Bad Dad!

by Anna Campbell



Recently I read a wonderful Molly O'Keefe book called THE SCANDAL AND CARTER O'NEILL, the last in her 'Notorious O'Neill' trilogy (by the way, Molly is an amazing writer and if you haven't read her, rush and grab one of her fantastic stories).



In the author bio section, she has a really cute disclaimer:



Despite how it may appear in her books, Molly O'Keefe has a wonderful mother. She has no experience with bad mothers and cannot explain why many of the mothers in her books are so awful. Molly never intended for her own mother to get those dirty looks at the grocery store.



This made me giggle because I realized I should make a similar disclaimer in the front of my books, but not about mothers. About FATHERS!



My father was a wonderful man, brave, principled, smart. And not at all like the fathers who feature in Anna Campbell stories.



I was thinking about the dads in my books and ouch, they're a rotten lot!



Your Honor, I present exhibit 1, the late Duke of Kylemore in CLAIMING THE COURTESAN. Drug addicted, alcoholic, cruel, psychotic, and a slave to his base passions. Nup, he's not likely to win father of the year any time soon. Mind you, his wife's not too great either but I'm talking about dads here. Verity's dad isn't nearly as mean but then he dies and leaves her completely defenseless so even he demonstrates a few shortcomings!



Exhibit 2 : in UNTOUCHED, Matthew's dad does the dying thing but otherwise is pretty OK, but the uncle left in loco parentis is another psycho killer type. Sheesh! And while Grace's dad eventually sees the error of his ways, he's pretty cold and ruthless with her when she's younger.



Exhibit 3: in TEMPT THE DEVIL, the bad dad is actually the HERO! Ose Noes!



Erith returns to London at the start of the book to make up for his numerous sins against his children and of course then he puts their future in jeopardy when he falls in love with a courtesan. Ose Noes with sugar on top!



Exhibit 4 (yeah, there's going to be six, so sue me! Oh, no I've already got a court case on my hands with the dad thing. Maybe DON'T sue me!): in CAPTIVE OF SIN, there's a bad stepfather and a bad dad. Charis's mother marries after her admittedly very nice first husband kicks the bucket and husband number two is a shocker. A drunkard and a lech and a wastrel. And then poor Gideon, who already has enough to cope with after his torture in India, had a father who thought his younger, intellectual son was a complete waste of space and set out to fix that problem with violence. Bad dad indeed!



Exhibit 5: two of the dads in MY RECKLESS SURRENDER aren't actually that bad or at least they have decent reasons for their behavior. But there's Lord Burnley - he definitely qualifies to live in infamy in this villains gallery of bad dads. I think an amoeba would be a better father than this guy!



Exhibit 6: MIDNIGHT'S WILD PASSION has TWO bad dads, both of whom are far more interested in their own agendas than in their children's welfare. Oh, and one more equivocally bad dad in Godfrey Demarest who is indulgent to his daughter but a bit of a rotter otherwise.



So I'd like it on record here and now:



Dad, I apologize wholeheartedly for all these wicked fathers, uncles and stepfathers who abound in my books. None of them were inspired by you, although I certainly was when I set out to follow my dreams and become a writer.



Actually I think bad dads are a staple of fiction not because as writers, we have suffered through so many bad dads, but because awful parents put our heroes and heroines against it. Fairytales use the same motif for the same reason.



Someone with a rotten parent (or even two, like Kylemore) gains reader sympathy immediately. It's a bit like making our heroes and heroines orphans. I've read blog posts and other pieces asking why so many orphans abound in romance fiction. Again, it puts the reader onside from the get-go.



And just for something different, the book I'm current writing features a very heroic dad for my lead guy and an OK dad for my heroine. Sheesh! What is the world coming to?



So do you have any favorite bad dads in your romance reading?



And if you'd like to explore the Anna Campbell school of bad dads, I'm going to give away a book today to someone who comments. Your choice from the backlist (just click on the title in the blog if you want to checkwhich book you'd prefer) mailed with a fatherly smile and an avuncular bookmark.



(Just a proviso - I'm at the Romance Writers of Australia conference right now so may be a bit slow getting back to comment but I promise I will, cross my heart and hope to die!)

Island of Prizes!

Wow, another great day in the lair yesterday! Thanks to Helen Brenna (for being such a great guest and giving us THREE books to give away) and to all the Banditas and Buddies who called around to say hello.

Helen has chosen her winners, so congratulations to:

SHEREE!

PAT COCHRAN!

CLAUDIAGC!

You win your selection from Helen's backlist (prizes don't include THE PURSUIT OF JESSE, HER SURE THING or REDEMPTION AT MIRABELLE). For a list of her books and information about them, please visit the books page of her website: http://www.helenbrenna.com/New_Books.php Please email Helen on helenbrenna @ comcast.net (no spaces) with your choice and she'll get your prize off to you! Happy reading!

Island Magic with Helen Brenna!

by Anna Campbell

Oh, be still my beating heart!

Well, not that still. Because then I'd be dead, right?

We have a saying in Oz that you wouldn't be dead for quids (quids is an old slang term for a pound note). And today, I have such a wonderful guest for you all that you wouldn't be dead for quids either!

I've come fairly recently to Helen Brenna's books - via a recommendation to read her RITA-nominated NASCAR story FROM THE OUTSIDE. I'm not that into racing cars but man, I got seriously into tortured and sexy racing car driver Roberto Castillo.


Since then I've read everything from Helen that I can lay my hands on. I've fallen in love with her wonderful series about a resort island in the Great Lakes called Mirabelle. As I said to her when I closed her fabulous THE PURSUIT OF JESSE a few days ago, I finish her books wanting to go to Mirabelle and then there's that cruel moment when I realize it's not REAL!!! Boo hoo.

Helen's books are unforgettable emotional reads about forgiveness and redemption and finding one's rightful place in the world. She has won an impressive number of prestigious awards including that most prestigious award of all, the Romance Writers of America RITA Award for THE MOON THAT NIGHT.

We're very lucky this year - in July, August and September, we get THREE Mirabelle books released back to back. THE PURSUIT OF JESSE, HER SURE THING and REDEMPTION AT MIRABELLE.

Here's the back cover blurb for HER SURE THING, Helen's August release:

Grace Andersen Kahill, the pastor's trouble-making daughter, left Mirabelle Island at seventeen and never looked back. When a devastating accident ruins not only her successful modeling career but also her marriage, she comes home to Mirabelle. She never expected to rediscover herself not through the lens of a camera, but through the eyes of Sean Griffin.

Sean, Mirabelle's doctor, has orchestrated for himself the perfect life. That is, until two new arrivals on Mirabelle upset his proverbial apple cart. A son he never knew existed and ... Grace.

The son, he'll deal with. Somehow. The woman, on the other hand, might just end up breaking his heart.

And don't forget, if you click on the covers in the blog, it takes you right to that book on Amazon.

For more information on Helen and her wonderful books, check out her website:

www.helenbrenna.com

Without more ado, here's Helen! And she's got some news for us!


I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. Today is the day I’m unveiling an illustration of my very own fictitious Mirabelle Island!

But let’s back up for a sec. Actually, let’s back up five whole years to when Mirabelle was born in my mind.

It all started, as so many books start, with a “what if?” What if two people, childhood sweethearts, were torn apart by something as simple as he couldn’t stay in the small town in which they’d grown up together and she couldn’t leave?

A lot of things had to come together to make this a compelling story. I needed a place with a strong sense of community, with history, maybe even a place the heroine’s ancestors had settled, all of which bound her to home. I needed a place that a reader could love, but I also needed that reader to empathize with the hero and the intolerable sense of confinement he felt while growing up. Mind you, none of this was conscious or purposeful. My writer’s brain was just doing its thing when it dawned on me that I needed an island. Not a sand, surf and palm trees kind of place. I needed something different. I needed Mackinac Island, Michigan.

Ever heard of The Grand Hotel? Mackinac is the place where the movie SOMEWHERE IN TIME was filmed. With cobblestone streets, Victorian B & Bs and horse drawn carriages, it’s a place filled with history, a place I could easily imagine Sophie, my heroine.

The only problem is that I couldn’t imagine Noah, my alpha hero living there and I wasn’t entirely sure how their story was going to end. Were they staying or leaving? Then, too, I don’t write quaint and quiet stories set in tearooms and grand hotels. I write contemporary romances with alpha heroes and strong heroines, so I needed some reality.

