Sweet Deception : Behind the Story...

In the dark, the greatest lover can become the most dangerous conspirator…

Lord Frederick Aveline, otherwise known as Derick, has successfully kept up appearances as an English nobleman.  What no one knows is that he’s a full-blooded Frenchman—a double-agent for the British against the French.  But there is something else no knows about Derick.  Deciding to leave behind his days of espionage, he’s arrived home to Derbyshire to finish one final order of business: to find and expose a dangerous traitor in the midst. 

But Aveline castle holds its own share of secrets—including murder, and an unexpected lure in Emma Wallingford.  Brilliant and feisty, her loyalty lies with acting as the town’s magistrate, and she doesn’t welcome an unanticipated, though appealing, intrusion like Derick.  As the two of them are drawn closer, the sordid past of Derick’s family comes to light, as does the true nature of his arrival.

But when deception, however sweet, is the name of the game no one can be trusted, and every love—and every life—is at risk.

As promised, today I’m going to share with you one of the movies that inspired SWEET DECEPTION’s theme.

After meeting my Bond meets Bones characters, I’ll bet you’re thinking there is some spy/crime movie that I had in mind while writing Derick and Emma. However, I bet you might be surprised…

When I sat down to write, the log line for this story was this:

Everyone’s been deceived by someone, but it never hurts as much as when you deceive yourself.

For Derick, it is his identity that he deceives himself about. For Emma, however, I wanted her misassumptions to be completely of the heart. And therefore, the movie I thought often of is:

If you haven’t seen it, it’s rather a cute movie centered around a cast of characters. It’s all about the lies we tell ourselves, the excuses we make for why this person or that person does or doesn’t love us. For me, Emma was most like the main character, Gigi. Here are two quotes I kept in mind:

“A girl will never forget the first boy she ever likes.”

and

“Girls are taught a lot of stuff growing up. If a guy punches you he likes you. Never try to trim your own bangs and someday you will meet a wonderful guy and get your very own happy ending. Every movie we see, Every story we're told implores us to wait for it, the third act twist, the unexpected declaration of love, the exception to the rule. But sometimes we're so focused on finding our happy ending we don't learn how to read the signs. How to tell from the ones who want us and the ones who don't, the ones who will stay and the ones who will leave. And maybe a happy ending doesn't include a guy, maybe... it's you, on your own, picking up the pieces and starting over, freeing yourself up for something better in the future. Maybe the happy ending is... just... moving on. Or maybe the happy ending is this, knowing after all the unreturned phone calls, broken-hearts, through the blunders and misread signals, through all the pain and embarrassment you never gave up hope.”

Of course, that quote is as unhistorical as you can get J. However, the sentiment is true. Derick was Emma’s first love, and now that he’s back, her hopes are high. Despite how hard he pushes her away, how much he holds back from her, Emma KNOWS in her heart that they were meant to be together. With Derick by her side, she feels more normal than she ever has.  Emma romanticizes him (and his work as a spy) and begins to imagine the good they could do together. She starts to believe her girlhood dream of a life with him might be within her grasp, only better. But when all of the truth comes spilling out in the end, Emma is stung when Derick points out he’s never deceived her about his intentions. She realizes the bitter truth: she’s the one who’s deceived herself. It’s truly heartbreaking…

Of course, Emma and Derick do find their happily-ever-after. I hope you enjoy discovering how!

Today, I’ll be giving away a copy of my debut, SWEET ENEMY (or, if you’ve already read it, I will substitute another historical romance—many to choose from). You MUST leave your e-mail in the comments section to be eligible…  Here’s a question for you: Do YOU remember the first boy you ever liked?

Heather Snow is a historical romance author with a degree in Chemistry who discovered she much preferred creating chemistry on the page, rather than in the lab.  She lives in the Midwest with her husband, two rambunctious boys and one very put upon cat.  Find out more or connect with Heather at:

www.HeatherSnowBooks.com

Facebook www.facebook.com/AuthorHeatherSnow
Twitter www.twitter.com/HeatherSnowRW

SWEET DECEPTION Available NOW:

Rainy Day Books (my local indie)
Amazon (Kindle Edition)
Amazon (Mass Market Paperback)
Barnes and Noble
The Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)

Books-A-Million
IndieBound
I-Books
Walmart

Meet Miss Emma Wallingford, heroine of SWEET DECEPTION

Lady criminologist, Miss Emma Wallingford, unknowingly finds herself tangled in the dangerous final mission of Lord Derick Aveline, a spy who also happens to be her long lost first love. But when deception, however sweet, is the name of the game, no one can be trusted. And every love—and every life—is at risk. (Second in the Veiled Seduction Series).

