Guest Author, Margaret Mallory with Giveaway!
by sue on Dec.19, 2009, under Book Chat
Knight of Pleasure by Margaret Mallory
Setting: 1417, England and Normandy during the English King Henry V’s “re-conquest” of Normandy.
Subgenre: Medieval
Hero: Sir Stephen Carleton
Heroine: Lady Isobel Hume
One sentence summary: When a young noblewoman arrives in Normandy to make a marriage alliance to serve the king’s interests, a devilishly charming English knight throws a wrench in the king’s plans.
Scene you like most and would never cut: My hero’s opening scene is one of my favorites. At the beginning of the book, Stephen is a disillusioned young knight with tremendous potential who is headed down the wrong road fast. In his first scene, I show him waking up hung-over and not knowing where he is. When he turns to see who he is in bed with, he groans. Not her again. He’s hit bottom, and he knows it.
Things your heroine would never be caught dead saying: “My father has shown such good judgment in the past, I’m happy to do whatever he says is best for me.”
Your hero, is he a boxer or brief kind of guy? He wears braes—and no, you don’t want me to describe the garment. Men’s clothing in this period presents a challenge to the romance writer, so I try to keep my men naked or in chain mail.
Ancillary character you had the most fun with: This is a hard one! I had great fun with King Henry’s uncle, who is the quintessential medieval bishop: rich, political, scheming, and not particularly religious.
Another character who sprang to life from the page is Linnet, one of the twelve-year-old French twins Stephen rescues. Stephen can’t leave this pair of demon-orphans to fend for themselves, so he takes the boy as his page and convinces Isobel to take the girl as her maid. This turns out well, because Isobel needs the sort of maid who remembers to pack the daggers.
Your heroine’s favorite hobby: Sword fighting.
Your hero’s favorite hobby: Women and drinking. The king ordered him to use his charm to spy on the locals, so what’s a man to do?
What you think readers will like best about this book: Stephen, absolutely. I confess I adore Stephen, even though he is just the sort of charming, womanizing wastrel I avoided like the plague back in my dating days. My sensible heroine takes one look at him and—once she can tear her gaze away—tells herself not to trust him further than she can throw him. But there is more to Stephen than meets the eye. Beneath his good looks and all that charm is an honorable man with a true hero’s heart. Women have always come easy to him—particularly the wrong kind. He longs for a woman who will expect more of him, who will see that he is more than a Knight of Pleasure. Though he is that, too….
The person that readers want you to write about in a future book: I’m hoping they want to read more about Linnet, the troublesome French twin, because she is the heroine of my next book. Her leading man is Sir James Rayburn, who is Stephen’s nephew and also the son of my first heroine.
What’s next: Knight of Passion, the last book in this series, will be out in June. Linnet is a stunning young woman who has amassed wealth through a brief marriage and hard work for the sole purpose of avenging her family. In their youth, Linnet broke Jamie’s heart—an inadvertent casualty in her quest for revenge. When they meet again, Linnet is closing in on her enemies, and Jamie is looking for a wife who will cause him no trouble. Their story takes place in England, mostly in royal palaces, where-between passionate trysts-they join forces to protect the queen during the dangerous time following King Henry’s untimely death.
Although each of the books in my ALL THE KING’S Men series stands alone, several of the leading characters are related. I love that family connection, which makes it easy to bring back my prior hero and heroine for a scene or two. Another wonderful thing about writing a series is meeting a character at twelve, as I did with Stephen, before giving him a leading role. When you meet a character at that age, he still wears his heart on his sleeve and shows you who he really is.
Question of the Day:
What do you like about reading series? In particular, do you like it when the main characters make appearances in each other’s books? Do you like to see quirky secondary characters continue through the series?
GIVEAWAY: 2 signed copies of Knight of Pleasure! Randomly chosen, comment below!
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12/19 Lucky WINNERS! - trueromance
December 20th, 2009 on 1:26 pm[...] - Margaret Mallory Winners:Amanda; [...]
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Friend Feed
February 16th, 2010 on 12:32 pm
I’m sure people with Down syndrome and other degenerative diseases are ecstatic that Palin is their new spokesperson.
December 20th, 2009 on 1:19 am
Thanks for having me, Sue.
Happy Hollidays!!!
