Fabulous guest Wednesday. Love at the Northern Lights with Darcie Boleyn

I'm honoured and excited to be part of Darcie's blog tour for her latest release,

Love at the Northern Lights.

(published by the amazing Canelo)

And not only that, I got her to answer some not too searching questions...

So without further ado, here we go...

The lovely Darcie Boleyn

Hi Darcie,

It’s so great to quiz you like this. Thanks for agreeing to be under my spotlight today. Of course I want to know all about Love at the Northern Lights, which I must say I loved. You have a beautiful way with words. But, I’m sure there’s a lot of people who want to know a bit more about your career. So I'm including your bio here...

Author Bio: Darcie Boleyn has a huge heart and is a real softy. She never fails to cry at books and movies, whether the ending is happy or not. Darcie is in possession of an overactive imagination that often keeps her awake at night. Her childhood dream was to become a Jedi but she hasn’t yet found suitable transport to take her to a galaxy far, far away. She also has reservations about how she’d look in a gold bikini, as she rather enjoys red wine, cheese and loves anything with ginger or cherries in it – especially chocolate. Darcie fell in love in New York, got married in the snow, rescues uncoordinated greyhounds and can usually be found reading or typing away on her laptop.

Now over to you...

Hi Raven, thanks so much for inviting me to your blog and thank you for the lovely things you said! J

So, why this genre? What makes it special for you? (Apart from the fact you write it so well?)

I love writing romance. It’s such fun creating the complex main characters with their emotional baggage – such as their wounds, their lost hopes and dreams – and bringing them gently, gradually and cautiously together. They might not always like each other at first, but by the end of the story, they will do. The journey they go on mustn’t be easy; there must be plenty of conflict – both internal and external – and there will always be a black moment, when the conflict is at its highest and it seems as though there couldn’t possibly be a happy outcome.

I relish the dance that the two characters perform… the will-they, won’t-they build up as their relationship develops. I love to build the physical and emotion tension between them, to convey how they feel just by being close or thinking about each other. I enjoy describing the moment when it dawns on them that they are in love, even if, at that point, it still seems like they can’t possibly be together. Then… when they do eventually admit their feelings, it will be all the sweeter.

How did Love at the Northern Lights come about?

My dad was one of my best friends and we always planned on travelling together. Norway was one of the places we talked about visiting. With its mountains, glaciers and deep coastal fjords, it sounded perfect. There would be the chance to see authentic Viking ships in Oslo’s museum, to take a cruise on the Sognedfjord – Norway’s longest and deepest fjord – and to hike and ski. And, of course, there would be the opportunity to visit the city of Tromsø, to ride on a sleigh through the snow, and hopefully witness the magnificent Aurora borealis. Sadly, my dad passed away in 2004, but one day I aim to see the northern lights for us both. He was so full of enthusiasm for life and his ready smile and his wit made me laugh all the time. I miss him terribly.

The story is about love and loss, family estrangement and reconciliation. It’s about finding yourself and finally arriving home – whether it’s in the place you started out or somewhere far away.

We only have one life so we have to make the most of it.

How do you decide on your character’s names?

I have a printed list of names and I run through them to see if they suit the characters I have in mind. I might change them as I write, especially if I realise I’ve given two characters names that sound too similar. Sometimes, the names come to me immediately, but at other times, it takes more thought.

I absolutely love the book. You made me laugh cry and sigh. Without giving anything away, what’s your favourite bit?

Thank you so much. There were many moments I enjoyed writing, such as the opening scene with its chaos and laughter and the scenes where Jonas and Frankie realise that they’re falling for each other. But I also liked writing the scenes with her grandmother – it’s good fun creating characters with complex backgrounds!

What’s next on the agenda? Why?

I’m currently writing the first in a new series to be published with Canelo in 2019. The series is set in Cornwall (my favourite) but each book is set at a different location – a vineyard, the Cornish village and a farm with tea rooms.

 Ooh, sounds great, I'll look forward to them.

Now a few sillies...

Longhand or straight to the computer?

Notes longhand, manuscript computer.

Tea or coffee?

Tea first thing, coffee mid morning.

Sweet or savoury?

Savoury

Wine or Gin?

Can’t I have both? ;-)

okay then, why not.

TV or Radio?

TV

Favourite holiday destination?

Cornwall or New York

Dark or blond haired men?

Dark – although Jonas is a gorgeous blond Viking of a man!

Early riser or late to bed?

Early riser, asleep by ten pm.

just like me

Thanks so much for popping by to chat.

Thank you for hosting me! I enjoyed answering your questions! XXX

Love at the Northern lights

‘Climbing out the window in her dress and tiara wasn’t exactly how Frankie imagined her wedding day…’

Runaway bride Frankie Ashford hops a plane to Norway with one goal in mind - find her estranged mother and make peace with the past. But when a slip on the ice in Oslo lands her directly in Jonas Thorsen’s viking-strong arms, her single-minded focus drifts away in the winter winds.

When it comes to romance Jonas knows that anything he and Frankie share has an expiration date - the British heiress has a life to return to in London that’s a world away from his own. But family is everything to Jonas and, as the one man who can help Frankie find the answers she’s seeking, he’ll do whatever it takes to help her reunite with her mother. 

Now, as Christmas draws closer and the northern lights work their magic Frankie and Jonas will have to make a choice...play it safe or risk heartbreak to take a chance on love.

EXCERPT:

‘Oh my God, Frankie, we’re being arrested!’

‘What?’ Frances Ashford looked up from the flute of champagne she’d been nursing for the past hour, and peered through the dimly lit VIP section of the exclusive London club.

‘Get up! It’s the police.’

Jennifer Prescott, Frankie’s best friend, grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, causing her to spill the remains of the champagne down the front of her pink silk dress.

And sure enough, six burly police officers were heading their way.

‘But why would they arrest us?’ she asked Jen, looking first at the men in their black shirts and trousers with black baseball caps on their heads, then at the rest of her hen party.

‘Because we’ve been very naughty.’ Lorna Cartwright, another of Frankie’s bridesmaids, smoothed her sleek black hair then adjusted the low neckline of her barely-there black dress. She giggled then held up her hands. ‘I’m here, officers. Please be gentle with me.’

‘This is a prank, right?’ Frankie nudged Jen as the men closed in on them.

‘Oh, Frankie, darling… just go with the flow. This is your hen night and it’s time to have some fun.’ Jen cocked a perfectly manicured blonde brow at her, then held up her hands in the same way as Lorna and the other three bridesmaids

Frankie scanned the club, wondering if she had time to make a run for it, but suddenly handcuffs were locked around her wrists, one of the officers gruffly informed her of her rights, then she was led down the stairs from the VIP area and across the dance floor, as her friends squealed and giggled around her.

Ten minutes later, Frankie found herself squashed onto a narrow bench, between two of the rather brawny police officers in the back of a transit van. Jen and Lorna were with her, but the others had been stuffed into a different van outside the club. It was clearly hen night high jinks, but even so, her pulse was racing and her mouth bone dry. She hadn’t wanted any of this, hadn’t even wanted a hen night, but Jen and the others had insisted. Frankie had agreed on the condition that it would be a quiet night of drinks at a club followed by a meal at The Ivy. However, it seemed that her friends had ignored her wishes and come up with something completely different.

You can buy this fabulous book here...

getbook.at/LoveatNL

Happy reading everyone.

Love, Katy x