Aloha to Wendy LaCapra and LADY VICE

I first met Wendy LaCapra at the RWA Annual Conference in 2010 .. and I am excited to be part of her debut!  From her bio,

Wendy LaCapra has been reading romance since she sneaked into the adult section at the library and discovered Victoria Holt & Jane Aiken Hodge. From that point on, she dreamed of creating fictional worlds with as much richness, intrigue and passion as she found within those books. Her stories have placed in several contests, including the 2012 Golden Heart®. She lives in NYC with her husband and loves to hear from readers.

Wendy joins me for a cozy chat ... 

Kim:  NYC! What is your favorite sight, sound, and smell of the Big Apple!

Wendy:  My favorite sight in the Big Apple happens when the sun sets. The street where I lived, Carmine Street, is bathed in a gorgeous orange glow that makes everything look movie-set surreal. While Carmine is not a “Manhattanhenge” street—the east-west streets where the sunset is perfectly aligned with the buildings in the end of May and the middle of July, for most of the year, it captures a perfect glow. My favorite sound…? Humm. The piano player with an expletive tattooed across his knuckles who occasionally rolls a piano under Washington Square Arch and plays Mozart. The arch makes the tones dreamy. Very nice. My favorite smell is scent of wood and old books at Rose Room at the Library. Some of my research for Lady Vice happened there—most memorably the discovery of a Victorian-Era book reminiscing about Georgian Vauxhall. What a treat! (Picture)

Kim:  Who or what helped you along the path to publishing?

Wendy:  My greatest help came from the Beau Monde chapter of Romance Writers of America. The ladies (and Bill) of the Beau Monde are generous with their knowledge, welcoming and talented. Writing is something you can only do alone, but publishing? In publishing you must ‘get by with a little help from your friends’—from research gems, to marketing advice, to etiquette, squeals and commiserations. I hope to one day be as good a mentor to someone as Sally MacKenzie (who I met through the Beau Monde) has been to me.

Kim:  Tell us about LADY VICE - what inspired it?

Wendy:  I mention in an author’s note that Lady Vice was inspired by Hallie Rubenhold's fascinating, fast-paced, fabulous history of the Georgian-era Worsley scandal titled, Lady Worsley’s Whim. The Worsley Scandal involved a Criminal Conversation trial that resulted in social exile for both Lord and Lady Worsley. If Lord Vaile in Lady Vice hadn’t come to a grisly end, my heroine, Lavinia, may have faced such a scandal.

Kim:  What's next for Wendy LaCapra?

Wendy:  I just finished writing the second book in the Furies Series, Lady Scandal. I had so much fun writing Sophia and Randolph’s story, which also has elements of suspense, but the plot allowed for more banter and sensuality. I’m currently writing Duchess Decadence, the final book in the series.

Thank you for having me, Kim. I’m a fan of you and SOS Aloha & I’m thrilled to be here.

Not every lady plays by the rules.

Lady Lavinia Vaile knows what happens to a woman who puts her faith in society. For her, it was a disastrous marriage to a depraved man-one she threatened to shoot when she left him. Now Lavinia lives outside of society's strict conventions, hosting private gambling parties. It's only when her husband is shot dead that Lavinia finds herself in terrible danger...

A former judge in India's high court, Maximilian Harrison will do anything he can to help Lavinia. In the darkest of times, he held on to thoughts of her and the love they once shared. Now he risks his own position in society―along with his ambitions―in order to clear her name. Yet as desire reignites between them, Lavinia remains caught up in secrets and shame. Her only salvation is to do the unthinkable...and trust in both Maximilian and love.

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Wendy offers an excerpt from LADY VICE ....

“Heal me, Vinia,” he asked. Then, softer, “You know you can. I know you can.”

His mouth captured hers. Shock, at first, though her muscles did not harden. His kiss elicited her surrender. He was fervor and softness, rage and need. She clung to his shoulders, slipping on wet, uneven ground toward a spreading, hungry abyss.

His fingers tightened in her tresses as he tilted her head toward his—up, up. Straining. Gasping. Reaching. His kiss grew urgent and deep, passionate and possessive. Her belly quivered. She grew wet with sensual invitation.

Max. Her body staked a claim. My Max.

Where Vaile was separation, debasement, and darkness; Max was union, devotion, and light. His presence was life, and the shivering absence where she lived was death.
Could they learn to trust each other once again? Could Max free her of Vaile’s expertly forged shackles? Could she, in turn, heal Max’s lingering hurt? Would love be enough to carry them both through society’s condemnation?