Tag: RWA

Posted in Creekside Cafe

Creekside Cafe Chat with M. Lorrox

Posted on by Sherri

I’d like to welcome the awesome M. Lorrox to my Creekside Café. M. Lorrox and I are both members of the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers and I’m thrilled to have him at my virtual café.

M. Lorrox: Hi Sherri, I’m happy to be joining you, thanks so much for inviting me!

Sherri: If I ever win the lottery, I’ll build a café near the water where I can hang out with friends and talk about books when I’m not writing or reading. We’ve both been busy lately but if you’re like me you are seldom without a book. What are you reading right now?

M. Lorrox: Oooh, I’d take a lottery prize and start a cafe too, but it would be a half cafe, half rare-books library. I might call it Dusty’s Tomes or something, just for fun. I actually just started reading Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. It’s wild and has elements of horror and romance–the two genres I write.

Sherri: I had to chuckle when I read your bio, raised in a barn in rural upstate New York. My father-in-law was raised on a dairy farm just outside Albany. He told me he got here as quickly as he could. He arrived with the Marines. How did you end up in North Carolina?

M. Lorrox: Hey, small world! Another New York ex-pat. I first ventured to DC, where I was a producer for a while and then a professor. My brothers ended up moving to the Triangle, and I visited a lot. I loved it down here, and after a few years, I was able to make the move.

Sherri: You are preparing to launch your first romance novel, but this isn’t your first writing career. According to your bio you wrote your first book in junior high. Although you didn’t publish that book, you have published other books. What made you decide to switch genres? Are you excited about your new venture?

M. Lorrox: I’m super excited! My first books were action & adventure stories with vampires and zombies…a real mashup. I decided to write romance, because I wanted to see more progressive heroes and heroines in love stories—people like me. I wanted to read about sex-positive people having great relationships, and I didn’t want any of them to be millionaires or shapeshifters, so I decided to write the stories myself.

Sherri: Tell us about your upcoming book. When does it go live?

M. Lorrox: Trashy Romance – Curbside Pickup is the stand-alone first novel in the Trashy Romance series of scorching, blue-collar, sex-positive, LGBTQ+ inclusive love stories. It’s about a high school economics teacher and the garbageman who services her neighborhood… It includes a pansexual character, some very hot scenes, and a teeny bit of domination and submission. But it’s a romance, not erotica. There’s ‘loads of love’ in it, tons of emotion, and because it’s an M. Lorrox novel, there’s also some suspense and action elements!

Sherri: I love your website. You’ve done a fabulous job with it. I’m so excited for you and your new author platform, https://mlorrox.com . As authors, especially indie authors, our social media is a huge part of our identity. Your website shows you humor, intelligence and passion, it is very well done.

M. Lorrox: I really appreciate it! I have an MFA and was an artist before anything else. I’ve always loved web design, and I’m glad that I can use some of my visual arts skills in my writing career.

Sherri: You studied and taught Kung Fu? As a child of the seventies I grew up watching David Carradine and the show Kung Fu. I love the beauty and choreography of martial arts and the religious teachings. As an adult I’ve learned the falseness of television but with a Cambodian daughter-in-law who was raised with Buddhist parents, she has taught me more about the religion. Do you practice Buddhism? Do you still study martial arts?

M. Lorrox: I started learning Kung Fu in college, and it was a great fit. After a few years training, I started to teach for that school. It introduced me to Ch’an Buddhism, which is kinda like a Chinese precursor to Zen Buddhism, and from there, yes, I continued to learn about Buddhism. I don’t practice Kung Fu regularly anymore, but I do practice the forms now and then. More recently, I found myself teaching the kids of my friends some self-defense techniques, and it’s been quite rewarding to see them benefit from the ancient skills. Buddhism is important to me too, and I highly recommend that people unfamiliar with its deeper principles to read about it.

