The Loveday Books

Paperback Publication

2010-12-10T12:40:00.003Z

I guess by now that you know what the cover of THE LOVEDAY VENDETTA looks like as it has appeared so often in posts. So I have not put up another picture today.

December 9th was the day of publication of the paperback and below is an extract that I first posted on the UK historical romance blog earlier in the month.

Writing the Loveday series has been a dream beyond my wildest expectations. For eleven years and eleven novels I have lived and breathed this family’s passions, adventures, romances and conflicts. I have loved every minute of it. The series certainly tested my creativity and ingenuity to avoid similarities in so many characters or repetition of plots and settings. The chronological order of the novels covered over twenty years of wars, sea-battles, romantic escapes, rivalries, political intrigue, social upheaval and close encounters on both sides of the law and the inevitable consequences. During my research and writing I have experienced a roller-coaster ride through the exciting times of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Within every novel characters, although driven by their motivation and passions, have to develop and are changed by their experiences. The eleven novels have allowed me to cover the historical and social dramas of events in Cornwall and London as well as those in France, America and the newly founded colony in Sydney cove.

My greatest challenge to date was the development of Rowena Loveday who was born in the first book of the series. In THE LOVEDAY VENDETTA she is seventeen. Throughout her childhood she had been defiant and wilful and undoubtedly spoilt by her doting father. She was mischievous and often resentful of her wealthy cousins that provoked her into jealous rages and causing trouble amongst her siblings. Whilst this made great drama in her younger years, by the time she is a young woman and about to take her place as the heroine in the latest novel, she was not the most sympathetic of characters. To her credit was that her childhood had been difficult and she had had to face more traumas than her cousins. I loved her spirit that refused to be cowed or defeated, but as an adult for her to win the empathy of the readers, I had to get into her psyche as she battled to win respect and overcome the prejudices of her past and the misunderstandings that had surrounded the dramas she had created.

I did this by allowing the reader to understand her suffering and her desire to win the respect of her family and prove herself equal in blood and honour to her family.
Here is an extract when she pours out her heart and need for acceptance in a letter to her dead father. This was a device I used sparingly but I hope you agree that it enabled the reader to understand this complex woman.
.
May Day Eve 1805
Dearest Papa,
Why did you leave me? Was my love not enough? Or was I to blame? Was I too like Mama and you could not look at me and not see her betrayal? These questions scream in my head and you were the only one who could answer them. What could I have done to stop you taking your life? I should have been a better daughter. I thought everything would remain the same forever, that you had not a care in the world. Or was that the drink making you deny how close we were to ruin. Were those, older and wiser than myself, who should have seen what was happening too wrapped up in their own lives to disregard the obsession that destroyed you? I, who loved you, thought you infallible. But they should have seen your pain. They betrayed you and I cannot forgive them.
At your death my world crumbled. What did new dresses and a fine house mean then? They were nothing without you. Oh, Papa, I need you so much. Everyone is against me. They do not look at me and see Rowena they see Meriel. I am cursed with my mother’s looks but it is not her blood than burns through my veins. It is yours, which drives me to prove that I am a Loveday – that my wildness is the heritage of men who would be conquerors, who rule their lives as they ruled the sea as buccaneers. I am proud to be a Loveday. Why will others not see beneath the image of my mother to the heart of Rowena?
I am condemned for sins that were not mine. Not that I could blame you, Papa. If I had not been conceived you would not have been forced to wed a tavern wench. Did you also blame my birth for ruining your life, Papa? Is that why you found more pleasure away from our home than within it?
I was so angry when you died, Papa. I hated everyone. What had they done to save you? I wanted them to pay for their arrogance. I was an embarrassment to them. A reminder of all they wanted to forget.
They sent me away to school so that they did not have to trouble themselves over me. Only you would have understood, Papa. Only you truly loved me. Why did you forsake me, Papa? Why did even you not love me enough to throw off the shackles of convention so that we could start a new life elsewhere?
When will this pain of missing you end? How can I show you that I am a worthy child of your blood?
Your devoted daughter
Rowena

The handwriting with its extravagant flourishes and twirls ran together where Rowena’s tears had fallen on the paper. This was the only way she could release her pain. The only way she could try and find an answer. The only way she could pretend that her father was still close to her and could be proud that she could redeem the honour of their name.
She closed her eyes willing answers to come to her. The paper crinkled in her hand as tension ripped through her. The silence tore at her heart. No answers whispered in her ear. She was again forsaken. Then following the ritual she always performed at these times she touched the corner of the paper to the candle flame and watched it
devour the words wrenched from her heart. At the last moment before her fingers were burned she dropped the paper into a bronze bowl and stared at it until the flames died down and only ashes remained. She ground these to a fine dust with a wooden pestle, and then opening the window allowed them to drift on the breeze. With them went her simple prayer that they would travel through the ether to the afterlife, the words conveyed to her father. It was important that he would understand and not judge her.
No one else would witness the depths of her turmoil. Her pride would not allow her torment to be known. The words were the essence of her soul, her conscience, her way to make sense of all she had lost and to prove that she was not her mother’s spawn, she was her father’s daughter.

I loved writing this novel and developing the next generation of Lovedays.

TWENTY YEARS OF FAMILY HISTORY AND MORE

2010-08-13T14:51:00.004+01:00

THE LOVEDAY VENDETTA published in hardback by Headline this month is the eleventh in the Loveday series and takes the family drama to the second generation of this passionate, daring and adventurous family. But they have not only inherited the family’s headstrong and wild-blooded traits that govern their tumultuous lives, they also have to face the curse of their ancestry and fight their own demons to conquer dangerous adversaries to recover their stolen heritage and uncover the truth behind the murder of a loved one…

The orphaned Bryn, who is Captain Adam Loveday’s ward, is determined to bring the murderer of his mother and brother to justice and reclaim his inheritance. His quest not only places his own life in danger but also that of Rowena Loveday, the oldest of the Loveday siblings. Rowena is no complacent captive to her kidnappers, she is a formidable adversary towards anyone who would seek to destroy her reputation, when already she has faced the censure of the scandals created by her notorious parents.

Here is an extract. Bryn has recovered some of his memory about his childhood and has finally discovered the location of his family home on Exmoor

Bryn paused at each track leading off the main route across the moor. None felt familiar so he continued on his way. Finally he recognised an ancient oak split by lightening, whose shape had frightened him as a child, and which marked the border of his land. The tree was white as a phantom with it’s bark long rotted from its trunk. Further on he entered a hazel wood where the trees were dense. None had been coppiced in recent years and ivy held many of the trees in its stranglehold. Through neglect little light penetrated the overhead canopy and the tree bark and stones beneath were thick with moss. It smelt of damp and decay.

With growing trepidation he urged his gelding through the water to where a hamlet of some nine house should exist. The wattle and daub thatched cottages had been raised to the ground. From the scorch marks on the stonework that remained standing they had been destroyed by fire. A feral cat with a dead rat in its mouth ran across his path and darted into the bracken. What disaster had struck here? And what had happened to the people who had worked on Willow Vale land?

It was not the only shock he was to discover. The surrounding fields were filled with yellow ragwort that would have poisoned any livestock. Yet the greatest blow of all was when the house came into view. Or what was left of it. Only the north wing remained. The rest was a fire-blackened ruin without a roof, paneless windows and tumble down walls. Brambles were growing through the lower mullions and molehills made the once immaculate lawns of the gardens look like a drunken ploughman had tilled the ground.

He was appalled by the vision of so much destruction. There was nothing here that made him feel this had once been his home. It was as though every part of all that was good and beautiful from those hazy childhood memories had been rent asunder. His hopes for his future were brutally desecrated. What answers could he possibly find here? A cold finger scratched along his spine and he shuddered. Someone had just walked over his grave. Or someone from the grave was beckoning to him? He glanced through the trees to the tall church tower on the edge of the manor land.

On his approach he had not believed he could be more shocked than by the sights he had previously witnessed. Yet clearly nothing here had been regarded as sacred. The flagstones were covered with rotting leaves that had blown inside over several years. The pews erected by his grandfather had been destroyed, scorch marks on the lime washed walls testament to the fires their wood had provided. Pottery shards and mildewed sacking, their innards of stuffed straw long rotted from the time they had served as mattresses. For a time the church must have provided a sanctuary for the homeless villagers. Darker stains on the walls had him reeling back in horror. They were covered with splatterings of long dried blood. Murder had been done here. Nothing else could explain the number of bloodstains, or the pitted marks where bullets had slammed into the walls.

He covered his mouth with his hand as nausea rose to his gullet and with difficulty he swallowed it down. Why was there so much destruction? Clearly his heritage had meant nothing to his stepfather. What Carforth could not wrestle from the estate legally he had made sure that Bryn would never benefit from the riches he himself had been denied. But at least Bryn still had the land. He forced himself to focus on that. Carforth could not take that part of his inheritance. With keen wits and hard work fortunes could be remade and properties rebuilt.

Desolation swept through him. He had come here to find answers to his past. Instead he had found desecration and a sinister mystery, which boded ill concerning his family and those who had relied upon them. He was swamped with guilt. Should he have tried harder to trace his family and home? Would he have been able to prevent whatever disaster Carforth had wreaked here? There was no doubt in his mind that his stepfather was the cause of the destruction. How many lives and livelihoods had been lost because of his own unwillingness to face his past? Therefore did that not make him responsible?

As though felled by a slingshot he sank down upon his knees in the churchyard and held his head in his hands. Remorse smote him. What price his neglect – his cowardice? He wept for those he believed that he had betrayed.

The sun was low in the sky when he emerged from his torpor resolved to seek justice and avenge those who had suffered when it was his family’s responsibility to protect them. Reparation must be made or he would never feel worthy to carry the Bryant name with pride.
He staggered to his feet and stared up at the church dedicated to St Michael. He drew the dagger from its sheath at his waist and raised it high, the hilt forming the sign of the cross. 'I swear by all I hold sacred and in the name of St Michael that I will right the wrongs done to our vassals and bring to justice whoever is responsible. So help me God.’

He closed his eyes focussing upon his vow. The archangel St Michael had led the good angels in the battle fought against Lucifer and his followers. He prayed now for the strength to rid the world of the devil who had invaded Willow Vale and defiled all that had been decent here.

Too late he heard the footfall behind him and before he could turn to confront the intruder pain flared through his skull and he receded into darkness.

THE LOVEDAY VENDETTA

2010-07-30T10:30:00.003+01:00

THE LOVEDAY VENDETTA Kate Tremayne

The 11th book in the Loveday series THE LOVEDAY VENDETTA is published by Headline in hardback on 5 August.

CURSED. Beautiful, headstrong,troubled Rowena Loveday has always lived in the shadow of her mother's tarnished reputation. And when her father takes his own life, she fears she will never escape the curse of her parentage. She finds an ally in orphaned Bryn, ward of her uncle, Adam Loveday. But even Bryn cannot protect her from the ultimate betrayal...

CHEATED. Indebted to the Lovedays for saving his life, Bryn is piecing together his childhood memories. Before he can reclaim his stolen inheritance, he must uncover the truth behind the murders of his mother and brother. Only then can he confront the demons from his past - and lay the dead to rest.

CONQUERED. Bryn's discoveries unleash an enemy more powerful than the Loveday family have ever encountered. They must unite in order to protect their own. But will it be too late...?

The rugged, sea-swept Cornish coast is the setting for this stunning novel. Passionate and daring the Lovedays are a family you will never forget...

E books

2010-06-11T14:59:00.003+01:00

Waterstones have the LOVEDAY SERIES now available as an ebook. Happy Reading to you all.

Kate Tremayne

All titles again available

2010-05-29T11:56:00.005+01:00

The wait is over. I have received many emails from anxious readers desperate to complete their collection of the Loveday series. I am delighted to announced that with the second reprint of THE LOVEDAY TRIALS All the 10 of the published LOVEDAY novels are again in print.

Loveday News

2010-05-23T09:23:00.003+01:00

THE LOVEDAY SCANDALS has been reprinted and is now available. It is the fourth in the Loveday series and one of my favourites as it brings the story of the lovable rogue Japhet to the fore. Second to Adam he is my favourite character and his life adventures and romances have been the most exiting to write and also the most difficult to allow to happen when he had to face the consequences of his rakehell life. This novel allowed me to take the series to a new and thrilling level and bring a deeper lunderstanding to eighteenth century life and experiences for the family to overcome.

My writing companion

2010-05-10T14:58:00.002+01:00

PEG

1993 - 2010

Farewell fond friend and constant writing companion. Loving, loyal and taking joy in everyone you met and showing us that life is meant to be fun.

Peg was the inspiration for ADAM LOVEDAY'S dog scamp in the Loveday series.

Celebrating St George's Day

2010-04-23T10:26:00.004+01:00

Every since I can remember I have always thought that the English let themselves down (or just missed out on an poortunity for a darn good party) by not having official St George's Day celebrations.

I am not the greatest of organisers but always felt that one day I would make this day special.
By the happiest of coincidences (that is if you believe there is such a thing of coincidence) my lovely daughter was born on 23 April 1973. On 23 April 1975 my gorgeous son was born. This was not the case of the longest labour in history to produce twins and neither of them were named George or Georgina.

I reckon I did my bit to celebrate our national saint's day and we have a party every year or my children would likely strike me off their christmas card list.

April 23rd also marks the birthday and the day of the death of our greatest man of words William Shakespeare.

Happy St Georges Day.

How do you celebrate our patriotic day?

Back in print

2010-04-20T17:18:00.002+01:00

I am delighted to be able to tell you that THE LOVEDAY HONOUR is back in print. It is already available through Amazon UK and should also be available through all other outlets.

I hope that waiting for it has not spoilt the pleasure of the Loveday series for new readers.

I am still waiting to hear when THE LOVEDAY TRIALS and THE LOVEDAY SCANDALS will be out. I was told this month so they should not be long before they are again in the marketplace.

One of those weekends

2010-04-04T09:41:00.002+01:00

I apologise to any readers trying to access my website. There are problems with the server which will be sorted in a few days.

There is a recent post of mine on UK Historical Romance blog click on the link above.

Hope to be back in action very soon.

The upside is that here on the south coast we have had lots of sunshine all through the holiday and only a couple of showers.

Happy Easter to you all.

Love
Kate Tremayne

Requested order of novels

2010-04-01T12:57:00.003+01:00

It is a great pleasure to hear from new readers who have purchased the latest Loveday novel and have become hooked on the series and want to enjoy the books in the order that they were published.

For new readers this is the order:

ADAM LOVEDAY

THE LOVEDAY FORTUNES

THE LOVEDAY TRIALS

THE LOVEDAY SCANDALS

THE LOVEDAY HONOUR

THE LOVEDAY PRIDE

THE LOVEDAY LOYALTY

THE LOVEDAY REVENGE

THE LOVEDAY SECRETS

THE LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY

A reminder that Trials, Scandals and Honour have been reprinted and will be available to purchase in April.

For readers in America and Canada the best online bookstore for the series is the UK The Book Depository. The novels are discounted and they do free delivery worldwide.

Today I have posted on UK Romance blog if you want more news about the Lovedays. Click on link above.

Twitter - for those who do

2010-03-24T16:03:00.003Z

A new twitter for lovers of historical novels and romance fans

http://twitter.com/HRomanceUK

Kate Tremayne

News and Reviews

2010-02-24T15:52:00.009Z

Good News for readers waiting for news of backlist reprinting.

THE LOVEDAY TRIALS, THE LOVEDAY SCANDALS and THE LOVEDAY HONOUR

These books are being reprinted and will be available in 4-6 weeks (approx beginning April)

Some reviews on Amazon for THE LOVEDAY TRIALS (Book 3 in the Loveday Series)

Totally unputdownable, 5 out of 5 stars

"diane6894" The Loveday Series is an extra interesting one, based in historical Cornwall and with the fine writing of Kate Tremayne who has become one of my favourite authors.
The Loveday Trials, being the third book of the series, entails you in the story and you just can't let it down. With Adam Loveday's marriage being a let down on the family and the trouble that his wicked brother StJohn gets into, this book is as interesting as ever. My mother has been reading the Series and she can't let it down either. Now we're both waiting for the next book in the series and fighting over who'll read it first.

If you loved Poldark, read on, 5 out of 5 stars

By A Customer

25 years ago my mother introduced me to the Poldark saga by Winston Graham, via the TV series. I was hooked and loved every book in the series. Kate Tremayne has created a saga of equal calibre in the Loveday series, where the reader becomes immersed in the life, times and scandals of this Cornish family. I have read the first three books in the series so far and was captivated on every page. The books are about passion, swashbuckling, valour and romance. If only Errol Flynn were alive to play the role of Adam Loveday!

A must for all you romantics !!! 4 out of 5 stars
By
H L Hopkins Liverpool,

The Loveday Trials is the third book in hopefully a very long but riveting saga following one families fortunes , the Loveday's , in 18th century Cornwall against a backdrop of shipbuilding & smuggling . I have read & enjoyed her first two books & was not disappointed with this one - action , intrigue & romance continue unabated & I await Kate Tremayne's next book with impatience. In my opinion my money was definitely well spent !!!

An Amazon review for THE LOVEDAY SCANDALS, 5 out of 5 stars
By
MRS L E LONGDEN (BRIDLINGTON)

This is the fourth book in the series and just a compelling reading as the previous books.
Kate Tremayne's style of writing gets you totally involved with Cornwall, the lifestyle and the many happenings - you feel you are there in Cornwall, on the highway to London, the highwayman, the shows and the gambling.
You then turn to the seas and of course Adam Loveday just wanting to get home to his family who of course are again at loggerheads.
May be the next book will bring them the Loveday Luck they deserve.

THE LOVEDAY HONOUR the fifth book of the Loveday series.

All of the other 10 titles in the series are still in print and available online from Amazon and The Book Depository. They can also be ordered with prompt delivery from all good bookshops if they are not on the shelves.

A taste of things to come

2010-02-04T18:32:00.002Z

THE LOVEDAY VENDETTA

CURSED
Beautiful, headstrong, troubled: Rowena Loveday has always lived in the shadow of her mother’s tarnished reputation. And when her father takes his own life, she fears she will never escape the curse of her parentage. She finds an ally in orphaned Bryn, ward of her uncle, Adam Loveday. But even Bryn cannot protect her from the ultimate betrayal...

CHEATED
Indebted to the Lovedays for saving his life, Bryn is piecing together his childhood memories. Before he can reclaim his stolen inheritance, he must uncover the truth behind the murders of his mother and brother. Only then can he confront the demons from his past – and lay the dead to rest.

CONQUERED?
Bryn’s discoveries unleash an enemy more powerful than the Loveday family have ever encountered. They must unite in order to protect their own. But will it be too late...?

The rugged, sea-swept Cornish coast is the setting for this stunning novel. Passionate and daring, the Lovedays are a family you will never forget...

Does this whet your appetite?

The Loveday Vendetta is one of the most exciting Loveday stories ever.

cover and reprint news

2010-01-21T12:10:00.002Z

This is the fabulous cover for THE LOVEDAY VENDETTA published in August in hardback. I love it.

For those readers eager for news when the THE LOVEDAY TRIALS and also THE LOVEDAY HONOUR which are currently out of stock they will both be reprinted but I do not have the dates yet - so watch this space. THE LOVEDAY TRIALS was reprinted in May 2009 and has again sold out.

I am delighted to hear that readers who come to the series through a later title are eager to catch up on previous adventures and romances and buy the entire set.

THE LOVEDAY VENDETTA brings the next generation of Lovedays forward with Rowena rebelling against the constraints of her new life and Bryn unravelling the mysteries of his past and seeking justice against the murderer of his mother and brother.

Seasons Greetings

2009-12-24T14:42:00.002Z

I wish all the joys of the festive season to all my readers

and thank you all for your loyalty and support. May all your dreams come true for 2010.

Kate Tremayne

Red Roses for Authors Christmas Awards

2009-12-10T10:18:00.004Z

THE LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY has been nominated for the Christmas Award on the red roses for authors website. This is your chance to vote for me.

http//redrosesforauthors.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-award-2009.html is the url for the website

ind.sole@yahoo.co.uk click here to vote.

This is a great website for lovers of contemporary and historical romance with regular reviews and author interviews.

Audio Book

2009-12-03T15:36:00.002Z

It is always exciting when a novel comes out in a new format and many Loveday fans enjoy the audio version of the novels. Here is good news for them. The audio version of THE LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY is out today. It is published by Isis Soundings and would make a great Christmas present for anyone who prefers to listen to stories. If purchased through the Isis Soundings website it is approximately half the price of Amazon. 12 Cassettes boxed set £21.99. CD set £31.99. MP3 CD £31.99. Other titles in the series are also available.I love the cover presented by Isis.

Review

2009-11-30T16:59:00.002Z

This is a fabulous review for THE LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY from the review website redrosesforauthors.blogspot.com. It is a great site for readers of romance.

From the master storyteller, Kate Tremayne, comes a new episode in her epic tale of the Loveday family. Anyone who has read any of Tremayne's powerful Cornish sagas will have eagerly awaited this latest.

Tristan, the outcast, grandson of a rogue and despised by his superior cousins, now has the upper hand. Because of Adam Loveday's twin's perfidy, the home Adam adores – Trevowan Manor - now belongs to his hated cousin and his twin brother is in his grave. Adam thirsts for revenge, while all Tristan wants is to be accepted by the proud family who once threw him back into the gutter from whence he came. Yet he too dabbles in things that may lead him into danger.Adam and Japhet, his more favoured cousin, both have enemies and they meet regularly to practise their deadly skills so that when the time comes they will be able to engage and kill their foe. However, as the twisting tale of love, hate and revenge winds on, a very different fate awaits the cousins. Caught up with French spies and the rescue of a beautiful lady, they may find themselves temporarily on the same side.

Tremayne skilfully juggles a large cast of characters, each with their own enthralling story, keeping the reader eagerly turning the page and although the book reaches a satisfactory conclusion, we know that this tale does not end here. This quarrelsome, powerful family will continue to delight and engross thousands of readers for a while yet.This author deserves a bouquet of red roses for her wonderful sagas.

Second bite at the apple

2009-11-10T17:27:00.009Z

THE LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY has been in the Amazon Historical bestseller lists for SEVEN WEEKS. For some of the time it was also joined by THE LOVEDAY SECRETS. The excitement just keeps mounting.

For those who missed the new extract from Conspiracy that I had posted on Historical Romance UK blog.
Here it is below.

For new readers this is the story background in the earlier books of the series - Japhet Loveday was falsely accused of highway robbery by Sir Pettigrew Osgood, found guilty and transported to th enew penal colony at Sydney Cove. He is now back in England and wants revenge. His cousin Adam also wants revenge on the man he blames for his twin’s death.

Cornwall 1802.

