The Interview - Marie Laval

Today I have the lovely Marie Laval, talking about her historical romance

 "THE LION'S EMBRACE".

 

 

Although THE LION'S EMBRACE is a stand alone novel, it follows on from ANGEL HEART, my debut historical romance. I have just completed the third and last part of the story.

Originally from Lyon in France, I studied History and Law at university there before moving to Lancashire where I am still trying to get used to the damp weather! I worked in a variety of jobs, from PA in a busy university department to teacher in adult education and secondary schools. Writing, however, was always my passion and I spend most of my free time dreaming about plots and characters and making up stories, mostly historical romances. I have however recently strayed from historical fiction and signed a contact with Accent Press for a contemporary romantic suspense set in Provence.

:
The Questions:

    1. What actually inspired the writing of your novel?

The setting mostly. THE LION'S EMBRACE is set in the 1840s in North Africa, a part of the world that always fascinated me. My mother was born and grew up in Algeria and the stories she told my sisters and I about her childhood really captured my imagination. I was particularly attracted to the natural beauty of Saharan oases and the Hoggar mountains, but the architecture of palaces in the Algiers Kasbah, with their carved doors, intricate mosaics and secret gardens, and that of the ksars, fortified villages of the Sahara is breathtaking too.

I must also mention the rich history of the country and its people. From the rock art, which depicts a Sahara teeming with wildlife and people in the Neolithic period, to the tales of the Garamantes' lost kingdom and the tomb of legendary Tuareg Queen Tin Hinan near Abalessa, the setting just lends itself to endless romantic adventures. I just wanted to set a novel there!  

    2. Alpha or beta hero – profession/title/rank?– brief description!
 

Lucas Saintclair is definitely an Alpha hero. Dark-haired, with eyes as pale and clear as a dawn sky, he is harsh and reckless, and only thinks about making his fortune...or does he? Even if his motivations and his true character are unclear at the beginning of the novel, one thing is certain however. He is the best scout in the Barbary States, and even if she profoundly dislikes his selfishness and arrogance, Harriet Montague needs him to rescue her father.

    3. Can you describe your heroine’s personality- title/rank?– description? 

I do love my heroine, Harriet Montague. She is quiet and unassuming, but also very determined and brave. The daughter of a British Museum archaeologist abducted in the Sahara, she isn't afraid of braving conventions and dangers and ride across the country to go and find him. Her ambition is to pursue a life of learning and historical research and follow in her father's footsteps.

    4. Are there secondary lead characters with important roles? 


Several characters are important for the plot, but the main focus of the novel is really on Lucas Sainclair and Harriet Montague and their relationship.

    5. Where is the novel set? – timeframe – country etc.



THE LION'S EMBRACE is set in the 1840s, mostly in North Africa.

    6. What is it about your chosen era/periods that you most enjoy?
I chose the 1840s for this particular novel because it fitted in with my plot and the historical context of the novel when the French had already established their presence in the North of the country but their progression into the South was being fought by gangs of rebels. 

    7. Which if any of your characters do you dislike, and why? 

I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but I can say that Harriet's friend and protector Archibald Drake is not what he seems to be...but actually neither is Lucas Saintclair.

    8. Do you avoid sex scenes, gross violence or other in your works? 

I don't write erotica or scenes of violence, but I do think scenes of passion have their place in romantic fiction. I only write what I am comfortable with. I once convinced myself my novel wasn't 'steamy' enough and added a few very hot scenes, only to delete everything again a few days later. It just wasn't me...

   
    9. How would you rate your novel – historical fiction, romantic fiction, tear-jerker, emotional drama, swashbuckling adventure, or...? 


It is definitely a historical romance!
 
