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