by Sylvia Day

They are London’s most scandalous couple. Isabel, Lady Pelham, and Gerard Faulkner, Marquess of Grayson, are well matched in all things—their lusty appetites, constant paramours, wicked wits, provocative reputations, and their absolute refusal ever to ruin their marriage of convenience by falling in love with one another. But every marriage has its surprises…

I am so excited to share THE STRANGER I MARRIED with you!

I absolutely LOVED writing this book. The two leads–Isabel and Gerard–are very near and dear to me. One aspect of their romance that has garnered a lot of interest is that Isabel is a bit of a female rake. The idea for her came after reading a few historical romances where the husband and wife were separated for many years. The husbands always seemed to have affairs during the break and the wives did not. This bothered me. A personal reader preference, I guess. I found myself thinking, “Now why didn’t she live as full a life as he did?” In real life, women of the time were not always martyrs while their philandering husbands enjoyed the fruits of temptation.

One of my favorite research subjects is Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (born Lady Georgiana Spencer, of the same Spencer family as Princess Diana.) Georgiana was a vivacious woman known for many “scandalous” things, including trading kisses for votes in the 1784 general election (as immortalized in the cartoon.) She was also known for her love of gambling, her arranging of a long-standing ménage-a-trois arrangement between herself, his grace, and her best friend, and her affair with Earl Grey (namesake of the delicious tea) which produced a bastard daughter. She was a lauded beauty of her time and politically active long before the women’s suffrage movement.

Before an “official” cover was made for ASK FOR IT, I had my web designer create this one for “Seducing the Widow” (the title of ASK FOR IT before it was changed) using Georgiana’s famous portrait. Her slight smile hints at secrets I’d love to be privy to!

I hope that when you read about Isabel, you think of the many fascinating women of those bygone years, and how diverse they were. Yes, there were virginal bluestockings, but there were also women like Isabel and Georgiana. As is often the case, the truth is more fascinating than fiction!

Now, let’s talk! I’ll pick one winner each week (two winners total) to receive their choice of a book from my back list.