Anthea Lawson is the pseudonym for a husband-wife team who write spicy Victorian romance. Their debut novel, PASSIONATE, was nominated for a Best First Book RITA in 2009, and their newest book, ALL HE DESIRES, hit the shelves on November 3rd.
FRISKY FRESCOES!
While researching for our new release, ALL HE DESIRES (which opens on the Isle of Crete), we needed to find out more about Roman erotic frescoes – ah the joys of research. Luckily, there is no shortage of ancient risqué artwork, and we were happy to incorporate some of our finds into our novel. The scene where our heroine, a proper Victorian miss, views the frescoes in company of the handsome, brooding hero… well, let’s just say things heat up quite a bit!
The most famous naughty frescoes are the ones in Pompeii. First excavated in the mid-1700s, they were a popular stop on gentlemen’s tours of the continent. In 1819 the rather prudish king of Naples visited the frescoes and was so shocked by the explicit nature of the artwork that he had it locked away. This “secret room” was only to be shown to “people of mature age and respected morals.” Eventually, the room was closed to viewing during the Victorian era, and remained inaccessible for almost 100 years. At last opened again in 2000, minors are still only allowed entry with their parents or guardians, or with written permission.
Although we found no historical record of erotic frescoes on the Isle of Crete, we wanted to bring in some of that playful and open sexuality expressed in the best of the Roman frescoes. In some ways, modern romances celebrate that same spirit of celebration – the acknowledgment that sexual expression is a core part of being human, and that both the emotional and physical connection matter deeply in human relationships, both ancient and modern.
To win a copy of ALL HE DESIRES, leave a comment!
Elizabeth
November 6th, 2009 at
12:35 am
I have been delving into a little of the naughty nature of the victorians, people think this stuff is only current…..hehe I love that you worked that into your book! *hugs* ~Elizabeth
Jane
November 6th, 2009 at
3:21 am
Congrats on the new release, Anthea. I saw a special on either the History Channel or PBS about the erotic frescoes in Herculaneum and Pompeii. It was fascinating stuff.
Linda Henderson
November 6th, 2009 at
3:59 am
What a fascinating subject. I would love to read your book.
RKCharron
November 6th, 2009 at
6:38 am
Hi
Thanks for the guest post by Anthea Lawson.
I’m still getting used to knowing it is two people in one name.
I loved the fresco pictures. I had no idea there were risqué frescoes. Yay for people being human everywhere and everywhen!
All the best,
RKCharron
xoxo
CrystalGB
November 6th, 2009 at
10:40 am
Congratulations on your new release. Fascinating information about the fresco paintings.
Calila
November 6th, 2009 at
12:10 pm
Congrats on the new release!!
Jody F.
November 6th, 2009 at
3:03 pm
Congrats on the new release! I enjoyed learning about this. I also remember that History Channel episode where they also showed naughty hieroglyphics that were found in ancient Egyptian pyramids. So naughty pictures have been around forever.
Chelsea B.
November 6th, 2009 at
3:35 pm
I’ve been hearing allot about this book! Love the cover!
RachieG
November 6th, 2009 at
4:52 pm
The book looks great!
Shelli
November 6th, 2009 at
5:00 pm
Hi, Anthea! Thanks for blogging at Naughty and Spice today! Great post. I love that you shared a bit of naughty history with us. Congrats on the new release!
Estella
November 6th, 2009 at
5:10 pm
Very interesting.
Didn’t know about the frescoes. Am going to research them more.
Lyoness2009
November 6th, 2009 at
5:28 pm
Great post today. I have a quick question for the authors….What is the best thing about working with your spouse? and the worst??
Anthea Lawson
November 6th, 2009 at
5:59 pm
Glad you are all enjoying the frescoes! And these are some of the tamer ones!(wink wink)
RachieG, very funny comment!
RKCharron, glad you’re getting to know us!
Chelsea, we’re glad to hear our book is getting some buzz~
Elizabeth, first commenter gold star to you!
Lyoness, we have a fun interview up at Smexybooks.blogspot.com where we talk a lot about how we write together. Check it out!
We’ll be back later, so keep the comments and questions coming~
Beverly G
November 6th, 2009 at
7:12 pm
i love the cover of this book I been wanting to read this sounds awesome what a great post! have a awesome weekend is deff going on my to be read list
Sherry S
November 7th, 2009 at
11:27 am
This really sounds like a good book I love the cover .
mary
November 8th, 2009 at
12:04 am
The book sounds great and the cover is excellent!
Kate Diamond
November 8th, 2009 at
1:51 am
Great post! I’m looking forward to reading your book… and bummed that I missed your presentation to GSRWA. It was nice meeting you in Olympia, though.
patsy hagen
November 8th, 2009 at
2:47 pm
Your book sounds so good, I can’t wait to read it.I guess I haven’t read as much about Pompeii as I had thought. I knew about the frescos found there, but I hadn’t heard of the “secret Room”. I’ll have to look into that.
Deidre
November 8th, 2009 at
5:52 pm
Oooh, there’s a book with some very erotic old art called Panorama of the Classical World. Just goes to show that they liked it spicy back then too. lol
Deidre
Shelli
November 9th, 2009 at
12:38 am
And the winner is: Jody F.
Jody, please email Anthea at: anthea at anthealawson.com for your prize! Thanks everyone!
anthealawson.com » Blog Archive » Blog tour ahoy~
November 9th, 2009 at
2:33 am
[...] 6 — NAUGHTY & SPICE – Frisky Frescoes~ Congrats winner Jody [...]