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Jaunties, today we are thrilled to welcome bestselling historical romance author Grace Burrowes to the blog. Read on to learn about her newest endeavor and to find out how you can win a copy of Lady Eve’s Indiscretion.
Writers talk about “the book of my heart,” and “the book that writes itself,” usually in awed, respectful tones. We aren’t as vocal about the hard books, but some books come kicking and screaming to the page, even some novellas.
My first historical romance series, about the Duke and Duchess of Moreland’s eight children, will wrap up this fall with “Lady Jenny’s Christmas Portrait.” Perhaps realizing that the series is coming to a close, or maybe out of genuine curiosity, readers have started asking me about the story behind courtship and marriage of Percival, Duke of Moreland, and his duchess, Esther.
I came up with a house party romance for Their Graces, and was quite pleased with the results. First, it fit with the stories I’d crafted for the series going forward—Percival was not in expectation of the title, and he was a seasoned cavalry officer—and second, it was a fun, romantic read.
Madam Editor was pleased too, but she also pointed out that I’d left a lot of questions unanswered: When did Percival’s two by-blows, Devlin and Maggie, join the ducal household? When did the title befall Percival and Esther? How did Esther cope with these changes?
I didn’t want to write that story, though it took me a while to figure out why: I’d never written a romance for a married couple. Married people love each other. They are living the happily ever after. THESE ARE THE RULES, and they are the rules, says I, despite the fact that in my day job, I’ve handled the legal side of divorces for twenty years.
I recall all too well, though, that awful, uh-oh feeling when a committed relationship hits the rocks. It’s a far, far worse loneliness than when a casual relationship becomes troubled, or when life presents a stretch of solo years. I pondered that miserable, wretched, upset feeling at some length, and then began to write.
“The Duke and His Duchess” is the result, a novella of about 35,000 words. We come upon Percival and Esther when they’re broke and exhausted, overwhelmed with four small children, an aging duke who’s losing his memory, an heir whose heart is not strong, and an estate suffering significant neglect. Add to this two illegitimate children Percival and Esther were unaware of, Esther’s low spirits and lack of energy, and things are bleak indeed.
Some happily ever after, Madam Author.
The novella pretty much wrote itself. From those beginnings, which probably resonate with every married person who’s ever read a romance, Percival and Esther face choice after choice, and what saves them is that they choose to keep their faith in each other and in their love. They show courage despite fear, understanding despite resentment, and determination when giving up beckons.
The happily ever after won this time around is sweeter than the first, because now, now, I know that Percival and Esther’s devotion has a direct impact on the lives of their many children. And when the children grow up and face their own challenges, the example set by the Duke and Duchess helps the Windham siblings choose love too.
What about you? Does the romance crafted for a married couple appeal to you, or would you rather read about a courtship romance?
To one commenter, I’ll send a signed copy of “Lady Eve’s Indiscretion,” the most recent Windham sibling romance.
Mar 1st
2013
6:06 am
Mia Marlowe Said:
Personally, I’m fascinated by married lovers. The decision to continue to love after the first blush of infatuation has run its course shows a person’s true mettle. Looks like a great story, Grace!
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Mar 1st
2013
7:28 am
Maria Said:
I’m not sure; I’ve read both types (for example, Sherry Thomas’ Ravishing the Heiress & Laura Lee Guhrke’s The Marriage Bed feature married couples) and enjoyed them equally. As long as it’s well written, that’s all that matters.
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Mar 1st
2013
7:41 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Hello, Mia! I don’t think this will be my last married romance, but the landscape is different, if for no other reason than the intimate dynamic has shifted considerably.
Maria, you hit one of my pet nails on the head: the cleverest, most original, well crafted plot will sink if the writing is lacking. The books on my keeper shelf are first and foremost, well written. I find, though, that a solid plot will boost the writing by the very nature of the action and characters in the story.
