Philippa Kirkpatrick has been raised at a castle by a duchess. I’m all about the details. Can you explain Philippa’s position a little bit? Philippa came to Carlyle Castle as a young child, when her widowed father married the Duke of Carlyle’s sister. She was raised at the castle, doted on by the Carlyle family. Her father died when she was a teenager, and then her stepmother, leaving her as the ward of the duke’s mother, the Duchess. The duchess has no other grandchildren and believes she never will; she loves Philippa as a granddaughter and made Philippa her sole heiress (and the duchess was a wealthy woman before she married a duke). As the duchess is elderly, and the duke is unable to run things himself, Philippa gradually becomes the lady of the estate, which she takes to and is determined to do well. The duchess trusts and relies on her completely, which means Philippa has to handle the troublesome new steward, William Montclair, herself.   The description for ALL THE DUKE I NEED doesn’t paint a detailed picture of Will. How would you describe him to readers? Charming and easygoing? Serious and a total boy scout good guy?…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction! Can you tell us a little bit about your new book, WHEN THE MARQUESS WAS MINE? Sure! It’s the third book in my Wagers of Sin series, with a luxe, risque gaming club called the Vega Club at the center. Each book’s story turns on a scandalous or notorious wager at the club, and in this book, it’s actually a drunken birthday party that gets the hero, Rob (Marquess of Westmorland) in trouble. He wins, mostly by accident, the deed to a country house. His friends tease about turning it into a brothel, but Rob doesn’t really want the house; he decides to return the deed, but not to the feckless idiot who lost it. He plans to give it to the man’s wife and family, figuring they can punish the guy a lot more than Rob can himself. Georgiana Lucas is visiting her friend Kitty in the country when Kitty hears alarming news from her husband: the terrible Marquess of Westmorland is coming to take possession of their house. He claims he was swindled. He scares them all to death. Kitty vows Westmorland will never be allowed inside her house. So when Rob turns…

In Regency England, gaming was The Thing. It was Snapchat and Tindr and the cinnamon challenge rolled into one, bold and daring and personally risky. My new series, The Wagers of Sin, features a dangerous wager in each novel, with the characters’ lives changed by the consequences. To make it come to life, I had to brush up on my research about gambling and wagers in the era. Gambling was everywhere. In the streets, men challenged each other to personal feats, with money riding on who could outdo the other. After dinner parties, hostesses set up card tables for entertainment. Rakehells in London went to coffee houses and gaming hells. As a result, all sorts of establishments sprang up to offer places to play, including clubs in the swank heart of Mayfair like Crockford’s, reputed to be as splendid as Versailles. These were my model for the Vega Club: elegant, elite, and no-limit. As for the name, Vega is one of the brightest stars in the northern celestial hemisphere—and also because “What happens at Vega’s, stays at Vega’s,” is one of the club’s rules. At a gaming hell there would be specific games to play, or course: hazard was very…

Want to learn a little something about the writers of THE DESIRES OF DUKE Historical Romance Collection? Here are their own favorite fictional dukes. Erica Monroe: Favorite Duke: Roderick Gideon Tremayne, Duke of Wentworth Title of book: FOREVER AND A DAY Author: Delilah Marvelle Why he’s my favorite duke: Roderick and Georgia’s love is truly a story of love defying society’s conventions, and they have to fight hard for their happily ever after. Roderick’s devotion to Georgia made me love him even more. Favorite Duke: Simon Pearson, Duke of Leighton Title of Book: ELEVEN SCANDALS TO START TO WIN A DUKE’S HEART Author: Sarah MacLean Why he’s my favorite duke: This book is probably the reason I have a thing for the rule-following, restrained hero who refuses to admit that passion could ever change his life. I absolutely adored the chemistry between “opposites attract” Simon and Juliana, and this was one of the first books I read where I really got caught up in the story and found myself breathlessly reading the next page. I loved Simon’s dedication to his family, and his struggle between following his logic, or his heart. Shana Galen: Favorite Duke: The Duke of Avendale Title…