Japhet dismounted and flung the reins at a young groom. Gwendolyn came out of the house and waited for him. There was a look on her lovely face that warned him she had seen through his ruse. He should have known that nothing missed his wife’s concerned eye.‘Another dawn ride, husband. The fifth in three weeks.’‘I could not sleep. The horses need their exercise.’ He dragged his fingers through his black hair that lapped over his collar; unfashionably long, it added to his roguish features and his hazel eyes could melt a woman’s heart by their smouldering intensity.‘With a sword strapped to your saddle?’ Her colour was high as she voiced her anger. Her features were striking rather than beautiful, but Japhet had known many beautiful women who had left his heart cold. Gwen had won his love by her courage and faith that the character of a rogue and reprobate he showed to the world but masked more noble sentiments beneath. That faith had saved him in his darkest hours and given him the strength to prove that she was right. Though there were times when he wished his wife did not know him so well. There was resignation in her eyes when she continued. ‘Are these meetings with Adam? I can guess their purpose.’He shrugged and gave a reassuring grin. ‘Adam and I always practised our swordplay in the old days. It is a sport we both enjoy.’‘And I doubt either of you are doing this for old times’ sake. You promised me you would not pursue Osgood.’ She was trembling in her distress.Japhet took his wife into his arms. ‘I would not break my word to you, Gwen.’She pulled back from him, her eyes accusing, and her skin pale against the rich chestnut of her hair. ‘But this swordplay is not innocent. Adam is capable of calling out Tristan. And you…. You will not let Osgood escape your justice, will you? But we have been home for just a few months.’ Her voice rose in alarm.‘A gentleman should never neglect his fencing skills.’ Japhet was deliberately flippant.She struck his chest with her fist. ‘Do not humour me. I know what you plan. If not this week, this month, this year, or the foreseeable future, but you will not let this matter rest. Forget Osgood. He is a cowardly knave.’‘I am not the only one of our family whom Osgood planned to ruin. Adam said that Osgood’s lecherous eye also singled out my cousin’s half-sister, Tamasine, during a visit she had made to London. When she refused his advances Osgood had tried to abduct her. Fortunately, Tamasine had been rescued by Maximillian Deverell – the man she later married.’‘But that was years ago when you were still on ship to the penal colony.’ She breathed heavily in her exasperation. ‘Tamasine had been staying in London with cousin Thomas. He called Osgood out. Family honour is satisfied. He even scarred the knave’s face in the duel. Since then little had been heard of the baronet. He retired to his country seat to hide his disfigurement.’‘And he was there until last year.’ Japhet announced. ‘He has since disappeared – rumoured to have gone abroad. So you see your fears are in vain. He is out of reach.’Her stare searched his and showed no sign of being reassured. ‘Promise me that you will not seek him out.’He took her into his arms and his voice was husky and seductive. ‘Have I not promised that I will live quietly and concentrate on establishing a racing stables and stud? That is my intention.’ Hi s hand stroked her cheek and his gaze lingered upon her lips before capturing them with his own. There was the briefest resistance before she surrendered to his kiss and he felt her body melt against him. Then with a sigh she pulled away. ‘I will not be sidetracked by sweet words and caresses, my love. Say you will not go after Osgood?’ When he did not immediately answer, she gripped the front of his greatcoat, her eyes beseeching. ‘Promise me, Japhet.’He cupped her lovely face gently in his hands. ‘I certainly have no intention of going off on a wild goose chase hunting him down. But I will make you no false promises, Gwen. If Osgood crosses my path then that is a different matter. But he is not likely to search me out. He has proved himself too craven for that.’He kissed her until he felt her anger melt and the tension leave her body. ‘Do you think that I would risk all that we have for that knave? I am no longer the hothead, the reckless rakehell. You and our sons and this stud farm are what is important.’ His arms held her tight but over the top of her head, his stare was uncompromising.When the time was right Osgood would face his retribution and pay for his treachery.Kate Tremayne

Are you feeling all adrift?

2009-11-03T13:29:00.003Z

Don't feel like the Lady of Challot sailing to your doom. Cheer yourself up. On 1st November I posted a different extract from THE LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY from what appears on my website or this blog. It is on the historical romance UK blog so click on the link above to read.

Feeling the buzz

2009-11-01T08:54:00.004Z

It has been an exciting week with the publication of the paperback of THE LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY and a special thank you to the readers who contacted me saying how much they enjoyed the hardback edition. Such emails always give me a boost when I am struggling with the current work in progress and the plot seems to be flagging. They make me dig deeper and some of the memorable scenes from the series have been created after receiving such emails. I thought my readers would like to know that in their own way they do become part of the Loveday creation.

HISTORICAL NOTE

When writing the Loveday novels it is important to me that I involve the characters in the more commonplace historical events that are happening at the time. In the earlier books following on from the revolution France had been at war with England since 1793 and Adam was involved in working for the British government rescuing our agents, and sailors from French prisons. He also helped French émigrés flee their country and was involved in sea battles. In 1799 Napoleon was elected First Consul and in 1801 he had set up a dazzling court at the Tuileries. At this time there was a strong Royalist movement in both France and England to restore Louis XVIII to the throne.
Much has been written about the major battles and lives of the leaders involved but how an individual copes during a crisis brings a freshness to any given historical event.
At the time The Loveday Conspiracy was set, 1802, England and France were enjoying a short truce. The English nobility and gentility flocked to Paris and it was a period of great merriment. However I suspect suspicion would still have been running high between both countrymen. This was the perfect time for Adam and Japhet to track down Sir Percy Osgood who was believed to be a double-agent. It would also have been plausible that Lady Alys would also be seeking to prove that her husband was not a traitor as she could safely travel to France at this time. Yet the truce was fragile. Within France were many dissenters and Napoleon was far from popular. He was promoting members of his family to high positions of power that more worthy men resented. To secure his place as First Consul he needed more victories and he was also planning to make himself Emperor.
After the years of bloody terror when the guillotine had eradicated the monarchy and their followers, the people of France did not want to replace the ancien regime with another potentially corrupt one.
In 1803 the end of the truce with England was sudden with Napoleon amassing a fleet at Boulogne to invade England. Fortunately most of the foreign visitors had fled the country, those who remained were being seized and detained by Napoleon, and it is into this situation our family have to fight for their lives. A few months after Japhet, Adam and Tristan escaped France. Napoleon crowned himself Emperor and a new reign of war spread across Europe.

Not unlucky for some

2009-10-23T15:52:00.008+01:00

Just browsed Amazon and found that THE LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY was 13 in the Historical Titles Top 100.

Wednesday Update. One day to publication day for The Loveday Conspiracy paperback and this morning it was rated 7 in the Amazon Historical Top 10. Thank you readers for all your support.

I am so excited.

This is a picture of the hermit chapel at Roche in Cornwall which was a ruin at the time that a scene in The Loveday Conspiracy was set.

Two weeks and counting

2009-10-15T10:41:00.003+01:00

Just two weeks to go before 29th October when the paperback of The Loveday Conspiracy is launched and Adam and Japhet sail into another great adventure.

Loveday News

2009-09-01T12:41:00.002+01:00

Hi All, today I am blogging on UK Historical Romance site. Click on the above link to read the post. Ramblings on the joys of writing!!!

Better late than never

2009-08-11T18:28:00.004+01:00

In a previous post Marilyn posed some questions which I am belatedly getting round to answering. I hope you find them interesting.

1. Which authors inspire you?

Ans. I love mystery and suspense novels as well as historical. My favourite author is Barbara Erskine who has all these elements in her wonderful books. Daphne du Maurier always inspires. Katharine and Green Darkness by Anya Seton have been read several times. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is another favourite and Here Be Dragons and The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman; also Legacy by Susan Kay have pride of place on my shelves. Phillippa Gregory always gives an interesting twist to history. The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown could never be left out of such a list. When in need of a good thriller I always enjoy Harlan Coben and Karen Rose. Last but by no means least, for a truly memorable read I have great admiration for Jodi Picoult. She will truly tug the heart strings and should be on everyone's reading list.

2. How much research do you have to do for each Loveday book?

Ans. I read everything I can about the Georgian period and apart from rereading several of these to check certain facts usually add another 6-8 new ones for each novel.

3. What with research and writing, do you have time to read recreationally?

Ans.I read two or three fiction novels a week mostly chosen from the writers listed above. Or any book in any genre that has been recommended to me.

4. Are you a disciplined writer?

Ans. To be published you have to be disciplined it is your work, but when the muse refuses to strike its OK to take some time out. Then I usually read or watch a film and sometimes find that by doing this an answer is given to me.

5. Are there days when you DO NOT feel like writing? If so, how do you get back on track?

Ans. Writing is a passion if not an obsession with me and no day feels complete if I have not produced some writing. There are however days when the Lovedays do not co-operate which often means I am tackling a scene or conflict from the wrong angle.

6. Has a Loveday plot or character ever come to you through a dream?

Ans. Yes but not nearly often enough to make writing easy for me. Most of the prologues in the books have been dreams.

7. Do you keep a notebook of ideas for the future?

Ans. Occasionally but usually they would only be relevant for future scenes in the current novel I am working on.

8. If you weren't the successful writer that you are, what would you most like to do?

Ans. Be an unsuccessful writer. It is in the blood. Although I would give more time to my art as I relax by painting wildlife and landscapes.

Peacocks and inspiration

2009-07-25T16:57:00.002+01:00

Just dropping in to say I shall be updating the blog in a couple of days. I have been away on a weeks drawing and painting course set in fabulous gardens with peacocks parading in their majesty. The roof of the studio is glass and you can be completely lost in concentration and suddenly there is a great thump and a peacock patrols back and forth above us causing great distraction. They are beautiful and can be forgiven for their incessant loud cries from dawn to dusk.

I have always found that my painting, which takes so much concentration at the time, then frees up the ideas for my current writing to come rushing in. I therefore return home with a batch of paintings and sketches with frantic scribblings for some new Loveday action on the back. The last couple of days I have been catching up with answering emails and making sense of my scrawlings to insert into the plotline.

The school summer holidays have started and as we live only a short walk from the beach we returned to find phone messages from two sets of relatives asking to descend on us for two days in the week. One cousin from Montana I have not seen for several years so I am looking forward to it. I have been writing furiously all day on the new book. I clearly produce more when working to a tight schedule. The paperback proofs arrive next week for checking for The Loveday Conspiracy. That lot should keep me out of mischief.

Especially For You

2009-07-08T16:41:00.003+01:00

This is abridged extract (first appeared on the UK Romance blog on 1st July)

It is from the Prologue of THE LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY which foreshadows events to come that again engage Adam and Japhet Loveday in political intrigue. Amid such derring do there is not one but two strong romances woven through the story.

