December Joyathon: Interview + Giveaway with Maggie Robinson

Meet Maggie:

coming 2012

I’d like to say I’ve known I wanted to write since I was a child, but it’s not true. Oh, sure, I was an English major at Adelphi University, but for years I was blissfully ignorant of word counts and deadlines. It wasn’t until I was “une femme d’un certain âge” (it sounds so much better in French) that I woke up in the middle of the night really annoyed with my husband over something (I can’t even remember what). Instead of smothering him with a pillow, I decided to get up and write—to create the perfect man—at least on a computer screen. Come to find out that fictional males can be irritating as well—they’re just as resistant to direction as my husband. The up side is that I’m finally using my English degree and am still married to my original, imperfect hero. Since I’m imperfect too, that makes us a perfect match.

Until my midnight keyboarding, I’d been a teacher, librarian, newspaper reporter, administrative assistant to two non-profits, community volunteer and mother of four in seven different states. Now I can call myself a romance writer in Maine. There’s nothing I like better than writing about people who make mistakes, but don’t let the mistakes make them. I’m all about the redemptive power of love—and a good night’s sleep. (source)

Where To Find Maggie: Author Site | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Vauxhall Vixens

Kati: Who is Maggie during the holidays? (author, gift giver, last minute shopper, baker)
Maggie: Decorator! I love putting up swags and Christmas decorations all through the house and outdoors. We usually have two trees and lights everywhere. I’ve collected ornaments since I was married. When my oldest daughter moved to her new house with a new baby, I gave her all of mine. So I had fun replacing them when I decided to have trees again last year, LOL. (Ooo...me too. I got ornaments to decorate our tree at my bridal shower since we were getting married close to Christmas.)

click to read an excerpt

K: What is your favorite thing about the holidays?
M: Getting together with my family. I’ve got four grown kids and almost four grandchildren (a grandson is due January 1!), all under the age of four. Next year it should be chaos. (early congrats!)

K: Do you write more or less during the holidays?
M: I really try to write at least 1,000 words a day, early in the morning, no matter what. My family knows it takes me a while to come out of my writing room!

K: If you’ve written a holiday themed/titled book, what is it about? If you have not, would you write a holiday themed/titled book in the future?
M: I haven’t really, although Christmas plays its part in the upcoming Lord Gray’s List (November 2012 from Kensington Brava). And the book I just finished, Lady Anne’s Lover (2013), features a very nice New Year’s Eve.

K: Which of your or Margaret Rowe’s characters would you have at your holiday feast and why?
M: The dining room is probably the last place I’d want my hot heroes, LOL. But Sir Michael Xavier Bayard from Mistress by Mistake (May 2010) knows what to do with raspberries and whipped cream. (Oh sheesh! That scene will be forever burned in my mind.)

K: What is your favorite Christmas story, book or movie? (Mine is White Christmas)
M: I love love love the movie Love Actually.

K: Real tree or fake tree?
M: Real (and tall because of the cathedral ceilings) in the living room, fake in the family room with the kids’ ornaments. There’s a little train under the fake tree that my one –year- old grandson derailed with regularity last year. We’ll see if now that he’s two if he can keep it on the tracks. I’m not betting on it.

K: Specific gifts or gift cards?
M: Both. We’ve swung from going absolutely crazy cash-wise buying the kids presents to being more modest. Now I donate to food banks and other charities instead of get things nobody really needs. But it’s hard to resist toys for the grandchildren.

click to read an excerpt

K: Fruit cake or gingerbread?
M: I am probably the only person in America who loves fruitcake and doesn’t view it as a doorstop. My dad used to order one from the Collins Street Bakery and doctor it up with whiskey. Wowza. Maybe it’s just the whiskey I like. ;) (lol. You're not alone. Tessa Dare likes it too.)

K: Just enough decorations or “every tree lighted, blow up snowglobe, snow man in the yard” decorations?
M: I live in Maine, where there are lots of pine trees and natural beauty. We just go for evergreen roping on the porch railing with tiny lights, and a fresh wreath on the door. Oops, forgot the tin wiggly Santa that sits on the porch table and jiggles with the wind.

K: Home for the holidays or visiting relatives?
M: Usually home.

