Katherine Ashe: “All the world’s a stage…”

Out next week on shelves near you:

A Secret Identity

When pirates storm Lord Steven Ashford’s ship upon the high seas, it brings him closer than ever to the nefarious criminal he seeks to ruin. Only one seductive detail threatens his victory: the scandalous beauty imprisoned with him, Lady Valerie Monroe. Temptation has never been so intoxicating or so forbidden, for Steven is disguised as a French priest. If they make it off the ship alive, to protect her from his enemies, he must never see her again…

An Undeniable Love

Back in England, and under the ton’s scrutiny for a reckless past she hasn’t escaped, Valerie dreams of the breathtaking “man of the cloth” with whom she shared her greatest adventure. Then he reappears in society under his true identity, Viscount Ashford, but despite the danger their consuming passion cannot be denied. Now standing in the way of their desire are Valerie’s wounded heart, Steven’s lone destiny, and a villain that will stop at nothing to crush them both.

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All the World’s a Stage

Have you ever worn a costume? I don’t mean for Halloween. I mean a serious business suit, team uniform, or ball gown and sparkly jewels. Something that takes you out of your comfort norm and makes you… different.

Or something even more concealing. A disguise?

In William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, to flee a plot against her family a duke’s daughter disguises herself as a young man. But Rosalind’s masquerade has an up side. As a man she is able to befriend Orlando, the object of her hidden love.

As You Like It is a comedy. So in true Shakepearian fashion hijinks ensue until secret passions are revealed and all the characters end up happily paired. But not before Rosalind’s disguise allows her to discover the truth in everybody’s hearts. Including her own.

Characters in disguise have always intrigued me. Take the 1934 film The Scarlet Pimpernel. In London high society, the hero is the foppish Sir Percy Blakeney. But upon the dark shores of the English Channel he is the daring Pimpernel, risking his life to save French aristocrats from the guillotine. Sir Percy’s reason for this dangerous pretense? He does it all for his wife, a Frenchwoman who despairs of the foolish husband she once loved and instead dreams of the dashing Pimpernel. When I first saw this film, I couldn’t imagine anything better than the moment she realizes he is one in the same.

I still can’t.

A hero who keeps secret the fact that he rescues people on a daily basis—even makes himself look like a fool to throw off suspicion—is positively, deliciously breathtaking. Superman is content to seem like a total dork to the world because he must in order to save it. Brainy, skinny Peter Parker pines after Mary Jane, delaying and delaying again telling her the truth because knowing it would put her in jeopardy. And always the longing, the wishing and yearning to reveal all to the woman he loves. And the steely honor that holds him back…

Sigh!

Superheroes aren’t the only ones with secrets. We all have them. But when we wear a costume something changes. Costumes can make us do things we would never otherwise do. Sometimes, like for Rosalind, a costume can free us to live what’s deep inside.

A while back, I lived for a year in Rome, Italy, with some other Americans. For Halloween we planned a big dance party. Given the city, we chose an appropriate theme: the Seven Deadly Sins. I’d been walking to work through the city’s ancient cloth district and instantly knew what I’d wear. I scoured fabric stores for gray felt, gray cotton, gray fur, needle, thread, and then art shops for black and white face paint. Frantically I measured, cut, and sewed until my costume was complete. I would be a Giant Tree Sloth.

The night of the party arrived. I covered myself from brow to toe in faux sloth skin and fur and headed out.

Every other woman was dressed as Lust or Avarice. Tiny itty-bitty dresses covered with dollar bills or sparkling coins. Slinky skirts and dipping décolletages. They looked great. Gorgeous. Sexy as hell.  While I looked like a large jungle creature.

I had the best time I’ve ever had at a party. I danced until sweat dripped from my chin in zebra striped rivulets. I lost every pointy gray claw swinging across the floor. Explaining my costume (“I’m a sloth. You know, laziness.”), I met dozens of people. I laughed until my furry stomach ached. And I fell onto my bed hours later completely happy. Why? Because despite the throbbing music, low lights, and any number of hunky Italian cutie-pies hanging around looking for American girls to date, I wasn’t trying to be sexy or appealing. There was absolutely no way I could have even if I’d wanted to. I was just having fun. The costume let me. No. The costume forced me.

In my debut historical romance, SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS, the hero wears two disguises. The first disguise brings to the fore his strength, courage, and commitment to helping others in peril. The second allows him to tease, to laugh and flirt and seduce everyone with his wit, charm, and strikingly good ton. But the heroine knows him, even though he wears costumes and pretends to be what he is not. Because no matter how successful his masquerade, he cannot hide his heart from her. And in discovering him beneath the disguises, she also discovers secrets of her own.

What is the most outrageous or concealing costume you have ever donned? What happened when you wore it?

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Thank you for visiting with us today, Ms Ashe!

To learn more about her work, visit Ms Ashe’s website–and remember to leave a comment here to enter a drawing for a copy of Swept Away by a Kiss!