Jennifer Lewis | The Siren Call Of The Series

Hardcastle Progeny


Jennifer Lewis' books

My new book out this month, The Heir’s Scandalous Affair, is the third in my Hardcastle Progeny series for Silhouette Desire. This is my first author-generated series, and I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to carry my characters through three different books. It was quite a challenge because each book had to stand completely alone, so you could pick it up without ever having read—or even heard of—the other two. I also wanted them to mesh together so you could read all three as part of one overarching story about the Hardcastle family. As a reader I enjoying seeing characters from previous books and learning what they’re up to now, and I know from experience that I’m not the only one.

Soon after my first book The Boss’s Demand, came out in July 2007, I started getting emails asking if I planned to write books for the two brothers of my hero, Elan. I wrote back that I honestly wasn’t sure. I’d always wanted to create stories for all three brothers, but I wrote that book before I sold and publishers aren’t always wild about the idea of buying several linked books from an untested author. After all, what if the first one is a big flop???

I can now boldly state that one of the hero’s brothers will be coming out some time in 2010, since I’ve just finished penning his story. I will have published seven or eight other books in between, so I apologize for the wait! It was a lot of fun revisiting Sara and Elan from my first book, and given the passage of time it should be no surprise that they now have two children.

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Jennifer Lewis | Characters you love to hate

I like to blame it on the popularity of evening soap operas during my formative years, but I just adore villainous but intriguing characters. Texas Oil baron J.R. Ewing from Dallas was one of the most hated characters on television—but he was also the reason millions of people tuned in religiously for more than ten years. His cold-blooded, scheming character was originally supposed to be a small part, but he was such a hit with viewers that it wasn’t long before the whole show revolved around him. Anyone alive at the time will surely remember the angst and intrigue over the burning question: Who shot J.R.?

I’ve always wanted to write one of these odious yet absorbing characters, and with my new Hardcastle Progeny series, I finally have. The three book series revolves around billionaire tycoon Tarrant Hardcastle and his attempts to find an heir for his glittering Manhattan retail empire—by tracking down the illegitimate sons he once scorned.

Tarrant is not a nice guy.

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Jennifer Lewis | What’s your fantasy destination?

Inventing your own country is a lot of fun. If you like hunky Mediterranean men, you can make sure it’s densely populated with them. Naturally all your favorite foods feature prominently in local cuisine. And if you’d like to take a sensuous mental dip in the warm waters lapping against the crystal sands of your imaginary locale—who’s to stop you?

I had all this fun and more in creating the nation of Caspia for my new book Prince of Midtown. It’s the third book in Silhouette Desire’s “Park Avenue Scandals.” The editors at Silhouette chose a different Desire author for each book in the series and gave us the plot and characters to make our own. In my case they also gave me a country.

I was handed the name Caspia and informed that it was in Europe and “like Venice.” It came complete with handsome prince Sebastian Stone, a spirited playboy in desperate need of reform by the love of a good woman: namely his down-to-earth American assistant Tessa Banks.

I’m the kind of writer who likes to know ALL the details, even if they don’t actually end up in the book, so first I had to figure out where Caspia was. I remembered there’s a Caspian Sea, but when I rushed to the globe I realized that—bordered by countries including Iran and Kazakhstan—it wasn’t technically in Europe. While visions of Kazakh horsemen galloped readily across my brain, I decided that wasn’t exactly what the Silhouette editors had in mind. After a lot of research and intense daydreaming, I imagined the horsemen had galloped through Southern Europe, conquered some picturesque countryside between Italy and Greece, and named it Caspia.

You’d never know all that from reading the book, but I needed to know ::grin::

I love warm weather, so naturally Caspia enjoys a balmy Mediterranean climate. Since I enjoy dramatic landscapes, I brushed in some steep mountains skirted with lush wildflower meadows. From the top of the crags you can look down over the red-tiled roofs of the town all the way to the glittering ocean. As Sebastian was proud of bringing prominent designer stores to his homeland, I made sure the harbor was ringed with upscale boutiques, accessible by a stroll along the smooth stone quays, or by a romantic gondola trip. ::sigh::

Nearly every review I’ve had has mentioned how much the reader enjoyed visiting Caspia in the book, so I guess my fantasy works for other people too. What would your personal paradise look like?

Jen
http://www.jenlewis.com/

Jennifer Lewis | Alpha Females

Anna Marcus, the heroine of my book Seduced for the Inheritance is a tough cookie. She’s dealing with the fallout of divorce and bankruptcy, and is freshly bereaved. Then she runs into my arrogant, demanding (and of course, irresistible) hero. Anna has just unexpectedly inherited her childhood home, a tiny cottage in the middle of the huge Paradiso estate. When estate-owner Naldo de Leon tries to buy back what he sees as an integral part of his own domain, does she hand it over with a whimper and run away?

Heck no. She’s constitutionally incapable of doing that. In fact, the more he tries to rush her and goad her into selling, the harder she fights back. She’s as stubborn, proud and insistent as Naldo…something he slowly, but surely, comes to appreciate and admire.

Anna is an ‘alpha female’ who can’t be pushed around, even by the most determined ‘alpha male.’

I enjoy writing the kind of strong heroines who stand up for their beliefs and their rights, even when that makes life more difficult for them. Perhaps I enjoy living vicariously through them. In real life I dislike conflict and will sometimes let an annoyance slide to avoid a confrontation. It’s fun to write about a woman who doesn’t mind taking the heat.

Most readers like a romance heroine to be someone they can identify with, and who they’d like to be friends with. Over the years, I think heroines have changed to reflect our changing society. These days, most of us have demanding careers and busy family lives, and can readily identify with strong women who work hard for what they want and won’t stand for being pushed around.

In a story with a strong alpha male hero, I especially enjoy seeing him matched with a woman who won’t let him steamroll over her. It makes for a lot of spark and passion, and I can picture them living happily ever after as equal partners who keep each other on their toes.

At Book Expo America this summer, I was signing copies of my debut book The Boss’s Demand, when a silver-haired lady walked up to the counter, peered at my cover, then collared me: “Does she have any backbone?” I explained that indeed she did. She went on to tell me she could only read books with strong heroines. When pressed, her friend admitted that she preferred sweet, gentle heroines.

Do you like alpha females? Or do you prefer a softer, more yielding heroine? Who are some of your favorite romance heroines, and what makes you like them so much?

Everyone who enters my contest today will be entered to win a copy of Seduced for the Inheritance . If you already have the book (a quality to be admired!) you will win a copy of my July book The Boss’s Demand. If you already own that too, then I dearly love you and I will give you something else.

Jen

http://www.jenlewis.com/

http://www.myspace.com/jenniferlewiswrites