1--What is the title of your latest release?
A ROGUE’S CHRISTMAS
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
From the moment she saw him, Flora Conway knew that Jack Balfour was the Scotsman for her. Tall and dark, witty and charming, he’s a rogue who sets her senses aflame like no other man. A ROGUE’S CHRSTMAS is the last installment of the Highland Brides, where the women are daring, resourceful, and extraordinary, and their handsome, roguish grooms are irresistible.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
This story is the final book in my Highland Brides series, so the series was already entrenched in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. But I also added a little time in the port of Portsmouth, England, to add a little naval flair to our Royal Navy hero’s story.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! Miss Flora Conway—and indeed all my heroines—are friends I have invented specifically so I could spend all my time with them. Flora is loyal and resourceful and loves to flirt, so she says all sorts of wonderfully witty, fun things.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Witty, determined, and stylish
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I didn’t do a great deal of research for this story—the heroine had been a secondary character in a previous book, MAD ROGUES AND ENGLISHWOMEN—and the hero was my favorite type of man to write—a Royal Navy captain. I did do some research on Christmas customs of the Regency period in Scotland, and really enjoyed learning about the Feast of St. Nicholas.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I must edit as I go. I don’t feel I can move forward unless I’ve got things right!
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I love to bake, and I love fruit, so lemon squares, with an almond shortbread cookie beneath, are my go to sweet.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I have an office that is really a glorified storage room, so I don’t write in there. I write all over the house, in whichever room has the best light at the moment. That’s the beauty of a laptop—my lap is my office.
10--Who is an author you admire?
I deeply admire Sherry Thomas, for many reasons: her versatility as an author—she writes in many different genres; her elegant language; and her deeply inventive mind! I think I have read absolutely everything she writes, even her YA books, which I normally don’t read.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I think that book that really changed my life by making me want to try to write, was Jane’s Austen’s PERSUASION.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I don’t really remember my current ‘call,’ but I have the very good fortune to be working with Tanya Anne Crosby at Oliver Heber Books. Originally, I was only interested in letting OHB have the management of my backlist of twenty-odd historical romances, but they did such a good job with them, that I asked if I could also release new books with them, too. So now I’ve released the last two Highland Brides books with them, and I hope there are more to come.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Strangely enough, I think I read poetry the most. I read it to learn the mastery of picking just the right word to give the biggest impact. I like poetry because it often seems to tackle the biggest subjects in the smallest amount of writing.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. It is just the loveliest most natural love story, and the ending kills me every time I see it—which is at least once a year. I probably really started writing romance so I could change the ending of that movie!
15--What is your favorite season?
Autumn! Most of my beloved family’s birthdays are in the fall, so it has always been my favorite.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Quietly with my family, with a lovely meal and an afternoon bike ride.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I love the podcast, History on Fire, with Professor Daniele Bolelli. My most recent listen was to the episode on the Iceman, a mummy found in an alpine glacier in 199, who thanks to the frozen conditions has survive since the Copper Age, around 3300 BCE. I was fascinated by the archaeological details.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I am a huge fan of French country cooking, and spend hours peering through cookbooks, putting together menus.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I love to be outside. I try to carve out free time every day to exercise and to take my dogs Ghillie and Brogue, for a nice long walk to really think through the plot.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I am currently also writing Historical Mysteries as Elizabeth Hobbs, and just released MISERY HATES COMPANY, a Marigold Manners Mystery. I am currently contracted to write a second installment of the series, which is tentatively titled, MURDER MADE HER CAUTIOUS, and it should be out next fall or winter. But in between the mysteries, I expect I will still be writing historical mysteries—I’m just not sure exactly which story, yet!
Highland Brides #6
From acclaimed author Elizabeth Essex, a return to the Highland Brides, where the women are daring, resourceful, and extraordinary, and their handsome, roguish grooms are irresistible.
For Richer
The moment she saw him, Flora Conway knew that Jack Balfour was the Scotsman for her. Tall and dark, witty and charming, he’s a rogue who sets her senses aflame like no other man. And he’s recently been elevated to the peerage as the Earl of Kinloch. There’s only one problem—he’s destitute.
Or for Poorer
Captain Jack Balfour has been called home from the Royal Navy only to find his inheritance is nothing but a moldering castle and a mounting pile of debt. Every penny he’s made from his naval prizes is instantly consumed by the earldom’s outstanding obligations. He has no choice but to shelve his dreams of marriage to the divine Miss Flora Conway and go back to sea to try and earn another fortune as large as his first to keep himself from drowning in Kinloch’s debt.
But Flora is the sort of lass who won’t take no for an answer, and her outrageous proposal might just be the most roguish of them all.
Romance Historical [Oliver-Heber Books, On Sale: November 12, 2024, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781648397257 / ]
When not rereading Jane Austen, mucking about in her garden and simply messing about with boats, award–winning author Elizabeth Essex can be always be found with her laptop, making up stories about heroes and heroines who live far more exciting lives than she. It wasn't always so. Long before she ever set pen to paper, Elizabeth graduated from Hollins College with a BA in Classics, and then earned her MA in Nautical Archaeology from Texas A&M University. While she loved the life of an underwater archaeologist, she has found her true calling writing lush, lyrical historical romance full of passion, daring and adventure. Elizabeth lives in Texas with her husband, the indispensable Mr. Essex, and her active and exuberant family in an old house filled to the brim with books.
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