LET'S GET TO KNOW MS. PORTER.......
-How did you come up with the idea for this story?
I’ve had an obsession with the 18th century since I was a little girl watching Masterpiece Theatre with my parents every Sunday and from a young age I’ve always enjoyed reading the classics and historicals, both romance and adventure, like the “Poldark” series by Winston Graham.The notion of an arranged marriage used to fascinate me to no end. But what happens if the husband and wife actually, truly, fall in love...how does that happen? I wanted to track that. Then I thought wouldn’t it be interesting if the two knew each other before, but in a totally different capacity and now they were being forced to see each other as husband and wife and live that new reality. There would be this interesting chemistry of being comfortable with one another, yet also living the tension within this new spousal/sexual relationship that was forced on them. I also wanted to explore reaching the point where you have to grow up and take control of your identity in your own way.-Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Brandon, a young aristocrat returns to Wolfsgate, his ancestral home after two years of being thought dead and lost at sea and another two years of being held prisoner by his addiction to opium. Upon his return he learns his uncle and cousin are responsible for his addiction and they’ve also married him off to his step-cousin Justine, who they are able to manipulate, in order to control his fortune for themselves. Justine, however, manages to bring Brandon back home, helps him through his addiction, and together the two of them struggle with a web of lies and deceit while an unexpected, intense attraction for each other explodes between them. The two of them both realize how much they need each other to overcome past hurts and losses and to deal with the uncertainty of their present. The desire for revenge battles with the desire for a new beginning as past loves and overwhelming compulsions beckon and blur the lines of trust and truth. Is satisfaction to be found in revenge or revenge in satisfaction? The wrong choice could spell disaster.
-Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Brandon, my hero is a privileged aristocrat who all his life took all that he had for granted. It’s not until it all gets taken away and he’s on his knees, that everything spins in a different direction for him. It takes an exile, a shipwreck, a near-death drug addiction, a forced marriage, and realizing that he’s lost everything through the deceit of members of his own family to bring him to his Ah-ha moment forcing him to get real. He realizes that the way he used to live his life, the way all his peers continue to live theirs, is about mindless self indulgence and game playing, which the new Brandon surprisingly abhors. The best part is that the wife that was forced upon him is someone he knows, his step-cousin whom he always treated like a little sister. Now she’s all grown up and there’s an intense attraction between them. Justine our heroine is the lifetime outsider who has her own struggles, but she’s the only one in the family who’s grounded at Wolfsgate physically and spiritually. She saves Brandon from certain death and saves him from himself. The big, brave love and vision of this quiet, unassuming young woman is his salvation on a personal and professional level. At the core of this story is the healing of two souls.
-What is for you the perfect book hero?
I read a recent article about why we love Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy so much, and how it’s because we see him become transformed by his love for Elizabeth. So true! That’s what I want in a book hero. I love a good Alpha who goes for what he wants and won’t take no for an answer, who’s hiding some dark secret maybe that he can only share with his woman eventually. But at the core is his transformation into the better person he can only be through his experience of connecting to this woman that he must make his. I find that journey of his extremely intriguing, breaking down the barriers, finally getting to the point of do or die, him making a stand and finding a new strength.
-What are your current projects?
I’m currently working on the second book of the Lock & Key series.
-Tell us something that people would be surprised you know how to do.
I’m a trained actress. After I graduated from college and worked for a few years in a couple of art galleries, I decided to make my actress dream come true and got into a theatre school in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of NYC and studied for several years. I auditioned and did the whole struggling actress thing, working odd jobs of all kinds both day and night from hostessing at restaurants to the night shift at law firms to special event planning and catering companies to make a buck. There was never a dull moment!
They have no bloody idea.
Shipwrecked and lost, left for dead,
Abandoned by my own family.
Drugged and addicted.
My wife saved me, brought me home.
I didn’t even know I had a wife—can I trust her?
I know I want her.
Desperately.
We are two of a kind—the manipulated, the tossed off, the rejected.
Bitter disappointments, painful secrets, age-old jealousies are my new shipwreck,
and my wife my new opium.
Is satisfaction to be found in revenge or revenge in satisfaction?
One thing I do know, without each other we’re both doomed.
Wolfsgate
A sensual 18th century tale of deception, revenge, and the hunger for love and absolution.
