Victoria Vane's Blog, page 14
October 8, 2013
A Devil Named DeVere
A Devil Named DeVere is a full length e-book compilation of the three stories that feature the devil himself (The Devil You Know, The Devil’s Match, and A Devil’s Touch).
This 337 page volume has been re-edited with the addition of a few select scenes from A Wild Night’s Bride and The Virgin Huntress so that it serves as a standalone story. I have done this mainly for those readers who A) do not like novellas B) do not like cliff-hangers C) Might not wish to invest in an entire series.
This book also helps to pave the way for Jewel of the East that really, honestly, and truly is coming in January 2014.
A Devil Named DeVere is available now on Amazon Kindle.
The trade paperback edition is available at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
October 7, 2013
Reblogged from LET THEM READ BOOKS
Please join me in welcoming author Victoria Vane back to Let Them Read Books! You may remember how much I enjoyed her Devil DeVere series of erotic historical romance novellas–check out my reviews of A Wild Night’s Bride , The Virgin Huntress , and my double review of The Devil You Knowand The Devil’s Match. And if you missed Victoria’s guest post on the Feast of Venus, you must click here now! Victoria has a new novel out, The Sheik Retold , her spin on the classic romance by E.M. Hull. Check out the trailer and my interview with Victoria, and then enter to win an ebook from Victoria’s backlist!
Hey Victoria! When did you first read The Sheik?
The Sheik by E.M. Hull has been on my TBR since I first heard about it three years ago after I stumbled on to a few friend reviews of it on Goodreads. My curiosity was piqued, but given that I despise the “forced seduction” trope, I was in no hurry to read it. I once more stumbled upon the book about six months ago while looking for free classics on Amazon. This time I downloaded it and began reading. I was captivated by the story and pretty much read it straight through.
What inspired you to take it to the next level?
The Sheik was definitely a wall-banger for me as I would have thrown it against the wall at least half a dozen times it if wasn’t on my Kindle! There was so much to love about it but just as much that I hated. I was most troubled by the rape-to-love scenario and the sheik’s genuine cruel streak. I also couldn’t see him as hero-worthy even after his past was explained. As for Diana, I mostly wanted to throttle her. I loved her character initially, but the author did not stay true to her at all. There were several TSTL moments and too much whining and wallowing in self-pity for me to respect her.
After I finished the book I began envisioning how I would have liked for this story to play out, especially the relationship between Ahmed and Diana. When I began dreaming scenes and dialogue, I knew I had to rewrite the story the way I imagined it. At its heart, The Sheik is the story of a woman’s sexual awakening, but E.M. Hull was constrained in so many ways by the era she lived in. She could only hint at the kind of things that I describe freely and in great detail. I can’t help wondering what her book would have been like had she lived in our time, so that is the version that I set out to write.
LINK TO FULL INTERVIEW AND GIVEAWAY
October 2, 2013
Guest Blog at Long and Short Reviews: THE POWER OF SETTING
Aside from a solid plot and compelling characters, what makes a great story? What is the magical ingredient that brings it all to life? That transports the reader to another time and place? My answer is the setting—one that doesn’t just serve as a backdrop for the characters, but plays an equal role. Each of the following excerpts from The Sheik Retold sets a different tone and exemplifies how powerful setting can be in creating atmosphere and mood for the story.
Link to Guest Blog at Long and Short Reviews: THE POWER OF SETTING
October 1, 2013
Super Book Blast for THE SHEIK RETOLD
A digital copy of A WILD NIGHTS’ BRIDE or A BREACH OF PROMISE will be offered
at EVERY stop on this book tour
2: Farm Girl Books
3: Harlie’s Books
4: Queen of the Night Reviews
5: Booklover Sue
6: Sharing Links and Wisdom
7: Books and Other Spells
8: Wickedly Wanton Tales
9: Perusing Princesses
10: Ever After Romance Book Blog
11: It’s All About The Romance
12: Snarky Mom Reads…
13: Wicked Readings by Tawania
14: The Book Tart
15: Sugarbeat’s Books
16: Fantasy Powered by Love
17: Books to Light Your Fire
18: The Sinner Author
19: Wake Up Your Wild Side
20: Renee Luke
21: The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat
22: Author Jinni James
23: Sexy Lady Anita Philmar
24: Full Moon Dreaming
25: Sexy Adventures, Passionate Tales
26: Romance Novels in Color
27: Writer Wonderland
28: Renee Entess’s Blog
29: Love Saves the World
30: Words of Wisdom from The Scarf Princess
31: The Hedonistic Minimalist
32: Erzabet’s Enchantments
33: A Generous Helping of Romance
34: Becky Flade Author
35: Reading, Writing, and Roses
36: Tamaria Soana
37: Tina Donahue Presents
38: Krystal Shannan – Where Love and Destiny Collide
39: Reviews by Crystal
40: Desiree Holt
41: Long and Short Reviews - review only
42: United By Books
43: The Reading Addict
September 30, 2013
Fan2Author Interview with…Victoria Vane!
