The month of January is all about character interviews. Today, I’m firing questions at Eva from author Agnès de Savigny’s latest release Third Time’s a Gentleman, a historical romance.
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1. First off, tell us who you are and what role you play in the novel.
Eva: My name is Eva Sinclair—or at least, that is my name throughout the novel Third Times a Gentleman. I’m married now, in my late twenties, but I’m still Eva. I live in England, outside London, with my husband Sam. We both grew up in central London, and I miss the city sometimes. In the novel, I’m one of the main characters. It’s the story of how Sam and I ended up together—and I’m still shocked it all worked out the way it did.
2. Share with us your hobbies and interests, and why you enjoy them.
Eva: I have a son, and another child on the way, therefore much of my focus is on making sure they have the best life. They will want for nothing, and I’m grateful for that. I want them to know how lucky they are, that they should not take their privilege for granted. And I want them to feel good about who they are—not about what they have, but about how they treat themselves and how they treat others. I’d like to teach my son how to bake bread when he’s old enough. I learned how while I was in the Americas—from the cook in the house where I was a servant. I miss those women. Our estate cook and her staff here think I’m in their way and don’t understand why I’d want to be doing something I pay them to do. I have to sneak into the kitchen if I want to bake bread—I like kneading the dough. I find it calming. I need those quiet moments, especially after I’ve had a riding lesson. I’m not sure who has less patience—me or the horses!
3. Tell us how you feel about being in a novel, and if you are happy with how your author presented you to readers.
Eva: I was much younger at the start of the novel, barely twenty, and terribly naïve. I feel like I’ve experienced several lifetimes at this point, I’ve been through so much. Maybe if I hadn’t gone through it all, Sam and I wouldn’t have ended up together. I can’t imagine not being with him. I’m glad someone wrote our story. I don’t like how I am at the start of the novel—I was so unhappy and confined, it’s no wonder that I was often unkind. I cringe at some of the things I said. I hope readers can forgive my behaviour. I promise I learned a lot after everything that happened. There are some very difficult moments in those pages. I hope I’m a better person now. I try to be.
4. If your author was to create another novel with you in mind, give us a quick blurb of what it would be about. And be sure to give the title.
Eva: Well, I hope it wouldn’t be another romance—I’m happy where I ended up! But if it had to be, and it wasn’t with one of the other prospects introduced in Third Times a Gentleman, I’d like to see my author let me determine my own future, rather than letting fate dictate what happened. For instance, what if I had found the courage to find my own prospects, instead of relying on my parents to introduce me, and failing to do so, settle on an arranged marriage? I would have had to sneak out of the house and risk severe punishment, but it would be fun to see myself being brave and winning through my own wits, meeting a dashing rogue after I, say, took up boxing to get by. It could be called “Survival of the Wittest.” I’m sorry—that’s a terrible title.
5. Which character in the novel do you like the most, and why?
Eva: Well, I’d have to say Sam—I married him, after all. We’ve known each other since we were children. I wonder if that makes it harder to describe what I like about him, because much of our bond is sprung from our familiarity—but I liked him much better than anyone in my family. Sam always protected me in a way my own brother never did (I have a very strained relationship with my younger brother). I don’t mean to say that I like him because he is protective of me… but that he is protective because he has such a deeply caring nature. He’s driven by doing the right thing—even when it gets him into trouble. And he’s funny. I love hearing him spar with his uncle. I don’t have that verbal talent that he does. It probably comes from all the reading he does. He’s read half the books in the estate library since our wedding. He told me once that he was studying to be a teacher. He is smart, funny, and kind. And he makes me want to be a better person.
6. Which character in the novel do you dislike the most, and why?
Eva: This is being read by people who haven’t read the novel yet, correct? I can’t say too much without spoiling the novel for them. I will say that my father engaged a hired man to assist in his business and household affairs. That man is now in prison, and I hope that he will soon be shipped off to Australia. He can’t be far enough away. He is very dangerous.
