I discovered Diane Gaston’s books after meeting her at the NJ Romance conference. She was so lovely, and just happened to write the kind of books I like best (Regency Romances), so I had to read her delightful novel, Innocence and Impropriety. I’m now a fan and terribly excited for her latest, Scandalizing The Ton.She has graciously answered The Same Six Questions I Always Ask AND is giving away a signed copy of Scandalizing The Ton to one lucky commenter!

1. If you could have any super power, what would it be?I would love to have the power of teleportation, to dematerialize here and materialize in England whenever I wished, or in Switzerland to visit my friend Melissa James, or Australia to visit my email group All of Us, or anywhere my friends live.

2. Who is your favorite hero of fiction?I have agonized over this. I fell in love with Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe, so much more complex and interesting a character than could be depicted in the TV miniseries. Also Miles Vorkosigan of Lois McMaster’s Vorkosigan series, a hero who is also a dwarf. I quite loved Reginald of Mary Jo Putney’s The Rake and the Reformer, because, after being introducedto him I was off on an obsessive reading of Regency romance. And, of course, I must mention Damerel from Georgette Heyer’s Venetia, and The Duke of Mitford from Mary Balogh’s An Unlikely Duchess. I almost always fall in love with every hero in the romance novels I’ve read since. It is impossible to pick a current favorite!

3. What is one of your most romantic moments?I think the most memorable romantic moments come during courtship. Right after my husband and I became engaged we splurged on dinner at an historic restaurant in Alexandria Virginia, called the Seaport Inn. The setting was fancy for us, being on very limited budgets, and we had a romantic table-for-two. I can still remember the waiter, a dignified gray-haired black man who treated us as very special, even though at one point he dipped his sleeve into one of our drinks. We said nothing. It was a light-hearted time between my husband-to-be and myself and a memory that has lasted for all the years we’ve hung in together.

4. Of the places you’ve traveled to, which is your favorite?I must say London, England. I’ve only traveled to England twice and had a few days in London each time. It is very powerful to walk down the Mayfair streets that your fictional characters walk and to enter shops where Wellington or Brummell or Byron or Austen shopped. I am enthralled with the British museum, the George III Room and the Elgin Marbles. I feel like I’ve not had enough time in London. There is so much more I want to see and see again.

5. What is your most used curse word?Maya, I am surprised at you! Ladies, such as me do not curse. I assure you I have only done so when my most ill-favored politician appears on TV and then I cannot be faulted if That f….g as….l escapes my lips!

6. Please take a moment of shameless self-promotion:If you insist! Today, October 1, 2008, is the day Scandalizing the Ton should appear on bookstore shelves. Scandalizing the Ton is my Regency Paparazzi story, my idea of what it would be like for a Regency lady to be the victim of the historical equivalent of the media frenzy we see around celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Or Anna Nicole Smith.

Here is the backcover blurb: Lady Wexin, once the ton’s foremost beauty, has been abandoned by her family and friends, and creditors hound her. Her husband’s scandalous death has left her impoverished and the gossip-mongering press is whipped into a frenzy of speculation when it becomes clear the widow is with child. Who is the father?Only one man knows: Adrian Pomroy, Viscount Cavanley. He has cultivated the reputation of a rake, but in truth yearns for something useful to do. Delicate beauty Lydia Wexin could pose an intriguing and stimulating challenge.

Scandalizing the Ton is a Harlequin Historical and is typically shelved with the Harlequin Series books. If you haven’t read a Harlequin Historical in a while I urge you to give them a try. There’s a lot of innovation and diversity in the line. See more about Scandalizing the Ton on my website www.dianegaston.com and have a look at my video !

I’m giving away a signed copy of Scandalizing the Ton to one lucky commenter here, chosen at random. Ask me any questions you might have about Scandalizing the Ton or my view of the Regency or Harlequin Historical, I’ll pop back in to answer. And, thank you, Maya, for posing the Same Six Questions to me!