Meet Isabel Roman

Well, I'm back from RWA Nationals pumped and jazzed, inspired and humbled. And buried in revisions LOL! I'll post some thoughts and some pictures on the conference when I get a chance, but first a treat, something a little different. I have Isabel Roman here today talking about the hero from her lastest book, Sex & Subterfuge. Isabel has been on this amazing, whirlwind virtual blog tour. Comment on her post here and be in the running to WIN a Vice Versa beaded fashion purse, a summer shawl, and a box of Godiva chocolates. Yum!

Take it away, Isabel!

Lucien Harrington, Earl Granville, Viscount Harrington. Who is he and why did I choose to write about him?

There are so many different types of heroes in romance novels these days. I have noticed that one of the more popular is the anti-hero or the bad boy tamed by a good woman. Lucien is not the bad boy, though he has his wicked streak on occasion.

When I conceived Lucien, I didn't have to suffer over how much alpha maleness to pour in or unnecessary bravado. He just happened easily. Lucien Harrington is not intimated by much. He has absolutely nothing to prove to anyone—he’s confident, aggressive or caring as the situation demands, and has followed his own path without regret.

He can mix with the highest of nobles or the lowest of seamen. When he encounters a woman who is stronger in magicks than he, he doesn’t scoff or run, he relishes it.

Lucien is one of those protagonists who approaches life with the ease that confidence gives. When he sets on a task, he does not stop until it is accomplished. He is a gentleman, but he is still a sexual creature. As a Druid, Lucien is far less judging of sexual activities than his Victorian counterparts. Morgana Blackthorne puts that judgment to the test and she is not disappointed.

For me, the mark of a good romance hero is the lingering desire to find just such a man. I know I would be happy with a Lucien and I certainly hope my readers will be too!

You can read  Dark Desires of the Druids: Sex & Subterfuge available now in bookstores! Also be sure to check out my free Dark Desires of the Druids: Choose Your Own Adventure story!

Blurb:

A master magicker, Morgana Blackthorne has a tenuous hold on her following. When a strange Englishman arrives on her doorstep with news of other druidic magickers, and magicker problems, she’s intrigued but suspicious. There hasn’t been contact between the American and European druids in over a hundred years. Plus she has her own worries and doesn’t need the handsome earl adding to them.


Lucien, Earl of Granville, left England to seek out the Blackthorne Druid line and discover what they’ve been up to since contact was lost. Once he and Morgana meet, their mutual attraction distracts him from his purpose. Embroiled in her problems, he finds himself more concerned with her welfare than is practical for a passing affair.

When I invited you into my bed, it never occurred to me I wouldn’t want you to leave.

There are darker forces at work and the hunger of a weak magicker desperate for power. Will Lucien convince Morgana of his true feelings before things spiral out of control? Or will the surrounding subterfuge tear them apart?

Excerpt:

“Lucien Harrington,” Jacobs, her butler, intoned, “the Earl of Granville.”

Smiling, Morgana swept out of the circle, stepping into the foyer, and greeted her guest. His timing was off, but as the magicker she knew him to be, not suspect.

“Welcome, Lord Granville,” she said, offering a slight curtsy.

He was tall, with dark blond hair, dark blue eyes, and a sharp nose over which he looked down at her. Her eyes traveled over his face, down his body, clothed in immaculately tailored Savile Row, back to his face. Arousal pooled hot in her belly.

She’d never wanted any man. Yet Morgana wanted Lord Granville. Her skin prickled at his nearness, her womb clenched with want.

Forcing her mind off his body, she studied his face. Briefly, want flashed in his eyes and she smiled a truly wicked smile at him. It was gone as fast as it’d shone and she returned to studying him. There was grief hidden deep in his eyes, along with suspicion and weariness. Tilting her head, she wondered what caused those emotions. Suspicion she could easily understand. It’d been more than a hundred and thirty years since their families had any contact. Though, since he’d sought her out, she should be more suspicious of him.

“Mistress Blackthorne,” he bowed over her offered hand. Flicking a glance behind her, he said, “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Not at all,” Morgana smiled. She could all but feel David’s displeasure. Suppressing a giddy smile, she took Lord Granville’s arm and led him into the parlor. “We’re about to begin the New Moon Ritual. Do you still practice it in England?”

Looking up at him with guileless eyes, she waited for his confusion, gratified when it sparked briefly in those bottomless depths. Damn them all. She could be as gracious as she liked, but in the end, resentment bubbled to the surface. They’d abandoned her ancestors to indentured servitude and hadn’t bothered to contact any of them since.

“I’m afraid we lost that custom when we lost the valuable Blackthorne line.”

Morgana raised her eyebrow at him as they entered the parlor. Wasn’t he the diplomat?

“Would you care to join the ritual, Lord Granville?”

He bowed again and smiled. “It would be my pleasure, Mrs. Blackthorne.”


Thanks Isabel. It was a pleasure having you here and I love your measure of a hero! You can find out more about Isabel and her stories here.