relzreviewz.com Character Spotlight: Josi S. Kilpack’s Sabrina & Harry

Character Spotlight: Josi S. Kilpack’s Sabrina & Harry

Rakes and Roses is my first book by Josi S. Kilpack, but it won’t be my last! It is the third standalone Mayfield Family Romance, so I’m excited to read the other Mayfield stories. A wonderful Regency romance with a twist – the heroine is a woman of great strength and integrity, and the hero is the one in need of rescuing. It’s a terrific tale that fans of Mimi Matthews, Julie Klassen, and Jane Austen will love, and one I highly recommend. I’m delighted Josi is sharing an insight into Lady Sabrina and Harry Stillman in today’s character spotlight. This spotlight is part of the blog tour for Rakes and Roses, so be sure to visit all the stops (listed below) for reviews, interviews, excerpts and more.

Enjoy meeting Sabrina and Harry…

A standalone novel in the Mayfield Family series with an unusual premise and an uplifting ending.

Lady Sabrina endured an abusive marriage, a miscarriage, and early widowhood to emerge as a smart, successful, confident woman who found a way to make her mark in a man’s world. She has friends and purpose, but cannot hide from the emptiness she feels when the parties are over and the friends have gone home to families she will never have.

Harry Stillman may be charming and handsome, but he’s a gambler and a rake who has made a mockery of his privileges. He turns to the mysterious Lord Damion for financial relief from his debts, but still ends up beaten nearly senseless by thugs and left in an alley.

When Lady Sabrina comes upon Harry after the attack, she remembers the kindness Harry once showed to her six years ago and brings him to her estate to heal. Though their relationship begins on rocky footing, it soon mellows into friendship, then trust. But Lady Sabrina needs to keep Harry at a distance, even if he is becoming the kind of man worthy of her heart. After all, she is keeping a secret that, if exposed, could destroy everything she’s so carefully built.

Harry & Sabrina

Harry…

Physical Stats

Height: 6’

Hair colour & style: Blond hair, grown out, perfectly unkempt 🙂

Eye colour: Deep blue

Dress sense: Not the height of fashion but knows what works and dresses to get the right attention. Very confident and comfortable.

Resembles…

Strengths

Smart, confident, knows people and how to get what he wants.

Vulnerabilities

Had a difficult childhood and knows he’s hiding from those scars through the vices he surrounds himself with. Though he’s always surrounded by people and knows how to get attention, he doesn’t trust easily and is not connected to anyone in his life. When his circumstances strip away his ability to distract himself, he’s left with a frank view of himself that’s very uncomfortable.

Passions

He really liked poetry:)

What book would he recommend?

Anything by John Donne

Your inspiration for the character

I’ve never written a playboy character before, and chose that archetype because I wanted to show what can happen when someone uses the distraction of vice to hide from their own history and insecurities. Harry is good at it, he’s been running for a long time but ends up having to face the truth only to find that he’s much stronger than he thinks he is. I wanted someone who was easy on the eyes, very confident of himself, but also self aware enough to recognize the chance to grow and be better.

Sabrina

Physical Stats

Height: 5’6”

Hair colour & style: Dark brown, thick, usually elaborately styled.

Eye colour: Brown

Dress sense: She is always dressed to perfection, and wears shades of pink and red at society events that match the rose-coloured lip stain she always wears. She is fastidious about her appearance because it is an important part of the image she wants the world to see.

Resembles…

Can’t live without…

Her rose-colored lip stain.

Strengths

Independent, generous, driven

Vulnerabilities

As the illegitimate daughter of a duke, she has always questioned where she fits. Having finally gained independence that very few women ever know, she is terrified of losing it. She has created a persona of confidence and grace, but is lonely and unfulfilled despite all the efforts she’s made to the contrary.

Passions

Helping others, both publicly and privately. Remembering where she came from so that she doesn’t forget her place.

What book would she recommend?

Something with a strong heroine.

Your inspiration for the character

I needed a counterpart for Harry, which meant they had to be strong, but also had to be broken enough to recognize that he’s not all bad, despite the bad choices he’s made. I wanted a sort of Aubrey Hepburn look, aloof but confident, that would also contrast with his lighter colouring to better contrast how different they were.

Background to the story

This is the third book in a series and though the books don’t build on one another and each story functions as a stand-alone, there is still a need to differentiate each story from the others in the series. I had written character types that were more familiar to me in the other books, which required me to dig for something new in this one. Enter, Harry, the playboy who thinks he’s got the world by the tail.
It was only after determining who Harry would be that I had to find the right partner for him. It couldn’t be someone he could dominate and control, which had me thinking about the juxtaposition of having a woman be in control. Sabrina is independent and powerful thanks to inheriting everything when her husband died without an heir. Very few women in the Regency time period ever had that kind of independence and she is determined never to give it up again.

These two characters coming together made the story—what they each want, what they each fear, what they each are running from, and how they help each other on their journeys.

Thank you so much, Josi!

Josi S. Kilpack is the bestselling author of several Proper Romance and Proper Romance Historical series and a Cozy Culinary Mystery series. Her books, A Heart Revealed and Lord Fenton’s Folly; were Publishers Weekly Best Romance Books of the Year. She and her husband, Lee, are the parents of four children.

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Bestselling author Josi S. Kilpack tours the blogosphere May 4 through May 22, 2020 to share her third novel in the Mayfield Family series, Rakes and Roses. Forty popular book bloggers specializing in historical romance, inspirational fiction, and Austenesque fiction will feature guest blogs, interviews, exclusive excerpts, and book reviews of this acclaimed Regency romance.

RAKES AND ROSES BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

May 04 My Jane Austen Book Club (Guest Blog)

May 04 Historical Fiction with Spirit (Review)

May 04 Austenprose—A Jane Austen Blog (Review)

May 04 All About Romance (Guest Blog)

May 05 Timeless Novels (Review)

May 05 Literary Time Out (Review)

May 06 For Where Your Treasure Is (Review)

May 06 Courtney Reads Romance (Review)

May 07 Fire and Ice (Excerpt)

May 07 Gwendalyn’s Books (Review)

May 08 History Lizzie (Review)