DON'T TEMPT ME: Susan Holloway Scott interviews Loretta Chase

Susan: There’s plenty that’s noteworthy about Loretta Chase’s delicious new historical romance, Don't Tempt Me.  It’s a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, and it’s received great reviews.  But review quotes and sales numbers aren’t what readers will remember about Don't Tempt Me.  It’s Lucien de Grey, Duke of Marchmont, and Zoe Octavia Lexham, a hero and heroine who sparkle with originality.  It’s the dialogue between these two--witty and poignant and so full of sexual tension that some pages may scorch your fingers.  But then that’s the magic of Loretta’s writing: one minute you’re laughing at loud, and the next ready to wipe the proverbial tear.  If you’re already a fan of Loretta’s books, then you know exactly what I mean.  If you haven’t yet read her, then the good news is that you have her entire wonderful backlist waiting for you.  Either way, you won’t want to miss Don't Tempt Me.  

But now it's time to question the author.  First, Loretta, what’s it all about?  In a nutshell.

Loretta:  Zoe Octavia Lexham, a harem captive for twelve years, risks her life to get home to England again, only to find that England’s not wild about having her back.  (Here’s English Society’s idea of a harem).  The only man who can make Society change its attitude toward her is a childhood friend, the Duke of Marchmont.  Handsome, witty, rich, and very, very fashionable, he’s also the laziest man in town and, apparently, not overly intelligent.  But he says “Nothing could be simpler” than making her respectable again, and Zoe can’t afford to be picky.  And if I say any more, it’s no longer a nutshell but an essay.

Susan:  While Don't Tempt Me is a “stand-alone” book for you, the hero and the heroine are hardly “stand-alone” characters.  Their families and friends are very much part of their lives and decisions in both good and bad ways, and yet Zoe Octavia and Lucien de Grey, Duke of Marchmont, are completely separated from their families for years at a time.  What role did you see “family” play for both characters?

Loretta:  I think family, whether dead or alive, is crucial to character development.  We don’t come out of nowhere; we come out of a context.  In this story, though, I brought the family up close and personal to the hero and heroine, partly because it’s funny and partly because it’s poignant and partly because of that separation you mentioned.  Lucien’s reacted to his experience by becoming detached from everybody.  Zoe’s the opposite:  She made a family of sorts for herself in the harem and she's determined to be part of her family when she gets back to England.  She takes desperate measures to keep from being ejected from the nest--and her refusal to let them eject her is what, eventually, brings Lucien the connection he’s missed.  Too, family interactions are a great way to demonstrate character:  People behave differently with family than they do with friends, and I loved the opportunities this story gave me to show the comic aspects of aristocrats acting like a normal family.

Susan:  In your last book Your Scandalous Ways, your heroine Francesca was a genuine, unrepentant courtesan and not simply one as a titillating plot contrivance. In Don't Tempt Me, Zoe has spent nearly half her life in an Egyptian harem, and you don’t sugar-coat that experience, either.  How did you research the life of a European woman in a harem?  How did it affect Zoe? And how did it make her uniquely ready to conquer London society?

Loretta:  I’d learned quite a bit about harems in Egypt while researching Mr. Impossible.  This book offered a chance to explore the material further.  Zoe’s harem, though, was bigger than the average Egyptian harem--which refers, basically, to the the women of a family.  But the more important the man, the bigger the harem.  I’d read that Ali Pasha of Albania had three hundred women in his harem.  Considering how small Albania was/is, this sounded like half the female population! 

This is why my model was the Sultan’s harem, of the Topkapi Palace.  With hundreds of women, and all the slaves and eunuchs, things get complicated.  I thought a smart, educated young English woman, even at twelve, could adapt and, as she matured in that world, would master its ways.  This experience makes it easy for Zoe to deal with, say, the hierarchy of English society and the hierarchy of household staff.

Too, in the harem’s hothouse atmosphere, a smart, observant girl would develop a keen understanding of human psychology.  The cultural differences are important,too.  She’s coming from a world in which people are more demonstrative.  Emotion isn’t a dirty word.  And dirty words aren’t dirty words:  In that world of women, the focus is on sex, and this is what they talk and think about.  So she walks and talks and generally behaves differently from English women.  It's comedy material, yes, but it's also an eye-opening--and arousing--experience for the men, especially her jaded duke.  (For more harem gossip, see my post at the Avon Romance Blog.)

 Susan:  The proliferation of dukes in historical romances is epidemic, and for the most part they’re often depicted as pleasure-seeking-slacker-rakes. But Lucien takes his title and responsibilities very seriously––and I have to say it earns him a solid place alongside the other great Loretta Chase heroes.  You make him suffer, yes, but he also gets over it, and gets along with his life.  Is he based on a real-life peer?

