A little bit about Vicky Dreiling:
When she’s not writing, Vicky enjoys reading, films, concerts, and most of all, long lunches with friends. She holds degrees in English literature and marketing. A native Texan, she shares her home with her daughter and a spoiled mini-lop rabbit that lives in a slightly gnawed cardboard cottage.
You can find Vicky here:
Vicky is here to give us a quick peek behind the scenes of her books plots and characters. Her newest, How To Seduce A Scoundrel, is amazing! Vicky was nice enough to send me an advance copy and I devoured it. I am thoroughly in love Hawk and I would love to be friends with Julianne. Plus, isn't the cover to die for? I love it.
Genre: Historical Romance
Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing- Forever (July 1, 2011)
ISBN: 9780446565387
SCOUNDRELS, RAKES, AND ROGUES BEWARE . . .
Lady Julianne Gatewick is in a pickle. It started when her brother’s best friend—for whom she’s long nursed a secret tendre—agreed to act as her guardian for the Season, only to seduce her with a risqué waltz.
But when the music stopped and the expectant ton waited for the Earl of Hawkfield to claim her as his own, he made his disinterest clear. Rather than succumb to humiliation, Julianne does what any recently discarded, wickedly witty young miss would do. She secretly pens a lady’s guide to enticing unrepentant rakes . . . and it becomes the hottest scandal in London.
Every honorable rake knows that friends’ sisters are forbidden. But suddenly Julianne has a spark of mischief in her eyes that Hawk can’t resist. Try as he might to push her away, he spends his days listening for her laughter and his nights dreaming of her kisses. He’s always avoided innocents and their marriage-minded mothers, but has the man least likely to wed finally met his match?
ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR
So now I'll hand things over to Vicky. Take it away!
In my debut novel HOW TO MARRY A DUKE, I included an unusual high concept premise: The Bachelor in Regency England, minus the hot tub and camera crew. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started writing the book. I just watched the TV show, and after the idea popped into my head, I thought it would be fun to write. In truth, it was very difficult to write the book, but I didn’t understand why until after I’d revised and polished the manuscript for my editor.
HOW TO MARRY A DUKE was only my second manuscript, so that contributed to my struggles while writing the story. I had a fairly steep learning curve, but I was very determined. It wasn’t until after I’d finished the book and started writing HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL that I realized the complexity that I’d introduced into the novels.
Traditionally, most books have familiar plots such as marriages of convenience or secret babies. Often the books contain a subplot, such as a secondary romance. But, both Duke and Scoundrel had multi-layered premises. HOW TO MARRY A DUKE contained a matchmaker plot and forbidden love in addition to the overarching bachelor premise. There were also several subplots involved. Similarly, HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL is spoof on The Rules--in Regency England. Like my first novel, Scoundrel also contains two traditional plots: the guardian and forbidden love. Again, subplots were involved.
The biggest difference between the two books is that I had actually analyzed the elements in the first book, and that understanding helped make the writing of my second novel a bit easier. I’m currently writing a third book, HOW TO RAVISH A RAKE, and it too has a similar structure to the first two novels.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look into my writing process. May the Magic Romance Fairies be with you!
Thank you so much Vicky! I am so excited for How To Ravish A Rake. I already have a crush on Will, Hawk's younger brother, and I keep telling Vicky to write faster.
Giveaway!
Thanks to the fabulous Brianne from Grand Central Publishing I'm giving away three (3) copies of How To Seduce A Scoundrel. All you have to do is leave a comment below. Also, make sure you follow For the Love of Romance and get an extra entry.
The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, July 19th (midnight) and I will post the winners on Wednesday.
