Thank you very much Diane
M Denton for tagging me and suggesting I take part in this fun blog tour. I
have just signed a publishing contract with Áccent Press for my contemporary
romantic suspense THE LADY OF BELLEFONTAINE so this is the novel I will be
talking about today.
1. What is the name of
your character? Is she a fictional person?
My heroin is called Amy
Carter and she is totally fictional.
2. Where is the story
set?
THE LADY OF BELLEFONTAINE
is set in a hill top village in the beautiful Lubéron region of Provence, in the South
of France. This part of France
is absolutely breathtaking, with golden stone farmhouses - 'bastides'- villages and little towns surrounded by orchards, vineyards and forests. And of
course, lovely old fountains, which were the inspiration for the story.
3. What should we know
about your heroine?
After being made redundant from the UK bank where she used to work as a translator, Amy decides to follow her dream and start a
new life. She buys a very old 'bastide' called Bellefontaine she plans to turn into a guesthouse.
4. What is the main
conflict?
After a series of
unsettling and downright scary incidents, Amy realises that her arrival at
Bellefontaine isn't welcome by everybody in the village.
The romantic conflict of the novel is her stormy relationship with Fabien Coste, the aristocratic owner of nearby luxury hotel Manoir Coste. Despite finding an ancient love spell that binds the ladies of Bellefontaine to the ducs de Coste, Amy has no intention of falling in love with Fabien...But how long will she resist his dark, enigmatic charm?
5. What is the personal
goal of the character?
Although she knows nothing
of the hospitality industry, Amy is determined to set up and run a successful
guest house. She is a fast learner and a hard worker, and isn't easily
discouraged even if Fabien mocks her naive and at times 'hippyish' ideas. This is her big chance, her dream come true. When she discovers
that Bellefontaine has a sinister past and that it was for centuries linked to
the bloodthirsty cult of a local Gallic goddess, she doesn't run away but
resolves to find out more and unmask those who put her life in danger.
6. Is there a working
title for this novel, and can we read more about it?
The working title is THE
LADY OF BELLEFONTAINE. I can only at this very early stage post the provisional blurb for the novel. Here is it below.
'The spell flows with the spring, binding hearts
together until death tears them apart.' This is what a Latin inscription says on an ancient stone Amy Carter
finds in the overgrown garden of the farmhouse she just moved into. If Amy has
big plans for Bellefontaine and her new life in Provence, none of them involves falling in
love - least of all with Fabien Coste, the handsome but arrogant owner of
nearby Manoir Coste, the ancestral family chateau he turned into a luxury
hotel.
Yet local legends talk
about past romantic entanglements between the ladies of Bellefontaine and the
ducs de Coste, and despite herself Amy soon finds herself falling in love with
Fabien. As springtime turns Bellefontaine into the paradise she always dreamt
of, Amy discovers that her home is at the centre of a mystery involving the
evil cult of an ancient Gallic goddess, and that it isn't only her heart which
is in terrible danger, but her life too. Can she trust Fabien to help solve
Bellefontaine's dark mystery? Is he genuinely attracted to her or does he have
his own motives for wanting to keep her close? And will the love spell between
them turn out to be a deadly curse?
7. When can we expect
the book to be published?
I only just signed the
contract with Áccent Press, so I cannot at this stage say when the book will be
published.
Thank you again Diane for
tagging me. I hope you found the interview interesting and would love to read
comments and answer questions!
Diane Denton can be found
at http://bardessdmdenton.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/it-happened-quite-by-chance/
