A Little Bit Wicked Blog Tour

Today I'm thrilled to be interviewing author Robyn DeHart about her wonderful new historical romance, A Little Bit Wicked, the first book in her Forbidden Love Series for Entangled Publishing. Be sure to leave a comment below; each tour stop (listed here) will be giving away an ebook copy!

Welcome, Robyn...can you tell us a little about your Forbidden Love Series? 

Yes. The tagline I used in my series overview was:  

Three unconventional women determined to live life on their own terms and the three men determined to have them.  

I wanted to write a series that took on some of the would-be forbidden scenarios. In A LITTLE BIT WICKED my heroine, Vivian March is a spinster, she’s older (34) and the hero is younger (27). This age difference is an issue for her and she can’t imagine why he wouldn’t want a younger woman. In the other books I explore class differences (with illegitimacy) and the taboo of a guardian and his ward.  

  

How did you come to be a part of Entangled's new Scandalous line? 

  

Well, you know that’s kind of a funny story. I’d been intrigued by what Entangled was doing. They were creating significant buzz and I’d been looking for a second genre to write (besides my longer historicals). Several friends had suggested I submit something to Entangled, but I couldn’t find anywhere on their site where they accepted historicals. Then I got a hit on my google alert and Entangled had put up a blog post announcing their upcoming Scandalous line, in the guidelines they actually used me as a voice they liked. I was so flattered and I figured if they appreciated my voice then I was half way there. I emailed the editor immediately and told her I’d be putting together a proposal for her.  

What kind of research goes into the writing of your historicals? 

  

Some books more than most. I write in the same time period – though because the Victorian era is so large I do tend to move decades on occasion. But I have a decent understanding of the era. I do enough research before I write a book to make sure that my idea holds firm, that’s its feasible, that history backs it up, then I start writing. During that first draft I don’t research, unless I get stuck. I just make notes of research I need to look up. It’s really easy to get stuck in research mode and what’s important are the details needed for that story. Yes, I want my books to be as historically accurate as possible, but my main focus is on creating believable characters and a satisfying romance. I have a pretty large research library now with lots of wonderful books. And the internet is always helpful – though you do have to be careful with resources there.  

Why are historicals your chosen genre? 

  

I’ve always loved history. I remember first realizing that sometime in Jr. High and I was loving my history class, it surprised me. History wasn’t supposed to be interesting or fun. People grumbled about it as much as they did math. But it intrigued me. In high school I read my first adult romance, Kathleen Woodiwiss and I was hooked! It was like something clicked in my mind – I’d always known I wanted to be a writer, but it wasn’t until that book that I knew what I wanted to write, what I was meant to write. In college I minored in history and loved (most) of my classes. Admittedly I’m an Anglophile – I LOVE British history. 

Do you have any advice for an aspiring writer? 

  

Yes! I have lots of advice. It’s important to me to give back to the romance writing community. I have many writing articles on my website. I generally teach classes (on-line) a couple times of year and I’ve spoken at RWA chapters all over. I’m also available via email if writers have questions. Every week (most of the time) I do a feature on my own blog called Writerly Wednesdays where I write a blog about some writing craft related topic.  

That being said, my basic advice is: take your time, this is not a race. Too many people submit or self-pub before they’re ready. It’s so important to learn your craft, to hone your writing skills and put out the best product you can. Make writing a priority. If you want to do this and succeed, you must find a way to put writing into your daily life, even if you have a day job, children, care for an aging parent, whatever. We all have stuff in our lives and if we think writing is important, we must make it a priority. If you want to write romance, join Romance Writers of America. Right now. Go, I’ll wait… 

Do you have a favorite book that you've written? 

