The 8th Most Entertaining Book of 2008 is...

The Award for-
8th Most Entertaining Book of 2008
goes to...

"Before The Season Ends"
by Linore Rose Burkard

I absolutely loved this book. I don't believe I had ever read a Regency romance before and this one swept me away! If you are wondering what a Regency romance is... then think Jane Austen only Christian and you will have Linore's charming book. Here is the product description...

In her debut novel of what she calls “spirited romance for the Jane Austen soul,” author Linore Rose Burkard tells the intriguing story of Miss Ariana Forsythe, a young woman caught between her love for a man who doesn’t share her faith and her resolution to marry only a fellow believer in Christ.

Trouble at home sends the young woman to her aunt’s townhome in the fashionable Mayfair district of London. There she finds worse troubles than those that prompted her flight from home. Ariana is soon neck–deep in high society and at odds with Mr. Phillip Mornay, London’s current darling rogue. Then a scandal changes Ariana forever. Her heart, her faith, and her future are all at stake in an unexpected adventure that gains even the Prince Regent’s attention.

Will Ariana’s faith survive this test? And what about her heart? For it’s Ariana’s heart that most threatens to betray the truths she has always believed in. When she finds herself backed against a wall, betrothed to the wrong young man, how can it ever turn out right?

Jane Austen readers and fans of Regency romances everywhere will love Before the Season Ends.

In what I believe is one of the feel good publishing stories of the year, Linore actually self-published her book originally (that is when I first read it) and then when Harvest House publishing company was looking for Christian Regency romances, they ran across Linore's book and asked to publish it! It has been repackaged with an additional chapter and is just wonderful. I am thrilled for Linore and think a story like this should give every writer hope! Let's meet Linore...

1) Sometimes people think of authors as being bigger than life and not "real", so I thought we would start off with a very important question, one that will show people just how real you are! "What dessert can you not resist when it is time to indulge?"

I cannot resist New York Cheesecake. (Italian cheesecake doesn't cut it; I like the creamy kind.) I don't think it's because I'm originally from New York, either. It's just the best cheesecake!

2) Tell us how you got started writing Christian Regency Romance... have you always wanted to be a writer?

I love Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer's regencies. But after a time, I really wanted to read a distinctly Christian regency, and there just weren't ANY around at the time. I mean, none, nada. I kept waiting and hoping someone would write it, but I finally decided I would have to do it, so I wrote exactly the kind of book I wanted to read. It's a true regency, in that it has important benchmarks of the period, the language, and so on, but it also packs a powerful Christian punch! The book gives readers a sense that God is involved in daily life, and that happy endings are possible for everyone. But it keeps the tone and atmosphere of a regency, meaning fun-loving and light at heart.

3) Ariana is a beautiful heroine in "Before The Season Ends", is she modeled after someone you know (like yourself)?
Haha, definitely not! I suppose there is always a little bit of ourselves in our heroines--I don't think writers can avoid that. But Ariana is much smarter than I was at her age, in the sense that she speaks her mind when it matters. And I never, ever thought of someone I knew while writing her, so I would have to say she's fictional--as long as we understand that being fictional does not mean being unrealistic. She's a very sympathetic heroine, and readers can definitely identify with her.

4) I was absolutely captivated by Ariana's story in "Before The Season Ends" and so was my mother-in-law when she read it. We both read it in basically a single sitting because neither one of us could put it down. Was this your first book?

Yes, it was. I had started about four different regency stories, and a few of them were about halfway done when I chose to focus on Before the Season Ends. So it was my first completed book. The sequel, by the way, is finished, and it will be in bookstores by April 1, 2009. It's called, The House in Grosvenor Square, and I think you'll really enjoy it. My editor said it was "riveting."

5) What can we look forward to seeing from you in the future?

More regencies, first of all. But eventually, I'd love to branch out. I don't like to be too confined, in any way. In the past, I've written everything from poetry to children's books, and I also have a file stuffed with non-fiction book ideas. I'm a bit hopeless when it comes to keeping my focus on just one thing, but this should encourage other writers. If I can focus on one genre enough to fall in love with it and enjoy writing it--when I am a highly distractible person--so can they. So can you.

Thank you for visiting with us today - can you tell my readers how they can order your book - just in case they don't win a copy in our drawing :-)

It's been a pleasure, Janna. Thank you for having me. My book is available in bookstores right now, or online from Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, and BarnesandNoble.com--or any online bookseller. If your local library hasn't got the book in stock, you can request that they order a copy. Christians should often request good Christian books from their libraries anyway. This helps keep the gospel in a place where readers may get a good dose of it without having to enter a church--which could be hard or untenable for them. One of my goals in writing this book was to include a gospel message in case it was read by unbelievers. So it makes a good, harmless but sneaky way to evangelize! (Wise as serpents, harmless as doves, that's us, right? )
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Okay, readers you have a chance to win this great book! Here is what you do... leave me a comment (with your email address or way to reach you) telling me what your favorite Regency romance is and you will have 1 entry in the drawing! If you tell someone else about this interview with Linore and they enter and put your name in the comment then you will have 3 extra entries, if you link to this interview from your own blog then you will get 2 extra entries - Good luck!