Tag Archives: The Sheik Retold
SEP302013
b2b Melanie: Please help me welcome an Author that I just discovered a few months ago, Victoria Vane [although when I discovered her it was under the pseudonym of Emery Lee as I read ‘Fortune's Son’]
Since then I’ve had a pleasure to read her other novels and can safely say that she’s quickly become one of my must read authors.
I’m so happy she’s here with us today! Welcome Victoria!
Victoria Vane: Thank so much for having me, Mel. I’m delighted to be here-and so happy you enjoyedFortune’s Son enough to seek out my other books. :)
b2b: Before I start with the questions, how about you tell us a bit about your writing career?
VV: Writing was nothing I ever planned on. It’s one of those things that happened to me. I woke up one day with a story that wouldn’t go away and knew I had to write it. Fourteen months later I had a finished novel (The Highest Stakes) and my life has never been the same!
b2b: Since I never read the original, can you tell me if it’s easier or harder to re-tell the story, or writing it from scratch?
VV: In the case of THE SHEIK RETOLD it was easier because the characters and basic plot were already there. Moreover, the author’s voice was very compatible with mine. After that it was mainly a matter of deciding what to keep and what to discard from the original story and then putting my own particular spin on it. THE SHEIK RETOLD most definitely has my distinctive stamp in regard to character development and sensuality!
b2b: Victoria, you took my breath away with the descriptions of the setting, but you also captured Diana’s thoughts and actions so well that I felt every emotion she did. This story was told only from her POV. Why was that?
VV: Although E.M. Hull’s THE SHEIK was written in third person with only a few scenes/passages from Ahmed’s POV, I never quite connected with Diana. Part of that was certainly the way in which her character was originally portrayed, but given that the story was told primarily from her POV it only made sense to me to re-tell it in first person. First person allowed me to more fully explore her thoughts, motives, and desires. I also felt readers would empathize more with her character. I think first person also works in this story because it allows the sheik to remain a bit of an enigma. ;-)
b2b: The hero of this tale is as Alpha as you could possibly make him, yet he still came off as fair and sensitive at times. Was it much altered from the original book?
LINK TO FULL INTERVIEW AND BOOK REVIEW : http://bookworm2bookworm.wordpress.com/tag/the-sheik-retold/
September 20, 2013
September 18, 2013
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW Free on Kindle!
Free for the first time 9/20- 9/24/13
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
Library Journal Best E-book Romance
The Romance Reviews Best Historical Romance nominee
Love Romances Cafe Best Historical Romance Nominee
IND’Tale magazine Rone Nominee
***
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW is book#3 In the DeVere series but can be read first.
It is also part one of DeVere and Diana’s story that continues inTHE DEVIL’S MATCH and A DEVIL’S TOUCH.
***
Who can find a virtuous woman… Beautiful, respectable, and dutiful, Lady Diana Palmerston-Wriothesley has long resigned herself to her twelve-year loveless and childless marriage to a feckless husband…until his gambling pushes them to the brink of financial ruin.
Sometimes the devil is in disguise as a gentleman… Viscount Ludovic, “The Devil DeVere”, is a man accustomed to taking what he wants according to his whim and heedless of the cost…until he encounters a woman who won’t be had at any price.
When dealing with the devil, it’s easy to be burned…When Diana discovers a secret that shatters the carefully built façade concealing her private pain, she seeks aid and comfort from the most unlikely place…the devil’s arms. But will a single night of heavenly passion damn them both forever?
