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Thursday, January 4, 2024

Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Rosanne Lortz Spears

Talkshow Thursday: 
Welcome Rosanne Lortz Spears

Thanks so much to Linda for hosting me today! My name is Rosanne E. Lortz, and I write Regency Romance. Like most Regency authors, two of my biggest influences are Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer—both very different writers, but both instrumental in setting the expectations for the genre. By combining Austen’s incisive characterization and moral principles and Heyer’s witty banter and hilarious situations, the genre of Regency Romance can be both humorous and heartfelt.

I’ve always been drawn to the Regency Era, mostly because the manners of the time create interesting scenarios for the characters to navigate as they find their own happily ever afters but also because of the fascinating research I get to do while creating a historically accurate romance. My most recent series, The Allen Abbey Romances (published individually on Kindle or altogether in one paperback called The Heart of the Abbey), provided me with dozens of fun facts about the time. Did you know that…

  • Many old manor houses had secret passageways called “priest holes” that were created during periods of Catholic persecution? (The perfect place to hide a lost inheritance…)
  • Prosthetic hands began to be developed after the Napoleonic Wars to aid soldiers who were missing limbs? (A new lease on life for a soldier who lost his hand at Waterloo!)
  • Curates were hired by vicars and rectors to fulfill their duties for them and barely made enough money to live off of and certainly not enough to marry; vicars received a stipend from whoever bestowed the “living” on them and were considered part of the gentry; rectors were entitled to receive all the tithes from the parish and sometimes held several livings at once.

These are just some of the fun details I’ve been able to lace into my stories. I do hope you will check out the Allen Abbey Romances, clean and wholesome Regency Romance with humor and heart. Thanks again to Linda for hosting me, and have a wonderful New Year!

Series Description:
The Gentleman in the Ash Tree
When Eloise Blackburn finds a strange gentleman perched in the leafy branches of an ash tree, she has strong suspicions he is not who he says he is. After all, the neighboring Allen family has never mentioned a cousin named Crispin from the West Indies. And what's this he's saying about a missing inheritance and a secret passageway in Allen Abbey? Despite Eloise's misgivings, her family finds Crispin Allen's story entirely plausible, and she is soon thrust into an adventure with a cheeky stranger who seems intent on winning more from her than just her help in his quest.

The Lady in the Moneylender's Parlour

After losing a hand at Waterloo and selling out of the military, Captain William Allen has little to live for. But when he encounters the clever and exquisite Margaret Blackburn, the necessity of extricating her from a moneylender's clutches gives him a new purpose in life. If Margaret is to remain in London long enough to realise her goal of becoming a published author, William must convince Margaret's mother that he is a suitor in earnest. But navigating the shoals of an interfering aunt, a jealous rival, and their own growing affections for each other proves more difficult than either one of them expects.

The Vicar and the Village Scandal

Following the demise of the old rector, newly reformed Thomas Allen receives a position as vicar near
Allen Abbey, his boyhood home. But memories of Thomas’ wild youth cause both the gentry and the country folk to doubt his sanctity and sincerity. Only Mary Bates, the daughter of the Abbey’s steward, seems willing to believe that the leopard has truly changed his spots. When the appearance of a mysterious child threatens to completely blacken Thomas’ chequered reputation, he must decide whether doing the honourable thing is worth losing both his living and his chance at love.

All three books available in paperback collection as The Heart of the Abbey.

Rosanne E. Lortz (“Rose”) is a writer, editor, teacher, history-lover, and mom to four boys. She loves to read, sing, draw, compose, write, and create. Education is one of her passions, particularly a classical, liberal arts education. She has taught English composition and grammar, Latin, history, music, and various other subjects for fifteen years at both the elementary and secondary level and is currently an administrator at a classical Christian school.

Rose writes historical novels full of adventure, mystery, and romance. Her Pevensey Mysteries transpose stories from the Middle Ages into Regency Era romance/murder mysteries. Her newest series is the Allen Abbey Romances, three linked novellas set in Regency England.

Rose served on the board of the Historical Novel Society North America for four years and works to promote interest in historical novels. She enjoys reading and reviewing historical fiction, historical romance, historical mysteries, high fantasy, and some young adult and middle grade books.

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