Sherri: You’re a motorcycle guy, crotch rocket or cruiser? We’re a motorcycle family. My husband is a mechanic. He restored an old Honda for me. I prefer a small bike, but he keeps trying to get me on a cruiser. Do you still ride?

M. Lorrox: Actually, I ride a naked adventure bike, which I like to think is the best kind of adventure, AND motorcycle! Ha! I used to ride a Honda Shadow though, a cruiser. It’s wonderful to feel the road beneath you, and although I don’t ride much on trails or gravel, my bike lets me, and it feels extra badass whenever I do! I ride pretty often, mostly on twisties or around town, but I always ride as safely as possible. Car and truck drivers: watch for us motorcyclists and don’t F-around on your phone while driving! Thanks. 🙂

Sherri: Your books are described as pan-sexual and non-monogamous, for an old-fashioned woman like myself, it is difficult to think of them as romance. How is the romance genre changing and how are we as members of RWA trying to be inclusive and accepting of more diverse romances? How do we interpret romance? Is it the traditional “Happy ever after” or “Happy for now” scenario or are we opening doors to something else? How do we reach the old-timers like me and open their eyes to other possibilities of what is romance?

M. Lorrox: Well, what is a romance story? Where people fall in love, right? There’s historical romance, gay romance, regency, inspirational, etc. These are just different settings that the romances take place in, or different themes, or different orientations of the people. Pan-sexuality is an orientation (for those unfamiliar with it, the big difference (to me), is that it rejects the notion of binary gender in bisexuality). Non-monogamy, I’d say, is a relationship style or choice. But they’re humans falling in love, and LOVE IS LOVE!

I think the romance genre is changing with more stories being published that reflect or highlight these alternative lifestyles. How to be more inclusive of these kinds of romances? Read them! Fall in love with the characters, even if they may not be attracted to the same gender of people, or if they choose to practice a style of relationship that’s different to you. Besides connecting with an interesting character with views different from the reader’s, the reader can experience a different kind of emotion as the characters face different kinds of challenges. Just like more traditional romances, the emotional journey of the characters is the most important. I think we should interpret romance genre stories as love stories, and so I don’t see why a story about person X or Y or Z or Q falling in love with _____ can’t be romance genre.

Sherri: As a member of RWA and Heart of Carolina we felt the impact of the recent upheaval and both of us along with many others debated leaving the organization. I know my reading habits are not as inclusive as perhaps they should be. When I read for pleasure, I want to read what I like but in the hope of educating myself and becoming more understanding of other authors and their needs, I’d like to widen my reading pallet. How do we go about finding authors of differing viewpoints, ethnicities and ableness in order to read and show our support?

M. Lorrox: First off, you’re doing it right now by asking questions and opening a door. There are plenty of people that want to walk through, but it’s so much easier if someone on the inside opens that door for them, especially in a historically not-inclusive situation. I’ll thank you again for inviting me on, because you’re doing the work that RWA aims to do!

I’ve got a great suggestion on how to explore these new kinds of stories, and it’s not just ‘read them,’ although that’s certainly key. That book I mentioned, Gideon the Ninth, was a huge success, and I’d be surprised if most readers hadn’t either seen the cover or read a blurb about it. It topped the charts, reaching #1 in various LGBT romance categories on amazon, but it was also a top seller in a number of other categories. By browsing the top seller lists, or Amazon or Goodreads, you’ll be exposed to books that other people are loving. While there’s no subcategory for non-monogamy or pansex yet, LGBT subcategories will suffice to give you lots of options for what kinds of inclusive stories other readers are loving–and that you might too! Bloggers who cover queer media are also a good resource for learning more about the community and its creatives.

The ARC is available until 11/15/2020. Links to it are on the site, and I’d love to have you, and any of your readers, read it!

Sherri: Thank you M. Lorrox for taking the time to talk with me and readers. Time is getting away from us quickly, if you enjoyed our chat follow M. Lorrox on social media you can find his links below and stay tuned for his upcoming book, Trashy Romance-Curbside Pickup by M. Lorrox due out November 15, 2020! Thank you M. Lorrox for stopping by my Creekside Café, I think it’s time for a drink. Name your poison.

