Bitten by Books
BBB: Describe yourself with five adjectives.
ND: Messy, loyal, weird, geek, stubborn
BBB: What real-life science, pseudo-science, history, religion, or mythologies did you research for your book?
ND: I studied a lot of Regency history - especially clothing, locations such as the Theatre Royal, weddings, and using a pistol for this book.
BBB: Tell us about your book cover, how it came about and who designed it.
ND: I love my cover. I wanted the hero Stephen and heroine Caroline accurately represented physically, but also showing their passion, plus the dark suspense and light humor of the book. Kellie at Book Cover by Design did a fantastic job.
BBB: What do you think of video trailers for books? Do you feel they are effective and do you use them?
ND: I don’t use them, but done well they can be a cool and very effective way of bringing the book to life.
BBB: Please tell us more about To Love a Hellion and the storyline that drives it.
ND: It’s two years since Stephen Forsyth, Earl of Westleigh inherited after the sudden deaths of his father and elder brother, and he needs a wife. With his brilliant mathematical mind, Stephen selects a nice ladylike bride based on a carefully researched compatibility chart. Very inconveniently, he then finds himself attracted to his best friend’s hellion sister and long time nemesis Caroline Edwards, the absolute opposite of his assessed perfect woman. Caroline has been in love with Stephen for years, and doesn’t want to marry another man, but her awful stepfather is now insisting she wed at once or else. She finds a fiance, but when her and Stephen’s betrotheds elope and they are caught in a very compromising position, the marriage war begins. Yet unbeknownst to them, a far greater threat lurks - an old enemy with vengeance on his mind is closing in, and won’t rest until Stephen, and everyone he loves, is destroyed.
BBB: How many more books will there be in the London Lords series?
ND: I have five more planned.
BBB: What sets the London Lords series apart from other books in the same genre?
ND: I think it encompasses the best of all worlds. High heat level, page turning suspense, sharp wit, and careful attention to Regency locations, norms and customs.
BBB: What types of characters can readers expect in your world?
ND: Scarred, witty, alpha men, smart, feisty, unconventional women.
BBB: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
ND: Jackie Ashenden. She writes super sexy, dark, angsty, emotionally powerful contemporaries that take two very broken souls and give them a hard-won happily ever after. Fabulous.
BBB: If you could have been the original author of any classical book, what would it have been and why?
ND: Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen was a very astute observer of life - family, society, relationships. And Mr Darcy is swoonworthy.
BBB: How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? Do you have any name choosing resources you recommend?
ND: Very important. Character names are the first thing I do, and I trawl baby name sites and English maps until hero and heroine let me know I’ve found the right sounding combination. Writing Regency and Tudor I’m fairly restricted in names I can use to be authentic to the time period, but it has all fallen into place so far. (Whew!)
BBB: What’s coming up for you for the rest of 2015?
ND: It’s been a really exciting and busy year so far, but there is still more to come! My second Tudor book for Entangled Publishing, One Forbidden Knight, is releasing on October 19. Plus I’ll be working on projects for early 2016 and beyond.
Buy a Kindle copy of To Love a Hellion from Amazon by clicking here. – ONLY $2.99!
About Nicola Davidson
Author Bio:
I worked for many years in media and local government, but haven’t looked back since deciding writing wicked, Regency and Tudor-set historical romance was infinitely more fun!
When not chained to my computer, I can be found ambling along one of New Zealand’s beautiful beaches, belting out 80′s power ballads or cheering on the champion All Blacks rugby team. If these activities include chocolate - even better!
I’m a proud member of Past Thrills and the Historical Romance Network.
11 Quick Things About Nicola
Favorite Food? Ice cream
Favorite Color? Black
Favorite Movie or TV Show of all Time? The Philadelphia Story
Favorite Drink? Diet soda
Favorite Current Book? Crashed by Sherilee Gray. Sexy lady mechanic and hot alpha businessman! Yeah!
Favorite Season? Summer - beach time!
Favorite Online Hangout? Twitter
Favorite Animal? Lion
Favorite Band or Musician? Anything 80’s. I’m addicted.
Mode of Travel? (Trains, Planes or Automobiles) Planes
Favorite Vacation Destination? Hong Kong
Connect with Nicola
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What do you like to read in your free time?
Hi Lisa
I like to ‘palate cleanse’, so I read contemporary authors like Jackie Ashenden, Sherilee Gray or Susan Elizabeth Phillips, or paranormal authors such as Kresley Cole or J.R Ward.
