A fake engagement brings together a lady with bold and daring dreams, and the heir whose heart she captured—perfect for fans of Bridgerton!
We had the pleasure of chatting with Harper St. George about her new release The Lady Tempts an Heir, along with writing, book recommendations, and more.
Hi, Harper! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Thank you so much for inviting me to talk about my book with you. I live in the Atlanta area with my husband and our two daughters. I’ve wanted to be a writer since junior high, though I never really considered it as a viable career, which is why I went to business school. It took me a few years to realize that you can’t really ever deny what’s in your heart, so when my oldest daughter was born I started writing.
How has the first month of 2022 been for you?
2022 has been hectic so far but in the best ways. My husband is Chinese, so we celebrate Lunar New Year, which is a big event for our family. We also have two family birthdays in February to prepare for, and I had a book deadline at then end of January. With all of this coming on the heels of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, I am looking forward to some downtime as we move further into 2022.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I first knew I loved writing in junior high. I have always loved books, but seventh grade English class was the first time I had ever been encouraged to write stories. Our teacher, Mrs. Graham, would give us time to write most days and once every week or so we would gather on the carpet and read pieces of our work to each other. We also passed them around for critique. It was the first time I could see someone’s face as they heard my story and enjoyed it. It was such a great feeling to get that emotion from a reader. I can still remember Mrs. Graham writing on one of my stories something like “You have really made me care about these characters!” I was lucky enough to have her in eighth grade, too. After that, I started writing stories for myself.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
- First book I remember reading: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Book that made me want to become an author: Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer
- Book I can’t stop thinking about: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Your new novel, The Lady Tempts an Heir, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
English Lady, American Industrialist, love
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect the glamour and opulence of the Gilded Age, juxtaposed with the poverty created by industrialization. The Lady Tempts an Heir is the story of two bold and determined people who have to fake a relationship for various social reasons. As two people who are very much in control of their lives, we get to see them slowly unravel as they fall in love for real and have to work out what that means.
Where did the inspiration for The Lady Tempts an Heir come from?
This is book three in The Gilded Age Heiresses series. Max Crenshaw is the brother of the American heiresses from the two previous books, and Lady Helena has also featured as a family friend in those books. Each book has been slowly building to the stage where Max has to step in and become the patriarch of his family, so I needed to show that happening with his own book. I also wanted to explore the effects of industrialization, both good and bad, which is really at the heart of the Gilded Age.
I am fascinated at the extremes created by the Industrial Revolution and love to examine them in my books. On one end of the spectrum you had tremendous wealth, but on the other end it was absolute poverty. Lady Helena runs a charity that gives aid to women and children adversely effected by industry, and Max is leading his family’s company through a tumultuous time as workers demand greater rights. All of this happens as they both fall in love.
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
The end of the nineteenth century saw a big push for social changes. Women were demanding more rights outside of the home, and workers’ rights were becoming a big issue as they were fighting to not be exploited as they had been. For example, this was a time before minimum wage, so their pay could ebb and flow along with the market price of raw materials. This created an environment of great instability. My hero, Max Crenshaw, is the head of his family’s business, Crenshaw Iron Works, so it was challenging to present him as a man of his time, while also a man compassionate to the needs of the many lives he controlled. It was a difficult balance to reach and show as his character evolves throughout the book.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Lady Helena was really fun to write. My previous two heroines in this time period were heiresses, daughters of the wealthy Crenshaw family, and their parents were trying to marry them off to noblemen. As unmarried, young women, they were a bit stifled in their social freedoms. Lady Helena was fun because she is a young and well-respected widow, which means she had a bit more freedom to come and go as she pleased. She also knew a bit more about how the world works, so some of her observations and sarcasm were a lot of fun.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on book four in this series, The Duchess Takes a Husband. It’s about Camille, an American heiress, who was married off to a much older duke in my first book. She was sort of the cautionary tale that made my heiresses weary of entering into one of these “cash for class” marriages. Since we saw her older husband be terrible to her in the first three books, I thought it was time—and many readers demanded!—that she get her own happily ever after.
Lastly, do you have any 2022 book recommendations for our readers?
- The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews. I love everything she writes!
- The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton. It’s romance, fantasy, and history all rolled into one with a healthy dash of humor.
- A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana Herrera. A heroine who owns a rum distillery set against the backdrop of Gilded Age Paris with an irresistible Scottish hero. This book has everything you want in historical romance.
- The Mozart Code by Rachel McMillan. It’s one of the few books set post-WWII and pre-Cold War. It has spies and danger and is so atmospheric you’ll feel like you’re in a movie from the 1940s.
- By Her Own Design: A Novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer to the Social Register by Piper Huguley. This tells the story of the Black woman who designed Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress. I’m excited to read about this fascinating woman and her journey from a childhood in Alabama to in-demand fashion designer.
- A Perfect Equation by Elizabeth Everett. This is the second book in her The Secret Scientists of London series featuring Victorian heroines who are scientists. I’m looking forward to reading how she continues this fabulous series.
You can find Harper on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, along with at her website.