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Mar 1st
2013
7:50 am
Anna Bowling Said:
I love reading about married couples – that’s when their love gets tougher tests and we see what our characters’ bonds are truly made of and what they can withstand.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:28 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
And yet, the married couple is more the exception than the rule, though the majority of romance readers are married. I agree, though, the stakes are MUCH higher when there’s marriage in the balance, especially if children are involved.
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Mar 1st
2013
7:56 am
Ebony Morton Said:
Yes a married couple romance appeals to me.I like the courtship books too.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:29 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Ebony, if only I could think of a third novella for this couple, they could have their own anthology. Any suggestions?
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Mar 1st
2013
7:57 am
Nicole Kuhn Said:
I <3 Grace's books! Great post today! Really enjoyed it
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Mar 1st
2013
11:30 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Thanks, Nicole. It was good for me to think about why I resisted this book, too.
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Mar 1st
2013
8:16 am
Amber L Said:
i love both
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Mar 1st
2013
11:30 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
What she said!!!
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Mar 1st
2013
8:58 am
May Said:
I think marriage is more complicated and makes the book more interesting. I don’t mind reading about married couples at all!
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Mar 1st
2013
11:32 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
I think a happy marriage is the greatest treasure on the planet, but also the most elusive. Maybe that’s why we end most romances just as the marriage is beginning. Any two people with wit and determination can defeat the Empire and struggle to the altar, and then the real challenge begins….
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Mar 1st
2013
8:58 am
CateS Said:
As I get older..I do appreciate the married stories more. They have the aspect of life afterwards and the problems and joys that occur.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:33 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Maybe the romance demographic is maturing, and the younger readers are sticking to YA, new adult, thriller, and manga?
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Mar 1st
2013
9:03 am
Shana Said:
Grace, I’ve written two books and a novella (two yet to be released) with a married couple, so I know exactly what you’re talking about. It is hard to write about two people who have already courted, said I do, maybe who have children. It’s a challenge to find the sexual tension in the story when the characters are married, but I also think the end result can leave readers feeling a deeper connection between the hero and heroine than in a story where the characters haven’t known one another as long.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:35 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Your couples pulled me in early and hard, Shana. Knowing their dreams of an HEA had been thwarted, I was rooting for them extra hard. Good point!
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Mar 1st
2013
9:21 am
Sheila M Said:
I love the courtship stories. But so many times we never get the full story about the illegitement (not spelled right I know) brothers and sisters that it confuses the rest of the stories.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:37 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Sheila, as an author, it’s really hard to maintain the balance between planting questions the reader turns the pages to find answers to, and confusing the reader. What one reader tosses across the room in frustration, another reader will stay up late to finish. The rule of thumb is to never answer a question before the reader asks it, and good authors can dangle those answers a few more pages back, then a few more, then a few more…. This is not a skill I profess to have perfected.
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Mar 1st
2013
9:47 am
Ally Said:
Grace: I enjoy reading the stories of married couples … although epilogues are nice, it’s wonderful to learn about what happens after the “happily ever after” that is imagined to be after the marriage takes place. I’ve been married 22 years (I married young
) and I know about the ins and out of a marriage, especially after the children come, and when there are problems with older family members. Reading about “romance” that continues after the fairytale courtships and despite the wearying events of everyday life can only inspire readers.
You’re a new author to me, I only starting reading your books last month after you got a mention in Eloisa James’ month B&N column! I’m so happy to have found you, and so far have loved everything I’ve read. Well plotted and well written, thank you so much for your hard work!
-Ally
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Mar 1st
2013
11:39 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Welcome to the Windhams! Eloisa has pointed me in the direction of many good reads, and her memoir, “Paris in Love,” is nothing, if not a story of a married couple rediscovering their HEA.
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Mar 1st
2013
10:09 am
Cerian Halford Said:
I think I prefer a courtship romance. But I think it’s just because I can relate to it more than a romance about a married couple. Although, I do enjoy both
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Mar 1st
2013
11:40 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
The majority of romances seem to be about the courtship phase. All that hope and potential, all that newness, it’s exciting. Hard to see money trouble, cranky children, and failing in-laws as exciting, but it’s where the love is.
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Mar 1st
2013
10:23 am
Nancy S Goodman Said:
I love the premise for the book because it shows real life; the challenges that lovers face when confronted by devastating realities such as infidelity, loss of a child, etc. That the hero and heroine can survive with their love intact is a testament to true love. I can’t wait to read it, Grace.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:50 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
I “cast” Their Graces as having lost two children, one to war, the other to consumption, because that seemed to me appropriate for their period in history. Of George III’s fifteen children, three died before Their Majesties died. In hindsight, those deaths knit the family together in ways I could not have foreseen. Each child grieved the loss of the adult siblings in different ways, and they ALL had to deal with their grief, right up through Lady Jenny’s book.
You’re right. The real stuff makes for the best fiction…
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Mar 1st
2013
10:37 am
Margo Maguire Said:
Grace – I think it’s a challenge to write about a couple who’ve already gone through the courtship and wedding. But if anyone can do it well – I suspect it’s you! I love your work. Oh, and welcome to the JQs!
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Mar 1st
2013
11:41 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Margo, thanks much, for the welcome and the encouraging words. It’s lovely to be here!
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Mar 1st
2013
10:46 am
Maria P Said:
I love them both, each has something different & exciting. I enjoy reading (& hearing real life stories!) of couples’ courtships. Once you get married, the romance is brought to a different level.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:45 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Once you get married, the romance is brought to a different level–if you work hard at it and you’re lucky. I mediate divorces by day, and it breaks my heart how often I hear couples say, “We never fight. We just stopped trying, and lost track of each other…” Breaks their hearts too, but for some, the way back is too long, hard, and bewildering…
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Mar 1st
2013
10:57 am
Joanne B Said:
I like reading about both. Each couple will have their problems and have to figure out how to go about fixing them. They have to get to know each other, as with the married couple it’s possible they have grown apart and are looking to learn about each other again. There are so many different things that can happen with either couple and it can be exciting to find out what happens.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:47 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
The married couple also has some believable plot devices up their fictional sleeve: meddling in-laws, unplanned pregnancies, career pressures, secrets not shared before the vows… good stuff, from an author’s point of view.
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Mar 1st
2013
10:57 am
Cheryl Said:
Souns like a great read. Love the idea behind the story. Courtships make for great reading. Thanks for having this contest.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:48 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Thanks for stopping by, Cheryl, and good luck with that contest!
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Mar 1st
2013
11:02 am
eap Said:
I like the married couples theme.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:51 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Another vote for “After They Say ‘I Do’” story, which is interesting. I hadn’t considered this topic at all until I was asked to write this blog.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:06 am
Kathleen OD Said:
I like married couple books, especially in Historical romance books, and I think if one of them has an indiscretion and they have to work there way back to where their love blossomed, then it makes for a good story…
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Mar 1st
2013
11:53 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
One of my favorite Victorian romance authors has some indiscretion plots that I enjoyed, but readers were not as easily charmed. Infidelity scares us, and well it should. Any betrayal can shake our world, the more intimate the greater the cataclysm. I read these books and enjoyed them, but I’m not sure I have the chops to take on such a plot myself.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:38 am
Christel Ausman Said:
A well crafted story of married couple does appeal. I am after-all married to the love of my life. I appreciate Grace Burrows as an author, whom is able to inject in her stories, laughter, humor, laughing at ones self along with the angst and tears. This makes her stories believable, real and enjoyable to read. Courtship stories are fun from a “I remember when I was younger” perspective. Either way, for me reading is a pleasure. When I’ve finished a book, it is a winner if I put it down with a satisfied smile and a resolve to find more of that authors writings. Thank you Grace, from a very satisfied fan!
