We are very happy to have debut historical author, Maggie Robinson join us today. Maggie, congratulations on yesterday's release of your debut novel, Mistress by Mistake! I hope you enjoyed a debut-worthy celebration. Please tell us a bit about the story.
Thanks so much for letting me dish about it! Charlotte Fallon is a straight-laced, lace-making spinster whose sister is an infamous courtesan. Sir Michael Xavier Bayard is a straight-up rake who finds that the wrong sister in his bed is just right.
How delicious! Bay and Charlotte (who prefers to be called "Charlie") aren’t without flaws and they certainly have some difficult obstacles to overcome on their journey to a happy ending. Without giving away any spoilers, what’s the most important characteristic about each of them that you’d like readers to understand?
Charlie has been tamping down her passion for a decade, living a quiet, boring life. Bay’s own youthful passion has brought him nothing but danger and heartbreak. They both need to learn to trust and open their hearts again.
The bedroom scenes in this book sizzle! I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to serve raspberries again without blushing. How difficult (or easy) is it to write those scenes?
My agent, Laura Bradford kept writing MORE in raspberry-red on my manuscripts, and I guess I started following her advice. :) I hope that the emotional connection between Charlie and Bay is even stronger than their physical relationship to the reader. I try to layer in plenty of sentiment along with the sizzle, because I really live a quiet, boring life myself. ;)
Your real life may be quiet and boring (though I somehow doubt that) but your imagination is having one heck of a good time! There are secondary characters in this book that I’d love to know more about. Do you have plans to write books about any of the other ladies on Jane Street?
Mistress by Mistake is the first of the
Courtesan Court Trilogy. Two of Charlie’s neighbors, Laurette Vincent and Lady Caroline Christie have their own stories in
Mistress by Midnight (December 28) and
Mistress by Marriage. Jane Street is also the setting for my two novellas for Brava anthologies. The first one,
Lords of Passion, comes out November 30. You haven’t heard the last of my mistresses!
Adding two "Merry Christmas to Me" gifts to my list for next fall! :) We love call stories here at The Romance Dish. How did you get the news of your first sale?
My first sale was actually for the “other me,” Margaret Rowe. My June debut for Berkley Heat,
Tempting Eden, sold first. I work in a high school library (where my books do not belong), and my agent called me one afternoon. I wanted to jump up and down and scream, but…library. Shh. I cried a little. Quietly. I saved the screaming for when I got home.
That's right, you're a double debutante! Will you give us a peek into Tempting Eden, your June release as Margaret Rowe?
Tempting Eden is a darker, edgier erotic romance, with a heroine who has gone through Hell to find Heaven in her hero’s arms. I love the tagline: "A perfect gentleman, and the imperfect woman who makes him forget all his good intentions."
What a terrific tagline! It would certainly catch my attention! You’re a busy woman with many irons in the fire. Please describe for us a typical day in the life of Maggie Robinson.
I am about to ditch my day job, but for the past five years, I’ve gotten up between 4 and 5 AM to write a few hours before I go to work. I usually talk to my daughters on the phone in the morning and wander around the Internet, too. I punch in at 10:30, run the after school library program and teen girls’ book club, which keeps me in touch with YA trends. I’ve given up TV and cooking, but my husband has been super-supportive and has turned into Emeril Lagasse without the bamming in the kitchen, so I haven’t lost a bit of weight.
Many authors say they write better while listening to music. Some even choose theme songs for their stories. What’s your stance on music to write by? Any favorites? Did you have a theme song for Mistress by Mistake?
I can’t write with music, even if it’s instrumental—I’m too easily distracted. But I sing along to country music (badly) in the car back and forth to work.
LOL @ the bad country singing in the car. You'd fit right in down here in South Carolina where I live! What authors do you enjoy reading when you’re not busy creating stories of your own?
So many I could go on for paragraphs and still forget someone. I’ll stick to Georgette Heyer.
If you could step into the life of any romance heroine, who would you choose and why?
One of my own—Frederica Wells from Margaret Rowe’s
Any Wicked Thing (January 2011). She’s a medieval scholar who lives in a castle with a really hot, wicked duke. She writes books, fences, and did I mention the really hot, wicked duke?
Marking my calendar for January 2011. Did I mention I really love hot, wicked dukes? *grin*
If you could step into the arms of any romance hero, who would you choose and why?
I have a soft spot for Loretta Chase’s Mr. Impossible, Rupert Carsington. He is impossibly adorable, and I love a man who can make me laugh.
Great choice! There's nothing better than a man who can make me laugh.
Maggie, thank you so much for visiting with us today and graciously answering my many questions. Congratulations again on the debut of Mistress by Mistake. Now it's time to turn the tables. Is there a question you’d like to ask our visitors?
As a debutante (even if I’m a bit long in the tooth), I’m curious—what makes you take a chance on an unknown author?
One lucky commenter will win a signed copy of Mistress by Mistake.
