Falconing!

Well, I channeled my inner Maid Marian on my birthday and enjoyed an awesome experience, falconing with Dawn from the British School of Falconry, based at the Equinox Resort & Spa in Manchester, Vermont.

I encourage anyone headed up this way to check it out, particularly if you're a medievalist, or have ever harbored a fascination for these phenomenal creatures.

The British School of Falconry flies Harris Hawks, because of the birds' sociability, meaning that they are adaptable to being flown by strangers with only a 45-minute lesson under their belts. That's me with Hamish ... or is it his brother, Mycroft (yes, yes, we know Mycroft's brother should be named Sherlock!)

In any case, here are Mycroft and Hamish:

And many thanks to the falconer, Dawn, for the fabulous experience! And to my marvelous husband Scott for making it all possible and making all my fantasies come true!

My new find! Pearson's Renaissance Shoppe -- Huzzah!

So! My darling, romantic husband is granting my birthday wish and getting me a falconing lesson at Manchester Vermont's famed Equinox Resort. http://www.equinoxresort.com/thingstodo/falconry/

I get a 45-minute lesson, followed by a "hawk walk" through the leafy vermillions, russets, and golds of the Green Mountains as they don their autumn hues.

But, speaking of donning ... what do I wear? I'll go falconing on my birthday, but my birthday suit is out of the question. My husband will of course bring a camera: this excursion must be saved for posterity.

The actress in me (not to mention the author of historical fiction and nonfiction) noodges, "Dress the part!" Something velvet, perhaps? Brocade? A hooded cloak? Flowing sleeves? Adorable soft leather booties? This time, Saks Fifth Avenue or Nordstroms is not going to have the perfect outfit to go falconing.

Enter Pearson's Renaissance Shoppe [http://www.pearsonsrenaissanceshoppe.com/], an online emporium to satisfy all your Robin and Marian, or Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, fantasies.

For guest appearances as the author of my Royal series, ROYAL AFFAIRS, NOTORIOUS ROYAL MARRIAGES, and the soon-to-be-released ROYAL PAINS, I occasionally wear a replica Renaissance gown that I bought at the Ren Faire in Tuxedo NY years ago. So it's not a stretch for me to scour the internet in search of items to augment my wardrobe.

Can I say that I wished I could buy just about all of the Medieval and Renaissance gowns Pearson's offers? http://www.pearsonsrenaissanceshoppe.com/renaissance-medieval-dresses.html

The falconer might look at me sideways if I arrived for my lesson in full regalia, but a girl can dream, can't she?

And if one doesn't want to do a full Eleanor of Aquitaine, Pearson's has all manner of jewelry (even crowns!) with which to accessorize.

Pearson's is so delighted that I fell in love with them that they are hosting a contest on this blog. One lucky winner, drawn at random, will win a lovely and delicate "Elven Princess" tiara. Perfect for channeling your inner Arwen!

Please provide your name and email contact, and feel free to post a comment as to where you might wear this fabulous accessory to indulge your own Medieval or Renaissance fantasy.

Item Description:

This fairy tale comb is made of rhinestones and pearls with a flower and leaf design. The Elven Leaf Comb is metal plated in sterling silver and has a comb in the back to stay on your head. It measures 1.5 inches tall and 4.5 inches wide.

The contest is open from September 24 to October 15 at midnight, EST. I will choose a winner on October 16.

Multiply your chances to win! If you become a follower of this blog, you'll get an additional 2 chances. If you tweet about the contest, you get one additional chance; and if you post something about this contest on Facebook, you'll earn one additional chance as well.

All images in this post are taken from Pearson's web site.

Leslie Carroll's interview on NPR's TRAVEL WITH RICK STEVES

The marvelous and engaging Rick Steves, travel guru extraordinare, interviewed me in March 2010 about traveling in the footsteps of famous royals. It was a marvelous opportunity to discuss my 2010 nonfiction release, NOTORIOUS ROYAL MARRIAGES, and thanks to the broadcast, my book sales have skyrocketed.

The interview aired in mid-August 2010.

Here's the link to the interview. Please note that via the magic of Mr. Steves' editing, my segment is preceded, quite serendipitously, by an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert, author of EAT, PRAY, LOVE, which was adapted into a major (and just released) motion picture, starring Julia Roberts.

Leslie Carroll's interview on Rick Steves' travel program on NPR:

http://www.ricksteves.com/radio/streaming/program216.asx. Extras, including a discussion of Princess Diana, can be found at http://www.ricksteves.com/radio/archive.htm#216.

Enjoy -- and may you be tempted to hop on the next plane for your favorite palace!

ROYAL ROMANCES on the horizon!

Happy August, everyone!