EXCERPT:
His hands went to either side of her face, his molten gaze fell to her lips, and she held her breath. His mouth descended on hers, crushing her. She pushed at his chest and managed to tear her mouth away from his.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“Kissing my wife.” His lips and teeth nuzzled the line of her jaw and traveled down her throat. Heat sparked deep inside her, and she clenched her jaw to constrain it. How did this happen with just one touch from him, one kiss? For God’s sake, what was this?
It most certainly was a sort of madness. She had never felt this madness with Andrew.
“Perhaps you’re excited by the attention from all the ladies this evening?” Her neck stiffened against his hand.
“I only want your attentions, Lady Graven,” he said into the side of her throat. “Your attentions excite me.” He kissed the delicate skin under her jaw, wrapping a trail of molten heat around her. “It’s quite a combination really.” He let out a low laugh between soft kisses. “You arouse me, yet you keep me calm and even. I believe you’re my new craving.”
“You have quite a few of those it seems,” she said through short breaths.
His grip on her tightened. “I saw you with Charles just now, smiling, so very much at ease.” Justine blinked up at him. His tense fingers rubbed her scalp at the base of her skull. “I know I cannot give you that.”
“And what exactly would that be?”
“Effortless affability. I don’t seem to have it. I suspect I did once.”
“In spades.”
“I can give you other things,” he breathed over her parted lips.
Brandon’s voice was full of dark promise, and his words pressed on her chest. But a gnawing question uncoiled in her brain, and her back remained stiff under his possessive touch.
“Yet you were all ease and laughter with Mrs. Treharne, enjoying each other’s company so very much all evening?” She rushed to get the words out before she lost the courage, before he kissed her again, for then she most certainly would not only lose her resolve, but her wits as well.
His eyes glittered in the shadows, and his one hand slid from her neck to rest against the wall behind her. The cool air stung her skin immediately. “Oh, she’s pretty to look at, as ever she was,” he said. “But I want your taste to fill my mouth.” His one hand spanned her throat. “I want to make you cry out my name. I like it very much when you do that, Justine. Just the thought makes me want to lift your dress up over your thighs right this very second and…”
He whispered in her ear how he would take her on the terrace and how he was sure she’d respond. Her eyelids sank closed, her breath deepened. Raw talk like that from his mouth only churned her blood with a ferocity, and he damn well knew it. A low cry escaped her, despite her best efforts at control, and their hips pressed against each other’s on instinct. She could no longer ignore the crude ache swelling within her, the heat prickling her skin, nor the hardness between his legs which throbbed right through her silk gown to her very core.
Her new lilac silk ball gown.
Because they were at a ball at a great house.
A great house filled with a great number of people. People they knew.
She pulled away from him, but he yanked her right back into his embrace, one hand pressing over her rear. His mouth descended on hers again, taking its fill.
It all became clear.
Amanda had aroused him, and now he had come to her, his wife, his legal bed partner, for his release.
How bloody convenient.
Justine shoved at his chest and twisted out of his embrace. His eyes flared, and he gripped her arms tighter. “Don’t!” she said. The stinging in the back of her throat inflamed. “Control yourself.”
His head jerked up at her “Don’t play games with me, Justine!”
“I wouldn’t know how, Lord Graven,” she said. “I could learn though, if you would like. You seem to be setting a fine example this evening.” His brows slammed together, his jaw stiffened.
“Brandon, there you are.”
Justine’s heart came to a screeching halt at the sound of that voice.
That voice that used his first name. Because she could. Because they had an intimate past, an age-old connection.
Amanda.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“Kissing my wife.” His lips and teeth nuzzled the line of her jaw and traveled down her throat. Heat sparked deep inside her, and she clenched her jaw to constrain it. How did this happen with just one touch from him, one kiss? For God’s sake, what was this?
It most certainly was a sort of madness. She had never felt this madness with Andrew.
“Perhaps you’re excited by the attention from all the ladies this evening?” Her neck stiffened against his hand.
“I only want your attentions, Lady Graven,” he said into the side of her throat. “Your attentions excite me.” He kissed the delicate skin under her jaw, wrapping a trail of molten heat around her. “It’s quite a combination really.” He let out a low laugh between soft kisses. “You arouse me, yet you keep me calm and even. I believe you’re my new craving.”
“You have quite a few of those it seems,” she said through short breaths.
