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British Heroes for an American Girl!




Hello Casa authors and fans! I’m delighted to be on this fabulous blog today with all of the wonderful writers who make up this site. Thank you, ladies for allowing me to share with you the excitement I have for my latest book A Duke To Die For.


Some of you might think I’m a new author, but I’ve been around for a few years. I’ve written as Gloria Dale Skinner and Charla Cameron but with my nineteenth published book out this April, I think I’ve finally settled down to being only Amelia Grey.


You know, I’ve been a fan of all things British since I was in grade school and the Bealtles and Rolling Stones took America by storm. I love their accents, their stately mansions and their leather berets. It’s no wonder that writing in Regency London fits me perfectly. That doesn’t mean I won’t stay up all night reading when I find a good book about a cowboy in a white shirt with a leather holster slung around lean hips. And I can really get into a story that has a hero who wears his jeans just tight enough to make me want to know what lies beneath them. But these days most of my fantasies are leading me to powerful, roguish gentlemen dressed in slim-legged trousers and hastily tied neckcoths.


A Duke To Die For is my sixth Amelia Grey book and it’s the first book in The Rogues’ Dynasty which is my new Regency Series. When I was dreaming up an idea for a new story, I couldn’t determine if I wanted my hero to be a duke, a marquis or an earl so I cleared that up real quick by deciding to write about all three. After a little planning on the trilogy, I knew the duke’s story had to come first, and I knew he had to be the youngest of the three cousins I was going to write about. It took a while bu I finally decided I wanted him to be a reluctant hero. That kind of man is one of my favorites. There’s just something deliciously inviting to me about a hero who has no desire to step up and save the day but always does when he’s called upon.

I wanted my duke to be carefree, undisciplined and a man who avoided responsibility the way Londoners avoided the plague. And then, of course I had to give him a ton of responsibility and that came in the form of a lovely ward who just happened to be the kind of young lady he would much rather seduce than protect. There’s always something decidedly tempting about the forbidden.


Having been born to power and privilege Blake doesn’t know the first thing about discipline or boundaries so it gave me tremendous pleasure to present him with an organized, orderly heroine who sent heat like he hadn’t felt in years rushing through him, and watch him squirm.


In all good romances other characters and plotlines add to the depth, the tone and the flavor of the book so I have a few characters who will appear in all three books of the trilogy. But my favorite character to write is the hero. I spend a lot of time in his head so the reader will know exactly what is on his mind, what's up his sleeve and how he's going to win the heroine's love.


So ladies, what is your favorite kind of hero? Maybe he’s the man from your past that is back? Or perhaps he is the dangerous stranger who just saved your life? You tell me what kind of man sends your heartbeat racing and keeps you up all night…reading.

Amelia Grey

Comments

  1. Hi Amelia,

    Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed some of your earlier works, my favorites are Hellion and A Little Mischief. I have your new book but I haven't had a chance to read it yet.

    Happy Easter

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  2. Well, you know, Amelia, if he's got a British accent, he's already one up on most of the competition! I'm looking forward to your series.
    On the whole, I like my heroes deliciously sweet, infinitely sexy, and deadly attractive with a great sense of humor. Beyond that, being capable of saving the day doesn't hurt...

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  3. Hey Amelia,

    Neat post. I love hero-centric romances. (I just learned the word yesterday when the reviewer at loveromancepassion called SEALed With A Promise hero-centric:-))I also love to see a hero get what's coming to him. A Duke To Die For sounds like a lot of fun.

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  4. Favorite hero type: the misanthrope won back to his humanity and to love by the pure heart of a good woman!

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  5. Hi Amelia!

    Cheryl just described my favorite kind - so I guess I'll be (figuratively since I've got my own great hero at home) fighting her for them.

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  6. Hi Amelia!

    Welcome to the blog :) Glad to see you here with the Casa ladies finally!!

    My favorite type of hero is often the strong silent type, but underneath the hard exterior he's really quite thoughtful and sweet and maybe even a little silly.

    Happy Easter,
    Danielle

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  7. Hi Amelia,
    I like the hero who will do whatever it takes to show the heroine that he's the one for her. Your book sounds like fun!
    Marie

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  8. Hi Amelia,
    I love the British Accent too.
    Sounds so Proper. A Gentleman.
    I don't want too proper. I like tall, dark, quiet, mysterious, and outrageously sexy, very dangerous if provoked, very capable of protecting their own.

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  9. Hi ladies,
    Oh, it's so much fun to talk about the hero. One of my favorite lines about a hero is "An outlaw in a white shirt." And one of my favorite quotes about a hero is "For the love of one woman and the good of all men he fought to uphold justice by breaking the law". It doesn't get any better than that does it? :-)
    Amelia

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  10. Hi Gloria! It is fantastic to have you with us on the blog!! I will always remember you as the lovely lady who reminds me so much of my dearly loved and now passed step-mother who was the epitome of a sweet Southern Belle. You kindly helped me out at the RWA and I have never forgotten that. I look forward to reading your book and hearing more from you here at Casablanca with the greatest of anticipation.

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  11. Welcome to the blog!

    I love a good bad boy. Give him an accent (British, Irish, Scottish or Brooklyn) and a pair of worn 501's and I'm v. happy.

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  12. So glad to have you with us on the blog, GLoria!

    I just bought "A Duke to Die For" and can't wait to get out of deadline H*LL so I can read it! SUPER CONGRATS on your 19th book! WOW! I am in awe.

    As for heroes... Aunty likes em tall (what can I say? The DH is 6'5") and LURVES any kind of accent. My hero in TToV is a charmer. You know the type... smooth talker, confident (if not quite arrogant), smart and with an extremely quick wit. (Big Sigh) Oh yeah, and did I mention sexy?!?!

    AC

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  13. Sharon, you made my day! Something tells me you are the blog's charmer! :-) Thank you for the compliments.
    Danielle, you mentioned Hellion, I loved that story. I know when I was a little girl I wanted to be just like my dad, so that was a special book for me. But then, my dad has always been my hero.
    So tell me laides, why did Scarlett want Ashley for 99% of the book!?!
    Amelia

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  14. I like bad boys. Comes from my teen years when I dated a train robber that worked at Knotts Berry Farm. :}

    Great post Gloria! I can't wait to read your book!

    Linda

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  15. Oh, Linda, a train robber at Knots Berry Farm? I saw him!!! :)

    Great post, Amelia!! My daughter once said to an English couple that they talked funny. They were quite amused. :) But I love anything historical!!!

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