Interview & Giveaway: YAY, It's Bronwen Evans!

Welcome back Bron! I'm so excited to see you again. 

It’s fabulous to be back, thanks for inviting me, Melody. I’ve used the Christmas break to do a bit of reading and writing!

How was your holidays, I hope that they were wonderful?

It’s still going. Its summer in New Zealand and kids are on their main school break until 7^th February. So I’m up at the beach enjoying about 28C weather – no idea what that is in Fahrenheit, but it’s hot.

It would be about 82F. In my opinion, that sounds heavenly. I wish I could be in New Zealand right now. However, we are about to drop to about 33F or 1C. Not very warm in Montana. 

Well, I see you have a new book out, but it's not a historical. What was the deciding factor for writing a contemporary novel?

I guess the characters popped into my head one day when I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. Conte Dante Lombardi and Abby Taylor would not leave me alone. The heroine, Abby, faces some pretty personal issues that I have experience of.  But the topic wouldn’t work in Regency times. It would be too depressing and probably result in death. So it had to be a contemporary to get it off my chest.

Now since you have written both historical and contemporary, which do you prefer to write?

Both. I’ve worked out that I can write a historical in the morning and then a contemporary in the afternoon. It keeps the writing fresh and I never get bored. I love the Regency rakes and their bad boy ways – not acceptable in the modern world. Modern men are perhaps more conscious of woman’s rights.

I also like that heroines can be far more sexually experienced in a contemporary – a level playing field so to speak. Whereas in Regency times, virginal is the norm.

What was your inspiration for The Reluctant Wife? 

I can’t say too much or it will give the plot away. Needless to say it’s a woman’s story and it’s about something that affects up to one third of women – and I’m one of those third. So it’s personal and cathartic to write about. Once I’d told the story, all I know is that I wanted a HEA for Abby and Dante and I think I gave them that – be it with a bit of a twist.

I also thought of Princess Diana and how she married far too young. I wanted to have a heroine who, unlike Di, could escape, mature, and come back to fight for what she wanted. I wanted Di to get her HEA and Abby, a young English girl, came to mind. I was a huge Princess Di fan.

Do you have any plans for more contemporary stories?

Definitely. Once again I can’t say too much, but I’m working on a three book series called the Investment Players (working titles only).  I’ll have an announcement on those in about a month.

Would Dante be willing to answer a couple of questions I might have for him? It won't hurt my feelings if he doesn't, but I will include a couple.

He’d love to. He feels like he might need a bit of PR. He might come across as a bit arrogant and cold but he’s marsh mellow inside.

YAY, Dante has just made my day!

What was the reason picking Abby?

Initially it was panic. His father died when Dante was twenty, and his brother died a year before he met Abby, and being the last male, he was worried about begetting an heir to ensure the title and the estate stayed in his family. Mainly for his mother and three sisters sakes.

Then when he started dating her he just knew Abby was who he needed. A polite, quiet, young woman who would make his name proud. It wasn’t until she left him that he understood his feelings for her and that he’d botched it up big time.

You often refer to her as My Flower, why is that?

Because she bloomed in my bed! LOL. She was a virgin when she married me and it’s my term of endearment to remind her that she’s mine and that what we share is very special.

I think that's a little too much information, but I will forgive you.

My final question, why were you so fearful to open your heart to Abby?

I was stupid! But then I’m a man – LOL. I thought I might die young like my father and grandfather did. My father died when he was forty and it almost destroyed my mother. I wanted to make it easier for Abby to move on and marry another should I die young as well. If she wasn’t in love with me it would hurt less. My latest test results weren’t good and I panicked. Abby would still be in her twenties, too young to grieve for the rest of her life.

Silly I know. But it’s who I am – I care about my family. They always come first.

