Hidden Treasures by Kathleen Buckley
A little bit about Kathleen Buckley…
I’ve been writing since I was a child: I loved any assignment that involved creative writing, including essay questions. Probably this stemmed from my mother having read to me when I was very young, and not necessarily “age appropriate” books, which she found boring. There was one about life on a whaling ship, and another I think may have been the children’s version of  Lorna Doone, a novel set in the 17th century. Once I learned to read I was never without a book. By the time I was twelve or fourteen, I aspired to write stories of my own.
I spent most of my childhood and teen years in Alaska, where the six cold, snowy months provided plenty of time to read. After graduating from the University of Washington, I discovered that a Master’s degree in English is not an advantage in finding a job during a severe recession. In a way, this gave me the benefit of a wide range of experiences, which are always useful to a writer. I learned something useful (and interesting) in every job I worked: a hospital’s patient accounts, a commercial print shop, a bank’s loan servicing department, as a paralegal in a law firm, and finally as security officer. I’d always wanted to write and did so from the time I was about twelve. In my twenties, I met another aspiring author and through her, published authors who were actually famous. My first success was the sale of two stories to an anthology edited by the late Robert Bloch, author of “Psycho” (let me clarify that Mr. Bloch was not “late” at the time). Then there was a long, dry spell when my work left little time or energy for writing. I began writing historical fiction after I moved to New Mexico and retired. Art in all forms is in the air here.
Hidden Treasures Blurb
Allan Everard, an earl’s illegitimate son, is dismissed from his employment at his father’s death but inherits a former coaching inn. Needing to make a new life in London, he begins by leasing the inn to a charity.
Unexpectedly orphaned, Rosabel Stanbury and her younger sister are made wards of a distant, unknown cousin. Fearing his secretive ways and his intentions for them, Rosabel and Oriana flee to London where they are taken in by a women’s charity.
Drawn into Rosabel’s problems, with his inn under surveillance by criminals, Allan has only a handful of unlikely allies, including an elderly general, a burglar, and an old lady who knows criminal slang.
This is a spotlight on “Hidden Treasures” by Kathleen Buckley
Inspiration to write Hidden Treasures…
I enjoy historical romance, particularly the novels of Georgette Heyer and Jane Aiken Hodge in which there is some adventure and/or mystery as well as romance. That’s why I write that genre. Where did the idea for “Hidden Treasures” come from? I knew life was hard for most Londoners at the time, and wondered what would happen to someone who found herself on her own with no family, friends or money. In modern terms, with no safety net.
What can readers expect from this book?
There are no drawing rooms and ballrooms in Hidden Treasures. The male character is illegitimate and trying to make a place for himself in London. The cast includes characters who are definitely lower class and some who are…let’s say, “ethically challenged” and living by their wits. I prefer my characters to slide into love rather than fall into lust. Be warned: there’s no explicit sex in any of my books, though sometimes there are duels, dens of vice, arson, murder, treason, and legal skullduggery.
Kathleen’s other works…
My books are available at multiple sites via the following universal links:
An Unsuitable Duchess: Â https://books2read.com/u/bpEkQE
Most Secret  https://books2read.com/u/bw2k0v
Captain Easterday’s Bargain  https://books2read.com/u/b5QKzO
A Masked Earl  https://books2read.com/u/m2r1no
Portia and the Merchant of London  https://books2read.com/u/medV6Y
A Duke’s Daughter  https://books2read.com/u/4DjwoQ
A Westminster Wedding https://books2read.com/u/4NjNn6
A Peculiar Enchantment  https://books2read.com/u/3kgezO
By Sword & Fan  https://books2read.com/u/bwkJNY
Hidden Treasures  https://books2read.com/u/bwkpq0
A Murder of Convenience  https://books2read.com/u/47yNX7
Kathleen’s favourite scene from Hidden Treasures…
The creak of a door awakened him in the depths of the night. Starting bolt upright, he threw back the covers and bedcurtains and swung his legs out of bed.
A hoarse whisper of “It’s me, Higgs, sir.”
“What the devil are you doing up?” Without thought, Allan kept his voice low. Steel struck flint; no answer came until Higgs had blown on the tinder to coax it to smolder and lit a candle.
“Don’t be waking the house. I’ve been doin’ a char for Barlicorn. I’ll tell you tomorrow.” The valet tiptoed past him to where a trundle bed had been made up for him. Through the bedcurtains, Allan heard a few rustlings as Higgs slipped out of his clothing and creaks as he lay down. Equal parts mystified and annoyed, Allan’s last thought before sinking into sleep again was that he hoped Higgs was not ripe for the gallows as he rather liked the rascal.
Connect with Author Kathleen Buckley
https://18thcenturyromance.com/ Â
https://www.instagram.com/18thcenturyromance/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/anunsuitableduchess/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/270998.Kathleen_Buckley
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kathleen-buckley
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kathleen-Buckley/author/B072J2GPZ3
very nice presentation! Interesting background. Looks real good.
Veronica Lynch
Very nice, Kathleen. Congrats on your book release and on your writing journey.
Congratulations to Kathleen on this wonderful spotlight!!