Excerpt link: http://www.victoriavane.com/historical-romances/the-devil-you-know/
Reviewer Accolades
“The Devil DeVere series is a variation of the Rake’s Progress, or the Rake’s Reformation, except that is doesn’t start with said Rake as the main character. A device that was amazingly clever on Vane’s part and allowed her to circle in on DeVere without revealing too much initially. In the first two books, he’s the puppetmaster, re-arranging his friends’ lives. But in the background the reader catches hints that there’s more to him than the debauched reprobate we see. By the time we find out his story, we’re invested. The series is erotic and sexy and sometimes the reader wants to shake various characters until their teeth rattle, but it is absolutely marvelous. This one should be read with bonbons. And a fan!” – Marlene Harris for Library Journal
“I’ve come to count on Victoria Vane to deliver delightful, erotic romantic escapes. But this book signals a new turn in the Devil DeVere series, and it has now become an addiction for me… Suffice it to say, this is a sensational, sultry read with a complicated plot that will tantalize and seduce any readers of the Devil DeVereseries. While it might be an entertaining read for newcomers, the rewards to starting this series from the very beginning are too many to mention—and the enticements of the next new release will surely have you coming back for more!” – The Romance Reviews
“I’ve been hooked from the beginning, like with no other series I’ve ever read. It’s filled with mystery, mischief, adventure, romance and oh yes, sex that will leave you gasping for breath as you soak up each page of this sensual, romantic experience.” -Night Owl Reviews
“If you still haven’t fallen in love with DeVere, now you’ll surrender yourself. I’m getting addicted to Victoria’s writing, it’s like a drug.” - Reading Romances
September 12, 2013
FALL INTO ROMANCE BLOG HOP
Featured book: THE SHEIK RETOLD
by Victoria Vane & E.M. Hull
The Desert Was Never Hotter!
A haughty young heiress for whom the world is a playground… A savage son of the Sahara who knows no law but his own…When pride and passion vie for supremacy, blistering desert days are nothing compared to sizzling Sahara nights…
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
When first published in 1919, E.M. Hulls’ The Sheik was an overnight bestseller with more than fifty printings the first two years of release. The book was also made into a silent film that catapulted its leading man, Rudolph Valentino, to superstardom. Given its huge success in its time, I knew it was a risky move to re-write this romance classic. Nevertheless it was something I was compelled to do. While I have taken a number of liberties in my re-telling, I have also kept everything I loved about the original. At its heart The Sheik is the story of the heroine’s sexual awakening, so it was only appropriate in my retelling to throw the bedroom door wide open. 
While I believe The Sheik Retold will compare favorably to E.M. Hull’s original story, readers of this book will be the ultimate judge.
EXCERPT
Restless, I moved about the tent, listlessly examining objects that I already knew by heart, and flirting over the pages of some French magazines. I should have been elated at his unexpected absence, yet in my perversity, I was strangely unstrung with anticipation of his return. Now the utter silence only oppressed me.
Where was Gaston? Even the servant’s company would be preferable to my own. I guessed he must have gone with his master or perhaps he was long retired. I went to the flap of the tent and gazed out into the night. The camp, large and spread out was covered mostly in a blanket of blackness, broken by the occasional glimmer of a sparking fire.
I had dreamt for years of this experience, of a month spent in the desert and now here I was. I had longed for adventure. It is what I had sought, so why could I not turn this tragedy to my advantage? I had food and shelter that was far superior to any I could have provided for myself. And I was surrounded by hundreds of armed men. Whether I viewed them as my captors or my protectors was only a matter of perception—a matter of choice.
I knew I was safe. I had seen the depths of deference, the authority of the Sheik’s command. Any man outside of himself who dared to touch me would suffer death. Of that I had no doubt. The only thing stopping me from enjoying my adventure in this vast oasis and my freedom in the Sheik’s camp, was my own desperate desire to cling to a state of chastity I truly cared nothing about. It was only my pride that stood in the way of my pleasure, and my refusal to allow him to take it from me.
I chewed my lip as I gazed up upon the stars glimmering in the heaven like countless brilliant diamonds shimmering against a backdrop of black velvet. I wondered if in the great scheme of things, my pride was a bit over-rated.
This entire evening I had bucked with resentment against the pretense that I was a willing guest here, but had I met this same Sheik in Biskrah, in more conventional circumstances, if I had only been properly introduced, would I not have willing, even gratefully accepted an invitation to his camp? Only a week ago I would have jumped at the chance. What now prevented me from embracing that role? From enjoying that status— for as long as I had planned? I smiled to myself. Yes, it was all just a matter of perception—except for the bartering of my body— the Sheik’s expectation in return for his hospitality.
My smiled dimmed.
I could enjoy my month of holiday as planned, as long as I would willing serve his needs—and all that implied— in his bed.
***
Pride and passion vie for supremacy between a haughty young heiress and a savage son of the Sahara in this steamy retelling of E.M. Hull’s romance classic.
Available now in E-book and trade paperback
E-book edition is on sale for $2.99 this weekend only at Amazon. Offer ends 9/16/13.
Click the Rafflcopter link for my giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
September 6, 2013
A Wild night’s Bride Free!
Free on Kindle
September 6-10, 2013 Only
A WILD NIGHT’S BRIDE
What happens when a struggling actress and a grieving widower come together in a night of unbridled debauchery orchestrated by a bored and machinating rake?
