Elaine Golden

Get Lost Gold with Elaine Golden
THE FORTNEY FOLLIES, a Regency short romance trilogy from Harlequin Historical Undone!

AN IMPRUDENT LADY
Book one of the Fortney Follies series
February 2011
ISBN #978-1-426-88544-0

As a young woman, Lady Charlotte Fortney learned what passion truly was from her handsome neighbor, Daniel Walsh. When they were discovered, her father sent the lowly doctor’s son far away from their precious daughter.

Years later, spinster Charlotte is content to watch others play the courtship game—until Daniel returns from India, rekindling a desire that time could never erase. But Daniel seems to have set his sights on another woman, the one match Charlotte would do anything to prevent. He may be willing to give her up—if Charlotte gives herself in exchange…

A DISGRACEFUL MISS

Book two of the Fortney Follies series
March 2011
ISBN # 978-1-426-88877-9

Julian Kenneway, Earl of Vinedale, has a secret: he is in love with innocent debutante Angelica Fortney. She’s the one thing he desires more than the tenuous peace he has regained since returning from India. Yet everyone, including Julian, believes he’s unsuitable for her—and seducing her could ruin both their lives.

But when a rival for Angelica’s affections arrives, Julian realizes he can’t lose her—and can no longer control his passion for her….

A COMPROMISED INNOCENT

Book three of the Fortney Follies series
July 2011
ISBN #978-1-459-20740-0

Accident-prone Lizzie Talbot scares off more suitors than she attracts. When the handsome Oliver Fortney, the Duke of Wainsborough, begins to show an interest, she welcomes the attention though she’s certain it’s temporary.

Oliver likes the unconventional, easy to talk to Miss Talbot, though he isn’t sure what to do about it. When her aunt warns him off, Oliver finds he is hopelessly attracted and willing to do anything to keep Miss Talbot for his own.

GOLDEN ELAINE
Since writing a report on Pompeii in the 6th grade, Elaine has had a fascination with history. Then Elaine discovered Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen Woodiwiss and was swept into historical fiction. With a guaranteed happy ending and lush historical settings, what could be better? She read every one she could afford and re-read them until they became tattered. In high school her dreams of writing one began.

Alas, life often has other plans. By college she had drifted away from writing, and after meeting and marrying a bona fide southern gentleman, Elaine settled into the work grind and focused on her business career.

Until about five years ago, when she stumbled upon an online writing community and discovered the online romance community. She lurked for a while and learning about the writing process. Eventually, she joined in and even tried her hand at writing again. And everything was right (write?) in her world!

When she isn’t writing romance, Elaine loves to travel and explore historical sites first-hand, from Bath and Stonehenge to the catacombs of Paris and the ruins of the Port Arthur penal colony. She also loves to make heirloom quilts for family members, her own contribution to history.

Today, Elaine lives in the Nashville, TN area with her husband, her real-life hero of over 20 years.

I met Elaine at a Harlequin focus group and she seemed to be that ONE person at conference that I continued to see in passing. We had a chance to talk a couple of times and she’s as golden as her name.

THE FORT KNOX OF QUESTIONS
ANGI: How often to you get lost in a story?
ELAINE: Every single day! I’m still an avid romance reader; it’s my favorite way to unwind from a busy day. There’s nothing better than a great story to relax with. Even when it’s action packed, full of suspense and sparking with emotional intensity, I love the escape. I always go to bed with a book --er, make that ebook. I am a total ebook fanatic!

ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading?
ELAINE: Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans. I have no idea why it’s stuck with me after all these years. It’s not a book my parents even owned; I think I got it at school at some point. Maybe it was the private school atmosphere or the strangeness of Paris in the setting. I’ve certainly always wanted to travel. Whatever it was, I loved reading about Madeline so much that to this day my mother remembers that book, too.

ANGI: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
ELAINE: That would have to be Beauty and the Beast. I am a sucker for the ‘from different worlds’ trope, and in this classic fairy tale two very unique people learn to love each other despite their differences. Then add the tragic noble savage aspect, when the Beast allows Belle to return home, trusting her to return to him and risks heartbreak… oh, makes me melt every time!