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Mar 1st
2013
11:45 am
catslady Said:
I love variety and want to read what the author wants to say! I’ve enjoyed this series although I don’t have all of them as yet. Normally I wait but in this case I just couldn’t so I have done what I rarely do and am reading out of order but I am enjoying them very much. Eventually, I may sit down and reread in order lol.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:55 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Jeanne, that is a fine, fine compliment. I think the books work well enough in any sequence, but Their Graces in particular grow from book to book. Glad you’re enjoying them!
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Mar 1st
2013
11:47 am
CrystalGB Said:
Hi Grace. I am a big fan of your books. I like married couple books and courtship books equally. Each are good reads.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:56 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Crystal, thanks! As an author, I think we tend to get comfortable with a particular phase of the romance arc, and if our readers like our work, we get stuck there. I’m glad my editor challenged me to branch out.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:52 am
Polly Said:
I lean toward courtship themed romances more than the married ones because I like the newness of the relationships. As the reader I get to know the characters as they learn about each other. In the married couple romances the characters already know each other and I’m catching up, BUT, if I empathize with them or care about their marriage and them as individuals, that will keep me turning the pages in anticipation of their HEA.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:58 am
Grace Burrowes Said:
Polly, a quick inventory of the romance shelves suggests most readers come down where you do. Of the thousands of romances I’ve read, most have been about the courtship phase. Certainly 10 years ago, that’s all you’d find. I appreciate the variety now.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:56 am
Rebe Said:
I like them both! It sounds more difficult to write a HEA marriage romance, but I think it could be more romantic.
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Mar 1st
2013
12:00 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
Rebe, I don’t know as it’s more romantic in the hearts and flowers sort of way, but the married tale can certainly be deeply loving, as opposed to just hawt. I like that deeply loving stuff, myself. I read for that far more than I do for the steam.
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Mar 1st
2013
1:07 pm
Jackie Horne Said:
Hi, Grace:
For me, the question is not which do I prefer, but WHY is romance so biased in favor of the falling in love beginnings of a new relationship, rather than the working-through-the-tough-spots of an established relationship. Just had a conversation about this with a friend yesterday, and we speculated that it might have to do with the promise that so many romances end with: I’ll love you forever, and I’ll never hurt you. But in real-life relationships, you hurt each other all the time, usually unintentionally, sometimes on purpose, but you do hurt each other. I wonder why this is so hard for us to admit?
I’m looking forward to seeing if their Graces’ difficult situation stems at all from their own hurtful actions, intentional or no…
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Mar 1st
2013
3:17 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
Jackie, do you think it might have something to do with a courtship scenario being more escapist for most of us? Or perhaps the capture and pursuit phases of a relationship feel more credible to people when in the courtship context? Interesting point, that many readers do seem drawn to the courtship tales rather than the more emotionally fraught marital tales.
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Mar 1st
2013
2:17 pm
Donna Freeman Said:
I like to read about all kind of romance. Being married does not take the romance away. Also with a good author such as Grace you can read about the ups and downs and enjoy it all. Love her books she is a great story teller!
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Mar 1st
2013
3:18 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
Thanks much, Donna! And thanks to my mom and dad, who at 89 and 92 are still, more than ever, each other’s best friends, companions, and true loves. Can’t beat inspiration like that, my friends!
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Mar 1st
2013
3:41 pm
Trisha Said:
Hi!
I think seeing the “After” in the Happily Ever After is facinating. Marriage is work, and sometimes falling in love is the easy part. Seeing two characters learn to adjust to their married life, or face a challenge together is a great character study.
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Mar 1st
2013
7:57 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
Trisha, marriage is WORK, and what surprised me is that it was mostly me working on ME, me getting insights into my own baggage. My parents had been married for fifteen years before I was born, so they had probably done a lot of the heavy lifting before I came along.
