Happy Friday, dear Feasters. And what a jolly fine one it is too. Not least because this week we have awesome Regency historical romance author Anna Campbell as our Friday Feast guest.
Have I ever revealed how I came to be an Anna Campbell fan? Well, sometime back in 2009, I commented on a blog post where there was a copy of Tempt The Devil up for grabs and won. Now, Regency isn’t a genre I normally read but when Anna sent me my signed copy of Devil I thought I’d give it whirl. Next thing I know, the Devil’s been devoured and I’m on the hunt for the rest of Anna’s backlist. These books are wonderful – sexy, luscious and drama-filled. A good time rompy read with bonus rumpy-pumpy, and a happily ever after to round things off.
So if you’ve never tried an Anna Campbell, here’s your chance!
SEVEN NIGHTS IN A ROGUE’S BED
Will a week of seduction…
Desperate to save her sister’s life, Sidonie Forsythe has agreed to submit herself to a terrible fate: Beyond the foreboding walls of Castle Craven, a notorious, hideously scarred scoundrel will take her virtue over the course of seven sinful nights. Yet instead of a monster, she encounters a man like no other. And during this week, she comes to care for Jonas Merrick in ways that defy all logic-even as a dark secret she carries threatens them both.
…Spark a lifetime of passionate surrender?
Ruthless loner Jonas knows exactly who he is. Should he forget, even for a moment, the curse he bears, a mere glance in the mirror serves as an agonizing reminder. So when the lovely Sidonie turns up on his doorstep, her seduction is an even more delicious prospect than he originally planned. But the hardened outcast is soon moved by her innocent beauty, sharp wit, and surprising courage. Now as dangerous enemies gather at the gate to destroy them, can their new, fragile love survive?
Makes me get all squirmy just reading that blurb because I know what a treat you’re in for. If you’d like you buy your own copy of Seven Nights In A Rogue’s Bed you can order the paperback version from Amazon, Barnes & Noble (for US addresses), Bookdepository, Booktopia or Bookworld. If you’d prefer the e-book version try Kindle, Kobo, Google Play or the iTunes store.
And now here’s Anna.
Fat Princes with Anna Campbell
Hi Cathryn! Hi Friday Feasters!
Cathryn, thank you so much for having me on your blog today. I love visiting and talking about two of the yummiest things out there – romance fiction and great food and wine.
INTERNAL EDITOR: Um, Campbell, that’s three!
CAMPBELL: No-one expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Oops, sounds like I might already be hitting the vino! I promise this post is about to get more sensible. No recipes for Spam thermidor.
Last time I visited, I was busily writing SEVEN NIGHTS IN A ROGUE’S BED and promoting MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION.
There’s always a slight Doctor Who time slip going on in an author’s life – the book you’re spending most of your life thinking about is usually NOT the book you’re spending the remainder of your life talking about.
Now, huzzah, SEVEN NIGHTS IN A ROGUE’S BED has hit the shelves (25th September, North America, 1st October, Australia and New Zealand). I’ve just finished the second book in the Sons of Sin series A RAKE’S MIDNIGHT KISS which features a lovely picnic scene. Food seems to make regular appearances in my books!
I write books set in the 1820s which counts as late Regency in historical romance. The Prince Regent who ruled in place of his incurably mad father George III took the throne in 1820, becoming George IV. By this stage, 
Prinny, as he was less than affectionately known, was a middle-aged man with huge health problems, ‘huge’ being the word. He was obese and spoiled and I think miserably aware that he’d squandered his early promise in self-indulgence. After waiting so long for the throne, he died only ten years later, just six weeks short of his 58th birthday. Too much wine, women and song – and you can hold the song!
I’ve included an 1819 cartoon to give you some idea of his appearance. I doubt if this is wildly exaggerated. I’ve seen his coronation robes at Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire. Carpet Call could cover half a house with that much fabric and still have some left over for the garage. Apparently they were adding gussets right up to the coronation day because his weight was so out of control.
George, as you’ve probably gathered, was into his food the way Lassie was into kids stuck down the well.
One of the most famous banquets ever held took place in 1817 when Prinny hosted a dinner for Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia. The world-famous chef Marie-Antoine Carême (he’s the skinnier guy pictured) created 120 separate dishes for 
this extravaganza.
A banquet on that scale requires imagination from the host (George had plenty of that!), endless cash (thanks to his long-suffering subjects), and an army of servants. I only tick the imagination box, but I thought I’d share one of Carême’s more straightforward recipes in case you’re three out of three.
Mirlitons à la Fleur d’Orange
Put two yolks and two whole eggs into a basin, with four ounces of pounded sugar, three ounces of sweet macaroon biscuits broken, half an ounce of candied orange-flowers pounded, and a grain of salt; stir these for a minute, and then add two ounces of fresh butter made warm; whip the whites of the eggs very firm; and add them to the preparation; sheet thirty tartlet-moulds, half an inch deep and two inches wide, (slightly buttered) with puff pastry. When the mirlitons are filled with the preparation, sift sugar on them rather thickly through a silk sieve, and when this is melted strew sugar in grains on them; bake them in a slow oven and serve either hot or cold.
A mirliton is a flute-shaped pastry. Recipe thanks to wonderful historical author Miranda Neville.
I’m sure George IV would heartily approve of Cathryn’s Friday Feasts! You can read more about a fascinating if not particularly exemplary life on Wikipedia.
So what’s the hardest thing you’ve ever cooked? I think for me it was a really complicated Tia Maria torte that I’ve sadly since lost the recipe for. What about you?
Just in case you don’t feel like cooking, I’ve got a signed SEVEN NIGHTS IN A ROGUE’S BED up for grabs to a commenter. Forget the baking and curl up with a luscious romance novel!
Those mirlitons sounds as sexy and delicious as one of your books, Anna! Thanks for the fun history lesson too. Prinny sure knew how to party!
Speaking of parties…readers, you could have one of your own with Seven Nights In A Rogue’s Bed by revealing the hardest thing you’ve ever cooked. I’ve had to wrack my brains over this because I’ve attempted a few tricky things over the years, but I do remember making roasted langoustines with lemon risotto cakes and chardonnay beurre blanc for a girlie lunch party when we lived in France. Absolutely beautiful but completely exhausting. Although I wouldn’t mind having another go at it, this time with yabbies or crayfish. Yeah, yeah. Sucker for punishment, that’s me!
Giveway closes midnight Tuesday, 23rd October 2012 AEST. Open internationally. Rah!
If you’d like to know more about Anna and her sexy Regency historical romances please visit her website. You can also connect via Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and the Romance Bandits blog.
This giveaway has now closed. Congratulations to Juanita who has won a copy of Anna’s wonderful Seven Nights In A Rogue’s Bed, and a special thank to all you lovely people who dropped by and took the time to comment. Hope to see you here again soon.
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