TO LOVE A SCOUNDREL is the fourth and final book in the Ashton/Rosemoor (historical) series (yes, historical–I know, you’d never know it from my covers), but it’s also a great place to start reading the series, because it’s actually a prequel to the other books.
Actually, the entire (historical–I’m sending subliminal messages here!) series is written out of chronological order, and readers often ask me why I wrote them this way (UNLACED is set in 1817, UNVEILED in 1824, UNDRESSED in 1819, and TO LOVE A SCOUNDREL in 1806). The truth is, the series is what I call an ‘accidental series.’ When I wrote my debut book, UNLACED, it was actually my first attempt at writing a (historical) romance–or any kind of novel, for that matter. I had a lot of fun creating the cast of characters–peopling the book, so to speak–but I wasn’t really thinking past that first book. Heck, I had no idea if I could actually write an *entire* book, and actually getting it published seemed more like a pipe-dream than an attainable goal.
But then I actually finished the book and, wonder of wonders, snagged an agent. While she began shopping the book around, I figured it was time to start writing a second book. But I’d already created this world with UNLACED, this entire community of characters that I really liked, that really intrigued me as a writer. What happened to Colin Rosemoor, I wondered? Did he really have a serious gambling problem? And what about Jane Rosemoor? Why was she still single, despite her popularity? I suddenly had to find out, and the only way was to write their stories. I started with Colin, because I pretty much adored him. So, I created a heroine for him, came up with the premise, and set to work. But a hundred pages into the manuscript, it just wasn’t ‘working’ for me–somehow the heroine never felt right, never felt ‘worthy’ of Colin, this imaginary guy that I liked so much. My critique partner agreed, and that was that. I scrapped the manuscript and decided to write Jane Rosemoor’s story next. Still, I knew that her happiness would come many years later–even after Colin would find his happy ending–so, fast forward seven years, to 1824. That was UNVEILED.
Once that was finished, I finally went back to Colin. Out of the blue, a new heroine (Brenna, a Scottish lass kinda-sorta named after a beloved family dog–a feisty, loyal little Yorkie!) popped into my mind, and before I knew it I had an entirely new story for Colin, taking place just two years after the events in UNLACED. Yet somehow, the series still didn’t feel quite ‘done’ to me. Something was missing, and I finally realized it was a lingering curiosity about UNLACED’s hero’s twin sister, Lady Eleanor Ashton. Eleanor was a matchmaker–she wanted her brother to find the same happiness in love and marriage as she had found, even though her own marriage had been an arranged one. And *that* was what really set the entire series in motion–Eleanor’s own happiness with Frederick led to her matchmaking efforts with her brother Henry, whose marriage to Lucy perhaps inspired Colin’s romantic notions, resulting in his marriage to Brenna–and those two happy unions led to Jane’s desperate and ill-fated longings for love which resulted in her marriage to Hayden. Whew!
I think the best thing about an accidental series like this is that each book really does stand on its own—-that a reader’s experience won’t be lessened if they haven’t read the other books in the series, but that if they have, their experience will be enhanced. There’s not that ‘sequel-itis’ as I call it, when you read the first book in a series and immediately know that there will be stories in the future for, say, the hero’s two boyhood friends, or the heroine’s three sisters.
The downside, of course, is that readers might be confused (“Hey, how is it that Jane is single in the third book; I thought she got married in the second?!”). But hey, they’re already confused enough by those contemporary, romantic-comedy-looking covers; what’s one more confusion, right?! The cover for TO LOVE A SCOUNDRELfits the series so much better, even if it *still* doesn’t exactly scream ‘historical.’ And I, for one, am perfectly happy to stare at Nathan Kamp’s shirtless torso all day. If only the author got invited to the photo shoot….
Kristi–
Thanks for sharing the story of your stories. I love to hear how authors come up with ideas and how related books evolve.
I definitely think authors should negotiate for an invite to the cover photo shoot.
So–who are your favorite historical authors? Does any particular author most inspire you and your writing?
TB
It is funny how these characters take on a life of their own, isn’t it? Did you find it difficult to keep track of everyone as the stories moved forward–and backward? And did you ever feel that what you’d set up in an earlier book limited what you could do in a subsequent one?
if only we had control over the covers. . .
however, the best thing about the “Un” books – and now, Scoundrel – is that the stories are so amazing. I think your covers are fun, even if they’re a little misleading. As for the sequel/prequel jumping forward and back, my hat’s off to you! Do you keep colour-coded index cards for who’s who in which book and the dates, so you have easy access to that info when you need it? Or are you able to keep it all straight in your head?
Syb, what have you got against naked men? On the covers, that is.
Surprisingly enough, I was able to keep track of everything in my head, though I did find myself doing a lot of math to make sure I had ages correct. I also had to re-read my own books in a couple instances to make sure the characters were ‘fresh’ in my mind. As to limitations, the biggest one was finding myself with a hero named “Frederck.” No offense to all the Fredericks out there, but I probably never would have used that name, had I known I’d eventually find myself writing his and Eleanor’s story. For a while I played around with surnames, thinking I could give him a ‘manly’ nickname–and actually went with Stoneham, thinking I could use “Stone” if need be. But once I started writing it, it was fine as “Frederick”. He was a sexy guy in my mind, and that somehow made the name seem sexy.
My own favorite historical authors are Julia Quinn, Mary Balogh, Mary Jo Putney, Jill Barnett, and Judith McNaught. I think I was probably influenced by them all–Quinn’s humor, Balogh and Putney’s angst, etc. They definitely set the bar very high for us newbies coming along!
Well, I always liked your covers, but I definitely agree that Scoundrel’s is a much better fit with the series. AND it appears to be flying off bookstore shelves!
Lori
Finally a cover where the man is being fondled more so than the female. I am all for less clothes on the man for a change! 🙂
Sybil would love naked men UNDER the covers or on the covers. I think she’s ultra-tired of Nathan Kamp. He’s on ALL covers these days.
And thank the lord for that! 🙂
http://www.model-book.com/nathan/flash/portfolio/index.htm
I’m not sure I’ll ever get tired of Nathan Kamp on covers!
I gotta join the I love Nathan crowd.
He has a great body. I’m not sure I’d want to have a relationship with a hunk like that. But I do love looking.
I’m waiting for a series to come out where Nathan Kemp is on the cover of each book. How will the author explain that? LOL
LOL, Jane! A series about a set of all-male quadruplets??