DEFENDING THE DUCHESS - Rachelle McCalla - One Free Book

Welcome back, Rachelle. How did you come up with the idea for this story?

Over the course of my Reclaiming the Crown Series, readers got to know several of the members of the royal guard, including Linus, the hero of this book.  I knew I wanted to give Linus his own story because of his bravery and the sacrifices he’d made on behalf of the royal family in the previous stories.  And who would make a better heroine than the Queen’s own sister, the American, Julia Miller?  Once the two of them got together, exciting things started to happen.

Let’s do a party for Christian authors of historical fiction, what six people would you invite and why?

I don’t read much historical fiction.  I’m an avid reader of nonfiction history and biography. I adore Frederic Morton and Barbara Tuchman.

Many times, people (and other authors) think you have it made with so many books published. What is your most difficult problem with writing at this time in your career?

I have a lot of stories I want to tell, but I only have time to write a few books each year.  I wish I had more time to write, but at the same time, my four children keep me very busy, and I don’t want to sacrifice my time with them.  I need more hours in the day!

Tell us about the featured book.

Defending the Duchess tells the story of Seattle lawyer Julia Miller, whose sister married King Thaddeus of Lydia.  Julia is worried about her sister and has come to Lydia to help her transition to life in the palace, but Julia quickly discovers she has troubles of her own.  When she’s attacked and briefly kidnapped, royal guard Linus Murati come to her rescue—and stays by her side, determined to learn the identity of her attacker and keep her safe as the trouble builds.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Linus Murati stepped into the visual surveillance room of the royal guard headquarters, a three-story brick building located on the Lydian royal palace grounds across the rear courtyard from the garages.

“Get me suite 322 on screen, please,” he requested.

“I thought you had duchess duty tonight?” Simon accused Linus as he pulled up the view from the surveillance camera.

“I do. Miss Miller has requested an evening in.” Linus leaned over the back of his friend's chair and blinked at the image of the white paneled door where he'd left Queen Monica's pretty little sister mere minutes before. “But don't let her catch you calling her ‘duchess’ just yet. The queen has yet to announce the title—I don't believe Julia knows she's going to be royalty.”

“Official or not, that's the name we've assigned to her—wait now.” Simon broke off midsentence as the door on the screen opened and the dark-eyed beauty poked her head out, looking both directions before darting down the hall. “Thought you said she was in for the night.”

“That's what she told me.” Linus watched Julia’s progress, switching cameras as needed to keep up with her stealthy excursion down a set of stairs and around a bend in the hall. The woman had changed into shorts and a T-shirt and pulled her thick brown hair into a ponytail. “Do you suppose she's headed to the palace gym?”

“She's going the wrong direction for that.”

“Maybe she's lost,” Linus nearly growled as the woman took a corridor that led to an outside door. “I told her to page me if she wanted to go anywhere.”

“She's out.” The duchess stepped through an exit to the courtyard and skirted a hedgerow, her furtive glances making it clear that she was escaping deliberately—not merely adrift on her way to the gym. “Catch her.”

“She won't get through the gates.” Linus predicted, but ran for the door anyway. The queen's little sister was an American in town on a visit. She wouldn’t know her way around the kingdom of Lydia and might get lost if she stepped out alone. Besides that, as the ambush on the royal family just over two months before had taught them, even the most beloved royals could become targets of criminal activity.

Which was precisely why Julia needed a bodyguard.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I’m on facebook, twitter, goodreads, and www.rachellemccalla.com

Thank you, Rachelle, for sharing this book with us. I just started reading it yesterday. As with all the others, I'm loving it.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Defending the Duchess (Love Inspired Suspense) - paperback
Defending the Duchess (Protecting the Crown) - Kindle


Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Google +, Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

PROTECTING THE PRINCESS - Rachelle McCalla - Free Book

I'm so glad to have you back on my blog, Rachelle. I love princess stories, and I love romantic suspense. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

Honestly, I get bored easily.  I like books where there are lots of things happening on different levels.  With inspirational romantic suspense, the characters’ spiritual journeys overlap with romance and mystery, so I’m never bored!  I also like that these are the kinds of stories you can share with your children or grandchildren—they’re clean and edifying, and a lot of fun!

