Author Secrets: The Rogue And The Rival

The original title was Love Among The Ruined. My editor was wary of a negative word like “ruined” in the title, so we agreed on The Rogue And The Rival, which you must admit goes very well with it’s companion book, The Heir And The Spare.

I’ve said before that I put a little bit of myself in my characters. Angela is described as always making a racket with everything she does, particularly in the kitchen. According to my mother, this is one of my habits. She says the house gets so much noisier when I am home.

The scene where Lady Palmerston and Phillip meet again in her drawing room (page 200) was one of the first that I wrote for this book. I was struck by a burst of inspiration during class, and hoped everyone thought I was taking copious notes while I was handwriting it.

For the record: The heroine’s name is Angela Sullivan not Angela Palmerston, as many sources are reporting. Lord only knows how that happened! I now expect that my heroine will forever be known as Angela Palmerston. That’s fine. Has a ring to it. But in case you were wondering, I decided on Angela’s original last name while reading the People magazine article on Patrick Dempsey’s twins. They are named Darby and Sullivan and I thought that the latter fit my heroine nicely.

Readers of both books featuring Phillip Kensington, Marquis Huntley may notice that he frequently drinks to excess, and is never without a flask. But no hero of mine was going to be stinking of brandy or forgetting tender moments with the heroine because he was sloshed. So Lord Huntley had to sober up. If you or someone you know needs help with an alcohol problem, you don’t have to do it alone like Phillip. Alcoholics Anonymous can help. You can always call 1-800-662-HELP for information about treatment options in your community.

Some songs were on heavy rotation during the writing of this book: Green Eyes, by Coldplay. Just Might (Make Me Believe) by Sugarland, and This Is Not The End by The Bravery.

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