Name Before The Masses Tour - The Devil DeVere Series by Victoria Vane

Welcome to my stop on Victoria Vane's Name Before The Masses Tour for The Devil DeVere Series. 

Please be sure to leave a comment or question below for Victoria as she will be awarding a copy of her first erotic historical romance, A Breach of Promise, to one randomly drawn commenter during her tour.  You can follow her tour stops here, the more often you comment, the better your odds of winning.  



Also as a special note, Victoria's publisher, Breathless Press is offering the first book of her series for FREE during this week. The link is http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=17&products_id=291

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Victoria Vane Interview

Me: Your books are set in the Georgian historical period.  What is it about this period of time that has captured your attention and led you to set your books within this time frame?

Victoria:  To date, all of my books writing both as Emery Lee and Victoria Vane have been set in the Georgian era. One reason is that the Regency is already so inundated. The other reason is that it truly is my favorite historical period. I love the elegance of it — the art, music, architecture, and especially the clothes! I also love the Georgian's naughty, bawdy humor, particularly as portrayed on the stage.

The Georgians were truly a riotous breed who drank heavily, gamed to excess, and were not particularly encumbered by morality! Paradoxically, they lived by a rigid code of honor, proven by the record number of duels fought in this period. What great fodder for a romance novelist!

Me:  While your books are fictional romance, how extensive is the research you have done for the Devil DeVere series?

Victoria:  I am a true blue history geek who reads history books just for fun! Thus, everything I write has some historical basis, whether it be the setting, events that I use, or even the real characters. I strongly believe that working these real life details into my work gives it added depth and dimension. It's how I do my world building.

For example, In A WILD NIGHT'S BRIDE, the heroine Phoebe is an actress who I largely modeled after the Georgian actress Mary Robinson. Phoebe gets her big break in a production of The Belles' Stratagem, a real play written by Georgian dramatist Hannah Cowley. The brothel where she and Ned meet is King's Place, one the elite brothels owned by Charlotte Hayes. This is also real, as was the Otaheitian Feast of Venus, and the list goes on! My books are riddled with historical facts. My author blog, Victoria's Titillating Tidbits http://victoriavane.wordpress.com  is dedicated to the juicy tidbits that I find, many of which I work into my stories.

Me:  You also write under the name Emery Lee and those books are also set in the Georgian period.  Why did you feel a need for a different nom de plume?

Victoria:  Primarily due to the drastic difference in heat level. My Emery Lee novels are best described as romantic historical fiction as opposed to historical romance. To explain the difference, there is a love story integral to the plot, but history plays an equal part. These books are also PG rated, as opposed to my work as Victoria Vane which is erotic in nature, although the emphasis is on the romance. While I do write sexually explicit material, the plot and characters always come first. The sex is geared to enhance the romance and is never at the expense of a good story.

Me:  Did you always know you wanted to be a writer and do you currently write full time?

Victoria:  Although I wrote a few stories as a child and always excelled in English and literature classes, I  never imagined myself as a writer. I didn't know I had the imagination for it until I woke up at forty-four years old with my first story in my head - a tale of passion, retribution, and horse racing set in the  18^th century.

I wrote THE HIGHEST STAKES in fourteen months and got a publishing contract six weeks after I finished it. I was both stunned and terrified that I would never think of another story to write. Happily, those fears were unfounded.

Me:  While growing up, what or who were your literary influences?

Victoria:  I have always loved the classics- Shakespeare (the comedies), Dickens, Alexander Dumas, the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, etc. When I began reading romance I discovered Georgette Heyer. I believe she has been my strongest writing influence. My first editor told me I had a Heyer-esque writing voice.

Me:  If you were able to travel back or forward in time, where would you go?

Victoria: I must laugh aloud - need you even ask?  Georgian England, of course!

Me:  Aliens invade the planet and you are fleeing to the mountains. If you were only able to take a handful of books - what would they be?

Victoria:  I think a guide on surviving an alien attack would be very useful!

Me:  If your friends had to describe you in one word - what word would that be?

Victoria:  Tenacious!

Me:  If expense was not an issue, please give us your "destination vacation"?

Victoria:  An extensive tour of the entire British Isles. I have been to London once in my life, but would very much like to tour the entire country to include Scotland, Ireland and Wales and even some of the islands.

Quick get to know you questions:

Favorite Color - Red
Coffee or Tea – both Coffee in the morning and tea at night.

Print or Ebook- both but now leaning more toward e-book due to the lower price and sheer convenience.

