Guest Author: Lila Di Pasqua & A Midnight Dance

Today’s guest author is Lila DiPasqua, who writes lush and sexy historical romance with a fairy tale twist.  In fact, she writes “Fiery Tales,” classic fairy tales cleverly reimagined into sensual and sophisticated romances.  The first in her Fiery Tales collection is Awakened by a Kiss, which retells Sleeping Beauty, Puss In Boots, and Little Red Riding Hood.  This debut collection got great reviews, including a 5 star review from The Romance Dish:

“Every now and then a debut author knocks my socks off with her first novel. . . AWAKENED BY A KISS is a magnificent debut!!!! …Purchase it right now!!!” — The Romance Dish

I have to tell you, I love the idea of taking classic fairy tales from our childhood and retelling them as sensual and romantic adult tales.  It’s one of those great high concepts that makes a writer think…damn, I wish I’d thought of that!

Here’s the book trailer for Awakened By A Kiss, which gives you a sense of what these stories are about.

Lila’s second collection of Fiery Tales is The Princess in His Bed, which got phenomenal reviews including this one from Publishers Weekly:   “Ripe with steamy affairs, these lusty stories are hot enough to warm the coldest winter night.”

Wow!  Or steam things up on a hot summer night too, eh?  Romance Junkies gave the collection a coveted 5 ribbon review:

“Lila DiPasqua weaves another sumptuous collection. The heroines are ladies in every way, the heroes just rakish enough to be adored… I recommend this to all adult fairytale lovers. – 5 RIBBONS!

For historical romance lovers, what could be more enticing than all those handsome princes from days gone by, coming back to life as sexy romance heroes between the pages of Lila’s books – fun!

Lila has a new book coming out in August. A Midnight Dance is a full-length historical romance, inspired by the tale of Cinderella.

Of all the fairy tales we know, Cinderella is perhaps the most romantic and just perfect for Lila’s unique talents.  Here’s the blurb:

Born into wealth, Sabine Laurent and her twin sister lived a life of luxury, their father’s prestigious theater frequented by royalty and aristocracy alike. And Sabine dreamed of her own prince charming—the devastatingly handsome Jules de Moutier.

That was before the loss of her sister and her family’s fall from grace—a disaster Sabine blames on the Moutier family. Now, with her father’s death, she’s inherited his sizable debt and the responsibility of caring for his spoiled long-time mistress and her two wastrel daughters. But with the help of Sabine’s eccentric friends—the balance of her father’s acting troupe—she plans to get very close to her old infatuation, seduce the rake—and make away with a fortune.

Resisting Jules’s skillful mouth and tantalizing touch is not as easy as Sabine supposed. And soon she must decide whether her desire for vengeance is greater than her desire for her one and only prince…

Doesn’t that sound great?  Jennifer Ashley, the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie would agree:

“A MIDNIGHT DANCE is a fun, spicy, historical romp that’s sure to delight! A lovely twist on the Cinderella fairy tale, with a deliciously dark hero and a heroine who’s more than a match for him.”— Jennifer Ashley, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

A Midnight Dance is available for pre-order on Amazon, and at all your favorite booksellers.  You can find more info about the book, including an excerpt, on Lila’s website.  And while you’re on Lila’s website, be sure to check out her amazing contest for her upcoming blog tour and party.  And here’s another one of Lila’s interesting and totally fun twists – the blog party is being hosted by her husband, and will feature interviews with the husbands of romance writers, including mine!  Yes, DH will be appearing on Lila’s blog on July 21.  Mr. DiPasqua will also be hosting the husbands of Sophie Jordan, Kris Kennedy, Kate Noble, and Kieran Kramer, among many others.  The whole thing sounds like a riot, so you’d best get yourself over to Lila’s blog and check out the details.

Lila has very graciously donated a copy of A Midnight Dance, which I will give away to one person who stops by the blog today or tomorrow morning.  Just tell me what’s your favorite fairy tale, either as a child or as an adult.

 

We Have A Winner!

