Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview

Tea with Regency Author, Kelly Miller

Regency Author, Kelly Miller Visits the Creekside Café

Author Bio:

Award-winning author Kelly Miller is a native Californian and Anglophile, who made her first visit to England in 2019. When not pondering a plot point or a turn of phrase, she can be found playing the piano, singing, or walking her dogs. Kelly Miller resides in Silicon Valley with her husband, daughter, and their many pets.

http://mybook.to/CHMiller

Welcome Kelly Miller to Creekside Cafe. When you invited me to listen to your audiobook, Captive Hearts, I had just watched Persuasion on Netflix. At first the two were so similar it was difficult to remember what was the original and what was your interpretation. When I reached about the halfway mark I was delighted by your unique version of the story. You brought a little suspense and intrigue to the familiar tale. Do all of your books have intrigue or suspense?

Kelly: Hello, Sherri! Thank you so much for having me! I’m a big fan of suspense in books and movies! I try to add a nail-biting scene or two to all of my books. The most suspenseful of my published books is probably Accusing Mr. Darcy, with Death Takes a Holiday at Pemberley, a close second. The least suspenseful of my books is A Consuming Love, mainly because it is a novella, and my publisher gave me a word count limit for it.

Sherri: For anyone who watched Persuasion on Netflix, and then picks up your book Captive Heart, what do you feel they will appreciate most?

Kelly: Well, if they are fans of historical fiction, then they will appreciate my adherence to language and customs appropriate to the Regency timeframe, something the Netflix movie did not do. They will also get a far better understanding of both Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth from my book, vs. the movie. And I think my storyline made for a more compelling tale.

Sherri: I agree. I believe your book gave a richer feeling of immersing us in that world.

As a reader and a lover of historical romance, I have to admit that I enjoyed the addition of suspense, I also really enjoyed your ending. I won’t give anything away but for me, you gave me a more satisfying ending than the movie. I felt all of the ends were tied up. How important is this to you as a reader, as well as a writer?

http://mybook.to/DTaHaP1

Kelly: While I can see the appeal of an ambiguous ending where readers can make their own interpretations, I would much rather read and write an ending that is both happy and satisfying.

Sherri: You describe yourself as an Anglophile, but I would also guess you are an Austenite as well. Are all of your books based on Jane Austen’s works.

Kelly: Yes, I am most definitely a big fan of Jane Austen! So far all of my writing is based on her works.

Sherri: Miss Austen was not as respected during her life as she is now. What is it about Jane Austen that still inspires authors to recreate her works all these years later?

Kelly: It’s amazing; I think her fan base continues to grow! She wrote during a time when it was not generally acceptable for women to have professions. Authors were an exception of sorts, but not really; Jane Austen published anonymously, so few people knew her to be an author. “Pride & Prejudice” is by far her most popular book, and it includes clever quotes, memorable characters, and a plot that is part social commentary and part fairy tale.

Sherri: What is the most difficult thing about recreating a classic versus writing a totally original work? What do the readers expect and what do you as an author hope to convey?

Kelly: It’s a huge responsibility to take these beloved characters and put them in new situations. Jane Austen fans have firm opinions and it is impossible to please them all. So, I write what I want to read and hope for the best. It is doubly difficult to write known characters in the Regency setting. While I write, I am constantly looking up the Etymology of words or phrases or researching customs, inventions, locations, or slang. I hope to provide a story in which Jane Austen’s characters are credibly depicted in a new and compelling plot.

Sherri: With so much happening in the world from our fears over ecology to ethnicity, where does historical fiction fit in the modern world?

Kelly: Historical fiction offers an escape to a world of the past, far away from the complications of today. Yet even back then, people had similar wants, desires, and fears, so we can relate to these characters.

Sherri: As writers, do you feel we have a responsibility to our community to represent the world we want to see or to shine a light to reflect the flaws of the one in which we live?

Kelly: I think my duty as an author is to entertain the reader; I am writing fiction and not history books. However, my MC’s reflect my personal values within the confines of what was acceptable in Regency. So, for instance, I would never have a MC who tolerates or encourages racial prejudice or animal cruelty.

