Interview with Author Maggie Robinson and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome to the blog the wonderful Maggie Robinson. Maggie was kind enough to allow me to ask her a few questions, and I would love to share them with you all. So please give Maggie a warm welcome.

First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
I’ll quote my official bio, since it’s so much easier writing about fictional characters than writing about myself: 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.


Did you always want to be a writer?
Sort of, but I never thought it would happen. I was an English major in college and made many false starts before I began to write in earnest around 2003. Before that, I was busy raising four kids, working, and taking care of our elderly parents. I didn’t really know what I was doing until 2006, got my agent in 2008, first contract in 2009, and was published in 2010.

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?
Flaming pantser. Detours R us.

Why write historicals? What is it about this time period that makes you want to base your stories in it.
It’s what I like to read. There’s a bit more “escape” to placing stories in the past, and I love to do the research. The restrictions and conventions add automatic conflict.

Where do your ideas come from?
My husband says I have demented squirrels living in my head. That’s as good an answer as any. For my London List series (debuting in November 2012), two articles in the Huffington Post about the website “Missed Connections” and someone who collected old lonely hearts ads sparked the idea, although the finished books are pretty far away from the original impetus.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
Courtesan Court series:4 unlikely mistresses who master their men. London List series: heroines in disguise, heroes disarmed.

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
Historical romance, historical fiction and historical mysteries. Get me out of the 21st century!

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
Too many favorites, but recently I loved Susanna Kearsley’s The Winter Sea a lot.

Have you ever fallen for another author's hero? If so, who and why?
Rupert Carsington in Loretta Chase’s Mr. Impossible is simply delicious, hilarious and a man you want around when things go bad.

Belle of the Ball, Wallflower, or Widow?
A mixture of all three—sometimes I’m a lot of fun, sometimes I’m very shy, and at my age I like to think I have the wisdom of a widow although thank God my husband’s still alive!

Describe the characteristics that make up your perfect hero.
Honor and a sense of humor even if he’s hiding a tortured past.

If you could have dinner with any three book characters, who would you choose and why?
As an only child, I’d probably want to hang out with all four March sisters from Little Women.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
You know, I’d be completely tongue-tied if I ate with my idols, and probably choke to death on a dinner roll. But for wit, Loretta Chase, Georgette Heyer (I’d have to borrow her from Heaven) and Peg Bracken (again, on loan), who wrote the funniest cookbook ever.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I love to spend time with my family, garden, collect antiques and read, of course!

Favorite movie?
Animal House. I can’t help myself. Food fiiiight!

Favorite song?
The Beatles “I Saw Her Standing There”

Favorite color?
Red

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
I am working on what I hope to be the third of the “London List” books, about a countess who must provide an heir for her dying husband and the man who has been hired to help her.

Thank you so much for stopping by and chatting Maggie. =)


Too late for cold feet

Baron Edward Christie prided himself on his reputation for even temperament and reserve. That was before he met Caroline Parker. Wedding a scandalous beauty by special license days after they met did not inspire respect for his sangfroid. Moving her to a notorious lovebirds’ nest as punishment for her flighty nature was perhaps also a blow. And of course talk has gotten out of his irresistible clandestine visits. Christie must put his wife aside—if only he can get her out of his blood first.

Too hot to refuse

Caroline Parker was prepared to hear the worst: that her husband had determined to divorce her, spare them both the torture of passion they can neither tame nor escape. But his plan is wickeder than any she’s ever heard. Life as his wife is suffocating. But she cannot resist becoming her own husband’s mistress…

Places to purchase:

| Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Books*A*Million | IndieBound |

**Author Info**

I’d like to say I’ve known I wanted to write since I was a child, but it’s not true. Oh, sure, I was an English major at Adelphi University, but for years I was blissfully ignorant of word counts and deadlines. It wasn’t until I was “une femme d’un certain âge” (it sounds so much better in French) that I woke up in the middle of the night really annoyed with my husband over something (I can’t even remember what). Instead of smothering him with a pillow, I decided to get up and write—to create the perfect man—at least on a computer screen. Come to find out that fictional males can be irritating as well—they’re just as resistant to direction as my husband. The up side is that I’m finally using my English degree and am still married to my original, imperfect hero. Since I’m imperfect too, that makes us a perfect match.

Until my midnight keyboarding, I’d been a teacher, librarian, newspaper reporter, administrative assistant to two non-profits, community volunteer and mother of four in seven different states. Now I can call myself a romance writer in Maine. There’s nothing I like better than writing about people who make mistakes, but don’t let the mistakes make them. I’m all about the redemptive power of love—and a good night’s sleep.

Places to find Maggie:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | Vauxhall Vixens |

**Giveaway**

Maggie has been kind enough to offer up a copy of Mistress By Marriage to one lucky commenter, open to international shipping. So make sure to leave Maggie a comment and fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck