***Note: we have our winners! Thanks to all of you who welcomed Theresa so warmly. Beebs won a copy of Theresa’s book. Yay, Beebs! And the winners of the two tea packages are Tanja, who came up with those answers about McVitie’s Digestive Biscuits right away, and Betty Hamilton, who won the second tea package given to a commenter chosen at random. Congratulations, ladies!
I’m thrilled to have my fabulous friend Theresa Romain here with us to celebrate the release of her first novel…drumroll, please…the Zebra Regency historical Season for Temptation!
I love a romantic tale in which someone is caught between duty and passion. A handsome viscount named James must choose between two sisters: Julia, the outgoing one, and Louisa, the shy one he’s betrothed to already. What’s he going to do? Who’s he going to choose?
You’ll have to read this scintillating story to find out!
Meanwhile, since I’m a big fan of tea, and tea is a big part of any Regency lady’s lifestyle, I thought I’d ask Theresa what her tea-drinking habits are…and to share a few delicious tidbits from her book.
Take it away, Theresa!!!
Kieran, thanks so much for hosting me today! I’m delighted to visit about tea and the release of my debut, SEASON FOR TEMPTATION—which have more to do with one another than you might think.
When I started thinking about tea, my first thought was, “oh, I’m actually a coffee drinker.” But that’s only somewhat true. Coffee is my morning drink. Coffee gets my day started. Coffee is for work. But tea…tea is for fun.
Tea to me is the drink of coziness, and it’s what I like in the afternoon when I need a little extra boost. I love Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice tea, which is an herbal blend that smells like gingerbread in a cup. For black tea, I like Bigelow’s Constant Comment, which is another sweet and spicy blend.
Since I drink tea to warm up and wake up, I associate tea itself with fall and winter. When I see the leaves of our Autumn Blaze maple turning flame-red, and when the wind starts to blow chilly instead of hot (because there is ALWAYS wind in the Midwest, where I live), then it feels like tea season.
I like to wrap my hands around a big mug of scalding tea and sip at it slowly. This has two benefits:
1) it keeps my hands warm, and
2) no one else in my family can take it away and drink it themselves. (In our house, making tea is apparently a specialized skill that only I possess, but drinking tea is a skill everyone has.)
So you see that, for me, tea has lots of associations with leisure, comfort, and family power struggles. And it’s the same way in the first chapter of my romance debut.
SEASON FOR TEMPTATION is a lighthearted Regency-set historical romance featuring family scandals and a love triangle.
What? Lighthearted scandal? A lighthearted love triangle?
Well…yes. The hero, James Matheson, tries to save his family’s reputation by making an engagement of convenience with the serious Louisa. But when he travels to the country to meet Louisa’s family, he falls into a very inconvenient love with her impetuous stepsister and closest friend, Julia.
In this love triangle, all three people mean well. All are very devoted to their families, and all do their best to act nobly despite their own feelings.
Since it’s a romance, you know it’ll end well. But how does it begin? Well, I promised you tea. The first time James meets Julia, she offers him tea to smooth over the unconventional way her family has greeted him. Let’s see how it goes:
* * *
She laughed softly as she poured out two more cups of fragrant dark tea.
“Heavens, we are coming at you all wrong. I am so sorry, my lord. The only explanation I can think of is that we are out of practice in receiving Louisa’s fiancés.” She smiled at James. “Milk or lemon?”
James blinked. Surely she hadn’t just said what he thought she’d said. “Er…have there been many?”
“Many what? Lemons? I suppose so. We all like them prodigiously.”
“No, fiancés.” He held his breath waiting for her answer.
Julia looked puzzled for a moment, regarding the tea tray as if looking for the fiancés in question. Then understanding broke over her face.
“No; you’re the one and only, which I would have thought you’d have known. But it is so much easier to throw Louisa to the wolves than to blame the whole household for our topsy-turvy welcome. Especially since that option includes my own poor greeting.”
She laughed, and James let a relieved breath whoosh out of his lungs. He settled against the sofa back again, considering this thought process.
No, it still didn’t make any sense to him, but the distraction was delightful. After a moment, he gave up and just chuckled. “Miss Julia, your logic is impressive. Lemon, please, and one sugar.”
* * *
There you have it. In any century, tea heals all wounds. At least for a few minutes, anyway.
Thank you, Theresa, for sharing some time with us! I wish you tremendous success with your first book, and I hope someday we can share a cup of tea together at a writers’ conference!
Okay, dear reader friends, in honor of Theresa’s debut, we’ll be giving away a signed copy of Season for Temptation to one commenter. Here are two questions to get you started: 1) What do you like best about love triangle stories? and 2) Have you ever been caught in one?
Sssshhhh, don’t tell, but I have!! <ggg>
And in light of James’s and Julia’s tête-à-tête over the tea tray in Season for Temptation, Theresa has another question you might like to consider: “Has tea (or coffee, or any other non-alcoholic drink) ever helped you get through an awkward situation?”
Pipe up to win!
And there’s more…
I mentioned on Facebook that I have another prize to give–
To the first commenter to tell me 1) where McVitie’s Digestive Biscuits were first produced, and 2) why they have such an unusual name, I’m going to send you a box of Theresa’s two favorite teas–Constant Comment and Bengal Spice– as well as a Regency-inspired porcelain tea rest so you can feel all ‘la-di-da’ when you squeeze those steeped tea bags. :>)
I’m also going to throw in a package of my favorite Pepperidge Farm Gingerbread men cookies and some of Theresa’s favorites: McVitie’s Digestive Biscuits! I had a choice: plain or chocolate covered? Take a wild guess which kind I got!
***Note: Since someone already won the tea package–good for you, Tanja!!–I’m going to give away another identical prize to a random commenter who visits today. :>)
Theresa’s Bio & Buy Links!
Theresa Romain holds degrees in psychology, English literature, and history, an impractical education that allowed her to read everything she could get her hands on. She has worked, interned, and translated for libraries and universities, all of which fed her love of books and her fascination with the past. She lives with her family in the Midwest and lives online at http://theresaromain.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.
Order Theresa’s book: Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Indiebound • Powell’s
Order ebook: Kindle • nook
Come join me today at the website Blame It on The Muse! I’ll be telling a story about one of my most embarrassing moments, and it involves–yes, you guessed it; we all know how dangerous it can be–