Loretta:  I stole the Duke of Norfolk’s house for him, and shoved the Duke of Richmond (descendant of Louise de Keroualle, the heroine of your latest, THE FRENCH MISTRESS) down a rung on the ladder of precedence to make room for Marchmont.  But he wasn’t based on any duke in particular.  I was thinking about what happens to a young man psychically when he’s abruptly thrust, in the most unwelcome circumstances, into a position of great responsibility.  I was thinking, “teenager--rebellion--avoidance--denial.” 

  But this is also a man strongly influenced by a father figure, Lord Lexham, who takes his public duties seriously and is a devoted family man.  That made for a conflict between the outside Marchmont--the detached nobleman who refuses to take anything seriously--and the inside Marchmont, who knows his Duty, and gets it done via his secretary. 

  As to raking, it seemed to me that a man as detached as Marchmont couldn't be the serial seducer type.  He has his 19th C equivalent of girlfriends, but it’s one at a time, for a (short, because he gets bored) time.  I wanted us to be aware, all along, of a the kernel of goodness at heart that's necessary in a proper hero--and I think the bond with family helps account for his not turning out all bitter and twisted and selfish.  I like to think the sense of humor and the wry self-awareness have grown out of interactions with the Lexham brood.

Susan:  One of the hallmarks of your books is to establish the setting as a real place, and in Don't Tempt Me you’ve again managed to make early 19th century London seem fresh and vivid.  What aspects of the era did you choose to emphasize to make this work?

Loretta:  Zoe's point of view helps revive endlessly worked-over ground.  She comes to England from another culture, and sees everything so differently.  Showing London through her eyes made it fresh.  She allowed me to delve more deeply into the old, familiar places.  In her eyes, Hyde Park and the Green Park
are wonderlands of greenery.  Everything, from the exterior of White’s Club to the claustrophobic royal Drawing Room, is unfamiliar and needs to be interpreted, and her interpretation isn’t like everyone else’s.  (The black and white drawing is of the famous Almack's Club.)

 Susan:   You’ve always been aware of how fashion and clothes make your characters behave (or not.)  The stunningly awkward hoop skirts required for formal court dress play a major part in the courtship been Lucien and Zoe –– and that’s all I’ll say so as not to give too much away. Would you share a little more about these ritualized hoops?

 Loretta:  Reading about hoops elsewhere had opened my eyes to their seductive possibilities, but then you suggested DANGEROUS LIAISONS--not the Laclos novel but a book published in connection with an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The marvelous illustrations offered the sort of detail one longs for--as well as abundant inspiration.  But I think with hoops, the pictures really are worth a thousand words, so I’d direct readers to Candice Hern’s wonderful collection of prints
and I’ll point out that Cruikshank’s comical illustration strikes me as more accurate an illustration of a Drawing Room than the one below it by Rowlandson--certainly it's closer to the one I describe in Don't Tempt Me.

Susan:  You've given us three very different Fallen Women so far.  What's next?

Loretta:  Another Carsington book, featuring a woman of weak moral fiber, a man who prides himself on having no imagination, and a haunted castle in Scotland. 

Susan:  It seems that's all we're going to get out of her.  That means it's your turn, readers.  A question or comment earns you a chance to win an autographed copy of Don't Tempt Me.  And if the interview has made you curious for more background info, check Loretta's website for links to interviews and blogs.

Comments

[Emmanuelle]

So very interesting !! I've loved all Loretta Chase's books so far so I'm very confident about that one too. I'm a bit amazed by all those research btw.
I wish she would tell more about her next "fallen women" novel but of course that's the greedy reader in me talking !!
Congratulations again !

[AnneH]

Congrats Loretta, on making it to the USA Today & NYT Bestseller list. I have to confess that I bought your new book in digital format at the Sony Store the moment it became available for download because I can't wait, so that sale probably did not help. I don't think digital copies are counted. But I'm awfully glad that the book is doing well.

I enjoyed the story and love the bond between Lucien and Zoe. They are just so right for each other. And they both made me laugh out loud most of the time.

In preparation for Don't Tempt Me, I reread Pawn in Frankincense, Dorothy Dunnett's fourth book in the Lymond Chronicles. She did copious research about the harem and went to Istanbul and was granted a tour of the Topkapi Palace herself. In the book, the harem of Suleiman the Great was explored in detail by Dunnett, its hierarchy and structure. The heroine in the book stayed for awhile in the harem and went through all the necessary education and preparation in the eventuality that she will be called to the Sultan's bed. She went in a gawky teenager but when she escaped the harem and resumed life in England, she was the epitome of grace and sophistication. Because of her experience in the harem, she was able to negotiate her way through the treacherous politics of Tudor England and France. Because of that, I was able to understand the process that Zoe had to go through herself.

I'm so glad you are doing another Carsington book. A castle in Scotland? Does that mean that it is set in the UK, not in Egypt? If it is, all I can say is whoopi!!! I love all of your books set in UK.

[Linda Banche]

Hi Loretta,

I love that your books are full of detail. I love stories that paint pictures with words.

I also like that your hero is a decent man. I never did understand the popularity of so-called "bad boys". What's attractive about a man who'll go with any woman? But the heroine is "different" and he changes for her. Unlikely. Fiction always requires some suspension of disbelief, but there are limits.

[Carol]

I have always enjoyed your books Loretta. This is another I kow I'm going to enjoy. I liked your interview and just want to say Congrats on the book. Thanks for sharing.
Carol L
Lucky4750@aol.com

[piper]

I just finished this book, and I loved it....really can't say anymore than that but it is another treat from you. Many thanks

[LadyDoc]

Another one for my TBR list!

Great interview- thanks for all the interesting background.

[Susan/DC]

I'm in the middle of reading this right now so don't need another copy, but as with all of Ms. Chase's books I'm enjoying it immensely. I visited Istanbul in May and toured Topkapi Palace and the harem, which added a layer of enjoyment to the book since I can envision Zoe's world from age 12 to 24. And now I know there's another Carsington book in the works, so I'm even happier.

[chey]

DON'T TEMPT ME sounds like a great book!

[cheryl c.]

Loretta, I love reading your books. YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS was one of my favorite books from 2008.

This interview was fascinating, and I am intrigued by the plot of your new book. You have inspired me to dig up some more background info about harems, Topkapi Palace, and hoops!

[Loretta Chase]

Emmanuelle, one good reason not to talk too much about a work in progress it that it changes so much. Plot elements, even main characters’ names can change 2/3 of the way into the book.__ Anne H, thank you for caring about what counts and what doesn’t, but actually, my publisher makes those e-versions available, so they do count. I completely agree regarding the harem experience. Everything I read told me that an intelligent woman who made the most of the experience would have some powerful advantages when she returned to the western world. I’m glad you enjoyed the book, and happier still that the Dunnet book gave you a background I could never have fit into my story. __ Linda, thank you. Painting pictures with words is one of the great challenges and joys of writing fiction. As to Bad Boys--I’m not against them. I like a wild one here and there, and I’ve seen plenty who ran around in their youth but settled to become devoted husbands. (Yes, I’ve seen the reverse, too.) But I need to be aware of a kernel of goodness, an element of sweetness, evidence of kindness in the character: What about this man promises my heroine a Happily Ever After? What about him tells me he’ll treat her tenderly as well as passionately in the course of their life together?

[Loretta Chase]

Carol, thank you. I hope it lives up to your expectations! __Piper, you don’t need to say more. Thank you! ___ LadyDoc, an interview is such a good opportunity to share with readers tidbits that couldn’t make it into the book. I’m glad you enjoyed them.___ Susan/DC, I envy your tour to Istanbul, though I’m delighted that it’s adding to your enjoyment of the book. That’s one of the places I’ve always wanted to see. Though the palace interiors lack the furnishings--not to mention the inhabitants--the pictures and videos I’ve seen did help me envision Zoe’s world. Makes it clear, doesn’t it, why she’s completely undaunted by Marchmont House, not to mention Buckingham Palace.

[Maggie Robinson/Margaret Rowe]

Fabulous interview, and fabulous book! Zoe was a wonderful mix of naivete and frank sensuality. No wonder Lucien lost his heart.

[cyclops8]

Congrats on the new release and on hitting several bestseller lists. Can't wait to hear more about the next Carsington book.

[Viv]

Enjoyed the interview as well as Don't Tempt Me.

I'm super-excited to hear about the new Carsington book (Peregrine and Olivia!) and want as many details as possible (yes, that's me shamelessly asking for information while the current release is just out, lol).

[Loretta Chase]

chey, I hope you enjoy it. ___ cheryl c, thank you. I love it when readers are inspired to learn more about the historical background, because I think research is great fun. ___Maggie, thank you. I thought a man like that needed an unusual sort of woman to get and keep his attention and love. ___ cyclops 8, thank you. I’ll expect to post more about the new book in the fall, when I’m nearer to the end. ___ Viv, I’m glad you enjoyed the book, but I must ask you to be patient about the next one. See my answer to cyclops 8.

[Elaine]

Sounds like an interesting book. I remember reading a book, Seraglio, about a French woman who was kidnapped and became part of the harem.
She remained there until she died. What a different world!

[Patricia Barraclough]

What a wonderful interview! Bringing an English woman to whom England and its society if foreign is a wonderful idea. She would see things very differently and that gives you so many possibilities in the story. Have read several other books on European or American women who end up in harems. Always interesting.
I look forward to reading this book.

