MISTRESS BY MARRIAGE Blog Tour: Interview and Giveaway with Maggie Robinson

Thank you so much for having me here! The title of this lovely blog is especially suitable for my latest release, Mistress by Marriage (Brava, September 2011). Heroine Caroline Christie has a serious secret, one that she thinks makes her highly unlovable. So when she picks Lord Edward Christie out of a line-up of eligible men, it’s quite deliberate. She doesn’t think Edward will ever show any emotion—he’s proper, even priggish. The Christie family is known for being cold and controlled. Everything has to be “just so” for Edward, but Caroline soon discovers she doesn’t have a bit of “so” in her. Their marriage proves to be a disaster everywhere but the bedroom.

“Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it” has never been so apt. Caroline and Edward regret that they got what they wanted and simply don’t know what to do with each other. All Caro’s attempts to fit into Edward’s rigid, regimented life fail spectacularly. And Edward? He feels like he’s married to an ever-erupting volcano. But even though he’s been burned, he cannot stay away.

Marital troubles are not the usual romance fare. Usually we close the book before the hero and heroine have to struggle with the reality of everyday relationships. You know, “You left the toilet seat up” sort of stuff. In this case, our Regency England chamber pot may have been left uncovered. J But I had tremendous fun (yes, the book is quite funny in spots) getting Edward to unbend and Caro to recognize her own worth so they could finally get their HEA. Author Theresa Romain calls the book “hot and hilarious.” I’ll take it.

I seem to be all about the secrets, because my novella “To Match a Thief” in Improper Gentlemen (Brava, August 2011) is loaded with them too. The hero Sir Simon Keith used to be a thief. What would society say if they knew he sprang from the Edinburgh slums? The heroine Lucy Dellamar is London’s most fabled courtesan…except she hasn’t made love to anyone in thirteen years. And her protector Lord Percy Ferguson? He’s very, very fond of Lucy’s hats. And dresses. And butler. They’ve gotten really good at keeping their secrets from the world.

MISTRESS BY MARRIAGE  

Too late for cold feet 

Baron Edward Christie prided himself on his reputation for even temperament and reserve. That was before he met Caroline Parker. Wedding a scandalous beauty by special license days after they met did not inspire respect for his sangfroid. Moving her to a notorious lovebirds’ nest as punishment for her flighty nature was perhaps also a blow. And of course talk has gotten out of his irresistible clandestine visits. Christie must put his wife aside—if only he can get her out of his blood first.

Too hot to refuse

Caroline Parker was prepared to hear the worst: that her husband had determined to divorce her, spare them both the torture of passion they can neither tame nor escape. But his plan is wickeder than any she’s ever heard. Life as his wife is suffocating. But she cannot resist becoming her own husband’s mistress…

 IMPROPER GENTLEMEN

“To Match a Thief” by Maggie Robinson

Ex-pickpocket Sir Simon Keith can now afford the best of everything. But London’s most-desired courtesan is his lost love Lucy. Now Simon will need his wits and his considerably large…wiles to win his way back into her bed—and into her heart.

“Hair Trigger Palace” by Diane Whiteside

He rules Colorado’s most glittering gambling palace. Justin Talbot never does something for nothing. If daring Boston aristocrat Charlotte Morland needs his protection from a dangerous enemy, he’ll make her business his pleasure…

“A Knack for Trouble” by Mia Marlowe

Lord Aidan Stonemere didn’t go from prison to a title by playing by society’s rules. If he wants something, he takes it. Rosalinde Burke didn’t object to being taken. Once. To keep her from marrying a proper viscount, Aidan will do whatever it takes to remind her how deliciously good being improper feels…

Maggie's Giveaway Details:

Do you have trouble keeping secrets? What’s the most surprising secret you ever found out? One commenter will have their choice of Mistress by Marriage or Improper Gentlemen for telling all.

{The fine print:

• Giveaway open to US addresses.
• To enter, answer Maggie's question in a comment.
• Please include a valid e-mail address.
• Contest open until 9/18/2011 at 11:59 pm.

Good luck!  Of course, you are welcome to leave a comment even if you're not entering the contest!}