By Mary Jo
I'm delighted to have retrieved the rights to my Bride trilogy. Book 1, The Wild Child was released in November, and now book 2, The China Bride is available. Here is the tagline I came up with for the trilogy:
Three extraordinary women,
Three powerful men,
Three passionate, unlikely marriages.
When I wrote that, I realized that all three are marriages of convenience that become true marriages of the heart. In other words, pure romance!
As a kid, I was always fascinated by the distant, empty spaces on the maps at school, which may be why I've written a number of books where my intrepid British protagonists have adventures in distant lands.
(I've learned I can usually do about three exotic settings in a row before my publisher starts muttering about returning to Britain. <G>)
But China has special resonance for me because I grew up hearing my mother's stories about living in China when she was a girl. Her father was an anatomy professor at the Peking college of medicine, and there are pictures of my mother and her little brother bundled up to ice skate. She also had a marvelous collection of Chinese jewelry, brass ware, rugs, and embroidered Mandarin garments, which stimulated my imagination wonderfully.
But this certainly doesn't make me an expert about China! Even with a lot of research and help from Chinese-American readers, I feel rather presumptuous. This is one of the advantages of having a heroine of mixed blood, like my Scottish- Chinese Troth Montgomery. She is caught between two worlds, not fitting into the Chinese city where she has lived for much of her life, and yearning for the Scotland of her beloved father, a sea captain and trader. Not only do such characters interest me, but they are relevant to our increasingly multi-culture society.
The hero, Kyle Renbourne, restless heir to an earldom, was also someone who has had to find his place in life. In the six years of travel between Book 1 and Book 2, he has become more himself and finally he is ready to return home to take up his responsibilities.
But for years, he's been haunted by the painting of a Chinese temple he saw as a boy and he'd like to visit it--an act forbidden to foreigners. Which is where Troth comes in. An excerpt:
Kyle's voice turned persuasive. “I really don’t think that what I’m asking is so dangerous. The temple is only a hundred miles away, so the journey could be made in a fortnight or so. I’m willing to do whatever is necessary to pass undetected. All I need is a reliable guide.”
Troth had been feeling a restless desire to change her life, and here, suddenly, was a perfect opportunity. All she would have to do was leave everything and everyone she’d ever known.
Clenching her hands, she turned to him. “I will take you to Hoshan.”
“Impossible,” he said, startled. “I can’t allow you to risk yourself like that.”
“Because I am female? How gallant,” she said coolly. “But it is you who will require protection, not me. Or is that the problem? You don’t trust me.”
He swore under his breath. “You’ve given me ample proof of your abilities, Miss Montgomery. But I need a guide who lives on the edge of the law, someone who understands and accepts the risks. If you were discovered helping a Fan-qui make an illegal journey, it could cost you your job and your home. Perhaps your life.”
“I’m willing to take the risk.” She caught his gaze. “You said you would pay well. My price is your help in getting me to Britain.”
After a long silence, he said, “I see. What kind of help do you need?”
“Passage on a British ship, and enough money to support myself until I can find work.” She tried to guess how much she would need. “Perhaps . . . fifty pounds?”
He frowned. “Are you sure this is what you want? Your English is flawless, but Britain will seem very strange to you.”
“I was raised on tales of Scotland. Yes, it will be very different, but perhaps I belong there more than in China. Certainly I will never fully belong here.” Her mouth twisted. “My dream was to go to my father’s homeland. I’d given up, but perhaps it is possible after all. Shall I take you to Hoshan? Or don’t you want it enough to trust me?”
“Trust is not the issue.” He regarded her steadily. “If you want to go to Britain, I will help you without your taking me to Hoshan.”
He would really do that? Yes, he would, for he felt that he owed her his life. But she did not want anything from him because he felt an obligation. She had spent fifteen years being subservient. With him she wanted to be an equal, not a dependent. “I prefer to earn my passage, Lord Maxwell. If you will drop your lordly mannerisms and follow my instructions, we should be able to make this journey without incident.”
A slow smile lightened his expression. “When can we go?”
Of course things don't go as planned! Read more and a longer excerpt here. To order a copy, here's a link.
I think this review from Booklist is a good summary: “It is no wonder that multi-award winning bestseller Putney is a favorite of romance fans… Putney’s characterizations of two individuals who do not fit comfortably into the worlds in which they were born but through their differences can become soul mates as well as lovers are exquisite in this fast paced historical adventure romance.”
Book 3, The Bartered Bride, featuring Kyle's friend and partner, Yankee trader Gavin Elliott, will be released on February 8th. You can preorder here.
I'll be giving away a copy ofThe China Bride to one person who leaves a comment between now and midnight Saturday. (Whether it's print of digital will be subject to discussion with the winner. <G>)
Mary Jo, contemplating those faraway places with the strange sounding names….
Note: I invented the Hoshan Temple. The image above is of the Dalongdong Baoan Temple in Taipei, Taiwan and was taken by Men1399 臺北大龍峒保安宮夜景