What is the difference between a Traditional Regency Romance and a Historical Romance?

My traditional Regencies (which die-hard readers refer to as “trads”) are books based on the style of romance made popular by Georgette Heyer. That is, they are more steeped in a Regency flavor than other romances, in terms of language, setting, etc. They are also typically sweet romances, meaning the level of sensuality never goes much beyond kissing. Not all trads keep the bedroom door closed, but most of mine do. (Miss Lacey’s Last Fling has a brief sex scene, but it is short and not at all graphic.) But sexual tension can be very high in a traditional Regency romance.

Historical romances are generally much sexier, often quite steamy. They are also slightly longer books. In my historical romances, I tried to keep a traditional Regency voice within a sexier story. If you prefer a story where the sexual relationship is explored as a key element of the romance, these are the books for you.