Sherri: Do you have much chance to read for pleasure or are you like me, spend more time reading for duty, research or craft?

Kelly: I do a bit of reading each night. Since I have met so many wonderful authors on Twitter, I have expanded my reading so that I read most genres. While it is often pleasurable, I consider all reading to be research, because as I read, I take note of what I admire and what I would have done differently. It’s a fun exercise that helps keep my own writing fresh.

Sherri: It is difficult as an author to turn off that part of our brain and just read.

Who are some of your favorite authors, genres, or books?

http://mybook.to/AConsumingLove1

Kelly: Some of my favorites include Stephen King, Daphne Du Maurier, Barbara Vine/Ruth Rendell, Agatha Christie, and Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child.

Sherri: If you decided to write in a totally different genre, what would it be?

Kelly: Hmm, maybe horror? I don’t know. Darcy and Elizabeth have not let go of me yet!

Sherri: What is your favorite trope? To read or to write…

Kelly: I don’t have favorite or hated tropes. A good story, well-written is what I always crave.

Sherri: How difficult is it to develop characters from works already well-known, make them your own and still be true to the original?

http://mybook.to/AccusingMrDarcy1

Kelly: I believe it is harder to write a known character vs an original one. Most of my books have a combination of known and original characters. I am free to give the originals whatever tendencies I choose. But if I am writing a scene for Darcy, I strive to make him recognizable to readers who believe they “know” how Darcy would react.

Sherri: How do you start a new project? Are you a plotter, pantser or something in between?

Kelly: I’m an in-betweener; I’ve never written a full outline. Rather, I keep an idea in my head of the main idea or start of the story. I might have later scenes in my head too, but the rest fills in as I write.

Sherri: Your book, A Dutiful Son is due out anytime, tell us a little about your new release. Do you have a cover to share with us?

Kelly: Alas, no cover yet. In A Dutiful Son, my main alteration from the plot of “Pride & Prejudice” is that Darcy’s benevolent father, George Darcy is still alive. (In canon, Darcy’s father had passed away 5 years earlier, when Darcy was 22.) So, Darcy has benefitted from five years with his benevolent father and is a better-behaved person from the beginning. But a former family member’s betrayal induces Darcy’s father to alter his principles. Darcy will be torn between his father’s dictates and his growing sentiment for Elizabeth Bennet.

Sherri: If you enjoyed this interview with regency author, Kelly Miller, then follow her on social media and check out her published works. Her links are listed below. If you are an author and you’d like to visit me at Creekside Café, then email me at suspenseshewrites@sherrilhollister.com

Upcoming book A Dutiful Son or Kelly’s latest Captive Hearts

A Dutiful Son is my next release. I don’t have a release date yet, but it is another Regency variation of “Pride & Prejudice.”

My five published books are: 

Death Takes a Holiday at Pemberley, a Pride and Prejudice Regency romantic sequel with a touch of fantasy, Winner: Royal Dragonfly Book Awards and Indies Today Book Awards; Finalist: International Book Awards and Book Excellence Awards.

mybook.to/DTaHaP1

Mr. Darcy’s Perfect Match, a Pride and Prejudice Regency romantic variation, Recommended Read, Author Shout Reader Ready Awards.

mybook.to/MrDarcysPerfectMatch1

Accusing Mr. Darcy, a Pride and Prejudice Regency romantic mystery, Winner: Firebird Book Awards and Queer Indie Awards-Ally Division; Recommended Read: Author Shout Reader Ready Awards; Finalist: Wishing Shelf Book Awards and Mystery & Mayhem-Chanticleer International Book Awards.

mybook.to/AccusingMrDarcy1

A Consuming Love, a Pride and Prejudice Regency novella, Winner: Royal Dragonfly Book Awards; Recommended Read: Author Shout Reader Ready Awards.

mybook.to/AConsumingLove1

Captive Hearts, a Persuasion Regency variation, Winner: Author Shout Cover Wars.

mybook.to/CHMiller

My Amazon Author Page: 

author.to/KMiller

Kelly’s blog page is found at www.kellymiller.merytonpress.com, her Twitter handle is @kellyrei007, Instagram: kelly.miller.author, TikTok: @kellymillerauthor, and she is on Facebook: www.facebook.Author.Kelly.Miller

http://mybook.to/MrDarcysPerfectMatch1
Posted in audio books, Book Review

Who Wants to Marry a Duke

Who Wants to Marry a Duke by Sabrina Jeffries Narrated by Beverley A. Crick

There are very few authors who I pre-order, Sabrina Jeffries is one of them. I love this series and was anxious to read it. It was worth the wait, another fabulous story.