Back cover blurb:

Arrogant, selfish and dangerous, Lucas Saintclair is everything Harriet Montague dislikes in a man. He is also the best guide in the whole of the Barbary States, the only man who can rescue her archaeologist father from the gang of Tuareg fighters that has kidnapped him. As Harriet embarks on a perilous journey across Algeria with Saintclair and Archibald Drake, her father’s most trusted friend, she discovers a bewitching but brutal land where nothing is what it seems. Who are these men intent on stealing her father’s ransom? What was her father hoping to find in Tuareg queen Tin Hinan’s tomb?

 

 

Is Lucas Saintclair really as callous as he claims—or is he a man haunted by a past he cannot forgive? Dangerous passions engulf Harriet’s heart in the heat of the Sahara. Secrets of lost treasures, rebel fighters, and a sinister criminal brotherhood threaten her life and the life of the man she loves.

 

Does forever lie in the lion’s embrace?

 

THE LION'S EMBRACE is available from:

 

Museitupp Publishing

Also from Amazon US
And Amazon UK

You can find me at my blog.

The Interview - Sandra Schwab...

Please Welcome the lovely Sandra Schwab, my first guest on The Interview. Sandra is here to talk about her novel:

THE BRIDE PRIZE: ALLAN'S MISCELLANY 1839

 

 

 

 

 

“The Interview”

 

Sandra Schwab

Sandra Schwab started writing her first novel when she was seven years old. Thirty-odd years later, telling stories is still her greatest passion, even though by now she has exchanged her pink fountain pen of old for a black computer keyboard. Since the release of her debut novel in 2005, she has enchanted readers worldwide with her unusual historical romances.

She lives in Frankfurt am Main / Germany with a sketchbook, a sewing machine, and an ever-expanding library.

 

 

Questions:

       1. What actually inspired the writing of your novel (s)

 

While I was working on my PhD thesis, I stumbled across a mention of the Eglinton Tournament and did some further research on it: The Eglinton Tournament was the most talked-about event of 1839. That summer ten thousands of people — ultra-conservative members of the British aristocracy and the gentry as well as people from all around the world — flocked to Ayrshire in Scotland in order to watch young Lord Eglinton’s medieval spectacle. He and some of his friends were to don medieval armor (commissioned from Messrs. Pratt in Bond Street, London) and joust like medieval knights. You know, just like the characters in Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe!(Only with less murderous intentions!)

 

The Eglinton Tournament is exactly the kind of quirky, historical tidbit I love, so of course, I simply had to use it as the backdrop for one of my stories!

 

     2. Alpha or beta hero - profession, title or rank

 

Definitely a beta hero: at one point in the story, Robbie Beaton is described as "the kindest man you could ever meet — and such a sweet smile!"(Indeed, his endearing smile is the first thing that the heroine notices about him.) He works as a writer and artist for ALLAN'S MISCELLANY, the magazine he has co-founded with his friends William MacNeil and Jonathan Allan.

      3. Can you describe your heroine's personality - title, rank - description.

 
Like Robbie, Miss Florence Marsh is middle class, and like Robbie, she is a very sweet person. There is a hint of mischief about her, which our hero finds very intriguing. Flo might not be particularly impressed with the magazine he is working for, but she is rather enchanted by his illustrations (and by his smile, of course!).

    

    4 Are there secondary lead characters with important roles.

 

William MacNeil — "Mac" — is the charismatic editor of ALLAN'S MISCELLANY. It is his sharp, sarcastic wit which has made the magazine notorious during the first few months of its existence.

    

      5 Where is the novel (s) set, timeframe, country etc.

 

THE BRIDE PRIZE is set in London / England and Ayrshire / Scotland in 1839. The next installments in the series will all be set in England in the 1840s.

      6. What is it about your chosen era, periods that you most enjoy.

 

The 1830s and 1840s are such a fascinating time: so many things were changing, not just in regard to everyday life (e.g., think of the expansion of the railway network!), but also in regard to the publishing world. The upheavals that shook the publishing world in the early Victorian period were just as momentous as the changes that are happening in our own time. Thanks to the rise of the middle classes, of technological improvements, and higher literacy rates, the market for periodicals grew exponentially. Publishers and authors experimented with new forms and formats, and readers could choose from a huge variety of different reading material. ALLAN'S MISCELLANY allows me to explore this exciting era more thoroughly.

