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Guest Julia Justiss and The Rake To Rescue Her

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juliaWelcome our guest today–Julia Justiss who is here to talk about her new release, The Rake To Rescue Her (Harlequin Historical, March 2015). Julia is giving away one copy of The Rake To Rescue Her to one lucky commenter, chosen at random.
See what RT Book Reviews’ Maria Ferrer has to say about The Rake To Rescue Her:

The Ransleigh Rogues return with a passionate and poignant tale of betrayal, revenge, sexual healing and second chances. This is another keeper with strong characters and authentic settings.

RESCUE FRONT COVER 9780373298242HE’S NEVER FORGOTTEN HER.  BUT CAN HE FORGIVE HER

When Alastair Ransleigh sees Diana, Duchess of Graveston, for the first time since she jilted him, he makes her a shockingly insulting offer…the chance to become his mistress.  And even more shockingly, she accepts!

But the widowed duchess is nothing like the bold, passionate girl Alastair once loved.  Years of suffering at the hands of a cruel husband have taken their toll.  And as Alastair resolves to save Diana from the damage of the past, their chance meeting turns feels of revenge to thoughts of rescue…

Thanks to Diane and the other Riskies for hosting me today!

My March release, Book Three of the Ransleigh Rogues, is the story of Alastair, the poet and dreamer whose world is shattered when Diana, the woman he loves, jilts him in a humiliatingly public fashion to marry a man of high rank.  When he meets her again by chance eight years later, now widowed and on the run, he is stunned, then curious, then angry that the girl who once vowed to love him forever seems to be able to treat him with so little emotion, when he is torn, attracted, and seething. While he doesn’t exactly seek revenge when she offers to do what she can to make it up to him—he really wants to try to purge her from his heart and mind once and for all—the idea of making her feel something, after she has put him through every extreme of emotion, is certainly one of his chief motivations.

222808A revenge sub-theme figures in another one of my favorite all-time romances, Reforming Lord Ragsdale by the stellar Carla Kelly.  Her heroine is an indentured Irish servant, detested and scorned by her English masters, whom the dissolute Lord Ragsdale rescues from a very bad situation.  Initially he is inclined to treat her just a tad less poorly than her previous master—his father was murdered by Irish rebels, and he has every reason to hate the Irish.  But he is a deeply flawed man himself, which Emma sees, and gradually, by fits and starts, the two begin to heal each other.

So, too, do Alastair and Diana.  Although Alastair initially rejects Diana’s explanation for why she jilted him as unbelievable, as he slowly puts together the bits and pieces he ekes out of her about what her life with the duke was like, he begins to realize her improbable story was true and appreciate the heroism, and suffering, she endured to protect those she loved.  As he works to bring back to life the girl he once loved and protect her from present danger, she rekindles once again the deep love he’s suppressed for so many years.

Are there any revenge-to-love stories that touched your heart?  Is this a theme that you like to read about? One commenter will win a copy of Alastair and Diana’s book, The Rake To Rescue Her.

Books, eBooks, and Audio Books, Plus Ivory, Plus Writing

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Judith Ivory’s Black Silk is one of my all time favorite historicals. At the time I read Black Silk, Ivory’s books were not available in eBooks. There were terrible, horrible, cheap POD versions — with newsprint quality paper and ink that was smeared… I returned the copy that arrived with a crooked cover and located a used mass market paperback.

Ivory’s books are now available as eBooks, as  I came to learn on Twitter. I immediately purchased everything (including the Judy Cuevas books) and I added the audio book to a couple of them. Set that aside for a moment, while I gush about Ivory …

I LOVED LOVED LOVED The Proposition even with the cheesy ending. I’m in the middle of The Beast right now (in audio) and well. Judith Ivory. Her writing is lovely, and she does what I miss so much in historicals and that I strive to do in my own writing, which is tell as story as if the HEA is not a given. My personal description of this goes like this: A Romance written as if it were not a Romance.

Aside: I said this once on a loop and got a tremendous, even vicious, push back. Not that any of the disagreement came close to changing my mind. I still believe that a Romance that is written as if it’s not a Romance will have far, far more tension.

Also, especially now that I’m not traditionally publishing, I really don’t care about the prevailing beliefs about what sells. A lot of those beliefs are wrong. Sure, it’s crucial to know what’s happening in the market, but even so, I get to decide what I write, and I get to write exactly the way I want, entirely in line with the stories I want to tell.

Because, and, yes, another aside, when I am gone from this world, I want to have written the stories that speak to me, without compromise in the way I’ve told them. (This is NOT the same thing as not listening to editorial advice. Editorial advice is crucial.) If that means I sell fewer copies, I am at peace with that.