Women of strength and substance people Jeffries’ novels, the latest heroine is chemist Miss Olivia Norley. When she offered to clean a stain from the new duke’s waistcoat at a party, Thorn, aka the duke of Thornstock, Marlowe Drake believes she set him up to get caught so they would have to marry. When she refuses his proposal, he misconstrues her reasons.

Years later the pair finds themselves teamed up when Thorn’s half-brother Grey needs a chemist to prove his father was murdered. The attraction is still there but Thorn’s secret could tear them apart.

Raised to believe that every young woman wants to marry a duke and will stop at nothing to catch one, Thorn is twice surprised when Olivia refuses him. What will it take for the beautiful and intelligent chemist to say yes?

Sabrina Jeffries makes the reader believe in possibilities. For a moment we can believe in a world where a young woman of the ton carries the necessary chemicals in her purse to clean wine from a vest. We believe in love at first sight. She even makes us believe in the strength of a young woman’s character that she would refuse a proposal not given with his whole heart. We also believe that love will win in the end, that the truth will come out and the bad guys will be punished.

I impatiently wait for the next story in The Duke Dynasty Series.  

Posted in audio books, Book Review

Another Great Book from Sabrina Jeffries

The Bachelor by Sabrina Jeffries Narrated by Beverley A. Crick

Joshua Wolfe is more than a games keeper. He could possibly be Lady Gwyn Drake’s undoing. The former Royal Marine sees too much. Lady Gwyn is finding it more difficult to keep her secrets though she fears revealing the truth will cost her more than the blackmail she is being forced to pay.

Joshua might be the grandson of a Duke, but he knows he is no match for a woman like Lady Gwyn. Of course, that doesn’t stop him from wanting her.

When the two of them are thrown together for the season their passions ignite as the stakes rise. When Lady Gwyn has to reveal her truth, she expects Joshua to walk away, but can they overcome all of the hurdles threatening to divide them to have a future together or will they have to satisfy themselves with just one night of passion.

Two injured souls. One physically scarred by battle, one scarred by reckless youth and mistrust. Sabrina Jeffries combines intrigue, romance, action and passion into a historical backdrop that sits a reader down into the story and allows them to be consumed by it.

The narrator, Beverley A. Crick lends her talents to telling and enacting the story making each character come alive. She is a great asset to the audiobook. I’ve come to look for her when checking out audios, she is becoming one of my favorite narrators.

If you love historicals with a bit of intrigue, unique but strong characters and passionate romances, check out this book by Sabrina Jeffries and you won’t want to miss any of the Duke Dynasty series.  The first book in this series, “Project Duchess” was another I’d highly recommend. There are few by Sabrina Jefferies I wouldn’t recommend. She is one of my favorite authors. I’ve mentioned before that “The Truth of Lord Stoneville” of the Hellion Series in one of my favorite books…ever! If you haven’t read her work, what are you waiting for?

Posted in audio books, Book Review, Uncategorized

The Forbidden Duke, a review

The Forbidden Duke by Darcy Burke Narrated by Marian Hussey

Second chances at a happy ever after don’t come around every day. For spinster Miss Eleanor Lockhart, suddenly homeless and in need of a situation, it is like a fairy tale come true when her new employer decides to re-launch her into society. Eleanor lost her chance for happiness as a young girl when a rogue ruined her and left her to take the brunt of society’s punishment. Ten years later, the leader of the gang of rakes and rogues, now reformed, has been commissioned by his stepmother to assist Eleanor in becoming the angel of the ton.

