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Thursday, August 9, 2012

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: 

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:


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.  

47 comments :

  1. I love marriage of convince stories. Those are just so much fun.

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  2. Melody, a girl after my own heart! ;)

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  3. I love when they were in love years before and something happened to break them apart. Years later they come back together. Sometimes angry or sometimes thinking you can't go back. My very favorite! My next is marriage of convenience. I love the sound of the Trilogy. So will the secret come out in the end of the first book, the last book or does it come out in the very beginning of the fist book? Thanks for the giveaway!

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  4. Thanks for a fun post and giveaway! Congrats on the newest release.

    I love friends to lovers/enemies to lovers. It's so fun to have them banter back and forth and then sometimes the horror that they are falling in love :)

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  5. I love friends to lovers romance stories.

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  6. I know it's angsty but I love a love story where the H/h are in love then something happens that tears them apart, but they come back to each other in the end. I like a good cry sometimes and one of my fave reads is Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas. Perfect mix of forbidden love and separation :( sad but soooooo good.

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  7. Hi

    I do love the marriage of convenience theme but also enjoy reading about tortured heros and heros that need redemption.

    Thanks for the chance
    Pam
    tpibrew@msn.com

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  8. I love the bad boy who reforms to get the girl or because of the girl.
    Thanks Carin
    mawmom(at)gmail(dot)com

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  9. I love when hero is convinced that he will never marry, but just wont leave heroine alone. Thx for giveaway.

    blinkythebest at aol dot com

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  10. Mary, if you mean the secret of the soldiers' past, that comes out in each book. I didn't handle it like the Scandalous Lady trilogy, where that secret was only revealed at the end of the final book. As for your favorite theme, old lovers reunited, I"m not sure I've ever done that one before! Must give it thought...

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  11. Erin, I like your use of "the horror" as friends realize they're falling in love. Ha!

    Pam, I've done heroes/heroines needing redemption, but that's really tricky to write. Gotta make our heroes sympathetic, too! ;)

    Carin and Lona, sounds like yours is almost the same--the bad boy who's convinced he'll never marry!

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  12. I like stories that start out as friends and then they realize they are really in love

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  13. I like both marriage of convience and stories tht are heated passion denying thier feelings until it finally explodes....

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  14. Mine is were they are friends then it turns into more. Thanks for the nice give away.

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  15. I like marriage of convenience, friends to lovers, and enemies to lovers stories. They all start out slowly as friends/enemies and just build from there.

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  16. Hi Gayle -

    I don't have a particular theme that is my favorite but instead look for series where there is a common thread between the stories. Besides marriage of convenience stories I also like "redemption" stories (whether it's the hero or the heroine that needs redemption!). To me more important than the theme is how the characters interact with each other and how well I end up feeling like I know and connect to the situation.

    Congratulations on the release of Return of the Viscount! I love trilogies and I'm sure you had a "title" for it but your first trilogy I read is what I named the "His" triology of His Bride, His Scandal and His Bride. One of your books that I not only loved but bought for all my fiends that hadn't "met" you yet was The Viscount In Her Bedroom!

    One of the reasons I love your books so much is that your stories make the reader really connect and understand your characters and I as I read I end up understanding their conflicts and concerns.

    Your writing is so vivid that I often feel like I'm in the same setting as your characters. Now if I didn't always end up feeling like the spinster sitting against the back wall listening in on all the gossip going on around me!

    I had previously checked on your website but didn't see when you expect the other two books in the trilogy to be released. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long!

    Thanks for the chance to win a copy of Never Trust A Scoundrel.

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  17. Marriages of convenience is one of my fav themes. It's fun to watch them struggle with the attraction, the angst, and anything else that stands in their way.

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  18. You guys all have strong themes you like! Keep them coming! Joanne, enemies to lovers...ooh, fraught with tension! Jeanne, you're very correct that how the characters relate to each other is the most important point. Wow, you remember the "His" trilogy--and that IS what I called it. ;) THE VISCOUNT IN HER BEDROOM is still one of my favorite books, because I felt so close to the blind hero. Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it, and for your kind words. As for the next "Brides of Redemption" book, it will come out sometime late next summer, I just don't know when. And this time, I'm writing a blind heroine...

