Liza O’Connor interviews The Secret Life of Miss Anna Marsh

Please stop by Liza O’Conner’s Blog and read the interview Liza has with the Secret Life of Miss Anna Marsh the book. There is also a give away.

The Secret Life of Miss Anna Marsh

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5 Star Review by Susana Ellis!!

Not only did Susana post a review for The Secret Life of Miss Anna Marsh, she also had Lady P con invite Lord Rutherford, the hero in The Secret Life of Miss Anna Marsh, to tea. Come see what happens when he accepts the invitation. Come by Susana’s Parlour and see how he does keeping his business to himself. Post a comment for a chance to win a copy of The Secret Life of Miss Anna Marsh.

The Secret Life of Miss Anna Marsh

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News and Winners

Winners first

Melissa Limoges you won a copy of The Seduction of Lady Phoebe on Happily Ever After Thoughts.

Now for News

I  donated a critique for the Brenda Novak Diabetes Auction. In case you don’t know about it, this auction is a huge writing community effort to raise money to find a cure for diabetes. I credit the critique I won two years ago for being partially responsible for my being published.

If you’d like to bid on my critique the link is.  http://bit.ly/16tKVvs

This is the  general link for all sorts of cool stuff, including a basket with Carbbean spices that some of eKensington authors have put together.  http://bit.ly/18fl7T8

My next book, The Secret Life of Miss Anna Marsh releases for pre-order in June. I’ll be doing another mini-blog tour with lots of giveaways. Today I posted the first 1000 words of the book.

And last but not least, my website is finally live. www.ellaquinnauthor.com I invite you to take a look around. You’ll have to post any comments here, as the website is not set up to take comments.

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News, News, and More News!!!

You’ve heard the old adage things come in three? Well yesterday proved it. After I got home from running around all day, I received word that my website was ready for a test drive. Please take a look and tell me if you think anything could be clearer, or if there is something you think I could add. It’s very important to me that the site be easily navigable for my readers. http://www.ellaquinnauthor.com/index-home.html

 The next thing that happened is the book trailer for The Seduction of Lady Phoebe was sent to me for review. It’s still lacking the cover, but other than that, please tell me what you think of it. Again, this is a review copy and changes can be made. Would this make you want to buy the book? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWc916HyWYY

And last, but not least, I was featured on the blog, First Kiss Friday!! http://www.laurel-odonnell.com/ Where Lady Phoebe and Lord Marcus share their first kiss, and I’m giving away another copy of The Seduction of Lady Phoebe.

I can’t wait to here what you think of all of this.

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Blog Tour

The Seduction of Lady Phoebe

I’m back on the road, fugitively speaking, with my debut novel TheSeduction of Lady Phoebe.

We are on Merry Farmer’s blog today. Please come by and visit for a while.  http://wp.me/p1GrJf-Fy

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Eight Sentence Sunday

Good morning and welcome to Eight Sentence Sunday. Today I continue with The Secret Life of Miss Anna Marsh, the second book in The Marriage Game. If you came by last Sunday, you’ll know the snippet ended on Anna taking a piece of paper from her desk drawer. We continue from there. I hope you enjoy it.

Also don’t forget to stop by the other wonderful and talented authors participating in Weekend Warriors Eight Sentence Sunday. http://www.wewriwa.com/

 

“I’ll write Kev and tell him to lay low until I can get there.”

K

No information exchanged or meetings scheduled until I arrive.

A

She sealed the message and handed it to Lizzy. “Make sure this goes out to-day, even if you have to take it yourself.”

“Yes, miss.”

Anna pinched her upper nose. “I do hope this is not going to make our lives even more complicated.”

 

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Eight Sentence Sunday

Today I’m taking part in Eight Sentence Sunday. My excerpt is from the Seduction of Lady Phoebe which goes on pre-order in April and releases in September.

Please let me know what you think.

