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Steffy Smith Samples His Regency Goddess
Katherine Grant: Welcome to the Historical Romance Sampler Podcast. The place for you to find new historical romance books and authors to fan over. I'm award winning historical romance author Katherine Grant, and each week I'm inviting fellow authors to come on and share a little bit of their work and themselves.
They'll read a sample of one of their books, and then I'm going to ask them a bunch of questions. By the end of the episode, you'll have a sense of what they write and who they are. Hopefully, you and I both will have something new to read. So what are we waiting for? Let's get into this week's episode.
I am super excited to be joined today by Steffy Smith, all the way from Australia. Inspired by her dreams, Steffy writes stories from across the eras, combining her love of history and happily ever afters. Her writing is fueled by Earl Grey, sporadic bouts of manic energy, and keeping herself accountable with deadlines.
From Regency ballrooms to Scottish Highlands, from Viking longboats to Western saloons, Steffy has a story for you. Steffy, thank you so much for joining me today.
Steffy Smith: Thank you for having me.
Katherine Grant: I'm super excited to talk to you and hear one of your stories, so what era are you giving us?
Steffy Smith: So it will be the, the Regency era in obviously England and it's a story that's part of a 12 author series collaboration. So yeah, it was really exciting to be part of that and to share some of that story today.
Katherine Grant: I love that. So what is the name of the book?
Steffy Smith: So it's His Regency Goddess and it's part of the Curves and Cravats series. Collaboration.
Katherine Grant: Fantastic. We had Felicity Niven on earlier reading hers. So we're getting a little bit of the Curves and cravats here. All right, well, whenever you're ready, tell us about the scene and take it away.
Steffy Smith: Perfect. Thank you. So I'm going to start midway through chapter four and then lead into the next chapter. So. My characters are Sin and Sophie, we're going to start with some point of view from Sin first. So he's getting ready to go to the, to a to a social event where he's going to see Sophie and meet her for the first time.
They will have a bit of his vanity to start off with. All right, here I go. He was nearly dressed and moved to the mirror to don his cravat. Sin crossed the ends of the stiff white cloth around his neck before reaching for a silver and jade pin from his travels to hold the ends in place. Stepping back, he eyed his full length before pulling on his black waistcoat, black and white with a little pop of colour.
His light brown hair and dark eyes contrasted well with the black and white, and his bright grin flashed as he talked himself in. He believed that men who wore colourful clothes were fops. He picked up his gold pocket watch and checked the time before placing it in his trouser pockets. It was half past nine, perfect time, not too early, not too late, and he could wait no longer.
"Look at you, you swell devil," James Greybridge, the host of the evening, welcomed him with a warm embrace. "It is good to see you, James," Sin replied as he returned the embrace. James was another close friend, but one he had not kept in contact with as he had Daniel. James introduced him to his wife Cecily, a petite brunette who was all smiles and giggles.
He looked back to James, who winked at him over the top of her head. James' ideal woman had always been a giddy deb, and it seemed his old friend had landed himself the perfect match. "Come, Sin, let us go and reacquaint ourselves over a drink before you get rushed by all the other guests." "Good idea. Has Daniel arrived yet?"
He hoped his tone was casual and did not betray his eagerness at seeing Sophie. "He has, with his wife and her friend. Let me grab him as well. We three can share a drink, just like old times." James asked Cecily to bring Daniel over, and in moments Daniel, his wife, and that delectable goddess Sophie were walking towards him.
Sophie was wearing a green dress, the color setting off her ginger hair and accentuating those pale green doe eyes. She seemed nervous with a wide eyed, innocent look. He watched the tip of her tongue escape and lick her plump pink lips. His eyes narrowed as he noticed he was not the only one admiring Sophie. His body tensed as jealousy surged through him.
Get it together, Sin, he scolded himself. He sensed a hostile stare and shifted his gaze to find the narrowed eyes of Daniel's wife. "Sin, is this an improved you arriving at a party so early?" Daniel ribbed. "Allow me the pleasure of introducing my wife, my Viscountess Margot, and her dear friend, Dowager Duchess of Whitmore, Sophia Westcott.
