Blog Tour Stop - Groom of Convenience by Vicktor Alexander ~ BFD Book Blog

Book Name: Groom of Convenience

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23356224-groom-of-convenience?ac=1

Author Name: Vicktor Alexander

Author Bio:

Vicktor “Vic” Alexander wrote his first story at the age of ten and hasn’t stopped writing since. He loves reading about anything and everything and is a proud member of the little known U.N. group (Undercover Nerds) because while he lives, eats, breathes, and sleeps sports, he also breathes history and science fiction and grew up a Trekkie. But don’t ask him about Dungeons & Dragons, because he has no idea how to play that game. When it comes to writing he loves everything from paranormal to contemporary to fantasy to historical and is known not only for being the Epilogue King but also for writing stories that cross lines and boundaries that he doesn’t know are there. Vic is a proud father of two daughters one of whom watches over him from Heaven with his deceased partner Christopher. Vic is a proud trans* and gay man, and when he is not writing, he is hanging out with his friends, or being distracted by videos of John Barrowman, Scott Hoying, and Shemar Moore. Vicktor has published numerous bestselling novels and has a WIP list that makes him exhausted just thinking about. He knows that he will be still be writing about hot men falling in love with each other, long after he is living in an assisted living facility, flirting with the hot, male nurses.

Author Contact:

http://www.facebook.com/VicktorAlexanderB

http://www.facebook.com/AuthorVicktorAlexander

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Shobana Appavu

Author Interview:

Q: I’ve read that historical romances are really hard to research and write. What did you find most difficult about researching and writing this book?

A: LOL. I’m a big nerd so I enjoyed the researching part of writing this book. I’m especially really big into history so that made my research even more exciting for me. I would probably say that the hardest part about doing the research for this book was the fact that I would get lost in learning about the history of our world. I would start off researching the locations of battle sites during the Napoleonic wars fought by England during the year 1812 and five hours later I would be reading an article about one of the great philosophers in ancient Greece, wondering how the hell I got there and trying to remember what I’d been trying to look up in the first place. LOL. But, I think, honestly one of the major sticking points, for me, is that because I am such a historical nerd, such a perfectionist when it comes to those things, when I was doing the research, I grew frustrated because most of the sites that came up were… you guessed it… other romance authors. WTF? Do I look stupid? No. I want real references, thank you very much. And while I could find some, it was difficult to find everything that I wanted without having to pay an arm and a leg or actually living or visiting those areas to find out what I wanted to know. The great thing is, I have a friend that lives in England who went and looked around, and I also spent the money to get the books that had the research. But again, I loved it.

Q: What is your favorite line from this book?

A: I don’t think I can choose just one. There were a lot of them in here that I just loved. Where I’d turn to my friend, Taylor Law, and say: “I wrote that?” So I chose my top 8 passages/lines:

“Don’t do that. Don’t hide from me. Never hide from me,” Heathcliff told him. “You have a beautiful voice. One that has obviously been handcrafted by the very touch of God. The beauty of your voice is rivaled only by the beauty of your face, which does not compare to the beauty of your spirit.”
“Pompinshire, if you don’t kiss him, then I will,” Blaine’s whispered voice came from behind him in the darkness.
“Does removing your boots always arouse you, Your Grace?” Lucien asked.
“You are a vision, wrapped in a dream.”
“Forgive me for being remiss and not giving this to you before now, but I can only blame the fact that the wonder of your being has held me so enthralled I find myself barely able to function outside of your presence,” Heath said with a small smile.
“You women are more in touch with your feelings—you’re supposed to tell me first,” Heath groused.
“Pompinshire, I apologize for any stain I have brought to your home and disrespect I have shown you with my actions, but I am afraid my heart was lost when I met Chester,” Whitcomb said.
“A servant? You want to make a servant the Duchess of Whitcomb?”

Q: What is your favorite genre to write?

