Historical Romance Weekend: Author Shana Galen (Interview/Giveaway)

We are back with our Historical Romance weekend! Of course we had to have the talented...Shana Galen! Welcome to Reading Between the Wines Shana!

Shana: Thank you for having me back again and inviting me to be a part of your Historical Romance Weekend. I’m honored!

Lexi: You have quite the backlist. From pirates, to brothers, and pseudo mistresses. What is it that made you choose Historical Romance as your genre? 

Shana: I would have to say it was actually historical romance that chose me, and I couldn't be happier. Writing historical romance is appealing to me in part because I can leave the modern world behind. I enjoy spending time in the past with no cell phones, no TV, no information overload. It allows me to create a world with dashing heroes and equally dynamic heroines who probably wouldn’t be very believable in a contemporary novel.

Lexi: Your Jewels of the Ton series features three strong women who take great risks to ensure their welfare. Do you feel women in Historical Romances parallel women today?

Shana: Juliette, Fallon, and Lily are modern women living in a different era. They make daring choices to escape from their circumstances in a time period when opportunities for woman to change her situation were severely limited. My heroines have a lot in common with women of today, in that they are strong, independent, and like women of today, have to make tough choices.

Lexi: If You Give a Rake a Ruby is book two in your Jewels of the Ton series. Your heroine, Fallon, is an unrepentant lover of life. (And there is a very hot sex scene!!!) Is it challenging writing sex scenes for historicals? 

Shana: Sometimes a difficulty arises if I don’t know what word was used for something I’m writing. Most of the time, my characters don’t think about what they’re doing directly or clinically, but recently I was writing a scene for Lily’s book where a character thinks about oral sex. Hmm. What term did they use in 1816? It was tough to find out. So that aspect can be difficult (by the way, I went with play the blanket flute). Otherwise, it’s much like any other scene in a novel. I try to let the couple in the story find their own pace and style.  Fallon and Warrick start their fiery relationship in her bed, and there is an instant chemistry between them, so things were bound to get hot.

Lexi: Challenging or not, your talent shines as bright as jewels. ;) Too bad we have to wait nearly a year for book three, Sapphires Are an Earl’s Best Friend. Any projects you will be working on in the mean time? Any new HR ideas floating around in that head of yours?

Shana: March 2014 does seem like a long time to wait for Sapphires Are an Earl’s Best Friend. In the meantime, I do have other books being released. 

In August, I have a novella out, The Spy Wore Blue, which features the enigmatic Agent Blue from Lord and Lady Spy. In September True Spies, the follow up to Lord and Lady Spy, will be released. Readers get to meet new friends, and revisit some old ones as well. I always have ideas floating around; the trick is finding the time to write them all. 

Lexi: Can’t wait for Agent Blue’s story, and then we get True Spies! I am so excited! You are a go to author for me so I know I will enjoy them both. Thank you for joining in our Historical Romance weekend Shana! 

Shana: Thank you for having me. I’m happy to offer copies of If You Give a Rake a Ruby and the first in the series, When You Give a Duke a Diamond to readers who offer a comment. The giveaway is open internationally.

When You Give a Duke a Diamond

Jewels of the Ton #1

by Shana Galen

Paperback, 356 pages

Published September 4th 2012 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

ISBN 9781402269738

He had a perfectly orderly life...
William, the sixth Duke of Pelham, enjoys his punctual, securely structured life. Orderly and predictable—that's the way he likes it. But he's in the public eye, and the scandal sheets will make up anything to sell papers. When the gossip papers link him to Juliette, one of the most beautiful and celebrated courtesans in London, chaos doesn't begin to describe what happens next...
Until she came along...
Juliette is nicknamed the Duchess of Dalliance and has the cream of the nobility at her beck and call. It's disruptive to have the duke who is the biggest catch on the Marriage Mart scaring her other suitors away. Then she discovers William's darkest secret and decides what he needs in his life is the kind of excitement only she can provide...

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and The Book Depository

If You Give a Rake a Ruby

Jewels of the Ton #2

by Shana Galen

Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages

Published March 5th 2013 by Soursebooks Casablanca

ISBN 9781402269769

Her Mysterious Past Is The Best Revenge...Fallon, the Marchioness of Mystery, is a celebrated courtesan with her finger on the pulse of high society. She’s adored by men, hated by their wives. No one knows anything about her past, and she plans to keep it that way.
Only He Can Offer Her A Dazzling Future...Warrick Fitzhugh will do anything to protect his compatriots in the Foreign Office, including seduce Fallon, who he thinks can lead him to the deadliest crime lord in London. He knows he’s putting his life on the line...To Warrick’s shock, Fallon is not who he thinks she is, and the secrets she’s keeping are exactly what make her his heart’s desire...

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and The Book Depository

About Shana:

Shana Galen is the bestselling author of fast-paced adventurous Regency historicals, including the RT Reviewers’ Choice The Making of a Gentleman. Her books are published all over the world and have been featured in the Rhapsody and Doubleday Book Clubs. She taught English at the middle and high school level off and on for eleven years. Most of those years were spent working in Houston's inner city. Now she writes full time. She’s happily married and has a daughter who is most definitely a romance heroine in the making. Shana loves to hear from readers: visit her website or see what she’s up to daily on Facebook and Twitter.

~*GIVEAWAY*~
Alright readers, you heard Shana. Giveaway open to everyone, so start commenting! Then fill out the Rafflecopter below, good luck! I know you will LOVE this Historical Romance series!

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