Guest Post with Author Vanessa Kelly and Giveaway

Meet author Vanessa Kelly.

Vanessa Kelly is an award-winning author who was named by Booklist, the review journal of the American Library Association, as one of the "New Stars of Historical Romance." Her sensual, Regency-set historical romances have been nominated for awards in a number of contests, and her second book, Sex and The Single Earl, won the prestigious Maggie Medallion for Best Historical Romance. Vanessa's next series, The Renegade Royals, is due to hit the shelves on Nov. 26 with Lost in a Royal Kiss. Book one in the series, Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard, will release in January, 2014.

Places to find Vanessa:

| Site | Blog | Rock*It Reads | Facebook | Twitter |

Why Can’t They All Look Like Gerard Butler?

Most romance authors I know tend to play casting director with their characters, often basing heroes and heroines on certain actors or models. Not only is this entertaining—who doesn’t like to look at pictures of hunky guys for a living—it’s also a useful writing exercise. When my frazzled writer’s brain is ping-ponging around trying to figure out what a character is all about, a picture of a real person can help bring that into focus.

But when it specifically comes to my heroes my brain seems to do this funny little twist. For some reason the first example I usually come up with is Gerard Butler. Not that anyone could really blame me, I guess—not when you have material like this to work with.

But I have to be realistic. Not all of my heroes can look like Gerard Butler, especially when I have more than one hero from a series present in a book. So for The Renegade Royals, my new series starting with Lost in a Royal Kiss, I used a number of different actors. I started with Gerard Butler as Dominic Hunter, the informal leader of the Renegade Royals, and rolled in Hugh Jackman and Johnny Depp as the heroes of Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard and Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom. Trust me—it’s not too difficult writing sexy, dashing heroes with those guys as inspiration.

For Lost in a Royal Kiss? I went a bit outside the box, at least for me. For Sir Anthony Tait, the powerful and oh-so-cool hero of that story, I used Ioan Gruffud, the talented and quietly sexy Welsh actor.

It was the eyes that did it for me. Along with his other attributes, Ioan Gruffud has a truly mesmerizing gaze.

You can check out my Renegade Royals Pinterest Board to see some of the other good-looking guys I’ve been using as inspiration for my heroes. Yeah, it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!

Do you like to cast actors or models as characters in your favorite books? Does one actor in particular stand out as perfect hero material? One person who comments will win an ARC of my January book, Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard.

In this thrilling introduction to her Renegade Royals series, Vanessa Kelly transports readers to the court of King George III—where a London street urchin unwittingly plays Cupid, ushering in a new era—and ultimately a new kind of royal…

With her widowed mother working long hours as governess to the royal children, Linnet St. Clare must look after her siblings and run the household. Now she must add to her worries the fate of Dominic, a poor orphan who has inspired the wrath of the king himself. Clearly Linnet has no time to consider her own desires—much less notice the attentions of a certain handsome, powerful magistrate…

Sir Anthony Tait is at a loss for how to capture Linnet’s interest. If only she would be still long enough for courting. Outright seduction seems the only answer. But will his kisses be enough to persuade her—or might Anthony have something to learn from young Dominic about matters of the heart? And in saving the boy’s future, might Anthony and Linnet at last create their own?

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Check out the The Renegade Royals:

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Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 ARC copy of Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard

To Enter: 

• Leave answer Vanessa's question: Does one actor in particular stand out as perfect hero material?
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 

Special thanks to Vanessa Kelly for sponsoring this giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway