Guest Author Blythe Gifford

Historical Author Blythe Gifford

Please help me welcome award-winning, multi-published, historical author Blythe Gifford. Blythe is here to promote her latest release Taken by the Border Rebel, Book three of the Brunson Clan Trilogy.

To celebrate, Blythe is giving away a copy of your choice of her Brunson Clan Trilogy:  Return of the Border Warrior, Captive of the Border Lord, or Taken by the Border Rebel to one lucky commenter. All you have to do is leave your email address (disguised please i.e. ella at ella quinn author dot com). Winners will be announced here on Sunday.

Ella:  Blythe I’m so happy to have you visit. Tell us a little about yourself.

Blythe:  I write angsty historical romance set in unusual times and places for the Harlequin Historical line.  Typically, my stories include real historical characters and events as part of the story.

Ella:  Your webpage says “On the Borders of Historical Romance.”  I assume that the setting for The Brunson Clan trilogy.

Blythe: The trilogy is set on the Scottish Borders, yes, but that phrase means more to me than setting.  The term “borders” refers to two other characteristics of my work.  First, the time periods I chose tend to be outside the current mainstream of historical romance, which is squarely focused on Regency England.  And second, my work tends to be close to the edge where historical romance meets historical fiction, so it refers to that border as well.

Ella:  What draws you to the “unusual” time periods?

Blythe:  I think the stories that call you are part and parcel of your voice and that your best work will be in that “vein of gold.”  I’m drawn to dramatic and turbulent times of change and I love to find a moment in history that has been overlooked.  The Brunson Clan trilogy, for example, is set in Scotland in what my editor calls the “early Tudor” era.  The sixteen year old King James has just seized the throne in his own right after having been virtually held captive by his step-father.  My trilogy spotlights how all this affect one family of two sons and a daughter.

Ella:  Did you plan all three books before you started writing?

Blythe:  (She laughs.)  I barely planned one!  This was my first time tackling a trilogy and I got some good advice from Courtney Milan.  “Leave as much open as you can,” she told me.  The series is actually tightly tied together in the overall arc of the conflict with the king, but the individual love stories developed as I wrote.  The Muse did “gift” me some structure, however.  In Return of the Border Warrior, the youngest son must return home to find himself.  In Captive of the Border Lord, the daughter must leave home to find herself.  And in Taken by the Border Warrior, the oldest son must stay at home to reconcile his own conflict and that of the family.

Ella: I love Courtney. She has been a great help to me as well. When did your muse first move in with you, and how did you decide to write historical romance?

Blythe:  Oh, she doesn’t live here.  She just visits from time to time!  I did start writing very early, but it wasn’t until a corporate layoff that I started seriously pursuing a fiction writing career.  Advised to “write what you love to read,” I started a romance set in the fourteenth century, featuring a (literal) royal bastard.

Ella: That exact piece of advice is what set me free to write. Before I’d been told, “write what you know.” You’ve been published by Harlequin for a while now. Tell us about your publishing journey.

Blythe:  It took me ten years to become an “overnight success.”  Six of those years were spent in an attempt to make my first manuscript perfect.  (Rookie mistake!  Don’t do that!)  After it had been universally rejected, I wrote my next book without thinking (too much) about an editor looking over my shoulder.  That second book, which took me two years, became a Golden Heart finalist manuscript and sold to Harlequin.  I’ve now had a total of eight books with them.  The first five were set in the fourteenth century and four of them featured a character born on the wrong side of the royal blanket.

Ella: I can’t tell you how many authors I’ve met who have spent way too much time on their first book.  Taken by the Border Rebel is the third book in a trilogy.  What’s next?

Blythe: I’m back in the fourteenth century England, working on two books centering on the royal weddings of King Edward III’s children.  I also have a self-publishing project in the works that I hope to release this fall.

Ella:  Thank you so much for joining me here, Blythe.

Blythe: You’re welcome, Ella.

Ella: Ok, here is what you have all been waiting for, the blurb and excerpt of Taken by the Border Rebel.

Taken by the Border Rebel

FROM THE BACK COVER: 

TORMENTED BY HER INNOCENCE

As leader of his clan, Black Rob Brunson has earned every dark syllable of his name. But, having taken hostage his enemy’s daughter in a fierce act of rebellion, he is tormented by feelings of guilt and torn apart with the growing need to protect her—and seduce her!

Stella Storwick feels Rob’s disdain from the first. Then slowly she starts to see behind his eyes to a man in turmoil. Something he has no words for, something that can only be captured in a heart-wrenching kiss…. 

In the excerpt below, from Chapter One, Black Rob Brunson has been out inspecting his land, looking for signs that the family’s blood enemies, the Storwicks, may be planning a raid, and pauses at midday in the hills overlooking his valley.

Something shifted. The wind. A scent. A sound. He stiffened, alert, and turned his head.

Above him and to his left, sat a woman, silent and stiff, eyes fixed on him warily as if he were a Storwick.

He fashed himself for not looking carefully before leaving his horse. What if he’d been surprised by the enemy?

Neither spoke, looking.

Dark hair tumbled across her shoulders, but he would not call her beautiful. At least, not from this angle. Eyes and lips fought for control of her face. Her nose was too strong. Her chin too sharp. She looked vaguely familiar, but he had seen every far-flung Brunson at one time or another. Still, he could not summon which branch of the family was hers.

“You’re far from home,” he began, still trying to place her. The Tait cousin lived nearest, but he had no daughters.

She drew herself up into a crouch, like a wary animal ready to run. “Nay so far.”

He raised and lowered his shoulders, sorry he had frightened her. He motioned his head uphill, toward the border. “Storwicks are no more than five miles away.”

Not taking her eyes from his, she stood slowly and took a step back, as if nearness to the enemy had just occurred to her. The blush on her cheek paled. “Have I crossed the border then?”

“Nay.” He rose to his feet, uncomfortable that she stood while he stretched on the grass. What was the strangeness in her accent? “It’s just over there.”

Her eyes widened. She turned to look over her shoulder. Then ran.

That was when he recognized her.

Stella Storwick didn’t look back, praying for her feet to run faster.

But the Brunson kept coming, strong as a charging ram, trampling the grass behind her. Then he was in front of her, cutting off her escape as if she were no more than an unruly ewe.

She dodged. Left. Right. Thinking she could confuse him.

He was a broad man. She could be quicker. More steps, her skirt and the grass holding her back. If she crossed the border, she would be safe…

But next she knew, he grabbed her arm, whirled her around, and both of them tumbled to ground. She on her back, pressed to earth, he straddling her legs.

She lifted a clawed hand to scratch his eyes, but he caught her wrists and held her arms tight against the dirt without effort. Even when she shut her eyes against him, he surrounded her, warm and smelling of leather.

“You’re Storwick.” He did not ask a question.

She opened her eyes. His were brown. And murderous.

“And you’re Brunson.” Close now, she knew him, the man she had seen near half a year ago at Truce Day. Fool she was, not to have recognized him immediately.

Not just a Brunson. The Brunson.

A flash of heat crackled through her body. Hatred, no doubt.

He was one of the Black Brunsons. Broad of shoulder and brow, dark of hair and eye. Yes, he had the brown eyes that marked all his cursed clan.

“You’ll not take me.” She braced herself, stiff armed and legged, as if that would stop him. “I won’t let you.”

He froze, then turned to spit in the dirt in contempt. “Brunsons don’t treat women so.” Disgust now, in his eyes. “It’s your kind who do that.”

One villainous kin of hers who had done that.

She knew the truth of the whispers about him, though the man had never dared touch her.

No one dared that.

“That’s not what I’ve heard.” A lie, but one she hoped would keep him off guard. She tugged against his hold. An iron manacle would have given way more easily.

He released her hands with a look that warned her to keep them quiet. “You’ve heard wrong.”

She pushed herself up on her elbows. “Then let me go if you don’t mean to take me.”

He sat back on his heels and crossed his arms, his very silence ominous.

She held her breath to stop her speech. He had not guessed which Storwick she was. Or that she had come to the hills to spy on his precious tower.

“How far behind are the others?” He stood, pulling her to her feet, keeping his hand on her wrist while he gazed toward the English side of the border.

“No others.” Foolish admission. She had told no one her plan when she left this morning. Perhaps that had been unwise.

He turned back, sweeping her with a glance head to toe. One that said she might be daft, but he wasn’t. “You wander the hills alone with no horse?”

She shrugged to hide the shaking. “Sun doesn’t often come like this. I wandered too far.” And had hoped to wander farther. A horse would draw attention. “Let me go. I’m of no use to you.”

“Oh, you’re of use to me. You’re going to serve as a hostage for the good behavior of the rest of your people. If they ride to rescue Hobbes Storwick, you’ll be the one to pay.”

She blanched. Thank God. At least her father was alive.

They had not even been sure of that.

Buy links:

Amazon   B&N   Harlequin  Kobo

Blythe Gifford has been known for medieval romances featuring characters born on the wrong side of the royal blanket. Now, she’s written a Harlequin Historical trilogy set on the turbulent Scottish Borders of the early Tudor era.  The Chicago Tribune has called her work “the perfect balance between history and romance.”  Visit her at her website   Facebook   Pinterest   or on Twitter 

Author photo by Jennifer Girard.  Cover Art Copyright © 2013 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited.  Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. Cover art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

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A Conversation with Regency Author Lecia Cornwall

Regency Author Lecia Cornwall

Please help me welcome Regency author Lecia Cornwall. Lecia is promoting her latest release The Secret Life of Lady Julia (hmm, interesting title) and giving away a copy to one lucky commenter. As usual, to be eligible post your email in the comments.

Ella: First let me say I love your cover! How did you come up with the title?  

I give each story a working title, and the publisher usually changes it to something much more intriguing, historical and marketable. Once she’s read the book, my editor gently suggests the book might do better with a new title. I submit a list of everything I can think of, and she counters with her list until we come up with a title that works perfectly, suits the characters and the plot and makes readers want it. The working title for The Secret Life of Lady Julia was The Thief of Hearts. 

In this case, Julia has a lot of secrets, starting with the scandalous events on the evening of her betrothal ball, which of course, as secrets tend to do, lead to all the other secrets, each one bigger than the last.

Lecia to Ella: I love the title of your upcoming Regency as well, Ella! It sounds like Anna Marsh has a very intriguing secret life, filled with spies and smugglers. I can’t wait to read it! I also love the idea that she and her hero, Sebastian are on opposite sides of the conflict. How did the idea for the plot come up?  

Ella:  Generally, my plots come in scenes playing in my head. Sort of like watching TV.  But in this case, the title came first. That got me to start really trying to find out what Anna was up to. As you can imagine, she was very reticent about telling me anything about her activities. When you read the book, you’ll know why.

Ella: This is your fourth book. Are they all part of a series?

Lecia: My books are ‘loosely connected’. When I decided to write historical romance, I went to the library and started reading everything available by my favorite authors. I often found that the books I wanted to start or continue with for long series (like Mary Balogh’s wonderful ‘Slightly’ series) were checked out, and the bookstores didn’t carry the whole series. Reading them out of order could be confusing and frustrating at time, with references to other stories I hadn’t read. When I started to write, I wrote each book to stand alone, so it would be a complete experience for a new reader, and yet hold a few familiar tid-bits and follow-ons for those who had read my previous books.  I am delighted to say that although it took a few years, I have the whole Slightly series, which I treasure.

Here are the connections:

My second book, The Price of Temptation, tells the story of a minor character in my debut novel, Secrets of A Proper Countess. The heroine of Temptation is married to the arch-villain/traitor from Secrets—or is she? There’s also a novella, All The Pleasures of The Season, which tells the story of the younger sister of the hero in Secrets of A Proper Countess.

My third book, How To Deceive A Duke, begins with a whole new set of characters. Julia, the heroine of The Secret Life of Lady Julia, appears in How To Deceive A Duke, and I wondered just how a ruined lady would survive with the limited opportunities of the time period available to her. Her story just had to be told. Another character from How To Deceive A Duke, Stephen Ives, offers Julia a job as his sister’s companion, and her new life begins. Stephen forms part of Lady Julia’s love triangle in The Secret Life of Lady Julia, and when he lost the girl at the end of the story, my daughter (who reads everything I write and tells me candidly, to say the least, what works and what doesn’t), was so much in love with Stephen that she insisted the next book had to be his story. Coming right up—and I promise, whether you’ve read every word I’ve written before, or you pick up Stephen’s story first, you’ll have an enjoyable experience. The working title of Stephen’s tale, by the way, is currently What A Lady Most Desires, but don’t hold me to it just yet.

Lecia to Ella: Do you find that there are characters in your books that just demand to have their own story?  

Oh, my yes. That’s what happened with the second book I wrote, The Temptation of Lady Serena that is actually 3d in my Marriage Game series. Robert Beaumont wouldn’t leave me alone, so while Anna was thinking over what to tell me, Robert’s story got written.  The only problem was that Anna appears in that book, already married.  It was a bit confusing when I started querying them. Rupert, from The Temptation of Lady Serena, also wants his story told soon. Fortunately he’s not quite a OCD as Robert and understood that there were three other gentlemen who needed to find their happily ever after before he did. He’s only 21 for God’s sake.  

Ella: Lecia, what’s next? 

Lecia: I’m working on a trilogy of stories for Avon Impulse, Avon’s e-book line, set in the Scottish Highlands. The stories take place during the same time period as the English Regency, and the first one starts with a character who originally appeared as a very minor character in The Price of Temptation. Poor Caroline has lost at love not once, but twice, and it’s beginning to feel like a curse. Only the ghosts who laid the curse on their descendants can lift it, and when Caroline runs away from a fate worse than death (an arranged marriage), she ends up in the Highlands, facing meddling ghosts, a resistant laird determined to marry another woman, and a cast of characters with their own agendas for the lovers. They all come together at midsummer, a time of magic and the fun begins.

Lecia To Ella: Do you have any projects planned that will take you (and you readers) out of the Regency world? Out of England yes. The book I’m working on now which is #5 of the Marriage Game takes place in the Danish, French and English West Indies in 1816. The research has been challenging to say the least. And book #4 Lady Caro’s Accidental Marriage,  takes place from Venice to Dijon, France in the same year. That is as far away from Regency as I’ve gotten so far. The next series, A Season for Love, is also a Regency. It’s a spin-off of the Marriage Game. 

Ella: Tell us when your muse first moved in and started to really bug, I mean assist, you.

Lecia: I have a postcard pinned to the wall next to my desk, bought at the Louvre in Paris. It’s an unfinished portrait of Madame Recamier by David. She’s reclining on a chaise longue in a white dress, her feet bare, her eyes engaging the viewer to come and share some wonderful secret. It’s unfinished because David discovered Madame was also having her portrait painted by another artist, and he refused to compete for her attention. That’s my muse—well, on a good day.

On a bad day, picture Archie Bunker in his tattered easy chair, glaring menacingly. He’s wearing the same dress, but refusing to share anything.

Madame does me wonderful favors, like gently whispering in my ear that my first story needed a little intrigue along with the romance. I took an old manuscript that just wasn’t working, and revised it with a plot including spies and traitors and secret identities and it sold, and eventually won the 2011 National Readers Choice for Best First Book.

On a bad day, Archie distracts me by running dust bunnies across my feet (some as big as tumbleweeds), or by having the chocolate in the kitchen call my name. Then, when I’m out of reach of a pen and paper, he runs story plots, dialogue or ideas through my mind—some good, some really, really bad.

Lecia To Ella: Is your muse the difficult type, or your best friend? 

 It depends on how you like you muses. My muse is hyper-active, and I do like her like that way. I started writing two years ago and she’s given me 7 books. I already have the first two of the next series written. It took her a while to realize that I needed to actually edit one book before I started another.  The first three books were written while I edited the previous one. There were some problems with that method, such as butlers being in the wrong house, eye colors changing, people being called by the wrong name. It really wasn’t very efficient.  

Ella: What was your journey to publication like?

Lecia: I was once a business writer—I wrote direct marketing copy for insurance products, and fundraising letters for one of Canada’s major political parties, and helped government departments reach the public by mail. Then I had children, and decided to stay at home to raise them, figuring I could continue my career part-time, or freelance. Three years later, it just wasn’t working. Nor was I. I decided the time had come to try writing a novel, something I’d always dreamed of doing. So in between preschool runs, volunteering, homework and leading a Cub pack, I began to write fiction. It was a long learning process of discovering what I wanted to write (history + fairy tales= historical romance), and it took a long time to get brave enough to start submitting my work to agents and publishers. I found an agent who believed in me, and she helped me prepare for that first huge submission to ten editors. We received two offers, and I had to choose—not for the most money, but the best future. My first book was published nine days after I turned 49. My oldest child was just finishing his first year of university, and my youngest was in high school. I know now that as a full-time mom, I never really could have devoted the time and energy necessary for this career before that point. It all came at just the right time.

Ella: I love my agent. She has done a wonderful job for me.

Lecia To Ella: How do you dovetail writing and family and life and still manage to create such wonderful books? 

I didn’t start to write until I was 57 and only working part-time. My son was already on his own and my wonderful husband is gone a lot for his job. So, other than three cats and a great dane, I’m left pretty much to myself.  

Ella: What advice would you give to authors just starting to try to get published or find an agent?

Lecia: Don’t give up. Recognize good advice for what it is. If ten people say your POV is like a rabbit on Quaaludes (as in my case), pay attention. Keep all doors open. Thank everyone who helps you along the way. Writing can be a very lonely business (the muses and characters living in your head aside), so find a supportive writing group, and critique partners who ‘get’ you without trying to change you.

Go to conferences, or listen to lectures on writing. Read Stephen King’s book, “On Writing”, and Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art”. Submit your work to contests, agents and editors. And once again, never, ever give up.

I had a rule when I was submitting that when a rejection came in, I had to send something out again within a week. As long as your work is out in the world, being looked at and considered, there’s hope the next call will be THE CALL. Set goals. Remember, as long as you’re writing, you’re a writer—even if it’s just a few dozen words a day. Thinking about your story doesn’t count. Now, all this is based on my experience as a traditionally published writer. I have not yet gotten brave enough to try self-publishing, though I am in awe of the wonderful authors who make it look so easy.

Lecia To Ella: What’s the best advice you ever got? 

The best advice I received generally was from my grandfather.  “Spit in one hand and wish in the other. See which one get full faster.” 

As to specific writing advice, I had a dear friend who worked for a Netherlands publishing company tell me to write three books for publication before querying. I basically did just that.  I didn’t allow myself to think that I wouldn’t be published. Though I wanted to be traditionally published by NY, I had a plan B and a deadline, just in case. Advice I would give is to be nice to everyone.  

Ella: Without further ado, here is the blurb for the Secret life of Lady Julia. 

The Secret Life of Lady Julia

Seduction is the sweetest secret …

One kiss, then another, and before she knows it, Lady Julia Leighton succumbs to the breathtaking charms of a stranger at a ball celebrating her betrothal to a man who thinks of her as more of a sister than a wife. The steamy encounter changes her life in more ways than one, and when she meets her seducer again, Julia is no longer an earl’s daughter, or a duke’s bride-to-be, but an outcast, and a paid companion to a lady who used to be her equal. She has never forgotten Thomas Merritt…

Thomas Merritt is a thief with a secret past. He came to steal her jewels, and ended up leaving with her heart, utterly bewitched by the beautiful and innocent Lady Julia. But after their one glorious evening together, Thomas leaves, knowing he can never be part of her world again.

Now in a Vienna rife with scandal, dangerous secrets, and political intrigue, a perilous secret is about to come to light, is the only one who can save the day is Thomas, thief of jewels and hearts.

Come and read an excerpt at www.leciacornwall.com  or send me an e-mail at leciacornwall@shaw.ca

The Secret Life of Lady Julia can be found on Amazon

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Debut, Regency author Anne Cleeland

Regency Mystery Author Anne Cleeland

Please help me welcome fellow Regency author Anne Cleeland. She is here today to promote her debut novel, Tainted Angel. Anne is also giving away a copy of her book to one lucky commenter. As usual, to be eligible all you have to do it leave your email with a comment.

Ella: Anne you’re a lawyer, what made you decide to write historical romance?

Anne:  Technically, I’ve always made my living by writing— but instead of fiction I wrote dry-as-dust legal briefs (adverbs and adjectives strictly prohibited!)   I’ve read Regencies all my life, and so I decided to try my hand at writing the kind of stories I love to read.  My favorite stories are about ordinary women swept up in extraordinary events, so that’s what I like to write.

Ella: When did your muse first move in? Can you tell us a little about your writing journey?

Anne:   I was constantly writing ideas in a spiral notebook, but I was too intimidated to actually sit down and start a serious project. One day I went to listen to Stephanie Laurens speak to my local RWA chapter, and she explained that she doesn’t plot out her books, but writes scene-to-scene. This was exactly what I needed to hear, and I went home and just got started. My advice is to everyone else in the same boat is to do just that—buy a comfortable laptop and bang out a few paragraphs at a time. You’ll be surprised at how easy it really is.

Ella: Now you don’t write the usual Regency romance, yours are mysteries. Would you compare yourself to C.S. Harris?

Anne:  I always thought of myself as writing Regency adventure, until I was informed that there was really no such sub-genre. This series combines historical fiction with mystery or adventure—as though alter-egos Jean Plaidy and Victoria Holt collaborated together on a project. My favorite example of this type of story is Georgette Heyer’s The Toll Gate, where the plot arises from a scheme to disrupt England’s treasury. The villains are real and the stakes are high—not the usual romance that Heyer offers up (although I love the romances, too.) 

A continuing theme in these books is courage, and how ordinary women react when extraordinary circumstances require them to be brave, come what may.  After her terrible experiences in the war, the heroine is content to retreat into her shadowy, solitary work that requires no honesty and where trust is to be avoided at all costs.  But despite herself, she finds hidden depths of courage; the courage to face her past, her fears and to fight for a future that she once thought impossible.

Ella: What’s next?

Anne:  I have a contemporary British detective series coming out in August, and the first book is called Murder in Thrall, if any of your readers like mysteries.  In November, the second historical in this Regency series will come out; Daughter of the God-King. It is about a heroine who travels to Egypt after her famous archeologist parents disappear, only to discover that various factions from the last war are desperate to find her—for reasons that are unclear. She begins to suspect that her love interest is not what he seems, and she doesn’t know whether she can trust him, or trust no one as she uncovers one devastating secret after the other, all while the next war looms on the horizon.

In The Bengal Bridegift, the heroine has grown up in India because her father was a sea captain for the East India Company—unless he wasn’t, and was instead a traitor to the Crown.  Meanwhile, the enemy believes she knows where her father hid a cache of diamonds disguised as her bridegift, and they are in ruthless pursuit of her and of this imagined treasure.  Her love interest is a former Barbary pirate, who may or may not be after the diamonds himself.

Ella: What five things do you want your readers to know about Tainted Angel?

Anne: Tainted Angel is the first book in a new Regency series that combines romance with adventure—the heroine is swept up in a game of spies, with the fate of the world at stake.  Here are five fast facts:

1. The story is a Regency version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, with the hero and the heroine playing a deadly game of cat and mouse.

2.   Neither the hero nor the heroine is who they appear to be.

3.   The hero is a widower, but the circumstances surrounding his first wife’s death are                 unclear.

4.   Someone is stealing gold shipments meant for the British army on the continent.

5.   The climactic scene takes place during a masquerade party on a London river barge—and both the hero and heroine must make the fateful choice between love and allegiance.

Tainted Angel

Ella: Ok, here’s what you’ve all been waiting for, an excerpt of and buy links for Tainted Angel!

The role of the tender lover was quickly abandoned—much to her relief—and he gave an elliptical answer. “There is much at stake; caution is advised.”

Eying him sidelong, she tried to gauge his thoughts, knowing all the while it was hopeless—he would only reveal what he wished, and if his aim was to arrest her he would reveal precious little. “Will you promise to give me one minute’s warning before I am clapped in irons? I would do the same for you, you know.”

“You will not be clapped in irons,” he said immediately, but she noted he didn’t meet her eye, and hid a flare of alarm.

“No,” she replied with forced lightness. “I would simply disappear, leaving you free to give my wrap to your next mark.”

“Don’t.” He made an involuntary gesture of protest, and the blue eyes finally met hers with a fierce intensity that she could swear was genuine. “But if you know anything of these matters, Vidia, best to say and to say immediately.”

“I cannot decide,” she wondered aloud as they rounded the corner of her street, “whether our interlude that first night was strictly business. If it was, you did a very poor job of pressing for information as opposed to simply pressing.”

He was not fooled by her tone. “You are angry and I cannot blame you. But I assure you it was not strictly business.”

Coming to her town house, she wondered if she was making a monumental mistake—attempting to be honest with him. But she had decided—there on the street with his subtle insincerity grating on her nerves—that she couldn’t continue as she was; not with him. Perhaps he will be my downfall, she thought. But it hardly matters anymore—I am seventeen again, and just as foolish as I was then.

I hope your readers will enjoy Tainted Angel, available on Amazon and at a Barnes & Noble near you. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Author Bio:

Anne Cleeland holds a degree in English from UCLA as well as a degree in law from Pepperdine University, and is a member of the California State Bar.  She writes a historical fiction series set in the Regency period as well as a contemporary mystery series set in New Scotland Yard.  A member of the Historical Novel Society and Mystery Writers of America, she lives in California and has four children.

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Debut, Regency Author Collette Cameron

Regency Author Collette Cameron

Please help me welcome debut, Regency author, the lovely Collette Cameron. Collette is here today promoting her novel Highlander’s Hope. If you haven’t read it, I highly encourage to do so. Collette will also be giving away a copy of her book to one lucky commenter. To be eligible, you must leave your email address in with your comment.

Collette: Thank you so much for having me here today, Ella.

Ella: You’ve been hither and yon promoting your book. What does it feel like to finally have it released?

Collette: It’s surreal; a wonderful kind of terrifying. It’s one thing to write a book and have it accepted to be published; it’s another to have it ‘out there’.

Ella: What do you like best and least about being a debut author?

Collette: Everything is so new. Learning about the publishing industry, author platforms and branding, marketing and promotion. That’s my least favorite part; the marketing and promoting. On the other hand, I’ve met (in the realm of social media and otherwise) many incredibly generous and supportive people.

Ella: Tell us what the inspiration was to write Highlander’s Hope?

Collette: I had toyed with the idea of writing a book for years, but never seriously considered writing a romance novel. I didn’t think I could. All that dialogue, conflict, and point of view stuff.

A single scene, the Banbury Inn scene where Ewan finds Yvette asleep in his chamber, was the impetuous for Highlander’s Hope. The idea just came to me one day, and I played around with it in mind to see if I could develop a story line around it. I did, but boy was there a lot of back story I had to eventually cut.

Ella: What drew you to Regencies and the Highlands in particular?

Collette: A girlfriend handed me a Barbara Cartland novel when I was thirteen years-old. I read it and fell in love with Regency. Back then, that was quite daring.  I love all historicals but Georgian, Regency, and Victorian are my favorites. The Regency era was a time of such transition; clothing, culture, politics . . . even morals were in flux.

When I didn’t have my nose buried in a Regency, a good Scot’s Highlander  was usually in my hand. I decided to take two of my favorite genres and combine them into something a bit out of the ordinary. 

Ella: What comes next or have you decided once was enough?

Collette: Oh, Ella, you know how it is when the writing bug bites you. Once is never enough!

Ella: How very true!

Collette: Highlander’s Hope is the first book in my Blue Rose Trilogy. The second book, The Viscount’s Vow is due to release from Soul Mate Publishing next fall. It features Vangie and Ian from Highlander’s Hope.  I’m hard at work on the third book, The Earl’s Enticement.  That’s Adaira and Roark’s story.

Then I have a stand alone that insists on getting written.  After that, I’ve a six-book sage based on Ewan’s other siblings and cousins.  Then of course I have to tell Isaiah and Josiah’s stories. Oh, and Harcourt’s and Yancy’s too.

That’s why I love a large cast of characters; so many stories to write about secondary characters.

Ella: Is there any advice you’d give someone starting their path to publication?

Collette: Get involved in writing groups. I belong to several. Also, attend workshops and conferences on the craft of writing. Join social media groups which offer mentoring and classes.

Critique partners are a must, as are beta readers. Oh, and make sure you read, read, read . . . not only about writing but books in the genre you write.

Finally, find some small thing that makes your books just the tiniest bit unique; something that readers will be able to identify as your trademark.

Ella: Without further to do, here is the blurb and an excerpt from Highlander’s Hope. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Highlander’s Hope

She was the heiress determined to never marry.

Shipping heiress Yvette Stapleton is wary of fortune hunting men and their false declarations of love. She’d rather become a spinster than imprisoned in the bonds of marriage. At first, she doesn’t recognize the dangerously handsome man who rescues her from assailants on London’s docks, but her reaction to Lord Sethwick’s passionate kisses soon have her reconsidering her cynical views on matrimony.

 Blurb

He was the nobleman who vowed to make her his own. 

Not a day has gone by that Ewan McTavish, Lord Sethwick and Laird of Craiglocky, hasn’t dreamed of the sensual beauty he danced with two years ago; he’s determined to win her heart. On a mission to stop a War Office traitor, he unwittingly draws Yvette into deadly international intrigue. To protect her, he exploits Scottish Canon law to declare her his lawful wife—without benefit of a ceremony. Yvette is furious upon discovering the irregular marriage is legally binding, though she never said, “I do.”

Amidst murder and betrayal, Ewan attempts to win Yvette’s forgiveness. But is it too late? Has his manipulation cost him her love?

Excerpt:

Perversely, Yvette argued, “Oh, my lord? How else will I travel to Craiglocky?” Blast it, she swore inwardly when her hoarse voice cracked.

Ewan sat beside her. “Evvy, stop calling me my lord.”

“Your lordship, unless I sprout wings and fly, my only recourse is horseback.” Feeling truly rebellious, she stretched and peeked over her shoulders. Pointing to one she said, “No wings, milord. ‘Tis plain I shall have to mount a horse.”

Clearly annoyed, Ewan raked a hand through his hair. “Those below believe us wed. A Scot’s wife doesn’t call her husband ‘my lord’.”

Arching her brow, Yvette dared, “Who gave them reason to believe we were wed, my lord?”

Ewan looked at her hard. “These people must believe us wed, else you’re in grave danger.”

Yvette reached for the cup, then took a grateful swallow of the sweet water. The icy coolness soothed her irritated throat and emboldened her. “So you say, Lord Sethwick. Perhaps it was only a ploy to publicly ruin me, so I’d have to marry you. I overheard Lord Ramsbury at the inn.”

She lowered her voice in imitation of the earl. “‘A wealthy wife is always an asset. I’d say, you’ve done quite well for yourself, old chap.’”

Ewan stiffened. The line of his mouth flattened and his eyes darkened.

Merciful God, did she truly say that? It must be her illness speaking.

He removed the cup from her shaking hand and set it on the bedside table. She could not tear her gaze off his eyes. They were bottomless pools reflecting to the depths of his soul. And he was angry, in fact livid with her. His moon-shaped scar ticked rhythmically.

She’d gone too far. “Ewan—”

“Yvette, remember what happened the last time you didn’t use my given name? I’ve counted no less than five,” he held up as many fingers, “times you’ve intentionally defied me.”

She couldn’t swallow past the constriction in her throat. She’d done it up brown now. Holding her hand before her to ward him off, she shook her head.

In a movement so swift, she didn’t even have time to gasp, he lay atop her torso, pinning her with his weight. His gaze pierced hers before he lowered his head. She felt a soft, fluttering touch and a slight sting on her sore lip as his mouth brushed hers.

Highlander’s Hope is available at Amazon

Author Bio:

In February 2011, Collette decided to sit down and write a Regency suspense romance with a few Highlander’s thrown in to spice things up a bit. She wrote Highlander’s Hope, the first book in her Blue Rose Trilogy. She has a BS in Liberal Studies and a Master’s in Teaching. She’s been married for 30 years, has 3 amazing adult children, and 5 dachshunds. Her puppy, Ayva, sits on her lap while she writes. Ayva also nibbles at and lies on the keyboard. Collette loves a good joke, flowers, the beach, trivia, birds, shabby chic, and Cadbury Chocolate. You’ll always find dogs, birds, quirky—sometimes naughty—humor, and a dash of inspiration in her novels. Her motto for life? You can’t have too much chocolate, too many hugs, or too many flowers. She’s thinking about adding shoes to that list.

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Guest Author Sally MacKenzie

Author Sally MacKenzie

Please help me welcome, multi-published, best selling, Regency author Sally MacKenzie. Sally has graciously offered to give away a copy of her latest release, Surprising Lord Jack, to one lucky commenter. All you have to do to be eligible is to leave your email address.

Ella: If you’ve been reading Sally’s latest series, The Duchess of Love, and I highly recommend that you do, you’ll know that the Duchess of Love is actually a mother intent on seeing her children well married. You probably already know I’m a fan of familial interference. Sally, what was the inspiration for this series?

Sally: Thanks so much for inviting me to stop by, Ella.

I’m not sure there’s really any one inspiration. I do have four sons, but I am most certainly not a matchmaker. The two who are married found their wives very much on their own–one couple met via an online dating site and the other met in college. However, the duchess also writes “Venus’s Love Notes”–a sort of newsletter of marital advice for the ton–which her sons find terribly embarrassing. I know what the inspiration for that was: my sons are also quite embarrassed by my writing (not that they have ever read a word of it). They are happy for me, but they’d prefer to think I don’t know anything about romance. In fact, my youngest son made the embarrassment of having a mother who writes romance the topic of his college application essay–and he was accepted everywhere he applied.

Ella: That sounds like he wasn’t really very embarrassed at all. This isn’t your first series. How long have you been writing and what prompted you to begin?

Sally: My first book, The Naked Duke, came out in 2005, and I’ve had a book or a book and a novella out every year since. I’d always wanted to be a writer “when I grew up,” and when the boys were young I wrote picture book texts and got a number of “good” rejections. But then my four sons and their varied activities took over my life. I ran the Cub Scouts and the swim team and was on the PTA. My writing was limited to school newsletters and auction programs. When the oldest boy was getting ready to leave for college, I faced the fact that I either had to get back to writing for publication or give up the dream. So I put my butt in a chair and my fingers on the keyboard and made myself begin and keep going until the end. And then I revised and revised.