As the "dog days" of summer continue (whyever are they called that? How would the phrase pertain to, e.g., a Siberian husky or an Alaskan Malamute on their home turf?) I am delighted to share some wonderful news:

I will be writing a fourth book in my nonfiction Royal series, to be titled

ROYAL ROMANCES: Titillating Tales of Passion and Power in the Palaces of Europe

I'm very excited about it and am still finalizing my table of contents. I'm always open to suggestions. In fact, this volume will include at least one couple of royal paramours that didn't make it into ROYAL AFFAIRS because of limitations on page count.

I tend to be as visual as I am verbal, and even though a production meeting on the cover art is months and months away, I love to imagine what NAL's art department might come up with.

Here are some of my initial thoughts:

The Kiss, by Francesco Hayez

The Black Brunswicker, by John Everett Millais

A Huguenot on St. Bartholomew's Day (also by Millais)

Just for the fun of it, if you have any cover art suggestions for a book titled ROYAL ROMANCES, feel free to share them. Who knows? Your suggestion may be on a book cover one of these days!

My March 2011 release: ROYAL PAINS

Coming March 1, 2011 from NAL:

ROYAL PAINS:

A Rogues' Gallery of Brats, Brutes, and Bad Seeds

In a world where sibling rivalry knows no bounds and excess is never enough, meet some of history’s boldest, baddest, and bawdiest royals


The bad seeds on the family trees of the most powerful royal houses of Europe often became the rottenest of apples. In an effort to stave off wrinkles, sixteenth-century Hungarian Countess Erzsébet Báthory bathed in the blood of virgins, and for kicks and giggles devised even more ingenious forms of torture than the über-violent autocrats Vlad (the Impaler) Dracula and Ivan the Terrible had ever imagined. Lettice Knollys strove to mimic the appearance of her cousin Elizabeth I and even stole her man. The Duke of Cumberland’s sexcapades and subsequent clandestine marriage led to a law that still binds England’s royal family. And the libidinous Pauline Bonaparte scandalized her imperial brother by having herself sculpted nearly nude and commissioning a golden drinking goblet fashioned in the shape of her breast.

Chock-full of shocking scenes, titillating tales, and wildly wicked nobles, Royal Pains is a rollicking compendium of the most infamous, capricious, and insatiable bluebloods of Europe.

Praise for Leslie Carroll's Notorious Royal Marriages

“For those who tackled Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, and can’t get enough of the scandal surrounding Henry VIII’s wives, [Notorious Royal Marriages is] the perfect companion book.”—The New Yorker

“Carroll writes with verve and wit about the passionate—and occasionally perilous—events that occur when royals wed.”—Chicago Tribune (5 stars)

The Jock Who Would Be King

Thirty-six-year-old Daniel Westling, former personal trainer to Crown Princess Victoria Ingrid Alice Desirée of Sweden, wed the princess on Saturday, June 19. He will henceforth be known as Prince Daniel, Duke of Vastergotland.

A rather vocal minority in Sweden believes the monarchy is passé and anachronistic, with 22% wanting the monarchy abolished entirely, up from 15% just six years ago. And a Facebook group called "Refuse to Pay for Victoria's Wedding" garnered popularity.

The thirty-two-year-old Crown Princess is currently next in line for Sweden's throne, although it wasn't always the case. In 1980 the succession law was changed, making King Carl XVI Gustaf's heir his oldest child, regardless of gender. Poor Prince Carl Philip, Victoria's younger brother. So close ... and yet so far.

Though I can guess how this is going down (after all, it's a royalist sort of blog), what's your opinon of this royal wedding -- and of monarchies in general?

Should taxpayers have been burdened (no matter how insignificant the share to the individual citizen of Sweden) with the cost of the flowers, booze, and royal wedding band?

Do you think monarchies are outdated? A charming relic of the past? Part of the continuity of a kingdom's history that is great for tourism and should continue indefinitely?

None of the above? Please share your thoughts. And what do you think of the fact that a gym rat whose father was a postal employee will one day sit on the Swedish throne? Very cool? Or very appalling?

Of Royalty, Polo, and Champagne

Courtesy of the Widow Veuve, polo returns to NYC on June 27 with a charity event sponsored by Veuve Clicquot champagne to benefit the American Friends of Sentebale, the US arm of a charity that Prince Harry of England founded to help underprivileged children in Lesotho.

Like his mother, the renegade redheaded prince is philanthropic and socially aware (except, umm... for those little hiccups where he forgets all lessons in World History and wears Nazi uniforms to fancy dress balls, or insults Pakistani comrades in arms with a derisive nickname related to their headgear).

Like his father, the Windsor spare plays polo.

I wish I could attend this event, and I do have a lovely pastel-colored suit and a large picture hat, so at least I can dress the part; but I think I'd need a charitable trust of my own to finance the excursion. However, as much as I write about royal scandals and scandalous royals, I'd be very tempted to root for Prince Harry's opponent, the Argentine heart-throb, polo player, and erstwhile Ralph Lauren model, Nacho Figueras.

Okay, ladies, which one would you choose to root for?