The Roses of Prose: The Reynolds Affair

Please welcome our guest, Diana Rubino! And read all the way to possibly be a winner.

On New Year’s Day 2008, I sat on the couch trying to figure out who to write about next, and decided on Hamilton (this was WAY pre-Hamilton, the musical). The story centers on Hamilton, his wife and mistress—the love triangle that became the nation's first sex scandal, The Reynolds Affair, in 1791.

My agent said the story needed a bit more ‘oomph’ and I thought: how about a Jack the Ripper-type serial killer stalking the dark streets? That genre isn’t my forte, so I asked my friend, best selling thriller writer Brian Porter, to help out. I’ve known Brian for many years; he was my editor on A NECESSARY END, my Civil War romance centering on John Wilkes Booth’s insane plot to assassinate President Lincoln, and I knew about his success with his Jack the Ripper novels and Mersey Mystery series. So he was my very first choice as a collaborator. He graciously obliged and wrote a chilling subplot about a serial killer on the dark Philadelphia streets, Severus Black. Severus seems to have gathered a following already!

While researching this book, I became fascinated with Aaron Burr, who makes a cameo appearance in the story as Maria Reynolds's divorce lawyer. I found the Aaron Burr Association on the internet, and have been a member ever since.

Visit their website at http://www.aaronburrassociation.org/

And on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AaronBurrAssociation/

My fascination with Aaron led to my next bio novel, about his last wife Eliza Jumel, which was released on November 24.

An excerpt from SHARING HAMILTON

“You love me, Alex? You truly love me? Are you sure?” My breath caught in my throat. My heart danced. His admission rendered me breathless. I melted into a puddle in his lap.

“Maria, I’ve been awaiting you all my life.” He stroked my cheek. “You’re everything I’ve wanted in a woman—allure, intelligence, talent, fun—I’ve never met a woman who was all those things wrapped in one beautiful package.”

I gazed into his eyes, knowing our souls had entwined before this, ages before.

“I wanted you so badly from the moment we first met, at Aaron’s soirée,” I divulged the risky admission. “Though I knew you were already taken, and your course already laid out for you, I craved your attention, not to simply revere you from afar. I wanted to know you personally, even if only to spend one visit together. Just to be close to you. But I knew it was a fantasy. I was distraught when you left New York to live here. Then, when James made us move here, I knew our paths were destined to meet. It could not have happened any other way.”

“Then your initial letter to me had subtext I missed?” His lips curved with mirth.

“Oh, no, not at all,” I murmured between kisses on his face, his ears, his lips. “We—I was destitute. James had—” About to blurt it out, I stopped myself. I couldn’t bring myself to admit I’d lied to him; I’d been a pawn in James’s plot. “All I wanted was to meet you, to be alone with you, for a few stolen moments. That was all I deserved. After all, you are—who you are! I’m—no one.”

“Ah, you’re far from no one. A pity James doesn’t realize that. But I do. I will come clean with you, Maria. I love my wife, but I am not in love with her. As I am with you.”

I wanted to climb to the roof and sing to the entire world, “The great Alexander Hamilton, my new love, is in love with me!” How could I ever keep this a secret? The best part of being in love was sharing it with others. Oh, how I wanted to tell someone! But who could I trust?

SHARING HAMILTON Contest

The first three readers to answer this question will receive the Kindle version of SHARING HAMILTON.

Which historical figure have you always wanted to meet, and why?

Purchase SHARING HAMILTON : http://getbook.at/hamilton

Let’s Connect

My Website

My Blog

Twitter