Please help me welcoming the lovely, award-winning, Regency author, Vicky Dreiling. Vicky is here to discuss her writing and giving away a copy of her award-winning book How to Marry a Duke. (applause)
Ella: Vicky, thanks so much for being here today. Tell us a bit about what made you decide to start writing and your writing journey?
Vicky: Thanks for inviting me to your blog! I started writing in diaries when I was only ten years old. I kept it up until I was twenty and had too much reading to do at university. Also, I’ve been a voracious reader since I was a child. My best friend & I used to read at the beach while our boyfriends were surfing. I was late to romance books, however, and bought my first one by accident. My daughter Amber was with me while I was at the supermarket. I picked up a book with a pretty dress on the cover. My darling daughter took off running. I threw the book in the basket and forgot about it until I got home. I put Amber down for a nap and opened the book. Two hours later, my daughter woke up, and I was stunned that I hadn’t been able to put the book down. That book was Almost Heaven by Judith McNaught.
Anyway, I went crazy reading every historical romance I could find for several years. Then one day I realized I had nothing to read, and it was my day off from teaching aerobics (yes, one of my former professions – it was fun). For grins, I started writing a historical romance. Then a friend called. When I confessed my hobby, she told me something that still gives me chill bumps. She’d seen a notice for a class in how to write a romance at the suburban branch of the local university. I signed up for the class on a whim. That’s where I learned about RWA and a great deal about the craft of writing. My first teacher Patricia Kay was wonderful. I learned so much, and unbelievably, my first book made the finals in the Golden Heart contest. It was not the only “this must be fate” moment for me. I also met my agent by accident – twice. Here’s a link to that story: http://www.vickydreiling.com/blog/?p=42
I guess I was meant to be a writer.
Ella: What drew you to Regencies?
Vicky: Honestly, I was drawn to British set historical romances in the beginning. When I first started researching the Regency time period, I was fascinated. Despite years of researching the era, I still have to do a certain amount of research with almost every book. The research was fun when I took tours in London while on business trips. I toured Sir John Soane’s Museum (what a collection!), Apsley House, Windsor Castle, and the museums. I also did a walking tour of the West End and saw Beau Brummel’s town house. I got a lot of ideas for my books from those tours. There are photos on my website of some of the places where I traveled.
Ella: What are you working on now?
Vicky: The second book in my new series, The Sinful Scoundrels.
Coming May 2013
WILL A RAKE’S WICKED WAYS
Andrew Carrington, Earl of Bellingham, believes in being a gentleman, whether it’s fishing a soggy stranger out of the Thames or assisting a fetching lady into his bed. If the stranger becomes a friend and the lady a mistress, all the better. He certainly welcomes the opportunity to help Laura Davenport, a dazzling young widow with a rebellious stepson. Her gratitude, he hopes, will take an amorous form. But from the moment he sets foot in her drawing room, he gets far more than he bargained for …
LEAD THE LADY ASTRAY?
It was a moment of desperation. On the brink of losing her stepson, Laura turned to the notorious Lord Bellingham for help. Suddenly she, a vicar’s daughter, is in the precarious position of resisting his tantalizing advances. How Bell earned his wicked reputation is clear; the surprise is how much more there is to him than the gossip sheets could possibly reveal. Now every moment with this dangerously desirable man puts Laura’s good name at risk-and promises pleasure unlike any she has ever known …
Ella, here is a short excerpt from What a Wicked Earl Wants:
She gasped and stepped back. “My lord, I am a respectable widow.”
“You promised to do anything I asked.”
“I was desperate.”
Bellingham noticed her clenching and unclenching her skirts and sighed. He’d never coerced a woman before, and he wasn’t about to start now. He drew in breath to tell her that he’d only been teasing, but she spoke beforehand.
“I suppose I ought to honor my promise,” she said. “What do you want, my lord?”
He blinked. “What are you willing to give?”
She smoothed her skirts. “Since we are affianced, at least temporarily, and you’ve no need for money, I suppose I could grant you a…a kiss.”
He struggled to keep his amusement from showing. “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
She wrinkled her little nose. “I am the one who took advantage, my lord. You were kind enough not to expose me, but if you do not wish to kiss me, I will understand.”
“Did you have something else in mind?” He could provide ample suggestions, none of which any respectable lady would agree to do.
Shortened URL for A SEASON FOR SIN: http://tinyurl.com/bnlyzpw
Shortened URL for WHAT A WICKED EARL WANTS: http://tinyurl.com/dyeqhfd
Vicky Dreiling is a confirmed historical romance junkie and Anglophile. Frequent business trips to the UK allowed her to indulge her passion for all things Regency England. Bath, Stonehenge, and Spencer House are among her favorite places. She is, however, truly sorry for accidentally setting off a security alarm in Windsor Castle. That unfortunate incident led her British colleagues to nickname her “Trouble.” She entered the RWA RITA contest for the first time in 2012 because it seemed like a rite of passage. When the phone call came, she was astounded to learn she’d triple finaled.
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Ella Quinn ~ Author 