My guest today is someone I’ve known online for several years and I think you’re going to enjoy what she has to say as much as her stories! Let’s take a peek at Cora Lee’s bio and then find out how she became a best-selling author.
Cora Lee is a National Bestselling author of Regency romance. She went on a twelve year expedition through the blackboard jungle as a high school math teacher before publishing Save the Last Dance for Me, the first book in the Maitland Maidens series. She then followed it up with five other novels and novellas ranging from sweet and traditional to spicy and suspenseful. When she’s not walking Rotten Row at the fashionable hour or attending the entertainments of the Season, you might find her wading through her towering TBR pile or eagerly awaiting the next Marvel movie release.
Website * Facebook * Twitter * BookBub
Betty: When did you become a writer?
Cora: I started writing when was about 12 because I thought it would be fun, and even tried to write a murder mystery when I was about 15 featuring thinly disguised versions of all my friends. 🙂 I started writing seriously, with an eye toward being published, in 2012 when I was on medical leave from my day job at the time—teaching high school math—and my first book was published in 2015.
Betty: What do you most enjoy writing? Why?
Cora: For me, it’s two things: doing research and creating something new.
Researching is something I do almost by accident, lol—I am the dictionary definition of a lifelong learner, and even when I’m reading or just watching TV, if something piques my interest I’ll jump online and start looking for more information about it.
Creating a brand new story with characters that didn’t previously exist in the world feels like making magic. 🙂
Betty: What do you wish you knew before you started writing/publishing?
Cora: I wish I had known that writing and publishing are really two full-time jobs (at least they are for self-published authors). I heard from my already-published friends about how much marketing they had to do for themselves on top of the actual writing, so I was somewhat prepared for that. But being self-published, I also have the responsibility for dealing with all the nuts and bolts of preparing the book for readers and getting it to them, and that has been a lot more work than I anticipated (though I really enjoyed learning how to do it all!).
Betty: What inspired you to write the book you’re sharing with us today?
Cora: I’d been thinking about writing a marriage pact story for a while now—the kind where the two main characters make a pact to marry at a certain age if they’re both still single. I’d never seen that particular trope in a historical romance (if there’s one out there, let me know so I can read it!) and wondered how it would play out differently in a historical than in a contemporary romance book or movie. Once we settled on the theme for this anthology, the plot started to form in my head like it had always been there 🙂
A delightful anthology of Regency Romance Summer stories from best-selling authors! Fall in love for Summer, with these wonderful romantic reads! Seven novellas to keep you reading all through Summer, each centered around Summer.
Buy link: Amazon
The anthology includes:
The Courtship of Lord Blackhurst by Regina Jeffers
A Lady promised to a man she has never met, who yet answers his request for assistance in preparing the home they will share, a Marquess unsure what to expect, an unplanned deception, a seemingly improper affection, misperception untangled to love.
A Hero for Harriet by Victoria Hinshaw
A young woman whose family want her to marry well, a gentleman, nobly born but uninterested in society, two matchmaking aunts, assumptions and misconceptions, the intervention of a donkey, love found despite it all.
Her Absent Duke by Arietta Richmond
A Lord and a Lady promised from birth, an avaricious uncle with plans of his own, an impossible choice which leads to disaster, an unplanned compromise, a love fulfilled despite all opposition.
The Magic Garden by Janis Susan May
A beautiful young woman, shut away in the country so that her less appealing sister may shine, an Earl set upon visiting a never seen estate, simply to escape the demands of his aunt and the pursuit of unwanted young women, an accident, a garden left to run wild, a new perspective on the world, a love which defies all expectations.
Grace’s Story by Summer Hanford
Trying to save her dearest friend from heartache will unravel a web of secrets that just might get Miss Grace Birkchester killed. Doctor Andrew Carter is determined to help those in need – but doing so draws him ever deeper into a web of danger. When their worlds collide, love may be the only thing which can save them.
What if I Loved You by Cora Lee
A man who needs to marry for his career, a woman who needs a new location in life, a proposal born of friendship, a shocking family secret which could ruin them both. Will love triumph, or will all be lost?
The Masked Wicked Duke by Sandra Masters
An opera singer who is cousin to royalty, a Duke with an artist’s soul, who is yet reputed as a rake, a chance meeting, an overwhelming attraction, a masquerade, a love which burns away all past resolve.
If you love Regency Historical Romance, you’ll love these!
Jonas Blackburn is content with his life…until he discovers he must marry for the advancement of his career. Unable to strike out on his own professionally, Jonas proposes to the only person he could envision spending his life with: his close friend Nora.
When Nora Paget learns the brother she keeps house for is ready to marry, she finds herself at a crossroads: live with her brother and his new wife or set a different course for herself? Jonas’s proposal offers a potential solution for them both. She can have a home of her own with a man she’s fond of, and solve his employment problem simultaneously.
But Nora harbors an old family secret that could ruin both of them, just as they begin their new life together. Can they take the risk knowing the potential devastation that awaits them? Or will Jonas and Nora be forced to part ways to save their reputations?
Excerpt:
“What is it you’ve been trying to decide?” he asked, his voice quiet even though the nearest other person was several yards away.
She took in a deep breath then exhaled. “Only what to do with my entire future,” she answered, matching his volume.
“What?”
“Julian is planning to marry, and I am no longer needed.”
He bumped her shoulder gently with his. “Surely he didn’t say that.”
“No, of course he didn’t.” She kicked at a long blade of grass, but there didn’t seem to be any malice behind the gesture. “It’s simply the way things are. And it actually gives me the opportunity to re-evaluate my life, maybe do something else besides keep house for my brother.”
Jonas tried to keep his voice from rising in both pitch and volume. “Any idea what you’re going to do?”
She shook her head and a few loose strands of dark brown hair swished with the motion. “Nothing definitive yet.”
He cleared his throat, following the toe of her shoe as she poked it at a rock. “Perhaps I can offer a solution.”
“What might that be?”
She looked up and smiled softly and Jonas almost lost his nerve. Not because he couldn’t imagine spending the rest of his life with Nora, but because he didn’t want to tie her to yet another man who needed her more than she needed him.
But perhaps he had something to offer her other than physical comforts.
Buy link: Amazon
What a great anthology to be part of, Cora! I can imagine all the stories are worth reading and enjoying. Thanks for sharing!
Happy reading!
Betty
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