1--What is the title of your latest release?
CINDERELLA AND THE DUKE
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Pride and Prejudice meets Cinderella with a Regency twist!
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I’ve always loved historical romances, in particular the Regency period. I guess it’s the Jane Austen fangirl in me. I liked the idea of doing a historical fairy tale retelling, and I especially liked the idea of doing Cinderella. The London Season had plenty of opportunities for lavish balls and parties, and it was definitely more common for a young woman be financially dependent on a wicked stepmother in the 1800s than it would be now. It just seemed like a good fit.
4--Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely! Julia’s a funny and outgoing person, and she’s loyal to the people she loves. I’d have to be a little on my guard, though. She has a bit of a temper if she thinks people are jerking her around.
5--What are three words that describe your hero?
Funny, Passionate, Wounded
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
When I was researching wedding dresses, I realized most Regency brides didn’t have new gowns made. They’d wear their Sunday best. Weddings were not as lavish an affair back then as they are today. I did still have a fancy, modiste-made wedding gown for my heroine, but I accentuated that it was unusual.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Most of the time I wait. I only go back and rewrite if I can feel it’s gone off the rails. I try not to finish a draft these days with whole sections of the book I know are going to be tossed out. It ends up making so much more work in the long run!
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
There’s a really good bakery up the street from me that makes an incredible lemon cake. It’s so addictive.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
At the moment I’ve just moved, so it’s my living room couch! When the weather is nicer, I like to sit at an outdoor café.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Tessa Dare. Her books always make me laugh, and I find it’s so hard to do humor well. I also just love her heroines! They’re complex and brave, I love rooting for them.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
The Count of Monte Cristo. I read it one summer when I was a kid and I just remember being absolutely obsessed. I think that’s where my love of historical tales of grand passion came from.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)
It was actually an email! My agent lives abroad, so connecting on the phone is always tricky. I was checking my email a thousand times a day like any querying writer does, and I saw my agent’s address and the word ‘offer’ in the subject line. It’s a good thing she wasn’t on the phone at the time, because I let out quite a scream!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Either romance or fantasy. I love being transported to somewhere entirely new.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Amadeus. Again with the period pieces! I think it’s an incredible film, and I love how the music of Mozart sort of becomes its own character.
15--What is your favorite season?
Summer. I know that makes me an outlier, especially on the east coast. I just like wearing flip flops, I guess.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
With a few loved ones and maybe a bottle of champagne.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Everyone on the planet has already watched it, but I loved House of the Dragon.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Italian. My great-grandmother’s recipes are some of the most delicious food you’ll ever eat.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
These days, I finally get caught up on cleaning the house. That’s a big indulgence right now, just cleaning. That’s how hectic my life is!
20--What can readers expect from you next?
The sequel to Cinderella and the Duke should be coming summer of 23! It will star Susannah, Julia’s stepsister, and is loosely based on Red Riding Hood.
Miss Julia Beaumont has exactly one night to find herself a husband…
The Weatherford Ball is the last chance Julia Beaumont has to escape the clutches of her horrid stepmother. Any potential husband will do—rich, poor, even a reasonably well-groomed walrus. But all of Julia’s matrimonial chances are completely obliterated…thanks to the actions of an infuriating and utterly rakish duke.
Gregory Carter, Duke of Ashworth, would never risk his cherished bachelorhood by flirting with marriage-starved debutantes. But one look at the luscious and refreshingly clever Julia, and he simply can’t resist a stolen kiss—scandal be damned. Then just as things start getting deliciously interesting, the lady flees…leaving only a slipper behind.
And it must have been one dandy of a kiss. Because now Julia has proposed to him. After all, the lady needs a husband, and this roguish duke will certainly do. It’s simply a matter of making him the perfect scandalous offer…
Romance Historical [Entangled: Amara, On Sale: January 1, 2023, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781649373144 / eISBN: 9781649373151]
Lydia Drake is a reader of all things romance and a drinker of all the tea. A New Jersey resident, her favorite activities include taking the train to New York City, scouring used bookstores, spending time with her family and wrangling her hyperactive cockapoo puppy.
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