This week, we're pleased to welcome author REGAN WALKER with her latest release, THE RED WOLF’S PRIZE. Join us again on Sunday for an author interview, with more details about the story behind the story. One lucky visitor will get a free copy of The Red Wolf’s Prize. Be sure to leave your email address in the comments of today's author interview for a chance to win. Winner(s) are contacted privately by email. Here's the blurb.
Sir Renaud de Pierrepont, the Norman knight known as the Red Wolf for the beast he slayed with his bare hands, hoped to gain lands with his sword. A year after the Conquest, King William rewards his favored knight with Talisand, the lands of an English thegn slain at Hastings, and orders him to wed Lady Serena, the heiress that goes with them.
Serena wants nothing to do with the fierce warrior to whom she has been unwillingly given, the knight who may have killed her father. When she learns the Red Wolf is coming to claim her, she dyes her flaxen hair brown and flees, disguised as a servant, determined to one day regain her lands. But her escape goes awry and she is brought back to live among her people, though not unnoticed by the new Norman lord.
Deprived of his promised bride, the Red Wolf turns his attention to the comely servant girl hoping to woo her to his bed. But the wench resists, claiming she hates all Normans.
As the passion between them rises, Serena wonders, can she deny the Norman her body? Or her heart?
Praise for The Red Wolf’s Prize
“Ms. Walker has the rare ability to make you forget you are reading a book…the characters become real, the modern world fades away and all that is left is the intrigue, drama and romance.” Straight from the Library
“An engrossing love story grounded in meticulous research. Regan Walker makes the transition from Regency London to Anglo Norman England with consummate ease.” Glynn Holloway, author of 1066 What Fates Impose
“Regan Walker has once again written a story that grabs hold and doesn’t let go. There is intrigue, action and a beautifully developed romance." Vickie Moore, The Reading Cafe
The Red Wolf's Prize, ranked #1 in Amazon's Top 100 Medieval Romances
** Q&A with Regan Walker**
“The Red Wolf’s Prize” is set just after the Norman Conquest. What appealed to you about this era and/or plotline?
I was drawn to the medieval period and specifically to England after the Conquest. I kept wondering what a feisty English maiden would do when her country was conquered, her beloved father was killed at Hastings and she and her lands were given to a Norman knight. I knew this happened many times after the Conquest, so I was writing a story that could have occurred. It was an adventure to dive into the 11th century and take a look at England after the Normans descended. It wasn't all a pretty picture, to be sure. William the Conqueror was a brutal king who treated his enemies despicably. But the knights in my story, The Red Wolf's Prize, are of a noble bent, inclined to pay homage to womanhood, even if the hero does lust after the heroine. And of course, my heroine is brave and noble of heart, though her independence leads her into trouble. I wanted to sweep readers away to that time and let them fall in love. I think I achieved my purpose.
Was research terribly difficult given that nearly a thousand years has passed?
Well, it was much more difficult than that for my other stories. I had to learn all about the Saxon/English culture (housing, food, dress, horses, armor, fighting techniques and weapons) and I had to learn about the Normans and the changes they brought to England, which were considerable. I spent hundreds of hours pouring over books, maps, old paintings and drawings as well as all the online material that was available. In the end, I found more than I thought I would—even some reported quotes by William the Conqueror himself.
What are your influences? Perhaps a favorite author?
I like the deep historicals where history is a real character. The authors whose names come to mind whose books I love are Jan Cox Speas and Kathleen Givens (Scottish historicals), Penelope Williamson, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Virginia Henley (my mentor of sorts), Elizabeth Stuart, Candice Proctor (Australian historicals), and many others. I have featured their novels on my “best lists” and shared my reviews of their books on my blog.
Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?
I write all my books to music. I have a 3-hour playlist I use, comprised mostly of movie scores by the French composer Alexandre Desplat. But for some scenes, I use special music. I used Skyfall for some of the battle scenes in The Red Wolf’s Prize, as I did for the pirate attacks in Wind Raven, my last novel.
For the song that Rhodri, the Welsh bard, sings with Serena, I used Muladach Mi Is Mi Air M'aineol by Capercaillie on their Celtic Celebration album. It was just as I pictured them, sitting in the great hall, the firelight dancing on her face as she smiles at the Welsh bard and the Red Wolf observes in the shadows, mesmerized.
Learn more about author Regan Walker at www.reganwalkerauthor.com
