Monday, September 24, 2012

When You Give A Duke A Diamond by Shana Galen (Interview/Giveaway)


If you enjoy sweeping historicals with witty emotional characters then you know Shana Galen. And if you don’t know her (yet) get ready, she is with us today to talk about her new series, the Jewels of the Ton! Welcome Shana!

Shana: Thanks so much for having me back. And I love your description of my books. I do try very hard to balance the lighthearted and the poignant.

Lexi: You are one of my favorite historical romance authors. Every series you have written so far I have loved, and this one is no different. How long have you been planning on writing a series about the Jewels of the Ton?

Shana: First of all, thank you very much for the lovely compliment.
I began planning this new series in the spring of 2011. I’d been reading a book titled My Lady Scandalous by Jo Manning, which is a biography on Grace Dalrymple Elliott, a courtesan and spy in the Georgian/early Regency period. I thought courtesans would make fun heroines. We’re all drawn to celebrity gossip, and courtesans were the celebrities of the day.

Lexi: The hero in this book might be my all time Galen Hero favorite. Will (yes I agree with Juliette and like that better than William) is very flawed, very serious, very handsome, and has some OCD issues to deal with. Did you fall in love with Will a little as you were writing him?

Shana: I am Will! I usually identify much more with the heroines in my books, and there’s much in Juliette I relate to, but I am so much more a Will than a Juliette. I like my schedule and predictability and God forbid anything should change. We all need a little shake up, once in a while. Will gets Juliette, who shakes his life up quite a lot, and I had a rambunctious little girl, who shook mine up in a very different way.

(awww!)

Lexi: Do you always have a favorite scene in each of your books? Or is it more so the culmination of each scene that makes the magic for you?

Shana: I usually do have a favorite scene, and it’s often one I didn’t see coming or one that, when I go back, surprises me. In When You Give a Duke a Diamond, that scene is when Juliette shares some of her past with Will in the attic of her London town house. She finds a stuffed rabbit she loved as a child and is suddenly all but in tears, and she thinks Will must believe her the silliest person ever, but he surprises her with his reaction.

Lexi: The beginning of this book describes Juliette sleeping in, laying around eating whatever she wants, and then dressing in a gorgeous gown. Sort of what I imagine your life as a romance writer is like, right? All relaxation and bon-bons, no child screaming, messes to clean up, or deadlines to worry over.

Shana: That’s exactly what my life is like—in my imagination! For me, reading and writing are escapes from all the stresses and worries of every day life. So why not write a scene where I can fantasize about a life of leisure? Of course, that leisure doesn’t last very long for Juliette.

Lexi: Crazy home life is something I also have to deal with, like where did my daughter leave the dog leash? Little mysteries like that, but I love reading about your adrenaline inducing riches missing mystery in When You Give a Duke a Diamond so much more. Will the rest of the series keep the mystery theme?

Shana: Oh, yes. All three books are tied together by the same mystery. Each of the three women become involved in finding the missing diamonds Will and Juliette search for in the first book. All of my novels are adventurous romances. I write ballroom and drawing room scenes, but my characters don’t stay in them for long. I love to get them in a dark alley, fighting off attackers.


Lexi: I will end with a fun question, out of all your covers which dress would you most like to be able to wear?

SG: Purple is my favorite color, and I’d love to wear Felicity’s dress from The Making of a Gentleman. I’d also like more purple covers. I should think how to incorporate purple into more of my books so the art department would have no choice!

Lexi: Thanks for stopping by Shana! Congrats on the release of When You Give a Duke a Diamond and I can’t wait for the second Jewels of the Ton book!

Shana: Thanks! The second book in the series will release in March 2013, and it’s titled If You Give a Rake a Ruby. It features Fallon and Warrick, both of whom are introduced in Juliette and Will’s book.