A: I don’t just write in one genre. I usually write in a mish-mosh of them. I usually sit around and my characters say: Okay, our story combines historical, fantasy, transgenderism, alternative reality, and interracial. And I’m like… okay.

But I’d have to say that paranormal or fantasy are my favorites. It gives me the opportunity to be G-d a little more with my book/series. I get to do world-building. Create laws, rules, etc. and have an entire world/universe of people abide by them. As a dominant person that gives me a thrill.

Q: What was your most challenging book to write?

A: So far I would have to say it’s a tie between Raising Shawna, Daddy’s Boy, and Groom Of Convenience all for different reasons and Daddy’s Boy is still being written because it’s so challenging. RS was so emotionally draining and dealt with such sensitive issues that are close to my heart, close to where I live and have lived (being set in Florida) that I cried as I wrote it. GoC was mentally draining because of the research and because of the fact that I literally stepped out to do something that has never been done before with this book, so I really stretched myself with this book and this series and it’s something that I love to do, it’s something I love to get my readers and even other authors to do, but it was definitely challenging.

Q: You list Edgar Allen Poe as one of your favorite authors. I love him…what is your favorite work by him?

A: Me too!!! The first thing I read by Mr. Poe was “The Tell-Tale Heart” and then I read “The Raven.” Both excellent works. But I’d have to say that “The Fall of the House of Usher” is my absolute fave. Or maybe “The Pit and the Pendulum.” Definitely one of those two.

Blurb(s):

In an alternate universe, in the country of Angland, 1814, the gentry live lives of culture and class. It is a time of courtships, marriages of convenience, and titles, where scandal can ruin an entire family. Gender lines are blurred, and making a good match is of utmost importance. Children are born to men and women, which has led to the acceptance of same-sex marriages.

Lady Lucien Timothy Hawthorne is shocked and angry when he is betrothed against his will to Lord Heathcliff Eddington, III, the Duke of Pompinshire. While drowning his frustration at a popular gentleman’s club, he meets “Robert,” a gorgeous older man whom he sleeps with as “Timmy,” regardless of the potential damage to his reputation.

After their liaison, Lucien corresponds with Robert via letters left at Remmington, and they decide to elope. Before they can get away, Lucien meets his betrothed, Heathcliff, who he is surprised to discover is also his beloved, Robert. Both men desire a marriage of the heart, but they find out that sometimes a marriage of convenience can turn into love under the right circumstances. But Lucien has a secret, and Tlondon isn’t as safe as they once thought.

Categories: Alternative Universe, Gay Fiction, Historical, M/M Romance, Romance, *Trans

Excerpt:

Lucien inhaled deeply and then began to softly sing “Ae Fond Kiss,” a popular Tscottish ballad written twenty years prior, sliding his eyelids closed, afraid of any negative reaction from his betrothed. His mother used to sing it to him every night before leaving for a ball or party she was obligated to attend. Rosemary would sing the song and then kiss the top of his head. Annabelle would be waiting at the door, and when Rosemary finished, thinking that Lucien was asleep, she would meet Annabelle at the door, and the two of them would share a sweet kiss and then leave. Lucien loved those late-night lullabies by his mother, cherished them, and when he went to bed, even at his advanced age, he would sing the song to himself until he would fall asleep.
Finishing the last note of the song, Lucien opened his eyes and looked at Heathcliff, expecting to find him asleep, only to find him looking at him in wonder. “What?” he asked. “You have a beautiful voice, Lucien,” Heathcliff told him. Lucien blushed and ducked his head. “Thank you,” he whispered. Heathcliff’s fingers under his chin brought his face back up, and he found himself looking into Heathcliff’s eyes. “Don’t do that. Don’t hide from me. Never hide from me,” Heathcliff told him. “You have a beautiful voice. One that has obviously been handcrafted by the very touch of God. The beauty of your voice is rivaled only by the beauty of your face, which does not compare to the beauty of your spirit.”

Words: 108,811 Pages: 300