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    1. Gayle -
      I totally agree with you about The Viscount In Her Bedroom and as a reader I could see the connection you made with the characters as you wrote the story.

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  19. I really love them all. I like variety. If I care for the characters, then the author can take me anywhere!

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  20. I don't really have a favorite theme, I like a little bit of everything. Thanks for the chance to win!

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  21. I have lots of favorites, but the one I thought of first was the travel/quest type of theme where the hero and heroine need to unite, despite their differences, for some common goal.

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    1. Ah, Ang, that's always a tricky one--the characters have common goals, rather than opposing ones. The trick is to find a way to make their METHODS opposing, since their goals are the same! Or they can have minor differing goals. Always interesting plotting!

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  22. I guess my top three favorites would be:
    *marriage of convience
    *friend or enemy to lover stories (this would include sibling's best friend and best friend's siblings too)
    *Compromising position that causes them to HAVE to marry

    I guess you can say that I like variety and pretty much love them all, lol.

    Congrats on the new trilogy!

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    1. Ooh, June, I LOVE the "being compromised" plot! I've used that lots. It's pretty much a subset of marriage of convenience--and the "convenience" part is that she doesn't lose her reputation! ;)

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  23. I always love it when a notorious rake meets a beautiful, innocent women who won't bat her eye lashs at him like all the other women does. Then of course he's bothered by that, he can't get her out of his head and always flirting with her until...... well, yall know ;)

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  24. Yeah, the marriage for convenience is a good one. I also love the "I am a noble/royalty but am disguised as a commoner and have a secret" plot. I love a big reveal! =)

    I like how you label your series, guy-centered. Sounds like a fun series, well heart wrenching but fun to read!

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  25. Congrats on the new release, Gayle. I'm a huge fan of revenge and mistaken identity stories.

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  26. My favorite romance novel theme is the second chance at love.

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  27. I like the spy theme as well as the enemies to lovers theme, I also like the rakes who vow never to wed until their ready to, and they all fall sooner then they expect for women they would find so unconventional.

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    1. Joy, I did a whole spy trilogy that I called "Spies and Lovers." The first book was No Ordinary Groom. It was a lot of fun! I haven't done spies in a while...

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  28. I love 'em all, but I do enjoy it when the heroine has a special skill that she can surprise the hero with.

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    1. Di, that can be pretty tricky in historicals, when women were expected to stay at home and be pretty housewives. We writers work really hard at giving them a goal or passion--and not just for the hero! ;)

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  29. I enjoy both the marriage of convenience & beauty & beast types of tropes though I don't think I say either was necessarily a fave :) This book sounds interesting thanks for the chance to win a copy though it'll be on the wish list either way :)

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    1. Ooh, beauty and the beast! THAT one hasn't been mentioned before! Always a fun one. I tried a reverse one, where the hero was just beautiful, and it really annoyed him. ;) I think that was My Lady's Guardian...

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  30. Thanks for sharing a bit about your trilogy, Gayle. I love the fact that these heroes are bound by a sense of guilt and duty. Should make for some very emotional reading! I've always enjoyed the rake vs. bluestocking trope in historical romances.

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    1. Thanks, Nona! I did rake vs bluestocking in my last book, Every Scandalous Secret. Such fun!

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  31. I love the marriage of convenience trope because it usually forces the characters to spend time in physical proximity to each other where anything can then happen. My other favorite is beauty and the beast type stories.

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  32. I enjoy Beauty and the Beast themes. Seeing the hero change and grow to become a lovable, honorable man who is finally able to share his feelings and emotions with his woman gets me every time.

    Christy McKee
    cjwriter@zoominternet.net

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  33. I like beauty and the beast and enemies who become lovers themes.

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  34. The tortured hero ones

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  35. I like from best friend to lovers themes

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  36. I love the bad boys that reform enough to get the girl!

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  37. One of my favorite themes is the marriage of convenience.

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