I'll admit I'm one more writer who's dipped back into the old myths for inspiration.Īnne: Your books are set in Revolutionary and Napoleonic France and Regency England. And that gave me one of the central actions of the story. Then one day I came across a little known aspect of Paris and it sent me thinking about the labyrinth of the Minotaur and Orpheus following Eurydice into Hades and. I guess you'd say, I'd see Paris in mythic or folkstory terms. I'd be reading along in the history of the city of Paris and I'd 'see' it in. So when I was writing her, I thought that way too. Maggie thinks in the imagery of folklore and classical myth. It's not a part of the story, but it's part of what she IS. She'd go around the countryside of Normandy, visiting peasant cottages, collecting old folk tales and writing them down, sending them off to scholars around Europe. They didn't actually use that word yet, but that's what she was. Jo: In my next book - Forbidden Rose - the protagonist, Maggie, is a folklorist. Did anything in particular spark a story for you? My head is always full of story possibilities, but usually there's something - an image, a piece of music, a snatch of conversation, something I've read when I think, Yes! That's a story. I'm always interested in how a vague idea crystallizes into a story. The third book in the series, THE FORBIDDEN ROSE, comes out in June, and I, for one, can't wait.

As well as rave reviews, Joanna's books have garnered a swag of awards, including the prestigious RITA for MY LORD and SPYMASTER. She's a wordsmith as well as a storyteller, and her research is excellent. Joanna writes big, meaty, page-turning, action-filled, historical romances.

Since then her reputation and sales have grown through the best kind of publicity - word of mouth. Joanna burst onto the historical romance scene in 2008, first with THE SPYMASTER'S LADY, followed by MY LORD AND SPYMASTER. Anne here, with a very special guest, Joanna Bourne.

The forbidden rose by joanna bourne