K: Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

click to read an excerpt

M: My mom was from Austria, so we used to open presents Christmas Eve, which was apparently the custom there. I thought I was a pretty lucky kid not to have to wait all night to see what Santa brought. My husband’s mom was from Canada, so it’s Christmas morning in the Robinson house. :P

On Christmas Eve we usually have a “cocktail party,” with finger foods and snacks. The kids always thought they were grown up, and now that they are, champagne is involved too.

K: Author’s choice.
M: I am going to take the super-easy way out and ask that you pick any one of Kati’s great questions to answer! (LOL)

K: Thank you for participating in the Joyathon!
M: Thank you so much for having me! Happy Holidays, everyone, and may 2012 hold all your dreams!

SHARPE'S CHRISTMAS:

'Sharpe's Christmas' contains two short stories. In the title story Richard Sharpe, commanding the Prince of Wales's Own Volunteers, finds himself in a high, hard place with an enemy brigade on one side and a desperate force of Frenchmen fleeing their defeat in Spain on the other.

The second story, 'Sharpe's Ransom', is set in France, after the wars, when old enemies take Sharpe's woman and child hostage.

Where To Buy: Amazon | Book Depository
Book Extras: Book Page

Maggie is giving away a copy of SHARPE'S CHRISTMAS by Bernad Cornwell to one(1) lucky reader. The two stories were originally published in The Daily Mail(UK). Well, you heard the lady. Pick one(1) of my questions to answer. Here's how to enter:

• Leave an answer to any of the questions I asked Maggie along with your email addy, ninja style: yourname at gmail dot com.
• Fill out the rafflecopter form below. You must answer one of the questions I asked Maggie. All other entries are optional. (They do give you more chances.)

Easy peasy right? Don't forget to enter for the awesome super secret prize here.

A huge thank you to Maggie for participating in the Joyathon and for giving away a copy of SHARPE'S CHRISTMAS.

W...W...W...(16)

W...W...W...Wednesdays is a weekly meme MizB of Should Be Reading. 

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

So, here's my answers:

*Click on the covers to read excerpts/learn more.*

• What are you currently reading?

Serendipity by Carly Phillips. Yeah, I know it seems like I've been reading this book forever. But I've had to get a few review books under my belt. This one was a leisure book. I'm 2/3 of the way done.

A Touch of Crimson by Sylvia Day. Yes, this one I've been reading forever too. The galley makes me go cross eyed, the way it's formatted. I'm almost done with it though. This book releases 10/4 so be on the lookout!

• What did you recently finish reading?

Every Scandalous Secret by Gayle Callen. Review pending on this one. The heroine was a total spitfire. She held her own against the hero. This is the third book of the Scandalous Lady series and we finally find out who the real nude model is. We also find out who wins the wager among the 2 sisters and their cousin, and the 3 gentlemen friends who find them sneaking in trying to steal the nude painting off the wall at a gentleman's club.


Mistress by Mistake by Maggie Robinson. A second read through of this book. I read it earlier this year. It's still hot. The heroine is still a sassy spinster. The hero still has super magical appendages. Read my review here.

A Midnight Dance by Lila DiPasqua. Oh my stars! By far, my favorite twist in the re-telling of the CINDERELLA story. Jules de Moutier is my new favorite hero. This book is a scorcher. Like short circuit your e-reader hot.

The Making of a Duchess by Shana Galen. Okay, so I sort of read the series backwards. This is the first book in Ms. Galen's Sons of the Revolution series. There's a character in this book that ties in Galen's latest, Lord and Lady Spy. Review pending on this one also.

• What do you think you’ll read next?
Bound in Lingerie by Gina Gordon. Yup. I've had this on the list of to read next for a few weeks. I'm finally going to get around it since Ms. Gordon will be guest posting next month. The cover is sexy. 


*stares at giant TBR pile and shudders* So many books, so little time. Choices, choices.


PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Blog Tour: Guest Post & Giveaway with Maggie Robinson

Welcome to the Blog Tour:

First off, can I just say that Maggie Robinson has some seriously gorgeous and extremely hot covers? Yes she does! She is the author of the Courtesan Court Series and her alter ego is Margaret Rowe who writes deliciously wicked and sexier books than Maggie. But, Maggie has come to play today. Perhaps we shall have Margaret as a guest some other time. So let's give a great big Texas "Howdy" to Maggie.

HOWDY MAGGIE!

Meet Maggie:

Maggie Robinson is a former teacher, library clerk and mother of four who woke up in the middle of the night, absolutely compelled to create the perfect man and use as many adverbs as possible doing so. A transplanted New Yorker, she lives with her not-quite perfect husband in Maine, where the cold winters are ideal for staying inside and writing hot historical romances.