Heels or boots- Both again. I am a horse owner and have a good collection of boots but I love platform heel. I wear what suits my mood.
Favorite movie – Last of the Mohicans.

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The Devil DeVere Series

By

Victoria Vane

(Book #1) A WILD NIGHT'S BRIDE:  What happens when a struggling actress and a grieving widower come together in a night of unbridled debauchery orchestrated by a bored and machinating rake? With the devil in charge — there will surely be hell to pay!

My story begins with A WILD NIGHT’S BRIDE, a racy rollicking adventure that pairs Phoebe Scott, a struggling actress with Sir Edward “Ned” Chamber a grieving widower in a madcap wager when devil in disguise, Viscount Ludovic DeVere, is determined to return his best friend, Ned, to the land of the living. His meddling machinations result in a night of mind blowing passion after which “dull dog Ned” awakes to find himself in the King of England’s bed!

EXCERPT:

DeVere, on the other hand, evinced no such qualms. He had already loosened his cravat and was stripping off his coat.

"As I said earlier, there is no need," Phoebe insisted. "A couple of buttons and a raised petticoat are all the business requires."

"How delightfully unromantic you are, my dear!" He chuckled. "But while most men would be charmed to comply with your simple wishes, I have quite another game in mind. One that most definitely requires you to disrobe."

"But what if I don't want to?"

"Oh but you will," he said with a smug smile.

She glared. "You are very sure of yourself!"

He studied his buffed fingernails. "I am sure of Ned. Thus, we must put on a convincing show."

Her brows came together in a deep scowl. "What do you mean? What has Ned to do with this?"

"Everything. And at any moment, I expect him to burst through that door like a raging bull."

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(Book #2) THE VIRGIN HUNTRESS:  Desperate times call for devilish measures…Lady Vesta Chambers is accustomed to getting what she wants, but when the object of her passion has eyes for another, it’s time to take matters in hand!

In THE VIRGIN HUNTRESS, Ned’s spoiled daughter Vesta goes to London to find a husband and is smitten the moment she lays eyes on a certain officer of the Seventeenth Light Dragoons who happens to be DeVere’s younger brother Captain Hew. But when the only man she desires has eyes for her godmother, Vesta is prepared to take devilish measures to prove just how wrong he is. 

Excerpt:

"But it is so large and swollen, is it painful?

"No, just uncomfortable. Now, may we stop discussing my …" the appropriate word for feminine ears failed him.

"Phallus?" she offered. "That is what the grooms call it."

"Why are you eavesdropping on grooms?"

"I used to watch the stallions leaping the mares."

"You what!" Hew almost choked.

"Well, how else is a girl with no mother supposed to get any education? Although I doubt Mama would have told me very much. So there's really no reason to be timid, Hew. I already know all about the mating process. And to the best of my knowledge, the stallions never 'ignored it until it went away.' Please feel free to relieve yourself of it. I would even help you if you would like. I'm not the least afraid for I have seen much larger ones."

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(Book #3)  THE DEVIL YOU KNOW :  When dealing with the devil it's easy to be burned…especially when passion ignites the flames…

Beautiful, respectable, and dutiful, Lady Diana Palmerston-Wriothesley has long resigned herself to her loveless marriage …until her husband's gambling pushes them to the brink of ruin. Viscount Ludovic, "The Devil DeVere", is a man accustomed to taking what he wants according to his whim until he encounters a woman who won't be had at any price. But will a single night of heavenly passion damn them both forever?

Excerpt:

She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell her budding arousal and would relish bringing her to full bloom. God, how he loved this dance! She had taken the first tentative steps, yet she still fought her desire, refused to give in to it, but he would lead her now. He was a master…and a ruthless bastard.

He moved behind her, his fingers riffled gently through her hair. He closed his eyes to inhale her faint rose scent mixed with womanly musk. He dipped his head, letting his breath tickle her ear. She shivered. He whispered low and sultry. "Do you wish me to name the ways I can please you? I am delighted to comply if that excites you...although it would please me far more to demonstrate."

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(Book #4) THE DEVIL'S MATCH: Once burned twice shy… but when old flames come together…passion reignites...

In THE DEVIL’S MATCH, we find Diana and DeVere finally reunited in a tale that mixes the exotic with the erotic with a number of surprising twists! Arriving in London as her goddaughter’s chaperon, Baroness Diana Palmerston Wriothesley wants to avoid her erstwhile lover at all costs, but when Diana’s charge disappears, she is forced to seek help from the devil’s lair. But while Ludovic is hell bent to have her back in his bed, Diana is equally determined to bring him to his knees.