Through the fellow’s alcoholic haze, he tried to focus on his tormentor. Marcus received a grim satisfaction at the fear in the blood’s eyes. Marcus slowly lowered the younger man until his feet touched the floor, then Marcus guided the buck down the hall to the stairs and out the front door, handing him over to one of the ostlers still on duty.

Marcus scowled. “Take this fool, and do not allow him back in the inn.”

The ostler eyed Marcus cautiously. “But, my lord, he’s stayin’ here.”

He fixed the ostler with a cold, hard glare. “I don’t give a damn where he is staying.

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Multi-published, Regency Author Regina Scott

Ella: What drew you to Christian Regencies?

Regina: All my books have had a Christian worldview.  As a Christian, I find it hard to write otherwise!  But it’s only been the last six that were actually published as inspirational romances.  I wanted to write for Love Inspired Historical because I heard one of their first publisher sessions at a conference and was really impressed with their vision for the line.  Of course, it wasn’t until nearly ten years later that they finally decided to accept Regency-set stories!

Ella: What part of writing historicals do you find the most challenging?

Regina: Stopping the research to write.  I am such a research geek!  I can spend hours scouring historical documents, devouring period literature, watching documentaries, even watching well-made period movies! Sometimes it’s hard to find time to actually write the book.

Ella: The Heiress’s Homecoming is the last book in your Everard Legacy series.  What’s next?

Regina:  August sees the start of a new series for me, called the Master Matchmakers.  Four magnificent estates near the Derbyshire peaks of Regency England, four handsome owners who show no signs of marrying and begetting sons to inherit, four sets of staff worried for their futures.  What more logical than for the cooks and butlers and housekeepers to band together, play matchmaker, and serve up a delightful dollop of marriage for their masters!

Ella: I so agree. Many people don’t understand the influence and roles servants, especially the senior staff played during the Regency. What is the first book about?

Regina:   The Courting Campaign, features a widowed hero with a scientific bent, who meets his match when his cook convinces the new nanny to help him stop being such a recluse, never knowing that the nanny harbors a secret that caused his retreat from society to begin with.

Ella: Regina, thank you so much for visiting today.

Regina:  Thank you!  You’ve built a great blog!

Ella: Thank you so much, I really appreciate that <blushes> Well, without further ado, here is a blub and excerpt from The Heiress’s Homecoming.

The Heiress’s Homecoming

Blurb:

To keep her cherished childhood home, Samantha Everard must marry by her twenty-fifth birthday. Yet she refuses to marry on a whim, even to save her fortune. When she returns to Dallsten Manor to say goodbye, the last person she expects to see is her handsome, disapproving neighbor William Wentworth, Earl of Kendrick.

Will is certain the scandalous Everards are nothing but trouble. He shouldn’t care about Samantha’s predicament, but her feistiness and kindheartedness intrigue him—as do the secrets surrounding her. Soon his greatest wish becomes to persuade Samantha that her true home is with him.

Excerpt: (from a scene where Samantha, Lady Everard, joins the hero William Wentworth and his teenaged son Jamie in their weekly fencing practice)

Will slipped his mask back on, extended his foil and laid it against Samantha’s. She stood calm and composed, sure of herself and her skills. But the bout would tell just how formidable those skills were. He pushed against her blade; she pushed back. He smiled.

He disengaged and thrust toward her left shoulder. She parried but didn’t back away. The laugh that escaped her told him she knew what he was doing.

The next few minutes proved that she knew what she was doing as well. They moved about the room, foils clinking as they hit, breaths coming thickly through the masks. She darted and spun about him, quick and light as a dancer. But with each blow, Will saw that she was always on the defensive. Did she fear to offend him by attempting a strike, or had her cousins perhaps only taught her to defend herself? He thrust again, and she turned to avoid the blow.

And then he found her blade at his throat.

“You are beaten, my lord,” she said, triumph in her voice.

The minx! She’d been testing him, seeking a weak spot, and when she’d found it she hadn’t hesitated to use it to her advantage.

