Looks and Lucy Are Deceiving

 Hi, Seasoned Readers! I’m here today to talk about my contribution to the Brava anthology Improper Gentlemen, “To Match a Thief,” which debuts tomorrow. I wanted the novella to be loosely connected to my Courtesan Court series, which takes place on fictional Jane Street, home to the most exclusive mistresses in London. An unseen ‘accidental’ character from the previous books conveniently popped up—Lucy Dellamar, who was gossiped about for her light fingers. All the courtesans on the street suspected her of theft, and the heroines of Mistress by Mistake and Mistress by Midnight had been warned about her. I got to thinking, who is Lucy and why is she stealing? The rest is history and “To Match a Thief.”

Lucy is not quite a courtesan, to steal the title from my other novella in last year’s Lords of Passion. Her protector Lord Percy Ferguson has a very private life, and the hero, Sir Simon Keith, is definitely not a gentleman. In fact, he’s most improper. Not one of them is what they appear to be, and I had such fun revealing their secrets.

And the best part? At a third of the length of a novel, I was able tell their tale in a relatively short space of writing time. Don’t worry, I didn’t skimp. Publishers Weekly says: “Robinson’s witty multidimensional characters are vividly entertaining in “To Match a Thief.”

Do you read anthologies or hold out for a full-length book? Have you discovered new writers by reading a story in an anthology? I’ve got a signed copy of Improper Gentlemen for one commenter, and I’ll be back next month (thanks Bev!) to give away a copy of Mistress by Marriage!

Maggie Robinson is a former teacher, library clerk and mother of four who woke up in the middle of the night, absolutely compelled to create the perfect man and use as many adverbs as possible doing so. A transplanted New Yorker, she lives with her not-quite perfect husband in Maine, where the cold winters are ideal for staying inside and writing hot historical romances. For more information on Maggie’s books, please visit her at www.MaggieRobinson.net and follow her on Twitter at @MaggieLRobinson

By Vanessa Kelly

Have you ever read a book that featured a character that grabbed you by the throat and wouldn’t let go?  One so compelling that every time you had to put the book down you couldn’t wait to get back to it.  I can name several characters like that, spanning genres.  In romance, one that springs immediately to mind is Dain, the tortured hero of Loretta Chase’s amazing book, Lord of Scoundrels.  I was totally fascinated by Dain’s story and captivated by the way such a seemingly hard-hearted rake could be so empathetic and engaging.  Chase’s masterful portrayal of Dain practically leaps off the page, rightly earning the book a place on many keeper shelves and “best” lists throughout romancelandia.

An author can also have this type of experience with one of her own creations.  Every once in a while—if she’s lucky—her muse stumbles upon a character who grabs her by the collar, shakes her around, and won’t let go until he or she is fully realized on the pages of the author’s next manuscript.  It’s an awesome experience and it’s one that writers pray to have with every book.

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I was lucky enough to have this experience with the heroine of my latest Regency-set historical romance, My Favorite Countess.  Bathsheba, Lady Randolph, was a tough nut to crack.  She kept me awake at nights and had me cursing on more than one occasion—when she wasn’t making me laugh, that is, which happened quite a lot.  But the interesting thing about Bathsheba is that I never in a million years envisioned her as a heroine.  Ever!

Bathsheba started out as a throwaway line in my first book, Mastering The Marquess.  She was the reputed mistress of Lord Trask, best friend to Lord Silverton, the hero of MTM.  Bathsheba never even appeared on stage in that book, but already people were gossiping about her.  I didn’t think too much about it but I filed her away in the back of my head, just in case I needed a sophisticated society widow for a later book.

Well, I didn’t have to wait too long for Bathsheba to pop up again.  Simon, Lord Trask, was the hero of my next book, Sex And The Single Earl.  Much to my surprise, that book started with Simon breaking off his relationship with Bathsheba because he had decided to court Sophie Stanton, the heroine of the book.  Bathsheba was seriously annoyed about that, and she spent the rest of the book causing as much trouble for Sophie and Simon as she could.  In fact, she was downright nasty, and I could hardly imagine how anyone could be so mean to poor Sophie.

But even as I was concocting all kinds of devious scenarios for Bathsheba to cause havoc in other characters’ lives, I couldn’t help thinking about her.  Why was she so nasty to Sophie?  Why was she so determined to have Simon when she didn’t even love him?  Why, in fact, was she so darned desperate when she was a rich countess and one of the acknowledged leaders of the ton?  Those questions just wouldn’t leave me alone.

I wrote My Favorite Countess in order to answer those vexing questions.  And you know what?  I had a great time doing it.  By the time I started writing the book, Bathsheba was so alive in my head that she always took me exactly where I needed to go.  Not that it was always easy.  After all, she was the villainess of the previous book.  I not only had to justify Bathsheba’s past behaviour by creating a compelling backstory for her, I had to make her face some difficult challenges so she could grow beyond her limitations and truly become the heroine I thought she deserved to be.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to do it alone.  I gave her a wonderful hero in the character of John Blackmore, a handsome, crusading slum doctor and a pillar of strength who assisted Bathsheba through her trials and tribulations.

As I said, it wasn’t always easy dealing with Bathsheba, but I’m so glad I listened to her and gave the lady her own book.

What characters in romance have grabbed you by the throat?  Was it a plucky heroine, a hardened rake, an evil but redeemable villain, or a vampire on the run from the sun?  Tell me who that character is for a chance to win a copy of My Favorite Countess.

Vanessa Kelly writes Regency-set historical romance for Kensington Zebra, and was named by Booklist as one of the new stars of historical romance.  She also writes contemporary romance with her husband under the pen name of VK Sykes.  You can reach her on the web at:  http://www.vanessakellyauthor.com.