What I needed was a little bit of Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands chain located on Lake Superior just off Wisconsin’s northern shore. Madeline is bigger than Mackinac, so there’s space for log cabins, horse ranches, secluded bays and lighthouses, acres of untouched forest, and even a few brew pubs.

That’s how Mirabelle Island was born. A place of stark contrasts. Cold, brutal and isolated in the winter. Sunny and idyllic in the summer. Old virgin forests on one end and homemade fudge shops on the other. The Mirabelle Island Inn with its classic French restaurant a few blocks from the Rusty Nail, a bar that has seen better days. This is, basically, a picture of what’s been on the white board in my office for the last five years. The bare bones of Mirabelle Island …

Well, that one book about Noah and Sophie led to six more stand alone Mirabelle stories, and just as my books have evolved and grown so has my vision of the island. I wanted readers to see what I see in my mind, and so I commissioned an artist to illustrate Mirabelle.

To coincide with THE PURSUIT OF JESSE, HER SURE THING and REDEMPTION AT MIRABELLE, three new Mirabelle Island books releasing July, August and September, I’m “unveiling” the illustrated map here and on my web site. Voila!

It still needs a legend and some geographic titles, but what do you think? Does Mirabelle Island look like some place you’d like to live? Read about, I hope?

To celebrate my back to back releases, I’d like to give away three copies from my backlist today, so check out my website at helenbrenna.com to see which title you’d like. And stop by my website again in another week or so to see the finished map.

Many thanks to Anna and all the Bandits for having me here today!

You heard right, Bandita Buddies. That's THREE people to win their choice from Helen's backlist! Hmm, wonder if she'll let me enter. There's a couple of older titles I still haven't managed to find. Perhaps I can enter under an alias...

OK, OK, I won't cheat (mainly because you'd find me out, you're all so clever!).

Good luck and get commenting, people!

Summertime Booty!

THANX to everyone who turned out last Sunday to share their hectic summer with Marie Force!

Now for the booty...

SUPER CONGRATS
to

MAUREEN

You are the winner of a copy of Marie's Fatal Consequences!

Please contact Marie at marie AT marieforce DOT com.

Jenny Brown's Starry Winner!

What a great day we all had in the lair when Jenny Brown visited to tell us about the second book in her wonderful LORDS OF THE SEVENTH HOUSE series, STAR CROSSED SEDUCTION. Thanks so much for giving Jenny such a great welcome!

Jenny was giving away a copy of her first book in the series, LORD LIGHTNING, to one commenter. The lucky winner is:

MAY!

Congratulations, May. Please email Jenny on lottadata @ hotmail.com (no spaces) with your snail mail details and Jenny will get your book out to you. Happy reading!

A STAR-CROSSED VISIT!

by Anna Campbell

It's my great pleasure today to introduce a fresh face to the lair, wonderful Avon historical romance author Jenny Brown!

Jenny's debut LORD LIGHTNING garnered glowing reviews and a lot of buzz in Romancelandia, including two Romantic Times Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award nominations. Her second book in the Lords of the Seventh House series, STAR CROSSED SEDUCTION comes out 30th August. Rush to pre-order it!

Here's the blurb for STAR CROSSED SEDUCTION:

Lovers or Enemies?

Captain Miles Trevelyan, on leave from active service in India, is heading out for a night on the town when he rescues a beautiful pickpocket from arrest. She's the perfect choice for a few days of dalliance--beautiful, cunning, and completely disposable.

But Temperance has no intention of becoming the plaything of a man who wears the uniform of the solders who murdered her lover. Disarming Trev with a kiss, she escapes. But her sultry kiss opens the two Scorpio adversaries to an obsessive attraction that neither can elude--or possibly survive.

You can find out more about Jenny and her books (and see astrological charts for her characters!) on her website: www.jennybrown.net

You can find a brand-new excerpt from STAR CROSSED SEDUCTION here: www.jennybrown.net/home/SCSexcerpt.php

Welcome, Jenny. It's great to have you in the lair at last - I feel like I've been waiting forever to talk to you here about your wonderful stories. STAR CROSSED SEDUCTION is the second in your Lords of the Seventh House series which started with the fabulously well-received LORD LIGHTNING. Can you tell us about this new story and the inspiration behind it?