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

Hmm, that is a difficult question.  I’ve been so blessed.  I think it might be the day all four of my kids prayed the Lord’s Prayer together at bedtime.  My heart swelled with gratitude for the ways the Lord has blessed me!

How has being published changed your life?

Being a writer has enabled me to be home for my kids more, and to have the flexibility to change my daily schedule as needed.  I’ve also met some amazing people through my writing who I never would have met otherwise!

What are you reading right now?

Carla Capshaw’s The Protector, which is set in Rome in the early days of Christianity.  Not only is it a fascinating read, but it helps me get in an old-world, Mediterranean mindset for the Love Inspired Historical I’m writing (see next question!)

What is your current work in progress?

A Royal Marriage, which ties in to Protecting the Princess by giving a glimpse into a romance from the kingdom of Lydia in the year 801.  It’s set for release in December 2012.

We must schedule the book on my blog. What would be your dream vacation?

I would love to go somewhere warm (woke up to zero degrees Fahrenheit this morning!) where I could lounge on a beach for days on end.  If the kingdom of Lydia really existed, I would go there!

How do you choose your settings for each book?

Quite often the settings of my books are tied to the mystery/suspense element of my stories.  The Reclaiming the Crown series has been enjoyable in that respect, because the books are set in the tiny Christian kingdom of Lydia, which is on the Mediterranean Sea near Greece.  I chose that location for the fictional kingdom because that’s where Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, lived in the book of Acts.  The kingdom is based on the church that met at her house.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

I’d love to sit down with a real modern princess, such as Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, or Mary, the Crown Princess of Denmark, and find out if my stories reflect the lives of a true princess.  Of course, they’d have to read the books first!

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I like to garden and cook.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

It is a constant struggle to find time to write!  I had intended to write yesterday, but between the antics of my 3-year-old, problems with the washing machine, and a bombardment of other interruptions, I added a grand total of 36 words to the manuscript I’m working on.  At that rate, it will take me three years to finish!

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Write, write, write, write, write.  And then revise, revise, revise, revise, revise.  I wrote over a million words no one will ever see before my first book was published. 

Tell us about the featured book.

When the royal family of Lydia is ambushed en route to the state dinner, the youngest princess, Anastasia, must depend on Kirk Covington to help her.  But Stasi has feared Kirk ever since he betrayed their family six years before.  Can she learn to trust Kirk in time to save her kingdom, and their lives?

Please give us the first page of the book.

Her Royal Highness Princess Anastasia of Lydia grabbed the doorknob and gave it a turn, but when she tried to push the door open, it wouldn't budge.

Stasi blinked. How strange! Her door had never given her any problems before. She tried again, this time pushing harder, but with no success. Finally, throwing all her weight into it, she shoved the door with her shoulder. Nothing.

Had someone barricaded her door so it wouldn't open?

Stasi looked around her suite uneasily.

She was trapped inside her own room, and the royal motorcade would be leaving any minute for the state dinner.

Refusing to give in to the panic she felt, Stasi grabbed her phone and dialed the number for the palace managers.

Theresa Covington answered.

"I'm trapped inside my room—and the motorcade is leaving any second!" She fingered her sapphire necklace uneasily.

"I'll send someone immediately."

"Thank you." Stasi ended the call and waited, glancing nervously around, wondering why her door wouldn't open, and if the peculiar disturbance had anything to do with the other unusual trespasses she'd experienced lately. She knew of at least three other times in the past few weeks when items in her room had been eerily displaced—not stolen outright, but disturbed, as though they'd been rooted through, and then put back slightly out of order.

Footsteps approached from the hallway outside her door. "Your Highness?" A voice sounded from the other side, and she watched the doorknob turn. "Your Highness?"

"Yes!" She practically threw the door open, prepared to thank whoever had rescued her, but she startled backward when she recognized the man on the other side of the door.

Kirk Covington.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.rachellemccalla.com

Thank you, Rachelle, for another interesting interview.


Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Protecting the Princess (Love Inspired Suspense) - paperback
Protecting the Princess (Love Inspired Suspense) - Kindle

As a special bonus, here's a link to the short prequel to the series: http://www.harlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=1655&chapter=1

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

PRINCESS IN PERIL - Rachelle MacCalla - Free Book

I'm introducing an author I haven't been familiar with before. Welcome, Rachelle. Your series intrigues me. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

All of my characters have some basis in my experiences and emotions, but at the same time, I try to give each character their own personality based on different psychological profiles.  Each character’s behavior stays true to their personality, not mine.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

I often spontaneously burst into song—to the delight of my children and horror of my husband.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I started reading voraciously in about the third grade. By fifth grade, I was putting my own spin on stories in my head.  If I didn’t like how things went, I “re-wrote” the story in my head.  Eventually I started coming up with stories all my own.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I love stories with action.  If nothing is happening, I get bored easily.  I also love stories that go where no story has gone before, either with exotic settings, untapped conflicts, or characters no one has done before.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

With four children ages eight and under, I can never get too far ahead of myself. I’m boxed in by bedtimes and kissing boo-boos. Kids have a way of forcing a person into the present—sometimes by yarping it right down the front of your shirt.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

I have an entire shelf of baby name books I use, as well as name websites I’ve bookmarked. In my Reclaiming the Crown series, many of my characters have Mediterranean backgrounds, so I’ve been selecting names that reflect Greek or Albanian ancestry. The names have to match the people. I’ve been known to change a character’s name several times until I get it just right.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

My kids.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

A dolphin—they are highly intelligent and social, mysterious, strong, and beautiful creatures.

What is your favorite food?

Dove dark chocolate almonds

I love anything dark chocolate. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

My biggest writing roadblock is finding time to write (see question 5 above!).  Fortunately, when I do get a chance to write, I tend to have enough of a backlog of ideas that writer’s block is never a problem!

Tell us about the featured book.

My October Love Inspired Suspense is the first book the Reclaiming the Crown Series, Princess in Peril.  The series follows the four royal siblings of the small Christian Kingdom of Lydia, as they try to survive the rebel coup that has toppled their father’s government.

Please give us the first page of the book.

The royal motorcade lurched to an unexpected stop. Her Royal Highness Princess Isabelle of Lydia glanced at Levi Grenaldo, her recently appointed bodyguard, expecting him to make some reassuring gesture that would indicate nothing was amiss.

He didn't look her way. In the silvery sheen of his mirrored sunglasses, Isabelle saw only the rear bumper of her brother's limousine sitting still on the road in front of them. The seconds ticked by and they sat, unmoving, in the narrow streets of Sardis, Lydia's capital city.

Something had to be wrong. The motorcade represented the power and pageantry of the royal family and therefore never stopped until it arrived at its destination.

“Why are we stopped?”

Levi didn't acknowledge her question, but instead pressed the button for the intercom and told the driver, “Get us off this street.”

When the driver hesitated, Levi pressed the button again. “Now.”

Much as she wanted to remain calm, Isabelle felt her fingers tighten as they gripped the edge of the leather seat. She didn't like anything about this situation. For one thing, she didn't trust Levi.

He'd been abruptly appointed as her personal bodyguard five days earlier with no explanation given, and on top of that, he didn't fit the profile for a bodyguard. Although he was plenty tall and his shoulders were broad with muscles, he was otherwise trim, and the dark angles of his beard gave his face a scholarly look. Unlike all the bodyguards she'd ever had before, his neck wasn't thicker than his head, and he looked unusually sharp in the tuxedo he wore for the state dinner they were about to attend.

Besides that, the bodyguard read books. Intelligent ones. She'd seen him with his nose buried in political tomes whenever he waited for her to finish an appointment.

Out of place as those attributes seemed, what really bothered her was the way he overrode her requests and limited her freedom. As the eldest daughter of King Philip and Queen Elaine, Isabelle was used to having to change her plans to protect her safety, but Levi's impediments went far beyond the usual. They'd butted heads several times. After three days she'd asked to have him removed, but her father had refused her request.

All her instincts told her something was amiss.

The driver had the car two points into what promised to be an eighteen-point turn on the narrow street when suddenly a deafening blast rent the air, rattling the official limo, and an orange ball of fire seared the sky in front of them.

Levi's hand mashed the intercom button.  “Back! Back! Now!”

I can hardly wait for my copy of the book. How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.rachellemccalla.com

Thank you, Rachelle, for this interesting interview.



Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.


Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com