Spotlight & Giveaway: Anything But a Duke by Christy Carlyle

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Christy Carlyle to HJ!

Hi Christy  and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Anything But a Duke!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Anything But a Duke is about two goal-driven people, an entrepreneur and a lady inventor, who think they can make a deal that will get each of them what they want—an eminently practical solution—only to realize that what they truly want is each other.

Please share the opening lines of this book:

She absolutely could not be late.

Diana Ashby approached the looking glass in her dressing room and tightened the ribbon she’d gathered around her dark, unruly hair. She’d gotten distracted in her laboratory and now the clock ticked dangerously close to the top of the hour.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

When I conceived the idea of the series, a “Duke’s Den” based on the reality TV series Shark Tank, this story was actually one of the first that came to mind. I envisioned a lady inventor who would intrigue the panel and yet not fully succeed, at least initially. So even though Aidan and Diana’s story came second, it was one of the first that inspired my thoughts about the series overall.
I researched lady inventors! That was a definite highlight of my research. There were so many new inventions during the Victorian era and though many of the inventions of the ladies I read about didn’t take off over the years, each one was clever. I love thinking about the women who made their ideas a reality, sought patents, etc.
The invention that Diana conceives is actually based on a real invention. I read an article on Gizmodo about a suggested invention in 1922 that involved vacuums that would collect and transport waste in New York City. The idea was on a large, municipal scale, but when I thought of what Diana would invent, it made more sense to make it more appealing on a retail scale.

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book. As you wrote your protagonist was there anything about them that surprised you?

Diana is clever and driven, and I love that she believes in herself and her design so intensely. I admire her so much for that. I have to admit I’m sometimes plagued with creative doubts. I love that even when Diana isn’t sure about what she should do with her feelings for Aidan, she never stops believing in herself.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

I would use the meet scene, definitely. In the case of Diana and Aidan, they initially meet long before they even know each other’s names. It’s a rainy evening in Belgravia and they are simply two strangers in the night.

Here’s a snippet:
“Some would say I’m not a gentleman at all.”
“Why?”
He chuckled at that, a warm, breathy sound that made her wish to hear it again. “I’m not a man you would wish to know.” As soon as the words were out—words she didn’t at all agree with—he took two steps back. “I bid you good night.”
The distance from the heat of his body left her suddenly cold. Her wet dress let in the biting chill in the air. Shivers set in and she couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering.
The stranger immediately slid off his overcoat and draped it around her shoulders. His scent was all she could smell, and the warmth from his body that clung to the fabric made her let out an involuntarily sigh of relief.
She closed her eyes a moment and her body swayed toward him. When he reached out to steady her, Diana’s eyes slid open and she sensed his gaze on her. Despite the cold, heat seemed to kindle between them.
The stranger wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her an inch closer, and she was flooded with sensation. His chest brushing against hers, the gust of his breath on her face, his crisp woodsy scent.
Without thought or calculation, she lifted off her heels, tipped her head, and pressed her lips to his.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

I think the message I’m ultimately trying to convey with all of my books is the theme romance novels always embrace, which is that love conquers all. It’s worth the risk, and it’s more precious than many of the other things we tell ourselves we want or need.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m currently working on the third and final book in the Duke’s Den series! For those who’ve read the A DUKE CHANGES EVERYTHING, this will be Rhys’s story, the absolute rogue of the Duke’s Den trio. I’m having fun giving him some surprises to contend with, and I’m eager for everyone to read his story.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: One finished copy of ANYTHING BUT A DUKE by Christy Carlyle

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Excerpt from ANYTHING BUT A DUKE:

“Let’s find you a cab.” When Diana made to move away and start toward the square, he circled a hand around her arm to stop her.
“No. You’ve done quite enough.”
For a moment she thought he was chastising her, but she sensed the intensity of his gaze, even in the darkness. His face was all sharp angles, regal brow, high cheekbones, and a notably full lower lip. But his eyes were what stood out, even in the meager light. Whatever shade they were, they were paler than her own and brightened by the moon glow.
A trickle of blood fell in a line down his cheek. Diana reached inside the tiny pocket stitched near the hem of her bodice and extracted a folded handkerchief. “You’re bleeding quite severely.”
“Don’t ruin your—”
Before he could finish his speaking, she’d already lifted the square of linen to his face.
He winced when she swiped the cloth higher and reached for her wrist. His bare hand against her skin was shockingly warm.
“Does it hurt a great deal?”
“Not as much as the second blow would have.”
He released her wrist, and she allowed him to take the handkerchief into his hand. After one indelicate swipe, he stared at the stained linen and frowned. “I owe you thanks and a new handkerchief.”
“I have many others.” Diana glanced at the Woodson town house. “If you come with me, you can get warm and tidied up.” She moved to step out of his hold.
He let her go, but made no move to follow.
“Forget about me. You’ve done your Good Samaritan duty for the evening.” He stepped closer. “You’re a rare sort of lady, whoever you are.”
Diana bit the inside of her cheek and dipped her head to stare at the pavement. Rare wasn’t the worst thing she’d been called this night. But it felt a bit too much like the other curses Egerton had thrown her way.
The stranger slid a finger along the edge of her jaw. A shocking, intimate touch, but too brief for her to take offense. She lifted her head and wished she could see him more clearly.
“I meant that as a compliment.” His voice was low, almost soothing. “Any woman who rushes in to stop a man from battering me to a pulp has my infinite admiration.”
“Infinite?” Being admired by men wasn’t anything she’d considered until Egerton’s graceless proposal. But suddenly she wished to know this man. His name, his story, and what had brought them to the same rain-soaked mews. “You’re a different sort of gentleman, aren’t you?”
Nothing about their encounter made sense. And yet standing with him, conversing with an utter stranger, felt oddly right.
“Some would say I’m not a gentleman at all.”
“Why?”
He chuckled at that, a warm, breathy sound that made her wish to hear it again. “I’m not a man you would wish to know.” As soon as the words were out—words she didn’t at all agree with—he took two steps back. “I bid you good night.”
Distance from the heat of his body left her suddenly cold. Her wet dress let in the evening’s biting chill, and she shivered so fiercely that she couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering.
The stranger immediately slid off his overcoat and draped it around her shoulders. His scent was all she could smell, and the warmth from his body clinging to the fabric made her let out an involuntarily sigh of relief.
She closed her eyes a moment and her body swayed toward his. When he reached out to steady her, Diana’s eyes slid open and she sensed his gaze on her. Despite the cold, heat seemed to kindle between them.
The stranger wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her an inch closer, and she was flooded with sensation. His chest brushing against hers, the gust of his breath on her face, his crisp woodsy scent.
Without thought or calculation, she lifted off her heels and pressed her mouth to his.
His lips were warm, far softer than she expected, and he responded without hesitation. When she began to pull away, he dipped his head to draw out the kiss for another moment.
He swept a finger across the edge of her cheek down to her jaw, then he released her. Diana tried for some parting words and fell silent. What did one say to a stranger one had just impulsively kissed?
He saved her the trouble. “You’re soaked,” he said quietly, “and I’ve already made you late to your engagement.” Bowing, he took a step back. “I’ll watch until you’re safely inside.”
Diana knew she should go. He was right. She wasn’t sure how long they’d been standing in the mews, but she was undoubtedly late for Woodson’s lecture. Shockingly, she didn’t mind. The man sparked her curiosity.
He smiled at her and nudged his chin forward to urge her to go.
“Your coat?” Diana didn’t wish to give it up so much as she felt the niggling prick of propriety urging her to be polite.
“Keep it. I have many others.”
She smiled at that and continued on to Professor Woodson’s back garden door. All the way, she sensed the stranger’s gaze on her, watching protectively. One knock and a housemaid immediately opened to greet her. When Diana hesitated, the girl called her inside.
“In you come, miss. You’re drenched.”
Diana looked down the mews, hoping to see the handsome stranger one more time.
But he was gone. Not a sight of him anywhere.
A rebel impulse made her wish to go back out into the darkness, find him, and ask all the questions that filled her mind.
But she couldn’t. Even she knew better than to risk that sort of impropriety.
Regret pulsed inside her and her breath hitched in her chest.
She wanted to see him again, discover his name. But it wasn’t logical. She’d recklessly kissed the man.
It was far better they never meet again.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Self-made man Aidan Iverson has seen more closed doors in his thirty years than he’s ever cared to count. As a member of the elite Duke’s Den, he has all the money he could possibly need but the one thing he can’t purchase is true power. If roguish Aidan can’t buy his way into society’s hallowed halls, he’ll resort to a more extreme measure: marriage.

Brought up to be a proper lady, the only thing Diana Ashby desires is to be left alone to the creation of her own devices. But when her dreams are crushed, she must find another way to secure the future of her invention. Knowing his desire to enter her world, Diana strikes a deal to arrange Aidan’s marriage to the perfect lady—as long as that lady isn’t her. She doesn’t need any distractions from her work, particularly of the sinfully handsome variety.

As Diana and Aidan set out to find him an aristocratic match, neither are prepared for the passion that ignites between them or the love they can’t ignore.

In the Duke’s Den, can happiness ever be a winning prospect?
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Meet the Author:

Fueled by Pacific Northwest coffee and inspired by multiple viewings of every British costume drama she can get her hands on, USA Today bestselling author Christy Carlyle writes sensual historical romance set in the Victorian era. She loves heroes who struggle against all odds and heroines who are ahead of their time. A former teacher with a degree in history, she finds there’s nothing better than being able to combine her love of the past with a die-hard belief in happy endings.
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