Today's Special - - Maggie Robinson

I'm delighted to welcome Maggie Robinson back to The Romance Dish. Maggie's new book, Redeeming Lord Ryder is the third book in her Cotswold Confidential historical romance series. It's another appealing blend of likable characters, humor, and heart-tugging emotion that Janga and I both thoroughly enjoyed. For more information about Redeeming Lord Ryder, be sure to read Janga's 5-star review.






PJ: Welcome back, Maggie! It’s always a pleasure to have you visit us. I’ve had such fun reading your Cotswold Confidential stories, eagerly anticipating each new release. Will you please tell our readers what they can expect from the newest book, Redeeming Lord Ryder?

Thank you so much for having me back! Redeeming Lord Ryder was a little challenging for me—there are lots of emotional challenges for my characters too. My heroine Nicola Mayfield has a form of selective muteness. She’s been injured in a horrific train accident and comes to Puddling-on-the-Wold, a sort of secret spa, to recover. The hero Jack Ryder is there too, to try to get over his guilt and depression for being responsible for a horrific train accident. You see where this is going, don’t you? Despite the serious nature of the obstacles, the book has humor and heart, and there is still banter, even though Nicola is writing and finger spelling instead of speaking. It was a joy to give Jack and Nicola their happy ending.



Janga: Did you get hungry writing this book? (I kept wanting to snack as I read it.)

LOL. I’m always hungry. The crumbs on my keyboard could keep me alive for days. One of the conditions of a stay in the Puddling rehabilitation resort is “everything in moderation.” For most of its Guests, they’ve overindulged in all sorts of things, so the diet on offer is bland and “nutritious” until they mend their wicked ways. Consequently, poor Jack, who hasn’t been exactly forthcoming on why he’s checked himself in, is nearly starved to death, while Nicola is cosseted and built up. Once Jack discovers her pantry, the course of true love is paved with peaches.


PJ: Speaking of eating, do you have a favorite holiday treat you enjoy making…or eating?  

I used to be a big “from-scratch” cook. I made jam and syrup and pickles with my four kids, but since my husband started watching the Food Network, he’s taken over in the kitchen and I am grateful for it. I still do holidays though. I can recommend my Idiot Dip, which my kids look forward to when they come home. One block of cheap yellow cheese (paper removed please), one can of chili with beans. Layer in microwave-proof dish and heat up for about 9 minutes. Stir. Serve with Cool Ranch Doritos. I’m sure it’s very bad for you, which makes it delicious. You can add another can of chili or some salsa if you want, but why gild the lily?

Janga: Did you edit anything out of this book that you found difficult to cut?

You know, most of the time I’ve been so lucky—I’ve never had to cut chapters or long scenes or do a major re-write, except for three books, Margaret Rowe’s Tempting Eden (had to make it more erotic!!!), Mistress by Midnight (had to kill the flashbacks, sniff), and The Unsuitable Secretary (where I had kitchen-sinked it and had to kill the whole second half of the book!). My Kensington editor has been wonderful and I don’t cringe when I get the revision notes.

PJ: Christmas is only a few weeks away. Does your family have any special holiday traditions?

We try to celebrate on Boxing Day, so the married kids and grandchildren have plenty of time to spend with their in-laws on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Whatever day gets picked, everyone stays in matching pajamas (showers are optional), champagne is popped at breakfast, and “cocktail party” food is rolled out of the kitchen at regular intervals (hello, Idiot Dip). The grandchildren play Wii and Xbox, lots of Legos are stepped on, and some sledding down our hill might be involved.

Janga: Are you planning more Cotswold Confidential books?

I have half of book 4 written, but I’ve been lured away by a super-secret-project. Fingers crossed. It’s a departure for me that I’m very excited about, but I don’t want to jinx it.








Rapid Fire Q&A:
Homebody or World traveler?

Both. When I’m home, I’m barefoot in a bathing suit and relaxed. I love to garden in the summer and sit on the dock in the sun (we live on a lake). But my husband and I travel several times a year. We’re going on a cruise in January and then spending some time in New Orleans. Let the good times roll.

Real or Artificial Christmas Tree?

Several years ago, we bought a pre-lit artificial tree that I’ve actually fallen in love with. No more cursing, tangled strings of lights, or pouring tree water on the wood floor instead of in the tree stand. I put fresh pine boughs on the mantel and in vases to keep that nature vibe.

Favorite holiday song?

Silent Night

Snowy cold or tropical beach?

