I love this series because it’s got a breathless pace. I would categorize it as historical action/ adventure. It’s also got some of the best anti-heroes (Lazarus Huntington, anyone?) and tough-as-nails heroines I’ve ever read. Add masked vigilantes, some light bondage, a Beauty and the Beast novel, set to low for 8 hours, stir before serving, and you have a recipe for all of Elyse’s catnip.
After twelve books, the series is wrapping up, which is giving me all the bittersweet feels. Author Elizabeth Hoyt agreed to answer a few of my questions about the Maiden Lane world.
Elyse: First of all, thanks for being super cool at RT in Dallas when I showed up in the lobby in my pajamas to meet you. I’m pretty sure my PJs had cats in astronaut gear on them, I was holding a glass of champagne, and you didn’t bat an eyelash.
Elizabeth Hoyt: Ha! I think that was after another looong RITAs program…. PJs sounded like a good idea.
Elyse: One of the things I love so much about the Maiden Lane series is that it has such a strong action/ adventure element to it. We have masked vigilantes, river pirates, and dukes working to bring down cults. The characters are always moving, always doing, and often in danger. How do you incorporate all these different elements into your world? As a writer, is it difficult to maintain that kind of pace?
Elizabeth Hoyt: You know, I didn’t consciously set out to write action-y romances when I first started writing. But a lot of what I like in romances — swordfights! Concealed identities! People being saved from death and maiming! — are a byproduct of action. Also, it turns out that I’m easily bored, which may be part of the reason there’s always new, exciting things going on in my books. What sometimes becomes problematic is keeping the level of intensity consistent from book to book in a series.
Elyse: This series has a very distinct sense of time and place. You write in the Georgian era around the 1730’s and 1740’s, well before the Regency. What made you want to write about this specific period in English history?
Elizabeth Hoyt: I think it’s more interesting. The time is slightly more earthy, the dresses are (in my opinion) more elegant, and the guys are wearing wigs and swords. Lots of things are happening socially and economically. London’s population is exploding, the Enlightenment is blooming, the agricultural revolution is beginning, and people are discovering real science. All the great action adventure romances in movies and books were set in this time period — Scaramouche, Captain Blood, The Scarlet Pimpernel—and my favorite as a very impressionable twelve year old—Poldark.
Elyse: My favorite Maiden Lane heroes are always the anti-heroes. When I recommend Wicked Intentions I tell people the hero was like Lucius Malfoy if he was a romance hero who was also into bondage. The Duke of Montgomery reminds me of Patrick Jane, one of my favorite TV characters. And then there’s Mickey O’Connor, an actual pirate. All of these heroes do some really dubious things, are clearly flawed, yet somehow totally work as heroes. How do you balance the anti-hero and hero out so they don’t alienate the reader? Are your heroes inspired by any historical or pop culture figures?
Elizabeth Hoyt: I think the writer has to reveal the anti-hero’s humanity to the reader to make them work. The reader has to sympathize with the character if not his actions. But I don’t worry about alienating the reader too much. I think a lot of romance writers don’t take enough risks with their villainy heroes—they’re too worried that readers won’t like the character. If a few readers don’t loathe a character, others won’t love him.
I don’t really base my characters on real or fictional figures, though I’ve certainly been inspired by them. Case in point, Lazarus’s look in Wicked Intentions was a direct result of seeing Jason Isaacs in a long, white-blond wig in the Harry Potter films, OMG.
I started thinking about a true villainous hero while watching 3:10 to Yuma with Russell Crowe. I was fascinated by his character in that movie—he’s the villain and he’s obviously either a sociopath or close to it, but he’s also the most enthralling character in the movie, with a weird sort of masculine ethos that’s almost heroic. That line of thought eventually (several years later) ended in Val in Duke of Sin. Val also owes quite a bit to Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal of Loki. 😉
Elyse: You also write really tough, resilient heroines. Lady Phoebe Batten from Dearest Rogue is blind, and determined to prove to her protector that it doesn’t hold her back at all. Temperance and her sister Silence are both faced with some really dire circumstances that they approach with remarkable grit. And Alf from Duke of Pleasure is basically Batman. Who is your favorite heroine? Who was the most fun to write?
