Guest Author: Zoe Archer & Giveaway!

I’m pretty excited about my featured author today.  She’s Zoe Archer, and she’s the definition of a rising star in the romance genre.  Zoe is not only talented, hard-working, and way smart, she writes innovative, adventurous romance that both readers and critics have clutched to their collective bosoms with enthusiasm.  And no wonder – I fell in love with Zoe’s writing just from reading her bio!

From that bio, you will learn that Zoe has been writing since she was knee high to a grasshopper.  Many years and many stories later, she found herself in a PhD program for 18th century English Literature, before deciding that what she really wanted to do was write fiction.  Her decision was partly influenced by the fact that she couldn’t read French or Latin, a requirement for attaining her doctorate.  If I may be allowed to digress for a moment, I understand EXACTLY how Zoe felt.  I, too, was once a PhD candidate in 18th century English Literature, and the thought of learning both French and Latin made me weep.  Like Zoe, I also left grad school and…ahem.  I guess I should really get back to Zoe.

Anyway, Zoe eventually found herself in the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa.  She graduated with an MFA, moved back to L.A., and began writing.  Nose was applied to grindstone, books were sold, and she eventually made her way to Kensington Publishing, where a canny editor snapped up her totally cool adventure/romance series, Blades of the Rose.

Zoe describes her books as “high adventure.”  In her own words, the Blades are:

“Exotic settings.  Thrilling action.  Sexy men in waistcoats and tall boots.  Kick-ass women who carried rifles and knew how to use them.  Diabolical inventions made of brass, wood and leather.  And a bit of magic, just to keep things really interesting.”

Zounds!  Indiana Jones meets Victorian England – I am so there!

Zoe has received great critical acclaim for this series, including a Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week and starred review for Scoundrel, and a prestigious RITA nomination for Rebel. 

Isn’t that a fabulous cover?  Honestly, how can you resist it!  Here’s the blurb for Rebel:

On the Canadian frontier in 1875, nature is a harsh mistress. But the supernatural can really do you in…

A LONE WOLF

Nathan Lesperance is used to being different. He’s the first Native attorney in Vancouver, and welcome neither with white society nor his sometime tribe. Not to mention the powerful wildness he’s always felt inside him, too dangerous to set free. Then he met Astrid Bramfield and saw his like within her piercing eyes. Now, unless she helps him through the harsh terrain and the harsher unknowns of his true abilities, it could very well get him killed…

AND THE WOMAN WHO LEFT THE PACK

Astrid has traveled this path before. Once she was a Blade of the Rose, protecting the world’s magic from unscrupulous men, with her husband by her side. But she’s loved and lost, and as a world-class frontierswoman, she knows all about survival. Nathan’s searing gaze and long, lean muscles mean nothing but trouble. Yet something has ignited a forgotten flame inside her: a burning need for adventure, for life—and perhaps even for love…

There are four wonderful books and a novella in the  Blade series, so be sure to check out Zoe’s website for all the details.  While you’re visiting her website, take a look at her other books, including her Science Fiction novels and her backlist.

For my readers, Zoe will give away a copy of her RITA nominated book, Rebel.  Since Zoe’s books often take place in exotic settings, let’s talk about that.  Do you like historical romances that take the reader to settings like Mongolia, Canada, or Egypt?  Or do you prefer the glittering confines of the London ballroom and the gentility of the English countryside?  One person who comments will win a copy of Rebel.

And be sure to stop by the blog on Dec. 8.  Zoe will be back here to talk about her new series, The Hellraisers.