Exclusive interview with author Alexandra Ivy on her Regency holiday Trilogy about three scandalous sisters
by Gabrielle Pantera
“My first love has always been Regencies,” says When You Wish author Alexandra Ivy. “A lady in the age of the Regency would have been tightly bound by very specific rules of society. A proper young female would have done everything in her power to make sure she didn’t create a scandal. I wanted the opportunity for them to operate outside the strict expectations, so I gave them a jewel thief for a father which meant they were already outside the norms of polite society.”
When You Wish is a trilogy of novellas about the Cresswell sisters. Each sister makes a wish.
In A Christmas Wish, Sarah and Lord Chance want to locate a priceless diamond. Sarah runs a school in a disreputable area of London, Chance takes her to the most scandalous places, but he can’t scandalize her. They realize their connection is more precious than the diamond.
In A Valentine’s Wish Emma, is ruined by her father’s arrest as a jewel thief. She leaves London to hide in Kent, where she keeps running into Lord Hartshore.
In The Wedding Wish, Rachel wants to annoy Lady Broswell, who considers Rachel competition to her own daughter snaring the most eligible gentleman in the area. Anthony Clarke is a recluse inventor, and very handsome. He’s always talking Rachel out of her outrageous plots. Rachel finds Lady Broswell has a second daughter Julia, who she’s been hiding.
“When I first started plotting the book I already knew that I was planning to write three connected stories,” says Ivy. “So, I wanted to create three sisters and explore the family dynamics. Each individual person handles stress and controversy in a different way. And they each have needs that are different. But in the end, they’re family. And they must stick together.”
Ivy says her whole life changed as a result of being an author. “When I was young, I grew up in a small town in the Midwest. I spent hours in my local library dreaming of dashing characters and distant lands. But I’ll admit that despite my dreams I never truly thought that I would grow up and actually spend my days writing the stories that had been spinning around my head. Plus I’ve been able to travel to fabulous cities to meet my readers and to fan-girl over my favorite writers. I was even invited to France by my publishing house. It’s been a dream come true.”
“Regency readers are unbelievably knowledgeable about the era,” says Ivy. “They would notice even the smallest mistake. I spent months researching maps, and old cookbooks, letters and diaries from the time period, and historical manuscripts. It’s impossible to be able to know everything, but it’s important to capture the flavor of the time. How they traveled, and the entertainment they enjoyed and the political tensions. It’s always a danger to get so lost in the research that you forget to concentrate on telling your story.”
Ivy maintains her own library of books about the Regency era to keep track of what was happening in England, Europe and Russia during that time period.
Ivy has written 33 Regencies and historicals. Other series that she’s currently working on include the Guardians of Eternity, the Sentinels, and Bayou Heat. Several of her books have made bestseller lists at the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal. Her paranormal books have been nominated in the best vampire category.
Ivy has recently started to write romantic suspense with her Ares series. What Are You Afraid of? will release in 2017. She’s also working on her next Bayou Heat book, which she writes with Laura Wright.
Ivy is based in a rural area along the Mississippi River to the north of Hannibal, Missouri. She was born in Casper, Wyoming.
When You Wish by Alexandra Ivy. Kindle version File Size: 1799 KB, Print Length: 488 pages, Publisher: Lyrical Press Publication Date: November 8, 2016, Sold by: Penguin Random House Publisher Services. Language: English, ASIN: B01BRFLI5W $9.99