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Mar 1st
2013
3:42 pm
Na S. Said:
I like both courtship and marriage romances. With marriage romances I’m interested to see how the characters deal with building their lives and experiencing that life. It can be very interesting and show me new side to the characters. As long as I like the characters I’ll enjoy their story
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Mar 1st
2013
7:58 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
Na, you make a good point: In addition to good writing, ANY romance needs appealing characters, regardless of what point on the romantic arc we find them.
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Mar 1st
2013
3:51 pm
Brynn Chapman Said:
dear ms. grace. I now want to read this book even more than the others. It’s those hard-fought relationships (and books) that are the most moving, satisfying reads. Go you.
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Mar 1st
2013
8:00 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
Brynn, as I wrote this novella, I felt like there wasn’t much more trouble I could have imposed on this couple: Esther’s feeling physically miserable, there’s no money, the old duke is losing his buttons, the heir is ailing, nobody’s been looking after the estate (so Percival has to pick up that slack), the nursery is overflowing with children, and THEN Percival youthful indiscretions come calling.
Maybe this HEA was a little TOO hard won?
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Mar 1st
2013
4:15 pm
Ella Quinn Said:
I find the perils of marriage endlessly facinating. It’s just as much fun to read about a love that rediscovers it’s self than a new one.
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Mar 1st
2013
8:02 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
Ella, you’re right. Somebody pointed out to me that a relationship develops in stages: Awareness, interest, decision, action. That’s the same whether you’re noticing your wife is lonely, or you best friend’s sister doesn’t have a date for the junior prom (assuming such things still exist).
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Mar 1st
2013
5:13 pm
Julee J. Adams Said:
Thanks so much for your insights–I love reading about the established relationships and finding the beginnings of later stories. It got me thinking about my characters’ parents and that made me smile.
Keep ‘em coming! We love them!
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Mar 1st
2013
8:04 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
Julee, much of this process has been unconscious for me. I met Gayle Windham when Douglas and Gwen fell in love, and some meddling old Duke thought to interfere for reasons of his own… Then in Westhaven’s story, I met Val and St. Just. They seemed like interesting fellows… Then my editor suggested a Christmas book, and a Windham sister would make a handy heroine… And all along, Percival and Esther were revealing themselves and their back stories to me.
I’m lucky. I’m just really lucky.
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Mar 1st
2013
5:30 pm
Quilt Lady Said:
I like to read about both. Like to switch things around with my books.
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Mar 1st
2013
8:06 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
Variety in the TBR pile is a wonderful thing. I’m reading Kristen Callihan’s “Winterblaze,” a Victorian paranormal, and I absolutely, positively, emphatically, unreservedly love that series. I’m also a fan of the Black Dagger Brotherhood…
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Mar 1st
2013
5:43 pm
Olivia Said:
I love courtship romances and married romances, but the courtship ones can frustrate me. They are always so young and perfect looking and the sex is always off the charts. So many marriages end because once the fireworks wear off, there is nothing left that anchors them to one another. Of course epilogues help, but I think the process of loving when it is difficult is an important one to show. Maybe a reader who is looking for pure escapism may not want to read a married lovers’ story, but for me, romances are not about escapism so much as an affirmation of marriage and family and things that endure. And I do love Percival and Esther and their progeny.
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Mar 1st
2013
8:08 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
Lovely words: “… Romances are not about escapism, so much as an affirmation of marriage and family and the things that endure.”
Spot on, lady. I write romance because I believe in love.
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Mar 1st
2013
7:26 pm
Marcy Shuler Said:
I think married romances can have more depth because marriage takes work. You’ve already pledged your lives to each other and have to find a way to work through problems. The love doesn’t stop when trials come our way. You just have to dig deep and fight.
Thanks for an interesting post, Grace.
