Thursday, June 27, 2013

Today's Special - - Maggie Robinson


It's always a pleasure to host Maggie Robinson.  I've followed her writing journey since her pre-publication days and am delighted by the success she's achieved.  This time around, Maggie has not one, but two new books to tell us about.  Double the pleasure, double the fun!  

You can find more information about Maggie and her books at her website and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.     

Welcome back, Maggie!









Making Believe

Thanks so much to PJ for having me back at the Romance Dish! I’m here a few days early to talk about my upcoming release. I’ve got two back-to-back books in July—whee!

My parents and grandmother used to get so mad at me. We lived in a house with one bathroom, and I would lock myself in there and “pretend.” How inconvenient, and how they’d yell at me to get out, LOL. But the acoustics were great if I talked or sang aloud, and I liked the way the sunlight diffused through the frosted glass window. I imagined myself older, married, an actress—someone altogether different. Someone glamorous. Mysterious.

Many years later, my “pretending” is now on paper, and I found a way to channel my lonely, only child self in my writing. The heroine of my first mass-market paperback In the Arms of the Heiress is Louisa Stratton, a young woman who also makes up things as she goes along. Her imagination is just much more fun than her reality—she’s a “poor little rich girl” stuck under the thumb of her domineering aunt. When Louisa finally gets access to her fortune, she runs off (or I should say drives off) to the Continent, free at last. But still she’s pestered to come home and marry her awful cousin. What’s an imaginative girl to do but lock herself in her fancy hotel suite and make up a husband? A perfect man…and we all know how rare they are, LOL.

Louisa uses the masterful Evensong Agency to find her a man as close to perfect as they can get to pretend to be her imaginary Maximillian Norwich. At first glance, Charles Cooper does not fit the bill. He’s been wounded in the Boer Wars, is jaded and haunted by things he’d much rather forget. But somehow he winds up being the perfect man for Louisa, and she is the answer to every prayer he had stopped asking.

In the Arms of the Heiress is the first of the Edwardian-set Ladies Unlaced series. I can’t tell you how much fun it’s been to write about the early twentieth century. That same grandmother who yelled at me was a teenager in 1903, and I have lots of memories of her life with her six sisters at the turn of the century. I think they would have liked Louisa!


Did you have an imaginary friend growing up? Did you make up a fantasy world with your dolls and teddy bears? How many bathrooms did YOUR childhood home have, LOL? 

One commenter will get a copy of In the Arms of the Heiress, which comes out July 2!


IN THE ARMS OF THE HEIRESS

It’s all fun and games until someone falls in love…

Independent heiress Louisa Stratton is going home to Rosemont for the holidays, and at the family’s request, she’s bringing her new husband—Maximillian Norwich, art connoisseur and artful lover, the man she’s written of so glowingly. There’s one hitch—he doesn’t exist. Louisa needs a fake husband, and fast, to make the proper impression.

Charles Cooper, captain of the Boer War and far from silver spoons or gilded cages, is so hard up that even this crazy scheme appeals to him. It’s only thirty days, not till death do them part. What’s so difficult about impersonating a husband, even if he doesn’t know a Rembrandt from a Rousseau?

The true difficulty is keeping his hands off Louisa once there’s nobody around to see their ruse. And then there’s the small problem of someone at Rosemont trying to kill him. Keeping his wits about him and protecting Louisa brings out the honor he thought he’d left on the battlefield. But when Louisa tries to protect him, Charles knows he’s found a way to face his future—in the arms of his heiress.

59 comments:

  1. Maggie, I LOVE your stories and am excited to read the new offerings! No imaginary childhood friends for me, only a very few real ones. And I grew up in a tiny 3 bedroom ranch with only bathroom. To this day, I still prefer having only one bathroom--because it means less cleaning! :)

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    1. Hi Maria! I'm with you on the bathroom cleaning. Definitely not my favorite task!

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    2. Maria, I have finally broken down and hired a cleaning lady for our 3 bathrooms. No more ring around the tub for me, although I admit I sort of clean up before she comes!

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  2. I love Maggie's stories and can't wait to get my hands on the latest. I didn't have an imaginary friend growing up because I had a little brother that I played with. I did play with dolls and pretend with them, but I also did the same thing with my brothers GI Joes figures.

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    1. Sheryl, hope you enjoy In the Arms of the Heiress. I loved it!

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    2. Just what I want to hear! Yay! Sheryl, now I'm happy I was an only child, but I would have loved to torment a little brother, LOL.

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  3. Good morning and thank you, ladies! So happy to be here today. :)

    My husband had an imaginary friend named Dukie who he blamed for everything. Kind of like "Notme" from the Family Circus cartoon. He used to make his mom fix Dukie sandwiches which somehow would get eaten, LOL. When I think of all the dukes in romance novels, I'm always reminded of my husband!

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    1. Hi Maggie! So great to have you with us today. I just finished reading In the Arms of the Heiress and loved it. It's one of my favorite Maggie books!

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  4. Hi, Maggie! How could anyone not love Louisa and Charles as well? I certainly do, and I'm fascinated by Miss Evensong. I hope we are going to learn more about her in other books.