M. Lorrox: I’ll have a kombucha cut with seltzer, please!

Follow M. Lorrox on Social Media!

Website https://mlorrox.com/

That should have links to everything and possibly more info than you ever wanted. 🙂

https://www.facebook.com/M.Lorrox

https://www.instagram.com/MLorrox/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14018146.M_Lorrox

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B071RXH8Q2/ref

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-lorrox

Posted in event, inspiration

RWA 2020 Virtual Conference Day One

Posted on by Sherri

It’s day two of RWA’s virtual writer’s conference. I have dreamed of attending a Romance Writer’s of America conference for years but never expected my first one to be online. Thank you, Covid-19. Our world changed this year but as librarian keynote speaker, Virginia Kantra said, the need for stories hasn’t changed. We shouldn’t wait until we’re dead for someone else to tell our story. If you are a writer or a storyteller, tell your story now.

“Use your words. Find your voice. Don’t be afraid to share yourself, to tell your story. Your experience matters.” I felt Virginia was speaking straight to me. For years I’ve ducked my head afraid to speak. I felt no one wanted to hear what I had to say. I wasn’t even sure what it was I wanted to say. Who am I and why does my story matter?

Each time I brave a new crowd whether it is online or in person, I discover many people feel the same way I do. They want to be heard but they are unsure of the message they want to deliver. They want to think about it and speak with care often losing their opportunity to voice their views. As writers we can tell our side through our characters’ perspective. We can show readers our stories without preaching. We don’t have to raise our voices to be heard over the crowd because in the silence of the pages a whisper has much greater impact.

If you are a writer and you don’t have a writers’ group, you need one. Whether it is online or in person, a writer’s group offers support and a sense of community to what is a very lonely profession. I joined the Romance Writer’s of America in 2009 after attending a Romantic Times Convention. I was lucky enough to have been chosen for the first Ann Peach Scholarship for New Writers where I met the late author, Judi McCoy. She encouraged us to believe in ourselves, our craft and to find others who shared our passion. With a love of romance, I joined RWA and later the Heart of Carolina, our local chapter. I also went in search of a writer’s group closer to home and found the Pamlico Writer’s Group.

Well, I should get ready for my next program, I’m hosting a Writer’s Block Meet Up. Do you suffer from writer’s block?  

Posted in News, Thoughts

What’s Happening with the RWA

Posted on by Sherri

What’s happening with the Romance Writers of America?

I’ve had several people ask me “What’s going on with RWA?”

How do I even begin to explain? While the big pimple on the face of the organization might have imploded with the wrongful suspension and false allegations against Courtney Milan, the blemishes we’ve been covering up go much deeper and have been going on for much longer. Unfortunately, many of us, myself included where blind to these facts, or at least willingly oblivious.

Like the political climate, things have been festering for a while. When the new president of the United States was announced one of my dear friends and mentor from high school, Ms. Glenoria Jennette came to me and told me of a nightmare she’d had. In her dream, she feared the US would revert to slavery. I denied this possibility, but she told me she knew she’d be okay because her friends, like me, would protect her. I thought, Oh Lord, she’s giving me her power. She can’t give me her power, I’m not worthy, I’m not strong enough… Oh crap what if I really do have to protect her? But that wasn’t what she was doing. She wasn’t giving away her rights or her ability to make her own choices, what she wanted was to know was that I had her back. To quote the late Martin Luther King, jr. “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” In the present political climate I have ducked my head and kept my own council because no matter what I believe it’s wrong according to someone but when a friend is depending on you to do what is right, you have to make a stand, even if it’s unpopular.

