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10 time RITA Nominee!
"USA TODAY
Bestselling Author, Day Leclaire—
one of our most
popular authors ever!"
—Harlequin
Enterprises, Ltd.
The Royals of Verdonia
Silhouette Desire Books
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Harlequin Romance Books
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Special Releases
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Printable List of all Day's Books
The Royals Trilogy
Three fabulous men . . . Only
one can win the throne
To save their
country, each must put honor and duty first . . . even before love.
Welcome to Verdonia!
Find everything you need to know about Verdonia
and The Royals trilogy.
Discover Verdonia!
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Main Characters:
Prince Merrick
Montgomery – Hero
of Book #1 of The Royals Trilogy,
The
Forbidden Princess. Younger brother of
Lander and head of Verdonia’s Royal Security Force. He is a
hunter at heart, a throwback to a darker age. The woman he has
hunted and captured is Alyssa Sutherland. He marries her to
prevent an alliance with Brandt von Folke and by doing so finds
true love.
Alyssa Sutherland
– Heroine of Book #1 of
The Royals Trilogy,
The Forbidden Princess.
Alyssa is tricked into coming to Verdonia where she discovers
that, not only is she a Princess with some political clout, but
that if she wishes to save her mother’s life, she must marry
Brandt von Folke and use her position to help him win the throne.
Or so she thinks until she’s abducted by and married to Merrick.
Prince Lander
Montgomery – Hero
of Book #2 of The Royals Trilogy,
The
Prince's Mistress. Heir to the throne of
Verdonia, dubbed “The Lion of Mt. Roche.” His country is in
severe financial straits and so Lander takes a desperate step. He
bargains with billionaire Joc Arnaud. In exchange for Joc’s help,
Lander will marry his sister, Ana Arnaud. It’s a sacrifice he’s
willing to make . . . until he meets Juliana Rose.
Juliana Rose (Ana
Arnaud) – Heroine
of Book #2 of The Royals Trilogy,
The
Prince's Mistress. The sister of
billionaire, Joc Arnaud, she keeps her true identity a secret in
order to avoid the spotlight. She meets and falls in love with
Lander. It isn’t until she marries him that she discovers that
she’s a pawn in the financial arrangement between her husband and
her brother.
Prince Brandt von
Folke
– Hero of Book #3 of The Royals
Trilogy,
The Royal Wedding Night.
After he's tricked into marrying Miri Montgomery, he must find his
absentee bride and convince her that he loves her. That might be
difficult considering he’d planned to marry Alyssa Sutherland –
for purely business reasons.
Princess Miri
Montgomery –
Heroine of Book #3 of The Royals Trilogy,
The
Royal Wedding Night. She's the
half-sister of Lander and Merrick Montgomery. She took Alyssa
Sutherland’s place at the altar for reasons of her own. Now she
has a secret – she’s pregnant and the father of her child is the
one man she can’t have.
Secondary
Characters:
Angela Barstow –
Mother of Alyssa Sutherland, heroine of
The
Forbidden Princess. She married Prince
Frederick at the tender age of seventeen. Now she's
desperate to find her one-true-love, Erik Sutherland, her one-time
stepson and the father of her daughter, Alyssa.
Prince Frederick Sutherland, Sr. (Freddie)
– He was killed in a sailing
accident along with King Stefan. Formerly married to Alyssa
Sutherland’s mother, Angela Barstow. The scandal of Angela’s
affair (it was never publicly revealed it was with his son) and
his subsequent divorce from her caused him to lose his bid for the
throne. Instead, a Montgomery became king.
Prince Frederick Sutherland, Jr. (Erik)
– The actual father of Angela’s child, Alyssa Sutherland. He’s
gone missing and rumors swirl that it’s somehow related to
Verdonia’s current woes.
King Stefan Montgomery
– Deceased shortly before the start of the first book in the
trilogy. His son, Lander, and Prince Brandt von Folke are
now competing for the throne of Verdonia.