When This Is A Romance permeates every aspect of the story, there’s a very real risk of the book being too familiar. Tired, even. The Insta-Love trope is a predominant approach these days. I don’t necessarily mind it. There are lots of such stories that are great books, too. But there’s an awful lot that don’t distinguish themselves.

Yes, this is another aside.

Too often I feel I’m getting a Romance where sexual attraction is the container of the story … such that it is present from the start. Even stories where the hero and heroine, ostensibly, do not like each other, they are powerfully attracted underneath. Again, I’m not saying this should never be done. I’m just saying, it’s now really really common. Plus, well, I guess I also think there are lots of authors who aren’t challenging this. You have to be really, really good to make such a story extraordinary.

This leads to stories where something else delays bringing together the sexual and the commitment to the person they love. Often, this ends up being “I’m not worthy.” A flavor, if you will, of “I’m in your ass, saving your life.” Again, it’s possible to pull this off, but you have to be good. Really good. (P.S. I read that book and liked it better than SBTB. But that review started a meme/trope/Romance inside joke.)

Anyway, one of the things Ivory does so well is to give us characters who, despite any attraction, have lives that allow us to see exactly how they might walk away from this potential relationship. And that possibility is credible. Even when you know it’s a Romance and there will be an HEA.

Right. OK, so when I was on my Ivory spree, I clicked Add the Audio Narration because I’ve been listening to some audio books, and I am finding a place in my commute and certain other moments where an audio book fits quite nicely. I just finished listening to a Romantic Suspense audio book (not an ACX DIY book) by a favorite author, and I loathed the narrator from the start.

Loathed. The. Narrator.

She read the book as if she felt contempt for the work she was reading. The male voices were phony and contrived and because she was trying (and failing) to roughen and deepen her voice for the male characters, they were all the same. That production wasn’t as bad as the production for A Darker Crimson (my first paranormal, audio rights not mine at the time) which was just horrific, I’m sad to say. Terrible narrator. Terrible production values.

I started listening to the audio book for Ivory’s The Beast, and the narrator is wonderful. She never sounds strained or phony, and I’m just so struck by how very, very good this reading is.

So. Here are my questions to you. Do you listen to audio books? What are your thoughts, pet peeves, loves, hates about them? Have you read Ivory?

 

 

Out tomorrow – Freedom to Love

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Freedom to Love, my newest historical romance–and my first full-length release in over two years!–comes out tomorrow. It has what I think is an unusual and somewhat risky setting for a Regency–most of the story takes place in America in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of New Orleans.

FTL cover

I specifically asked for this release week because Thursday is the 200th anniversary of the battle. Even though all the story action is after the fighting ends–the first scene is the hero waking up on the battlefield, wounded and dazed–I did a fair amount of research just to know what he’d gone through before the story started. Most of that research involved books that have long since been returned to the University of Washington library (my day job employer and go-to source for dry academic tomes, access to 200-year-old newspapers, and the like), but here are five things I learned about the War of 1812 and the Battle of New Orleans that I didn’t know going in.

1) I’d always been told that the British were so confident of victory and eager to get at the wealth and famously beautiful women of New Orleans that on the eve of battle their sentries’ sign and countersign were “beauty” and “booty.” Turns out that isn’t true–while the British knew they outnumbered the Americans and with some justification believed their regiments to be of superior quality, they also knew they were attacking a well-fortified position across open ground. Also, no matter how much they were looking forward to the pleasures and treasures of New Orleans, “beauty” and “booty” sound far too much alike to be an effective sign/countersign, and the British commander, Sir Edward Pakenham, was an upstanding, upright gentleman who would’ve been unlikely to approve its use.

2) Andrew Jackson employed slave-catchers to try to prevent American slaves from escaping to the British (who promised–and delivered–emancipation to any who came to them). However, he also accepted the city’s free black militia into his cobbled-together army over the objections of many officers and civilian officials. This would not be the first or last time Jackson proved himself a pragmatist above all, IMHO.

3) British soldiers too severely wounded to join the retreat were cared for by Ursuline nuns–though my plot required a different fate for my hero, Henry Farlow.

4) Back in elementary and high school, we were taught that the main cause of the war was the British navy’s impressment of American sailors. While that was certainly a cause, the reality, as it often is, was More Complicated Than That. In fact, it was so complicated that I’ll simply recommend that anyone interested read Robin Reilly’s The British at the Gates.