    I too grew up in a house with one bathroom but no imaginary friends other than those I encountered in the pages of the books I read. I had two not-much-younger siblings as playmates as well as a neighborhood filled with children from infants to teens. My BFF (who still holds that role in my life) and I did have elaborate ongoing pretends in which we were alternately cowgirls riding the range with Gene, Roy, and Lash and Amazonian princesses looking for treasure in the jungle.

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    1. How could anyone not love Louisa and Charles as well?

      I completely agree, Janga. What wonderful characters!

      How fortunate you and your BFF are to have had such a deep and enduring friendship for all these years.

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    2. Aw! Big hugs to you both, and Charles and Louisa say thanks! ;)

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  5. Hi, Maggie!

    How wonderful to see you here on The Romance Dish. I cannot wait to get and read “In The Arms of the Heiress.” I love your novels and am excited about this latest one.

    I didn’t have an imaginary friend as a child probably because I had siblings and lots of neighborhood friends. However, my friends and I did play fantasy games with our dolls which was lots of fun and a good thing because it prepared us for being mothers. :-) Another game we enjoyed was stringing wildflowers we picked and decorating one girl who would be the bride for the day. That was lots of fun. Oh yes, we only had one bathroom in our small house for the four of us. We most certainly learned to share!

    Congratulations, Maggie! I’m so very happy for your terrific successes!

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    1. Sounds like a great childhood, Connie! We played a lot with dolls too but, mostly, with the cats next door. I swear, they were the most patient cats in the universe. We'd dress them in our doll clothes and take them for walks around the neighborhood in our baby buggies.

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    2. Thank you so much, Connie! We had a neighborhood gang too, but it wasn't like having brothers and sisters for me.

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  6. Most houses we lived in had 2 bathrooms 1 everyone bathroom and one in parents room. Didn't have an imaginary friend, but had a great imagination. My friends and I played Barbies and it was wild :-)

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    1. A great imagination is a wonderful thing!

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    2. We had a dog that ate Barbies. My girls were not happy.

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  7. Hi Maggie! Welcome! So sorry I'm late making an appearance. I was up at oh-dark-thirty with the dogs then crawled back into bed and slept until 10:00. I hardly ever do that! (but it sure felt good) ;-)

    I grew up in a house with one full bathroom. I have fond memories of long, relaxing soaks in a claw-foot tub (we didn't have a shower), often with a good book, always with a vivid imagination. My younger brothers, on the other hand, remember pounding on the door and yelling, "How long are you going to be in there!" ::grin::

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    1. We had a claw footed tub too w/no shower too! (And thanks so much again for having me*g*). For some reason my dad decided to "modernize" the bathroom and enclosed it in with really ugly tile board. It's probably worth a fortune now!

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  8. I didn't have many toys growing up; I used to play make believe all the time. I remember lots of fairies :)

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    1. Linda, I keep looking at those little fairy houses for gardens and wonder if my granddaughter would like to make one. My puppy would probably eat it though, LOL.

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    2. Maggie, if your puppy is like most puppies I've had then I'd have to say the fairy house would definitely be in danger!

      Thanks for stopping by, Linda! I love fairies! I think it goes back to watching Tinker Bell on Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday night when I was a kid.

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  9. Well.. my dolls were my friend... and we only had one washroom as kids... 2 washrooms when we were teenagers...out of necessities....

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    1. I had four kids and they all shared one bath in one of our houses. One year we had a foreign exchange student who took so much time in the bathroom the kids were ready to kill him. Yes, HIM! He was way worse than my three daughters!

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    2. Maggie, I've met many a young man who could give any teenage girl a run for her money when it comes to hogging the bathroom.

      May, I'm sure my brothers wish we'd had two bathrooms!

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  10. Hi Maggie, thrilled you are here. I love your books and thank you for all the hours of reading enjoyment your characters have given me. :)
    I had no imaginary friends and that's probably because I had lots of brothers and sisters. My dolls and paper dolls had many fantastic journeys because my imagination went crazy while playing. But they too always had a HEA. lol
    One or two bathrooms for us depending where we lived at the time. Thanks for this wonderful giveaway opportunity.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

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    1. Ooh! Paper dolls! Loved them. I just got my granddaughter a wooden doll set with magnetic changes of clothing...so much easier than cutting, LOL.

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    2. I don't remember playing much with paper dolls. Probably goes back to the fact that I've never been very good with scissors. ;-)

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  11. Hi Maggie, I had a imaginary friend I used to meet on the way to school. She had a name, but I can't remember it now. But at the time she was my best friend. LOL

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    1. Hi, Julie! Sometimes I still dream about walking to my elementary school. It was just a couple of blocks away. There were no buses in my town, not even to get to the high school, which was a mile plus away. Good exercise, which I need more of now for sure.

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    2. Hi Julie! We had too many kids at our bus stop for there to have been room for an imaginary friend! lol!

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  12. the book sounds delightful -- such a resourceful heroine ;) I grew up in a house w/ one bathroom also. I can remember my sole brother occasionally getting by passed in line when one of us females would join another who was already occupying it. not sure why he'd sometimes find that to be rather annoying ;)

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    1. I admit I spent a lot of time in front of a mirror growing up. My parents finally put one in the hall so I'd get out of the bathroom, LOL.

