Playful Brides Series,
Book 2
St.
Martin's Press
CAN A SCANDALOUS
CHARADE
For
seven long years, Lady Cassandra Monroe has waited for the man of her dreams to
return from the war. Unfortunately, he happens to be engaged to her flighty
cousin. What Cass wouldn’t give to take her cousin’s place! When he mistakes
Cass for Patience Bunbury, a fictitious friend her cousin has invented to
escape social obligations…even with her future husband, Cass thinks this is her
chance.
LEAD TO TRUE AND
LASTING LOVE?
After
defeating Napoleon at Waterloo, Captain Julian Swift is not quite ready to
settle down and enter into his unwanted arranged marriage—especially when the
real object of his affection turns out to be a beguiling beauty he meets at a
party. Patience Bunbury is witty, independent, passionate…and, unbeknownst to
him, the cousin of his current fiancée. When the truth about Cass comes out—and
Julian discovers that their courtship is
anything but accidental—will he surrender his heart to a woman who really is
too good to be true?
VALERIE BOWMAN grew up in Illinois with six sisters
(she’s number seven) and a huge supply of historical romance novels. After a
cold and snowy stint earning a degree in English with a minor in history at
Smith College, she moved to Florida the first chance she got. Valerie now lives
in Jacksonville with her family including her rascally rescue dog, Roo. When
she’s not writing, she keeps busy reading, traveling, or vacillating between
watching crazy reality TV and PBS.
ACCIDENTAL QUESTIONS
ANGI:
In the Playful Brides Series books…Do you have a favorite?
VALERIE: Oh, my goodness. They
are *all* my favorites. I adore this series because each book is a take on a famous
romp play. My favorites! The stories are also interconnected with related
characters who reappear from book to book. The Unexpected Duchess is a Regency
twist on Cyrano de Bergerac. The Accidental Countess is a Regency retelling of
The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Unlikely Lady is based on Much Ado
About Nothing.
I just confirmed plans
to write at least three more stories in the series. The next one is untitled
but it’ll be based on The Philadelphia Story. Remember that movie with
Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart? Did you know the movie was
based on a play? I’m REALLY having fun writing that one right now.
ANGI:
In the Playful Brides Series books…Do you have a favorite hero?
VALERIE: Julian Swift from The
Accidental Countess is one of my favorites for sure. He’s a war hero who nearly
died from his injuries and he’s got a lot on his shoulders when he gets back to
England, including the fact that he can’t find his fiancee!
ANGI:
In the Playful Brides Series books…Do you have a favorite heroine?
VALERIE: Cassandra Owens from The
Accidental Countess is a sweet heroine. I really enjoyed writing her because
she’s one of those people who wouldn’t hurt a fly and yet is silently strong
and fiercely loyal to her friends. She gets involved in a situation (pretending
to be a fictitious person) because she can’t say no and she’s tempted to spend
time with the man she’s loved for so many years. It’s a sticky situation but
her heart is always in the right place.
ANGI:
What’s your favorite cartoon character?
VALERIE: I love Wonder Woman and Lady and The Tramp is my favorite cartoon movie.
I ADORE dogs and the end where Lady and Tramp have their puppies… Oh, my gosh,
it’s just too cute.
ANGI:
What do you like about the hero of the
ACCIDENTAL COUNTESS?
VALERIE: One of the things that really endeared Julian to me while I was writing
him is his inability to dance. So many times in historical romance novels, the
heroes are perfect dancers. But Julian has been away at war for years and his
sister has to quickly try to get him up to speed on the dancing. He’s perfect
in many ways but the man can’t dance. I love that about him. A small
vulnerability but a charming one, I think.
ANGI:
Where do you read and how often?
VALERIE: I usually read in bed and as often as I can which usually means reading a
chapter or two before I go to sleep. I’m also usually reading several books at
once. There are just too many fantastic books out there!
ANGI:
What's something that no one knows about you?
VALERIE: When I was about 11, I thought I invented the name Leon. I thought it was
brilliant and named one of my stuffed animals that name. A few weeks later I
was watching an episode of The Facts of Life and there was a character named
Leon on the show. I was crestfallen. Ha!
ANGI:
You live in Florida. Do you get to the beach often?
VALERIE: I do not! Isn’t that sad? My house is about an hour away from the beach
so going there is a special treat and one I should take advantage of more often
for sure.
ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: What's the coolest thing you've learned from
writing Regency Romance? Anything unexpected?
VALERIE'S GOTTA ANSWER: I adore reading
English history books and I learn new things all the time, but one of the
craziest in recent memory was reading that someone actually wrote the
equivalent of a phone book for prostitutes. It was a guide with the names,
locations, and general details (including if they had any diseases!) of the
most notable prostitutes in London. Guess that came in handy back then. Yikes!
