Guest Author - Julia Quinn

Today my guest author is Julia Quinn.

Photos courtesy of the publisher

Published by Piatkus on the 29th May 2012
as a paperback originaland an eBook

Anne Wynter's job as governess to three highborn young ladies can be a challenge - in a single week she finds herself hiding in a closet full of tubas, playing an evil queen in a play and tending to the wounds of the oh-so-dashing Earl of Winstead. After years of dodging unwanted advances, he's the first man who has truly tempted her - and it's getting harder and harder to remind herself that a governess has no business flirting with a nobleman.

Daniel Smythe-Smith might be in mortal danger, but that's not going to stop the young earl from falling in love. And when he spies a mysterious woman at his family's annual musicale, he vows to pursue her. But Daniel has an enemy, one who has vowed to see him dead. And when Anne is thrown into peril, he will stop at nothing to ensure their happy ending . . .

The next in the addictive Smythe-Smith quartet from the New York Times bestselling queen of historical romance is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud and tug at your heartstrings in equal measure.‘If you like family sagas, sweeping romances and period dramas, you’ll love this historical love story’**** Woman’s Own

“Quinn has a smart, funny touch… that’s reminiscent of Helen Fielding” Time Magazine

“A sweet read that will keep you guessing.” **** Heat

“Quinn’s witty Regency-set romantic comedies are the next best thing to Georgette Heyer” Gloss

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Thank you, Julia for joining us today. ...your final answer was a good one! :)

Thank you so much for having me!

 

 

Please tell us a little about A Night Like This

 

A Night Like This is the second book in the Smythe-Smith Quartet (after Just Like Heaven). The Smythe-Smiths are a family I actually created back in 1996 when I needed to send the hero and heroine of my third novel to some sort of social event where they might be able to whisper a conversation.  I decided to make it an amateur musical performance, but since bad music is much funnier than good music, I created the annual Smythe-Smith musicale, in which a quartet of cousins sent Mozart spinning in his grave.  A number of years later, I wanted to put my characters at a social gathering that didn't have dancing, and it occurred to me—there was no reason these characters couldn't suffer through a Smythe-Smith performance, too.  After a while, it began to be an inside joke between my readers and me.  And I think we all started to wonder about those poor girls who were forced to pick up their instruments year after year.

 

A Night Like This is about Anne Wynter, the governess who stepped in at the last minute in Just Like Heaven to play the piano when one of the Smythe-Smith cousins fell ill. She meets Daniel Smythe-Smith, who has just returned to England after three years in exile.  He is instantly smitten, but Anne is more cautious.  She knows that a romance between an earl and a governess is highly ill-advised. And like Daniel, she has secrets of her own… 

 

 

What inspired you to become a novelist, and why Romance?

 

My answer to the first part of your question is the same as every other novelist I know—I like to read!  I have always had my nose in a book, so it was a natural progression to try my hand at writing.  I chose romance because it was what I liked to read for fun.  

 

What are you working on next?

 

The third book in the Smythe-Smith Quartet.  I know the characters (Sarah and Hugh), but I haven't a clue yet what the title will be.

 

If you could travel back in time to any period what period would it be?

I'll stay put, thank you very much.  I'm married to an infectious disease specialist, so I'm happy to remain in the age of antibiotics!