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Let's welcome Edie Cay, Historical Romance author!
Edie Cay writes Regency Historical Romance about women's boxing. She obtained dual BAs in Creative Writing and in Music, and her MFA in Creative Writing from University of Alaska Anchorage. As a speaker, she has presented at Jolabokaflod PDX, Historical Novel Society North America, Sunrise Rotary, Regency Fiction Writers, the History Quill, Chicago-North Spring Fling, Northern Hearts conference and the Historical Romance Retreat. She is a member of ALLi, The Regency Fiction Writers, the Historical Novel Society, and a founding member of Paper Lantern Writers.
How is your story in the anthology connected to the series. Can you tell us a little about the characters and how they come together?
My anthology story, “The Footman’s Mistake,” showcases Ruby, a young, up-and-coming female boxer. Her sponsors are Lord and Lady Andrepont, the lovers from my fourth, and most recent, book, A Viscount’s Vengeance. But we also meet Bess Abbott, her coach, who is the titular boxer from my second book, The Boxer and the Blacksmith. Ruby inhabits a world already extant, from working at the Pig and Thistle tavern with Miz Penny, to sharing a room with Bess’s adopted daughter, Violet. Though the anthology story takes place after the timelines of my books, it should be nice to see these characters thriving.
Many Regency Romance novels feature strong, independent heroines who defy societal norms. How do you approach character development to create complex and relatable protagonists that resonate with readers?
My protagonists are often women prizefighters. I enjoy writing about women who have chosen a path so unconventional—then or now. And that also means I get to share an aspect of history most people don’t know about: women in prizefighting!
The settings and social customs of the Regency era play a significant role in shaping the plots and relationships in your novels. Can you share some of the research methods and resources you use to accurately capture the nuances of this time period?
Most Regency readers are familiar with the restrictions put on young, unmarried aristocratic women. But I write about women who either straddle the class divides or are from a less illustrious parentage. These women inhabit a world where they own businesses, learn trade, and gamble. While less is written from firsthand accounts of these women, and many are dismissed retroactively as prostitutes, one can see women in political and social cartoons of the era, women are everywhere. They are in bars, at bawdy parties, in marketplaces both buying and selling goods.
In a genre brimming with passionate love stories and grand adventures, how do you maintain originality in your writing and keep readers on the edge of their seats? Are there any specific themes or tropes you particularly enjoy exploring in your Regency Romance novels?
I am a big fan of bringing the lesser known aspects of Georgian and Regency history to my readers. That means I include people of all walks of life, all colors of skin, and all orientations. Just like now, there was not one monolith in the people of London. I like to throw open all the doors and see what we can find. I’m partial to found families, ride-or-die friendships, and class disparities. Though, I love playing on other tropes as well, like marriage of convenience and grumpy vs sunshine.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed learning about Edie Cay!
You can find Edie here:
Website: https://store.ediecay.com Facebook: Edie Cay Instagram: authorediecay BookBub: Bookbub Goodreads: Goodreads Booksales link: Amazon