GIVEAWAY: A Little Mischief by Amelia Grey

The Romance Reviews' Top Pick 5 star review!

"With A LITTLE MISCHIEF, you have the talented and accomplished author Amelia Grey doing what she does best—writing an overall superb novel. Whether it's the witty prose, the humorous plot or the outstanding characters, readers will find something or everything to fall in love about A LITTLE MISCHIEF."

~ Lisa, The Romance Reviews

(Read the full review.)

How can a lady avoid a scandal...

Just as Miss Isabella Winslowe is finally achieving comfortable respectability, the fascinating and decidedly unrespectable Earl of Colebrooke inconveniently appears...

When a gentleman is so determined to flirt...

The darkly handsome Daniel Colebrooke is intrigued and alarmed when an alluring young lady arrives at his door in need of assistance. In a moment of impetuosity, Daniel decides he must keep a close watch on Isabella, and what better way than to strike up a not–so–innocent fliration...

Together they'll cook up more than a little mischief when a disappearing dead body and a lascivious scandal spins their reckless game entirely out of control.

Let's hear more about the story from author Amelia Grey!

Q: One of the things that always stands out to me in your novels is the dialogue.  It always seems to be so sharp and witty and makes the novel much more enjoyable.  How important is the dialogue to you and how important do you feel it has become to your story? 

AG: I think dialogue is my strongest asset as a writer so I use it generously. I don't write a lot of narrative. I think the dialogue lends a fast pace to my books which I like and my fans seem to like it too. Often reviewers will say "This is a fast-paced read..." To me it is just fun to pit the hero and heroine against one another in a verbal exchange and watch the sparks fly. 

Q: This novel has a great balance of mystery and romance.  Do you ever find it difficult to create or sustain that balance?  Is it challenging mixing drama with romance? How do you do it?

AG:  I always plot the romance of a book first. I then come up with whatever is going to be happening in the story that will keep the heroine and hero apart for most of the book. I never let that plot device overshadow the romance. That's easy for me because the romance is always my favorite part of the book to write.  However, I will have to say that I had such fun writing about the missing dead body, and the hero thinking the heroine was up to mischief.

Q: What is the appeal of writing historical romance?

AG: For me the appeal of historicals is that it takes me to a place I can only go in my mind, to movies, or to other books—the past. I get a glimpse of how it was to live back then and my imagination loves to say "what if".  I enjoy thinking about what it must have been like to live before electricity, cars, phones, or indoor plumbing. I like to dream and think about those times but I'm glad I live today. 

Q: Isabella was a great bluestocking heroine with very bold goals for her life considering the time period.  Describe one or more of your favorite aspects about her character. 

AG: What I liked most about Isabella is that because she had always been shy, a wallflower, she wanted to help other young ladies overcome the insecurities she once had. And in order to do that she had to be bold and forthright in all she did. She had to be and example for her Wallflower Society. She taught not just by saying "do this" she showed them by example. And, though I write about young ladies in the Regency who had very few freedoms, I want my modern day reader to relate to them so I bend the rules a little from time to time and make my heroines and ladies a little more out-spoken they most of them were. 

Q: Can you briefly discuss your favorite or most romantic scene from A Little Mischief?

AG: Oh this is an easy one to answer. My favorite is always the first kiss. To me it's the place where the hero and heroine acknowledge to each other the attraction is there whether or not they want it to be and in my stories they usually don't want to be attracted to each other. I usually have a lot of build up to the first kiss and tell about it in great detail whether it's in the hero or the heroine's point of view. I think the first kiss should always be romantic and set the atmosphere for the rest of the romance. 

Q: Daniel is certainly a captivating romantic interest for Isabella.  Describe what you think makes Daniel such a unique hero.  

AG: As a younger son, Daniel never expected to be the earl so he was thrust into a role he never intended to play. He feels he must take the role seriously and do as the old earls of the past have done. He must see his sister safely married to an acceptable gentleman and then marry a quiet, respectable young lady and settle down to married life. Isabella does not fit the young lady he has in mind, but what he eventually finds out is that she fits him perfectly.  

Q: In A Little Mischief, you have some humorous situations concerning a missing dead body.  How difficult is it to write about serious situations yet still keep the tone light?

AG: I admit this was difficult. Murder is not supposed to be funny so I had to make the situation surrounding the murder funny and the characters strong enough to carry it off.  If Isabella had not been bold enough to take Daniel to task or if Daniel had not been predisposed to be wary of anyone who wanted to upset the life he was planning for his sister I don't think it would have worked. A Little Mischief won two awards so I think that is proof that humor and murder can work—if you work hard to make it happen.

Q: Have you written or do you have plans for any future novels concerning the other ladies in the Wallflower Society?   

AG: Not at this time. My head is filled with so many stories I want to write that I simply don't have time to write them all.  I've just finished my Rogues' Dynasty Series which was a six books series. As soon as I finish revisions on the last book of the Rogues' Dynasty I'll dreaming up a new series for Amelia Grey.

Thank you for having me at The Romance Reviews to talk about A Little Mischief.  If you haven't already read it, I hope you'll pick up a copy at your favorite online or local bookstore. I love to hear from readers. Please follow me on Facebook at Ameliagreybooks, or ameligrey.com, or contact me at ameliagrey@comcast.net 

Thank you, Amelia!

GIVEAWAY!

Sourcebooks has very kindly offered 3 copies of A LITTLE MISCHIEF for giveaway! US/Canada only.

Thank you, Sourcebooks!

Mechanics:

1. You must be a follower at this blog.

2. Ask the author a question or answer this in the comment section: If you've read a book by Amelia Grey before, please tell us the title and what you love about it. If you've not read a book by Amelia Grey before, please tell us what about this book (from the summary, the review, the interview, etc) intrigues you.

Contest Deadline: September 4, 2012, 1159pm EST

Winners selection: September 2012

All winners will be selected via Randomizer.org.

Good luck!