IN THE SPOTLIGHT: AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTY CARLYLE

I’m delighted to welcome CHRISTY CARLYLE, author of sensual Victorian historical romance, to Rakes and Rascals today for an exclusive interview.

Thanks so much for inviting me, Carol! I’m honored to be here.

~~~~~~~

R&R:
Could you tell us where you were born and what it was like growing up there?

Christy:
I was born and raised in a smallish college town in Indiana, in the midwestern U.S. It was a great place to grow up. I enjoyed experiencing all four seasons, especially the autumn colors and the first snow of winter. My neighbourhood was a safe place, and my maternal grandparents lived a short drive away in Michigan. My grandma taught me how to read and my grandpa taught me to love books. The irony is that I spent most of my teenage years dreaming about leaving my small town behind. I dreamed of living on the east or west coast, or moving abroad. Now I live in the Pacific Northwest, but I’m grateful for my Midwest roots.

R&R:
How would you describe yourself – temperamental or easy-going?

Christy:
I like to think I’m easy-going most of the time, but I’m a Scorpio, so there’s a lot of emotion bubbling under the surface. When I feel something, I rarely feel it mildly. Writing has always served as an outlet for emotions, whether journals and poetry when I was a kid, or the stories I write now.

R&R:
When it comes to food do you like sweet or savoury or both?

Christy:
I would have to say I’m partial to savoury food. I could be more easily tempted with a quiche than a cake any day. Then again, I do have a weakness for chocolate.

R&R:
What is your most treasured possession?

Christy:
I’d have to say my cats, though I don’t think of them as possessions. My husband and I have no children, so they’re probably more akin to my kids. I went to a local shelter years ago to adopt a black cat because I read about the difficulty of finding homes for them. The kitten I fell in love with, Lucy, had a brother, Finn, and I couldn’t bear to separate them.

Lucy

Finn

R&R:
If you were able to afford a second home anywhere in the world where would you choose and why?

Christy:
England! Definitely England. I lived for a brief time in Surrey, and I miss southern England with a deep, abiding ache. My great grandfather was from Cornwall, and my grandma often received letters from “our family in England” when I was a kid. England seemed like a place I needed to go, and I dreamed of it throughout childhood and my teenage years. My first visit in 1994 sealed the deal for me. My Scottish husband and I always talk of “when we move back to Britain,” as if it’s a future certainty.

R&R:
Finally, what has been your most embarrassing moment?

Christy:
One that comes to mind is from my wedding day. My husband is from Scotland and we spent a year going through the fiancé visa and immigration process. After waiting so long, we decided to move quickly and get married at the local courthouse. We arranged for witnesses, gathered all the relevant paperwork, and waited nervously for the judge to enter the chamber and conduct the ceremony. When it came time to present our marriage license, I couldn’t find it. Everyone was watching me and looking miserable, and the judge actually suggested we reschedule for another day. Then, after a super tense ten minutes that seemed like an hour, I finally found it! Thank goodness.

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Thank you for taking time out to be here today and sharing these interesting facts about yourself, Christy.

Thank you, Carol! I truly appreciate the invitation. Always wishing you the best.

If you would like to find out more about Christy and her books, here are the links:

Website
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter

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NEW BOOKS ADDED TO MY BOOKSHELVES

Source: Purchased from Amazon Kindle

(The Heart of a Duke, #7)

Genre: Historical Romance (Regency)

Cover Blurb:

She’s longing to be loved:
Lady Cara Falcot has only served one purpose to her loathsome father—to increase his power through a marriage to the future Duke of Billingsley. As such, she’s built protective walls about her heart, and presents an icy facade to the world around her. Journeying home from her finishing school for the Christmas holidays, Cara’s carriage is stranded during a winter storm. She’s forced to tarry at a ramshackle inn, where she immediately antagonizes another patron—William.

He’s avoiding his duty in favor of one last adventure:
William Hargrove, the Marquess of Grafton has wanted only one thing in life—to avoid the future match his parents would have him make to a cold, duke’s daughter. He’s returning home from a blissful eight years of traveling the world to see to his responsibilities. But when a winter storm interrupts his trip and lands him at a falling-down inn, he’s forced to share company with a commanding Lady Cara who initially reminds him exactly of the woman he so desperately wants to avoid.

A Christmas snowstorm ushers in the spirit of the season:
At the holiday time, these two people who despise each other due to first perceptions are offered renewed beginnings and fresh starts. As this gruff stranger breaks down the walls she’s built about herself, Cara has to determine whether she can truly open her heart to trusting that any man is capable of good and that she herself is capable of love. And William has to set aside all previous thoughts he’s carried of the polished ladies like Cara, to be the man to show her that love.

