Guest Author: Robyn DeHart & Giveaway!

I’m so pleased to have romance writer extraordinaire Robyn DeHart on the blog today.  Robyn writes sexy historical romance, with lots of adventure and intrigue.  Her books have finaled in bunches of contests and she’s won a number of them, too.  Let’s ask Robyn to tell us about her latest book.

A Little Bit Wicked, your first book in the Forbidden Love Series for Entangled Publishing, is now available. How did you come up with the idea for this series? We’ve probably had at least one forbidden love in our lives – what’s the attraction?

Thanks for having me today, Vanessa! Yes, forbidden love is such an attraction. I think it’s the taboo of it that draws me in. The series actually rolled right out of this first book, A Little Bit Wicked. I knew I wanted to create a series and well, one of the main elements to Vivian and Marcus’s story is that she’s older than him (and also a ruined lady). I knew a relationship between them would be forbidden. So I grabbed onto that element as a hook for the entire series and it everything fell into place. A Little Bit Sinful is next and well, those who have read A Little Bit Wicked know that Marcus’s younger sister, Clarissa is embroiled in a scandal…we get her story in that book. And the third…well, readers will just have to wait and see.

Can you tell us something about A Little Bit Wicked? I love the idea of a heroine known as The Paragon!

Thank you. It was funny how that idea came to me. Part of my process when I’m creating stories is that I spend a lot of time thinking about the relationship between the hero and heroine. I get an idea for one of them and then I think about who is the perfect person for them to fall in love with and what are the reasons that make them the worst person to fall in love with and I go from there. I knew what type of person Vivian was, I knew she was prim and proper and that that was of upmost importance to her and I knew why, I knew she had this secret past that she was working quite hard to hide. That one secret sort of snowballed into her being the secret keeper and thus the Paragon was born. I liked the idea of a “cleaner” of sorts in Victorian society – we all know how many scandals were flying around back then. Surely there was someone who could help smooth out the edges of nasty gossip. She was a fun character to write! And creating her match in Marcus was even more fun. He was so intent on ruffling her feathers, on breaking through that prim and proper exterior to find the passionate woman beneath…the chemistry lit up my computer.

You also have a new series coming out from NAL. What can you tell us about it? How does this series differ from your Forbidden Love Series?

Oh yes, I’m so excited about the NAL series! I’ve wanted to sell that first book, The Secrets of Mia Danvers, for a while and I believe I found a great home for it with NAL (thanks to my amazing agent, Kevan Lyon). I’m never great at describing a book, but I can share the back cover blurb because it’s already up for pre-order on Amazon.

A lone witness finds her protector…

Since losing her sight in a childhood accident, Mia Danvers has resided in a small cottage on the vast Carrington estate. Thought to be dead, Mia lives a life of virtual seclusion—until one night, while walking home, she happens upon a horrendous crime.

Alex Foster, Eighth Duke of Carrington, lives according to society’s expectations for him. He’s never met the woman who lives in the cottage at the edge of his property. But when she arrives at his door in the pouring rain terrified and claiming she has witnessed a murder, she seizes his attention.

Mia is determined to help the authorities track down the culprit, even though the only person willing to accept her aid is the handsome, arrogant duke. Working closely together proves difficult as Mia’s beauty and independence tempts Alex to ignore convention and follow his desire. But what neither of them know is that this murderer has struck before in Whitechapel, taunting the British press only to vanish—a ruthless killer who knows that Mia is the only living witness to his crime…

Writing a blind character was a challenge, to be sure, but also really exciting. So far everyone who has read the book loves her and so I feel like I did my job. The series will deal with what happens after the Whitechapel murders, asking the question, what if Jack the Ripper kept on killing. So how this series differs from my Forbidden Love series is that the NAL series is for one, much longer books, and secondly where the Forbidden Love series focuses on the hero and heroine and them falling in love while the NAL series focuses on that same thing, but those people falling in love amidst the backdrop of a terrifying murder investigation. The NAL series is darker and more gritty, everything you would except from a book featuring the notorious Jack the Ripper.

