Interview with Author's Amy Sandas and Elizabeth Michels and Giveaway

USA Today Bestselling author Amy Sandas’s love of romance began one summer when she stumbled across one of her mother’s Barbara Cartland books. Her affinity for writing began with sappy preteen poems and led to a liberal arts degree from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She lives with her husband and children near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Elizabeth Michels is the award-winning author of the Tricks of the Ton series. This romance author lives in a lake-side town in North Carolina with her husband and son. She’s a fan of shoes, coffee, mimosas, laughter, hugs, things that are sparkly, and tater tots. Oh, and she likes her readers a lot too. Dive into her latest series about the members of a secret club in London, The Spare Heirs Society, today! 

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Elizabeth: I know you have small children at your house just like I do. What’s your number one tip for juggling mom life with author life?

Amy: The struggle is real! I don’t know if any mom feels they successfully juggle the many balls they have in the air. My number one tip to keep writing in the midst of mommy tasks is to set a routine and stick to it. The early morning hours of every day are for my writing. My kids still interrupt, but at least they are not surprised when I shoo them out the door.

Elizabeth: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Amy: I’ve loved writing since I was a pre-teen, but it wasn’t until college that I knew I wanted to make a go of it as a career. It took many years after that to actually commit to a discipline that would make it happen.

Elizabeth: Have any of your (adult) family members read your books? Do you tear out the pages of the sex scenes? Or let them read the whole thing?

Amy: Yes, many of my adult family members have read at least one of my books. Even my grandpa! And, as far as I know, they read the whole thing. We just don’t talk specifics afterward…

Elizabeth: Do you have any book release day traditions?

Amy: You mean aside from biting my nails and scanning the internet for reviews every five minutes? As someone who loves food and honestly gets sick of cooking every night, getting dressed up and going out to a nice restaurant is my favorite way to celebrate a new release.

Elizabeth: What’s your go to music when you need some inspiration for your books?

Amy: I most often go to music that is more atmospheric rather than something with lyrics. So… Scottish bagpipe music, or something classical. Or soundtracks from epic movies like Last of the Mohicans or Legends of the Fall.

Amy: What was the first romance novel you ever read?

Elizabeth: I’ve always been one to have a book around, but I read across multiple genres without any particular favorite until about 12 years ago. Whatever book caught my eye or was popular enough to make into a movie, I would pick it up, and dive into it without hesitation. I blame this entirely on growing up in the country. In a home where my only choices in books were my brother’s science fiction novels, and my mom’s cozy murder mysteries, I was just happy to have something to read, anything to read.

Then when I was in my late 20s, I walked into my local bookstore and saw a book with a cover depicting a ship at sea. Bold blue skies, sails billowing in the wind, and a lady in a pink dress all seemed to beg me to pick up the book to investigate. It was Johanna Lindsey’s CAPTIVE OF MY DESIRES. That was the day I dove into historical romance novels, and I’ve never looked back.

Amy: If you could be a character in any movie, which movie and what character would you want to be?

Elizabeth: Without a doubt I would want to be Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries! She gets to learn to be a princess. I mean, twist my arm, right? Torture me with makeovers and learning to properly sip tea any day. I won’t complain even a little. Mia Thermopolis has the bright future of one day ruling Genovia which looks a great deal like one of the countries in Epcot. Again, it would be complete torture to have that to look forward to. ;) And bonus—my grandmother would be Mary Poppins. Not too shabby.

Amy: If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go?

Elizabeth: London, of course! My house is in the country so I enjoy going to cities on vacation for a change of pace. And what better city is there in the world than London, England? I love London, but I haven’t been able to go in years since I have a little one at home. It seemed like a long flight for a wiggly little boy to sit through, but now that he’s getting older I’m hoping I can take a family vacation there in the coming years. Until then I’ll just have to sip tea at home and dream.

Amy: If you had only one book to read for the rest of your life, what book would it be?

Elizabeth: Only one book?! Forever?! Man, ask me a tougher question, why don’t you, Amy. Geez! I would have to go with the book that will always hold a special place in my heart: the one that hooked me on reading when I was a teenager. There was a long list of acceptable books for summer reading that year. I wasn’t a big reader at the time, so I sighed and looked down the list settling on a title that turned out to be AMAZING! After I read it, I wanted more and began devouring book after book for the first time in my life. But that first one is still my favorite book of all time. The book that changed my life: REBECCA by Daphne Du Maurier.

Amy: Of the three heroes in The Spare Heirs series, which would you choose that have as your brother, which would you take as a lover, and which would you make your husband?

Elizabeth: Oh, goodness! What a question! LOL I would choose Ethan Moore, Lord Ayton (THE INFAMOUS HEIR) to be my brother. He’s a great brother to his sister, Katie. And I know if something went wrong in my life, he would have my back and would be the first one there throwing punches in my defense.

I would marry Fallon St. James (THE WICKED HEIR) in a heartbeat! He’s a kind, generous, and powerful man in London. He lives in the elegant, flower-filled Headquarters for the Spare Heirs Society. He’s…let’s be honest…the Godfather of the mafia, which is cool. And he would be the one most likely to laugh it off when I do something impulsive and creative around the house.

And that makes Ash Claughbane (THE REBEL HEIR) my lover. Ash is adventurous, and fun. He travels a good bit, so I think he would be a nice wild fling when he comes through town. Of course, I think the heroines of the Spare Heirs series would have a problem with me stealing their men, so I’ll just stick with the husband I have. He’s pretty awesome too.

“You do strange things to me, Dell Turner. Tell me I am not alone in what I feel.”

His voice was low and rough. His eyes burned. “You are not alone,” he said.

Portia Chadwick longs for a life of adventure. When a dangerous moneylender kidnaps her sister, she dares to seek help from a man known only as Nightshade. Soon she finds herself charging headfirst into his world of intrigue and danger—and unexpected passion.

Dell Turner grew up in London’s back alleys and gin lanes. Vowing to escape his low beginnings, he hires himself out to society’s elite. When he accepts a job from a beautiful debutante, he doesn’t anticipate her relentless determination to join his mad occupation…or her unnerving ability to inspire emotions he thought long buried. She’s as dangerous to him as his world is to her, and yet Dell can’t bring himself to turn Portia away—even if it means risking her life.

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Check out the Fallen Ladies series:

 

The Spare Heirs Society Cordially Invites You to Meet Fallon St. James: The Mastermind

When the love of Lady Isabelle Fairlyn’s life is betrothed to her twin sister, Isabelle vows to find a suitable replacement before the end of the season. He must be a talented dancer, have a keen fashion sense, and be perfectly dashing in every way.

Fallon St. James is the farthest thing from perfectly anything. As head of the secretive Spare Heirs Society, he must stick to the shadows…even as Isabelle’s friendship pulls him reluctantly into the light. But when Isabelle gets involved with the one man who could destroy Spares, Fallon must decide between protecting his life’s work—or risking everything to save the woman whose warm smile leaves him breathless.

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Check out the Spare Heirs series:

 

Up For Grabs:

• 1 Book Bundle filled with the following:
• Amy Sandas’ Fallen Ladies Series:
• Luck Is No Lady
• The Untouchable Earl
• Lord of Lies
• Elizabeth Michels’ Spare Heirs Series:
• The Infamous Heir
• The Rebel Heir
• The Wicked Heir

To Enter:

• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck!

Special thanks to Sourcebooks for sponsoring this tour-wide giveaway.

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