Books
To Pleasure A Prince Scoop
- The plot for Draker's book was the first one to come to me. I still don't remember what triggered it--I just thought it would be cool to have a guy who's an outcast trying to muscle his way into society for his sister's sake. Once I conceived of him as this big curmudgeon, it just went from there. I think I'm attracted to cranky men. Don't ask me why.
- Regina's dyslexia came out of my wanting to give her a hidden flaw. I didn't feel like a woman who'd never suffered could understand Draker. Because any kind of disability fascinates me as the parent of an autistic teenager, dyslexia was an obvious choice. My research of the disorder is what turned up the efficacy of using tactile methods to teach people with dyslexia.
- I didn't invent all the stuff about Prinny's fondness for dragons at The Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Just check out the dragon holding up the chandelier in his banqueting room!
- The bed at Draker's "hunting cottage" was based on a real bed at Badminton House (the Duke of Beaufort's home). Here's a great picture of it. Notice the fretwork at the back? That's what Regina was holding onto (or that's how I envisioned it, anyway).
- Many of you wrote me to point out that "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" was written by Keats. But actually, there was a version before that. I couldn't use Keats's because he didn't write it until after my book was set, so I referred to the version he based it on, a Chaucer translation of Alain Chartier. To read about the entire evolution of Keats's poem, check out this fascinating main page. And here's Chartier's poem in the original French.
- The Blake painting that Draker owns is "The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun," the famous one used by Thomas Harris in Red Dragon. It's a fascinating painting, however, so I figured it deserved to be featured as more than just the obsession of a serial killer.
Will Louisa and Simon get their own story? Check back
on this website in coming months to find out!
Inside Scoop from Characters
Interview with a Lord
We have been asking various gentlemen friends of our readers to answer the age-old question, “How can a man best please a woman?” Today, we have put the question to Marcus North, the Viscount Draker (sometimes referred to as “the Dragon Viscount”).
Parasol Papers: So, Lord Draker, what do you think is the best way to please a woman? Flowers? Cards?
Lord Draker: Why the devil do you ask me? I have no clue.
PP: But we understand that you’ve been escorting Lady Regina in society—
LD: Yes, and if you’re speaking of that damned female, then I tell you she is impossible to please. She thinks I should wear fashionable new evening clothes when I have a perfectly fine old coat already. And she wants me to shave off my beard!
PP: Beards aren’t in fashion, my lord.
LD: You wouldn’t say that if you could see the scar beneath. Besides, no woman shall tell me what to wear, even if she is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever beheld.
PP: That should make you want to please her.
LD: And have her boasting to all her friends about how she’s got me under her thumb? No thank you. The woman is trouble enough as it is.
PP: Did you not bring her to the opera last week? Surely you planned that outing to please her. Few gentlemen enjoy the opera.
LD (frowning): All right, I admit I did that for her. But bringing her to one silly opera doesn’t mean I shall become one of those slobbering fools who fawn and preen at the lady’s feet. Not a chance.
PP: But you were seen kissing her at the opera.
LD: That was meant to please me.
PP: And did it?
PP: A gentlemen does not kiss and tell, madam. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment with a tailor and a barber. Good day.
It appears that Lord Draker is somewhat ambivalent about Lady Regina Tremaine. We shall have to follow his activities with her more closely in future.
How to Tame a Dragon Viscount
By Lady Regina Tremaine
- Look for the gentleman beneath the scales, if there is one.
- Refuse to tolerate his fire-breathing in the drawing room.
- Greet his grumpiness with a sweet smile before you tell him how he must behave.
- Beware his kissing—a dragon’s kisses will scorch you to your toes.
- Play music to soothe his savage breast …and yours.
- Don’t descend into his dungeon alone unless you’re prepared to be devoured.