Winner: Thank you to Jennifer Ashley for being such a fantastic guest!! I've drawn the random winner of a copy of The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie, using a random number generator, and the winner is: Barbarita V! Congratulations!
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It's a special book club today!
I recently read The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie and just loved it. Ian is such an intriguing character, and watching his and Beth's relationship grow had me glued to the page.
Follow the link to read an excerpt and check out information about the series.
Jennifer was kind enough to agree to guest on the blog today and answer your questions, so get them ready!
Here are a few that I asked:
1. Lord Ian Mackenzie is one of the most unusual heroes I've read. How did you come up with his character?
I wrote about Ian because I got to pondering how people in the past dealt with autism or Aspergers. Autism (and Aspergers) wasn't defined until the twentieth century and many still don't fully understand it. Aspergers, I learned through my research, doesn't present the same way in each person--I read about or was given widely different accounts of Aspy behavior.
I thought Ian's struggle would make for an interesting story. His character grew in my mind over a couple of years before I had a chance to write the book. And it was challenging! I went over each of his scenes many times before I was happy with them.
I also wanted to write a family saga--I want the series to be more than just about couples getting together. I'm writing not only about how each brother finds the lady of his dreams, but also how the brothers grow and strengthen as a family. Ian's troubles are only one part of the whole.
2. Of the remaining three brothers, whose story do you think will be the most challenging to write?
Most readers might think I'd say Hart, the dark, oldest brother. But I love redeeming baddies, and I'm looking forward to having him meeting the lady who brings him to his knees. :-)
Personally I think Cameron will be a big challenge (I'm already writing Mac, so I might change my mind, LOL). Cam is kind of an enigma--I'm not sure I know him well yet, and I need to make him a fully fleshed out, interesting character. His heroine is a little different, too.
3. What are some of your recent favorite historical reads?
My favorite this year is Scandal, by Carolyn Jewel. Carolyn is the nicest person, ever, and I was eager to see what she'd written after a short hiatus from historicals. I started reading Scandal and was entranced. It's a rich, deep, character-driven book that I enjoyed very much. Her hero is to-die-for, and I loved that her heroine is a writer (a lady novelist). I recommend it to historical lovers.
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I've got an extra copy of The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie to give away. Everyone who leaves a comment by Sunday noon New Zealand time, goes into the draw. If you haven't got a question for Jennifer, how about saying what intrigues you about the book. :)