Elizabeth Hoyt: I think Phoebe is my favorite heroine — she’s just so strong and cheerful — and it was a fun challenge to write her POV scenes without any visual descriptions. I really enjoyed writing Alf, not only because she’s a smartass but because swordfights! In a dress!
Elyse: As sad as I am to see this series end, I’m excited for what’s to come. Can you tell us what you’re working on next?
Elizabeth Hoyt: I’ve been dodging this question for the last several months—not because I didn’t have something I’ve been working on, but because I wasn’t ready to reveal anything about my new series.
But I think I’ve got enough of the first book to give you a tiny—exclusive!—peek:
Lady Freya de Moray has never had a season, never been courted. Due to the terrible scandal involving her brother, the Duke of Ayr, she’s been shunned. Now eight-and-twenty, she’s changed her name and found employment in London as a governess-cum-chaperone for two young girls. It’s unappreciated work, but she’s grown fond of her charges and made peace with her life.
Until, that is, she runs into Christopher “Kester” Renshaw, the Earl of Harlow, the man who helped ruin her brother and destroyed her life. Not only does the scoundrel not recognize Freya, he’s wearing the Ayr ring—a family heirloom taken off the finger of her brother the night he was disfigured. On the spot Freya decides to take back a little of what was snatched from her family…and steal that ring.
Elyse: Oh, like that’s going to be an easy book to wait for!
So if you’re thinking you’d like to try the Maiden Lane series, and you’re not sure where to start, Forever Publishing is making it very easy with a giveaway!
We have a complete set of all the paperback Maiden Lane novels, with signed bookplates, and a Forever romance tote bag for one lucky winner!
YES. The ENTIRE paperback series, including:
That’s a lot of books – and it’s perfect for binge reading. To enter, just leave a comment and tell us what essentials you’ll have with you for this binge-reading extravaganza!
Standard disclaimers apply: Open to US and Canadian readers. Fighting over your favorite Hoyt hero in the comments is definitely encouraged. Please acquire a chaperone for any Maiden Lane outings, and if you plan to binge read the series, make sure you have a significant amount of PTO or sick time at work! Comments will close Friday 27 October and a winner announced shortly afterward.
Good luck, and thank you to Elizabeth Hoyt and Grand Central/Forever!
Winner update: Huge congratulations to Arielle!
Thank you to everyone who commented and we hope you’re all excited about the next Hoyt book!
Tea, comfy chair, and maybe some snacks.
Oh! Coffee or wine, depending on the time, and my giant reading pillow!
Tea, a giant fluffy throw blanket, and probably a bag of chocolate caramels.
Warm, fuzzy blanket, lots of tea and coffee, and a very long weekend.
A comfy chair, a scented candle and a slice of pound cake.
Oh Em Gee! Best giveaway ever.
I like to read in the bath, so I’ll say a bath pillow, the Body Shop’s Bath Milk, and a chilled Spotify playlist.
My favourite heroes in the series are Asa and Winter Makepeace. Both hot in completely opposite ways. #UnpopularOpinion #ComeAtMe
Binge reading requires my comfy bedroom chair angled to catch some sun, a cup of tea (in a traveler mug to keep it warm for longer if I get distracted or should that be when I get distracted) and it to be a weekend so I can stay up late reading.
Pitcher of tea, something to eat, and music.
Wine, chocolate and a sleeping cat on my lap.
Lots of coffee, comfy chair, blankets and a candle burning
The fireplace going, a cozy blanket, a few cups of cocoa and chocolate cookies to eat.
jslbrown2009 at aol dot com
Tea, some cookies, and a blanket. And chocolate. Chocolate is always good!
