Historical PNR Author Wendy LaCapra: Crafting a Series Based on the Gods + giveaway

Crafting a Series Based on the Gods

My new release, Her Duke at Midnight, can be read as a stand-alone, although it is also the third and final book in my Mythic Dukes Trilogy.

Why Mythic Dukes? Well, several years ago I was at a writer’s conference and a presenter was giving a class on how the mythic qualities of Greek Gods are woven into romantic heros. The class ended with this warning: never attempt to put the main 3 Greek Gods (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades) into one book, because, the presenter said, it would be way too much.

Sometimes, when I hear a stricture, the onery part of me lifts its curious head and I take said stricture as a challenge. Dare I put 3 heroes, each with the aspects of one Greek God, into a series? Later during that same conference, I heard grumblings about there being too many dukes in Historical Romance. The onery part of me lifted its head again. Dare I make all my mythic heros dukes?

Crafting a trilogy that embodies those two combined challenges took far longer than I expected. However, I’m happy to say all three are now available: Her Duke at Daybreak (Hades), His Duchess at Eventide (Poseidon), and Her Duke at Midnight (Zeus).

Each of the books are as different as their protagonists, but the series has a running theme of found family, the closing of ranks in a crisis, and overcoming past trauma. Ashby, Cheverley, and Hurtheven formed an alliance during their school days and cemented it with a secret society. They are honor bound to stand by one another. For this, I drew on my husband’s deep and lasting bond with a group of male friends who found one another as teens. Over the years, I’ve seen how that bond has strengthened and challenged each of the friends. I truly admire their unbreakable connection and hope I’ve been able to bring that energy to this series.

The final book, Her Duke at Midnight, features the Zeus character, who leapt onto the page in the first book, full of bluster and arrogance, subtle humor and absolute self-assurance. His book was by far the hardest to write—and it surprised me in so many ways. I knew he was committed to his friends and their children. I knew he had suffered a terrible loss in early childhood. But he was so self-confident, so powerful and principled, I didn’t know how I was going to get him to open that wound so it could heal.

The other friends are heavily featured in his book—because who but the people who know and love you best can help you through a dark night of the soul? And who but a woman with an equally strong will and an unshakable commitment to guiding her own course could possibly make him want to be whole?

When I finally reached his ultimate crisis, I literally wept...and three early readers have told me they wept as well. I’m glad I took on the challenge of writing this series. I hope readers will be moved and delighted watching friendship and love triumph over every challenge.
 

A governess and her secret take an invincible duke by storm…

Her Duke at Midnight (Mythic Dukes Book 3)
by Wendy LaCapra
Genre: Historical Paranormal Regency Romance
A governess and her secret take an invincible duke by storm...

The Duke of Hurtheven will stop at nothing to protect those he loves. So, when a mysterious new governess captures his godchild’s affection, he vows to uncover her secrets. Instead, she sets him aflame.

Miss Hera Bythesea accepted a governess position to secure the character reference she needs to reclaim her secret child. But she did not count on Hurtheven—curious, relentless, and temptation in human form.

In Hera's world, Hurtheven faces a challenge his power and wealth cannot solve. But for the love of unwed mother and child, he’ll undertake any Herculean Labor.

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His Duchess at Eventide (Mythic Dukes Book 2)

What Readers Are Saying:

Romance and adventure that will keep you up at night!

-Eva Devon

...stunning in its emotional intensity and, for me, her best writing yet. The journey of these characters shattered my heart, filled me with hope, and kept me reading late into the night, finally releasing me with the reassurance that some bonds, though stretched beyond imagination, cannot be broken, that evil foes can be vanquished, that love wins.

-PJ on the Romance Dish

His Duchess at Eventide is a tale that is all things fabulous, mythical and epic. …I know Chev, Penelope and their romance will have a firm place on my ebook keeper shelf and in my memory.

-Gayle on Lady Celeste Reads Romance

Stunning, Emotional, Heartbreaking and full of hope , this has to be one of my all time favourite books.

-Maggie, Amazon Reviewer

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Her Duke at Daybreak (Mythic Dukes Book 1)

2018 Romance Writers of America® RITA® Contest Finalist

A devilish duke & a proper widow agree to three nights, but will explosive passion cost more than they have bargained?

