Blog Tour Stop & Giveaway: R for Rebel by Megan Mulry

Yesterday I featured Megan's fourth in the Unruly Royal series about the youngest sister Abigail, HERE.  Today, I'm excited to welcome Megan Mulry back to talk about her newest installment.

Megan:  Hi Becky! Thanks for having me at One Literature Nut.

Becky:  I'm always excited to have you here!

I have loved that your first two novels were about the male royals and now the last two are from their sisters' perspectives.  What story spark drew you to putting together these American + British royal couples?

Megan:  The first spark was this desire to do a Regency romance in a contemporary setting, and because some of my favorite Regency romances (like early Judith McNaught) had a feisty American heroine who knocked the socks off a British aristo hero, that's what I did first.

After I got the seed of the idea, I started researching contemporary British aristocrats and one thing led to another. I'd always been a complete anglophile, so it wasn't really a stretch. Throughout his life, my father sent me clippings and obituaries about eccentric Brits, and this one about the 17th Duke of Norfolk never left me.  That became the inspiration for the fictional Northrop family.

Becky:  You have such a fun social media presence on twitter (@meganmulry).  Which of your characters do you think would have an active online media presence, and which ones would absolutely avoid it?   (Just FYI, for some reason, I keep thinking all of the American ones would have one.  Why is that?!?  I don't think Twitter is totally gauche or anything, but I've thought someone like Claire, for instance, would avoid it, while many of the others might actively participate.)

Megan:  I love this question! Obviously Bronte is a total media whore, so she would be on Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Tumblr, Facebook—you name it—all the time. (I picture Max throwing her cell phone into the Thames on a regular basis).

I think Devon would probably have a secret Twitter account so he could stalk everyone without having to actually put himself out there.

Sarah would have a business account for the shoe company, but I don't think she'd feel totally comfortable with the self-revelatory nature of that kind of social media; maybe she'd have a Tumblr with lots of shoe shots from fashion shows and awards dinners.

I think Claire would actually thrive on Pinterest; her love of color and design and fabrics is a perfect match for that. One of my childhood friends who reminds me of Claire--temperate, creative, loving--surprised me when I learned about her very extensive social media presence.

I think Abby would hate it all. She barely carries a cell phone, except to sext Eliot, and I think she'd inherently dread putting herself before her cause for any reason. Eliot probably has some super stylish twitter account with a mix of cool philosophical sayings and candid pictures of Italy and Paris and Miami mixed in, with about 300,000 followers.

I think Ben would say, "I'm too old for Twitter."

Becky:  Oh my goodness, I love it!  :)  If it wouldn't take an inordinate amount of time, I'd love to see an account from any of these characters.  To be honest, the end of R is for Rebel had a nice spot for some blabbing on social media by some of these folks and a few others!  It would have been hilarious to see what they were thinking.

Megan:  Thanks so much for having me!

Thank you again so much to Megan for stopping in and sharing a little bit more with us about her Unruly Royals series and R is for Rebel.  Check out the series and this newest release.


About the Author:

Megan Mulry writes sexy, modern, romantic fiction. She graduated from Northwestern University and then worked in publishing, including positions at The New Yorker and Boston magazine. After moving to London, Mulry worked in finance and attended London Business School. Mulry is a member of RWA. She has traveled extensively in Asia, India, Europe, and Africa and now lives with her husband and children in Florida. Her latest book is R Is For Rebel, out now.

Now for a little giveaway:  
I'll make this simple this time around!  Do you have a thing for British royals/aristocrats in a story or not and why?  Respond to this simple little question before Monday, February 17th by midnight (MST) with your response and email address for the chance to win one copy of R is for Rebel, U.S. & Canada only.

Blog Tour Stop & Giveaway: In Love Again by Megan Mulry

Last week I posted a review on Megan Mulry's third in the Unruly Royal series, In Love Again.  Book three is a great "second chance" love story and adds a nice twist to the previous stories, with this book being told from the perspective of the royal (although, I can't say that seems to throw things off much in this case).

Here's a quick blurb about In Love Again:  

 

The Marchioness of Wick is about to get a second chance at life...whether she wants it or not. After twenty years in a loveless marriage to a duplicitous British aristocrat, Claire Heyworth Barnes finds herself broke and alone. Encouraged by her dynamic American sisters-in-law, the shy royal decides to start over in New York City. After landing a job with an interior designer, Claire reconnects with the first-and only-man she ever loved, Dr. Ben Hayek. Can they build a new love from an old flame? Or will a bitter past and a complicated future stand in their way?


Today, I'm excited to welcome Megan Mulry to my blog for a chat about her newest book!

When you started writing these books, did you anticipate writing about a different person in the family, their royal, and picture their individual stories?

 

 Yes, when I first sat down to write Bronte (A ROYAL PAIN), I knew I wanted to write a book about each member of the British Heyworth Family and the American they fall in love with. I don't really plot, but focus much more on character development (What type of person is this? How will they react in this type of stressful situation?) and then once I've got their personalities sorted I throw them together and let the story unfold. (Then lots of revisions and edits!) So I guess I picture them as people more than I picture their stories, if that makes sense.

Claire was an interesting mix of aloofness and vulnerability.  I really liked that Claire is a little older and with a little more life experience than some of the our younger characters.  Do you think that older characters, like Claire, deal with different emotional issues than younger characters (in terms of romance)?

 

Yes, but I think it's more than that. This book is different because Claire is different: whether I had told the story as an NA (New Adult) when she was 17 or as it is now, with her 38, it would have had the same tone. I thought about this question a lot and it gave me a sort of epiphany. I realize that each one of my books--even though they take place in the same fictional world and are told in third-person by the same narrator--ends up reflecting and projecting the characteristics and personality of the heroine. A ROYAL PAIN is neurotic and ambitious and eager, just like Bronte is. IF THE SHOE FITS is sparkly and young and bold, like Sarah James. IN LOVE AGAIN is softer--meditative and tender--just like Claire. I think my books are so character driven that it would be impossible for me to tease out the heroine's perspective from the actual telling of the story. (R IS FOR REBEL, my February release about Abigail Heyworth, further proves this point. She is going through some major soul-searching and her story totally reflects that.)

Benjamin is a dream.  I really loved that he remembered her all those years from when they first met.  He also seemed so incredibly vulnerable and scared of her, which was such a crazy combination.  How did you develop Benjamin?  Any fun tidbits about him?

 

 *sigh* I loved him too. Writing an older hero presented some different challenges. I wanted him to be established, to have built a good life, otherwise I don't think he would appeal to the heroine. But he also had to have lost sight of his dreams along the way (wanting children and a strong family life), in order to give him so much vulnerability. I have a few friends who really wanted children and for one reason or another never had them. I think this is a really universal feeling of regret and it just sort of came into my mind (and I think my fabulous editor Lisa Dunick may have pointed it out). Ben needed more motivation than just being divorced and lonely. (For the record, I also have a few friends who are childless by choice and perfectly happy about it…always feel like they deserve a mention too!) In terms of fun tidbits, about a year and a half ago, I had emergency oral surgery and I went to a new dentist and he was such a lifesaver. (And handsome!) I decided then and there to make my next hero a dentist. Which was also a fun challenge because for some reason lots of people think, "Dentist? How are you going to make a dentist sexy?" (Uh…in the usual way, lol.)

Yes, I think you completely succeeded in making Ben, the dentist, sexy!  :)

 It was nice to see Claire connect with her daughter, and Benjamin be a role in her life as well.  Do you think that the daughter will appear in later novels down the road now that she is more present in her mother's life?

 Lydia, Oh Lydia! I am still very much on the fence about writing Lydia's story. I would love to write an interracial romance with her and Alistair; I think we need WAY more representations of interracial relationships in fiction and in all media for that matter. The thing that is holding me back is my fear that Lydia's story will be very bitter--with her history of drug abuse and probably other forms of self-abuse. Yes, she's on the mend, but I suspect she's going to be careless and mean to Alistair and I just don't know if I have the heart to go through that. He can handle her, of course. And recovering drug addicts totally deserve their HEA, so… Ugh! See? Can you hear me developing their characters as I write this? This is always how it happens! Basically, I'm afraid Lydia's book could cross a line into depicting the horrors of drug abuse that I'm not sure I am ready to cross just yet.

I want to thank Megan Mulry so much for stopping by today and for chatting with me about her newest release! 

 

Now for a little giveaway:  

Tell me about your first love!  Do you have a first love, and do you know what happened to them?  Would you ever want to meet back up with them?  Respond to this fun little question by Monday, December 9th by midnight (MST) with your response and email address for the chance to win one kindle ebook copy of In Love Again, U.S. only.

Blog Tour: Sea Queen's Daughter by Ellis Drake

Today I'm excited to have a great up new author on my blog, Ellis Drake.  In the last year I've had the chance to read four other novellas by Ellis and really enjoyed the range of mysteries and stories that she's written.  In her newest, The Sea Queen's Daughter, she takes on a great adaptation of the fairytale of The Little Mermaid.

Here's a short summary of the tale:  On a barge anchored in the middle of the Adriatic, Marco Lorendan meets a mysterious and beautiful woman. His fascination for her is sealed when she saves him from drowning and then disappears into the sea. Is she dead, or simply lost? Marco is determined to find out.

Living beneath the waters of the lagoon, Serena can change into whatever form she chooses, but cannot change her fate: to die in an ancient ritual that goes back to the founding of Venice. Serena wants to live in the human world with Marco, but will she save herself if it means the destruction of Venice?




Here is my Q&A with Ellis today here at One Literature Nut:

I know that Venice is famous for its glass work.  Since you had Serena craft her mask into this masterful glass piece, first, did you do that on purpose?  Also, being the artist that you are, were you picturing anything in particular with it?

In the opening scene, I wanted everything about Serena to be strange and magical, so naturally the mask she wore had to be of a unique, fanciful material. Glass was an obvious choice because of its associations with Venice and because glass masks didn't exist—they would be too heavy to wear all the time. Most masks were made of paper and were very light, because you literally could not go out in public without a mask during Carnevale, which by the 18th century went on for six months out of the year. So the more common masks like the bauta had to be comfortable, relatively cheap, and disposable. Of course, Serena's supernatural so she doesn't have a problem with wearing an impractical glass mask.

As for what the mask looked like, I vaguely modeled it off an Ancient Mesopotamian statue that some scholars believe represents the Sumerian moon goddess, Inanna.

Is the legend behind this story an actual legend? I'm just curious where it came from.

The legend about the founding of Venice and the reason behind the Doge's annual Marriage of the Sea is something I made up so I could include the Ascension Day ceremony in the story. In actuality, the Marriage of the Sea started as a celebration of a military victory—or so they say.

Are you planning to set another story in Venice?

You never know! I'd love to write about Giacomo Casanova, one of the most fascinating people in history. Venice has such a rich culture and complex history that the possibilities for stories set there are endless.

Thank you so much to Ellis for dropping in today!  Please check out The Sea Queen's Daughter and drop by her site at http://ellisdrake.blogspot.com/ to learn about her other novellas and writing. 

Blog Tour Stop & Giveaway: Emma: A Latter-Day Tale by Rebecca H. Jamison

I'm so excited today to have the opportunity to have Rebecca H. Jamison here today on my blog to introduce her new book Emma: A Latter-Day Tale, which is a fun retelling of Jane Austen's novel Emma, but from an LDS perspective (which fits with a lot of students here in my area).  When I was approached to read this novel, I was pretty intrigued with this retelling, so I thought I'd give it a try, so thank you to Rebecca Jamison and Cedar Fort for this fun opportunity!  Also, don't forget to check out the giveaway at the end.

Jane Austen's No Excuse Approach to Writing

Jane Austen had plenty of excuses to stop writing. She lived in a time when it wasn’t completely acceptable for a woman to write novels, let alone publish them. In fact, she kept her writing secret for years, hiding her manuscripts away whenever guests arrived. She wrote multiple novels before any of her writing was published. When she finally did publish her work, she had to rely on her brother to negotiate with the publisher, and she published under a pen name. Her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, was published fifteen years after she started writing it.

