The Duke's Divorce #MarchMadnessSale

The Duke's Divorce
#MarchMadnessSale
$2.99 thru March 31

A simple trip to the Scottish Highlands turns into a nightmare for Robert Carlton, the Duke of Cantin. A misunderstood act of kindness results in his wedding, at gunpoint, to Fiona, the Laird Stewart’s daughter. Both Robert and Fiona are distraught by the forced marriage, until Robert comes up with a plan – they will remain married for six months, after which, the marriage will be annulled and Fiona will receive a generous settlement.

Robert’s restrictive contract for his new duchess causes Fiona to rebel. Her  impeccable beauty, fiery disposition, and her penchant for finding scandal wherever she goes, take Society by storm, and living with the oppressive duke has her wanting out of their marriage sooner than the proposed six months.

To his astonishment, Robert becomes enamored with the many charms of his unorthodox bride. However, remaining chaste was part of their agreement, though desire and jealousy prove a powerful aphrodisiac.

Convincing Fiona of his love is the hardest thing Robert has ever had to do. But when he thinks he’s won her heart, a devastating secret from his past surfaces. Will the promise of an uncertain future with Robert be enough to keep Fiona from filing divorce papers of her own?

The Duke's Divorce is the fourth book in the Reluctant Grooms Series and the second one I finished. I have as my personal tagline, "Timeless Romance... modern day dilemmas." With this story, I wanted to see what happens when modern hits historical.

Robert Carlton,
Duke of Cantin

Robert is a matchmaking mama's dream come true. He's handsome, intelligent, has a duchy with several estates, is popular, has many friends, and loves his mother. Robert also has a drinking problem, a secret he's trying to keep hidden, and no clue when it comes to women. Especially unbiddable women.

Lady Fiona Stewart

Fiona has lived a sheltered life in the Scottish Highlands under her father's watchful eye. Longing to escape, she knows there's only one way out--to find someone who will marry her. When Robert appears, her hopes are dashed for a happy marriage. He's an ogre and she refuses his suit, but her father has other plans and they are forced into an unhappy union.

Robert's Father, the late
Duke of Cantin

However, Robert cannot stand the thought of remaining married to someone he does not love and on their way back to London, Robert stops at his attorney's office to see about a divorce. Unfortunately, Robert and Fiona must stay married for six months. Through trial and error, Robert and Fiona navigate rough nuptial waters until Fiona, in a fit of desperation, leaves him. Robert is then faced with the reality of love. The question is--what is he going to do with it?

Robert's Mother,
Lady Joanna

Edwards,
Butler at Cantin House

The Cottage

I really liked this story when it was finally over. However, I have found some of my reviewers couldn't handle the cold hard reality of living with an alcoholic. I get it. I do. But I'm not writing to please anyone other than myself. So.

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Anne Gallagher (c) 2019

Intimate Portrait -- Fiona Stewart

Fiona has always been one of my favorite heroines. Due to her father's machinations, she is forced into marriage with Robert. And believe me, Robert is not the easiest man to get along with.

Fiona lost her mother in a freak riding accident and Fiona's father, the Laird Stewart, has always blamed her. The guilt Fiona carries is overwhelming at times. Her lot in life is to take care of her father. She has no friends, no hope for marriage with a member of her own clan, nothing to look forward to.

When Robert shows up at Castle Cornann to discuss farm and sheep interests with her father, she admits she admires his mind, Robert is a brilliant businessman after all. But he's standoffish, pompous, callous, has no feelings. He also has a problem holding his liquor and when the Laird Stewart sets Robert and Fiona up to entrap them, the only outcome is marriage.


Fiona is not happy, Robert is irate, and there is nothing they can do to get out of it. Divorce was just not an option. (Well, it was, but it was expensive and highly scandalous.) Robert cannot do that to his family. Robert comes up with a plan for annulment, but that doesn't go the way he plans either. Fiona and Robert are stuck with each other for six months.

Robert places restrictions on Fiona when they arrive in London, and she's unsure what will become of her. He doesn't want her out in public. Even though she's an Earl's daughter and perfectly acceptable as a bride, Robert thinks she's too backward.

Fiona is welcomed to the family by Robert's mother, and when she's told they are to separate, Lady Joanna takes Fiona under her wing and prompts Fiona to fight for her husband. Unfortunately, Fiona finds herself mired in scandal after scandal. Naturally, it's not her fault, just the circumstances, and Fiona finds that Robert is not the man she thought him to be. He can be kind when he wants to be and Fiona begins to fall in love with him.

Fiona finds a friend in the Earl of Greenleigh, and Robert is jealous though, his jealousy is unfounded. However, that bit of emotion allows Robert to finally express his real feelings for Fiona.
Everyone is happy for a change, but that is short lived when Robert's ex-fiancé shows up out of the blue and wants Robert back.

Fiona does the only thing she can under the circumstances. She leaves him.

