He pledged his honor to keep her safe . . .

Returning home to Cornwall after an unspeakable tragedy, Sir Gideon Trevithick comes upon a defiant beauty in danger and vows to protect her whatever the cost. He's dismayed to discover that she's none other than Lady Charis Weston, England's wealthiest heiress—and that the only way to save her from the violent stepbrothers determined to steal her fortune is to wed her himself! Now Gideon must hide the dark secrets of his life from the bride he desires more with every heartbeat.

She promised to show him how to love—and desire—again . . .

Charis has heard all about Gideon, the dangerously handsome hero with the mysterious past. She's grateful for his help but utterly unwilling to endure a marriage of convenience—especially to a man whose touch leaves her breathless. Desperate to drive him mad with passion, she would do anything to make Gideon lose control—and fall captive to irresistible, undeniable sin.

I was born in Brisbane, Australia, and grew up on an avocado farm with views of Moreton Bay and Stradbroke Island. As a result, my ideal setting ever since has involved lots of water—even if it's just a large bathtub with me lolling around in it.

The other element in my ideal setting is lots and lots of books. I was a kid who spent her childhood with her nose buried between the pages of a book. To me, the worlds I read about were at least as real and ten times as exciting as anything that happened to me in Redland Bay. I still think one of life's finest pleasures is picking up a great book and just losing myself in it for however long I take to finish it.

Being such an avid reader naturally morphed into wanting to do what these wonderful writers did. My mother very proudly kept my grade two composition book, in which I penned a heartfelt wish to become the new Enid Blyton. At least you can say I had an early sense of vocation.

When I was 8, my mother was so desperate to shut me up—in between reading, I used to talk a lot—that she gave me a Mills & Boon romance. That was back in the days when you were lucky to get a kiss at the end, rather tame by today's standards. But I was immediately hooked. The vivid emotion and the fact that a woman is so central to the story made these books precious to me. I still feel that way about a good romance.

I started my first novel when I was in grade three (at least I took my promises in grade two seriously!), an exciting saga about horse-napping that I never actually finished. I fiddled with various stories until I left high school, when I finished an historical in the style of the late and much loved Kathleen Woodiwiss. Pretty dire, and well-deserving of its place under the bed—which is where everything else I wrote ended up over the coming years. Started to get crowded down there!

After high school, I did an English Literature degree at Queensland University. What bliss! Someone actually wanted me to read all day! I spent three years working in a bank before living in the U.K. for two years. That was a wonderful time, when I got to see so many places I'd read about during all that dedicated library mooching. I've been back a couple of times since, most recently in the summer of 2007, and the magic has never waned.

I came back to Australia determined to act on my writing ambitions, so that's when my gypsy years started. So many jobs, so little money. Retail. Hospitality. Marketing. An art gallery. Technical writing for training companies. Eventually, I settled into a 12-year stint in Sydney (thanks to a totally fluke win on a quiz show, which funded the move). There I worked at a charity that subtitled TV programs for the deaf and hearing impaired.

During all this time I wrote. As many beginner romance writers do, I decided category would be an easy way into the industry, even though my heart has always been with long, juicy historicals. I finished seven short contemporary stories, all of which were rejected very nicely by Harlequin. By this stage, under the bed was more crowded than the center of Hong Kong at Chinese New Year. Then I worked on a pile of totally unmarketable historicals, some of which I finished, most of which I didn't. More boxes for the dust bunnies to eat in the bedroom. You'll notice housework never featured in my mixed-up career choices.

What made the biggest difference to me was joining Romance Writers of Australia. Suddenly, I had like-minded people around me (up until then, I'd basically worked alone) who could offer advice and encouragement. I had competitions I could enter that gave me an indication of whether I had anything to offer or whether I was just kidding myself. I had a conference to g