I know that everyone’s brain works differently and processes this kind of information in separate ways, and I often find it rather cruel when authors leave scenes like this in the nether of “fade to black” because I always imagine the absolute worst in those shadows. That was the extent of my decision-making process. This moment is such a large part of it and thus needed to be told. I’ll admit I didn’t make a super conscious choice regarding what to leave on the page and what to take out. What went into your decision to detail this out rather than fade to black or have it mentioned as backstory? The scene is graphic and very much on the page. In the prologue, the heroine Alexandra is raped. The women are what connect the books, and the prologues are dedicated to their most formative moments. Romantic, of course, but also paternal, mentor, villain, child and fierce friendships. The Devil You Know series was sort of a love story to and for women and their varied seminal relationships. My last several books (and the subsequent ones to this series) have been and will be generally focused on heroes and their past wounds. I hope it sounds okay to admit I was actually looking forward to writing this series because of the subject matter. Though you have over a dozen historical romances under your belt, were you nervous about starting this series given the subject matter?

How to Love a Duke in Ten Days is the first book in the new Devil You Know series. We talked to Byrne about hard-won happy endings and writing a heroine who avenges herself. The formidable Alexandra Lane of How to Love a Duke in Ten Days is a sexual assault survivor, and Byrne depicts her trauma in sensitive, yet still unflinching prose. Kerrigan Byrne is no stranger to depicting difficult subjects in her romances, and her latest book is no exception.

Unwanted by Kerrigan Byrne