Hello Cristina,

I, too, have a soft spot for Lord Nevin. Although, he received the title, he didn't get the lady of his heart and I had hoped to one day rectify the situation:)

As for research, it is always ongoing. I love the time period so I read various books on the period just for fun! Over the years, I have amassed quite an impressive collection of old books that I use for research. What I don't have, I borrow through the library system. I learn something new with each book so there is always something to research when I'm preparing to write a new book.

While I might mentioned a real person in a story (like the Regent), I hesitate using them as a main character in my stories. The personal diaries I have read usually been edited by a family member, a publisher or even the person who wrote it. Books written by friends or enemies can be biased so it is difficult to assemble a truly accurate impression of the person--at least within the time restraints of my deadlines.

Names . . . You might have noticed that I like unusual first names. Some were found in research texts; others in name books. Most of the unusual spellings can be traced back to the Middle Ages. As for last names, again, if I come across a surname that I like in my research, I'll put it in my notes. I also have a copy of an old marriage registry that dates from 1600-1850. I've selected many names from it.

>>>>And why (apart the main characters of hers books that I hope they can have an happily ever after end) marriage is described so negatively (abuses, physical violences, betrayals) and why, if it is happy (see aunt Molly or the patriarch of the Bedegrayne), it soon ends with widowhood. >>>

This was a time, when most marriages (at least for the aristocracy) were contracted for bloodlines, position, and wealth, rather than for love. Divorces were expensive, scandalous, and difficult to attain. It was also a time when a woman had very few legal rights or the means to support herself and her children. These factors lead to many abuses.

Barbara