Desire Wears Diamonds
Set in Victorian London, “Desire Wears Diamonds” is the final book in the Jaded Gentlemen series and I hope, a great stand-alone even if someone isn’t familiar with the jewel themed books. Unlike a lot of historical romances set in England, I’m afraid there isn’t a Duke in sight. The Jaded are a group of Englishmen who met in India during the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857, so I was able to cross class lines and create heroes from various walks of life (including a doctor, a painter, a scholar, a soldier…well, you get the idea.) There’s intrigue, humour and danger and, naturally, romance.
You are well travelled, so where is your favourite destination?
I don’t want to sound quirky with this answer. But I never got over Japan. There was just something about it that won me and never let go. Not Tokyo necessarily since I’m not much for crowds, but when you venture into the country, it’s so incredible and the people are so marvellous. Big cities or small towns, there was always something to discover and fall in love with in Japan. Beppu, Shimoda, Kyoto, Osaka and Kagoshima…you can’t really go wrong. Yokohama was home for a few years and it’s a goal to go back. I fantasize sometimes about signing books in Japan and since I’ve got one or two translated into Japanese and even a Japanese comic book of “Revenge Wears Rubies”; it might happen one day!
But there’s also a small town in Italy called Badolato. It’s a dream on a hilltop in the shape of a Christmas tree, a walled city built by the Normans in the twelfth century and with the most enchanting side streets and more churches than any heathen has a right to count.
After a few limoncellos in the square, it’s hard to leave. The tiny city is mostly empty now and full of ruins but my brain filled it up very quickly and I was happier there than in the touristy bustle of Rome or Florence. The Ionian Sea is within sight, beaches within reach and I found a grocery store the size of a small bedroom with everything I needed. What more could you ask for? Badolato is a slice of quiet Italian life and has a rustic charm all its own.
Bottom Line: It made me want to hole up and write.
Your father vowed never to read your books so why is that?
My father has probably made that vow for reasons that have little to do with him being a retired minister and chaplain. Most likely, it has more to do with a stubborn desire to believe that his youngest daughter (who is the mother of two!) is as innocent as the day she was born and would never write in any depth about carnal pleasures and sexual desires. The books have a lot of heat and my poor prudish dad has decided to avert his gaze, praise my efforts and pretend that all is right with the world. Remember, this is the man who thought Barbara Cartland’s books were too explicit for us to read.
I’ll never forget the look on his face at a neighbourhood meeting when he realized all his friends’ wives were reading my books and enjoying the steamy scenes. He looked so happy and at the same time, so uncomfortable. Poor man!
You are the host of Canned Laughter and Coffee, so for those who are not familiar with this, please can you tell us a bit about it!
Canned Laughter and Coffee is an internet radio program that features author chats on Tuesday nights at 8:30pm EST. The shows are archived, since I hardly expect anyone in the UK to set their clocks and listen in to pure silly at that hour. The best thing about the program is that there are no FAQs and I never allow authors to just tick off marketing sound bites. We laugh, we “hang out” and we’re off topic most of the time. It’s unprofessional and irreverent. As a result, we’ve been on for over three years and have between 80-100K registered listeners.
That’s how I met Danny Kemp. He was a guest on the show and told me that I was funny enough to be British, which I took as a supreme compliment, and we’ve been friends ever since.
You are a contributor to Romantic Time Book Reviews magazine, so what is your favourite romantic novel?
It’s always hard to pick a favourite romance novel, but I’d have to say, Laura Kinsale’s “Flowers from the Storm”, Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” which led me to Linda Berdoll’s “Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife” and anything by Elizabeth Gaskell.
Please can you give us some insight into your previous publications?
My first book, “A Lady’s Pleasure” won an award for best debut historical and as only a few people know, was written on a dare after someone teased me for even considering writing the “hot stuff” when I personally didn’t own a single pair of open-toed shoes. I didn’t fit the profile for a romance writer. I may have had a cocktail or two and vowed that I would not only write a romance but I would write a scorcher.