This is my old friend, Lord Sinclair Montgomery." Daniel and James appeared to be a few drinks in and oblivious to the tension. Margot was unimpressed, Sophie was nervous, and he was confused, aroused, and surprised, all at the same time. Cecily was smiling prettily at no one as she hung on to her husband.
Sin grabbed Margot's hand first and bent over to kiss her gloved hand. " It's such a pleasure to meet the woman who has made my friend so happy," he murmured politely. She replied coolly, "How kind, I've heard so much about you." He ignored her emphasis and turned his attentions to Sophie.
Everything and everyone else faded away as he grabbed her hand. The white satin glove provided little barrier to the heat that erupted at this contact. He brought her hand up to his lips but flipped it and placed a hot kiss to her pulse before he lifted his gaze to her jade eyes. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace.
I am Sinclair Montgomery." Sin indeed, Sophie gasped inwardly as she tried to refrain from fanning herself. The clear head dropped off as soon as she met his gaze. This man could easily personify one of the seven deadly sins as lust erupted in her body. She had told the universe she wanted passion, and now Providence was tempting her with a simple kiss on the hand.
Margot's derisive snort brought her out of her cascading thoughts, and she quickly let go of Sin's hand. The twinkle of mirth in his dark eyes and his lazy smile told her he had not missed a second of her reaction. "Ah, lady like as always, dear wife," Daniel told Margot jovially with a kiss to her forehead.
'Well, if Sin does not mind, I think I shall stick with calling him Sinclair," Margot retorted as she linked arms with Sophie. "You can call me anything you wish, beloved of my oldest friend. We will all become fast friends yet." Sin winked at Margot, and she failed to stop her blush at the charming but roguish gesture.
Frustrated at the winking Sin and the laughing Daniel, Margot hit the latter with her reticule. "Lord help us to deal with men that are boys and fools," she proclaimed as she tugged Sophie away, and gestured for Cecily to follow. Sophie was still too stunned by her encounter with Sin to speak. She could not stop herself from casting a backward glance and saw his eyes were still on her.
The distance made her braver, and she gave him what she hoped was a coy smile. Her inner critic told her to stay away from Sin, but her inner heroine was telling her to indulge in one of the seven cardinal vices. Sophie sipped at her ratafia as Margot raged to Cecily and some of the other women about the follies of rakes in the time and how they should be made to live abroad during the season.
"But Margot, was your husband, not once a rake himself?" Asked a talk brunette, whose name Sophie could not recall. The question held no sign of malice, just curiosity, and Margot's mouth dropped open in horror. "Never. My Daniel may have had a few dallyances, but never did he do so with the lady.
And he accorded me all the respect and chivalry one could want in a beau." Her chin jutted down at a stubborn angle. Sophie bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. A fiery Margo was always entertaining and would admit to her hot temper once cooler heads prevailed. But something about Sin really riled her up.
Sophie also had the privilege as Margot's best friend of knowing about the roguishly stolen kisses and caresses she had shared with Daniel before they wed. They had giggled about them for hours on end, and Sophie asking her to repeat every detail. She was two years older than Margot, but had always taken the role of the younger sister in their friendship.
Margot was always her staunch supporter. Now, a change in topic was clearly needed, so Sophie asked Margot about the first opera they were planning to see. This proved a worthy distraction, as the women began to gossip all at once about who was playing what role and who had what seats. Satisfied that the group's attention was now completely focused on a topic that would go from strength to strength, as far as gossip was concerned, she leaned over to Cecily.
"Cecily, I know you have an event planned for viewing her, but would it be an imposition for me to see the Botticelli? I hope you do not think me too forward for asking." She asked in a soft whisper so no one else would hear. Margot had confided this tidbit in her, and Sophie had asked first if it would be too forward to ask for a glance tonight.
Sophie loved art, and knowing there was a famed artwork in the vicinity was too much to bear. Cecily, endearing as always, smiled and nodded as she brought a finger to her lips and stood up. Giddy with excitement, Sophie stood with her and splashed a little bit of her drink on her dress. "A good idea, a guise," Cecily applauded her quietly before turning loudly to the group.
