Love Inspired Historicals discussion

Hello! Christina Rich here. I hope February is treating you all well. I just spent the weekend at a quilting retreat with a bunch of older ladies and had a great time.

Now, I am ready to find some rest and relaxation and what better way than to read a good book with a warm up of hot chocolate.

Speaking of good books, we have a wonderful line up this month.

On Tuesday, February 7, Susanne Dietze will start things off with her book The Reluctant Guardian. Karen Kirst will be here on Wednesday, February 8th with her book Wed by Necessity. Thursday, February 9, will bring us Stacy Henrie and The Outlaw's Secret. We'll end things Friday, February 10th with Erica Vetsch and The Bounty Hunter's Baby.

I hope you are thinking about fabulous questions to ask our authors about their books. I know I am.

Thanks for hosting, Christina! :)

Happy Monday Christina! Thank you for hosting the Q&A.

Hi Christina. I'm looking forward to this month's Q&Q.

See you all tomorrow.

Hi, everyone. thanks for hosting Christina. Looking forward to the Q & A.

Looking forward to another great week of Q&A.

another get together with authors and reading fans...see you later friends.

Looking forward to it!

Hi again! Today we welcome Susanne Dietze. Comment for a chance to win a copy of The Reluctant Guardian.

Susanne began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she's the award-winning author of a dozen new and upcoming historical romances. A pastor's wife and mom of two, she loves fancy-schmancy tea parties, the beach, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. You can visit her on her website, www.susannedietze.com, and sign up for her newsletter for an occasional cheery hello.

She'll be here discussing her latest release with Love Inspired Historical, The Reluctant Guardian.



Under the Spy's Protection

When Gemma Lyfeld inadvertently interrupts a dangerous smuggling operation in her English village, she's rescued by a mysterious Scottish spy. Now with criminals after her and her hopes for an expected marriage proposal recently dashed, she will make her society debut in London. But not without the man tasked with protecting her…

Covert government agent Tavin Knox must keep Gemma safe from the criminals who think she can identify them—a mission he never wanted. But as he escorts her and her rascally nephews around London, the lovely English lass proves braver than he ever imagined. Suddenly, the spy who works alone has one Season to become the family man he never dreamed he'd be.

Let's give Susanne a warm welcome as this is her first time joining us for Q&A. I'm honored to start off the questions.

Susanne, I love spy stories, especially ones set in the Regency Era. What inspired you to write this book?

Welcome Susie! First of all, congrats on your new LIH! Love your cover. And your story sounds intriguing. I enjoy hero as the protector/bodyguard stories. Is this the first in a series?

I saw that you love tea parties. Me too! :) My mom and I host them usually once or twice a year, depending on our schedules. And we make a practice of visiting our local tea rooms.

Good morning Susie, I don't think I have read any of your books but this one sure seems to be filled with adventure along with love. I checked your page on goodreads and like what I see.
this paragraph makes me want to know more about you...
(My stories celebrate happily-ever-afters, both the storybook kind and the kind based on the sure hope of spending eternity in the joy of God's presence. Because we have an amazing, indescribable happily-ever-after in store for us. And that is definitely something to celebrate.)
I look forward to that time also when we shall all know one another and Love will surround us. thanks for sharing with us today. I am off to dentist with hubby but will stop in again later.

Good morning! Thanks so much for hosting me, Christina. I'm honored and delighted to be here!

You asked about the inspiration for The Reluctant Guardian. I'm always curious about how authors get the germs of ideas for stories! This story came about in an odd way, perhaps: the hero, Tavin, was the hero's best friend in another story that didn't work out. I was pulling into my driveway, listening to a song on the radio that had "rain" in it, and all of a sudden I saw Tavin, dressed in all black, standing out in the rain in the middle of the night, watching the heroine's window to guard her. I have to admit I was surprised: why was I thinking that, of all things? And then I wondered, why was he standing in the rain to watch over her? Who is she, anyway? Those questions started The Reluctant Guardian.