Oh, we live in Maine. I’ve had enough of snowy cold. We usually try to get away for a little bit to warmer climes somewhere between January and April. I’ve loved renting cottages in England in early spring (which is much earlier than here) and exploring the countryside.

Eggnog: yes or no?

Yes, with or without alcohol. And fruitcake too! I’m very old-fashioned. ;)

Book you’re currently reading?

I’ve downloaded the Ruth Galloway Norfolk coast-set contemporary mystery series by Elly Griffiths, and am now on Book 3, The House at Sea’s End. Ruth is a forensic archaeologist who keeps getting mixed up in murders, and is a very untraditional heroine.

PJ: Where can readers find you online?

Website: www.maggierobinson.net
Facebook: (personal, where I post pictures of my adorable grandchildren!) https://www.facebook.com/maggie.robinson.165
Facebook: author page https://www.facebook.com/MaggieRobinsonBooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaggieLRobinson

PJ: Would you like to add anything else?

Please sign up for my occasional newsletter! http://maggierobinson.us4.list-manage2.com/subscribe?u=ce659a0c7e53bf8ef7cd81df1&id=991d2d8103 I’m kicking off January with a great contest. 

And today I’ll give away a download or print copy of the first book in the Cotswold Confidential series, Schooling the Viscount (an Amazon best romance of the month), or any book from my backlist. 

Where would you like to go to “get away from it all?” All I can say is that there’d better be good food, LOL.

Review - - Redeeming Lord Ryder

Redeeming Lord Ryder

By Maggie Robinson

Publisher: Kensington / Lyrical Press

Release Date: November 21, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

 

Nicola Mayfield is returning from a visit with her sister in London when she is injured in a railway accident that leaves her mute. Her parents spend seven months taking her from physician to physician, but none of their remedies, from sticking pins in her tongue to threatening to cut her hair, her one vanity, succeed. Finally, in desperation, they send her to Puddling-on-the-Wold, a nineteenth-century rehabilitation center. Two months into her stay there, she still has no voice. However, she has found a degree of contentment. She misses her family, but she is happy not to feel the weight of their concern. She has no regrets about her broken betrothal, a matter based more on practicality than passion. She is free of most of the restrictions placed upon the village’s guests, she has a housekeeper who treats her kindly and feeds her well, and she finds solace in her music. A life of solitary independence does not seem too bad.

Lord Jonathan Haskell Ryder, known as Jack to family and friends, is the newest resident of Puddling-on-the-Wold. A businessman baron of genius and entrepreneurial spirit, he has amassed a great fortune and acquired an enviable reputation, but his achievements mean little when a careless moment at a foundry he owns leads to an industrial accident that causes a train wreck and leaves two people dead. Jack was not responsible for the accident, and he settles generous amounts on the survivors and the families of the dead. Regardless, he is overcome by guilt and depression and unable to function in the world that had energized him. On his own initiative, he has come to the famous village for help.

Jack and Nicola meet one cold December day when Nicola, on her daily walk, slips on the ice and falls. Jack comes to her rescue, and the two strike up a friendship that soon becomes something warmer. But both see themselves as unfit for a relationship. It will take more slips—not all of them on the ice—and some tough love from Nicola to see this likable pair reach their HEA.

This is the third book in Maggie Robinson’s Cotswold Confidential series, after Schooling the Viscount and Seducing Mr. Sykes, and I am delighted to say that the series started strong and has gotten better with each book. Jack and Nicola are appealing characters who easily win the reader’s affection. They also sustain the reader’s interest, perhaps a more difficult feat. They have real problems, but they are more than their problems. Nicola’s muteness renders her vulnerable, but it does not diminish her quiet intelligence or subtle strength. Jack’s charm is more obvious and his intellect more extraordinary, but his appeal rests on less showy qualities as well, such as his sense of humor and his honor.

One of the strengths of this late-Victorian-set series has been the skill with which Robinson captures the way industrialization affected all areas of life and the growing sense that progress was not delivering all it had promised. That she manages to do this in books bright with laughter makes the series truly remarkable. Much of the laughter is attributable to the community and its residents who, for the most part, are devoted to preserving their livelihood and benevolently disposed toward their guests. I am particularly fond of Dr. Oakley, Ham Ross, and Moll the dog.

If you like historical romance that moves beyond the conventional settings of Regency ballroom or country house party, if you appreciate stories that make you laugh and provide food for thought, I highly recommend Redeeming Lord Ryder. I loved it, and I am hoping for more Puddling-on-the-Wold stories.