5) Wellington was offered command of British forces in America after Napoleon’s initial abdication, but he politely refused, preferring a diplomatic role as ambassador to France and at the Congress of Vienna. It’s intriguing to imagine how different history might’ve looked if he’d accepted. He might not have been back in time for Waterloo, for starters. While I think Napoleon would’ve ultimately been defeated regardless, the 19th century would’ve looked different if, say, the Russian army rather than the Anglo-Dutch and Prussian forces claimed credit for his downfall. Also, there is simply no way Wellington would’ve attacked Jackson’s fortifications from such a position of weakness. Even Pakenham knew it was a bad idea, but he was pretty much goaded into it by the naval commander, Admiral Cochrane. Since Wellington was as stubborn and confident as anyone living at that time not named Napoleon, he would’ve stood up to the pressure. And if the Battle of New Orleans hadn’t been fought, or it was fought at a different place or time as a British victory…let’s just say we’d almost certainly have a different face on our twenty dollar bills.

Freedom to Love

Louisiana, 1815

Thérèse Bondurant trusted her parents to provide for her and her young half-sister, though they never wed due to laws against mixed-race marriage. But when both die of a fever, Thérèse learns her only inheritance is debt—and her father’s promise that somewhere on his plantation lies a buried treasure. To save her own life—as well as that of her sister—she’ll need to find it before her white cousins take possession of the land.

British officer Henry Farlow, dazed from a wound received in battle outside New Orleans, stumbles onto Thérèse’s property out of necessity. But he stays because he’s become captivated by her intelligence and beauty. It’s thanks to Thérèse’s tender care that he regains his strength just in time to fend off her cousin, inadvertently killing the would-be rapist in the process.

Though he risks being labeled a deserter, it’s much more than a sense of duty that compels Henry to see the sisters to safety—far away from the scene of the crime. And Thérèse realizes she has come to rely on Henry for so much more than protection. On their journey to freedom in England, they must navigate a territory that’s just as foreign to them both—love.

Freedom to Love is available wherever ebooks are sold, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, Google Play, All Romance Ebooks, and Carina Press.

Lady Dearing’s Masquerade audiobook on sale!

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Lady Dearing's Masquerade Audiobook CoverHello. It’s been a busy week and I’m sorry to say I don’t have a real post, only some news.

If you are into audiobooks–or would like to try one–the audiobook of Lady Dearing’s Masquerade is currently on sale at Audible for $6.95, over 60% off the regular price.

Lady Dearing’s Masquerade was awarded Best Regency Romance in 2005 from RT Book Reviews. Here’s a short summary:

Lady Dearing became society’s most notorious widow after kissing a stranger at a masquerade but two years later, his memory still haunts her dreams. Sir Jeremy Fairhill has given up hope of finding her, but when he investigates the infamous widow who’s taking in children from London’s Foundling Hospital, his sense of duty clashes with a dangerous passion for the elusive, alluring Lady Dearing.

And here’s a sample.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

The Duke’s Guide to Correct Behavior Out 11/25!

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GraphicPursueFinally! Woot! The Duke’s Guide to Correct Behavior, the first book in the Dukes Behaving Badly book is out Tuesday, and I am so excited.

Here’s the synopsis:

 All of London knows the Duke of Rutherford has position and wealth. They also whisper that he’s dissolute, devilish, and determinedly unwed. So why, everyone is asking, has he hired a governess?

When Miss Lily Russell crosses the threshold of the Duke of Rutherford’s stylish townhouse, she knows she has come face to face with sensual danger. For this is no doting papa. Rather, his behavior is scandalous, and his reputation rightly earned. And his pursuit of her is nearly irresistible—but resist she must for the sake of her pupil.

As for the duke himself, it was bad enough when his unknown child landed on his doorstep. Now Lily, with her unassuming beauty, has aroused his most wicked fantasies—and, shockingly, his desire to change his wanton ways. He’s determined to become worthy of her, and so he asks for her help in correcting his behavior.

But Lily has a secret, one that, if it becomes known, could change everything…

I got some great early reviews already:

“Frampton superbly balances passion with humor, avoiding cliché through rich characterization. The result is warm, kindhearted, and utterly delightful.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Frampton’s romance has charm to spare, and readers will find it impossible to resist her flawless characterization, fanciful plotting, and deliciously fizzy wit.” —Booklist

“Frampton’s enchanting tale of a lively governess and desolate duke is just what historical readers cherish-a humorous, touching, fast-paced and sensual love story. Frampton has what it takes to become a fan favorite.” —Romantic Times (4 Stars)

I love the notion that I have a “deliciously fizzy wit.”

And I’m off writing more in the Dukes Behaving Badly series, this time with a very proper duke, one who knows precisely how to behave–until he meets the heroine.

Hope everyone has a great short week ahead, with plenty of reading to go along with that turkey!

Megan

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