Erica Monroe's Blog, page 5
September 25, 2016
I SPY A DUKE is a Regency Bestseller!
If you’ve already purchased or reviewed I Spy a Duke, then I am infinitely grateful to you. This week, my little book about a duke of spies and a governess with secrets rocketed to the top of the Amazon Regency Romance and Mystery Romance lists at #1. This is a huge personal best for me, so I was very, very excited. (It also put me on another “author rank list” for a short time where I was listed with J.D. Robb and Janet Evanovich as popular suspense authors, so THAT WAS AMAZING.)
When I started indie publishing in 2013, I did it because I believed that there was a place in the historical romance world for dark romance that broke boundaries and crossed social classes. (For more reasoning behind my indie pub decision, see here.) In the past three years, I’ve had a lot of really, really wonderful moments and interactions with readers that I continue to treasure.
So thank you so very, very, very much to every reader who’s ever purchased my books or reviewed them–you’re the reason I have the career I dreamed of when I was a little girl, telling a story that started from the beginning of our car trip and didn’t end until we reached our destination. (Sorry, Mom, for all the racket!)
February 12, 2016
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November 4, 2015
Erica’s Books
Booklist
Covert Heiresses
I Spy a Duke
Amazon | Kobo | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | ARE
She wants revenge…
When bluestocking Vivian Loren becomes the governess for the wealthy Spencer family, she’s searching for clues about the murder of her brother, not a husband. But Vivian didn’t count on James Spencer, the infuriatingly handsome Duke of Abermont.
He needs a wife…
As head of Britain’s elite intelligence agency, James has no time to woo a wife. When he discovers Vivian’s quest for answers has made her a pawn in a treacherous plot, James realizes they can help each other. She’ll become hi*s duchess, and he’ll keep her safe from one of Napoleon’s deadliest spies.
What begins as a marriage of convenience quickly becomes anything but, as they find out love is the most dangerous mission of all.
The Rookery Rogues
A Dangerous Invitation
Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iBooks / Kobo / ARE / Smashwords / Paperback
She’s given up on love, and wants only independence…
Torn from her life of privilege by her father’s death, Kate Morgan survives in London’s dark and depraved rookeries as a fence for stolen goods. The last man she ever expects, or wants, to be reunited with is her first love, who promised to cherish, honor and protect her, and instead fled amidst accusations of murder.
He’s the reformed rake determined to win her back…
One drunken night cost Daniel O’Reilly the woman he loved and the life he’d worked so hard to create. If he ever wants to reclaim that life–and Kate–he’ll not only have to prove he’s innocent of murder, but convince the pistol-wielding hellion that he’s no longer the scoundrel he once was.
Together, they’ll have to face a killer. Time is running out…
Secrets in Scarlet
Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iBooks /
After a dangerous figure from Abigail’s past resurfaces vowing vengeance, things take a sinister turn. But Michael will stop at nothing to keep the woman he loves safe. When the stakes are high and the scars are more than skin deep, passion might be the key to a happily ever after.
May 20, 2015
Author’s Note – Beauty and the Rake
The story of Beauty and her Beast has appealed to me ever since childhood. As an awkward, bookish girl, I wondered when someone would truly appreciate the real me. I must have watched the Disney movie a hundred times. At the very core of Beauty and the Beast is the friendship that builds between the two protagonists. Though Beauty is initially hesitant to spend time at the castle—unsurprising, given the circumstances of her arrival—she starts to see the Beast in a different light the more time she spends with him. After a while, he is no longer this scary creature, but instead a man she’s come to love.
While the central focus of most of the folk iterations of Beauty and the Beast focus on the Beast’s transformation, the stories tend not to characterize Beauty beyond her obvious aesthetic appeal. I think that’s why I’ve always loved the Disney version the best: it shows that both Belle and Beast are affected by their newfound relationship. Beast is no longer trapped in his past pain, and Belle has finally found someone who thinks she’s incredible just the way she is.
I find this is a central theme in every romance I write. To me, true love is about acceptance. It’s about seeing the complete beauty of a person. That’s why Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite: their love becomes something more. It is not based solely on visual appreciation, but instead a bond between two souls.
