Guest Post with author K. Reed

Any topic I want? Cool. Let’s talk Regency.

The Regency era has been romanticized. How could it not be with their need for grand balls and beautiful gowns all in order to make the proper match? Chaperones closely observed their charges as they walked along the promenade in their best day gowns. Curricle rides and handsome rakes sped through small hamlets. It was where society ruled, and rules ruled society.

But what happens when the world you know changes dramatically?

I want to thank Billy for hosting me today and allowing me to introduce you to the world I created in Dark Inheritance: Fallen Empire.

Dark Inheritance inhabits a world where funeral pyres dot the countryside and a plague has decimated the populace. Those who are left suffer riots, starvation, and highwaymen in order to survive. As you can probably tell, Dark Inheritance is an alternate history Regency romance.
Grayson, Baron Harwich, has lost his family but has managed to retain a semblance of order on his estate and the village he’s absorbed into it. The England he once knew has changed—it’s become feral. To guard against it, he’s forced to build a barricade around his land and assign sentries to protect his home soil. An action he never envisioned he’d need to take against Englishmen.

Now he’s forced to use his military knowledge and skill to not only survive the plague ravaging his country, but the enemies who seek to take advantage. His one solace is the woman he found in the wreckage of a burned manor house. But can either trust each other in the world they’ve found themselves in?

This world was a lot of fun to create and destroy. I used plague and riots, the creepiness of being alone and being surrounded by the unknown. While it’s not like any other world I’ve read about, it still has a lot of similarities to other alternate history worlds. I tried to take the logical steps. However, the decisions I made were what drove the characters in one direction or another.

For instance, I chose to create riots after the plague rather than bringing people together. Human nature can usually go in either direction.

If there was one era of time you could alter, what would it be?

The author will award nine Post-apocalypse survival baskets (which include tea, a fan, a shawl, a bracelet and more -- Plus ONE Grand Prize basket will include an iPod Touch) to randomly drawn commenters during the tour and one to the host with the most comments (excluding hers and the host's) - US/Canada only. 

The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/04/virtual-book-tour-dark-inheritance.html

About the Author:

Romance author with an historical twist.
 
Too many post-apocalyptic stories, movies, and what-ifs crowded her head, and K Reed decided to do something about it. So she plotted one out, decided an historical post-apocalyptic romance was the way to go, and wrote that one instead.
 
A lover of all things historical, of strong heroes with equally strong heroines, and of sexy pirates, she’s going to explore the post-apocalyptic world of plague-ridden 1804 and the gritty criminal element of Victorian England.
 
Luckily she has an understanding family, supportive friends, and a day job that offers her the flexibility she needs to plot, plan, and write. Sure, one day she’d like to travel the country in search of fantastic storylines and great locale pictures, but for now she’ll stick to the east coast and the internet.