A Regency Adventuresome Romance
1804, Dorset, England
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Assistance has arrived at the small village of Grace-by-the-Sea for Captain Quillan St. Claire that he didn’t expect. And despite a terrible looming threat that the British War Office has discovered against this former naval captain, the protector will take some getting used to. The captain, now known as the Lord of the Smugglers, is handsome, strong-willed, and mysterious. Beautiful, talented French singer, Marie-Louise Fortier, has a past that uniquely qualifies her for this assignment, whether he appreciates her spying abilities or not! Almost immediately, he gets to witness her skill and intelligence. . Knowing that Napoleon wants to stop his secrets from being smuggled by St. Claire adds that always in the background tension.

This fun and exciting story kept me captivated. Both the hero and heroine fascinated me and kept me rooting for them. Of course, this being book 6 in this series, there are many appearances of former heroines and heroes and villagers, which I just love in small-town or, in this case, village stories. Characters are always the most essential element of any tale for me. Regina tucks mystery and surprise into her Grace-by-the-Sea stories—where does she come up with all of her ideas?
  
The exquisite cover represents the two main characters perfectly in style and attitude. So if you are looking for a fine summer (or anytime) read, with characters that motivate interest and are easily admired, then this is the book for you!
 
Questions for Regina:
What is your favorite quality about your soprano heroine?

Her fearlessness. Orphaned as a teen when her father joined an ill-advised venture to try to take France back from Napoleon, she had to find a way to support herself. But she wasn’t content to watch others fight the war that had stolen her father from her. She used her skills to gather and transmit information for the War Office.

That Napoleon was quite the emperor. Have you read accounts about his sending his spies to any notorious spies from England?

Many, many authors, me included, have written about spies and spy masters during the Regency. It appears that the English held a dim view of spies in actuality. Remember, this was still a time when battles were fought “honorably,” namely by two armies marching toward each other, firing, and the last man standing won! So, I haven’t heard of many real-life spies from England, but Napoleon bragged that he had more than 500 smugglers in his pay, who were bringing him England’s secrets. Quillian St. Claire wasn’t the only one who wanted that information to flow the other way! Other real-life smugglers like Isaac Gulliver learned information from the French and took it back to help England.

Do you write your book and then add the book cover or the other way around?

It depends! 😊 If I know I will be writing a series through my imprint, Edwards and Williams, and I am fairly sure of the content of each book, I often commission all the covers up front, then write the books afterward. Other times, I have the cover created when I am fairly far along in the story. And when I am working with a publisher like Love Inspired or Revell, they often want the covers done long before the book is ever turned in, so I sometimes get to write scenes that fit the cover, LOL.

What would you like to tell your readers about the message of your story, The Siren’s Captain?

Everyone can make a difference. Ree might not be able to sail across the Channel like Quill, but she can help keep him safe. Other characters in the book are constrained by position in society or finances from changing the trajectory of the war, but they can work together to safeguard the village. We can all find a role worth living in this world.

Do you have any maps or links you wish to share with your readers?

I love tall ships! You can find more than 1,000 examples on my Pinterest board at https://www.pinterest.com/reginascottpins/sailing-ships-ahoy/. I also have a board dedicated to things that inspired The Siren’s Captain.

Where can readers find you? What social media is your favorite?

Readers can find me the following places. I will admit a fondness for Pinterest, although I can also be regularly found at a Facebook Group for lovers of sweet (low-heat) Regency romances, Lady Catherine’s Salon at https://www.facebook.com/groups/LadyCatherinesSalon.
Website: www.reginascott.com         
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/authorreginascott       
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/reginascottpins
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/reginascott
Newsletter signup form: https://subscribe.reginascott.com
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/regina-scott


Thank you for another excellent interview, Regina! It is always a pleasure to hear from you and read your novels! :)
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DREAMS of SAVANNAH 
 
Cordelia Owens is in love, which makes this plantation daughter’s life wonder-filled and splendid until the Civil War interrupts. Her heart belongs to the charming Phineas Dunn, who sails away to defend their shores from the Yankees. But as all wonderful novels go, the difficulties and tragedies of life roll in.

Unexpected additional characters influence the main characters in a way that they never could have dreamed. Okay, I know—those are imaginary people. So let me switch up and change that to we could never have imagined their influence and how they could become so dear to our hearts! Is that better? LOL!

Roseanna is amazing at characterization, and she uses time and place with the precision of a scalpel. I love the freshness and nearness of her stories, and I’m glad to say I’ve influenced others to read her work and they love her also! Her characters become my new friends (despite the fact that I do have a life!), and her plots carry me away into concern and joy and concern and oh, no!!!!!!! Yes, she is that good and even better!

I love the talent that Cordelia (Dilia) enjoys as she strengthens and entertains those around her. And Phineas (Phin), Dilia’s love interest, is so fascinating and determined. But there is another who vies for Dilia’s attention and hand. I loved seeing everything play out and with the Civil War as a backdrop—well, Roseanna had me in Savannah from the very first page.

Do you wish to gasp, applauded, smile, and cheer characters on? Then I highly recommend DREAMS OF SAVANNAH for your next read!