Ella: What drew you to Regencies?

Sally: Georgette Heyer! I devoured her stories growing up. I think I even absorbed a Regency vocabulary–my husband, when we were dating, would give me odd looks when I’d use a word like “brangle” in conversation. I loved her wit most of all. And when I was surrounded by dirty diapers and crying babies, my mental escape was a Regency. My mother and I used to go to lunch once a month and stop in Borders to buy the monthly selection of Signet Regencies.

Ella: Oh, my. Georgette Heyer was my inspiration as well! You’re a USA Today bestselling author, what advice would you give a debut author or someone in the process of trying to get published?

Sally: Don’t worry so much about publishing or blogging or social media. Focus on writing your story, since that’s the only thing you can control. Try to banish any negative thoughts–get out of your own way–and write. Some people plot; some people don’t. Some people write every day; some people don’t. Figure out what works for you and then do it. There is no right way to write; there is only your way. Write the story all the way to the end, and then revise, revise, revise. And then start on the next story.

Publishing today offers many options–NYC publishers, small presses, e-publishers, self-publishing. Which option you choose depends on many factors–but none of it is important until you have a solid story ready to go to readers.

Ella: Is there anything you would have done differently in your journey to publication?

Sally: Not really. Oh, sometimes I wish I’d written more determinedly and sold when I was in my 20s or 30s, but then I remind myself I was busy doing other things. And I suspect the stories I would have written then would be much different from the stories I’m writing now. And while I did collect a number of rejections when I was writing picture books, I didn’t even submit my first published book to an editor. I sold as the result of the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart contest. One of the editors who read the final round liked the manuscript so much she got my contact information and called me out of the blue to offer a two book contract.

Ella: What’s next and when can we expect to see it?

Sally: Loving Lord Ash, the last book in the Duchess of Love series, comes out in March 2014. Now I’m supposed to be coming up with a new idea, which I hope to do once I have our house put back together. We just had all the carpets torn out of the bedroom level and hardwood floors put in. The floors look great, but there’s dust everywhere. And I’ve squirreled all our possessions away–it may take a while to get everything put to rights.

Ella: I sincerely feel for you. I’ve renovated enough houses to know what a disruption it can be. Without further to do, here is a blurb and excerpt of Surprising Lord Jack. This cover is to die for.

Unladylike behavior…

Frances Hadley has managed her family’s estate for years. So why can’t she request her own dowry? She’ll have to go to London herself and knock some sense into the men interfering in her life. With the nonsense she’s dealt with lately, though, there’s no way she’s going as a woman. A pair of breeches and a quick chop of her red curls, and she’ll have much less to worry about…

Jack Valentine, third son of the famous Duchess of Love, is through being pursued by pushy young ladies. One particularly determined miss has run him out of his own house party. Luckily the inn has one bed left. Jack just has to share with a rather entertaining red-headed youth. Perhaps the two of them should ride to London together. It will make a pleasant escape from his mother’s matchmaking melodrama!

CHAPTER 1

Miss Frances Hadley staggered up to the Crowing Cock’s weather-beaten door, her legs, backside, and feet throbbing with each step.

Blast it, men rode astride all the time. How could she have guessed the experience would be so painful? And having to walk the last half mile in Frederick’s old boots hadn’t helped. Damn icy roads.

She took a deep breath of the sharp, winter air. And if Daisy was lame—

She scowled at the door. If her horse was lame, she’d figure out another way to get to London. Hell, she’d walk if she had to. She was not going home to Landsford. To think Aunt Viola had been going to help Mr. Littleton with his nefarious scheme—

Oh! Every time she thought about it, she wanted to hit something—or someone.

She put her hand on the door. The drunken male laughter was so loud she could hear it out here. Pot-valiant oafs! At least drunkards were even less likely than sober men to see through her disguise. She almost hoped one of them would approach her. She’d take great delight in bloodying his nose.

She shoved open the door and was hit by a cacophony of voices and the stench of spilled ale, smoke, and too many sweaty male bodies. A barmaid, burdened with six or seven mugs of ale, rushed out of a room to her left.

“Where can I see about a bed for the night?” Frances had to shout to make herself heard. She had a deep voice for a woman, but was it deep enough? Apparently. The girl barely glanced at her.

“See Mr. Findley,” she said without breaking stride, jerking her head back at the room she’d just left, “but we’re full up.”

Oh, damn. Frances’s stomach plummeted.

She would not despair. If worse came to worst, she’d find a corner of the common room and sleep there. Or perhaps the innkeeper would let her stay in the stables. Even if Daisy were able to carry her, she could not go any farther. Night was coming on.

She went through the narrow doorway. A stout man with a bald head and an equally stout, gray-haired woman were sitting at a scarred wooden table, eating their dinner. Frances inhaled. Mutton and potatoes. Not her favorite dishes, but she was so hungry, the food smelled like ambrosia.

“Tonight’s the duchess’s ball, Archie,” the woman was saying. She waved a bite of mutton at him. “Do you think Her Grace found a match for Lord Ned or Lord Jack this year?”

Archie snorted. “Don’t know why this year should be any different than last year or the year before, Madge.”

“I suppose you’re right. I just—”

Frances cleared her throat. “Pardon me, but might you have a room for the night?”

The man looked over and frowned. “’Fraid every bed is full.”

“I see.” She bit her lip. Damn it.

“Oh, Archie,” his wife said, getting up. “I’m sure we can find something for the poor lad. He looks exhausted.”

“I am very tired, madam, and my horse is lame.” Frances was suddenly a hairsbreadth from groveling. Lying in a real bed would be heaven, especially compared to sleeping on the hard floor with the tosspots in the common room or on straw in the stable.

Mrs. Findley clucked her tongue. “You’re likely hungry as well.”

Frances’s stomach spoke for her, growling loudly. She flushed. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, eight hours earlier. She should have packed something, but she hadn’t expected to be so delayed, and to be frank, she’d been too angry to think clearly.

And if she’d had a knife in her hand, Aunt Viola would not have been safe.

Mrs. Findley laughed. “Come, sit with us.” She took Frances’s arm and towed her over to the table.

“I-I don’t wish to intrude. If you could just spare a slice of mutton and a potato, I’m sure I would do very well.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” The woman pushed her into a chair and started filling a plate with food. “You must be starving.”

Frances’s stomach growled again, and Mrs. Findley laughed. “Poor boy.” She put the plate down in front of her. “Now eat before you fall over from hunger. I’m sure we can find you someplace to sleep.”

Mr. Findley was less inclined to charity. “Madge, the only room we have free is the one I save for the Valentines.”

“Well, none of them will be here tonight, will they? It’s the birthday ball, remember? They won’t miss it, no matter how much they hate attending. They’re good boys.”

Ha! Frances speared a bit of potato with her fork. Jack, the youngest of the Duke of Greycliffe’s sons, was far from a “good boy.” Aunt Viola was forever holding him up as an example of the evils of Town. A rake of the first order and likely a procurer as well, he was rumored to know—intimately—every brothel owner in London.

“I suppose you’re right.” Mr. Findley turned his attention to Frances. “What’s your name, lad, and where are you headed?”

“Frances Had—” Frances coughed. She could use her Christian name—spelled with an i instead of an e it was a male name anyway—but perhaps she should be cautious about using her family name. “Frances Haddon. I’m on my way to London.”

“London?” Mr. Findley’s brows shot up and then down into a scowl. “How old are you? You haven’t escaped from school, have you?”

“No, sir.” She focused on cutting her meat so she wouldn’t have to meet his eyes. “I’m, er, older than I look.”

Mrs. Findley laughed. “What? Thirteen instead of twelve? Don’t try to cozen us, young sir. We’ve raised three sons. Here it is the end of the day, and you don’t have the faintest shadow of a beard.”

This pretending to be a man was more complicated than she’d thought. Frances smiled and stuffed a large piece of mutton in her mouth.

“What can your mother be thinking to let you travel alone like this?” Mrs. Findley made a clucking sound with her tongue again.

Frances swallowed. “My mother died a number of years ago, madam. I live with my elderly aunt.” Aunt Viola would not be happy with that description, but she had passed her sixtieth birthday.

“Well, I can’t fathom even an aunt, elderly or not, letting a young ’un such as yourself travel up to Town alone.” There was more than a hint of suspicion in Mr. Findley’s voice.

“My aunt wasn’t happy about it, sir,”—Viola had been shouting so loudly it was surprising they hadn’t heard her at the Crowing Cock—“but I was desperate to go.” She wasn’t about to spend one more second under the same roof as that treacherous woman. “I’m to visit my brother. I would have got to London hours ago if the roads hadn’t been so bad.” She’d meant to stay the night with Frederick, see their man of business in the morning, and then go back to Landsford and wave the bank draft for the amount of her dowry in Viola’s face before taking it, packing up, and moving out.

