book details

Book: Her Grace in Disgrace (The Widows of Woburn Place) by Claudia Harbaugh

categories: Book, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Clean Regency Romance, Romantic Fiction, Duchess, Duke, Regency England Fiction, British Historical Fiction, Regency Romance

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Claudia Harbaugh

about this book: My birthday is June 26th (no need to send presents) and in early April, I just decided that I would have my first novel published on Amazon by my 58th birthday. It was time. I wrote like a maniac, had the characters walking and talking in my head for many weeks. There were many days I did not shower and only changed out of my pajamas because I had to walk the dog. But, I did it. I published on June 20th and celebrated my birthday by checking off item number one of my bucket list: write a novel.

• Why a Regency romance?
To quote Amanda Price the heroine of one of my favorite movies Lost in Austen, "I love the story… I love the manners and language and the courtesy." I enjoy my escape into Regency England so much that I felt compelled to weave an interesting tale that captured a bit of the atmosphere and mood of that period with believable characters and a compelling story. I think some of us are just meant to write, even if it takes 50 plus decades to get there. I was inspired simply by the need to tell a good story.

• What's my book about?
It's a love story, of course, but underneath it all it's about grace. To quote one of my reviewers, who I believe put it well, "It is not just about Her Grace or Disgrace, but living life with real grace, extended to all whose lives we touch." We all make poor choices; some of us more than others and the book follows characters that make life choices good and bad. We have a bird's eye view of how that affects their relationships and shapes their lives. But, what makes it interesting, at least to me, is that it's set in 1817 England and the rules and constraints that society placed on individuals in the era were stifling. In an age of outward propriety and inward moral ambiguity, it is thought-provoking to see how grace and forgiveness play out. But lest you think the book philosophical and prosy, think again. I am not a philosopher, but a storyteller. There is humor, pathos, absurdity sprinkled throughout. And I hope, some compelling, fallible characters whose life story grabs you and keeps you entertained for the duration.

• Did I do research?
I forced myself, night after night, to read hundreds of Regency romances in rapid succession...joking. I love reading and the last few years, Regency romance has been my escape of choice. However, that being said, I still had to do a lot of research (thank heaven for the internet!) to write my own. Even so, I most likely got a few things wrong, something I hope to improve upon in subsequent books.

• What do I want to say to readers?
THANK YOU! Thanks for sharing a love of story with me and thanks for inhabiting the land of fiction with me. It's a fun place to hang out, but you really shouldn't live there