Titus St. John, Duke of Kendal, is the Forbidden Duke. After years of debauchery, he changed to become the man his father would be proud of, unfortunately, it was too late for Miss Eleanor’s reputation. What started out as a favor for his beloved stepmother quickly turns to something more. Who is saving whom in this lovely Cinderella story of second chances?

Darcy Burke does an excellent job of showing weakness without making her characters weak. We all have our flaws, but we do not have to be defined by them. This was definitely a story I would listen to over and over again, and a series I want to read in its entirety.  

Posted in Book Review

Review of Project Duchess

Project Duchess by Sabrina Jeffries, Narrated by Beverley A Crick

Grey, the duke of Greycourt avoids his aunt’s machinations to marry his cousin with the death of his stepfather. His oft widowed mother has summoned him and while reluctant to be around family, it is preferable than to be once again at the mercy of his aunt.

Grey doesn’t trust society, but he has no solace with his family. Estranged for years, he holds everyone at bay with his arrogance. Confronted with a woman who has suffered a similar past, is outspoken and spirited he finds himself attracted despite suspecting her of being involved in his stepfather’s murder.

Beatrice Wolfe embraces Grey’s family as her own. An orphan at the mercy of her lascivious uncle, she finds refuge with Grey’s mother and stepsiblings.

When his brother asks him to help discover who killed his father, Grey agrees to investigate Beatrice under the guise of helping his mother prepare her to make her society debut.

Neither believes themselves capable of receiving love and are reluctant to allow themselves to fall, but they fall hard for each other. Can they overcome the difficulties facing them as others threaten to steal their chance at happiness?

Sabrina Jeffries is one of my favorite authors, even as she deals with some difficult subjects, she brings her readers into the light with hope. This series appears to have an ongoing mystery with each of the duchess’ children finding love while trying to discover what may have happened with their fathers. I look forward to reading or listening to each book. If you like strong characters, especially strong female characters then you will fall in love with Ms Jeffries’ books. This one was one of her bests.

Posted in Book Review

Rogues Rush In

Rogues Rush In: A Regency Duet by Tessa Dare and Christi Caldwell, narrated by Justine Eyre

His Bride for the Taking: When Sebastian, Lord Byrne begins distancing himself from his childhood friend’s sister, Mary Clayton takes matters into her own hands. After being left at the altar, Mary has no choice but to marry her brother’s best friend. This friends-to-lovers story has a lot of twists and turns. I loved it and found Mary to be a strong and capable female who knows how to manipulate life’s events to make the most of it. She is the type of woman who works to make the world fit her needs. A smart woman is a force of nature.

His Duchess for a Day: Some mistakes are worth repeating. Though Elizabeth Terry isn’t so sure she agrees when her husband finds her at a finishing school for young ladies. When he convinces her to return for a day to put marriage-minded mamas in their place, they are faced with the past and have to decide if they can keep from making the same mistakes twice.

Posted in Book Review

Christmas Revels V

I have been a fan of the Christmas Revels anthologies since the first one. As a fan of Hannah Meredith’s historical romances, I greedily bought the first book. Shortly afterwards, I discovered Kate Parker’s Victorian Book Sellers’ series. I have become a fan of these writers and especially look forward to their Christmas stories.

Each year I have bought the Revels. This year I was given an ARC for an honest review. That is not difficult to do as I have truly enjoyed seeing what these awesome writers were going to put together. One or two stories would usually stand out as my favorites, but with each new anthology it has become increasingly more difficult to choose which ones gain that title.

In Anna D. Allen’s Mr. Hunt’s Christmas Caller, we have a very unlikely hero. I loved this story because the hero and heroine were not perfect. Mattias Hunt is not the most handsome, nor the strongest personality. He is somewhat blind to the great lady, Constance Blackwell, who has always been kind to him. When terrible weather brings them together it seems they cannot get a break. Fate continues to pull them apart if Mr. Hunt allows it. In order to find love and to be loved, one must be strong enough to fight for it.