* * * * *

kensingtonbooks.com
amazon.com
bn.com
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indiebound.org

 Author Bio:

USA Today bestselling author Sally MacKenzie writes funny, hot, Regency-set books for Kensington Zebra. Her Naked Nobility series concluded (at least for the time being) with The Naked King, which was named one of ALA Booklist’s top ten romances for 2011; now she’s hard at work on a new “Duchess of Love” series. The prequel novella, “The Duchess of Love,” is a 2013 RWA RITA® finalist in the Romance Novella category. Bedding Lord Ned, the first full-length book in the series, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and also made Booklist’s top ten romance list of 2012. Surprising Lord Jack, the second book, received a starred review from Booklist. Loving Lord Ash will release March 2014. Her books have been translated into Czech, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. Sally graduated with a B.A. in English from the University of Notre Dame in the first class of women. She’s a Cornell Law School dropout, former federal regulation writer, recovering parent volunteer, mother of four grown sons (and mother-in-law to two daughters), and middle-of-the-pool Masters swimmer. A native of Washington, D. C., she still resides in suburban Maryland with her husband.

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Multi-published Regency Author Laurie Eakes

Please help me welcome multi-published, historical author, Laurie Alice Eakes. Laurie’s books range from England to Scotland and across the Atlantic to America. Today Laurie has agreed to give a copy of any of her Midwife books or Regencies, including Family Guardian, winner’s choice, in print or electronic, to one lucky commenter. All you have to do to be eligible is leave your email address.

Ella:  Laurie Alice, tell us a little about yourself, and your writing journey.

Laurie Alice: Writing a novel was always something I wanted to do, and I played around with various ideas and time periods for a while until finally managing to finish something I thought might have a chance at publication after I received my master’s degree in writing fiction. Since I felt called to write for the inspirational market, and it wasn’t open to Regencies at the time, I wrote a Regency for Avalon, now Montlake, and sold that one. It won the National Readers Choice Award for Best Regency, and I was sure I’d made it. Hahahaha. The next step up the ladder was a long one, and I got there, and then another long step until something broke free. Since October 28 of 2008, I have sold fifteen more books and three novellas. 

Ella: What drew you to write historicals?

Laurie Alice: History fascinates me. What happened hundreds of years ago effects us more than what we acknowledge. For me, it’s not so much of what did happen as what could of happened within the context of history. Those what ifs spawn historical fiction. 

Ella: How would you categorize your books?

Laurie Alice: I call all but the two Avalon books inspirational historical romance. Some, like The Midwives series and The Daughters of Bainbridge (these latter three Regencies) Historical romantic suspense. Most of my books have at least some mystery or suspense element sin them because that’s what I like to read. 

Ella: Tell us a bit about your latest release and what you’re working on now.

Laurie Alice: Choices of the Heart is my latest release. It’s the third book in The Midwives series and focuses on Esther, the daughter of the hero and heroine from the first book in the series. The year is 1842 and set in my favorite part of the country—Southwest Virginia, the edge of the decline of midwifery. Doctors were beginning to take over childbirth with the advent of forceps and, soon, anesthesia, but in remote areas like Appalachia, midwives were still more common. But Esther wants to leave her past behind so thoroughly she intends to refuse to practice… 

Just a couple of weeks ago, I finished edits on my next Regency, A Reluctant Courtship, the third book in The Daughters of Bainbridge series. That’s out in October. And now I’m researching and plotting and researching…

 

Choices of the Heart

A Novel

Laurie Alice Eakes

Esther Cherrett comes from a proud line of midwives and was trained by her mother to take over the family calling. But when a terrible scandal threatens all she holds dear, Esther flees, taking a position as a teacher in the wild western mountains of Virginia. But instead of the refuge she was seeking, Esther finds herself in the midst of a deadly family feud—and courted by two men on opposite sides of the conflict. All she wants is to run away again.

But could it be that her past holds the key to reconciliation—and love?

In this gripping story of trust, deception, and bittersweet loss, you’ll discover the true meaning of choices of the heart.

Available at:

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.bn.com

http://www.cbd.com

Or wherever you like to buy books.

First Kiss - Excerpt

“Note: This is from pages 199 and 200 of Choices of the Heart, The Midwives #3. For resons you will understand when you read the book, I have not included any names so as not to include any spoilers.)

She clung to his fingers, pressed them against her cheek, and began to tremble as though the temperature had dropped to freezing.

“Shh. Hush now.” He knelt and gathered her against him, holding her close, stroking her hair down her back, murmuring, murmuring over her keening wails. “Hush now. Hush.”

“I”—she gasped—”can’t.”

“Yea, you can. You don’t want nobody else finding us like this. They’d have us before the preacher by morning.” His tone was light, teasing.

It worked. Her shuddering diminished. She managed to swallow the wailing sobs. If he released her, she wouldn’t tumble over or be sick. She would get to her feet and start walking.

He didn’t release her. He slid his hand beneath the fall of her hair and cupped the back of her head, tilting her face up toward his. Too close to his. His breath brushed her lips. His eyes gazed into hers. He was going to kiss her. She must stop him. It was wrong. They weren’t even courting. If the mere touch of his hand made her insides quake, how much more would his kiss do to her body, her heart, her soul?

His lips covered hers before she worked that out, and then she couldn’t think. She could only feel—warmth and excitement. She could only taste—lemons sweet and tart on his lips. Despite her head saying, No, no, no, she wound her fingers through his ragged curls and held him near for the first closeness she’d allowed herself in nearly six months, a closeness she thought she feared, believed she didn’t want.

Knew she shouldn’t have.

She tensed and dropped her hands to his shoulders.

He raised his head only enough to break the contact. “I expect that was a right foolish thing to do.”

She nodded.

“Should I apologize?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t stop you.”

“I’m right glad about that.” He brushed his lips across hers. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you practically since I met you. But you’ve been running from me since you got here.” He cupped her face in his hands. “Why?”

“I. . . I’m . . .” She jerked away and grabbed for her torn neckline. “Please. Please forget this happened.”

“Forget?” He smiled. “If you think I can forget that, you don’t know noth—anything about men.”

 

 

About the Author

“Eakes has a charming way of making her novels come to life without being over the top,” writes Romantic times of  bestselling, award-winning author Laurie Alice Eakes. Since she lay in bed as a child telling herself stories, she has fulfilled her dream of becoming a published author.  with the release of Choices of the Heart, The Midwives #3, she sees her twelfth book published, in addition to two novellas with more novels and novellas releasing over the next three years. A graduate of Asbury University with a degree in English and French, and  Seton Hill University, with a masters degree in Writing Popular Fiction, she also teaches writing and gives inspirational talks.

She lives in Texas with her husband, dogs, and cats, where she enjoys long walks, rainy days, and knitting—rather badly.

 

Follow her on Twitter: @laurieaeakes

Read excerpts from her books at: http://www.lauriealiceeakes.com

Find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/laurie.eakes?ref=tn_tnmn

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Today I’m at Susan’s Books talking about the Seduction of Lady Phoebe my other books being published this year and what’s next.  http://bit.ly/YFmwRe. Please come by and visit.

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Debut Historical Author Amara Royce

Victorian Author Amara Royce

Please help me welcome debut historical and fellow Kensington author, Amara Royce. Amara will give away a copy of her newly released novel, Never Too Late, to one lucky commenter who leaves their email address.

Amara: Thank you for having me on your blog, Ella! You’re wonderfully supportive of other writers, and it’s an honor to be here!

Ella: My pleasure, Amara. First tell us a little about you, and how you began writing.

Amara: It took a long time for me to garner up the courage to even try writing fiction. As an English professor, I’ve spent so much time and attention on literary fiction and other Lit-er-ah-ture that I didn’t think I could ever write anything *that good* so it was pointless to even try . It wasn’t until a friend recommended I read Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series that I was able to throw caution to the wind and start writing just for the joy of doing it.  I love that Gabaldon started Outlander as a “what if,” as a learning experience, just to see if she could write a novel. And you can see some of that adventurous, exploratory perspective in the first novel of the series…for heaven’s sake, the Loch Ness Monster makes an appearance!  For me, her books are kind of like alchemy—doing so much at once, bringing history to life, exploring complex psychological and emotional experiences, and always challenging as well as entertaining readers—it’s a special kind of magic. Many books and thousands upon thousands of pages later, I think she continues to be an inspiration for writers to take risks and just write.  And so I do.

Ella: This is such a favorite topic that I have to ask it. Can you tell us about your road to publication? What happened when you got the call for your agent and then your contract?

