About the Book:
Set in 1897, The Other Guy's Bride is the story of a budding archeologist who impersonates a bride-to-be in order to get a cynical adventurer to escort her deep into a lawless desert in her search for the lost city of Zerzura.
The Other Guy’s Bride picks up some 20 years after As You Desire left off. In fact, the female protagonist of the new book is Ginisse Braxton, the daughter of the prequel’s hero and heroine. Brockway says she gave the character that particular first name because the Arab word for “little imp” or “demon” is “djinn,” pronounced “gin.” So Ginisse seemed the perfect name for someone who—with the very best of intentions—constantly fell into scrapes, both while growing up around her family’s archaeological digs in Egypt and later in life.
Brockway says she based her development of Ginisse as a character in large part on a friend of hers, the daughter of extremely successful parents.
The Other Guy’s Bride picks up some 20 years after As You Desire left off. In fact, the female protagonist of the new book is Ginisse Braxton, the daughter of the prequel’s hero and heroine. Brockway says she gave the character that particular first name because the Arab word for “little imp” or “demon” is “djinn,” pronounced “gin.” So Ginisse seemed the perfect name for someone who—with the very best of intentions—constantly fell into scrapes, both while growing up around her family’s archaeological digs in Egypt and later in life.
Brockway says she based her development of Ginisse as a character in large part on a friend of hers, the daughter of extremely successful parents.
“My friend’s parents had expectations that she didn’t meet,” Brockway explained. “She took a different path to a different sort of success than what they’d planned. I thought that would make for an intriguing character in a book.”
Brockway’s male protagonist, Jim Owens, is in mortal danger as the story begins because he joined the Foreign Legion after receiving a Dear John letter. He swears he’ll never do anything stupid
because of a woman again . . . then spends the rest of the book doing just that—because of another woman: Ginisse.
Determined to prove her mettle, budding archeologist Ginisse Braxton sets out in 1897 to solve one of the world’s great mysteries by finding the lost city of Zerzura. Trapped by his own code of ethics into repaying a debt, cynical, aristocrat-in-disguise adventurer Jim Owen agrees to shepherd the fiancée of a man he abhors across a lawless desert. A major complication: Upon discovering no one was willing to risk taking her to the danger-filled location she wants to explore, Ginisse has falsely assumed the identity of the woman Jim agreed to escort. Now, in addition to facing tremendous peril from roving bandits plus desert heat and storms, Jim finds himself confronting the only danger he’s intentionally avoided since coming to Egypt: falling in love. And of course it has to be with the one woman he thinks he’s honor-bound to help become The Other Guy’s Bride.
The novel was released in digital format November 22, and published in trade paperback December 22. Set in Egypt in the late 19th century, The Other Guy’s Bride has already garnered high praise from critics and bestselling authors alike.
Q&A with Connie Brockway, Author of The Other Guy's Bride
Connie Brockway: For years, readers have been asking me to write sequels to two of their favorite books, As You Desire and All Through the Night. Happily, they happen to be two of my favorites also, so the idea of revisiting the characters and settings has always been particularly appealing and always something I intended to do. After spending the last five years doing Regency romances, I’ve been starving to write something set outside the British Isles, something that would be both familiar and exotic. Turn-of-the-century Egypt fit the bill. Not only is it historically and culturally rich, but a treasure trove of fun and fascinating minutiae (and I do love my minutiae). Bonus points for being peopled with intriguing historical figures from all over the world. And finally, that sort of milieu provides the opportunity to write a love story outside the mainstream of Polite Society, where the rules are different, the stakes are higher, the romance more exquisite.
Question: Since this is, as you mentioned, a departure from your Regency romances, what research did you do while writing the book to help you create the setting and your characters?
Connie Brockway: Books. Dozens of nonfiction books. I read about Thomas Cook’s ship tours and the advent of all-inclusive cruising, Mark Twain’s journals about his trip to Egypt, histories of ancient Egypt and the Sudan, books about the French Foreign Legion and the life of Sir Eldon Gorst and books about the birth of archeology and the establishment of Arabian horse bloodlines. And then there were the websites and the hyperlinks, and...
Question: Is there any character you most identify with? Why?
Connie Brockway: Well, since I just finished cleaning up the house after the Easter extravaganza, I’d have to say the housemaid.
Question: How does The Other Guy’s Bride compare to your previous titles? What can readers expect?
Connie Brockway: I expect readers will find all the elements they’ve enjoyed in the past: engaging characters, irreverent humor, and sigh-provoking romance. But it will have a freshness and spark that comes out of my feeling less of a need to follow a proscribed romance blueprint.
Question: What other authors or books have influenced your writing?
Connie Brockway: Such a hard question! I read constantly in all sorts of genres and it’s hard to pin-point specific titles but as far as romances go, I started out being drawn to the rich, detailed narrative styles of Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart. Dorothy Cannell’s mysteries, starting with The Thin Woman, gave me my first inkling that romance could be downright hilarious and still breathtaking. The unique, fully-fleshed characters created by authors as Pat Gaffney, Laura Kinsale, and the wonderful late Edith Layton have certainly inspired me to be equally conscientious in creating my own characterizations.
Question: Have you considered trying your hand at other genres?
Connie Brockway: I’ve already authored two books that crossed from contemporary romance into contemporary women’s fiction. I’m very intrigued about relationships outside of a strictly romantic one, how those bonds morph and develop throughout a lifetime, as well as community and family dynamics. Those books gave me the chance to indulge my curiosity. As for the future, I’m almost always in the middle of reading a mystery and hope to some day try my hand at historical mystery.
The Other Guy's Bride: Paperback
The Other Guy's Bride: E-Book Format
Author's Amazon Page
Connie's Website
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