When I first wrote Some Like It Royal, I wasn’t looking to write a series. The goal, as with any new book, was to tell the story of Alyx and Daniel. As Alyx discovered her family, however, I discovered other characters whose stories I wanted to tell. I read somewhere once that the difference between writing a series as opposed to a standalone was the difference between having one child and several children. You love them all, and you reap joy with each addition.
Armand Dagmar was a driving force in Some Like It Royal—he was the man that Daniel Voldakov sought to impress and contact via his distant, and unknown cousin Alyx. But we didn’t get to meet Armand till the very end of the first novel. So no sooner did I finish that book than I began to think about Armand, and his two brothers: Sebastian and George and then there was Richard. Richard Prentiss was the first “member” of the Dagmar family that Alyx encountered. While Richard isn’t officially a member of the family, he is Armand’s best friend, so how did that happen?
I wanted to know and Some Like It Scandalous was born.
When you are writing a series, you have all these characters you meet along the way—family members, friends, and they each have a story. Because I want to know who these people are, what motivates them, where did they come from? Where are they going? What makes them tick? Who do they love? What broke their hearts?
I also wanted to explore the life of the royal family members who’d grown up knowing they were royal, and with everything that entails. Alyx’s life changed overnight, but Armand? His brothers? They exist in a world that scrutinizes every move, they have no privacy, and they have security around them 24/7—how does that change their ability to romance those that they love?
Considering our world’s royal fascination, this further heightens the stakes for the characters and my investment in being true to who they are while they still have to put on a front for everyone else. What are they like behind closed doors? One advantage I had going into Some Like It Scandalous that I didn’t have with Some Like It Royal, was that I knew these people, I’d met the family and now I was going to dig in deeper and reveal more of who they are as opposed to what the world sees.
What I discovered? Magic.
Some Like It Scandalous releases on May 5th!
Not every girl wants to marry a prince.
After Anna Novak discovered that her fun-loving college sweetheart was actually the Grand Duke Armand Dagmar, she fled. Now, her work directing a scholarship foundation forces her to meet with the lost love of her life. Face to face, her body remembers what her heart has struggled to forget.
Armand regrets hiding his identity from Anna, but cherishes the memory of being loved as a man, not a prince. Unable to resist, he uses his family’s influence to see her again and relies on their shared history to bring her back into his arms.
Anna refuses to trust her feelings for a man who never really existed. But when news of their reunion reaches the paparazzi prematurely, the Dagmar family’s enemies are paying attention. Scandal and mortal danger are parts of his life that Armand never wanted to share with Anna, but now he may be forced to protect her…even from himself.