“In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends,” MLK. As a white, heterosexual, able bodied woman I do not feel capable of making decisions for people of color or any other marginalized individual. Before I can make a decision affecting someone else, I should first have an honest conversation with them to discover what it is they need from me, from the group, etc. Making assumptions about others’ needs, taking away their power is no different than saying they are incapable of making these decisions for themselves, but I know it is past time for the rest of us to stand up and add our voices to this problem. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter,” MLK. I pray it is not too late for RWA or for our country to find a place of understanding and peace.

It is difficult to look at myself as one of the entitled white women, and I don’t say that with any malicious intent or to undermine the racial inequalities that have come to light during this whole debacle. No, I say it to embrace the facts. I did not realize I was entitled, and I think that is where my crime lies. I was oblivious. Like many who belong to RWA or other groups and organizations, we do not necessarily see the problem because it doesn’t affect us. Sometimes we see slights but write them off as this one’s personality, or that one is older, and she doesn’t really mean to be inconsiderate. For some reason people who have reached a certain age think they can say anything they want and get by with it. We also tend to “mind our own business” and not involve ourselves in someone else’s fight.

With so many of our fellow authors leaving RWA in protest of Courtney’s mistreatment, the battle has fallen to us, the “white women” to finally stand up and say, this is our battle too. For if we are truly a “Professional Group” for ALL romance authors then we need to behave as such. Regardless of race, religion or sexual preference, all men and women shall be treated equally and with respect. (I started writing this before reading JR Ward’s and Nora Roberts’ responses to the situation but found both had said much of what I wanted to say and more eloquently. Check out their essays. Also check out Alyssa Cole’s op-ed about Harry and Meghan’s announcement and how it parallels with what is happening in RWA.)

I believe it is the lack of respect that I find the most difficult to understand. My parents taught me to always treat people, no matter their station in life, with dignity and kindness. Good manners cost nothing and when we belong to a large group like the Romance Writers of America it is important to be kind. That doesn’t mean we can’t be ourselves, that we can’t speak out, it means we treat others the way we want to be treated, and we expect our neighbors regardless of race, religion, physical ability or sexual preference to be given the same opportunities, respect and welcome.

For now, I will remain with the RWA in the hope that my voice will make a difference and that one day soon those who felt the need to leave will be welcomed home with the love and honor they deserve. I believe in happy endings.  

Posted in inspiration, Thoughts, writing inspiration, Writing tips

Stagnate We Die

Posted on by Sherri

I do not believe a writer ever stops learning. If we stop learning, we become stagnate and die. Like something caught in the old pool in the back yard, you can swim around in the sludge for a while a little slimy but happy enough. After a while, the things that begin to grow on the bottom of the pool start to choke out the cool water and oxygen turning it into a hot soup of old gross things. No one wants to be a part of some old gross thing.

There are somethings that should never go out of style: good manners, good grammar, and good food. Everything else is subject to change. When I think of the writer I was twenty, thirty years ago, I can feel myself blushing and ducking my head. It is one of those times when I’m actually glad none of my old stuff survived our house fire. As a person I’ve changed a lot over the years. When my husband, David and I married, we talked often of racial differences and how we were raised. Though my parents were not racists, they weren’t inclusive either, part of growing up in a rural southern community. My husband’s mother was raised a lot like my parents, the only other races she knew before adulthood were Native American, Black and Dutch, and that was from working on a farm out in eastern North Carolina.

Our parents were taught that the races were separate but equal but as they became adults in the sixties, they began to see things weren’t quite the way they believed. A conversation with my mother after watching the movie “Hidden Figures,” made me realize just how little the white community really knew of what was going on historically right outside their front door. We lived in Hampton, Virginia from 1967-1973. The last year we were in Virginia, I was bussed across town to Bassett Elementary School. I loved the school and the principal, a black man with a gentle baritone. Yet until that movie, my mother and I (I was only 9 at the time) were unaware of the racial problems and Virginia’s refusal to integrate. As a nine-year-old black child I would have known.