Meet Emma Wallingford…

Thank you for coming back to celebrate the release of my second novel, SWEET DECEPTION, which was released yesterday!

Also yesterday, I introduced you to our hero, Derick Aveline. Today, meet his childhood nemesis turned heroine, Miss Emma Wallingford.

The Inspiration:

For me, Emma was a cross between Professor Charlie Epps, from the crime show, NUMB3RS and Professor Temperance Brennan, from the crime show, Bones. (Is it any surprise, then, that throughout most of Sweet Deception, Emma is hunting a killer?)

If I were better in photo shop, I would play around and see what kind of face I could come up with from these two, but I think the art department at NAL did a fantastic job, and indeed, I looked at this early rendering of Emma many times while writing.

Now, let’s introduce you…

NAME: Emma Annalise Wallingford (29)

THE OUTER PERSON:

A firecracker. As petite as Derick is tall, she is compact and full of energy.  She is delicate boned, with wide shoulders.  Her eyes have an endearing asymmetrical shape, with the right eye being slightly larger and more almond shaped, her nostril a touch larger, her lip slightly more plump…a fact that the perfectionist in her has always noticed. Her eyes are amber, glowing almost gold against her pale skin and dark hair. Her teeth are tiny, white and straight and her smile is kind, and while given freely to those around her, is rarely used for herself.

She moves quickly, is always moving…on the go, mentally and/or physically.  When she is working mentally, some part of her can’t stand still, she constantly rubs the fingers and thumb of her left hand in  circles against each other.  Maybe to activate both sides of her brain?

She dresses practically, with little use for fripperies and will, indeed, throw on anything available.

THE INNER PERSON:

Miss Emma Annalise Wallingford is…well, peculiar.  Not in a bad way, of course, but everyone in her small northern Derbyshire village has known since she was a child that Emma possessed a mind unlike most, brilliant in a way that escapes their understanding.  And while many consider it wasted on a woman, the villagers and businesses have come to rely on Emma’s sharp mind and logic, as more than once her suggestions have helped the town and its people prosper.   As the sister of the local magistrate, Emma has gradually taken over her brother’s position since the accident several years ago that left him in a rolling chair and that has since deteriorated his faculties.  While Emma enjoys her role, she also feels out of place.  She finds it somewhat difficult to relate to others…her mind works on a different plane, and she can be overly literal, very black and white. She’s perceived as eccentric but she feels socially awkward.

She’s also obsessed with perfection, hence—or perhaps because of— her love for mathematics and its perfect nature, and is therefore hyperaware of her own imperfections.   Still, overall she’s happy, though a desire to do more with her abilities and energy burns within her.  Mostly through correspondence, she has been working on a large scale project aimed at using statistics and cartography/geography to better discern patterns and find a correlation between crime, poverty and education levels to fulfill that need. The realities of her personality and of the life she has chosen, as well as a painful broken engagement have convinced her she’s not destined for love or marriage, but she believes all lives have a purpose, and plans to use her gifts to benefit mankind.

I hope, with these brief introductions, you can see how the logical, practical Emma and Derick, the spy who relies on gut instincts, will clash.

Come back tomorrow to learn one of the movies behind the theme of SWEET DECEPTION…

Leave a comment for me today to be entered into a drawing for a copy of my debut, SWEET ENEMY (or if you've already read it, I will substitute another historical romance...many to choose from!) You MUST leave your e-mail in the comments section to be eligible… Here's a question for you: Who have been some of your favorite female criminologists, past or present, from books, television or movies?

Heather Snow is a historical romance author with a degree in Chemistry who discovered she much preferred creating chemistry on the page, rather than in the lab.  She lives in the Midwest with her husband, two rambunctious boys and one very put upon cat.  Find out more or connect with Heather at:

www.HeatherSnowBooks.com

Facebook www.facebook.com/AuthorHeatherSnow
Twitter www.twitter.com/HeatherSnowRW

SWEET DECEPTION Available NOW:

Rainy Day Books (my local indie)
Amazon (Kindle Edition)
Amazon (Mass Market Paperback)
Barnes and Noble
The Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)

Books-A-Million
IndieBound
I-Books
Walmart

Meet Derick Aveline, hero of SWEET DECEPTION

Lord Derick Aveline has to finish one last mission before leaving his days of espionage behind—but his hunt for a traitor leads him to his childhood friend, Emma Wallingford. When deception, however sweet, is the name of the game, no one can be trusted. And every love—and every life—is at risk. (Second in the Veiled Seduction Series)

Thank you for being here with me to celebrate the release of my second novel, SWEET DECEPTION, which is available wherever books are sold today!