Find Maggie: Author Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

GUEST POST:

2 Releases in One Month by Maggie Robinson

Hey, Kati! Thanks for having me here to talk about my latest books, Improper Gentlemen (August 2011) and Mistress by Marriage (September 2011). Yikes! Yep, that’s two books in two months, and I’m a little bleary-eyed. I’m not complaining, mind you—I’m thrilled that by the end of 2011, five of my books will have been released in the wild. I also write as Margaret Rowe, and she claims two of them.

Improper Gentlemen is an anthology with Diane Whiteside and Mia Marlowe, and my story in it, “To Match a Thief,” is a comic reunion story of two very atypical romance protagonists. True, my hero Sir Simon Grant has a knighthood, but he started as a thief on the streets of Edinburgh. Lucy Dellamar is a former milliner/now courtesan. Or is she? Throw in a cross-dressing earl to act as fairy godmother and presto—happy ending.

Slightly more serious is Mistress by Marriage, the third book in the Courtesan Court series . Lord Edward and Lady Caroline Christie have been married for six years and separated for five of them. They want a divorce, which was really, really hard to get c. 1820. So Caroline writes romance novels, where she kills off Edward in as many ingenious ways as she can in her books. But she doesn’t really want him dead, just in her bed more often. It was fun defrosting Edward and making him fall in love with his own wife.

One commenter can have their choice of book if you tell me how long you’re willing to wait for a book in a series. (My next—and last—Courtesan Court book comes out in April) Are you a fan of back-to-back releases, say, over three months? Do you save up a series to read it all at once? Are you a rebel and read books out of sequence? (You can with the Courtesan Court series—they’re standalones.) Inquiring writers want to know.

Mistress by Marriage:

Lady Caroline Christie has been separated from her husband for five years. Their brief marriage was a disaster everywhere but in the bedroom. Baron Edward Christie was the most proper widower in the ton - and marrying the scandalous beauty was his one impulsive act. Yet before he puts Caroline out of his life, he must get her out of his blood. And the more he learns about her, the less he wants to let her go.
Caroline was prepared to hear that her husband wanted to divorce her, spare them both the torture of passion they can neither tame nor escape. His plan is more wicked than any she's ever heard. Life as his wife is suffocating. But she cannot resist becoming her own husband's mistress...

Where to Buy: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Nook | Indiebound | Books-a-Million  | Book Depository

Book Extras: Read an Excerpt | Book Page

Improper Gentlemen:

"Talbot's Ace" by Diane Whiteside: He rules Colorado's most glittering, anything-goes gambling palace. And Justin Talbot never does something for nothing. But if daring Boston aristocrat Charlotte Morland needs his protection from a dangerous enemy, he'll have no choice but to make her business his pleasure...

"To Match a Thief" by Maggie Robinson: Ex-pickpocket Sir Simon Keith can finally afford the best of everything. But London's most-desired courtesan is his lost love Lucy. Now Simon will need his wits and his considerably large...wiles to win his way back into her bed - and into her heart.

"A Knack for Trouble" by Mia Marlowe: Lord Aidan Stonemere didn't go from prison to a title playing by society's rules. If he wants something, he takes it, and Rosalinde Burke didn't object to being taken. Once. To keep her from marrying a staid viscount, Aidan's about to remind her how deliciously good being bad feels...

Where to Buy: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Nook | Indiebound | Books-a-Million | Book Depository

Book Extras: Read an Excerpt | Book Site

Thanks Maggie for stopping by and sharing your two recent releases!

Giveaway:

Don't forget to leave a comment with an answer to Maggie's question. Leave her some love while you're at it. Seriously, 2 books in 2 months? Amazing! When leaving a comment, please include your email address ninja style: yourname (at) gmail (dot) com. Fill out the rafflecopter thingy below for extra entries. Answering Maggie's question is a must. Winner may choose either a copy of Mistress by Marriage or Improper Gentlemen. 

A BIG thanks to Maggie Robinson, Lindsey and Madeline of Beyond Novel. Thank you to Maggie for providing the winner's choice of book. Again, don't forget to comment and answer Maggie's question and you address ninja style: yourname (at) gmail (dot) com. 

