Can you tell us briefly about your novel The Mysterious Miss M?
Miss M was my first published novel, released by Mills & Boon, the UK branch of Harlequin Enterprises, in July 2004. It is a Regency Historical, telling the story of Madeleine, a young girl forced to be the prize in a disreputable London gaming hell. An encounter with a young soldier, Devlin Steele, changes her life. When he returns three years later and wins her in a card game, the only way he can provide for her--and the child he may have fathered--is to court and marry a society miss.
What challenges does your heroine Madeline face in this novel?
Madeleine has a unique challenge. She has grown up in a wealthy but neglectful family, undirected and unsupervised, leading to her seduction by the dastardly Farley and her banishment from her family. After she is rescued from Farley’s gaming hell by Devlin, she literally has no skills. She cannot even cook, sew, or clean. (She is an expert horsewoman, but that is nothing useful in her situation) Madeleine believes her only worth is in pleasing men. Practically, she needs to learn what we would call basic living skills, but, more importantly, she needs to learn her value as a person. Her situation also makes for interesting love scenes, because she has to learn about love rather than exploitation. Of course, Devlin is just the man to teach her.
The opening chapter of this novel left me with my jaw open. It was touching, erotic and poignant. Can you tell us of the challenge you faced as an author having this young woman go from being a private whore to a woman who felt and needed to be desired with and by the hero?
I have always been intrigued by the plight of women during the Regency period, especially the fate of women who were exploited sexually. Think of it. A young Regency woman might be forced to marry a man who raped her, just to keep her good name and that of her family. We all know how easy it is for young girls to be seduced today. I wanted to explore what might happen to such a young girl in Regency times; not only what would happen to her, but also how she would feel about herself. And lastly, how to redeem her. (I also wanted to write a book with a sex scene in the first chapter!) I figured if I could show what she felt about herself and why--and what she’d had to give up--that she would be sympathetic. I also made her fiercely protective of her daughter, and willing to do whatever she needed to care for the child. But I also wanted to show how impossible her situation would have been. If it had not been for Devlin, Madeleine would have had no choice but to prostitute herself. There were no other options for her. Can you imagine what that would be like?
Tell the readers about Devlin and what you like about him the most?
I like his sense of honor--and his passion. Devlin, too, was a victim of the times, though he had many more options than Madeleine did. He was determined to live his life as he wished--and to enjoy it too--not as his father (then his brother) wanted him to. But he was willing to give up that control of his life, so he could take care of Madeleine and her daughter. I liked the fact that he did not exploit Madeleine’s willingness to bed him as payment for her room and board. He would not make love to her until she wanted it for love’s sake. I also liked that he was honorable enough to be willing to keep marital vows. In that day and age, he could have easily made Madeleine his mistress, but he was too honorable to do that.
All through this novel there is the element of suspense. I know I was anxiously turning pages every time someone knocked on Madeline’s door waiting to see if it was Farley. How hard was it to keep him in the shadows until the appropriate time for him to appear?
Not too hard! I was really more interested in the romance between Devlin and Madeleine, Bart and Sophie, Ned and Serena, so I had to remember that there was a villain out there and show what he was up to every now and then. I think that years of TV and movie watching and reading books has given me a “sixth sense” of when the danger needs to pop up. You can almost hear the music. You know, that something-bad-is-going-to-happen music.
Madeleine’s and Devlin’s story unfolded for me as it went on, just as it will for the reader. I wasn’t ever sure what would happen next, except I knew Madeleine and Devlin deserved their happy ending!
Most memorable/frustrating moment in The Mysterious Miss M for you as an author that stayed with you after this book was written.
It was very hard to craft the right balance for Madeleine’s distasteful life as a prostitute. There was a definite “ick” factor there. I solved it by having her try to refuse the role after the experience with Devlin. Before she had little to live for, but Devlin brought her hope--and a child. At least she believed the child to be his, even though they could never really know. Once she had something to live for, she could fight for a better life. The odds were always against her, though. But what stayed with me the most, was the realization that Madeleine had no other choices. Once ruined, there was nothing else she could do.
You know, The Mysterious Miss M almost did not see publication. When it made the 2001 finals of the Golden Heart contest (Romance Writers of America’s national contest for unpublished manuscripts), I tried hard to sell it, but editor after editor rejected it, saying that readers would not like Madeleine, a prostitute heroine. On a whim, I entered it again in the 2003 Golden Heart and to my surprise it made the finals again. But there was no where I could send it, since it had already been rejected over and over. The best I hoped for was that it would help me sell my latest manuscript (It did, too. I eventually sold that manuscript to Warner. It became The Improper Wife by Diane Perkins, November 2004).
Out of the blue I got a phone call from Mills & Boon. Their editor had judged Miss M in the Golden Heart and wanted to buy it. I had never even dreamed of sending a manuscript to the British publisher! They wanted me to pick a different author name so I write as Diane Gaston for the Harlequin world. Oh. Miss M won the 2003 Golden Heart for Best Long Historical!