Review & Interview: Lady Elinor’s Wicked Adventures by Lillian Marek

Welcome author Lilliam Marek.  She joins us today as she promotes her debut novel, Lady Elinor’s Wicked Adventures.  Enjoy her interview after my thoughts on the book.  

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablance
Date of publication: November 2014

Harry DeVaux, Viscount Tunbury, loves Lady Elinor Tremaine, but is convinced that his past makes him unworthy of her. He agrees to accompany the Tremaine family to Italy to explore Etruscan ruins, even if it chips away at his resolve to stay away from the delightful woman he loves.

Amid the sightseeing and treasure hunting, Elinor comes to realize that she wants far more from Harry than friendship, but when a dangerous discovery leaves them fighting for their lives, it might just be too late..

My thoughts:

I thought Lady Elinor’s Wicked Adventures was a very good debut romance.  The characters were interesting and engaging.  I loved the friend to lovers relationship between Elinor and Harry.  They were a good match for each other.  Harry has had no family love in his life except for the love he has received from Elinor and Pip's family growing up.  I was rooting for them to finally express their feeling for each other and see they were perfectly matched.  One of my favorite parts was the epilogue!  It was so very sweet.

There is also some intrigue and action in the book that involves Elinor's brother Pip and his beautiful Italian hostess Lissandra. I liked that story line.  My only regret is that their romance was kind of boring.  I wish that it had been explored further so I could believe they were a good match.  I also enjoyed the parts about the Etruscan tomb excavations.  Those were very interesting.

As I said, I think this is a good debut novel and one I recommend trying out.  I see a bright future for this author and I look forward to reading more from her.

Kari& Autumn: What inspired you to become a writer?

Lillian: Oh goodness, I don’t know that I’d call it inspiration. It’s more like a compulsion. I love words. It’s almost as if they are jewels that you can pick up and roll around in your hand to admire. Then there are all those stories and characters crowding around in my mind, clamoring to get out. So I give in and enjoy myself.

Kari& Autumn: Where do you come up with the ideas for your books?

Lillian: Everywhere. I’ll be reading a book, and one of the characters will do something that strikes me as foolish. I’ll think, “No—she should have done X instead.” First  thing I know, I’ve put the book aside and I’m working out an entirely different story with different characters. Or I will be minding my own business and a couple of characters will pop into my mind and begin acting out a scene. Then I have to write it down and add it to my list. The list is up to 75 ideas at this point, but not all of them will pan out. Thank goodness! I would never get away from my keyboard.

Kari& Autumn: What exciting projects are waiting in the wings?

Lillian: The next book in my Victorian Adventure series, Lady Emily’s Exotic Journey, takes place in the Near East. Lady Emily—Lady Elinor’s sister—and her family travel through the Ottoman Empire to visit the excavations of Nineveh at Mosul. It was quite a shock to have the monstrous events of recent months explode in the headlines just a few weeks after I’d sent the manuscript to my editor at Sourcebooks. I’m hoping readers will realize that part of the world wasn’t quite the horrendous battleground in 1861 that it is today. Lady Emily manages to have quite a few adventures, but they are not gruesome ones.

Right now I’m working on the third book, which is set in a tiny principality in central Europe. It’s full of masquerades and dastardly plots, and the heroine is a third Tremain sister.

Kari& Autumn: Who is your favorite literary character and why?

Lillian: That depends a lot on my mood at the time. It could be Becky Sharp from Vanity Fair, or Rebecca from Ivanhoe, or Lizzie Bennett from Pride and Prejudice, or Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. But it ‘s never a wimpish creature who sits around waiting to be rescued or feeling sorry for herself.

I’ve just realized that I was only thinking of female characters, and you didn’t specify that, did you? Then maybe Robin Hood, standing up to protect the powerless. Or Rafael Sabatini’s Scaramouche. I love the opening line of that book—“He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.”

Kari& Autumn: Just for fun, if you could be any animal, what would it be and why?

Lillian: I suppose you want a real animal, so I can’t say a mermaid. But for me it would have to be a water creature, so I’d pick a porpoise. When I was a child, I used to see them from time to time in Long Island Sound and they always looked so happy, frolicking out there in the water.

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About the author:

Lillian Marek was born and raised in New York City (the center of the universe). At one time or another she has had most of the interesting but underpaid jobs available to English majors. After a few too many years in journalism, she decided she prefers fiction, where the good guys win and the bad guys get what they deserve.

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