To get us started, can you tell us a little about
what you’re working on, or have coming out?
The Secret Life of Lady
Julia will be released on May 28. It’s the story of a woman who loses
everything to scandal, and must build a new life. As the companion to a
diplomat’s sister, she travels to Vienna, where she meets her seducer again.
This time, when secrets and danger threaten everything, she must trust him once
again, and hope this time it doesn’t end in disaster. There’s a love triangle,
spies, thieves, and romance, of course.
I’m also working on a
sequel to Lady Julia, and there’s also a new series for
Avon Impulse, which takes place in Scotland, a bit of a departure for me.
If we asked your muse to describe you in five words,
what do you think they would say?
Oh, my muse can be a
capricious creature! There’s a famous portrait of Madame Recamier by
Jacques-Louis David pinned up beside my desk. Madame is a lovely Napoleonic
lady reclining on a couch. On a good day, my muse looks like Madame. On a bad
day, she’s Archie Bunker, glaring at me from the depths of a rumpled easy
chair, refusing to give me anything at all. Madame would probably say “Happiest
when the words flow”. Archie would say “Needs prodding—or a nap.”
Name one thing readers would be surprised to know
about you.
A secret! I guess the most
surprising thing is probably my taste in reading. I read a wide variety of
books, usually more than one at a time, but not often romance. I love World War
II non-fiction. I just bought a copy of Robert M. Edsel’s new book ‘Saving
Italy’, about how allied museum staff were drafted into the army to help
protect Europe’s art and monuments during World War II.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would
it be?
Paris, perhaps, or
Normandy. Actually, maybe an apartment in Paris, and a farm in Normandy—or just
the farm, and a Eurail Pass.
If someone hasn’t read your work, what book would
you recommend that they start with and why?
As series go, my books are very loosely
connected. That means that no matter which of my books you pick up first,
you’ll enjoy it on it’s own. My first book, Secrets of A Proper Countess (2011)
introduces a character who gets her own story in The Price of Temptation
(2012). How to Deceive a Duke (2012) introduces a new set of characters,
including Lady Julia, who will now take center stage in The Secret Life of Lady
Julia. I love taking the character with the saddest fate in a previous book and
giving them a story of their own, because there are so many interesting story
possibilities when someone has made dreadful mistakes, or faced adversity or
sorrow.
Where do you find the inspiration for your stories?
When I come up with the
germ of an idea, I generally go off and do some research. I look for a real
historic event to pin the story to, something that fits the characters. That
forms the backdrop to the romance, which is the main story. With Lady Julia, I
wondered how a fallen woman, disowned by her family, might make her way in the
world, and find love. She’d have to leave England, of course, but where might
she go? The fascinating Congress of Vienna brought together diplomats and
kings, lovers, spies and thieves. It made the perfect setting.
Are your characters able to love, or do they have to
be taught?
Oh, I make them struggle, learn,
and grow before they realize that there is one person who will complete them,
understand them and love them no matter what. I love flawed, tormented
heroes!
Do you have a book that was the easiest to write, or
one that was the hardest?
Each book presents its own
challenges. Creating a deep, satisfying, believable emotional connection
between the hero and heroine is so important, and a very delicate process. So
is creating suspense, and writing the kind of story that will keep the pages
turning. My very favorite part of writing any book is the unexpected moments
when my characters do something I hadn’t planned, but works so perfectly—it’s
always a breathtaking, joyful, ‘aha’ kind of feeling.
If you could collaborate with one author, who would
it be?
Hmm. That’s a very tough
question! My kids and I used to play a game—if you could invite any person
living or dead to dinner, who would it be? In romance, it would be Jane Austen,
or Eloisa James. Otherwise, I’d love to dine with, learn from, or work with
William Shakespeare, or Stephen King, or Philippa Gregory.
Coffee, tea, or other dink in the morning to get you
moving?
