The Evolution of A Book

Hi, gang! I'm filling in today here at PCD since there was an opening and, well, I usually have a lot to say. Today I want to talk about my latest release from Ellora's Cave, One Knight Only.

It's been getting a lot of great reviews, which makes me super happy. It received 4 nymphs from Literary Nymphs Reviews. "[Maggie's] efforts to protect Finn warmed my heart, especially when she nursed him back to health. … One Knight Only is a wonderful story about honor and the endless boundaries of love." And 5 stars from Night Owl Reviews! "...this fast-paced story [is] fascinating with a sweet romance weaving its way into your heart."

Here’s the blurb for the book:

A snarky Faery princess, a Scottish knight with a gambling problem, and a murderous earl all add up to one thing: Trouble. Maggie’s medieval education never prepared her for life in the Middle Ages!

Do-gooder Maggie Chase throws her thesis out the window when she wakes up in the arms of a hot Scottish knight. When she realizes she’s somehow ended up back in time, she embraces the persona of Lady Margaret. But she may be in over her head when she realizes she has to keep the sexy knight alive during a jousting tournament in order to get back to her own time.

Sir Finian “Finn” McCullough is a gambling man and owes a very large debt to an evil earl who is after his family estate. When the beautiful and outgoing Maggie arrives in his bed, he can’t remember tupping her the night before and thinks she’s a spy for one of his neighboring clans. He intends to find her kinsman and return her safely but he can’t resist her charms, her smart mouth or her sex appeal. Instead he keeps her close, taking her with him to an important jousting tournament—one he has to win or lose his castle forever.

This book is near and dear to my heart. It was actually very different when I first started writing it way back in 2005 before I was published. My heroine’s name was Grace, she had brother named Lars, Elyne was nothing more than a handmaiden, and the hero was Sir Drake. The evil Earl of Litonshire was still evil, though, in that draft. *grin* Originally, the story was going to be a straight historical. But I had a problem – my heroine tended to sound modern. And I had problems with the historical set up. It just didn’t work. So I stopped writing. I moved on to some other projects that landed me a couple of contracts with Samhain and then Cobblestone Press. But I never forgot about this book. It had always been in the back of my mind.

I fiddled with it in 2008. I rewrote the beginning. My heroine became Maggie Grace from present day, the hero became a hot Scottish knight, Finian “Finn” McCullough and Elyne became a snotty faery princess.

And then I got sidetracked with finishing some other projects. I didn’t get back to it again until late 2010/early 2011. I read through the beginning and decided it was pretty darn good. I tweaked the first chapter (which was originally a prologue). And read the first 90 pages I’d written. Yeah, 90 pages. You’d think I could finish something getting that far into it. I liked the way it was going, though. My heroine had gone back in time to the Middle Ages, waking up in bed with Sir Finian. Who wouldn’t want to wake up next to a Scottish knight?

The story remained mostly the same. It still had the historical elements I wanted, which was a setting during a jousting tournament. Sir Drake became a minor character, I added another a fae character, Sir Derron, plus some other minor characters. But that evil earl remained the same. ;)

I pushed myself to finish the story by late January, got it out to critique partners and then had a final draft ready for submitting by March. Then I waited. And waited. And waited for responses from my submissions that were out. It was ultimately rejected and then my friend suggested I send it to her editor at Ellora’s Cave. I figured it couldn’t hurt and submitted. I had a contract within a week. So it was really exciting to sign that contract, do the edits and get it back to the editor.

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did writing it.

One Knight Only is available from Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and All Romance Ebooks and released September 29.


Michelle Miles writes contemporary, fantasy and paranormal romance. She believes in knights in shining armor and HEAs. For more information about her and her books, visit her website at http://www.michellemiles.net where you can also sign up for her monthly newsletter, The Monthly Grind. You can also follower her at Twitter, @MichelleMiles, and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MichelleMilesRomance.