My Lord, My Rogue by Anna St. Claire-Review, Interview & Giveaway

 

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date

Lady Honora Radcliff was betrothed to the most sought-after man of the Season— just not the man she loved. Too much champagne and too many dances with a handsome stranger leaves her life in tatters and she finds herself married to an abusive man whose only interest is the dowry her father refuses to release. Desperate to save her life and that of her unborn child, she fakes her death and disappears.

Lord Benjamin Crewe, the Marquess of Willington, planned to enjoy the Christmastide season relaxing. Instead, he accepts a dangerous assignment from the Crown and while working it, comes face to face with the woman he always wished he had married. Only she has been thought dead for three years.

Needing answers, he pursues her at the same time a treacherous enemy of England surfaces, and the two of them become tangled in a web of danger, espionage, and deception.

Can Honora and Benjamin survive the danger in which they find themselves and gain a chance for love and happiness?

•••••••

REVIEW:Book four in the Noble Hearts Series, I get the impression you don’t need to read the previous books in this series (I haven’t).It’s a tale of mystery and intrigue and a little romance, of lost loves and maybe a second chance at happiness.

Honora made a mistake years ago, and she paid for it…

When I first read about our FMC (Female Main Character) I thought her immature, selfish and shallow! But following her through her story, you get to know her better, and had to admire her in the end.

Benjamin doing his duty to king and country comes home to find his betrothed had not only jilted him, then taken her own life! Continuing his duty to the Royal family has Benjamin enjoying the intrigue, his mother wants him to settle down, but losing one lady love has him not wanting to experience the pain again!

We jump three years and Honora has a quiet life, bringing up her son. No one knows her, and so she moves back home to be with her family, but in doing so, brings her face to face with the one man she couldn’t forget! Benjamin is shocked to see what looks like his dead betrothed riding one day, hunting down the ghost of his past, he’s shocked to find out the ghost is real!

How can you forgive someone who not only disgraced themselves, but you as well? In this period of time ladies of society weren’t given the same rights as we have today. Dignity and propriety were everything, so being jilted was a big thing.
He can’t understand why she didn’t just tell him!

It’s a shortish read (13 chapters just over 200 pages) and apparently it’s an extended version from an anthology. Maybe that’s why it feels a little rushed in parts! And that’s why I couldn’t really connect with the characters.

It is a little rushed in places, it also feels like a few things needed exposing more (a little more detail about a certain few things that happened in the book)But I still enjoyed the intrigue, I liked how Benjamin wanted to do his duty to his country, but also to Honora.

So can this pair find a second chance at happiness? Can Benjamin find and apprehend the person wanting to steal from the royal family?
And will Honora be able to finally be free of her past?

? Reviewed by Julie

Copy supplied for review

TRC:  Hi Anna and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of My Lord, My Rogue.

FOLLOW Anna: Goodreads/ Website/ Facebook/ Twitter/ Bookbub/ Amazon Author Page

TRC:  We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Anna: I grew up in a single parent household in the South during a time when our society was challenged by constant change and opportunity. Luckily, we had family in the area, because childcare as we know it today, was rare. It was a boon to me my grandmother (who died shortly after I turned six), began teaching me to read before I started kindergarten. Reading and writing quickly became two of my favorite past times. I particularly enjoyed books with happily-ever-after and mysteries, two things you will often find in my stories.

I was fortunate to have an exciting Human Resources career and while I still do consulting, and related things, I have more time to write and be there for my two young granddaughters, my husband, and my pets. In fact, I have two rather spoiled dogs, a Parson’s Russell Terrier, and a Cockapoo. Both have found their way into my stories, which I love.

My writing career started a few years ago, but while it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever tackled, it’s the most fun career I’ve ever had!

TRC:  Who or what influenced your career in writing?

Anna:My maternal grandmother (whom I’ve already mentioned) and my mother, who would read with me when she got home from her second-shift job. She went to school full time to get her teaching degree and worked fulltime afterwards and was a tremendous influence in my life. She also influenced my style of writing, because she would sit with me when I had massive writing homework and give me pointers on how to write.

TRC:  What challenges or difficulties did you encounter writing and publishing this story?

Anna:This was one of those stories that had to be written. I cannot say there was much difficulty. The story practically wrote itself every time I sat behind my desk, and it quickly became one of my favorites.

TRC:  Would you please tell us something about the premise of My Lord, My Rogue?

