Guest Author Collette Cameron!

Please welcome Collette Cameron back to the blog!! She is here today with her latest release, Heartbreak and Honor!  And she is giving away a copy to one of you who tells her you want it!

We begin with the cover.

 

 

 

Now the blurb.

Abducted by a band of renegade Scots, Highland gypsy Tasara Faas doesn’t hesitate to blacken the eye of her rescuer when the charming duke attempts to steal a kiss. Afterward, Tasara learns she’s the long-lost heiress Alexandra Atterberry and is expected to take her place among the elite society she’s always disdained.

Lucan, the Duke of Harcourt, promised his gravely ill mother he’d procure a wife by Christmastide, but intrigued by the feisty lass he saved in Scotland, he finds the haut ton ladies lacking. Spying Alexa at a London ball, he impulsively decides to make the knife-wielding gypsy his bride despite her aversion to him and her determination to return to the Highlands.

The adversary responsible for Alexa’s disappearance as a toddler still covets her fortune and joins forces with Harcourt’s arch nemesis. Amidst a series of suspicious misfortunes, Lucan endeavors to win Alexa’s love and expose the conspirators but only succeeds in reaffirming Alexa’s belief that she is inadequate to become his duchess.

 

And an excerpt.

A click announced the lock giving way.

Creaking on unoiled hinges, the door edged open, inch-by-cautious-inch, and as it did, the brutal sounds from below filtered into the chamber. Light from the passageway’s primitive torch-lit brackets illumined a sinister, black-clad form.

A disheveled man paused at the threshold, his coat unbuttoned and a pistol protruding from his waistband. In one hand, he held a sword at the ready, and in the other, he brandished a dirk. Legs braced, he stood at the entrance like a buccaneer balancing atop a ship’s pitching deck.

A pirate in the Scottish Highlands?

She blinked, slapping aside the ridiculous notion. Lack of food and sleep made her imagination run amuck.

For a tormenting instant, Tasara feared the ethereal body Satan himself, except she doubted the devil possessed flaxen hair and required blades to inflict mortal damage.

Fallen angel seemed more apt for the apparition illumined within the doorway.

She strained to see the man’s face. The dim interior hid his features except for a well-defined profile and a chiseled jawline. Evil men weren’t supposed to be attractive.

Stance wide, and her hand lifted to bury her knife, she waited for the intruder to move away from the door’s protection.

She must defend the children, no matter the cost.

“Tathara?” Lala’s plaintive cry filled the chamber. “Piuthar, where be ye?”

The man’s head whipped toward the bed.

The bedding rustled, and Lala, her voice tear-clogged, whimpered, “Me be afraid. I hearded fighting.”

Advancing farther into the room, the intruder looked this way and that. Light from the passage spilled across the threshold but failed to reach the bed or the room’s outer edges.

“A child? Might have told me,” he muttered in a clipped British accent while sheathing his weapons. “No matter, I suppose. A female’s a female.”

My God, what did the debauched knave intend?

The same loathsome things the Scots threatened?

Not as long as Tasara’s heart pumped, he wouldn’t. She shifted, ready to spring. A wee bit farther and she’d have a clear target. He would taste her blade before he laid one finger upon Lala.

The man faced the bed and extended his arms. “Come, sweeting, let’s be about it then. I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

How dare he, the loathsome degenerate? Tasara made an inarticulate noise.

He whirled, his body tense and alert.

“Tathara!” Terror resonated in Lala’s high-pitched cry.

Tasara lunged, swinging the blade in an arc intended for his neck. “Depraved sot.”

Ducking, he leapt away, and her dagger sliced air instead of flesh. Half-crouched and keenly alert, he regarded her.

“Ah, the gypsy wench I expected.” Straightening, and unperturbed at practically being skewered, he pointed at her knife. “I do believe you tried to impale me. Most ungrateful of you, I must say.”

 

Buy Links. Amazon

 

About Collette.

COLLETTE CAMERON is a best-selling and award-winning Historical Romance Author of featuring rogues, rapscallions, rakes, and the intrepid damsels who reform them. Mother to three and self-proclaimed Cadbury chocoholic, she’s crazy about dachshunds, cobalt blue, and makes her home in Oregon with her husband and five mini-dachshunds. You’ll always find animals, quirky—sometimes naughty—humor, and a dash of inspiration in her novels.

Her award-winning Castle Brides Series, Highland Heather Romancing a Scot Series, and Conundrums of the Misses Culpeppers Series, as well as her other books, are all available on Amazon.

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Guest Author Collette Cameron!