After marrying my father-in-law, a marine who grew up in upstate New York, my mother-in-law became exposed to many more races: Puerto Rican, German, Italian, Dominican, Chinese, Caribbean and West Indian when she visited his family in Amsterdam, but in the marine corps she learned that there was only one race, olive drab. She raised her children with no color barriers.

My husband and I often discussed whether I’d have been brave enough to take a chance on loving him had he been of a different race or religion. Honestly, I’m not sure I would have been thirty years ago. He is part of what has made me stronger, braver, he’s expanded my world and given me the courage to take chances, even disagree with him.

The adventure continues

As children our worlds are often small. They include family and friends, maybe a few neighbors, church members. When we venture off to school we are exposed to more people, teachers, faculty and students from places just a little out of your neighborhood, maybe people who have moved from other places. If you are lucky enough to travel, you might be exposed to other races, religions and cultures but most of us grow up knowing only what is in our own backyards.

I was so proud when I finally received my Profession Authors Network Pin from RWA

The Romance Writers of America (RWA) and writers in general have been fighting a battle of inclusivity and diversity for several years. Romance and especially love, should not come with qualifiers. Everyone deserves to be loved. Reading authors who are different from us, about heroes and heroines of other races and religions, writing about characters who are unique with an educated and respectful attitude, that is allows us to live in another’s skin and share their experiences. Not all rednecks are racists, not all blacks are thugs and not all Asians are submissives. We need to stop typecasting and start doing our homework. We need to keep learning. Will we make mistakes and say something or do something that comes across as prejudiced or unenlightened? Probably. We are human and we make mistakes in everything else we do, but if we are truly trying to learn and be different than the person we were before, then we need to open the dialogue and ask the intelligent questions. We need to look further than our own backyards, heck, maybe we need to add a few more people to our invitation lists. Learn about real people of color, real people with physical and mental challenges, people with other lifestyles and from different cultures, take time to read, listen, and discover more information. No one says you have to join a movement, but if you plan to write about someone diverse characters then learn about them first.

Big Shot’s Birthday

I like to people my stories with characters who represent my friends and neighbors. In “Titanium Blue” my hero lost a leg in Afghanistan. My son, a former soldier with two tours in Afghanistan answered questions for me. Two of my friends have prosthetic legs. One lost his leg in a farming accident as a child, the other a car accident as an adult. Both men were willing to answer my questions about their prosthesis.

Firsthand information, books and the internet offer readers a realistic experience. Modern technology has allowed writers something they’ve never had before, a chance to go places without ever leaving their chairs. We no longer have the excuse of ignorance for the information is too easily available. We, as writers, owe it to our readers to do our best to portray diverse characters with honesty and respect.

I’m looking for sources to add to my list. If you have any suggestions, I’d appreciate your input.

This is a new source I cannot wait to learn more about, UNCTV/PBS Learning Ken Burns Classroom https://unctv.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/kenburnsclassroom/home/

For many cultures from African American to Ukrainian American can be found at the Library of Congress https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/. It lists many sources both historical and current.

Poli-Sci Course on “Who is American” https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-politicalscience/chapter/who-is-american/

100 Most Significant Americans of All Time https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonianmag/meet-100-most-significant-americans-all-time-180953341/

100 Most Influential Figures in American History https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/12/the-100-most-influential-figures-in-american-history/305384/

Gay Rights/Culture https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-recover-early-copy-19th-century-gay-rights-essay-180973895/

Asian: https://asiasociety.org/education/understanding-our-perceptions-asian-americans

https://asiasociety.org/video/hollywoods-asian-problem-complete

Black/African American: https://www.healthnetworksolutions.net/index.php/understanding-different-cultures

https://www.ushistory.org/us/6f.asp

https://www.cnn.com/2014/02/25/living/justin-simien-black-culture-now/index.html

Latino/Hispanic American: https://www.infoplease.com/notable-hispanic-americans-z

https://www.pbs.org/latino-americans/en/mi-historia/

Posted in Thoughts

The Pins on My Lapel

Posted on by Sherri

The pins on my lapel are not expensive or even rare. To most people they would mean little but to me, they are a testament of love, friendship and dreams come true.