Queen Rachel
Montgomery
– Widow of King Stefan. Mother to Miri Montgomery
(step-daughter of King Stefan), heroine of
The
Royal Wedding Night. Step-mother to
Merrick and Lander Montgomery.
Joc Arnaud
– billionaire, brilliant financial wizard. He was borne in
scandal and has spent a lifetime overcoming his illegitimate roots
and transforming himself into a business legend. He’s intent on
providing for his sister, a task he took on at the tender age of
16. And what he plans to provide for her is Lander Montgomery –
and a shot at being Queen of Verdonia.
Jonas Tolken
– Right-hand man for Prince Brandt von Folke. He’s determined to
track down Alyssa Sutherland, abducted by his former best friend,
Prince Merrick. Hero of
eHarlequin weekly online read.
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Writing
The
Royals Trilogy:
I was asleep for a
long time. A very long time. Years. I tried to wake up. I really
did. I wanted to. But I wasn’t ready to and it wasn’t something I
could force. And then one day, after four and a half long years of
sleep, winter ended and spring arrived, both metaphorically and
literally.
You see, I was diagnosed with breast cancer almost six and a half
years ago. And though my treatment was successful, afterward I
found that my creativity had gone to sleep. I didn’t want to
write, anymore. It didn’t matter how hard I tried. It didn’t
matter how I encouraged or argued or pleaded. I didn’t matter what
I did to try and jump start even the tiniest spark of creativity,
nothing worked. Nothing. So, I let it sleep, even though it felt
like I wasn’t fully me, anymore, but cut off from some essential
part of myself.
My final book before I started writing for Silhouette Desire was a
continuity entitled Forrester Square for Harlequin, published in
December of 2003. That book, the fifth in the series, was
Keeping Faith,
and earned me my tenth RITA nomination. Wow, right? Except by that
time I wasn’t writing anymore, and that by claiming to be a
writer, I felt like a total fraud. That part of me had died, and I
truly didn’t think the desire would ever return again. For those
of you who love to write, who hope one day to sell a manuscript to
Harlequin or Silhouette, maybe you can imagine how it must feel to
lose something you consider an integral part of yourself,
something that defines you as a person and is the only career
you’ve ever cared about…and not to know if you’ll ever get it back
again.
Then one spring morning, nearly two years ago, it reemerged and I
suddenly wanted to write again. It came slowly. First came a
sketchy idea I found intriguing. Then a couple of characters. When
I found myself flipping open my laptop and creating folders in
Word for my story, I realized it was serious. I broke down then
because I knew, at long last, that a part of me that had been
missing for four long years had finally woken.
It was a moment of pure joy.
So, my first Silhouette Desire? That’s the one.
The
Forbidden Princess is an expression of the joy
I felt when my creativity returned. I hope you’ll share that joy
with me.
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Discover
Verdonia!
Verdonia
Overview:
Country:
VERDONIA
Principalities:
1. AVERNOS
2. CELESTIA
3.
VERDON
AVERNOS:
Northernmost
Principality. The country's world-renowned amethyst
mines are located here. Ruled by the
von Folke
family. Currently ruled by Prince Brandt von Folke,
hero of
The Royal Wedding Night.
Marries Princess Miri Montgomery, believing her to be
Princess Alyssa Sutherland. Vying with Lander
Montgomery to become next King of Verdonia. Cousin to
Jonas Tolken, hero of eHarlequin online read. Father was
Prince Thomas von Folke. He and Brandt's mother were
killed in a car wreck when Brandt was a baby.
Grandfather was King Grandon von Folke, who raised Brandt
after the death of his parents. Upon King Grandon's
death, Stefan Montgomery became King of Verdonia.
CELESTIA:
Central
Principality. Home of amethyst artisans. Ruled by
the Sutherland family. Ruled by Prince Frederick
(Freddie) Sutherland until his death. Was married to
Angela Barstow and was the presumed father of Princess
Alyssa Sutherland, heroine of
The
Forbidden Princess. Alyssa is
actually the love child of Freddie's son from his first
marriage, Prince Frederick (Erik) Sutherland. Erik
abdicated his position shortly before the start of the
trilogy.
