I thought I’d tell you a bit more about my backlist title THE ROGUE, so you’ll understand why I’m so excited about seeing it re-released for Kindle. Some of this appears in the reader letter included in the digital edition.

I’ve always enjoyed reading stories that blend mystery and romance. One of my early reading addictions was to such books, written by authors like Phyllis A. Whitney, Victoria Holt, Daphne DuMaurier and Agatha Christie, featuring enigmatic heroes and intrepid heroines, and lonely old castles potentially filled with ghosts (or, at least, danger and secrets). I gobbled these up.

As a reader, I always yearned for more development of the romantic relationship, though – perhaps it’s only natural that I often play with the inclusion of those mystery and suspense elements in my own romances. With THE ROGUE, I wrote a neo-Gothic romance of my own, in a medieval setting, with my own enigmatic, sexy hero, conflicted, intrepid heroine and castle filled with both secrets and danger. I loved this book when it was first written, and I love it every time I read it again.

At the time, THE ROGUE seemed like a single book that I needed to write, but since then, I’ve returned to this sub-genre a number of times. DOUBLE TROUBLE (by Claire Cross) could be said to be this kind of book, albeit a bit lighter in tone. And certainly FALLEN (which was originally written in first person point of view) is this kind of book. The very first book I tried to write – the one that was never published – was of this type. (I now know how to revise that book to make it work – I just need three months free to do it!)

Because THE ROGUE was different in tone from my Bride Quest series – which immediately preceded it in publication – I had hoped that the covers would communicate its gothic tone to readers. One of the frustrating facts of traditional publishing is that the cover design is beyond the author’s control. My input was solicited, but my suggestions for a dark, hero-focused cover were put aside in favor of one evocative of the Bride Quest. The original package for THE ROGUE is very pretty, but it doesn’t accurately communicate the book’s tone.

So, I was delighted to meet digital artist Eithne O’Hanlon, of Ni Anluain Designs, just before planning this re-release. Our first discussion was filled with enthusiastic admiration of the covers for my fallen angel series published by TOR, which gave me complete faith that she and I were thinking the same way. Her cover designs are exactly what I had originally envisioned for this series – it’s very exciting to make this book available again in new garb.

As with all of my digital re-releases, I’ve chosen not to revise this book, but to republish it pretty much the way it was published in the first place. There may be a few typos missing in this version, but otherwise it is very similar to the original. In terms of making a print edition available, I’ve decided to follow the lead of many digital presses: if sales of the Kindle edition of any of my re-released books reaches a certain threshold, I’ll put out a print-on-demand version.

I’ve enjoyed revisiting THE ROGUE, and hope you enjoy reading it, as well.

Kindle Edition