Guest Author: Julia Justiss & Giveaway!!

I’m thrilled to be hosting one of my favorite historical writers.  She’s Julia Justiss, and she writes deliciously emotional Regency-set historical romance that brings to life the customs and morals of the Regency world.  She is a truly accomplished writer.  Julia is with us to today to tell us a bit about herself and her two new books.

You’ve had an interesting and varied life, which has included time as a tour guide in your home town of Annapolis, and also time abroad doing things like writing the newsletter for the American Embassy in Tunisia.  How has your background influenced your writing?

Growing up in Annapolis fed a fascination with history—it was all around me, from “George Washington slept here” at several of the inns to the Liberty Tree, where the rebels who would launch the Annapolis version of the Boston tea party met to plan strategy.  Becoming a guide for Historical Annapolis allowed me to entertain visitors with stories about the famous—and not so famous—people who created the events that shaped the city.  So I guess I fell in love with telling stories with an historical setting while still in high school.

Living abroad and being exposed to very different cultures, both in Tunisia and in Norway, increased my appreciation for diversity and for different “worlds”—and historical fiction, like fantasy, really depends on creating a world for your reader that is different from her contemporary life, yet infused with timeless values like honor, devotion, duty and (of course!) love, values that have endured across all time.

What could be better than history with a happy ending?

You have new books out called The Rake to Redeem Her and The Rake to Ruin Her.  Both your heroes and settings seem delightfully different.  What can you tell us about the Ransleigh Rogues series?

I wanted a group of linked stories, initially a “Band of Brothers” who help each other survive the storming of the fortress of Badajos during the Peninsular War.  My editor wanted a stronger bond between the characters, so the idea of four cousins evolved.  Because I enjoyed so much working on the Silk & Scandal miniseries, where the three families intertwined in the original scandal end up in very different situations in life, I liked the idea of having one cousin be an earl’s son, another the illegimate son of the family black sheep, another a poet, another the man’s man who must reshape his life and expectations after losing an arm at Waterloo.

The first (March 2013) book, Ruin Her, features earl’s son Max Ransleigh, the natural leader of the cousins and the one whom they all expect to have a brilliant future in government.  After being implicated in an assassination plot against Lord Wellington destroys his hopes for a career in diplomacy, he retreats to his cousin Alastair’s country estate to contemplate his prospects.  There he encounters Caroline Denby, an heiress with no desire to marry who hits upon the idea of getting herself ruined, so fortune hunters will stop pestering her and she can return to running the breeding farm she helped her late father establish.  Since Max’s reputation is already tarnished, why not help her out by seeming to ruin hers?  But when well-laid plans go awry, both Caro and Max end up discovering a life—and a love—they’d never dreamed of.

The second book, Redeem Her, features illegitimate cousin Will Ransleigh.  Plucked off the streets and transported to the earl’s country estate with orders to become a “proper Ransleigh” or be sent back, the initially uncooperative Will owes his life to Max’s persistence in persuading him—or pummeling him—into shape.  When he returns from Waterloo to discover Max’s career in ruins, a furious Will vows to find the woman who entangled Max in the plot and bring her back to England to testify to his innocence.  Except when he finds her, Elodie Lefevre is nothing like the femme fatale he was expecting.  A survivor of war and revolution, Elodie has no intention of meekly doing any man’s bidding.  So begins a game of persuasion and evasion, with falling in love a result neither could have expected.

The next two Rogues should appear sometime in 2014.  Alastair, poet turned heartless rake after a humiliating betrayal, is sure he’s over Diana—until a chance encounter with his now-widowed former fiancée sets him reeling.  An affair begun out of revenge soon turns into much more, with Alastair finding the woman Diana has become even more intriguing that the girl he once loved.

Finally, “Dandy Dominic,” who could charm any lady and surpass any man at riding, shooting, and all the manly sports, returns from war maimed and disfigured.  No longer sure who he is, Dom shuns his friends and shuts himself away at his country estate.  His brooding solitude is invaded by a feisty colonel’s daughter whose pragmatism challenges him to put his losses behind him and start living—and loving–again.

What’s up next in your writing world? 

First I need to finish the next two Rogue books.  After that…I may revisit some of the secondary characters from my Wellingford family books.  There’s the youngest sister of my very first heroine and a scrappy orphan sponsored by a family friend who becomes a Parliamentary reformer.  Then there’s a “Regency urban fantasy” series idea tugging at me.  There’s never a shortage of things to write about, only time to write in!

Thank you, Julia!  Readers, I just finished reading The Rake To Ruin Her last night, and I loved it.  Julia is graciously giving away two copies of that book to my readers today.  Just tell us what your favorite type of historical hero is for a chance to win!  And don’t forget to follow Julia on facebook and Pinterest!

 


Guest Author: Shana Galen & Giveaway!!

I’m so happy to have one of my favorite romance writers guest-blogging with me today.  Shana Galen is a bestselling author who writes fast-paced and adventurous Regency-set historicals.  Her books are published all over the world and have been featured in the Rhapsody and Doubleday Book Clubs, and she’s one darn good author.  Shana has a new book out, so I’m turning the blog over to her so we can find out all about it.

