Interview: Elizabeth Hoyt & Giveaway

Elizabeth Hoyt is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of historical romance, including reader favorite, The Raven Prince.

Elizabeth was born in New Orleans but grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was fortunate to be able to travel extensively as a child, visiting St. Andrews, Scotland; Germany; France; and Belgium. She spent a year in Oxford, England and was a summer exchange student to Kawasaki, Japan.

Elizabeth has a BA in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and, as a result of having no clue what to do with her life thereafter, a career history as a barista, a (terrible) sales clerk, a Wisconsin Revenue Service data entry slave, and an archeological field work grunt. Fortunately, Elizabeth married relatively young and produced two children who kept her busy until her mid-thirties. At about this time, when her youngest was entering Kindergarten, Elizabeth’s mother hinted that perhaps Elizabeth should get a Real Job.

Sadly, Elizabeth was so delusional she thought writing a romance novel might qualify as a Real Job.

But! Five years later, to everyone’s surprise, she actually sold that romance novel (The Raven Prince) and began a rather successful career as a Romance Novelist. This was most fortunate since Elizabeth is singularly unqualified to do anything else but Make Up Stories.

Since then Elizabeth has written eleven books to critical acclaim: The Prince Trilogy (The Raven Prince, The Leopard Prince, and The Serpent Prince); the Legend of the Four Soldiers series (To Taste Temptation, To Seduce a Sinner, To Beguile a Beast, and To Desire a Devil); and the Maiden Lane series (Wicked Intentions, Notorious Pleasures, Scandalous Desires, Thief of Shadows, and the upcoming Lord of Darkness.) All of Elizabeth’s books are set in eighteenth century England and all feature a fairy tale story that serves as a foil to the main story.

Welcome Elizabeth! Thank you for stopping by Stitch Read Cook today!

What inspired you to write this series?

I’m fascinated by what was going on in London during this time period—the early 1700s. London was the largest city in Europe with people flooding in from the all over Britain and abroad. The very rich were living in mansions that were literally covered in gold and the very poor were living in horribly crowded tenements. At the same time distilled liquor in the form of gin suddenly became readily available and cheap. It was a terribly exciting time with a lot happening scientifically, politically, and socially and in my opinion a perfect place to set my characters and stories in.

What authors influenced you in your writing?

Stephanie Laurens, Amanda Quick, and Christina Dodd

What 5 facts would most people not know about you?

• I was born in New Orleans
• I’m quite talented at using chopsticks
• I’m currently obsessed with The Walking Dead
• I took years of Latin and ancient Greek—and I remember hardly any of it.
• My favorite Shakespeare play is King Lear

If you could be any literary character, who would it be and why?

Robin Hood. Archery! Adventure! And Will Scarlet.

What 5 books would you take with you if you were stranded on a deserted island?

• Shakespeare’s collected works
• Agatha Christie’s Murder at the Vicarage
• Harry Potter
• Jim Butcher’s latest
• Eloisa James’s latest

Quick & Easy:

Hero or Bad Boy?
Hero

Belle of the Ball or Wallflower?
Wallflower

Debutante or Spinster?
Spinster

Love at First Sight or Second Chances?
Second Chance

Scandal or Intrigue?
Intrigue

Plotter or Panster?
Both

Coffee or Tea?
Both

Laptop or Desktop?
Laptop

Author's Choice:  Ask the readers something!

Thank you for having me on Stitch Read Cook! Readers can learn more about my Maiden Lane series and Lord of Darkness at my website: www.elizabethhoyt.com. You can also chat with me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and Pinterest

Now here’s my question for you: I’m leaving for Florida in two weeks for a writing retreat, but of course I’ll be bringing something to read. What have you read recently that you absolutely loved?

When Strangers In The Night
He lives in the shadows. As the mysterious masked avenger known as the Ghost of St. Giles, Godric St. John's only goal is to protect the innocent of London. Until the night he confronts a fearless young lady pointing a pistol at his head—and realizes she is his wife.

Become Lovers...
Lady Margaret Reading has vowed to kill the Ghost of St. Giles—the man who murdered her one true love. Returning to London, and to the man she hasn't seen since their wedding day, Margaret does not recognize the man behind the mask. Fierce, commanding, and dangerous, the notorious Ghost of St. Giles is everything she feared he would be—and so much more.

Desire Is The Ultimate Danger
When passion flares, these two intimate strangers can't keep from revealing more of themselves than they had ever planned. But when Margaret learns the truth—that the Ghost is her husband—the game is up and the players must surrender...to the temptation that could destroy them both.

GIVEAWAY

One very very lucky commenter is going to win all 5 books in the Maiden Lanes series! 
All you have to do to enter is answer Elizabeth’s question!

Must be 18 yrs or older.  Open to US residents only.
No PO Boxes please.

Giveaway ends on March 15th, 2013 (midnight EST)

a Rafflecopter giveaway