Regan Walker is an avid romance reader, reviewer and a bestselling author. She has a new book out, a medieval romance featuring a feisty undercover bride and a simmering conquerer. Here's a look at The Red Wolf's Prize.
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| Available on Amazon |
HE WOULD NOT BE DENIED HIS PRIZE
Sir
Renaud de Pierrepont, the Norman knight known as the Red Wolf for the beast he
slayed with his bare hands, hoped to gain lands with his sword. A year after the
Conquest, King William rewards his favored knight with Talisand, the lands of an
English thegn slain at Hastings, and orders him to wed the heiress that goes
with them, Lady Serena.
SHE WOULD LOVE HIM AGAINST HER
WILL
Serena wants nothing to do with the fierce warrior to whom she has
been unwillingly given, the knight who may have killed her father. When she learns
the Red Wolf is coming to claim her, she dyes her flaxen hair brown and flees,
disguised as a servant, determined to one day regain her lands. But her escape
goes awry and she is brought back to live among her people, though not
unnoticed by the new Norman lord.
Deprived of his promised bride, the Red Wolf turns his attention
to the comely servant girl hoping to woo her to his bed. But the wench resists,
claiming she hates all Normans. As the passion between them rises, Serena wonders, can she deny
the Norman her body? Or her heart?
Here's an excerpt:
Renaud lingered at the high
table in the hall until he glimpsed the servant girl with the brown plait carry
a pile of linen through the entry heading toward the stairs to the bedchambers.
Slowly rising, he nodded to Geoff and followed after her.
Quietly, he stepped through the
open door of his chamber. The girl had her back to him as she freshened the
bed, the stack of clean linen resting on a nearby chest. He did not acknowledge
her but went directly to the trestle table, poured a goblet of wine and sat,
pretending to examine a drawing of the lands surrounding the manor.
She turned. “I can come back
later, my lord.” She spoke meekly, barely looking at him as she hurriedly finished
with the bed and began a hasty retreat to the door.
He replied in the English
tongue, as he did to all save his men. “Nay, you may stay. Your work will not
disturb me.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he
saw her back stiffen. Slowly, she retraced her steps and resumed her work. Her
movements were rushed as if she were trying to complete her assigned tasks in haste.
Was she nervous at being alone with him? Even with that, Renaud thought she was
graceful as she walked to the shelves near where he sat. She held her head high,
unusual for a servant in the presence of her lord. Though her long plait was the
dull color of country earth, her profile was refined and her features delicate.
He rose and silently moved to stand behind her where she dusted a carved box.
She must have sensed his
approach.
“My lord?” she said, turning to
face him.
Blue-violet eyes held his gaze
only a moment before looking down at the floor. Set in her ivory face they
reminded him of violets in the snow. So mesmerized was he that, for a moment,
he forgot his question.
“Your name is Sarah?”
Keeping her eyes focused on the
floor, she said, “Yea, my lord.”
“How long have you been at
Talisand?”
“All my life, my lord.” Her
voice was soft, a low purr, and with her words a flowery scent drifted to his
nose. He was captivated and wanted to touch her. How long had it been since he’d
had a woman? And this one was causing his manhood to stir.
Turning back to the shelf, she
resumed dusting the carved box, as if to put an end to the conversation. His
gaze shifted to her hand as she set down the box. Delicate fingers and ivory
skin. It was not the hand of a kitchen wench.
“Let me see your hand.” She started
at his request, and though he could see she wanted to resist, she did not fight
him when he reached for her hand and brought it close to his body turning her
palm upward.
It told him much.
Meet Regan
As a child, Regan loved to write stories, but by
the time she got to college, more serious pursuits were encouraged, so she
became a lawyer. But after years of serving clients in private practice and
several stints in high levels of government, she decided it was time for a
change. She returned to her first love of writing. Her work had given her a
love of international travel and a feel for the demands of the “Crown,” so her
first novels, the Agents of the Crown
trilogy, involve a demanding Prince Regan who thinks of his subjects as his
private talent pool.
