Time is really flying. There are only ten more days until The Secret Life of Miss Anna Marsh releases. So today post either ten sentences or ten paragraphs, not to exceed 300 words. You may also post your buy links and social medial info.
The Secret Life of Miss Anna Marsh
Here is my excerpt from The Secret Life of Miss Anna Marsh.
Rutherford heaved a sigh. “Finley, you’re getting leg shackled. Can you tell me how to do it?”
Marcus laughed.
Rutherford grinned ruefully. “Yes, I know. That I, of all people, should be asking that question, but Finley, I am quite serious.”
Marcus struggled to regain his countenance. “What in God’s name has brought this about? I thought you were sure of Miss Marsh?”
“I thought so as well,” Rutherford said, chagrined. “However, it turns out she is not coming round as I’d hoped. Sometimes it seems as if she’s avoiding me.”
Marcus dropped into a chair. “I suppose you’d better tell me about it.”
“I thought she would just accept me,” Rutherford said.
“Are you telling me”—Marcus leaned forward, with an incredulous look on his face—“you expected her to accept you, when you’d been dancing attendance on Phoebe for years and then gave Miss Marsh no reason why she should marry you?”
Rutherford wouldn’t have put it quite like that. “Well, you see . . . ” He paused, trying to find the words. “I’ve known her all her life. I thought she was already in a fair way to being in love with me, or at least liking me a good deal. It never occurred to me . . . ”
“Never occurred to you,” Marcus retorted, “she might not appreciate being treated as a sure thing?”
Buy links:
Amazon US ~ Amazon Canada ~ Amazon France ~ Amazon Germany ~ Amazon UK ~ Barns & Nobel ~ Kensington * iTunes
ellaquinnauthor
Ella Quinn ~ Author 
Thank you, Ella, for the opportunity. Can’t wait to read your newest. This is from my latest, Blinded By Grace, due out in March, 2014,
Halwyn studied his sisters’ friend. “I see, and I’m sorry if I’ve caused you additional distress. I feel obligated now to help assist you out of your situation. Is there anyone you wish to marry?”
Grace took a deep breath, and moistened her lips with her tongue. “Yes, there is.” Her reply was so soft, she was certain he didn’t hear it.
“Well, then, there’s your answer. Marry the man, despite your stepfather’s wishes. You’re above the age of consent, so you don’t need his approval to wed.”
He was studying her, waiting for her to rise and end their conversation. But the one favor she had to ask remained. Grace removed her hand from Halwyn’s and plucked at her handkerchief again before she raised her eyes to him.
“I’ve given this a great deal of thought, and believe I’ve come up with a sensible plan to go forward. I want to present it to you and get your impressions, see if you can spot any deficiencies. Will you listen to my business proposal with an open mind?”
He stared intently into her eyes. Surely he could see the distress in them, couldn’t he? “What business proposal are you talking about?”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, squeezing them tight.
“Will you marry me, Halwyn?”
Great excerpt, Becky!! I’m looking forward to the release!
How exciting! Can’t wait for this one to be released! And thank you for the opportunity to give a snippet of my June 2014 release The Wicked Bargain: Ethan finds Arabella rummaging through his library late one night –
He stood silently, staring into her eyes. She watched them rise to her sleeping cap.
“Why do you wear that preposterous thing?” His hand reached up and gently pulled it off her head. Her mussed braid fell over her shoulder. Her breathing hitched and her body froze, unable to move from those mesmerizing eyes of his and the lilt of his smile as it spread across his face.
Struggling to try to breathe normally, she watched his fingers brush the loose strands from her face.
“Ari, why do you keep this beautiful hair hidden?” he cooed as his fingers traveled to the ribbon binding and pulled, freeing the hair. Part of it remained plaited and he reached behind her head, threading his fingers through it, unraveling the hair. He stroked downward and brought some of it over her shoulder. Arabella felt the heat of his touch though he hadn’t actually touched her. The heat spread through her already fragile nerves. Her body tightened. Her breasts tingled. Her lower abdomen burned with desire. A desire she couldn’t stop nor fully understand.
A smile flitted across his face. “It’s so beautiful,” he murmured. “Don’t hold it back.”
“It’s,” she gulped. “It’s hard to view patients if it gets in the way.”
“Then wear it down for me,” he pleaded softly. “As to those bedclothes,” he said, his eyes gazing downward. “Honestly, Ari, we need to do something about that as well.”
It hit her then he had called her Ari three times. “My name is Arabella,” she stated in the only stable tone she could muster. Her heart flittered as her core melted as his eyes lowered over her legs.