“I believe the rules call for a strike between the shoulders and hips,” he countered.

She pulled up her sword as if in surprise. “You play by the rules?”

“Spoken like an Everard,” Jamie said, striding into the room. His son had on a similar white shirt, padded vest, buckskin breeches, and a mask tucked under his arm.

Samantha pulled off her mask and turned to face Jamie. “Oh good. A fresh opponent. I’ve already beaten your father.”

“I was blinded by your beauty,” Will said with a bow that extended his blade to the side.

“I’ll have to remember that excuse,” Jamie said, taking up his favorite foil. “If I ever need it.”

Will gave him a bow as well as he surrendered the floor to his son.

He watched carefully as Jamie and Samantha took their places opposite each other. It had been a hard lesson for him to learn in the diplomatic corps—sometimes arriving at a solution to a difficult problem required not decisive action but careful observation. An incursion taken as an act of war might instead be only a desperate attempt to save a stricken outpost.

He thought Samantha’s bout with Jamie would be telling. He was fairly certain now she had no designs on his son, but if he’d mistaken her motivation, surely he’d see evidence. A woman bent on capturing a man’s heart might defer to him, make it appear he was the stronger. On the other hand, a self-absorbed beauty might blame her loss on fatigue from the previous bout.

Samantha did neither. She fought, with grace, precision and enthusiasm. The clang of their blows echoed around the room. Will found himself edging to the right or left, grimacing when Jamie’s blade came perilously close to her shoulder, smothering a shout of triumph when she pushed the boy back with the flick of her wrist alone. She was fire, she was lightning. She was bold, undaunted. He’d fought men with less skill, less daring. Even the Janissaries would have quailed before her.

How could the spirit of a warrior have made its home in the body of a beautiful woman?

With a lunge Jamie penetrated her defenses and struck her square in the heart. She put up her blade with a laugh and pulled off her mask. The action must have caught her hair pins just right, for her tresses began to tumble in a shower of gold.

“Oh, well done, Jamie!” she cried, hair flowing down her back. “Please accept my apologies for thinking there was anything I could teach you.”

As Jamie removed his own mask, Will could see he was grinning from ear to ear. He swept her a bow. “Apology accepted.”

It was a courtly gesture, but Will couldn’t help thinking she had it all wrong. Samantha, Lady Everard, could teach them both a great deal, if they were willing to learn.

Buy links:

Harlequin http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html;jsessionid=7535C22625DA53DB839624FFA96A7728?iid=27826

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Heiresss-Homecoming-Love-Inspired-Historical/dp/0373829566

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-heiresss-homecoming-regina-scott/1112815366

A Bookstore Near You http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780373829569?aff=

The Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)http://www.bookdepository.com/Heiresss-Homecoming-Regina-Scott/9780373829569

Kobo http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Heiresss-Homecoming/book-DDRwT1XHA0qVeltsVMBdtg/page1.html?s=sLW_Ol0CG0i_x-DtQvNtHQ&r=1

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Debut, Regency Author Ashlyn Macnamara with a Giveaway!

Regency Author Ashlyn Macnamara

Ella: Please join me in welcoming fellow Regency and debut author Ashlyn Macnamara. I read Ashlyn’s book, A Most Scandalous Proposal in one sitting, and loved it. (Applause) To celebrate her release, Ashlyn is giving away a copy of her book to one lucky commenter. To be eligible you must leave your email address. Write it out so spammers can’t get it.

Ashlyn: Thank you (blushing) and thanks for inviting me!

Ella: Ashlyn, it’s so great having you here today. Tell us when you got bitten by the writing bug.

Ashlyn: I’ve always made up stories in my head, but it never occurred to me to write them down until fairly recently in the grand scheme of things. I took my first stab at it in 2001, but that was only for fun. I didn’t consider trying to get published until somewhere in 2008.

Ella: What drew you to Regencies?

