Russian Locale

This blog features a fellow Muse author, Killarney Sheffield. Her novel, The Horseguard's Lady is due out in December. You will be able to download it from MuseItUp Publishing Website. Here is a bit about it and some questions for Killarney.

Lady Rosemary Wellington is your typical London debutante who faces a life of eternal boredom when she is betrothed to the Marquis of Joliemere. However her grandmother plans for her go awry when Rose decides to help her cousin, Princess Elizabeth, escape her own unwanted marriage. Rose finds herself kidnapped by the leader of a Russian group of Cossacks.
In steps our hero, Prince Dimity Peterlovsky. He has been put in charge of catching the rebel Cossack leader, a task that may not seem all that daunting, however it is a true test of his loyalty to the tsar. Life becomes even more complicated for him when he rescues Rose. He believes her to be Princess Elizabeth, which comes with a huge host of political problems. Now, his country is facing a potential war with Britain and France, but he has his doubts. Could she really be Sergei's ally? Or has he made a terrible mistake?

It is a romance. Here are some questions Killarney answered for me.

Could you tell us something about yourself?
Before becoming a published author I was a horse trainer, farrier and riding instructor. I had written a couple of articles for my local newspaper's editorial section on how the USA's ban on horse slaughter was crippling the Canadian horse breeders market and forcing breeders like myself and others to give up their life long passions. The paper editor loved my articles and complimented me on the fact that he never had to edit anything I sent him. He asked me if I had ever considered writing a book. I had a good laugh over that one as I had half a dozen novels already written in my computer but was too chicken to send them to someone. I followed his advice and subbed to romance giant Avon and was slammed with an instant rejection. Why? Well, apparently under 'author bio' they wanted to know if I had ever had anything published before not my life story. I joined an online crit group and was told to sub toa small publisher first to get my writing credits. I subbed to three small presses and to my surprise received three contracts! I went with MuseItUp because I had heard wonderful thing about Lea ( head honcho at MuseItUp Publishing) and was told she was a great mentor for writers like myself who need to learn the ins and outs of publishing.

Why did you use Russia as a background for your story?
Well, The Horseguard's Lady is the first historical romance I ever wrote and my third published with MuseItUp. It was originally written in 2001 and at that time it was not a locale common for a historical. Russia is one of those places that is so rich in history and stories that it just all fell into place. Though I have never been there the shows and books I have seen showcasing their beautiful architecture really drew me in. I have a travel tape from a tourist place showing the lovely domed towers on the palaces and well, I was hooked on Russia. Also I loved the story of Anastasia that Disney did. I'm just a big kid at heart and love Disney cartoons! Incidentally, I have scoured book stores looking for an authentic book of Russian fairy tales but have not found one as of yet.

Which character in your novel do you like best?
Hands down the hero's sidekick Victor. He is tall, blonde and from day one was the heroine's champion despite his cousin Dimitry's insistence that Lady Rose was a spy. The man is so funny I decided to write a sequel to The Horseguard's Lady titled The Horseguard's Cousin. It is Victor's story of love found. It is one of the WIPs I have on the go right now.

So there you go all, if you want to experience a rousing romance in the exotic locale of Russia, you can look up Killarney's book in December. See you all later.