Rebel Bride
Rebel Bride is the second book in my Lust in the Tudor Court series. It's a brand-new love story about characters we first met in Wolf Bride, so can be read as a stand-alone. Susannah Tyrell, sister to Eloise in Wolf Bride, is a feisty but innocent eighteen-year-old about to be married off to an old man. She runs away to the royal court, naively hoping to seduce the gorgeous Hugh Beaufort, a favoured courtier who has caught her eye. But Hugh has made up his mind to marry a quiet, respectable girl who will do whatever he tells her. So you can imagine the conflict in his heart when he finds the headstrong Susannah by turns both infuriating and irresistible!
This is the sequel to Wolf Bride, so how does the story continue in this book?
Wolf Bride tells the story of Eloise Tyrell and Lord Wolf, the dominant lord she is forced to marry against her will. In Rebel Bride, although the story dwells mostly on her sister Susannah's tempestuous love affair with courtier Hugh Beaufort, we do see more of Wolf and Eloise. The timeline of the two books largely overlaps, so we get to see scenes from Wolf Bride from a new character's perspective, and some questions left unanswered in that book are tackled here. The unravelling of Lord Wolf's secret past love, however, must wait for book three, Rose Bride!
The book has been called ‘Fifty Shades of Tudor Sex’ - what is your reaction to this comment?
I think it's a great tagline for catching a reader's eye. But of course it does not describe the story so much as the genre. You will not find any modern-style BDSM in these books, though there is a little spanking and some male dominance. But the label is true in so far as it's set at the Tudor court and is a hot, raunchy romance. But it's still a romance, not erotica. In other words, the love story - rather than Susannah's sexual awakening - is utterly central to the plot.
It is said to be Hilary Mantel meets Sylvia Day, so how does it feel to have this comparison?
I absolutely adore that comparison; it's both flattering and an ongoing challenge. I love both these writers' fiction, even though they write in very different styles, and am pleased by the understanding that explicitly written romance can be literary at the same time. Personally, I would not put my narrative approach in these books into the same ballpark as Mantel's novels about the Tudor court. But it's a strong, quirky label to hang on a historical romance that contains political undertones and encompasses more than just a love story within its pages.
The book is said to be akin to dramas like the Tudors and The White Queen - are these shows you watch for inspiration?
No, not at all. In fact, I have only watched a couple of episodes from both these TV series, just to give me an idea of what was out there in my field. I do enjoy television drama, but prefer to use books for my writing inspiration, mainly research I've done on the period while writing other Tudor novels (I also write Tudor fiction as Victoria Lamb). My inspiration comes from within for most of my novels; I have a rich imagination, and have no trouble imagining myself as a Tudor lady!
Why does historical fiction lend itself to having an erotic element?
I'm not sure that it does, or not more so than other kinds of fiction. Sex is part of life - without it, we would rapidly die as a species! - so it can be woven into any kind of narrative. Where historical fiction perhaps excels is in removing inhibitions that we have as modern readers, judging sexual encounters by our own social mores and standards. So an encounter which might set off alarm bells of dubious consent in contemporary romance could just feel rather edgy in a historical. In other words, bodice-ripper moments still have a place in historical romance where they might feel uncomfortable in a contemporary narrative. There's also a love of texture in historical stories - particularly the gorgeous gowns, perfumes, foods, and elaborate lifestyles of the wealthy - that indicate a certain sensuality.
What is next for you?
Rose Bride, book three of my Lust in the Tudor Court series, is out in May, where readers can follow a new love story between disreputable courtesan Margerie Croft and one of the king's physicians, the enigmatic Virgil Elton. We'll also meet some of the characters from earlier books again, and get a chance to find out what really happened between Margerie and Lord Wolf when they were young. Beyond that, I have various new creative projects sketched out for 2014 -15. I am already writing a new novel, hopefully the first in a series, but the storyline is top secret right now. I like to keep people guessing!