Local Charleston, S.C. NY Times bestselling author Ellen T. Marsh takes characters from 80s-era books and modernizes them

Journey from Cornwall to India and Charleston in historical romance trilogy following the exciting fate of the Kohinoor Diamond

‘New York Times’ bestselling author Ellen Tanner Marsh returns to the world of romance with the publication of her award-winning novels in ‘The Forbidden Gems Trilogy’

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Thirty years ago, Ellen Tanner Marsh took the romance world by storm with the publication of her first historical romance novel. An instant New York Times bestseller, the book garnered critical acclaim and earned the young author legions of fans.
Known for her flair for writing high adventure and steamy romance, Ellen is back with the beloved characters of her first bestsellers cast into new stories written for a contemporary audience. A love saga that spans generations and continents, “The Forbidden Gems Trilogy” will sweep you into the darkly passionate world of British India with “Diamond Dark” (July 2018), sail away to antebellum Charleston in “Diamond Fire” (September 2018), and follow the love story of a new generation in “Diamond Deep” (January 2019).
Woven through these lush tales of love is the re-imagined fate of the Kohinoor Diamond, now a priceless part of the British crown jewels.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Although born in Germany, Ellen Tanner Marsh has lived in the Lowcountry near Charleston, South Carolina, for nearly forty years. She’s still married to her high school sweetheart, a lifelong surfer, with whom she raised two sons. When Ellen isn’t writing, she tends her flower garden and fruit trees and volunteers with local animal rescues. Living close to the beach means plenty of walks with her own rescue dogs. And after all this time in the South, she’s finally developed a passion for steamed oysters, shrimp & grits, and sweet iced tea.

DIAMOND DARK

The splendors of India, a priceless diamond…

From the wild Cornish coast to the tumultuous frontier of British India, feisty Raven Barrancourt must sail halfway round the world to seek a fortune that will save her beloved ancestral home. But what she finds in India is worth more than silver, gold, or any fabled jewel…

Sea captain Charles St. Germain doesn’t need the distraction of a black-haired beauty on the voyage to India, where a dangerous mission awaits him. Mutiny, espionage, and the search for a coveted diamond threaten his duties, but far more dangerous is his growing passion for a woman he knows he can’t have.

As book one of the “Forbidden Gems Trilogy,” “Diamond Dark” brings the sweeping romance of India to tempestuous life.

“Diamond Dark” | Ellen Tanner Marsh
July 24, 2018 | Monkeypaw Press | Historical Romance
Paperback | 9780998135588 | $14.99
Ebook | 9780998135533 | $2.99

DIAMOND FIRE

A love more splendid than any jewel…

Strong-minded Raven Barrancourt has sailed to faraway India hoping to save her beloved Cornish home from ruin. But when an Indian empress entrusts her with a fabled diamond said to carry a dangerous curse, Raven’s own life may well be at stake. With northern India on the edge of revolt, Raven must entrust her safety and her priceless secret to the one man who rejected her.

Blinded by passion, Charles St. Germain would sail to the corners of the earth to make Raven his, though fate in the form of the world’s rarest gem could conspire to keep them apart. From the splendors of British India to antebellum Charleston, duty and betrayal threaten the love he has found in a woman worth more than any fortune.

As book two of the “Forbidden Gems Trilogy,” “Diamond Fire” brings the sweeping romance of India and antebellum Charleston to tempestuous life.

“Diamond Fire” | Ellen Tanner Marsh
Oct. 23, 2018 | Monkeypaw Press | Historical Romance
Paperback | 978-0-9981355-8-8 | $14.99
Ebook | 978-0-9981355-3-3 | $2.99

DIAMOND DEEP

The tempestuous tale of the St. Germain women and the men who capture their hearts continues in stunning fashion…

When a collision between two ships hurls Sable St. Germain into the sea, fate has a clear hand in choosing the man who saves her.
Battle-scarred sea captain Morgan Rhys Carey refuses to return his lovely passenger to her family while on a reckless mission to save the life of a friend. But he soon finds himself risking everything to keep Sable by his side and in his bed.
Though Sable is determined to flee the man who’s abducted her, she can’t help responding to the passion he has awakened within her. And while Morgan believes his destiny lies elsewhere, his obsession with this bewitching beauty holds him captive as well.
In this last book of the Forbidden Gems Trilogy, two unforgettable characters discover a love more precious than any jewel.

“Diamond Deep” | Ellen Tanner Marsh
Jan. 22, 2018 | Monkeypaw Press | Historical Romance
Paperback | 978-1-7323544-0-1 | $14.99
Ebook | 978-0-9981355-9-5 | $2.99

An Interview with Ellen Tanner Marsh

Why did you decide to rewrite your former best sellers updated for a modern audience?

After 30 years of raising a family and being a full-time freelance book editor, I was finally able to turn some attention to my former best sellers. Many of them were written while I was fresh out of college, when my writing skills were admittedly poor and historical romances followed plotlines that today are considered unacceptable: cold-hearted and occasionally cruel heroes—the definition of manly at the time—and bullied heroines whose sexual encounters with the hero often bordered on rape.
Re-reading my novels after all these years, I found them unsophisticated and very “1980s.” Since I still love the characters and settings, I decided to have some fun updating their stories and at the same time improve the poor writing. How many authors are lucky enough to have the chance to do a total makeover?

How do diamonds play a role in the trilogy?

The original bestseller that I converted into “Diamond Dark” and “Diamond Fire” (books one and two of the trilogy) loosely involved the fate of the Kohinoor Diamond, now a priceless part of the British crown jewels. Expanding on the tale, I wove diamonds and other precious gemstones through all three books. I’ve had a love affair with jewels since the third grade, when I bought a book at my elementary school book fair describing how rubies, sapphires, and opals are mined. From that point on, I intended to be a geologist when I grew up—until around eighth grade, when I realized my math skills were absurdly bad. But my twin sister is married to a geophysicist. Does that count?
As someone who grew up in Germany and resides in Charleston, SC, why did you decide to set your books in the British Empire? I suppose it’s pretty much like a French Michelin star chef who prefers to binge on other foods besides French cuisine, like burritos and burgers. Charleston is my research laboratory. It’s a perfectly preserved old city with rich historical resources that inspire me to imagine my characters sailing off to other exotic locations outside the lab.

What exciting changes can readers who have previously read your work expect?

While the heroes and heroines in my new books are the same, they’ve evolved. Their tales are told in the first person to give them a sense of immediacy and to provide readers with the intimacy of seeing everything through their eyes. The heroes are no longer hairy knuckle-draggers but sensitive and caring men—though it takes some hard work by the plucky heroines to tame them.

Do you have any other romance titles on the horizon? After “The Forbidden Gems Trilogy,” I’ll be releasing “The Rogue in Her Bed,” the retelling of my first and most popular “New York Times” bestseller, as well as two others. There’s a contemporary romance in the works too, a reworked gothic romance (remember those?) that takes place in a castle in modern-day Scotland.