#Interview with Karen Ranney of To Love a Duchess

Lexi: If you’re clinging onto the green of summertime, as I am, then the cover of To Love a Duchess will draw you in. And once you open its cover you’ll fall in love. So I am very excited to welcome the author to the blog as today’s guest! Welcome, Karen Ranney!

Thank you for the invitation! (Love the name of your blog.)


Lexi: Your heroines always wear gorgeous dresses on your historical romance covers. And To Love a Duchess is exceptional with the sunset and the green, I wouldn’t be able to walk past it without snatching it up! Aside from all the gorgeousness, are there any small quirks or traits that showed up that made you go that is my hero or heroine?

I’ve always been blessed with great Avon covers. To Love a Duchess is certainly not an exception. I loved it and I’m so glad you like it, too.

I really like the couple’s pose and think Adam would do something exactly like that. It’s a pose that conveys both protectiveness and tenderness.


Lexi: I fell hard for your cover, but I may have spilled a bit of wine over your hero, Adam Drummond. *gasp* Spies are the ultimate character for me. You are never sure where they’ll go or what trouble they’ll get into, and out of, and they always have their own distinct definition of honor and rules. I’ve spilled wine, can you spill a character trait about Adam?

One of the things that struck me about Adam was that he was very successful yet had a core of insecurity. I think that insecurity made him more empathetic to other people. That same insecurity, because of his upbringing, made him resent the upper classes. I doubt that anyone else would have dared to try to save Suzanne in their initial meeting. He didn’t see her as a duchess, but as a woman.


Lexi: Every woman wants to be noticed by the right man. Your heroine, Suzanne Whitcomb, has locked herself behind her grief, hidden away. Would you say it was a look or a touch from Adam that first made Suzanne feel noticed?

I think Adam’s initial actions startled her into noticing him. She was used to being treated as a duchess and he didn’t care what her rank or title was. Her initial reaction to him was shock. How dare he treat her that way? However, that emotion gradually changed to something else entirely. Yet if he hadn’t initially behaved in an appalling way she would never have been startled out of her grief. 


Lexi: There is so much to love about To Love a Duchess! It pairs perfectly with these last quiet summer days. Thank you for stopping by, Karen. We will be eagerly watching for book two in your All for Love series to come out! Cheers to your release of To Love a Duchess!

Thank you, Lexi!

To Love a Duchess

(All for Love #1)

by Karen Ranney 

ebook, 384 pages

Published July 31st 2018 by Avon

ISBN 006284105X

From New York Times Bestselling Author Karen Ranney comes the first book in a royally romantic and deeply emotional new series about taking risks and allowing the power to love satisfy the questions of the heart...

Undercover as a majordomo, spy Adam Drummond has infiltrated Marsley House with one purpose only—to plunder its mysteries and gather proof that the late Duke of Marsley was an unforgivable traitor to his country. At the same time, Adam is drawn to a more beguiling puzzle: the young and still-grieving duchess—a beauty with impenetrable secrets of her own. For Drummond, uncovering them without exposing his masquerade will require the most challenging and tender moves of his career.

That a servant can arouse such passion in her is too shocking for Suzanne Whitcomb, Duchess of Marsley, to consider. Yet nothing quickens her pulse like Drummond's touch. It's been two years since the duke lost his life in a tragic accident—and even longer since she's been treated like a woman. But when Drummond's real mission is revealed, and the truth behind Suzanne's grief comes to light, every secret conspired to tear them apart is nothing compared to the love that can hold them together.

AMAZON | B&N 

About the Author:

Karen Ranney began writing when she was five. Her first published work was The Maple Leaf, read over the school intercom when she was in the first grade. In addition to wanting to be a violinist (her parents had a special violin crafted for her when she was seven), she wanted to be a lawyer, a teacher, and most of all, a writer. Though the violin was discarded early, she still admits to a fascination with the law, and she volunteers as a teacher whenever needed. Writing, however, has remained an overwhelming love of her life. For more information please visit: www.karenranney.com