Spotlight & Giveaway: About an Earl by Diana Lloyd

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Diana Lloyd to HJ!

Hi Diana and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, About an Earl!

 
Glad to be here with all your awesome readers!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Bostonian Julianna Latham finds herself stranded in London at the start of England’s war with the colonies. When her father is charged with treason, she must find her way back home with no help from the kingdom that now considers her an enemy. A good deed, a chance meeting, and a reckless decision put her under the protection of a scarred earl with his own hidden family secrets. Oliver Chalford, the presumed next Earl of Winchcombe, presents himself at the House of Lords to claim his title, only to be waylaid by a cruel plot, a charge of lunacy, and an infuriatingly beautiful colonist.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

They were as dissimilar as chalk and cheese, but that didn’t make her wrong.

“Don’t mock me. What sort of idiot pledges himself ‘till death do us part’ to a woman he doesn’t even know?”
“I said it was honorable, not ideal.”

Delicately bred women were so predictable. First they screamed, and then they fainted.

The woman took one look at him and screamed.
Bloody fucking hell. Soon women would be pitching over like wickets.
“What have you done?” The old gal refused to conveniently faint as she demanded his reply. “What have you done?”

“Reasonable?” Penry sputtered, half rising from his chair again. “A reasonable person who lied about being affianced, took off with your horse whilst wearing your clothes, and broke into a lord’s office to steal a letter? If your hopes are resting on those slippery shoulders, God help us all.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I like playing around with fairy tales when I write so I imagined this book as a cross between Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid.
• The Hero’s name, Oliver, was the name my sister and I gave to our Ken doll when we were young and the name Elvy comes from a grade-school friend.
• Jewel’s possible escape ship, the Judith, was named after someone I don’t like and I wrote it with the intention of sinking the ship but in the end that part got cut from the novel. Yes, writers totally do that kind of thing if they don’t like you.
• I listen to music as I write, and for About An Earl I was, for whatever reason, stuck on two songs – “The One That Got Away” from The Civil Wars, and “Distance” by Christina Perri.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Jewel is at first attracted (against her better judgment) to Oliver when she recognizes that her last love interest was an immature boy compared to the male specimen she’s now met. What keeps her interested is that she sees Oliver’s love & concern for his brother and decides he cannot be the beast that others fear him to be. In the end, she realizes she wants/deserves someone who cares that much for her.
Oliver’s reason for being initially drawn to Jewel is simple, she isn’t afraid of him because of the way he looks. As they get to know each other Oliver, a recluse, finds that he enjoys their playful, irreverent conversations. Of course, being a wounded hero, Oliver doesn’t realize until the end that he was worthy of her all along.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

I really enjoyed writing the scenes between Oliver and his brother Penry. Conversations with my brother and sister often veer toward the comically bizarre, and I wanted that for Oliver and Penry. Penry’s wild suggestions for how to get rid of a fictional fiancee, make me laugh because it reminds me of what my brother would suggest.

“Have your fake fiancée take a fake journey to Bath where she can be sadly swept away by fake waves or nibbled to death by fake fish—it doesn’t bloody matter, none of it is real!” Flopping back down to the chair, Penry laughed.

Readers should read this book….

For history, mystery, and romance! About an Earl has a virgin hero, a sassy American colonist, a desperate escape, a mysterious diamond, a love letter, and …well, you must read it to know more.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

Currently wrapping up book 3 in my “It Happened in the Ballroom” series. It’s due to the editor as soon as I can get it there but, as a part-time perfectionist, I’m still playing with it. Book 3, LAST LORD STANDING, starts in the same ballroom as HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BARON and ABOUT AN EARL. My hero and heroine, Kerrigen & Libby, are anxious to be out in the world and publication is currently scheduled for September 2020.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Author signed paperback of ABOUT AN EARL (US only)
ebook copies of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BARON & ABOUT AN EARL (US only)
$10 Amazon gift card (International)

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Like many authors, I was a voracious reader as a child. My grandmother’s library had a lovely set of leather-bound set of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen, and Collodi’s Pinocchio. These were the old, often gruesome, original tales (not Disney-fied). I loved them. My favorite was “Snow White and Rose Red” because it reminded me of my sister and I. Think back to your childhood and whether it be from movies, cartoons, or books – was is your favorite fairy tale?

 
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Excerpt from About an Earl:

“Mr. Hickson, sir,” Julianna leaned forward and whispered as Bunratty let out a loud snore. “If I might trouble you…” Her request was left unspoken as the carriage suddenly jerked, sending the occupants listing to the right. Julianna grabbed the seat cushion to keep from sprawling into Bunratty’s lap.

