Interview with Sandra Masters
Susana: Why did you decide to write Regency romance?
Sandra: I was an only child whose parents both worked. Before and after school, I was alone, and the only reading materials my parents had was the book Heidi and The Encyclopedia Britannica. You can imagine that the Encyclopedia was dry reading. History intrigued me, particularly the historical period of the Regency era. At the age of thirteen, after a brief stint in a convent in New Jersey, I accepted that the life of a novice nun was not my calling. Interestingly, when I arrived there in Morristown, the convent was an old historical mansion with parquet floors and grand staircases, not mention a soaring ceiling, usually found in Regency mansions.
Visions of dukes, duchesses, viscounts, earls, danced in my head. So I kept on writing. I sometimes think that in another life, I was born during the Regency period. I’ve never created a duke I couldn’t love.
Online classes, seminars, conferencing, monthly meetings, networking, etc. over the past five years made me realize I had to study the craft. Decades later, when I decided that to see my name in print was a goal before I left the planet, I broke through the ceiling. My debut novel was Once Upon a Duke, released July 14, 2015. I’ve been on a marvelous journey ever since, with my fourth book in The Duke Series whose release date is November 4, 2016, The Duke’s Magnificent Bastard.
Susana: When do you write?
Sandra: Writing to me is not a pastime or a way to make money, it is an obsession. I write twelve to thirteen hours a day, every day, and then I read in the wee time of a morning, which doesn’t leave too much time to clean the house. The dust puppies will always be there.
Susana: What is the genre of your new story The Duke’s Magnificent Bastard?
Sandra: This novel is a multi-cultural Regency romance story of a seventeen-year-old Anglo-West Indian bastard, Thorn Wick, now acknowledged by his father, The Duke of Althorn, who was never made aware of his birth. Our hero admires the ward of his father from afar, an aristocratic flirtatious English lady, Alicia, who has designs on him until the reality of loving Thorn too much almost destroys her. Throw in our noble Duke, an evil witch doctor, a Barbados tribal chieftain intent on redemption, horse racing for the Regent, amazing “heavenly” Argamak Turkmen horses, a conspiracy to bring down the monarchy, and our plot thickens. Lust, desire, passion all conflict to epic proportions. Honor, truth, and justice test his values. Just when he starts to believe in fairy tales, another obstacle looms to thwart his plans. And then there’s love!
Susana: Where did you get the idea for this story?
Sandra: Ever since I can remember, the subject of bastardy fascinated. I read John Jakes eight-book series that spanned generations and centuries and decided I wanted to create a ‘magnificent’ bastard of my own.
Susana: How does Thorn react to the stigma?
Sandra: In 1820 Regency England, there is the stigma attached to our hero, Thorn Wick. Yanked from the West Indies, the half-breed, is transported to London, England where he is considered illegitimate. Can anyone imagine the emotions that consumed him? Except for the noble duke’s recognition and that of the family who supports him, acceptance is difficult. Thorn fights against all the odds.
Prepare to be transported from island life in Barbados to aristocratic England and then back to Barbados where stunning revelations wrack our hero’s world.
Susana: What stunning revelations?
Sandra: Without spoiling the story for readers, all I can say is that there is a native uprising against foreign plantation owners, the discovery of the truth about Thorn’s mother’s death, and a flight to save his life as he swims out to a waiting ship bound for England and a bad storm.
Susana: Thank you for allowing me to be a part of Susana’s Parlour.
Now, for the readers, I’d love to ask them what they like to see in a Regency romance!
About The Duke’s Magnificent Bastard
After three years in England, Thorn Wick, the duke’s bastard son, perfectly flawed, still fights for acceptance in his father’s world as a renowned golden horse trainer. Just when he starts to believe in fairy tales, another obstacle looms to thwart his plans.
Alicia Montgomery, ward of the duke, is in love with Thorn. Strong willed and adventurous, she determines she can convince him to admit his feelings until the reality of loving Thorn too much almost destroyed her.
On a dangerous mission to Barbados at the request of his father, Thorn is stunned when secrets are revealed about his mother. Will Thorn extract revenge for the foul deed?
Can Alicia quell Thorn’s demons and prove to him love can pave the way to their happiness?
Can Thorn relinquish his past because he now has a present and a future? Will he accept the man he has become? Will he return to his father and Alicia and fulfill their destiny?
Coming November 4th, 2016, available for pre-order now at Amazon.
