Spotlight Interview and Giveaway with Amanda Mariel

Historical romance author Amanda Mariel is here today with a fantastic interview. She is here to discuss her newest release from The World of the De Wolfe Pack, Love’s Legacy. Please help me make her feel welcome.

Amanda will be giving away a signed print book from her back list: ether Scandalous Endeavors or Scandalous Intentions. Be sure to Comment, Share, Like Page, and Tag friends in order to enter into the random drawing. A winner will be drawn and announced on 11/5/2015 @8pm

Before we get into your book, let us talk about you. Amanda Mariel dreams of days gone by when life moved at a slower pace. She enjoys taking pen to paper and exploring historical time periods through her imagination and the written word. When she is not writing she can be found reading, crocheting, traveling, practicing her photography skills, or spending time with her family.

Amanda lives along the Lake Huron shoreline in northern Michigan with her husband and two kids. She holds a Master of Liberal Arts Degree with a concentration in literature and has a long-standing love affair with sugary junk food.

• Do you have a day job as well? I have two! LOL. I work as a substitute teacher at my kid’s school and as a content editor for Lyrical Press.
• What is your favorite color? Green, I love deep dark greens and bright cheery ones too.
• Do you have any unique talents or hobbies? (besides writing) Unique, no. Hobbies, yes. I love photography and baking. I also like to scrapbook and crochet when I have time for it.
• How do you spend your spare time? What spare time? LOL. Between my jobs, writing, and kiddo’s there is not much. I can be found late at night playing candy crush or reading a book I did not write.
• Who is/are your biggest supporter(s)? My parents, husband, and kids are fabulous cheerleaders! They are always happy to offer encouragement and to motivate me. However, I also have fabulous fans and readers who drive me on. I love getting feedback from readers and being asked when my next book is coming out. The readers and fans keep me motivated and happy.
• If you weren’t an author what would you be? As a kid I wanted to be an attorney. By high school I wanted to be a teacher, more specifically a college professor. Despite all of that, I think if I were not a writer I would just be an editor and substitute teacher.
• If you could live in any time period which would you choose and why? Probably the Victorian period. Technology was advanced enough that I would not lack hygiene but I could also enjoy the simpler and more gallant life style.
• How did you choose the genre you write in? I have always loved historical romance and so when I decided I wanted to write it was the only genre I considered. I love getting lost in a different time and place. Writing historical allows me to do that while telling a great story that others will hopefully get lost in as well.
• Is there a genre/subgenre that you haven’t written that you would like to try? I am currently trying my hand at medieval romance. It is still historical but far different from my Victorian and Regency works.
• Where do you get your ideas? They come from all over! Sometimes it is something I hear someone or do say that sparks my idea. Other times an idea just pops into my head and it demands to be used. My kids are great for giving me material. They are very imaginative!
• Do you work with an outline, or just write? I use a very loose and always changing out line including character descriptions and relationships as well as quick plot notes.
• Can you tell us about your upcoming book? Love’s Legacy is part of Kathryn Le Veque’s World of the De Wolfe. It is a Regency historical and borrows elements from Kathryn’s Walls of Babylon. Babylon Castle accounts for part of the setting and I turned Lady Nicola and Sir Kenton into a legend.

Here is the blurb:

Can love’s legacy bring two war weary souls together?

 Drawn by a flicker of light coming from the ruins of Babylon Castle, Rebecca Summerfield is driven to investigate. The last thing she expects to find is the castle’s owner, a Captain in the British Army. Still devastated from her brother’s death in battle, she despises all things military.

 Having survived Waterloo, Captain Camden Le Bec isn’t in the market for romance. He stops at Babylon Castle, the perfect place to gather his thoughts, only for the spirited Rebecca to storm his castle and demand he leave at once. Her fearless defiance and selfless heart awaken a desire Camden has never known. He’s determined to possess her, but Rebecca refuses to risk another broken heart.

Will they find solace in each other’s arms, or has war pushed them both beyond any hope?