Ashlyn: Strangely, I never set out to write Regencies, even though I’ve always enjoyed reading them. My first completed manuscript was a medieval, and then I embarked on a series set during the American Revolution or just afterwards. But then I got a plot idea that would not leave me alone, and no matter how I poked it, it didn’t want to be anything but a Regency. I thought about setting it in Colonial Williamsburg, but it refused to cooperate until I gave in and set it during the late Regency. That idea turned into A Most Scandalous Proposal.

Ella: How does it feel to be a published author and were there any bumps in the road to getting there?

Ashlyn: It has often felt surreal—more and more so as my debut approached. For example, the day I found my book on the Walmart website for pre-order gave me a real jolt. I had to keep telling myself, “That is my book. That is my book,” like I needed to convince myself. As for bumps, I don’t think I’ve had anything too out of the ordinary happen. The usual round of rejections when I was querying, but every author has to learn to deal with those.

Ella: Tell us about your inspiration or your first thoughts in developing the idea for your book A Most Scandalous Proposal.

Ashlyn: As I hinted above, this was the most rabid plot bunny I’ve ever had, and it was very firm about what it wanted to be. The original seed for the idea came from another romance I was reading at the time. In that story, the heroine had a long-standing crush on the hero, which at the beginning of the novel was unrequited. This heroine had a sister in whom she confided a lot of her angst. So that situation got me thinking about the younger sister, and how her views on love might be colored by all this. And then from another book, I got the idea I might write both sisters’ stories in the same novel, and have the plot revolve around both romances.

After that, the story wouldn’t let me work on anything else. Somewhere on my hard drive, I have a Revolutionary-era manuscript whose hero and heroine have been abandoned out in the wilderness for three years. I imagine they’ve given up, built themselves a log cabin, and had babies by now. Perhaps Nathan and Sarah don’t need my help anymore.

Ella: What’s next?

Ashlyn: A Most Devilish Rogue is scheduled to come out in August. It features George Upperton, the best friend and sidekick of my main hero in AMSP. I admit I developed a bit of a crush on him and his smart mouth when I wrote the first book. He fancies himself a dissolute dandy, but underneath all that, he’s hiding a huge heart. He also has a penchant for getting himself into trouble. And he just might look like a younger Russell Crowe transplanted into Regency clothing.

Ella: Without further ado here is the blurb and excerpt of Ashlyn Macnamara’s A Most Scandalous Proposal

A Most Scandalous Proposal

After watching her beloved sister Sophia pine over the ton’s Golden Boy for years, Miss Julia St. Claire has foresworn love and put herself firmly on the shelf. Unfortunately, her social-climbing mother and debt-ridden father have other ideas, and jump at the chance to marry Julia off to the newly-named Earl of Clivesden…the man of Sophia’s dreams.
Since resigning his Cavalry commission, Benedict Revelstoke has spent his time in London avoiding the marriage mart. But when he discovers that the Earl of Clivesden has set Julia in his sights, Benedict tries to protect his childhood best friend from the man’s advances—only to discover more than friendship driving his desire to defend her. He surprises them both with the force of his feelings, but when she refuses him and her father announces her betrothal, he fears he’s lost her forever—until Julia approaches him with a shocking scheme that will ruin her for all respectable society…
…and lead them into an exquisite world of forbidden pleasures.

Ashlyn: You can read the first chapter on my website.

Buy links: Amazon *B&N * The Book Depository* BAM *Chapters/Indigo* Indiebound * Powell’s

Bio: Ashlyn Macnamara writes Regency romance with a dash of wit and a hint of wicked. She considers writing her mid-life crisis but reckons producing romance novels is a lot less dangerous than skydiving or rock climbing. She lives outside Montreal with her husband, two teenage daughters, and a cat. When not thinking about ballrooms and gentleman’s clubs, she looks for other excuses to neglect the housework, among them knitting, reading and wasting time on the internet in the guise of doing research.

You can find her at her website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and as a regular blogger on the Dashing Duchesses.

