Help! My Hero's Taken Over My Blog!

I often have guests on my blog and I would have invited him if I'd known he wanted to speak to you all, but today someone has brashly forced his way in to my Blogger account and simply taken over. Good thing it's just Crispin Hawke—the sexy, brilliant, outrageously handsome hero of my newest release, STROKE OF GENIUS! (Otherwise, I might have called the blog police!)

Crispin: I'm gratified by those accolades from my author. When she gets it right, there's no need to correct her! But really--"just Crispin Hawke?" That won't do, you know.

Emily: Did I also mention he’s not afflicted with false modesty? Very well, Crispin. As long as you're here, you can share some of the things you taught the heroine in Stroke of Genius.

Crispin: Exactly my plan. How well you know me, Emily dear. I like to call these precepts "5 Rules to Rule the Ton." Follow these edicts and you will reign above Society’s dictates and become a law unto yourself.

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1. The one who cares the least wins. There is nothing so attractive to the ton as indifference. If one doesn’t seem to need their approval, one becomes instantly fascinating.

2. Boldness works. It’s not enough to follow fashion. One must lead. Grace’s unique beauty isn’t enhanced by the ordinary. Her wardrobe has to be as unusual as she.

3. Speak your mind. There’s plenty of interest swirling in Grace’s head. She only has to release the words from her mouth. (Unfortunately I’ve been unable to discover how to stop the flow once it begins!)

4. Accept your sensual nature. We are more than our houses of flesh, but there’s no point in denying the pleasures of the body. It’s possible to soar with artistic genius, achieve the pinnacle of human creativity and yet excel equally in an experience that’s . . . primal. I highly recommend it. Grace has an aptitude for matters physical to match my own and the line between teacher and student becomes blurred at times. Or even reversed.

5. Whatever else happens, one must never ever fall in love. Love is most inconvenient. It interrupts one’s schedule. It disturbs one’s sleep. It overthrows one’s life. And it completely undoes Rule 1. Love makes it impossible to care the least. Which is why love comes with the risk of loss. And reward unspeakable.

And unfortunately even geniuses are sometimes taken by surprise by it.
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Emily: Thank you, Crispin. If any of you have questions for my hero, I think I can coax him into dropping by with some answers.

STROKE OF GENIUS features an Almack come out, a close call in Vauxhall, a romping good time at a country house party and more naughty escapades than can be shared on a PG-13 blog. For more of Grace and Crispin’s adventures, look for STROKE OF GENIUS at a store near you.

Visit http://www.emilybryan.com to take the STROKE OF GENIUS QUIZ. What kind of genius are YOU?

Tortured Artist

While I was at the Romantic Times Convention last month, I wandered through their Club RT (the mini-shopping mall they set up each year for vendors of flowing convention wear, small press reps, jewelry sales, etc.). Those of you who know me know I typically dislike shopping, but when I wandered by Fortin & Sanders' booth, I stopped dead and stared for about two minutes.

There was Crispin Hawke, my hero in STROKE OF GENIUS (the lastest WIP), almost exactly as I'd imagined him. Dark and brooding, arrestingly good-looking, reeking with talent, there he was on the canvas in all his tortured glory. I snapped him right up!

Guess there might be something to this shopping thing, after all!