I had already some ideas for the plot when I sat down to create portraits of the two main characters. It was while I was working on those portraits that the characters fully came into existence and their story fell into place. 

While I was working on Con's portrait, it also became clearer and clearer that "winter" would be one of the major themes of the novella: He's got grey hair (just like Victor in Yuri on Ice!) (gosh, I ADORE that series!!!), which, together with his blue eyes and the somewhat haughty expression, creates the impression of a rather frosty man. His emotions are frozen, and when he returns home in the middle of winter, the whole landscape is frozen as well (I started writing The Return of the Earl right after Christmas, when here in Germany we had a period of rather… eh… frosty weather). Moreover, to him, the house he returns to seems to be frozen in time (cue some subtle references to "Sleeping Beauty"). Of course, as the story evolves, Con starts to "defrost" — his emotions unravel , as his evil author puts him through the wringer… 

ER: Your previous mm romance (and some of your other books are set in the times of Ancient Rome). Which time period is your favorite and why? 

SS: I love all three time periods my books are set in. They help me to avoid a creative burnout, and they fulfill different functions: 

· My Regency romances are mostly set among the upper classes, thus allowing me to write about country estates and garden follies. (I LOVE garden follies!!!) They also tend to be more whimsical. *thinks of her first published novel* Well, in a manner of speaking…. 

· My Victorian series has been inspired by my academic research on Victorian magazines and newspapers, and I love digging into the everyday life and day-to-day politics of the time. Being able to include cameo appearances of the writers and artists of PUNCH, my favorite Victorian magazine, is an added bonus. (So in other words, my Victorian series allows me to shamelessly fangirl over my favorite Victorian artists & writers.) 

· Each book in my Roman series, by contrast, presents me with unique challenges of research. While I've been interested in the Romans since I was little and fell in love with the works of Rosemary Sutcliff, I'm still not as familiar with the period as I am with, say, the Victorian Age, which I have studied for years. When Twitter talked me into writing a Roman romance, I really had to knuckle down and bring myself up to scratch in regard to the historical background. Moreover, the series has also allowed me to explore some local history, as I live in Roman borderland, near where the Germanic limes once marked the edge of the Roman Empire. Since 2014, I've been a regular visitor to the reconstructed Roman fort in Bad Homburg, where I also took a Roman cookery class! 

ER: Are you planning to turn The Return of the Earl into a series? Maybe a book about the Earl’s secretary? Or a down-stairs romance between his staff (I love this type of historicals and would love to read one like that written by you)? 

SS: Yes. I think there might be a story about Ross, Con's secretary, in the future. And glimpses of an older Con in my Victorian series. I already have some ideas for that! 😊 

ER: Your book shows great detail of the times which you seem to have researched meticulously. What was most fun/difficult thing to research for this story? 

SS: Thank you! To be honest, though, I didn't have to do all that much research for The Return of the Earl – that was the beauty of writing this story! My early published novels were all set in the Regency period or the early 19th century, thus, I when I started to write historicals some 15 years ago, I read a lot about the period, which forms the foundation I can fall back on today. 

In addition, when I was still a lecturer at university, much of my work focused on the 19th century. Indeed, a few things I researched for my Ph.D. thesis (on the history of dragonslaying) found their way into The Return of the Earl, specifically, the gothic garden follies and the mummers' play, which is a specific kind of English folk drama. For the play in my story, I used different 19th-century versions of a so-called hero-combat play, where a hero – in this case, St. George – fights against one or more villains (a soldier, a knight, a foreign king, or a dragon figure). One of the combatants is slain, but luckily the Doctor is at hand with some miracle medicine to affect a nice resurrection. At the end there is often a song, and then the mummers are rewarded with alcohol or money (or both), and everybody is happy. 

  

In the last few years, I was also lucky enough to visit a few stately homes in Britain. The grounds of my grumpy earl's country estate are modelled on those of Harewood near Leeds, while the house itself, with its layout around a main courtyard and a service courtyard, was inspired by Dunham Massey. In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in the lives of servants, which is why a lot of stately homes have opened up the service areas to the public. When I was at Dunham Massey, I took part in a tour of the service courtyard, and it's this kind of hands on research that is really helpful to understand how country houses worked in the past. 

And of course, walking from such a stately home back to the train station in the nearest town or village really makes you aware how vast these country estates are (especially if you have to hurry to catch your train). 

[picture 4: terrace at Harewood] 

ER: Finally, what can we expect from you in the near future? 

SS: I think I'm going to stick with the Regency period for the time being, and I hope to finally finish that Victorian novella later in the year.

Sandra lives in Frankfurt am Main in Germany with a sketchbook, a sewing machine, and an ever-expanding library.

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Blurb

Review

This was a lovely, sweet, slow-burn mm Regency romance. Sandra Schwab tells a tender and very moving story with some air of melancholy which is further strengthened by the stunning winter scenery she created. The nature as reflection of the characters' emotions was just so well incorporated in this story, the vivid way the scenery and the Christmas season was presented made it fell almost like a character of its own on the story. 

I loved both the grumpy Earl (no surprise there as grumpy heroes are my catnip) and his quiet and loyal Stablemaster. Their second-chance friends-to-lovers romance, very understated and quiet at times and all the more powerful and memorable for that, was a joy to read. 