[arianna]

I've read the first 3 chapters through the HarperCollins website and I'm completely in love with Lucien and Zoe already!! I especially love how Lucien is so lazy~~ Can't wait to read the rest of their story *g*

[Nancy M. Miller]

Loretta Chase writes some of the most fascinating and intelligent romances around. I'm looking forward to reading this one soon.

[Emmanuelle]

I read those 3 fist chapters on Love Gives Back too... I find this is the perfect idea to get the reader hooked !!

[Crystal B.]

Great interview. Don't Tempt Me sounds good. Love the cover.

[Patricia Rice]

Finally have a few minutes to steal from National and stopped by to say that I finally had a chance to read the opening of the new book while the maid was cleaning the room, and it's Loretta at her finest. Good thing I don't plan on attending many sessions so I can spend some more time in her world, which may be almost as noisy as National after reading the scene with the screaming sisters. "G"

The wenches at National partied last night. Keep an eye out for photos popping up hither and yon!

[Loretta Chase]

Elaine & Patricia, the subject of harems offers plenty of food for thought. It seems that the majority of the women considered themselves privileged, though their relative happiness would depend on the man who owned the harem (not to mention the high-level eunuchs).
But for European women, the culture shock had to be tremendous. I didn’t touch on religion in the book, but among other things, all the women had to convert to Islam.__ Arianna & Emmanuelle, I love the HarperCollins microsite. It’s another way for authors to stay in touch with readers, it promotes our own websites and blogs and such, and it gives readers a nice, big sample of the book My only problem is finding time to keep things up to date. ___ Nancy, my face is all red. Thank you! __Crystal, I passed on your compliment about the cover to my publisher. I’m glad you enjoyed the interview & I hope you enjoy the book.

[Janga]

Don't Tempt Me is another Loretta Chase keeper. I loved Zoe and Lucien and watching their relationship grow. I think what impressed me most was the way you used Zoe's experience to create humor but at the same time to keep the reader aware of the darker effects of that experience.

And Lord Lexham is another of your memorable fathers. I really am going to write an essay some day about the fathers in your novels.

Hurray for another Carsington book!

[Cory]

I enjoyed reading Don't Tempt Me. What's great about it is the relationship between Lucien and Zoe. They make such a great pair and you know that they are really good for each other. It was such fun watching this cool and can't be bothered Duke being too bothered and hot when Zoe is around. And him literally running after her. What a sight that must be. She is exactly what he needs. And when Lucien finally accepts that he had never ran away and that it was always Zoe, that was so lovely. And the dialogue, lots of funny ones like Lucien saying Zoe badly needs an airing and mounting her. Vintage Chase. Oh, and I liked that you've made Zoe's character very consistent all throughout.

I'm eagerly waiting for Olivia and Peregrine's book.

[Maya M.]

huzzah, carsingtons!

i admit i winced when i read 'scotland' - not because i don't love the setting (i do!) but because i truly don't think i can make it through another book of torturous dialected scottish dialogue. then i remembered that rupert only massacred one arabic word (IIRC)in the whole book so i'm hopeful again.

(no need to enter my name as i've benefitted from ms. chase's largesse at this site before)

[Brenda Scacchi]

I hope I’m not too late to leave a comment about your fabulous DON’T TEMPT ME. (please don’t enter me in the contest since I’ve already bought and read it.)Loretta, this book was a real treat. I was worried when I heard you of all writers was doing a harem book, but I needn’t have worried. Zoe Octavia is one of your best heroines and Lucien is her peferct match. Your books are sexy, sweet, and funny at the same time. Don’t know how you do it but please don’t ever stop. I want to thank you and Susan for these two interviews this week. The interviews were so interesting and full of history, and it was fun to see how you two must be friends. They made me miss the “good old days” when you ladies were on this blog all the time. I hope this means we’ll see more of you again soon? (hint,hint)

I cannot wait for the new Carsington book!

[Loretta Chase]

Hi, Pat. I think the noise at National wins. Hope you have fun with the book during your getaway time, and I hope all the Wenches are having a wonderful time. ___ Janga, thank you so much. I’ll look forward to your essay. I only write what’s in my mind; and it’s often fascinating to discover how others interpret it. __ Cory, thank you for each wonderful Attagirl! I did love the comic opportunities this story offered. __ Maya, I feel your pain but really: “torturous dialected Scottish dialogue”? Moi? With English characters? You cut me to the quick. Ouch, ouch, ouch. But yes, that’s right, think of Rupert--Did he really murder _only one_ Arabic word? ___ Brenda, thank you. I was worried, too, but as soon as Zoe came to life in my mind, and I understood her relationship with Lucien, and what sort of man he was, the harem element fell into place. Yes, I love doing interviews with Susan. We’re both endlessly fascinated with historical trivia.

[Cathy Phillips]

DON'T TEMPT ME sounds like an interesting and fun read.

I have never read any of your books, Loretta, but it sounds like I have found another Keeper author.

Please enter me into your contest to win this book.