Writing itself was difficult for Jane. By her own admission, she was a bad speller. Her writing desk was tiny. Just imagine what she’d say to you if you complained that your computer crashed. At least we have ballpoint pens! Even on her deathbed, with nothing more than pen, ink, and paper, Jane Austen managed to write Persuasion and revise Northanger Abbey.

Yet there was a time when Jane didn’t write much. During the years she lived in Bath, perhaps because of poverty or discouragement, she wrote very little. Later, when she went to live with her brother, she could have told herself that she hadn’t written in years and that it would be silly to go back to it. Thankfully, she chose to write.

Those of us who write have many of the same excuses. Though it’s now acceptable for women to publish novels, it’s not really acceptable for anyone other than a published author to admit she’s writing a novel. We’re luckier than Jane, in that we have word processors, laptops, and other technology to help us write. What we don’t have is time. It takes ingenuity and sacrifice to fit writing into a busy schedule. And, like Jane, we writers can easily fall victim to discouragement. One day of not writing can easily turn into years. The moral of Jane Austen’s story for me is this: Write anyway.

Rebecca H. Jamison Biography

Looking for love? Rebecca H. Jamison would love to set you up with that special someone, but you’re better off reading her books. She has a terrible track record as a matchmaker.

Rebecca grew up in Virginia. She attended Brigham Young University, where she earned a BA and MA in English with an emphasis in creative writing. In between college and graduate school, she served a mission to Portugal and Cape Verde.

Rebecca enjoys running, dancing, reading, and watching detective shows. She and her husband have six children. You can learn more about her at  

www.rebeccahjamison.com

Book Summary for Emma: A Latter-day Tale

Title: Emma: A Latter-day Tale

Author: Rebecca H. Jamison

ISBN: 978-1-4621-1260-9

Price: $16.99/$19.99

256 pages

Short Blurb: Emma's her name and matchmaking is her game! Quirky life coach Emma wants to help her first-ever client, a lonely nanny named Harriet. But all of her attempts at matchmaking result only in embarrassing miscues and blunders, leaving the pair disheartened and confused. This modern take on the Jane Austen classic shows that sometimes the greatest match is the one we make for ourselves.

Cover Blurb:

NOT Looking for Love: Single woman (23) seeks best friend to chat on the phone, shop the clearance racks, watch chick flicks, try out messy cooking projects, and eat Dove dark chocolates.

Emma isn’t so good at the whole life-coaching thing. Her first client ended up with a broken heart and is threatening to relapse in her bad habits. Now Emma has problems of her own to deal with, and all those problems start with one name: Justin.

Justin is her best friend, so it’s hard for Emma not to feel betrayed when she suspects he is falling for her childhood rival. And she knows she’s losing him despite her best efforts. No matter how much she tries, she keeps running up against obstacles. How is she supposed to help other people when she’s drowning in her own failures?

Fans of Jane Austen’s Emma will love this modern retelling of the classic romance novel. Fall in love with Emma’s latter-day tale of redemption, forgiveness, and the quest for true love.

Links

Blog:   www.rebeccahjamison.com

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

Youtube book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuZdfRJX8_s&list=LLIqrEppn8mTaoOdSpZk_9Jw&feature=mh_lolz

To buy:

Amazon:    http://www.amazon.com/Emma-Latter-day-Rebecca-H-Jamison/dp/1462112609

Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/emma-rebecca-jamison/1114719387?ean=9781462112609

Excerpt:

It was amazing how much more snow Phil could pick up with his shovel than I could with mine. He cleared three feet of the driveway before I was done with one.

“When we’re done, if you have time, you should come in and meet Harri. I think you two will get along.”

Phil stopped and looked at his watch. “I’m planning to do a couple more driveways before it gets dark.”

“I’ll go get Harri now if you’re in a hurry. She wants to meet you.”

Phil leaned on his shovel. “Harry is a she?”

 “Her real name is Harriet. She moved here a couple months ago and she’s hardly met anybody. I think you’ll like her.”

Phil threw his head back, laughed, and started shoveling again. “I thought you were trying to introduce me to your new boyfriend.”

“You think I would be out here shoveling snow while my new boyfriend stays inside?” I grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at him. I didn’t mean to hit him in the face, but that’s where it landed.

