The Reluctant Countess Blog Tour / Giveaway / Interview

Meet Wendy Vella

Visit Wendy's website: http://www.wendyvella.com/

Like her on Facebook: http://facebook.com/AuthorWendyVella

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wendy_vella

Wendy Vella is a lover of all things romantic. She started reading her first Georgette Heyer book at a young age and instantly fell in love with the Regency era. Writing is something she has always found time for; she penned her first novel at eighteen though she says it will never make an appearance further than the closet in which it currently resides.

After having her two children Wendy then joined RWNZ and started honing her chosen craft by entering competitions with some success and attending conferences. Her Clendon and Readers Choice award-winning historical romance The Reluctant Countess will debut in Jan 2013 with Random House in their Loveswept line.

She has an addiction to reading and loves a wide range of genres while her first love will always be historical. She relishes novels steeped in Romance and excitement with feisty heroines and delicious heroes, especially when they are set amongst the treacherous waters of London society.

Wendy is a sucker for a happy ending having secured her own. She has been married to her own dark brooding hero for 28 years and shares her home with two wonderful children, two dogs and anyone else who happens to be visiting at the time. Born and raised in a rural area in the North Island of New Zealand, Wendy loves the beaches and lush green rolling hills of her homeland and is proud to call herself a very patriotic Kiwi!

Q & A

Lisarenee: Joining us today at Seduced by a Book is a talented new author, Wendy Vella. Thank you, Wendy for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions.

Wendy: Thanks so much Lisa for inviting me onto your wonderful site. It’s a very exciting time with my first novel, The Reluctant Countess, releasing 14th January 2013, a very busy time too!

Lisarenee: Even though I believe this to be the first book you've gotten published, you've been writing for years. What do you find to be the most difficult thing about writing a book? Is it adding in the little details of the story, is it keeping to the constraints set by the publisher, is it letting what you wrote go and seeing what everyone else thinks?

Wendy: Probably letting what I wrote go and believing it’s good but you’re really not sure. Most writers have had rejection, it just goes with the territory, but sometimes when you’ve poured everything into a book and you let it go it’s terrifying to think someone else may not love it as much as you do.

Lisarenee:  Has it sunk in yet that you're a published writer? What has been the best part of the experience so far? Congratulations, by the way.

Wendy: Thanks. Yes it has sunk in because with the knowledge that you’ve become published comes the pressure of writing another book as good, but that’s the challenge I guess. The best part for me was telling my family who have listened to me tapping on my keys for years and seeing their reactions.

Lisarenee:  Besides a good chemistry between the two main characters, what do you feel is important to writing a good romance? Is it humor, drama, or something else entirely?

Wendy: For me it’s humor and snappy dialogue. I like my hero and heroine to have a bit of angst between them and I like to make sure things don’t always run smoothly for them. I think that makes their eventual capitulation all the sweeter.

Lisarenee:  If you could travel back in time and witness one historic event and take one item back to the present, where would you go and what would you bring back?

Wendy: I’d probably head for that meadow at Runnymede in Egham, Surrey, South England on the 15^th June 1215 to watch King John sign the Magna Carta and I would bring a few short-cross pennies back as this was the currency of the time.

Lisarenee:  What do you feel is one of the most romantic things one person can do for another?

Wendy:  I’m not actually big on huge romantic gestures like some people, for me I believe the most romantic thing is to know you’re that one special person in your loved one’s life. I’ve been married for 29 years and I know my husband always puts my comfort and wellbeing before his and that if I’m cold and didn’t bring a jumper then I get to have his! I think knowing they’d go the extra mile for you is pretty romantic.

Lisarenee: What inspired you to write The Reluctant Countess? What was the spark that ignited your imagination?

Wendy:  I was going to enter a competition and the entry conditions were that you wrote the beginning about an Earl, a mysterious Countess and a ballroom scene and The Reluctant Countess came from that. I’ve never started a book this way but it was fun and although I never entered the competition the book worked out well.

Lisarenee:  Is The Reluctant Countess the first of a series? If not, do you have anything in the works we can look forward to reading?

Wendy: No The Reluctant Countess is a one off, but I have a few things on the go at the moment which hopefully will make their way onto your shelves in the not to distant future. I’m also having a go at a contemporary which is fun.

Lisarenee: Thanks again, Wendy for joining us today. I enjoyed reading The Reluctant Countess and look forward to reading more of your books in the future. 

Giveaway
Random House is letting me give away
- 1 print copy of The Reluctant Countess by Wendy Vella (US Only) 
- 3 Net Galley Preview copies (you have 10 days to view the preview ebook copy)

Synopsis:
From rising romance star Wendy Vella comes a Cinderella story of whirlwind passion between a dashing earl and a beautiful countess—and the secret that threatens to tear them apart.

