I went to the beach last week and A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh insisted on coming along with me! I believe the book looked more at home among the dunes at Grayton Beach and author, Carolyn Miller, agreed with me.
Today Carolyn is visiting Becky's Bookshelves to answer some questions about her fabulous new book A Hero for Miss Hatheleigh which releases next Tuesday March 19. I hope you enjoy Carolyn's visit.
Please tell me about your latest release?
A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh is the first book in my new series Regency Brides: The Daughters of Aynsley. It examines the challenges of social obligations versus family duty, and particularly centers on a fossil hunting scientist and the adventures he and Caroline Hatherleigh experience on England’s south coast. I was partly inspired for this by the tongue twister “she sells seashells by the seashore” which is reputed to be about Mary Anning, a poor woman from Lyme Regis who went on to discover a number of England’s most important fossils on the 1800s. Research into her life and work convinced me that this would prove a really interesting part of history – on a coastline renowned for smugglers, too!
You have a stunning cover. Tell me about how that came to be?
For this new series we wanted a slightly different look to the previous books, and I really liked the covers of Kristi Ann Hunter’s new series, so I asked if we could go in that direction. One of my beta readers (and best friends) Jacqueline Goelst suggested that it would be wonderful to have a cover with the heroine in a blue dress looking out to sea, so the designers at Kregel were very good at implementing this for me. The reddish cliffs are of the coastline near Sidmouth, so it’s great to see how this has come together. And it’s so encouraging to hear so many positive comments about how pretty this cover is!
What research did you do for the book?
Oh, I had to do quite a lot! My sons have been interested in dinosaurs, so it felt quite strange to be the person checking books out from the library about fossils and dinosaur hunters! ☺ I had to delve into geology as well, and it was funny studying up on things I’ve not thought about since high school science.
In addition to the scientific elements, I also looked into the history of the town where this is based, and was very excited (and blessed!) to come across a guide on the internet called The Beauties of Sidmouth Displayed, which scores its own little mention in the novel. It’s fascinating to see how such old towns and villages have changed over time.
Who do you imagine as the characters?
Good question! I’m not as good as some people are with these. Let’s see… for those of you who have seen the Victoria TV series, then the actor who plays the handsome Edward Drummond character might fit Gideon Kirby. As for who might play Caroline Hatherleigh, maybe a blue-eyed version of Lily James, but with chestnut curls?
(Here is Caroline's Pinterest board for the book)
What made you choose the setting of Devonshire?
Devonshire was a part of England I hadn’t really used in previous books, and although I’d referenced the seaside in The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey, that was at the tame and urban Brighton. The cliffs and beaches along Dorset and the south east of Devonshire are far more wild, and so have a lot more potential for drama (like smugglers! And cave ins!). And obviously with a fossil hunting scientist involved, it needed to be somewhere near where the fossils are. I didn’t want to pick Lyme Regis (which is where part of Jane Austen’s Persuasion is set), so I chose a location not too far away which was still near enough for a man of science to search for clues to the past.
A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh is the first in the Regency Brides: The Daughters of Aynsley series. Can you tell us more about the other books in this series?
Sure! Caroline Hatherleigh is the eldest daughter of the very rich Viscount Aynsley, and each book in the series tells the story of one of the sisters.
Underestimating Miss Cecilia releases July 23, and shows how shy, sweet middle sister Cecilia learns to overcome other people expectations and her own - as well as the challenges of unrequited love.
The third book in the series is
Misleading Miss Verity, releasing November 19, which shows the youngest tomboyish sister’s adventures that take place in Scotland, including the restoration of a castle’s lost garden. If you like a feisty heroine, you’ll probably love Verity!
Thank you Caroline for stopping by and answering our questions! So excited for A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh and the other books in the series. You can still get the pre-release price here on Amazon.
Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. Together with her husband she has pastored a church for ten years, and worked as a public high school English and Learning and Support teacher.
A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s Regency era, Carolyn holds a BA in English Literature, and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. Her Regency novels include
The Elusive Miss Ellison, The Captivating Lady Charlotte, The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey, Winning Miss Winthrop,
Miss Serena's Secret,
The Making of Mrs. Hale, and
A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh, all available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Koorong, etc
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