Welcome to Part II of my interview with DeAnna Julie Dodson! Today she’ll be talking about her historical trilogy and offering a copy of the first book in the series, In Honor Bound, to one lucky winner. If you’re interested in her contemporary mysteries, check out Part I!

To enter the contest, please leave a comment below with an email address–you must be a follower to enter, so be sure to click on that if you haven’t already!

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About the CHASTELAYNE TRILOGY

In Honor Bound

His father will stop at nothing to keep the royal bloodline “pure” –even murder. But his sins have nearly destroyed Prince Philip and the future of his reign.

Forced into a political marriage, Philip tells his bride, “I will not lie to you, I will not be unfaithful to you, and I will not love you. My heart is pledged to another and I am not a man to break an oath.”

His one true love is a lowly serving girl. When Philip refuses to set her aside in order to form a politically beneficial marriage, his father has the girl tried on false charges and executed. He then forces Philip to marry the beautiful and nobly born Lady Rosalynde. Devastated and embittered by his loss and his father’s betrayal, Philip is determined to never love again . . . not his father, not his wife, not his God. Although Rosalynde adores him, he withholds his heart from her, refusing to let even death end his devotion to the love he lost. Despite his coldness towards her, Rosalynde is determined to love him and teach him to love her — as determined as the God he has turned his back on. As civil war rages throughout the realm, Philip faces a greater struggle within himself. Will he open his heart to love again or let his pride destroy him and his kingdom?

By Love Redeemed

Complete strangers on their wedding day and separated by war since their honeymoon, can they find true love together?

Even though their time together has been short, Prince Tom is eager for his bride’s return. Though his love for her has grown, Elizabeth makes it clear that she considers him a stranger, not to be trusted. Not to be loved.

Certain the lavish love he claims to have for her cannot be genuine, Elizabeth turns to a deceitful friend who feeds her doubts and insecurities, poisoning her mind against her young husband. Just as Tom’s patient tenderness begins to soften her heart, he is left with a heavier burden. His brother the king receives news that threatens the stability of the kingdom and his marriage. Forced to go in secret to find the truth behind it, he leaves Tom to deal with the undercurrent of treason and treachery that lies beneath the deceptive quiet of the court. Will Tom be able to hold the kingdom together and win his wife’s heart? Or will she let a seductive stranger lead her away from his unconditional love?

To Grace Surrendered

He has learned to love her with all his heart. Now he must learn to let her go.

There is peace in the kingdom at last and King Philip wants nothing more than to spend his days watching his children grow and enjoying the company of his beloved Rosalynde. Reghed, Lynaleigh’s neighbor to the north, suffers greatly under the heavy hand of its king, the evil and demented tyrant Sarto. But Philip resists God’s urging to bring aid to Reghed’s people until the night Rosalynde is torn from his arms and carried into Sarto’s dark realm. Despite the serious injuries he sustained trying to protect her from her captors, Philip insists on following after her and finds himself face to face with the suffering he has till now turned away from. Sarto eventually captures Philip, too, determined to kill him in order to fulfill his sinister plans. Can Philip free himself, Rosalynde and the people of Reghed? Or has his disobedience lost him the love and protection of God?

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About DeAnna

DeAnna Julie Dodson is the author of In Honor Bound, By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered, a trilogy of medieval romances, and Letters in the Attic, a contemporary mystery in the Annie’s Attic series. She is currently working on The Drew Farthering Mysteries, a new series of books set in 1930s England. A graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas, she currently lives in North Texas with four spoiled cats and, when not writing, enjoys quilting, cross stitch and NHL hockey.

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What’s your latest book?

My newest release is Letters in the Attic, a contemporary mystery coming out this summer from DRG. That book is worlds away from my first three releases from Crossway Books, my medieval trilogy: In Honor Bound, By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered. They’ve been out for a while now and can sometimes be hard to find, but I’m still quite fond of them.

Well, let’s chat about those! I’m a big fan of medievals, and these sound so interesting! What do you hope your readers will get out of the stories?

I hope that the vast depth and breadth and height of the love God has for all of us flows through every part of the series. The second book, By Love Redeemed, is in particular an allegory of how Christ loves and sacrificed Himself for all of us, though I believe all three books reflect that. And, of course, God chose the picture of marriage to illustrate the mystery of His union with His church. I thought the medieval setting was a particularly exciting and romantic backdrop for telling this story. People who don’t like romance probably won’t enjoy this series.

Then I’m safe! Love romance. Am still shocked that some people don’t, LOL. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?

I enjoy so many different types of stories, it’s hard to say. I like historicals best, especially medieval romance and 1920s and 1930s mysteries, though anything from the middle ages up to WWII can be very wonderful. I love stories that have something redemptive about them, something that says, despite the hardships, God is there with us and He will never leave or forsake us. Give me a well-written story, and I’m happy.

I think we’d get along just fine, DeAnna. =) What are you reading right now—and what do you want to read next?

Right now, I’m reading Agatha Christie’s Appointment with Death. I’ve been on a real vintage mystery kick lately. I love Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and the vastly underrated (and I think superior) Margery Allingham. They were the queens of mystery in the 1920s and ’30s, and I hope to learn from them for my own 1930s series, The Drew Farthering Mysteries. I love trying to solve the puzzles they present. The glorious period clothes and cars and social niceties are just icing on the cake.

Oh, how fun to submerse yourself in that! I’ve never had the ability to craft a great mystery, but the setting is one I dove into for my Mafia books. =) Looking forward to your new series! But getting back to your existing one, do you remember where you were when you got your first or most important call about a book contract?

Oh, I remember that day vividly. I had rather half-heartedly sent my query for my very first book, In Honor Bound, to Crossway Books and was amazed when they quickly asked for the full manuscript. I was even more amazed when, a couple of weeks later, I had a message on my office phone. The assistant editor who left the message mentioned that it was nearly five o’clock on a Friday, so I could call after nine on the following Monday morning. There was absolutely no way I could wait that long, so I took a chance and called right back. Thank goodness, she was still in her office and we had a nice chat about taking In Honor Bound to their publication committee. I’ll never forget it. It still makes me smile.

Makes me smile for you! What are you writing right now?

Right now I’m working on the second book in my Drew Farthering series, Civil as an Orange. In this one, Drew has to track down a killer who leaves cryptic clues pinned to the bodies of the victims, and soon Drew realizes that the murders are getting closer and closer to him. This one is about 80% finished already, though I still have plenty of work to do on it. I love this series though. It’s so much fun to write the clothes and the parties and the 1930s British dialogue. And I love the manners of the period. No, they weren’t as formal as before WWI, but gentlemen still rose when a ladies came into the room and still held doors for them and all those lovely little things that we seem to have lost these days. Readers can check out an excerpt of this and all my books on my website.

Sounds like fun!!

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Thanks so much for spending the week with us, DeAnna! Readers, be sure to check out her website at www.deannajuliedodson.com/index.php. You can find her books on Amazon.

Void where prohibited. Entry into the contest is considered verification of eligibility based on your local laws. Contest ends 8/19/10. Winner will have two weeks to claim book.