The Sinful Scot by Maddison Michaels was a delicious historical romp, with the perfect blend of adventure, mystery, and romance. Set in Scotland in the 1800s, we start with the very unfortunate Duchess Constance Campbell, whose angry and abusive husband is thoroughly unlikeable. Connie finds herself in hot water when she wakes up one morning covered in blood with no memory of the night before. She embarks on a bold quest to clear her name instead of facing the gallows. A strong, gutsy character, Connie leads the action, with her childhood sweetheart Dr Alec McGuiness making a swoon-worthy Scottish hero. The Sinful Scot was released late January by Entangled Publishing, and I can highly recommend it if you’re in the mood for a serve of hot history with a side serve of mystery. A police prosecutor by day and romance author by night, Maddison Michaels describes herself as a coffee addict, keen baker and bike rider. She’s never short of hobbies, and is learning to play the piano and lockpicking (for research of course!). Her first novel the Devilish Duke won a 2019 RuBY historical fiction award with Romance Writers Australia, her Saints and Scoundrels series is a regular on the Amazon best sellers list, and there’s great news for her fans, with Entangled Publishing recently signing Maddison for another four ‘sexy history with a dash of mystery’ novels.
Short and sweet questions
Current book on your bedside table: Save the Cat! Writes a novel.
Where do you do most of your writing? In my writing room at home
Favourite Australian holiday destination: QLD – anywhere near the beach!!
What’s your preferred drop? Coffee
Guilty pleasure? Watching TV – I so rarely get a chance to, that when I do I feel extremely guilty!!
Pet peeve: Drivers driving in the overtaking lane, but not doing the speed limit!!
Favourite fictional couple and why? Oooh that’s a tough one!! I think it would have to be Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice – they just belong together, but it takes them a while to realize it!!
If you could pack two non-essential items for a deserted tropical island, what would they be? My laptop and a solar powered generator (so I can keep it charged all the time)!
Name an emerging author to keep an eye out for: Kaneana May!
Established authors who inspire you? Jayne Ann Krentz – Her writing as Amanda Quick inspired me to be a writer! She’s been so wonderful to me since I met her in Sydney in 2017, and we stay in touch to this day.
Best thing about being a writer? I can create a world and characters all from my own imagination! And writing historical romance allows me to time travel back to the Victorian era (I wish they’d hurry up and invent time travel, lol)!
Worst thing about being a writer? Juggling writing and deadlines, with family, work and relax time!
Do you prefer music, podcasts or silence when writing? At the start of plotting out my books, I will always spend a few hours selecting songs to add to a new playlist for that specific book. Then when I plot out the book I listen to that playlist, and then when I write the book I play the playlist and I’ve trained my brain to re-enter the world of my characters and story pretty quickly. So yep, I listen to the playlist while I write.
Favourite perfume: OMG I go gaga over my hubby’s aftershave – ‘Body Kouros’, and for me I love to wear Coco Chanel.
TV/film crush: Henry Cavill… he’s rather delish!!
The best non-writing related prize I won was… I’m still waiting on that one – hope it will be the powerball, lol!
Top three tips for aspiring authors? Persistence, persistence, persistence. Oh and get the book written – that always helps!
What theme do you hope shines through in your writing? That love is always the most important thing!
Proudest author moment? Winning the 2019 RUBY for best historical romance for my debut The Devilish Duke!
If anyone gives me flack for writing in the romance genre, I tell them… Love is universal to everyone!
My favourite thing about writing romance is…Watching the love bloom between the main characters.
Three fun facts about Maddison Michaels:
I’m addicted to coffee (it’s my liquid gold of a morning)
I love to bake
I absolutely adore the beach but because I saw Jaws when I was 4 years old I do NOT go into the water…!
Follow Maddison online: Website: http://maddisonmichaels.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaddisonMichaelsAuthor/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/mmichaelsauthor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maddisonmichaelsauthor/