Interview with Author Sally Orr and Giveaway

Meet Sally Orr, author of The Rake’s Handbook: Including Field Guide.

Sally Orr worked for thirty years in medical research, specializing in the discovery of gene function. After joining an English history message board, she posted many, many examples of absolute tomfoolery. As a result, a cyber-friend challenged her to write a novel. Since she is a hopeless Anglophile, it's not surprising that her first book is a Regency romance. Sally lives with her husband in San Diego, surrounded by too many nerdy books and not enough old English cars.

Find Sally at:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
I worked for thirty years as a research scientist that specialized in immunology and gene discovery. Today I live in San Diego with my husband. Our little house is full of books and the lot is full of old clunker cars artfully hidden.

Did you always want to be a writer?
No. Someone challenged me to write a novel at the age of fifty. I can honestly say the thought had never crossed my mind. In fact, I didn't think I could do it, so I gave it a try.

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?
A plotter with big excel files of scenes and info.

Where do your ideas come from?
An idea about the hero's character comes first. Then the whole thing is processed through a tangle of wine-addled neurons and a book is born.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
The three men who wrote The Rake’s Handbook: Including Field Guide never imagined how one light-hearted book could lead to so much trouble.

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
Sea stories! Patrick O'Brian, the Hornblower books, any chance to head out to sea in an 18th or 19th century man-o-war, and that's the book for me.

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
Frederica, by Georgette Heyer. It's like a confection, light and fun.

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
Always the sex scenes. They have to be written in character and unique, while doing the same actions.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
Michael Faraday, Jane Austen, and Dorothy L. Sayers. Michael Faraday, because he is my scientific hero (so he wrote science papers). Jane Austen because I really have too many questions for her. And Dorothy L. Sayers, because she was a character, and I'd love to have a chat.

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
A really fun book titled: When a Rake Falls. It’s about a hero who enters a daring race to Paris by balloon to impress his father. He hires a balloon owned by a scientist, who has a daughter that helps him with experiments on the atmosphere. Of course when the balloon lifts off, only the hero and daughter are on board. I wonder if they make it to Paris?

Thanks for having me today.

I'd really love to know from your readers what do they love the most about historical romance?

The definitive guide to seduction…

The Rake’s Handbook was written on a dare, and soon took the ton by storm. Now its author, Ross Thornbury, is publicly reviled by the ladies—who are, of course, forbidden to read the handbook—but privately revered by the gentlemen. Unfortunately, Ross’s notoriety is working against him and he flees London painfully aware of the shortcomings of his own jaded heart.

Spirited young widow Elinor Colton lives next to Ross’s country estate. She’s appalled not only by his rakish reputation, but also by his progressive industrial plans. Elinor is sure she is immune to Ross’s seductive ways. But he keeps coming around…impressing her with his vision for England’s future and stunning her with his smiles.

How does one resist the man who wrote the manual on love?

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Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 3 copies of The Rake’s Handbook: Including Field Guide 

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• I'd really love to know from your readers what do they love the most about historical romance?
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Special thanks to Sourcebooks for sponsoring this tour-wide giveaway.

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