Bonnie Vanak talks to the wicked earl hero of The Lady & the Libertine

Nigel Wallenford, rightful earl of Claradon, is the wicked hero of The Lady and the Libertine.

I knew he was naughty from the moment he stepped off the pages of my last Egyptian historical, The Scorpion and the Seducer.

In my latest book, he seduces a virginal beauty in order to steal the pharaoh’s treasure she guards in Egypt. I pitted Nigel, a thief, liar and libertine, against Anne/Karida, who has sworn to be upright and moral. Karida was born in England and taken to live with my Khamsin warriors of the wind in Egypt. They entrusted her with a ruby that unlocks the key to a fabulous treasure buried in the sands.

Nigel is fascinating and complex. He does the wrong things for the right reasons. He’s very naughty, and just when you think he’ll change, he turns around and does something wicked again.

So to get to know him better, I invited him to sit down for a little chat in my home office.

Bonnie:  Hi there, Nigel, welcome.

Nigel, looking around:  This is the room where you wrote about me? What an utter mess.

Bonnie:  Hey, if you want to be a critic, go write book reviews. Let’s get down to business and talk about you in The Lady and the Libertine.

Nigel:  Right. I’m the libertine and Anne/Karida is the lady. I have a very nice time teaching her how to be as naughty as I am in bed. End of story.

Bonnie:  That’s the briefest synopsis I’ve ever heard of one of my Egyptian books. What about the action? The adventure? The part about the tomb of the golden mummies and the treasure? The ruby you try to steal from Karida?

Nigel:  I’d rather discuss how I stole her virginity. Much more fun. I do like the cover they gave my book. The way my hand is sliding down toward Karida’s bosom. I just wish they had let me slide it a little further.

Bonnie: There you go again. Sex on the brain. You’re deeper than that, Nigel.

Nigel, grinning:  I can go very deep. See Chapter 9. Karida will agree with you.

Bonnie, sighing:  I wonder if I should have given you that ménage à trois  scene in Chapter 4.

Nigel:  I do like how you posed the question to your editor at last year’s Romantic Time’s convention. You’re so subtle, Bonnie, about as subtle as a tank. You asked Chris, “Is it okay if I have Nigel have a ménage à trois  in this book?”  And he said yes. I knew I liked that chap.

Bonnie:  Can we just stop talking about sex for a minute? This is a PG-rated article.

Nigel:  You’re the one who brought up the ménage à trois.  Shall we discuss something more banal, such as tennis? Oh wait, that’s another sport involving balls…

Bonnie:  Will you STOP it! You know what? You’re like the stock market. You’re up, down, all over the place. I can’t predict you.

Nigel, grinning:  Who wants a predictable hero, love? Wouldn’t you rather have someone like me who is always spinning you about?

Bonnie:  You sure as hell were frustrating to write…

Nigel:  Language! Remember, this is PG-rated.

Bonnie:  You’re insolent, arrogant, a liar, thief, a sexual libertine.

Nigel:  Those are all my best points.

Bonnie:  And yet you’re tender, gentle, wounded inside and extremely protective. You keep flipping that coin in the ballroom scene, wondering if you can change. You see Karida across the ballroom floor in another man’s arms and you know you must have her.

Nigel:  It did annoy me how you placed her in that position. My darling Karida in the arms of another man. I did want to thrash him for daring to touch her.

Bonnie:  You’re so flip, but you stick up for the underdog, and you sensed that about Karida at the Khamsin camp. I like how you taught Karida to fight back.

Nigel:  Can a man in love do anything else than to advise his lady how to stand up for herself?

Bonnie:  AH-HA! Caught you! I knew I could get you to admit you’re in love.

Nigel:  Hurrah for you. Shall I pin a medal on you? Your point being?

Bonnie:  Despite everything you are, you have good points about you, Nigel. Deep down, you need to love and be loved in return. I like that scene in the brothel when you’re making love to Karida…

Nigel:  There you go, talking about sex again!

Bonnie:  The scene is a good example. Sex becomes not pleasure, but an emotional connection you crave, such as evidenced in this part: “She was to take him, not just his body, but all of him, the good and the bad. His groan was a cry from the depths of a soul he thought far too tarnished for redemption, and she was his one chance at acceptance.”

Nigel:  It’s Karida. She’s my true treasure, the one in my heart I keep carefully guarded. You know I would do anything for her.

Bonnie:  So you’re saying she’s worth more than all the treasure in Egypt?

Nigel:  When you find a woman of true worth, no treasure, no matter how vast, can equal her.

Bonnie:  Aww! That’s so sweet.

Nigel:   Right. Can I get back to the book now? You interrupted me right in the middle of that crucial scene in Chapter 9…

To read an excerpt from The Lady and the Libertine, visit www.bonnievanak.com

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