One of the Potgetters called out a salty curse as her sister’s knitting needle jabbed her arm. They all leaned left to compensate just as the coach came to a shuddering halt, sending Julianna and the Potgetters sliding to the floor at Hickson and Bunratty’s feet.

“Hullo, the coach. Stop and hold.”

Julianna crawled back onto the bench just as shouts of alarm sounded from outside.

“Who goes there? State your business!” the coachman demanded as Julianna jostled for a look out the window.

“We’re being robbed!” Bunratty, jolted awake by the commotion, proclaimed with horror. “Brigand!” she cried, pointing out the window. “He means to rob us!” She ripped the onyx brooch from her breast and tossed it out the window. “Give him the paste and hide your jewels,” she ordered, shoving her reticule under her skirt.

Julianna clutched her small bag to her chest. She would not give up her letters of introduction without a fight. They may yet prove to be her salvation. All went silent as the latch shifted and the carriage door wrenched open.

“Fiend!” Bunratty screamed again and the Potgetter sisters recoiled in horror. Even Hickson covered his eyes as if the sight at the doorway was too terrible to behold.

“There you are,” a familiar voice behind a silver domino proclaimed. “Do you have any idea how many carriages I’ve had to chase down today?”

“No, my lord.” Julianna shook her head, hardly daring to believe her eyes.

“Too many. And, it’s the oddest thing, people keep heaving cheap baubles at me.” He held up Bunratty’s brooch. “I believe this belongs to you, madam.” As he handed it back, he smiled wide. But, rather than a dashing bit of mockery, the scar on his face pulled his smile into that of cruel delight.

“Take what you’ve come for and be gone with you, sir.” Hickson spoke up. “You are frightening the women.”

“Just the women?” Oliver turned back to Julianna with a wink and offered his hand. “A word, miss?” She thought about it for all of half a second before taking his hand and rising from the seat. Whatever the man was up to had to be more promising than a penniless exile to the wilds of Scotland.

“I came calling this morning only to find that you’d left without so much as a goodbye,” Oliver quickly explained.

“You chased down carriages all morning just to say goodbye?”

“Mostly. Well, that and an apology.”

“Giving or getting?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Are you here to give an apology or to receive one?”

“Am I due one?”

Julianna shook her head. “Not to my knowledge.” Winchcombe was trying hard to be either cheeky or charming, but he’d hardly come all this way just to be amusing. Still, it was hard not to be touched by the gesture. She was accustomed to being left to fend for herself. Lord Winchcombe could help her get a letter to her father. He might even be able to advise her on how to procure the funds sent for her care to return back to Boston.

If they could avoid each other’s lips, Winchcombe just might be the answer to her problems.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

An outsider at her first English ball, Jewel is fascinated with the beautiful dresses and the lovely dancing, but she’s vowed to save the Earl of Winchcombe from her cousin’s marriage trap. When she first glimpses the handsome lord, her heart beats faster. As they plan to thwart her cousin’s machinations, she discovers a kindred spirit in Oliver—even if he’s a peer and she’s a lowly colonist. Caught kissing the earl, the ball ends in disaster and Jewel’s displeased uncle whisks her away to Scotland..

Lord Scar, as the ton calls Oliver, would rather be anywhere than at a godforsaken masquerade ball and when he learns from the free-spirited colonist about the nefarious marriage plan, he grudgingly accepts her help. Jewel intrigues him and sets his heart racing. Yet, when the ball is over and the mask is off–Oliver curses the scar that will send her screaming away.

When her uncle banishes her, Oliver comes to her rescue by offering Jewel his hand in marriage. She agrees, despite his disfigurement. But what’s a beastly lord like him to do with such a beautiful wife–especially when he discovers she’s delightfully saucy?
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Meet the Author:

Diana Lloyd, mother of gingers, lives in the state shaped like a mitten. Diana has loved books since she first ate one and appreciated them even more once she learned to read. Enjoying an occasional tumble down the rabbit hole of research, Diana writes historical romance by mixing equal parts History, Heart, and Humor. A 2017 RWA Golden Heart finalist with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BARON, Diana is anxiously awaiting the publication of book two ABOUT AN EARL and book three LAST LORD STANDING in the “What Happens in the Ballroom” series. To stay up to date on all Diana’s projects, visit her website: http://www.DianaLloydBooks.com
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