There are several commonalities in the iterations that I chose to incorporate into writing this book. The basic premise that Beauty must enter this deal with Beast because of something her father has done. The presence of siblings: though in most texts only Beauty has two sisters, I chose instead to give both Strickland and Abigail sisters. Beauty returns home and then realizes she loves the Beast. And of course, there are a few scenes I snuck in as direct homages to the movie version.
When Abigail Vautille popped onto the page in Secrets in Scarlet, I knew that she needed a happily ever after. Her scars made her believe she’s the Beast, and she must learn to love herself again. Michael Strickland, who also debuted in Secrets in Scarlet, captivated me from the beginning with his devil-may-care attitude. While Michael is physically attractive, he has a lot to learn about life and love. In this sense then Abigail and Michael are both the Beast, and at times they’re both Beauty. This dichotomy interested me. I think we all go through moments where we are either beastly or beautiful; we are never just one thing. It is our flaws that make us beautiful, as much as our strengths.
This novel contains my first depiction of a real life person in the scene with Superintendent Thomas Bicknell, who really did lead the H-Division of the Metropolitan Police at this time. All characterizations of Bicknell as a bumbling egotist are mine and mine alone, bearing no historical relevance and added simply for story enrichment.
Beauty and the Rake also draws on historical setting details from the East London areas of Cheapside, Whitechapel, and Spitalfields. While the Crispin Street Market is still active today, the clothing markets in Petticoat Lane are sadly no longer in existence. Spitalfields, with its long history of weaving, remains a vibrant community rich in culture. I have tried to stick as close to the actual street layout and locations of shops, etc. that was relevant in 1832—though of course, some errors may occur in my placement. The Chelsea Bun-House mentioned by Abigail was indeed a real shop that closed in 1839.
I greatly enjoyed doing the research for this book, and I hope that it adds a feeling of authenticity to your reading.
November 4, 2014
Cover reveal: Beauty and the Rake!
Thanks for sharing in the reveal for my upcoming Rookery Rogues novella, Beauty and the Rake. Set in Whitechapel, London in 1832, Beauty and the Rake slots in-between books 2 and 3 of the series. (Chronologically, the events fall after Book 3.)
Cover designed by Kristine Wyllys
Heroine: Abigail Vautille, secondary character from Secrets in Scarlet
Hero: Michael Strickland, secondary character from Secrets in Scarlet
Blurb: Abigail Vautille grew up in the heart of the London rookeries, toiling as a factory worker until one tragic night leaves her disfigured and unable to weave. Faced with starvation or prostitution, she strikes a deal with the man who owns her father’s gambling debts—if he excuses the debt, for one week, she’ll give him her body, but not her heart.
Inspector Michael Strickland of the Metropolitan Police has always led a charmed existence. An unrepentant rake, he buries his problems under a cocksure exterior. Abigail reminds him that everything can change in an instant. As he gets to know her, he begins to see one week with her won’t be enough. He sees the beauty within her, not the beast she believes herself to be.
Yet Abigail’s scars are more than skin deep. With the end of their agreement so close, can Michael convince Abigail she’s exactly what he wants?
Release Info: Beauty and the Rake will be available Winter 2015.
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23448386-beauty-and-the-rake
Reach Out to Erica:
Buy Links for Secrets in Scarlet, Book 2
AMZ: http://amzn.to/1sm646Z
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/XVrARz
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1v5CLmX
Google Play: http://bit.ly/secretsgp%60
All Romance E-Books: http://bit.ly/1sSzjyB
Buy Links for A Dangerous Invitation, Book 1
AMZ: http://bit.ly/1pFaeQA
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/11yibSG
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1udfcWC
All Romance E-Books: http://bit.ly/11yiJIc
Google Play: http://bit.ly/adigoogle
Also check out these other blogs which are participating in the Beauty and the Rake cover reveal: Layna Pimental, Rise of the Slush, What I’m Reading, Doing Some Reading
October 25, 2014
Giveaway: Maya Rodale’s What a Wallflower Wants
It’s been a bit since I had a giveaway, and I wanted to celebrate the 99 cent sale of A DANGEROUS INVITATION (Rookery Rogues #1) and the new release of SECRETS IN SCARLET (Rookery Rogues 2, which has now been out for a month). So when I attended the Heart of Carolina Romance Writer’s writing retreat last weekend and Maya Rodale was the guest speaker, I got the opportunity to snag a signed copy of her USA Today bestselling title, What a Wallflower Wants.
