Q&A with Julia London, Last Duke Standing

Tell us about your latest book. Who are the main character(s) and what can readers expect when they pick up Last Duke Standing?

Princess Justine Ivanosen is going to be queen of Wesloria sooner than she hoped—her father, the king, is dying from tuberculosis. Because he is declining, a marriage becomes very important. The Prime Minister is dead set against having a young woman ascend the throne without a man to guide her, and her mother is still smarting over Justine’s disastrous affair with a charlatan, the reveal of which has left her without great prospects at home. The Prime Minister convinces the queen that they ought to employ a matchmaker to make quick work of it. They can ship her off to England to apprentice with Queen Victoria, bring some suitors around to court her there instead of here, where all of Wesloria will be watching, and give strict instructions that she is to return with a fiance. The prime minister won't leave the selection of the lucky fellow to chance, and persuades one of his old cronies to send his handsome son to London to keep an eye on the selection process.

William Douglas, the future Duke of Hamilton, has been flitting around Europe for ages. He’s met the princess before, but she was hardly more than a snippy girl who didn't like losing parlor games. The last thing he wants to do is babysit that child. But he discovers the girl in his memory is now a very attractive grown woman. She’s still a challenge, however—she likes to be called Your Royal Highness a lot more than he likes saying it, and expressly forbids him from offering his advice. He’s one of those people—if someone says don’t do it, he’s going to do it. And he has some advice about every man that comes to meet her.

Lady Aleksander, the matchmaker, sees that these two might be perfect for each other. The only way to find out is to bring some gentlemen around that she knows will unite Justine and William. But they are too busy pretending they aren’t falling in love to even notice.

Who was your favorite character to write in THE LAST DUKE STANDING and why?

I like all the main characters. Justine and William were so meant for each other. Little sister Amelia has some growing up to do. Beckett Hawke and Donovan are back from A Royal Wedding series. But I really enjoyed creating Lady Aleksander, the matchmaker. She is the third point of view in this book, and her observations of what is happening is like the Greek chorus—she can see clearly what the leads can’t see. It liked that she’s in her forties, very much in love with her husband, and she just wants everyone to have what she has. She makes no apologies for who she is or what she does and she has the patience of Job. She also likes to eat. We have that in common.

What do you like about writing in the historical subgenre? What are the challenges?

I fell in love with historical fiction when I was a girl. Castles and princesses were a long way from a ranch in West Texas, but I loved the stories of balls and gowns and the idea of a rich gentleman. I was surrounded by farmers and ranch hands, so the idea of a pretty dress and fancy dinner had a fairy-tale appeal. I loved history in school, and I minored in British history. The fairy-tale appeal still persists—through the last election and the pandemic, it was a great relief for me to slip off to another world where people were genteel and the biggest problem they had was the strict rules of etiquette putting a damper on their moves. The challenge of writing historical romance today is to make it interesting for the new generation of readers. There is a lot more competing for their attention than there was for mine at a similar age. But a good love story is a good story, no matter the era.

Who are some authors you look to for inspiration?

One of the best romances I ever read was Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman. It is a history of Wales, and of King Llewellyn and his very young wife Joanna. The history is dark and bloody, but they truly loved each other.

I have also found a renewed admiration for Julia Quinn. I can look back at her Bridgerton series now and see how clever she was at giving us a large family with a lot of issues to enjoy for years. She must have taken excellent notes from her own books to keep up with all the twists and turns in that family.

What is your writing routine like? Do you have a specific place you write? Time of day?

My routine is to do it every day. I usually do some physical exercise in the morning, but once I’ve done that, and picked up the house, and done my Wordle, I get to work. I write every day. I have an office, but the pandemic has made me sick of it. So I move around the house now. I am done with the day’s work by the time school is out—I used to be able to keep my head in two places (the book and family) but I can’t do that anymore. I don’t know what happened to my ability to multi-task, but it has been obliterated. So I work as much as I can during school hours and then hit the wine fridge like any red-blooded working mom.

What’s next for the Royal Match series?