In writing this plot line, I took that saying "when you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours, if it doesn't, then it wasn't". Or something like that. But you know what I mean. I wanted to show Fiona in charge of her own life because for most of it, she was under the thumb of her father, and then Robert. She needed to find her own independence, her own soul, if you will.

Although this book is not one of my best sellers, I received the highest compliment from a reviewer. She said it made her cry. And truthfully, that is how I rate my books. If they make me cry as I'm writing them, I know I've done a good job.

Tell me -- Have you read THE DUKE'S DIVORCE? Did it make you cry? How do you judge a good book?

Anne Gallagher (c) 2013

Intimate Portrait -- Robert Carlton, the Duke of Cantin

This is an ongoing series on this blog to give readers a better understanding of who my characters are.

Robert Carlton, the Duke of Cantin, is one of my least liked characters. He insults people, he's not very nice

to his new wife, he likes to drink, he's pompous and arrogant, and highly intelligent, which comes across as conceited.

But Robert's sooo misunderstood, and I wrote him that way on purpose. You see, Robert has been with me and my characters from the very beginning. Eight years ago, when I first began writing THE LADY'S MASQUERADE, it was Robert who asked William to go to Wakefield-by-the-Sea to steward the estate and keep an eye on Penny and Lady Olivia. So I've known Robert for a long time.

What you don't know is that Robert's story goes even farther back than that, when Robert, William, and Richard attended Ellis' wedding. When they were all just gaining their maturity and before they decided on their careers. I wrote a small prologue for the original beginning to MASQUERADE that I had to take out because the book took a different direction. But I've always held onto that in my files so I could refer back to it if needed.

Robert Carlton, was titled Viscount Hadley back then, and had no care in the world. He was rich, titled, and handsome, and was like any other young buck of his time. His father, the Duke of Cantin, was still alive and Stephen Carlton was strong, determined, and voiced his opinions loudly. He also doted on his wife, loved his children, and expected them to adhere to his demands. The duke was a forceful man, on occasion drank to excess, and had a head for business that Robert eventually inherited.

Robert loved his father, as any good boy should, but they often didn't see eye to eye on certain subjects. Women, Parliamental leanings, the restructuring of the Cantin fortune, all these caused a rift between them. As a young man, Robert couldn't understand how his father could remain so stuck in the past, when it was evident the world was craving the future. Robert knew he would eventually inherit his father's title, and wanted to preserve their status in the world, by furthering their fortune. Stephen Carlton refused to see the light.

So Robert built his own fortune, with cloth factories, and ships, to trade with the America's. Robert also bought land in England to further the coffers. The last time he spoke to his father was the fight that killed the duke. Robert wanted to buy an estate that he thought would do well to add to the family's affluence, but his father had already checked it over and found it wasn't worth it. Wanting to prove his old man wrong, they got into a shouting match, and Robert stormed off. Stephen Carlton had a heart attack and died and Robert has never forgiven himself.

And even though his sisters are grown and married to wealthy men in their own right, Robert still thinks of them as little girls under his care. There is nothing more important to him than his family and he wants them close. Both Phyllis and Susannah live with their husbands and children at two of the Cantin estates.

When Robert was in his early twenties, he fell for a young woman named Mary-Elizabeth who broke his heart. Having never been in love before, Robert fell hard and when she left him he was devastated. He drank to ease his pain, and vowed he would never marry. In some perverse twist, he then began to use women the way Mary-Elizabeth used him. Robert was devastatingly handsome, and wooed the ladies, then left them. Charming, and an excellent dancer, he had a reputation for being a ladies man. An unobtainable ladies man. And that was the way he liked it.

When he was forced to marry Fiona, the first thing he wanted to do was get out of it. He couldn't tolerate the notion of losing his freedom. Or the fact she was nothing like Society women. Fiona is a strong woman in her own right, and cow-towing to Robert's demands was ludicrous. Robert always needed a woman who would stand up to him. Only he didn't know it.

Trust was the main issue I wanted to represent in Robert's story. He couldn't trust any woman because of what Mary-Elizabeth did to him. When Fiona came along, it took a while, but Robert finally did realize that he could trust her with his heart. She was not Mary-Elizabeth. Which is why I made Robert do all those nasty things to Fiona. He was testing her.

Now some people say I went overboard with all that. And maybe I did, but Robert had to find his way to love Fiona. And he didn't know how much until Fiona left him. Fiona wasn't stupid. She loved Robert, faults and all, but she wasn't going to compete with another woman -- especially Mary-Elizabeth. To her it was easier to walk away. And I think she did the right thing. After all, how do you know what you have until you lose it.

Robert may not be a likable fellow, but he's a good character, full of foibles and faults, the same with real people. And even though he can be a jerk sometimes, his heart is generally in the right place.


Anne Gallagher (c) 2013

A New Story to Wait For

Funny what happens when you spend five hours painting the hallway and dining room. I found a new story. Not that there's a whole lot I can do with it at the moment. I'm still working on the old house and haven't had time to think, let alone write something down.

BUT...

The seeds are there.

