In THE MOST IMPROPER MISS SOPHIE VALENTINE I developed my story around a part of Regency-era life that is not very often used as a backdrop for romance these days. I wanted to try something different. Rather than create my heroine Sophie’s world in the drawing rooms and ballrooms frequented by the London ton, I set her down in the English countryside, in a small village called Sydney Dovedale. It is the sort of place where everyone knows your business, whether you want them to or not. They don’t sit about discussing “Prinny” (the Prince Regent), politics, war, or any of the world’s larger concerns. The residents of Sydney Dovedale are interested primarily in what their neighbors are up to. Since that will most directly impact them and their lives, that’s what they want to talk about. They know everybody’s foibles and faults. And what they don’t know for sure they’ll gladly speculate upon. When it comes to Sophie Valentine, a scarred woman with a scandal in her past, the rumors abound. In an age long before reality TV and soap operas, I suppose gossip helped entertain and that is certainly the case in this fictional village. Sophie —source of…