The Innkeeper’s Daughter is Regency romance at it’s best! A story of intrigue in 1808 Dover, England, you won’t want to miss it! Leave a comment at the end and sign in on the Rafflecopter to increase your chances of winning a signed print copy!

 

 

Fabulous Fridays

The Innkeeper’s Daughter

Welcome, Michelle! I’m excited to hear about The Innkeeper’s Daughter, but first, please introduce yourself and tell us something about how you started writing.

I first started writing when I discovered Crayolas and blank wall space. Yeah. My mom wasn’t too happy about that. I’ve grown out of that stage and currently live in the frozen tundra of Minnesota with my husband, my youngest daughter, and my dog, Miss Ada Clare (named after a Dickens character). When I’m not out saving the world in my superhero cape, I teach creative writing and U.S. history at a local high school co-op.

How many books do you have in print, and do you have one that is a particular favorite?

13 books (though 3 of those are short stories in novella collections). Undercurrent, a time travel back to the Viking age, is my personal favorite, though it is no longer in print. I hope to some day resurrect that and turn it into a trilogy.

What is one thing you recommend to writers who are starting out and wondering how they should try to connect with readers?

Pick your favorite social media and give it your best shot. Don’t spread yourself too thin by being on all the possible sites. Go with the ones you like.

How much of yourself did you write into your characters in The Innkeeper’s Daughter? 

There are always pieces of me in every book I write. Not that I go around talking about myself in third person via a clown puppet, but even in the quirky Mr. Nutbrown you can see some of my own personality trends. For example: he tends to be a bit insecure, which I can be also. 

Do you have a favorite period in history, and why?

As much as I love to visit the past via story, I don’t think I’d actually want to live back then. Who can give up air conditioning?

If you could spend a day with your favorite character from any book, who would it be, and what would you do?

Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre. He’s such a no-nonsense type of fellow yet deeply emotional. I’d go for a walk in the woods with him.

Please share your inspiration for The Innkeeper’s Daughter.

I’ve been to Dover several times and have always been intrigued with smuggling. Last time I was there, walking the trails above the white cliffs, I wondered if any of the clefts in the rocks had been hideouts . . . and so the idea for smuggling in The Innkeeper’s Daughter began.

What distinguishes The Innkeeper’s Daughter from other books in the same genre?

It’s gritty. Jails were horrible. Life was tough. Workhouses were real. I don’t gloss over the darker parts of life by writing only about dinner parties.

How would you like your writing to inspire your audience?

I love to inspire readers by imparting Biblical truth, not by beating the reader over the head with it, but by weaving it into the story.

Please share a favorite scene from The Innkeeper’s Daughter with us.

Wrapping her fingers tight around the ladder, Johanna stretched her arm toward the crevice. Close, but not enough to wedge the garland into the crack.

She sucked in a breath, held it, and leaned farther. Her fingertips brushed the breach. Barely. If she stretched a hair closer and shifted her weight a bit, then—

Wood cracked. The world tipped. Johanna flailed, fingers seeking something—anything—to grab onto. A splinter pierced her skin as wood scraped her palms. She tumbled headlong, a scream to wake the dead ripping out of her throat.

She squeezed her eyes shut, tightening every muscle for impact, and—

Landed on a pair of outstretched arms that scooped her up against a solid chest.

“Careful, missy.”

A deep voice rumbled against her ear, reminding her of an autumn day, all golden and warm. Her eyes flew open. The man holding her matched the voice perfectly. Shoulder length hair, the color of spent leaves fallen to the ground, framed a face kissed by the sun, browned yet fair. His coat, rough against her cheek, smelled of bergamot and wood smoke, spicy but sweet. If September were flesh and blood, it would look exactly like the man holding her.

She blinked, speechless, breathless—and totally drawn in by his brilliant blue gaze.

“Miss? Are you all right?” he asked.

“I. . .” Her voice squeaked, stuck somewhere between mortified and mesmerized. She swallowed, then tried again. “I am fine. Thank you.”

“Well then, let’s see if your legs work better than that ladder.” He bent and set her down.

She wobbled, and he grabbed her elbow. La! She must look like a newborn foal.

Behind her, laughter rang out. “What a catch! You should’ve seen the look on your face, Jo.”

A slow burn started somewhere low, her toes maybe, or her tummy, melting her embarrassment and stoking up a hot rage. She reeled about and planted her fists on her hips. “This was your chore to finish, brother. Had you been here, I’d not have fallen.”

The man stepped between them. “Don’t be hard on him, miss. The boy had his own fall from grace.”

“Really?” She folded her arms and dissected her brother’s wide eyes. “What have you been up to this time, Thomas?”

“Filling the inn.” The boy’s chest puffed out a full inch as he lifted his chin. “I got us another guest, and good thing too, or you’d have smashed your head like a—”

“Alexander Morton, at your service, miss.” The man cut Thomas off with a bow, chivalrous to a degree that nearly made her smile.

Stuffing down her irritation, she dipped her head toward Mr. Morton. “Thank you, sir, for indeed, your service was welcome. I am grateful you stopped me from breaking any bones, though I own my pride is scuffed.” She straightened her shoulders, resuming her role as hostess. “Welcome to the Blue Hedge Inn. My name is Johanna Langley.”

Book Blurb:

Dover, England, 1808: Officer Alexander Moore goes undercover as a gambling gentleman to expose a high-stakes plot against the king—and he’s a master of disguise, for Johanna Langley believes him to be quite the rogue. . .until she can no longer fight against his unrelenting charm.

All Johanna wants is to keep the family inn afloat, but when the rent and the hearth payment are due at the same time, where will she find the extra funds? If she doesn’t come up with the money, there will be nowhere to go other than the workhouse—where she’ll be separated from her ailing mother and ten-year-old brother.

Alex desperately wants to help Johanna, especially when she confides in him, but his mission—finding and bringing to justice a traitor to the crown—must come first, or they could all end up dead.

About the author:

Michelle Griep’s been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. She is the author of historical romances: The Innkeeper’s Daughter, 12 Days at Bleakly Manor, The Captive Heart, Brentwood’s Ward, A Heart Deceived, Undercurrent and Gallimore, but also leaped the historical fence into the realm of contemporary with the zany romantic mystery Out of the Frying Pan. If you’d like to keep up with her escapades, find her at www.michellegriep.com or stalk her on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

 

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