Tour Stop/Giveaway: Duchess With A Secret by Alix Nichols

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Alix Nichols will be awarding a digital box set of her bestselling series The Darcy Brothers to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Interview with Alix Nichols

Tell us something fun or interesting about you.

I’m a total café creature. I do most of my writing in French bistros, and I’ve come to think of my favorite corner table as my unofficial office. There’s something about the smell of espresso, the gentle clink of cups, and the background hum of conversation that helps my brain switch into creative mode. I’m also bilingual, which means I can switch between writing in English and chatting with readers in French without missing a beat.

 

What have you learned throughout your writing process?

I’ve learned that book research must be done with a timer in hand. No snooze button and no exceptions. I’ve gone down far too many rabbit holes over the years and lost entire afternoons (sometimes days) to fascinating but completely irrelevant information. Setting a strict timer has saved my sanity and my deadlines more than once. Another big lesson is that even the most detailed outline can shift once the characters are fleshed out enough to start “talking” unprompted. I’ve learned to leave room for those happy surprises.

 

How do you keep your ideas fresh and avoid traveling over well-worn territory?

I try to combine familiar tropes in unexpected ways or add a twist that feels personal to me. For example, I took the classic enemies-to-lovers setup and layered it with inheritance drama, dark family secrets, and a mother-daughter relationship in A Duchess with a Secret. I also draw a lot from real places I’ve visited and from blending genres I love. That mix usually helps me find a fresh angle even on well-loved tropes.

 

What trope have you not written yet but want to?

I still haven’t written a Best Friend’s Sibling or Sibling’s Best Friend story, and I’d really love to tackle one, but only when I feel I can give it a fresh spin. I’d want to add some emotional depth or an unusual setting so it doesn’t feel like the same old story. It’s on my list for the future!

 

Do you have a specific writing process?

Yes! I’m a plotter through and through. I outline every novel before I start writing because pantsing tends to send me so far off track that I struggle to finish. I like to write in the morning when my mind feels freshest, and I usually work in cafés. I also set a timer for research (as I mentioned earlier) so I don’t lose whole days down rabbit holes. Having that structure helps me stay focused while still leaving room for the characters to surprise me.

 

Do you have a favorite author and/or favorite book?

I have two favourite authors ex aequo: Jane Austen and J.K. Rowling. My all-time favourite books are Pride and Prejudice and the entire Harry Potter series. I’m also a huge fan of every single Walsh sisters book by Marian Keyes — they’re so funny and heartfelt! And I have a soft spot for Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. I was a serious sci-fi buff for ten straight years before I became a romance junkie at twenty-five, and that book still feels magical to me.

 

For sixteen years, they’ve hated each other...
and craved each other.

Widowed and betrayed, Eva Castellane will do anything to protect her daughter’s inheritance.
Standing in her way?
Alex Castellane—her late husband’s steely, magnetic half brother.
The man poised to take it all.
Her worst enemy.
Her forbidden temptation.

Stuck together in the family castle, their legal fight spirals into war…
until a common threat forces a reluctant alliance.
Desire blurs the lines.
Chemistry sizzles.
Rules get broken.

But as the verdict nears, one slip could unravel Eva’s explosive secret…

A Duchess with a Secret stands alone within the Montevor Royals Saga. It is a spicy contemporary enemies-to-lovers romance with forced proximity, family secrets, and a hard-won HEA.

Read an Excerpt

Eva

“He’s here,” Millie whispers.

I don’t look. I don’t need to.

The man she’s warning me about radiates a chill so palpable I can sense which door he entered through. The air in Fort Vauclairt’s reception hall, warmed by hundreds of flickering candles and the breath of mourners grows colder by the second.

Of course, Alex would show up! Nothing like a funeral to size up how much of the estate he can have, just because he happens to share the same father as Geoffroy.

I’m being unfair, I know.

After all, Alex is the old duke’s second son. In neighboring France, the math prodigy would’ve inherited half of the duchy when Rodolphe passed.

Then again, there are no dukes or duchies in the Republic of France, nor are we subject to its laws. We’re old school in Mount Evor. Here, the principles of primogeniture and representation still reign supreme. The firstborn takes it all. The child comes before the sibling. With both Geoffroy and Julian gone, Millie’s birthright ensures that she inherits everything.

The only way Alex Castellane gets a chunk of the estate is if Geoffroy named him in his will. Which I know he didn’t. My late husband and his younger half brother had been estranged long before I met and married Geoffroy Castellane, a dashing widower twice my age.

Alex will get nothing or next to nothing. And Millie will be the next Duchess of Rohinn.

He knows this, of course he does. Yet he carries his tall, infuriatingly well-proportioned form with confidence, which lends an air of legitimacy to his potential claims.

Enter to win a box set of The Darcy Brothers series.

AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

Alix Nichols is a caffeine addict, a longtime fan of Mr. Darcy. She pens sexy romantic comedies and romantasy. Her books have been described as "pure pleasure" (Kirkus Reviews) that “keep fans of romance hanging off the edge of their seat” (Romantic Times). 

At the age of six, she released her first book. It featured highly creative spelling on a dozen pages stitched together and bound in velvet paper. 

Decades later, she lives in France and still writes. Her spelling has improved (somewhat), she has become a Kindle Scout winner, Chanticleer First Place winner, USA Today bestseller, Book Riot's Top 100 Must-Read International Romance author, and Amazon All-Star for being one of the 100 most-read authors in Kindle Unlimited. 

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/author/alixnichols

Website: http://www.alixnichols.com

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/alixnichols

Facebook: http://facebook.com/AuthorAlixNichols

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alix-nichols

Newsletter Signup (and a free bundle!): http://bit.ly/alix-freebook