I had the pleasure of featuring Laura Frantz a week or so ago, with a fun Fast Favourites feature well worthy checking out if you haven’t already done so. For some people, however, that simply wasn’t enough of lovely Laura for them! By popular demand (read Rachel McMillan made a public plea on FB for a character spotlight on the very noble Noble Rynallt!), Laura graciously has given us more of her time with an insight into her latest hero, a patriot and gentleman who has readers swooning everywhere! Laura’s heroes are always memorable but Noble seems to have a special hold on our hearts. If you want to know why, read my review of this stellar novel then get thee to a bookstore and purchase the gorgeous The Lacemaker without further delay!
*****
Noble Rynallt
Physical Stats
Height
Taller than George Washington’s bodyguards were allowed to be – a disqualifying 6 feet 2 inches
Hair colour & style
Coal black and 18th-century longish, past the shoulder, worn back with a black silk ribbon tie giving him the look of a pirate
Eye colour
Silvery blue
Dress sense
Always a gentleman
Resembles…
I confess to not liking Hollywood (though I love anything BBC) so this is tricky for me. But as you’ll see from the images I unearthed, the inspiration was partly from Ryan Eggold who played Dr. Joseph Warren, an actual historical figure, in Sons of Liberty. The lovely Emily Barrington who played Margaret Kemble Gage is a dead ringer for Lady Elisabeth in The Lacemaker. I’d love to hear any other ideas though from those who read the book and had a different image in mind!
Can’t live without…
Rachel McMillan Pulitzer Prize winning type review!
Strengths
Noble is as true as his name, decisive, intelligent, a man of thought and action – and romantic to the core!
Vulnerabilities
He detests war but must become a soldier, among other things…
Passions
Liberty, both the woman and the concept 😊
What book or movie would he recommend?
The BBC’s North & South
Your inspiration for the character
Noble is a mix of America’s Founding Fathers – George Washington’s courage, Patrick Henry’s conviction, and George Rogers Clark’s derring-do!
Background to the story
Believe it or not, it all began with Felicity, an American Girl doll. I went on a little adventure a few years ago to the Seattle store and lo and behold, they had nary a one as she has been retired, so to speak. So, my two very thoughtful sons both found her for me on Amazon and Craigslist and I ended up with two Felicity’s in excellent shape and in her original garments. I gave one to a reading friend in Virginia whose little girl is named Liberty! And I kept one. Since Felicity’s favorite place is Colonial Williamsburg that started me thinking…
When colonial Williamsburg explodes like a powder keg on the eve of the American Revolution, Lady Elisabeth “Liberty” Lawson is abandoned by her fiancé and suspected of being a spy for the hated British. No one comes to her aid save the Patriot Noble Rynallt, a man with formidable enemies of his own. Liberty is left with a terrible choice. Will the Virginia belle turned lacemaker side with the radical revolutionaries, or stay true to her English roots? And at what cost?
Historical romance favorite Laura Frantz is back with a suspenseful story of love, betrayal, and new beginnings. With her meticulous eye for detail and her knack for creating living, breathing characters, Frantz continues to enchant historical fiction readers who long to feel they are a part of the story.
Thank you, dear Laura, for giving more of your time to do a second feature here at Relz Reviewz to delight your readers…especially one Rachel McMillan!
Relz Reviewz Extras
All Things Frantz @ Relz Reviewz
Visit Laura’s website and blog
Buy at Amazon: The Lacemaker or Koorong
January 30, 2018 at 1:28 am
OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS!
this just made my monday morning!
Thank you for taking the time, both of you, to help us delve a little further into the realm of lovely Noble! He was such an influential character on my reading path this year and I cannot help but keep thinking about him!!!!!! I am so happy that new readers are going to be lured to this amazing book by this glimpse into his formation 🙂
January 30, 2018 at 3:47 am
Rachel, I cannot underestimate the delight you’ve brought with your first class review! I am still getting comments about it from other reading friends & authors. A HUGE blessing to start the morning with you and Rel here. Truly, joy cometh in the morning!
January 30, 2018 at 1:48 am
One can never have too much Noble 😍 Thank you, Laura and Del for kicking off my day with a satisfied swoon!