*** Please note, this is an approximately 48,000 word novella.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

Source: Purchased from Amazon Kindle

(The Survivors’ Club, #1)

Cover Blurb:

Genre: Historical Romance (Regency)

Cover Blurb:

In Mary Balogh’s engaging and seductive new novel of drama and romance, a woman comfortable in her solitude allows temptation to free her heart, when a daring war hero shows her how truly extraordinary she is.

THE PROPOSAL

Gwendoline, Lady Muir, has seen her share of tragedy, especially since a freak accident took her husband much too soon. Content in a quiet life with friends and family, the young widow has no desire to marry again. But when Hugo, Lord Trentham, scoops her up in his arms after a fall, she feels a sensation that both shocks and emboldens her.

Hugo never intends to kiss Lady Muir, and frankly, he judges her to be a spoiled, frivolous–if beautiful–aristocrat. He is a gentleman in name only: a soldier whose bravery earned him a title; a merchant’s son who inherited his wealth. He is happiest when working the land, but duty and title now demand that he finds a wife. He doesn’t wish to court Lady Muir, nor have any role in the society games her kind thrives upon. Yet Hugo has never craved a woman more; Gwen’s guileless manner, infectious laugh, and lovely face have ruined him for any other woman. He wants her, but will she have him?

The hard, dour ex-military officer who so gently carried Gwen to safety is a man who needs a lesson in winning a woman’s heart. Despite her cautious nature, Gwen cannot ignore the attraction. As their two vastly different worlds come together, both will be challenged in unforeseen ways. But through courtship and seduction, Gwen soon finds that with each kiss, and with every caress, she cannot resist Hugo’s devotion, his desire, his love, and the promise of forever.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

Source: Complimentary copy received from the author in return for an honest review

(Accidental Heirs, #1)

Genre: Historical Romance (Late Victorian)

Cover Blurb:

When a scheming marquess’ daughter offers her one hundred pounds to publicly kiss a nobleman, a desperate Jessamin Wright agrees. She believes the money will save her failing bookstore and finally free her from her father’s debts. But when Jess bursts into an aristocratic party and shocks the entire ton, she never expects to enjoy the outrageous embrace she shares with a grim viscount.

Lucius Crawford, Viscount Grimsby, has never met, or kissed, anyone like the beautiful suffragette who unsettles him with a single touch. He has always strived for control and avoided passion at all costs. Lucius is determined to protect his title and restore the estate he’s unexpectedly inherited, but Jess’ appearance in his life poses a threat to his plans and his heart. After a country house party brings them together once more, neither can resist temptation, and both find that one scandalous kiss just isn’t enough.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

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NEW BOOKS ADDED TO MY BOOKSHELVES

I haven’t posted my additions for a while and so there are quite a few. 

Source: Giveaway Prize

(Whitechapel Wagers, #1)

Genre: Historical Romance (Victorian)

Cover Blurb:

Set against the backdrop of London’s dangerous East End in 1888, Victorian propriety and passions collide when a beautiful widow makes a wager with a wounded police detective obsessed with solving the Ripper mystery.

Burned by love and estranged from his family, Detective Sergeant Benjamin Quinn has become obsessed with solving the Ripper crimes. When he’s suspended from the Metropolitan Police, it’s another failure in a long line of disappointments. But a new mystery arises when a beautiful widow shows up at the most infamous pub in Whitechapel seeking his help. He’s determined to assist Kate Guthrie, and equally determined to quell his growing attraction to her.

Kate Guthrie hides painful secrets from her first marriage and has avoided matrimony for nearly ten years. Now she’s finally decided it’s time to remarry and move on with her life, even if it means giving up the charity clinic work in Whitechapel that makes her days worthwhile. But when a battered young woman turns up at the clinic claiming to have been attacked by Jack the Ripper, Kate seeks out Detective Sergeant Benjamin Quinn, a man who sparks feelings in her too potent to deny.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Source: Purchased from Amazon Kindle

(A Lady Forsaken, #3)

Genre: Historical Romance (Regency)

Cover Blurb:

**Warning: Not every story of love has a happy ending**

A man willing to sacrifice all…

Andrew Penton, The Marquis of Drake, is a man used to getting all he desires, for nothing in return. But when a mysterious woman catches his eye, he’s helpless to do anything but offer her all he is.

A woman determined to take everything…

Lady Lorelei de La Valette, daughter of the French Comte of Epernon, is new to London society and not the lady she appears to be. Her life has been controlled since birth, yet she’ll have to decide if her destiny lies with her country or her heart.

