Review The Loveday Revenge

It does not matter how long you have been published or how many novels you have written a good review still sets your heart singing that you have produced something worthy of praise. When we write about people and events that we are passionate about it makes all our hours of solitude and research worthwhile. I was so delighted by this review I wanted to share it with you. This was a review given by singletitles.com

With its cast of unforgettable characters, sweeping locations, nail-biting intrigue and poignant family drama, Kate Tremayne’s saga following the lives and loves of the Loveday family is a must-read for readers who yearn for those wonderfully old-fashioned, full-bloodied and intense family sagas by Susan Howatch and Winston Graham.

Kate Tremayne’s Loveday saga gets better and better with every book! Romantic, passionate, intriguing, breathtaking and engrossing from beginning to end, once I started The Loveday Revenge, I found myself unable to put it down. Full of characters that linger in the mind long after the last page is turned, nefarious scheming, heartwrenching romance, powerful emotion, love, lust, greed and family secrets, The Loveday Revenge is sheer perfection from start to finish.
If you want to find out the reason why readers and critics all over the world are falling in love with the Loveday family, then pick up a copy of The Loveday Revenge, and get ready to be swept back in time with these enthralling books which I just cannot get enough of!

Exploits of a Lovable Rogue

One of the greatest joys of writing the Loveday series is to receive so many emails from readers. They are a constant joy and never more so than on a day when one of the Lovedays have got themselves into a scrape from which I wonder if they can ever redeem themselves with honour and integrity. For a writer to learn that readers empathise with the characters and feel their pain and anguish is great motivation for an author to push themselves that one step further to make each story unique and memorable. It is originality that attracts a publisher to a novel and the best authors do not allow themselves to fall back onto clichéd plots or predictable formula.

In the series Adam is the main hero but the moment his rakehell cousin Japhet stepped onto the page I knew this was a man women would adore and through love hope to reform. The fourth book in the series THE LOVEDAY SCANDALS was given a new look to the covers and with the background of Bodmin Moor this is one of my favourites. THE LOVEDAY SCANDALS brings Japhet to the fore but his wild escapades threaten his life. In a gritty family series there can be no fairy tale endings and each Loveday must face the consequences of their actions…

Any scandal surrounding a Loveday would not be mundane and as I try and use the theme of each book on multi levels and involving new dramas for at least three of the characters, the theme of a scandal involving each of them opened so many exciting possibilities. Having lived and worked in London for several years, I loved the opportunity to research the 18th century gaming hells, underworld, theatre and life in Newgate.
The novel begins with Adam still at sea and his twin St John banished to Virginia. It was fascinating to research an Ameican link to the family and life on a tobacco plantation at that time. This also enabled me to bring in the more devious side of St John's character and the duplicity which will govern many of his exploits in the future.
In England the family struggle to survive in the face of fresh scandals and shocking revelations. Japhet has fled to London to forget the heartache of his love affair with Gwendolyn Druce. He finds himself drawn into the dangerous world of the city’s gambling dens and, when he runs out of money, turns to highway robbery. As his life spirals out of control he engages in a passionate affair with actress Celestine Yorke, but when Gwen arrives in London Celestine’s ardour turns to obsessive jealousy. She has her suspicions that he is a highwayman. When blackmail fails to keep him at her side, there is no greater fury than a woman scorned. The gallows await any found guilty of highway robbery. How can our hero realistically escape the noose? Certainly not without sacrifice and dire circumstances.

Meanwhile Edward and Amelia’s marriage is rocked by the arrival of his illegitimate daughter, Tamasine, who has come to claim her rightful place in the family. Can the Lovedays rise above the turmoil which seems set to finally tear them apart?

