Author Interview: Maire Claremont

Readers, thank you for joining me today for my first author interview (totally doing the happy dance!).  Please welcome the fabulous Maire Claremont on the blog today as we talk about why she writes, a little about her latest release Lady in Red and some of her favorite things. A lucky one of you will receive a $10 Amazon gift card so make sure to post (contest is international).

RRG: Can you tell us what inspired your Mad Passion series?
MC: Lady Eva Carin from The Dark Lady. She popped into my head and adamantly insisted that I write her story. Seriously, I was in bed trying to sleep and she wouldn’t stop showing me this heart rending scene. So, I got up and wrote it. That was the beginning and then I was swept away into that world.

RRG: When did you realize you wanted to write and why historicals?
MC: True Confessions Time. I was eighteen. I’d devoured just about every Johanna Lindsay book and Julia Quinn novel. I was convinced romance writers ate bon bons and lived fabulous lives. It seemed a good career choice. ;D

RRG:  Who are some of your favorite heroes and heroines in romance novels?
MC: That’s a brutal question. My ultimate historical Heros are:
The Duke of Jervaux from Laura Kinsale’s Flowers From the Storm. He’s just out of this world in his dark fabulousness.
The Duke of Auburn from Meredith’s Duran’s Duke of Shadows.
Dageus MacKeltar from Karen Marie Moning’s The Dark Highlander. I love them tortured and he’s so deliciously bad and good.

RRG: When not writing what do you like to do?
MC: My VERY favorite thing is to travel. I could probably live out of a suit case and be happy. I adore reading in the bath tub. Seriously, I could spend hours. I’m also a big movie fan. I adore period films.

RRG: Please tell us about your highly anticipated book Lady in Red.
MC: Lady Mary, daughter of the Duke of Duncliffe, has been locked in the asylum by her father. So, instead of being the toast of London she’s battling to stay alive, fight off her laudanum addiction and escape the asylum. Once she does escape, she meets another duke, Edward Barrons, a hero who will do anything to save her. Together they discover that while the path of vengeance seems to be the only way to find a peace, love ultimately is the answer.

FUN FACTS: 

Favorite Snack?

Hint of Lime chips and Queso

Favorite Season?

Christmas. I am a Christmas FIEND. . . And yes, I realize it isn’t exactly a season.

Favorite Animal?

Horse. I wish I could own one, but there’s just something so beautiful and elemental about horses.

What song can’t you get out of your head? 

Right now, since I’m writing, its one of my major go to songs, Go Ask Alice by Jefferson Airplane.

One place you would like to travel to and why? 

London. Pretty much always London. It a huge city filled with good food, history and theater. Also, Scotland and Ireland and Paris are just a skip and a jump away. ;D

 

 

 

About Lady In Red:
The Victorian era was full of majestic beauty and scandalous secrets—a time when corsets were the least of a woman’s restrictions, and men could kill or be killed in the name of honor…Lady Mary Darrel should be the envy of London. Instead, all society believes her dead. For Mary holds a secret so dangerous, her father chose to keep her locked away…and have a grave made for her near her mother’s. Driven to the edge of desperation, Mary manages to escape the asylum, only to find that her fate yet again rests in the hands of a man…Edward Barrons, Duke of Fairleigh, longs for some way to escape the torment of his father’s crimes. In Mary’s warrior spirit and haunted gaze—which so mirrors his own—he finally sees his path to redemption. He will stop at nothing to keep her safe, even as she seeks revenge. But will the passion they discover in each other be enough to save them from their demons?

 

 

Bio:
2011 Golden Heart winner Máire Claremont first fell in love with Mr. Rochester, not Mr. Darcy. Drawn to his dark snark, she longed to find a tortured hero of her own… until she realized the ramifications of Mr. Rochester locking his first wife up in his attic. Discovering the errors of her ways, Máire now looks for a real-life Darcy and creates deliciously dark heroes on the page. Oh, and she wants everyone to know her name is pronounced Moira. Her parents just had to give her an Irish Gaelic name.

