Mary Bly, the daughter of an award-winning poet and short story writer, spent her childhood writing plays that she and her siblings acted out for their parents.  There wasn’t a television in the house, but there were books, lots of books.  She great up, went to Harvard, became a professor teaching about Shakespeare at Fordham University in New York, and then started writing historical romances.

I’ve read a few of her books and really liked them and I was happy to make the 30 minute drive to hear her speak.  Some authors at these events speak for a few minutes and then hope for questions.  Mary spoke for over 30 minutes and then spent another 30 answering questions, including how her husband proposed.  She was so comfortable, from her years as a professor no doubt.

She talked about her book, How Beauty Tamed the Beast, and how the Beast was based on Dr. House from the House MD TV show.  She read through seven years of scripts so that she could get him just right.  As a fan of House I bought the book that night and am halfway through.  She has made House into a romantic hero, no doubt.  According to her website– Kindle, Nook, Google Play and Kindle CA. are all offering the book for 99 cents just for today.  Buy it!

Also on her site is a clip of her when she came to speak. It was on the local news and there are glimpses of me. I’m famous!

She gave us beautiful recipe cards from the time periods of her books and I have a set to give away. If you like to cook or are an Eloisa James fan leave a comment and I’ll send them your way.

Don’t you just love her shoes?