The origins of the Malloren family
When I began Lady Notorious, back in the early '90s, it was a Regency; but those Malloren men changed my mind. I'm a fly-into-the-mist writer, which means I learn about my characters as I go, but the hero, Lord Cynric Malloren, and his family were not taking convincing form. And then Chastity, the heroine thought that the Mallorens acted like men from an earlier age.
Well, I only have to be hit over the head with a brick once! The Mallorens weren't Regency Bucks and Bloods. They were an altogether more dangerous breed -- Georgian aristocrats.
Ah, those Georgian men. Possibly the most exquisitely dressed men ever -- peacock satin, precious lace, high-heeled shoes, and powdered hair. Throw in fans, muffs, and cosmetics...
Throw in rapiers, pistols, and a lethal edge rarely equaled.
But if they killed you, they'd do it with such style!
There was a problem, however. My contract was specifically for a Regency set historical, Regency historical was beginning its huge rise in popularity. Georgian settings, on the other hand, were rare and never set in high society or at court.
My phone conversation with my editor was delicate, but my muse must have been sitting on my shoulder because I found just the right words. This was about the time that the movie, Dangerous Liaisons, was such a huge hit. I said, "Regency is Pride and Prejudice, but Georgian is Dangerous Liaisons. I want to do Dangerous Liaisons."
With my editor's blessing, I could plunge into this new, exciting, and sometimes terrifying writing adventure. Terrifying? That was when Rothgar turned up. I thought he was going to take over the whole book.
Dangerous Liaisons, like Pride and Prejudice, is a contemporary novel of its time, and it accurately portrays a wild and wicked and often amoral time. Affairs were common, the membership of the Hell Fire Club included everyone who was anyone, and bribery was so rampant that one Member of Parliament set up a desk in the Houses of Parliament where people could come to pay him!
An excess of sin would be tedious, however, if not for the other layers of this world. This is the Enlightenment, when new ideas swirled in the air, and any belief could be challenged. It was also the Age of Revolutions -- industrial, agricultural, and political, and the same people who moved from bed to bed, drank gallons of wine and spirits, and sometimes gamed away fortunes in a night, attended scientific and philosophical lectures, funded scientific voyages such as that to watch the transit of Venus, and were hands-on experimental farmers and practical scientists. The Duke of Bridgewater, who plays a significant part in the next book, Tempting Fortune, is of course the father of England's modern canal system, which truly did revolutionize transportation.
Moving with arrogant ease through these labyrinthine layers is the Marquis of Rothgar, whom you will encounter at the orgy in this book, prophetically announcing, "Your fate has arrived." My life as an author has never been the same since! I didn't know then how fascinating a character he was, but I did know he was highly protective of his half-brothers and sisters because of the death of his baby sister when he was a young child.
You'll meet his youngest half-brother, Lord Cynric Malloren, in Lady Notorious and there are four more stories to come, each following one of his siblings. Hilda doesn't have a story because she's comfortably married before the series began, and despite requests from hard-hearted fans of the Mallorens, I'm not killing Steen, or breaking up their marriage to create a dramatic romance for her.
To have Hilda comfortably married was a deliberate decision, as was to have the siblings be different. Families are like that, aren't they? Brothers and sisters are rarely if ever clones, and often develop in contrast to one another. Perhaps Hilda embraced an ordinary, steady man because some of the other men in her life were so wild.