Hi everyone!
*waves from New Zealand*
Hi Nicola!
Welcome to Bitten by Books, it is fantastic to have you with us today.
My question for you is; do you have any pets and if so what kind, or if not, and you could have any pet in the world what would it be?
Hi Rachel!
It is fabulous to be here. I don’t have any pets, but I think I would enjoy a pet lion. I imagine supermarket shopping would be a lot faster.
To answer your fantastic questions that are on the Giveaway Tools Widget:
1. If you could time travel, who would you have a drink with?
I would travel back to ancient India and drink masala chai with veiled women.
What about you Nicola? Where would you go and what would you drink?
I would have a brandy with Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, after the battle of Waterloo was done and dusted. What a triumph, yet so much loss as well.
2. What secret talent would your dream historical hero have?
hmmmm I would want me hero to play any instrument he touched. That would be awesome.
What about you Nicola? What secret talent would your dream hero have?
Haha! The duke of my dreams would also be a McGyver type. If we are in a sticky situation, he steps up.
3. Tell me your favorite historical-set movie.
I love the sets from Gone With The Wind!
What are your favorite movie sets Nicki?
Ooooh yes I love Gone With the Wind too. And Tudor movies like The Other Boleyn Girl, Anne of 1000 days, Elizabeth. And Regency movies like Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility.
If you could time travel, who would you have a drink with? George Washington.
What secret talent would your dream historical hero have? No clue what to answer for this one
Tell me your favorite historical-set movie. Emma (1996) Gwyneth Paltrow
Cool! I love Emma too. “Marry me, my wonderful darling friend” is SO ROMANTIC.
1. Nikola Tesla, amazing mind.
2. I’d love my historical hero to be able to sense lies.
3. The original Great Gatsby has always been a favorite.
New Zealand is my dream place to visit. If I ever get there, what is the one thing I MUST go see?
Thank you.
Hi Viki!
You must tour around the South Island. The mountains and glaciers and lakes are truly spectacular, and the wine from Marlborough cannot be beat.
whats been the hardest part of writing for you?
Hi Diana!
Picking yourself up after a rejection or low star review is really hard, even when you get accepted or lots of super glowing reviews. For some reason we authors tend to focus on the bad, even when there is plenty of good. But people can be mean, and writing comes from the heart, so it is very personal even when you try to shrug it off.
conversation with Princess Diana before she died…warn her
Yes!
woodworking and making love would be good talents to have.
Haha, practical and a great lover. I like!
favorite historically set movie would have to be gone with the wind!
I love this movie. Can practically recite word for word.
Hi Nicola!
Welcome to Bitten by Books. Congratulations on your new release.
It is fantastic to have you with us today.
My question for you is; do you have a favorite book or series that you have written so far????
If so, which is it and why???
Hey Brandy!
Even though it is my third book out, I would have to say To Love a Hellion. There are one liners in there that still make me laugh as much as when I first wrote them, and the characters have been with me a long time.
Congratulations on the publication of To Love A Hellion! Who is your favorite characters from the books you have written? Was this character easy or difficult to write?
Hi Bonnie!
Thanks so much. I would have to say Caroline, the heroine from To Love a Hellion. As it turns out, she is a Taurus star sign like myself, so her character traits were fairly easy to write. And such a sassy mouth! Which I of course do not have, because I am a LADY. *snort giggles*
Author Questions
If I could time travel, I would like to go back in time and have a drink with Benjamin Franklin. He was such a talented and interesting individual.
My dream historical hero would be a fantastic cook.
My famous historical movie is The Count of Monte Christo.
Never mind the historical, a fantastic cook is welcome in any era!
Hello! What writers have helped influence you?
Hi Susan!
I absolutely devoured authors like Judith McNaught, Jude Deveraux and Mary Jo Putney (and when I could sneak them, Judith Krantz hehe). Judith, Jude and Mary Jo got me addicted to historical, while Judith K led the way for fabulous filthy sexy times. (Yes, the heat level in my books is HOT!)
Hi Nicola and Congratulations! New Zealand looks absolutely beautiful and I would love to visit it! Do you snack while writing and if you do, what’s your favorite?
My answers:
1. I’d choose Thomas Jefferson.
2. He would be a great judge of character and be able to discern lies and deceit.
3. There are so many amazing sets but I would choose Gone with the Wind, too.
Hiya Betty!
