With the June 2013 release of Lady Mercy Danforthe Flirts With Scandal, we would like to welcome author Jayne Fresina to The Reading Cafe.

You can follow Jayne at : Website/ Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

TRC: Hi Jayne and welcome to The Reading Café. We would like to start with some background information. Please tell us something about yourself?

Jane: I’ve been writing stories for years and tried a long time to get published. I think I found my niche finally in historical romance! I love Indian food and Italian pastries. I like to run and swim. I spend several hours each day writing before I go to my “normal” day job. A lot of people in my daily life don’t even know I write, which makes life simpler. I’m an animal lover and live-in slave to three spaniels.

TRC: Your bio information states you were born and raised in England. Are you still living in England? If not, how often do you return for a visit?

Jane: I live in New York now and haven’t been home for several years. Luckily, my family has been able to get over and visit me.

TRC: Would you please tell us the premise behind the Sydney Dovedale series?

Jane: I wanted to set my stories around a small country village and the people who live there. There are some titled and wealthy characters in my stories, but I also have “every day” folk who are just trying to find happiness in life. People come and go. The first book in the series begins with a stranger arriving in the village. In book four at the end of the series, the heroine (a character who actually appears in all four books, beginning in book one as a mousy, shy little girl) leaves Sydney Dovedale after she’s grown up and undergone a considerable transformation. So the series sort of goes in a circle.

TRC:  Lady Mercy Danforthe Flirts with Scandal is the third book and June 2013 release in the Sydney Dovedale series. Would you please tell us about the premise?

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Jane: Lady Mercy Danforthe arrives in Sydney Dovedale to attend a wedding, but the bride (her lady’s maid) has cold feet at the last minute and decides she can’t go through with it. Mercy, who is a natural-born meddler and fancies herself a matchmaker, has to stay and try to help the situation. Unfortunately she has some history with the jilted groom, Rafe Hartley, and he already bears a grudge against her. You see, Mercy and Rafe were once married too – for just three hours. So it’s not the first time he’s been jilted and now he blames Lady Mercy “Bossy Drawers” Danforthe for both incidents.

TRC: Do your storyline characters speak to you and tell you the direction of the story or do you direct the characters?

Jane: Oh, they are definitely in charge. I always start with the characters and they lead the way.

TRC: If you could cast the major characters in this particular storyline, which actors or models would be represent you ideal image?

Jane: Great question! Hmm. Karen Gillan would make a wonderful Lady Mercy. Rafe would be much harder to cast. To be honest I find a lot of the popular, young actors a bit too pretty. I think English actor Tom Hardy would be the best choice. He has the right amount of edge and charm. I’d love to hear which actors other readers envision in the parts!

TRC: February 2014 is the scheduled date for Miss Molly Robbins Designs a Seduction. Are you able to reveal who are the leading characters?

Jane: Miss Molly Robbins, of course (Lady Mercy’s best friend and lady’s maid) and….can you guess? Readers of the previous books will likely have more than an inkling. He’s not too far removed from Lady Mercy, let’s put it that way. And he’s desperately in need of Molly to put him in his place.

TRC: What do you believe is the biggest misconception about yourself?

Jane: I don’t know what people think of me, so I couldn’t say. (Probably best not to know in most cases). As Dorothy Parker said, “I don’t care what’s written about me, as long as it isn’t true”.

TRC: What five things would you like to accomplish in the next ten years?

Jane: I’d like to have several more series published and to have met a lot of readers who enjoyed my work, so I know it was actually worth it. I’m sure, like all authors, I dream of one day seeing my books turned into a movie or a series for Masterpiece Theatre! Hey, why not? Stranger things have happened.

TRC: If you could select one reality show in which you were one of the contestants, which show would you choose and why?

Jane: Oh, I couldn’t do any of them. I’m much too shy. I wouldn’t even pass the audition. I don’t even like being on a webcam with my family!

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Jane: The second Regency series for Sourcebooks Casablanca – The Book Club Belles Society.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Jane: I’d just like to thank you for inviting me on as a guest. And thanks to the readers who enjoy my books! It means a lot to me to know people fall in love with my characters as much as I do.

LIGHTNING ROUND
Favorite Food
Jane: Indian

Favorite Dessert
Jane: tiramisu

Favorite TV Show
Jane: Call the Midwife

Last Move You Saw
Jane: “Mama Mia” – last one I actually went out to see, so yes, I don’t go out to the movies much!

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Jane: dark

Favorite Flower
Jane: peony

TRC: Thank you Jayne for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the upcoming release of Lady Danforthe Flirts with Scandal. We wish you all the best!

LADY MERCY DANFORTHE FLIRTS WITH SCANDAL BY JAYNE FRESINA – IN STORES JUNE 2013

When a Perfectly Proper Lady…
Lady Mercy Danforthe always has a plan. It’s what makes her such a successful matchmaker, and why she’s obligated to spend a great deal of time generously organizing the lives of her friends and family. But there’s one man beyond her help. One man whose recklessness she can’t rein in; whose chaos she can’t contain. Her ex-husband, Rafe Hartley. Her one—and only!—mistake.

Flirts with a Reckless Rogue…
Rafe has never forgiven Mercy for running out on him. Their hastily annulled marriage may have one lasted three hours, but that doesn’t mean he needs her help finding a proper wife. Someone needs to teach little Miss Know-It-All a lesson about keeping her adorably freckled nose out of other people’s business. And it just so happens that Mercy “Silky Drawers” Danforthe still owes him a wedding night…

A Scandal’s Never Far Behind!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jayne Fresina sprouted up in England, the youngest in a family of four girls. Entertained by her father’s colorful tales of growing up in the countryside, and surrounded by opinionated sisters— all with far more exciting lives than hers— she’s always had inspiration for her beleaguered heroes and unstoppable heroines. Look for the fourth book in the Sydney Dovedale Series, Miss Molly Robbins Designs a Seduction in March 2014. For more information, please visit at www.jaynefresina.com

Jayne and the publisher are offering  a paper copy GIVEAWAY of THE WICKED WEDDING OF ELLIE VYNE (Book 2 in the Sydney Dovedale series) to one lucky reader at The Reading Cafe.

1.  Please register using the log-in at the top of the page or by using a social log-in.

2.  If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

 

3.  Giveaway is open to USA and Canada only.

4.  Giveaway runs from June 5 to June 8, 2013