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Guest Author Tracy Brogan

Today I’m turning my blog over to the lovely and fabulous Tracey Brogan who is here to promote her newest release Highland Surrender, and in another break from tradition, I’ve posted a review.

FOCUS ON THE STEAK
By Tracy Brogan

One of my critique partners loves to say, “Focus on the steak, and not the peas.”

Now, keep in mind, she is very health conscious, and in her daily life I’m sure she’s all about choosing the vegetables and whole grains over the artery-clogging red meat. But what she’s referring to when she says this is story arc. It’s a great piece of advice, and one I often remind myself of when stuck in the middle of a cluttered, wayward scene, or even more so when I’m wallowing in the quagmire of revision swamp.

We all know that once you have the foundation of your story, it’s essential to add layers. Maybe you want to pile on more emotion, or twine secondary characters around each scene. You want to include twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. You want sensory details, and fresh metaphors. Those are all equally important elements. They give your work depth, complexity, and help engage the readers’ interest.

But remember, the secondary stuff is just that – secondary. Before you start agonizing over why the little brother set off a firecracker that the heroine thought was a gunshot so she ran into the street and got run over by two mimes riding a tandem bike, or before you spend two days polishing the dialogue of the dinner party scene where fifteen different characters are talking about what their various super powers are, figure out the MAIN story.

The foundation of your book is the journey of your hero and heroine. That’s the steak. The rest is just the peas.
I am notorious at over-plotting before I ever commit words to the page. I know every backstory detail about my pistachio-loving heroine and why she refuses to sing in the shower. I know my hero wears a size twelve shoe, and that the reason he quit being a boy scout is because he’s secretly afraid of snakes. I also know his father wears a bathrobe all day and virtually never sleeps past 5 o’clock in the morning because watching the sunrise reminds him of his first love. Sure, that’s interesting… But his father might not even be in this book! I haven’t gotten that far yet. I might include him, if the plot calls for it. Then again, I might not. So I have to remember that those kind of details are the peas. A nice side dish to the main entrée. They add flavor and variety. But they are not what fills the reader up!

So the next time you find your mind wandering down a path with a supporting character, feel free to walk with her for a few minutes. She may have some fascinating things to tell you. But don’t veer off the path for long! Your obligation is to the steak. Your attention must start and end with the hero and the heroine and their adventure. Once their story is firmly set, you can add the other characters, the other charming quirks and random idiosyncrasies that enrich your prose. You can season and tenderize and garnish.

Just remember to focus on the steak first, and worry about the peas later.

Blurb:

Defiant Highland beauty Fiona Sinclair is shocked by her brothers’ treachery. To seal a fragile truce, they have traded her hand in marriage to their sworn enemy, a man she has never met, a man she was raised to despise. With no choice but to wed, Fiona makes her own private vow: though she may surrender her freedom, she will never surrender her heart.

Commanded by his king, Myles Campbell is no more willing than his reluctant bride. Still, she is a rare beauty, passionate enough to warm even the coldest marriage bed. Buy Myles quickly realizes Fiona Sinclair is no common wench. She has a warrior’s spirit and a fierce pride that only a fool would try to tame. And Myles Campbell is no fool. Their marriage was meant to unite warring clans. They never imagined it would ignite a once-in-a-lifetime love…

---

Excerpt:

Scottish Highlands, 1537

Fiona Sinclair could not reconcile the irony of nature’s twisted humor. For today of all wretched days the sky should be burdened with clouds as dark and dismal as her mood. But the morning dawned soft and fair, mild as a Highland calf, and she knew that God himself mocked her. At any moment, Myles Campbell and his father, the Earl of Argyll, would pass through the gates of Sinclair Hall, unwelcome, yet unhindered by her clan. Soon after that, she must stand upon the chapel steps and marry a man she had never met, and yet had hated for all of her life.

