Dear Reader,
It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since the publication of “Daughter of the Game”. Charles and Mélanie and their world are very close to my heart, so I was thrilled when Morrow/Avon decided to reissue the book in trade paperback. For the new edition, they gave the book a new title and cover look which emphasize the historical richness I sought to capture in the story.
I love “Daughter of the Game” as a title, but I was very happy when—after endless lists were emailed back and forth—we settled on “Secrets of a Lady”. To me, it has echoes of the 19th century novels which so influenced me in writing the story.
For “Secrets of a Lady” I wrote a new epilogue–a letter from Charles to Mélanie. ‘Secrets of a Lady’ also includes about fifteen pages of what Avon Trade calls A+–a very fun section that is sort of like DVD extras. I wrote mine in the form of a series of letters between Charles, Mélanie, and other characters that offer glimpses into their history. Additional letters (different from those in “Secrets of a Lady”) can be found on this site in the new Fraser Correspondence section. I plan to add a new letter to Fraser Correspondence weekly, so do check back.
If “Secrets of a Lady” does well, hopefully the sequel, “The Mask of Night”, will be published, as well as further books in the series (I have a lot of wonderful ideas for stories about Charles and Mélanie and their friends and family). I’ve spent the years since the publication of “Beneath a Silent Moon” (the prequel to “Secrets of a Lady”) writing “The Mask of Night”, as well as “In Such a Night”, an historical novel set in the French Empire in 1811.
Thanks to my wonderful new website redesign, I’ll be able to update this letter frequently, so check back for more information about these books and background information on “Secrets of a Lady.”
Happy Reading,
Tracy
May 29, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Dear Tracy,
The new site is wonderful. Can’t wait for the expanded version of Daughter to be available. Happy writing!
Kay
May 29, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Tracy, love the new site and the new cover!
May 29, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Hi, Tracy.
I’m a new reader of your books…or will be, as soon as I’m sure I have all the ones in the series I want to start on. I recently picked up “Beneath a Silent Moon,” knowing from the cover notes that I would have to track down “Daughter of the Game” to read first. Now I’m not sure that is the first book of the series.
I just was reading your letter to readers, and there are other book titles mentioned there (“Secrets of a Lady” and “the Mask of Night”), and now I’m a little confused. I don’t know how many books are in the series, which one is first, or the order in which to read them. Could you help me out? I love the Regency era, but I am a huge mystery fan, and I’m so excited to find some “serious” (if funny in places) mystery-style novels from an era about which, to this point, I’ve only read pleasant fluff. I like the fluff, too! But I’m excited to find your books wherein two of my favorite reads (Regency and mystery) are combined. So…where do I start in this series, and in what order do I proceed? Thanks much!
May 30, 2007 at 12:38 am
Thanks so much to all of you for visiting the site on its launch day! I really appreciate it. Kay and Sandy, thank you so much for your kind comments.
Charlotte, I’m thrilled to hear you have just found the Charles & Mélanie books. I too love mysteries and the Regency era and I love writing about the darker side of the era. “Secrets of a Lady” and “Daughter of the Game” are the same book–my publisher is re-releasing “Daughter of the Game” this August in trade paperback format under the title “Secrets of a Lady”. It’s the same book, though “Secrets of a Lady” does contain a new epilogue and ten pages of “extras” (letters between the characters).
As to where to start–”Secrets of a Lady/Daughter of the Game” was written first, but “Beneath a Silent Moon” actually takes place two years earlier in the lives of the characters. In “Secrets/Daughter” the main characters, Charles and Mélánie, have been married for seven years. After developiung their backstory, I wanted to go back and show some of the early years of their marriage and deal with Charles’s family, which is why I wrote “Beneath a Silent Moon” as a prequel. Each book is more or less a self-contained story and neither contains major spoilers for the other. I wrote them so they could be read in either order. As you already have “Beneath a SIlent Moon”, you might want to start there and then get “Secrets of Lady” when it comes out so you have the epilogue and extras.
“The Mask of Night”, the third book in the series, is set just after “Secrets/Daughter”. It’s written but has yet to be published. I have lots of ideas for subsequent books as well. Hopefully, “Secrets of a Lady” will do well, and I’ll be able to continue the series.
Hope that all makes sense–do feel free to ask further questions!
Cheers,
Tracy
May 30, 2007 at 1:51 am
Nice website!
DotG was the best book I read the year you published it. Got it from the library and immediately bought 2 copies in HB (one for me and one for a good friend). Got a copy of BaSM the minute it was published. If you can’t get a publisher to print the sequels (are they all crazy?), maybe you could put it out as an ebook? I would *love* to read more about those characters!
May 31, 2007 at 7:15 am
Hi Jennie,
Thanks so much! It’s wonderful of you to buy the books in hardcover and introducre your friends to them. At the moment, I’m hoping there will be a publisher for the sequels
.
Cheers,
Tracy
May 31, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Congratulations on the beautiful new site, Tracy!
May 31, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Thanks, Monica! And thanks for all your help when we were setting it up!
June 1, 2007 at 12:46 am
Have read your books from the time you were writing with your Mother and enjoyed all of them. My very best wishes on having your new books published. I’ll bet there are a lot of others who want to hear more about Charles and Melanie!
June 1, 2007 at 12:59 am
Truly looking forward to Secrets of a Lady. Extras are always nice.
Hopefully the publishers will continue to publish the series. Do you have any suggestions for what your fans can do to encourage your publisher to publish the further adventures of Charles and Melanie.
June 1, 2007 at 6:02 am
Donna, that’s so lovely to hear (and it would make my mom so happy)! I’m always happy to hear from people who read the Anthea Malcolm/Anna Grant books, since they were written before the Internet took off, so we didn’t have nearly as much contact with readers as now.
Mary, you are so sweet to ask about supporting the books! I think the main thing readers can do to support favorite authors (aside from buying their books, which is huge) is to introduce the books to friends they think would like them. And mentioning them on internet boards and email lists and posting on author websites doesn’t hurt either
.
Cheers,
Tracy