Dante’s kindly let me share an excerpt of his story with you…

Abby had completely deceived him. He’d thought her naïveté would make her easy to manage. He’d quickly learned that Abby had more backbone than any woman he’d ever met. Her readiness to challenge him seemed to add to her allure. Now, again, here she was asserting her wishes, taking command…

Abby licked her lips. “I don’t owe you anything. And, as we’re divorcing, I’m the last woman you should have a child with. Besides, I don’t care what you do in your personal life.”

She lied. Her arms were folded across her stomach as if she were warding off a blow.

“You care. You know I could always read your body as well as a blind man reads braille.”

Abby shook her head, the emphatic movement flinging her thick blond hair over one shoulder. Her eyes narrowed. “Can you read what I’m thinking now?”

He searched Abby’s drawn face, recognizing the marks of strain in the bluish shadows beneath her eyes and the set of her delicate jaw. She had the strength of fine bone china, and the fragility.

“I know exactly what you’re thinking.” He tilted his head and tapped his chin with a finger. After a theatrical pause he spoke deliberately. “You wish you’d waited until the morning to meet with me. You’re angry with yourself for still wanting me, and you’re wondering whether one kiss from my lips can still make you come.”

He felt rather than saw her body tremble across the room, and heard her soft gasp.

“Of all the arrogant, conceited…”

“Most of all, you’re remembering the first night you were in this room, how you let me seduce you, how I made love to you into the small hours of the morning.”

The hazel of her eyes glittered almost golden as he watched her fight tears. He tried to keep his heart unresponsive, but the beauty of her pale face, the dark circles under her eyes, and above all her stricken look of profound loss assailed his protective barrier.

“You want a favor from me. I want a favor—or two—from you. I’d call it a mutually beneficial business proposition. I know you need money and I’m happy to help. For a price. You are my wife, this is where you belong.” A traitorous pulse flickered fast just below her collarbone, calling attention to the delicate skin of her throat. His body shuddered into life, with total recall of the addictive taste of her skin.

She quivered as his eyes roamed her small frame. Every detail screamed at him—the dark of her dilated pupils, the flush on her cheeks, the moist pink of her parted lips. She wanted him and though she shook with the effort, she couldn’t hide the giveaway signals. Cursing inwardly, he felt his body respond to the recalled pleasure of their days and nights of intimacy.

“But I’m not yours. Not anymore.”

 “Legally you are still mine!”

“I am not a possession, Dante. As I said four years ago, I’m a flesh-and-blood woman with feelings and desires.”

“Come here.” He patted the couch beside him. “I’ll satisfy those feelings and desires.”

Thank you Bron for coming and visiting my blog today. I hope you have a fabulous blog tour. 

Thanks for having me, Melody.

I have one book to give away – a copy of Invitation to Scandal in book or eBook format – to one lucky commenter who tells me what part of Italy The Reluctant Wife is set in. Read the excerpt on the Entangled in Romance website .

I’m also running The Reluctant Wife release contest over at Romance Wrangler. Enter to WIN a Kindle Fire or Kindle Touch – your choice. Open internationally. Closes January 15^th 2013.

About Bron:

New Zealander Bronwen Evans grew up loving books. She’s always indulged her love for story-telling, and is constantly gobbling up movies, books and theatre. Her head is filled with characters and stories, particularly lovers in angst. Is it any wonder she’s a proud romance writer?

She writes both historical and contemporary sexy romances for the modern woman who likes intelligent, spirited heroines, and compassionate alpha heroes. Her debut Regency romance, Invitation to Ruin won the RomCon 2012 Readers Crown Best Historical and was an RT Reviewers’ Choice Nominee Best First Historical 2011. To Dare the Duke of Dangerfield was a FINALIST in the Kindle Book Review Indie Romance Book of the Year 2012. Look out for her first Entangled Publishing Indulgence released Dec 2012, The Reluctant Wife.

Bronwen loves hearing from avid romance readers at romance@bronwenevans.com
you can keep up with Bronwen’s news by visiting her website www.bronwenevans.com

@bronwenevans_NZ

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