Amazon | Kobo | BN | Apple iBookstore
About the Author
From a humble beginning in Newark, NJ, retired business executive Sandra Masters had a short stay at a convent in Morristown, NJ, to the board rooms of NYC to the ballrooms of the Regency period. Spicy Sensual Seduction with Swagger.
Susana's Parlour 
Reblogged this on spiritofnlm.
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Morning: Thank you. I’ll go and look there. Appreciate it. You’re kind to do so.
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What a catching title, just love it! I always love when we get unconventional heroes or heroines 🙂
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Dear Crystal: I thought long and hard about the title, and asked my publisher The Wild Rose Press for permission to use that particular word. I’m grateful they approved. Thorn and Alicia’s story starts when he is seventeen and he’s transported to London. When he sees Alicia, he admires her greatly but never dreams she could be his. She has quite a different sense of things, and his time is spent protecting her from other men.She doesn’t make his life easy. This is a romance with an element of suspense. I’m thrilled about this story. It releases on Nov. 4th. Book Three is Thorn, Son of a Duke, and relates to his island life with his mother. He never knew who his father was. It’s a teaser prequel 15,000-word novel. My hope is that readers will want to find out what kind of life he had on the island. It wasn’t the best existence, but it was the only one he knew.
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Crystal: Our hero is certainly unconventional. I’m still in love with him. His life has not been the best, but it helps mold the man he’s to become. This story has an element of suspense. Alicia is a very different type of heroine and she’s used to getting her way.
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In a Regency romance, I like to read about a hero and heroine who have to overcome obstacles on the road to love. I like marriage of convenience stories. I love to read about the women’s fashions, the balls, the mansions, and the things they did for entertainment.
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Tanya: I know exactly what you mean. My Book Two My Divinely Decadent Duke is a different type of marriage of convenience, and it has an element of humor, but I do mention the fashions. Our duke likes to order gowns for her. As an aside, she designs decadent lingerie for a London modiste. And of course, there’s a lovable dog and puppies.
It was such fun to write and I admit, it’s an escape for me to visit the Regency era.
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Tanja: I’m with you. My second Book My Divinely Decadent Duke is a hero who selects his wife’s gowns. As a twist, she designs decadent lingerie for a London modiste. I know, it’s unconventional, but she is just that kind of Duchess. It has an element of humor. In fact, this Duke of Althorn finds out about his son in Book Four, my Bastard book. It’s like a reunion with old friends and characters we love.
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I do love a Regency Romance. By all means throw in a bastard or two. I also love a rake.
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Mary: Hello, I remember you. You won a book, didn’t you? I have a special penchant for rakes., Book One has Geoffrey Austen, the Duke of Sutton. He’s what every woman dreams of in a man. Sigh.
Serena is a woman afraid of intimacy. Need I say more?
In fact, I’m toying about a series about Bastards. Stay well and enjoy.
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Posted a comment on Facebook. Great interview with a fabulous writer. I love it that your characters are sharp, clever, and jammed packed full of passion and emotion. You really get in their heads and portray their personalities to the reader, and I love the way you intertwine your stories with banter, protocol, honor, justice and wit. I’ve read all four books and craving more!
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Dear Sheila: Thank you for your kind words. It’s been a pleasure to create unforgettable characters. As authors, that’s what we strive for. I’m striving to produce good quality books all the time. This particular book has a good dose of wit and a lot of pathos for our hero and his predicament.
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I actually love pretty much all historical romance, regardless of the specific era. I like unconventional characters that have to struggle a bit and overcome something and grow as people. I love to learn some history, too, so I like a story line that will give me a bit of the historical world that I didn’t know. It sounds like your Barbados setting will deliver that!
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Sheri: Like you, I like heroes who don’t realize how much they have to offer. If they’re vulnerable and seeking answers, and strive further even though they know the danger to their life and to love. Barbados Island living was worlds apart in that Regency era. Thorn was forced to fight for his existence and the malice shaped his soul. He found a way to conquer the bullies only to find that his father, an aristocrat, wanted to see him. Half-breed in the islands, and illegitimate bastard in England, and that is what makes him an exceptional man….against all the odds.Thanks for your comment.
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interesting inspiration
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tHANK YOU. Inspiration is hard to come up sometimes, but not with this hero. He kept my fingers typing off the page and just led me where he wanted to go.
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Awesome post.
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Sorry I’m late to acknowledge this, but thank you. It’s much appreciated.
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