Being asked to act as one of Elaine Violette‘s Street Angels for the release of her Blush Historical romance A Kiss Of Promise, was very exciting. Novels Now likes to hear about the work of others writing in the same millieu, so we asked Elaine a couple of questions. Firstly, we wanted to know about villains as that’s been a recent topic on here.
Thanks for dropping by on launch day, Elaine.
Thank you, Anne, for hosting me. My newest novel, A Kiss of Promise, is a Blush historical romance and will be released by Ellora’s Cave Publishers.
How do you use the villain to advance and enrich your stories?
Wicked villains are an integral part of all my novels so it is a pleasure to tell your readers about their exploits and their intrusions into my heroes and heroines’ romantic journeys. Sometimes I wonder if I have an inner villain that must crave to do something that my more wholesome self would not allow. What other reason could there be for me to gain such delicious enjoyment from creating the villains in my novels?
Although my books are ultimately stories of romance, the villains move the plots forward. As the scoundrels conspire to do their evil deeds, my heroes and heroines become entangled in their mischief.
For example, in my debut Regency, Regal Reward, my villain’s greed for more titles and lands leads him to falsely accuse Lord Blackstone of treason. After Blackstone is imprisoned, his sons, York and Martin, seek to prove their father’s innocence. The fiancée of the villain’s son becomes the ideal pawn and the woman York Blackstone desires in his obsession to recover what his family has lost.
In its sequel, A Kiss of Promise, my newest historical romance release, Martin Blackstone, York’s younger brother seeks to escape his past. Having had a brief romantic encounter with Alaina, the daughter of the villain in Regal Reward, Martin chooses adventure in America over commitment to a relationship. He is forced to face his past when he discovers that Alaina, the woman he left behind, is being blackmailed by Phillip Harrington, a ruthless business associate of her deceased father. Self-sacrificing Alaina faces ruin to save her brother from Harrington’s accusations. Only Martin can rescue her and her reputation, but Alaina won’t accept a proposal given out of pity rather than love.
In A Convenient Pretense, Marcus and Emily create a pretense to avoid marriage. When Emily’s jealous cousin, bent on gaining his inheritance sooner than later, plots his own evil deception, Marcus realizes that he and Emily’s seemingly innocent ruse brings him much more than he bargained for.
Despite my villains’ evil plans, my heroes and heroines’ passion for each other and for justice sends them on sometimes merry and often hazardous escapades before they can find a happy ever after.
Do you work on one project at a time or do competing ideas have to struggle for your attention?
I like to give full attention to one writing project at a time since other non-writing life events can so easily tear me from the computer. While I am working on a project, however, I may have another story waiting in the wings anxiously waiting for me to delve into it. For example, the idea for my newest manuscript grew after reading an epitaph on a nineteenth century gravestone. With A Kiss of Promise available for pre-order on most sites, including Amazon, I am already 40,000 words in to my newest venture!
Buy links:
A Kiss of Promise available at Ellora’s Cave
http://www.ellorascave.com/a-kiss-of-promise.html
For your Kindle
For your Nook
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/A-Kiss-of-Promise-Elaine-Violette
On her website
Visitors can follow Elaine on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/elaineviolette/author
and Twitter
I love how your mind works, Elaine. Very cool plotting in your books. Complex, romantic and adventurous. Great job, and congrats on the new release.
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Thank you, PJ. I’m a complex thinker, which has often caused me more stress that I need. I can complicate any situation.LOL!
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All the best with your new release, Elaine – sounds a great story!
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You kind words are so appreciated!
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All the best on your new release, Elaine. The worse the villain is, the sweeter the happily ever after for the hero and heroine.
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How true that it is, Linda. Villains can often light more fires than a passionate kiss.
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Your historical romances sound wonderful, Elaine, and I very much look forward to reading them! Good luck.
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Thank you, Marie. I love to hear comments from readers. Keep in touch!
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Huge congrats Elaine! Your series sounds intriguing and fun.
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Thank you, Calisa, for taking the time to comment. It’s so gratifying to see my characters off and their stories into the hands of readers.
Elaine
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