"Sophie has soiled her dress, we must go and clean it up," Cecily announced. "Not my intention to highlight my clumsiness, but a small price to pay." Bigger scheme of things, Sophie thought, as the women glanced sideways at her before turning back to their conversation. She knew James wanted to keep the painting veiled for a special event, but she would not be able to sleep tonight if she didn't get a chance to see it.
She followed Cecily down a long hallway and into a library. In the middle of the room stood an easel, its contents draped. The servant had followed them in, and Cecily requested they light all the candles in the room. "I will leave you to your admiration, Sophie, but I have seen it so many times, it has quite lost its luster.
Come back the way we came and find me. And I will send for the candles to be snuffed." Sophie was astounded by Cecily's simple and pleasant attitude towards a marvelous wonder. She stopped trying to understand the other woman and rushed to the easel. Gently, she pulled down the sheet inch by inch as she took a deep breath to contain her excitement.
As the plain covering fell away, the birth of Venus erupted in front of her eyes in a dizzying array of vibrant colors and textured strokes of creativity. Despite there being four figures in the painting, her eyes were automatically drawn to Venus herself. She held her fingertips as close as possible to the artwork without actually touching it and marvelled at her captured expression.
Venus, in her mind, seemed perturbed by what surrounded her as she rose from the clamshell in all her nude glory. She looked resigned but beautiful. Regal, but without haughtiness. Sophie's eyes took in the ginger waves and soft white curves so like her own. She knew she boasted a more voluptuous figure like those found in ancient stone carvings.
They always filled her with confidence when she admired their beauty. "Beauty, such a work of beauty," she murmured as her eyes frowned over the rest of the painting and noted the intricate details captured in this mythic event. "A work of beauty indeed," said a husky voice from behind her.
Katherine Grant: Dun, dun, dun! Yeah.
Oh, that was lovely. I have lots of questions for you, but first we're going to take a break for our sponsors.
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Katherine Grant: Alright, well, I am back with Steffy Smith, who just read His Regency Goddess. Her entry into the Curves and Cravats multi author series. And one thing that stood out to me, well, you kind of framed it for us as you were setting up the scene that we were about to see Sinclair's vanity. And then we also have Sophie's kind of contemplation of beauty when she's looking at the Botticelli.
Can you talk about at what point? In writing, did you find vanity slash beauty as a theme and, and how did you decide to work with it?
Steffy Smith: So with the vanity, when I started to, I guess, form this story in my mind and just the message of the, the collaboration itself around body positivity, I didn't want to make it a story around Sophie feeling overly, you know, negative about herself and having to like constantly validate.
So the inspiration, which is kind of cheeky, the Botticelli, cause I'm not, I'm pretty sure it's never even been to England but that took a bit of poetic license there because once I got the idea in my head, like it just needed to happen that way, and it's such an iconic piece of artwork of the, you know, the female figure.
So with that in mind, I wanted Sophie to look at the painting and see herself in it, like in a way of like beauty and in a way of like positive comparison and not You know, comparing herself in a way that, you know, doesn't make her feel good about herself. And then with Sinclair, I guess, with his characterization, you know, he's a good looking guy.
He's been with lots of women, you know, does as he pleases. So he's got that vanity, but when he, I guess, meets Sophie, it kind of, you know, rocks him to his core in a way as in he's never quite seen somebody. quite like her before, like come to life after he's some more background. He's just been abroad, like, you know, traveling through, you know, Europe and met lots of different women along the way.
So. Yeah.
Katherine Grant: Hmm. Yeah. I like that because I think we have a stereotype in our modern heads that women care about what we look like and men just like, don't like, they don't, they'll just put on, you know, basic deodorant and call it the day. But of course men do experience vanity. And so I like that it's a Regency trope too, that there are dandies, but that you really like leaned into that and had him be Sophie's foil.
And, but like, you know, he's in such a, a vanity complex that, "colorful cloth. Oh, that's just for fops. I can't possibly wear anything colorful." Yes, I love that. So you mentioned in your intro that your stories come to you through your dreams and your fantasies. So I'm really curious to hear more about your muse.
