Behind
the Scenes: A Most Intriguing Temptation
By
Kelli A. Wilkins
This
“Behind the Scenes” blog is part of a series examining my romance novels. In
each blog, I’ll talk about why I wrote the book, share my thoughts on the plot
and/or characters, and reveal what I loved most (or least) about writing the
book. Warning: Blogs may contain spoilers.
A
Most Intriguing Temptation is the sequel to A Most Unusual Princess
and is Book Two of the Royal Desires series.
I never intended on writing a series, but readers loved the characters from A
Most Unusual Princess so much (and so did I) that I wanted to continue
the adventures of Dalton and Elara. A
Most Intriguing Temptation is a more serious story than A
Most Unusual Princess and focuses on the themes of trust,
loyalty, identity, and honesty.
The book introduces Elara’s equally headstrong and spoiled
brother, Prince Allan. He is an irresponsible womanizer who drinks too much and
lives for having fun. To him, business is boring, and he doesn’t take his royal
duties seriously. His father (King Maxwell) sends him to meet with Emperor
Salizar on business. To ensure the negotiations go smoothly, Maxwell insists Dalton
accompany Allan.
When Elara hears that Dalton is going to the emperor’s
notorious pleasure palace, she devises a plan to test his fidelity. This sets
the stage for the main drama of the book.
Elara sneaks into the palace and impersonates a kharim woman. She calls herself Oonish
and begins her deception. She constantly tempts and teases Dalton (in the bath,
in the bedroom, and even at dinner). To Dalton, Oonish is nothing but an
annoying, dimwitted distraction. Although he admits she’s lovely and appealing,
he pushes her away and insists he’ll remain loyal to the wife he loves.
Prince Allan learns about Elara’s plan and warns her
that she is playing with fire. Trying to seduce Dalton isn’t fair, and the
whole scheme could backfire on her. Spoiler
Alert: Allan is right of course, and Dalton does “cheat” with Oonish—but
there’s one catch—he knew Oonish was Elara.
Elara is devastated that Dalton cheated on her—until
Dalton confesses he knew it was her all along. That’s when the trouble really
starts for the couple. Dalton is furious that Elara snuck into the palace. It’s
not safe for any woman, and Emperor Salizar is a madman who despises King Maxwell
and Elara. If she is caught in the palace, she will be in real danger. In
addition, Dalton feels betrayed because Elara deliberately set him up and doesn’t
trust him.
It’s a dark moment for this loving couple, and these
events truly test their relationship. Elara is heartbroken and ashamed of herself.
She let her jealousy get the better of her and has gotten in way over her head.
It’s also a turning point in the story, because Emperor
Salizar has discovered Oonish’s true identity. Elara’s prank has put everyone’s
life in danger.
When I was writing the book, I loved creating the
scenes where Oonish/Elara drives Dalton crazy with her suggestive flirting and arousing
touches—and Dalton goes out of his way to resist her. (He even tells Allan to
take Oonish for himself.) The push/pull between the two characters was fun to
write.
I also enjoyed the scenes between Allan and Elara/Oonish.
These spoiled siblings are a lot alike: they share the same sense of
entitlement, are used to getting away with their wild and irresponsible actions,
and have an off-color, odd sense of humor.
The hardest scene to write was after Dalton “cheats”
with Oonish and confronts Elara. All of a sudden, this isn’t a game anymore. Elara
finally understands that she has done something despicable by tricking the man
she loves.
Dalton wonders if he can ever trust Elara again. Elara
is worried Dalton will leave her and dissolve their marriage. It breaks her spirit,
and she realizes (a little too late) how awful she has been. This was a difficult
scene to write, knowing how it would wound Elara, but she had to be taught a
lesson and face the consequences for her actions.
Overall, I love A Most Intriguing Temptation. It’s
got everything a great book needs: drama, adventure, humor, romance, and a hint
of danger. It runs the gamut of emotions: parts of it are funny, parts are
super erotic, and other parts are tender and sad. It’s a great story and
readers loved it. (Although the book is part of the Royal Desires series, it stands alone as
an individual read.)
As I was writing, Prince Allan turned into one of
those characters who try to take over the story. I fell in love with Allan so
much that halfway through writing this book I knew he needed his own book. Readers
and fans also wanted to know more about Allan and thought he should have his
own book, too.
Allan is the male counterpart of Elara, so I started
wondering: what consequences would Allan face for his role in the events? What
would happen to him when he got home? I explore this in the third and final
book in the series, A
Most Unfortunate Prince. (I’ll share more about
that book in another blog.)
Here is the book summary and links:
A Most Intriguing Temptation
After only four months of marriage to Princess Elara,
Prince Dalton is sent to Emperor Salizar’s pleasure palace on business. Not
wanting to be left behind, Elara risks her personal safety and sneaks along on
the trip.
Aided by her mischievous brother, Prince Allan, she
disguises herself as one of Salizar’s sultry kharim women and decides to test Dalton’s loyalty. Masquerading as
Oonish, Elara goes out of her way to tempt Dalton at every turn. Despite
Dalton’s resolve to resist the indulgent girls, he finds himself falling under
the spell of the mysterious Oonish.
After nearly giving in to temptation, Dalton discovers
Elara’s trickery and turns the tables on her, making her into his submissive
playmate. Their fun and games are quickly shattered when Emperor Salizar learns
about Elara’s deception. He holds the royals prisoner and condemns Elara to a
fate worse than death.
Can Dalton save Elara before it’s too late, or will
her prank bring about the end of their love?
The Royal Desires Series
is available on Amazon & other platforms. Catch this hot historical/fantasy
trilogy from the start:
Book 1: A Most Unusual Princess:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CBX43D8
All
other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/me00L9
Read reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/a-most-unusual-princess
Book 2: A Most
Intriguing Temptation:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8P8604
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/47kkvj
Read reviews
here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/a-most-intriguing-temptation
Book 3: A Most
Unfortunate Prince:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Most-Unfortunate-Prince-Historical-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B01DMBYJ6E
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/3yPPM6
Read
reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/a-most-unfortunate-prince
I hope you enjoyed
this “Behind the Scenes” look at the making of this romance. I welcome
questions and comments from readers and other authors. Contact me via the form
on my site or on social media.
Happy Reading,
Kelli A. Wilkins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins
is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20
romance novels, 7 non-fiction books, and 3 horror ebooks. Her romances span
many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror
stories.
In
January 2021, Kelli released Journaling Every Week: 52 Topics to Get You Writing. This fun and innovative guide to
journaling is filled with hundreds of thought-provoking prompts designed to get
you writing about your feelings and emotions.
Her horror short, “A Witch’s Wishes” was published in the Nothing
Ever Happens in Fox Hollow anthology in December 2020. In October 2020,
Kelli had horror stories published in two anthologies. “The Uninvited” was
published in Halloween Horror Vol. 2. This tale about a children’s Halloween
party gone horribly wrong is one of her favorites. Her unsettling short story,
“What the Peeper Saw” appeared in Madame Gray’s Creep Show anthology.
Earlier in 2020
Kelli published Love, Lies & Redemption, a western romance set in 1877
Nebraska. This novel blends a sensual love story with mystery and danger.
Kelli posts on her
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
Visit her
website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list and to find all her social media
links.
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