My story isn’t unique or terribly shocking. A much older woman. A beach house and interminable rain. Bored with the board games. No TV. My own thriller at home three hundred miles away. I admit I was desperate for something to read and turned to Victoria Holt. When I saw that tattered, dog-eared copy I thought of my grandmother. She read most of what the author, aka, Eleanor Hibbert, wrote under several pen names, but it was the gothic romances churned out as Holt that were Grandmother’s favorite.

The book I read that rainy afternoon was called, “Daughter of Deceit”. I tell you this not because it’s on my list of top ten favorites. I remembered enough keywords from the plot to Google them along with the author’s name. When I read the description on Amazon about an “actress in Paris” and “roman ruins” in England I knew I’d found it. Alas, you are going to have to purchase a used copy or run to your library if you want to read it.

I can’t remember if I liked the book. It was too many books and years ago to recall. But you never completely forget your first and “Daughter of Deceit” was the first romance novel I read. I’ve read a lot of others since then for work and pleasure. I’m a sucker for a good story whatever the genre.

Real Men Read Romance!