Today we have the super talented C.C. Wiley, who lives in Salt Lake City with her high school sweetheart of over 35 years and their four wacky dogs. When given a choice, she prefers a yummy, well-written, historical or contemporary romance that is chock-full of hope, love and a Happy Ever After. She believes there are courageous characters waiting for someone to tell their story. It’s her hope that each adventurous romance she writes will touch the reader and carry them away to another place and time, where hopes and dreams abound.
C.C., please tell us about your story behind the story …
Whether in art or in writing, I love telling a story. When my painting skill came to a point where I couldn’t express the picture in my head, I turned to writing and began painting with words. Sometimes events that have touched me in some way find their way into the tale. And sometimes a bit of traveling will inspire a story.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to travel to England, and while touring through Bath and Bristol, I stopped at a cathedral. The sights and sounds, the scents, and richness of history came to life. I noticed a knight and his lady, their effigy caught in stone, were laid side-by-side for eternity. I couldn’t help wondering about the strength of their relationship. Did they love each other? Was it a love match? My imagination took hold, and I had to know more about medieval knights and the women who captured their hearts.
I like research. I adore a story that brings together, love, history, and adventure. Even if I have a story outline I am still researching while I write. The desire to learn more has the power to carry me down one path and then another. The ‘What if’ list continues to grow. Over the years I’ve had to rein in myself with the promise of keeping notes of what interests me. You never know. It might be that one idea that takes off.
The Knights of the Swan series came about while doing my research. I discovered the Dunstable Brooch. It was found in the Dunstable Priory, hidden in the mortar of the wall. No one really knows who it belonged to, where it came from or why it was there. This caught my attention. Then I learned there was a swan connection through Henry V’s mother. I asked myself, what if his mother set about protecting her son and ensuring he arrives on the throne unscathed? And since he was on the battlefield at a very young age, he would need extra protection that had to reach beyond all the struggles for power.
And from there the secret brotherhood, Knights of the Swan, was formed. I like to think of them as King Henry V’s Secret Service of the Middle Ages.
This band of brothers, formed in childhood, now serve King Henry V in secret. They are his eyes and ears of the court and of the land. While they are about the task of protecting their king and England, their lives are touched by strong women; women who capture their hearts.
I love it when history comes to life, but in the end, I believe it is still the characters’ personal story and a happy- ever-after that is most important.
In KNIGHT SECRETS, Sir Ranulf, Lord of Sedgewic, is a member of a secret brotherhood, Knights of the Swan. Ranulf fears he has seen and done too many things in the name of his king to be worthy of love. His fate is to be a lonely Knight of the Swan. Like Rapunzel, the emotionally abused Lady Clarice Margrave dreams of being rescued by a knight who vows to love and respect her. But those dreams are shattered and are nothing more than broken fairy tales. Her quest for the truth plunges into the world beyond the Margrave walls and forces her to look closely at what she truly wants: To love and be loved at least once.
The next book in the series, Knight Quests, is scheduled to release July 25, 2017.
READER GIVE AWAY!
C.C. has kindly offered two Knight Secrets: Knights of the Swan series e-books to give away to some lucky person who comments. Contest will be open until 13 April, 2017 11.59pm AEST. Good luck!
Sworn to protect the crown, a Knight of the Swan must never surrender—not even to love . . .
England, 1415. Ordered never to leave the lonely tower on her family estate, Lady Clarice Margrave is suddenly set free when her home is plundered. Now she is determined to discover the truth behind her father’s alleged treason. But an act of daring only propels her into a new prison, with the very knight who destroyed her home as her keeper. Sir Ranulf, Lord of Sedgewic, is ruthless in his inquisition, though there is a searing tenderness in his touch. Is it possible her bold jailor is the Red Wolf of whom her father spoke—and the one man she might be able to trust?
As a knight, Ranulf never questions his troth, but his beautiful prisoner stirs his heart and mind like no other. Clarice is achingly vulnerable—and extremely closed-mouth about her possible ties to the plot against the king. Duty demands he keep his distance, though he yearns to take her to his bed and adore her until he discovers what lies within her heart. And he would—if he weren’t in danger of losing his own . . .
Buy links:
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/34414
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/knight-secrets
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/knight-secrets/id1153379728?mt=11
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781516101009&c=books
You can find more about C.C. below:
Website: www.ccwiley.com
Twitter: @AuthorCCWILEY.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CCWileyAuthor
Alli Sinclair 