Today Noelle Henderson, who's half of author Chloe Harris, makes her first visit to the Lair. We're going to chat about her steamy historical debut novel, Secrets of Sin, from Kensington Aphrodisia. Welcome, Noelle! Tell us about Chloe Harris and how she was created.
Barbra Kolten and I (Noelle) were critique partners with very busy lives. Eventually we discovered that we worked together very well and could get a lot more done working together.
As far our writing process goes, it seems to always work out that one of us will have either a great idea for a scene/chapter or a better grasp of the character who's speaking at that point in the story. That person will do the first draft of the chapter. Then the chapter goes back and forth a minimum of three times sometimes ore and by the time we've both added, deleted, moved around etc to the point where we're both happy then the voice is Chloe's and not Noelle's or Barbra's.
What is Secrets of Sin about?
On a Caribbean island of alluring delights, Emiline du Ronde-Barhydt commands a large estate, vast wealth, and unwavering devotion. Her inheritance and dazzling beauty insure that she's granted her every wish... or almost. The one thing she can't get is freedom from her proud wayward husband.
When her husband, sea captain Reinier Barhydt finally agrees to give his determined wife the divorce she craves - it's for a price: three days of total submission to his every erotic demand.
Both fall under the spell of the most forbidden sensations that reignite every delicious inch of their bodies... and Reinier soon realizes that he is no longer master of his carnal game. At the mercy of his own raw shattering needs, the three red hot days may just turn into a lifetime of smoldering passion...
What inspired the Caribbean setting? We don't see those as much as we used to.
Part of it started with a class project my daughter did where she had to find a pirate to profile. She chose John Julian an Aphro-Indian ship's pilot that sailed with Black Sam Bellamy. John came to a sad end but I imagined my own ending for him that included marrying a beautiful French noble woman, whisking her away to a private Caribbean island and having a daughter named Emiline.
What a cool way to get an idea! Who are the hero and heroine, and what's their biggest problem apart from their relationship?
Emiline du Ronde has run her sugarcane estate since Reinier Barhydt left her fours years before, and now she wants a divorce. Although she is of mixed heritage, she's become a strong, successful business woman and wants nothing more than to cut her ties with the man that broke her heart.
Driven by a dark past to seek freedom, Reinier likes to tell himself he never wastes a thought on the beautiful wife he's left behind. But when rumors she has a paramour sends the sexy Dutchman home, his old feeling resurface and the estranged lovers strike an erotic bargain. Will he show Emiline who rules L'Île de Ronde-and her-or will his heart be lost instead?
Secrets of Sin is a very relationship centered story. There are few secondary characters and no bad guy or of outside issue to overcome. It's truly about these two people and their marriage.
What's the biggest issue between them?
I'm not sure I can pick just one. They have a lot of issues. LOL Trust for one, forgiveness, jealousy, self acceptance and understanding but I could go on and on.
Can we have a peek inside the book?"As I told you, Monsieur Barhydt." Emiline thrust her chin up to make her point clear. "I rule Bougainvilla and I surely do not take your commands. But you are right about one thing, Sir. We will continue this discussion tomorrow."
Turning away and marching toward the door, the breath flew from her lungs as Reinier came up behind her. His muscular arm gripped her small waist when he crushed her tightly against his body. She felt him aroused and straining against his breeches through the silk of her dress. Once again, a deep blush moved from her cheeks to the tightening tips of her breasts.
His breath was hot and demanding against her throat. "You may very well rule Bougainvilla, madam," he purred, passion and promise all rolled into one."But before I leave here again, I will rule you. And rest assured, wife, you will beg me to do it."
Emiline's whole body stiffened in resistance. As suddenly as he'd captured her, he let her go.
She wasn't sure if it was his words or the definite twinge of excitement she felt that scared her most. This man she now considered barely more than a stranger, somehow saw into the farthest part of her mind-a part that she only even admitted to herself in the darkest of dark and lonely nights.
What's next for you?
In Deep, the sequel to Secrets of Sin comes out in November.
Here's the Blurb.
Desperate enough to sell her body at Madame Poivre's, the best establishment for entertaining gentlemen in the West Indies, Lady Jaidyn Donnelly meets Connor O'Driscoll. She finds something in Connor's caress that sets her skin ablaze and touches her heart as he introduces her to his brand of sexual delights.
Connor finds everything he wants in Jaidyn's Irish beauty and her fiery temper that matches his own. But Jaidyn is a woman with secrets and refuses to become his mistress. When Connor learns she needs to get to the Carolinas, he risks everything to keep her close and take her there.
On this wicked journey of sizzling pleasures and growing affection both know that as the Carolina coast looms near, reality will shatter their love. The magic between Jaidyn and Connor is impossible to withstand, but can they overcome the betrayals and dangers of both the past and present to have the love they both yearn for?
For more about Chloe Harris, check out her website, blog, and twitter.
Noelle is giving away a copy of Secrets of Sin to one commenter today, so tell us, what's your your favorite book or movie with a Caribbean setting? Do you have a favorite place in the Caribbean where you've been or would like to go? If you were going to be marooned on a Caribbean island, what book, movie, or real hero would you like to have with you?
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