Probably still don’t fit the profile of a romance author, but I never looked back. The Mistress Trilogy was an interesting exercise in refusing to write in straight lines. “Madame’s Deception” was the most traditional story in the trio but I put it in the most unlikely spot possible—a brothel. “A Rogue’s Game” made the villain from the first book the hero, if only because everyone says they love bad boys, but I wanted to see if a very, very Bad Man could make the cut. He did.
Ten books later, here I am. Still writing outside the lines, still steamy enough to warrant a warning label and no, for the record, I still don’t own a pair of open-toed shoes.
When did your passion for hot historical romances and paranormal graphic novels begin?
I can’t remember. Probably when I was too young to read my older sisters’ romance novels and snuck them anyway. Books were always part of the landscape in our house and my mother never really cared what we were reading—she just loved that we were readers. And when I found Stephen King and began to branch out to fantasy, science-fiction and paranormal novels, it was all over.
I just love a good story. Craft is everything and content rules. If there’s a hook and the characters are great, count me in. If it’s formula or drab or gimmicky, count me out.
Please tell us about the characters of Michael and Grace throughout the series of books and how they have evolved.
Michael was a character that stepped forward as the books unfolded. You saw more and more of him as the larger arc of the story was revealed. He was so painfully shy and at once, so intimidating physically, Michael was easy for readers to misjudge. Turns out, he has a fabulous sense of humour and a love of pulp fiction. (Who knew?) As he evolved, it became clear he is the most dangerous of the Jaded and at the same time, the most cautious and caring. Grace is introduced in “Desire Wears Diamonds” and of all the heroines, took the longest for me to create and was the reason the release was delayed. I needed a true match for Michael but I wanted to make sure that she was more than just a pretty face. When A.R. Crimson came into the picture (her pseudonym for writing penny novels) everything fell into place. There is actually a sample of Mr. Crimson’s work at the end of the book.
Where did you initial inspiration come from for the series of books?
Initially, the Jaded were inspired by a conversation in a bar with friends during an industry event (RT Booklovers Convention). I was glancing around the table at the eclectic group of women and it struck me that under normal circumstances I would never have met them but there we were—friends. And then a news story came on the television on the wall about the war in the Middle East and I looked at those soldiers sitting on a hilltop together and… I had it.
I had this idea of how diverse people can be but when they meet under stress or away from their normal environment, all bets are off and the bonds they form are stronger than anything else. So I had my heroes meet in a dungeon and I picked up the story line as they are returning to their lives in England, or trying to return to their previous lives.
Oh, dear. Apparently alcohol has played a startling role in my creative process. I may need to look at that.
What is next for you?
“Desire Wears Diamonds” is coming out in an audiobook later this year and I’m very excited to hear the text come to life thanks to my narrator, Stevie Zimmerman. Next, along with another historical series and the new paranormal work around “Azrael’s Girl” in The Eternity Gambit world and the graphic novels, I am definitely taking a big leap and working on an alternative future/urban fantasy set in London late in the twenty-first century.
The working title of that original series is “The Imbalance”. Personally, I’m tired of the lack of originality in a lot of post-apocalyptic literature. Grim and dreary and even worse, it’s all about the boys. Guns blaze, zombies abound and human emotion/connections are lost. So I turned the premise on its edge and decided to push the genre in a new direction. In “The Imbalance”, every definition of power changes when women are forced to rule the world. Inequality cuts hard and a new kind of ‘resource’ war pushes humanity to the brink of extinction. The first book is set smack in the middle of the transition as the change hits and the United Kingdom decides to retreat from the world and remake itself in secret to survive.
How many times do think, “If women were in charge…” So I’m hoping the book will spark a great conversation about the rights we lack but also what happens when we get everything we ever wanted, and what does it say about us.
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