Margaret Mallory
December 19th, 2009 on 11:36 pm
I like series books that the storyline and characters continue to grow within each other. I don’t want one book to take me off one direction then the next lose me off in another. Secondary characters should have a chance to build their own personalities within the book along with the main characters. They are there for a reason not just there as a filler!
December 19th, 2009 on 11:33 pm
I love series books, it just continues the story! Would love to get a chance to read this!
December 19th, 2009 on 10:36 pm
I love reading series because I tend to fall in love with the characters and love seeing them over and over again.
December 19th, 2009 on 9:40 pm
Yay! Another reader who likes medievals! And series, too.
It was tough to stop at three books. (The last one, Knight of Passion, will be out June 1.) With each book, new secondary characters popped up, begging for a story. I hate leaving my characters behind. I’m glad my next series will go for four books-I’ll be able to hold onto the characters a bit longer.
December 19th, 2009 on 9:30 pm
Oooohhhh Medieval! Yeah!
I love series books if the world and characters worked for me. I like going back into that world. It’s always so sad to get to the end of a stand alone and know that’s it! I also love quirky secondary characters to keep showing up!
December 19th, 2009 on 7:01 pm
I like series and reconnecting with characters. For me, sometimes the secondary characters are more interesting than the primaries!
December 19th, 2009 on 4:57 pm
I absolutely love different series of books, especially to see quirky secondary characters continue through the series
December 19th, 2009 on 4:54 pm
OK, OK, I have to say something about that video clip, above. If I normally use the word “um” that much, somebody shoot me. Hey, I was tired that day! Also, I am careful with money (“cheap” is such an ugly word), so the whole time I kept thinking, “With the price of gas, shouldn’t we just park?” I tell you, it was distracting.
Getting back on topic….I agree with the comment about the value of secondary characters for comic relief. I have great fun with that sort of character. They are good for breaking up the intense drama and adventure with a laugh.
December 19th, 2009 on 4:49 pm
I love series books. I like finding out what happens to the main characters after their story is over. And I like it when the secondary characters get their own story.
December 19th, 2009 on 4:23 pm
Hello Margaret and congrats of the release of Knight of Pleasure. Such a beautiful cover!
I enjoy series because you get that sense of familiar with the reoccurring characters plus you get to know new characters and previous characters better when it’s their turn for their HEA.
As for secondary characters that remain secondary; those characters that might provide the comic relief or the steady friendship for the main character. Those characters can make the book more enjoyable and feel more complete.
December 19th, 2009 on 3:43 pm
I love series, both as a reader and a writer. I love revisiting characters who feel like old friends, and I love complex story and character arcs that go over multiple books.
December 19th, 2009 on 3:33 pm
Sounds like most of you like a series in which you get the satisfaction of a completed story with each book. Yet, you also like to see intriguing or beloved characters reappear when they have a role to play in the new story. Anyone want to share a series or author you think does this particularly well?
December 19th, 2009 on 7:40 pm
Definitely Lisa Kleypas for historicals & nalini Singh for paranormals–two sub-genres I totally into right now.
December 19th, 2009 on 3:15 pm
I love series for the reason that others get a story and you get to meet new people and become friends with them. I like when the h/h in the first book show up sometime later in another book in the series. Also, you get to keep the friends you made for a while longer.
yourstrulee(at)sasktel(dot)net
December 19th, 2009 on 2:37 pm
As I said, I loved working with the family connections is this series. Because of the family relationships, my earlier characters definitely had opinions about my match-making in later books!
I just got the news a couple of days ago that I’m getting a mult-book deal to write a new series. This time, my four heros are cousins and friends who are all about the same age. We’ll see how that works!
December 19th, 2009 on 2:04 pm
The thing I like most about series is the re-appearance of previous characters. It’s like visiting old friends - you want to know what they’ve been up to. I also like to see secondary characters make appearances and slowly show me something of themselves in each appearance. Pretty soon I’m dying for him or her to get their own book and driving you nuts with the e-mail asking when is it coming!
December 19th, 2009 on 1:57 pm
I like series books to stand alone. But I also like visits from former main characters and quirky secondary ones.
December 19th, 2009 on 1:34 pm
I love how the fact that you can read more into the main characters lives with each book, their stories evolve. Then the secondary characters you start wonderin wat their are about so its nice when they get their own series.
December 19th, 2009 on 1:29 pm
I prefer books that stand alone in a series.
But the stories are much more enjoyable when the main characters and the quirky secondary characters show up because then it feels like catching up with family and old friends. The whole extended family experience becomes so fun and endearing.
