Erin Knightley talks Mr. Darcy, Colin Firth, and the Redeemable Hero

Erin Knightley, author of the Prelude to a Kiss series and the Sealed with a Kiss series joins us to talk about Mr. Darcy (and Colin Firth) and THE DUKE CAN GO TO THE DEVIL.

Jen: Hi, Erin. Thank you for joining us on Fresh Fiction!

Erin: Thank you so much for having me!

Jen: I love your bucket list on your website! Let me get this first question out of the way. You met Colin Firth!!! I am extremely jealous and I love the picture! I’m a bit of fangirl myself. Tell us everything?

Erin: Ah, the day that shall live in infamy :D. It was such a serendipitous moment. I knew he was going to be in town filming, and even had friends that went to try to catch a glimpse early that day. I happened to be near downtown that afternoon, so I decided what the heck, I’d swing by and have a look. The moment I arrived to where people were gathered, he simply walked over and said hello! Talk about luck – some of those women had been there for hours hoping to meet him. He was very gracious, very nice-smelling, and very tall! And that accent?? *le sigh*

I intended to be very cool and level-headed, but dissolved into a stupor the moment his arm touched mine. I was so flummoxed, I couldn’t even get a proper word out about how fabulous I thought he was! I later wrote an open letter to him, which I secretly hope he reads some day ;)

Jen: THE DUKE CAN GO TO THE DEVIL is the third novel in Prelude to a Kiss series. William has been compared to Mr. Darcy (the best compliment), and part of his charm is in his relationships to his younger siblings. Did Will ever take you by surprise when you started writing or did you always know he had this fierce loyalty and protectiveness inside?

Erin: Thank you for the Mr. Darcy comparison—I did indeed want William to be a nod toward Austen’s most beloved hero! I love a man who has great responsibility, propriety, and control, but with unseen passion simmering just below the surface.

Believe it or not, his siblings were a total surprise to me! Their existence revealed so much to me about his character and really gave him all the redemption I was looking for (because, let’s be honest – he’s a bit of an arse to begin with!). The tenderness that he showed toward them was as welcome as it was unexpected, and really rounded him out as a hero.

Jen: Your writing is filled with humor and enchantment. As someone who’s not able to tell a knock-knock joke without messing up the punch line, I’m impressed with the ease and naturalness of the humor in your writing. Does humor come naturally to you or do you think it comes more from the characters and their situations?

Erin: Why thank you! Humor is a fickle beast when it comes to capturing it in writing. I can’t think too hard about it; it really has to come from the characters themselves. It sounds weird, but I’ve been known to laugh out loud at something my characters say or do because I didn’t see it coming. It’s a good thing that I work from home where no one but the dogs witness my process!

Jen: What are the last three books you read that you loved and why?

Erin: - I'VE GOT MY DUKE TO KEEP ME WARM by Kelly Bowen. She’s a debut author this year, and I’m blown away by the maturity of her writing. You’d think she’d been an author for years! Humor, wit, and well-drawn characters abound.

- A BOLLYWOOD AFFAIR by Sonali Dev. Yet another debut author, and she has really brought something special to the romance community. This book is a wonderful nod to Bollywood type romances. I loved that she created a rich, multi-cultural story that is at once exotic and familiar.

- THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir. Ok, so it is in no way a romance, but it had me riveted. I’m a scientist by training (B.S in Marine Science, believe it or not!), so the technical aspect was fascinating to me. But so too was the very human story of survival against all odds, with the unexpected humor and heart that kept me flipping pages again and again. A bonus with this book was being able to rec it to Mr. Knightley, who’s an engineer. Now we can’t wait to see the movie!

Jen: Can you tell us what you’re working on at the moment and what we can look forward to in the future?

Erin: I’m currently deep in copyedits for my next book, THE VISCOUNT RISKS IT ALL, which is the last in the Prelude to a Kiss series. I cannot begin to describe how excited I am for this book to hit shelves. Dering and Felicity spoke to my heart like none of my characters ever have before—and that’s saying something! These two really earn their HEA, so you might want to have some tissues on hand :)

Additionally, I have an All’s Fair in Love novella coming out of Aug 2nd called VEXED BY A VISCOUNT. I hadn’t planned to write in that series again, but sometimes you just love a world too much to let it go. I hope my readers feel the same way!

Jen: Thank you so much for speaking with us. It's been a pleasure speaking with you!

Erin: Thank you so much for letting me join you today! It’s always such fun to chat with you guys here at Fresh Fiction. Happy reading, everyone!

About Erin Knightley

Despite being an avid reader and closet writer her whole life, Erin Knightley decided to pursue a sensible career in science. It was only after earning her B.S. and working in the field for years that she realized doing the sensible thing wasn't any fun at all. Following her dreams, Erin left her practical side behind and now spends her days writing.

Together with her tall, dark, and handsome husband and their three spoiled mutts, she is living her own Happily Ever After in North Carolina.

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About THE DUKE CAN GO TO THE DEVIL

After her mother’s death, May’s sea captain father sends her halfway around the world to live with his stodgy sister in England. The summer festival in Bath made for a lovely distraction, but now she can’t wait for her father’s return so she can leave this country, its suffocating rules, and one infuriatingly proper nobleman in particular behind.

Because he is the Duke of Radcliffe, William Spencer’s whole life revolves around his duties. He never steps foot outside the bounds of proper behavior, and he expects the same of those around him. With her devil-may- care ways, May vexes him nearly as much as she tempts him, but there’s something about her that he just can’t resist. He knows he’s falling hard for her, but with lives that are worlds apart, will they ever be able to find any common ground?