A love lost forever…

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Source: Purchased from Amazon Kindle

(The Renegade Royals, #2.5)

Genre: Historical Romance (Regency)

Cover Blurb:

He’s the man behind the mission to track down the illegitimate children of England’s Royal Princes and help them get their due. But his deepest desire is far more personal…

Magnificent and stubborn. Fourteen years apart had not changed Chloe Steele, or Dominic’s love for her. He’d been a street urchin, a boy raised at court, and finally a magistrate, yet he’d never belonged anywhere—except by her side. Now Chloe devoted herself to girls threatened by scandal—like she had been. But she was in danger, and Dominic was determined to help—and hopefully make up for lost time…

Even in childhood, Dominic had made Chloe feel safe. Now she also felt thrillingly flustered by the powerful man he’d become, and by the longing he inspired. Because Dominic meant not only to protect her, but to untangle the lies that had separated them. Yet for Chloe, surrendering to temptation may be easier than risking a future that could ruin them both…

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Source: Received from the author in return for an honest review

(Must Love Rogues, #1)

Genre: Historical Romance (Georgian – 1805)

Cover Blurb:

A Lady Ready for Battle:
Miss Harriet Manning once made the mistake of falling completely, totally, and irreversibly in love with a duke’s son. It’s a mistake she won’t repeat twice. Truly. Especially since he abandoned her just when they were about to elope to Gretna Green. Five years later, Harriet hasn’t forgotten the way Lord Garret’s smoldering gaze and wicked sense of humor touched her soul. Still, there’s no way she’ll forgive the traitorous libertine, no matter how he stirs her passions. Now, Harriet is determined to show him she doesn’t care, and never did, by making merry right under his nose but a tragic turn of events at her cousin’s wedding has her wondering if just maybe, love deserves one last chance.

A Lord Who Lost His Heart:
Lord Garret Hart, second son of a duke and now brother to the present Duke of Huntsdown, is never ever EVER getting married. Bachelorhood is for him. After all, women are the very devil. Especially one woman. Miss Harriet Manning is Garret’s own personal Medusa and she has turned his heart to stone. Indeed she has, but not before she absolutely ripped it to shreds, leaving him a complete wreck. Nothing will ever induce him to matrimony or nauseating protestations of boyish love again. But when he is forced into close proximity at his brother’s wedding with the woman who first taught him to dream and see the world as a wondrous place, sparks flash and passions explode. Still, Harriet is not to be trusted. She callously betrayed him once. So how can he ever allow himself another chance at love when love always seems to hurt so much?

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Source: Received as a gift from the author

Genre: Historical Romance (Georgian – 1790)

Cover Blurb:

Revolution in France, rebels in England, and one woman caught in the crossfire…

For her unwitting participation in a plot to embezzle the Exchequer, Lady Abigail Houghall has spent the last two years exiled to the city of Bath. A card sharp, sometime mistress, and target of scandalous gossip by the London Beau Monde, Lady Abigail plots to escape her gilded cage as well as the prudish society that condemns her. But the times are not easy. France is in chaos. The king has been executed, and whispers of a similar revolution are stirring in England. And because of her participation in the robbery plot, the Spymaster of England is blackmailing her into passing him information about the members of London’s upper crust.

When the dashing English spy Daniel Ridgeway takes a seat at her card table and threatens to expose her for cheating, she has no choice but to do as he demands: seduce the leader of the revolutionaries and learn what she can about their plot. As she’s drawn deeper into Daniel’s dangerous world, from the seedy backstreets of London to the claustrophobic catacombs of a war-torn Paris, she realizes an even more dangerous fact. She’s falling in love with her seductive partner. And the stakes of this game might just be too high, even for her.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Source: Giveaway prize

Genre: Comtemporary Romance

Cover Blurb:

When Verity Peters’ boss, Marco Philippi, asks her to translate an urgent document before she heads off to the staff Christmas party, the last thing she expects…or wants…is to be trapped in the elevator with this distant man.

But is Marco really the cold man she thought he was? Can one night in Tuscany lead to a lifetime?

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Source: Giveaway prize

(The Grooms, #3)

Genre: Historical Romance (Regency)

Cover Blurb:

Widower Lord Patrick Ramsey, Viscount Drakely, fell in love and married at eighteen only to be devastated by losing her as she bore his third daughter. Now, as his girls are getting older he realizes they need a mother—and a governess. Not able to decide between the two which they need more, he marries an ordinary young lady from the local village in hopes she can suit both roles. But this ordinary young lady isn’t so ordinary after all, and he’ll either have to take a chance and risk his heart once more or wind up alone forever.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

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