WHEN YOU GIVE A DUKE A DIAMOND BY SHANA GALEN – IN STORES SEPTEMBER 2012

Praise for Shan Galen:
"Galen pulls out all the stops...will leave readers breathless and highly satisfied." —RT Book Reviews


He had a perfectly orderly life… William, the sixth Duke of Pelham, enjoys his punctual. securely structured life. Orderly and predictable—that's the way he likes it. But he's in the public eye, and the scandal sheets will make up anything to sell papers. When the gossips link him to Juliette, one of the most beautiful and celebrated courtesans in London, chaos doesn't begin to describe what happens next...

Until She Came Along

Juliette is nicknamed the Duchess of Dalliance, and has the cream of the nobility at her beck and call. It's seriously disruptive to have the duke who's the biggest catch on the Marriage Mart scaring her other suitors away. Then she discovers William's darkest secret and decides what he needs in his life is the kind of excitement only she can provide...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 
SHANA GALEN is the bestselling author of Regency historicals, including the RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice for The Making of a Gentleman. A former English teacher in Houston’s inner city, Shana now writes full time. She is happily married, with a romance-heroine-in-the-making daughter. If You Give a Rake a Ruby, the next exciting book in the Jewels of the Ton Series, hits stores in March 2013. For more information please visit www.shanagalen.com, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter, @shanagalen



~*GIVEAWAY*~
Curious to check out Shana's newest historical romance wrapped up with a little mystery? Sourcebooks is offering up one copy of When You Give A Duke A Diamond to one lucky reader! (US and Canada only please) To enter leave a comment for Shana below, if you had your choice of dresses from all of her covers which one would you choose? Then fill out the Rafflecopter, good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

54 comments:

  1. Thanks for having me today, RBtWBC. I'll be stopping in all day.

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  2. The Making of a Gentleman cover dress. I love purple and it looks very sexy. Thanks for the interview and awesome giveaway!
    ehaney578 at AOL dot com

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  3. the making of a gentleman cover dress. i love the color and style of dress

    parisfan_ca@yahoo.com

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  4. I like the yellow dress because it reminds me of Belle's dress in Beauty in the Beast (yes, I still love fairy tales).

    kesummer69 at gmail dot com

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  5. I love the yellow dress. It looks so luxurious.

    kcnrhtx at charter dot net

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  6. Definitely the yellow dress....love the flow of this dress.

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  7. The yellow pretty dress... Love those long, big dresses....

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  8. I like the dress on the cover of the Give a Duke a Diamond. The color reminds me of a yellow diamond.

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  9. Blackthorn's Bride or Lord and Lady Spy have my two favorite dresses! I love that simple flowing white gown on Blackthorn's Bride and the soft rose color of the gown on Lord and Lady Spy is gorgeous! I'm partial to blues and purples and couldn't even hope to pull off the white or rose colored gown (I am a curvacious auburn headed wench with a pale complexion) but they are my favorites nonetheless!

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  10. I would pick the beautiful red dress from If You Give a Rake a Ruby.

    Kelli
    krolvaag@gmail.com

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  11. I would choose the yellow dress. Somehow, I think it would look better than the purple/pink dress

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  12. First of all, so sorry I have not been here! I ended up having to take my daughter to the doctor and now the air conditioning isn't working. We live in Houston and still need AC. So, busy day! But I am going to respond to every comment :-) Just bear with me on the time lag.

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  13. Elizabeth, I love that purple dress. That's my favorite.

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  14. Laurie, I love that one too. Purple is my favorite color.

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  15. Kelsey, I still love fairy tales, and I love Beauty and the beast. I can't wait until my daughter can watch it. Belle's dress is gorgeous!

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  16. Luxurious...great word, Kimberly! I agree :-)

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  17. Teresa, the flow is gorgeous. It's an interesting angle, maybe that's what makes it look like it's flowing.

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  18. Sue, I think you are getting exactly the impression the designers wanted you to have. Thanks!

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  19. LadyRed, I'm surprised more people haven't said LLS. Blackthorne's Bride isn't my favorite cover, but her dress is pretty.

