Spotlight & Giveaway: The Duke Goes Down by Sophie Jordan

Posted July 26th, 2021 by in Blog, Spotlight / 29 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Sophie Jordan to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Sophie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Duke Goes Down!

 
Hello! Thanks for having me, and hello readers!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

The Duke Goes Down (the first book in my new series, THE DUKE HUNT) is the story of a man who once had everything but learns he is not the duke he was brought up to be. The book opens with the hero living in this “fallout”. He is determined to marry an heiress to regain some of his status. The heroine is the town’s “lady vicar,” his childhood nemesis, and she is equally determined to protect the local heiresses from him. So you have lots of friction and back and forth between the two as they work to “bring down” the other. It’s your classic enemies to lovers.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

The day was bright. The weather perfect. The guests attired in brilliant colors that seemed to celebrate the occasion, as though the heavens wished to shine down on the birthday of the privileged and lauded heir to the Duke of Penning.
But it might as well have been a funeral to Imogen Bates.

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

I think a fun thing is that my heroine, Imogen, is essentially a “lady vicar” at a time when women were not allowed to be vicars. Her father is the actual vicar, but he’s had a couple strokes so she is the woman behind the curtain. She writes all his sermons and tends to his flock and acts as the shepherdess of the town.

 

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

I think the “down on his luck” hero who has lost everything is a bit of a flip in historical romances. I often feel like it’s the female in those circumstances. He’s desperate … and willing to do almost anything to win back a semblance of his life…or so he thinks!

 

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

I do a bit of time slip in this book (which is fun!)…it would probably be a scene where the hero and heroine are much younger and she is hiding under a table, listening as he and his friends speak unkindly of her. It has drama! When she thinks he has left, she emerges and they come face to face and…

He’d returned.
He’d returned and now he stared down the length of the walkway where she stood. He regarded her and there was no point in running or
hiding. It was too late. She was discovered.
“I forgot my matchbook,” he declared.
“Oh.” Turning, she plucked it up from the table and faced him again, glad for the stretch
of space between them. Hopefully he could not detect the way her hands trembled.
“Were you in here this entire time?” he asked mildly, a tinge of disapproval in his voice. Disapproval? She would have none of that from him. She had done nothing wrong. At least not in comparison to him. “I was.”
“You might have announced yourself.”
“I did not wish to intrude.”
“But you wished to eavesdrop?”
“Not particularly. It was not my intention.”
“But you did eavesdrop,” he said more than asked.
“On your vile conversation?” She lifted her chin. “Yes. I heard it.”

 

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

With all my novels, I want to provide joy and escapism…especially in these times. I think historicals are more appealing than ever.

 

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

I’ve just finished revising the next book in the Duke Hunt series. This is Mercy’s book, who is a character you meet in THE DUKE GOES DOWN. It’s a bit bananas in the best way!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: (3) Three finished copies of THE DUKE GOES DOWN by Sophie Jordan

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: What historical romances have you read where the heroine has a vocation or does a “thing” that is atypical for the times? Like Imogen, my “lady vicar”…I love stories with unique heroines.

 
 

Excerpt from The Duke Goes Down:

He flinched. “I beg your pardon?”
“I said ‘ha.’ ”
“Yes, I heard you.” He shook his head as though trying to make sense of what was happening. “What does that mean?”
“Oh, did that sound not capture my complete disbelief on the matter of your kissing expertise?”
His eyes narrowed.
She continued, “You must confess, there is no way I can ascertain the truth of this. I can do nothing to dissuade others from believing this particular allegation—ack!”
In one smooth move, he reached out, closed his hands around her arms and tumbled her against his person. His mouth claimed her lips before she could form a more coherent exclamation.
He was kissing her.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

The Bastard Rogue…
Peregrine Butler’s privileged blue-blooded world is rocked to the core when it is revealed he was born before his parents’ marriage and therefore is not the legal heir to the dukedom. Facing ruin, Perry must use his charm and good looks to win an heiress—all the while ignoring his fascination with the one interfering and alluring chit who is intent on sabotaging his efforts.

The Lady Vicar…
Everyone knows Imogen Bates, the virtuous daughter of the senile vicar. She can write a sermon in a day and spot a rogue in a second, so she sees right through Perry’s seductive façade. But Imogen’s plan to protect the heiresses of her beloved Shropshire from the erstwhile Duke of Penning, the bane of her existence since childhood, soon turns into something altogether unacceptable for the proper lady … who suddenly finds herself longing to keep his heated glances and tempting kisses all to herself.

Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Sophie Jordan grew up in the Texas hill country where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she’s the New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author of more than twenty novels. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she’s not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and cramming her DVR with anything that has a happily ever after.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |
 
 
 

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29 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: The Duke Goes Down by Sophie Jordan”

  1. EC

    West End Earl where the heroine disguised herself as a man.

    Also, Diana Quincy’s second book in her new series where the heroine is a bone setter.

  2. Mary Preston

    I read a book not long ago where the heroine looked for fossils at Lyme Regis.

  8. Amy R

    What historical romances have you read where the heroine has a vocation or does a “thing” that is atypical for the times? I can’t think of any

  9. Glenda M

    Not enough of them lol. The one that first comes to mind is Lisa Kleypas’s Hello Stranger with a woman doctor.

  12. eawells

    In West End Earl by Bethany Bennett the heroine disguised herself as her brother and in employed as a land steward.

  13. Bonnie

    I have read Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas and One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean.

  14. Kathy Partridge

    The Duke I Tempted by Scarlett Peckham – the heroine is a botanist.

  15. Janie McGaugh

    I’ve read books with astronomers, archaeologists, newspaper reporters and editors, botanists, and doctors.

  18. Irma Jurejevčič

    The first I can think of: The Spymaster’s Lady, Joanna Bourne (Annique, blind)

  19. Rachael Constant

    I’ve read one’s where the lady has disguised herself as a man.

  20. Anita H.

    I can think of two: Garrett Gibson is a doctor in Lisa Kleypas’ Hello Stranger and Irene Deverill is a newspaper publisher and advice columnist

  24. Summer

    While it’s not entirely a romance (and it is YA) Luck of the Titanic features a heroine who is an acrobat.

  27. Patricia B.

    I have read books with the heroine as a Pinkerton Agent, photographer, chemist, portrait artist, archeologist, and more. All before it was acceptable for women to be independently pursuing those careers.

  28. Terrill R.

    Wow! A lady Vicar. That is so unique for the times. I love it.

    I’ve read of women newspaper owners and other business owners in Regency times. Also, any scientist females tend to be a unique vocation in romance.