Janet Mullany is in the lair

Today we welcome back another favorite in the lair, my critique partner Janet Mullany. She's here to talk about her latest book, Mr. Bishop and the Actress.

Here's the back cover blurb:

What could be more important than a lady’s reputation?

Although initially alarmed by their unconventional ways, straight-laced Harry Bishop is content in the service of Lord Shad and his family. But when he is sent to London to rescue Shad’s wayward relation from debt and self-destruction, he also has the dubious honour of dealing with the man’s mistress – troublesome actress Sophie Wallace.

A man of dignity and decorum, Mr. Bishop is desperate to disassociate himself from the scandalous Sophie. Unfortunately, avoiding her proves harder than he could ever have imagined and soon she’s causing him all kinds of bother…

A rollicking Regency tale of manners, mischief and behaving disgracefully


Thanks for having me back, Banditas, to talk about my latest release Mr Bishop and the Actress. Always a pleasure to be here (as the actress said to the bishop)! While thinking about fixing to get ready to start beginning this blog post I wanted to come up with a quick definition of what the book is about. And yes, the book is a sequel (sort of) to Improper Relations, so we get to see Shad and Charlotte happily married and having babies.

I came to the conclusion it was a love story, yadda yadda yadda, but it was also a story about misfits finding their place—people who, for one reason or another, don’t quite fit in, or are compelled by circumstances to go beyond their comfort zone. So we have the following characters:

The hero, Mr. Harry Bishop:
For all he looks like a gentleman, there are certain indications—his accent, the borrowed coat—that mark him as a servant, and of course my neighbors knew him for what he was immediately. An educated and gentlemanly servant, it is true, but someone who ascends the slippery slope of social advancement on his own talent and wits. No wonder he is so nervous around me. He does not want to be associated with a woman of ill repute.

The heroine, Mrs. Sophie Wallace, a discarded courtesan:
A new profession. Bishop’s words echo in my head. I cannot saunter to a club and, over brandy and cards with my privileged friends, reveal that I am in need of a position, some gentlemanly sinecure without a hint of labor or trade. The possibilities for a female, particularly a female of middling origins and poor reputation, are dire. With a loan I could maybe start a shop; with luck, and some fabrication of references, I might take on a new identity as a genteel sort of servant. My experience of marriage is such that I do not wish to repeat it, even if I were to find a gentleman willing to take me on, and neither of the above professions open to a woman in my circumstances hold much appeal for me.
I think the issue of social advancement—or decline—is one of the most fascinating features of the Regency. This was a time of great social flux, from displaced country workers leaving the villages where their families had lived for centuries and heading for the great new industrial centers, to the nouveau riche, the owners of those factories or the nabobs returning from India. In Pride and Prejudice Austen hints that Darcy is old money, Bingley comes from the manufacturing classes.

In addition, a burgeoning middle class aspired to gentility. The Duchess and her tenant farmer’s wife could now both afford a pianoforte—the great instrument maker Broadwood had a piano for every (middle class and above) income level, with instruments starting at twenty guineas. As comparison, Jane Austen paid thirty guineas for her piano in 1810 (although we don’t know who the maker was) and twelve shillings for a pair of silk stockings: in other words, her piano cost the equivalent of about fifty pairs of silk stockings.

Do you think we’re too hung up on those at the top of the heap—the earls and dukes? Because there’s some very interesting stuff going on further down (as the actress said to the bishop). What do you think?



The Banditas will pick a winner who’ll receive a signed copy of the book and I look forward to chatting with you! And please visit my website at janetmullany.com for more excerpts and a contest, and bookdepository.com is the best place to buy my Little Black Dress books, which have no US distribution.







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Welcome back, Janet Mullany!

by Christie Kelley

I’m pleased to welcome back a favorite to the lair, Janet Mullany. I first met Janet at a Maryland Romance Writer’s meeting many years ago. Not long after that, she joined our critique group. So I now have the pleasure of seeing her every month.

After all these years, I didn’t think Janet could shock me any more, until she told me she was turning Jane Austen into a vampire. I have to admit, I my mouth may have gaped open for a bit.

Jane and the Damned is an October release from Avon. Welcome Janet!


What made you think to turn Jane Austen into a vampire?

My editor! She suggested I write something paranormal with Jane Austen but as soon as I started thinking about it, I realized I really wanted to turn Austen into a vamp--and a real one, not some sort of ladylike neutral vamp. I wanted her to be tough and subversive and dangerous, as well as being witty, because that's what I think Austen is beneath the veneer of politeness. I also loved the idea of an alternate history where the Damned are "out"--they are gorgeous and fashionable and scandalous, envied and adored by the ton. I had a lot of fun writing them.

Were you worried about what some of the Austen fans might think?

Yes and no. I think anyone who wouldn't like it would have the sense not to read it. The cover and backcover blurb really say it all. I was prepared for a certain amount of complaints regarding the creeping pervasiveness of popular culture into the sacred groves of Austen worship by people who'd rather eat their collected works whole than actually read my book.


Have you received any backlash from the Austen fans?

Not yet although I have noticed some women of a certain age armed with parasols lurking around the house. (As a woman of a certain age and a card-carrying member of JASNA I'm allowed to use the term.)

Did you have to do any special research for this book?

Quite a lot because it was set in the city of Bath, so I was juggling maps and trying to work out military stuff for the city (my conclusion was it was indefensible but an excellent place for dirty street fighting, which is what the Damned do). I also did some research on the Austen family and Jane's friends and there are cameo appearances of other real people. I like to think the book starts out as the Meryton assembly (from P&P where Darcy and Elizabeth meet for the first time) and then becomes every movie about the French resistance during World War II (except it's the English vampire resistance against the invading French!)--with biting.

Is this your first foray into paranormal romance?

I wrote a novella for an anthology headlined by Mary Balogh, Bespelling Jane Austen, where we all chose our favorite Austen and wrote a version with a paranormal twist. Mine was Emma, rewritten as a contemporary set in Washington DC where the heroine runs a paranormal dating agency. I wrote that before Jane and the Damned but it was published at the same time (out now!). Jane and the Damned isn't strictly speaking a romance although it has a love affair.

You're known as a writer of funny books. Is this one funny?

It has its moments but I actually found myself dwelling on the implications of immortality and what Jane--or anyone else--would have to give up for immortal life and love. So it's really a book about not being able to have everything, about sacrifice and choices and loss. (With biting.)

What is your favorite Austen novel?

It's a tie between Emma (which not many people like) which is so brilliantly plotted and complex, and Mansfield Park, which hardly anyone likes. I think Mansfield Park was Austen's great experiment; it's a very sexy book (really!) and, once you've got over how wimpy Fanny Price is, a tremendous read.

What's up next for you?

A second book about Jane and the Damned, which is set in Chawton in 1810, coming out sometime next year, and my last Little Black Dress Regency chicklit, Mr. Bishop and the Actress in March 2011. I also have the first of two contemporary erotic novels for Harlequin Spice next August, Tell Me More. So I'm busy!

Thanks for having me visit. It's always a pleasure to hang out with you all!

Janet is giving away a copy of Jane and the Damned to one lucky poster. So tell me, how do you feel about Jane Austen being turned into a fictional vampire?