19 December 2010

Guest Author: Michelle Beattie

This week on Unusual Historicals we're welcoming back Michelle Beattie as she celebrates the release of A PIRATE'S POSSESSION, available now from Berkley Sensation. Michelle has become known for adventurous romances set on the high seas of the 17th century--the Age of Sail. Here's the scoop:

Love and gold have one thing in common: they can only be buried for so long...

Abandoned by her father and married to a deceitful man, Claire Gentry fled from her life. Disguised as a man, Claire wagers all she owns in a poker game to locate the treasure her father sought. While her disguise holds, it doesn't protect her when one of her opponents turns out to be the only man she ever gave her heart to.

Nate Carter is no fool. Raised in an orphanage and sailing as the mysterious pirate Sam Steele, Nate is looking to gamble for a map that will lead him to a treasure. But when he looks over his cards, he's reminded of a past he'd rather forget--and the woman who could have given him everything he truly wanted.

After Nate wins the map, Claire has no choice but to accompany her old love on his quest. But running for their lives soon replaced running from the past. And if they survive the bloody battle for the treasure, they may just realize that what they really have been searching for isn't riches--but each other...
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A PIRATE'S POSSESSION is the third book of your pirate series. How is this one different than the other two?

Unlike WHAT A PIRATE DESIRES and ROMANCING THE PIRATE, most of A PIRATE'S POSSESSION takes place on land. I did that specifically to change things up a bit though of course I have scenes taking place on the ship because it's such an intimate setting. It's hard to avoid each other on a relatively small ship.

What similarities can we expect in this book as compared to the others?

Lots of action, gun battle, sword fights. The lovely, sultry setting of the Caribbean. A strong heroine who can more than hold her own. Villains. I always have a villain and like Sam and Luke from WHAT A PIRATE DESIRES and Blake and Alicia from ROMANCING THE PIRATE, both Nate and Claire have a past to deal with before they can move on.

You mention Luke and Sam, Blake and Alicia. Will we be seeing them again in this latest installment?

Yes. Part of the fun of a series is seeing characters you've fallen in love with come back. They don't steal the show, but you will see them again. They're family. Not all by blood, but this unlikely group of pirates and civilians have become family, so of course it makes sense that you'd see them pop up here and there.

One of the great things in ROMANCING THE PIRATE was the fun camaraderie between Nate, Vincent and Blake. Was that fun to write? And can we expect more of that dynamic in A PIRATE'S POSSESSION?

It was SO much fun to write! I love these men together. They have a real friendship with all the frustration and humour that goes along with it. Writing them together was so easy, it was just a matter of letting them go! You will definitely see much of that continue with Nate and Vincent in this book, and toward the end, when Blake steps in.

What's on your horizon as a writer?

I'm currently switching gears a bit and trying to sell a contemporary that I wrote and have begun another. I'm toying with a few ideas. I really love historical westerns but that market isn't strong right now so I may try a contemporary western. We'll see. First I have to finish this new book.

So no historicals in the future?

For sure! I can't see myself ever NOT writing historicals, but I would like to branch out and write both historicals and contemporaries.

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Are you ready for some pirates? Leave a comment or question for Michelle to be entered in her contest. I'll draw a winner at random next Sunday, who will receive a copy of A PIRATE'S POSSESSION just in time for the new year! Maybe this question to get you started: Who is your favorite pirate in film or literature, or which is your favorite pirate story? Void where prohibited. Best of luck!