Frequently Asked Questions

Thanks for visiting my FAQ page.  Below is a list of the questions readers have been most curious about over the years, but I'm always on the lookout for new topics.  If your question isn't answered here, just click on the link at the bottom of the page and ask.  Who knows?  Maybe your burning question is tomorrow's next FAQ.

Are your books a series? 

I hope my historical novels are more about community than chronology.  More or less by accident, I have built a world of characters who know one another, and are appropriate to the time and place in which they live—so yes, they bump into one another from time to time!  Many of them reappear throughout the dozen or so works Pocket has released—some quite frequently.  George Kemble, for example, made his debut in my first book, My False Heart, and has reappeared in half the others. 

I have two defined “trilogies,” including the One-Two-Three books.  All three novels were centered around the same theme—the redemption of a man through the love of a child.  All three heroes were introduced to readers in the same book—The Devil to Pay—and all three plots began with a single precipitating incident—a visit to a fortune teller.  After that came the Never trilogy, about the infamous Neville family.  That trilogy has strung along somewhat, too, in Tempted All Night and Wicked All Day.

 Isn't it true you're now writing Victorian historicals?

It might be more correct to say I have edged myself into the Victorian era. My newest trilogy—about the gentlemen of London's most secret society, the Fraternitas Aureae Crucis—is set in the late 1840's. That said, Tempted All Night and Wicked All Day were set in the 1830's so I don't think readers will find it a big change.

In what order should I read your books?

I think you should read the book that most appeals to you, and see if you like it.  Not all authors appeal to all readers.  Otherwise, click here for the downloadable book list, and read them in that order, top to bottom, inserting the Tea for Two novella between Virtue and Gentleman, also, the School For Heiresses kicks off the Never Trilogy. If you would rather just see a few titles which linked by character or family, click here. 

Are you ever going to write a book about (fill in the character of your choice)?

I get this question about almost every secondary character I’ve ever written—and I love that. The favorite contenders seem to be Zoë Armstrong, Lord Robert Rowland and his brother Lord Mercer. I'm pleased to say readers will be getting their story in Wicked All Day which will be released in late September of 2009. I hope that I have a chance to write about all my secondary characters, but the reality is, I might die of old age before I get all of them finished . . .

What about George Kemble?  Will we ever get his story?  Is he gay?

I couldn’t say.  Kemble is a very private man.  I think I told as much of his story as he would wish in his sister Sidonie’s book, The Devil to Pay. 

Do you do all your research on-site?

I try!  For the most part, I only set books in places I have seen firsthand, and yes, as much as possible, I do my research there.  I have a terrible travel-bug, and writing helps pick up the tab for my addiction.

Are you ever going to write another contemporary?

Never say never.  I really enjoyed the one contemporary novella I wrote.  Still, my first love is historicals, and I don’t anticipate that will ever change. 

Have another question for Liz?  Click here to send an email!