I’m so pleased that Marsha Canham is my first Author of the Week! She’s an amazing writer and her books are true keepers. But don’t just take it from me, as here’s a wonderful accolade from Romantic Times, “Canham continually demonstrates that she is an author of rare talents.” Featured this week by Marsha Canham, Swept Away!
Set in Regency England, a dangerous time of spies, treachery, and intrigue. A stranger has washed up on shore, half dead, with no memory of who he is or why he has been accused of treason. His only hope of avoiding death is a shadowy memory hovering just beyond his grasp…and the beautiful heiress who becomes his willing captive in order to find the key to his past and unlock their destinies. “A glorious tale of romance, adventure, and intrigue…plenty of deftly woven plot twists to keep the reader turning pages well into the night.”~Romance Fiction Forum
It’s always fascinating to me to discover the inspiration behind an author’s work and here’s Marsha’s inspiration behind Swept Away:
“Swept Away was inspired by some reading I did on the 100 days following Napoleon Bonaparte’s escape from Elba. During that time he managed to raise another army of loyal followers and became a genuine threat again. My memory is a bit fuzzy, since the book was written nearly two decades ago, but I do recall a tiny incident about an escape attempt made after he was recaptured and while he was being held on board an English frigate. It involved an attempt to have his brother, who looked very much like him, to substitute for Napoleon when he “surrendered.” Imagine the havoc that would have been created had the switch actually worked! All I needed was a spy who knew the secret and was attempting to alert the British when someone tried to murder him, left him half drowned, and suffering from temporary amnesia. Just a bit of tension LOL. I had also been approached at the time by my then-editor to jump on the Regency bandwagon that had picked up speed like a runaway train. Everyone was writing them, but in a way that took you into the elegant Georgette Heyer bedrooms and didn’t close the door discreetly behind them. I honestly tried to write a proper Regency. Honestly, I did (fingers crossed behind my back) but the sheer volume of all the nuances that had to be researched and written properly was staggering, so I tried instead to keep the general flavor of a Regency with out the precise missish mannerisms. Plus, truth be told, I’ve never written a book without action and adventure and a dozen plot twists, so….a straight Regency just wasn’t my cup of chocolate. I would really like to thank Miriam for inviting me to her blog, and for giving me the opportunity to reminisce over my morning coffee about a book I thoroughly enjoyed writing.”
Snap up your copy of Marsha Canham’s Swept Away for your Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, or at Smashwords. Thanks, Marsha!
l absolutely love the cover. you would pick the book up to read the back for that alone. the story sound interesting. i like the way marsha writes her stories flow and i like her heroes. 1 for my tbr list.
Thank you Julie! And thank you for stopping by to leave a comment *s*.