This is a list of all the blog interviews that feature To Charm a Bluestocking, along with a short section of each interview.
March 2017 – Annie Seaton: In Annie’s Chair.
Hi Annie. Thanks for inviting me to sit in your chair and discuss my novel.
Welcome, Renée. The title of your book, To Charm a Bluestocking, speaks strongly to Regency Romance, but it isn’t set there. Why that title?
When I told my husband the title, he said “A what? No-one will know what a bluestocking is.” I said “Only every historical romance reader. Ever.”
March 2017 – Australian Women’s Writers: Sunday Spotlight.
If you could go back in time for a year, which historical era would you choose to live in?
As a woman, now is the best time to live. We can vote, own property, the risk of dying in child-birth is almost nil, and we have equal opportunity in education. If I was a man, the late 1800s and early 1900s would be fascinating. The explosion in science and technology at that time was staggering; cars, planes, radiation, germ theory, and much more.
March 2017 – Alison Stuart: Taking Tea with Ms. Stuart
In the course of writing our books, there is always a fascinating piece of research that we stumble on. What stands out for you?
Amsterdam in the 1880s was a hot bed of social change. The university opened its doors to a wider patronage, and included women in its intake. … In July 1886, the poor neighbourhood of Jordaan saw the Eel Revolt occur.
March 2017 – E. E. Carter: Tuesday Book Club
What were you like at school?
In primary school, I received a school report that said “If Renée wrote about something other than horses, she’d be quite good.” I’ve always found this ironic, as I’ve written (non-fiction) about horses for over a decade. My debut novel, To Charm a Bluestocking, isn’t about horses. Perhaps it’ll be “quite good.”
April 2017 – 17 Scribes. (Link coming soon)
What do you want people to know about your book?
Even though there is a lot in this novel about female education, the novel is still a romance. It’s about a shy, slightly socially anxious, woman who finds support with an unlikely hero. In the end, a happily-ever-after is achieved through team work and understanding each other’s strengths.
June 2017 – Booktopia: Nine Naughty Questions
Romance writers are sometimes denigrated and asked when they’ll write ‘real’ books – what do you tell the haters?
Romance is a genre written by women for women. There will always be people who find that idea confronting. A recent study found that when a room contained 30% women and 70% men, the men in the room thought the ratio was 50/50. Romance is a genre that allows women to be front and centre of a book, and I think that concept is very real for female readers. Not only that, but the female character ends the book happy, sexually satisfied, and with a loyal hero who respects her. She doesn’t die, or suffer for the sake of art, like in every other genre. Romance also gives happy endings to marginalised people, such as LGBTI, minority races, and differently abled people, who are often only seen as minor plot points in other genres.
June 2017 – Heather Garside: Book Blog
How does your work differ from others in the genre?
Historical romance has grown away from the Regency period in England, and now covers a wider range of history, including some wonderful Australian historical writers. My Bluestockings series is set in the late Victorian era, with plenty of train travel, steam boats, telegrams, and the brand new technology, electricity. I chose this era because it aligned with the real history that inspired this series. The Victorian era was a time of great social and scientific upheaval, and these changes are fascinating. It allows for heroines who can realistically be closer to a contemporary heroine, but with all the fantasy of history (and beautiful gowns).