Welcome. Please Introduce yourselves.
JAMES TULLY, EARL OF DARLINGTON NODS. A GOLD-TINGED CURL FLOPS ONTO HIS BROW. I’m James.
THE PETITE BLONDE AT HIS SIDE SMILES AND PATS HIS HAND. And I’m Helena Simpson.
JAMES FROWNS. Helena Simpson…Tully.
SHE GIGGLES. I keep forgetting.
Although I still think of you as Eloise, darling. THEY GAZE INTO EACH OTHER’S EYES UNTIL THE INTERVIEWER BECOMES A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE.
Ahem. Can you tell us a little about yourselves?
ROUSED FROM HIS REVERIE, JAMES BLINKS. Certainly. While I’m a peer of the realm, I spend a lot of time in the stables. Love a good line.
He has the finest stables in Christendom. HELENA SMILES IMPISHLY. And the most beautiful gardens.
AGAIN WITH THE MOONING.
Soooo…How did you meet? Was it love at first sight?
JAMES CHUCKLES. It was definitely lust at first sight.
HELENA WRINKLES HER NOSE. First sight? I looked a mess! You see, I’d run away from home and I was hiding in his gardener’s shed. I was wet, bedraggled—
And there was a hank of beef hanging out of her mouth. THIS, JAMES CROWS. It was adorable.
HELENA HUMPHS. I was hungry. A GRUMBLE.
Why were you running away?
Oh! HELENA ROLLS HER EYES. My guardian was forcing me into a marriage with a hideous Lord.
JAMES FROWNS AND MUTTERS UNDER HIS BREATH, Not so hideous.
Hideous! I saw him in Brighton several summers ago. He was fat and bug-eyed and had lips like a landed trout. SHE SHUDDERS. At any rate, I had to run away. And that’s how I met James. My romantic gardener.
You’re a…gardener?
JAMES COLORS. I might have pretended to be a gardener.
Why on earth would a Lord of the Realm pretend to be a gardener?
JAMES AND HELENA EXCHANGE A GLANCE, BUT DON’T ANSWER. THEIR KNOWING SMILES TELL THE TALE, THOUGH.
All right. Let’s move on. James, what is your most frustrating quality?
HELENA ANSWERS. He’s stubborn.
I most certainly am not stubborn. THIS HE SAYS WITH A STUBBORN TILT TO HIS SQUARE CHIN.
You are supremely stubborn. And demanding. And occasionally arrogant. And…dominating. FOR SOME REASON, HER VOICE SOFTENS ON THIS LAST WORD. AS DOES HER EXPRESSION. A DELICATE BLUSH RISES ON HER CHEEKS.
JAMES SNORTS. Hardly arrogant. But let’s talk about your most frustrating quality, darling.
Oh. Let’s. SHE SOUNDS DELIGHTED TO DO SO.
Okay. What is Helena’s most frustrating quality?
It’s not a quality, so much as a habit.
HELENA SNIFFS. I have no habits.
You clap your hands.
SHE BOGGLES. I clap my hands? That’s my most frustrating quality?
JAMES TURNS TO THE INTERVIEWER WITH A DARK LOOK. She claps her hands. It makes her look like a little girl. Do you know how…off-putting that can be? When a man’s in a…certain mood?
Hmm. I can only imagine.
Some men are always in a certain mood. THIS, HELENA OFFERS IN AN ASIDE.
JAMES ADJUSTS HIS CRAVAT. I’ve never heard a complaint about that.
AGAIN, THEIR EYES MEET. WICKED SMILES BLOSSOM.
So.
THE INTERVIEWER MUST INTERJECT.
What is her best quality then?
JAMES GAZES AT HELENA FOR A LONG LONG WHILE BEFORE HE RESPONDS. Everything.
Everything?
Everything. Her face, her voice, certainly her body.
HELENA WRINKLES HER NOSE. I’m tiny.
I love that you’re tiny. I love everything about you, darling.
And I love you.
A QUICK KISS. THEN A LONG ONE. YEAH. A REALLY LONG ONE. THE INTERVIEWER GLANCES AT HER WATCH.
So Helena, what is your favorite thing about James?
SHE DOES NOT HESITATE. His palm. A WHISPER.