A flame snaked across the cracked flagstones and as it sizzled along the fuse to the top of the powder keg, the Captain and four of his crew covered their faces with their arms. Each gulped a lungful of air, their bodies braced. There was a blast of heat. Then orange flames momentarily lit the dungeon. The impact of the explosion flung the men back against the wall, scalding the breath from their bodies. A shower of debris and dust billowed around them, stinging their throats and nostrils. With hearts pounding louder than a blacksmith’s anvil, they waited, peering through the clearing smoke. The thick oak door hung crookedly on its hinges. Behind it in the black pit that was the prisoner’s cell cries of terror and coughing was silenced by a shout.
‘We are friends. You have been freed. There is little time to get away before the garrison will be called out. Follow us!’
Men with their features hidden beneath matted beards and sores staggered out. Most wore some degree of naval attire, which had been reduced to rags. Despite the cold all had been stripped of their jackets and boots, the officers as dishevelled as the deck hands. A few civilians also staggered out with their silk or fine cambric shirts in tatters around bruised and whip lashed bodies; the colour of their torn breeches indistinguishable after months of laying on filthy straw and rats’ droppings. They were a motley group weakened by dysentery and starvation rations.
‘There is no time to loose.’ The captain ordered. He was shocked at their condition. Some seemed barely able to walk. He could not tell if any were wounded or incapacitated by infirmity or age. There were more prisoners than he expected and it was his duty to save not only the English prisoners of war, but also any Frenchman who faced the guillotine because of his birth. From his hasty inspection some could barely stand and were unlikely to make the short dash through the port to the long boat.
‘God praise you!’ Voices greeted them.
‘Save your breath for what lies ahead.’ the captain warned, ‘The greatest danger is still to be faced before you are aboard my ship.’
The strongest had pushed their way to the front and these were given the spare daggers and cudgels the Captain’s men had been able to carry.
‘Help each the wounded where you can, but once the fighting starts it will be every man for himself.’ It was not a decision the Captain wanted to make but too much depended on them getting quickly away or he could lose his ship and many more lives would be in peril.
Two of his men helped support the wound. The Captain seeing the terrified face of a youth not much older than is eldest son, who was clinging to the wall for support, hooked the lad over his shoulder. With his sword raised, he stepped over the two bodies of the guards, each with their throats cut. Their greatest danger was the steps to the entrance of the lockup. If the sentries came hurtling down them both prisoners and rescuers would be trapped. They could all die.
The Captain breathed easier that no alarm had so far been raised, but the explosion would have alerted the guards on the city walls. They would have only a few minutes to escape unless his accomplice Monsieur Grande had created a diversion in the town.
Halfway up the steps he smelt the first taint of smoke in the air. As he flung open the door to the courtyard an orange glow lit the sky behind the quay. The thud of running men and shouts raised in panic were headed away from them. The fire that had been set was next to the grain store and if that burnt town, the citizens would endure a winter facing starvation.
‘Keep to the shadows!’ The captain warned the prisoners. He stood at the doorway urging those lagging behind to catch up with the others. He also glanced anxiously along the quay. Lord Grande must not be far behind them. There were only two long boats to row out to their brigantine and he could not afford to wait long for his accomplice to board. Yet without him the rescue would have failed.
‘Hurry my friend,’ he groaned as he sped after the prisoners.
The outcry and frenzy in the town had drawn many of the sailors from the quayside taverns, but there would still be some placed on watch on each vessel. In times of war every furtive move was regarded as suspicious.
‘Halt. Who goes there?’ A command was barked out in French. ‘Halt or I shoot!’
Up ahead there was the sound of a scuffle and of a shot being fired. The Captain could just make out the first of the prisoners climbing down the stone quay steps to a long boat. Others were fighting.
This could be disastrous. The Captain felt his blood freeze. From out of a tavern a dozen soldiers appeared, half of them carrying muskets. Their officer had raised his sword aloft and was rallying more to his side.
The Captain drew his own pistol and fired at the officer, who went down, shot through an eye socket.
‘At them men! For England and King George!’ The Captain shouted. He was now in the thick of the skirmish and laying about him with his sword. He was slowed by the weight of the youth who also hampered his movements.
A volley of musket fire brought down more prisoners but then it would take the soldiers over a minute to reload and some prisoners charged them wielding cudgels against muskets now used as clubs.
There was little moonlight but the glow from the fire not only lit up the sky it was reflected in the water of the harbour. Only fifty yards separated them from the long boat.
‘Give me the boy.’ A white-haired prisoner took the youth from the captain.
No longer restricted he was now able to defend the backs of the stragglers. The fight was frantic and those left on the quay were outnumbered. Desperation reignited their failing energy when the stamp of booted feet from the direction of the town meant reinforcements. But for which side? Had Lord Grande made it to the quay, or was it more French?…

…There was a deathly hush.
‘And did they escape?’ A young voice demanded.
‘Of course they did, numbskull,’ Nathan Loveday taunted. ‘Otherwise Papa would not be telling the story.’

Conspiracy Extract

2009-07-01T10:41:00.002+01:00

Today I have posted an extract from THE LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY on ukhistoricalromance blog. Click on top of page.

Murder Mystery and Intrigue

2009-06-29T18:41:00.003+01:00

When the Loveday family face danger they unite and face their enemies with courage and conviction. Three conspiracies weave through this exciting new addition to the Loveday Series now available in Hardback.

Extracts will soon be revealed.

Questions & Answers Part 2

2009-06-23T14:31:00.004+01:00

Hope you like the picture of a few of the stones of Avebury ancient circle. This is where the wedding of Adam and Senara took place. Checkout Avebury on google for lots more pictures. It is one of my favourite places.

Here are some more answers to questions.

Q.. What will it take to have your books available in the USA?

A. Unfortunately I have yet to sell the American Rights but my agent is trying hard. Never underestimate the power of recommendation and for readers outside the UK I always recommend the UK seller The Book Depository which discounts books and offers FREE WORLDWIDE DELIVERY.

Q.What does your study look like?

A. It is stacked up with books and alongside my desk is a bookcase of current research books for the Loveday Series. On one wall is hung portraits or my husband, one grandson and myself and my husband has promised to complete the set of our two children and other four children. I also have some of my wildlife paintings and seascapes on the opposite wall. My desk is in front of double glass sliding doors that look through to a Victorian style conservatory and out into the garden. It is a lovely view of trees and shrubs and I do try very hard not to get too distracted by the birds that have been nesting in the boxes.

Q. Do you write at a computer?

A. After an automatic dishwasher a computer is the greatest writing aid to producing work. When the writing is slow I have to limit my time getting sidetracked on the internet and getting dragged into an online Sudoko game.

Q. Do you agonize before "killing off" a character? Especially because it means the end (or should I say "dead end") of a certain number of plot lines.

A. The death of a family member is always traumatic to write as they are like my extended family. Killing off Harry Sawle was more therapeutic and gave me a sense of bringing an evil villain to justice.

Q. Within any given novel, do you know everything that is going to happen to your Loveday characters? Have there been surprises?

A. All plots are movable feasts where the Lovedays are concerned. Some of the most dramatic scenes have happened because one of them dictated what would happen rather than follow what I thought would occur.

Q. Did you set out to be a writer?

A. It was always a burning ambition of mine as I always had stories in my head that wanted to be told.

Q.Did you ever have another career?

A. I trained as a legal personal assistant and also had several secretarial jobs. I did not become a full time writer until 1990 when my two children had left school.

Q. What has been the greatest joy of your writing career?

A. Having my first book published and realising that I still had many more stories I wanted to write. Getting my first fan letter made me feel really special and that I had succeeded. I still love hearing from readers by email or post and such contact makes all the long isolated hours worthwhile.

Questions from USA - Part 1

2009-06-14T18:32:00.002+01:00

Marilyn asked several questions on my last post. I'll answer them in stages so that other readers can also give feed back.
Kate, since you were so kind to ask, here are some questions that I'd love to have answered -- either in your upcoming JUST FOR YOU section or in this blog:
1. Did you have formal training as a writer? If so, what was it?
Ans. I did attend a creative writing workshop to learn the techniques and get what help I could. I also then joined the Romantic Novelists Association where it was possible to meet agents and editors and also hear them give talks and I also attended writing conferences. It can be a slow process getting published. A novel will take about a year to write and that does not guarantee success. My fourth novel was published.

2. Please tell about your experience when your very *first* book was published.
Ans. I still feel the same every time a new novel of mine is published. It is always a great thrill.

3. Which Loveday character is most like you? Ans. Senara

4. For your Loveday characters, do you draw on the nature of your friends? your family?
Ans. That could be a good way of losing family and friends . I shall put more of this in the Just For You section in the paperback of The Loveday Conspiracy.

5. So much happens to each Loveday character. How do you keep it all straight in your mind over so many years?
Ans. I have a head for trivia and after a year of writing about a particular family drama it tends to stick in my mind. I constantly have to recheck historical facts.

More later - Best wishes Kate

Questions and Answers

2009-06-12T09:25:00.003+01:00

I am currently putting together a Just For You section to go at the end of the paperback of The Loveday Conspiracy. This was also done for the paperback of The Loveday Revenge.

There will be the Prologue of The Loveday Vendetta (This is still the working title of the latest Loveday), Some writing tips on how I plot my novels, What books I am currently reading or have inspired me, and a general section where I answer questions I have been asked either in this blog or from your emails.

If you have a question you would like to see in print either ask it here or email me at Katetremayne.com. I will answer as many as space will permit. I have to send these to my publisher at the end of next week.

I hope you like the painting. It is a Cornish seascape I painted at a recent art course on seasscapes that I attended. I find painting seascapes, landscapes and wildlife very relaxing and a new challenge as I had no formal training.

Titles and things

2009-06-07T17:25:00.002+01:00

It has been a fabuous week with first Tesco doing a summer long promotion on The Loveday Secrets. My preview hardback copy arrived hot of the press from the publishers of The Loveday Conspiracy and looks gorgeous. It is published at the end of the month - more on that and an extract later. Then I learned that one of my Pauline Bentley novels written for Mills & Boon was recently republished in Switzerland. I wrote this over 12 years ago. If that was not enough to send my mind spinning into overload a long phone chat to my wonderful editor Sherise had us discussing the latest plotline which she adored and of course titles.

In my current work in progress Rowena and Bryn come to the fore with their stories to be told. Bryn has remembered his past and seeks to bring the man who murdered his brother and mother to justice and reclaim his birthright. Rowena is also saved from a disastrous elopement but she has sent out to prove she is more her father's daughter than has inherited her mother's scheming blood.

The question of titles came up and I rather fancied The Loveday Rebels as in depicting that all offspring in their late teens rebel against rules and convention. Also the country is still at war with France and the family has its own internal battles as well as national wars to fight. The other choice was The Loveday Vendetta. Now I am torn between the two. Any personal preferences from my readers? Your views are welcome. The book title often reflects the tone of the subplots so is essential that I get it right.

And don't worry Adam, Japhet and Tristan will still be playing prominent parts in the new plotlines.

Promotion

2009-06-01T19:29:00.003+01:00

I am posting on uk historical romance with this great news today click on the link at the top of the page for more information.

Kate

Characters: Can't live without them

2009-05-27T12:01:00.003+01:00

Adore them or loathe them where would we be without them. Our characters. The Lovedays frequently drive me crazy when they do their own thing and change the plot entirely. Yet that is positive as a novel is created through action and reaction.

In the new work in progress I have a different dilemma. The story has moved on to Bryn (Adam's ward) searching to discover his past when his memory returns and the adventures that follow. He is easy to deal with. But it also features Rowena the oldest of the Loveday children. She is the image of her mother, the scheming fortune-huntress Meriel shown on the cover here. She has her mother's cunning and beauty and from her father has inherited the reckless spirit of the Loveday men. But who is her father. She naturaly believes it is St John who married Meriel but there has always been a question mark hanging over her paternity as at the same time as St John, Adam was also Meriel's lover. The personality of her father is also her guiding force.

St John adored Rowena and could refuse her nothing. She was spoilt and her wilful nature has put her at odds with her family. When I began writing her story in the latest novel, I had real problems with her until I realised that actually I did not like this spoilt selfish brat. Major crisis here as she was to be the main heroine in the story and the reader must have empathy with her or they will lose interest in the story. I could make Meriel transparently evil as she was a secondary character and fed upon the weaknesses of others. This would not work with her daughter.