Thanks! NZ is very beautiful in my completely unbiased opinion.
Oh yes, I totally snack while writing. Cashew nuts, Doritos, and Starburst candy would have to be my favourites.
And I love that your dream hero’s trait would be great judge of character.
Thank you, Nicola! I agree with your opinion of NZ and I haven’t even been there! But maybe someday! Your snacks sound great, kinda like what I nibble on as I read:)
I think that it’s a really important trait and it’s one that I have tried to hone. It can save you a lot of heartache.
Haha, reading or writing I will snack regardless.
Do you have a favourite historical tv series?
Hi Minna!
I loved The Tudors. And I’m currently addicted to Outlander. Jamie and Claire…swoon.
1. If you could time travel, who would you have a drink with?
I would travel back to ancient Ethiopia and drink coffee with queen of Sheba or wine with Leonardo DE Vinci.
2. What secret talent would your dream historical hero have?
Any kind of artist - music, painter sculpture…. and maybe Pitagoras , Socrates or Archimedes
3. Tell me your favorite historical-set movie.
Alexander the great, gladiator…
Hi Sarit!
Oh fabulous - I bet Leonardo and the queen would have amazing tales to tell.
Do you have an absolute favorite power ballad?
Hi Bethany!
It’s hard to go past Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart.
Do you have a favorite stand-alone novel?
Hi Fox!
My favourite Regency is Mary Jo Putney’s One Perfect Rose, but I also have a real soft spot for Judith Krantz’s I’ll Take Manhattan. Such wonderful storytelling.
Are there any other genres you would have an interest in writing ?
Hi Michelle!
I think if I were to write in another genre it would probably be paranormal, because I really enjoy reading them. A sexy duke/lion shifter perhaps??
Sounds great to me love shifters particularly feline shifters…and a duke too alphaness puurrrrr & RRRoarrrr!!!
Haha! Yes!
From any of your books, what has been one of your favorite scenes, or types of scenes, to write?
Hi Lindsey!
I really love writing the scene where my hero and heroine finally give in to the chemistry they have been desperately fighting. In To Love a Hellion this involves a parlour fight and a whole lot of broken china.
Is there a genre you have not written in yet that you would like to?
Hi Mary!
I really enjoy reading paranormal so would probably dip my toes into that. Not sure how it might go though, I struggle with contemporary settings, so it could well end up some truly strange Tudor knight/tiger shifter…hmmm.
I was just wondering where’s your favorite vacation destination is. I’m looking for someplace new to go.
Hey Pamk!
I love Asia - I’ve lived in Taiwan and been to Hong Kong a few times, plus Macau and Bangkok. It is hard to beat a New Zealand beach for a holiday though.
answers
1. my mom would love to know what she was like in her 20′s. Don’t know that she’d have drank with me at my old age. lol
2. spying
Haha! Yes, I think we would all like a glimpse of what our parents were REALLY like ‘in my day’.
Which beach is your favourite? And are you a person who swims at the beach or just enjoys relaxing and maybe fishing?
Hi Emma!
My favourite beaches would be Whangamata and Mt Maunganui, although Hot Water Beach is pretty great. I wouldn’t say swim - the whole shark thing gives me the heebie jeebies, but I’m up for a splash and paddle, or a long beachwalk. I just find the ocean really soothing. Many a block has been unravelled thanks to sea air.
I like Papamoa for getting wet (also not quite into swimming) and we like matata for surf casting plus we can take the dogs
Awesome!
Lots of good questions so hard to come up with an original one without repeating. I don’t recall this question…is there a genre you really don’t care for at all and would never write a book of that type?
Hi Glenda!
I don’t like horror at all - books or movies, so wouldn’t write anything in that genre. When I was a kid I saw ads on tv for Stephen King’s IT, and clowns still kind of freak me out. Romance for life!
Who is your favorite Muppet and why?
Hi Trix!
I always loved Miss Piggy - she was fashionable, funny and took no crap from anyone. I’m a bit devastated that Kermit has now traded her in for a younger model. How very Hollywood!
I always wanted to meet the artist Robert Rauschenberg-he was at the forefront of so many movements, and just seemed like a cool guy.
Perfect timing would be good, as I don’t have it myself!
MIRACLE, about the 1980 Olympics and the US gold-medal men’s hockey team…really beautiful to watch from a technical standpoint, and what an adorable cast of hockey boys!
