1–What’s the name of your latest release?  THE REVOLUTIONARY AND THE ROGUE 2–What is it about?  Perrin de Vesey, an aristocrat who is grieving the unjust execution of his lover, is recruited by his friends to help save innocents from the guillotine. But handsome Committee officer, Henri Chevalier, is hot on his trail, eager to ensnare counterrevolutionary conspirators. Attraction simmers between the two, tearing down the barricades that stand between them. 3–What word best describes Perrin?  Compassionate 4–What makes Henri irresistible?  He dreams of freedom and equality for all people and believes in fair and just trials–even for his enemies. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Perrin has a strong support of friends from Crimson Rose–a club that welcomes men who prefer men. They stand together and shield one another from danger at all costs. Henri, on the other hand, finds himself unable to trust his fellow Committee officers. In a city where anyone might betray their neighbors, it isn’t easy to find good friends. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I have always been fascinated with the French Revolution. Their leaders fought for many good and noble causes:…

I write historical romance classified as “sweet” but not religious. I don’t particularly care for the term “sweet” because of the baggage that’s been assigned to it. The term has been used simultaneously to put down “sweet” romance as yawn-inducing and to lay church lady judgment on sensual romances. That said, it is a better term than “clean” – don’t get me started there. So, for the purposes of this article, let’s stick with “sweet.” As a man writing in a space dominated by women readers and writers, I made a conscious decision to avoid writing explicit sex scenes. Don’t misunderstand me – I read plenty of spicy romance; Tessa Dare is one of my favorites. It is just my opinion, though, that for a man writing sex scenes primarily for women readers there are a thousand ways to die. I took the cowards way out. I’m not proud of it. That brings me to my question, though: does sweet romance still matter? In the beginning of the genre (or at least during the early 19th century), most romance fell into the sweet category. Spicy works were forbidden pleasures read mostly in secret, a behavior-driven largely by the prevalent religious…

As the hot breath of August inspires us to escape the heat with cold drinks, swimming pools, and air-conditioned spaces (alone or properly socially-distanced, of course) we’ll look at escapes into fascinating views of nineteenth-century life. Two of these visions focus on the California coast.  In CALICO PALACE by Gwen Bristow, two women from vastly different backgrounds arrive in California on the eve of the 1849 Gold Rush.  Kendra’s army colonel stepfather brings the family to San Francisco as commander of the city’s defenses during the Mexican War.  Marny travels from Honolulu to set up a gaming establishment.  Both end up following the gold craze into the mining camp of Shiny Gulch, where they set up the Calico Palace, a tent that evolves over time to become the most elegant gambling house in California. Rich in detail about the rapid rise of a sleepy town into a major economic powerhouse, Bristow’s tale illuminates the stories of miners and settlers, gamblers, and drifters, those dreaming of fortunes built on gold dust, and those ready to profit from those dreams. In BELLE CORA by Phillip Margulis, small-town New York girl Arabella Godwin grows up to become a woman so infamous, relatives back…