Through her narrow bedchamber window, sounds from the bailey filtered up. The smithy’s hammer tapped a mellow cadence as if this day were just like any other. Perhaps he shaped a horseshoe or a pointed pike. She smiled at the latter and imaged the heaviness of that same pike in her hand. Oh, that she had the courage to plunge it deep into the earl’s heart, if indeed he had one.

She rose from the threadbare cushion on the bench and moved without purpose toward the stone fireplace. A low fire burned, warding off the spring morning’s chill. From habit, Fiona slipped her hand into the leather pouch around her waist. She squeezed tight the silver brooch inside, its design and inscription etched as clearly in her memory as on the pin itself. A boar’s head, symbol of Clan Campbell, with words chosen by the king himself.

To Cedric Campbell, a true friend is worth a king’s ransom. James V.

The brooch had been a gift to the Campbell chief, the man about to become her father-in-law. But he had left it behind nearly seven years earlier, pierced into the flesh of Fiona’s mother so that all the world might know he had dishonored her. The priest found Aislinn Sinclair’s lifeless body in a secluded glen outside the village, stripped bare and broken, marked by Cedric’s lust and spite. Thus a feud, long simmering at the edges, boiled over.
But today the king thought to put an end to it with this farce of a marriage between a Sinclair lass and a Campbell son. It would not work.

Fiona paced to the window, restless and melancholy. She leaned out to breathe fresh spring air, hoping it might lighten her spirits. The too-sweet scent of hyacinth clung to the breeze, along with the ever-present brine of Moray Firth. Along the west curtain wall, more hammering sounded as masons worked to bolster the steps leading to the main keep. As if precarious stairs alone might halt the Campbell men from gaining entrance. But nothing would. Her fate as a Campbell bride had been declared the very day she drew in her first breath, and sealed when her father blew out his last.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Highland-Surrender-Tracy-Brogan/dp/1612186963/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356011635&sr=1-1&keywords=highland+surrender+tracy+brogan

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/highland-surrender-tracy-brogan/1112448430?ean=9781612186962

Review:

It takes a very special Highland romance to hold my attention, and Tracy Brogan did just that with Highland Surrender. The plot and the characters were well developed. It was easy to fall in love with Miles, (it’s a good thing he’s fictional), and I cheered for him to coax the unwilling, Fiona into love with him.

This is definitely a book you’ll want to read. I look forward to more books by the talented Ms. Brogan.

 

To follow Tracy’s Book Tour, visit these sites:

February 17, 2013 – My Devotional Thoughts (Guest Post &Review)

February 18, 2013 – Just One More Chapter (Guest Post & Review)

February 19, 2013 – Laurie’s Thoughts & Reviews(Guest Post)

February 20, 2013 – Book Junkie (Guest Post &Review)

February 22, 2013 – I Totally Paused (Guest Post & Review)

February 25, 2013 – P.T. Macias (Guest Post & Review)

March 1, 2013 – My Escape (Guest Post & Review)

March 4, 2013 – TBQ’s Book Palace (Guest Post& Review)

March 5, 2013 – Deal Sharing Aunt (Guest Post& Review)

March 6, 2013 – Romance Book Junkies (Guest Post & Review)

March 7, 2013 – Between The Pages (Guest Post & Review)

March 10, 2013 – Harlie’s Books (Guest Post & Review)

March 11, 2013 – Sara In Bookland (Guest Post& Review)

 

 

Author Bio:
Tracy Brogan is a two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist who writes funny contemporary stories about ordinary people finding extraordinary love, and also stirring historical romance full of political intrigue, damsels causing distress, and the occasional man in a kilt. Her first two books, CRAZY LITTLE THING, and HIGHLAND SURRENDER both earned a 4-Star review from RT magazine and have hit the Amazon Best Selling Books list.

Tracy lives in Michigan with her bemused husband, her perpetually exasperated children, and two dogs, who would probably behave better if they could understand sarcasm.

http://tracybrogan.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTracyBrogan?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/tracybrogan

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6452601.Tracy_Brogan

http://dashingduchesses.com/

 

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