Karen Ranney Talks About Love

An Indecent Proposal . . .
When Douglas Eston arrives at the home of the Duke of Herridge, he expects to leave with an investment—not a wife! With his brilliant ideas attracting attention all over London, Douglas does not need to rely on the duke. But when he meets Lady Sarah Baines, the stubborn beauty whose virtue her father would willingly sell, Douglas finds himself utterly entranced and desperate to protect her.Lady Sarah Baines always knew her father was cruel. But this time he’s gone too far. Demanding that she marry a complete stranger—even an absurdly handsome one with eyes the color of a dawn sky—is utterly ridiculous. She swears she’ll never submit to the wanton delights of the marriage bed. But soon Douglas’s considerable charms prove impossible to resist… and the decadent ecstasy he offers shows Sarah that an affair that began with business can end with the ultimate pleasure.

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When I was trying to come up with an idea for my guest blog here on Novel Thoughts, I dismissed the idea of being clever. Sometimes, when you think you’re really cute, you’re not.  Then, I thought I’d be academic but overly fussy language can sometimes distance you from people. Then, I considered talking about Scotland, since most of my books take place in Scotland. Frankly, I’ve been talking about Scotland a lot lately, and people are probably tired of it.  Then, I decided I would just let it all hang out and talk about something real and honest and very close to my heart: love.

It is my deep and unswerving belief that love can heal.

When I was in one of my darkest hours – I had just lost my husband – I began to read like a maniac. I read to keep myself from thinking, because when I thought, I cried and my eyes needed a break. Books became an opiate to me. I’m not certain exactly what I read in the first few months, only that when I finished one book, I started another.  Gradually, I began to surface from my terrible grief only to realize that what I was reading was involving me.  I was being sucked out of my real world into this magical place where people went through bad things but had a happy ending.

A happy ending.

Somehow, through serendipity – or Fate – I had stumbled onto Romance and I didn’t even know it.  I read everything, and I do mean everything, I could get my hands on and discovered that I loved historical romance.

I was entertained, inspired, amused, and thoroughly engrossed.

These books gave me hope.

Throughout my reading binge – and binge it was – I realized that there was a common theme in all the books I read, and it coincided with what I wanted to believe about my own circumstances.   People can go through horrible events in their lives, survive them, and come out stronger.

Love can heal.

Love for other people.

Love of oneself.

Love for life.

When people write me now, and tell me how much one of my books got them through a difficult time, it is the most wonderful compliment they could ever give me. I am propelled back through time and space to when I picked up a book and it got me through the darkness.

Now, here’s where I segue to the new book (I just wanted to warn you – see how I reverted to being clever?).

Sold to a Laird is about a woman who is going through the most terrible time of her life and the hope she finds is in the person of her new husband – a husband she didn’t want, by the way.  There are moments of darkness in her life, too, but through it all is a skein of love.  I truly hope you enjoy Sarah and Douglas’s story.

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Many thanks to Karen for being our guest today. Leave a comment for the chance to win a copy of SOLD TO THE LAIRD and a totebag from Karen. For more information on Karen and her books, check out her website here. Follow her at Twitter here or visit her blog here.