Update: Thanks for all the comments! A random winner was selected, and that person is…Angela M! Congrats, Angela! I will email you with prize details very soon!

Happy June!!  Summer, oh, yes, sweet summer is now upon us!

And do you know what goes well with summer? Books. Good books to read on a hot summer day.  So, I thought I’d do a giveaway on the old blog. 🙂

Are you in the mood to read some sexy novellas about strong bodyguards?  My friend Elisabeth Naughton is in the new anthology, BODYGUARDS IN BED–an anthology that looks like a great read.

Want to read an excerpt from Elisabeth’s story? It’s here!

Now…wanna win a copy of the book? I’ll pick one commenter randomly, and I’ll send that person a copy of BODYGUARDS IN BED via Amazon (you can get the trade version of an ebook version).  Just leave me a comment telling me if you would or would not make a good bodyguard.   Easy, right?

Thanks for checking out the contest–and have a great day!  (The contest will run until 5 pm on 6/2.)

Want to win an early copy of NEVER CRY WOLF? Then head over to the Brava blog! I’m giving away 5 copies there.  The contest will run until Friday at 8 a.m. Eastern time.  Good luck!

Update: The winner of MY FAVORITE COUNTESS is…Hilleary Peterson. Congrats!!

I’m so excited to have my buddy (and uber talented author) Vanessa Kelly here today!  Vanessa has a fabulous new historical romance out on the shelves now.  Welcome, Vanessa!

Playing Second Banana

My latest historical romance, My Favorite Countess, is now in stores.  As you have likely deduced from the title, the lead character is a countess.  A widowed countess, actually.    Her name is Bathsheba and she has many thrilling and occasionally dangerous challenges to overcome in the course of the narrative, along with her hero, Dr. John Blackmore.

The story, of course, is mostly about them.  But it’s not all about them.  There are several other characters in My Favorite Countess and their stories are important, both as sub-plots that support the main plot and in adding portrayals that enrich the book in their own right.

Secondary characters have always played a critical role in books, movies, and TV shows.  Take, for example, one of my favorite TV programs:  House.  Gregory House is the lifeblood of the show, with his caustic wit, his insane adventures, and his tortured psyche.  If he wasn’t on screen for at least 75% of the time, I think most viewers would get pretty darn cranky.  And Hugh Laurie’s portrayal is so commanding that he could probably read the proverbial phone book and make it interesting.

But one of the things that makes House such a great show is the way the main character interacts with the secondary characters.  Where would House be without Wilson to play faithful second banana, the one person who truly understands him and accepts him for who he is?  And how about his team of assistants, whose different personalities serve as foils to highlight House’s strengths and weaknesses, and also challenge him to confront the demons that bedevil him?  These characters aren’t cardboard cut-outs.  The portrayals are so fully realized that viewers care for them, both in their separate story lines and in how they relate to House.

Romance novels are often part of a series, and when they are secondary characters tend to play an even more vital role.  They help to pull the story forward from one book to the next, ensuring continuity and also introducing new themes and plot twists in the over-arching development of the series.

My Favorite Countess is the third book in my series of Regency-set historical romances, and I do have characters from earlier books playing key secondary roles in this one.  The most important are Stephen and Meredith, the Marquess and Marchioness of Silverton, and the hero and heroine of my first book, Mastering The Marquess.  In that book, Stephen and Meredith faced many challenges on the way to their HEA—including a poisoning and a kidnapping—and you would think that I would just leave them in peace to enjoy their happy lives together.

Not!  In fact, things have the potential to go very wrong for them, and it will be up to John and Bathsheba to save the day.

But Stephen and Meredith aren’t just devices to drive the plot and give my hero and heroine an excuse to be, well, heroic.  This pair of secondary characters inhabits a fully realized subplot, and it brings an additional strength to the story that wouldn’t be there if I had left it out.  When this subplot joins up with the main plot in the climax of the book, things get really hairy for everyone, and I think it’s all pretty darn exciting!

On my website, I have a bonus prequel chapter to My Favorite Countess, that kicks off Meredith and Stephen’s subplot several months before the main action of the book begins.  You might want to check it out, along with the regular excerpt for the book.

What do you think of secondary characters in romance?  How important are they to the hero and heroine’s story?  And who are some of your favorite secondary characters in romance novels?  One commenter will win a copy of My Favorite Countess.

Vanessa Kelly writes Regency-set historical romance for Kensington Zebra.  She also writes contemporary romance with her husband under the pen name of VK Sykes.  You can visit her on the web at:  http://www.vanessakellyauthor.com

Free bonus read:  http://www.vanessakellyauthor.com/books.html

Excerpt:  http://www.vanessakellyauthor.com/excerpt_mfc.html

Megan Records, Associate Editor at Kensington Publishing, has a great guest post over at the Danger Women Writing Blog. She’s sharing “10 Things You May Not Know About Your Editor” & giving away some absolutely awesome prizes.  Head on over if you have the chance!  Thanks!

Update: The winner is…WendyK! Congrats, Wendy!

Today, I want to spotlight a book for the historical lovers out there. (Come on–hot historicals are awesome, you know it!).

Kris Kennedy has a fabulous new book available–it’s called DEFIANT.  Here’s the cover:

And here’s the most excellent blurb:

A rogue knight and an enchanting renegade join forces to right old wrongs in award-winning author Kris Kennedy’s sizzling new medieval romance.

A warrior with questionable intentions . . .

Jamie Lost is the king’s most renowned commander, a fearless lieutenant ordered to kidnap an exiled priest before rebel forces close in. The mission is simple—until he meets a mysterious thief who will steal his quarry and then his heart.

A lady of remarkable courage . . .

Beautiful Eva is also seeking Father Peter, but she intends to protect him from a secret that could cost him his life. She senses that she, too, should fear Jamie—not just for his wickedly sharp sword and dangerously muscular body, but for the powerful longing he ignites within her.

A secret that could overthrow the king.

When a band of mercenaries abducts the priest, Jamie and Eva must form a volatile alliance. As civil war unfolds around them, they embark on an epic journey that betrays the truth about their hidden identities, their unexpected loyalties, and the simmering attraction that could seal their fates forever.

***

Want to read an excerpt?

How about…would you like to win this book? Because I’d love to giveaway a copy.  I will ship one commenter either a print copy from Amazon or I’ll email you a Kindle gift copy–the choice is yours.  So, if you want to win, just tell me why you like to read historical romances. After midnight, I’ll randomly pick a winner.  Thank you!!