Fact meets fiction in The MAD GIRLS OF NEW YORK, my novel inspired by the true story of Nellie Bly, the famous stunt girl reporter of the Gilded Age.  As a young woman in 1887, she took off for New York City to make it as a journalist. The only assignment she could get was quite the stunt: feign insanity, get herself committed to an insane asylum and write about it. That was just the beginning of her legendary career. Nellie Bly is such a fascinating, daredevil, rebellious person—and character—it’s a challenge to limit to ten fun facts about her. It’s certainly a delight to write a novel about her. Nellie Bly is real person—but Nellie Bly wasn’t her real name. She was born Elizabeth Cochran (she later added an “e” at the end to be fancy) but her mother called her Pink, after all the frilly pink clothes she dressed her in. She adopted the pseudonym Nellie Bly when she started publishing for the local newspaper, The Pittsburgh Dispatch. The name came from a popular tune at the time. My favorite detail: a typesetter’s typo changed the spelling from Nelly to Nellie. Include the picture of Nellie   The…

Your heroine in RULES FOR ENGAGING THE EARL is a businesswoman, among other things. What made you decide you create this type of heroine? Any real-life inspiration? This is a great question; one I’m delighted to answer. It’s a common misconception that women didn’t work during the Regency period. They did. Let’s look at a few. One of the most familiar examples is Jane Austen. Yet, poor Jane didn’t make enough from her beloved novels to make ends meet. Since she never married, she had to rely on the generosity of her brother after her father passed away. There were other trailblazers. Let me introduce you to Harriett Mellon. Have you ever heard of her? Probably not, though her influence on society during the Regency period was great. An actress of moderate accomplishment, part of her fame and biggest success came from her career as a banker and major partner at Coutts & Co. It’s still in business, and it’s where Queen Elizabeth banks. Let’s not forget Eleanor Coade who purchased a stoneware company and turned it into a successful business by supplying neoclassical statues and garden ornaments for the Prince Regent and others during this period. Her pieces are…

I love stories in which a main character “comes back from the dead”. What inspired you to create a story with this plot? THE DUKE IS BACK is book 6 (and the final book) in my Footmen’s Club series. The series was based on the idea of three noblemen betting each other they couldn’t pull off pretending to be servants at a house party. Whoever makes it the longest, wins! That is the premise of the first three books, and I’d only planned to write the trilogy. But readers asked for more (yay!). So I wrote the book about how the couple who hosted the house party met (Book 4, Save a Horse, Ride a Viscount). In that book, there was a mysterious house guest who was hidden away. His name is Phillip. Save a Horse ended on a cliffhanger for Phillip (it was sort of a surprise for me, too!) THE DUKE IS BACK picks up the story of what happened to Phillip and how he reclaims his life.   Phillip’s brother was murdered. I suspect there’s a mystery thrown into this romance. If that’s so, would you say you have an even balance of mystery in romance? Or…