 

      7. Which if any of your  characters do you dislike, and why.

 

 

There are no real villains in THE BRIDE PRIZE, and nobody I really dislike.

 

       8. Do you avoid sex scenes, gross violence or other in your works.

 

 

While my Regency novels all contain explicit love scenes, the novellas and novels in the ALLAN'S MISCELLANY series will not contain any such scenes. There won't be any graphic violence either, except for the beginning of the second story in the series, FALLING FOR A SCOUNDREL, where the heroine finds the body of a brutally murdered gamekeeper (and even that scene is not particularly graphic).

 

    
    9. How would you rate your novel: historical fiction, romantic fiction, tear-jerker, emotional drama, swashbuckling adventure, or. . .
 

THE BRIDE PRIZE is a historical romance, and a relatively light-hearted one at that (but what else would you except when your Victorian characters attend a medieval tournament that ends in mayhem?)

 

  Back cover blurb:

 

It's 1839, and Lord Eglinton's tournament in Scotland is the most anticipated event of the year: he and some of his noble friends will don medieval armor and joust like knights of old.

Does this mean a revival of true chivalry? Miss Florence Marsh thinks it might.

Or is the tournament mere tomfoolery and the greatest folly of the century? Mr. Robert Beaton thinks it is.

But when Flo and Robbie meet at Eglinton Park, they'll soon learn that a dash of romance can make the greatest differences look rather small and that true love might find you in the most unlikely place.

If only Robbie wasn't working for that scandalous new magazine Allan's Miscellany! If only Flo's father didn't detest the periodical press!

And if only they had remembered to bring an umbrella!

 

 

 

 

_________

 

Author website: 

Facebook:

Twitter:

 

Thank you, Sandra

 

 

Eglinton Castle



Weekly Author Interviews!

Are there any Authors of Historical Fiction/Biographies or Historical Romance Novelists who are interested in being featured as Author of the Week - The Interview?

 

Each post will be advertised on Facebook/Twitter et al.

 

 

email me for the questionnaire!

May is now booked! June filling up...

This feature is associated with the 17th-18th century Facebook Group: here. But all novelists of historical novels are welcome to engage with The Interview.

Pirates, Privateers and Buccaneers - know the difference!?

 

 

 

I'm guesting and talking about 17th century pirates. Come and support me and have your say!

 

Dare to step aboard the Hoydens and Firebrands lady Pirate ship.

http://hoydensandfirebrands.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/guest-post-francine-howarth-on-17th.html

Hallowe'en Book Give-away Blog Hop

 If you've popped over from Denise' Blog Hop don't run away: I'm sharing my post!. Denise' linky is bottom of page.

 

 

My contribution is a double-up jobby

 

 

 

I first published this in 2011 - It's a time-slip flash fiction piece. 

 

 

I give you: Haunting!

 

 

 

 

“Don’t be silly, it can’t possibly have disappeared,” said Amy, kneading dough. “Who in their right mind would stop by to pinch an axe?” She paused, looked her husband in the eye, a glare of accusation. “I bet if I go out there, I’ll find it lying in the long grass somewhere.” 

     Jake threw his hands in the air, frustration evident. “I tell you I left it in the wood shed.”

     Mattie glanced up from her homework. “Dad’s right, mum. I saw him plunge it in the chopping block as I came back from feeding Jupiter.”

     Once again dough received a good pummel. “Then the chopping block is where it’s at.”

     “Was at,” snarled Jake. “O.K., fess up. Who moved it?”

      Amy's hand thumped the dough with zest. “You think I have time to waste playing shuffle the axe?”

      Jake watched as Amy panned her eyes around the kitchen, air of desperation about her. A grin spread across his face. “Lost something?”

