How to love a duke (hero) in 9 ways
Today's featured authors: Gayle Callen, author of Redemption of the Duke; Laura Lee Guhrke, author of How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days; and Caroline Linden, author of It Takes a Scandal. We're talking lovable dukes and scandalous heroes in general.
Gayle Callen, author of Redemption of the Duke
My three favorite things about dukes:
• The responsibility of a duke. My hero, Adam, was the third son, and only became the duke when tragedy struck. He is overwhelmed by the fact that great power brings great responsibility, and he never imagined how many people were affected by his every decision.
• The power of the title. Dukes are at the top of the aristocracy, and there's just something about a man who wields all that power. And, of course, when such an independent man falls in love, we get to see how it shakes his very world. And that brings me to …
• How love brings a duke to his knees. A duke believes he's in control of everything, and when he finds out his heart has a will of its own, of course a duke resists! But a powerful man can bring his own all-encompassing focus to romance and passion when he finally gives in.
Here's the blurb about Redemption of the Duke:
A duke who needs to be tamed…a lady who refuses to be rescued.
Adam Chamberlin was the third son of a duke. No one expected anything of him…until tragedy strikes. As the new Duke of Rothford, he's determined to right the wrongs he's done—especially to Faith Cooper. When she won't accept his offer of a position as a lady's companion to his elderly aunt, he has to resort to other methods of persuasion…
Find out more at Gayle's website.
Laura Lee Guhrke, author of How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days
My three favorite things about dukes:
• They are addressed as Your Grace. There's something seriously sexy about that.
• They are a bit mysterious. Even after years of writing about them, I'm still not quite sure what dukes actually do all day that makes them so important.
• There are so many hot, handsome ones. That's only in Historical Romance Land, you say? Au contraire! There are one or two hot dukes in real life, too. Don't believe me? Google "13th Duke of Argyll." One look at him and you'll be convinced.
Here's the blurb about How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days:
They had a deal…
From the moment she met the devil-may-care Duke of Margrave, Edie knew he could change her life. And when he agreed to her outrageous proposal of a marriage of convenience, she was transformed from ruined American heiress to English duchess. Five years later, she's delighted with their arrangement, especially since her husband is living on another continent.
But deals are made to be broken…
By marrying an heiress, Stuart was able to pay his family's enormous debts, and Edie's terms that he leave England forever seemed a small price to pay. But when a brush with death impels him home, he decides it's time for a real marriage with his luscious American bride, and he proposes a bold new bargain: ten days to win her willing kiss. But is ten days enough to win her heart?
Find out more at lauraleeguhrke.com.
Caroline Linden, author of It Takes a Scandal
My three favorite things about scandalous heroes:
• Scandalous heroes shake things up. If a historical romance where rules are very important, the rakish scoundrel or brooding mystery man provides a thrilling disruption of ordinary life. Men who are noble and proper can be delicious, but they are also fairly predictable. A man who's more flexible with his personal rules of conduct never need have a boring moment.
• You never know what he might do next — and that includes fall in love. Because he's a rule-breaker by nature, he's not put off by anything. A woman who's not a fresh-faced young lady anymore? Who's broke? Who stirs a little bit of scandal herself? He's not afraid of what people will say if he pursues her.
• When he falls, he falls hard. He's not afraid to do whatever it takes to win the heroine's heart. No matter how shocking or unprecedented, he just wants to please or amuse or tempt her.
Here's the blurb about It Takes a Scandal:
Sometimes it takes a scandal . . .
Abigail Weston has everything: beauty, wit, and one of the largest dowries in England. Her parents hope she'll wed an earl. Abigail hopes for a man who wants her desperately and passionately. But the money seems to blind every man she meets-except one.
Sebastian Vane has nothing. He came home from war with a shattered leg to find his father mad and his inheritance gone. He's not a fit suitor for anyone, let alone an heiress. But Abigail lights up his world like a comet, bright and beautiful and able to see him instead of his ruined reputation. And it might end happily ever after…
To reveal your heart's desire
Until Benedict Lennox begins courting Abigail. Ben is everything Sebastian isn't-wealthy, charming, heir to an earl. Sebastian won't give up the only girl he's ever loved without a fight, but Abigail must choose between the penniless gentleman who moves her heart, and the suitor who is everything her parents want.
Find out more at www.carolinelinden.com.