I am just finishing The Duke Not Taken. It’s about Princess Amelia, who is also sent to England under Lady Aleksander’s care to find a husband. Amelia really wants a husband and a family. Her problem, however, is she’s too much of a straightshooter for most people. And she’s not willing to settle. Enter the Duke of Marley, who has to be the only man in one hundred square miles who is not the least interested in a beautiful, rich, young princess. He has his reasons…

Writing Alpha Heroes by Harley Wylde

A common theme in any Harley Wylde story is an alpha hero. These men are tough, sometimes hardcore, but at the center they’re a marshmallow for the women and kids under their protection. Each hero is different in their own ways, even though most have a lot of the same qualities. I’m often asked where I find the inspiration for my characters. Easy…. Everywhere!

My husband inspires me all the time, but it’s more than just him. It’s the senior couple holding hands at the bookstore or sharing a meal at a restaurant. The young couple who can’t stop staring at each other. The guy who holds the door open for the harried mother with three kids. For every terrible quality you can find in someone, there’s good there as well.

My bikers don’t walk the straight and narrow, and some might not consider them good men. But they have their own code of honor, and they’re protective of those weaker than them. Even those with a gentler touch will still do anything to keep their woman and kids safe—including breaking the law.

About Harley Wylde

Harley Wylde is the International Bestselling Author of the Dixie Reapers MC, Reckless Kings MC, Devil’s Boneyard MC, Devil’s Fury MC, and Hades Abyss MC series.

When Harley’s writing, her motto is the hotter the better -- off the charts sex, commanding men, and the women who can’t deny them. If you want men who talk dirty, are sexy as hell, and take what they want, then you’ve come to the right place. She doesn’t shy away from the dangers and nastiness in the world, bringing those realities to the pages of her books, but always gives her characters a happily-ever-after and makes sure the bad guys get what they deserve.

The times Harley isn’t writing, she’s thinking up naughty things to do to her husband, drinking copious amounts of Starbucks, and reading. She loves to read and devours a book a day, sometimes more. She’s also fond of TV shows and movies from the 1980’s, as well as paranormal shows from the 1990’s to today, even though she’d much rather be reading or writing.

You can find out more about Harley or enter her monthly giveaway on her website. Be sure to join her newsletter while you’re there to learn more about discounts, signing events, and other goodies!

Website: https://harleywylde.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harleywylde 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harleywylde 

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/HarleyW_Writer

FREE BOOK – My Billionaire Boss: https://bit.ly/3s32uAP 

Q&A with Maisey Yates, The True Cowboy of Sunset Ridge

Please give the elevator pitch for The True Cowboy of Sunset Ridge.  

When Mallory Chance finally ditches her deadbeat boyfriend and moves to Gold Valley, Oregon to start over she's ready for adventure. So when she locks eyes with a hot cowboy across the bar in town, she decides to throw caution to the wind and do something she's never done before - have one hot night with a stranger. 

But her hot night is complicated by the fact that it turns out her anonymous hook up is Colt Daniels - related to her brother by marriage, and also, her new landlord. And when Colt ends up caring for his deceased friend's tiny baby, he needs help. But playing house with strong, handsome Colt makes Mallory long for things she thought she'd let go of. In the end will they be torn apart, or will they be able to set aside their grief and make a family?

Which came first, the characters or the plot line?

Colt and Mallory have both been in different books in the Gold Valley series, so they came first for me, and then when it was time to tell their stories, the plot came from them. That's how it usually works for me, characters come in strongly first and then I figure out how to place them. 

Why do you love Mallory and Colt and why should readers root for them?

Both Mallory and Colt have suffered a lot of loss in their lives, but they both give a lot to their families, but have a hard time accepting love for themselves. Also, there's a gratuitous scene where Mallory walks in on Colt in the bath tub, and i was really rooting for them both there. 

What was your last 5 star read?

I'm Only Wicked With You by Julie Anne Long. The hero, Hugh Cassidy is one of the best romance heroes I've ever read. He's a rogueish American and the way he plays off of the very aristocratic heroine is so perfect. It's breathtakingly romantic, and everyone should read it right now!

What is one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?

I'm glad that I didn't know too much about publishing when I started out! I didn't have any expectations, I was just amazed that someone thought my book was good enough for people to read. And when things get challenging in publishing - as they sometimes do - I try to go back to that simple thing. I get to write stories, and people read them. And it doesn't get more amazing than that!

Q&A with Anna E. Collins, Love at First Sight

Love at First Spite is your debut novel. Tell us about your journey to get here.