Can you tell us about how stories come to you through your dreams?
Steffy Smith: This one was actually very random. So one of my fellow writer friends, Alivia Fleur, she was part of the collab originally, and she had to pull out and she put some feelers out and I was like, Oh, this is something I want to do, but it's, you know, a couple of months away.
I don't quite have a story and I'm like, let me think about it within two days. Sin came to me. So if he came to me, the Botticelli came to me and I think it was like, when I say dreams, like, you know, that when you're trying to fall asleep and I'm not a good sleeper, you know, your mind just races. I tend to like, I guess like fantasize or, you know, picture, imagine, think of things, imagine myself in the historical setting.
And that's just kind of how it started to come to me. Yeah, within that. Yeah. And I was like, I mean, so I joined it and then the story just flowed really organically to me. So even though I probably didn't have as much time as one would normally have to write a book, and it is a novella, so it's only around the 20, 000 word mark.
So It was just like it was meant to be with just kind of how it all panned out. Like I didn't struggle with getting from start to finish.
Katherine Grant: I love that. And then you're writing across a lot of different eras. So how do you, I guess know, which era to write in. And then also how do you manage the research to write across different eras?
Steffy Smith: So with the research, because I've been you know, an avid historical fan since I was little all that reading and researching and, you know, watching TV and movies and, you know, just the endless, you know, Getting on the internet, you know, when that became a thing and just everything's at your fingertips.
And I'm just a very curious person and I go through periods of like obsession. So like, I'll like one part of history or one era, and then I must know all the things about it. So there is quite a bit of, I guess, head opping between so as I was writing His Regency Goddess, I was also working on a Viking Age romance.
So like complete opposite parts of time history. So that is something that kind of works for me. But I can imagine that as time goes on, especially as I want to explore more areas, I'll probably have to put some more process in place or, you know, some more boundaries around working at one thing at a time.
Otherwise that might just make me very like, it'll get, it will be hard for me to finish one thing. Cause my head's going to be in too many different. Times of history.
Katherine Grant: Yeah. And do you feel like writing a Viking story versus writing a Regency story is different besides the era?
Steffy Smith: Yes. I definitely just with like the, I guess, societal norms and like things that will happen.
So in my Viking book he's a Viking, but he rescues her from another Viking. He's like kidnapped her to sell her as a slave. Like you wouldn't really see that thing come through in a regency and then, you know, in a regency, it can be very like, you know, pretty going to balls, very nice clothes. Then, you know, in the Viking age, you know, you still wear nice things, I guess, for, you know, they were very the Vikings were actually very clean.
You know, contrary to public opinion, and they took a lot of pride in their appearance, but still like, you know, in that era, you're dressing more for comfort, for warmth, for those kinds of things. So yeah, it's just getting really out of all the different. And I think that the, like the the language, so something I'm finding, and I had some feedback come through His Regency Goddess that there was a bit of a modern feel to it.
And on reflection, I think that's because I was so gung ho on getting the body positive. So I think that Body positive independent woman message across. I kind of fell into. More of like a modern way of talking. So something I have to be mindful of as well is like, you know, the etymology of where something said
in one era wouldn't have been said in another.
Katherine Grant: I have a copy editor who works with me very closely on that. And like, she'll be like, this phrase wasn't invented until the 1920s, but it does work really well here to describe their emotions. And I'm like, Oh, but I can't use it, but I want to use it, but I can't use it.
Steffy Smith: I'm a bit naughty if it really works my character in the scene, like I'll use it knowing that someone might say, Hey, that wasn't like use then. And I guess as a writer, like you write for your readers, but sometimes you're writing for yourself as well. So I kind of like, have to like stack up what, you know, what means more to me in that moment for that scene.
But I just think it's a never, you never stop learning when you're writing with everything.
Katherine Grant: Yeah, it's a joy and a challenge. So you mentioned that you've been reading romance since you were little. So who are some of the authors are most influential on your work?
Steffy Smith: I was hoping you'd ask me this. So I actually noted I think I've got like five or six here, but I'll just quickly summarize.