7. Tell us why we should read the featured novel and what we will find most intriguing about you.
Eva: Ours is a story for those that like a good childhood-friends to enemies to lovers romance and enjoy being put through some hard knocks (double-entendre intended) with the characters. The world in which we live—mostly urban mid-18th century London and New York—is filled with familiar sights and smells, the dawn of coffee houses and gin joints, printing houses, the middle class, and described in rich detail, like the characters. Speaking of whom, we are not coddled by fate. People die! There’s true tragedy. We are all imperfect, as are the families we come from. Sam and I… we come so close to getting together and fail—more than once. I’m glad we don’t succeed the first time. We wouldn’t have been happy together as we were. And perhaps that’s what is most intriguing about myself as a character: I begin as an unhappy and desperate young woman and emerge four years later, through the difficult times and through the influence of the people I meet, as a kinder, gentler, stronger person who is able to love without condition or expectation.
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Title: Third Time’s a Gentleman
Series: N/A
Author: Agnès de Savigny
Genre: Historical Romance
Heat Rating: 4 Flames (open-door sex, explicit language used)
Length: 121,000 words/410 pages
Release Date: July 16, 2022
Publisher: Self-Published
Childhood sweethearts reunite and hook up for all the wrong reasons in the heart of gritty 18th century London, beginning a roller coaster of love in the face of jaded villainy and toxic family tragedies wrapped in a rags to riches epic.
Blurb: Eva Sinclair is desperate to escape her upcoming marriage arranged by her parents. Anyone else would be better than the man her parents are trading her for as part of a business deal. She can see no way out of it, until she runs into the boy with whom she shared her first kiss…
Sam Leigh, scraping by in the poor house along with his widowed mother, is determined to find a way out no matter how difficult. When he crosses paths with the daughter of his dead father’s nemesis, he knows he has no time for her. If only the girl he used to know hadn’t developed such luscious curves…
As presumed enemies, Eva and Sam hook up for all the wrong reasons until cruel fate tears them apart once more. Only apart do they realize they truly belong together and must conquer both fate and family to fulfill their promise to each other.
Fanny’s quick fingers latched onto Eva’s letter, hidden deep in Sam’s breeches. She plucked the folded paper from his pocket, thinking it was money, and held it up to the light to see the denomination. Her shoulders sagged and Fanny turned around, frowning.
“Give that back,” Sam ordered her.
She wouldn’t. Instead she turned her back on him and studied the seal under the light, protecting herself from its removal.
“This is from a girl, Mister Leigh!” she said, her back still turned. “It’s from a girl and you haven’t read it yet. Oh, I must know what she writes…”
Sam heard Fanny rip open the seal and unfold the letter. She handed it to him with a sheepish shrug.
“You’ll have to read it to me, Mister Leigh.” She grinned. “I don’t know how.”
Sam rolled his eyes and took the note from Fanny. He dreaded sharing any further confessions from Eva regarding beatings or malevolent matches. But thankfully the note was short. Sam cleared his throat.
I must see you as soon as possible. On Thursday, I am to pick out more fabric from the dress shop where we met. Meet me in the Mrs. Hopper’s tea house, found at nearest corner. I trust a similar time to our last acquaintance will work,
Eva.
“I don’t like her, Mister Leigh,” said Fanny immediately, handing him the note with distaste. “She sounds like a tyrant.”
“She’s unwell,” explained Sam, feeling inclined to defend Eva, but at the same time agreeing with Fanny’s assessment.
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Agnès de Savigny writes story-driven romance novels with complex main characters and a healthy dose of steamy sex scenes. Her writing draws from real life adventures, imaginative flirtations, wild dreams, and a wealth of world travel.
She wrote and published her first book Tempt the Ocean a few years ago and had so much fun that she started another.
Her second novel, the epic historical romance Third Time’s a Gentleman set in the mid 18th century, was soft released in the summer of 2022. Wide release is scheduled before the end of 2023.
In progress is a new contemporary romance suspense series called “Hollywood North.” The first book of the series is already in the editing stage.
Follow Agnès: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Newsletter Sign-Up | @agnesdesav.bsky.social (Bluesky)
Maggie Blackbird 