Today we welcome author Gayle Callen to the blog. She’s answering a few questions about yesterday’s big release of the three latest titles in her Sons of Scandal series: In Pursuit of a Scandalous Lady, A Most Scandalous Engagement, and Every Scandalous Secret.

Welcome! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what got you into writing?

Hello, and thanks for inviting me! I write historical romance and historical fiction, but as Emma Cane, I also write contemporary romance. I’ve been writing since I was in middle school when I was so into Star Trek that I decided to write my own stories about teenagers in space. I took some writing courses in college, but only got serious when I had toddlers who took good naps. It took me thirteen years and three complete manuscripts before I sold my first historical romance.

What inspired you to write historical romance?

When I was at a high school slumber party, a friend brought a copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss’s Shanna. (You can guess how long ago that was.) I had never read a historical romance before and I devoured that book, staying up all night to read it. I stopped writing sci-fi right then and decided to try historical romance, experimenting with Westerns, Victorians, American Revolution, before trying Medievals, and that book, On Her Warrior’s Secret Mission, finally sold.

What do you enjoy the most about writing historical romance and what do you enjoy the least?

I love researching and writing about how people lived in historical times. I love it so much, that’s probably why I’m writing historical fiction right now. But there’s something about a romance that can show us that people aren’t so different, even if they lived two hundred years ago, and that finding someone to share your life with can bring great rewards. As for what I enjoy the least, I honestly can’t think of anything!

What inspired the Sons of Scandal series?

For the first three books, the inspiration was scandal—what kind of trouble could I get my characters into? But it was also important to me to write about families, so I challenged myself to write about lots of cousins and siblings. Someone once pointed out that so many historical heroines have lost one parent, if not both, so for the second half of the trilogy, I wanted my heroines to have their parents’ love. It was my goal to give my heroines challenges that weren’t about them being desperate to survive or to support themselves (nothing wrong with those challenges, but I’d done them before). So that meant giving them a different kind of conflict—one of them posed for a scandalous nude portrait, face partially hidden, but we don’t know who it was. That’s one of the plotlines throughout the final three books of the series.

What aspect of protagonist Rebecca Leland’s character did you most enjoy creating in In Pursuit of a Scandalous Lady?

I gave Rebecca a childhood full of illness, where she was closeted away to be protected, seldom allowed outside. She lost herself in adventure books, longing for an adventure of her own. Once she was an adult, the scandal of the nude portrait ensnared her. Little did she know that the necklace shown in the painting was a stolen jewel called The Scandalous Lady. I really enjoyed giving Rebecca the adventure she always dreamed of, forced to go on the run with Julian Delane, the Earl of Parkhurst, who wants the jewel back—but so does someone else…

What is your favorite aspect of Peter Derby’s character, the romantic lead, in A Most Scandalous Engagement?

I liked Peter’s willingness to do anything to help Lady Elizabeth. He grew up as a friend to her brother, but a much poorer connection who knew he’d never be permitted to court the daughter of a duke. In the name of family friendship, Elizabeth turned to him when disaster threatened and she needed to pretend to be engaged. Though it hurt him to know it could never be serious between them, Peter is the kind of man who could never let down a friend—especially a woman he’s loved from afar.

What character in Every Scandalous Secret did you most enjoy developing?

I really liked the challenge of Mr. Leo Wade. He originally made an appearance as the reckless younger brother in The Viscount in Her Bedroom, and did something that inadvertently harmed his sister-in-law. I couldn’t get him out of my mind, wondering if he’d ever grow up and leave behind his scoundrel ways. When bluestocking artist Susanna needed someone opposite her in every way, Leo came right to my mind. He set out to prove that she was the model in the nude portrait, and landed the two of them in even worse trouble. But at last, I had found a woman who could challenge him and make him want to be a better man.

What are some books you are enjoying reading right now? Do you have any recommendations?

Ooh, there are so many! I love to read across many genres. Right now I’m reading Maggie Shayne’s newest Texas Brand book, Harrison Hyde and the Runaway Bride. Don’t you love that title? No one does small town romance like Maggie.

I just finished a historical fiction novel called The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis that takes place in a struggling art school housed in Grand Central Terminal in 1920s NYC, and also in the 1970s, where an employee at the neglected terminal finds an old painting from that earlier era and decides to solve the mystery. It was really well done.

I would also recommend a suspense novel called The Plot, by Jean Hanff Korelitz, about a writer who turns to teaching when he can’t find a decent idea for his next book. He hears the outline of an incredible plot idea from one of his students, the kind of idea that’s so massive it will be a success. But when he doesn’t hear about the book itself, he finds out the student died without ever writing it, tackles the idea himself, and becomes a bestseller. And then the threats start…

Thanks again for having me, and happy reading!

Read more about this series below!

All of Society is wondering: Who is the beauty in the scandalous nude portrait hanging in one of London’s most fashionable clubs? Is she truly a member of the ton? Who would be so daring, so reckless?

Julian Delane, Earl of Parkhurst, is so certain he knows the truth that he’s willing to make a wager on it. But there’s more at stake—clearing the family name from a scandal that claimed his father’s life. Julian believes the ravishing model will lead him to answers.

Rebecca Leland—full of spirit and a bit of a wild streak—is just as determined to evade his questions. But when Julian finally confronts her, he may find Rebecca well worth the pursuit.

Lady Elizabeth Cabot has put recklessness behind her. But who would have thought that one immodest act could disrupt her entire world and force her toward a loveless marriage? Now desperate, she approaches her childhood friend, Peter Derby, with a daring plan.

Peter remembers everything about the spirited girl who had stolen his heart. But there are rumors that she is the model for the scandalous painting hanging in London’s most exclusive gentlemen’s club. If Peter agrees to pose as her fiancé, Elizabeth promises she’ll reveal the whole truth.

But Peter has his own ideas about this sham “engagement” to the woman who’s always been just out of his reach—and he’s willing to risk yet another scandal to make her truly his.

Leo Wade avoids house parties in favor of London’s gaming halls…and ladies’ boudoirs. But when his gambling instinct leads him to believe the enchanting and utterly impossible Miss Susanna Leland is the subject of a shockingly immodest painting, he braves country boredom for a chance to prove the lady’s secret.

Spinster Susanna never imagined she’d become caught up in a ridiculous game of cat and mouse with the most wicked man in England! She has no intention of letting Leo confirm his suspicions, no matter how persuasive he can be.

Until temptation becomes too much to bear, and they both learn that the price of trust may just be worth every scandalous secret.

After a detour through fitness instructing and computer programming, Gayle Callen found the life she’d always dreamed of as a writer. This USA Today bestselling author has written more than twenty-five novels and has won the Holt Medallion, the Laurel Wreath Award, the Booksellers’ Best Award, and the National Readers’ Choice Award. Her books have been translated into eleven different languages.

An avid crafter, singer, and outdoor enthusiast, and the mother of three grown children, Gayle lives in Central New York with her husband, Jim. She also writes contemporary romances as Emma Cane.

You can find her on her website, Instagram, Facebook, and BookBub.