The Accidental Courtesan in the Lair!

Hosted by Donna MacMeans

Today we're welcoming the return of Cheryl Ann Smith to tell us about her new release, The Accidental Courtesan (Don't you love that cover?) Romantic Times gives a thumbs up to the book's "dash of humor, plenty of sensuality and a fast pace." Without further ado, here's Cheryl Ann -

Thanks so much to Romance Bandits and Donna for having me here! I had so much fun on my last visit that I’m thrilled to come back to talk about courtesans and to give away prizes!

Several years ago, I decided to write a book about a courtesan school. My heroine would rescue courtesans from that life and match them with suitors. In order to make the storyline realistic, I needed to find out if courtesans actually did marry. Thankfully, it was quite common, giving my story credibility.

Many of the women who became courtesans did so to escape poverty. Some turned to the profession to gain power, and some just enjoyed the notoriety it afforded them. Oddly, it appears that men did not find a woman’s scandalous past (or in some cases, present and future) as a mistress or courtesan a deterrent to marriage. Some husbands used their wives' extra-marital relationships with nobility to gain favor in court.

Jeanne Becu was the illegitimate daughter of a seamstress. She became a prostitute in her teens, though she had several professions, including milliner’s assistant. At the time, only titled women could be a royal mistress and she seemed to like the idea of becoming one. So, she married Comte Guillaume du Barry and was soon a mistress to Louis XV. Sadly, some years after Louis XV died, she was accused of treason the beheaded. France sure liked their guillotine!

Virginia Oldoini wasn’t born poor. She married at 17 and became the Countess of Castiglione. A cousin involved her in politics, where she met, and became the mistress of, Napoleon III. This (surprisingly) upset her husband and they separated. But she did not slip into obscurity. Instead, her beauty captured the attention of photographers, Mayer and Pierson. They documented her life in photographs, earning her a legacy that carried on long after her death.

Marie-Louis O’Murphy posed for a nude painting as a young teen. It came to the attention of Louis XV. She became one of his mistresses

and bore him a child. When she attempted to replace Madame de Pompadour as his favored mistress, she was booted from favor and married off. She went on to live an interesting life, including marrying and divorcing a second husband (the first died) who was twenty-eight years her junior.

Needless to say, the research into this topic was very interesting! Though my books have yet to feature an actual courtesan heroine, I wondered if readers would accept a fallen woman as a heroine, or would her past be too hard to overcome?

The Accidental Courtesan has been released this week (Oct 4th), the same week as my birthday (Oct 7^th), so I’m having a party! Berkley is giving away a two book set of my books to a Romance Bandits commenter today. Just give me your opinion of a fallen woman as a heroine.

Donna here - Speaking of prizes, I just wanted to remind everyone of the mad party of tricks and treats and prizes beginning on October 14th in the lair. Later this month a BIG Bandita Surprise will be announced with even more prizes, but you MUST be here on the 14th for details!

Cheryl's Birthday Bash continues on at her blog and she's giving the gifts! For details about a chance at a birthday kindle, visit www.cherylannsmith.com

BANDITA BOOTY!!!!!!!!

And the WINNERS are:

For a copy of Jules Bennett's HER INNOCENCE, HIS CONQUEST

DEB!!!!!!

Please go to http://Julesbennett.com and leave your contact information.

For a copy of Cheryl Ann Smith's SCHOOL FOR BRIDES, the winners are

JANE and CLAUDIGC

Please go to www.Cherylannsmith.com and send Cheryl your contact information.

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE! Thanks for stopping by.

Debut Author, Cheryl Ann Smith, in the Lair!

hosted by Donna MacMeans

Join me in welcoming debut author Cheryl Ann Smith to the lair! It's so exciting watching a dream become a reality. Cheryl's first book is garnering rave reviews including this one from RT Bookreviews: "Debut author Smith makes a dazzling entrance to the romance community with a charming, sexy,

innovative tale that sparks the imagination. There's a bright future ahead of Smith, who has readers eagerly awaiting the next installment of her spinster ladies series."

Welcome Cheryl!