When I sold LORD LIGHTNING, my editor wanted it to be the first in a series where the hero’s astrological sign would play a part in the story.

Scorpio was the obvious sign to do next. No other sign screams sensual, emotionally moving romance like Scorpio.

But Scorpio has a very mixed reputation. Sexy, yes. But also manipulative, secretive, resentful and transgressive. Scorpios aren’t so much into sex as a recreational activity as they are into sex as a way to control other people. What turns them on is emotion, not sensation. If giving you multiple orgasms will bind you to them for life, they’ll do it. If withholding sex will work better—that works for them, too.

So how was I to make my hero heroic?


The answer lay in exploring the gift Scorpio may confer: intense loyalty, deep psychological insight, and the ability to heal the most painful psychological injuries.

When a Scorpio gives his heart, his loyalty to his loved one will motivate him do whatever is necessary to protect that person, even to sacrificing their lives.

This pointed me to my hero: A dedicated soldier descended from a line of soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for King and Country. And since astrologers know that Scorpios often do best when paired with others of their sign, I made my hero and heroine both sexually alluring, magnetic Scorpios, each of whose lives is dominated by loyalties that have given them secrets they have no choice but to keep hidden.

Captain Miles Trevelyan is on leave from active service in India and looking for nothing more than an evening’s pleasure when circumstances force him, much against his better judgement, to step in and rescue a beautiful pickpocket from a well-deserved arrest. Once in his custody, the streetwise Temperance, who has learned how to use her sexual allure to gain control over men, distracts him with a seductive kiss, intending to make her escape by diverting the handsome captain’s blood away from his brain to a less observant organ.

But their kiss opens them both to feelings they’ve never before experienced and Temperance finds herself unable to break free, even though the man who has aroused such passion in her wears the same uniform as the officer who killed her ex-lover, a failed revolutionary. Drawn into a battle of the sexes where each pits their seductive skills against the other, Trev learns he has finally met the one woman strong enough to meet him where others fear to tread. But he faces a devastating choice. Will he remain true to King and Country, or give up everything to save the strong and vulnerable girl who’s won his heart?

Ooh, sounds delicious! You use astrology as a major theme in your historical romances. How did you become interested in this ancient art?

I don’t actually remember when I discovered astrology, but I know it was before I was nine as I was recently going through some family papers and found a cartoon I’d drawn in a letter I sent home from camp at that age which showed a wizard pointing to an accurately drawn astrological chart. My fuzzy memory is that I first encountered astrology in a newsstand magazine, possibly DELL HOROSCOPE.

When I was in my 20s someone taught me how to cast charts (this was before software made it easy.) So I began to draw charts for everyone I met, and learned more about how to interpret them from books and classes.

What’s next for you?

My next book is the Pisces book in the series. It’s tentatively titled PERILOUS PLEASURES.

While the first two books of the series, LORD LIGHTNING and STAR CROSSED SEDUCTION are connected to each other, this third book goes off in another direction. Set in 1803, it pairs a handsome, wealthy, idealistic Scottish lord, who has taken a vow of chastity in order to be initiated into the secrets of an ancient healing tradition, with the ugly, cynical daughter of the courtesan he must kill if he is to avenge his sister’s murder.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

I have such a strong streak of Sagittarius on my own chart that there’s nothing I’d rather do than give advice.

What I’d suggest—which is the best advice I received from another, brilliant writer, and of course, ignored—is that aspiring writers finish at least five books before they seek publication. There as so many benefits of doing this. The most important is that your first book is never as good as you think it is, and writing more will give you either the experience you need to make the first book better or provide you with a much better book—one that might let you break in with a big advance and strong publisher support. The other benefit of writing a lot of books before you publish is that with a stash of books to draw on, you can deliver subsequent books more quickly, which will also help you build up your audience.

Unfortunately, like Temperance, the impulsive heroine of STAR CROSSED SEDUCTION, who ignores the warning Eliza, the astrologer we first met in LORD LIGHTNING, gives her, most of us ignore all the advice we’re given no matter how good it might be.

Jenny, that's all fascinating! Thanks for being our guest today. Do you have a question to get the conversation going with our Banditas and Bandita Buddies?

