Welcome
back, Vanessa! It’s always a pleasure to host you here at the Dish.
PJ, thank you for hosting me! The
Romance Dish has always been one of my favorite spots in Romancelandia.
I’m so
excited about the recent release of The
Highlander’s Princess Bride. It’s one of my all-time favorite Vanessa Kelly
books. Please tell our readers what they should expect from this story.
I’m SO glad you enjoyed it! THE
HIGHLANDER’S PRINCESS BRIDE is book 3 in my Improper Princesses Series, which
features heroines who are the illegitimate daughters of English royalty. My
heroine, Victoria Knight, is the offspring of the Prince Regent himself—and a
barmaid. Victoria is also a governess and a devoted teacher, and wants nothing
more from life than to establish her own teaching seminary for young ladies.
Fate and a murder charge put her on a different course, however, straight to
the Highlands and the arms of Nicholas Kendrick, the Earl of Arnprior.
The book is basically a mash-up of
the classic movie musicals Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and The Sound of
Music. Victoria finds herself trying to manage a household of rambunctious
Highland men, all while falling in love with Nick, the oldest brother. There is
also an irascible Scottish grandfather, some very bad doggies, and a scary
villain. In other words…romance and mayhem!
I didn't realize you intended the book to be a mash-up of two of my favorite musicals until after reading it but it's a description that fits this story perfectly.
I adored Victoria. She and Gillian top my list of favorite Kelly heroines. Is Victoria the last of the improper princesses or will we be meeting more?
I adored Victoria. She and Gillian top my list of favorite Kelly heroines. Is Victoria the last of the improper princesses or will we be meeting more?
This book is actually a spin-off to a
new series called Clan Kendrick, which will feature Nick’s brothers as heroes.
But there very well might be novellas featuring more Improper Princesses or
their male cousins and half-brothers, The Renegade Royals. I really enjoy
writing about these characters, and would like to visit them again.
Nick captured
my heart right along with Victoria’s. Who’s the last hero (not written by you)
that captured yours? What made him special?
I absolutely adore Michael, Lord
Acton, the hero of the Doyle and Acton Series by Anne Cleeland. This is a
fabulous mystery series featuring a VERY different sort of hero. Acton is
mysterious, brilliant, absolutely devoted to Doyle, and more than a bit crazy—or
as Doyle calls him, slightly “bent”. I’m in awe of Cleeland’s writing and I was
captivated by the unusual love story she created with these characters. Acton
has got to be one of the most loyal and devoted heroes in fiction!
I'm so excited you're planning stories for Nick's brothers. I’ve fallen
in love with the Kendrick family. Who's up first?
The first book in the Clan Kendrick
Series will be out in Nov. 2018. It’s Royal’s story, and it’s called THE
HIGHLANDER WHO PROTECTED ME. Big, bad Logan is up after that…and then I have to
figure out who goes next!
You and your
husband also write together as V.K. Sykes. Do the two of you have any new books
in the works?
We’re currently working on another
baseball romance in The Philadelphia Patriots Series. Hubby is also waiting on
me to revise another romantic suspense. He’s a very fast writer!
Great news! I've enjoyed both your baseball and romantic suspense stories.
Great news! I've enjoyed both your baseball and romantic suspense stories.
Rapid Fire Q&A:
Early Bird
or Night Owl?
SO night owl!
Apple
Cinnamon or Pumpkin Spice?
Pumpkin all
the way!
Hot cider or
Hot chocolate?
Always go with chocolate!
Favorite new
TV show?
Ozark. OMG, so good.
Book you’re
currently reading?
Rereading A Discovery
of Witches by Deborah Harkness
What’s next?
Working away on my Highlander heroes! I
also expect to have a novella or two out sometime in the spring of 2018.
Where can
readers find you online?
Thanks for
visiting with us today, Vanessa! Would you like to ask our readers a question?
Thanks so much, PJ! I’d love to know what non-romance books (if any)
people are reading. I’m always on the lookout for recs outside the genre!
Vanessa is giving away signed,
print copies of MY FAIR PRINCESS and THREE WEEKS WITH A PRINCESS to one randomly chosen reader who leaves a comment before 11:00 PM (Eastern), November 4.
