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