What’s the best piece of advice someone has given you? Did you take it? What was the worst? I’ll be giving away a copy of LORD LIGHTNING to a randomly chosen commenter.

OK, people, let's all be STARS and comment to win this great prize. Good luck.

Note: Jenny will forward the prize once her book hits the stands on 30th August.

Miranda's Winner!

Thanks so much for turning Miranda's visit yesterday into such a party! Wow, we sure rocked the lair!

The winner of Miranda's wonderful THE AMOROUS EDUCATION OF CELIA SEATON is:

LAURIE G!

Congratulations, Laurie. The book sounds delish. Please email Miranda on miranda @ mirandaneville .com (no gaps) with your snail mail details and she'll get your book out to you pronto!

Billionaire Booty!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the other day to say hello and talk about Moms, billionaires, and books. :-)

The random winner of the first two Duke Brothers books, THE MILLIONAIRE MEETS HIS MATCH and SWEET SURRENDER, BABY SURPRISE, is . . . [drum roll!!] . . .

DEB!!!!!

Congratulations, Deb!

Please send your snail mail address to me at katecarlisle99@yahoo.com and I'll ship your books out ASAP!

Cheers!

Super Celia Seaton!

by Anna Campbell

Miranda Neville is such a favorite in the lair, she hardly needs any introduction - but she'll punch me if I don't say something and while she punches like a girl, it's still not the best look for authors at their professional best (snork!).

Miranda is an international explorer and conservationist who has been known to give Bear Grylls tips. She can whip up a three-course cordon bleu meal from two cans of baked beans, a bottle of Coke and an onion. When she's not advising the CIA on their undercover missions or showing the Queen how to wave, she can be found rescuing puppies from fast-flowing streams and wrapping Christmas presents for local orphans.

If you want to discover more about the wonder that is Miranda, please visit her website: http://www.mirandaneville.com/


Miranda, as you know, I’ve been chomping at the bit to get my hands on THE AMOROUS EDUCATION OF CELIA SEATON. THE DANGEROUS VISCOUNT was one of my top handful of reads last year and I feel like it’s been a long while between drinks (impatience is my middle name). Can you tell us about this story?

May I mention how much I love you, Anna? (And thanks for inviting me to schmooze with the Banditas: it’s always a blast).

If you’ve been following the Burgundy Club series, you will have met Tarquin Compton, the snooty dandy. Among the victims of his biting tongue is Celia Seaton, whose suitor was scared off when Tarquin compared her to a cauliflower. After the unfortunate vegetable incident, Celia went through hard times, culminating in the loss of her job as a governess. Then she’s kidnapped, robbed and left in a cottage attic, stripped to her shift. Being an enterprising girl, like any good heroine, she manages to escape.

The door to the humble structure was blocked, by a body. The body of a man lying unconscious, wearing nothing but breeches and a pair of riding boots. It had been some years since Celia had seen the bare torso of a grown man, and never a white man. He was pale, as befit a man who was always dressed up to his neck, but the smattering of dark hair, covering the chest and descending in a vee over his flat stomach, didn’t disguise the fact that the skin covered well-formed muscles. This interesting masculine form distracted her only a few seconds from the astonishing fact that she knew him.


And although he was one of several men who had bedeviled her life, she did not actually wish him dead.

Kneeling on the ground she set her fingers to his temple and found a pulse. “Mr. Compton,” she said. “Mr. Compton, wake up. Are you well?”

Nothing. She rested her head on his chest. Judging by the strength of his heartbeat, Mr. Tarquin Compton would live to cause further distress to awkward arrivals on the London marriage mart. She supposed she’d better try to revive him. And much as she detested the creature, she was curious to discover why the ton’s most fashionable gentleman lay half-naked next to a deserted Yorkshire cottage.

So what is Tarquin doing half-naked in the middle of nowhere? He certainly doesn’t know, because he’s suffering from amnesia. So Celia decides to go for a little payback by claiming that he is her fiancé, glorying in the name of Terence Fish. Together they set off across the moors, pursued by desperate villains.

