Thursday, September 17, 2009

Poor Clorinda...

"Poor, Clorinda." This sentence makes me smile every time I think of it. However, if you have not read Georgette Heyer's book Regency Buck then you will not recognize just how funny these two words can be together. For the initiated connoisseurs of Heyer's brilliant regency romances, the thrill will always live in this phrase.


For those not in the Heyer fan club, here are the facts:
1. Clorinda is not the character's name. Its a nickname for the main character created by the smarmy and fascinating hero/villain (you won't know which until you read it.)
2. Lord Worth is one of those incredible characters you can hear in your head while you're reading. Heyer makes him soooo real that I can hear the emphasis, the sarcasm, and the tenderness all wrapped up in these two little words.

As an aspiring author it is my dream to create a terrific "Poor, Clorinda" moment in my stories. That is a goal I am still working on. Reading great writing is essential to being a good writer though. So here are some other books and authors I love to revisit when I need inspiration:
Georgette Heyer
Arabella
The Grand Sophy
Beauvallet
Venetia

Elizabeth Peters
Amelia Peabody Series
Vicky Bliss

Orson Scott Card for the storytelling.

Brandon Sanderson for world building.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham for the humor.

I told a new friend of mine that I would blog about Georgette Heyer and how much I love her writing...so SR here you go. I hope you will read her books. They are my winter companions and I am grateful to have them around on a dull snowy day or any other day for that matter.

3 comments:

  1. I enjoyed Regency Buck very much and am glad you loaned it to me. I still need to read another of the Heyer collection (oh, to have more time...)

    I haven't read any of the others, but it's always fun to read something that fuels your writing fire.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How have I missed two days of the blogging world?! Crazy. Loved the post, Donna! LOVE Beauvallet! But, as always, I'm a sucker for an action/romance. It takes some brilliance to really make those two pieces of storytelling mesh.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love how you list authors that give you inspiration for different reasons. I couldn't name just one author that inspires me on all levels because it would be hard to write a good humorous and dramatic fantasy/sci fi/romance with good world building, characters, villains, and plot. I might hit some of those elements, but all would be pretty hard :)

    ReplyDelete