There’s Something About Lady Mary: 5 Fun Facts with Sophie Barnes
Historical romance author Sophie Barnes is as cool and interesting as her photo, her book titles, and the fascinating/sexy/romantic subjects she writes about in her novels. She’s a multi-lingual world traveler, a gardener, and a mother, just to name a few of her non-writing roles. Her debut, How Miss Rutherford Got Her Groove Back, was published under the new Avon Impulse imprint. Doesn’t that title alone make you smile? Since then she’s written a new series, The Summersby’s, as well as a Christmas anthology. Next up for Sophie is a new series called The Kingsborough Ball.
Today she’s sharing Five Fun Facts about her November 2012 release, There’s Something About Lady Mary, along with a giveaway. Please give her a warm welcome, and don’t forget to leave a comment about her excerpt, her facts, or anything you wish to ask Sophie. You might also want to talk about those titles…aren’t they a hoot?
Meanwhile, welcome, Sophie! And to my readers, I hope the big winter storms have passed you by. If they haven’t and you’re snowed in, I hope you can stay snug in your beds or on a sofa and read. :>)
There’s Something About Lady Mary
The Summersby’s #2
Avon Impulse
November 13, 2012
Mary Croyden lives a simple life . . . and she likes it. But when she inherits a title and a large sum of money, everything changes. Forced to navigate high society, Mary finds herself relying on the help of one man—Ryan Summersby. Determined not to lose her sense of self, she realizes that Ryan is the only person she can trust. But Mary’s hobbies are not exactly proper, and Ryan is starting to discover that this simple miss is not at all what he expected . . . but just might be exactly what he needs.
5 Fun Facts about THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT LADY MARY:
Thank you so much for inviting me to visit you here today, Kieran! To keep the facts about Lady Mary interesting, I’ve tried not to include anything that was mentioned in my author’s note or on my website. From a research perspective, writing this book was a very educational experience and for that reason alone, it’s one that I’m particularly fond of =)
1. I wrote this book in the spring of 2011, before receiving an offer from Harper Collins for How Miss Rutherford Got Her Groove Back and Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure, so there was no guarantee that Lady Mary would ever be read by anyone, but I found the idea of a female physician trying to uncover a conspiracy during the Regency too interesting to ignore and thankfully my editor agreed when the manuscript eventually found its way into her hands.
2. There’s a scene in the book where Mary and Ryan save a boy from drowning. The method they use is based on the methods that were applied by The Dutch Society For The Recovery Of Drowned Persons, formed in 1767. Their instructions included: Warmth for the victim, draining the water from head to chest by placing the head lower than the feet, applying manual pressure to the abdomen and restoring breathing with the use of bellows. Other suggestions which I chose not to mention were rectal fumigation and bloodletting, and since they didn’t have bellows handy and Mary is the practical sort, Ryan performs mouth to mouth instead.
3. The Hunterian Museum at The Royal College of Surgeons, visited by Mary and Alexandra, is located at 35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London and contains a collection of human and animal anatomy, surgical instruments, wax teaching models, drawings and, as mentioned in the book, the Irish Giant – a seven and a half foot human skeleton.
4. Steepleton House in Northamptonshire where the last scene of the book takes place, is based on Castle Ashby, also in Northamptonshire.
5. Many readers have written to me, asking if I intend to write about Lady Cassandra and Lady Stephanie, both secondary characters in this book. The answer is yes. I already have a plot outline for them, but first I have to complete the series that I’m currently working on.
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Leave a comment to be entered to win a signed ARC of THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT LADY MARY by Sophie Barnes and a signed copy of IF YOU GIVE A GIRL A VISCOUNT. Giveaway open to US/CA. Ends 3/29.
If you’ve found this post on Kieran’s Goodreads page, click here to leave a comment.
Born in Denmark, Sophie has spent her youth traveling with her parents to wonderful places all around the world. She’s lived in five different countries, on three different continents, and speaks Danish, English, French, Spanish and Romanian.
She has studied design in Paris and New York and has a bachelor’s degree from Parson’s School of design, but most impressive of all – she’s been married to the same man three times, in three different countries and in three different dresses.
While living in Africa, Sophie turned to her lifelong passion – writing.
When she’s not busy, dreaming up her next romance novel, Sophie enjoys spending time with her family, swimming, cooking, gardening, watching romantic comedies and, of course, reading. She currently lives on the East Coast.
Connect with Sophie:
Author Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Upcoming Release: The Trouble With Being A Duke, coming August 27th from Avon Books.
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Claiming your prize: Winner will be contacted via email and will have 7 days to reply, or a new winner will be chosen.
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