Amara: Well, my calls came in reverse! I started querying agents in June of 2012, and I had some encouraging responses and requests for material. Still, I’ll admit I got impatient…so I decided to try querying a few publishers that don’t require agented submissions.  Imagine my shock when I got the call from my now-editor, John Scognamiglio at Kensington!  With that two-book contract offer in hand, I quickly updated agents who’d requested material…which led me to my wonderful agent, Jessica Alvarez of BookEnds!  It’s been quite an amazing and unbelievable year, and my head is still spinning.

Ella:  How exciting!! What has been the most challenging or most difficult part of becoming a published author?

Amara: Aside from the usual challenges of the writing itself, I would have to what’s most challenging for me is the element of self-promotion. Honestly, I’m a very private person who doesn’t like being the center of attention.  In today’s publishing industry, however, it seems important for authors to establish and maintain a public presence, especially using social media.  I’ve heard great advice that writers should stick with what they’re comfortable with—if you don’t enjoy blogging or Facebook or Twitter, don’t do that thing. It’s not that I don’t enjoy them; I do! But I definitely find it challenging to promote myself and my work in ways that are comfortable for me.

Ella: What drew you to historicals and to the Victorian era specifically?

Amara:  I’m a great fan of historical fiction in general and historical romance in specific. My academic/professional background is in 19^th century literature, and I’ve been a fan of Victorian literature since college. So writing historical romance set in the Victorian era seems like a natural fit. There’s so much about the Victorian era that’s fascinating…it’s sort of the gateway to the modern world we know. Technology, industry, political equality, gender equality—so much of what we see as a normal, inherent part of our lives took a foothold in the Victorian era: white wedding dresses, mass-produced photographs, mass-produced books and magazines, heck, “mass-produced” anything. Also, there are also some fascinating long-held misconceptions (and contradictions) about the Victorians; for instance, we commonly associate “Victorian” with “prudish” and yet pornography flourished in the period.  Writing about the Victorian era enables me not just to explore and highlight these changes and ideas but also to see how they still reverberate in our lives today.  And I get to do that while writing happily ever afters!

Now without further to do, here is the blurb for Never Too Late, followed by an excerpt.

Blurb:

Honoria Duchamp is well aware that men often consider widows easy prey for the role of mistress. What else could explain the attentions of handsome Lord Devin, and his visits to her bookshop? The much younger Viscount has even shown interest in the printing press with which she creates pamphlets on London’s basest injustices. Yet his chief interest appears to be in her…

Coerced to investigate Nora’s controversial pamphlets, Devin expected to find a bookish matron. Instead, he is taken with Nora’s womanly beauty, sharp intellect, and quick wit. Soon, what begins as an unwelcome task becomes a pleasure, and Devin’s job becomes more dangerous—for them both. For Nora has no idea of the vicious element she’s crossed. Now Devin will risk his reputation to protect her—and much more to win her love…

Excerpt:

“These clothes are suffocating me,” she replied. She slipped onto the bed against him and heard his sharp intake of breath when her bare skin slid along his hand.

“You promised you wouldn’t tempt me.” She heard bewildered amusement in his voice.

“I know, but it seems my inhibitions have run away from me.” She pulled his mouth to hers firmly. She kissed him, fully, without reservation, opening her mouth to him and tasting his lips. He pulled his head away, but she moved forward to close the distance again. Her body pressed against his, the rough fabric of his clothing sending little jolts along her skin. Here in the darkness, all the heightened emotions of the day concentrated into this whirlwind of sensations. Just for this moment, she wanted to drown out all her cares, silence her mind’s accounting and planning, and simply feel.

He gently broke contact with her lips. As he put his hands on her bare shoulders, she felt the groan he tried to suppress. He held her at a distance.

“Nora, we cannot do this. You have been through an extremely taxing experience. You do not know what you are doing.”

“On the contrary, Alex.” She punctuated her words with kisses wherever her lips could reach. “I know exactly what I’m doing.  Anything I need, you said. Right now, this is what I need. I need to be in your arms. I need to feel your lips on me. I need you.”

 

Buy links:

Kensington: http://ekensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/22517

Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/Never-Too-Late-ebook/dp/B00B3YDF1S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367376988&sr=8-1&keywords=9781601831170

Barnes & Noble (Nook): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/never-too-late-amara-royce/1114307512?ean=9781601831170

Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Never-Too-Late/book-2o69sxyGkEeJGHhzLA_nYw/page1.html?s=hTP0xzruE0arSv3TD3kgDQ&r=1

 

Bio:

Amara Royce writes historical romances that combine her passion for 19th-century literature and history with her addiction to happily ever afters. She earned a PhD in English, specializing in 19th-century British literature, from Lehigh University and a Master’s degree in English from Villanova University, and she now teaches English literature and composition at a community college in Pennsylvania. When she isn’t writing, she’s either grading papers or reveling in her own happily ever after with her remarkably patient family.

 

 

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Spotlight on Bronwen Evans

Regency Author Bronwen Evans

My guest today is multi-published, award-winning, Regency author Bronwen Evans. Bronwen lives in New Zeeland, and will stop by when she wakes up to answer any of your questions. We’d planned to have a regular interview, but were defeated by technology and time zones, so please do ask questions. Bronwen will also give away a copy of her latest book to one lucky commenter who leaves their email address.

Bronwen has had lots of news lately.

Invitation to Ruin by Bronwen Evans

Her debut Regency historical, Invitation to Ruin, WON the RomCon 2012 Readers Crown Best Historical

Invitation to Scandal by Bronwen Evans

Her novel Invitation to Scandal has been nominated by The Romance Review Book of the Year Best Historical.

She has just signed a contract with Random House’s Loveswept line for a new series called The Disgraced Lords. Her first book in that series, sorry no cover yet, is A Kiss of Lies which will release in January 2014.

Invitation to Passion by Bronwen Evans

And the best news, Bronwen has a new book, Invitation to Passion releasing in May.

Here is the blurb.

Consummate rake, Richard Craven, has his heartbroken when the woman he loves is forced into an arranged marriage to a violent brute. To make matters worse, circumstances force him to marry Madeline Knight—a woman he views more like a sister-only for fate to play the cruellest of tricks. Shortly after his wedding his former lover is widowed, and Richard learns she could be pregnant with his child.

Madeline Knight thought she was doing the right thing when she saved Richard Craven from his lover’s irate husband. Now her silly schoolgirl crush has left her married to a man who’s in love with another woman. Consumed with guilt over trapping Richard, she tries her best to be the perfect wife and win his heart. Failure is not an option. For if she fails she loses everything, she loves him too much not to set him free…

While Richard and Madeline confront the reality of their marriage, Madeline’s life comes under threat. A family enemy is set on revenge. Will Richard learn the truth of his heart, and what is truly precious to him, before the unknown enemy destroys their world?

To tempt you even further, I’ve added an excerpt.

Chapter One – London, April 1810

Richard James Craven was a dead man. That’s if Charles Hawthorne, the Marquis of Wrentham, found him. Maddy watched the Marquis as he stood at the top of the stairs, surveying the guests in the crowded ballroom below. His presence here at Hascombe Court meant only one thing. He’d come for his wife.

A curse on Richard’s head. Just last week Maddy had begged him to end his affair with the Marquis’s wife. Now she would have to get involved. She hated getting involved. Richard had looked after her welfare for years and she felt obligated to return the favour.

Madeline Knight you are such a liar. She wanted to return the favour.

Maddy blew a curl out of her eyes, and peered through the plants sheltering her from the eyes of the ton. She’d been hiding most of the evening. Rufus had organised this ball for her. She loved her brother, but he’d recently married his one true love, Rheda, and was determined to help his younger sister find the same happiness.

Unfortunately, Madeline’s idea of a suitable husband differed vastly from his. She did not wish to marry into the echelons of Society. Due to her father’s rumoured treason, she’d grown up in seclusion, here at their country estate near Newmarket.

Even though she was the sister of a wealthy Viscount, correction, now Earl, due to the scandal surrounding the Strathmores, she had expected to marry beneath her social standing. A local squire or vicar. She felt perfectly capable of settling into the quiet country life. The strictures and sophistication of the ton frightened her to death.

Besides, at nineteen, she had plenty of time to choose a husband. Now that her brother resided permanently at home, she did not wish to leave his household any time soon.

With growing unease, Maddy watched Lord Wrentham scan the ballroom, then begin to make his way across the crowded floor. Luckily the room was packed. With Rufus succeeding in clearing their late father of treason, and her brother having a second title bestowed on him, Earl of Hascombe, the ton’s interest had been caught. Tonight it seemed all London Society were in attendance.

Her eyes followed the Marquis’s path through the guests. Lord Wrentham was definitely looking for someone, and she was sure it was his beautiful wife, Sara. It was up to Maddy to warn the lovers.

She straightened her shoulders and stepped out into the crush. The music drowned out her determined stride. She circled round until she was able to locate her brother.

