Guest Author -- Christie Kelley

Christie Kelley was born and raised in upstate New York. As a child, she always had a vivid imagination and the bad dreams that go along with it, or perhaps the dreams were caused by the five brothers and three sisters she lived with. After seventeen years working for financial institutions in software development, she took a leap of faith and started her first book. Seven years later, EVERY NIGHT I’M YOURS was bought by Zebra books. The third book in Christie's popular historical Spinster Club series, SOMETHING SCANDALOUS, will be released April 6th.  Please give Christie a warm Romance Dish welcome!


I’m thrilled to be here today with my friends, Andrea, Gannon, PJ and Buffie! I love this blog and am so happy about its success. Thank you all so much for having me today.

Have you ever discovered something about your parents that shocked or surprised you? I can honestly say I really haven’t. The biggest thing I discovered when I was young was that my parents had another son between two of my older brothers and the boy only lived two days. It wasn’t that they kept it a secret they just didn’t talk about it. I guess when you have 9 other kids, there are bigger priorities.

But what if you did discover something scandalous about your parents?

That was the premise I started out with for my April release, Something Scandalous. My poor heroine, Elizabeth discovers her father, the duke, isn’t really her father. To say she is shocked is an understatement. After all, her mother was the perfect duchess.

Or maybe she wasn’t.

Going into this story I didn’t want the basic story of a mother who had a short love affair with another man because her husband was unkind. I wanted to write a story about a woman whose daughter thought she was the perfect mother and wife. A woman who taught her daughter to always do the right thing and be a perfect lady in society. A woman whose marriage was completely scandalous but Elizabeth knew nothing about that side of her.

So when she discovers the truth about her parentage, Elizabeth is stunned and determined to find out who her father might be. She has no desire to confront the man. She just wants to know who he is. She is certain the secret must be in a hidden diary her mother kept but Elizabeth can’t find it. Time is of the essence when the new duke arrives and decides to sell everything he can and return to the United States.

And if I tell you any more about it, I’ll give too much away! Except to say, what Elizabeth discovers in that diary will change her life forever.

As I wrote this story, I couldn’t help but wonder how I would have reacted if I discovered my mother was the complete opposite of what she’d portrayed to me. Many of us grow up believing our parents are perfect. Then adolescence hits and we realize our parents know nothing and can’t be perfect. Hopefully, as we reach adulthood, we can then move on to adult relationship with them.

What do you think? Have any of you discovered a secret your parents kept from you? You don’t have to tell us what the secret was just how it changed your life and perception of them. One random commenter will winy a copy of SOMETHING SCANDALOUS!

Raised as the youngest daughter of the Duke of Kendal, Elizabeth learns a devastating truth on his deathbed: he wasn’t her father at all. And because the Duke had no sons, his title and fortune must go to his only male heir: a distant cousin who left England for America long ago. Anticipating the man’s imminent occupation of her home, Elizabeth anxiously searches for her mother’s diary, and the secret of her paternity...

Arriving in London with his seven siblings, William Atherton intends to sell everything and return to his beloved Virginia farm, and his fiancée, as quickly as possible. But as Elizabeth shows William an England he never knew, and graciously introduces his siblings to London society, it becomes clear the two are meant for each other. Soon, Elizabeth finds herself determined to seduce the man who can save not only her family name, but her heart...