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Mar 1st
2013
8:11 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
I think in some ways, the married stakes are higher: The courtship couple is struggling to grab the happily ever after as they save the ranch, thwart the plot against the crown, or avert the hostile takeover. The married couple is staring at the death of a dream, at the beginning of miserable ever after. The beginning of failure as lovers. Ouch!
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Mar 1st
2013
7:30 pm
Larisa Said:
Each type fulfills a different craving. What appeals less is the ingenue, as those days are fading from memory! Love that your heroines are more mature, even if they are younger, they’ve experienced loss, grief, adversities.
Plus the series gives us glimpses into the HEA of previous couples. We get our courtship fix with a seasoning of married life. Val’s recognition his wife’s turn of phrase means he’ll need to wake up earlier the next day. The subtleties of acceptance and understanding that make a long term HEA/marriage.
Would a third novella of their Graces share how they made it through the difficulties of two sons dying, his Grace’s behavior involving Rose…those next big hurdles where couples may turn away from each other?
Thank you for adding an entire series to my keeper shelf, an entire world to escape into for respite and hope.
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Mar 1st
2013
8:14 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
Larisa, as always you give me good food for thought (craving, indeed). It would be interesting to consider Douglas and Gwen’s story from Percival and Esther’s perspective, because in that story, Percival does not acquit himself very honorably. This was before his heart seizure, and before his children started marrying nineteen to the dozen (not that I’m making excuses for him when that’s supposed to be Her Grace’s job).
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Mar 1st
2013
7:41 pm
vickie Said:
i do not believe that I have read a romance whre the focus has been on the married couple – usually they are the friends or parents of the main characters. I think it also makes a difference in what context the story is told. It is after which makes perfect sense – to essentially learn the begining of characters we already know.
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Mar 1st
2013
8:16 pm
Grace Burrowes Said:
Vickie, you might enjoy Shana’s “Lord and Lady Spy,” or Jennifer Ashley’s “Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage.” Both couples suffer a tremendous breach of trust, and both find a way back to each other.
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Mar 1st
2013
8:32 pm
bn100 Said:
I like reading about married couples.
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Mar 1st
2013
11:33 pm
Barbara Elness Said:
Although I like courtship romances, there’s something about a married couple and their struggles that appeals to me. Most marriages take effort and it’s always interesting to see how a couple can make it work.
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Mar 2nd
2013
11:27 am
Ann s. Said:
I enjoy a married couple romance. I’ve been married for 28 years and I think finding the romance in a relationship is important. Sometimes we forget that married people are in love, not just stuck together.
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Mar 2nd
2013
12:29 pm
Christel Ausman Said:
OMG, I found this note in my inbox this morning!
“You won a copy of LADY EVE’S INDISCRETION. Thanks for stopping by the Jaunty Quills”
Thank you so very much. I shall proudly display Lady Eve’s Indiscretion, on my bookshelves. After I’ve read it that is
Eve and the other releases from the past couple of months are patiently waiting on my Kindle till summer. Then I’ll have more free time to read a book from cover to cover.
On a personal note, some years ago my DH had to have open heart surgery. One of the very last things he said to me before they wheeled him away was “don’t ever forget should things go south, that these past years have been my happiest and I would not have wanted to share them anyone other than you”. So much for staying strong and keep tears at bay. In a couple of months we celebrate our 37th anniversary. I wish everyone their personal HEA.
Again, thank you Grace.
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Mar 2nd
2013
11:29 pm
LilMissMolly Said:
Having been married for 21 years, I enjoy reading about a good married relationship. I don’t think there are enough of those books out there.
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Mar 9th
2013
1:16 pm
Christel Ausman Said:
Thank you Ms Burrows & Jaunty Quills! Goodness that was fast, my signed copy of Lady Eve’s Indiscretion has arrived. Looking forward to reading it and all the other new releases that are coming out this year.
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Mar 9th
2013
5:24 pm
Shana Said:
You are welcome, Christel. And thank to Grace Burrowes for stopping by and being so generous.
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