“Lord Wrentham has arrived. You should go and greet him. Now would be the perfect opportunity to put the past behind you. He carries at lot of influence in the House of Lords. Lord Wrentham would be a valuable ally.” Not really a lie. Rufus had taken a special interest in the rights of workers, his wife’s influence, and he was chasing the Marquis’s vote on labor law reform.

Her brother kissed her lightly on the cheek. “Don’t think you can distract me by mentioning politics.”

Maddy’s heart stilled. Rufus had no idea that Richard was continuing his affair with Lady Wrentham. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’ve seen you hiding behind the plants. I would have made you stand centre stage, but Rheda told me to leave you alone.”

All the while her brother talked, Maddy guided him ever closer to Wrentham.

“Your wife is, as always, a gem. What is this rush to get me to the altar? I’ve only just got you back in my life. Now you are married, don’t you want me here?” She couldn’t disguise the hurt in her voice. Her brother’s determination to see her quickly wed made her feel as if she was a nuisance, or in his way.

Rufus halted and oblivious to their guests he pulled her close. “Is that what you think?” He hugged her tight. “Never for one moment think I want you to leave my house. If I could, I’d hold onto you forever, but that would be selfish. I just don’t like seeing you stuck here in the country, on your own, like Rheda was. You deserve more.”

The relief flooded through her. She lightly cuffed his shoulder. “I do not intend to marry any time soon, so stop pushing me.” Before Rufus could argue, she added, “There’s Lord Wrentham. Go and bore him with your talk. You can lecture me tomorrow at breakfast.”

She abruptly turned and schooled herself to walk away slowly, and in the opposite direction to the library, where she assumed Richard had taken Sara.

Richard knew every square inch of this house intimately. Over the years he’d spent many nights under this roof. Many nights teasing her. Teaching her. Talking to her.

Blast it all. She’d have to go and warn Richard. Richard was her only true friend, she didn’t wish to see him killed in a duel, or sent fleeing from England for having killed Lord Wrentham.

Once out of sight of the guests, she lifted the hem of her dress and rushed toward the library. Skidding to a halt outside the door, her courage momentarily fled. What would she observe when she opened this door? Was she prepared to see her Richard in the arms of another?

Her Richard! She acknowledged her claim was a monumental fantasy. Richard was her friend. That was all. He still saw her as the thirteen year old girl he’d rescued from the Hawthorne bullies.

Just a friend, she silently scolded herself. Yet Maddy didn’t understand the riotous feelings she’d developed over the last twelve months. Whenever she looked at Richard, her heart beat harder, her stomach knotted, and her body warmed in certain places she was embarrassed to discuss.

A stab of jealousy hit her chest. Madeline secretly hoped Richard was doing nothing more than talking with Lady Wrentham. She knew Richard and his rakish ways, and realised that was unlikely. But a girl could dream.

She dreamed of Richard a lot lately.

About Bronwen Evans:

Bronwen loves story-telling – gobbling up movies, reading books and attending the theatre. Her head is always filled with characters and stories, particularly lovers in angst. Is it any wonder she’s a proud romance writer.

Bronwen attended Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand earning a bachelor’s degree in Commerce and Administration, majoring in Marketing and Accounting. She was all set on building herself a business career (which she did along the way).

But life never turns out exactly as one thinks. After working for a few years in marketing roles within New Zealand financial institutions, she left for a 6 month overseas experience in London, England. She loved England. She spent several years living in London, using it as a base to be able to work and travel from. She visited all four corners of the globe. Her most interesting trips were a camel safari in the Sahara, a trip through Russia, a safari through Africa with her mother, and three months in the Mediterranean.

It was while living and working in London she discovered the offices of Mills & Boon and the germ of an idea to embark on a romance writing career was born.

Almost eight years later, on her return to New Zealand, encouraged by a close friend battling a life threatening illness, Bronwen finally started down the path to publication by joining RWA, The Beau Monde, RWAustralia and RWNZ.

Please get to know Bronwen better though her website. www.bronwenevans.com and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bronwenevansauthor

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Spotlight on Historical Author Jenna Jaxon

I thought I’d do something a little different today and spotlighting one of my favorite historical authors (she also writes contemporaries), Jenna Jaxon and her new medieval romance, Betrothal. Jenna will giveaway a copy of Betrothal to one lucky commenter. Please leave your email address to be eligible.

Betrothal by Jenna Jaxon

First I’ll give you the cover. Nice isn’t it?

Now the blurb.

Lady Alyse de Courcy has fallen in love with Lord Braeton, a nobleman in King Edward III’s court and a man to whom she has barely spoken. Fate, however, has decreed her betrothal to his best friend, Sir Geoffrey Longford—a handsome and imposing knight, yet hardly the man she wants to wed.

When Sir Geoffrey is bound in betrothal by his father, he could not have expected the beautiful stranger to win his heart the moment they meet. Nevertheless, the fascinating Lady Alyse has done exactly that, and his feelings for her only grow as he learns more of her gentle yet spirited nature. But Alyse’s infatuation with his friend casts doubt on whether she can ever return his regard and their wedding day is fast approaching…

Will he have time enough to win her love?

Because I know you want more here is an excerpt of Betrothal.

“What do you require of me, Majesty?” Her mouth so dry she could taste sand, Alyse fought to speak in a normal tone. With a sigh of relief, she dropped into a deep curtsy, hiding her face in the folds of her skirt. If only she could remain bowed thus before His Majesty for the remainder of the evening.

King Edward laughed. “Obedience, Lady Alyse, as I require of all my subjects. As your father requires of his daughter.”

Her heart thumped wildly in her breast. That could mean but one thing.

“Rise, my lady.”

She did so on unsteady feet. “I am ready, as always, Your Majesty, to obey my father as I would you.”

Holy Mary, let it be Lord Braeton. 

King Edward lifted an eyebrow toward Alyse. “A very pretty answer, my lady. And are you ready to accept your father’s decree for your betrothal? His messenger has today reached me with the contract, as I am to stand in his stead in this matter.”

Alyse took a deep breath and hoped her voice did not tremble. “Yea, Majesty, I will obey my father.”

King Edward nodded and leaned over to whisper something to Queen Phillipa, who sat beside him, heavy with their twelfth child.

Mere seconds before she learned her fate. She could scarce affect an indifferent pose before the court when inside every inch of her quivered with anticipation of the name. His name, pray God, on the king’s lips.

Thomas.

In her mind, she heard the word.

The king straightened, glanced at her then at the man by her side.

“What say you then, Sir Geoffrey? Does the lady not speak fair? I vow she will make you a proper wife and a dutiful one as well.”

Alyse turned, until that moment unaware that Geoffrey Longford stood beside her. Chills coursed down her body as the king’s words echoed in her mind. The sensation of falling backward assailed her, as though she rushed away from the tall man at her side even as his figure loomed larger and larger in her sight.

Not Lord Braeton.  

Her numbed brain repeated the phrase, trying to comprehend that instead he would be her husband. Geoffrey Longford.

God have mercy on me, for by the look of him, this man will not.

Fearful, she cringed as her gaze climbed higher, over his chest, over his chin, finally resting on the dark blue eyes turned toward her.

Geoffrey returned her appraisal, his gaze sweeping her figure as a smile crept over his face. “Your Majesty.” He spoke to the king but his attention remained fixed on Alyse. “When my father told me of the betrothal contract before I left his home, I resolved to play the dutiful son. Now, however, I find I do not wish to act that role after all.” His eyes held hers as he paused.

Dear God, does he mean to renounce me here before the entire court?  

Alyse stared at the man beside her, willing herself to remain upright, despite the waves of ice and fire alternating through her body.

“Now I find I would rather play the ardent lover.”

An amused murmur ran through the Hall at his words. Sir Geoffrey grinned, his eyes sparkling with humor and something more. Despite the uneven light, Alyse saw an unfathomable promise in their dark depths. She took a shaky breath and looked away.

Buy Link:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/ZDFtSq

And finally, something about Jenna.

Jenna Jaxon is a multi-published author of historical and contemporary romance.  Her historical romance, Only Scandal Will Do, the first in a series of five interconnecting novels, was released in July 2012. Her contemporary works include Hog Wild, Almost Perfect, and 7 Days of Seduction.  She is a PAN member of Romance Writers of America as well as a member of Chesapeake Romance Writers. Her medieval romance, Time Enough to Love, is being published this summer as a series of three novellas.

Jenna has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager.  A romantic herself, she has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise.  She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own stories. She lives in Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets.  When not reading or writing, she indulges her passion for the theatre, working with local theatres as a director.  She often feels she is directing her characters on their own private stage.

She has equated her writing to an addiction to chocolate because once she starts she just can’t stop.

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