Excerpt:

DeVere rose and came to her, perching himself on the arm of the settle. "My honorable and straitlaced brother could never satisfy a woman like you, Diana. He could never plumb the depths of your passion...unlock your secret desires."

His voice was low and seductive, and the flickering blue fire in his eyes heated her insides. Diana fiercely tamped down the smoldering sensation that threatened to reignite feelings she'd struggled to suppress. "And what would you know of my wants and desires after four years?"

"A great deal." He gave her a slow, confident smile. "Given that I was the one to unleash them."

Diana averted her face with a bitter laugh. "Thus you presume to have an exclusive claim to me?"

"Has any other exerted one?" he asked softly. He reached out a hand and traced a long, manicured finger along her jaw. "You are still unwed, Diana. Have you taken another lover in my absence?"

"It is none of your business whether I have or not, and you are grossly impertinent to ask."

He laughed long and low. "I think I have my answer."

She glared at him, and thus they remained, silently challenging one another for an interminable beat. Then suddenly his mouth was on hers, taking, possessing, as if it was indeed, his singular privilege.

Diana leaned into him, teasing his lower lip with her tongue and sucking it eagerly into her mouth before sinking her teeth into it. Hard. Savoring the coppery taste of his blood.

"What the hell!" DeVere jerked back with a cry. He touched his lip and examined the crimson stain on his fingertip, his expression a mix of outrage and bemusement.

"You took without invitation," Diana said. "It was a warning not to do so again."

The Devil DeVere Volume 1 

Print (A Wild Night's Bride & The Virgin Huntress)

What happens when a struggling actress and a grieving widower come together in a night of unbridled debauchery orchestrated by a bored and machinating rake?

In A Wild Night's Bride, Phoebe Scott, alias Kitty Willis, is a lonely lady, down on her luck. Sir Edward Chambers is steadfast, respectable, and avowed to a life of celibacy. Devil in disguise, Viscount Ludovic DeVere, is the machinating rake hell-bent to return his best friend, Ned, to the land of the living. But with the devil in charge...there will surely be hell to pay. In The Virgin Huntress, desperate times call for devilish measures... The coddled and pampered Lady Vesta Chambers is accustomed to getting what she wants, but what's a girl to do when the man of her dreams has eyes for another? Younger brother to Viscount Ludovic "The Devil" DeVere, Hew has returned from the American war scarred, disillusioned, and looking forward to settling down with the right woman. When Hew shows interest in Vesta's godmother, Diana, Vesta vows to prove to Hew that she is no longer a little girl, but a woman with the passion of...a huntress.

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AUTHOR INFORMATION: 

A lover of history and deeply romantic stories, Victoria combines these elements to craft romantic historical novels and novellas for a mature reading audience. Her writing influences are Georgette Heyer for fabulous witty dialogue and over the top characters, Robin Schone , Sylvia Day, and Charlotte Featherstone for beautifully crafted prose in stories with deep sensuality, and Lila DiPasqua for creative vision in melding history with eroticism. Ms. Vane also writes award nominated romantic historical fiction as Emery Lee (http://authoremerylee.com)

CONTACT:
victoria.vane@hotmail.com
Web:http://authorvictoriavane.com
Blog:http://victoriavane.wordpress.com
Twitter: @authorvictoriav

VICTORIA VANE TITLES:
A BREACH OF PROMISE,Ellora's Cave 12/23/11
A...moreA lover of history and deeply romantic stories, Victoria combines these elements to craft romantic historical novels and novellas for a mature reading audience. Her writing influences are Georgette Heyer for fabulous witty dialogue and over the top characters, Robin Schone , Sylvia Day, and Charlotte Featherstone for beautifully crafted prose in stories with deep sensuality, and Lila DiPasqua for creative vision in melding history with eroticism. Ms. Vane also writes award nominated romantic historical fiction as Emery Lee (http://authoremerylee.com)

CONTACT:
victoria.vane@hotmail.com
 Web: http://authorvictoriavane.com
Blog: http://victoriavane.wordpress.com
Twitter: @authorvictoriav

BOOK VIDEO:

Link  http://youtu.be/LrOuTtsByf8

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Please be sure to leave a comment or question below for Victoria as she will be awarding a copy of her first erotic historical romance, A Breach of Promise, to one randomly drawn commenter during her tour.  You can follow her tour stops here, the more often you comment, the better your odds of winning.