Return of The China Bride!

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

 

Comments

[Susan K Frank]

This sounds like a fascinating trilogy. They will definitely be added to my "want to read" list!

[Amy J]

Sounds fascinating, indeed. There is something about the idea of traveling in an age when it wasn't as simple as hopping on a plane.

[Kareni]

I read and enjoyed all three books in this trilogy a few (cough, cough) years ago. How wonderful to see them being reissued.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Susan, armchair travel is fun, and much cheaper than doing it in the real world!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Amy, I've thought about that, too. The months spent on a ship to reach a new land becomes a way of life in itself. And if you don't like your destination, betting back home would not be easy!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Kareni, you're right, it's been a good number of years since these books were released! Luckily, historicals don't age the way contemporaries do. *G* But the trilogy has been languishing in the original publisher's closet for a long time, so I was really happy to get the rights back so I could put them out here myself.

[Mary M.]

Mary Jo, I translated (well, Google Translate translated) your Chinese phrase re the photo to "Taipei Dragon Boat Festival security palace night view." Were you there for that? I know you travel a lot, so maybe. But I can see how your mother's stories would be enough stimulus to set a book in China.

I have a fascination with China myself. In fact, it's the first place I went when I got my passport ten years ago and I've been been back several times since. People ask me "Why China?" and I don't know the answer! But I think back on several "prods" starting with the book "Children of Foreign Lands" in my childhood (mental image of little Chinese boy flying magically beautiful kite), Pearl Buck's Good Earth trilogy (seriously, read them all, folks), up to and including your "China Bride." Thanks for the itchy (unbound) feet and the opportunity to revisit a favorite MJP story.

[Keira Soleore]

Mary Jo, I loved your story of your mother and how her stories became your stories and they went into the writing of The China Bride. I was not reading romance when your book first published, but I would love to read it. Please put my name in the hat for it.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Mary M, it never occurred to me to try to translate the Chinese characters. They were with the addy of the photographer on Wikipedia and I thought they were part of the attribution to the photographer, but apparently not. Dragon boat races, very cool!

No, I wasn't there. I've never been to China (thought the Mayhem Consultant traveled there once.) My mother's stories are part of the family lore, though. More of the family lore: a couple of my great uncles were China missionaries, and one of them married my mother's "Aunt Anna Mae," who went to school with Pearl Buck. A small world, isn't it?

It's interesting how China has called you so strongly, and lovely that you've visited several times. For me, the call was to Britain, which is a more obvious choice. *G* But I lived there for over two years and have visited many times, and surely that's why almost all of my books have British settings. But the "Why?" is as much a mystery as your call to China.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Into the hat your name goes, Keira!

[Karin]

I read The China Bride many years ago, and I am looking forward to reading it again. I think your books with multi-cultural themes were way ahead of their time. I already bought it on Kindle, so don't bother entering me in the contest!

[Lillian Marek]

I loved this series back when I first read it. I thought then that the only word to describe it was "romantic"—truly romantic. Glad it's back in circulation.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Okay, no drawing entry for you, Karin! You're right that my multi-cultural stories were unusual then (and still aren't that common), but to me, it made perfect sense to write them. The world has always been a diverse place, and it makes perfect sense to write stories that reflect that. Diversity 'R Us!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Thank you, Lillian! I reread them to make some minor tweaks before the reissue, and I had the same thought: Romantic! I suppose that's not surprising. *G*

[Ms. M]

I was shocked (shocked!) to discover that this is a book about me: the heroine is mixed race (Chinese & Scottish), and we share a last name. In addition, my name is also 5 letters long and ends with H. And my middle name is Chinese and hyphenated.

In all seriousness, this is not about me. She appears to be struggling with the 'which culture' conflict, which I resolved some time ago. Additionally, as my husband said from over my shoulder, 'Kyle Renbourne doesn't sound Chinese. This can't be about us.'

[Mary Jo Putney]

LOL! No, Ms. M, this book is not about you, and Kyle Renbourne is not Chinese but a restless English aristocrat trying to find his place in the world just as Troth is. (BTW, the name Troth came from a woman I worked with when I lived in England. It was such a great name that it took me years to find the right heroine to carry it.)

I'm hoping that these days, it's easier for people of mixed heritage to sort out ther cultural conflicts. Do you think it's reasonable to write Scottish Chinese heroines? It was a story I wanted to tell so I tried my best with her.

[Ms. M]

I don't see why not! In fairness, I am an American of Chinese and Scottish (and mixed Western European) descent, so there was no real question of choosing one ethnicity over the other. I just had to determine how Chinese I was (or wanted to be), since people always read me as white. It wasn't too hard, once I moved away from my tiny, homogeneous hometown to a diverse city.

And thank you for writing a mixed race heroine– I can count on one hand the number of times I have read a protagonist who was Asian and European (and if you narrow it down to East Asian, I have 2 fingers left over). So it's much appreciated.

[Jane Davis]

I discovered The Wild Child years ago and loved it, next I needed to find the China Bride and at that time it was out of print but the library had a battered hard-copy (since discarded). Finding the Bartered Bride was easier. I've even tracked down the audio. I once saw the audio of the China Bride for auction on ebay. I never saw what it sold for but it was "up there" when I looked.

Once while getting my car serviced I was reading one of your books. Someone glanced at it and said, "I always scan a book first to see if I'd like to read it. I can't scan Mary Jo Putney".

[Mary Jo Putney]

The mixed race population is growing dramatically, and to me it makes perfect sense to reflect that, though I was way ahead of the curve in romance. ANGEL ROGUE has a heroine who is half-Mohawk (my mother taught in a Western NY school that was technically a reservation school for Seneca Iroquois), and a more recent book, NOWHERE NEAR RESPECTABLE, has a heroine who is half Hindu. The first books in that Lost Lords series was about her brother, also mixed blood. They were raised on opposite sides of the world and had very different issues in terms of dealing with their cultural mix. Interesting characters for me to write!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Jane, I think I'll take that comment at the auto shop as a compliment!

Interesting that you mention the audiobooks. I've just asked my agent to inquire with Recorded Books, who did the audio for Wild Child and China Bride, if they'd be interested in reissuing the audios. The original contract has expired, but I'm hoping they'll be willing to do a new contract so the audios will be available to people who prefer them. The Bartered Bride was recorded by a different company, which is why it's still available. Audios are usually done by the publisher and the author doesn't usually see the contracts.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Ms. M, I wrote a lengthy comment on this--interesting conversation!--but it got separated from your comment and is further down, if you're interested in reading it.

[Mary M.]

Britain's my other fave, Mary Jo. Same thing, like second home. Going for the fourth time in April (with train to Scotland, yay) on the way to India. I didn't start traveling until I was 68, ten years ago. Now I'm hooked.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Mary M, you are a ROLE MODEL! I've traveled far, but not as far as you. Have a great time!