TIMELESS
DECEPTION, my time-travel Regency romance, has been a reader favorite for many
years. I’m often asked what gave me the idea for this novel. Easy! I’ve always
loved time-travel, and I was intrigued by a different type of plot. A
contemporary woman, Alaina Sawyer, somehow finding herself not only being
transported back to the past, but switching places with a Regency “twin” so
that she is now “married” to the man of her dreams. The additional dilemma here
is that the Regency husband, Richard, the Earl of Saybrooke, despises Alaina
because he believes his wife is unfaithful. Ouch! What an unusual predicament!
The
twist to TIMELESS DECEPTION is that Alaina experiences visions before her
time-travel. The reason for this is to allow her to have a brief “heads-up” to
see what she’s going to be getting into. She’ll understand what type of woman
her double was, and also she’ll be “introduced” her to the hero, who will now
be her husband. This creates the interesting conflict of being in love with
someone who absolutely *does not* return the affection. In addition, I wanted
to explain a bit how the heroine could end up across the Atlantic and back in
time without dwelling on the details too much. Alaina is also aware that the
only way she can get back to her own time is to find the mystic woman her
double used. Once that turns out to be a dead end, she knows she’s trapped back
in time.
A TANGLED WEB--Her
identity switched against her will, Alaina Sawyer wakes up in the year 1818 as
the Countess of Saybrooke. Can she convince the man of her dreams that she is
cut from an altogether different cloth than his adulterous wife Alicia?
Richard
Cransworth, the Earl of Saybrooke, must come to grips with his wife’s sudden
descent into virtue. Is her new behavior wishful thinking on his part, or can
it possibly be that she is now his, and his alone?
TIMELESS
DECEPTION was first published by Novel Books, Inc., and is now re-released by
Awe-Struck Publishing (Mundania Press). This unique novel has garnered several
awards including the 2002 PEARL (Paranormal Excellent Award for Romantic
Literature), and Golden Rose Nominee for Best Time Travel.
TIMELESS
DECEPTION has also achieved bestseller status on lists including Fictionwise (#1
for over three months!), Novel Books, Inc., and Awe-Struck. In addition, it has
been awarded 5 star reviews by Sime-Gen and Amazon.com.
Waking up in 1818 as the Countess of Saybrooke,
Alaina must convince her new “husband” that she’s cut from a different cloth
than his unfaithful wife Alicia.
Here’s
a bit of real life trivia for TIMELESS DECEPTION. I have a floor-length, silky
robe that I love. It also has a really long zipper. Alaina wears that robe when
she time-travels, only hers is rose-pink and mine is sky-blue. The robe serves
a double purpose: it’s proof that Alaina isn’t from the nineteenth century
since zippers weren’t invented back then. When Richard grows suspicious of his
wife’s behavior, he questions her maid, Dana, who tells him about the robe. The
follow passage describes what happens when he finds it.
Richard finished his survey of the wardrobe in the
dressing room without finding the object he was looking for: the mysterious
pink robe.
Entering his wife’s bedchamber, he scanned the room
with an eye for possible hiding places. If he could but challenge her with this
robe, she would surely then reveal the truth. Dana’s description of the robe
intrigued him. And he was completely at sea as to what the magical fastening of
the robe might mean.
After a thorough examination of the bedchamber
without results, he sat dejectedly on the bed. Where might she have hidden it?
The cupid statues surrounding the bed seemed to leer suggestively at him,
mocking his current failure. Where the devil could she have cached a blasted
robe?
He ran his hand through his hair. A robe was a bulky
object but perhaps... just perhaps this one was skimpy. Dana had mentioned it
was silky. Perhaps it could be folded upon itself and occupy the smallest
compartment.
In a flash, his gaze rested on the Sheraton writing
table in the middle of the room. Yes, of course. A piece of furniture designed
for secrets! Moving his large hands deftly over its surface, he discovered its
false facade and the lock behind it. Regardless of the damage, he used a knife
to break the mechanism.
With a quick inhalation of breath, he pulled the
drawer open. Inside the small space, a rose-pink fabric reflected back at him.
It had been ruthlessly stuffed within the container.
For several minutes following the discovery, the
large ornamental clock on the fireplace mantle ticked away. Richard sat,
inanely opening and closing the wonder robe. As he pushed the tab upward, tiny
teeth interlocked together. Just as unbelievably, when he pulled the tab down,
they were pulled away.
Nowhere in England, or indeed anyplace in the world
that he was aware of, could boast of such a fastener, so finely and
meticulously made.
The mystery grew deeper and deeper.
I
hope you enjoy Alaina and Richard’s story, and how, against impossible odds,
she manages to restores happiness Richard’s family. Remember, when faced with
an overwhelming situation, you can see it as a predicament, or an opportunity.
As Alaina quotes from Ann Landers: “When life hands you a lemon, make
lemonade.”
Happy
reading,
Susanne
Marie Knight
Read
outside the box: award-winning Romance Writing With A Twist!