January 30, 2018 at 1:50 am
Rel, I apologize for my autocorrect. New phone is still in training 😒
January 30, 2018 at 3:48 am
Satisfied swoon, indeed! Love that one can never have too much Noble, too :). Can’t tell you how blessed I am by your heart for this book. I miss those characters even now! Oddly, enough I’m always 3 books ahead of reading friends. So it’s always, always good to return to the master of Ty Mawr and Ty Bryn!
January 30, 2018 at 4:54 am
I love reading behind-the-scenes .. . . .especially for characters as engaging as Noble and Liberty. We have a Felicity doll in our house . . she was the first of four AGD that my daughter enjoyed playing with.
Great stories like this one live on!
January 30, 2018 at 6:20 am
Rebecca, So love your comments! Glad to know a Felicity resides in your appreciative household :). I adore mine and she is front and center on my dresser! Guess you’re never too old for dolls and I’m proof. So appreciate your heart for this story. Thank you!
January 30, 2018 at 5:45 am
Now if we could just get a well-done movie version, we could watch Noble every weekend.
January 30, 2018 at 6:22 am
Oh Katherine, What a delightfully swoony comment! No kidding. So far on my FB author page we have Richard Armitage vying for the lead role with Ryan Eggold :). Thanks so much for stopping here!
January 30, 2018 at 7:12 am
Felicity still holds a special place in both our hearts! We will never forget your generosity.
Love
Cindy
January 30, 2018 at 11:21 am
Oh, there you are and I feel so blessed, Cindy! Now your Miss L is getting all grown up 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping here. I love Felicity and you and our connection with this doll and this story!
January 30, 2018 at 8:31 am
Looks like I’m going to have some swooning ahead of me when I get a chance to read this book! It sounds so delicious, and Noble and Liberty sound so fascinating!
Thanks, Rel and Laura for the fun post.
January 30, 2018 at 11:22 am
Winnie, I’m glad you saw this ahead of reading as I do think it adds to the fun and anticipation! Thank you for your heart for my books. I hope this story is a favorite when you meet these characters!
January 30, 2018 at 5:16 pm
What a delight to learn more about Noble and Liberty and the story’s genesis. Thanks, Rel, for giving Laura’s story more time! I am doubly blessed.
January 31, 2018 at 1:12 am
Mary Kay, Thank you for stopping here! I’m going to use your word and call TL’s conception serendipitous 🙂 Thank you for welcoming this story of my heart!
January 31, 2018 at 9:22 am
That is so neat! Felicity is my daughter’s favorite doll. We have her clothes, books, paper dolls, cookbook, art studio, etc. (If only they were not so expensive!)
January 31, 2018 at 2:16 pm
Linda, I so agree! The expense. Sigh. I heard American Girl is going to bring Felicity out of retirement only I’m not sure what that means!
January 31, 2018 at 2:26 pm
It just means she will be back in the stores and the catalog for sale again, probably with new clothes and accessories. I don’t know why they do that. You would think they would have room for all of them.
February 4, 2018 at 11:58 am
Linda, Thanks for letting me know. You’re so right about having room for all of them. I would guess Felicity would have lasting popularity. I’d love to have the chance to expand her wardrobe! Guess one is never too old for dolls. Saving for my grandgirl one day, or so I hope:)
January 31, 2018 at 2:23 pm
I love this novel! ❤ I love Laura’s writing, the sweet vulnerability. She slays my heart every time.
February 4, 2018 at 11:59 am
Oh, Shelli, I’ll take that sweet vulnerability. What a lovely thing to say! Thank you, thank you for being here! <3
March 8, 2018 at 10:06 am
Laura Frantz is and always will be my favorite Author! She is Kind and courageous and the dearest friend I have ever had- Knowing and yet not Knowing is one of my sweetest gifts! I have read every book but she captured my heart with Courting Morrow Little! The more you love her the harder it is to wait for her next Creation and now I am even decorating with her books especially The Lacemaker! It was also so wonderful how her book was so overlapping with her good friend and great Author Jocelyn Green’s A Rest Assured