Anna:A saying my husband is fond of saying gave me inspiration for the book. It goes: You can never know what is going on in someone else’s life unless you are standing in their shoes. This story follows (book 3) The Duke’s Golden Rings, and without giving away the plotlines for each, I will say the heroine in My Lord, My Rogue was the foundation for The Duke’s Golden Rings. Additionally, the heroine’s character in this fourth book of the series gets a chance at redemption. These two books are the two most closely tied stories in the series, although each one of them can be read as a stand-alone.

TRC:  What kind of research/plotting did you do, and how long did you spend researching /plotting before beginning My Lord, My Rogue?

Anna:I would describe myself as a pantser. I have never enjoyed plotting things to the “nth degree,” and don’t even try anymore. Once I establish the main theme of the story, I do try to come up with a secondary plot—which is usually some sort of mystery or intrigue. I research the main historic points and then, LOTS throughout the story writing. If I speak about flowers, I have researched the genre of including the events that I include in the story, Once I have the hero and the heroine well-defined in my mind and a skeleton of the story in my head, I begin to write, and the story materializes.

TRC:  How many books do you have planned for the NOBLE HEARTS series?

Anna:At this time, I think there will be two more stories in the Noble Hearts series. There are some characters that are begging for their own stories.

TRC:  Is any of the story line premise based in fact?

Anna:Parts of these stories are based on historical fact. For example, in My Lord, My Rogue, Queen Catherine visited Bath, and I used that visit for part of the storyline.

TRC:  Do you have any interest in writing, or have you ever written for another genre? Contemporary romance?

Anna:I have not considered Contemporary romance, although I have considered Edwardian and Victorian. I already write Civil War era, so it will not be a very large leap.

TRC:  Believability is an important factor in writing story lines especially stories with a historical feature. How do you keep the story line believable? Where do you think some author’s fail?

Anna:I focus on keeping things consistent with the way of life during the period I write, and my manuscripts are edited for consistency, including expressions and other things that can take the readers out of the story. I read a lot of books and find that some authors do not edit closely enough for these things. These types of problems could throw a reader out of the story.

TRC:  Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the process of selecting a book or new series to read?

Anna:Definitely! I think the cover and the blurb play important parts in selecting the story. I use a wonderful cover editor.

TRC:  When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

Anna:A little of both! I’ll have an idea of where we are going and as I start writing, the characters will take me in a different direction. This happens so often! I think it’s very common, especially with pantsers.

TRC:  The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writer’s fail in this endeavor?

Anna:I try to bring the reader in within the first few pages with a lot of colorful description, emotion that a reader can readily identify with or be interested in, and an entertaining storyline.

TRC:  Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does the style of music influence the storyline direction? Characters?

Anna:I love having music in the background; however, it’s usually some mix of songs that I enjoy for the motivation and the uplift of the beat of the music. If there is any influence, it is motivation that keeps me writing. There is nothing really associated with the story being written.

What do you believe is the biggest misconception people have about authors?

Anna:I’m not sure it’s the biggest misconception, but one fallacy is that writing is their only career, when many have had other careers before turning to writing—or work another job in order to write. I had a robust career in human resources before ever starting to write.

TRC:  What is something that few, if anyone, know about you?

Anna:This is a tough question. I’m very much a ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of person. As a child, I was an early entrepreneur and used to do things to make money, during a time when things were tight in my home. I created a bike repair shop in my garage and taught myself to fix tires, gears, broken chains, and things like that. I would put handmade flyers in mailboxes to drum up business. I even built a bike out of pieces of old bike pieces and painted it for my mother, hoping she would conquer her fear and learn to ride. Mom loved that I built the bike for her but could never bring herself to learn to ride it. True story.

TRC:  On what are you currently working?

Anna:I’m writing my second book in the Lyon’s Den Connected World Series, a series by Dragonblade Publishing. Lyon’s Prey was the first book I wrote in the series.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food: spaghetti

Favorite Dessert: popcorn

Favorite TV Show: Masterpiece – almost anything they show!

Last Movie You Saw: It’s been such a long time, I cannot recall, unless you can count the pile of Christmas movies (I love Miracle on 34th Street and A Christmas Story) that I watch every year.

Dark or Milk Chocolate : DARK…but I love all chocolate.

Secret Celebrity Crush: PIERCE BROSNAN

Last Vacation Destination: DISNEYLAND

Do you have any pets? :YES! Two dogs that I adore. And I sometimes write them in my stories.

Last book you read:  I’m almost finished with Eloisa James’ My American Duchess.

TRC:  Thank you Anna for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the new release. We wish you all the best.

Anna St. Claire is graciously offering an ecopy of  MY LORD, MY ROGUE to ONE lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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10. Giveaway runs from March 19-23, 2022