Annie Burrows is no stranger to a regency romance having written many fan-favourite novels!

So we asked her to write about where her inspiration came from and why writing for the Mills and Boon Historical series is an opportunity to let your ‘imagination roam free’.

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Why do I love writing Regency romance?

Well, my love of history started when I was a very little girl. I live in the UK, and during rainy school holidays, my parents often used to visit stately homes. We’d spend an afternoon wandering the corridors of fabulous houses, stuffed with treasures, the walls lined with portraits of people in period costume dating from whenever the house was built. I’d imagine what it must have been like for those people to live in such surroundings, and wear such wonderful clothes. Not a one of them would know the irritation of wearing nylon or crimplene, that was for sure. What must it have been like to feel silk and satin swishing round my ankles as I wandered through the beautifully designed gardens, to the stables that were now being used as a teashop? 

When we left, my sister and I would get out pencils and paper, and draw out floor plans of our own, ideal stately home, usually containing priest holes, and mazes in the gardens. While doing so, I’d pick my historical name, and title (usually something along the lines of Lady Isabella Maria Dulac de Cressy) and imagine the life I would live out in my very own stately home. This, although I didn’t know it at the time, was the start of my habit of world-building, so essential in the creative process of a writer. 

I’ve always loved reading, too, particularly historical fiction, although sometimes I enjoy a thriller, or a cosy murder mystery, or some sci-fi. However, the books I enjoy the most, from whatever genre, always contain an element of romance. So writing romance, set in the past, is a perfect fit for me. What’s more, the historical line gives me a fantastic opportunity to let my imagination roam free. I can give my heroines adventures involving investigating a crime, or tangling with highwaymen or smugglers. Pretty often, I find myself writing a Cinderella type heroine who wins the heart of a duke, or a grim-faced war hero, through the strength of her personality. (Did I forget to mention that I also loved reading fairy tales when I was little?) 

And, because I enjoy reading books that make me chuckle, I can’t help adding a touch of humour during the course of the romances I write.  Because I believe that laughter, like romance, is an ingredient that enriches our lives. 

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Read Annie’s brand new romance, A Scandal At Midnight now!

Need convincing? Check out the blurb below…

 

By Lauren Gardiner