Jaunty: Hi there – It’s me, Jaunty P. Quills, just coming out of hibernation.

Margo: Jaunty, porcupines don’t hibernate.

Jaunty: Well, this one does. Did you see what it was like last winter? Geesh! No way was I leaving my den. And since I’m the enormously wealthy prince of the forest—

Margo: Anything like the prince in my new book, The Rogue Prince?

 Jaunty: Exactly! And just as sexy. 

Margo: Somehow I don’t think so. There aren’t many porcupines who can compare to Thomas Thorne, the hero of my new Regency-era romance from Avon Books.

Jaunty: What’s so special about Thomas Thorne?

Margo: First of all, he’s not a prince at all. He’s a man who wants revenge against the two spoiled jerks – Shefford and Blackmore –  who framed him for a crime he didn’t commit. Tom was sent away to a brutal penal colony for it, and now that he’s back, he’s going to destroy Shefford and Blackmore and ruin their families.

 Jaunty: Well, I once—

 Margo: Don’t even go there, Jaunty. You were never in prison.

 Jaunty:

 Margo: Don’t sulk. It’s fiction, Jaunty! Fiction!

Jaunty: If Tom Thorne went to a penal colony, how did he get to be so rich?

Margo: That’s all in the book. But let me tell you about the problem he runs into when he returns home to get his revenge.

Jaunty: My quills are all aquiver.

Margo: He meets a young woman – the mother of two little kids – and falls for her.

Jaunty: So? They live happily ever after, right?

Margo: Well, maybe they could if she didn’t happen to be Backmore’s widow and Shefford’s sister.

Jaunty: Ouch. That’s a dilemma

Margo: To say the least. For years, he’s been planning a sting that will absolutely destroy the two culprits who set him up. And now he has to choose between love and revenge. 

Jaunty: What does he do?

Margo: You’re going to have to read it to find out. Luckily, The Rogue Prince hits bookstores today!

Jaunty:

Margo: You are so transparent, Jaunty. OK, I’ll send you a copy.

Jaunty: [clapping his little paws together]. Tell us more about The Rogue Prince!

Margo: I came up with the premise for this book after reading The Count of Monte Cristo (again). It’s one of my favorite books with the themes of revenge and forgiveness, but for my tastes, there’s not enough romance.

I decided to fix that, and ended up with a completely different story. So in reality, the germ of the idea came from The Count of Monte Cristo – but The Rogue Prince is a tale all its own.

I hope you’ll give it a try!

Jaunty: I’m going out by my mailbox to wait.

Margo: Mailbox? Porcupines have mailboxes in the forest? That’s rich.

Jaunty: Don’t mock our forest culture, Ms. Maguire.  There is plenty to love in a . . .

Margo: I’ve got things to do, Jaunty. Maybe you can tell me about your forest culture next time.