Today historical romance author Juliana Gray is here to celebrate the release of How to Tame Your Duke.
The Allure of the Duke by Juliana Gray
A few years ago––at a RITA ceremony far, far away––a happy wind blew me in the direction of a writer who was then a stranger, and is now a dear friend. We were both a few cocktails to the good, and as we cast our eyes over the lists of nominees, we began to ponder just how many dukes populated Romanceland, and how lucky we were that so many of them happened to be handsome, rich, unmarried, and mind-bendingly good in bed.
Our conclusions? Infinite, and infinitely.
“Readers love dukes,” my editor has assured me on more than one occasion, and the evidence would suggest she’s right. But why do we dig a duke so devoutly? Is it just a case of a literary arms race, or is there some deeper spiritual appeal to the ducal designation? Let us count the reasons.
- D is for Desire, by which we mean What a Heroine Wants, and let’s be honest. She doesn’t want the curate, or the strapping young tenant farmer tilling the nearby fields, or the butcher on the village high street. She certainly doesn’t want the clerk in the green eyeshades, adding figures in the insurance company’s dusty ledgers. Our heroine really desires a man of power, a man who can help her defeat her enemies, a man who takes orders from no one. In short, she desires…
- D is for Dawg, as in Top Dawg, as in One Dawg to Rule Them All. As in, any higher and you’d have to be royal, and have all kinds of icky ceremonial responsibilities that cut into the enjoyment of your Top Dawg status. You know what I mean. State dinners, the Opening of Parliament, and of course that worst of the worst, the Drawing Room, in which one has to sit cordially through the presentation of an endless string of dull…
- D is for Debutantes, like the majority of historical romance heroines, and no matter how far we’ve supposedly evolved in our notions of sexual quality, our primal selves are conditioned to salivate like Pavlov’s dogs at the squaring-off of an innocent young maiden against The Most Powerful Man in London and Possibly England Itself. Especially if she wins. And especially if his name resembles…
- D is for Darcy, because while that particular gentleman was not a duke, he certainly gave off those distinctive ducal pheromones, and his image is so fixed in our minds as the archetype for all romance heroes, the mere sight of that straight-backed, rounded capital D triggers an immediate response in our adrenal glands, stimulating the production of…
- D is for Dopamine, which sends our pleasure centers into a frenzy of excitement (I need not elaborate, need I?) and frequently results in addiction to the cause of stimulation itself. So the pleasing sensation of witnessing a lovely debutante bring the most desirable man in the country into a state of total devotion, while momentarily satisfying, inevitably creates the need for…more. More, please! More dukes, more dopamine.
And there you have it. We’re addicted to dukes, and the only cure is…
D is for Deprivation. And as my newfound friend and I clinked glasses at that long-age RITA celebration, we agreed: What’s the point of that?
About the Author:
Juliana Gray began writing as a child to relieve the tedium of being sentenced to her room, and later turned to romance to relieve the tedium of unsatisfactory suitors. Sadly, despite five years’ residence in the most exclusive areas of London, she never met a single duke, though she once shared a taxi with a future baron.
Juliana’s debut romance trilogy, including A Lady Never Lies, A Gentleman Never Tells, and A Duke Never Yields, was largely written when she should have been sleeping. She enjoys dark chocolate, champagne and dinner parties, and despises all forms of exercise except one.
Giveaway: We’re giving away a copy of How To Tame Your Duke!
How to Tame Your Duke is available now from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I love the history that goes with the stories!
Well, not all dukes are created equal, but there are some very memorable ones in my bookshelves.
Let me see, there’s Wulfric Bedwyn, Duke of Bewcastle (Slightly Dangerous), and Christian, Duke Jervaulx (Flowers from the Storm), and Hart Mackenzie, Duke Kilmorgan (The Duke’s Perfect Wife), and…
I think I should stop now 😀
Hey, I’m a reader. I’ll admit to being a bit selfish in admiring dukes aplenty because it gives romance writers a great starting point for so many lovely novels. For further info, see Tessa Dare’s Any Duchess will Do, Julie Anne Long’s What I Did for a Duke, Julia Quinn’s The Duke and I, Eloisa James’s The Duke is Mine and one of my all-time favorites, Laura Kinsale’s Flowers from the Storm.
I haven’t read this author yet, but I’d like to. The best thing about dukes is their arrogance, because the heroine usually brings him down a peg or two.
Who wouldn’t want to be royalty??? I am still hoping to meet a duke!! 🙂
I love that dukes are usually an Alpha male type, but typically have a little mischievous side to them! 😉
Historically, it is the highest rank below the monarch, so it must have a very strong personality to hold this role
I find FICTIONAL dukes to be romantic and sexy. However, REAL dukes are old, stodgy, racist and afraid of taxes. Sorry, I’ll take FICTIONAL dukes. Maybe a thousand years ago they were strong and dynamic but they’re too inbred now, Can you imagine the Duke of York (Prince Andrew) at hand-to-hand combat? No way!
Please enter me.
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I love that Dukes are always the highest rank at a party, unless the prince is there.