So the first two romances I read was like a teenager. They were my mom's. I snuck them. She doesn't know. I've read them obviously as a teenager, but she knows now. So the first one was the golden spike by Ana Leigh, which was a post American civil war story. And she wrote a lot of Westerns which I have now collected, it was very expensive to source them all because I had to get them all from the US, but love her, love her books and I love that historical component as well. So it's when they built the railway across the U. S., kind of that setting after the war. The other one I read was Joanna by Roberta Gellis. So that same medieval set during the reign of King John and the events leading up to the Magna Carta.
So her work is a bit more heavier on the, you know, historical than the swoon, but I do love the story of Geoffrey and Joanna, like in that story, it's still very like romantic and touching, but there's still like a lot of English back history, war, drama, you know, this, that, and the other. Then Connie Mason.
I aspire to be a multi era author, which is something she does so well. She's got so many books across so many settings. And then just lastly, Julie Garwood, of course, and all of Lindsay Sands historicals. Like they just bring me so much joy. Yeah. And that's not even like my whole list, but these are like the top.
Yeah. Those are, those are your desert Island. Yes.
Katherine Grant: Well, so what is it in, I know that in Australia the book distribution obviously is different. Are there Australian romance authors that you grew up reading too?
Steffy Smith: Not really. For me finding the books, a lot of them was like just secondhand up shopping eBay. Like I don't never go into like a bookstore and find, you know, one of the original like mass market paperbacks, like on, you know, to be purchased.
It's always just been through I have amassed quite a collection. I think I've got over a hundred like historical romance, but very much focused on the eighties, nineties love to collect step backs and that's hard to find in Australia. So eBay is my friend. And yeah. And I feel like my, my mom had quite a few and over the years, like, you know, would have gotten rid of them.
And I'm like, damn, I wish I was more forthcoming with how much I liked them as a teenager so I could have kept them. But I have the original The first few books I mentioned, the Golden Spike and Joanna, the copies I have are the ones I've had since a teenager, so
Katherine Grant: Oh, I love that. I love to have a book that like I've been holding onto for decades.
Okay, so I'm curious. I read somewhere that you love Cinnamon Roll Heroes, which I do too. I also think of Cinnamon Roll Heroes as kind of a modern romance thing where we're allowing the heroes to be, you know, nice people. Yes. What is your take on a cinnamon roll? Like, how do you think about it? And do you think since you are a fan of classic romances?
Were there cinnamon roll heroes that we just don't talk about?
Steffy Smith: No. I'm just like shaking my head.
I've actually I'm on doing a blog for the Australian Romance Readers Association on Sunday and I'm talking about Connie Mason and I just leave it very high level, but it's interesting you asked me this because there are so many themes in those older historicals that you just won't see now.
It doesn't
mean that they're, you know, Right or wrong per se, because it's a product of that time period when they could write that.
And, you know, I'm a very nonjudgmental person, but there's also you know, themes that I don't agree with and I would never touch on in my writing. So when I look back at, you know, I guess there, I can think of like some heroes more in like those Highlander romance like that have a bit more of like a comedic feel to them, that more cinnamon role, but a lot of books the men, they make me so angry, but I'm also so invested in the story and I see how they get to their happily ever after, even like though they're such a jerk.
I think I only ever read once and this might be controversial, but Whitney my love, Whitney my love. Yeah. Mm-Hmm. . I only read that once and I really did not like him, but I also really did not like her. And I was like, they don't sound, they're not very like loving, like Mm-Hmm. throughout the story. And I have been described by a reviewer in like a positive way as like a cream puff.
Like the way I write romance, I'm definitely more on that lighter side of thing, which is why I like a cinnamon roll, but I like them with that perceived hard exterior. So my Viking is very like, you know, he's a Viking. The last person you would think would have that soft inner core, but he does. So that was really nice.
Katherine Grant: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I think I don't read a lot of classic romance and I think I can't, I have very low tolerance for a hero that I don't like. I've never read Whitney, my love. I've listened to several podcasts analyzing it and I'm like, there's no way that I would get through this. But I think
you're right when there's something else in the story that we can root for, or when we can be in the heroines place, seeing that she really wants that, then we can root for her. And then that's a little easier to get on board. But personally, I want to like my hero too.
