Author Interview: Grace Burrowes and The Virtuoso giveaway

Today I have Grace Burrowes over for an interview, and you have the chance to win her new book The Virtuoso.

1. Tell me 3 interesting facts about yourself….

GB: I have kissed the Blarney Stone; I spent a wonderful week last spring in Scotland writing on grounds at Balmoral Castle; I have a three-legged cat named Caspar. 

2. You have 2 new books out;  Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish and The Virtuoso. Could you tell me about these two?

GB: I was a debut author with Sourcebooks last fall, looking forward to the publication of my first book, The Heir, when my editor offered me the opportunity to write a Christmas romance. We decided to develop a story for Sophie, another sibling in the Windham family (to which my first three heroes belong). Sophie’s story is hitting the shelves at the same time as the third brother’s story, The Virtuoso. In that book, Lord Valentine Windham, known far and wide for his skill at the piano, has to learn how to live and love when that skill is taken from him. 

3. With Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish you are starting a new subseries within the Windham books. Can you tell me anything about the books yet to come?

GB: The Duke of Moreland, in addition to having three extant sons, has five lovely unmarried daughters. When I signed my contract with Sourcebooks, the sisters’ stories weren’t written—I had other manuscripts ready to meet my contract obligations. Lady Sophie’s book was great fun to write, so we decided to continue with the four remaining sisters stories in 2012 and 2013. 

4. I liked Val from the moment I read about him. What was your inspiration behind him?

GB: I have a degree in music history and piano was my instrument. I was by no means a virtuoso, but I saw many skilled musicians who were pouring their lives, their souls, their entire beings into their art. I also saw what happened when their art failed them or demanded too much, and it wasn’t pretty. 

Then too, I am the sixth out of seven children. In large families, there’s a paradoxically greater privacy for each sibling—Mom and Dad can’t micro-manage each child—but also a threat of getting lost in the crowd. Valentine solved the part about not being micro-managed a little too well by committing so intensely to his music.

5. Is it hard writing a series about siblings? How do you keep track of everyone?

GB: Because I grew up in a large family, I think the more difficult challenge for me would be to write the story of an only child—though, ironically, I am a single parent to one child, which is as small as a family can get. It is difficult to keep track of some details—which aftershave scent does the Earl of Westhaven favor? Does Lord Valentine ride a bay or a chestnut, and what is that horse’s favorite treat? Readers catch the smallest slips, and I hate to disappoint a reader like that. 

6. We all love heroes, so tell my readers why they will fall for Lady Sophie’s hero…

GB: Vim Charpentier is the only romance hero I’ve met who captures a lady’s heart (in part!) by showing her how to change a dirty nappy. He loves babies, he cannot leave a damsel to her distress no matter the inconvenience to him, and he knows exactly what to do when faced with a lady lingering under a sprig of mistletoe. 

7. And last, do you do a lot of research for your books?

GB: I can never do enough research for my books! When I’m done writing for the day—which task I enjoy tremendously—I go off frolicking on the internet. When was the door knob invented? The sulfur match? When was whiskey first exported from Scotland commercially? When were the first corsets available that laced up the front? So many wonderful questions and so little time! I’ve also taking to traveling in the UK, and that is habit forming.

Thank you :D

GIVEAWAY

2 copies 2 winners The Virtuoso

1.Open to US and Canada

2, Ends December 11

3. Go ahead and enter :)

Or if you want to write more, then tell me what you want for Xmas.

The Virtuoso by Grace Burrowes – In Stores November 2011

A genius with a terrible loss…

Gifted pianist Valentine Windham, youngest son of the Duke of Moreland, has little interest in his father’s obsession to see his sons married, and instead pours passion into his music. But when Val loses his music, he flees to the country, alone and tormented by what has been robbed from him.

A widow with a heartbreaking secret…

Grieving Ellen Markham has hidden herself away, looking for safety in solitude. Her curious new neighbor offers a kindred lonely soul whose desperation is matched only by his desire, but Ellen’s devastating secret could be the one thing that destroys them both.

Together they’ll find there’s no rescue from the past, but sometimes losing everything can help you find what you need most.

Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish by Grace Burrowes – In Stores NOW!

A luminous holiday tale of romance, passion, and dreams come true from rising star Grace Burrowes, whose award-winning Regency romances are capturing hearts worldwide.

All she wants is peace and anonymity…

Lady Sophie Windham has maneuvered a few days to herself at the ducal mansion in London before she must join her family for Christmas in Kent. Suddenly trapped by a London snowstorm, she finds herself with an abandoned baby and only the assistance of a kind, handsome stranger standing between her and complete disaster.

But Sophie’s holiday is about to heat up…

With his estate in ruins, Vim Charpentier sees little to feel festive about this Christmas. His growing attraction for Sophie Windham is the only thing that warms his spirits—but when Sophie’s brothers whisk her away, Vim’s most painful holiday memories are reawakened.

It seems Sophie’s been keeping secrets, and now it will take much more than a mistletoe kiss to make her deepest wishes come true…

About the Author 

Grace Burrowes is the pen name for an award-winning author of historical romances. The Heir, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and was selected as a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year for 2010. Both The Heir and its follow-up, The Solider, are New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. She is a practicing attorney specializing in family law and lives in a restored log cabin in western Maryland without a TV, DVD or radio because she's too busy working on her next books. For more information, please visit http://www.graceburrowes.com/.