Guest Post with Author Gayle Callen and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome back to RFTC author Gayle Callen. Gayle is celebrate the release of her newest book Return of the Viscount, and has stopped by to chat. Before I give the floor over to Gayle, lets get to know a bit about her.

A USA Today Bestselling author, Gayle Callen writes historical romances for Avon Books.

Named the "Notable New Author of 1999," Gayle has also won the Holt Medallion, the Laurel Wreath Award, the Booksellers' Best Award, and finaled in the National Readers Choice Awards. Her books have been translated into over nine different languages.

She resides in a suburb of Central New York, with her husband and three children. Besides writing, she loves to read, sing, travel, crochet, and delve too deeply into historical research. A past President of the Central New York Romance Writers, she is also a member of Romance Writers of America, the Authors Guild, and Novelists Inc.

Places to find Gayle: 

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

Hello! Thanks to Danielle for having me here today! I’m going to talk to you a bit about how I came up with my “Brides of Redemption” trilogy. The first book, RETURN OF THE VISCOUNT, came out this month.

I’ve always been a person who plots in trilogies. When you do a lot of work to come up with characters and their world, you want to get the most out of them! My last trilogy, “Scandalous Lady,” was focused on three women, so I immediately decided this new trio had to be about men. I didn’t want brothers/cousins, because I’d done that before, but I wanted to deal with men as close as brothers—who better than soldiers? They’ve served together and protected each other. And since it is a trilogy, and the books should be linked, I came up with the idea that these three men did something they regret, something so big that fellow soldiers died. Now our heroes return to England, to the families of the fallen men, to make up for the past, help out in some way. That’s why the trilogy is entitled “Brides of Redemption.” Here’s the trilogy slogan: “What happens when three men who need to be redeemed meet three women who need to marry?” I love stories about marriages of convenience, don’t you?

Now of course I had to make each story unique on its own, even though the men share a goal to help the families. One woman is the daughter of their commander, one is the widow of a soldier, and another the sister. Each one is in a different circumstance. In RETURN OF THE VISCOUNT, Cecilia is desperate to get control of her inheritance, and the only way to do that is to marry. She and Michael Blackthorne have been writing letters to each other since her father’s death. Because he was her father’s good friend, she turns to him for help, requesting a proxy marriage. She thinks he’s an old man who’s never returning from India; he thinks she’s a plain spinster. Both think they’ll ever meet, until Michael is injured and forced to return to England. He shows up on Cecilia’s doorstep and the fireworks start! Something suspicious is happening at Appertan Hall…

So that’s how I came up with the “Brides of Redemption” trilogy! As you can see, the first book is a “marriage of convenience” story, one of my favorite themes. Do you have a favorite romance novel theme? Answer my question, and maybe you’ll win a copy of the first book of my last guy-centered, “Sons of Scandal” trilogy, NEVER TRUST A SCOUNDREL.

Her marriage of convenience seemed far too convenient...

Desperation drove Cecilia Mallory to seek a union with a stranger--one who would wed her sight unseen and grant her full access to her inheritance with no expectations whatsoever. She anticipated, perhaps, an older, undesirable, equally desperate husband--never the young, vibrant, and devastingly attractive man who answered her call. What could such a man really be after?

Unknown to Cecilia, Viscount Michael Blackthorne, a soldier and gentleman, owes a debt of honor to Lady Cecilia's father, and granting her unusual request to wed seemed a worthy way to repay it. But an unseen threat perilously close at hand is convincing Michael that his true responsibility is to protect the beautiful, warm-hearted lady he has married...the woman he is unexpectedly coming to love.

Places to Purchase:

| Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

1 lucky commenter (US ONLY) will win a copy of NEVER TRUST A SCOUNDREL

To Enter:

• Leave a comment answering Gayle's question: Do you have a favorite romance novel theme? 
• Fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  

Good Luck =)

a Rafflecopter giveaway