We are very happy to welcome to Book Lovers Inc an author whose books I’ve had my eye on long before their release due to their exciting and unique premises and beautiful covers, please give a warm welcome to Jillian Stone, author of The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard and Phaeton Black series, who will soon celebrate the release of the second novel in her Gentlemen of Scotland Yard series but until then she stops by BLI to give you an exclusive peek behind the scenes and tease you with what you can expect of A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis, yay!

A Second Chance at Love––on the Run.

As a reader of romance, you may not know that there are hard and fast rules to writing in the romance genre. I did not know this myself until I joined an online critique group in 2009, and found out about all the rules I was breaking! It gave me a few sleepless nights before I came to the realization that I needed to write my historical romances and if they didn’t fit the mold, then, I could live with that. Luckily, as it turns out, all that rule breaking may have helped get me noticed, as editors and readers alike seem to enjoy a fresh take on the brilliant and romantic detectives of Scotland Yard.

A DANGEROUS LIAISON WITH DETECTIVE LEWIS is the second book to be released by Pocket Books in The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard series. Here’s the blurb:

When Fanny Greyville-Nugent’s father suffers a gruesome death in the clutches of his own machine, mourning his loss is not the beautiful heiress’s only heartbreak. Scotland Yard is convinced he was targeted in a plot to halt the rise of industry, and Fanny’s former fiancé, dashing and dubious detective Raphael “Rafe” Lewis, has been assigned to the case.

For the estranged ex-lovers, bringing the notorious assassins to justice proves as tumultuous as quelling pent-up desires. Fighting peril and passion at every turn of a dangerous journey from Edinburgh to London, they are pursued by an anarchist group hell-bent on destroying her father’s mysterious entry into the London Industrial Exposition.

When an astonishing discovery about the couple’s failed engagement surfaces, the sleuthing duo realize they can trust no one. Rafe confesses new details about his infidelity and Fanny risks all to avenge her father’s murder. But will Rafe and Fanny triumph over the pain of their past?

So, back to the romance rules. One of the historical romance rules (and romance generally) is that the hero–particularly once he has met the heroine–never looks at another woman again. He never has a single lapse of judgment or failing in the area of fidelity to the heroine.

Naturally, I decided to write a love story that, at its core, asks the following questions: Can true love ever falter and go astray? And is there a way back from such a betrayal, if two people love each other enough? I understand that I am treading on either thin ice or quicksand with some readers but I am willing to take the chance, and so are my wonderful characters, Rafe and Fanny, who are brave-hearted souls, indeed.

Normally these kinds of character plot dilemmas are relegated to Women’s fiction, which allows a much broader scope of issues a writer can explore. But I decided to write the romance plot into a romantic suspense story, and as it turns out, the road trip works for Fanny and Rafe. Being on the run, they forced to depend on one another, even as they attempt to work through the pain of their past. This helps create a good deal of angst, humor and tension between them––all the things so important to a romantic suspense novel!

As to whether Fanny and Rafe ever work out their differences, I’ll give you a hint in the form of a quote from Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray Love) which sums it up nicely: “To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow–this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.”

I do hope that you all enjoy the thrills, adventure and romance in A DANGEROUS LIAISION WITH DETECTIVE LEWIS.

Have an affair with the brilliant, stoic, alpha male, Mr. Kennedy for $1.99!

For those of you who have not read the first book in the series yet, the e-book version of AN AFFAIR WITH MR. KENNEDY is currently $1.99 in all formats!

An Affair with Mr. Kennedy by Jillian Stone

Book #1 in the Gentlemen of Scotland Yard series

London, 1887. Part stoic gentleman, part fearless Scotland Yard man, Zeno “Zak” Kennedy is an enigma of the first order. For years, the memory of a deadly bombing at King’s Cross has haunted the brilliant Scotland Yard detective. His investigation has zeroed in on a ring of aristocratic rebels whose bloody campaign for Irish revolution is terrorizing the city. When he discovers one of the treacherous lords is acquainted with his free-spirited new tenant, Cassandra St. Cloud, his inquiry pulled him unexpectedly close to the hear of the conspiracy — and into the arms of a most intriguing lady.

Cassie is no Victorian prude. An impressionist painter with very modern ideas about life and love, she is eager for a romantic escapade that is daring and discreet. She sets her sights on her dour but handsome landlord, but after she learns their meeting was not purely accidental, she hardly has a chance to forgive her lover before their passionate affair catapults them both into a perilous adventure

Buy at Amazon – Book Depository – Kindle – B&N – iTunes

Jillian Stone was born a storyteller. A skill that got her into considerable trouble as a youth until she solved the problem by becoming an advertising creative. And the career did seem to suit her as she won many national ad awards including the Clio and the New York Art Director’s Club Gold. What more could she ask for? Create her own worlds? Become goddess of her own universe? Yes! So, she began to write fiction. Her Victorian Romantic Suspense novel AN AFFAIR WITH MR. KENNEDY won the 2010 Golden Heart and sold to Pocket Books. Her sexy, supernatural Steampunk novel, THE SEDUCTION OF PHAETON BLACK, won the 2010 Romance Through The Ages Erotica category and sold to Kensington Brava. Jillian lives in California and is currently working on the next adventure for both series.

Find out more or connect with Jillian at her website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

Jillian has generously offered a signed ARC copy of A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis to one lucky commenter!

About Stella

Stella is a proud bookaholic and a self-taught multilinguist in training. Besides reading, her other great passions are travelling and baking. When she is not globetrotting she lives in sunny Budapest, where she loves to spend her free time preparing (and feasting on) delicious cookies or devouring equally yummy books. Her favourite genres are urban fantasy and romance and she couldn't live without her daily dose of sunshine. Besides being the Latin Lover on BLI Stella also blogs about books and a bookish life on Ex Libris.

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