Terence Fish!!!! I laughed out loud when I read that. You specialize in delicious different heroes. Sebastian in THE DANGEROUS VISCOUNT was, shock, horror, a male virgin. And now we have an even rarer bird in Romancelandia, a dandy in the acid-tongued Tarquin Compton. Did you have any difficulties turning a dandy into a hero? What lessons has Tarquin learned by the end of the book? Seriously, he’s so due for his comeuppance! What makes an unusual hero appeal to you?

Since a dandy is all about external appearances, I decided to strip Tarquin of his clothes and his memory so we could see the man underneath the façade. Turns out he’s brave, honorable, affectionate, sexy, and good at catching fish. And then he gets back his memory and reverts to his snooty ways. He has to reconcile his social exterior with the man he was as Terence Fish. And Celia, who hates Tarquin and adores Terence, has to fall in love with him all over again. By the end of the book he has examined what made him a dandy and is no longer wants to be the disdainful leader of the ton.

I’d really love to write an uber-alpha rakish nobleman with an angsty past – I love to read about them – but somehow my heroes don’t turn out that way. Perhaps it’s because when I write I’m always looking for the unusual twist and it takes my characters into unexpected places. I also like to write about very strong, very smart heroines, who don’t take any crap from their men.

What’s next for you? More wonderful Burgundy Club books?

Minerva Montrose, Diana’s little sister from THE DANGEROUS VISCOUNT, was a reader favorite. Her book, CONFESSIONS FROM AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE, will be out in April 2012. Minerva is very smart, very ambitious, and wants to marry an up-and-coming politician whom she can push up the greasy pole to be Prime Minister. Suffice to say, the best laid plans always go wrong.


Ooh, yum! Can't wait. Minerva was one of my favorite characters in THE DANGEROUS VISCOUNT. I always ask you about interesting tidbits of research that turned up when you’re working on your books. Did anything unusual take your fancy when you were researching THE AMOROUS EDUCATION OF CELIA SEATON? Did I see a mention of an erotic manuscript on your website?

Celia’s “amorous education” comes from a bawdy novel (and from Tarquin, of course). I used a real 1796 book that I read in the British Library. Here’s a snippet from where Minerva (remember Minerva? She reappears in THE AMOROUS EDUCATION) has discovered Celia reading the book.

Minerva slid down from the bed, carried The Genuine Amours off in triumph to the far side of the room and settled on the stool next to her dressing table. Celia waited in dread as the girl opened the book to the bookmark and began to read aloud.

"A man who seeks pleasure in casual f… Oh my goodness. I can’t say that word!”

“Then don’t. Stop now.”

“Never! This is fascinating. He can never find it but in the senses, while he who has love on his side, is stretched on the rack of delight, by those able ministers of pleasure, passion and imagination.” She looked up. “That seems a proper sentiment. The author advocates the act of you-know-what only when love is present.”

“Believe me,” Celia said. “He does not practice what he preaches.”

Miranda, a little birdy tells me you’ve set up in competition to the Bandits by joining a group blog! The cheek, I say! Would you like to tell us about this new endeavor? Wanna rooster?

We couldn’t ever hope to emulate the Bandits. A group of Regency authors (Tessa Dare, Katharine Ashe, Gaelen Foley, Sarah MacLean, Sabrina Darby and moi) have started The Ballroom Blog. (www.TheBallroomBlog.com). We don’t need a rooster (and c’mon, you guys would miss him!) because we have a very rude parrot called Albert who belongs to our hostess, Lady Beaufetheringstone (pronounced Batman). We’re posting Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays and hope everyone will stop by to join the dance.

I’ll be giving away a copy of THE AMOROUS EDUCATION OF CELIA SEATON to a commenter on the blog. You can say something about my post, ask me a question (I promise to answer anything that won’t totally compromise me) or give me a recipe for a really great summer salad dish. It’s hot times in northern New England and I need cool inspiration!

Sounds great, Miranda! Get commenting, people. Good luck!

Annie's Winners!

Wow, what a huge day we had in the lair yesterday. Thanks to Annie West and everyone who swung by to turn her visit into a party.

Annie very generously offered commenters two prizes and without more ado, the winners are:

ANTONIA (PRINCE OF SCANDAL)

GANNON (RAFE'S REDEMPTION)

Congratulations, girls! Please email Annie on annie @ annie-west.com (no spaces) with your snail mail details and she'll get your books off to you. Happy reading!