His grip on her tightened. “I saw you with Charles just now, smiling, so very much at ease.” Justine blinked up at him. His tense fingers rubbed her scalp at the base of her skull. “I know I cannot give you that.”
“And what exactly would that be?”
“Effortless affability. I don’t seem to have it. I suspect I did once.”
“In spades.”
“I can give you other things,” he breathed over her parted lips.
Brandon’s voice was full of dark promise, and his words pressed on her chest. But a gnawing question uncoiled in her brain, and her back remained stiff under his possessive touch.
“Yet you were all ease and laughter with Mrs. Treharne, enjoying each other’s company so very much all evening?” She rushed to get the words out before she lost the courage, before he kissed her again, for then she most certainly would not only lose her resolve, but her wits as well.
His eyes glittered in the shadows, and his one hand slid from her neck to rest against the wall behind her. The cool air stung her skin immediately. “Oh, she’s pretty to look at, as ever she was,” he said. “But I want your taste to fill my mouth.” His one hand spanned her throat. “I want to make you cry out my name. I like it very much when you do that, Justine. Just the thought makes me want to lift your dress up over your thighs right this very second and…”
He whispered in her ear how he would take her on the terrace and how he was sure she’d respond. Her eyelids sank closed, her breath deepened. Raw talk like that from his mouth only churned her blood with a ferocity, and he damn well knew it. A low cry escaped her, despite her best efforts at control, and their hips pressed against each other’s on instinct. She could no longer ignore the crude ache swelling within her, the heat prickling her skin, nor the hardness between his legs which throbbed right through her silk gown to her very core.
Her new lilac silk ball gown.
Because they were at a ball at a great house.
A great house filled with a great number of people. People they knew.
She pulled away from him, but he yanked her right back into his embrace, one hand pressing over her rear. His mouth descended on hers again, taking its fill.
It all became clear.
Amanda had aroused him, and now he had come to her, his wife, his legal bed partner, for his release.
How bloody convenient.
Justine shoved at his chest and twisted out of his embrace. His eyes flared, and he gripped her arms tighter. “Don’t!” she said. The stinging in the back of her throat inflamed. “Control yourself.”
His head jerked up at her “Don’t play games with me, Justine!”
“I wouldn’t know how, Lord Graven,” she said. “I could learn though, if you would like. You seem to be setting a fine example this evening.” His brows slammed together, his jaw stiffened.
“Brandon, there you are.”
Justine’s heart came to a screeching halt at the sound of that voice.
That voice that used his first name. Because she could. Because they had an intimate past, an age-old connection.
Amanda.
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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
Brandon and Justine's lives have been manipulated throughout the story and by various individuals which leaves them only able to count on each other. Though they start off knowing very little about each other their connection quickly deepens as their shared pain unites them. For Brandon, his missing years and drug addiction have left him lost and unsure of his place in the world and as Justine's husband. Justine has suffered mightily too as a pawn for others but her hidden layers of strength show a strong-willed woman smarter than others give her credit for. Their shared pain also leads to numerous steamy encounters which brings them even closer together and solidifies their much-deserved HEA over adversity.
This is a deep read dealing with heavy issues and is full of unexpected twists and turns. There's a gothic feel to the story with its suspenseful elements and manipulative family members. As a reader who usually reads the lighter historical works of Julia Quinn and Sarah MacLean this story caught me off guard. The overall storyline is unique as are the characters and their issues, but there was a coldness to them that kept me from connecting to them completely and keeps me from loving this story. I very much admire it though and will definitely read more of this author's historical books in the future.
My rating for this is a B+.
*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
CAT PORTER was born and raised in New York City, but also spent a few years in Europe and Texas along the way. As an introverted, only child, she had very big, but very secret dreams for herself. She graduated from Vassar College, was a struggling actress, an art gallery girl, special events planner, freelance writer and had all sorts of other crazy jobs all hours of the day and night to help make her dreams come true. She has two children’s books traditionally published under her maiden name. She now lives in Athens, Greece with her husband and three children, and freaks out regularly and still daydreams way too much. She is addicted to the History Channel, her iPad, her husband’s homemade red wine, really dark chocolate, and her Nespresso coffee machine. Writing keeps her somewhat sane, extremely happy, and a productive member of society.
WEBSITE: http://www.catporter.eu/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/catporter103
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/
WEBSITE: http://www.catporter.eu/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/catporter103
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/
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