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  20. Kelli, I love that cover! I can't wait until I hold it in my hands.

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  21. Arianne, I look awful in yellow, so I stick to pink tones. But I saw a lot of yellow dresses on the red carpet at the Emmys last night, and those ladies looked gorgeous. Yellow obviously suits many complexions.

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  22. The vibrant color for When you give a duke a diamond caught my eye. I really like it because it's bright and cheery.

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  23. I'd choose that lovely number from Lord and Lady Spy and the shoes too. :D

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  24. My two faves are THE MAKING OF A DUCHESS and THE MAKING OF A GENTLEMAN. I love the design of TMoaD, but I think TMoaG is my fave :) They are all beautiful though.

    Congrats on the new release! WHEN YOU GIVE A DUKE A DIAMOND sounds great.
    June

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  25. I would like the dress from A Making of a Gentleman.I like the dress details.

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  26. Na, that's true. It is bright and cheery. That's a great quality for a romance cover.

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  27. Barbara, you don't get to see a heroine's shoes on the cover very often. I liked them too!

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  28. Thank you, June. I thought those were lovely covers as well. I do like the blue dress on TMOAD.

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  29. I love the extravagance of the yellow gown, but I am partial to the sexiness of the purple one:)

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  30. I love the blue gown on THE ROGUE PIRATE'S BRIDE

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  31. I like the dress on Pride and Petticoats. I'm not quite sure what the color is but it's very pretty. I also like the lace trimmings on it.

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  32. The yellow dress from "
    WHEN YOU GIVE A DUKE A DIAMOND"
    It's really beautiful.

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  33. Thanks for a great post and congrats on the new release! I'd have to say the blue one from a Rogue Pirate's Bride :)

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  34. I like the dress in The Making of a Gentleman - love that lavendar! I really love Shana's writing, too!

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  35. I love the dresses on the covers of The Making of a Duchess & The Rogue Pirate's Bride :)
    Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
    cassandrahicks1989@yahoo.com

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  36. I love both Blackthorne's Bride cover and The Making of A Gentlemancover. Both are just so feminine and gorgeous. :) Love all your books Shana and can't wait for this newest. Thanks for the opportunity.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

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  37. Yadkny, well put! It is extravagant.

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  38. Di, that's one no one has mentioned yet. I saw it go through quite a few evolutions. Did you know in the first version it was pants?

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  39. Alyn, I love that dress too. I also think that's my prettiest female cover model. She looks just like I pictured Charlotte.

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  40. Thanks, divavixenqueen. It IS so pretty.

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  41. Erin, thanks! Another vote for TRPB :-)

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  42. Thank you, Robin. Purple is my favorite color.

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  43. Cassandra, not many people have mentioned TMOAD. I love the blue color on that one.

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  44. Thanks, Carol. I'm so glad you like BB. I never knew whether readers thought it was pretty or not. It's not my favorite.

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  45. I like the lavender/purple one on the Making of a Gentleman the best!

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  46. Texas Book Lover, purple is my favorite color, so I have to say that dress is one of my favorites, too.

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  47. My pick is the dress on the cover of The Making of a Duchess. I love the style and color. I would have liked to live in that era just for the wardrobe! Congrats on the release of When You Give a Duke a Diamond and thank you for the giveaway! I will definitely add you to my Must-Read list :)

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  48. Latanya, I do love that purple gown...Thanks!

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  49. Thanks, Hai-Yen! Blue is such a pretty color. I love the necklace on the model on TMOAD as well.

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  50. I really like the yellow one on When You Give a Duke a Diamond. It is so pretty, and I really like the way it flows. Thanks for having the giveaway.

    ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

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  51. Thanks, Anita. I love those flowing, luxurious gowns on covers--especially mine!

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  52. I liked the dress on the cover of When You Give a Duke a Diamond because it is empress style and is a great shade of yellow that would go with my red hair. The Rogue Pirate's Bride is a close second because blue is also a great color, but I like the details on the yellow dress.

    Mel

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