From poverty and life in a brothel, to her position as maidservant of an aristocratic family, Cozette learns that passion knows no status or wealth. When it comes to desire, all men are created equal. Not so easy to decipher however, are the secrets of the heart. For where passion and desire are fleeting, the heart continues to beat.
"McIntyre's first person narrative is persuasive... beguiling!" ~ RT BOOKlovers Reviews
"This first person account of the Victorian life of a female not of the aristocracy is a superb historical. Cozette makes the tale as she learns plenty of hard lessons from her encounters with so called upright citizens; she becomes nineteenth century street smart. Amanda McIntyre provides a deep “autobiographical” tale as THE DIARY OF COZETTE is a fascinating look from a victim's perspective of those who abuse their power." - Harriet Klausner, http://genregoroundreviews.blogspot.com/2008/09/diary-of-cozette-amanda-mcintyre.html
Hailing from the Midwest, Amanda McIntyre, aka Pamela Johnson, is multi-genre author of several novels, anthologies, novellas, and short stories as well as non-fiction. Since her first published novel in 2001, she is recipient of several Highly Recommended Reads, nominations, and was a featured book at Midwest Book Reviews and its syndicated show Booktalk, for UNFINISHED DREAMS. Twice finalist for a CAPA award she won for Best Mainstream for TIDES OF AUTUMN. She is a two-time EPPIE finalist , DRRWA Golden Quill finalist, Bridges Magazine Golden Chalice--first place winner, Independent Publishers finalist, an RIO (Reviewers International Org.) award nominee and received special recognition in Romantic Times magazine of her founding and co-editing of the seventy-eight author anthology, "CRUMBS IN THE KEYBOARD," with its proceeds benefiting the education and awareness of domestic violence.
Reviewers describe her work as "superbly sensual, powerful, emotional, and character-driven." Living her fantasy of storytelling, October 2008 will see the release of her single-title erotic historical, DIARY OF COZETTE, from Harlequin Spice followed TORTURED (Early Medieval 8/09) WINTERS AWAKENING (Celtic Spice Anthology 11/09)
Amanda loves to hear from her readers, and you contact her through her website: www.amandamcintyre.net.
An Interview with Amanda McIntyre
By Katie Raines for The Romance Studio
KR: Amanda, thank you for talking with us at TRS BLUE. Please tell us about your featured book, Diary of Cozette.
AM:Diary of Cozette is an "autobiographical account" meaning it is penned from the heroines own hand of her journey as an orphan on the streets of Victorian England to befriending and becoming a maidservant of an aristocratic family in an English Country Manor. Her story follows the relationship , both male and female that she makes along the way, and we watch her grow through her experiences into the self-sufficient and confident woman that she becomes.
In an age when women were thought little more than objects, Cozette is a woman determined to be her own person despite what society demands that she be.
KR: Your heroine hasn't had the easiest life and the reader is able to see the world through her eyes and with her perspective. Where did you get the idea for this intriguing story?
AM: I tend to write about characters who are the lesser noticed perhaps. For instance, while I love a good alpha hero, I love the proverbial geek who has to step up to the plate and use his wits to overcome an obstacle to get the girl (even if the obstacle is the girl!) Same with my heroines. There are so many wealthy glamorous, lovely, more beautiful than God's sunset, heroines out there and I kind of like to look at the beauty found in the shadows, in the alley ways, or the less beautiful areas of life. I guess it goes back to the two words which fuel my writing career-potential and possibility. And when you tend to be a character-driven writer, those words become my magnifying glass to the world.
KR: I read somewhere that you'd originally submitted the story for the Spice Briefs line but the editor loved the story idea so much that you were asked to expand it. Was this true and can you tell us about this experience?
AM: It is true. The original premise of Cozette was to be a series of very short, vignette type stories of this young woman. I sent in one of the scenes as a Briefs and the editor contacted me two weeks later to ask if I might be interested in putting them all together in a "diary" form full novel. Up to this point, I'd never written in 'first-person POV' but I love a challenge and really had a great time writing it! For me, it is one of those fairytale experiences to be writing for the granddaddy of romance-Harlequin and for an new, aggressive, intelligent women's fiction line called SPICE. I'm still pinching myself;)
KR: I also recently read that you learned quite a bit about the fates of girls and young women during the nineteenth century while doing research for this work. What can you tell us about this?
