As part of her storytelling, Herrera always aims to uncover truths of the past for her readers.
“And a lot of them had pieces presented at the Exposition.
There were at least a dozen different women who were openly lesbians and who had pieces at the Exposition.
Harlequin
An Island Princess Starts a Scandalhits shelves May 30.
Check out the cover below and read on for more from the author.
ADRIANA HERRERA: I wanted to balance the pairings.
Adriana Herrera
So, I wanted to give him a little more time to earn his HEA [happily-ever-after].
So, it was partly a practical decision.
We met Manuela inA Caribbean Heiress in Paris.But tell me more about her and what to expect from her.
Manuela is probably the character that’s most like me.
It was our century of liberation starting with the Haitian revolution.
So, a lot of people were displaced, A lot of people had to go into exile.
A lot of people had to end up living in places that were not their homeland.
Manuela’s family is from the Dominican Republic and she was born in the Dominican Republic.
But her family had to go into exile in Venezuela after the War of Independence in the Dominican Republic.
A Caribbean Heiress in Parisgave us this exciting, new vision of what a historical romance can be.
Was there a sense of that in your writing?
I mean, it kind of does, right?
As is the way that I put in representation and diversity.
So that felt like a responsibility to take a stab at continue that in this next book.
Paris was a very, very gay place.
It was really in the open.
That particular piece I wanted to show as much as I could.
But I’ve found so many interesting things.
She also was Paul Gauguin’s grandmother.
So I was like, she has to be in the book.
It’s so fascinating what you’ve got the option to find as you start digging in.
This cover is so vibrant and eye-catching.
How much input did you have into this, especially this incredible pink color?
This was a very collaborative effort because I am kind of a control freak (laughs).
Because it really is part of what I’m trying to do with this series.
We played around with different concepts.
They wanted it to look a little bit more modern than the first cover.
I was like, “Oh, I don’t know how I feel about that.”
Cause I loved the concept of the first one.
So, let’s do Valentino Pink.”
They were into it.
Zendaya had done this great campaign for Valentino with Valentino Pink.
And I wanted to have that vibe.
It perfectly fits Manuela, who is very different from Luz, who was more serious.
Luz was trying to get her business off the ground.
How much was the art world and burgeoning movements like Impressionism something you wanted to include?
Toulouse Lautrec’s art showcased that night scene.
Lesbians in the art world were very interconnected at that time.
And there was this emerging scene of new kinds of art.
Not just the impressionists, but Art Nouveau was starting to come out.
Munch and all these other guys were starting at that time.
What are some of the key differences between the two stories?
The tone is similar.
It’s Manuela finding her way in the world and making her way.
The big difference is that Manuela doesn’t really have a plan.
She’s basically going in as her last hurrah.
Manuela’s figuring out her future with the reader as opposed to Luz was after what she wanted.
And also, the Duchess is a really complicated character.
Probably one of the most complicated that I’ve written.
Evan was a much more self-actualized punch in of hero.
There was stuff that he was trying to figure out, but he was very self-aware.
He saw Luz and he knew he wanted to help her.
The Duchess is a lot more selfish.
The Duchess has to be humbled a lot more than Evan had to be.
It feels to me more like an old school romance.
I wanted to lean into more over-the-top drama.
