Is it possible to mix Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance and Romantic Comedy? If you answer is no, then you haven’t read Tamara Morgan’s books, because that’s exactly what she does. Have I piqued your curiosity? Then stick around to find out more about this wonderful author, her books and for some of the funniest limericks you will ever read!
Welcome to Romance Around the Corner, Tamara! Thank you so much for joining us, we are very happy to have you here today.
TM. Thanks for having me! I love getting the chance to interact with readers and book bloggers on their home turf.
Q. For all our readers who may not be familiar with you, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your books?
TM. I’m a contemporary romance author with a love of costumes, zombies, wine, superheroes, men in kilts, and television (in no particular order). While my books are all a little different in terms of subject matter, they can safely be lumped together as romantic comedies.
Q. I see on your site that you love historical reenactments, something that reflects on your books. I assume that you must really like history, so why not write Historical Romance instead of Contemporary?
TM. That’s easy: I love history, but I’m a terrible researcher.
The first book I ever wrote was a Regency romance, and while it will always hold a dear place in my heart, there are an embarrassing number of incongruous bits in there. I’m enough of an academic to take affront to that kind of thing, but not enough of one to want to unearth primary resources and fact-check the details.
Historical reenactments presented the perfect solution for me. I can take the parts of history (and historical romance) that I love and throw them in the modern age. This allows me to play with tropes and stereotypes within my natural voice…and also to dress my characters up in costumes. The costumes are a must!
Q. Love is a Battlefield had one of the most original and appealing plots I’ve read in a while, especially in Contemporary Romance. The heroine is a member of the Jane Austen Regency Reenactment Society and the hero is a professional Highland Games athlete. Where did the inspiration come from? Are the Highland Games real?
TM. The Highland Games are very real, and I would encourage everyone to locate their nearest event. (Most of them are held in the summer, so it’s a good time to start looking!) Men in kilts throwing logs, bagpipe bands, Highland dancing competitions…it’s one of those things everyone needs to see for themselves at least once.
The inspiration for the story came from my city’s Highland Games, which I go to every year. Surrounded by all that, um, masculinity, I thought it would be fun to write a modern-day Scottish warrior and pit him against his natural enemy: the English.
Q. What can you tell us about The World is a Stage and about those naked actors and dirty limericks the blurb advertises warns us about?
TM. For the second book in the series, I wanted to keep many of the same themes (historical sentiments in a modern-day setting), and a Shakespearean acting troupe seemed like the next logical step. Of course, it *is* a romance novel, so I turned this particular troupe into a sort of burlesque show, where the actors run around in scandalous costumes and add kissing scenes.
The responsibility for the dirty limericks rest solely at the feet of this book’s hero, Michael. Those who have read Love is a Battlefield will recognize him as a crass, cocky, hilarious bear of a man with no social filter whatsoever. The dirty limericks are just the tip of his iceberg of inappropriate behavior.
Note from Brie: to celebrate her newest release, Tamara is having a Week of Dirty Limericks. What are dirty limericks, you ask? Well, here is one (thanks Tamara!):
Q. The Highland Games are part of The World is a Stage, but this time you introduce us to the world of Shakespearean Theater. Was this something you were familiar with before, or did you have to do research? What type of research did you do for your books?
There once was a man from Seville
Who found a young woman to drill
She was disappointed
For though double-jointed
He never quite mastered the skill
Q. The Highland Games are part of The World is a Stage, but this time you introduce us to the world of Shakespearean Theater. Was this something you were familiar with before, or did you have to do research? What type of research did you do for your books?
TM. I have a Bachelor’s degree in English Lit, so Shakespeare was a necessarily large part of my education. This particular story draws from the Taming of the Shrew storyline, and there are several other layers to the Shakespearean theme that I think readers familiar with his work will notice.
Like I said above, I do attend the Highland Games every year (and my daughter took Highland dancing for a few years), and I also visit any other re-enactment event I can find. Because the first book was so focused on the Highland Games, I let the men step away from that a little to work on their Top Warrior Race, which is one of those crazy, barbaric races where you run through the mud and scale walls and crawl under barbed wire. I’ve never done one of these races, but my younger brother loves them. I figure that counts—research by proxy!
Q. What else are you working on? What can we expect and look forward to reading in the future? More Games of Love books perhaps?
TM. There is a third Games of Love book in the works—this one steps away from the Scottish group and goes back to the Renaissance Fair we see in Love is a Battlefield. I’m having a lot of fun with it so far. With subject matter like this, it’s hard not to!
I’ve also got a few unrelated releases coming up. In August, I have a superhero novella coming out in an anthology from Entangled. And for next February, Samhain will be releasing my most recent project—a con woman/art thief heist romance.
Q. And finally, can’t let you go without asking our standard question: what is your favorite Romance novel?
TM. Gah! This question is so hard. Based on number of re-reads alone, I should pick something by Georgette Heyer, since several of her books have literally fallen apart in my hands from overuse.
But I’ll stick to books I read in 2012 and say that my favorite is Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. It was an unusual setting and read, but I fell for the hero from the first page.
Note from Brie: *dies* Attachments was one of my favorite books of 2011. You have great taste ;-)
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions. Come back soon!
Tamara Morgan is a romance writer and unabashed lover of historical reenactments—the more elaborate and geeky the costume requirements, the better. In her quest for modern-day history and intrigue, she has taken fencing classes, forced her child into Highland dancing, and, of course, journeyed annually to the local Renaissance Fair. These feats are matched by a universal love of men in tights, of both the superhero and codpiece variety.
You can find Tamara in the following places:
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| Danger comes packaged in bulging muscles...and a codpiece.
Highland Games athlete Michael O'Leary is famous for his ability to charm a woman right out of her pants. Maybe a little too famous. When he’s sidelined with a knee injury, his wingman pounces on the chance to take full advantage of Michael’s idle time.
Trying out for the local adult-themed Shakespearean production seems simple, but there’s a catch. Michael must woo the notoriously demanding lead actress, Rachel Hewitt, thereby freeing his friend to pursue a courtship of Rachel's sister.
Rachel hates the thought of handing over the lead role in her admittedly scandalous troupe to someone so wholly uneducated in the ways of the Great Bard. But she’s in a bind, and the only one who can step up is a man who looks way too good in a codpiece—and knows it.
To add insult to injury, he refuses to take the role until she agrees to take his place in some barbaric warrior race. She’ll do it, but not with a smile. Unfortunately, the hardest part isn’t antagonizing her Scottish foes. It’s resisting the one man who seems determined to line and cue her heart—forever.
Warning: This book’s half-naked Shakespearean actors are not approved or acknowledged by people with actual literary merit. Neither are the dirty limericks.
The World is a Stage by Tamara Morgan
Samhain. June 6, 2012
Ms. Morgan's books sounds like so much fun to read. And I am loving the dirty limerick! I'll have to grab the book so I can get more of those. I love that she found a way to incorporate historical content in her own unique way.
ReplyDeleteThey are lots of fun. And those limericks are hilarious! I can't wait to read the new book ;-)
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