Cathy Maxwell, whose national bestseller, The Seduction of Scandal, was published in September as part of Avon Books’ K.I.S.S. and Teal campaign marking National Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, has set all of her novels during the Regency period, including one of readers’ favorites, 1999’s BECAUSE OF YOU. The novel has just been republished in paperback with new art and updated author information and is ready to be discovered—and rediscovered—in stores and online.
In BECAUSE OF YOU, Cathy calls upon well-loved traditions of historical romance, bringing readers a vicar’s daughter, a disinherited rakehell son of a duke and a forced marriage in the story of Samantha Northrup, a young woman alone in the world. After her father’s death, Samantha leads a simple, orderly life in the Village of Sproule. A seductive stranger arrives at her door one stormy night and, suddenly, her world is turned upside down. Discovered in a compromising position, she is forced to marry Lord Yale, a man she barely knows, who has returned to England after being banished by his father. Married to an outcast of society, Samantha must abandon the life she’s known for a loveless marriage and a husband who may never be able to change his ways.
ABOUT Cathy Maxwell:
Born in Olathe, Kansas, Cathy Maxwell’s family roots go back to the Mayflower and the Revolutionary War. She has long called Virginia home, noting she is “a Virginian by choice, but a Kansan by nature.” She worked in television news as a broadcaster before spending six years in the Navy. She attended Air Force intelligence school, worked in the Pentagon and did a tour with Naval Intelligence.
Cathy began her writing career in 1991 while her children were still small. “It wasn’t easy,” she says. “I worked full time, my husband travelled, we had three kids, I volunteered and I was writing from four until seven every morning.” Now, twenty years later, she is the author of seventeen national bestsellers and her novels appear regularly on The New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. A rarity in the book world, Cathy has published every one of her novels with the same publisher, Harper Collins/Avon Books.
Please give a warm welcome to Cathy Maxwell for a Q and A.
Do you remember the first Regency historical you read? What was it?
Faro’s Daughter by Georgette Heyer. I was hooked. Heyer is still one of my favorite writers.
Do you have favorite historical literary devices (forced marriage, heroine posing as boy...? What are they? Can you link any of them to novels you have written?
I use the marriage of convenience quite often. First, a book doesn’t have the time to go through a whole courtship, but also how many of us truly “know” the person we marry? You can date someone for years, even live with that person—and discover you don’t know each other at all once you marry. I haven’t figured out why, but marriage really does change everything. Sometimes it is perspective, sometimes expectations. All I know is that after I married, I started cooking casseroles—something I’d never done before marriage!
What do you most want readers to take away from BECAUSE OF YOU?
BECAUSE OF YOU is my take of the Prodigal Son. The Biblical Son was lucky his father was alive when he returned. Yale was not so fortunate. I marvel at how easily we assume others will be there for when we need them. The truth is, we only pass this way once and must treat each day as unique. There is no time for grudges or misunderstandings. What Yale must learn over the course of the book is to forgive himself for not reconciling with his father.
Besides all being Regency era historicals, are there aspects of your books that repeat themselves? Besides, of course, strong relationships, great dialogue and a happy ending.
My female characters share a common trait—they are not happy with their lives and they realize if there is to be change, it is up to them. I believe each of us has the power to make our lives better if we are willing to toss expectations to the wind and seize living with everything we have.
What kind of research do you do for your novels? I have a super research library that I rely on and that I delve into again and again. However, the point of a romance is not the history. It’s the dynamic between two people who are falling in love—and that has never changed whether we are talking about ancient Rome or light years into the future.
All the talk about ebooks and the end of the mass market paperback makes it hard to know what to expect to happen within the romance genre. What do you think?
I think romance is in a heyday. So many choices. So many wonderful reads. And with many authors releasing their backlist titles as ebooks, there’s even more opportunity to enjoy favorite writers.
What are you working on? I’m working on a trilogy involving an ancient curse and the family it is determined to destroy.
Can you tell us what we should look for from you in stores in 2012?
The first book of the trilogy LYON’S BRIDE will be out in May. The second book in November. I’m so excited about these characters and their stories. Also, Avon Books will re-release one of my classics, When Dreams Come True on March 27. Please check in at www.cathymaxwell.com for updates.
Please recommend a few books for my winter reading list?
Grab a copy of Princess Charming by Nicole Jordan. Wonderful read! It will be out February 2012. You can’t go wrong with a book by any of my fellow Avon authors. I did break down and buy The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan that has been on the bestseller lists for so long. It’s an e-book and a good read.
How will you be celebrating this Thanksgiving?
Cooking and writing! Two of my children, the Coast Guard officer and her husband, and my son the college student, will be here along with their friends. Should be a grand time and exactly the sort of day Thanksgiving was meant to be.
Thanks to Debby Tobias of Joan Schulhafer Publishing & Media and Cathy Maxwell, I am giving away one copy of Because of You.
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