Today's Special - - Q&A with Anna Bradley

I had the pleasure of meeting Anna Bradley at the RWA National Conference in July and was intrigued by the description of her debut book, A Wicked Way to Win an Earl. After reading it - in one day - it's easy to understand why this first book in Bradley's Sutherland Scandals series is garnering so many rave reviews. 

As Bradley relates the tale, she has been an avid reader, writer, and book fondler since childhood, when she pilfered her first romance novel and stole away to her bedroom to devour it. (How many of us can relate to that?) Her love of the written word led her to a master's degree in English Literature. Nowadays, Bradley is a multi-tasking wife, mom, author, and professor of writing and literature. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where she says people are "delightfully weird and love to read."

Welcome, Anna! Congratulations on the release of your debut novel, A WICKED WAY TO WIN AN EARL. What has been the most exciting part of publishing your first book? What’s been the scariest? Have you been to the store to pet the cover of your book yet? ;-)

Thank you, P.J., and yes, I’ve been to Powell’s Books to pet the book! Next I’ll probably do something equally embarrassing like take pictures of it on the bookstore shelf and post them to my website. Petting the book may be the most exciting moment yet, but I’ve been pinching myself since I was signed by my agent, Marlene Stringer. I’m incredibly lucky to work with such talented people.

The scariest part by far is knowing my parents will read the love scenes! I squirm every time I think of it.

That would probably have me squirming too. Tell us about your hero and heroine. What’s keeping them apart?

They share a scandalous past that complicates their relationship, and they’re both struggling against society’s expectations and their expectations of themselves. They’re passionate people who are fiercely loyal to those they love, and it’s the core of the conflict between them. Each sees the other as a threat to their loved ones’ happiness. What happens when you get two passionate people with opposing goals together? Sparks fly! That’s what happens with Delia and Alec.

Alec and Delia are both complex characters (which I love!). What would you like readers who buy A WICKED WAY TO WIN AN EARL to understand about these two?

That they’re flawed, but while their flaws are what drives us crazy about them, they’re also what makes us love them. I think it can be that way with real people, too—our biggest flaws, turned sideways, become our greatest strengths. Delia and Alec both struggle to discover who they are and what’s important to them, and many readers can relate to that. We all want to be our best selves, but we make mistakes along the way. Delia and Alec’s mistakes are heartbreaking and dramatic. They have to earn their HEA!

There are many intriguing secondary characters in this book. Is this the start of a series? How many of the Sutherlands and Somersets will have stories? Are you able to share anything about the future books?

This is the first in a four-book series called the Sutherland Scandals. All four Sutherland siblings find love, romance and happy endings in this series. The second book is called A SEASON OF RUIN, and it comes out in June 2016 from Berkley. That story features Delia’s sister Lily and Alec’s brother Robyn. The third and fourth books belong to Alec & Robyn’s sisters, Ellie and Charlotte, and the ladies have as much drama and romance as their two brothers! After this series there’s a trilogy featuring the three youngest Somerset sisters, who are going to get into all kinds of delicious trouble.

This makes me a very happy reader! I was so afraid Delia's and Lily's younger sisters might be left out of the fun. 

What inspired you to become a romance writer and why did you choose historical romance?

Like many writers I started as a reader. I’ve been a diehard fan of historical romance for years, ever since I discovered and devoured Georgette Heyer’s books and became convinced I was born in the wrong era. I read all kinds of romance and have favorite writers outside the genre, but I have a soft spot for historicals, so they’re a natural choice for me to write in that genre.

According to the bio on your website, you once worked with a rare books library that featured works by British women writers from the 1600s through the Regency period. What an incredible opportunity! Please tell us about the experience. Were you able to read any of the books? Did you discover any new-to-you authors who made an impression on you? Is this library open to the public?

It was an incredible opportunity. I was really lucky to get that job. I happened to be in the right place at the right time when the opportunity came up, so it was one of those serendipitous moments. My job was to acquire and catalogue rare books by British women writers from 1600-1830, and I did get to read some of the books. That was the best part of the job—that and touching all those gorgeous bindings! I have a weakness for novels, and I discovered some fantastic writers I’d never read, like Ann Radcliffe, who wrote shudder-inducing Gothics, and Sarah Fielding, Charlotte Lennox and Anna Maria Bennett.

The library is open to the public now. It’s the Chawton House Library, and it’s located in Hampshire, England, in Chawton Village, near Alton. Even better, the estate where the library is housed once belonged to Edward Austen Knight, Jane Austen’s brother. It’s well worth a visit for the incredible history alone, and the house, gardens and grounds are as spectacular as the library.

A WICKED WAY TO WIN AN EARL takes place during a house party. If you were hosting a house party and able to have anyone (real or fictional, alive or dead) attend, who would be some of the “must have” people on the guest list?

Colin Firth, and he’s required to wear the wet white shirt he wore in the BBC’s Pride & Prejudice! Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Let me see, aside from Colin . . . Jane and Cassandra Austen, all the Sutherlands and the Somersets from the Sutherland Scandal series, of course; and all the characters in Julie Anne Long’s Pennyroyal Green series, and . . . um, this is going to be a crowded house party!

Wow! That has the makings of the most coveted invitation of the year. I know I'd want to be there! 

Tell us about your current “life beyond the books.” Are you a full-time writer or a multi-tasking master?

Oh, I’m a master multi-tasker! No, the truth is I’m a mother/writer/teacher and most of the time I have to scramble to keep up with everything. Just ask my poor, long-suffering husband and kids! I’ve served plenty of frozen pizza for dinner this past year, and I’m definitely that Mom who forgets to bring snacks to school pick up, but I love it all and I feel very blessed.

Where can readers connect with you online?

The easiest place is my webpage – annabradley.writerspace.com, or you can find me on Twitter @annabradley472 and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/annabradley472. I love to hear from readers!

Anna, thank you for visiting with me today. I wish you all the best with the Sutherland Scandals. I'm excited to return to your world! 

Would you like to add anything? Would you like to ask our readers a question?

My pleasure! Thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about my books, PJ and thank you to your readers! Oh, I do have a question for them, yes. 

Are you ready to get wicked?

 Anna has two giveaways today. 

One randomly chosen person leaving a comment will receive the Pride and Prejudice Keepsake Edition DVD, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

One randomly chosen person leaving a comment will receive a signed copy of A Wicked Way to Win an Earl.

Deadline for comments to be entered in giveaway is 11:59 pm (PST) tonight. 

A tantalizing new Regency romance filled with the most elegant society—and the most forbidden desires…

England, 1811. Delia Somerset despises the privileged ton, but her young sister, Lily, is desperate to escape their family’s scandalous past and join high society. Unwilling to upset her sister, Delia reluctantly agrees to attend a party at the Sutherland estate—and avoid the gossip at all costs.

Alec Sutherland is known as a hot-headed scoundrel, but nothing gets a rise out of him as much as the news that his brother desires Delia’s hand in marriage. She is, after all, the daughter of the London belle who soiled their family name. He’s determined to ruin her reputation as well, in the most delicious way possible. It’s only a matter of time before he can woo her with his irresistible advances.

As Delia devilishly plays along in Alec’s game, determined to prove the joke is on him, they inch ever closer to repeating history. And in this game of seductive glances, scandalous whispers, and old debts, the outcome might be much more than either of them anticipated…