Regal, poised, and elegant, Sophie, Countess of Monmouth, is everything that a highborn lady should be. But Sophie is hiding a past that is far from royal. When Patrick, Earl of Coulter, realizes that her story doesn’t add up, he resolves to find out the truth of what Sophie and her sister-in-law are concealing. Although Sophie has every reason to avoid him, the handsome and charismatic Patrick awakens something wicked deep within her soul . . . a powerful need that Sophie must stifle in order to protect her place in society.

Despite Sophie’s humble background, the raven-haired beauty has won Patrick’s heart. But what Sophie needs now is an ally. Viscount Myles Dumbly, the disgruntled former heir of Monmouth, is determined to expose Sophie as a fraud to recapture his lost inheritance. Soon Patrick is drawn into a fight for both their lives. Somehow he must find a way not only to rescue Sophie from poverty once and for all, but to keep her in his arms forever.

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You can purchase The Reluctant Countess from Random House at the following link: https://www.randomhouse.com/book/221633/the-reluctant-countess-by-wendy-vella

Rules of Eligibility:
Only residents of the US who are 18 or older are eligible.

Please leave your email address  so I may get in contact with you to get your mailing address. **No P.O. Boxes, please**. Books will be sent directly from the publisher.

Become a follower of my blog, if you aren't already. (Required)

Winners will be randomly chosen. Giveaway ends January 11th, midnight eastern time. Only one book or Net Galley  preview per person and per address. Winners will be posted on my blog and notified by email or message posted to them via Goodreads. Winners will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. Good Luck!

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The Reluctant Countess by Wendy Vella

• Title: The Reluctant Countess: A Loveswept Historical Romance
• Classification: Adult Fiction
• Genre: Historical Romance
• File Size: 1989 KB
• Publisher: Loveswept (January 14, 2013)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• ASIN: B008WOUNIK
• Author's Website: http://www.wendyvella.com/

She had a secret....

     "He suspects something, Letty, I am sure of it." Sophie chewed her bottom lip.

     Stop gnawing on your lip, dear. He may suspect, but what can he do?"

He was determined to uncover it and make it known...

      "Three days before the Earl of Monmouth passed away, I paid him a visit at Monmouth Hall. He was in his bed, clearly near death, but still lucid."  He paused to make sure Stephen understood exactly what he was saying. "there was no Countess of Monmouth at that time, Stephen, no wife and most definitely no son."

     "What are you saying, Patrick? That she is some sort of impostor?"....

     "Something about the countess does not seem right, and if she is a charlatan I will expose her as one."

But somewhere along the way he found something he didn't expect--a little thing called love and that changed everything.

__________________

This was a fun story. I liked the secret Sophie had, but wished the author had gone into a little more detail as to how Sophie and Letty pulled it off. With all the rules and what not about inheritance, titles, etc., I've often wondered if anyone ever tried to do something similar to this in real life. I know I'm being vague, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. I liked not knowing the full story until it was uncovered and guessing what it was prior to that. 

Sophie was a fun character who was smart, loyal, and fairly trusting. She's definitely not like any of the women Patrick has ever met. I liked how he observed her, and realized that what many took for haughtiness was merely her way of dealing with uncomfortable and unfamiliar situations. At first, Sophie wasn't very confident and felt a little out of her element. Later, when Patrick learns her secret, we get to see the real Sophie, and I truly liked that. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and her spine straightened. 

Patrick was an interesting character. At the beginning, he was conflicted over his feelings for Sophie. He thought she was a conniving female who had somehow schemed her way into being a Countess. He later realizes she is the exact opposite and would rather give up her title. I wasn't quite sure what to think of him at the beginning. He was rather intimidating and when he started pursuing Sophie, he was quite relentless. Later, after he's lost a bit of his arrogance, however, I truly started to like him.

We also got a secondary romance between Patrick's friend, Stephen, and Sophie's friend, Amelia. This secondary romance made me smile as the rolls between the two seemed the reverse of those between Patrick and Sophie. Amelia was the more intimidating of the two and I enjoyed seeing the contrast between the two couples.

This wasn't the easiest to rate on the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale. The first love scene wasn't all that romantic as there were some misunderstandings which got in the way. After that, however, it got a solid STEAM rating - too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed. 

Overall, I gave this one 3 1/2 out of 5 roses. I liked the characters and the story line. I enjoyed both of the love stories and finding out about Sophie's past. I liked how Patrick slowly changed his mind about Sophie and the drama involved when someone starts to threaten Sophie and Timmy. I definitely look forward to reading more books by Ms. Vella.