The Viscount Without Virtue is officially here! And by *here*, I mean available for your favorite ebook reader from your favorite ebook retailer!
Here is a little fun fact: I wrote the opening paragraphs of The Viscount Without Virtue before even beginning my draft of the novella that precedes it, The Baron Without Blame. In part, this is because Max’s glimpse of Northfield Hall is an outside observer’s, which gave me a better vision of the home for when Martin brings Lolly home as his fiance.
The other reason I started with The Viscount Without Virtue is because that is where my initial concept for the series began. I thought: how great would it be to write about a family whose wealth doesn’t come from slave labor or exploiting colonial resources and labor? Then I could write guilt-free love stories without having to contort this way and that to explain their “investments”!
I swear, my first concept for the series was frothy and fun romances. However, as my husband likes to point out, I am me. I’m spending 20+ hours a week writing, imagining, and shaping these stories. They are my way of making sense of the world around me. So inevitably, the plots have gotten a little more complicated than “frothy” and the subject matter can be a little more weighty than “fun.”
The Viscount Without Virtue in particular got more idea-heavy than I expected, as Ellen and Max had to reckon with their differing views of the world. This set up - which was deliciously fun at the beginning of the novel - demanded some sort of conclusion, which meant I had to explore a little deeper than planned what they each believe.
In fact, at one point, my sister gave me feedback on a draft: “This is good, but it doesn’t feel like a romance novel.”
What a great note! It made me ask myself: what is my ultimate goal with this series? As a human, I use creative writing to filter through my questions about the world around me. As a professional author, what do I want to provide my readers? Am I trying to describe a particular worldview? Am I trying to get to the bottom of what love means? Or am I trying to entertain people?
The answer, of course, does not require me to choose just one of those goals. The truth is, I don’t have strong ideas that I’m trying to communicate through my stories, but rather lots of questions that I’m hoping my characters can help me answer. For my readers, I hope those questions resonate, and maybe between all of us, we can get a little closer to understanding.
With that in mind, I returned to my draft once more. I thought about the rule of thumb from The Office, where their episodes were 90% comedy and 10% human relationships. And I remembered novels I have loved by Courtney Milan, Cat Sebastian, and KJ Charles. The ones that are entertaining historical romance in their own right, yet still give me something new and interesting to think about. I dialed back a few long conversations about ideology. I added in a whole lot more flirting, chemistry, and romance. I reread it to make sure it worked as a romance, plain and simple.
In the final version, I think The Viscount Without Virtue is an entertaining, fun, and sexy historical romance. I also hope it offers something interesting to think about, whether that is a new angle on history you didn’t know before, a new empathy for someone, or even a scene to pick apart and “joyfully problematize” (as ShelfLove would call it). Most of all, I hope you finish with a book hangover.
Thank you so much for reading, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of The Viscount Without Virtue!