Oh, For a Muse of Fire

People always ask me about my inspiration for books. I dread this question because I don’t generally have an inspiration for a book. I honestly don’t know where my ideas come from. They just come.

But you wouldn’t believe that, would you? And that doesn’t make for a very good interview or blog or story. What makes for a good interview is dreaming a book and then waking up and writing it or having a character appear out of nowhere to inspire the authorial muse.

Yeah. I don’t have a story like that. But I will say now that If You Give a Rake a Ruby is about to release, and I’m thinking about it after a period of time away, some of the inspirations are becoming clear to me. One look at my Pinterest board tells me that Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twistinspired me. In fact, the heroine of If You Give a Rake a Ruby was based very loosely on the character of Nancy from Oliver Twist.

Rubies and gems and lush colors and fabrics also inspired me. Fallon is a courtesan, one of the glamorous Three Diamonds. She’s known as the Marchioness of Mystery. Having been denied beauty as a child, she embraces it as an adult. She’s surrounded by silks and velvets and pillows in jewel-tones.

But I also had pictures of Seven Dials, a notorious London slum, before me as I was writing this novel. I didn’t want to forget where Fallon came from. You can take the girl from the gutter, but can you take the gutter from the girl? I don’t think you can completely.

So perhaps I am not so much uninspired as just unaware of my inspirations. I see them more clearly with time and distance.

What about you? What inspires you? Photos of beautiful gowns, landscapes, or handsome men? Maybe it’s a great book, an exciting movie, or your favorite music. One reader who comments will win a copy of If You Give a Rake a Ruby (U.S. and Canada only).

If You Give a Rake a Ruby  by Shana Galen—in stores March 2013

HER MYSTERIOUS PAST IS THE BEST REVENGE . . .

Fallon, the Marchioness of Mystery, is a celebrated courtesan with her finger on the pulse of high society. She’s adored by men, hated by their wives. No one knows anything about her past, and she plans to keep it that way.

ONLY HE CAN OFFER HER A DAZZLING FUTURE . . .

Warrick Fitzhugh will do anything to protect his compatriots in the Foreign Office, including seduce Fallon, who he thinks can lead him to the deadliest crime lord in London. He knows he’s putting his life on the line . . .

To Warrick’s shock, Fallon is not who he thinks she is, and the secrets she’s keeping are exactly what make her his heart’s desire . . .

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Vanessa, here.  I’m not kidding when I tell you how much I love Shana’s books–she’s one of my favorite authors.  So run, don’t walk to pre-order If You Give a Rake a Ruby.  And be sure to check out Shana’s website to learn about her other books.


New Regency Historical Series!

I’ve been hinting about my new Regency historical series with Kensington Publishing for a few months now, so I’m really thrilled to be able to announce titles and release dates.  The series will be called Renegade Royals, and it’s about four sexy alpha males who also happen to be the illegitimate offspring of Britain’s royal princes.  These four roguish cousins will get into all kinds of scrapes and adventures as work they claim their rightful place in society, and win the hands of the strong-willed women who love them.

There will be two novellas and four books released in a two year period. 

Lost in a Royal Kiss will be released in December, 2013, and is a digital novella that will introduce some of the main characters and set up the premise for the series.

A Royal’s Rules for Love is book one in the series, and will be released in both print and digital in January, 2014.

Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom is book two in the series, and will be released in both print and digital in April, 2014.

The second digital novella will be released in December 2014, and books three and four will follow early in 2015.

My editor and I are very excited about this series, and I can’t wait to share covers, excerpts, and lots of other fun details with you.  If you want to keep up with all the latest news on the Renegade Royals series, please sign up for my newsletter.  And you might also want to check out my Pinterest board, my collection of pictures and various inspirations for the new books.  I really have fun brainstorming on Pinterest and I’d love it if you joined me – I also have a great Cupcakes and Cakes Pinterest board, for those of you with a sweet tooth!

Happy reading!

 


Odds and Ends

It’s only a few weeks till the release of His Mistletoe Bride, and I’ve got some fun stuff going on leading up to the release.  Are you on Pinterest?  If you are, please check out my board for His Mistletoe Bride.  It’s a chapter by chapter breakdown of the book, with quotes and pictures to illustrate the story.  I had a great time putting it together and I think you’ll enjoy it.  You might also want to check out my Cupcakes and Cakes board and my Regency Era Clothing board.  They’ve got some great pictures and the Cupcake board includes links to some wonderful recipes.

On my facebook page I’m running two contests.  The first is an amazing iPad contest, which also includes book giveaways by Eloisa James, Jane Porter, Elizabeth Hoyt, and Julia London.  What a lineup!  You can enter the iPad contest here.

My other facebook contest is to win an advanced reading copy of His Mistletoe Bride.  Just click here to enter.

Oh, and while you’re on my facebook page, don’t forget to check out my Vanessa’s Vixens page.  This is my new street team, a great group of readers who are hanging out with me and helping to spread the word about my books.  There will be swag!

Finally, the winner of Elyssa Patrick’s new book is Ann S.  Congratulations!  Thanks to everyone for stopping by my blog.  My guest author tomorrow is historical romance writer Tina Gabrielle.  Be sure to drop in to visit!


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