The Bodice Ripper

Anna Hill is a McGill assistant professor of Medieval History and Gender on the eve of her 40th birthday. She specializes in the birth of romance. But after devoting decades of study to her subject, she craves an exotic romance of her own. When nobody steps up, she secretly crafts a bodice-ripping Harlequin set in Medieval Spain. But love soon takes on new meanings when a visiting Parisian professor wants to prove to her that romance is history.

Byron Rempel was born in a Mennonite village in Manitoba around the time Marilyn Monroe sang Happy Birthday for JFK. Following the publication of Byron’s first novel in 1997, he sold his horse and buggy and became a full-time writer. This is not exactly true, particularly the bit about the buggy. He has never owned a buggy, and until recently never imagined living with a horse. In fact, before publishing any books he was a penniless rogue and ne’er do well who was prepared to do anything to see the world. A curiousity about animals (not excluding equines) led to his work with a Parisian circus (la cirque Massila), followed by a turn as assistant elephant caretaker for a travelling Italian circus (il Circo Medrano). A fascination for jungle life led to a gig as writer-in-residence for a Maya archaeological dig in Belize. Among other professions, Byron has tended bar in London, picked grapes in Beaujolais and picked stones in Manitoba. All of that changed when he was seduced by a fascinating Quebecoise woman who pulled him away from his rural roots, only to eventually replant him firmly in the countryside—this time, among the bucolic pleasures of the Laurentian hills. With this latest move Byron Rempel now divides his time between the wild pleasures of animal studies, and the more domestic passion for sitting alone in small rooms writing words most people will never see. He has nevertheless amassed a loyal following, evidenced by his sales of more than 24 books in his hometown alone.