MUSE MONDAY
It’s lovely to be here
today—thanks for the invitation, Brenda. Although I’ve written quite a few
novels (you can see all my titles on display at http://bit.ly/1HGQX9O), my first book for The
Wild Rose Press, His Majesty’s Secret Passion, was only released in February this year. That was
really exciting, especially as I’d originally written it as a treat for myself.
His Majesty’s
Secret Passion is
set on a sun-drenched Greek island, a long, long
way from the wet and windswept countryside where I wrote it! Imagining a
passionate summer romance was the perfect antidote to the short, dark days of a
Gloucestershire winter.
When readers wanted to know what
happened to Krisia, a minor character in His
Majesty’s Secret Passion who
was thrown into a major job crisis, my single title magically turned into the
first part of series called The
Princes Of Kharova. While
the first book is about a king who meets a woman who’s more than a match for
him, the second book, Her Royal Risk, tells the story of a playboy prince pitted against a serious,
hard-working woman in a fight to save their country. They’re supposed to be on
the same side, but they can’t stop pulling in opposite directions. The action
takes place in the fictional country of Kharova, which is in the eastern
Mediterranean. That gave me another chance to fantasize about stunning scenery,
beautiful weather, a tough, handsome hero and romantic evenings under the
stars....
Here are the details for the
first two books in the Princes of Kharova series:
Leo Gregoryan diverts the energy
he once poured into his dream of becoming a doctor toward his royal duties. All
he needs right now is a stress-free vacation–no future queen need apply. Sara
Astley escapes to the luxurious Paradise Hotel after a personal disaster. She
hides her broken dreams behind a tough exterior, and her stubborn streak makes
her a challenge Leo can’t resist. His special brand of hands-on persuasion
seduces her into enjoying the holiday of a lifetime. Their fling can't hurt
either of them–or can it? Leo's focussed on being the ideal hero. Sara knows
what she wants, and that’s independence. Then a revelation tears them apart,
meaning things can never be the same between them...
Playboy Prince Athan is a
brilliant soldier—and the world's worst boss.
Landed with the task of bringing
order to his working life, dedicated personal assistant Krisia only takes on
the job out of loyalty to her king.
A past disaster means Krisia is
determined not to fall in love with gorgeous Athan. When she does, heartbreak
isn't far behind.
Then, a secret Athan has been
fighting to hide comes to light, threatening his future. Krisia must stifle her
pain, and work more closely with him than ever before. If their emotions take over, they both risk
losing everything...
Extract from Her Royal Risk:
“It wasn’t until I joined the army
I felt I’d become part of a real family. A proper family.”
“What about your sister, Maia?”
Athan snorted. “You know as well as I do, my
sister hates the outdoor life. Besides, she was always tagging along after you.”
The frustration of kicking around the palace with no one to talk to came back
to him in a rush.
“You were jealous?” Krisia paused
with a forkful of smoked salmon half way to her beautiful lips, then added the
killer blow, “Of me?”
He’d never thought about it like
that before. “Yes. Yes, I suppose I was. Who wouldn’t want to be top of the
class in every subject?”
“Not you, surely?”
“Are you mad?” He curled his lip.
“The only person who could come out with a line like that is someone who’s
never failed at anything.”
“But you’re head of the army and
chief of security now, Athan. How much higher can you possibly go?”
It was another thing that hadn’t
occurred to him, and it took this woman—the bane of his childhood—to point it
out to him.
“True.” He lifted his glass in
the mockery of a toast to her. “I always thought you were too clever by half,
Kris. I was wrong. You’re too clever by three-quarters.”
He took a drink. He was about to
make it a big one, then reconsidered. Alcohol never managed to come up with any
good answers to his problems. Kris, this mastermind with letters after her
name, might be a better bet. He put down his glass. Placing his finger on the
base, he pushed it aside in a measured gesture. “Leo’s the king. It’s my job to
support him. I take that seriously. The
best way I can show my loyalty is by
running the army and coming down heavily on Mihail and his rebels whenever I can.’
“King Leo makes a big thing about
not being happy when other people hand out jobs to their relatives. Doesn’t
that worry you?”
At last, Athan could feel the
conversation heading his way. He finished his starter, then leaned back in his
chair, taking his ease. “No. I’m the best man for the job, end of story. I got
this position on merit alone.”
“I know. I also know all our old
tutors are lost for words about it.”
He twitched a shoulder. Bringing
up the past couldn’t bother him, as long as the talk centred around his army
career. “I’m a practical man, Kris. How much of your book learning do you use
in everyday life? Not a thing,” he said without giving her time to argue. “I
can make my way in the world anywhere I choose. If my brother decides there’s
only room for one Gregoryanak here in Kharova and
boots me out, then that’s fine by me. Does it worry you this new job of
yours could vanish in a round of job cuts?”
Her reply was fast, and furious.
“Yes. Yes, it does.”
Right now, I’m putting the
finishing touches to the third book in the Princes Of Kharova series, which has the working
title Heart
of A Hostage. To
find out more, sign up to my mailing list here: http://bit.ly/1eKihHg
Buy Links:
His Majesty’s Secret Passion: http://bit.ly/1ujX5zc
Her Royal Risk: http://bit.ly/1GQPIIq
My social media links:
Website: http://www.christinahollis.com
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1Ee1urM
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristinaBooks
Great excerpt, Christina. Good luck on book 3.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Her Royal Risk was a lovely book to write.
DeleteLove the excerpt. Congrats on the books and best wishes with #3.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Angelina. That's very kind of you!
ReplyDelete