With the devil in charge…there will be hell to pay!She’s a lonely lady down on her luck… Phoebe Scott, alias Kitty Willis, is a struggling Covent Garden actress with a bruised heart and a closely guarded secret.He’s steadfast and eminently respectable.. Sir Edward Chambers, Ned to his intimates, is guilt-ridden over his beloved wife’s death and avowed to live out a rustic and mundane life … of celibacy.With the devil in charge — there will surely be hell to pay. Devil in disguise, Viscount Ludovic DeVere, is determined to return his best friend, Ned, to the land of the living. His meddling machinations result in a night of mind blowing passion after which “dull dog Ned” awakes to find himself in the King of England’s bed!
THE DEVIL DEVERE SERIES:
A Wild Night’s Bride #1
The Virgin Huntress#2
The Devil You Know #3
The Devil’s Match #4
A Devil’s Touch #4.5
Jewel Of the East #5 (coming 2014)
PREQUEL VIGNETTES:
Devil in the Making #1
The Trouble With Sin #2
Ned’s Folly #3 (coming 2014)
August 29, 2013
THE SHEIK RETOLD BOOK TOUR
Pride and passion vie for supremacy between a haughty young heiress and a savage son of the Sahara in this steamy retelling of E.M. Hull’s romance classic.
A haughty young heiress for whom the world is a playground… A savage son of the Sahara who knows no law but his own…
“There will be inquiries.” I choked out. “I am not such a nonentity that nothing will be done when I am missed. You will pay dearly for what you have done.”
“Pay?” His amused look sent a cold feeling of dread through me. “I have already paid… in gold that matches your hair, my gazelle. Besides,” he continued, “the French Government has no jurisdiction over me. There is no law here above my own.”
My trepidation was growing every passing minute. “Why have you done this? Why have you brought me here?”
“Why?” He repeated with a slow and heated appraisal that made me acutely, almost painfully, conscious of my sex. “Bon Dieu! Are you not woman enough to know?”
When pride and passion vie for supremacy, blistering desert days are nothing compared to sizzling Sahara nights…
Available Now on Kindle- print soon to follow!
EXCERPT: (French Algeria 1920)
My gaze tracked upward to rest on his sun-bronzed and lightly bearded face. Harsh and angular in the lamplight, it was at once the handsomest and cruelest face I had ever seen. He regarded me fiercely with scornful eyes. Those eyes! Surely I had seen them before.
I gasped. It was him! The man from the party who had eyed me with such insolence. Even now he gazed at me as no other man had ever dared—in a way that made me acutely, almost painfully, conscious of my sex.
“Who are you?” I asked hoarsely, speaking in French without thinking.
He replied in French as well, “I am the Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan.”
The name conveyed nothing. “Is it money that you want? Are you holding me for ransom?”
He regarded me for a long and silent moment with an expression of contempt. “I have no need of your money.”
“What then?” I demanded, but deep down I already knew it was not a question of ransom. The way he looked at me was far too revealing and made my stomach churn. “Do you think that you can keep me here, you fool?” I lashed out in growing panic. “Do you suppose I can vanish into the desert and that no notice will be taken of my disappearance? That no inquiries will be made?”
“There will be no inquiries,” he answered me calmly.
“There will be inquiries,” I choked out. “I am not such a nonentity that nothing will be done when I am missed. The English authorities will make the French government find out who is responsible. You will pay for what you have done.”
“Pay?” His amused look sent a cold feeling of dread through me. “I have already paid…in gold that matches your hair, my gazelle. Besides,” he continued, “the French have no jurisdiction over me. There is no authority here above my own.”
My trepidation grew by the second. “Why have you done this? Why have you brought me here?”
“Why have I brought you here?” he repeated with a slow and heated appraisal. “Bon Dieu! Are you not woman enough to know?”
Understanding descended upon me in a nauseas wave that flooded me with heat, filling me with a horror that made each separate nerve in my system cringe. Instinctively, I shrank back. My gaze fell away from his, darting to the flap of the tent, but he read my mind, catching me in his arms before I could flee. My limbs quivered, and he laughed softly, his breath hot in my ear. His mirth was more frightening to me than anything he had said.
I averted my head, refusing to look at him, but he forcibly turned my face to his. I set my teeth and squeezed my lids shut, but I could not block out the vision of his eyes burning into me, nor the feeling of his hot, moist, mint-scented breath fanning my skin.
“I wanted you from the moment I saw you, my golden one…And now,” the backs of his long brown fingers brushed my hair, “you are mine.”
You are mine. His whispered words sent a wave of shock jolting through me.