I didn’t set out to write about courtesans. I wrote about cowboys and earls and even an animal rescuer; all sorts of things. Though I loved historical romance, I often jumped betwee

n historical and contemporary writing.

As writers know, story ideas come from everywhere. For example, I’d read a blog about someone interesting, look them up, and end up spending hours on Wikipedia checking out other people mentioned in their biographies. I had to know who those people were, too! It’s such a time waster. Or so I thought!

It was through my endless curiosity that I learned about famous courtesans; married courtesans. I didn’t realize that some of these women actually gave up that life and settled down. I was dying to know more about these romances, but there was very little information to go by. Where were the interesting stories behind these relationships? How did they get together? Why would a man marry a courtesan? Did a former courtesan make a

good wife? Nothing. So I decided to make up my own story to fill in the blanks. THE SCHOOL FOR BRIDES was conceived from those questions.

The partial for this book got me my wonderful agent. She’d passed on another project but encouraged me to submit to her again. I sent her a partial for thi

s book that same day and she called and offered representation seven hours later. Kevan sent the book out on submission right before the 2009 RWA conference in D.C., and the waiting began. I’d hoped to get my first sale ribbon at conference that year, but there wasn’t time. However, three days after returning home, I got “the call” for a two-book deal with Berkley!
There was crying and jumping up and down, and then…well not much. After the sale, there would be almost two years between that call and my publication date. Sometimes the moment when I became a published author didn’t seem real. Though I was writing my second book, the Accidental Courtesan, things were otherwise pretty quiet. Of course the quiet didn’t last! These last few months have been crazy. Promo, covers, blogs, reviews; it’s all been pretty

overwhelming at times. But fun too! And now a third book is in the works for the “Brides” series. I know the wait will be worth it when and I can walk into a bookstore and see what seventeen years of hard work, lots of unsold manuscripts under my bed, and sheer stubborn determination can finally make happen!

THE SCHOOL FOR BRIDES is about the daughter of a former courtesan who dons a dour disguise, rescues courtesans from sexual servitude, and matches them with husbands. She angers the duke when she rescues his mistress and marries her off. The excerpt is from their second encounter when the duke has decided how Eva will compensate him for his loss by buying up her debts and striking a scandalous bargain. Until now, he’s been toying with her to get a reaction. As you’ll see from the excerpt, Nicholas starts the book out as, well, a jerk. In this moment, their relationship changes when he begins to

see Eva as a woman and not just a stuffy spinster.
I do love my dark duke!

“If you are unwilling to hand over a courtesan, I see no other option than for you to take Arabella’s place.” Her stubbornness reminded him of just how much he disdained everything about her, her delightful neck-hell, her mouth too- aside. He twisted his lips downward. “Though I fear you will be lacking in all areas of lovemaking, I will be happy to teach you how to please a man.”
Her slap jerked his head sideways.
“You are a horrible and disgusting man,” she ground out between gritted teeth. “I would rather lay down with swine.”
He worked his jaw and shot out a hand to grab her arm as she stomped past him. Spinning her about, he pulled her against his chest and locked her into his embrace.
The softness of her lush body took him aback. She was not as thin as he’d suspected. She possessed a few fine curves after all. However, it didn’t matter. She was Miss Black all the same.
Eva struggled. Fire flicked through her eyes.
“You have a choice,” he growled. "Accept my offer or hand over one of your courtesans. I’ll have your answer at the end of the week, or I will have you turned out.”
Eva pushed against him, and his hold on her waist slackened. She tried to step back but he slid a hand behind her neck and pulled her face up to his. She looked terrified, yet was there something, else? With each breath her modest breasts pressed against his chest and her heart beat erratically, hard enough that he could almost hear the beats. But it was her lips, pink and tipped up slightly at the corners and parted with her quivering breaths, that drew his full attention.
Without warning, he slammed his mouth over hers and kissed her, hard.

As you can see, I enjoy books with an arrogant hero that has to grow a lot to earn the love of the heroine. Who are your favorite hero and heroine (in books or movies) and what made their relationship so appealing to you? Cheryl is awarding a copy of THE SCHOOL FOR BRIDES to two lucky commentors on today's blog. So let's get this party started!