I started writing full-length fiction twelve years ago when my kids were little as an escape from the eating/sleeping/changing diapers rut. Initially, it was just a fun experiment, but my perception of my writing as merely a hobby really transformed when I got into PitchWars in 2017. It was a sort of recognition that I had something worth cultivating, and it also introduced that most crucial aspect of a writer’s life - the writing community. I learned so much from that - about the writing and editing process, about querying, about persistence, and about the importance of not going at it alone. I didn’t sign with my agent (Kimberley Cameron of Kimberley Cameron & Associates) through PitchWars though, but from a cold query about six months later. 

At that point I was writing exclusively women’s fiction. We went on sub with the book that Kimberley signed me on in 2018 and then with another one in 2019, and for a long time nothing happened. We had lots of rejections - polite and complimentary ones, yes, but still rejections. I think this is something authors don’t often talk about, but it happens to most of us. You have to develop a thick skin and always write the next thing.

So, 2020 arrived, I had two books on long-term sub, I had written yet another WF manuscript, and was considering my next project. With Covid shutting everything down with no end in sight, I needed a change, so I decided to try my hand at writing something more light-hearted. Said and done - with the cheerleading of my writing group (also closest friends) spurring me on, Love at First Spite was born. Turns out some flirty banter and revenge shenanigans were exactly what my writerly quarantine year needed!

As luck would have it, I actually ended up signing my two WF books with a smaller press at the end of 2020, and shortly after that, Graydon House acquired Love at First Spite and set a publication date that would make it my debut. And here we are!

What inspired this story?

I keep a running list of ideas for stories that I add to whenever I see or hear something that strikes me as interesting, or when I read about a topic that seems off-beat or unusual. Often, a title relating to the topic will come to me first, so I’ll jot down that and a brief line about it. In this case, I had read an article about spite houses around the world probably a year or so prior, found the lengths some people go to for revenge fascinating, and consequently made a note of it on my list. The exact words were “The Spite House - building a building to get revenge.” That was it - no genre, no characters, nothing. When I decided I wanted to write a romcom, this title stood out to me in my list as I could easily picture the pettiness required for such a build being ripe for comedic situations. It’s over-the-top right away as far as revenge goes, which seemed like a good place to start.

What research did you do for this book?

I’m neither an interior designer nor an architect like my two main characters, so I obviously had to do some research into what day-to-day life might look like in those fields. I also researched zoning laws for the city where the story takes place, fence regulations, construction terms, house building processes, common neighbor disputes (there are some pretty colorful ones on the internet), video surveillance systems, and how to tuft figures out of wool. I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things, but that’s at least a general overview of my search history during that period of writing.

What are you working on now?

Currently, I’m wrapping up a second romcom that I can’t currently talk about, while also finishing copy edits for my first women’s fiction title, These Numbered Days, which will be out some time in spring/summer 2022. And brainstorming my next project, of course. Always brainstorming!

Q&A with Kimberly Belle, My Darling Husband

Your cover really draws you in. Are you involved with the cover process? What do you hope this cover tells potential readers?

Thank you! And I agree; the designers at Park Row really nailed this one. Typically, I don’t have a lot of involvement with the cover until it’s nearly finished, which means it’s already gotten approval from my editorial team as well as the folks in sales and marketing before I get to see it. That moment when the email lands in my inbox – A sneak peek at your cover! – is always so exciting. 

In my mind, what makes the My Darling Husband cover so strong is that it gives us a view of Jade’s face but none of her husband Cam’s, only a slice of his shoulder. For me, this makes Cam feel somewhat elusive, and it hopefully puts the reader on alert that things with him may not be what they seem. Especially in combination with the title, the image lets the reader know that the husband in this story may not be so darling after all. 

What research did you need to conduct for this book and how did you do it?

I did a lot of research around a couple of plot points that if I mentioned them here, would give a big chunk of the story away. What I can mention is my research around raising a child prodigy and the kinds of stresses that degree of talent can put on both the family and the child. Beatrix is nine and has played violin since she was a toddler, when she picked up one in the toy aisle at Target. As amazing as her talent is, it’s also a daily hurdle. Lessons, practice time, the drive to succeed, the pressure to not “waste” your talent by frittering away your time with normal childhood pursuits – it can all feel very isolating. She’s a brilliant, brave kid who is much more mature than she should be, as illustrated with this line: “Most parents want their children to grow up. Cam and I should have spent more time coaxing Beatrix to grow down.”  

What is your elevator pitch for My Darling Husband?