 

• What project are you working on now? I have three in progress. The first one is a #SecretProject Regency titled Enchanted by the Earl which will release in February, 2016. The second is a medieval romance, titled (for now) Once A Lady, which I hope to release in either December or January. My third project is book three in my Ladies and Scoundrels series: Scandalous Redemption. My publisher is in charge of release date on this one so I can’t say for sure, but I think it will come in either January or March, 2016.

 

• What is the last book you read? Are reading now? Looking forward to reading? I most recently read Walls of Babylon by Kathryn Le Veque and it was wonderful. I am now reading Rules for Reforming a Rake by Meara Platt and loving every page turning moment! I look forward to reading so many that I could fill a novel with authors and titles. I will tell you that titles by Glynnis Campbell, Suzan Tisdale, Monica Burns, Christi Caldwell, and Mary Balogh are on my reading list. There are so many great authors and books it is hard to decide what to read next!

Tell me about your book/release, Love’s Legacy 

Give us a 30-word or less tagline: Can love’s legacy bring two war weary souls together?

Who is your intended audience and why should they read your book? Historical romance fans and fans of Kathryn Le Veque’s De Wolfe Pack series.

How did you come up with the title of your book or series? I had several in mind was not sure which worked best. I asked my street team for their opinions and chatted about it with Kathryn Le Veque. Ultimately I decided on Love’s Legacy.

Tell us a little bit about your cover art. Who designed it? Why did you go with that particular image/artwork? Covers by Lily designed my cover and Lily did an amazing job! I basically told her about my book and then turned her loose. She choose the models and back ground elements as well as the font. When she sent me the mockup I was in awe at its perfection! With very little guidance, Lily created the perfect cover for Love’s Legacy.

How can we contact you or find out more about your books? There are lots of ways to contact me and keep up with my work. Here are my links:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/#!/AuthorAmandaMarie1

Twitter www.twitter.com/AmandaMarieAuth

Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00RKDC3CI

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10209362.Amanda_Marie

Website: http://amandamarieauthor.wix.com/amandamariel

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bhkzmj

What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful? The best promotion is word of mouth. Tell anyone who will listen about the books and encourage them to get a copy for themselves. Reviews are so very important for so many reasons! If you love a book-review it. Other readers do care about your opinions as do the authors and let us not forget the Amazon algorithms. It is also a big help to visit the authors social media pages and share/comment on their posts.

Is there anything else you’d like to say? Thank you!!!!! A million thanks for taking the time to learn more about me and my work. Big hugs to each and every person who reads this!

And now, before you go, how about a snippet from your book that is meant to intrigue and tantalize us:

Excerpt:

A sharp intake of air drew his attention across the stable. He glanced away from his task searching for its source. His heart skipped a beat. A woman stood in the doorway, pale skirts billowing in the breeze. He did not believe in ghosts but the woman before him fit the description he’d been given of Lady Nicola Aubrey-Thorne. She was tall and lean with honey-colored hair and piercing green eyes. The sun’s rays cut through the fog casting her in an eerie glow. He blinked but she did not disappear.

Once he recovered from the shock, he noticed her modern clothing. The lady wore a flowing mint day gown with a high waistline and short sleeves. A bonnet framed her heart-shaped face, its ribbons tied beneath her chin. She was no spirit. He opened his mouth to speak.

She marched toward him, wagging one gloved finger. “You have no right here, intruder. This is private property. I insist you gather your mount and depart.”

Her fearless approach held him captive. He studied her tall frame and blazing eyes, her words barely registered through his fascination. What had she called him? An intruder?

She came to a halt before him placing her hands on her hips. She peered at him through the loveliest green eyes he’d ever beheld. “What have you to say for yourself?”

“Are you the owner of this castle?” He searched the depths of her gaze.

She steeled her back, anger flashing in her eyes.

“Answer me!” He rested one hand on the wall leaning against it.

