Please help me welcome author Sharon Cullen to A Buckeye Girl Reads Reads today. She's here today talking about her newest historical romance, Loving The Earl.
Title: Loving The Earl
Author: Sharon Cullen
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: LoveSwept
Number of Pages: 290
Release date: Nov 11, 2013
| In Sharon Cullen’s sizzling novel of scandal and seduction, a headstrong beauty is pursued across Europe by London’s most notorious rake.
Having vowed never to wed again, widowed viscountess Claire Hartford is about to do the unthinkable: travel unaccompanied across the continent in search of a lover. Her adventure begins sooner than expected, when she meets a magnificent cloaked stranger on her ship’s gangplank. He is Lord Blythe, a man whispered about in London’s ballrooms and drawing rooms, a scandalous rogue hell-bent on seduction.
Nathan Ferguson curses the day he agreed to look out for his best friend’s wayward sister. The charismatic earl is traveling to Paris to uncover the truth behind his father’s death, but his desire for Claire threatens to be his undoing. From France to Italy, on a journey of passionate discovery and danger, Nathan is honor-bound to protect her—from himself most of all. What can he offer Claire? Only love, as he sets out to prove to the woman of his dreams that she belongs to him—body, heart, and soul. |
Things I Learned While Writing LOVING THE EARL
One of the best things about writing fiction is the
research. I’ve always said, “Write what you know—research what you don’t know.”
I definitely knew nothing about Switzerland and Italy—two
places my hero and heroine find themselves in—and so I dove into my research
and these are some of the more interesting things I learned:
1.
Switzerland has three languages and cultural
regions: German, Italian and French
2.
There are many “passes” to get through the Swiss
Alps. I had my hero and heroine travel the Great St. Bernard Pass which is the
third highest track pass in the mountains—and the most treacherous in that time
period.
3.
The most famous St. Bernard dog was named Barry
and he saved between 40-100 lives in the pass.
4.
The St. Bernard dogs come from the Great St.
Bernard Pass which was named after the St. Bernard Hospice (which is not like
the hospices we know today) in Switzerland
5.
Someday I am going to own a St. Bernard dog
6.
Friulanes
are velvet slippers worn by the Venetians
7.
All street signs in Venice lead the way to the
train station
8.
In the 18th century there were 3,000
drinking establishments in Paris. WOW!
9.
Mostly immigrants lived in Paris at this time
10. Most
of the immigrants were from Switzerland
Author Bio:
After earning a degree in journalism from Ohio University Sharon found that the stories inside her head were more interesting than what was going on in the world around her. Yet, it wasn't until years later that she decided to pursue her secret dream of writing a romance novel. Since then she's been published in romantic suspense, paranormal romance and contemporary romance. The Notorious Lady Anne is her first historical romance.
Sharon's other job descriptions include chauffer, laundress, cook and mediator to her three very busy kids, her husband and two dogs. She lives in southwest Ohio with her brood although her dream is to someday retire to St. Maarten and live on the beach.
