BP: Today we would like to welcome Ms Carrie Lofty who is joining us for a guest post and a giveaway in honor of her newest release A Little More Scandal. Carrie, we are glad you could join us!
Thanks so much to the Book Pushers for having me stop by! I’m excited to talk about A Little More Scandal. At just $.99… Take a chance! This is an adorable intro to my Christies series of Victorian romances.
It’s one of Pocket’s first original digital releases. You can read more about those fabulous new originals here, including an extended excerpt of A Little More Scandal.
But there. Aside from the blurb, that’s my sales pitch. Let’s get to the good stuff now…
The Book Pushers asked me specifically to talk about those characters outside of the nobility that created for A Little More Scandal. First of all, it is a novella, which meant that I had more leeway to explore more unusual subject matter, especially the characters. What I wrote here might not have been allowed, per se, in a full-length paperback release.
Second, the concept of the Christie series is that four adult siblings learn the contents of their father’s will. He was a self-made man from the slums of Glasgow, and wanted to make sure his children learned the value of hard work and sacrifice to get what the desire out of life. That meant exploring William Christie’s character as a man who would never fit in with the aristocracy.
During the Victorian era, people who worked hard and capitalized on the varied resources of the Industrial Revolution began to gain respect, especially among their “new money” counterparts. They also were able to quite literally buy their way into Society because their wealth was incredibly attractive to nobles whose funds had dwindled through the generations. William Christie pushed his way into London’s elite by just those means.
Realistically, and according to the backstory I had already provided in Flawless, having him marry a noblewoman didn’t seem to fit. William needed someone just as ambitious as he.
Enter Catrin Jones, a commoner from a small Welsh town and a nurse during the Crimean War. Her only appeal among the ton is that she was the lone survivor of a shipwreck. Everyone wants to know her story, including William. He’s in it for financial gain, as is Catrin who, very practically, views this as her brief moment to marry well.
I fell in love with the idea that these two commoner characters needed each other for different reasons. Together, they became a more powerful force, able to deflect the slings and arrows of a society that was experiencing great change. The nobility of the Regency era was much more appealing in their wealth and influence, but by the middle of the 19th century, that influence began to wane. William and Catrin were the vanguard of a new type of world. Exploring their challenges and triumphs was immensely appealing to me. The London setting, complete with balls and scheming aristocrats are here too, but a different sort of love and life prevails.
I hope this little look into the struggles endured by commoners on the rise appeals to readers who might have wondered at some point: how did the nobles become nobles in the first place? They may have been knights or merchants of a long-forgotten time. William and his lady love simply follow in those footsteps, well after Society had thought to close the door behind them! Too bad. A whole new class of hero and heroine was ready to barge in.
Next up for Carrie:
Starlight, the second full-length romance in the Christies series, is set in Victorian Glasgow (BP note – Check back release day for our review of Starlight). It just got a 4 ½ stars Top Pick from RT BookReviews, and comes out on June 26th. Then comes Pocket Star digital original, His Very Own Girl . It’s a historical romance set in WWII–an honest to goodness historical romance, available September 4.
Carrie on the internet:
Carrie’s Website
Twitter: @carrielofty
Carrie on FaceBook
I’d like to give away a copy of Flawless, the first of the Christies series from Pocket. I’ll ship anywhere. Anyone who already has Flawless can win any choice from my back catalog.
This giveaway will end on Jun 12th with the winner announced on the 13th. Good luck!
Not too many books have commoners as H/H. Love the premise.
Thanks for the giveaway and congrats on the new release.
Congratulations on the new release! I’m glad to see a historical romance with such an uncommon hero and heroine!
Ooo…different & nice! Couldn’t have been easy being a commoner then. Congrats on the release & thanks much for the opportunity to win.
I would love to read this book. it sounds very good. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com
I’d never given any thought to how the gentry & indeed Royalty became thus. Fascinating to ponder thank you!!!
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Congratulations on the book! It sounds good.
Reading about the struggles endured by commoners on the rise does appeal to me, I find it fascinating and I’m looking forward to reading A little More Scandal.
Barbed1951 at aol dot com
Thanks for the great post and giveaway! I’ve read such awesome reviews for Flawless, I’d love to have a chance to read it 🙂
Congratulations on the new release – I think the 99c especial is a great way to entice new readers – I’m certainly enticed! 🙂
Please count me in – I’ve not read Flawless but I love the premise and it’s one I’ve been meaning to read.
I’ve always enjoyed stories set in Regency or Victorian times that featured “normal” people instead of the nobility. Especially in Victorian times, so much change was going on in society and there was lots more opportunity to improve your life (although there was still a tremendous amount of poverty).
Carrie, both your novella and the upcoming book sound fabulous and out-of-the-box! Congrats on the RT review, too!
Congrats on your new book release. The storyline sounds interesting.
I love Carrie Lofty’s books and Flawless is something I have been wanting to read for a while.
I appreciate intro or prequel novellas because they give me a good sense of an author’s style and of the characters in a series before I commit to a full-length novel. I agree with others that the H/H are commoners in a Victorian is an interesting premise!
Thanks for the guestpost, I am really intriguied by your books now. On the wishlist!
It looks like a good story with unique characters. Thanks for the giveaway!
I would like to read the book.
Pingback: A Full Blooded Lover At Last | Literary Escapism
Pingback: Review – Starlight by Carrie Lofty | The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter