Thursday, August 6, 2015

Interview w/ Kelly Bowen--Francis Drake, The Banana Bread gods & time travel!

Hey guys! Kelly Bowen is joining us today! I read her for the first time back in July when book one of her series...I've Got My Duke to Keep Me Warm was my in real life book club pick. It was so much fun so had to get her on here to visit with yall :) Check out our chat and be sure to leave her some pretteh comment love :) ~anna


Kelly! It's so good to see you. Come on in. And oh! You brought a friend *gives the chicken a little chin scritch* I've wanted a chicken ever since reading your first but oh I don't know what the herd would think of THAT! lol

I was so excited to see you had two new reads coming out in the Lords of Worth series in August. First up...the novella. Oh my word. It sounds good! If you had 10 seconds to get someone all good and smitten what would you tell them about A Lady's Guide to Skirting Scandal?
A Lady's Guide really starts the night Viola Hextall gets tipped over a terrace and into the bushes at a ball in her very misguided attempt to catch herself a handsome duke.   Because I couldn't leave her lying in the bushes, inebriated and singing badly, I did the logical thing - sent her to New York on a ship with a handsome surgeon. And the dawning realization that what she always thought she wanted as a girl isn't at all what she wants as a woman...
LOL, yeah that would not be the way to be left. ::snort:: So, what's the first thing that comes to mind about Lady Viola? What about Nathaniel?
Lady Viola has always allowed the opinions of others to shape her world, and for the most part, has been suffocated by the rules and expectations of society.   
Nathaniel, on the other hand, has followed his own path, embracing his strengths and skills without apology.  He becomes Viola's guide on this journey that finally sees her have the chance to become her own woman and live by her own set of rules. 
Sounds like Viola gets quite the adventure! If you could go on any adventure with her what's something you would love to do? Her time or ours.
 Well, if you're offering the chance to use the trusty time machine - I'd jump at the chance to take a real life peek at history!  I think I would take Viola back out onto the open sea, only we might slide back a few hundred years, and join any number of men - Sir Francis Drake comes to mind- who were the real-life explorers and adventurers. Disclaimer:  I have a rabid fascination with galleons/trade ships and all manner of historic war ships, so wherever I go in my time machine, it's going to be to sea... :)
That would be pretty amazing! I'd love to be able to jump back in time for just a little while.
Lady Viola Hextall is bored—of the ocean, her chaperones, and the woeful lack of available dukes on the ocean voyage from London to New York. Scrambling for any diversion short of jumping overboard, Viola strikes up a conversation with the ship's rough-hewn, blue-eyed surgeon—and discovers an immediate cure for what ails her...

To Nathaniel Shaw, Viola has the bearing of a lady and the spirit of an adventurer—an unlikely combination that he finds utterly irresistible. So he's hoping to convince Viola to leave the stifling ballrooms of London high society behind because there is a big, wide world just waiting for them to explore—together.

Oh gosh. Yall. There's a chicken in my lap. And #BabyG is feeling quite perturbed about this. lol

Alright *tries not to get distracted* Now, You're the Earl That I Want. Such a pretty cover! And what the set up of him getting stuck with an earldom and needing a proper wife and thinking the vivacious Joss would ever be biddable. Can you tell us 3 fun/sexy/quirky/etc behind the scenes facts about their romance?
1) Joss practices at least an hour a week with her beloved pistols.  Handy, that, when you're in the lap of your lover and faced with a villain bent on killing you...
2) Heath develops a new line of luxury hard soaps using the oils Joss brought him.  He tests them out regularly on his new bride in the much bigger tub he bought her on their wedding day...
3)Joss and Heath's first daughter will be born in Bombay.
I love that she's described as beautiful chaos. Any funny moments you just loved with these two?
One of my favorite scenes to write was the early carriage scene where Joss finds herself on Heath's lap, with her pistols concealed under the sides of his coat. That scene demonstrated her quick mind and her courageousness, and at that time, I don't think Heath was at all prepared for such a strong, daring woman.
LOL I love when their women take them by surprise. So, say Heath is about to get his woo on. What would he put together for the perfect date with Joss?
If they were still in England, he would take her adventuring somewhere - I'm thinking a ride across difficult terrain, a hike up a mountain to the summit, a journey to the coast.  A meal would be eaten picnic-style (no servants allowed, ever!), and he might finish off the evening with something more of an intellectual nature - an old library, or a museum full of secrets.  And then, of course, he would assume the role of Pirate King for the night...

Oh damn. He could come woo me any time. lol How about some quickies? Favorite Man Candy?
Stephen Amell ---> 
 
Weirdest thing in your purse right now?
Lego.
Best "burning soup" moment?
Banana bread. I can't, for the life of me, actually bake it so that it resembles a loaf when I'm done.  Without fail, it looks like a cross between a smoothie and Elmers school glue, but burnt around the edges.  I have officially given up after decades of trying. The Banana Bread gods have had their fun.
If I could have any pet I'd get....?
My answer is still the same as it was when I was twelve - a horse.  And I have one now, and I wouldn't trade her for anything!
I'm completely obsessed with?
Reading. 
What is your favorite historical word or saying?
Prigger of prancers. (A horse thief, and a well prepared one at that!)
Before you head out...What's up next for you?
I'm busy working on a new Regency series called Season for Scandal.  The first, Duke of My Heart, comes out January 26, 2016.  Think Olivia Pope x Jane Austen...
Thanks so much for dropping in, Kelly! *gives a couple more little chin scritches to the chick for the road*
Thank you so much for having me!  Take care of the chickens…
For businessman Heath Hextall, inheriting an earldom has been a damnable nuisance. The answer: find a well-bred, biddable woman to keep his life in order and observe the required social niceties. But it's always been clear that Lady Josephine Somerhall is not that woman. Once a shy slip of a girl, Joss is now brilliant, beautiful chaos in a ball gown. 

In her heart, Joss has always loved Heath, the one person she's always been able to count on. That doesn't mean she wants to marry him though. Without a husband, Joss can do as she pleases—and now, it pleases her to solve the mystery of an encoded file given to Heath by a dying man. It's put Heath in peril once, and Joss won't let that happen again. She'll do what she must to ensure the earl's safety. And to remind him that what she lacks in convention, she makes up for in passion.

Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads


   
*covers link to Amazon

I was born and raised in Manitoba, Canada.  I attended the University of Manitoba where I earned a graduate degree in veterinary physiology and spent many years happily working as a research scientist in the agriculture industry. None of which, of course, has anything to do with writing romance novels.

My writing stemmed from my lifelong obsession with history, a weakness for a good love story and after my first child was born, I sat down to do what I'd also wanted to do - write a novel. (The entire process being facilitated by the abundance of winter months that can be found in this particular province).

Currently, I live in Winnipeg with my husband and two boys who are wonderfully patient and supportive of the writing process.  Except, that is, when they need a goalie for street hockey.

Find Kelly Online!





No comments:

Post a Comment

I always enjoy hearing what YOU think so come on and leave a comment. Everyone's welcome :) And feel free to leave comments on old posts. I'll check in on you there too :)

Bloggers don't forget to leave your links!
~Anna

The Herd Archives