It was almost a natural progression in terms of a timeline: by March 1815, only a few months after the end of Book #1, Napoleon escaped St. Helen's and re-joined his armies. So after only about two months together, Pendleton is sent away by Wellington and the War Office, undercover behind enemy lines.
But Alexandra had no idea of his assignment, assuming the British would strike and be done with the pesky Napoleon. Time seemed not to matter; time was on their side, wasn't it? And so, as I worked on this story and these two special characters, the layers of betrayal -- time, war, desire and one bloody-minded traitor -- seemed to grow and add depth to the story line.
By the time I handed the manuscript over to my beta reader, I felt as if both characters, but especially Lady Alexandra, had grown beyond the two-dimensional. They had suffered, were still suffering, and the complexity of their emotions and misgivings made them real -- at least to me.
I'm still on target for a June 1st release and am anxious to send my creation to the public readership. I'd love to see Alexandra and Pendleton capture your hearts as they've captured mine. As soon as the links are live, I will post them here on the blog, on my website and send out alerts on Facebook and Twitter.
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there -- and pick up a romance novel to make your day complete!
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