Let Them Read Books: Blog Tour Q&A with Mimi Matthews, Author of Gentleman Jim

Please join me in welcoming bestselling author Mimi Matthews to Let Them Read Books! Mimi is touring the blogosphere with her new release, Gentleman Jim, and I recently had the chance to ask her some questions about writing this tale of romance and revenge!

She Couldn't Forget...

Wealthy squire's daughter Margaret Honeywell was always meant to marry her neighbor, Frederick Burton-Smythe, but it's bastard-born Nicholas Seaton who has her heart. Raised alongside her on her father's estate, Nick is the rumored son of notorious highwayman Gentleman Jim. When Fred frames him for theft, Nick escapes into the night, vowing to find his legendary sire. But Nick never returns. A decade later, he's long been presumed dead.

He Wouldn't Forgive...

After years spent on the continent, John Beresford, Viscount St. Clare has finally come home to England. Tall, blond, and dangerous, he's on a mission to restore his family's honor. If he can mete out a bit of revenge along the way, so much the better. But he hasn't reckoned for Maggie Honeywell. She's bold and beautiful--and entirely convinced he's someone else.

As danger closes in, St. Clare is torn between love and vengeance. Will he sacrifice one to gain other? Or, with a little daring, will he find a way to have them both?

Advance Praise:

"Tartly elegant. . . A vigorous, sparkling, and entertaining love story with plenty of Austen-ite wit."— Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Matthews ups the ante with a wildly suspenseful romance..."— Library Journal, starred review

"Equally passionate and powerful...Mimi Matthews proves once again that she is a master of historical fiction in Gentleman Jim."— Readers' Favorite

"Rollicking and romantic, passionate and intriguing...Regency romance does not get any better than Gentleman Jim."— Relz Reviewz

Hi Mimi! Thanks so much for visiting Let Them Read Books!

What inspired you to write Gentleman Jim?

I’m a huge fan of Alexandre Dumas’s 1844 novel The Count of Monte Cristo, and of Henry Fielding’s 1749 novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. I love the idea of hidden identities, and of justice deferred—but not denied.

Did your characters pop into your head fully formed or did they take shape as you wrote?

Maggie and Nicholas were pretty well formed in my mind when I started the story. Of course, they developed and changed as I wrote. Their growth from passionate reckless teens into (slightly) less reckless adults was part of their journey.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing this story?

I wrote the first few chapters of Gentleman Jim several years ago. I’ve grown as a writer since then, so it was a challenge to revise those early chapters and then write the remaining 70% of the story from scratch without losing the spark of inspiration I’d had in the beginning.

Do you have a favorite scene in the book?

Yes! It’s the tavern brawl.

What do you hope readers take away from Gentleman Jim?

I simply hope readers enjoy it, and that it can offer some escape for them during these perilous times. There are other themes, of course, but escapism really is the main point of this one

What are you working on now?

I’m working on my novel The Siren of Sussex, the first book in a new Victorian romance series I’m writing for Berkley/Penguin Random House. It’s about a bold, bluestocking equestrienne and the talented half-Indian tailor she hires to design her daring riding habits. The story features some of the characters from my Parish Orphans of Devon series.

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews writes both historical nonfiction and award-winning proper Victorian romances. Her novels have received starred reviews in Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus, and her articles have been featured on the Victorian Web, the Journal of Victorian Culture, and in syndication at BUST Magazine. In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes a retired Andalusian dressage horse, a Sheltie, and two Siamese cats. Her next romance, The Siren of Sussex, will be out in 2022 from Berkley/Penguin Random House.

GOODREADS

Gentleman Jim is on a blog tour!

Join the virtual blog tour of GENTLEMAN JIM; A TALE OF ROMANCE AND REVENGE, Mimi Matthews’s highly acclaimed new historical romance novel, November 9 through December 6, 2020. Forty-five popular blogs specializing in historical fiction, historical romance, and Austenesque fiction will join in the celebration of its release with exclusive excerpts, interviews, spotlights, or reviews of this new Regency-era novel set in Somerset, England.

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE:

Nov 09 Relz Reviewz (Character Spotlight)

Nov 09 Life of Literature (Review)

Nov 09 Austenprose—A Jane Austen Blog (Review)

Nov 10 Savvy Verse and Wit (Interview)

Nov 10 Greenish Bookshelf (Review)

Nov 11 Library of Clean Reads (Review)

Nov 11 Silver Petticoat Reviews (Excerpt)

Nov 12 Bookworm Lisa (Review)

Nov 12 Heidi Reads (Review)

Nov 13 Lu's Reviews (Review)

Nov 14 The Green Mockingbird (Review)