Now for what I call my survivor question – if you were stranded on a deserted island with the love of your life, what two luxury items would you bring with you?

Okay this is probably cheating, but I’m going to say a magic toiletry bag that refills itself as needed, filled with toothbrushes and toothpaste and shampoo and soap. So that’s one item and then the other would have to be my fully loaded kindle so I would never run out of wonderful romance novels to read.

Cheating is definitely allowed on my island, Robyn!  For my readers today, Robyn is giving away a copy of her new book.  Let’s talk about secrets–are you good at keeping them or bad?  Did you ever have a secret you simply had to keep, but found it almost impossible to do so?  One person who comments will win a copy of A Little Bit Wicked.

And don’t forget:  today is the last day to participate in the Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop.

Click on this link to get to my original post and start hopping.  Since there are over 200 authors and bloggers giving away prizes, you’ll be glad you did!

 


Guest Author: Alexis Harrington & Giveaway!

Although I enjoy reading all kinds of fiction and most romance sub-genres, my heart will always belong to historical romance.  That’s why I’m so pleased to feature Alexis Harrington on my blog today.  Alexis writes bestselling Western historical romance, and has released eleven books over the last nineteen years.  She’s been published with NAL and St. Martin’s Press, and her books have won several awards, including RT’s K.I.S.S. Award for Allie’s Moon.

Not surprisingly, Alexis has garnered great reviews over the course of her career, including this one from RT Book Reviews:

“Alexis Harrington understands what is deep in a woman’s heart and what a man truly needs, and is able to express this through her wonderful love stories.”

National best-selling author Catherine Anderson called her “an extraordinary talent,” and NYT bestselling historical romance author Lorraine Heath had this to say about Alexis and her books:

“An exceptional writer, Alexis Harrington touches our heart with her believable characters and emotional stories. She is a shining talent in the world of romance.”

Unfortunately, this particular sub-genre of romance doesn’t always receive a lot of love from publishers, with the result that Western historicals can be hard to find.  Fortunately, Alexis has been able to bring some of her older books out in digital format.  Check out her website for all the details on her newly republished backlist.

Alexis has recently scored another publishing deal—a two book contract with Amazon’s new romance imprint, Montlake.  The first book will be a reissue of one of her most popular books, Home By Morning, and will come out on December 24Alexis will follow that up with a brand new book in July—a sequel entitled Home By Nightfall.


Here’s the blurb for Home By Morning:

October 1918: En route from New York to Seattle, Jessica Layton stops for a visit in her hometown of Powell Springs, Oregon, and comes face-to-face with Cole Braddock, her first and only love. Now, years later, Jessica is a highly accomplished clinical physician preparing for an exciting new job in Washington, and Cole is a successful horse breeder who is courting her sister Amy. Both are convinced they have moved beyond their youthful passion and the heartbreak it produced; nonetheless, they are grateful that Jessica’s brief visit will leave little opportunity to rehash old wounds. But before Dr. Layton can leave town, Powell Springs is hit hard by the influenza epidemic ravaging the country. With no other doctors available, Jessica must remain in Oregon and tend to her friends and former neighbors. Her work brings her in constant contact with Cole, and with each passing day he finds it harder to convince himself that sweet-tempered Amy can fill his heart as Jessica once did. Set against the backdrop of World War I and the epidemic of 1918, Home by Morning is a compelling story of betrayal, heartbreak, and redemption.

Doesn’t that sound totally cool?  A Western set during WW I, and against the backdrop of the great flu epidemic of 1918.  You can find all the details on Alexis’ website or at Amazon.

For my readers today, Alexis will be giving away a copy of Home By Morning.  Let’s talk about Western historical romance.  Is this a sub-genre you like?  If so, who are the authors you like to read?  One person who comments will win a copy of Home By Morning.

 


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