The silver feather, a find from my husband reminded him of a quill and my dream to be a published author. He gave me the pin to encourage me to keep writing even when it seemed everything I wrote was destined to be almost good enough but not quite. He believed in me and gave me a gentle push towards achieving those goals.

The butterfly, a gift from my mentor Marni Graff from her trip to England. A butterfly is the symbol of hope and rebirth. I have had need of both. When we lost our home to fire, I struggled to keep believing in hope. When my dad died the year after, hope faltered. When my mom fell and broke her hip, it became nearly impossible to keep writing and deal with life. But like the butterfly who is reborn, death, destruction and life’s tragedies make us stronger. We burst from the darkness of our cocoons a new being. For me, I came back with a renewed determination to achieve those goals.

The RWA PRO pin is a sign of achievement. I worked hard, finished a novel and moved up in the ranks of Romance Writers of America to the status of professional. I am on the path of becoming a published author. I have faced road blocks along the way. I have stumbled and fallen, but I am blessed to have a group of people who believed in me, even when I did not believe in myself.

The cover of my book, Chrome Pink. This is the cheapest of the jewelry I’m wearing for I made it myself. It is nothing more than paper and glue, but it is a symbol of what I have overcome. Because of the people who have stood beside me, pushed me, comforted me and cheered me onward, this book became a reality. Writing maybe a solo act but in truth, I could not, would not have published this book without the love and support of my family and friends.

The pins on my lapel remind me, I’m not alone. Each success I achieve is because of you and each failure is easier to bear, because you lift me up. These pins remind me to be proud, to be humble, to be thankful and to know, I am loved.

Posted in inspiration, my books, Thoughts

I Thought I was a Romance Writer, Part II

Posted on by Sherri

My time with my agent ended somewhat abruptly. At first, I was devastated and depressed, but I soon realized she’d done the right thing. For whatever reason, we’d not found our comfort zone with each other. Trust and good communication are extremely important when working with an agent, publisher or editor. I believe it is necessary to have mutual respect and a similar vision for the work.

While I respected my agent, I’m not sure we were on the same page with where the manuscript was going. It was that doubt that marred the tenuous relationship we were building and resulted in the termination. I am thankful for my time with her. I learned a lot. I believe she helped me hone my craft and see my work through different eyes. It was her insight that brought me to the conclusion, Chrome Pink isn’t a romantic suspense.

As a member of Romance Writers of America and my local chapter, I believed myself to be a romance writer. Now, all of a sudden, I have to face the fact that while the romance is an integral part of the story, it is not the only part or even the most important part of the story.

I recently had a discussion with a friend who is struggling with her own story, a beautifully written paranormal with strong romantic elements. When I first joined RWA, they were more inclusive, any story with romantic elements was considered a romance, even if it also fit into other genres. Now, the criteria for a romance has become more specific and several friends who write romantic mysteries or suspense or even historical romances, find they don’t quite meet the strict expectations of a traditional romance.

A romance novel isn’t formulaic any more than a mystery or suspense is, but readers expect certain things to happen within a short amount of time. If the couple doesn’t meet within the first dozen pages and the relationship isn’t established by page fifty, is it a romance? This is what I, and many of my colleagues are facing. It has also brought into question our future in RWA. Is there still a place for us? But that is another article.

With the increased activity of Indie Publishing, being a romance writer or not, matters little. It has freed those of us who were tethered by convention to spread our wings and write the stories that are in our hearts.

Chrome Pink may not be a typical romance, but to me, it is a romantic story. I hope you’ll give it a chance.

