Inspired Minds Want to Know….
by Meredith Allard
The inspiration behind the three books of the Loving Husband Trilogy happened by accident, quite frankly. One of my students had given me Twilight to read, though I had no intention of reading it since I wasn’t into vampires at the time. Silly me. I did read it, and I enjoyed it enough to begin seeking out other vampire novels. I was opened up to the world of paranormal romance and urban fantasy, and for the first time, I saw vampires as romantic, even sexy. As I filled myself up on vampire stories, I started seeing these visions of a vampire so in love with his long-dead wife he couldn’t move on. At first, I put the idea aside as silly. I don’t write vampire books, I told myself, and I went about my life. But the vision of this vampire and his wife wouldn’t go away. Finally, I decided to see what was going on with this preternatural hottie named James.
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What drew me to write about James is his devotion. He’s been alive for 349 years at the beginning of the first book, Her Dear & Loving Husband, and his wife died 319 years ago. Even after all this time, she’s always on his mind. No other woman will do for him. Then I began to wonder…could he ever fall in love again? If so, who would she be? Daydreaming is a common past time for fiction writers, and I began daydreaming about James finding love again. As he takes his first look at her he realizes she looks just like the wife he’s been mourning for over three centuries. Of course, he feels connected to her right away—it’s like having his Elizabeth home again. Then I began to wonder what it would be like to be a vampire living in our world today. With social media and smart phones, I think it would be hard to hide, but hide a vampire must unless he wants to unleash hysteria. James knows all too well what happens in a society when people are confronted with things they don’t understand. I decided that James must stay hidden in order to live among humans.
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What else served as inspiration for this story? The setting. At first I thought this was going to be a straightforward novel set in the present day. When I decided to set the story in Salem, Massachusetts, the history lover in me took over and I knew I’d have to incorporate the Salem Witch Trials somehow. As I wondered how to fit in the history, I realized that James was in Salem during the witch hunts and he suffered terribly because of them. I enjoyed doing the historical research. The Salem Witch Trials are a frightening look into human nature. To this day, we don’t know why those girls accused innocent people of witchcraft. We only know that those accusations resulted in hysteria and madness.
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What kept me fascinated with James and Sarah is the budding romance between them. Focusing on the softer side of this vampire, the loving, tender, devoted side, makes James a different kind of romantic hero. Before I started reading vampire stories, I never would have expected to write a vampire romance. I’m glad I opened myself up to this new genre, though, because sharing James and Sarah’s story through The Loving Husband Trilogy has been one of my great joys.
Meredith Allard’s beloved bestselling paranormal/historical Loving Husband Trilogy is now available together for the first time, with bonus material about the series. The collection includes the full texts of Her Dear & Loving Husband, Her Loving Husband’s Curse, and Her Loving Husband’s Return, plus a Q&A with Meredith Allard, series inspirations, and discussion questions. The Loving Husband Trilogy Box Set will please the most devoted James and Sarah Wentworth fans as well as fans new to the series.
Book One:
Her Dear & Loving HusbandJames Wentworth has a secret. He lives quietly in Salem, Massachusetts, making few ties with anyone. One night his private world is turned upside down when he meets Sarah Alexander, a dead ringer for his wife, Elizabeth. Though it has been years since Elizabeth's death, James cannot move on.
Sarah also has a secret. She is haunted by nightmares about the Salem Witch Trials, and every night she is awakened by visions of hangings, being arrested, and dying in jail. Despite the obstacles of their secrets, James and Sarah fall in love. As James comes to terms with his feelings for Sarah, he must dodge accusations from a reporter desperate to prove that James is not who, or what, he seems to be. Soon James and Sarah piece their stories together and discover a mystery that may bind them in ways they never imagined. Do vampires and witches live in Salem? Will James make the ultimate sacrifice to protect Sarah and prevent a new hunt from bringing hysteria to Salem again?
Book Two:
Her Loving Husband’s CurseHow far will you go to protect the one you love?
Finally, after many long and lonely years, vampire James Wentworth's life is falling into place. Together with his wife, Sarah, the only woman he has ever loved, he has found the meaning behind her nightmares about the Salem Witch Trials, and now they are rebuilding the life they began together so long ago.
But the past is never far behind for the Wentworths. While Sarah is haunted by new visions, now about the baby she carried over three hundred years before, James is confronted with painful memories from his time with the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears. Through it all, the persistent reporter Kenneth Hempel reappears, still determined to prove that the undead walk the earth. If Hempel succeeds in his quest, James and Sarah will suffer. Will the curse of the vampire prevent James and Sarah from living their happily ever after?
Book Three:
Her Loving Husband’s ReturnWhat would you do to return to the only one you have ever loved?
Vampire James Wentworth’s secret is no longer a secret, and now he and his beloved wife, Sarah, have been separated. While suffering his own internment, James is reminded of his time with Japanese-Americans in the Manzanar Relocation Camp during World War II, and he cannot allow the past to repeat itself. With the help of his friends—Chandresh, Jocelyn, Timothy, even the irreverent Geoffrey—James learns what it means to return, and he is determined to return to his Sarah no matter the challenges—or the consequences. In the end, it may be up to Olivia, the most powerful of witches, to grant James’s most fervent wish. Will James and Sarah be reunited once and for all despite the madness surrounding them?
Great News!
The Loving Husband Trilogy Box Set
is on sale for only $2.99!
If you would rather purchase each book separately, here are the Amazon Links for those.
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About Meredith Allard
Meredith Allard is the author of the best-selling novels The Loving Husband Trilogy, Victory Garden, Woman of Stones, and My Brother’s Battle (Copperfield Press). She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from California State University, Northridge. She has taught writing to students aged ten to sixty, and she has taught creative writing and writing historical fiction seminars at Learning Tree University, UNLV, and the Las Vegas Writers Conference. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Tour Giveaway
5 digital copies of
The Loving Husband Trilogy box set!
Tour Schedule
July 7 Guest blog
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July 7 Spotlight
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July 8 Interview
Paranormal Romance Fans for Life
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July 9 Guest blog (review later)
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July 10 Spotlight
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July 14 Spotlight
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July 16 Interview
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July 18 Spotlight
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July 21 Spotlight
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July 21 Review
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