Please welcome the lovely Collette Cameron back to the blog. She is here today to promote her latest release, Wagers Gone Awry, Book 1 in the Conundrums of the Misses Culpepper. Collette is also giving away a copy of her book to one of you. All you have to do is leave a comment saying you want it.

With out further to do, here is the cover!

Here is the blurb.

Brooke Culpepper resigned herself to spinsterhood when she turned down the only marriage proposal she’d likely ever receive to care for her family. After her father dies, a distant cousin inherits the estate and becomes their guardian but permits Brooke to act in his stead.

Heath, Earl of Ravensdale is none-too-pleased to discover five young women call the dairy farm he won and intends to sell, their home. Desperate, pauper poor, and with nowhere to go, Brooke proposes a wager. His stakes? The farm. Hers? Her virtue. The land holds no interest for Heath, but Brooke does and he accepts her challenge.

And an excerpt.

Lord Ravensdale’s women probably washed with perfumed soap. Expensive, perfumed bars from France. Pink or yellow, or maybe blue and shaped like flowers.

Why the notion rankled, Brooke refused to examine. Except, here she stood attired like a country bumpkin covered in dog and cat hair, with her curls tied in a haphazard knot and ink stains on her fingers. She couldn’t even provide his lordship a decent repast or light a candle to guide him to the study, let alone produce a dram of whisky or brandy to warm his insides.

Nonetheless, his favor they … she must win.

She straightened her spine, determined to act the part of a gracious hostess if it killed her.

“Sir, you should take off your coat. It’s soaked through.”

While his lordship busied himself removing his gloves, she studied him. High cheekbones gave way to a molded jaw and a mouth much too perfect to belong to a man. A small scar marred the left side of his square chin. How had he come by it?

She could almost envision him, grinning and legs braced, on the rolling deck of a pirate ship, the furious waves pounding against the vessel as the wind whipped his hair.

Stop it!

Hand on his sword, he would throw his head back and laugh, the corded muscles in his neck bulging; a man in command against nature’s wrath.

“The ride here turned most unpleasant.”

Lord Ravensdale’s melodic baritone sent her cavorting pirate plunging off the side of the fantasy ship and into the churning waves. Brooke clamped her teeth together. What ailed her? She’d never been prone to fanciful imaginations.

After tucking his wet gloves into his pocket, his lordship unbuttoned his tobacco-brown overcoat.

Almost the same color as his eyes.

Buy Links: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo ~ IBooks ~ Google Play

About Collette.

Bestselling, award-winning author, Collette Cameron, has a BS in Liberal Studies and a Master’s in Teaching. Author of the Castle Brides Series. Highland Heather Romancing a Scot Series, and Conundrums of the Misses Culpepper Series, Collette writes Regency and Scottish historicals and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and five mini-dachshunds. Mother to three and a self-proclaimed Cadbury Chocolate chocoholic, Collette loves a good joke, inspirational quotes, flowers, trivia, and all things shabby chic and cobalt blue. 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 Collette Cameron

Please welcome Historical author Collette Cameron back to the blog! Collette will give a copy of her new release, Triumph and Treasure, to one of you who tells her you want it.

As always, we’ll start with the lovely cover.

Now the blurb.

A disillusioned Scottish gentlewoman.

Angelina Ellsworth once believed in love—before she discovered her husband of mere hours was a slave-trader and already married. To avoid the scandal and disgrace, she escapes to her aunt and uncle’s, the Duke and Duchess of Waterford. There, Angelina learns she is with child and poses as a widow, hoping the cur she married won’t find her as he’s sworn to do. Determined to establish a comfortable life for herself and her unborn child, Angelina vows she’ll never allow her emotions or a man to victimize her again.

A privileged English lord.

Flynn, the Earl of Luxmoore, leads an enchanted life. Powerful, charming, and perpetually cheerful, he’s wooing the woman he hopes will soon be his countess. His well-laid plans are crushed when his father, the Marquis of Bretheridge, commits suicide after losing everything to the Duke of Waterford in a gaming wager. Stripped of all but his title, Flynn is thrust into the role of marquis as well as provider for his disabled sister and invalid mother. Unable to pay his father’s astronomical gambling debt, Flynn faces social and financial ruin.

Waterford suggests a repugnant solution to Angelina and Flynn’s dilemmas. The duke will forgive the entire debt if Flynn marries Angelina. Desperate to protect his family, Flynn accepts Waterford’s proposition, though it borders on blackmail. Reluctant to marry a stranger, to protect her unborn child and escape the clutches of the madman who still pursues her, Angelina agrees to the union—but only for a year.

Can Flynn and Angelina salvage anything from a marriage neither one wanted, or will they go their separate ways when the year ends?

And last but not least, the excerpt.