The Christmas Gamble by Kate Parker has a bit of mystery to it, no surprise there, Kate loves a great mystery and writes them too. Lizzie Hancock is full of hope as she and her guardian travel to meet her betrothed, the Earl of Stonebrook during the Christmas season. Her future home is beautiful but something isn’t quite right and this time, it isn’t her guardian’s gambling debts. From the curious staff who can’t tell her exactly when her fiancé will be returning, to his leaving so close to her arrival, followed by the surprise return of her intended’s brother, Gabriel Waters. Unraveling this Christmas mystery and staying a few steps ahead of the drunkard, Lord Grambling, Lizzie and Gabriel must depend upon their friends to find their happy ending.

Hannah Meredith’s The Gnome and the Christmas Star is a joyful story of second chances. The Dowager Viscountess Lyndon, Sophia never expected to be caught up in her own machinations. The plan to give her youngest stepson something to do with his life after losing his arm in the war, wasn’t supposed to include her. Second chances are only offered for a limited time, and one must be brave if they are going to accept them. As Sophia learns to live and love, she teaches others that they too can have their happy ending, if only they believe.

 

The final story, A Perfectly Ridiculous Christmas by Louisa Cornell is a bit of a Christmas farce as three good friends seek to find a wealthy bride for their widowed friend. Life rarely happens according to one’s plans, especially if one adds in three precocious little girls and a menagerie of angry kitties, a lie that keeps growing and an attraction that won’t go away. Valerian, Viscount Keynsham has been managing his friends for years but he is about to meet his match in Lady Catherine Chastleton. This is a story of love and friendship that extends to all of the characters. It is love that begins the crazy farce and love that brings about their happy ending.

 

If you love regency romances and Christmas, check out Christmas Revels V, and if you haven’t read their other anthologies, I can recommend them as well.

Posted in Book Review

Again, My Lord (Book Review)

Again, My Lord
A Twist Series Novel
By: Katherine Ashe

Inspired by the movie Groundhog’s Day, Ms. Ashe turned this story on its head and sent it back in time to the Regency Era. I found myself laughing, crying and falling in love. I screamed at the characters trying to get their attention and tell them what they needed to know to find each other.
Imagine miscommunication at its finest. Societies’ moors, personality differences and insecurities rip two people apart only to thrust them back together again during a terrible storm. A statue of Aphrodite comes to life and her perverse attempts at matchmaking and enlightenment, twist and turn this hapless meeting into a trial of self-discovery and growth.
As Calista relives the same day over and over and over again, she must find a way to survive mentally, emotionally and spiritually. What would you do if you had only one day to make a difference? Faced with being trapped in this small town, with the one man she’s always loved, away from her family, Calista must discover the key to tomorrow.
Can Calista and Tacitus overcome all the obstacles set before them to find their happily ever after. Ms. Ashe believes in happy endings but beware the ride is filled with many curves, bumps and a crazy Greek Goddess is at the reigns.
Read Again, My Lord, you won’t regret it but be warned, you may have a few sleepless nights until you finish it!

Posted in Book Review

A Scandalous Past by Ava Stone

I purchased The Perfect Date collection after hearing Ava Stone, Marquita Valentine and Tammy Falkner speak at a HCRW meeting. I have enjoyed the other writers and will look for more of their work but as a fan of historical romance, Ms. Stone has a new follower. Right now there is no information on the price of The Perfect Date on Amazon Kindle but keep checking, it is real value.

A Scandalous Past gives us everything we’re looking for in a romance: bad boys who change for the love a good woman, intrigue, romance, heart break and hope.

When Cordie Avery’s best friend marries a rogue she decides that is the kind of man she needs. Lord Clayton doesn’t come close to fitting the bill but his kisses ignite her passion. Rogues, penniless lords and surly sea captains fall by the way as Brendan rescues her and spirits her away for a hasty marriage. But out of the frying pan and into the fire, marriage to Brendan Reece Lord Clayton is not be as safe as planned. Black mail, the ton censure and gossip threatens to ruin the happy couple’s newly wedded bliss.

When enemies become friends, unexpected alliances turn the tide and more than one rogue may become civilized.

This was a fun, sexy read of first love and the healing power of love and friendship. A wonderful story well told.