Have you Danced With Deception lately?

Hi, everyone!


Thank you so much for inviting me to guest blog today, Hannah! My name is Tracy Goodwin and my bestselling debut novel, Dance With Deception, was published by LBF Books in November 2007. It is the first novel in a trilogy set in early Victorian England.

Dance With Deception was the story of my heart years before I ever put my fingers to the keyboard and began writing it. I was inspired by novels by Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters and fairy tales like my all time favorite, Beauty and the Beast. Growing up, my mother never allowed me to read romance novels so I immersed myself in the classics. You see, not only do I adore sweeping Historicals, but I love emotional tales filled with forbidden attraction, lost love, and second chances. Epic romances complete with heroes and heroines who make you laugh, cry and wish the story would never end.

What could be more romantic than Mr. Darcy declaring his love for Elizabeth? Or Emma finding love in the familiar face of Mr. Knightley? Or of Jane finally returning home to a blind Mr. Rochester?

Early in my twenties, I read my first romance novel and was immediately hooked. Still, that story I always longed to write was calling to me. Yes, my characters do talk to me – sounds crazy, I know, but it is true. My husband is the one who encouraged me to write my own novel and with that, Dance With Deception was born. While writing it, I thought long and hard about why my favorite stories were so compelling and realized that, for me, it came down to the emotional pull they held within my heart. Perhaps not-so-surprisingly, writing my characters’ angst and exploring their raw emotions comes quite naturally to me and is my favorite part of writing. Thankfully, readers who have written to me regarding Dance With Deception have been touched by the emotional journey that leads Gwen and her dashing Duke of Davenport, Sebastian, to their much deserved happy ending.

The point of my blog today is to encourage all of you to find inspiration wherever you can and to follow your heart. Thanks to my husband’s endless support and encouragement, and inspired by Authors who I greatly admire, I wrote the story of my heart and have subsequently completed my next two. As I write this blog, my husband and I are excitedly awaiting the birth of our first child next month, our miracle son who we’ve long wished and prayed for.

Follow your heart. And may it lead you to inspire others as they have inspired you.


Dance With Deception, a double finalist in the Anne Bonney Reader’s Choice Award, is available at LBF Book and online bookstores such as Amazon, BN, and Chapters-Indigo. It is also available in eBook format at All Romance eBook and Fitionwise.

To learn more about Tracy or to read excerpts from Dance With Deception, visit her website http://www.tracygoodwin.net/. You may also touch base with her at www.facebook.com/tracygoodwin.author, www.myspace.com/tracygoodwin, or at www.twitter.com/tracy_goodwin.