Putting my own prejudices aside and aware of Rowena's troubled childhood - abandoned by her mother, her devastation at the death of her father and feeling betrayed by him for the loss of her home and security - it was obvious that by the time she became a young woman she would be a complex character with many emotional issues to be resolved. She is also wily and secretive and to make her work as a character readers will want to succeed, I spent a week doing a complex character profile and realised that the only way Rowena would work was to allow the reader into her head in a very different way than I have used before. It is still in its experimental stage in the writing and like all early drafts it will either work or its back to the drawing board.

I do sometimes feel that today's teenagers are an alien race who dance to a completely different drum to their parents. Although the rules for them in Rowena's time were much stricter than today and the consequences far more dire if they were cast out of their homes, they faced the same problems we all did as teenagers in trying to find our way and hopefully achieve success without too much trauma.

I am hoping that readers will see in Rowena every generations need to break free and be true to themselves and that her story will truly be one that transcends time.

Fun with characters

2009-05-11T09:35:00.003+01:00

Calling all Loveday fans! Feel free to jump in and recommend actors for the roles of the leading characters. I am fascinated by the interesting suggestions. Don't be shy. There are NO wrong answers!

Marilyn S who is a regular contributor to the Loveday blog posted the above following our fun and interesting weekend participation in picking stars to play Loveday characters. I thought it deserved a second slot.

Love to hear your comments. Hope you like the pics of Richard Armitage and Rupert Penry-Jones. We've also had Chris Pine(the new Capt Kirk)nominated as Adam and the lovely Johnny Depp who could play a multi-role as all the Loveday men as far as I am concerned.

You pays your money and takes your choice

2009-05-08T09:48:00.005+01:00

Two very different covers here for The Loveday Secrets. The hardback cover with the woman's full face and gorgeous moorland scene behind is an image of Georganna. The poignant story of hers and Thomas's unusual marriage and the consequences that arise have a dramatic effect on all the family. The paperback with only a partial view of a woman's face is now the new look for the series so you definitely have to decide who you think fits this role. The new look has had a very positve response from booksellers. What do the readers think?

Who is on the cover books 7 and 8

2009-05-03T11:08:00.005+01:00

More on the women on the covers again now. THE LOVEDAY PRIDE is one of my favourites as I love the colours and it has a Cornish seascape behind it. It could be Gwen as she features strongly in this one. It could be Bridie as she is yet to appear on a cover. It could even by Hannah who is still challenging Harry Sawle at great danger to herself. However I personally would have her as the more mature Senara now very much a cultured woman who has not lost her affinity with those less fortunate than herself. Also the moon over the water links in with her pagan upbringing and her strong ties to nature.

What are your ideads on this? I'd love to hear from you.

THE LOVEDAY REVENGE shows Felicity and her involvement with the family. She is very much a more feminine influence in this darker story of retribution and bringing the smuggler Sawle to justice. I love the colours of this dramatic background.

Maypoles, morris men and mayhem or the joys of a butterfly mind

2009-05-01T12:02:00.002+01:00

Today I am blogging on historical romance uk click on top of page for this article.
Kate

Correction to list

2009-04-29T09:30:00.002+01:00

I was away with the faeries when I put up the post yesterday as I am sure readers will realise that Honour and Loyalty were books 5 and 6 in the series. I have been checking the printer's proofs for Conspiracy this week (a rush turnaround as it will be published at the end of June) so have been overworking the brain cells. Book 3 The Loveday Trials was the odd cover out as it shows a tine mine and was chosen as an evocative Cornish scene instead of a woman.

Who is on the cover Books 4 and 5

2009-04-28T16:17:00.005+01:00

THE LOVEDAY HONOUR is one of my favourite covers and I think it really depicts the feisty and free-spirited Tamasine. After the briefest of appearance in The Loveday Trials she arrives dramatically into the family's life as Edward Loveday's love-child, whose existence had been kept secret from him. Tamasine was unstoppable in her quest for adventure and discovering such exciting relatives. Her story was a joy to write and the heartbreak of her first ill-fated romance the most poignant. The covers shows her as I had pictured her and I loved the atmospheric skyscrape and its colours.

THE LOVEDAY LOYALTY continues Tamasine's story and also brings more to the fore Hannah and her struggle to run her late husband's farm and raise her children. She is in direct conflict with Harry Sawle, the ruthless and unprincipled smuggler but he finds he has met his match in her. The cover shows Hannah as a self-possessed and capable woman, her passionate nature bridled and now channelled into protecting her own.

Are these the women you thought they were?

Images on covers Part 1

2009-04-23T09:52:00.007+01:00

First of all happy St Georges Day to all my readers and for any outside of the UK who do not know the significence of this day St George is our patron saint. The 23rd April also commemorates Shakespear's birthday and was also the date of his death.
My great love of history and patronism always made we wonder why we did not as a country do more to celebrate this day. Was it luck or coincidence, if there is any such thing as coincidence, that my own special way of celebration was for that day to mark the birth of my daughter Alison and son Stuart. Although both were born on the 23rd Apri, their births were two years apart. Happy birthday to them and anyone else who shares the day with them.

Marilyn asked me recently to reveal the identities of the Loveday women on the book covers. This is a question I have been asked many times. At first I always left it that as readers get very fixed ideas of what each character would look like, it was best for them to decide. I shall give you my idea and would be interested if readers agree or disagree. Today I will deal with the latest cover of Adam Loveday, Fortunes and Scandals.

The beautiful blonde on Adam Loveday shows a woman of great determination and capable of manipulating men for her own ends. It is Meriel Sawle.

The image on Fortunes is linked with nature and the sea and shows a woman self-assured but more mysterious. There is still a lot more of character to be revealed through later books. It is Senara.

The image on Scandals has to be Gwendolyn. A woman breaking free of her family restraints and prepared to risk all for the man she loves. A woman who is idealistic and has yet to face greater challenges to come.

What are your ideas?

CORNISHWORLD INTERVIEW April/May 2009 issue

2009-04-11T11:54:00.004+01:00

This beautiful, informative glossy magazine has a double page spread on Kate Tremayne and her Cornish series of historical novels about the Loveday family.

I am really thrilled with this coverage and interview which talks about my love of Cornwall and how it has influenced my writing. I enjoy this magazine which is full of interesting articles and pictures of Cornwall.

Kate Tremayne

REPRINT NEWS

2009-03-26T14:43:00.004Z

Great news for all fans who have been unable to get a copy of THE LOVEDAY TRIALS. It is being reprinted and will be available next month. The Loveday Trials is the third book in the series.

Kate Tremayne

DO WE LEAD OUR CHARACTERS OR DO THEY LEAD US?

2009-03-19T18:06:00.003Z

This is the fabulous new cover for The Loveday Conspiracy. It was a constant inspiration to make the story as dramatic and emotive as possible. It will be published in hardback in June and paperback in October.

I have just delivered THE LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY to my editor and it has been my most challenging novel in the series. Throughout the books the themes have been multi-faceted and there was more than one conspiracy the family were involved in. One male thought he could outwit the women’s moral outrage at his conduct only to find that when they band together they are formidable opponents. Both Adam and Japhet Loveday have their own plots to bring an enemy to heel, and when they work together to serve their country in a conspiracy to bring a traitor to justice, they discover their own lives are in danger.

As with all intricate plots the drama must be kept tense and the high action plausible at all times. The unfolding of the story is carefully choreographed and the characters given their motivation to act out the events on the page. Yet in the heat of the plot with emotions from the characters running high, do we strictly adhere to the storyline we have created, or do we allow our characters to dictate their next move. I believe that if you know your characters as well as you know your best friends they follow the necessary plan mapped out for them. However, like even best friends, there can be a hidden agenda they had not previously shown to us, or a side of their nature they had kept firmly in check until circumstances bring it bursting forth.

With the wild blood governing the emotions of the Loveday men, the unexpected is always possible. The dramatic conclusion of the final conspiracy in this novel was fast paced and action packed. Then suddenly without warning the characters are no longer acting out the scenes as I had intended. They interceded to mould the events in their own irrepressible fashion. All the time I tried valiantly to keep them on track, the scenes did not work to my satisfaction, and with the deadline looming this was very stressful. One morning they just took over. For most of the last three chapters I had to sit back at the end of my writing day dominated by the shock of how they had reacted, yet knowing that this was the only course that they would have taken. What emerged was an even more suspenseful and a greater page-turner. The price I paid for this was I was left each evening in a state of semi-panic thinking ‘how do I get them out of that scenario?’ and also keep everything plausible and achieve a satisfactory and inevitable conclusion for the reader. The Lovedays had literally dictated how they would have reacted to the danger they faced, which was far more emotive that all my careful plotting and I knew I had to follow their lead.

That is the joy of our writing and the challenge. It was also amazing how after several sleepless nights how little I had to edit previous chapters for the resolution to be exactly right for an exciting and unexpected ending.

I believe most of our writing is done on a deeply subconscious level, the depths of which even we as the writer are not always aware.

I also announce that following our exciting invitation to contribute to the Risky Regencies blog that the winner of my competition was Pamela Bolton-Holifield.

Kate Tremayne
Labels: Kate Tremayne, The Loveday Conspiracy; The Loveday Books Blog

Good news for readers outside the UK

2009-03-01T10:09:00.002Z

I receive emails from all over the world saying that fans sometimes have trouble finding the Loveday books in shops or online. The good news for you in that the UK online company THE BOOK DEPOSITORY not only discount the Loveday books but worldwide postage is free. They give a prompt and efficient service.

Happy Reading
Kate Tremayne

For West Country Fans

2009-01-27T16:41:00.005Z

On Saturday THE WESTERN MORNING NEWS is running an article about me and the Loveday Books and how I get my inspiration. The Loveday Secrets should also be reviewed. Hope you enjoy it.

Kate

website link

2009-01-08T17:50:00.002Z

I am delighted that finally I have got the Loveday blog linked to my website. I would love this to be fully interactive with lots of questions and comments from readers. You do not have to have a blog account to make a comment. Click on the comments and you can type in your name as some readers have done already. Tell us about your favourite characters and scenes.

At the moment I am writing the final scenes for the LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY and the next book will jump a few years and start the adventures and romances of the next generation. Any of your thoughts on this will be interesting.

I would like to thank all of you who emailled me having read Secrets and many said it was your favourite so far. Keep the emails coming. They inspire and uplift me often when I need it most.

Kate

Happy New Year

2009-01-04T19:17:00.001Z

Another extract from THE LOVEDAY SECRETS

2008-12-30T17:49:00.003Z

Here is another taster from THE LOVEDAY SECRETS. An old adversary returns and for Adam and Senara secrets could be uncovered from the past that could destroy their reputations.

