Author Interview and Giveaway: Margaret Kaine

Today I welcome author Margaret Kaine to my blog and there is a giveaway the end of her new book :)

Welcome!

1. Tell me about yourself.

I had to wait a long time to achieve my dream of becoming a writer, only putting ‘pen to paper’, once my children had left home. Then after joining a writers’ workshop, my short stories were published widely in women’s magazines in the UK, Australia, Norway, South Africa and Ireland. Feeling more confident to attempt a mainstream novel, I wrote Ring of Clay which won the Romantic Novelists’ New Writer’s Award, and also the Society of Authors’ Sagittarius prize - at that time sponsored by Terry Pratchett, who I was lucky enough to meet. I have now written seven romantic regional novels set in the Potteries (Staffordshire), where I was born and grew up. 

2. Your new book is called Dangerous Decisions. Tell me about the book too :) 

Dangerous Decisions is completely different from anything I’ve previously written. Set against a cosmopolitan background and in the Edwardian era, it tells the story of Helena, a young and sheltered debutante who is courted by the wealthy, handsome and enigmatic Oliver Faraday. Despite a sense of unease and being haunted by the image of an attractive young doctor, she mistakes infatuation for love and accepts Oliver’s proposal. But he is deeply flawed and I would describe Dangerous Decisions as both romantic and full of suspense. 

3. What inspired you to write this book?

I’ve always been fascinated by the Edwardian era and used to love the TV series Upstairs/Downstairs. The beautiful clothes, the pampered life of the aristocracy, the widespread poverty and drudgery of the working classes, the servant culture, all drew me like a magnet. And I was half-way through the book when Downton Abbey hit the TV screens. Naturally, I’m hoping that its fans will enjoy reading my own Dangerous Decisions.

4. Why is Helena and Nicholas the couple of the season? 

Theirs is an instant and bewildering attraction that defies class barriers. It seems unbelievable nowadays but being a member of the medical profession, Nicholas would have been regarded as being of an inferior class - certainly not acceptable in Edwardian society. And their love, being secret and honourable, had a special poignancy.

5. What is coming next from you?

Having enjoyed so much my research, I’m writing another novel set in the same era. I don’t have a title yet - I nearly always have to wait until the last chapter to hit on the right one. The opening chapter begins within the harsh conditions of a workhouse - I write organically but already am intrigued by the mystery developing. And of course there are scenes of wealth and privilege where to spend one’s days - if only in the mind - is a joy. 

Thanks!

GIVEAWAY

1 copy of Dangerous Decisions

1- Open to everyone in the world

2. Ends Dec 21st

3. Just enter :)

And be free to ask questions if you want

Review: Dangerous Decisions - Margaret Kaine

Helena Standish knows that a good marriage will complete her father's social standing, but she s her papa's daughter and not about to accept any fool. Marriage to the handsome and charming Oliver Faraday appears to offer a perfect match, so what cause does she have for misgivings?

Dr. Nicholas Carstairs has scant patience with frivolous pleasure-seekers and an upper class that closes ranks against outsiders. Why then is he haunted by the lovely girl in the window, someone entirely beyond his reach?

A champagne celebration at Broadway Manor marks the start of a happy future for Helena, but what no one can predict are the consequences of her decision or the appalling danger it will bring.

My thoughts:

This is not a romance, this is romantic fiction and cos of that there is a long way to Helen's HEA.

She is a nice young woman, and when a nice man courts her she does think he seems ok. But there is something about Oliver that gave me chills from the start. But they marry and we see their married life, the happy and unhappy parts.

There is also someone else in the shadows, a doctor called Nicholas. Oh she should have chosen him but how could she as they were not the same class and therefore never really introduced. There were just glances. Those were the days. The whole social issue is shown throughout the book, we get the whole downstairs upstairs thing and comments about social issues at the time.

Now do not think it's an unhappy book. No there is romance at first and then a bit of dangerous things happening too. I liked it as it felt more real. She did not have time to think over things and therefore chose rather quickly. He was a respectable nice man. It was a step up for her. But that does not always mean happiness.

Conclusion:

A good book that even had a bit of suspense at the end.

Would i read more?

yes

Cover

ok

Paperback, 400 pages
Expected publication: December 7th 2013 by Choc Lit
Historical romantic fiction
For review