Those of you who have read my debut, SWEET ENEMY, already know a little about our latest hero, Derick Aveline…or do you?

You see, Derick is a wholly different person in his own story than he was in Geoffrey and Liliana’s.  As an agent of the War Department, Derick acted precisely as he needed to in order to complete his mission in SWEET ENEMY. But the Derick you’ll come to know (and hopefully love) in SWEET DECEPTION was an enigma even to me, a character I knew and didn’t know…just as he knew and didn’t know himself. You see, he became a spy at 18, and as he says to our heroine at one point:
          
       “I’ve been pretending to be someone else my entire adult life, Emma,” he murmured, swallowing against the sudden scratching in his throat. “I couldn’t tell you who I truly am anymore.”

The Inspiration:

I envisioned Derick as sort of a Regency-era James Bond, yet one who was through with the “Bond Girls”, as it were. Think Bond, but when he’s done…finished with the life he’s led and longing for something simple and real… Oh, and toss in some pretty dark secrets that he is certain make him unloveable.

NAME: Frederick (Derick) Charles Aveline, Viscount Scarsdale (31)

THE OUTER PERSON:

Derick as I envisioned him as writing (although without the spiky hair...oh, and in a cravat!)

Derick is uncommonly tall, lean and sinewy rather than bulky.  He’s called “dashing”, has a quick flashing smile that he tosses around liberally.  His hair is dark as night, with glittering green eyes with a slant that almost reminds one of a gypsy.  He’s always impeccably dressed.  He hides speculation beneath an easy smile.  His voice is a rich baritone.

THE INNER PERSON:

Lord Frederick (Derick) Charles Aveline, Viscount Scarsdale, is an imposter.  Not by choice, mind you, but by blood.  Even his very English name mocks him, because Derick knows what few others do:  that his French mother brought her lover to England with her and cuckolded his aristocratic “father”, bearing him a full French-blooded heir.  Now that his service to the Crown (as a double agent for the British against the French) is almost complete, Derick has decided that he belongs in neither country.  He cannot go to France, for obvious reasons, yet he can no longer live a lie, pretending to be a British aristocrat while knowing full well not a drop of British blood courses through him.  He was still reeling from learning his entire life had been a lie when he was recruited as a spy at the age of 18 and he’s been playing different roles for so long now, he has no idea who he really is. He knows one thing, though—he can’t find himself while pretending to be the aristocrat that he is not. 

In between finishing his investigations of suspected traitors, he’s spent the last months securing all of his “father’s” estates, making certain they will continue to run efficiently for the sake of the tenants and servants who depend upon them before he puts England behind him forever.  But he has one last estate to deal with:  the far flung Derbyshire manor to which his mother had been banished when Derick’s “father” discovered her deceit.  He hasn’t been there since he was a young man, not even after his mother’s suspicious death—not that he could have come to her funeral, as he was stuck overseas at the time.  And he wouldn’t be going back now if it didn’t figure in his last job for the Crown—to uncover once and for all the identity of a traitor who was suspected of having operated out of upper Derbyshire.  Though it chafes more and more with each passing day, Derek slips on his façade of spoiled aristocrat one last time.

Of course, he’s going to come up against a heroine who is completely different than him, but who just may hold the key to helping him re-discover himself…

Come back tomorrow to meet Miss Emma Wallingford!

Leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of my debut, SWEET ENEMY (or, if you've already read it, I will substitute with another historical romance...many to choose from!). You MUST leave your e-mail in the comments section to be eligible… Here's a question:

Were you a Bond fan? What appealled or didn't appeal to you about him?

Heather Snow is a historical romance author with a degree in Chemistry who discovered she much preferred creating chemistry on the page, rather than in the lab.  She lives in the Midwest with her husband, two rambunctious boys and one very put upon cat.  Find out more or connect with Heather at:

www.HeatherSnowBooks.com

Facebook www.facebook.com/AuthorHeatherSnow

Twitter www.twitter.com/HeatherSnowRW

SWEET DECEPTION Available NOW:

Rainy Day Books (my local indie)
Amazon (Kindle Edition)
Amazon (Mass Market Paperback)
Barnes and Noble
The Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)

Books-A-Million
IndieBound
I-books
Walmart