Here’s my dog, Sarge, modeling Maya’s book. Y’all don’t want to know how many tries it took to get this picture.
This was on my TBR list ever seen I read Maya’s post on why she almost quit writing. If you’ve read my Secrets in Scarlet, you know that I have a soft spot for “fallen women.” (I use this term in quotes, because while this is what society considered women who lost their virginity outside of marriage during the regency/Victorian eras, I certainly don’t consider them less than whole.) The heroine of Secrets in Scarlet, Poppy O’Reilly, lost her virtue to a man who then promptly left her–and nine months later, Poppy gave birth to her daughter, Moira. Secrets in Scarlet is the story of Poppy learning to love again, in her secret romance with Metropolitan Police sergeant, Thaddeus Knight.
So you can see I feel like Prudence and Poppy would be BFFs. Maya’s book is next on my TBR list, after I finish this book I’m blurbing (more about that later, y’all). I’m really excited to share this giveaway with you.
Without further ado…the widgety-thing so you can enter. Please note that like all of my giveaways involving paperbacks, this is only open to US and Canada residents.
And above, I talked about a sale on A Dangerous Invitation for 99 cents. If you’ve been dying to try my Rookery Rogues but haven’t had the cash (we here at Quillfire Publishing seriously understand this, because we are pooooorrrrr, bitches), now’s your chance! Here’s some links below so you can do the thing:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | Google Play | All Romance E-Books |
And if I’ve whetted your interest about Secrets in Scarlet, let’s make it easy for you: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | Google Play | All Romance E-Books | Paperback | Signed Copies
September 23, 2014
Secrets in Scarlet is live!
I’m so, so excited to announce to you that you can now purchase my second novel, Secrets in Scarlet. I had a lot of fun bringing Thaddeus and Poppy to life, and I hope that you enjoy their journey to happily ever after as much as I did. This book has a lot of fun elements to it, from a murder mystery to a slow burn romance with touches back to Shakespeare, The Scarlet Letter, North and South, and of course Sherlock Holmes. Poppy O’Reilly is Daniel from A Dangerous Invitation’s sister, and Thaddeus Knight is the police officer you also met in ADI. For those of you who read ADI, you already know that Poppy is a fallen woman with a daughter to protect from society’s cruel reach. Thaddeus is the one man she shouldn’t be with, but once they form a tentative partnership, they can’t keep their passions at bay.
The official blurb…
When a girl is murdered at a factory in one of London’s rookeries, Sergeant Thaddeus Knight of the Metropolitan Police comes in to investigate. But it’s not just the factory owners that Thaddeus wants information on–the devilishly intriguing Poppy O’Reilly is a puzzle he’d like nothing more than to solve.
Protecting her young daughter is the most important thing to Poppy, and Thaddeus threatens the false identity she’s carefully constructed. The last thing she should do is allow Thaddeus close to her family, yet she can’t stay away from him. With danger around the corner, will the secrets of a scarlet woman lead to their undoing?
You can purchase it at: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | Google Play |
All Romance E-Books, iBooks, and Paperback links coming soon
Read the first chapter
And a few fun teasers…
September 6, 2014
Fairytales and Regencies Giveaway!
I’m so excited to announce this gigantic giveaway! It will run from September 7th all the way to September 13th. A winner will be chosen on September 14th.
I promised y’all lots of goodies from Romance Writers of America’s annual conference–so this is just the first of my fun, fun giveaways planned throughout this month and next. As always, any giveaway involving a paperback book is US AND CANADA ONLY. All other entries will be disqualified. Sorry guys, but it’s prohibitively costly to ship to other countries, and I’m a struggling writer with a little promotional budget. 
Thank you for understanding!
This particular giveaway is for 3 signed regency paperbacks, 1 signed fairytale sampler, and 2 e-books that need to be redeemed by 9-30. (So as soon as you get them, make sure you download them! I’ll e-mail the winner the codes from the back of the cards too in case the package gets delayed.)
Without further ado…
(1) Signed Paperback of “The Magic Between Us” by Tammy Faulkner
(1) Signed Paperback of “How A Lady Weds a Rogue” by Katharine Ashe
(1) Signed Paperback of “The Duke and I” by Julia Quinn
(1) Signed Paperback of “A Fairytale Sampler” by Eloisa James
(1) E-book of “The Wicked Wallflower” by Maya Rodale
(1) E-book of the “The Art of Duke Hunting” by Sophia Nash
(many) Various swag from regency authors, including an awesome bookmark for Rose Lerner’s series and a magnet from Ella Quinn
TO ENTER…
Use this Rafflecopter widget thingy.