Questions for Roseanna:

Your character, Luther, really gripped my heart. How did you develop his personality?
 
Hilariously, I first developed Luther for another story, where he was the sidekick of a pirate captain—hilarious, because said captain was Phillip Camden, who also got snatched from that old plot and made the hero in On Wings of Devotion. Luther came to me as a character who was huge and intimidating but with this moral core and deep love. When I needed someone to save Phin in Dreams of Savannah—literally and also to point him there spiritually—I knew Luther would fit the bill! So I gave him a history that would make him an anomaly in Phin’s eyes but also the perfect person to be in that position. I gave him a calling from the Lord, but also a mission in the story…and from there, he just grew into the Luther you see on the page.
 
Is the Civil War a favorite time period for you? If so, why? If not, what is your favorite time period to write about?
 
Honestly, I just love history! I do find the Civil War fascinating and have written two books in that setting, but I don’t favor it above the other time periods I’ve written about, to be perfectly honest. I’ve spent most of my writing career with English settings, and I have no complaints about that…but it was certainly fun to hop back to this side of the pond!
 
I loved the stories that Delia wrote. Were these stories that you had dabbled with before?
 
Nope, those were all original to Delia! So glad you got a kick out them!
 
Do you research as you write? Or do you do all gathering of facts beforehand?
 
I usually take a couple weeks to gather my sources and learn enough to begin…then I just begin and continue to research as I go. In the case of this story, I had to research some of the things like the Sumter’s timeline and the battle for Fort Pulaski well ahead of writing so I could work out my time frame, but there were certainly plenty of things I looked up as I write as well.
 
What would you like to tell your readers about why you wrote this story and possibly what it means to you?
 
I actually wrote this story nine years before Bethany House decided to publish it—so about ten years ago now! When I first wrote it, I wanted to portray a “typical” Southern gentleman and take him on a journey to better awareness, and I wanted a heroine that was kind of an Elizabeth Bennet meets Scarlet O’Hara mashup. But as I worked on it again before publication and did a LOT of rewriting, my hopes and desire for the story really began to change…the better, I hope, to reflect our world today. My prayer, as I handled edits and rewrites while there were riots going on just miles from my publisher’s headquarters, was that God would somehow use the story of Delia and Phin, Salina and River, Luther and Eva, to show one of His Truths: that we are all God’s children, beloved by Him, and that if we focus first on loving each other as He loves us, the things we perceive as differences fall away.
 
Who or what was your favorite encouragement while you wrote this story?
 
I don’t honestly remember from the original writing ten years ago, ha ha, but during rewrites, my biggest encouragement—as I totally flipped out at the thought of this book coming out now, when there was so much unrest in the world about these subjects—was, as always, my family and my critique partner/best friend, Stephanie. Both she and my husband reminded me that God knew when it would be releasing and that it had sat in my computer for nine years because this was its time. It was still terrifying, but it made me aware of how ultimately, this story was God’s to do with as He pleased.

 Wow, thank you for a GREAT interview, Roseanna! Your DREAMS OF SAVANNAH  
 was delightful to read  and inspiring. I do believe that this was the right time to release your story! Thank you, for your perseverance as an author and your obvious love for the Lord that shines off of your pages! 
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 You may find Roseanna M. White at https://www.roseannamwhite.com/ 

 
I believe this just may be the first time that I’m doing a series review. Terri Blackstock is not a Best-Selling author for nothing. Her ability to take an unusual situation and get you right into the character’s heart and head is a work of art!

I saw this series for the first time on a post where someone—sorry, I can’t remember who or where—was extremely pleased with Terri’s IF I RUN book 1. I’ve read other series by Terri and have been so impressed and happy with her gift of story. I’ve done so many reviews over the years and I’m not sure if I gave this best-selling author a shout-out or not, but in my heart, I always wanted to!

Book 1, IF I RUN, caused me to lose sleep. I was so concerned for the main character, Casey Cox, that I just had to know what would happen with her! The main characters are believable and exciting, and inspiring. The range of emotion and struggles they encounter glued me to the pages—till the very end! I love these qualities about book one: surprise, intensity, fast-moving, and unique story that kept me involved and engaged in the characters and if or how they would overcome their situations.

Book 2, IF I’M FOUND, kept the pace and concern alive and well in keeping my attention! This book was different from the first, and every bit as engaging, and the connection with the characters grew as I spent more time with them (my imaginary friends—lol). Danger lurked and pursued with abandon making me flip those pages!!! I’m still reading Book 3
IF I LIVE, and I just want this series to go on and on like the old series did. Twenty books, would that be enough? Well, truthfully—I’m not too sure about that. Casey Cox and Dylan Roberts have hung their hats and disguises on my heart.

Will they achieve what seems unachievable by the end of book three . . . or will Terri dangle the carrot and make this a larger series? My hope thrives, and I wonder. . .
Terri Blackstock’s IF I RUN series with Book 1 IF I RUN; Book 2, IF I’M FOUND; and Book 3, IF I LIVE are highly, highly, highly recommended!

​Let me know what you think in the green Comments below. Do you agree? If you do, adventure will spice up your life for sure!