Sanctuary for a Lady Interview

How exciting to have Isabelle de La Rouchecauld the heroine from Sanctuary for a Lady written by debut author Naomi Rawlings, a April 2012 release from Love Inspired Historical.

1. Isabelle, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

I used to be an aristocrat, before the French Revolution started and I lost my home and family.

2. What do you do for fun?

Fun? I haven’t had fun in the five years since the Révolution started. I’m simply trying to survive.

3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?

Leaving Michel, the peasant farmer who found me injured in the woods. I fear I’m falling in love with him, but I know our love can never last, not when I have to leave France.

4. What are you afraid of most in life?

Being caught and guillotined because I’m an aristocrat, the daughter of a duke.

5. What do you want out of life?

To safely reach England and fulfill my promise to my sister. To see my aunt’s face when I first find her in London. To live a normal life once again.

But then, there’s this part of me, deep inside that I don’t speak of, where I simply want to stay in France be Michel’s wife, though ’twill surely mean my death if I abide here .

6. What is the most important thing to you?

Going to England. It’s the only place I’ll be safe, and I promised Marie I would reach it. We can’t let the Révolution claim the lives of the entire de La Rouchecauld family, and I’m the only one still alive.

7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Maybe I would change who my parents were. Or maybe I would change that my parents and the entire aristocratic class of France oppressed the peasant class so badly before the Révolution. Or maybe I would change things so that I could have died instead of my sister, Marie.

But I can’t change any of it, can I? Not the slightest bit. So I’ll keep pressing on. I’ll do what needs to be done and get to England. Even if it means leaving the man I love. Even if it means I’ll die trying.

8. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

A pet? Heavens no! I can barely keep myself alive, let alone a poor little animal.

9. Can you tell us a little interesting tidbit about the time period you live in?

It’s dangerous, not just for aristocrats, but for everyone. Someone can report you to the military police for the slightest accusation—not supporting the Revolution, hiding grain rather than selling it, saying times were better under the king. Nearly anything can earn you a trip to the military tribunal, and then the guillotine if you’re found guilty.