Posing a Question

Why are American historical romance writers so hung up on the British nobility?  Every book seems to feature a member of the House of Lords--and their titled ladies. In fact, enough dukes and earls and counts and viscounts lounge around in romances to people a small--maybe a large--nation.

Why?  Is it faithfulness to the Georgette Heyer tradition? Is it the long dresses and swash-buckling heroes?  Is it the the long-ago and far-away princess movie aspect?

Fio doesn't know the answer. After, all she writes dark contemporaries.

Coming and Going

As Fiorella used to teach her students, there are four major dialects of English: American, British, Indian, and Australian.  And, like tectonic plates,  these dialects are drifting further and further apart each year.  Eventually, they'll be four separate languages.  But there's a pull in the opposite direction too, and you can blame it on the media.  Yes, several sub-dialects used to exist within these four dialects, but we're all talking more like broadcasters and movie actors now.