Shana Galen & When You Give A Duke A Diamond + Giveaway!

I adore both Shana and her writing! Fresh and fun, always with wit and a sense of adventure. She gives you a taste of all that here, and also a peek at the style of her deliciously strong, sassy, sexy heroines that keep me constantly entertained throughout her books!

Today Shana will tell us what it is about Dukes that grab our fancy… and she’s giving away one copy of When You Give a Duke a Diamond (U.S. and Canada only). Enter via Rafflecopter below!

But first…a little about WHEN YOU GIVE A DUKE A DIAMOND…

This is the first in Shana’s Jewels of the Ton series, which has been hailed by New York Times bestselling authorSophie Jordan as “BRILLIANT AND SEXY! Once you start a Shana Galen book, you won’t put it down until you reach the end.”

And RT Book Reviews says, “Galen’s engaging characters and strong plotline enhance the spirited dialogue and sense of adventure.”

He had a perfectly orderly life…

William, the sixth Duke of Pelham, enjoys his punctual, securely structured life. Orderly and predictable—that’s the way he likes it. But he’s in the public eye, and the scandal sheets will make up anything to sell papers. When the gossip papers link him to Juliette, one of the most beautiful and celebrated courtesans in London, chaos doesn’t begin to describe what happens next…

Until she came along…

Juliette is nicknamed the Duchess of Dalliance and has the cream of the nobility at her beck and call. It’s disruptive to have the duke who is the biggest catch on the Marriage Mart scaring her other suitors away. Then she discovers William’s darkest secret and decides what he needs in his life is the kind of excitement only she can provide…

Pick up your copy here: IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Read an excerpt here: Excerpt

Now, here’s Shana… 

What is it About Dukes?

by Shana Galen

 If you’re a fan of historical romance—and even if you’re not—you may have noticed that a lot of the books feature dukes. Perusing some recent titles I found One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare, Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart by Sarah MacLean, The Hazards of Hunting a Duke by Julia London, Mad About the Duke by Elizabeth Boyle, What I Did for a Duke by Julie Ann Long, Dusk With a Dangerous Duke by Alexandra Hawkins, and my own When You Give a Duke a Diamond.

So many dukes (and assorted earls and marquesses too). It begs the question: what is it about dukes? First of all, a quick primer on titles. Dukes are the highest ranking of all the peers. There are royal dukes, like the Duke of Cambridge (Prince William) and the Duke of Wales (Prince Charles) and there are non-royal dukes, like the Duke of Devonshire. Dukes are addressed as Your Grace and are the most powerful lords in the British peerage.

Until When You Give a Duke a Diamond, I’d never written a book with an English duke before. Maybe I didn’t feel like I could do justice to a hero who was a duke, or maybe I thought I’d leave the dukes to other authors. But when I began When You Give a Duke a Diamond, I knew Will was a duke through and through. He was raised knowing his place in the world. He was raised to respect the illustrious history of his forefathers and to preserve and protect his family’s honor and name at all costs.

This becomes a potent conflict when Will falls in love with a notorious courtesan, who is a less than suitable companion for a prominent duke. Juliette, my heroine, is not impressed with Will’s title. In fact, at one point she grows tired of his constant references to it. Here’s an excerpt.

“No, no!” She said hurrying to the door. “I shall answer.” She pulled it open and gave him a look. “A bath. Perfect. Now I can scrub your back. Put it near the fire,” she directed the men. It was a huge copper tub, not the hip bath she was used to. It took three men to carry it, followed by a bevy of maidservants. The men clunked the tub down and the women filled it with enormous buckets of steaming water. One handed Juliette a towel and soap, bobbed, and exited. “Well, at least you shall be clean when I service you. I—”

“Cease!” he roared.

She started, blinked at him.

“You’re not going to service me or scrub my back.” He crossed the room to her. “I wanted you with me to keep you safe.”

“Ha! You wanted me with you because you were jealous.”

“Jealous? Jealous? I am a duke. I do not feel jealous.”

She screamed. “If I hear you say, I am a duke one more time, I will not be responsible for my actions. Dukes are not gods, Will. They are people. They make mistakes, apologize—or at least they should—and feel all sorts of emotions.”

“I suppose you are the expert on such matters.”

“I have known several dukes.”

“Yes, and I am a duke—”

Her eyes widened, her lips pursed. “I.” She shoved him. “Warned.” Hard. “You.” Backward.

“Juliette—”

She shoved him again, and he stumbled against the lip of the tub, faltered, and fell backward, sloshing warm water all over the floor, and soaking his clothing worse than the rain had done.

He stared up at her, water dripping in his eyes. He expected her to apologize, to look horrified, to beg his forgiveness.

Instead, she laughed.

What kind of heroes do you like? Dukes? Firemen? Powerful CEOs? What would you like to see more of? Less of? Shana is giving away one copy of When You Give a Duke a Diamond (U.S. andCanada only). Enter via Rafflecopter below!

About Shana

Shana Galen is the national bestselling author of numerous fast-paced, adventurous Regency historical romances, including the Rita-nominated Blackthorne’s Bride. Her books are published all over the world and have been featured in the Rhapsody and Doubleday Book Clubs. She taught English at the middle and high school level off and on for eleven years. Most of those years were spent working inHouston’s inner city.

Now she writes full time. She’s happily married to an incredibly supportive man she calls Ultimate Sportsfan, and she has a beautiful little girl she calls Little Galen.