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…

Miranda Owen: As somebody who has read and enjoyed your historical romances, I was surprised to find you wrote a contemporary romance. What inspired you to write a contemporary? Is HIRING MR. DARCY part of a series? If so, what is it called? Valerie Bowman: I had the idea for HIRING MR. DARCY for a while and it just wouldn’t leave me alone. I was really nervous to write it and even more nervous to publish it. But I’d always wanted to *try* to write a contemporary rom com. The best part was being able to use any word I wanted without having to look it up to ensure it was in use by the early 1800’s. Ha ha ha HIRING MR. DARCY is part of a trilogy that I’m calling Austen Hunks. (waggles eyebrows) I have two more books planned: KISSING MR. KNIGHTLEY and MARRYING MR. WENTWORTH. As your hero points out (and I totally agree), the heroine is actually much more a “Mr. Darcy” than he is. If anything, I think he’s more of a Henry Tilney (my favorite Austen hero). Is Mr. Darcy your favorite Austen hero? What about your fav hero you’ve written? That you’ve read…

At the KissCon Weekend Affaire last month, there was an entire panel devoted to romantic comedies, or rom-coms, delightfully called “To All the Books I’ve Loved Before,” a nod to the very successful Netflix movie based on the YA novel To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Tessa Bailey, Alyssa Cole, Tracey Livesay, Mia Sosa, and Sally Thorne all sat and chatted about their favorite romantic comedies – both books and movies – and what made them so special. From When Harry Met Sally to Boomerang to Bridget Jones’ Diary, these contemporary romance authors told us what makes rom-coms so enjoyable, as well as what they are looking for in new rom-coms. Rom-coms have the perfect balance of comedy, drama, and of course, a loveable love story. If the lead characters start out hating each other or know from the time they’re in preschool it’s meant to be, rom-coms have a way of making us all smile. Some of my all-time favorite books are romantic comedies, and this spring and summer we are lucky to have a bounty of rom-coms hitting bookshelves, all that I think feel like the blueprints for movies or TV adaptations! Rebekah Weatherspoon – Rafe (October…

Wow – the final book in your long-running and beloved Playful Brides series is finally here with NO OTHER DUKE BUT YOU! What has this series meant to you over the years? Oh, it’s meant so much. As I say in the dedication, the series began as the stories of three friends, but the love that readers showed for them and the books enabled me to write eight more books and two novellas! I’ve been so close to the characters for so long, it’s definitely difficult to let them go.       Delilah is a perfect historical romance heroine – headstrong, self-assured, a little quirky, and completely oblivious that the perfect man is literally right in front of her. Tell us more about her character development over the course of this series and this book in particular. Delilah was introduced in book four of the series, the Irresistible Rogue. That book was inspired by The Philadelphia Story, in which the heroine’s quirky, self-assured little sister, Dinah, steals a lot of scenes. Delilah was based on Dinah and it was an absolute joy to write her. I think I knew by the end of writing that book that she would be the heroine…