My Darling Husband is the story of a mother held captive with her two children in their own home while her husband scrambles for the ransom, and the masked invader who’s about to turn their family secrets into a public scandal.

Which came first, the story or the title?

I turned this book in as “Book #7” so definitely the story came first. Seven books in, and not one of my titles has ever stuck, so I’ve stopped worrying about what the story will be called when I’m writing it. My publisher has a fabulous team of experts who are so much more versed in the process than I am. While I’m only thinking of the story, they’re looking at big-picture items like comparable stories, market trends, which words are hitting a collective chord (remember all the books with “girl” in the title?). All this goes to say, they know what they’re doing, and I am happy to let them work their magic!

What is your favorite season and why?

My favorite season has always been fall. I never mind the shorter days and cooler air, all the more reason to light a fire and wrap myself up in an oversized sweater. For me, fall has all the bests–the best fashion and the best food (soup season!) and the best festivities, ones that are centered around family. That’s hands-down my favorite part of fall, when all my people are gathered under one roof.

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Q&A with Jacquelyn Mitchard, The Good Son

What is your elevator pitch for the book?

When Thea’s college-age son is released from prison after serving time for killing his girlfriend, Thea must battle not only a community that hates him, but also her son’s despair. And then, she soon learns that the night of the girlfriend’s death is much more mysterious, and much more shocking, than she could ever have imagined.

What inspired the book?

Years before I ever wrote this story, I was in a coffee line at a big hotel where I was speaking at a writer’s conference. The woman in front of me dropped her book; I picked it up and asked if she was attending the conference. No, she said. She told me stayed at this hotel every weekend to visit her son, who was in prison and would be in prison for at least twenty more years. He was just nineteen years old. Oh no, I thought, oh no, don’t tell me why … but she did: Her son had murdered the only girl he ever loved, while so strung out on drugs that he didn’t even remember the death. She went on to say that one day, she was in their hometown cemetery bringing roses to the girl’s grave, when the girl’s mother appeared. The boy’s mother was terrified: What would happen? Would the woman shout at her, hit her? Instead, the two, who’d once been good friends, fell sobbing into each other’s arms. The mother of the lost girl then said the most heart-wrenching thing. “At least,” she told the boy’s mother, “You can still touch him.” When my agent heard the story, he said that it was impossible for me to make those characters sympathetic – but he now admits he was wrong.

Who is your favorite character in the book?

It’s Stefan, the boy who went to prison for murder. It was very hard to write about someone convicted of murder but he also was so filled with grief and remorse and, at 20, had no way to imagine any future at all.

Which character was the hardest to write? Easiest?

It was honestly hardest to create the main character, Thea, because to be effective at making a character come to life, you have to let yourself inhabit her emotions as fully as is possible – and I really didn’t want to imagine standing in her shoes. I once saw a speech by Sue Klebold, the mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the Columbine shooters. She said, of course, she still loved her son. And I knew there were people in that audience thinking, how could she? But I could not stop crying because I felt such pity for her and also admired her enormous courage. 

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Oh my goodness! That’s like asking, what’s your favorite song? Jhumpa Lahiri, Elizabeth Strout, Ann Patchett, Charles Finch, Hilary Mantel, Stephen King, Curtis Sittenfield, Kazuo Ishiguro, John le Carre, Celeste Ng, Dennis LeHane, Hilary St. John Mandel, Julia Phillips, Charles Portis, Betty Smith, Shirley Jackson, Julia Phillips, Colson Whitehead … I could do this all day.

What is the best part of writing for you?

It’s that rare time when I find a way to let the reader really see what I see and hear what I hear – not necessarily believe what I believe but … to find a way to bring the reader onto the same emotional wavelength

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

 Every single thing about it is hard for me. Coming up with the idea … fleshing out the idea … sustaining the narrative through all its peaks and valleys, writing the beginning, writing the end. Writing the ending is probably not quite so hard as the rest.

What is your writing set-up like? Do you have a designated writing space?

It’s my bed, on a lap desk. I burn through about one $25 lap desk a year, the kind with the flax seed or plastic bean bottom that fits over your legs. I once had an office but I just wandered around it, looking at the shelves.

Do you have a guilty music and/or entertainment pleasure?

Oh, I am a transfixed, unrepentant and abashed fan of true crime podcasts, true crime narratives, true crime anything, The Sopranos, Dexter, The Wire … while being truly terrified of being the victim of a crime of any kind.