      “I swear I left a damp tea towel, on the end of the table.” She glanced at her husband, hands behind his back. “Give it here.”

      He bared his hands. “Not guilty.” Laughter then rumbled from the depths. “Don’t look at me like that, I swear I haven’t got it.”

      Mattie laughed. “He hasn’t moved, mum, not an inch.”

      There was a loud thump and sound of splintered wood and the door swung open. There, in the door frame an embedded axe and blood seeming to drip from the blade.

      Jake stepped forward to shield his wife and child from a potential intruder, but none came forth. With bated breath, he wrenched the axe free and glanced back at Amy cradling Mattie to her breast. “Stay here.”

      It took but a moment to check outside, and Jake’s first thought was that of Jupiter in the paddock. Much to his relief the pony momentarily looked his way and carried on grazing. He checked all around the house, and then it struck him. Smoke. He could smell smoke. He dashed back to the farmyard, an unbelievable scene before him. It could not be, could not be happening.      

      He shut his eyes, prayed it was some strange vision. But no, there were numerous horsemen circling the yard, animal furs about their shoulders. They were warriors from another time, another place. He yelled at them. Threw stones, anything to distract them. He had to lure them away from the house, away from the burning hay barn, away from his wife and child. Not one of the horsemen noticed him, each stone falling short of its target.

      Oh no, Mattie appeared with a tea towel in her hand. What was Mattie doing?

      “Go back, Go back inside.”

      He ran forward protesting, shouting her name, but a warrior scooped her up, cradled her to chest and before he could reach Mattie the horseman turned about and rode off at the trot the other horsemen surrounding the lead horse.

      There was nothing for it but to get the shotgun. He lunged himself through the doorway, and there stood Amy kneading dough, Mattie at the table absorbed in homework.

      What the hell had just happened?

      He glanced back at the hay barn. No smoke. No fire.

      “What day is it?”

       “All saints eve,” replied Amy.

       He kissed Mattie’s head in passing, moved to stand behind Amy and wrapped his arms about her waist. “Have I told you lately that I love you?”

      “Yesterday, I think.” She turned in his arms, floured hands about his neck and leaned into him. Their lips met in a familiar and lingering caress, until, “I love you, too,” followed by a smile, and whispered, “They come every tenth year.”

      “They?”

      “The horsemen.”

      “You saw them too?”

      “It’s my second time of seeing them.”

      “And you never thought to tell me when we moved here?”

      “The last time I saw them I was ten years old.”

      He glanced at Mattie. “She’s ten.”

      Mattie suddenly said, “It’s all right, dad. I belong, here.”         

 

That's all folks. Hope this caused a spine tingling sensation.

 

Now, if you'd like a Kindle copy of this 17th century swashbuckling novel answer this question: who was King of England in the era depicted?  The clue lies within the book cover blurb.  All those who demand a "treat" will have their names entered into a hat: so please leave your email address!



 

 

 

A 17th century romance involving forbidden passion, lust, betrayal, abduction and all set within Restoration England and the royal court of Charles II.

It's 1669, and Justine Thornton's heart is lost to that of Richard Viscount Axebury. Although wise and malicious counsel from family and friends warn of his reputation as a courtly rake, a chance encounter with James Scott Duke of Monmouth causes her heart to waver and suddenly her life seems infinitely charmed. But family indiscretion at the court of Charles II turns Justine's life from one of carefree bliss to that of surviving rogue intrigues and political ambitions.

As old and new feuds take precedence at court Justine becomes party to information that cannot be allowed to reach the King's ears, for not only does she pose a threat to one of the King's mistresses, the King’s brother too will be called to account for his actions. Upon Justine’s sudden abduction the heroic camaraderie of Viscount Axebury and the Duke of Monmouth pose an even greater threat to her kidnapper, and her father the Earl of Loxton is soon face to face with an old adversary. But who will prove to be Justine’s champion, the viscount or the duke, and can the king’s mistress be toppled from her elevated position?

 

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