Laura Lee Guhrke | Ruin and Redemption

Nowadays, with the internet, with Twitter and Facebook and all the other social media, someone’s reputation can be destroyed in an instant. On the other hand, with skillful managing by handlers or internet-savvy friends, it can often be quickly rehabilitated. That hasn’t always been the case, particularly for women. As Downton Abbey fans know, when Edith wrote the letter to the Turkish Embassy, telling of her sister’s midnight assignation with Mr. Pamuk, it wasn’t just a sister’s spiteful little prank. Such a move had devastating consequences that Downton barely touched upon.

Were Lady Mary Crawley a real person, the ruin of her reputation by her sister would have been much more devastating and would probably have cost her entire future, which is one of many reasons why I just can’t be on Team Edith, no matter what, and always come down totally on Team Mary, but I digress. In real life, a woman faced with Mary’s situation would probably never have been able to marry, at least not someone of her own ranks (a huge mark of shame with vast consequences back in those days). She would have been cut off from society, her own friends would not have been able to see her without being tainted by association, and her life would have become one of isolation and loneliness. Think about it: no friends, no parties, no social life at all. Just living forever with your parents, doing good works, being a spinster (i.e. loser), and walking around for the rest of your life with a big, metaphorical SLUT tattoo on your forehead. What a nightmare.

The reason I bring all this up is that a woman’s reputation lies at the heart of my new book, CATCH A FALLING HEIRESS. Here, we meet Linnet Holland, a Knickerbocker heiress with oodles of American cash, but she’s no Consuelo Vanderbilt. Unlike her own real-life counterpart, Linnet has no intention of allowing her ambitious parents to decide who she marries. And when Jack, the Earl of Featherstone, comes to America to destroy a villain, also destroying Linnet’s reputation in the process, he knows he’s the one who has to save it. Jack, however, has his own reputation: he’s the brother and the son of scheming British fortune hunters. And Linnet has no intention of being the Featherstone family’s next bank deposit. She decides to save her own reputation and tells Jack to go pound sand. How she does it, I won’t reveal, but Jack refuses to accept her solution to her problem. Being a hero, he knows he’s the one who has to save her. He caused the heiress to fall, and he knows damn well it’s his job to catch her.

What about you? If your reputation was ruined and you were facing a lifetime of shame, but if the stranger responsible could also save you by marrying you, would you let him? Yeah, he’s handsome, he’s hot, but you’re sure he did it all to get his hands on your money and you could never get a divorce if things didn’t work out. Would you take the “easy” way out and marry him? Or would you say, “Hell, no!” and, like both Linnet and Lady Mary, find your own solution?

About CATCH A FALLING HEIRESS

She's an American heiress. He's a devilish earl. When these two collide, the sparks ignite a shocking scandal in USA Today bestselling author Laura Lee Guhrke's unforgettable Victorian-era romance.

Linnet Holland wants nothing to do with fortune hunters. No, she's determined to marry a man who loves her. But just as she's about to accept the perfect marriage proposal from the man she wants, the rakish Earl of Featherstone interrupts and ruins everything, including her reputation, with his smoldering kiss . . .

Jack Featherstone knows all about Linnet's "intended," and he's determined she won't fall prey to that villain as other women have in the past. But when his attempt to save Linnet ruins her instead, he knows he has to make things right. So he sets out to win this golden beauty . . . and prove to her that being ruined by him was the best thing that could have happened to her.

About Laura Lee Guhrke

Laura Lee Guhrke spent seven years in advertising, had a successful catering business, and managed a construction company before she decided writing novels was more fun. A USA Today bestselling author, Laura has penned over twenty historical romances. Her books have received many award nominations, and she is the recipient of romance fiction’s highest honor: the Romance Writers of America RITA Award. She lives with her husband in the Northwest, along with two diva cats and a Golden Retriever happy to be their slave. Laura loves hearing from readers, and you can contact her via her website or visit her author page on Facebook.