He smiled. “I know.” He looked into her eyes. “But as to these nightclothes, did you order new ones today?”
Her mind jumped. How could she remember what happened this afternoon when he stood this close? She could feel the heat of his breath on her face and the scorch of his fingers in her hair.
I’m so glad everyone is going to be able to read this book, Gina. Fantastic excerpt!
Great excerpts so far!!
Thanks, Nancy!!
I think you need to establish a help center for your readers going through withdrawal. I’ll be first in line.
Withdrawal for what, Liza?
Those are wonderful excerpts!!
I agree, Kary!
Love the excerpts.
Tweeted.
Thank you, Daryl!!
Conquest of the Heart by Michele Stegman:
Her people conquered his country. How can they overcome the distrust they feel to find love?
Madeline wants a big, brash, never-defeated-in-battle, Norman knight. What she gets, by order of the king, is a wiry Saxon who once studied for the priesthood instead of warfare. But is this gentle man she has fallen in love with entangled in the rebellion now sweeping the land?
Ranulf wants to marry the girl next door. What he gets, by order of the king , is a lush, strong Norman woman who just might be a spy reporting his every move. He wants her in every way a man can possibly want a woman. But can he trust his heart to a woman who might have been sent to root out the struggle for freedom his people are engaged in?
Thanks, Ella, for letting me post this!
Michele Stegman
My pleasure, thanks for stopping by, Michele!
From an Unreleased ms– Shiloh’s Song:
Shiloh Jamieson picked up her guitar and slung it over her shoulder. “Hey, Starla, I’m heading home.”
“Wait a minute. I have something I want to show you.” Shiloh’s older sister appeared from the back room, carrying a case of beer. She placed the booze on the bar top and bent behind the counter for a minute before reappearing, waving a piece of paper. “Look at this. Some guy dropped it off last night.”
“What is it?”
Starla handed over the sheet of neon green paper. “Read it, squirt.”
Intriguing D’Ann!
Here’s a naughty snippet from my bawdy Georgian romp A WILD NIGHT’S BRIDE (book #1 in The Devil DeVere series, Library Journal best E-book romance 2012)
***
“Ah, Ned!” Ludovic cried in a voice slurred from drink. “I wondered where you’d gone. You’ve returned with a companion?”
“Only because the lady expressed a wish to make your acquaintance.”
Ludovic gave Ned a sardonic arch of his brow. “How extraordinary. Did she, indeed?” He abandoned the nearby breast to appraise Phoebe. “Charming.”
He flashed her a bedazzling smile. “What is your name, my pet?”
“Kitty,” she replied.
DeVere threw back his head with a guffaw. “Kitty? How delightfully apropos!” His erstwhile companions forgotten, he patted a muscular thigh. “Come then, Kitty, my sweet, little puss. Sit on your master’s lap, and I’ll stroke you ’till you purr.”
***
Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EXD7NXM
Thanks for posting, Victoria!
I appreciate the opportunity to share it, Ella! Love your blog.
That’s so nice of you to say, Victoria!!
I’m a little late to the game here, but here’s sample of my upcoming release Her Deviant Lord:
“I was hoping to speak with the dowager duchess…err…I mean, Lady Thompson. That is, if she will see me.”
“May I tell her who is calling?”
“My name is, Mrs. Wey…Cordelia Waite, the Duchess of Downsbury.”
He glared at her with suspicion. “Just a moment. Please wait here inside—there’s a seat just by the alcove—while I see if she is taking visitors.”
The marchioness’ voice carried into the foyer as she moved closer, “You must have it wrong, Lewis. Cordelia has been dead for some time now. There must be a mistake…”
The marchioness stopped talking the moment she saw Cordelia. Her face paled, and she quickly raised her hands to muffle a cry before swooning into the arms of the butler. A maid walking by the front entrance screamed. Suddenly, all of the house appeared.
When Lord Thompson came to his wife’s aid, he glanced at Cordelia and then back to his wife. About to take the marchioness into his embrace, he looked at her again, only this time, he registered who she was. “Your Grace, what are you doing here?”
“I have come to clear my—” Boom. The sound of thunder crashed above them. Off behind her, she heard her son wailing as lightening rippled through the sky. She looked back at the wagon as rain pelted it mercilessly. “I have to go now, I cannot stay.”
“Your Grace, please, come in. Your servants are welcome as well. Just have the driver take the coach over to the stable.”
Hope you enjoyed ladies!
Ohh, interesting. I want to read more!!
10 days until release day. Wow, so close! How exciting!!
I know. It seems like Phoebe just released.
I love reading all the intriguing excerpts, Ella!
Thank you, Carol. I do think I get some good ones.