AM: I love to do research for historical writing. I'm one of those people that loves to find out about the things that nobody else talks about or wants to. I think it stems from my life as a weekly newspaper columnist for over seven years. Digging is the fun part. While you may hear snippets of historical things, when you really start to research, its amazing what you discover! Like the "white slave trade" in England during this time. Things were so bad, that the poor would actually sell off their teenage daughters to wealthy men. The idea, ludicrous as it sounds, that having sex with a virgin would keep a man "healthy." I found it intriguing that while on the surface you had this polished, tight-laced proper society and beneath that veneer, was a whole other world that just wasn't pretty. And yet real people lived daily lives during this time. It really made me wonder how some of them survived and unfortunately, some of them didn't or simply disappeared as if they never existed.
KR: What made your decision to write this story in first person?
AM: I don't know that it was so much "my decision." It was the way this story unfolded. It had to be told from her point of view in order, I feel, for the reader to relate to the experiences of what happens to her.
KR: You have another work coming soon from Spice Briefs, Mirror, Mirror. What can you tell us about this tale?
AM: Mirror, Mirror (Available September 2008/ eHarlequin.com) is a short erotic fiction contemporary that stems from my the love of the Alfred Hitchcock stories I read when I was young. Also influenced by such movies like "Rear Window" and the most recent, "Disturbia" that keep you on the edge, wondering what is really going on. This is like that--an erotic tale of a woman whose marriage to a wealthy man is shattered when he is in an accident and becomes a quadriplegic. My heroine, Charlie is a "kept" woman, her happiness attached to her "things" and she is willing to do whatever her husband asks in order to maintain the life she is accustomed to. A classic tale in the sense of 'how far would you go to get what you want?"
But it is full of twists and turns until the very end. I had a lot of fun writing this one!
KR: What else do you have coming for lucky readers, Amanda?
AM: You're very kind <g> I have just finished my second novel, TORTURED, which is slated for August 2009 from HQ SPICE. This one is set in the Dark Ages (there was some tough research!) and is the story of a young woman whose mother--a Druid follower-- is murdered, her young brother taken away and presumed killed and she, because of her gift of "sight" is spared, to serve as a spiritual guide to a brutal, self-proclaimed Saxon warlord. There are a great many twists in this story as in a moment of anger, my young heroine grabs a knife and stabs a guard, prompting the Saxon king to sentence her to live in the fortress and be his executioner's apprentice. It is the story of her survival, of losing hope and then having the chance to hope again, if she chooses. You wouldn't think that the dark, edgy brutality of the Dark Ages could lend itself to sensual and erotic, but it does! You can check out a sneak peek at my TORTURED webpage http://www.amandamcintyre.net/TORTURED.html.
In November of 2009, I am very excited to announce WINTERS DESIRE, the first of what I hope is a series of what we have dubbed Celtic Spice anthologies. My writing partners, Kristi Astor and Charlotte Featherstone have come up with an interesting series based on the ancient Celtic festivals. We start with a legend and then each of us writes in a different era historically with regard to that legend. Its been a great deal of fun to weave in small connectors between the eras and yet we each bring our own style, and voice to each story. More on this to come! Check out our Lustin Time blog for more news as it comes! http://www.lustintime.blogspot.com.
I am working on another book called THE MASTER & THE MUSES based on some of the great artists of our time and the women who sat for them as their muses.
KR: I've been a fan of your work for some time, Amanda. What has the journey of your career been like to this point?
AM: Thank you , Katie. I guess akin to a roller-coaster perhaps? LOL I have a favorite saying by Picasso that states, "I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." I believe you never stop learning, never stop questioning, never stop digging for that hidden treasure and at the same time be content, knowing that another new adventure is just around the corner.
KR: What do you hope to accomplish next in your career?
AM: I think everyone has those goals, public and private, insofar as my career, it's making my next book, better than my last.
KR: What would you like to tell your readers and fans out there?
AM: First thank you for all the support and encouragement I've received over the years, please continue to buy books and read, teach your children to read, volunteer at your library to read for programs for children and maybe a nursing home facility as well. We need to nurture our minds and young minds to spark that natural curiosity and creativity. Imagination is the key that can unlock many problems.
Thank you Katie, this has been a delightful interview!