Haha yes, perfect timing - then I wouldn’t think of a great comeback a few hours after the conversation. And an adorable cast of hockey boys is always good.
Hi Nicola,
was Hong Kong hard to adapt too?
Hi Dina!
Not at all. Because it was a British territory for so long, everyone spoke English and the road signs etc were all in English too. At the bus and subway all announcements came in several languages, and the English had a British accent so I felt quite at home. Plus they know rugby. Yay!
who is your favorite author?
Hi Thomas!
I’ve loved all of Jackie Ashenden’s books. She writes sexy, dark, angsty contemporaries, really smacking around the hero and heroine before they get a happy ending. Gut wrenching but so good.
What is your favorite food?
Hey Natalie!
I cannot say no to ice cream. Yum!
What secret talent would your dream historical hero have? He would be able to read minds.
Yes this would be a good one!
wheres your favorite place to write?
Hi Amanda!
I like a quiet place to write, so I’d say my office. Although once I climbed a mountain and sat on a giant rock by a waterfall with my pen and notebook and that was good too.
What is a time period/setting that you love that you have not had a chance to write in/about yet?
I’d like to have a drink with Socrates (which I think might be a contractual obligation for all philosophy majors).
I would want my hero to be an inventory type- someone who just can see something so clearly that it practically builds itself.
My favorite historical set movie- hmmmm, Tombstone. There is nothing quite like Val Kilmer’s Doc Holiday
Hiya Kristin!
I studied Classics way back in high school, and found Greek myths and legends, all the gods, goddesses and quests fascinating. So Ancient Greece - although I could see myself getting so sucked into research black holes that no writing got done. I LOVE research.
Oooh Tombstone. Nothing like a rugged western.
Oh- I love the Greek myths! Just finished (another) version of the classics myths- but could read about them everyday!
“I’m your Huckleberry” remains one of my all time favorite quotes that I work into conversations whenever possible.
Haha! Good call.
Do you have any current favorite shows or books?
Hey Amy!
Show wise, I’m addicted to Outlander and (not so) patiently waiting for the next season. I also quite enjoy the CSI shows - especially Miami, Horatio has to be the randomly coolest leading man’s name. Book wise I’m making my way through J.R Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series because I cannot stop myself. But I also love Sherilee Gray’s Axle Alley Vipers for the kick ass lady mechanics.
1. If you could time travel, who would you have a drink with?
I would travel back in time to drink with Agatha Christie or Jane Austen, two of my favorite classic authors.
2. What secret talent would your dream historical hero have?
Have the same complex mind as Sherlock Holmes so he could solve almost any problems.
3. Tell me your favorite historical-set movie.
Gone with the Wind, Dances with Wolves, or Open Range…its so hard to pick lol
Oh yes, I think Jane would be hilarious after a few elderberry wines!
would you please share 3 unique things about yourself — thank you
Hi Jo Anne!
Hmmm! Well, my great, great aunt Kate Sheppard led the charge for gaining women the right to vote and is on the $10 bill in New Zealand. I can speak a smattering of Mandarin after living in Taiwan. And I really hate clothes shopping.
wow that’s awesome!
1. I would love to meet one of my 3xgreat grandmothers to find out some family history and stories — that would be so awesome
2. to be able to detect who’s telling the truth and who’s is telling lies
3. Gone with the Wind
Oh yes - our own family history can be startling. The black sheep, the rule-breakers, the legends…
If you weren’t writing, what other adventure would you like to do?
Hi Ann!
I think I would go on an extended world tour. There are so many countries I would love to visit, and not a whistlestop tour, but me exploring at my leisure. England, Scotland, Greece, France, my history geek would go crazy. Show me the haunted castles, haha!
What has Influence you to become a Writer ? and at what age did you get Influenced?
Hi Stacey!
I’ve always loved books and being told stories. I started writing little stories (with terrible illustrations) when I was about 6 or 7. Making up worlds and characters is so much fun.
Do you enjoy researching for your books?
Hi Dawn!
I love it, but I get sucked in way too easily, I think to myself I will just check this one fact, next thing I’ve gone down several rabbit holes and a few hours have gone by. History is so addictive!
What things inspired you to write books ?
Hi Alexandru!
I think historical events and characters - then asking ‘what if…’ That is how all of my books have started, one idea that has blossomed from a what if, and characters that then won’t shut up until I write them down, scene after scene.