Links:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Blog

Buy Links:
Amazon
B&N
iBooks
Books-A-Million
Book Depository
More About The Book

A big thank you to Maire Claremont for being on my blog today!

Happy Reading,
Romance Reader Girl

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Book Release Day: Pick up these books!

Two books have come out today that I encourage romance lovers to pick up and read.

Lady in Red by Maire Claremont 

Lady Mary Darrel should be the envy of London. Instead, all society believes her dead. For Mary holds a secret so dangerous, her father chose to keep her locked away…and have a grave made for her near her mother’s. Driven to the edge of desperation, Mary manages to escape the asylum, only to find that her fate yet again rests in the hands of a man…

Edward Barrons, Duke of Fairleigh, longs for some way to escape the torment of his father’s crimes. In Mary’s warrior spirit and haunted gaze—which so mirrors his own—he finally sees his path to redemption. He will stop at nothing to keep her safe, even as she seeks revenge. But will the passion they discover in each other be enough to save them from their demons?

I was lucky to receive an ARC copy of this story and I loved it! See my review here.

Purchase on AMAZON or B&N.

******************************************************************

The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

Daniel Mackenzie lives up to the reputation of the scandalous Mackenzie family—he has wealth, looks, and talent, and women love him. When he meets Violet Bastien—one of the most famous spiritual mediums in England—he immediately knows two things: that Miss Bastien is a fraud, and that he’s wildly attracted to her.

Violet knows she can’t really contact the other side, but she’s excellent at reading people. She discerns quickly that Daniel is intelligent and dangerous to her reputation, but she also finds him generous, handsome, and outrageously wicked. But spectres from Violet’s past threaten to destroy her, and she flees England, adopting yet another identity.

Daniel is determined to find the elusive Violet and pursue the passion he feels for her. And though Violet knows that her scandalous past will keep her from proper marriage, her attraction to Daniel is irresistible. It’s not until Daniel is the only one she can turn to that he proves he believes in something more than cold facts. He believes in love.

Purchase on AMAZON or B&N.

-Romance Reader Girl

*Pre-Release* Review: Lady in Red by Maire Claremont

From the moment I finished reading The Dark Lady by Maire Claremont in February I knew I would read anything this amazing writer put out. Her deliciously dark stories grab at your emotions and you are not able to put the book down. Her second book Lady in Red is no exception. Once again my attention was grabbed from the beginning and stayed until the end.

The theme of this story is taking back control of yourself and fighting to regain your self worth.

Lady Mary Elizabeth Darrel has been locked away in an asylum by her father, a powerful Duke.  When Mary escapes she is broken but determined to never go back again. When she arrives on the doorstep of friend of her beloved mother’s her life will take a turn she never saw coming.

Edward Barrons, Duke of Fairleigh has spent years trying to fix his fathers mistakes by doing what he feels is right. He lives a very closed off life. One evening he see’s a woman that he can help save brining himself some peace and forgiveness. What he doesn’t see coming is this woman will change his view on life that he never thought possible.

I loved the theme of this book-fighting to regain your self-worth and power. Edward and Mary use one another as a pillar of strength to discover themselves and what truly is important in life, love and acceptance. There are many dark moments as Mary must fight to push out the evils done to her by her father and the people of the asylum, but with the help of Edward she is able to do it. Edward must fight his past and realize that what his father did was not his fault. He also must realize that to help Mary he must allow Mary to help him. Not an easy task. With the help of the Edward and his friend the Viscount Powers Mary is able to find the strength to face her father the man she once loved more than anything but also the man that locked her away.

This is an amazing read. The follow up book to The Dark Lady does not disappoint. Ms. Claremont brings a powerful read full of dark moments but moments of hope and laughter. You will be taken on a journey of self discovery through love, strength, passion, heart wrenching terror, sadness and hope. I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend this book to lovers of historical romance that love to read deliciously dark stories that will have you crying one moment and snickering the next.

Lady in Red will be available for purchase on OCTOBER 1, 2013. You can find it on Amazon or B&N.

*A big thank you to Maire Claremont for sending me a copy for an honest review. 

-Romance Reader Girl