Well, I’m fond of all of them. When you spend that much time with characters, they grow on you. But yeah, I kinda have some favorites, but don’t tell the other books. I really love Seduce Me, book 1 in my Legend Hunters series. Writing that book was fun and challenging and exciting and I really love those characters. I have a book coming out later this summer called The Secrets of Mia Danvers and while this was definitely the most difficult book I’ve ever written (for a variety of reasons) I’m very proud of the way it came out. I took on a challenge for that book, the heroine is blind and so far everyone who has read the book loves her. It’s set against the backdrop of the Jack the Ripper murders, a topic I’ve wanted to write about for years. And I can’t not mention A Little Bit Wicked. It seems convenient since that’s my latest release, but in all sincerity, I fell in love with the hero, Marcus. I don’t normally read my own words and get all gooey about a hero. It’s a rarity and he made me all kinds of gooey.  

  

Anything you'd like to reveal about yourself that your readers might find surprising? 

You know I’m pretty much an open book. I blog about all matters of my personal life, infertility, miscarriage, adoption, house building, etc. I’m a real person and I want readers to know that. I wish I had something interesting to say here…um, I met my husband on an on-line dating site.  

Thanks for having me!

Marcus Kincaid has returned to England after a ten-year absence. His older brother died during that time, making Marcus the Earl of Ashford. Not only that, his younger sister is embroiled in a potential scandal that could ruin her chance at marriage. His aunt has already called in reinforcements—The Paragon. 

Vivian March is known simply as The Paragon. She moves through every circle within Society, smoothing out scandals and stopping gossip in its tracks. Everyone in London knows that if she aligns herself with you, Society will forgive you your sins. What they don’t know is that she uses their secrets to cover her own jaded past. 

But with every kiss and every touch that Marcus thrusts upon her, Vivian comes to believe life is infinitely more fun when you can be just a little bit wicked… 

  

Title: A Little Bit Wicked 

Author: Robyn DeHart 

Genre: Historical Romance 

Length: 229 pages 

Release Date: December 2012 

ISBN: 978-1-62266-816-8 

Imprint: Scandalous 

Purchase from Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Little-Wicked-Forbidden-Love-ebook/dp/B00AHDJXYO 

Purchase from Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-little-bit-wicked-robyn-dehart/1113884256 

Author Information 

 

I’m one of those writers who always knew that she wanted to be a writer. It took me a while, however, to figure out precisely what I wanted to write. Reading Kathleen Woodiwiss’ ”A Rose in Winter” sealed the deal for me and I’ve been reading and writing romance ever since. I should have known I was destined for this when my Barbies insisted on hosting elaborate masquerade parties, complete with stolen kisses in the moonlight. 

I’m the youngest of three children, so of course I’m the favorite. I was raised in central Texas, in the beautiful Hill Country, right smack-dab between Austin and San Antonio. My parents were high school sweethearts and married a week after my mother graduated – they both needed their parents’ permission to marry since they were so young. So I blame them and their amazing marriage for the fact that I’m a hopeless romantic. 

Somewhere along the line, I graduated from college with a degree in Sociology, only after completing an internship with none other than award-winning best-selling author, Pamela Morsi. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life and I learned more about the writing business than I could have hoped. 

After college I worked a myriad of jobs: Computer Software Trainer, Recruiter, Administrative Assistant. But no matter what my day job, I come home to my real job and click, click, click away on my computer and get lost in my imaginary world where justice always prevails and the girl always gets her guy! It’s the coolest job in the world. 

I’m married to the most amazingly supportive man. He’s so proud of my career, and loves to tell people, “My wife is a romance novelist.” We live in the Austin area, where my husband is a university professor. He’s ridiculously smart, but remains goofy enough to make me laugh every day. We’re the parents of two beautiful and precocious little girls who keep me quite busy during the day. We also have two very spoiled cats who are of no help at all when it comes to my writing, although they sometimes nap in the same room where I sit diligently working. 

I’ve published seven historicals, all of which have received great reviews and a handful of them have won awards. I love to hear from readers,so feel free to send me an email or you can find me online at The Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills, or, Peanut Butter on the Keyboard, my newest blogging endeavor that’s all about writing moms or moms who write. You can also find me on my Facebook or my Facebook Author page and on Twitter. I’m everywhere! 

Author Website:  http://www.robyndehart.com/ 

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/RobynDeHart 

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/288853.Robyn_DeHart  

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/robyndehart