Margaret Rowe: The “other” CALL story.

Set against the backdrop of Regency England comes a scorching new novel about a perfect gentleman and the imperfect woman who makes him forget all his good intentions.

Forbidden desire is the hardest to deny…

Eden Emery is no stranger to sin. To keep her sister safe from harm, she’s paid a steep price with her body—and very nearly lost her soul. But when Baron Ivor Hartford, the very Devil himself finally dies, her troubles are far from over.

Major Stuart Hartford, the late baron’s nephew, is in the market for an honorable wife, but first he has to take care of the matter of his Uncle Ivor’s ward—a young woman who makes him question the virtue of being proper. For the passion she incites burns away his inhibitions and inflames his heart.

But Eden has vowed to never again cede her destiny to a man. And Hart is left with no choice but to tempt the temptress herself, to show the woman he longs to possess forever that passion can heal, that the sins of the past can be overcome, and that submission can be the greatest power of all.

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Although Maggie Robinson’s Mistress by Mistake is my official “debut” book (May, Kensington Brava), the first book I sold was Margaret Rowe’s Tempting Eden (June, Berkley Heat). Tempting Eden began its life as Paradise, an edgy, erotic Regency Noir that was entirely different than anything I’d written before. I pushed my limits, my comfort zone, almost my sanity, but that was nothing to what I put Eden through. J

I’ve been asked what prompted me to write about the issues dealt with in this book, and I have no answers. Once the prologue came to me, I was compelled to give Eden her happy ending no matter what. But I wasn’t sure there was an audience for a book that took considerable risks with a heroine who both sacrificed for and betrayed her family and herself so thoroughly. One August night I found out otherwise—my fabulous agent Laura Bradford called me to offer representation.

We both knew Tempting Eden would not be an easy sell. It had been rejected by another agency with a letter that began “The evil sexiness of this dark, twisted tale drew me in, BUT…” While it was out on submission, I pushed it out of my mind and began the Courtesan Court Trilogy, which was much, much lighter. Laura e-mailed me now and again to update me—a lot of people loved the writing but were uncomfortable with the plot. I knew the feeling. 😀

But then she called and said Berkley was interested and it was being passed around to several editors, and we should know something soon. I kept my fingers crossed, and one afternoon she called me at work. Now, I work in a high school library, where Tempting Eden will never be shelved. And libraries are supposed to be quiet places. My cell phone rang and I fished it out of my bag. Laura told me I had a two-book deal. I couldn’t scream, or jump up and down, or even say much of anything. I still have the piece of scrap paper I wrote the dates and figures on, but I can’t really read it, I was shaking so hard.

When I got off the phone, one of the girls asked me what was wrong. I told her everything was right—that I’d sold my first book!

So, a year and two months from that call in the library, I’m still shaking. I’m fulfilling contracts for six books and two novellas and pinching myself almost daily. I hope readers will like them and know how very much I appreciate having this incredible opportunity to have a dream come true.

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Thank you for sharing such a thrilling moment with us, Ms Rowe!

Ladies and gents, leave a comment to enter the drawing for one signed copy of Tempting Eden, courtesy of Ms Rowe’s generosity–and don’t forget to visit her website to learn more about her and her alter ego, Maggie Robinson.

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