An hour later Adam returned to Boscabel still unsettled by the visit from the lawyer. Since his last meeting with the excise officer he had not given Beaumont much thought, but with Sawle hanged and no longer a threat to Beaumont, it did now seem strange that he had not been seen patrolling these waters. Sawle had not been the only smuggler operating in the district.
Unwilling to upset Senara, he pushed his fears aside. His wife had enough worries with the arrival of the boy who had lost his memory. Yet it had never been easy keeping anything from his wife. She was incredibly perceptive at sensing a person’s moods, her gypsy blood giving her an uncanny intuition concerning people and their future. Her premonitions had been proved right on too many occasions for him to doubt her ability. She had always feared Beaumont’s vindictive nature, and had not the excise officer shot Edward Loveday when Beaumont had been in the pay of Harry Sawle.
Adam shuddered. He had thought the smuggler’s death would have freed him from the sinister shadow the man had cast over their lives. Then annoyed at the way his common sense had deserted him, Adam drew a sharp breath. He did not fear ghosts or any man alive. Yet he could have wished that his last meeting with Beaumont had been less acrimonious: that he had not lost his temper and threatened to run him through if he ever found him snooping on Loveday land again.
Beaumont had not been seen in the area for months when Adam had met him in a chance encounter close to his cousin Japhet’s land at Tor Farm. With Japhet out of the country, the farm had been rented to a tenant. Adam had been out returning from a visit to Sir Henry and as it was a fine afternoon had taken a detour to ride past Tor Farm and assure himself that all appeared in good order. Since a previous tenant of the farm had allowed contraband to be stored in the barn against the express instructions of the family, Adam kept a closer eye on his cousin’s property. He had been alerted by a flash of light coming from a small coppice. It could only have been caused by sunlight glinting off metal or glass. He had dismounted and approached on foot to see a lone figure crouched behind a tree with a spyglass to his eye, watching the farm from the cover of a small coppice. Across the fields the tenants twelve year old daughter Millie was standing at the water pump. From the state of her bodice and skirt she had slipped over and landed in horse droppings. Her mother was berating her and pulling at her skirt and top as she stripped it from her to soak in the water from the pump. Millie was crying and the water splashed over her petticoats moulding the linen to her budding figure.
‘Have you taken to spying on young girls?’ Adam had sneered.
Beaumont snapped shut the spyglass and glowered at him. ‘There was a landing on the coast last night. This farm has been used to store contraband in the past. I was checking whether anything looked suspicious. My men are searching other farms by the moor.’
‘I warned you to stay off our land?’ Adam challenged.
‘As an officer of the crown I have my duty to perform. The Loveday’s may proclaim their innocence but you have been hand in glove with smugglers in the past. With Sawle as a brother-in-law what else would we expect? You even built a ship for Sawle so he could outrun the revenue cutter. For all we know you are in partnership with him. It would not be the first time your land has been used.’ A head shorter than Adam, Beaumont’s thin face was now heavily scored with lines of debauchery and excess.
The insults plucked at Adam’s pride and his temper crashed through his reason like storm waves over a breakwater. ‘Or that you have acted too hastily against us. I have not forgotten that you murdered my father.’
‘I was doing my duty. He resisted arrest.’ Even though Beaumont had to tip back his head to look up at Adam, he glared along his hooked hose with arrogant disdain.
‘We both know that is a lie.’ Adam had closed the space between them, his fists bunched as his anger ground through him. He could see sweat glistening on Beaumont’s face.
‘Lay a hand on me and I’ll have you arrested for attacking an officer of the King about his duty.’ Beaumont blustered and fumbled to draw his sword.
Despite being unarmed, Adam challenged, ‘It could be worth it.’
Beaumont was backing away to where his horse was tethered, his sword held ready to counter an attack. His boot entangled in the knee-high bracken and he stumbled. Adam leapt forward and ducking the lunge of the blade landed a punch on the officer’s jaw. At the force of the blow Beaumont dropped the sword and Adam swiftly delivered two more blows to his head and body. Beaumont was knocked to the ground and covered his head with his hands.
Adam picked up the fallen sword and pointed it at his enemy.
‘Don’t kill me. I beg you. Don’t kill me!’
His cowardice disgusted Adam. Because of him his father had died. He did not deserve to live. Yet where was the honour in killing such a coward?
Breathing heavily, Adam had controlled his anger and stood back. ‘Any smuggler who uses our land to store their goods knows that we will summon the authorities.’ His voice was thick with warning. ‘Get on your way, Beaumont. This time I will not stain my hands with your craven blood. But if I ever catch you within a mile of our land again I will know your actions are intent upon dishonouring our name and I will kill you.’ He slashed the sword down on a granite boulder in the undergrowth and the steel snapped in two and he threw the hilt as far as he could.
Beaumont had staggered to his feet holding his hand to his bleeding face. ‘This assault and your threats will be reported to the authorities.’
Adam had turned from him and walked away. Yet for some days afterwards he had expected the militia to arrest him. Nothing had happened and he assumed that Beaumont had slithered away to lick his wounds on the other side of the county. It was not until he remembered the incident now that he recalled that at the time Beaumont had not been in his naval uniform. If he had not been on duty what had he been doing in the area?

THE LOVEDAY SECRETS PAPERBACK PUBLICATION

2008-12-10T17:38:00.002Z

DECEMBER 11TH Publication Day

A new cousin was introduced to the series in The Loveday Secrets who brought with him a dark family secret that could destroy them all. This is an extract of their reunion.

‘Adam, St John, Thomas, at last we are all together. Will you not greet our dear cousin Tristan Loveday? I believe you thought him dead these past twenty odd years,’ Tamasine Loveday excitedly announced.
There was a frozen silence from the men. Tamasine was shocked by the naked fury on her brother Adam’s face.
‘Tristan, what trickery did you use to gain my sister’s acquaintance?’ Rigid with anger Adam bowed stiffly to Tamasine. She was wide-eyed with shock, her hand raised to her face to veil her expression. Adam clipped out. ‘Sister, you have made a grave error of judgement inviting this scoundrel into your home. I refuse to acknowledge him as kin. If you are wise, you will ask him to leave at once.’
‘So speaks a true grandson of George Loveday,’ replied Tristan with equal venom. ‘Unforgiving to the end and still believing your twin’s lies.’
‘I know what I saw that fateful night. You brought shame to us all,’ Adam flared.
‘In the heat of the moment – we all had much to answer for that night.’ Tristan challenged. ‘Do you think I have not regretted what happened? I was a youth caught up in such turbulent violence I did not know what I was doing. Did any of us? I am not the same person today. Did that night not change you, cousin?’
Still bristling with fury, Adam swivelled on his heel and marched from the room. Throughout, the exchange St John had allowed his twin to speak, a look of horror on his face.
Tamasine regarded St John with astonishment. ‘I thought this reunion would be a delightful surprise. What possessed Adam to take so violently against Tristan.’ She was shocked that Adam, the most reasonable of men, could regard one of their family as an enemy.
St John shifted uneasily and glared at Tristan with contempt. ‘How dare you trick our sister in this fashion, What lies did you use to slither your way back into our family?’
Unperturbed Tristan held his cousin’s condemning glare and adjusted the ruffles at his wrist. ‘Your sister has a kinder heart than my Trevowan kin.’
‘She does not know how you betrayed us. I will not stay in the same room as you.’ St John also marched away. The darkest night of his life had come back to haunt him. And if the truth were ever known it could be the cause of his ruin.
Thomas was equally puzzled. He remembered only that Tristan had run away from Trevowan as a youth and that their grandfather, who had given the ne’er-do-well a home, had been repaid by treachery,

THE LOVEDAY SECRETS is published in paperback by Headline on 11th December.

Kate Tremayne

Inspiration for Work in Progress

2008-11-30T10:12:00.003Z

Inspiration of WIP

A time of panic for me is receiving the finished cover of the novel I am writing and I've still got another 25,000 words to write bringing all the threads and theme of the story to a dramatic climax. This is the cover of THE LOVEDAY CONSPIRACY due out June of next year. There are three conspiracies running through this story involving different members of the family and I also wanted a surprise ending that united the family now divided in their loyalties. On seeing the cover which creates an atmosphere of darker elements and mystery a twist ending suddenly came to me. I love the new look to the covers and this one in particular.

Kate Tremayne

Award nomination

2008-11-18T12:01:00.004Z

Dear Kate

Adam Loveday has been nominated for the Christmas Awards. Your friends and family, publisher can vote for you if they take a look and send an email.

http://redrosesforauthors.blogspot.com/2008/11/christmas-awards.html

Best wishes and lots of luck.

Latest News

2008-10-06T12:06:00.004+01:00

Some readers have contacted me that they have had troubling ordering copies of ADAM LOVEDAY that was reprinted at the end of last year. My editor has told me that there are stocks in the warehouse.
Please try again at your locac bookshop and give them the book's ISBN which is: 978 07553 4620 2. Alternatively you can order from Bookpoint direct, by calling 01235 400 414.

Unfortunately for the moment THE LOVEDAY TRIALS has sold out in the warehouse but the good news is it will reprinted at the end of the year and will be available in January.

Audio books

2008-09-30T10:16:00.002+01:00

The Loveday Secrets is now available in CD or tape format from Soundings. Seeing our novels in print is always a thrill but to hear an experienced actor reading the story is amazing.

When long lost cousin and ne'er-do-well Tristan Loveday returns to Cornwall, his presence sends shockwaves around the family. Tristan holds the key to more than one secret that could destroy everything the Lovedays hold dear. And he has a deadly score to settle with a member of the family whom he believes betrayed him.

It seems everyone has something to hide - even Adam Loveday's wife Senara. Now a respected member of the community, she fears a shadow from her past could bring about her downfall. Unless he overcomes his demons Adam's twin brother St John risks losing all he owns, and in London Georganna Loveday is hiding a scandalous secret.

As tensions rise and lies are uncovered, the cracks begin to show. And before the summer is over, lives will be irrevocably changed forever.

The Loveday Secrets is also out in hardback.

Other Loveday title in audio are ADAM LOVEDAY, THE LOVEDAY FORTUNES, THE LOVEDAY TRIALS published by Magna and THE LOVEDAY LOYALTY, THE LOVEDAY REVENGE available from Isis Soundings.

Kate Tremayne
Labels: Isis Soundings, Kate Tremaynes, Loveday books, Loveday Secrets

Extract from The Loveday Scandals

2008-08-12T16:02:00.003+01:00

In the last post I talked about characterisation. In this abridged extract from THE LOVEDAY SCANDALS I introduce Tamasine to the family who did not know of her existence. I picked a scene that showed something of her indomitable character and made her immediately memorable.

Following the scandal surrounding St John's trial for murder in The Loveday Trials Edward has planned a harvest feast to put the scandal behind them.

The nights alone on the road had been frightening. The excitement of Tamasine's journey had faded to become an ordeal and a battle against hunger and exhaustion. Her determination had kept her going. She would not arrive weak and broken. She would be strong and succeed. The idealism of youth and naivety bolstered her strength. She must be close to her goal.
What if they did not welcome her? It had been presumptuous of her to assume that after one meeting Edward Loveday would open his home to her. Was it not more likely that he would have kept her identity a secret from his family?
Tamasine tossed back her dark hair, a determined fire returning to her azure eyes. She had come too far to turn back now...

Senara glanced in Edward's direction and saw a dark-haired woman pushing her way through the crowd towards him. Her hair was tangled and flowing to her waist and her plain grey gown was smeared with dirt. She was pale and looked close to exhaustion. Edward's body was rigid with tension as he moved to intercept her approach. Before he could reach her, she stumbled and fell on her knees at his feet.
'I am sorry. I never meant to arrive like this.' Her voice was cultured, though tiredness slurred her words. She reached out to Edward, but he recoiled from her. Momentarily his composure deserted him and guilt was stark in his eyes. The expression rapidly vanished, replaced by a cold and lethal fury.
The young woman's eyes remained locked upon Edward. 'Forgive me, sir. I could not stay at the academy.'
Amelia was at her husband's side. 'Edward who is this young woman?'
Edward did not move and seemed incapable of speaking.
'Who are you?' Amelia demanded of the stranger.
'Tamasine... Tamasine Loveday...' Her eyes closed as she fainted.
Aunt Elspeth hobbled forward. 'A Loveday did she say? She's got the Loveday looks. But what is one of our family doing arriving in such a state?'
'The girl is my ward.' Edward stated. 'She should be at school.'
Senara had only ever known Edward to be completely in control of a situation, even when he was angry.The stiffness of his manner betrayed an inner fear that was puzzling.
'You have never mentioned a ward,' Amelia accused.
'With all the troubles this summer I saw no need to add to your worries, my dear.'
'And whose child is she?' Elspeth was frowning. 'We should all have been told. She is a Loveday after all.'
'Not exactly.' Edward turned his back to the group. 'It is complicated.'
'What is it about this ward that you feared would upset me?' Amelia put a hand to her throat, suspicion narrowing her eyes.
'Good heavens, is the child yours, brother?' Elspeth gasped.

Kate Tremayne

Novel writing Tip 4 Characters

2008-08-07T11:26:00.006+01:00

Memorable characters are as important as plot.
I can only emphasise how important it is to learn from our favourite authors. List the characters of your favourite novel. Then analyse each of them by their strengths, weaknesses any quirks in their personalities and most of all their motivation. Note how one is the foil for another. How the good are portrayed differently from the bad without resorting to stereotypes. How did the characters interact with each other? What caused the rivalry, friendship, romance, conflict or dissension?
Take particular note how a character is introduced both by description and something of their personality. Never give a reader a wodge of information all in one go. The picture of them should be built up slowly so that the reader remembers what they look like and the driving force behind their personality.
Key words reveal a great deal in description. eg. A stubborn tilt to an otherwise weak chin. A glitter of contempt in eyes which have never shown love. Pompous set of prim lips. The fastidious brushing down of clothing over a pot belly.
Mannerisms also reveal a great deal about a character. And most of all remember that your characters will grow and change through the experiences prsented in your novel.
You do not have to make a character lovable for them to be memorable they have to be believable.The self-centred Scarlet O'Hara was most memorable for her fighting spirit. No one is perfect and to err is to be human. It is how the characters deal with adversity and conflict that engage your reader's attention.
Give each character key tags encompassing their personality.
These were the key tags I had for some of the main characters in the Loveday series.
ADAM LOVEDAY was brave, loyal, passionate about shipbuilding but pride could be his downfall.
ST JOHN LOVEDAY heir and a wastrel, self-centred and dissolute but valued the good opinion of others.
JAPHET LOVEDAY lovable rogue, chancer, rakehell but fiercely loyal to his family despite his wild blood.
MERIEL scheming fortune-huntress who tricked St John into marriage motivated by greed and to better her station in life.
SENARA wise-woman, half-gypsy determined never to make Adam ashamed of her background.
GWENDOLYN love for Japhet transforms the timid woman and she will travel half way round the world to stand by her man and prove his innocence.

change in fashion for book covers

2008-08-01T11:09:00.015+01:00

These are all the different covers both hardback and paperback for the Loveday series. Which is your favourite? I have loved them all in their time and I am very excited about the new image for The Loveday Secrets paperback which was previewed earlies in the blog. I also liked Revenge and both covers for Adam Loveday.

Review The Loveday Revenge

2008-07-18T11:34:00.003+01:00

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

2008-07-15T10:37:00.004+01:00

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

2008-07-07T17:37:00.004+01:00

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

2008-07-03T18:47:00.005+01:00

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

Writing Tip 2

2008-06-29T21:04:00.003+01:00

Want to write your own bestseller. Then learn from the masters. Once you have decided upon your genre study the bestsellers in this field and your favourite authors. Analyse the overall plot and then how each chapter revealed character history and personality, created crisis and conflict and how the main character and their protagonists interact with each other. Note how each chapter opens and builds to a new drama and how it ends foreshadowing some conflict or problem still to be resolved. What kept you turning the pages?

Adventure and romance

2008-06-24T18:22:00.004+01:00

Originally the Loveday novels were to be a trilogy. By book three it was obvious that the trilogy was emerging into a series as the three sets of Loveday cousins became engaged in so many exciting adventures. Although each book must stand on its own as a complete story I now wanted to embrace all the family within the theme of each book title.

The third book in the series THE LOVEDAY TRIALS is about the trials of adversity faced by the family and also the court trial when St John is arrested for the murder of an enemy. Historically it was a turbulent time with lots of scope for the men to participate. It was great fun to write and it has been described as the Scarlet Pimpernel meets Hornblower meets Poldark.

As the Lovedays’ finances recover from near ruin, it is clear their trials are far from over.
Adam returning to Trevowan with Senara – now his wife – and their baby son, finds himself at loggerheads for the first time with his father. Edward refuses to accept his son’s choice of bride, and as a result Adam finds it impossible to continue working in the Loveday shipyard so dear to him. To support his family he works as an English spy in a France still in the grip of the Terror. Treachery and adventure await him and his life is endangered. Meanwhile in Cornwall Senara strives to be accepted by the Loveday family and local community.
St John, meanwhile, is in trouble again. His involvement in the murky world of smuggling has made him some dangerous enemies – not least the corrupt and evil Thadeous Lanyon, who suspects him of being in league with the notorious smuggler and Lanyon’s arch enemy, Harry Sawle. Lanyon thinks nothing of killing anyone who crosses him – so when he himself is found murdered, and Sawle has an alibi, St John is arrested. He must face trial and, if found guilty, will be hanged.
This scandal adds to the growing dissent and rivalry that troubles the Loveday household. Even Edward must face a secret from his past that threatens to rock the stability of his own marriage.
Japhet the unrepentent rakehell lives dangerously close to the wrong side of the law. Can love redeem him, or will his reputation destroy his chance of happiness?
Will the Lovedays pull together as they have done before? Or will these new trials finally tear them apart?

Intrigue, passion and tensions abound in THE LOVEDAY TRIALS making it an unforgettable read.

Weekly Novel Writing Tip No 1

2008-06-22T19:06:00.005+01:00

Know your characters as well as your best friends. And remember no matter how long you have known a best friend there is always something in their past that will amaze or surprise you. We all have dark sides which we usually keep hidden but certain experiences or situations will bring out these reactions. And there is the face we show to the world and the one revealed only in private. These are all aspects which when shown to a reader will allow them to emphasise with a character and keep them wanting to know more. That was the concept behind the Loveday Secrets which created a greater insight and dramatic past adventures and conflicts for the characters.

Introductions and suspense

2008-06-18T09:30:00.006+01:00

Cover is the hardback edition of The Loveday Fortunes

Extract from chapter one of The Loveday Fortunes

This is the first time Senara appears in book 2 of the series. As each book has to stand alone the danger in retroducing characters is that readers of book one know all about Senara but she is a stranger to a new reader. Introductions therefore have to tell you intricate facts of their personality in a concise way whilst foreshadowing something of the conflict to come.

Leah Polglase was rarely ruffled by anything life dealt her and had never judged her daughter's relationship with Adam Loveday as wrong. Happiness was a rare commodity for the poor and you took it with an open heart when it blessed your life.
'Cap'n Loveday loves you. Senara,' Leah stated. 'You were a fool not to wed him when he asked.'
'Our backgrounds are too diverse. He will one day marry his own kind.'
Leah studied her daughter. Senara was beautiful, with an oval face and high cheekbones. There was a sensuous sweep to her brows and tilt of her full lips. Such beauty was dangerous to a woman who was half-gypsy. Women became jealous and saw her as a rival. and men too easily desired her, believing her lowly status made her easy sport. Captain Loveday adored Senara and treated her with respect.
'Cap'n Loveday's twin brother did not we his own kind.'Leah provoked. 'St John Loveday wed a tavern keeper's daughter.'
Senara rounded on her mother, and her green eyes flashed in a rare show of temper. 'Meriel Sawle was a fortune-huntress who married for money. She got herself with child to snare St John. Would you tar me with the same brush?'
'No! You love Cap'n Loveday. Meriel Sawle, hussy that she be, never loved anyone but herself. It's not the same.'
Senara looked at Angel the scarred bull-mastiff that she had saved from death after a bull baiting. His legs were twitching and he was making whimpering noises as he dreamed. 'I know my place, Ma. It be here,not in any fancy house owned by the Lovedays. Besides I've my trade as a potter.'
The words were defiant, but Leah could see behind them to the passion and vulnerability beneath. Adam Loveday was handsome and charming enough to turn the head of a princess. Yet could be bring her daughter lasting happiness? She shook her grey-head and sighed, fearing the couple's love was ill fated.

Review

'Fans of costume dramas and eighteenth-century literature will enjoy Adam Loveday, a story of warring brothers and forbidden love' Chester Evening Leader

It started with Adam part 2

2008-06-11T12:14:00.002+01:00

As I told you in my previous post Adam was to be the main hero of the books with his twin St John as a secondary character. As the rivalry between the twins intensfied with St John forced to marry at gunpoint Meriel Sawle, the woman both of them had been rivals for, more of St John's story is revealed in the second book of the series THE LOVEDAY FORTUNES. Meriel, is a woman of great beauty and few scruples and she was determined to marry above her station, as a tavern keeper's daughter, for riches. In the meantime Adam has been forced by family duty to become betrothed to his French cousin Lisette as her sick father fears for her safety with the unrest brewing in pre-revolution France.

When first devising the characters for the series I wanted to introduce them to the reader so that on their first impression of them they were not always aware of the more devious side of their natures. Also diversity of personalities was needed to make them foils for their opponents. Meriel was obviously a scheming fortune-huntress but Lisette gave all the appearance of a sweet innocent. Nothing could have been further from the truth as was revealed in later books.
St John's victory over Adam in marrying Meriel is a hollow one. The passionate seductress in book one is now cold and manipulative influencing her weak husband in her schemes to acquire wealth.

Romance is never an easy path as Adam falls in love with Senara who despite her gypsy birth is too proud to share him when he must marry.
The great fun of a series is that the characters have the space to develop through their experiences and all facets of their personalities can be slowly revealed.

THE LOVEDAY FORTUNES Cornwall 1791
As the civil unrest in France gathers force, ripples of conflict are also reaching across the Channel, for the Loveday family are fighting their own private battles. Charles Mercer - Edward Loveday's brother-in-law - has been found dead, the reputation of his eminent bank in tatters. Charles has left the Lovedays facing emotional trauma and financial ruin.
But risk comes as second nature to the Lovedays. Adam finds refuge from the pressures of keeping the family shipyard solvent in the arms of Senara - whom he is determined to marry despite his father's threats of disinheritance. And St John, angry at having to curb his spending, throws his hand in with the Sawle brolthers - the notorious smugglers who rule Penruan by intimidation and violence.
As changing fortunes strain a family already buckling with internal tensions, each one of the Lovcedays must sacrifice personal ambitiion and unite to overcome such a crisis. But to some of them, sacrifice does not come easy...

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-06-07T14:44:00.001+01:00

The Loveday Secrets upmarket cover

2008-06-04T16:51:00.000+01:00

This wonderful new cover for the paperback of The Loveday Secrets which will be published in December has just been faxed to me by my editor. Isn't it gorgeous.

Kate Tremayne

It all started with Adam

2008-06-03T10:55:00.000+01:00

These are the two great covers for the paperback publication of ADAM LOVEDAY the first book in the Loveday series. The one on the right is the current re-issued cover.