The Best of the West

by Anna Campbell

Annie West is one of our lair favorites and I'm delighted to have her back again to talk about not just one, but TWO new releases. Oh, lucky Romancelandia!

PRINCE OF SCANDAL is a luscious royal romance with touches of Pygmalion - you'll love these two characters right from their first meeting which is an absolute doozy.

RAFE'S REDEMPTION was originally published in the U.K. as THE BILLIONAIRE'S BOUGHT MISTRESS. It's one of Annie's sexiest and most compelling love stories, full of drama and emotion.

You can find out more about Annie and her wonderful books on her website: www.annie-west.com And don't forget if you click on the covers, it takes you right to Amazon. We make it so easy for our Bandita Buddies!

Annie has very generously offered two prizes today so two lucky commenters will win either RAFE'S REDEMPTION or PRINCE OF SCANDAL. Good luck!

So without more ado, here's ANNIE!!!!


Annie, delighted to have you as my guest again on the gullar sahir.

You’ve been really busy lately with not one, but TWO U.S. releases in the last few weeks. Let’s start with your wonderful PRINCE OF SCANDAL featuring the gorgeous and very tortured Prince Raul (that’s RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROWL to any red-blooded woman). Can you tell us about this story?

Hi Anna, it’s fantastic to be here with the Banditas again. Thanks for slipping me into the packed schedule! Waving here to all the Banditas and guests. I feel I’ve been missing in action for a while due to a recent tough schedule and severely limited time online (advice to all other computer users – NEVER neglect a back problem – it won’t magically fix itself, as I’m learning to my cost).

Ooh Anna, I’m so pleased you like Raul (I can hear that RRRRROWL from here!). But of course, as he’s tortured he’s right up your alley. I know you have a fondness for wounded heroes. I suspected you’d like him even while he gave me a difficult time as I wrote. What is it with princes wanting things to go their own way?

Ahem, OK – that question again? Well, no prizes for guessing it’s a royal story. Plus it’s a Marriage of Convenience story (no, I wasn’t ticking off themes – it’s just the way the story worked out). Take one serious, and seriously gorgeous prince who must marry (not just anyone but the woman specified in a dynastic marriage contract) before he can inherit the throne he’s spent his whole life preparing for. Ensure his past and present circumstances make it imperative he do his duty by inheriting. Mix with an independent business woman who wants nothing to do with her mother’s long lost aristocratic family or the perks of royalty (she’d seen the negative side of that world of privilege and position as a kid). Stand back and enjoy the sparks.

I have to admit (and Anna will bear me out on this) that I snickered with anticipation over this story from the moment I imagined Raul and Luisa meeting on her farm. He’s all Armani tailoring, serious shoulders and lean, dark looks. Luisa’s in dungarees, a battered hat and head to toe mud after an altercation between a cow and a flooded creek. He’s expecting a princess. She doesn’t own a dress. He’s come looking for his bride to be, expecting excitement and gratitude. Being ordered off the property comes as something of a shock. But being a true alpha hero he recovers quickly and sets about getting what he wants.

There’s a touch of Cinderella to the story but Luisa isn’t a woman to be ‘made over’ and quietly defer to other people’s expectations of how she should look and behave. That was part of the fun of this story – watching Luisa do things her way, not taking the tried and true route expected of her. She takes the wind out of Raul’s sails more than once, which is fair since he plays havoc with her expectations of a buttoned up royal. She’s never sure what to expect next. There’s a fair bit of sizzle in this story and reader feedback so far has been very nice indeed.

I'm not surprised. It's a brilliant classic love story. American readers have a bonus Annie West available now in your wonderful RAFE’S REDEMPTION which was originally released as THE BILLIONAIRE’S BOUGHT MISTRESS. Can you tell us about this story?

Oh, I’m so very pleased Rafe and Antonia are finally crossing the Atlantic to visit North America. This book was written in response to a request from my editor for a three story anthology to showcase new authors. It was one of my favorites to write – it kept me on the edge of me seat all the way through – I think that’s a good thing. Speaking of sizzle, this one has it in spades. It’s available now from the eHarlequin site but don’t look for it in other bookstores as it’s a limited release.