This was over eight years ago, by the way! Since then, I've received other opportunities, but it was a thrill to contract this story of my heart. I can't believe today it's on shelves in stores. A dream come true!

Hi Keli! Waving hi! Thank you so much for your kind words. This is a very special day for me!

I wish I could say I've been to London, but I have never visited Europe. It's absolutely something I long to do, and hope to do before too much time passes!

Research was fun. I asked a friend who grew up in the New Forest a lot of questions, and I read books and articles on smuggling in Hampshire.

Sadly, many of the real-life buildings my characters visit in London no longer exist, after WWII. I have some marvelous books with engravings, paintings, and sketches of what they looked like two hundred years ago, however. Regarding the buildings that do still stand, I consulted photos, guidebooks, and contemporary descriptions that provided details. I usually set my characters' homes in real-life places, too, although I set the Lyfeld house precisely where I wanted it, so it would have just the right view.

Hopefully soon I can visit the UK!

Hi Karen! You love tea parties, too? They are so much fun. Work, yes, with all that hand washing of china afterwards and food prep beforehand, but it's worth it to enjoy special time over tea and goodies with special friends. I collect tea cups and have forced myself to stop buying anything new, because I am out of room. Sigh.

This book was not contracted as part of a series, but I have ideas for a few of the secondary and tertiary characters, so who knows? They might make an appearance again someday.

Good morning, Paula! I hope everything goes well at the dentist.

Our lives are shaped by the hope of heaven, aren't they? What a gift and blessing it is to know a taste of what awaits us. <3

Looking forward to catching up after your appointment!

Good morning, Suzie! Congrats on your new book! It sounds really good and I look forward to reading it. Love the intrigue in the title and in the cover! I've only been to one quilting party and it was so much fun. Have a great day!

Hi Becky! Thanks for the congrats! I love the cover, too. The team at Harlequin did an amazing job. It was important that the characters be dressed exactly as they are, and they nailed it! I love the background, too.

I hope you have a great day, too!

Hi, Susanne! I just finished reading your book. It kept me guessing and was a wonderful read. Thank you for sharing how you came up with this story. I like to hear the background. of how the story happens in the brain of the author. This is the first book of yours that I have read. How many books have you had published? Do you have a web page?
So glad that you are part of the group's Q & A.

Hi Melinda! Thanks so much for reading The Reluctant Guardian! I'm glad you enjoyed it, too. Thank you!

This is my first Love Inspired Historical. I have six novellas out in collections, three more novellas coming with Barbour later in 2017 (one of which is another Regency!), and a novel coming from Barbour in May, which is a mail-order bride mix up story called My Heart Belongs in Ruby City, Idaho. My webpage is www.susannedietze.com

Thanks so much for asking! I hope you are having a great day.

Susanne, welcome! So glad to see you here as we celebrate your LIH book! I enjoyed your inspiration for the book. Protective heroes are the best! I've brought raspberry scones for all of us afternoon tea lovers. Congratulations!

Hi Sherida! Thanks for celebrating with me...and bringing raspberry scones! They sound amazing! I love raspberries.

Pass the cream!

Keli, I'm so glad you visited London! I would love to go to all of those places, and tour inside Buckingham Palace, too. During the Regency era, it was a "house" as opposed to a "palace"--fun history to all of these places!

We'd love to tour cathedrals, too. Oh, and Bath and Chawton to visit places Jane Austen lived...oh dear, I need a few months to see everything I'd like to see, don't I?

Hi Susanne! Welcome to the LIH Q & A. I'm sure it will be the first of many for you. We have wonderful, savvy, extremely loyal and fun readers in this group.

I was wondering what your favorite setting is for your stories. Do you prefer America or Europe or some other place?

Hi, Susanne! Congratulations on the release of The Reluctant Guardian!!! I'm excited to read it.
I've enjoyed some of your novella's in the Barbour collections. Miss Matched is next up for me to read. I'm also excited to read My Heart Belongs in Ruby City.
My question is: Do you have a favorite genre or time period to write in?