The story is told from the point of view of Con, the young Earl of Stanbury and we see very little of the inner world of his stablemaster, Bryn. I liked getting to know all Con's emotions - his anger and fear and desperation and later on, hope and overwhelming love.  I really wanted more insight into Bryn's inner world as well. I have to admit that he remained a bit of mystery for me. At the same time Con's attraction and deep affection for him was rather catching and I couldn't help but like him, and like him a lot, myself. 

The writing is beautiful, elaborate and rich. It's full of details of the historical period (a bit too much at times in my opinion) and it transports the reader right there and then at the times and place of the story.

I like the supporting characters, we see more of Con's secretary and his butler and less of the staff of Harrowcot manor but I'd love to read more stories about all of them. 

This quiet but moving love story is a recommended reading for fans of historical romance

Favourite books — A Selection

Anything by Rosemary Sutcliff. She's been my favorite author since I was eight, and she made me fall in love with British history. I particularly like Blood Feud, The Eagle of the Ninth, Frontier Wolf, and Sword at Sunset, though this book ripped my heart out. 

Anything by Dorothy Dunnett, another favorite author of mine. What she does with language is just mind-boggling. If you want a long, epic series of historical novels, try The Lymond Chronicles (though these might also rip your heart out), but her stand-alone, King Hereafter (yes, this one, too, will rip your heart out), and her contemporary mysteries are also great.

Terry Pratchett is another author I much admire. I love his humor, and I enjoyed many of his Discworld novels, in particular Witches Abroad and Guards! Guards!.

Among my comfort reads are several of Georgette Heyer's novels. I love Bath Tangle, Venetia, The Grand Sophy, and especially "A Clandestine Affair" from the anthology Pistols for Two.

Jacqueline Gilbert is another comfort-read author for me. She wrote for Harlequin Mills & Boon in the 1970s and 80s, so her books tend to be a bit old-fashioned, but still lovely! What I find particularly intriguing is that many of her books are set in the world of theatre. Among my favorites are Poppy Girl (which contains lovely references to Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles!!), Scorpio Summer, and Dear Villain. 

Author Bio and Links

She holds a PhD in English Literature and lives in Frankfurt am Main / Germany with a sketchbook, a sewing machine, and an ever-expanding library.

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Just in time for its tenth anniversary, Ms Schwab re-released her debut novel, The Lily Brand, which was originally published by Dorchester in 2005

Synopsis 

Troy Sacheverell, fifth earl of Ravenhurst, was captured in France. He'd gone to fight Napoleon, but what he found was much more sinister. Dragged from prison to an old French manor on the outskirts of civilization, he was purchased by a rich and twisted widow. And more dangerous still was the young woman who claimed him.

Lillian had not chosen to live with Camille, her stepmother, but nobody escaped the Black Widow's web. And on her nineteenth birthday, Lillian became Camille's heir. Her gift was a plaything: a man to end her naiveté, a man perfect in all ways but his stolen freedom. Yet even as Lillian did as she was told, marked that beautiful flesh and branded it with the flower of her name, all she desired was escape. In another place, in another world, she'd desired love. Now, looking into burning blue eyes, she knew there was no place to run. No matter if should she flee, no matter where she might go, she and this man were prisoners of passion, inextricably linked by the lily brand.

And while her heart remained locked in ice, his burnt with hate. Would they ever find true happiness?

Purchase links: Amazon / Kobo

A proud warrior.

A brave woman.

A forbidden love that is tested by the intrigues of ancient Rome and the hostilities at the northernmost edge of the empire.

Centurion Marcus Florius Corvus has a splendid career in the legions ahead of him. Yet a visit to Rome and a chance encounter with an old friend change his whole life: He falls in love with one of his friend's pleasure slaves and becomes entrapped in an evil scheme designed to destroy him. And yet—he cannot help risking everything for Lia, the woman he has given his heart to, even if it means he will be banished to one of the most dangerous places in the Roman Empire: the northern frontier of Britannia.

This my first romance set in Roman times and in generally, my first book by Sandra Schwab, so I was curious what it would be like. It turned out to be an engaging, tender love story which I greatly enjoyed. Ms Schwab's detail-oriented writing recreated convincingly the atmosphere of ancient Rome, the Legions, being a warrior/slave girl.

Marcus was a warrior through and through but he was also noble and caring and open about his feelings. There was so much goodness in him, he felt like a sweetheart.

Lia was a slave, dancing and providing other entertainment for her master who was a friend of Marcus and his guests. But she was proud and despite her fate she had preserved her inner self, a kind of innocence and the ability to trust and love.

I loved the dynamics of Marcus and Lia's relationship including in the bedroom. There is a lot of play, exchange of power but also sincerity and real intimacy.

The story included also all that ancient Rome is famous for - political intrigue, debauchery, war, slavery, etc. Still it was mostly a very personal, human story. The background, though vivid and intriguing, never overshadowed the romance. 

I expected more raw and gritty in this story but the somewhat sweet romance I got also worked well for me. I can recommend it to romance lovers who enjoy well tender and emotional love stories unfolding in a well drawn historical settings.

Purchase links: Amazon