What Readers Are Saying:

"Great characters. Great sex. Great story." -Author Abigail Sharp

"Ms LaCapra has loaded this book with drama, a bit of angst (but notanoverdose), a sprinkle of humor and sizzle. I was glued to this bookfrom start to finish, it's just that good." -Deb Diem, Goodreads

"Her Duke at Daybreak is a steamy romance but it is so much more. It is the joining of two lost souls." -Kelly Tyree, Goodreads

"This is my first experience of Wendy's books , it won't be the last. Her characters are wonderful and her writing is riveting." -Maggie Whitworth, Goodreads

"This was a Happily Ever After that almost didn't happen so that makes it all the more enjoyable when it finally comes." -Diane, Goodreads

** Get it FREE for a limited time!! ** 

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About the Author
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Historical Romance author Wendy LaCapra writes award-winning books reviewers describe as ‘heart-pounding, entrancing’, ‘lusciously romantic and sparkling with wit.’ As a teen, Wendy discovered spine-tingling gothics in her local public library, inspiring her to craft her own seductive tales full of secrets and scandal. She lives with her husband in a quirky, historic building in NYC and loves a girls’ night in. For new release, sale alerts and other news, sign up at http://bit.ly/GetWendyNews

Giveaway
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Book Review: Artfully Yours by Joanna Lowell

Artfully Yours
by Joanna Lowell

February 21, 2023

Sparks fly between a lordly art critic and a lady forger in this enthralling Victorian historical romance from the author of The Runaway Duchess.

Nina Finch isn't suited for a life of crime. Raised by her art-forger brother, she can paint like Botticelli. But she'd so much rather be baking gooseberry tarts. She finally has the money she needs to open her own bakery. Unfortunately, her brother's carelessness lands her—and their forgeries—directly under the nose of London's most discerning art critic, Alan De'Ath. De'Ath knows the paintings are fake. He doesn't know that Nina had a hand in their creation. In fact, he offers her a job in his household. Accepting it is the most dangerous thing she has ever done....

Alan takes pride in seeing things other people miss. He plans to catch the forger and cement his reputation. There's only one problem: the closer he gets to the beguiling woman he hired, the less he trusts his perspective. Nina isn't what she seems. But despite their false start, she just might hold the real key to his heart. 

As Nina and Alan’s attraction grows, divided loyalties threaten to pull them apart and shatter their worlds. They’ll lose everything, or discover how powerful true love can be....

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For years, art forger Nina Finch has produced fakes of the masters at the behest of her manipulative older brother Jack. Nina is a rare talent but really longs for a simpler life in the countryside, owning her very own bakery. When Nina inconveniently catches the attention of renowned art critic and social elite Alan De’Ath, she soon finds herself in an impossible situation. Desperate for income, Nina takes a position as Alan’s personal secretary as he embarks on a mission to prove that recently acquired paintings are fakes. Nina must assist Alan in his work to uncover the forger knowing full well that she is the culprit. Jack encourages the arrangement to gain insider knowledge of Alan’s operation despite the fact Nina is in great peril. An attraction immediately develops, but Nina cannot honestly forge any future with Alan with such a monumental secret between them.

As an art enthusiast, I was excited to read Artfully Yours. The combination of art, intrigue and romance was very appealing. Ultimately, however, this book was just okay for me. I didn’t connect fully with Nina or Alan. I was more entertained by other characters who were more on the periphery. Plus, I inexplicably dislike monkeys, and Nina’s pet marmoset was highly off-putting to this reader. I understand this book is part of a series with recurring characters, but it appears to be marketed as a standalone. At times I felt I’d picked this up somewhere in the middle and was not privy to dynamics I might have benefited from if I’d read previous connected books. As with all historical romances, the contemporary is an essential part of the tone. Issues of feminism and mental illness are incorporated, as is a seemingly non-gender-conforming character. These inclusions grant a relatability to the story for readers.

Three sheep

Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:

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Joanna Lowell lives among the fig trees in North Carolina, where she teaches in the English department at Wake Forest University. When she’s not writing historical romance, she writes collections and novels as Joanna Ruocco. Those books include Dan, Another Governess / The Least Blacksmith, The Week, and Field Glass, co-authored with Joanna Howard.