December 19th, 2009 on 12:34 pm
Being intrigued about the next book in a series, however, is different from being held in suspence by a book that doesn’t stand alone. I love those teaser chapters at the end of a book!
Thanks for the compliments on my covers. I am a very lucky author to get such gorgeous cover art.
December 19th, 2009 on 12:02 pm
I know what you mean about being left in suspense for the next book. I hate that! I’m the sort of person who sometimes reads the end of a mystery at 2:00 in the morning, because I can’t stand not knowing the end and I have to go to bed.
It is fun for me, though, to revisit characters in a later book. I like to see how they are doing.
December 19th, 2009 on 11:52 am
I just have to say I haven’t read a Medieval in about a decade! (Ok for the curious it was Woodiwiss’ The Wolf and the Dove.)
I love series, as long as each book stands alone. I have being left on a cliffie and, sometimes, the series just stop being written for X or Y reason. So I need a little completion in each book. But I don’t mind seeing characters from previous books make a small come back, as long as there’s no info-dumping or anything.
December 19th, 2009 on 11:35 am
I don’t mind seeing them again. I just hate it when it takes a year for the next one to come out. By then I have kind of forgotten everybody, or they are just hazey and I have to go and find the first book to remember everything.
I loved the comment about being naked under the chain mail, altough I would think it could hurt.
I love your covers! They are outsatnding.
December 19th, 2009 on 11:31 am
Thanks so much for the comments! Virginia, thanks for the kind words about my books.
I was a newbie when I wrote KNIGHT OF DESIRE and didn’t write it with the plan of making it the first in a series. Later, I learned that publishers generally want at least two related books when they buy historical romance. I had become so attached to Stephen Carleton, that it was an easy choice to make him the hero of my 2nd story. I loved seeing him grown up and making him a leading man!
December 19th, 2009 on 11:10 am
This is such a great series. And I love the familiarity of interconnected characters that pop up in each others books. Oh, and you cracked me up, Margaret, with your comment about keeping your men naked or in chain mail.
December 19th, 2009 on 10:47 am
Great post, Margaret! The underwear thing in intriguig!
I like to see characters from previous series pop in to the story. I also like it when secondary characters appear throughout the stories. It’s that continuity thing, I guess.
December 19th, 2009 on 10:05 am
I like revisiting “old friends” in books, seeing characters I care about and how they handle new circumstances. I also like having secondary characters step up in series and get their own stories.
December 19th, 2009 on 9:41 am
What I love most about reading series is revisiting with the characters from the previous books. You invest so much time and emotion into getting to know them that you just don’t want your time with them to end. You want to see more proof that they are indeed having their HEA.
December 19th, 2009 on 9:02 am
Hello, Margaret! Thank you for your beautiful Medieval love stories! Character development and attention to story line detail are the essentials for a great book. These elements are even more important when books are issued as a series. I do love unique and memorable secondary characters, and they should continue to appear as the series unfolds.
December 19th, 2009 on 8:46 am
Maybe I’m unusual in this, but as much as I like to see old characters coming back in secondary roles, I’m not a fan if they seem to just be there for no reason. They should be there for some reason, not just showing up for the sake of showing up, or I often find it less enjoyable.
December 19th, 2009 on 8:31 am
I love reconnecting with previous characters. I love knowing how they are progressing with their HEA. When I read a good book I feel like the characters come to life for me so keeping the same secondary characters is great. It’s like reading about a neighbor without getting caught spying on them.
I really like the heroine’s green gown on your cover. Such a vibrant shade!
December 19th, 2009 on 4:52 am
I love seeing characters again and again. Thats the best part of reading a series!
December 19th, 2009 on 2:57 am
I love series and I love revisiting previous h/h in other books in the series. I actually prefer series books where the focus of the story is on different h/h in each book, especially when there are really great secondary characters in one book & I am very interested in reading their story. I am not really into series where there is only one or two main characters in a whole series of books with the exception of eve & roark.
December 19th, 2009 on 2:16 am
I enjoy reading series because I can find out what happen to all the characters in the book. Sometimes you just want the story to go on. Which path their lives followed!
December 19th, 2009 on 2:13 am
I really like reading about the growth of a character and the interaction between secondary characters and primary characters. I love seeing quirky secondary characters throughout the series and enjoy more that they get their own story. I actually started a series because I loved a secondary character so much, lol!