Awaken, My Love
by Robin Schone

"Schone first pushed the erotic envelope in her 1995 romance novel, "Awaken My Love," which was based on the unique --- and some say wacky --- premise of time travel via...orgasm." ("Too Darn Hot,"Salon)

Oh, yeah? Who says you can't time travel via orgasm? And have a whopping good time learning to live sans Starbucks and Netflix? Once you get past the danger of being committed to Bedlam ... or worse, murdered.

"The pillow book scene in the library could burn a hole clear through a block of ice!" ~All About Romance, Desert Isle Keeper

PRAISE FOR AWAKEN, MY LOVE
"Awaken, My Love provides a refreshingly funny commentary on the time-travel genre. Elaine's trials regarding chamber pots, makeshift maxi pads, and social sensibilities like unshaven legs underline such astounding oversights in other books that readers may never again be able to accept a sloppily written, unrealistic experience of waking up in another century." -The Romance Reader

A LETTER FROM ROBIN
Awaken, My Love is my first romance novel, and will forever hold a special place in my heart. Because writing Awaken, My Love started a lifelong love affaire.

I have always loved history ... dinosaurs, anyone? ... and devoured Georgette Heyer at the tender age of twelve. But while I had studied old world history--- i.e., Sumer, Ancient Egypt, Crete, etc.---and read Regency romances for entertainment, I really didn't know anything about modern history. Dates, sure: George III (Mad King George) died in 1820; Victoria became queen in 1837; crinolines came into fashion in 1857; the first Boer War started in 1880. But still the question remained: how did our 19th century ancestors live day to day? What would we find if we were catapulted back into time?

I literally couldn't write---an author should at the very least know as much astheir heroine/hero---until I had the answers. I diligently plowed through the Regency era, fumbled through the 1840s ... and fell head over heels. Thus began my lifelong love affair with the Victorian era.

I now think of Awaken, My Love as a travelogue. What would you need if---like Elaine, my American heroine---you woke up in 1883 England? That's a long trip, so undoubtedly your answer is: bathroom. And what would you need in said bathroom? Toothbrush. Toothpaste. A flushable toilet. A bath. Hot and cold running water. Toilet paper. We take these things for granted now. But in what year were these conveniences available? And how did our ancestors cope without? These are just a few of the things that Elaine---also a modern woman---and I discovered when we embarked on our journey into the 19th century.

I confess, I also greatly enjoyed studying the Kama Sutra and Tantric sex. Cause, you know, it's important I knoweverything my hero knows. Right?

Awaken, My Love is fun, sexy and contains a mystery I dare you to solve. I hope you enjoy reading my very first romance as much as I enjoyed writing it! And I hope that you, too, will walk away with a little more knowledge of Victorian England. Because it really is anamazingtime.

Robin Schone's Bio

Hey! Some of you know me, but for those who don't, let me introduce myself. I love British Victorian history. In what other era can an author include dinosaurs in a romance novel ... and remain true to the times? The Crystal Palace c1854-1936 had a wonderful exhibit of life-sized, sculpted dinosaurs and other exotic exhibits. Think of the Chicago Field Museum and Six Flags of Great America all rolled into one. And while people in other eras indulged in hot sexual exploits--at least, through literature, art and music---the Victorian era left behind the largest collection of erotica of any other time. You know, classics like The Pearl and The Boudoir, all of which are still in print. In addition to loving paleontology and cool technology, our ancestors heroically fought to advance women's rights---not just to 'vote'---but to gain legal representation so that fathers/husbands/sons couldn't abuse them or lock them up in insane asylums simply because they were women. Warning: my books are driven by real-life history. Patriarchal laws affected women's daily lives, just as they do now. Oh, and my lovers explore the many facets of intimacy through explicit, erotic sex, just like our great-great-great-great-great grandparents did. So ... History. Dinosaurs. Sex. Law. The Victorians are my kind of people! I hope to make you, too a fan of this underrated and often misrepresented era. Please visit my website at www.robinschone.today to learn more about my books.