweet Enemy, called for a scientist, there was no question in my mind that my scientist would be the heroine, rather than the hero. Choosing to make her a chemist was easy. You see, I have a chemistry degree myself, so I felt I could lend my voice to her well, or at least give her authenticity. What I hadn't counted on until I started writing was how Liliana would bloom into a fascinating character, and how her uniquely scientific way of seeing the world and her, ahem, experimental nature would drive not just the plot, but the love story.
Beakers and ball gowns don't mix, so when lady chemist Miss Liliana Claremont goes undercover as a husband-hunter to investigate Lord Geoffrey Wentworth, the earl whose family she suspects murdered her father, romance isn't part of her formula. But it only takes one kiss to start a reaction she can't control ...
The Criminologist. The heroine of Sweet Deception literally strode on scene and took over my second novel. I very clearly saw the hero coming home after years away to find his house full of people and an annoying yet lovely woman scribbling on one of his priceless maps — yanked unceremoniously from its frame — all while barking orders at everyone in earshot. Emma quickly became a brilliant criminologist who used maps and mathematics in an early form of geographic profiling to find a killer.
It wasn't until I got into her head, filled with equations and patterns, that I began to understand how she looked at life and love. A reviewer said this of Emma: "Emma attacks everything in life with a mathematical equation, including winning Aveline over as a partner in crime, er, criminal investigation. She even has an equation to keep Aveline interested in his land, Derbyshire, and her as a partner in marriage … for practical reasons. You'll have to read the book to see how she calculates love and passion into the equation!"
Lady criminologist Miss Emma Wallingford unknowingly finds herself tangled up in the dangerous final mission of Lord Derick Aveline, a spy who also happens to be her long-lost first love. But when deception, however sweet, is the name of the game, no one can be trusted. And every love — and every life — is at risk.
The Counselor. And, finally, we come to the third heroine in my series, from Sweet Madness* — which hit store shelves yesterday (April 2). This time, I created a character who wouldn't have considered herself a bluestocking at all, but who had to become one not only to heal another but to heal herself. Penelope was perfectly content to live the pampered life she'd been born to, until the tragic death of her husband drove her to study maladies of the mind, and led her to a man who needed her help … and her love. I found it a challenge to take an average debutante and help her discover her inner bluestocking, so to speak! But, of course, while writing the story I realized that Penelope wasn't average at all, and that everything she needed was within her all along, if she only dug deep enough.
Ever since her husband's sudden and tragic death, Lady Penelope Bridgeman has dedicated herself to studying maladies of the mind, particularly those of soldiers returning from the Napoleonic Wars, but Gabriel Devereaux's unpredictable episodes are like none she's ever seen. Even though she knows the folly of loving a broken man, she can't help herself from trying to save him, no matter the cost …
I do hope you love my versions of the bluestocking heroine. I'd also love to hear about some of your favorites! (To comment, click on the gray comment balloon on the left side of your browser window.)
* Sweet Madness is a story of the healing power of love, and just as important, of hope. My hero, Gabriel, is a fictional war hero, but there are many real-life heroes and their families suffering today. Therefore, my husband and I have decided to donate a portion of all royalties earned from the sale of Sweet Madness to Hope For The Warriors, an organization dedicated to "restoring a sense of self, restoring the family unit, and restoring hope for our service members and our military families."
To find out more about Heather and her books, you can visit her website at www.HeatherSnowBooks.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook and Twitter (@HeatherSnowRW).