I've Got A Secret

Hey, folks! I’m Vanessa Kelly and I write Regency-set historical romance. I’ve got lots of things I’d love for us to talk about, and books to give away over the next three days. Let’s get started, shall we? Today’s topic, as you can tell by the header of this post, is secrets.

Who doesn’t love a good secret? There’s nothing like that little zing you get from being in the know—to have access to info that no one else seems to have. But a secret can also be a heavy burden that weighs on the soul, and it can make life very, very complicated.

In my latest Regency-set historical romance, My Favorite Countess, my heroine keeps lots of secrets, including hiding her true nature from most everyone she knows. To the world, Bathsheba is a beautiful but hard-hearted woman who cares for no one but herself. She does very little to dispel that impression as she sweeps through the ton, levelling people right and left with her scathing intellect and devastating wit. Trust me. If you get on Bathsheba’s bad side, you’ll be sorry!

Why the heck, you may ask, did I make this type of woman the heroine of my book? It’s because of her secrets. You see, Bathsheba first appeared as the villainess of my second book, Sex And The Single Earl, but even in that story the reasons for her rather nefarious actions seemed motivated by something more than greed or selfishness. As I went deeper into her character I discovered those motivations—she is fiercely loyal to her family, and is determined to protect them from hardship at all costs. Bathsheba suffered several tragedies when she was young, tragedies that made her responsible for the well-being of those weaker than she is. She’ll do what she has to in order to keep them safe, and the hell with what others might think of her.

Bathsheba has a lot of pride, too. So rather than beg for help or reveal the scandals in her past, she’s created a diamond-hard facade to protect herself and her family from the discovery of those secrets. Most people can’t see past her facade, but one man can. Yep. He’s my hero—the intelligent, noble-minded, and very sexy doctor, John Blackmore. As a man who has devoted his life to helping those in need, John is determined to get past Bathsheba’s secrets to find the woman within. Bathsheba, naturally, wants nothing of that, but John proves to be her Achilles’ heel. Their encounters are passionate and deeply felt and I loved writing about them.

By the way, I have a secret of my own I’d like to share with you. It’s about my writing life and it’s…well, all I can say is that you should stop by for my Wednesday blog post to find out all about it! But for now, let’s keep talking about secrets.

Do you like books that contain lots of secrets? Do you crave heroes who are dark and mysterious and drive the heroine crazy? And what about all those secret baby stories—love or hate? One person who comments will win a copy of My Favorite Countess.

Vanessa Kelly writes Regency-set historical romance for Kensington Zebra, and has been named by Booklist as “one of the new stars of historical romance.” My Favorite Countess was recently nominated for an RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Regency Historical Romance. You can find her on the web at: www.vanessakellyauthor.com.