Multi-award-winning author of 25 best-selling Regency Historical Romances, Donna Hatch is a hopeful romantic and an adventurer at heart. Each book she writes is filled with wit and heart and plenty of swoon-worthy romance. Donna sings, plays the harp, and loves to ballroom dance. Her family, including six children and two cats, recently left their native Arizona for the Pacific coast of the US. No matter where they live, she and her husband of over twenty years are proof that there truly is a happily ever after.
The widowed Elise is a perfect English lady living within the confines of society for the sake of her impressionable young son. Her quiet world is shattered when she meets the impulsive and scandalous Jared Amesbury. His roguish charm awakens her yearning for adventure. But his irrepressible grin and sea-green eyes hide a secret.
A gentleman by day, a pirate by night, Jared must complete one last assignment from the Secret Service before he can be truly free. Elise gives him hope that he, too, can find love and belonging. His hopes are crushed when his best laid plans go awry and Elise is dragged into his world of violence and deceit. She may not survive the revelation of Jared's past...or still love him when the truth is revealed.
The Guise of a Gentleman is a wholesome Regency Romance, a.k.a. "clean" that explores finding one's true self, loyalty, honor, and trusting loved ones. With plenty of swashbuckling action, it provides a several good twists that play off of familiar situations and proudly proclaims the redemptive power of love.
Q&A With the Author:
1. What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I love to sing, mostly in choirs or small groups--singing solos are scary! Really, my favorite time to sing is when I'm alone and I have the music really loud. I also adore dancing--especially ballroom and I'm in a performance group that does a production every year set to Strauss music. Hiking and walking are other favorites. And I love to play in the water such as swim, water ski, and wake surf, or even just walk along the shore with the waves lapping at my feet.
2. What was the hardest part of writing your book, and how did you overcome it?
The hardest part of this particular book was developing the heroine. Because I already knew the hero as a secondary character from a previous book, he was easy, plus he was just such a fun character. The heroine was new to me so I spent a lot of time developing her character and nailing down her personality as well as what her goals and motivations were.
3. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I'd love to go to England again. I've been there twice but there is so much more that I haven't seen yet. I also really want to visit Italy and see all the historic places. A book that I want to write will be set in Italy so I hope to go soon and do first-hand research for it.
4. Where do you get information and ideas for your books?
Ideas come from a variety of sources--lines from books that I or someone else wrote, quotes, movies, or even dreams. Information comes from meticulous research. I do tons of ongoing research about the Regency Era, and each book requires more specialized research. For this book, I spent over a year researching pirates and the British Navy. Much of my research came from books but I also took an online class from Pirates and Privateers. It was fun. I have another pirate book idea which would be great because it would help use that knowledge to work in another book. It was an awful lot of research for just one book.
5. Tell us a bit about a future project you are working on? Do you have any little sneak peeks you can share?
I have a new book coming out at the end of the month. Though it is book 5 of my familial series, it also reads well as a stand-alone work. It's about a lady accused of murdering her husband, and the Bow Street Runner assigned to hunt her down and bring her back to face justice. But she just may bring him to his knees. Literally. It's called Not a Fine Gentleman so I hope you watch for it.
6. Now that we've gotten to know each other, tell us a story of a favorite childhood activity you used to do during the summer. It can be long or short. Funny, sad, or somewhere in between. Just make sure it's yours. Tell us a story?
As a child, one of my favorite pastimes was to play in the pool. I'd get up, eat breakfast, take off my nightgown, and put on a swimsuit. Then I spent most of the day in the pool, either alone or with friends, sometimes go swimming again after dinner, then I'd take a bath, put on my nightgown and go to bed. What else do you do when it's 110 degrees F (or more) outside? One of my favorite pool games was to pretend we were mermaids. We crossed our feet at the ankles and swim like mermaids with tails. If only we had that fabric mermaid costumes available today! My best friend had beautiful hair that went down to her hips. She was the perfect mermaid. I was a bit envious. It was great fun and I have many happy memories of that time.
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