The Jaunty Quills are excited to present debut author Samantha Grace today. She’s the author of Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel, which received the coveted starred review from Publisher’s Weekly. I was fortunate enough to read an advance copy of Samantha’s second book, Lady Amelia’s Mess and a Half, and it was wonderful. As soon as release month is over, I’ll be reading my copy of Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel.

Keep reading to find out how to win your copy of Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel.

Shana: Welcome back! Tell us about Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel.

Samantha Grace: Thanks so much for having me back. It’s always great to hang out with the Jaunty Quills. And thank you for the lovely compliment on Lady Amelia’s Mess and a Half. I’m a little giddy over the fact you enjoyed it.

Here’s a summary of Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel:

HE’LL NEVER SETTLE FOR ONE WOMAN…

Debonair bachelor Lord Andrew Forest lives for pleasure and offers no apologies. But he receives a dose of his own medicine when his family’s entrancing houseguest beds him, then disappears without so much as a by-your-leave. He’d like to teach the little vixen a thing or two about how to love a man…if he can find her…

AND SHE WON’T SETTLE FOR HEARTBREAK…

After the dashing man of her dreams is revealed as a lying scoundrel, heiress Lana Hillary is ready to seek a match with a respectable gentleman—if only they weren’t so dreadfully boring. Unable to rein in her bold nature for long, Lana flirts with trouble and finds herself entangled with exactly the type of man she’s vowed to avoid.

Even though the title indicates Miss Hillary is doing all the educating, both characters have room to grow. Lana must learn to trust in her value and judgment again, and Lord Andrew must decide if he’s built to love one woman for the rest of his life..

 Shana: Lord Andrew Forest seems to be quite the rake, but Jake Hillary, your hero in Lady Amelia’s Mess and a Half, is actually a really nice guy. What kind of heroes do you like to write, and what do you think makes a hero sexy?

Samantha Grace: Lord Andrew is definitely a rake, but when all is said and done, he’s still a nice guy. He loves his family, he’s good-natured, and even though he enjoys the ladies a little too much, he genuinely likes women. He believes they should have the same freedom to pursue pleasure as men, except when it comes to his younger sister. In Gabby’s case, he thinks strict rules are a good idea.

I guess I like the nice guys best, but nice doesn’t equal a pushover. I like strong-minded, intelligent, powerful heroes who choose to show their tender sides to the heroines. I think it’s sexy when a hero is a total alpha, but he treats the heroine as his equal partner. And if he’s a bit daring, that’s really sexy, too!

Shana: Your book is set during the Regency, which is my favorite historical period. Why did you choose to write in this period, and what drew you to historical romance?

Samantha Grace: I fell in love with Regency England the summer before ninth grade when our English class was assigned to read “Pride and Prejudice”. Later in college, I picked up a book by Johanna Lindsey and it swept me away. I think what I like most about historical romance is its ability to take me to a different world for a while. The characters’ lives are so different from mine that there aren’t any reminders of what I need to do. I feel like I get to take a mini-vacation from my responsibilities.

Shana: What’s been the most surprising thing about being a published author so far? Is it like you imagined?

Samantha Grace: Probably the most surprising, and pleasant, has been the reader email. I think before I became an author, I never thought to contact one to tell them how much I loved his or her book. I think it’s amazing that people take the time to write to me. It’s such an honor to receive reader mail.

I don’t think I could have imagined what it would be like. It’s very exciting and busy, and yet, I’m still a mom with kids who need snacks for school and lunch money. Things have changed and yet it has all remained the same. I don’t think I could ask for anything better.

Shana: Do you have a day job? I know from our dinner conversation in New York last year you have two precocious offspring and a husband. How do you manage to write and do everything else?

Samantha Grace: I have a day job where I work three days a week. The truth is I don’t manage to write and do everything else. LOL. I operate from a “what absolutely has to be done today” mode. But my husband and kids pitch in, too, so we manage. Our daughter is like the self-appointed family CEO. She tells us when her older brother has an orchestra concert. She makes sure we sign everything that needs to be signed, and she highly encourages us to send field trip money weeks in advance. She has always been a take-charge girl.

Shana: Finally, tell us what you have coming next.

Samantha Grace: The second book of my series, Lady Amelia’s Mess and a Half, will be released in June. It’s about Lana Hillary’s brother, Jake, and the beautiful widow, Amelia. Both characters make appearances in Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel. Readers can expect the same sense of fun found in the first book, a new set of delightful characters, and a familiar face or two along the way.

Readers, now it’s your turn. Tell us what you think makes a hero sexy. Two readers who comment will be randomly chosen to win copies of Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel.

Samantha can be found at www.samanthagraceauthor.com, Facebook, Twitter, and she blogs regularly at Lady Scribes. She’ll also be attending the RT Booklovers Convention in Chicago this year, and hopes to see some of you there.