Kate Tremayne

Writing Tip 3. Memorable Characters make a bestseller

The reason the Loveday books could expand from the original concept of a trilogy to become a series now running to nine books with two more due for publication, is due to memorable and diverse characterisation. The three sets of male cousins are all entirely different both in personality, goals and psychological makeup. Adam the privateer sea-captain who is passionate about the shipyard and the family estate at Trevowan. His twin St John, the heir, a wastrel and obsessive gambler who will always take the easy option and becomes involved with smuggling. Japhet, eldest son of a vicar: the lovable rogue, a rakehell with an interest in horse breeding, often engaged in dealings perilously close to the wrong side of the law. He risks all as a highwayman. His younger brother Pious Peter chooses the church but has his own wild demons to overcome. Cousin Thomas in London the son of a prominent banker, a renowned duellist whose heart is set upon becoming a famous playwright. All are fearless in the face of adversity and driven by the wildness in their blood. All are united in their family loyalty to overcome their enemies. Each is driven by their ambition to succeed no matter the danger or adversary. Background and personality colour every scene as they are driven by their motivation to overcome all odds. Give your reader well motivated and memorable characters, and do not be afraid to show their flaws, and they will stay in the readers mind long after the novel is finished with them wanting to know more about their lives.

The Rakehell Loveday

This is the hardback cover of The Loveday Trials. It depicts the fortune huntress Meriel whose shotgun wedding ensured her marriage to St John. The house is a representation of Boscabel the estate purchased by Adam.

In this extract from the novel it shows the devil-may-care cousin Japhet, as yet an unreformed rakehell. He is the eldest son of the Rev Joshua Loveday. The books have their share of romances but I also love writing the action and adventure scenes. Japhet has provided many of these.

'You be a lusty lover, my fine gentleman,' Kitty chuckled, 'but it be wicked to tempt me from my marriage vows.'
'You are too much a woman to be so long neglected,' Japhe whispered against her ear as they rolled across the rumpled bed. The candle had burned low, casting a yellowing light over their naked figures.
'I shall miss you when your husband returns.' Japhet kissed her with returning desire. 'He's due back any day now and this could be our last night together.'
'Then we best make it a night to remember.' Suddenly Kitty tensed. 'I heard something. Someone's on the stairs.'
Japhet heard a heavy footfall. He rolled Kitty aside, bounded from the bed and had time only to snatch up his breeches before the door was flung wide. A broad-shouldered, bearded man filled the portal.
'Damn you for a whore,' Captain David Veryan bellowed and pulled a cat-o'-nine-tails from his belt.
Kitty's husband rounded on Japhet, who, clutching his breeches in front of him, having had no time to don them,was edging towards the window.
'You'll not escape, you scoundrel,' Veryan growled.
The whip whistled in the air, the lead-tipped thongs slashing across Japhet's buttocks, drawing blood. A second blow caught his shoulder and snaked cruelly around his ribs, the flesh torn from the bone. Japhet wrapped his breeches around his arm and raised it to fend off the next vicious lash strokes. The whip raked across his shoulders as Japhet hurled himself at the man.
His flesh was raw and stinging and he could feel the blood mingling with his sweat as he kicked out at the captain. Unfortunately, his sword was on the floor across the room.He managed to heave the bigger man off balance, and darted towards his weapon. Another lashing of the whip peeled a strip of flesh from his chest.
'From what I've heard of you, Loveday, you've 'ad this coming a long time.'
Japhet evaded the next blows, but his hair and sweat were dripping into his eyes and the candle flame was flickering wildly, making it hard to see his opponent clearly. The captain raised his hand to strike again and Japhet grabbed his wrist, twisting his body in a wrestling hold to throw the heavier man over his shoulder to hit the floor.As the boards shook from the crashing weight, Japhet dived towards his sword belt and drew the blade.
Kitty screamed. 'No.Japhet! Don't kill 'im! He be a good man. We wronged 'im.'
Japhet had no intention of killing the captain in an uneven fight but he knew his own life was in danger if he lost the upper hand.

Review: 'A story of family relationships that transcends time, and heralds the emergence of an exciting new storyteller' North Cornwall Advertiser