FIND VALERIE
Previous
GLIAS
interviews
UP NEXT for VALERIE
THE UNLIKELY LADY
Playful
Brides Series, Book 3
Spring
2015
Read a little, but the
book
PREVIOUS RELEASES by VALERIE
For a complete list of
Valerie's books & novellas check out her website.
THE UNEXPECTED DUCHESS
Playful Brides Series,
Book 1
CHRISTMAS BRIDES
Anthology
VALERIE is giving away a copy of
The Accidental Countess (e-book wherever available or print U.S.-only)
Note: COMMENTERS are encouraged
to leave a contact email address to speed the prize notification process. Offer
void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only
unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the
number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site
in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the
author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be
responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not
automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter
publicly posts their email address.
ANGI'S
back next Wednesday with
the 12 SHADES OF MIDNIGHT authors
UP
NEXT ON GLIAS: SUNNI JEFFERS
or @GetLostInAStory #GetLostStories
VALERIE WANTS TO KNOW: Ok, I admitted that I truly thought I invented the name Leon when I was a kid. One of my nephews actually briefly believed he invented toast. Ha! Did you ever think you invented something when you were a kid only to find out it was already a thing? Know anyone who did?
No but I was pretty gullible as a kid & would believe everything I was told.
ReplyDeleteI love Disney cartoons!
Thanks, Linda!
DeleteI have loved dipping my French fries since I was very young. Everyone else thought it was gross. Over the years I've gotten a few people hooked, but I thought I must have invented the idea! Then the other day I was playing What's the Phrase, and the category was Guilty Pleasures. I bet you can guess what the answer was..... You've got it! Dipping your French fries in your milkshake!!! Blew my mind after all these years!
ReplyDeleteHa! I love it! And I kinda want to try it now.
DeleteTaswmom -- you won Valerie Bowman Author's giveaway. Please email GetLostInAStory@gmail.com
DeleteAll of your books look so beautiful - sound great too I must add.
ReplyDeleteI can't recall ever having thought I had invented something. Love the toast invention story.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Thanks, Mary! You know I always add a Mary to all of my stories. :)
DeleteNo doubt you were crestfallen! Leon's a cool name. I can't think of anything I may have thought I invented but I'm pretty sure my little sister thought she came up with tons lol She always came up with crazy ideas!!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love the color for The Accidental Countess! So pretty!
thebigbluewall77 (at) gmail (dot) com
Your sister sounds cool, Anita! Thanks for the comment!
DeleteSadly, I can't recall ever even thinking that I had invented something. Looking forward to reading your book!
ReplyDeletejudy at gwd dot org
Thank you so much, Judy!
DeleteSo great to have you back with us, Valerie! Best of luck with the new releases!
ReplyDelete~Angi
Thanks for having me, Angi!
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
TY
DeleteI was taking piano lessons when I was younger & I wrote down what I thought was an original composition. Turns out it was a song that I had memorized!
ReplyDeleteHa! Sharlene, I love it!
DeleteValerie did you have a lot of emails or text with the other 3 authors of the Christians brides
ReplyDeleteHi Demetra! We've been in touch since a bit before the anthology came out but we wrote the stories entirely separately. I love the collection!
DeleteWhat's next for you after book 3 . And Ashlyn Macnamara meeting you half way for dinner in the states
ReplyDeleteThanks for asking. The Playful Brides are doing so well, that I'm writing books 4-6 right now! I'd LOVE to meet Ash sometime. I hope to get up to Quebec sometime to visit.
DeleteNo, I was a great reader, but didn't have a huge imagination, so I never thought I invented anything. I've known people who told tall tales, but nobody ever told me they invented anything. :D Loved your English history tidbit, very interesting the things you come across when checking out history books.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Barbara. Some of the things I read in history books make me think, "If I ever wrote this in a story, no one would believe it!"
DeleteI had the best ideas growing up. Too bad they were always taken first. I think my favorite idea was adding an extension to sun visors. I always thought they were way too short so I made my dad put up a piece of cardboard I could stick to make it longer whenever I got to sit in the front seat. Too bad when we got the new car, it came with those extensions already built in. I swear, someone stole my idea!! lol
ReplyDeleteSo looking forward to reading The Accidental Countess :D
ahui89 at hotmail dot com
Oh, that's perfect, Ada!
DeleteLove the first book!
ReplyDeleteI changed the time on my watch when i was a kid and i thought that i turned back time!
That's hysterical, May. I wish we could do that!
DeleteNo, I think the only thing I ever "invented" was the creative writing of stories. Wish I'd kept them. I think they were accidentally purged when I moved out of my parents' house.
ReplyDeleteDenise
Denise! Write new stories! :)
Deleteworking on it ;)
DeleteAngi and GLIAS co! Thanks for having me. It was a blast!
ReplyDeleteTaswmom -- you won Valerie Bowman Author's giveaway. Please email GetLostInAStory@gmail.com
ReplyDelete