Water, a can of wasabi peas, a snuggly pillow, and my tablet so I can leverage the power of the internet whenever I have a question about where I’ve met a character before or might encounter them again in the series.
(Whoever wins these, please come back to the thread and let me know if they include the stepback covers. I’m reading most of the series in ebook, but had to borrow a physical copy of volume 6 — Duke of Midnight — from the library and the stepback has seduced me.)
Dark chocolate and a bottle of my second favorite wine, Sweet Revenge.
All the Diet Dr. Pepper, my bright red fuzzy blanket, and all the Thai delivery I can eat.
My end of the sofa, next to an end table piled with books, my iPad on the charger, lamp switched on but with no other artificial light in the room. A big mug of hot cocoa, a grilled cheese sandwich, some jazz on the stereo (Miles Davis’s KIND OF BLUE would be perfect). If it were rainy outside and if I had no plans for the whole day, that would be even better.
Iced tea,down throw and a freshly walked dog for snuggles.
I would love to own these! I have a Kindle copy of WI on my TBR pile, but it would be so nice to have the whole series.
If I were going to hunker down for a binge reading session (which nowadays I only get to do when I’m sick) I’d have to ask my mom to take the kids for a day. Or hell, let my husband deal with them and get that hotel room like I’ve been dreaming about doing for the past eight years. After that, I’ll just need sweatpants and hot beverages to be set.
Thanks for the giveaway!
There shall be me, a recliner, comfortable pajamas, Diet Pepsi, apple cider caramel cookies, a , and a warm, snuggly comforter. More importantly , Littlebit shall be curled on my lap, purring. No reading is properly done without the addition of car purrs.
Coffee and biscotti!
Coffee or wine, a cuddly cat or dog, and a babysitter to keep the toddler occupied!
Freshly painted nails and a long stretch of uninterrupted time.
Coffee and tea is a must, with a comfortable pillow, blanket and English Cadbury bar!
Comfy spot on the sofa, cozy blanket, music in the background, water and coffee or tea, some fruit, nuts, cheese and crackers for a snack, oh and the books of course.
I love these books-this is so cool! Couch, beverage of choice, and no commitments to go to!
I will have a warm blanket, music playing, popcorn, and some tea. And my dog passed out in the corner because when I don’t move, he doesn’t move! 🙂
Lots of tea, a soft blanket and some uninterrupted time!
Tea for sure, but also a sweet snack.
Ooo! I’m crossing all my fingers. Thanks for the contest! Essentials to have on hand will definitely be chocolate [bar and hot], cozy reading nook, tea and possibly transitioning to some bourbon depending on the hour, and a roaring fire to sit by considering the time of year.
I never prepare properly for binge reading. Ideally I suppose I would have done the laundry and made a weeks worth of food and…no wait, ideally someone else would do all that stuff, and also regularly deliver me tea and cake to an extremely elegant and yet comfortable fainting couch, please.
A soft, soft blanket and warm chocolate chip cookies. And magical elves to clean up the house, which I am ardently ignoring.
Lots of water and time off work.
Thus far, I’ve read them out of order as they go on sale, so the whole series at once would be like Christmas! For a true binge read I just need a weekend with no kids (i.e. my mother-in-law to take them away!) and a freezer full of ice cream.
A delicious cup of tea. Or maybe several, to get through those books! 🙂
Ohhh, my couch, snuggly pillows and blankets, and all the warm beverages! Also, most importantly, someone needs to take my beloved kid and husband somewhere far, far away so that I can read in peace.
Coffee,coffee, dogs, blanket and snacks!
Iced tea, chips, chocolate, and a pillow.
Cat, sweatpants, latte(s), Tom Hiddleston as Loki.
Coffee, caramel M&M’s, and a quiet weekend (ha ha)
Fireplace going, my comfy chair and ottoman, large chai tea latte, a plate of various snacks, my cat, and a fleece throw nearby. Plus ALL the books.