Twenty Years of Family History

THE LOVEDAY VENDETTA published in hardback by Headline this month is the eleventh in the Loveday series. It takes the family drama to the second generation of this passionate, daring and adventurous family. But the younger Lovedays have not only inherited the family’s headstrong and wild-blooded traits that govern their tumultuous lives, they also have to face the curse of their ancestry and fight their own demons to conquer dangerous adversaries to recover their stolen heritage and uncover the truth behind the murder of a loved one…

The orphaned Bryn, who is Captain Adam Loveday’s ward, is determined to bring the murderer of his mother and brother to justice and reclaim his inheritance. His quest not only places his own life in danger but also that of Rowena Loveday, the oldest of the Loveday siblings. Rowena -ho has already faced the censure of the scandals created by her parents - is no complacent captive to her kidnappers, she is a formidable adversary towards anyone who would seek to destroy her reputation.

Beautiful and spirited she has long used her wiles to captivate handsome suitors, most of whom have seduction and not marriage in mind. Fiercely proud of her Loveday blood Rowena is determined to prove that she is a worthy daughter of that honourable heritage. Yet her mother’s reputation as a fortune huntress, adulteress and scheming daughter of the savage Sawle family of smugglers remains a blight upon her own good name and has made her distrustful of any suitor’s intentions.

Within the previous ten novels in the series there have been many dramatic love affairs and romances, but increasingly it has been the personality of the characters and their quest for excitement and adventure that has led them into exploits involving the major historical events of their times. In the later novels to keep the series exciting and fresh, although romance has been present, it has played a much lower key in the plots and the drama, and it is the psychology and motivation of the characters in their quest to triumph over adversaries and rivals that has taken a more important role.

So far the loyal fans of the series have demanded more of this and in THE LOVEDAY VENDETTA the younger generation continue to be ruled by their passionate natures as they face an enemy more evil and powerful than the Loveday family have ever encountered. Young and old must unite to protect their own. But will it be too late…

The knife edge atmospheric drama is fast moving and guaranteed to keep the reader turning the pages. The twist ending is a heart racing conclusion. THE LOVEDAY VENDETTA was the most rewarding and mentally challenging of the novels to write, but the diversity and high intensity of the family emotions drove the story forwards under its own momentum.

Although each of the books stand on their own, the series was written in chronological order of the family history. Rowena was born in the first book and the inner rivalry within the family set up the conflicts of future dramas to unfold in the lives of the family. Although mostly set in Cornwall their adventures take them to France during the Revolution and Napoleonic wars, America, Australia, and the London world of high society, the theatre and underworld.

The order of the series is Adam Loveday, The Loveday Fortunes, The Loveday Trials, The Loveday Scandals, The Loveday Honour, The Loveday Pride, The Loveday Loyalty, The Loveday Revenge, The Loveday Secrets, The Loveday Conspiracy, The Loveday Vendetta. All the books are currently in print by Headline and available through Amazon, The Book Depository and can be ordered from bookshops.

Kate Tremayne