Dame Barbara Cartland

Traditional Regency romances have always been my favorite romance genre. I first developed my love for the English Regency period by reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.

When I was a young teenager, my sisters and I discovered Barbara Cartland, and we devoured her romance novels.

As we got older, we graduated to reading Georgette Heyer’s Regencies and marveled over her sophisticated plots, period details and vivid characters.

Georgette Heyer in an undated photo.

We even tried our hands at writing romances of our own, weaving stories of high drama and delicious romance that we read to each other while our parents were at work. Looking back, I remember those stories were short and had some pretty preposterous plot lines. But at the time, my sisters and I were hugely entertained, and isn’t that the purpose of a good story: to entertain?

Over the years I continued to read romances and I continued to write them. With each book my writing improved and eventually I worked up the courage to submit one of my books to a publisher. Kensington accepted the first Regency romance I ever wrote, Delightful Deception. Eventually I published six full-length Regency romance novels and four novellas with Kensington.

Along the way I’ve received letters from readers who told me they liked my books because they were “clean.” That’s a compliment I gladly accept. I’ve always tried to write my stories with an emphasis on the developing relationship between the hero and heroine. I want my stories to be about two people falling in love because that’s what I like to read; and, from the letters I receive, it sounds like there are readers who like to read the same books I do. And for that, I’m truly grateful!

In the end, I simply enjoy writing about a time and place where all the men are gentlemen, all the women are ladies and there’s always a fancy dress ball to attend. And I deeply appreciate the readers who enjoy visiting my world of Regency romance.