Contest and Guest Author Post with SINS OF A VIRGIN'S Avon Book Author Anna Randol

Mother Knows Best by Anna Randol

Hello and Happy Halloween, lovely Romantic Crush Junkies!

The hero in my novel, Sins of a Virgin, has gotten more than his fair share of time in the scandal sheets the past few weeks. Gabriel Huntford not only caught a notorious murderer, he married London’s most scandalous courtesan.  

But let’s face it, if I invited Gabriel here, we probably wouldn’t get any useful information out of him. You know, Gabriel--dark, dedicated, and driven. Not precisely the type of man to spill his darkest secrets, so I invited someone far better…his mother, Beatrice Huntford!

(Beatrice enters. She has dark curly hair and a smile so merry I can’t resist grinning too.)

Beatrice: I hear you want to talk about Gabriel. Well, there’s nothing I like better.

Anna: (motions for her to sit) Indeed, and the real scoop. Not just the watered down version we get from the papers. We want to know the man behind the stoic façade.

Beatrice: Well, then ask away.

Anna: (debates the proper way to serve the tea. Is there a proper way? Don’t you just pour it in the cup?) Colored waistcoats or neutrals?

Beatrice: (takes pity and pours the tea without spilling a drop) Neutrals, only. Gabriel claims colors show the grime of London too easily. And I have to agree with him. Every time I see him he’s covered in some unmentionable thing from his altercations with criminals. He’s a Bow Street Runner, you know.

Anna: One of the most respected ones from what I hear. But if he were to embrace his more nefarious side, what treat would he pilfer from the kitchen?

Beatrice: (sips her tea and frowns as she thinks) He’s shown a strange love for almond biscuits recently…

Anna: (feels inspired to take a biscuit off the tray. Or two...or three.) If Gabriel could take one thing to a deserted island, what would it be?

Beatrice: Does his wife, Madeline, count?

Anna: Definitely. Which brings me to my next question—Some people are calling his marriage to Madeline a love match. True?

Beatrice: Absolutely, thank heavens. I’d nearly given up on that boy ever looking past catching criminals. For such a long time nothing else mattered. Until Madeline came along, that is.

Anna:  And is it true you actually let London’s most scandalous courtesan into your house?

Beatrice:  (smiles) I did, indeed, have her in my house. And I found her so charming I invited her back for tea.

Anna: But don’t you teach deportment and manners? (hurries and lifts pinkie finger off of teacup and brushes biscuit crumbs off lap)

Beatrice: Precisely. I hope all my students will treat everyone with kindness and acceptance. Madeline, for instance, isn’t who she appears to be on the surface, and I suspect a very difficult life led her where she is today. I found her to be smart, charming, and just what Gabriel needs.

Anna: What is it you think Gabriel needs?

Beatrice: A woman who will give him a swift kick in the trousers occasionally. A woman who’s clever enough to be his equal. One who isn’t squeamish about him coming home at three in the morning with blood on his clothes.

Anna: Blood? (sets down tea ) Umm…(struggles to find a question that will allow her to eat her last biscuit) What is your favorite story about Gabriel when he was young?

Beatrice: Once when he was about seven, he and his twin sister wanted a puppy for their birthday. I’d arranged to get a puppy from a friend but Gabriel happened to find the filthiest, scruffiest mongrel outside out home one day. He begged and cajoled to be able to keep it—his sister, not me. The puppy would have been a fluffy little lapdog. And this dog was some mix of wolfhound and spaniel, not a pleasing combination. But he eventually was able to convince her to accept this mutt as her present. She did have her revenge though. She insisted they name him Sir Fluffy.

So readers, do you have a question for Beatrice? I think I could convince her to stay around for a few more…

One lucky commenter will receive a copy of Sins of a Virgin. Must be 18 or over. Void where prohibited.

Blurb:
There is improper, there is scandalous… and then there is Madeline Valdan.

To the world, Madeline Valdan is a scandalous courtesan, with society's most eligible gentlemen at her feet. But no one knows her shocking secret: she has never experienced the most intimate touch of any man. So she astonishes the ton by telling them the truth . . . and by announcing the auction of her virginity to the highest bidder.

Handsome and disciplined, Gabriel Huntford knows his time is best spent hunting down criminals from the darkest corners of London. As a Bow Street Runner investigating his sister's death, he has no desire to join London's strutting peacocks in this competition when there are more important tasks at hand.

Now, his quest leads him to one of Madeline's "suitors," so he agrees to help this sinful woman. But what begins as a business arrangement quickly turns into something more . . . and love blooms with a passion neither one expected. Show More

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Bio: Anna Randol writes sultry, adventurous Regency romances for Avon. RT Book Reviews gave her new novel, Sins of a Virgin, four and a half stars and called it, “Smart, sassy, sexy, original and tinged with mystery…” When she’s not plotting wild storylines, Anna’s usually eating dark chocolate, having wild dance parties with her kids in the living room, or remodeling her house one ill-planned project at a time. Learn more at
Anna Randols website.

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