“No, I am not the owner.” She pointed one finger at him holding it just inches from his chest. “But neither are you.”

He could have set her straight right then. Told her he owned Babylon Castle. Instead he smirked, the urge to bait the chit too strong to ignore. “In that case it seems you are an intruder.”

Her cheeks tinted a becoming shade of pink, yet she did not avert her gaze. “I have far more right to be here than you do.”

He dropped his hand from the cool stone wall and took a step closer to the spirited beauty. Her scent wrapped around him, enticing his senses with lavender and jasmine. It had been a long time since he’d smelled a woman’s flowery scents. “How so?”

Camden expected her to back away at his intrusion of her personal space, but instead she held her ground, those stormy eyes never leaving his. “Not that I owe you an explanation, but I reside in the area and saw light coming from the windows last evening. I felt it my duty to check on the castle.”

“And your husband allowed you to march over here and confront an unknown intruder?” The words left his mouth before he had time to consider them. It was a pointless question. He did not care whether she was married or not. Courting was the furthest thing from his mind.

“My parents did not know my intentions.”

A smile spread across his face of its own volition though he could not imagine why. He certainly did not want the viper-tongued lady for himself. Still, he rather enjoyed verbally sparring with her. He angled his head so his lips hovered just in front of her ear. “I could be dangerous.”

She flinched but did not step away from him. “I am not afraid of you.”

“You should be.” He straightened, meeting her gaze once again. Not a hint of fear reflected back at him. The chit was either daft or made of steel.

“I will not allow you to intimidate me.”

He leaned back against the wall, his gaze locked on hers. “I am Captain Camden Le Bec, descendent of Sir Kenton Le Bec and rightful owner of Babylon Castle.”

Review by Karen Simpson:

‘Loves Legacy,’ by Amanda Mariel

Drawn like a moth to its light, Rebecca Summerfield is fascinated by both the light and the mystery that surrounds the ruins of Babylon Castle. Rebecca immerses herself in the solitude of its walls thinking of the mystery of the original owners’ lives. On one of her visits, she runs into Camden Le Bec. Feeling protective of these ruins, she orders Mr. Le Bec away from the ruins, not realizing that he is the owner.

Camden had not planned to stay, but his run-in with Rebecca Summerfield and her fascination with Babylon Castle, peaks his own interest with the ruins. He decides to stay and do some renovations. He also decides he should look into the mystery of the ruins. This also provides him an excuse to stick around and get to know Ms. Summerfield.

There is an immediate attraction; however, both Camden and Rebecca reject it for different reasons. Rebecca, upon meeting Camden, realizes he is Captain Camden Le Bec. He is a soldier! Ever since her brother died at Waterloo, Rebecca swears that she will never marry anyone connected with the military. Her brother left a small baby and a young widow. Rebecca hates the pain that her bother’s death causes her sister-in-law. She knows that that kind of pain could happen to her if she marries a soldier. Camden isn’t looking for a wife. Stopping at the ruins was originally part of just clearing his head after a long ad difficult war assignment. However, after meeting the viper-tongued chit, he finds he wants to know more about this green-eyed blonde who vexes him so much. “Know your enemy,” he convinces himself, and he accepts her father’s invitation to a hunt.

Symbolically, the day of the hunt becomes the day that Rebecca and Camden recognize their attraction for one another. A relationship sparks slowly and starts to heat up behind the walls of the castle, as they both Rebecca and Camden work together to uncover the mystery of the castle’s original occupants. But once they realize that something has bloomed, Rebecca ends the relationship. She is not willing to have any permanent bond to a military man.

Just what is the mystery of the ruin? Or will it drive them further apart? The author Amanda Mariel does a very good job with her character development. Both Rebecca and Camden’s characters are very well written. Her story carefully highlights the social mores of the era. At the same time, Mariel takes liberties with the creativity of a wonderfully imaginative storyline, and brings her readers along for the ride. Well worth the investment of your time. I give this novella five stars, mostly for its creativity.

Karen Simpson