If you can’t see your comment on the bottom of the page, don’t worry. Your entry still counts. It’s trapped in my over-excitable spam filter, and I’ll go through and release all the comments once every few days during the giveaway.
This contest is to celebrate both the Tempted by His Touch boxed set (a USA TODAY Bestseller!) and the upcoming release of Secrets in Scarlet, book 2 of the Rookery Rogues.
Tempted by his Touch -Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords | All Romance E-Books
Secrets in Scarlet blurb:
When a girl is murdered at a factory in one of London’s rookeries, Sergeant Thaddeus Knight of the Metropolitan Police comes in to investigate. But it’s not just the factory owners that Thaddeus wants information on–the devilishly intriguing Poppy O’Reilly is a puzzle he’d like nothing more than to solve.
Protecting her young daughter is the most important thing to Poppy, and Thaddeus threatens the false identity she’s carefully constructed. The last thing she should do is allow Thaddeus close to her family, yet she can’t stay away from him. With danger around the corner, will the secrets of a scarlet woman lead to their undoing?
September 4, 2014
Author’s Note – Secrets in Scarlet
Author’s Note
The 1830’s are a fascinating decade for English history for many, many reasons. The country hadn’t shifted fully toward the morals of the later Victorian era, but the people started to separate from the Regency mindset as well. Particularly of note is the view of bastard children in England. What Poppy experienced is similar to many different accounts of women who had children out of wedlock, though of course I have dramatized it and changed it to fit the confines of my story. To be a ruined woman in England was a dismaying place in society to inhabit.
While I can’t find record of a particular Magdalen asylum in Surrey, these institutions existed in both Ireland and England at this time. They began originally as homes for prostitutes, but eventually expanded toward all fallen women and women who’d hit upon hard times. The asylums provided food and shelter, yes, but the women were often made to labor without little—or any—payment. The Magdalen laundries existed well into the twentieth century.
Further evidence of change in society can be attributed to the Industrial Revolution. This brought a migration to the cities and new advances in machinery. I touch on a few inventions in this book, but there’s so much more to this period that I couldn’t fit within the framework of Secrets in Scarlet.
Poppy and Thaddeus live in Spitalfields, London. This little pocket of the East End was at this period in time considered a rookery, for great economic downturn had passed through the area. Once, Spitalfields was a teeming community of Huguenot weavers, who had emigrated from the great weaving cities in France of Lyons and Tours. Those weavers benefited from London’s desire for lustrings, velvets, brocades, satins, paduasoys, mantuas, and of course silk. A series of acts throughout the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries made it harder import fabrics from France, and so the weavers became more in demand.
The repeal of the Spitalfields Weaving Acts in the 1820’s struck the small weaving community hard. Coming upon the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the weavers no longer had the financial control they’d maintained over England’s silk industry for centuries. The call for mechanization took hold, and these hand loom weavers who had grown up perfecting this one tedious, delicate way of weaving were left unable to match the easier, less taxing efforts of the mechanized looms. The need for so many weavers was gone. Families were left without incomes, forced to find new jobs in an already highly overpopulated city. Some families, like the Vautilles, went to work in the factories, while others turned to different trades.
Previously, weaving had been a family vocation, with each member of the family involved. The children served as a draw boys for the hand looms, while the adults worked the shuttles, etc. One type of mechanized loom that I mention throughout Secrets in Scarlet, the Jacquard loom, required no draw boy. Though it’s often referred to as a “Jacquard loom,” it’s actually an attachment that can be used with many mechanical looms. It could be operated by one person, and because of its punch card system, suddenly it was possible to work complex patterns into the silk without having to reset the loom each time. The Jacquard loom, invented by Joseph-Marie Jacquard, is one of the most fascinating pieces of machinery out there and the basic structure of it is still in use in today’s fabric industry. In fact, the Jacquard loom has been cited as having a great impact on the development of computers.
While the structure of a factory like the Larkers’s could have existed in London, most textile manufacturing moved out to Manchester and Lancashire. There, large cotton and weaving factories were run, utilizing steam power. In Secrets in Scarlet, because the Larker factory is set in Spitalfields, steam power isn’t used.