Hi, Susie! I'm so glad we are celebrating The Reluctant Guardian today. I loved this wonderful story! Congratulations on releasing your first Love Inspired Historical!

Hi Dorothy! Thanks for the warm welcome! It's so much fun to chat with everyone.

You asked about my favorite setting, and I confess I enjoy reading and writing both Regencies and western-set stories. Both hold great appeal to me! I've been blessed to write both.

Hi Andrea! Thanks so much for your congratulations! Thanks, too, for letting me know you've got The Matchmaking Brides close by! I truly hope you enjoy it--there are some amazing authors in that collection and I'm still pinching myself to have been a part of it.

My favorite time periods to write would be Regency England and 1850-1920s America...not that I've written a story set in the '20s, but I would find it fun to do. Most of my stories are set in the US either right after the Civil War or 1890s. I love historical fashion and I find it so fun to look at pictures of gowns on Pinterest, and those eras are some of my favorites!

Hi Britney! Thank you for the congratulations and for letting me know you enjoyed TRG! This book is pretty special to me, and I'm so glad you liked it.

Thanks for celebrating with me today!

Hi Susanne,

Sneaking in here while I wait to pick up a child at school! I've read several of the novella collections you have stories in so I know I've read something you wrote. I'm looking forward to reading a longer story. I haven't read a whole lot of Regency novels, but that's one thing I love about the LIH line. It has introduced me to new eras. Congratulations on your new book and I'm looking forward to reading more. Welcome to the LIH family!

Thanks for the kind welcome, June! I love the variety offered by LIH, too. I've met so many amazing authors and learned about different historical eras through LIH! (Isn't it wonderful how we can experience history through fiction? I love it!)

I hope you're having a great day.

Hi Susanne, The book sounds intriguing. I like smuggler books. We don't get as many historical books with a little intrigue or suspense. I also don't like books featuring the upper class and all that goes with it but this book does sound interesting for me.
How old are the nephews?

Ausjenny, the boys are four and six years old. Doing research, I learned that some wealthy parents in this time period shipped their children off to live with relatives or left them under a servant's care for extended periods, sometimes years, without being involved, and that's somewhat the case with the boys' parents. The heroine, their aunt, loves them desperately, though, and she's driven to protect them at all costs!

I loved writing these little boys, Petey and Eddie. There are tiny bits of my own children in some of the things they do!

Oh thats so sad. Its probably where the saying children should be seen but not heard came in. I know even after WW2 I have friends who are English and they were very much told this saying and expected to not make noise etc.

I am glad your heroine loves these boys.

Susanne enjoying your answers. I love history so it is interesting that you like westerns set after the Civil War thru 1920'S as well as
Regency. I appreciate the research and learning.

Ausjenny wrote: "Oh thats so sad. Its probably where the saying children should be seen but not heard came in. I know even after WW2 I have friends who are English and they were very much told this saying and expec..."

I agree, Ausjenny.

Well I am finally home again , betwixt travel time hr each way and time spent there with time out for lunch,we chose brunch then back in the afternoon,Hubby has new set of dentures that he feels good about.
I like the way your story found you , this is going to be a good read. reading the comments and answers when I got home ,it seems you did good letting us know all about the book,thanks again.

Popping in to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS, Susie. I love Love Inspired Historicals and am eagerly awaiting for my Harlequin shipment this month. If it's as good as the rest of your stories, it will be great!

Ausjenny and Melinda, it is sad to me, too! I like the noise and fun of toys and make-believe and games! I'm glad my parents let me be both seen and heard!

Hi Melinda! I love research, too. There is always something to learn, and I love that! What's your favorite time period to learn about?

I sort of have a book addiction problem...it's hard to resist a good book, be it fiction or non-fiction/research. They can spark story ideas, too!

Glad you got back safely, Paula! Sounds like a successful day. How was brunch? Yum.

