A Chat with Barbara Devlin & Rebecca/L’araignee from ‘My Lady, The Spy’
This past Monday, Barbara Devlin joined us to answer Ten Questions and now she is joining us again, and this time she’s not alone! Rebecca/L’araignee from My Lady, The Spy is with her. And the .99 deal for this book is still taking place until the 25th!
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Mia: What is the name of the book where we’ll find you? Can you tell us a little about it?
Rebecca/L’araignee: My story is featured in the novel My Lady, The Spy. It is a historical romance, with a tad mystery and suspense, as I danced a perilous waltz through society’s ballrooms to lure a traitor to the Crown. You see, my previous partner was murdered on the Continent, because he stole something of importance from one of General Bonaparte’s couriers. The turncoat believed I possessed the item and therein lies the heart of the tale. To protect me, Sir Ross Logan, the head of the Counterintelligence Corps, assigned Nautionnier Knight Dirk Randolph as my new partner in espionage, and we fell in love.
Mia: Tell us a little about yourself. Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?
Rebecca/L’araignee: I am the youngest child and only daughter of Dawson Wentworth, fifth Earl of Calvert, and my mother was French. My parents were killed in France, in the riots of revolution. I joined the Counterintelligence Corps and became a spy as a means to avenge the deaths of my parents. As you can imagine, female spies were something of a novelty, which created all manner of difficulty in my personal relationships, because I am intensely dedicated to duty.
Mia: What do you think of the author? Be honest. We won’t tell.
Rebecca/L’araignee: Oh, she is quite the taskmaster. And we live in fear of writer’s block, as she infects her characters with the plague and kills the lot in a single blow. Of course, she resurrects us, but it is awfully tragic. Still, she draws on her experience as a law enforcement officer to portray the realities of such work, as well as the stress it can have on personal relationships. Men are threatened by women who wear weapons.
Mia: How do you feel about the story you’re in?
Rebecca/L’araignee: Well, if truth be told, I would rather forgo the more brutal parts, but I suppose it was necessary, in the end, to tell the whole of it. War is a nasty business. And Dirk and I endured numerous trials, which made the finale all the more sweet, so I dearly love our tale.
Mia: Do you like being a character in the book?
Rebecca/L’araignee: Actually, I am terribly proud of my role in the book, as I concur with the author that it is important to convey the contributions women made to the war effort. Not much is known of the women who spied for Wellington, except for the Spanish ladies he employed to seduce French generals. Even then, little is written about female spies. When the author first conceived the story, back in 2004, we were a rarity in our genre.
Mia: How do you see your future? Without giving anything away about the story, naturally.
Rebecca/L’araignee: I should like, very much, to enjoy a long, uneventful life. And I would dearly love to start a family with Dirk. My only impediment is my ability to break free of the underworld of espionage.
Mia: What do you know about your author’s plans? Can we expect to see you in any future stories?
Rebecca/L’araignee: Oh, you will see all of the Brethren and their ladies in subsequent novels, as our world evolves with each successive tale. But I believe Dirk and I play a prominent role in Dalton’s story, though I am not at liberty to say more.
Mia: Let’s say they make a movie about this book. Who do you want to play you, and why?
Rebecca/L’araignee: Dearest, that is one rule I will not break, as my author feels it an unforgivable breach of the imagination to propose a model or actor for my part in a movie. You see, her readership is a diverse group of individuals with all manner of predilections, which they bring to her world. To put a face to a character would grossly impinge on the personal experience she attempts to create, but I thank you for the inquiry.
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Author Bio: Barbara Devlin is a retired cop turned exceedingly eccentric English professor—now successful independent author.
Author Site: http://www.barbaradevlin.com
Buy Link: Amazon