I do enjoy Historical Fiction. Often more "I will kill you" rather than "I want to kiss you", but then times were often brutal. The Ancient Egypt series by Wilbur Smith is fabulous.
ReplyDeleteMary, my husband is a huge Wilbur Smith fan. I've also read and enjoyed some of his books.
DeleteThose books sound right up my alley, Mary. Thanks for the recommendation!
DeleteThanks for the giveaway. I am going to ck out your baseball stories. Love baseball. Unfortunately my Dodgers lost the World Series. I love all sports related books.
ReplyDeleteMy sympathies on the Dodgers' loss, Patoct! Hubby and I are hard at work on a new baseball romance--they're always fun to write!
DeleteThey played a great series, Patoct! Do check out Vanessa and her hubby's baseball books. They're so good!
DeleteFascinating interview and wonderful giveaway. I enjoy fiction which is profound and a novel which I read recently was The Orphan's Tale.
ReplyDeleteI've read about The Orphan's Tale--I'll have to check it out!
DeleteI loved The Orphan's Tale! Pam Jenoff is a very gifted writer.
DeleteLovely giveaway and great interview. Family sagas such as Golden Earrings are memorable.
ReplyDeleteThank you! My hubby is a huge fan of family sagas!
DeleteThat sounds interesting, petite. I'm not familiar with the author but she's compared to Colleen McCullough whose books I love. Also, Golden Earrings is currently on sale for $2.99. It's now waiting on my Kindle. ;-)
DeleteThanks for visiting us today, Vanessa! I love, love, love The Highlander's Princess Bride and am so excited that you're planning stories for Nick's brothers!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting me, dear lady! So glad you enjoyed the book! <3
DeleteI gobbled up J.R. Ward's The Bourbon Kings trilogy. It's a family saga set in Kentucky. I'm also head over heels for Christina Dodd's Virtue Falls series, especially the last two books: Because I'm Watching and The Woman Who Couldn't Scream. They're suspense thrillers that keep me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. I also enjoy biographies and autobiographies though I haven't read any recently. I need to catch up with my romance review reading so I can venture out into non-fiction territory for a story or two. :)
ReplyDeletePJ, I have the first Bourbon Kings. I have to read that next!
DeleteSounds awesome I love your books x
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Maggie.
DeleteThank you, Maggie!
DeleteGreat interview! The only other books that I read that have just a little romance in them are Dan Brown books! He is an amazing writer and though I do enjoy his books There is nothing better then to go back in time in another country and find love! ❤��
ReplyDeleteHe's a good writer.
DeleteHe is a good writer!
DeleteOne of my favorite books last year was The Saints of the Lost and Found by T.M. Causey. It's dark, southern gothic suspense. I couldn't put it down.
ReplyDeleteI loved The Discovery of Witches, the series is awesome, I think it is going to be a tv series.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE LOVE LOVE that series! Yes, it's currently in production for TV. Fingers crossed they do it justice!
DeleteLove your stories! I mostly read romance but will read other genres - I am going to say Stephen King, definitely not romance lol.
ReplyDeleteThank you, catslady!
DeleteI love YA fantasy. Right now I'm reading a post apocalypse dystopian. It's the third book in the Fire Sermon series by Francesca Haig, called The Forever Ship. It's really good!!! I loved the first two.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Amy!
DeleteI'm a big fan of historical mystery. Deanna Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell books are fantastic, and Anna Lee Huber's new book This Side of Murder is another great one.
ReplyDeleteI love both those authors, and I'm a HUGE fan of histmyst. My fave genre!
DeleteHi, Vanessa! The Highlander's Princess Bride is on my Kindle and in my TBR queue. I was already looking forward to it, but after PJ's raves about it, I am even more eager to read it.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of mysteries--mostly cozies. Recently, I've been trying to catch up with two ghostly series--Nancy Atherton's Aunt Dimity series in which Aunt Dimity is the ghost who communicates via a journal and Carolyn Hart's Bailey Ruth series in which Bailey Ruth is not really a ghost but an emissary from Heaven's Department of Good Intentions whose efforts to help frequently go awry. Both series are filled with warmth and humor, just what I need these days.
Hi, Janga! Yes, cozies are super popular these days, for the reasons you mention. We all need a little bit of warmth and good cheer!
