Meet author Lorri Dudley
Lorri Dudley has been a finalist in numerous writing contests and has a master’s degree in psychology. She lives in Ashland, Massachusetts with her husband and three teenage sons, where writing romance allows her an escape from her testosterone filled household.
Tell us about your newest book.
Redeeming the Rake is book three in my Agents of Espionage Series, but it can be read standalone. It’s a Regency Romance with a spy element set in the scenic rolling hills and quaint villages of England’s Cotswolds during the early 1800s.
What inspired you to write Redeeming the Rake?
Usually, my stories start with me picturing an inciting event that brings my characters together. I then dig into their psyche, background, and personalities to figure out why they reacted the way they did. For example, in my most recent book, Redeeming the Rake, I imagined Emily walking through the woods and happening upon Jacob near a stream with his hands bound. He’s on his knees, about to be shot in the back of the head by a blackguard. I needed to know why Jacob was about to be executed. What had he done? Eventually, my process led to him being a roguish spy who’d been mistakenly caught in a precarious position with the blackguard’s wife. Although innocent, Jacob walked a fine line with danger because his father’s belittling led him to believe he could never measure up, so why bother?
How would you describe this book to someone in a 30-second blurb?
Agent Lord Jacob Edward Warren’s silver tongue can’t save him when he’s staring down the barrel of a vengeful husband’s gun, but a vicar’s daughter’s steady hand with a bow and arrow offers him the hope of tomorrow. Intrigued by Miss Emily Thompson’s quiet strength and artistic talent, he commissions her to paint his portrait. Jacob’s intentions change when he discovers this beguiling beauty holds not only his chance at redemption but also the intelligence he’s been assigned to gather.
What genre do you focus?
I’ve been reading historical romances since the third grade. I’ll never forget my first romance book, titled, Susannah, about a Virginian woman who falls in love with a Union soldier. I was hooked, and it wasn’t long after that I stumbled upon Regency romance and fell in love with the era. The complex societal rules and etiquette make for great conflict and plot lines, but what leaves me all woozy is how a gentleman is taught to respect and protect a lady at all costs.
Why do you write?
I have always been a creative and addicted to books. I used to hide books and a flashlight under my mattress when I was younger so I could sneak read after bedtime. I started coming up with story lines to keep my mind occupied as I pushed my boys on the swings and as they grew older, writing romance became my girlie outlet from all the testosterone in my household.
Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?
Jacob, whose name means trickster, is a third-born son of a duke, who fell in with London’s fast-set and joined the Home Office as an agent of espionage to right a wrong from his youth. Jacob’s name fits his lifestyle as a spy, while Emily’s name has always held a wholesome connotation in my mind. Emily, from Amelia, as means industrious which also suits our heroine because she paints commissioned portraits to pay for her younger brother’s schooling and will strive to any length to protect her family.
What’s the best part of your author’s life?
Writing is my romantic outlet. Living with my husband and three teenage boys means traveling to sporting events, watching action movies, and washing piles of sweaty, dirty laundry. The time I spend creating my characters, their romance, and their relationship is a blessing.
What’s one unusual fact about you?
I’m a closet science fiction reader. While historical Regency romance is my favorite genre, when I’m not reading romance, I’m reading sci-fi. It’s strange to have one foot in the past and one foot in the future, but reading off genre is a bit of a break. After writing historicals for so long, I find myself analyzing the books that I read in my genre to learn instead of just reading for escapism as I do now with science fiction. If you enjoy Christian allegories, my favorite sci-fi book is The Arena by Karen Hancock. Some of my other favorites are the Firebird series by Kathy Tyers, The Diabolic series by S. J. Kincaid (clean but secular series), and for tweens, I read my boys the entire Michael Vey Series by Richard Paul Evans. I have dabbled in writing a dystopian futuristic romance titled Beacon Hill that finaled in ACFW’s Genesis contest. However, I’ve enjoyed writing Regency romance so much that Beacon Hill remains on my computer. Maybe I will put it in print someday, but by then, Beacon Hill might be a contemporary novel and no longer futuristic.
What is your favorite pastime?
Other than writing, I love to paint, which is why it was so much fun to write Redeeming the Rake because Emily is a budding artist. Describing how she sees the world in terms of color, shades, and shapes was a delight. Before I started writing, I taught art at a Christian elementary school. Like Emily, I was also notorious for always having a smudge of paint in places I couldn’t see, like the underside of my chin or the back of my arm (I still don’t know how I got paint there).
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
My Leeward Island Series has six books, starting with The Duke’s Refuge. I loved the idea of exploring different islands with my readers and calling the compilation The Leeward Island Series allowed me to island-hop in various books. Three of the six books are set in Nevis because it’s my favorite island, including The Duke’s Refuge. Nevis boasts of white sand beaches, rich mineral hot springs, rainforests, lush foliage, and a sugar and spice history complete with Caribs, pirates, and a legacy of slavery and colonization. It also helped that the island was under British control during the Regency Era.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently editing the fourth book in the Agents of Espionage Series, titled, Relinquishing the Agent, where a bookish older sister pretends to be her socialite cousin to sneak an invitation to a house party in the Cotswolds, in hopes of meeting an Oxford professor who might have the cure to save her ailing sister’s life. She never anticipates encountering a body snatching ring nor falling for the marquis spy bent on catching them.
Website: https://www.lorridudley.com
Link to book: https://www.wildheartbooks.org/redeeming-the-rake.html
Social media links:
https://www.bookbub.com/books/redeeming-the-rake-agents-of-espionage-book-3-by-lorri-dudley
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063777469647
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