Although the series covers the lives of three sets of Loveday cousins from the outset Adam was the main hero.
As the younger twin who loved his family home Trevowan and was a skilled and talented shipwright, he was denied the two things he held most dear by the circumstances of his birth. His older twin St John soon proved the weaker son, bent upon his own self gratification and no interest in the family shipyard. The rivalry between the twins started at a young age and was to continue throughout their lives. Believing the shipyard was out of his reach Adam began a career in the navy but his wild blood brought an abrupt end to his career and to redeem his himself he became a spy for the British government during the early years of the French Revolution.
St John continued his dissolute lifestyle and their rakehell cousin Japhet, the eldest son of a rector was also seeking his fortune by living dangerously close to the wrong side of the law. Japhet's brother Pious Peter was fighting his own inner demons in the shadow of his brother's reputation and their sister Hannah is battling to save her husband's farm during his long illness.
Meanwhile in London Thomas the eldest cousin is shackled to his father's bank but dreams of becoming a famous playwright. Thomas is also gaining the reputation as a notable duellist.

It is 1786 and the childhood rivalry between Adam and St John has intensified and continues to govern their fated passions and chequered fortunes. St John has become a dissolute wastrel but Adam, with a thirst for adventure and a talent for ship design, has fierce family pride in his home and the shipyard. Aware of his father's increasing disapproval, St John fears that the Loveday yard will be given to Adam after all, and puts into motion a plan to ensure that Adam will never get what his heart desires: the shipyard - and Meriel Sawle, the seductive daughter of the local innkeeper, whose violent family are infamous in the smuggling trade...

Reviews for Adam Loveday
'A fast moving and exciting read' Historical Novels Review
'This sweeping saga has the lot: colour, intensity and pace' Northern Echo

The Loveday Secrets now published

2008-05-25T19:29:00.001+01:00

The Loveday Secrets was published by Headline in hardback on 1st May 2008. The paperback is not available until December.

Here is an extract from the first chapter.

St John Loveday cursed the day he had wed Felicity. He had been in debt then and thought the young widow a wealthy prize. He had not learned the truth that her fortune was so paltry until after they were married. Then after a year of marriage she had presented him with another daughter instead of the son he longed for and his feelings for her had turned to loathing.
There was a low rumbling like thunder behind him. Dragging his wits from his reverie, he barely had time to pull his horse into a gateway to a field before a coach sped past at a reckless pace. Briefly, he glimpsed the straining horses that were white flecked with sweat, and the near side wheel creaked as it rolled over a small rock. There was a rush of wind as it rattled past and the vehicle missed St John and his mount by less than a hands breadth. Was the driver drunk or a madman? St John saw the coach sway dangerously as it continued round a bend.
When his horse reared with fright, he was almost unseated before he brought it under control. The near collision frayed his nerves and his temper and he cursed roundly. ‘Confounded idiot! You could have killed me.’ St John’s shout was lost in the night, his mood turning even bleaker.
It took some moments to calm his horse that continued to snort and quiver in its terror. He had been lucky not to be severely injured. Downing the last of the brandy, which swirled warmly through his veins, he soon felt its calming effect. Not so many years ago in his early twenties, he had regularly diced with death. His guilt was making him paint too black a picture of his life. Trevowan had been free of debt for a year and that at least had enabled him to mortgage the estate as security for the loan he needed to settle his gaming accounts. He had overcome financial losses before and he could do so again. He did mot know why gaming could take a hold upon him and make him take risks with the security of his home? Yet he knew that the excitement of the turn of a card, throw of a dice, or wager on a horse race was something his blood craved beyond caution or reason.
The quantity of brandy he had drunk and the steady clop of his gelding’s gait after what had been a long day in the saddle began to tell on him. The breeze whipped the May blossom from its branches so that it fell like snow upon his shoulders and the air was sweet with the scent of bluebells. He pulled the collar of his coat around his ears against the chill in the night air. His eyes drooped and he slackened his hold on the reins. In the distance he heard the clock in the tower of Penruan church strike nine. Not far to ride now. The horse would find its own way to the comfort of its stable. As his head began to nod, he allowed his body to be lulled by the rhythm of his mount.
Abruptly, he was jolted awake. His horse snorted in alarm had reared on its hind legs and for a moment he was in danger of being unseated. When he brought it under control, the gelding remained skittish, refusing to move forward and kept sidestepping so that the low lying branches clawed at St John’s cheeks. There was a dead and mangled body of a large stag on the track, the blood still fresh and glistening silver in the moonlight. The smell of it had unnerved his young horse that had never been used for hunting. Engrossed in his task of claming the horse, St John did not immediately notice a larger dark shape blocking the road ahead. Belatedly, he realised it was an overturned coach. It must have collided with the stag. There was no sign of the horses. Or of life…
The narrow lane had widened into an open space with tracks leading off in five directions. He proceeded slowly and tied his gelding to the broken wheel of the vehicle lying on its side. He shook his head to clear it of the cloying effects of the brandy that made his thinking sluggish and he stared blearily at the wreckage. The coach’s axle was broken and some of the luggage was scattered on the ground where the straps had broken at the violence of the accident. He walked along the coach’s side noting that before toppling over the front of it had first smashed against the dry stone wall, splintering some of the wood. The shaft the horses were harnessed too had sheared off and no doubt the animals had bolted.
Or had they been taken by the occupant of the vehicle to continue their journey? he wondered. Surely though they would not have let so many of their possessions for anyone to steal? He rubbed his temple forcing his mind to function more rationally. He stared at the scattered objects and discovered that one of them was human in shape. His step waved precariously as he advanced on the figure. It was the coachman, who before releasing the reins had been dragged some distance along the earth by the terrified horses. The figure was on its stomach and his legs, which were twisted out at odd angles, were clearly broken.
St John knelt over him to ascertain if he was still alive. The sight of the broken and bloodied skull laying against a small boulder was evidence enough that the man was dead. St John stumbled back to the vehicle wishing he had not drunk so much. The coach must be the one that had almost run him down earlier. He needed to check whether there were injured passengers on board?
For a moment dizziness made him cling to the vehicle, then he grabbed the side of the window and hauled himself up. When the scene before him stopped revolving, the moonlight revealed the bloodied body of an attractive woman in her thirties, her eyes staring sightlessly back at him. Even in the poor light there was no mistaking the expensive lace on her bodice and the glitter of gems on an exposed wrist. She was also beyond his help and there was no one else inside the coach.
A rush of nausea made him turn away. What a waste of two lives. Why had the vehicle been driven at such a reckless pace? From her clothing the woman was a person of position therefore in decency he could not leave her body here all night. The furious speed that they had been travelling continued to trouble him. Such a dangerous pace was more of a desperate flight borne of fear. Yet from whom had she been fleeing?
It was a question that stayed with him. Over the top of the dry-stone wall he scanned the undulating countryside. At so late an hour no candlelight lit the windows of the scattered farmsteads, and it was several miles to the nearest hamlet. He doubted anyone else would be on the road this late, unless they were smugglers or vagabonds. They would strip the woman of her finery and steal anything of value.
He strained to hear some sound of an approaching traveller. There was nothing only the song of a nightingale and the croak of toads in the nearby dewpond. He turned at a scuffling in the hedgerow and a family of badgers, the white stripes on their faces clear in the moonlight, scurried across his path. It was a reminder that hungry foxes would feast on a corpse if left in the open. Clearly, he could not leave the woman’s body here but it would not be easy hauling her out of the carriage. He would need to stand on a chest or something to pull her body from the conveyance. For some moments he stared at the scattered luggage. There was trunk on the road near the wheels that was large enough for him to stand on.
Several minutes later he was sweating and weary as he struggled to lift the woman from the coach. Her arm flopped against the handle of the open door and the glittering bracelet she had been wearing fell to the ground. The clasp was broken and guessing that the diamonds were worth several hundred pounds St John absently stashed it in his pocket for safekeeping. There were also diamond drops in her ears, which he also pocketed lest they were dislodged and lost. The woman was heavier than he expected and it took all his strength to haul her over his shoulder and stagger to his horse and heave her across the saddle. Pausing to recover his breath, he wiped the blood from her face with the corner of her cloak. She was dark-haired and olive skinned, and had been beautiful in a rather foreign exotic way. He knew all the gentry in this part of the county and this woman was a stranger to him.
It was then be heard a low groan. It was human and had certainly not come from the woman or the driver. Infuriatingly, a long narrow strip of cloud had covered the moon and plunged into almost total darkness he could see no sign of another figure. Then as he strained to listen the groan came again from near some elder bushes. Moving towards the sound, he stumbled over an unseen casket and crashed to his knees. As he pushed himself up from the ground, his hand encountered a slim leg partly hidden by the wayside ferns. He ran his palm along the leg clad in breeches and the moon free of its veiling cover revealed a young lad of seven or eight. There was blood on his head and pale velvet jacket. The eyelids flickered briefly.
‘Mama,’ he gasped, then went limp in St John’s arms.
‘Poor motherless child,’ he sighed. ‘Let’s get you home and a doctor to tend you. Then we’ll have to find out who you are.’
St John lifted him and as he walked towards his horse, his foot struck the casket that had earlier tripped him. The moon had reappeared from behind the cloud revealing that the lock had broken and its contents were spilled on the ground. His throat dried and a hot rush of sweat coated his body. He could not believe his eyes. This was an answer to his prayers, the resolution of all his problems. It was riches beyond his dreams. But they were not his.
Yet who would know? An insidious voice whispered in his head. The owner of these jewels and gold coins is dead and so was her driver.
Temptation had always been St John’s weakness. He closed his eyes and swallowed. He despised himself for allowing the spread of riches to lure him, even for a moment, into considering something so dishonourable.
He drew a shuddering breath. He had made some foolish mistakes in the past and suffered the shame of his lapses from grace. He was now older – wiser…
When he hoisted the boy onto his already laden gelding and took the reins to lead his horse, the clock at Penruan struck ten. The hour was later than he expected. He had no idea of the seriousness of the boy’s condition but since the lad remained unconscious he suspected it was grave. It would take him over an hour to reach his home and then a physician would need to be summoned which could take another hour. The boy could be dead by then. His twin’s estate at Boscabel was closer than Trevowan. Adam’s wife had skill with herbs and Senara had treated many injuries of the shipwright’s families who worked in the Loveday shipyard.
His aching body called out for the comfort of his own bed, but the boy should be tended as soon as possible. He led his horse around the corpse of the coachman. Hopefully the foxes would not get him before servants were sent to retrieve his boby. Also the coach could not be left blocking the track and the luggage must be saved from thieves and searched for clues of the lad’s identity.

I hope you enjoyed this extract. The Loveday Secrets is available through all good bookshops and also Amazon.co.uk

Kate Tremayne

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-05-25T19:19:00.001+01:00

A new adventure for the family begins

2008-05-23T18:38:00.000+01:00

If you love the Loveday series of family novels I hope you will enjoy this blog which will give you insights into world of the Loveday family and of Kate Tremayne their creator.

The blog is a response to the request of many readers to my website and I hope it will be fully interactive with comments from readers about the family and their adventures, conflicts and romances.

If you are a regular Loveday fan let me know what subjects you want me to cover.

The Loveday books are set in 18th Century Cornwall and cover all aspects of historical events of the time.

Check out my website click here

Loveday books in order of sequence Adam Loveday, The Loveday Fortunes, The Loveday Trials, The Loveday Scandals, The Loveday Honour, The Loveday Pride, The Loveday Loyalty, The Loveday Revenge and just published The Loveday Secrets.

The blog will be regularly updated every week. Join me again and tell any friends who are Loveday fans.

Best wishes

Kate Tremayne