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    2. I'm sure my brothers would understand exactly how your brother feels! lol

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  13. I didn't have an imaginary friend but as soon as I learned to read, books became my friends!! We had one bathroom but luckily an emergency toilet in the basement lol. I've enjoyed your books!!

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    1. We built a garage last summer with a big finished bonus room. It can sleep six +. Put in an "emergency" electric composting toilet which so far no one has used, LOL!

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    2. I know what you mean, catslady. I was a rabid book reader, even as a child. Made so many wonderful friends in those pages...

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  14. Loved your book, Maggie. I used to read in my family's only toilet until they banged on the door. Now I wonder at my fortitude. It was freezing in there in winter, because heating the space was considered unhygienic.

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    1. Another toilet reader! Janet, sometimes that was the only place I could get enough peace and quiet to enjoy my book. (aside from the brothers banging on the door, of course)

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  15. Thank you, Janet! But no heat? Wouldn't the pipes freeze? I'm getting gossepimples just thinking about it!

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  16. No, I did not have an imaginary friend growing up, but then I had four siblings. With that many people in the house, we definitely could have used more than one bathroom, especially since my sister seemed to camp out in there when she was taking her bath. Despite having so many siblings, I was the only one with an interest in books. Now, fortunately, my children love books and I can spend time when I am not reading, talking to them about the books I read. Love your books, Maggie, as you know since I have reviewed so many of them. I am happy to see there are more coming out.

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    1. Dottie, I sure hope you got one! My publicist said Romance Junkies was on her list. If you didn't, e-mail me and we'll "talk."

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    2. Dottie, how wonderful that you've passed your love of books on to your children!

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  17. Yes! I had an imaginary friend, I don't remember her name but we had some great times. My sisters still think it was funny. And I had a wild and out of the world fantasy realm. It was great fun and I still have it with me. Of course I use it now for my reading and writing! :) And my child hood home had 2 bathrooms.

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    1. Kipha, isn't it great we can now use our imaginations and get paid for it? Yay!

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    2. Kipha and Maggie, we readers are pretty darn happy for your imaginations too! :)

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  18. I don't remember having an imaginary friend growing up. I didn't have the best childhood. The first part of my childhood we only had an outdoor bathroom. When I was a little older we moved into a house with one indoor bathroom. Thought it was awesome to have an indoor bathroom.

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    1. I hear you! I knew several friends who grew up with dirt floors and privies outside. No running water. In Maine, mind you, where they had to shovel snow to get to the outhouse. I never would have made a good pioneer. :)

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  19. I can't believe I've never been introduced to you before, Maggie! Where have I been?! OMGosh, historical romance is my fave genre of all, my comfort "food." I drift away from all the humdrum stuff and problems (a broken AC right now with triple digit heat!) while reading my wonderful romances. But I've never read a romance by you, but by golly I'm gonna change that immediately. Amazon here I come!!! :-) And no, I never had an imaginary friend while growing up, but I did plenty of talking to myself (I still do to this day) and pretending in a play house I devised of my own in my bedroom. I started reading romances when I was in high school when I discovered my mother's stash...and started with Forever Amber (Kathleen Winsow) and Gone With the Wind. And we had only one bathroom in our house too. But my mother kept our hair short short and we couldn't wear makeup until we graduated...so we didn't primp. The bathroom also didn't have windows! :-) Gotta go to Amazon now. Bye! jdh2690@gmail.com

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    1. I hope you had lots of fun on Amazon! I find one-click to be both insidious and the most wonderful invention ever! Janice, I've only been published for three years, so I'm still pretty new at all this, even though I've written quite a few books. I'm not "famous" yet, LOL.

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  20. When I was a kid we definitely played house with our toys and dolls. We would set a pretend house up and take turns being different members of our imaginary family.

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    1. Maureen, we converted a chicken house to a playhouse for our kids, and didn't the girls love to pretend they lived alone with all their stuff. They'd take food out there and sleep in it until their brother told them scary stories. :)

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  21. We had a bath & a half growing up..My poor dad with 4 women.

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  22. Ha! Outnumbered and outfoxed, I'll bet!

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  23. I never had an imaginary friend but I sure did get into my own little world and entertain myself with whatever I had on hand, be it dolls or teddy bears. We didn't have all the fancy gadgets kids have now. We made do with string and mud. LOL I really look forward to reading your book and thank you for the giveaway!

    Wanda Barefoot
    flghtlss1(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  24. I never had an imaginary friend. I was the 4th out of 5 kids so I didn't need one. LOL We had two bathrooms but one was just for my parents. We 5 kids had to share the other.

    Marcy Shuler
    bmndshuler(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  25. I didn't have an imaginary friend growing up but I did "expand" the stories of the characters of the books I read. "continuing" their adventures in my head :) My "chore" was to walking the dogs which was perfect for day dreaming! Congrats on the newest release!

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  26. No imaginary friends. I was fortunate to have enough real friends nearby to not need one. Most of my childhood was spent in a typical (for that time) 3 bedroom, 1 bath ranch.

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