ONCE A RAKE
Society Novel Spotlight
Rona Sharon

Rona SharonRona lives in Israel. She has traveled extensively around the world since childhood and speaks five languages. She has degrees in Accounting and Economics from the University of Tel Aviv and has spent several years working as a tax specialist for the Treasury Department before making the decision to write fulltime.

As part of her meticulous research for her debut book MY WICKED PIRATE, Rona took courses at the Italian Embassy in Israel, won a scholarship from the Italian government to continue her studies in Rome, and consequently spent two months traveling all over Italy, immersing herself in the country’s rich history and culture. Rona has a passion for western history, mythology, and literature, and prides herself on the detailed research that goes into her novels.

This month Rona releases her second novel ONCE A RAKE. An emotionaly charged novel set in Regency, London. I recently sat down with Rona and discussed her novel with her.

1-Hi Rona, welcome! It’s great to have you with us to discuss your latest novel ONCE A RAKE, released this month from Zebra Publishing. Can you please tell us a little bit about your novel?

Hi, everybody! Thanks for having me here at the Castle.

In ONCE A RAKE, Colonel Lord Ashby, once London’s legendary rake and now retiring Commander of the 18th Hussars, returns from the Napoleonic wars physically and emotionally scarred. Only Isabel Aubrey – the younger sister of the best friend he ever had and lost in the Battle of Waterloo – dares to approach the masked recluse for a donation to a worthy cause… and turns his solitary life upside-down.

Isabel has always had a tendre for the rakish Earl of Ashby, even when he was a notoriously handsome libertine and she a little chit fresh out of the schoolroom. Now the balance of power has shifted. Isabel is a beautiful woman, Society’s darling, and a temptation Ashby cannot resist. To win her, he initiates a seduction that only a rake could devise… and no woman can resist.

2-Can you describe your hero and tell us what kind of challenges he presented to you as you were writing his story?

Lord Ashby is a fierce, complex, tormented hero, who kept surprising me with the depths of his emotions and his generosity all the time. Because in certain ways he feels that he has hit rock bottom, he sees no point in maintaining the “devil-may-care” attitude that characterizes most rakes in romances. He is the “sober” rake, who sees life through realistic, mature eyes, and that makes his clawing his way out of his dark mental pit – with the help of his loving co-star – a lot more intense and gripping than the simple case of a lady reforming a rake. The greatest challenge was the hidden pitfalls of the healing process. As Lord Ashby became a living and breathing character, he took over the story and showed me that even though he is improving and beginning to hunger for life again, his inner scars need to be dealt with as well. He was not ready to emerge from his painful situation so easily. He wanted his woman to join him on his turf, on his terms. But Isabel is a creature of light. She could not live in darkness. Somehow she had to help her wounded tiger come out of his cave without being devoured on the way. Of course this part of the journey proved to be the most exhilarating twist and turn of the ride.

3-Describe your heroine and what will readers find endearing about her.

Isabel is a sweetheart: affectionate, kind, and strong. She is not the righteous reformer type, but a naughty rule-breaker who goes after the man she adores with the same single-mindedness she practices in helping others less fortunate than her. She is an ultra compassionate person, who cannot put a blind eye to the suffering going on around her and does whatever she can to help people (and stray dogs) in need.

I had lots of fun inflicting her on Ashby. Her beauty and spirit, her vivacity, her soft-hearted nature, her intelligence, and her natural sensuality entice him as nothing else can. She is the light at the end of his dark tunnel, the supreme temptation of a sweeter life.

Of course, she presented me with quite a few challenges, herself: Deeply though she cares for Ashby, Isabel is a 22 year-old woman dealing with a 35 year-old colonel suffering from battle trauma. She definitely has her work cut out for her. Only the most steadfast, passionate love can overcome these hurdles – which is what Ashby and Isabel discover that they have. Their sexually and emotionally intense relationship became a powerful clash that egged me on like a Ferrari engine and created an amazing chemistry all their own.

4-What is your favourite scene in ONCE A RAKE?

(Watch out – spoilers!) I really enjoyed writing Ashby’s inner monologues as he watches Isabel from the shadows and yearns for her while she is out waltzing in balls and living the life of a young, healthy lady. All the times he waits for her to return to him, when he fears she will never come back, and he will be left alone in his black solitude became very powerful scenes. Reading his thoughts, I’m sure Ashby will steal your heart.

Contrary to MY WICKED PIRATE, where I constantly concealed Eros’s POV, in ONCE A RAKE Ashby’s POV is a major part of the story, including his 2 flashbacks that show his past and offer another angle to the dark reality of his present situation.

But the best scene, I think, is when Ashby shares his darkest secrets with Isabel and she surprises him, as I hope she would surprise you.

5-Your novels are rich in details and historical facts, as I was reading the novel it became apparent that you spent a lot of time researching this period before writing it. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors who are looking to write in The Regency era that will make their novel stand out and apart from other Regency novels?

It is all about the story. Therefore to make it special, I believe a writer should first thoroughly acquaint himself with the period and then dig in to find that unique twist that would make his/her Regency romance stand out.

I held back no punches in ONCE A RAKE. The “Jane Austen” era we enjoy reading about, with its waltzing in balls and riding in the park, had a ruthless thundercloud hanging over it – and his name was Napoleon Bonaparte.

The killing and the suffering going on in Europe was very real and tragic. While the ton was engrossed in everyday amusements, young Englishmen were dying on the Continent, Englishwomen became poor widows, small defenseless children suffered of hunger and destitution. The story of Ashby and Isabel lays bare these elements and takes readers deeper into the heart of early 19th century London and the brave men who stopped the formidable conqueror of their era.

On top of the extensive period research that went into this story, I put a great deal of emphasis on researching the Napoleonic wars and post-war syndromes, such as battle trauma, that are the sad lot of soldiers returning from the frontier to this day. The strongest, more intelligent and conscientious soldiers are those who end up paying the heaviest toll for what they had to do and see on the battlefield.

The most interesting thing I learned and endeavored to implement in ONCE A RAKE is that a soldier suffering from post war trauma may begin to show misleading signs of improvement long before his brain has actually recovered from the ordeal. Isabel, the heroine of ONCE A RAKE, is a clever, brave, kindhearted lady, but the thirteen year difference in ages between her and the hero throws another obstacle in their relationship.

To find out more, please visit my website and read my article “Regency England and the Romance Novelist” at: http://www.ronasharon.com/travels_regency.htm

6-If you’re able, can you tell us about what you are working on now and when it will be released?

The book I am currently writing is a paranormal thriller titled ROYAL BLOOD. It takes place in Tudor England, during the reign of Henry VIII, and features vampires.

Here’s a short intro:

A vampire is on the prowl at the court of King Henry VIII’s. When one of the queen’s ladies is found dead with bite marks on her neck, Cardinal Wolsey assigns the Court’s tournament champion Sir Michael Devereux to hunt down the killer—and for personal reasons neglects to inform Michael it is a vampire they are after. But Michael has his own secrets—and now all the clues are leading straight to him! In a desperate race against time, Michael battles through an intricate web of court intrigue to get to the truth… but the truth is more bloodcurdling than he imagines!

Thank you for having me here this month. I love to hear from readers. So please visit my website or email me at rona@ronasharon.com and share your thoughts with me.

Happy holidays!

Rona Sharon


Contest Closed -- Congratulations to Terry Bruce whose name was selected amongst the correct entries for The Society Spotlight Contest