Spotlight on… The
Royal Desires Series
A Sensual Historical/Fantasy Romance
Trilogy
By Kelli A. Wilkins
www.kelliwilkins.com
Hi everyone,
Today I’m sharing a look at the making of the Royal Desires Series. This trilogy of
historical/fantasy romances is made up of A Most Unusual Princess, A Most Intriguing Temptation, and A Most Unfortunate Prince. Together, they are a fun series, but each story stands alone as a
separate read.Why? Because when I wrote A Most Unusual Princess, I never knew I was writing a trilogy.
I’ve been asked how I plotted the series. Did I
use note cards to keep track of each character’s description? Did I make an
overall outline of the whole trilogy, and then write each book?
Nope. The truth is… I just wrote the story that
was in my head. I didn’t intend to write a trilogy—it kinda happened on its
own. (With a lot of typing on my part, of course!) I wrote each book by itself,
with its own setting and theme, apart from the book that came before. So,
although they share characters, each book can be read apart from the others.
A Most
Unusual Princess is a sensual novella about unruly
and willful Princess Elara, and Dalton, the handsome (and incredibly patient)
guard tasked with protecting her while she searches for a suitable husband. The
book is a unique blend of comedy, human drama, and romance. It’s also the
first fantasy romance I ever wrote—and it was a lot of fun.
I liked the idea of following a very headstrong
and spoiled Princess Elara as she looked for a husband. From the outset, we learn that Elara is an opinionated young
woman who is used to getting her own way. When Dalton innocently catches Elara
doing something very unladylike, the Dalton-Elara love/hate/love relationship
is born.
I enjoyed writing Dalton and Elara’s story and fell in love
with them. I never expected I’d visit these characters again, but not long
after completing A Most Unusual Princess,
I knew Dalton needed his own book, so I wrote A Most Intriguing Temptation.
A Most Intriguing Temptationfocuses on the theme of fidelity. Elara wants to
test Dalton’s loyalty, so she masquerades as a sultry kharim girl in a pleasure palace. Naturally, she gets in over her
head and into big trouble. I took Elara out of her element and gave her new
challenges and experiences. We also got to see a different side to Dalton’s
character and learned about his weaknesses and desires.
When I wrote A Most Intriguing Temptation, I
introduced readers to Prince Allan. He’s basically the male version of his
sister, Princess Elara—hedonistic, selfish, and utterly wild at times. I had fun
creating the character and enjoyed setting him free in a pleasure palace
completely without limitations. I soon realized that Allan needed a book of his
own, so I wrote A Most Unfortunate Prince.(Several readers also asked me if
Allan’s story would be told, and I was happy to oblige!)
But before I wrote a word,
I knew that Allan was going to have to face the music for his bad behavior. At
the start of the book (yes, right there on page 1) Allan is banished for his
actions stemming from A Most Intriguing
Temptation. His father kicks him out into the real world alone and broke,
and he’s forced to make his own way in life.
I decided to take this
carefree, roguish prince and turn his world upside down. I asked myself: How
bad can you make things for him? He has nothing: no food, no fancy clothes,
certainly no job skills, and no real sense of identity. He had lived a pampered
life where everything was handed to him on a silver platter (literally), and
now was in for a rude awakening. I really put the screws to poor Allan, and at
times left him broken, sad, and utterly miserable.
Over the course of the
book, Allan suffers life’s lessons at the hands of his evil employer and falls
in love—twice. The story introduces us to Claudette, a sassy seamstress who
fancies Allan and helps him adjust to the life of a commoner. Once a carefree womanizer, Allan discovers a
secret side to himself, and through his relationship with Claudette, he learns
what is truly important in life. And to round things out, a more settled Elara
and Dalton also appear in the book and help wind up the series.
I enjoyed writing each of these books. It was
fun to create the characters, give them unique adventures, and complicate their
lives—all in the name of love. Although these are historical/fantasy romances,
there’s enough spicy love scenes, adventure, drama, sadness, and humor to keep
readers of all genres entertained and enthralled.
You can read full book
summaries and reviews on each book’s page on my site. Here are the links:
Book 1: A Most Unusual Princess: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/a-most-unusual-princess
Book 2: A Most
Intriguing Temptation: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/a-most-intriguing-temptation
Book 3: A Most
Unfortunate Prince: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/a-most-unfortunate-prince
If you’ve read the trilogy,
let me know what you think. What was your favorite book? Which scenes did you
like best? Readers can contact me on social media.
Happy Reading!
Kelli A. Wilkins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning
author who has published more than 100 short stories, 24 romance novels, and 9
mystery/thriller/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and
she likes to scare readers with her horror, mystery, and thriller fiction.
Her latest book, The Route 9 Stalker, was
published in January 2026. This mystery/thriller is set in Central NJ and
follows Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case. Meet him for the first
time in The Route 9 Killer.
Kelli’s 24th
romance, For Love’s Sake, an epic historical/fantasy
romantic adventure, was published in 2025.
In 2024, she
released Surreal Escapes, a collection of 7
speculative/spooky stories. Anything can—and does—happen in this anthology.Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and visit her
website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title
list, social media links, and more.
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