DeleteI've read several of your books and enjoyed them all. Let's see you on the bestseller list! I enjoy both your historical and baseball stories.
ReplyDeleteFrom your mouth to God's ear, Ami! Thank you!
DeleteCongratulations on the new release. I agree with PJ that The Bourbon Kings trilogy was a very good read. I also am enjoying Sherry Thomas' Lady Sherlock mystery series. Although not marketed as romances, both series still have some romance in them.
ReplyDeleteI have both in my TBR pile, Kim!
DeleteCongrats on your new release! I love the Bourban kings trilogy also! I love that someone else is a night owl like me lol. Thanks for the giveaway chance! Loved your interview by the way!
ReplyDeleteI am such a night owl, Shannon. Drives poor hubby nuts!
Deletea few new ones i got recently to read are from kerri maniscalco called hunting prince dracula and stalking jack the ripper!
ReplyDeleteSounds intriguing!
DeleteCongratulations on the release! I've really loved this series, really the entire Renegade Royals list. I just finished some non-fiction, Hillbilly Elegy, and have another nonfiction waiting, Thank You For Your Service, after I read a few historical romance in between. I can't say enough about The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelly Estes, really a great story, both a modern and historical story and a little romance included.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recs, Sharon (and for loving my books!). I have Hillbilly Elegy in my TBR pile.
DeleteCongratulations on the new release! I adore stories of romance and mayhem. Though I have not seen Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Sound of Music never fails to make me laugh. I recently re-read an old favorite, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It has romantic elements to it but is general fiction, I believe. Other than that I tend towards romantic suspense. Linda Howard's Troublemaker was a wonderful read.
ReplyDeleteLil, I love Linda Howard!
DeleteHi Vanessa! I love the description of this book being a mash up of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and The Sound of Music. That would be enough to sell me right there!
ReplyDeleteAnd that cover is gorgeous!
Thank you, my friend!! <3
DeleteI enjoyed reading your interview. I love historical romance! I am a Night Owl too.
ReplyDeleteNight owls rule, Karen!
DeleteI love your improper princess series. Sad that it is ending but looking forward to reading them in your new clan Kendrick series.
ReplyDeleteThank you, May! I suspect I'll be writing some novellas about those characters in the future!
DeleteMy favourite genre is Historical romance, but I read spritual books, inspirational books and others
ReplyDeleteI love reading spiritual and inspirational books too!
DeleteLoved the interview. Thank you. I read mysteries (mostly cozies) I recently found an author Charlotte Moore, she has a funny series that I just started. I have also read some classic British mysteries recently that I really enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteThe Seven Brides For Seven Brothers theme draws me. And I am a HUGE baseball fan....How 'bout them Astros?
Again, really good interview and I thank you.
Go Astros!! Thanks for stopping by, Annette!
DeleteI really enjoyed your interview and thanks for the giveaway ❤
ReplyDeleteThank you, Charlotte!
DeleteHi Vanessa & PJ!! I love this series. Thank you so much for sharing about this book.
ReplyDeleteThank YOU, Eileen!!
DeleteThank you to everyone who stopped by today and huge thanks to Vanessa for taking the time to respond to all of the comments! Be sure to stop by Sunday to see if you're Vanessa's winner!
ReplyDeleteI love to read historical romance, thanks for the giveaway! lclee59(at)centurylink(dot)net
ReplyDeletePlease do not enter me in the drawing as I have the books, but loved all the books in this series. I am reading an advance copy of Amie K. Runyan's Daughters of the Night Sky. A WWII historical fiction about the all female bomber squad that Hitler called the Night Witches.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the interview and your books
ReplyDeleteThe Tin Ticket: The Heroic Journey of Australia's Convict Women by Deborah J. Swiss. It tells about the convict women who suffered and survived transportation and harsh conditions in early Australia. I have waited a long time to read this book.'
ReplyDeleteThe Dead Shall Live which is a dark fantasy YA set in the Regency Era
ReplyDeletedenise
Hi Vanessa and PJ! I have been loving this series and I'm excited for you next one, Vanessa. I'm also thrilled that you won't be leaving the Royal world. As far as what im reading....still all romances except for work.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the giveaway! The only other genre that I read a lot, aside from romance, is mystery. My go-to author is Agatha Christie.
ReplyDelete