Steffy Smith: A hundred percent, because you want to like picture yourself in that moment.
So you want to be enjoying the moment, not sitting there thinking like, I really can't stand the sight of you. And there's a few, and I can't. That I just come to mind that I can't think of the name, but there's a few classic historical romances that I've come across that don't actually have a happily ever after.
Which I'm just like, I don't know if it's a Connie Mason one that I read and you go through this really like long, dramatic, chaotic love story and then at the end they don't actually end up together. And it's just like really, really strange. I'll have to think which one it is. And if I ever remember, I'll let you know which one it is.
Yeah. Cause that was like, yeah, really rare to come across. Yeah.
Katherine Grant: I would have thought that was a rule from day one.
Steffy Smith: And the things are really really not good in this book either. So I guess it probably led to that being more, but I was like, I don't know if I classify this as a romance book after I finished reading it.
Katherine Grant: Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's a good segue into our game about romance conventions and rules. Love it or leave it. Are you ready to play? I'm ready.
Katherine Grant: Love it or leave it. Protagonists meet in the first 10 percent of the novel.
Steffy Smith: I'm a leave it. I need more in those first chapters because I really need that backstory and those insights set for each individual before they're thrown together.
Katherine Grant: So interesting.
All
right. Love it or leave it? Dual point of view narration.
Steffy Smith: Love it. I don't think I could read a romance without it. I'd struggle to connect to that one point of view. So definitely love it.
Katherine Grant: All right. Love it or leave it? Third person past tense.
Steffy Smith: Love it. Always provides that insight to the scene and characters.
Love reading it. Love writing it.
Katherine Grant: Nice. Love it or leave it? Third act breakup or dark moment.
Steffy Smith: Definitely in my cream puff era. So I'm definitely going to say leave it. If I am reading anything dark, I'd need to be and be in a mood and be aware of it. Otherwise I'm very much for really happy, positive love.
Katherine Grant: Love it or leave it? Always ends with an epilogue.
Steffy Smith: Love it. It always ties the story up into a really neat arranged ribbon. And if it's a series, it's a good way to like do a bit of a teaser for what's going to happen next.
Katherine Grant: Yeah. All right. Love it or leave it? Share research in your author's note.
Steffy Smith: Yeah.
Normally I do. His Regency Goddess, I didn't as much. I went more around the, the meaning of, you know, the, of what I wanted to convey from reading this story, which is love yourself no matter what. But otherwise I do like to put in, yeah. little notes that I find interesting of things that I learned during my research.
So yeah, love it.
Katherine Grant: Great. And are there any romance rules I didn't ask about that you break or at least play with?
Steffy Smith: Probably just the one I mentioned before around, you know, something I've learned. But each new book comes learning. So the etymology, for example, then word choice, like no matter how well researched and edited a book will be.
Something's always going to crop up, like reading through His Regency Goddess today, I'm like, I wish I wrote that sentence different. I wish I used, you know, that other word. But yeah. But at the same time, if it works well for me and the character, I am okay to, to bend a rule.
Katherine Grant: Yeah. Well, thank you for playing love it or leave it.
And thank you for coming on the podcast. Where can our listeners find you and your books?
Steffy Smith: So on my website, steffysmith books.com has my link tree and has all the links to all the things. Most of my books are wide. His Regency Goddess is KU Kindle only. And I have another audio book coming out, which I'm really excited about.
So, working with Isla Ross to narrate my Highland Heart series. And yeah, she's amazing. So can't wait to see that. That's exciting.
Katherine Grant: Yeah. All right. Well, we'll all go follow you. So we get notified when you're awesome. Well, thank you so much, Steffy. I have really enjoyed this conversation.
Steffy Smith: Same. And I'm really glad I got to, to come on and we made our time differences work.
Katherine Grant: Yes.
That's it for this week. Check out the show notes where I put links for my guests, myself, and the podcast. Until next week, happy reading.