The winner of Kate Noble’s latest book, Follow My Lead, is Laney 4!  Congratulations, Laney!  I’ll be in touch with you soon.

Kate’s book is now in stores and on-line, and you can also order it from Amazon.  Trust me.  You will want to read this book!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the blog to comment – it was a really fun discussion.  I’ll be having some other great guest features on the blog in the next few weeks, so please check back often.  I’ll be hosting Elisabeth Naughton on June 1, and you won’t want to miss that!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Regency Friday Fun and Kate Noble Giveaway!

It’s a special Regency Friday Fun on the blog today because I’m featuring the uber-talented Kate Noble.  Kate’s books are wonderfully romantic and beautifully written, with great stories and unique, engaging characters.  Her first book, Compromised, became a national bestseller and received a starred review from Booklist, the prestigious review journal of the American Library Association.  Kate went on to write Revealed, which was nominated for a RITA Award from The Romance Writers of America, and The Summer of You, which was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Romance of 2010.  As you can tell from this short writing bio, Kate is truly one of the new stars of historical romance!

Follow My Lead is Kate’s latest book, which came out on May 3rd.

Aside from having one of the prettiest covers I’ve ever seen, the book has been getting phenomenal reviews.  It got a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly, and a starred review from Library Journal:

“The classic titled-hero-falls-for-independent-bluestocking-heroine plot gets a refreshing spin as Noble propels her characters on a passionate, whirlwind adventure. It will keep readers thrilled and on edge until the very end.”  — Library Journal, April 2011

Here’s the blurb for Follow My Lead:

Jason Cummings, Duke of Rayne is feeling the weight of his responsibilities – one of which is to get married. Being the most sought after bachelor in London can be trying, so who can blame him if he seeks refuge from the voracious hordes of young debutantes at the decidedly female-free Historical Society? Female-free, that is, until Winnifred Crane marches up to the door, demanding entrance.

Despite her prowess as a historian, Winn is denied membership to the Society. So she daringly offers an unusual bargain: if she can prove the authenticity of a certain painting, she’ll be granted recognition, fame, and respect. But to do that, she must go abroad. And to go abroad, she must have an escort, even a stubbornly unwilling one…

Jason has no desire to accompany Winn on her adventure across Europe, but even he is not immune to Winn’s passion for her profession. As the journey proves more difficult than planned, they must work together to stay one step ahead of their rivals… and the closer they get to the proof Winn seeks, the closer she and Jason become. But as their adventure turns dangerous, can Jason keep this headstrong bluestocking safe? And what will become of their growing bond when the adventure ends?

Now, does that not sound like a heck of a fun read?  I’m a sucker for a good road story/romance, so I’m telling you that I’m running out to buy this book today!

Kate also has one of the cutest book trailers I’ve seen in a long time, which you can view on her website.  And while you’re looking around Kate’s website make sure you check out her contest page.  She’s giving away great prize bundles of books to celebrate the release of Follow My Lead.  One of those bundles contains a copy of My Favorite Countess, by yours truly.

As you can tell, I’m a huge fan of Kate’s books and if you haven’t read her I’d like you to be, too!  So I’ll be giving away a copy of Follow My Lead to one person who leaves a comment by Saturday evening.  Just let me know what your favorite historical romance of all time is for a chance to win this fabulous book!

On The Road with MY FAVORITE COUNTESS

I’m guest blogging today at Not Another Romance Blog, doing a really fun interview and giving away a copy of My Favorite Countess.  Be sure to stop by and join the fun!

Reader alert:  I’ll be having some great authors appearing on my blog in the next few weeks, including the fabulous Kate Noble on May 27, and Sally MacKenzie on June 6.  Sally will be talking about the last book in her acclaimed Naked series, The Naked King.

And for a bit of a departure from my usual historical fare, I’ll be doing a feature on Elisabeth Naughton and her sexy new contemporary anthology, Bodyguards in Bed.  That will be on June 1, and I can already feel the heat!

The features will include a chance to win books by these wonderful authors, so don’t forget to visit on those dates.

Happy Reading, and see you out on the internet!