And now Regan has ventured into the medieval world
with THE RED WOLF’S PRIZE, a William the Conqueror romance. Regan wants her
readers to experience history and adventure as well as love. Each of her
stories weaves in history and real historical figures.
Regan lives in San Diego with her Golden Retriever
who reminds her every day to smell the roses.
You can email Regan at Regan.Walker123@gmail.com, or find out more about her books here:
Twitter: @RegansReview
The Interview:
E.E.: How often to you get lost in a story?
Regan: Often. I am an avid reader and reviewer of
historical romance so I’m reading for my HistoricalRomance Review blog all the time, every night. I love being in the deep
past, seeing history unfold as I’m falling in love with the hero.
E.E.: Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?
Regan: When I was a child, before I’d turned eight, I’d
read the entire fairy tale section of our public library. I was big into fairy
tales then. Even in later years, I read The Lord of the Rings twice. When my
son came along, I read him the Harry Potter books, but for my taste now, it’s
probably action and adventure. My novels all feature those elements, though occasionally
there might be a glimmer of my past affection for fairy tales. There is a
character in The Red Wolf’s Prize,
Maugris, who sees visions.
E.E.: Is there
a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?
Regan: I write all my books to music. I have a 3-hour
playlist I use, comprised mostly of movie scores by the French composer
Alexandre Desplat. But for some scenes, I use special music. I used Skyfall for
some of the battle scenes in The Red
Wolf’s Prize, as I did for the pirate attacks in Wind Raven, my last novel.
For the song that Rhodri, the Welsh bard, sings
with Serena, I used Muladach Mi Is Mi Air
M'aineol by Capercaillie on their Celtic Celebration album. It was just as
I pictured them, sitting in the great hall, the firelight dancing on her face as
she smiles at the Welsh bard and the Red Wolf observes in the shadows,
mesmerized. Here's one of their songs on YouTube,
E.E.: Where do you read and how often?
Regan: I read every day…usually in bed at night for
several hours. And I take my Kindle or a book with me everywhere I go, so that
if I am forced to wait, I can take out my book and be happy in an instant. I am
an AVID reader.
E.E.: What
sounds do you love?
Regan: The ocean waves breaking on shore. Rain falling.
Thunderstorms, especially when I’m tucked under the covers at night. Music to
my soul.
E.E.: What was
the first story you remember writing?
Regan: In grammar school, I wrote a story about a brave
girl. I recall she had adventures. It was called “A 20th Century Pollyanna.
E.E.: What’s
your favorite movie of all time?
Regan: It used to be Casablanca,
but that has been replaced by Pride and
Prejudice (the version with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen)—I like
the happy ending.
E.E.: What is
your biggest vice?
Regan: Dark chocolate, the gourmet kind. Currently my
favorite bar is Triple Nut Temptation made by Chuao, but I would not turn down
a chocolate truffle. Just sayin’…
E.E.: Be
honest, when reading...do you put yourself in the heroine’s role?
Regan: Sometimes, but only if the heroine is strong and
smart and courageous. I don’t like weak, whiny heroines who keep tripping on
their gown as they are trying to escape. Please.
E.E.: What’s
your favorite kind of story to get lost in?
Regan: The deep historicals, rich in historical detail
with a believable plot and sincere emotion. I call them the two-Kleenex novels.
E.E.: Which of
your characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, and why?
Regan: I’d invite Lady Mary Campbell from Racing With The Wind. She’s smart,
courageous and clever—and she always has some scheme she is working on. I’d not
invite my villains. They’d insist on having their way and they’d not be kind
about it.
E.E.: What
three things are, at this moment, in your heroine’s purse, satchel, reticule,
weapons belt or amulet bag (whatever she carries)?
Regan: From The Red Wolf's Prize, in Serena’s satchel: herbs, bandages and her deadly seax
knife. She’s a worthy heroine, to be sure.
Today's question for our readers: “What fascinates you most about the medieval period?”