Rafe Benton is planning revenge against the man he’s grown up hating – his estranged father. He will do whatever it takes to succeed, including using a stranger as a pawn in his plans. He sees Antonia as his father’s latest favorite and decides to steal her from under his nose, flaunting her as his mistress while he brings down his father’s business empire. Antonia is between a rock and a hard place, not because of what she’s done, but because of her beloved, recently dead father. Why else would she even consider accepting a position as a rich man’s mistress? It’s a story about redemption and the power of love.

This book was a real challenge to write and I’m so glad I did. The clash between these two is so strong, as are their feelings. Frankly I was a little scared about whether I could do Antonia justice as it would be too easy to write her into a situation where she was simply a victim. I needn’t have worried though as I discovered the more difficult her position the stronger she grew, finding new and inventive ways to assert her independence even when Rafe thought he was the one in control. It’s had a few reviews already including “Sizzling, emotional and poignant…” Pink Heart Society (5 stars) and "will keep you turning the pages late into the night with its captivating blend of drama, passion, intrigue and romance”(CataRomance 4.5 stars).

Congratulations on the wonderful reviews. It has to be asked – what is it with you and heroes whose names start with ‘R’? Was your first boyfriend a Rasputin or a Rattlepate?

If only my first boyfriend had been anything like so interesting! No, I wasn’t going through an R phase. The books were written a couple of years apart so it’s coincidence. But I do like R, I have to say. Just think about Rupert Carsington or RRRRichard Armitage.

What's next for you?

I’m putting the finishing touches (fingers crossed) to what I hope will be my first Beauty and the Beast story. In the meantime, my next release is for those who enjoy a sultry hot sheikh romance. GIRL IN THE BEDOUIN TENT begins with my heroine being given as an unwilling sex slave to a visiting prince. Again, Anna will confirm I couldn’t wait to get started on that one – it was a treat to write.

GIRL IN THE BEDOUIN TENT is up for pre-order at the Book Depository at a bargain price - check out this link: http://www.bookdepository.com/Girl-Bedouin-Tent-Annie-West/9780263886900

I don’t know when the North American release will be but I’ve seen the UK edition (it’s out in September) and the cover is my fave so far. Here’s a link if you want to check it out. My next American release is THE SAVAKIS MERGER in November – about a clash between two very passionate Greek lovers. The opening scene from this story is one my writing group will never let me forget (in a good way!).

Ooh, I remember that steamy opening scene! A little bird (well, you, actually!) tells me you’re about to embark on another wonderful European trip. Given the last one inspired your beautiful fairytale romances PROTECTED BY THE PRINCE and PRINCE OF SCANDAL, we avidly await the fruits of the inspiration you’ll find from your journeyings. Can you tell us about your travel plans?

Try to stop me, Anna! We’re away a little over a month. During that time I’ll be in London catching up with my editor and some other authors (can’t wait!). I’m hoping for time to visit the Faberge collection at Buckingham Palace as well as see some other sights. There’ll be a week in a tiny Parisian apartment with, I hope, lots of strolling and window shopping and café sitting while I people watch. Did I mention tasting the marvellous food and wine? A short stay in the Loire Valley learning about Chateaux, a longer stay in the Dordogne which I think will be a real highlight, and a quick visit to Germany where my daughter will be studying. Jealous yet? Yes, I’m already thinking of using some of this in an upcoming story or two. How could I not be inspired?

Ooh, I'm envious! Have a wonderful time. So do you have a question for the Bandits and Bandita Buddies?

Thanks so much, Anna. I’m looking forward to chatting with everyone.

I’m giving away two books so maybe I should combine two questions to give people a chance to win.

Since I’ve been spending so much time lately thinking about fantastic heroes, and just a little time looking forward to my next vacation, how about telling me your perfect match – who you’d feature as the hero of your perfect romance and where they’d be.

Since the letter R was mentioned I’ll venture an example – Anna’s personal fave, RRRichard Armitage in a castle in Romania, surrounded of course by dark woods that harbour wolves and at least one daredevil heroine. Of course it would have to be a gothic romance.

How about you? What combination of hero and location match. Of course you can throw in the heroine too if you like.

A signed copy of PRINCE OF SCANDAL and a signed copy of RAFE'S REDEMPTION are up for grabs today. So let's get this party started!