by Mary Jo
I've loved Word Wench Anne Gracie's Marriage of Convenience series, and I pounced on Marry in Secret, which has just been released, along with an audiobook version. Today Anne is here to talk about the book and the series.
MJP: In a brief recap of the series, Book 1, Marry in Haste, features Cal Rutherford, Lord Ashendon, an intrepid army officer who finds himself terrorized by a gaggle of uncontrollable young females for whom he is responsible. The book won the Holt Medallion for best historical romance, and won three awards from ARRA, the Australian Romance Readers Association: best historical, best historical couple, and Anne was named the Favourite Australian Romance Author.
Book 2 is Marry in Scandal, and it was nominated for ARRA's Favourite Historical and Favorite Ongoing Series. The heroine is Lady Lily Rutherford, Cal's gentle younger half sister.
Now we have Book 3, Marry in Secret and the heroine is the forceful Lady Rose Rutherford, the older of Cal's two half sisters. I've liked how perfectly the titles--Marry in Haste, Marry in Scandal, and Marry in Secret--have suited the stories. Which came first--the stories, the titles, or did they evolve together?
AG: Thanks for that lovely introduction, Mary Jo. With Marry in Haste, and Marry in Scandal, the titles came after the stories, but for Marry in Secret the title came first. I'd never done that before. My books are usually called "Prue and Gideon" or "Rafe and Ayisha" until they're finished and my editor and I work out a title that we can agree on.
This time I was talking to my friend Carol about how hard it was to find good "Marry in ..." titles, when she said, "how about Marry in Secret" and I thought ooh, nice — but it didn't really fit with the story I was contemplating, but hadn't yet started. Then I realized that in Rose's backstory there was the perfect opportunity for a secret marriage. And that kind of thing would be typical of Rose as she was then, so then I was off and running.
And when I wrote to my editor with the title, she loved it.
MJP: Can you tell us about Rose and her story?
AG: Rose is beautiful, opinionated, stubborn and a rule breaker. When Cal, the Earl of Ashendon, first encountered his nineteen year old half sister (in Marry in Haste), she was bored and rebellious — and up to mischief.
At the start of Marry in Secret she is preparing to make a loveless convenient marriage, but very soon we learn why, and it has everything to do with what she was up to as a rebellious teen. When her long-lost secret husband returns from the dead, he's a changed man. Rose's challenge is now to open up her heart again and learn to make her marriage with this relative stranger work.
MJP: Now tell us about Thomas, please!
AG: Thomas is a man of honor. As a young naval officer he met, wooed and married the sixteen year old Rose in a secret wedding — he says to protect her in case of pregnancy. Rose's family, however, believe he married her for her fortune. Then he was shipwrecked and thought to be drowned at sea. He has returned four years later a different man — hardened, ruthless, closed-up and cynical — at least on the outside. And he has responsibilities and secrets that he's reluctant to reveal.
MJP: What was your most challenging problem in writing these characters?
AG: Revealing various parts of their backstory is always a tricky, business: deciding how much to revel when. And how. But that's the same with every book. Working out how Thomas had been affected by his experiences and how to show it was also a challenge — Thomas was the kind of man who never talked about emotions, and since he also refused to be pitied, he wouldn't open up about what had happened to him. But Rose gently persists, and gradually she penetrates the shell he'd built round himself, and we learn the truth.
MJP: Can you give us an excerpt so we can get a taste of Marry in Secret?
AG: After Thomas's dramatic reappearance at Rose's wedding to the duke, Rose's brother Cal and Ned, her sister's husband, discuss the situation:
"Where do you think he's been all this time?"
Ned pursed his lips, considering. "He's dashed reticent about it. Got to be something shady."
Cal nodded. "And his reappearance—timed perfectly for the "speak now and forever hold your peace" part—too blasted melodramatic for words. Got to be calculated for maximum impact."
"And in front of half the ton—no chance of hushing it up now."
Cal grunted agreement, and lapsed into another long brooding silence. Then he said, "You're sure Lily didn't know about this wedding? Those girls would happily lie through their teeth for each other."
"No. I saw Lily's face when it all came out. She was as shocked as you and I."
"But if it was a real marriage—and it does sound like it was—why would Rose keep it a secret all these years?"
AG: There's a longer excerpt — the opening chapter containing the "speak now or forever hold your peace" part — on my website.
MJP: There have been some lovely reviews:
"Thank you Anne Gracie for once again giving us wonderful characters, a beautiful romance, and for the amazing way you touch on horrendous topics while giving us a profound understanding of how things were. I couldn't stop reading, and now I can't wait for George's story!"
Malvina, Goodreads review
"I just spent the most fabulous weekend with this book and the wonderful characters that had me sighing and smiling throughout this story. Anne Gracie, your stories rock. They have everything that a romance reader wants in a story they are moving there are smiles and so much emotion from characters that become friends. Make yourself comfortable for this one because you are not going to want to put it down."
Helen, Goodreads review
"Nothing is more delicious than a heroine determined to overcome a noble hero’s scruples, and watching Rose win Thomas over is a true pleasure. A charming supporting cast and witty banter are paired with emotion and a dash of suspense to make Marry in Secret a deeply enjoyable historical romance."
Bookpage
MJP: Anne, will there be a book giveaway?
AG: Yes, indeed! I'll send a book to someone who leaves a comment or a response to this question: What's the most interesting or unusual or the nicest wedding you've attended?
MJP: So tell us about weddings, and good luck on the giveaway!