Author Interview ~ Pippa Croft.

To celebrate the promotional week for her Oxford Blue series, I'm pleased to be hosting a Q&A with the author Pippa Croft.

For one week only, until August 3, the first two books in the series are reduced! The First Time We Met is 99p here and The Second Time I Saw You can be picked up for £1.99 here.

Can you describe the Oxford Blue series in five words?

Sexy, escapist, sophisticated, sparky, emotional


And in more detail?

The series charts the tempestuous relationship of Alexander, a brooding English aristocrat and serving army officer and Lauren, a smart American studying art history at Oxford. Sparks fly from the very first time they meet, and the fireworks continue across their three terms as they discover that they can’t live with each other – or without! Alexander seems emotionally unattainable at first and Lauren recognises this but can’t help being drawn into his glamorous world.


What was your inspiration behind writing the Oxford Blue series?

Having been a student at Oxford, the experience has never left me. The books are completely fictional, but the intense and heady emotions of living in that environment have inspired some of the emotions. I think I always subconsciously wanted to set a book there. The characters and story are pure escapist fantasy and have been fabulous fun to write.


Already knowing that The First Time We Met wasn’t going to be a standalone, how nervous were you about your readers’ reviews and feedback?

I’m always a mix of nervous and excited when a book comes out, but both those emotions were amplified when the First Time was published. I actually got to see reader and reviewer reactions before the Second book was finalised. I think the second book has really dialled up the emotion and drama so it’s been fun to read readers’ speculations on how it all might end. I hope they’ll feel Third Time has satisfying conclusion that’s right for the characters.


The Second Time I Saw You’s dramatic ending left me massively anticipating Third Time Lucky – can you give us any insight into book three?

More drama, emotion and angst – but also a raising of the stakes for Alexander and Lauren because it’s crunch time for them. It’s the final term and they have to face up to what really matters to them, and life is never going to be simple...


I think the covers are perfect for the Oxford Blue series – how happy are you with them?

Thank you! I love them too. In fact, I had to act all cool when I saw them in the Penguin office when really, I wanted to cry, they were so elegant and subtly sensual. I can’t wait to see them in paperback.


Alexander’s character has changed quite a bit from when we were first introduced to him – which side of Alexander do you enjoy writing the most?

I love writing the scenes – or even the odd line – where he lets his guard down, even when it’s fleeting or he hasn’t meant to do it. I can’t say anymore about what happens in Third Time or I’ll be revealing too much!


What will you miss most about Alexander and Lauren once the series is over?

Everything. Living in their drama filled, angsty, glamorous world for a year has been so exciting. I finished my copy edits a week ago and while I have another book bubbling away, and some more series ideas, I can’t bring myself to work on them seriously yet.

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Senator's daughter Lauren Cusack is leaving Washington behind for the dreaming spires of Oxford University - and she's ready for a challenge. Now a fully-fledged Master's student, Lauren is determined to make the most of every single minute.

But then she meets Alexander Hunt, and everything changes.

A devastatingly handsome English aristocrat, Alexander is as brooding and enigmatic as they come. Lauren tries to resist his advances, but he has his sights clearly set on the young American, and what Alexander wants, he gets.

Caution soon gives way to mind-blowing passion and Lauren is drawn into Alexander's privileged world of glamour and status. But all that glitters is not gold - for Alexander is a man with a dark past, and desire may not be enough to conquer all else . . .

It's the beginning of a new term at Wyckham College, Oxford, and a fresh start for Lauren Cusack. Her fingers were badly burnt when a whirlwind romance with gorgeous English aristocrat, Alexander Hunt, became too hot to handle - and now she's determined to keep her distance.

Her resolve is shaken when Alexander appears on her doorstep - he's been completely torn apart by some devastating news. Lauren knows that she should stay away, but their chemistry is undeniable and she soon finds herself back in Alexander's arms.

Can Lauren handle the drama that comes with Alexander Hunt? Or will she have to sacrifice the most exhilarating passion she's ever known . . .