I recently received medical
advice to cut down on my five-cup a day coffee habit. I still need my coffee in
the morning. Sorry, Canada—I’m a Starbucks girl, Grande Blonde Roast, no Tim
Horton’s here. Otherwise, we recently discovered a wonderful shop of joy and
delight called David’s Tea. They have exotic, delicious blends. If you have a
David’s near you, try the Chocolate Rocket, Gold Rush, or Forever Nuts.
What’s coming up for you in 2013? Anything you want
to tease us with?
I’m hard at work on several
new books. Stephen Ives (the wonderful, heroic, handsome odd-man-out in Lady
Julia’s love triangle will get his own story. Blinded in battle, mourning his
loss of Julia, he meets a lady he once spurned, and must depend on her care,
and—hopefully—realize through his other senses that she is indeed the perfect
woman for him.
I’m also having a lot of
fun with my next Avon Impulse book—it takes place at midsummer in Scotland,
There’s a family curse, and pair of ghosts determined to see that their
descendants find the love they missed out on. There’s also a cast of living
characters determined to see that matters take an altogether different turn.
Anything to add?
Come check out the book
trailer for The Secret Life of Lady Julia! It’s the first time we’ve tried a
book trailer. My wonderful children (18 and 21) helped me choose costumes and
props, take photos, choose stock pictures, and did the final production on
iMovie, making it a labor of love. It’s lovely to be able to show readers how I
see my books inside my head, give them the flavor of the story in pictures with
things like book trailers and Pinterest boards.
The book trailer is currently up on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEKAHBf7FSI
I love to hear from
readers! You can drop me a line by e-mail at leciacornwall@shaw.ca,
or on facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lecia-Cornwall.
The Secret Life of Lady Julia
Historical Romance
Buy at Amazon / Barnes & Nobles
Lady Julia Leighton has been betrothed since her eighth birthday to an old family friend who feels more like a brother than the love of her life. At her long-awaited betrothal ball, she encounters a handsome stranger, and the heady mixture of champagne and experimental kisses leads to seduction born of a desire to feel something extraordinary in a man’s arms before her marriage to the man her grandmother calls ‘Dull Duke David”.
Thomas Merritt is only at the ball to steal a magnificent tiara owned by Julia’s mother. Disowned by his brother for his rakish behavior, Thomas makes his way in the world by seducing rich women and stealing their jewels. But when he catches sight of the beautiful young bride-to-be, and watches her fiancé completely ignore her, he sets out to charm her, to flirt a little. When he steals a kiss, the intensity of his own feelings surprise him. He thought himself beyond feeling anything for any woman, but when he realizes too late that Julia was a virgin, he finds himself tempted to see her again. But she is betrothed to a duke, and he is more likely to end up dead than welcomed into the family. He leaves for Paris the day the Napoleonic wars officially end, both to find richer pastures and to try and forget Julia.
But when their paths cross again, years later, they are both in very different circumstances. Julia, disgraced after the death of her fiance, has a secret she’s desperate to keep from Thomas. Thomas has a very dangerous secret of his own and it turns out that Julia is the only person who can help him. But will the past threaten to overtake their rekindled love?
Thomas Merritt is only at the ball to steal a magnificent tiara owned by Julia’s mother. Disowned by his brother for his rakish behavior, Thomas makes his way in the world by seducing rich women and stealing their jewels. But when he catches sight of the beautiful young bride-to-be, and watches her fiancé completely ignore her, he sets out to charm her, to flirt a little. When he steals a kiss, the intensity of his own feelings surprise him. He thought himself beyond feeling anything for any woman, but when he realizes too late that Julia was a virgin, he finds himself tempted to see her again. But she is betrothed to a duke, and he is more likely to end up dead than welcomed into the family. He leaves for Paris the day the Napoleonic wars officially end, both to find richer pastures and to try and forget Julia.
But when their paths cross again, years later, they are both in very different circumstances. Julia, disgraced after the death of her fiance, has a secret she’s desperate to keep from Thomas. Thomas has a very dangerous secret of his own and it turns out that Julia is the only person who can help him. But will the past threaten to overtake their rekindled love?
Reviews done of Lecia Cornwall's Books at Love Romances & More
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