Hi, everyone! Today I am pleased to present an interview with Olivia Drake, the author of multiple Adult books, including her newest, When a Duke Loves a Governess, which releases Tuesday! She also writes under the name Barbara Dawson Smith!
The bold font are the questions I asked, the regular font are her answers, and the bold italic font are my comments about her answers.
Would you please tell us a little about your book When a Duke Loves a Governess?
Tessa James is a hatmaker who dreams of opening her own millinery shop. Penniless, she hopes to finagle a loan from the lord who sired and abandoned her. To find him, she must enter the aristocratic world by pretending to be a governess.
Guy Whitby, the Duke of Carlin, is at his wit’s end. Upon returning to London after four years abroad, he learns that his young daughter has become a wild-child who has scared away a string of governesses. When Tessa James applies for the job, he hires her in desperation despite his misgivings that she’s too bold and beautiful – and that she’s fibbing about her qualifications.
As Guy and Tessa try to resist their forbidden attraction, the duke’s home is burglarized and he’s shot. Guy thinks his aunt may be right about the family being cursed – at least until he and Tessa begin to question why the previous duke and several heirs to the title died under suspicious circumstances.
WHEN A DUKE LOVES A GOVERNESS is the third book in the “Unlikely Duchesses” series that features feisty women who seek employment in the home of a duke.
What was the inspiration for it?
I found it intriguing to write about a heroine who’s a member of the lower class. Tessa is hard-working, independent, and plucky, and she’s truly a fish out of water in the opulence of the duke’s household. She isn’t a lady, nor does she wish to become one. Yet love can strike when we least expect it, and Tessa’s emotions throw her into a quandary. Here’s an excerpt, after the Duke of Carlin has just asked her to marry him:
Even if he pledged his undying devotion to her, wedding Carlin had one insurmountable obstacle. It required her to be a duchess. She would become mistress of this grand house, the recipient of bows and curtsies, the receiver of noble visitors, the hostess of balls and dinner parties and who knew what else? She would be pitchforked from the bottom rung of the social ladder all the way to the pinnacle. The very thought was unnerving.
Besides, his cavalier dismissal of her dreams still smarted. Becoming a shop owner can hardly compare to becoming a lady, he’d said. Of course, you must give it all up.
She knew that a career of any sort was forbidden to a duchess. The swells despised even a whiff of trade among its exalted members. Yet all she had ever wanted was to design hats, to own her own millinery, and as the wife of a duke, she would be barred from doing so.
Random Question! What’s your favorite dessert?
Dark chocolate for every day. Can I pick another for special occasions? For my birthday, a friend often bakes me her “The Elvis Cake.” It’s a multi-layered chocolate cake frosted with a combination of Nutella/peanut butter/whipped cream. Yum!
Ooh, this sounds good!
If you’re able to talk about it, what are you currently working on?
I recently turned in a synopsis for a book about a governess who receives the unexpected inheritance of a property that borders a duke’s estate. The prime piece of land had been promised to the duke by his great-uncle, and he’s none too pleased to see her turn it into a home for destitute women. Add in a missing necklace once owned by Queen Marie Antoinette, and the stage is set for lots of excitement and romance. Fingers crossed that my editor likes it!
This sounds good!
What are some of your favorite Romance books? And what are some you’re looking forward to reading?
My love of romance novels started with Victoria Holt, Jane Austen, Mary Stewart, and Georgette Heyer. Over the years, that list of must-buy authors has expanded to include Mary Balogh, Lisa Kleypas, Sandra Brown, Deeanne Gist, Amanda Stevens, and many more. In addition to romance, I like to read historical fiction, and just finished Bernard Cornwall’s “Saxon Chronicles,” a 13-book saga that begins with “The Last Kingdom,” which was made into a Netflix series. Next up, I’ll be reading his book Stonehenge.
That said, my first love will always be romance novels set in Regency England. It’s an era that evokes the gracefulness of ladies and gentlemen whirling in a waltz, the brilliance of witty conversation, and the fun of watching a toplofty lord who finally meets his match in a spirited heroine. And that’s exactly the kind of book that I like to write!
Thank you to Olivia Drake for participating in this event! :)
Author Bio: Shortly after graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism, Olivia Drake sold her first novel two weeks after sending it to a publisher. She now lives in Texas in a cozy cottage with a feisty cat, a loving husband, and two wonderful daughters who still come back whenever they want a home-cooked meal.
Many of you already know Olivia as Barbara Dawson Smith, author of 24 historical romance novels. She is a New York Times bestseller and winner of numerous honors, including the Golden Heart Award and the coveted Rita Award for excellence in the historical romance genre.
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It makes me smile! : )