Aloha to Megan Mulry and R IS FOR REBEL

Megan Mulry joins me today with a guest post to celebrate the release of R IS FOR REBEL, Book 4 in her Unruly Royals series. Please join me in welcoming Megan!

I lived in London for nearly four years and it was a great inspiration for my writing. The first time was a two-year stint early on in my marriage, before we had kids (’97-’99). Both my husband and I were working full-time for different investment banks and I went to business school at night. It was a very high-flying expatriate lifestyle—I wouldn’t trade that time for anything. About a year after returning to the U.S., my husband got another job offer from a different investment bank in London, so we moved back (’00-’01). I’d had our first child by then and it was a completely different experience—I hung out with other new moms and occasionally worked part-time. Mostly, I spent my time strolling around the city with my little girl while my husband worked insane hours. It was a different kind of bliss (that I wouldn’t trade either!)

I think the two different experiences influenced the Unruly Royals in lots of ways: I love writing characters who manage demanding jobs in big cities, like my husband and I did in those early days; I love writing characters who manage difficult or unforeseen transitions (from single to couple; from childless to parent; etc.). I also just love imagining my characters (and myself!) strolling through the streets of Mayfair or Chelsea, eating at one of our favorite restaurants, or staying at one of my favorite hotels. 

Thanks again for having me!

Claridge's, 1897
Public Domain (link)

Megan Mulry writes sexy, stylish, romantic fiction. Her first book, A Royal Pain, was an NPR Best Book of 2012 and USA Today bestseller. Before discovering her passion for romance novels, she worked in magazine publishing and finance. After many years in New York, Boston, London, and Chicago, she now lives with her family in Florida.

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NASA photo of London
Public Domain (link)

Mahalo, Megan, for sharing your London experience with us!  I am giving away a print copy of R IS FOR REBEL to one randomly selected commenter:

Being royal isn't all it's cracked up to be...

Abigail Heyworth, youngest daughter of the 18th Duke of Northrop, is not your typical British royal—she'll take a recycling drive over a charity ball any day. She can't stand hats and heels. Abby's not getting much sympathy, of course, because everyone thinks the life of royalty is so charmed.

But to Abigail, keeping up appearances is unbearable, while running away doesn't seem to work either. Just when she feels like she's getting whiplash from swinging between flat-out rebellion to miserable capitulation, Abigail meets an all-American self-made millionaire who challenges her on every level.

It may turn out that what Abigail is searching for kind of resembles the American Dream...

To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about London - what do you know about it?  What do you love about it?

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, February 8, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, February 9.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Books 1, 2, and 3 in the Unruly Royals series ....

Aloha to Megan Mulry's IN LOVE AGAIN

The day after Thanksgiving may be Black Friday to savvy shoppers, but it will be Release Day for Megan Multry's IN LOVE AGAIN, Book Three in her Unruly Royals series (link),

SECOND CHANCE...The Marchioness of Wick is about to get a second chance at life...whether she wants it or not. After twenty years in a loveless marriage to a duplicitous British aristocrat, Claire Heyworth Barnes finds herself broke and alone. Encouraged by her dynamic American sisters-in-law, the shy royal decides to start over in New York City. When she lands a job with a famous interior designer, Claire accidentally reconnects with the first—and only—man she ever loved.

FIRST LOVE...Benjamin Hayek has never forgiven Claire for the heartless way she left him when they were teenagers in the south of France. And even if he could, Claire's not sure she has the courage to contend with how he makes her feel. Can they build a new love from an old flame? Or will a bitter history and a complicated future stand in their way?

To celebrate IN LOVE AGAIN, let's play Six Degrees of Separation:

1.  On this day in 1922, Pharaoh Tutankhamum's tomb is opened for the first time in 3000 years by archaeologist Howard Carter and his sponsor Lord Carnarvon.

2.  Lord Carnarvon's ancestral home is Highclere Castle, a 1000 estate in Hampshire, England.

3.  Highclere Castle has an alter ego - Downton Abbey on PBS's popular Edwardian series of the same name.

Highclere Castle
Image by JB + UK_Planet (link)
Creative Commons Attribution (link)

4.  Downton Abbey follows the aristocratic antics of the Earl of Grantham and his family.

5.  The Earl is married to an American heiress; the show details their family's dance around "class" with their peers and their servants.

6.  Megan Mulry's Unruly Royals features a contemporary "class" conflict - an aristocrat romances an American  businesswoman in A ROYAL PAIN, his younger brother romances an American heiress in THE SHOE FITS, and his younger sister will be romanced by an American businessmen in R IS FOR REBEL (coming February 2014).

IN LOVE AGAIN is the story of the older sister ... demonstrating that love transcends class and oceans.   I am giving away an ecopy of IN LOVE AGAIN.   To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about Downton Abbey - are you a fan?

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, November 30, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, December 1.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

To learn more about Megan and her books, check out her website at meganmulry.com.