Donna MacMeans, author of Victorian Historical Romances

Uh-oh! A reader just wrote me concerned that something had happened to me because I hadn’t updated my website in so long. Guess I better be more diligent.

I’m fine and writing away. New books are on the horizon. My editor has slated The Redemption of the Rogue for release in August 2011, and I’m working on a new series that has me really excited – but I need the official blessing from my publisher before I tell you more about that.

For now, let me tell you about The Redemption of the Rogue. This will be the final book to the Chambers’s sibling trilogy. You might recall Arianne from the epilogue of The Seduction of a Duke. She’s the younger sister of William and Nicholas with a story all her own. I relied heavily on actual historical events in plotting this book which offered a brand new challenge.

The inspiration for the book was inspired by these lines in Daughters of Britannia, The Lives and Times of Diplomatic Wives, written by Katie Hickman (Perennial, 2001): “In the 1880s the British legation there (Washington DC), while not on a par with the major European postings, was of growing political importance, but American ladies did not attend entertainments in households where there was no hostess to receive them. Lionel (the second Lord Sackville) was still unmarried. It was imperative to find someone to play the part for him.”

While the very real Lord Sackville ultimately recruited his illegitimate daughter for the role, I decided to use this necessity for a hostess in The Redemption of the Rogue. My heroine, Lady Arianne Chambers, has the training to be the perfect diplomatic hostess, and a genuine desire to escape London. My hero, Michael Rafferty, an Irishman more familiar with the criminal underbelly of London than society’s drawing rooms, is assigned the task of investigating the mysterious murder of the British minister in Washington DC. He’s delegated the interim British Minister and thus needs a hostess for the legation but has no female relatives to fill the position. Lady Arianne agrees to accompany Rafferty to Washington to train him along the way in the etiquette necessary to pass as a respectable British Minister. The year is 1881, the year of President Garfield’s assassination and conspiracies abound, including some that will toss Michael Rafferty and Lady Arianne Chambers into the path of treason, murder, and a sizzling attraction that gives a whole new meaning to the word “negotiation” .

I hope you’ll give it a try, but be warned – The Redemption of the Rogue has spoilers to The Seduction of the Duke. So try to read Seduction first if you can.

I’m excited to share that The Education of Mrs. Brimley is now available in Japanese, Norwegian and Dutch translations. Did you realize that foreign translations mean new covers? I didn’t – but I’m learning. Here’s a picture of the Japanese edition which is very, very different from the American version.

As always, I love to hear from my readers. Drop me a line to let me know what you think – even if it’s to remind me it’s time for an update.

The anticipated sequel to The Education of Mrs. Brimley is scheduled for release April 2009 and titled The Seduction of The Duke. I just received the cover. Check it out! That red and tan corset, by the way, is modeled after an honest-to-God corset I found in a book of nineteenth century fashions. I think just wearing something like that would make you feel sexy. I guess this was the equivalent of modern day Victoria’s Secrets.

William Chambers, Duke of Bedford, ascended to the title upon his father’s death, but he also inherited his father’s extensive debts. Desperate to avoid scandal and ruin, he is willing to go to any lengths – including marrying, sight unseen, a reclusive American heiress known as Frosty Franny.

Not pleased to be trapped in an arranged marriage, Francesca Winthrop conspires to turn lemons into lemonade with the assistance of a courtesan’s journal.

Reviews:

"The sequel to THE EDUCATION OF MRS. BRIMLEY, THE SEDUCTION OF A DUKE is a wonderful Victorian romance starring two likable protagonists who fall in love while she applies the courtesan’s diary to their relationship. The story line contains droll double entendres, a staple of Donna MacMeans. With a strong support cast and plenty of wit, sub-genre readers will enjoy this intelligent amusing historical."
--Harriet Klausner
Genre-Go-Round Reviews
The World of Romance
http://genregoroundreviews.blogspot.com:80/2009/02/seduction-of-duke-donna-macmeans.html

"She knows how to make the pages sizzle and play on readers' fantasies while incorporating intrigue and a solid story into her delectable novels."
-- Kathe Robin, Romantic Times Bookreviews

Listen to a recording of a scene from The Education of Mrs. Brimley in Donna's voice. Ohio State University, in connection with Ohioana Library, recorded a Valentine's Day reading of three local Romance authors. Donna is the first to read and answer questions. More Q & A followed after all three authors read from their works.

Witty and Seductive Historicals