Posted in event

HCRW & Maya Rodale Workshop

Posted on by Sherri

I returned home exhausted but still excited, the Heart of Carolina Workshop I attended in Durham with speaker Maya Rodale was an amazing experience. Weeks before the workshop I started reading Maya Rodale’s two series The Bad Boy Billionaire and The Wall Flower Series. What an amazing marketing concept, you have no choice but to read all six books, they are so good and linked together it is impossible not to finish these series. I fell in love with the characters, the way she intertwined the two series, the modern series with plain Jane librarian good girl and sexy bad boy who needs a PR change only she can give him. She needs a life. They both get more than they bargain for.

At the workshop, Maya showed how to romance our readers and write faster with the idea of writing the book we want to read. We learned so much, not only from Maya but from the other experienced authors who were willing to share their information and inspiration to make the workshop much more than could be found anywhere else in the world.

The Heart of Carolina Romance Writers is a group that embraces its members and willingly shares knowledge and experience. Even after two years, I was welcomed by several who remembered me, others who knew me from on-line classes and posts. It was a joyous day of meeting, greeting and learning. I am so thankful for this group who have done so much to help me hone my writing skills.

I had a table full of talented authors to learn from and share with, my wise women from the east Kate Parker and Hannah Meredith kept me laughing as we traveled to and from the workshop. They are working on a Christmas Anthology that is destined to be a winner and will be hosting a Facebook party. It is exciting to learn how they are bringing it all together.

I also had the chance to meet Katharine Ashe who will be a presenter at the Pamlico Writers Conference in March 2015. She is another rock star writer who I’ve enjoyed reading…”The Prince Catcher” Series “I Married a Duke” and “I Adored a Lord” as well as, “Kisses she Wrote” are part of this series, I can hardly wait for the last one.

Seeing Virginia Kantra writer of the “Dare Island” series was another joy, her books feel like coming home.

Jennifer Delamere just back from Moonlight and Magnolias was so excited to share her experience assisting new writers perfect their pitch. It is this kind of excitement that I’ve experienced as a member of HCRW, people aren’t just willing to help, they are excited to share their experience and knowledge.
Maya Rodale Workshop 2014 013

Posted in Book Review

Never Kiss a Rake by Anne Stuart

Posted on by Sherri

I kept putting this book down because I am not fond of books where the husband and wife cheat. Even though I know it happens even in modern times, and in historicals, marriage was often little more than a business arrangement and it was never expected that a wealthy spouse be faithful. As I started to read Never Kiss a Rake, I came to see the wife as the villain and though that doesn’t excuse her husband, it does make us feel a bit more sympathetic.

I loved the way Ms. Stuart wove this story together giving us little morsels of fact that inevitably led us to the true villain in this story. It was a bit of a surprise to learn who was behind all the evil that transpires within the pages of this book but as soon as they are revealed, their identity unmasked, it became apparent from comments mentioned early in the story. Anne Stuart is the master of misdirection, with distractions and other possibilities adding layers of fog to cloud the truth, it is exciting to see the smoke blown away before the final revelations.

These characters: both the hero and heroine as well as the multiple villains and supporting cast are wonderfully well written adding more depth and dimensions of this mysterious love story. Adrian Bruton, the Earl of Kilmartyn is hardly the most believable hero, he in fact has all the marks of one who is truly a villain, yet we come to like him and want him to be good or at least not too bad. Bryony Russell aka Mrs. Greaves isn’t your traditional English rose, she is hardly a hothouse flower. Her strength and determination even pitted against her weaknesses and desire for the notorious rake, make her seem real, vulnerable and a true heroine. We want this couple to get together despite his being married and her believing he had something to do with her father’s death and destruction. Add in the supporting cast of sisters, household staff and Kilmartyn’s wife, maid and lovers, you have an army of suspects and possible scenarios available to make the story interesting and exciting.

I am looking forward to reading Never Trust a Pirate and Never Marry a Viscount the last two books in this trilogy. Even they are as good as Never Kiss a Rake, they’ll be fun to read.