VERDON:
Southernmost
Principality. Financial center of Verdonia. Ruled
by the Montgomery family. Until shortly before
the start of the trilogy, the country of Verdonia was ruled by
King Stefan Montgomery. Upon his death, an election will
be held to choose the next king. The candidates are
Prince Lander Montgomery, King Stefan's firstborn son, and
Prince Brandt von Folke. Lander is the hero of
The
Prince's Mistress. King Stefan's
youngest son is Prince Merrick Montgomery, hero of
The
Forbidden Princess. He also adopted
the daughter of his second wife, Rachel. Miri
Montgomery is the heroine of
The Royal Wedding Night.
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On-line
Serial:
A passionate prequel to Day's debut Silhouette Desire trilogy,
The Royals. This eight-part serial is
available only online at eHarlequin.com. Join Day each
Monday from January 29, 2007 through March, 19, 2007 for a new
chapter of:
The Royal Affair
(click above to
be taken to The Royal Affair)
Five years ago, Princess Diandra Montgomery fled her native
Verdonia—and an arranged marriage! Now, as a former palace
staff member threatens to publish a tell-all book exposing the
travesty of her parents' own contracted union, Diandra is
forced to return home to defend the family honor. Can a
mysterious ring hold the key to the truth about her parents'
relationship? Only one man can help Diandra find the answers
she seeks: her jilted fiancé, Jonas Tolken. And Jonas is more
than willing to help—for a price!
Trilogy
Covers and Blurbs:
The
Forbidden Princess
A February 2007
Release
Head of
Verdonia’s Royal Security Force, Merrick Montgomery is a hunter at heart,
a throwback to a darker age. The woman he has hunted and captured is
Alyssa Sutherland. He will do whatever it takes to prevent her marriage
to Prince Brandt von Folke, even if it means marrying her himself.
Back Cover Blurb: Minutes before walking down
the aisle, Princess Alyssa Sutherland--possible heir to the
Verdonian throne--vanished into thin air. Rumor has it
that the lady in question wasn't marrying for love.
Did Her Highness catch a case of cold feet? Perhaps a
certain oh-so-uninvited guess crashed the party.
Sources say Merrick Montgomery was spotted on the
scene...and gossipmongers are buzzing with tales of a secret
elopement. Did the dangerously sexy rebel kidnap the
princess for political gain? Or did he simply sweep
our royal beauty off her feet?
The
Prince's Mistress
A March 2007 Release
Lander
Montgomery, dubbed "The Lion of Mt. Roche” must make the ultimate
sacrifice. With his country in severe financial straits, Lander
bargains with billionaire Joc Arnaud. In exchange for Joc’s help, Lander
will marry Joc's sister, Ana Arnaud. There's only one problem,
Ana has a dark secret that may very well destroy his bid for the throne.
Back Cover Blurb: The prince has a paramour! The
country's very eligible Prince Lnader was spotted dancing with a
mysterious beauty at a recent ball. But who is the lovely
Juliana Rose? Little is known about the enigmatic ingénue,
causing rumors to fly that any liaison between her and Lander
could seriously hurt his political future. With the handsome
royal lately missing in action, is Juliana to blame? It is
well known that Prince Lander is highly respected...yet his
mistress's past could prove ruin for the man who would be king.
The
Royal Wedding Night
An April 2007
Release
When Brandt von
Folke is tricked into marrying Miri Montgomery, he must choose between his
passion for his wife and duty to his country. Or is she his wife?
With the legitimacy of their marriage thrown into question, he must decide
which he wants more – the woman of his dreams . . . or the throne of Verdonia. Princess Miri Montgomery took Alyssa Sutherland’s place at
the altar for reasons of her own. Now she has a secret – she’s pregnant, and the father of her baby is the
one man she can’t have.
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