Phil wiped the snow off his face and grinned. “I wondered why you were dating such a loser.” I expected him to throw a snowball at me, but he just stood there. “So you don’t have a boyfriend?”

I giggled a little at his awkwardness. “Nope. Harri doesn’t either.”

Phil threw another shovelful of snow away from the driveway. “So you . . . I mean, you and your friend are . . . available?” Phil didn’t open his mouth enough when he talked. That was the one thing about him that always distracted me. I couldn’t help staring at his mouth.

I had to force myself to look into his eyes. “Why is that a shock, Phil? Every woman in that house right now is available. You can take your pick—Harri, me, or Barbara. You’re surrounded by single women.” It was safe to assume Phil wouldn’t pick me. I was at least three inches taller than he was, and it was a rare man who dated a taller woman.

Giveaway:  For the giveaway, Cedar Fort has one e-book version in Nook, Kindle, or PDF to award.  To be considered, leave a comment telling me what you are going to try not to give yourself any excuses with during the last half of the year.

Because the giveaway is digital format, as long as you can accept via these formats, you can enter!  :) Please leave a comment by next Wednesday, 8/14 by midnight and include your email address. 

Thank you again to Rebecca Jamison for stopping in today on her Blog Tour!  Don't forget to check out her other stops. You can check them out right here.  Also, stop back by later on this week for my review of her book!

Let the Holidays Begin...on Wednesday...

Happy holidays to all! I took a bit of an unplanned break from blogging thanks to some work stress that spilled over into my real life. Let's just say that stress took its toll on my health and left me sleeping every moment that I wasn't working, and feeling pretty run down. I'm not exactly feeling chipper, but I'm SO looking forward to flying out to Hawaii on Wednesday to see my mother and soak up some sun! I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll be sleeping on that flight over, and I'm actually looking forward to it.

Well, I'm so happy for the Christmas cheer that seems to be all around! In fact, just this last week I received a wonderful gift from Tina, from Bookshipper for the Christmas Bookswap. I have to say that it definitely brightened my day...after a tough one at that! Thank you so much Tina for your lovely book and gifts pictured below. I'm excited to read this play, and thank you for the lovely book accessories as well. Thanks Tina!


Regardless of where you're at in your holiday celebration, already free from school or work or travel...or not, I hope you have a great one. I'm so excited to read and relax over the break. I have no idea yet what I'll be packing along with me on my trip, but I know I have plenty to choose from. Now the question...do I take books from the library or just my own? Sigh.

Book Give Away Winner: War Dances & Other Events

Congratulations to:
Deanna

I will be contacting you by email for your address so I can get you this lovely hardback book on it's way! At this time of year, I wish I could just pop a little something in the mail to everyone who entered, but let me just say thank you for participating.

In other news, I wanted to give a few updates. First off, my absence is thanks to a pretty hectic week that I didn't anticipate being such. I forgot that we had parent-teacher conferences this week, and my students have been starting pretty major writing projects this week. For some reason, that always spells a lot of work on my part to prep things they need, and some even more intense "help" sessions. It's really satisfying though to see them putting together papers that they are proud of and eager to turn in!

Next, I wanted to report that on Monday I popped in the mail a nice little Book Swap gift for the person I drew. I didn't realize how difficult it can be to buy a book for someone who reads a lot! I looked at their interests, what they've read, and hope this one is a new one for them. Other than my initial anxiety over the book I was going to get them, I was able to pretty much match up things that I thought they might like. I'm hoping they get it soon! Here is a picture of the gift I sent off to them:


Last, I will be participating in the "2009 Virtual Advent Tour" on December 10th. I'm pretty excited about this, and hope you'll stop by to learn more about other book bloggers. I'll be sharing more about my family's new Christmas traditions that we've started in Hawaii. I'm also excited to learn more about wonderful friends, and see how they celebrate the season.

My own decorations are up, and the house feels all warm and cheery. Thankfully, I shop early in the year, which leaves me buying odds and ends by December. I'll be leaving for Hawaii in just a matter of weeks, so until then, I just want it to snow and snow and snow so that I feel like I'm getting that "white" Christmas I grew up with! How about you? What are you hoping for, and how is your holiday shaping up so far? Until next time, aloha!