ANGI: What’s your favorite cartoon character?
ELAINE: This may sound silly, but my favorite cartoon character was Scooby-Doo. The story structure of those episodes was always around some goofy mystery, so there were problems to solve, but what I liked about Scooby is that he wasn’t perfect. It was ok that he got scared sometimes, and he was often smart enough to just want to get away from the whackiness going on (seriously, who hasn’t screamed at the woman in the horror flick when she ignores that voice that threatens, ‘Get Out!’? I would totally follow that recommendation IRL!) And, ultimately, when he was needed the most, Scooby was there to get the job done and save the day, even if he did it by pure, dumb luck. Who hasn’t been successful despite themselves? ;)

ANGI: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?
ELAINE: Maybe not an entire playlist, but I can point you to Accidentally in Love by the Counting Crows as the inspiration for the opening scene between my hero and heroine in A COMPROMISED INNOCENT, the most recent release of the Fortney Follies. It’s an upbeat, lighthearted song. As it turns out, the heroine, Lizzie, is horribly accident-prone and this brings her to the notice and proximity of the hero, Oliver.

ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?
ELAINE: I love the sound of running water: a waterfall or a gushing stream. There’s something very soothing about the steady, natural sound.

ANGI: Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?
ELAINE: Action Adventure. Fairy tale leading characters tend to be wholesome Mary Sues and life just isn’t that neat. Sometimes people make poor decisions, get kicked when they’re down and don’t get what they want in the end. In action adventure, the characters tend to make the best possible decision they can given the circumstances, and sometimes it’s the absolutely worst decision they could have made. Then they have to figure out how to get out of it. I find it fascinating to see how the author will get them out of the worst predicaments!

ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
ELAINE: The Princess Bride. Even though it’s campy, it’s packed with the very best aspects of story and characterization. And it’s oh, so imminently quotable. (Inconceivable! I don’t think that means what he thinks that means!) Plus, I get to share it as a favorite with my husband who considers it a classic, too!

ANGI: Who’s your favorite villain?
ELAINE: Wile E. Coyote. Because that Road Runner keeps kicking his butt and he keeps coming back with crazier and crazier contraptions and schemes to catch the RR. He never does. But he keeps trying. There’s something so appealing (or insane) about his determination, and I can’t help but cheer him on because I’m certain that someday he’ll catch that overconfident bird.
ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: It was such a pleasure to meet you at the RWA National Conference. I noticed your books were released February, March & July of this year…was this your first national signing? What did you like the most?
ELAINE’S GOTTA ANSWER: It was incredible to get to get to know you in NYC, too, Angi! This was my very first conference with published books under my belt, though since they’re only available right now as ebooks, I didn’t have anything physical to sign at the Literacy Signing. Instead, I volunteered to help check folks out, but even that was incredible because I got to talk to so many readers about the books they were buying and what excited them the most. I did have some of my Romance Trading Cards on hand and it was a lot of fun to share with other avid romance lovers my own modest contribution to the genre. The very best part of the whole thing was the people: meeting and networking with so many great folks!

ELAINE IS OFFERING the trilogy to 1 lucky commenter-–since the books are only available electronically, Elaine will work out with the winner the best way to receive them. (Via gift cards, to read on a smartphone, computer or Kindle.)
SHE’S ALSO happy to send anyone interested a set of her Romance Trading Cards for the series. Just send your mailing address to: elainegolden.author@gmail.com. Will send these anywhere.

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?
What do you like best about series romance (whether it’s a category series like Harlequin Intrigue or an author’s series of stories)?

YOU CAN CONTACT ELAINE: elainegolden.author@gmail.com; find her at her website; or on Facebook; or on Twitter: @elainegolden.

DON’T FORGET to LIKE GLIAS on FACEBOOK and FOLLOW us on TWITTER or just catch all our guests and their new releases. Our terrific line-up continues this week with Oliva Gates, Vicky Dreiling, April Dawn & Jennifer Haymore.
See you tomorrow! ~ Angi