“Damn you to hell!” I cried. “I am my own woman! No one owns me!” I knew he intended to force himself upon me, and the anticipation made me shudder with fear and revulsion. I could not win, but still I fought, writhing in an effort to free myself. When this attempt failed, I slumped in his arms in a feint of submission.
Unfazed, his lips neared mine. He murmured low and dark, his breath hot and faintly sweet against my face, “On the contrary, my gazelle, I do. I exchanged a large sum in gold with your would-be murderer. I bought your life. You are mine to do with as I wish.”
I willed myself to remain passive as his scorching lips met mine and his scalding tongue invaded my mouth, but the urge to escape resurfaced, reanimating my numbed nerves and galvanizing me to act. In a sudden surge of strength, I stomped the heel of my boot onto his instep. He drew back with a fierce curse, his grip loosening just enough for me to spin in his arms, yet when I tried to lurch free, the union with his bigger and stronger body remained. It was my valiant last stand…and it had failed.
“You will not get away with this,” I babbled. “Mustafa Ali or one of the caravan men has surely given the alarm in Biskra by now.”
“Mustafa Ali will not give any alarm in Biskra…or anywhere else for that matter.”
“Why not? Have you murdered them all?” I asked in a choked whisper. Myriad tales of ruthless Arab cruelty surged through my mind.
“No. I have not murdered them,” he replied. “There was no need when all had been arranged. When you come to know me better, you will realize that I leave little to chance. Of course, all things are with Allah, blessed be his name, but it is well to remember that Allah does not always concern himself with the affairs of men.”
My head swam dizzily at his reply. “What are you saying, that you planned all of this?”
He smiled slowly. “Voyons! It was all very simple. You engaged a caravan in the charge of Mustafa Ali to travel in the desert. You set out from Biskra, with the intent of traveling northward to Oran, where you would dismiss the caravan. From there you were to cross to Marseilles, then on to Cherbourg to embark for America where you would join your brother.” His slow, casual voice detailed my itinerary with the quiet certainty of perfect knowledge.
I swayed on my feet and whispered with dry lips, “H-how can you know…all…this?”
He replied with a blithe half-smile, “I wished to know.”
“But why?”
“I have told you, my dove. As to how, you paid Mustafa Ali to guide you into the desert. Your brother paid him even more to leave you for dead, and then I paid him even better to lead you to me. Well enough indeed to make him content to remove himself from Biskra, where awkward questions might be asked. Indeed, well enough to retire to a place where he no longer has a need to make his living as a caravan leader.”
To my amazement, he released me. I was too stunned to run, yet my mind raced with all he had revealed. Though I tried to reject it all as lies, tiny glimmers of truth broke through the darkness. I recalled vividly waking in my hotel room to a fleeting vision. There had been someone there. My revolver had been tampered with. I had not missed my shots; they had been substituted with blanks. Mustafa Ali’s shifting eyes, his desire to hurry from the oasis where we had rested at mid-day, his tone, were all explained. He had acted his part to perfection right down to the imaginary wound that had toppled him from his saddle. My faithless and deceitful guide had led me to a man who had bribed him to betray me. Even the horse I rode was trained to this sheik’s whistle. I could not deny that at least part of this absurdity was indeed truth.
The knowledge that I had been duped filled me with impotent rage, but the suggestion of Aubrey’s complicity was ludicrous! Nevertheless, seeds of doubt took root in my mind. Could this be why Aubrey had reacted so uncharacteristically the night before? Suddenly I recollected the last moments before our parting. What had he and the guide been discussing just before my departure? Had he really planned to kill me? But why? Aubrey lived a life of extravagance. Could he be in need of funds? In the event of my death, my entire fortune would be his.
I recalled the strange look in his eyes. Was it a pang of guilt over the murder he had planned? Had he had second thoughts at the last minute? Had Aubrey really paid the guide to kill me? My hands gripped my throat. My God! It could not be true!
“I don’t believe a word you say!” I gasped. “You are a brigand and a liar!”
His expression grew grim. His eyes shone cold, hard, and black as onyx. He came close behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders and then slowly slid them up to rest around my neck, where his thumbs caressed my pulse. His voice was low and soft. “Were you a man, I would slice your throat for such calumny. Do not ever disparage my character again.”
My heart stood still. “But why me?” I choked out.
He dipped his head to murmur in my ear. “It was fated. I saw you once before—in Paris. You were surrounded by your panting lapdogs and would have none of them. It was then I knew that I alone would have you. The rest was Allah’s will,” he continued matter-of-factly. “You came to Biskra. You arranged a tour in the desert. You were bored and wanted adventure. I have granted that wish.” He flashed a feral smile. “And now you will grant mine.”
WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING …
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18160690-the-sheik-retold
