It’s a short blog today – Just one question: What was your most memorable moment of 2011?

I’m going to send a copy of Seducing the Governess to one participant today, and … maybe there’ll be a little bonus prize to go with it! So come on – tell us what you remember most about 2011!

Merry Christmas

from the Jaunty Quills!

Wouldn’t you have loved to be a guest at the wedding in the video below and surprised by the groomsmen’s dance? I wish I could happen upon one of those great “flash mobs” when I go to the mall or airport (although it probably wouldn’t go over so well at a US airport, would it?)

I enjoy surprises, but only to an extent. I am not a fan of surprise parties – at least, not for me. My husband set one up for one of my birthdays years ago, and it was the worst night of my life. First of all, it was at our house. So while we were out having dinner with friends, the party had already started. Apparently, we were running late, so my husband pretended to be ill and had to go home ASAP. Which meant that I worried about him all the way home. And when we got to our house and I went to put the key in the lock, I realized the door was unlocked – clearly a red flag. There were intruders in the house! 

But the big guy was sort of pushing me to get inside, and I had no choice but to go in and move aside so that he didn’t [ahem] throw up on my back. Then 50 people jumped out and yelled surprise. It took a couple of hours for me to settle down and realize that 1. my husband was not really sick, and 2. it was a party!

Nothing like it has never happened again. Thank heavens!

The surprises I love are the unexpected twists and turns in a good romance novel. Yes, I know what’s going to happen in the end. The hero and heroine are going to get together. They are going to live happily ever after. Of course! But I want surprises, difficulties I didn’t – couldn’t – anticipate. I want to feel compelled to turn those pages to find out what will happen next. I want to learn new things about the hero and heroine’s personalities as they get to know each other – the hidden strengths and vulnerabilities that make them absolutely perfect for each other.

In Brazen, my hero and heroine have a circuitous route to follow before they realize they’re in love, because Brazen is part adventure and all romance. I hope I kept my readers guessing what was going to happen next and eventually delivered a satisfactory ending.

What is it about a romance novel that really grabs you? Or, on the flip side – what makes you put it down and think twice about picking it up again?

 When my kids were little I used to dream about having time to myself. Not that I didn’t adore them, but I had three of the little angels in four years, so I was pretty overwhelmed at times (yes, that’s them on the right) – plus, I always worked at least part time as a critical care nurse. I couldn’t have defined spare time if my life depended on it..

Everyone is pressed for time these days, whether it’s because of little kids who demand our time and attention, or jobs, maybe elderly or ill parents. Or even all of the above. So I thought I’d share some of the things I’d dream about when there was no spare time on the horizon, and I hope you’ll share yours.

1. A long, hot shower. A good 30 minutes in there with no one knocking at the door shouting “Mom!”

2. A special evening out with my husband and then spending the night in a hotel room afterwards, with the kids at their grandparents’.

3. An afternoon in sweats and slippers watching old movies on TV. Like Little Women, Casablanca, Gigi, Rebecca, It Happened One Night – you get the idea, right?

 4. An afternoon in sweats and slippers watching SCARY movies on TV. Now I have one son who loves to do the same with me – it’s fun! We critique the whole thing while we watch, unless we get totally engrossed (no, not grossed out).

5. An autumn walk in the country with the dogs, letting them run their hearts out and not have to worry about getting home to get dinner ready or get to a ‘kid” event.

 6. A weekend away with my sister (whose 3 kids are the same ages as mine) to a cute little town 100 miles from home where we can spend the weekend doing girl stuff.

 7. A whole day to read a book in its entirety – cover to cover.

 Now you – what do you dream about doing if you had some spare time? I hope you’ll take some time to read one of my new releases, either Brazen or Brash!

Congratulations to Cate S. and Cathy P. !

I’ve already contacted them — but Cathy and Cate, if you haven’t read your email lately, contact me! MargoMaguire@yahoo.com

Thanks to everyone for your comments. There were lots of hero-heroine scenarios I’d forgotten about. Now that my deadline is met and I’m taking a few weeks off, I plan to spend a lot of time reading and getting up to date on all those great scenarios…

I’ve been both dreading and anticipating December 1st this year. Dreading, because I am just finishing a book that my editor is expecting tomorrow, and I got a late start on it. Anticipating the date, because Brazen is out today!

The hero in Brazen appeared in my last book, Seducing the Governess. He is Captain Gavin Briggs, the man who was promised a fortune if he tracked down and found the two long lost granddaughters of the Duke of Windermere. The year is 1817, and Briggs is a former marksman and assassin in the British army. All he wants to do is find the granddaughters, collect his money, and settle down on a small estate he’s already picked out. He wants peace. He wants quiet. He wants to forget the ugliness of war.

But then he tracks down Lady Christina Fairhaven, the second of Windermere’s granddaughters, whose husband died in the arms of his mistress the year before. It was an appalling situation for everyone – especially Christina. But she cannot dwell on her late husband’s peccadilloes – not when she’s being blackmailed for outrageous sums of money. A nasty, deviant character has already demanded one payment to keep some horrible secret about Christina’s supposedly deceased brother, and now he wants more. Christina wants to believe her brother is alive, even though all evidence points to the contrary. She intends to confront the blackmailer on her own and demand that he tell her what he knows.

Enter Gavin Briggs. Christina recognizes he is a man with some savvy of the world and she coerces him into helping her deal with the blackmailer. Gavin knows you cannot deal with this sort of criminal, but what choice does he have? He can either toss Lady Christina over his shoulder and drag her back to Windermere against her will… or he can help her.

Here’s what Romance Reviews Today says: BRAZEN is a mix of romance and adventure with an added dash of humor. About three quarters of the way into the story the suspense is tremendous. The characterization is excellent as well. Gavin served in the war with distinction, but not without some misgivings as to whether his ordered actions were truly honorable. He’s also more soft-hearted and worthy than he believes himself to be. Christina discovers she thrives on independence after the disaster of her short marriage. Watch her grow in confidence!

To read an excerpt of this book, visit my website.

For a little sneak peak at what happened to Christina’s brother on the night he disappeared - Brash is a short story that gives some clues. It’s available for electronic download only.

Tell me what your favorite hero-heroine scenario is. Marriage of convenience? Strangers stuck together on a common quest? They meet again after a long separation? Something else?

I’ll pick two names from today’s comments and send each one a copy of Seducing the Governess.

I’ve got a couple of fun things happening these days.

First – I’ve got a contest going  on here  http://freshfiction.com/contest.php?id=3775a at Fresh Fiction. The prize is a $25 gift certificate from Amazon.

Second – I just released a novella that’s connected to my newest book, Brazen. It’s called Brash, and it’s available here http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006AXT1VA and also  through Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords for only $0.99. It’s a bonus story – only very loosely related to Brazen.

Last, but not least – my newest book from Avon – Brazen – will be out this Tuesday. I’m pretty excited about it because it follows up Seducing the Governess. Each book stands alone, but Brazen tells the story of Mercy’s sister – the second child disowned by her grandfather, the Duke of Windermere. This heroine is Lady Christina Fairhaven and hers is a completely different situation, because she was adopted by a people who were quite unlike Mercy’s adoptive parents. When Captain Gavin Briggs locates her and tells her he’s going to take her to her grandfather (so that he can collect a very generous reward) she has another plan, a totally different agenda. He is in for the adventure of his life!

I hope you’ll give it a try!

Liz and Molly won the drawing for a copy of my RT-nominated Best Regency-Era Historical Romance of 2011, Seducing the Governess. Congratulations, ladies!

A couple of years ago, I discovered a BBC mini-series from the late ‘90s called Berkeley Square on Netflix. The series was sort of a primetime soap about 3 or 4 nannies who were employed by the wealthy families in – of course – Berkeley Square, circa 1900. One of the characters was a young man – Jason O’Mara – cute, nice accent, very talented. We saw him again in another British series called Monarch of the Glen. This one was set in Scotland and I noticed he was beginning to mature (you know, that’s when they start to get really good ).

When the fall TV season began, I decided to check out the new series Terra Nova. And what do you know – same guy, Jason O’Mara – in the lead, playing an American, Jim Shannon, who went back willingly to prehistoric times. Without giving too much away, he risks everything to go back in time with his wife, Elizabeth, and their kids. She’s a physician, and her skills are in demand back in the prehistoric community. He was not invited to go, but he sort of blasts his way into the past along with them. Because of his own skills, he quickly becomes accepted – and needed - there.

The Terra Nova storylines so far haven’t been super strong but the one thing that really works for me are the characters, especially Jim’s respect and love for Elizabeth. That comes across loud and clear in every episode. He is crazy about her and it shows. He’s proud of her skills, and he’s protective though he doesn’t hover. He’s very alpha when it’s required, but a total beta husband/dad when there are no threats.

So, as I’m thinking about this character, I realize that the heroes in my own books are usually alpha with enough beta characteristics to keep them from being too obnoxious. I want them to be powerful, confident, agile, and smart. I also want them to be sensitive, but only when they have to be. That’s how I wrote Captain Gavin Briggs, the hero of my next book, Brazen (coming out soon – 11/29). Briggs lets himself be coerced into helping Christina Fairhaven find and deal with a blackmailer, but – while he respects her as he falls for her – he doesn’t allow her to get into any real danger. He takes care of her without hovering, and realizes she is the woman for him.

If you’d like to read about the first meeting between Captain Briggs and Christina Fairhaven - Click here. And if you’ll tell me what makes a great Romance hero, I’ll choose two commenters at random to receive a copy of Seducing the Governess, my last book, the story of Christina’s long lost sister.

PS — Jason O’Mara is the actor who will play Joe Morelli in the Stephanie Plum movie that’s coming out next summer. He looks like the perfect Morelli to me!

The hero of Margo Maguire’s new book BRAZEN is a Romantic Times K.I.S.S. hero this month!