WHILE THE INTERVIEWER IS PERPLEXED BY THIS ANSWER, JAMES SEEMS TO UNDERSTAND COMPLETLEY. A DEFINITIVE FIRE BLAZES IN HIS EYE AND HE SHIFTS, AS THOUGH HIS POSITION HAS SUDDENLY BECOME UNCOMFORTABLE.
Hookay… Next question.
THE INTERVIEWER CONSULTS HER LIST.
If you could have one wish come true, what would it be and why?
JAMES STANDS AND GRABS HELENA BY THE HAND. I wish this interview was over. My wife and I need to have…a chat.
HELENA GASPS. TREMBLES VISIBLY. Now, James?
Now, Helena. Right now.
HIS EXPRESSION IS ADAMANT, AND ARROGANT AND DOMINANT AS HELL. SHE DOES NOT DEMUR. WHAT WOMAN WOULD?
AND WHILE HE IS CLEARLY IN A HURRY TO WHISK HIS WIFE AWAY, HE TAKES THE TIME TO BOW OVER MY HAND AND THANK ME FOR THE LOVELY VISIT, AS A TRUE GENTLEMAN WOULD.
AND, AS THEY DISSAPEAR IN A FLURRY OF CRINOLINE AND LACE, I HAVE TO ADMIT…I’M A LITTLE JEALOUS OF HELENA.
***
Welcome Sabrina York, Your Royal Hotness. Tell us a little about yourself!
Hello all! Thanks for having me Leta! Well, I’m an award-winning erotic author and while I’ve only been around for a while—my first book came out last April—I’m delighted to report I now have a dozen titles available or coming soon. They range from novels to novellas to short stories—everything from contemporary erotic romance to BDSM to erotic horror.
Yeah. I know. Horror? That one took me by surprise, but writing happens that way sometimes. I can build the characters and the bones of the plot, but the story has its own ideas.
Of course, my passion is for romance so I focus on that. The steamier, the better. And because I am a snarky minx, you might chuckle once in a while.
From your back catalog, do you have a secret favorite? If so which book and why?
My absolute favorite—and I know we’re not supposed to have them!—is Folly. I cut my teeth reading Regency romances as a girl and so it was a real joy to try my hand. Folly was so much fun to write and I fell in love with the characters.
When I finished the manuscript, I was so into that world, James and Helena’s story just flowed right out. And when I finished that one…Edward and Violet came to visit. They nagged me for weeks to write their stories. If all goes well, there will be at least four books in this series and maybe more.
All thanks to Sabrina York’s Folly!
What’s the coolest factoid that you discovered while doing research for this book?
Funny you should ask. I’ve read so many historical romances in my life, I thought I knew everything there was to know about the Regency period. Well, as they say, that’s what you get for thinking!
When Folly went to final line edits the word came back: Silly rabbit, the Tantalus (the ubiquitous feature in every Regency I’ve ever read, where the Lord of the Manor keeps his liquor locked up so the servants cannot snitch it) wasn’t invented until much later.
Another blow to my sexy plots…apparently women didn’t wear pantaloons in the Regency period. Those came along during the much stricter Victorian era. I had to rewrite several key scenes on that revelation.
Trust me, it pays to know your History of Underwear. Especially if you’re writing erotic romance.
Well, I hope I’ve piqued your interest! Dark Fancy is available on Amazon and at Ellora’s Cave and everywhere-books are sold.
About Sabrina York
Sabrina is an award winning author of erotic romance with over a dozen titles available, ranging from sweet & sexy erotic romance to BDSM to erotic horror. Connect with her on twitter @sabrina_york or Facebook.
Check out Sabrina’s books and read an excerpt on her webpage (www.sabrinayork.com) or explore on Amazon or at Ellora’s Cave.
- Adam’s Obsession: Contemporary Erotic Romance
- Extreme Couponing: Contemporary BDSM
- Folly: Erotic Regency
- Pushing Her Buttons: Contemporary BDSM
- Rising Green: Steamy Erotic horror
- Training Tess: Contemporary BDSM
- Trickery: Magical Domination
- Tristan’s Temptation: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Win a Tiara From Her Royal Hotness!
Enter to win a gorgeous tiara by signing up for Sabrina York’s Royal Hotsheet (new book and contest info only–no spam! Your e-mail address will not be shared). If you’re already getting the newsletter, don’t fret. You’re already in the drawing. Send an email with “Enter Me” in the subject line (this is erotica, after all) to sabrina@sabrinayork.com. The drawing will be March 31, 2013.
One entry per person.
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