Review: Mistress by Mistake by Maggie Robinson

MISTRESS BY MISTAKE by Maggie Robinson
FORMAT: Kindle
GENRE: Historical Romance
MASS MARKET PAPERBACK: 352 pages
PUBLISHER: Kensington Brava (April 27, 2010)
Scandal Is Only The Beginning...
Charlotte Fallon let her guarded virtue fall once-and she's paid dearly for it ever since. She swore she'd never succumb to men's desires again. But even a village spinster's life miles from temptation can't save her from a sister with no shame whatsoever. Or a heart that longs for more, whatever the cost...
Sir Michael Bayard found more than he expected in his bed when he finally joined his new mistress. He'd fantasized about her dewy skin and luscious curves, assured her understanding that what passed between them was mere dalliance. But he didn't expect the innocence and heat of her response in his arms. Nor her surprisingly sharp tongue once she was out of them...
A few days of abandon cannot undo the hard-learned lessons of a lifetime. Nor can an honest passion burn away the restraints of society's judgments. Unless, of course, one believes in nonsense like true love... (source)

WHERE TO FIND MAGGIE: Author Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
WHERE TO BUY: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Nook | Book Depository
BOOK EXTRAS: Read an Excerpt

I loved it.

OTHER BOOKS IN SERIES (click on the covers to learn more):





REVIEW:
Well, the second read through of this book was more satisfying than the first. There were things I remembered and things I missed. Of course I knew who the crazy was but even on the second read through, I still cringed at the way she acted.

Charlotte "Charlie" Fallon has rushed to London, afraid that her baby sister has taken ill. Wrong. Her sister Deborah, the most sought after courtesan in all of London, has decided to run away with the third son of an earl, and intends to have Charlotte take her place as new mistress to one, Sir Michael Xavier Bayard. Of course Charlotte, ever the proper lady, decides to straighten everything out with Bay the morning after Deborah runs off.

Cue in the sinfully delicious Sir Michel Xavier Bayard. He arrives in the dead of night, after spending a month away being with his grandmother before she passes and making funeral arrangements. Bay can no longer wait to take Deborah so, upon his arrival at the Jane Street house, he crawls into bed with her. She's not what he expected. Well, duh! It's Charlotte, not Deb. But he doesn't know that.

Charlotte wakes up to Bay trying to make love to her and screams. Well, you would too if a stranger was sucking on your nipples and you're somewhat aroused by it. Charlotte tries to explain to Bay what happened and how she came to be in his bed. Turns out, Deborah stole a necklace that belonged to Bay's deceased grandmother. Until the necklace is returned, Charlotte must take Deborah's place as Bay's mistress. Eep!

And the story gets crazy. Charlotte is physically attracted to Bay. I mean, who wouldn't be? He's got magic fingers, lips, [insert body part here-- yes, even THAT body part]. They carry on a very steamy relationship while trying to deny their attraction. Pfft. We know how well that will turn out.

Bay has a man looking for Deborah, he's got a fantastic sexual relationship with Charlotte, then his crazy ex-wife blows into town and all hell breaks loose. She's a total looney. Apparently she was married to some other man who they thought dead, then he comes back so that makes her marriage to Bay null. Got that so far? Bay is still semi-head over heels in love with her which turns him into a drinking fool. Sheesh! Men! Now the ex-wife wants to get back together and have a baby with him. Then Charlotte and Bay fight, she turns into a watering pot, she destroys property (okay, those cherub figurines are pretty ugly and quite creepy), and in the middle of it all, Bay gets kidnapped.

I fell in love with both Charlotte and Bay the second time around. There were scenes I'd forgotten about and scenes forever imprinted in my memory.

FAVORITE QUOTE: "He hoped she would not be too tiresome. Even if she was the most skilled harlot he'd ever fucked, it would a dead bore if she lectured him afterward."

OVERALL:I must say that Ms. Robinson writes like her hero, Bay. It is pure poetry, meant to seduce, titillate, excite and ensnare the reader from the first chapter until the last. I'd forgotten how hot Maggie Robinson can be, just ask my Kindle. The creaking was audible as I gripped it tightly, my heart racing, my toes curling as I sighed from the sexual chemistry between Bay and Charlotte. It's almost like a soap opera, complete with mistaken identity, kidnapping, crazy ex-wife, expert lover hero, self conscious heroine, and a floozy of a sister who ends up being content with someone you didn't expect. Oh, and a few plot twists. Ms. Robinson, I'll be putting the rest of the series on The List.


***Kindle free reads on 10/31/2010***