I've sure had fun today. I hope everyone else has, too! If you think of any questions about the story, just holler!

Anita! So good to see you! I hope your box of books comes soon, because they all look fantastic to me. I'm so honored and humbled to be on the shelf with some of my favorite authors!

Thank you for celebrating with me!

Susanne wrote: "Hi Karen! You love tea parties, too? They are so much fun. Work, yes, with all that hand washing of china afterwards and food prep beforehand, but it's worth it to enjoy special time over tea and g..."

You're so right, tea parties are lots of work! But worth it. :)
I find that once you create a fictional world, it's really easy to start daydreaming about happy endings for those secondary characters.

Karen, I hope you get to enjoy a tea party soon! I had a tea party for one (me!) last week, with nice china, just for fun.

You're so right about daydreaming about our secondary characters. I want everyone to have a happily-ever-after!

Have a good evening!

Susanne wrote: "Hi Melinda! I love research, too. There is always something to learn, and I love that! What's your favorite time period to learn about?

I sort of have a book addiction problem...it's hard to resis..."

I have a book addiction problem as well. I read fiction, nonfiction and labels on food.
I enjoy al time periods Favorites are 1865 to 1945. The great tycoons of industrial, industrial change, culture change, major wars, depressions and the changes in the life of women are the areas that I like about this time period.

Susanne, maybe the group will have a tea and you can come to it. we have cyber birthday parties. It is a good way not to gain weight.

My mom and I often get the good fine bone china tea cups and treat ourselves to tea in them. Mom's mother always said that a fine china cup made the tea.

Susanne,
Thanks for chatting with us this month.

Good Wednesday!!! I hope all is going well for each of you. Today, we welcome Karen Kirst. Comment for a chance to win a copy of Karen's latest Wed by Necessity.

Karen was born and raised in East Tennessee near the Great Smoky Mountains. A lifelong lover of books, it wasn't until after college that she had the grand idea to write one herself. The pursuit of her dream would take longer than she first anticipated...years, in fact. In the fall of 2010, she got the happy news that Harlequin Love Inspired Historical wanted to publish her manuscript-a true blessing from God. Now she divides her time between being a wife, homeschooling mom, and romance writer. Her favorite pasttimes are reading, hosting tea parties and spending time with friends.


Her Inconvenient Husband

When a riding accident strands socialite Caroline Turner overnight with the new stable manager, she gets the one thing she never wanted—a husband! Marrying the infuriatingly stubborn Duncan McKenna wouldn't have been her first choice, but with her reputation damaged, it's her only option. Still, there's something about the brash, rugged Scotsman that fascinates Caroline.

If Duncan wanted to wed a society girl, he would have stayed in Boston with his family and his fortune. He expects Caroline to balk at her new modest lifestyle, but instead the strong-willed beauty seems determined to prove him wrong, making her all the more irksome…and irresistible. The marriage of convenience isn't what Caroline and Duncan planned, but could they be a perfect match?

Karen, I love marriage of convenience stories and this one sounds like another to add to my TBR pile. I love strong Scottish heroes and their perfect heroines. What was the most challenging aspect of Wed by Necessity to write?

Thanks for the warm welcome, Christina! :)

For me, marriage of convenience stories have unique challenges, especially in LIH. The main conflict-will they get together or not--is removed. Navigating this type of reluctant husband and wife relationship stretched me as a writer. With Caroline and Duncan, I wanted to play a little on the Taming of the Shrew theme. This is a case of two very different people shoved together for life, so there are many disagreements and misconceptions during their journey to love. They both grow and change over the course of the book, more so than any of my previous characters.

This sounds like a great book! I have read a couple of books with Scottish heroes and loved them, so I look forward to reading this one also.

Becky wrote: "This sounds like a great book! I have read a couple of books with Scottish heroes and loved them, so I look forward to reading this one also."

Duncan is brash but has a heart of gold. Hope you enjoy. :)