And one last note: until the creation of Scotland Yard later in the nineteenth century, London had no real detective force. The Metropolitan Police, created in 1828, were put into place to prevent crime. The belief behind their establishment was that increased patrolling of the streets, organization between districts, etc. would effectively eradicate crime before it could ever happen. They may not have been entirely successful in accomplishing these goals, but the crime rate did decrease after the founding of the Met.
History Hoydens Interview
This post originally appeared on History Hoydens. For more information on Spitalfields and weaving, check out my Pinterest board.
Thank you so much for having me again at History Hoydens! It’s such a joy to be here. Today I’d like to tell you a little about the setting of my latest novel in my historical romantic suspense Rookery Rogues series, Secrets in Scarlet. Now, a rookery is an old term for the poorer neighborhoods in London (basically the slums).
While the first book in the series (A Dangerous Invitation) largely took place in the Ratcliffe rookery down by Wapping and the London Docks, Secrets in Scarlet is contained to the Spitalfields rookery in East London. Spitalfields borders up against the surrounding rookeries of Bishopgate and Whitechapel.
Spitalfields wasn’t always a rookery though—once it was a busy community teeming with prosperity. The area was home to many Huguenot weavers, who when they emigrated from France they brought with them the secrets of the silk weaving in Lyons. The entire family would help weave on draw looms or hand looms.
Everyone in Britain wanted silk woven by these ex-French weavers. Skilled weavers were certainly not a dime a dozen, and though the process was incredibly time-consuming, they were able to make a better living than they would in many of the other occupations available to the lower class.
But during the 1820’s, all that changed. Britain revoked the Spitalfields Act, and now people could trade freely with France, so the Spitalfields weavers were no longer the ones producing this silk. Coupled with the new machinery that dramatically reduced production times—and the need for so many weavers—the small town descended into hardship. As Charles Dickens states in his 1851 “Spitalfields” article for the Household Worlds journal, “From fourteen to seventeen thousand looms are contained in from eleven to twelve thousand houses – although at the time at which we write, not more than nine to ten thousand are at work.” Most of the production moved to factories in Manchester or Lancashire that utilized steam power. In my upcoming novel Beauty and the Rake, my heroine, Abigail has weaved—either in a factory or in her own home—since she was a child, and it’s all she knows.
In Secrets in Scarlet, I created a factory that exists on White Lion Street. This factory has somewhat factual basis, because it was marked on a map I found of the Spitalfields/Whitechapel areas during the Ripper slayings (so as to whether or not there was a factory actually on this site in 1832, your guess is as good as mine, but I thought it was an interesting coincidence). My textile factory solely does the weaving of the raw silk, so no steam power is needed. My heroine, Poppy O’Reilly, goes to work as a weaver in this factory not only to pay rent, etc, but so that she can save up enough money for her daughter to attend a finishing school someday.
The new attachment made by Joseph Marie Jacquard hastened the downfall of these skilled weavers. I show this loom in Secrets in Scarlet, as my heroine Poppy works in a textile factory devoted to the weaving of silk. Though it’s often referred to as a “Jacquard loom,” it’s actually an attachment that can be used with many mechanical looms. It could be operated by one person, and because of its punch card system, suddenly it was possible to work complex patterns into the silk without having to reset the loom each time. You’ll see in the next picture that a portrait of Jean Marie Jacquard was actually woven on his jacquard loom! (I find this terribly clever and punny.) Modifications of this loom are still in use today in many clothing factories. In fact, because of its punch card system, the jacquard attachment is cited as one of the first steps toward modern computing.
For Poppy, the Jacquard loom makes her feel independent and in control. She’s in London under an assumed name, so that people won’t find out she’s really not a war widow—and that her daughter isn’t legitimate. It’s exhausting, excruciating work in the factory, from sun up to sun down, but it allows her to at least be able to make an honest living. Surrounded by immigrants like herself (she came to England from County Cork as a child), she feels at home. I loved being able to draw these parallels between residents struggling to embrace the changes forced upon them, to Poppy and her fight against society’s harmful views of her life.
Today, Spitalfields still boasts a charming community. One of my favorite blogs for research during writing Secrets in Scarlet was Spitalfields Life. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