A couple of months ago, I found pictures for a few characters for a new story (as I was building my A -Z Challenge posts for this blog) THE SEDUCTION OF MR. SUMMERVILLE. I have two beautiful sisters and only one man to marry. I do know which woman will get Mr. Summerville. However, I didn't know what would happen to the other sister.

Guess what, I do now.

It seems in LADY CADORET'S LONGING I have an extra duke hanging around with nothing to do. Who needs love badly. Who wants to marry and raise children. Only problem is, he's a first class jerk. Not the stumbling bumbling Winsbarren kind of jerk. Or the "I'll do whatever I want" kind of jerk like Robert in THE DUKE'S DIVORCE. No, the Duke of Straford is a first class jerk with nary a hint of decorum or nicety about him. Someone who is not a sympathetic character at all.

And I can't wait to write about him. Unfortunately, if I look at my timetable, I won't be able to get to him until 2014.

That's the problem with this writer. I can't write everything I want to when you want to. Unfortunately, writing takes time and is something in short supply at my house these days.

However, the Monster Child goes back to school this Wednesday (1/2 days) and then back in full time the last week in August. I have 6 solid hours every day of that last week to get everything completed and finished at the old house. Come September 4th, I am dedicating those 6 hours every day to get the last of the formatting issues completed on THE ROMANTIC REGENCY COLLECTION and then it will be published both in e-book and paperback.

Then I will go all out crazy to finish up THE LADY'S MASQUERADE because I am just so sick of that book being the albatross. Yes, it was the one that started it all, but it needs a lot of work to get it right. I need to tie up all kinds of loose ends in that before I can even think about starting THE SEDUCTION OF MR. SUMMERVILLE.  (Talk about a lead-in).  But before that book can even be started, I still have to finish THE CAPTAIN'S LADY, and THE EARL'S ENIGMA. (Which, according to my calculations, will be next year.)

(And then, let's not forget about the writing I do under my other pen name Robynne Rand. I'm working on a collection of short stories and two more novels on that side.)

You know, this is real life. In every project I ever start, I need to do 19 things first, BEFORE I can even begin to do what I want to do. You should see how long it takes when I try to clean the kitchen...

Tell me -- How frustrating is it for you as a reader to wait for the next book from an author? Do you ever wonder just exactly what they do with their time instead of writing?

The A-Z Challenge Letter R

R is for Robert. Robert Carlton, Duke of Cantin.

In THE DUKE'S DIVORCE, Robert is forced into a marriage with Fiona, a woman he does not want. And so seeks an annulment. Which backfires.

Robert is cousin to William and Ellis.

Interpreting Heroes

As a writer of romance, I tend to think of the men in my stories as heroes.  They save the day, defeat the villain, rescue the girl.  In my Regency series, however, my heroes are not the typical reformed rake, or libertine.  They do not ride in, in a blaze of glory and slay the dragon.  They tend to be common placed, normal, everyday members of the aristocracy.  (Well, I couldn't let go of all my tendencies, could I?)

A question was posed to me awhile ago, which I thought was interesting enough to write a blog post about.

If your heroes were set in the present day, what would they be?

Interesting concept.  I had to think about it.  So let's break it all down and see what I come up with.

These are my heroes and what they do in 1810.

William  -- The Earl of Westerly.  Second son of the Duke of Chesnick.  Joined the Horse Guards in 1800.

Ellis -- The Marquess of Haverlane.  Oldest son of the Duke of Chesnick.  Member of Parliament, has the ear of Prince George.

Robert -- The Duke of Cantin.  Takes care of his family.

Richard -- Retired Captain in the Royal Navy.  Captured Bonaparte the first time.

Rory -- The Earl of Bailey.  Studies ancient Peloponnsian text.

So, if I transferred them to the present day, here's what I think they would do.

William -- Texas Ranger.

Ellis -- Vice-president.

Robert -- CEO of the family shipping line.

Richard -- Navy Seal.

Rory -- College professor.

Now, naturally, what is not seen in all these descriptions are the underlying causes which make them the perfect man for them to NOT fall in love, hence become Reluctant Grooms.

William -- Dealing with PTSD.

Ellis -- A widower with a two year old who is still in love with his dead wife.

Robert -- Burned by an ex-fiance.

Richard -- Never stayed in one place long enough to find the right woman.

Rory -- Conceited, vain, highly intelligent and looks down his nose upon those not in his social circle.

Thinking of these men in present day has allowed me a broader scope in how I want to write about them. People are people, whether in 1810 or 2010.  They all have the same hopes, dreams, ties that bind, and experiences that break.  This was an interesting exercise.  As writers, we're told to stretch our imaginations, cast the net as widely as possible.  How'd I do?

The Duke's Divorce

This is still a work in progress and more pictures will be forthcoming.  But for now...

This is Edwards, Robert's butler.

This is Lady Joanna, Robert's mother.

           

Lord Greenleigh, Earl Culpepper

This is Fiona.

                                                                   












                                                                         This is Robert.