Guest Author: Julia Keanini and The Noble Heir

I like to read books written by authors who are active in various groups I participate in, and a few months ago I told you about an interesting story called Snow and the Seven Teenagers. I contacted the author, who happened to have another new release that I volunteered to read and review, so a few weeks ago I told you a little bit about The Noble Heir, which is first in a new series by Julia Keanini. I loved the book and asked Julia a few questions, which she graciously answered.

 

 

What made you decide to write about a royal family?
Writing about royalty was kind of a no brainer for me. I think my curiosity about royals started with my mom. She’s always loved Princess Diana and then I’m exactly one day older than Prince William, so I felt like we were kindred spirits. Haha! As I grew up and found my own prince and then started writing love stories, writing royal love stories seemed like a natural progression.

Alex, the heroine, is actually Princess Alexandra of Litiana. But she’s determined to make it as a photographer and adopts a fake identity. How did you come up with Alex’s internal conflict?
Alex was such a fun character. She kind of wrote her internal conflict all on her own. She’s actually the sister of my male main character from one of my other books, A Royal (Fake) Engagement. She was so spunky and charismatic, I knew she needed her own book. She was the type of woman to have drive and a dream, one that had nothing to do with settling down. A princess like her needed a prince, but I knew she wouldn’t want one. From there Prince Theo and the other Princes of Valdoria were born. 🙂

Theo’s mother, Queen Marla, openly expresses her dislike for Princess Alexandra. Other than turning down Theo’s request for courtship, nothing is said about anything Alexandra did to her or her family in the past. Why does she harbor such disdain?
The queen is actually my favorite character to dislike. She’s a bit like Mrs. Bennet. Somewhat misunderstood and a few parts annoying. She loves her sons fiercely, but is too selfish to know how to love correctly. So her dislike for Alex is partially because the queen is being loyal to Theo and partially because she is just petty enough to hold a long-lasting grudge.

Prince Theo has some interesting brothers. Do you plan a book about each of them?
Yes! All of brothers are going to get their own books. 🙂 I’m writing Tristan’s right now and it’s a bit hard because he’s somewhat of a player, but he’s still a moral person. Writing a moral playboy is one of the harder things in my career to date, but I know it will all be worth it. He’s a pretty complex character and I love him all the more for it. He has a big redemption arc and I hope his transformation can be inspiring. Tristan’s book or “The Roguish Spare” will be out the last week of May.

Where can readers find you and your books?
My books are actually only available on Amazon and you can find all my titles on my author page. The best way to contact me is probably my newsletter or Facebook.

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Now that you’ve met Julia, here’s the info about The Noble Heir:

Prince Theo Kane has always known duty comes first. As crown prince of Valdoria, his priorities have been country and family above all. And that’s always been easy for him–until duty and the queen demand that he find a wife. But he already tried proposing to the one woman he really wants, and she ran.

Alex Turner fought her way to the top of the world’s most prestigious photography course. As long as no one figures out who she really is, her dream of being a photographer on Jacques Ledoux’s renowned crew is within her grasp. Nothing is going to hold her back, including her pesky feelings for a certain swoon-worthy royal.

When Theo’s and Alex’s paths collide, old feelings are reignited…but those feelings have burned them both. Fool him once, shame on her. Fool him twice?

You can purchase The Noble Heir at Amazon.