Angelina had no business taking note of any gentleman’s appearance, especially his mouth. And what in heaven’s blessed name was she doing sitting in a tree, talking with him as if they were making polite conversation in a drawing room? She didn’t even know his name, for pity’s sake.

“Can you get down yourself?”

He dismounted. After removing his gloves and hat, he placed them on the same boulder she’d used for her stockings. He spied her discarded belongings, his gaze pausing on a stocking dangling from a bush. A purely masculine smile bowed his mouth.

Mortification swept her.

He held his riding crop as he purposefully made his way to the tree. He placed a booted foot atop the branch resting on the ground. “Here, I’ll come up.”

“No, I can manage perfectly on my own. You assure that devil keeps his distance.”

Sure-footed, Angelina edged along, her bare feet gripping the limb beneath her. Her injured toe protested, but the pain was unimportant. She must make haste. It wouldn’t do to be discovered with a man without a chaperone present.

The stranger released a hearty chuckle and raised the crop. “That’s what this is for. One or two sound smacks on his muzzle usually does the trick nicely.”

Usually?

“And what happens if it doesn’t do the trick?” She maneuvered the last few inches to the fork in the tree.

The gentlemen pointed the crop at the tree. “We run for it. He’s not named Deamhan for nothing.”

She sniffed. “Deamhan? Oh, that’s Scottish?”

“Yes, Gaelic for demon.”

“A most fitting name. Only Satan would be more appropriate.”

Shoving hair off her face, she stepped onto the lowest limb and hesitated a moment before taking his outstretched hand. She nearly jerked hers away when a jolt of sensation vibrated clear to her shoulder.

Once safely on the ground, she disengaged her hand. “Thank you.”

“I’d bow before I introduce myself, but I don’t trust him.” Gesturing toward the dozing bull, the man flashed perfect white teeth.

Of course they were. Just like Charles’s. And what a bounder he’d turned out to be.

New rule.

Don’t trust men with nice teeth.

She met the gentleman’s curious perusal.

Buy link: Amazon

About Collette:

Award winning, Amazon best-selling author historical author, Collette Cameron, has a BS in Liberal Studies and a Master’s in Teaching. Author of the Castle Brides Series and Highland Heather Romancing a Scot Series, Collette writes Regency and Scottish romances and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and five dachshunds. Mother to three and a self-proclaimed Cadbury Chocolate chocoholic, Collette loves a good joke, inspirational quotes, flowers, trivia, and all things shabby chic. 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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Cover Reveal for Collette Cameron

Please welcome fellow Regency author, Collette Cameron who is showing us her latest cover!!

 

Cover Reveal –The Earl’s Enticement

Coming May 28, 2014 from Soul Mate Publishing

A Regency-Scottish Historical

 

The Earl’s Enticement Blurb

 

She won’t be tamed.

A fiery, unconventional Scot, Adaira Ferguson wears breeches, swears, and has no more desire to marry than she does to follow society’s dictates of appropriate behavior. She trusts no man with the secret she desperately protects.

He can’t forget.

Haunted by his past, Roark, The Earl of Clarendon, rigidly adheres to propriety, holding himself and those around him to the highest standards, no matter the cost. Betrayed once, he’s guarded and leery of all women.

Mistaking Roark for a known spy, Adaira imprisons him. Infuriated, he vows vengeance. Realizing her error, she’s appalled and releases him, but he’s not satisfied with his freedom. Roark is determined to transform Adaira from an ill-mannered hoyden to a lady of refinement.

He succeeds only to discover, he preferred the free-spirited Scottish lass who first captured his heart.

 

A bit about Collette

Award winning, Amazon best-selling, and multi-published historical romance author, Collette Cameron, has a BS in Liberal Studies and a Master’s in Teaching. A Pacific Northwest Native, Collette’s been married for thirty years, has three amazing adult children, and five dachshunds. Collette loves a good joke, inspirational quotes, 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.

 

 

Connect with Collette:

Website     Blue Rose Romance Blog   Twitter   Facebook

You can connect with Collette on Goodreads, LinkedIn, and Google+ too. Go to her website for the links, her email address, and mailing address.

 

 

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Guest Author Collette Cameron!

Please help me welcome my friend, critique partner, and fellow Regency author Collette Cameron to my blog today. Collette is going to be talking about her series, has a special announcement and giving way a book. In order to win, just leave a comment saying you want the book!

A Series Without a Name

First, I want to thank Ella for hosting me today. It’s always such a privilege to be here, right smack dab in the middle of Regency happenings. I’m so honored to have her as a critique partner. I can’t get away with any historical inaccuracy. She’s a walking, breathing museum of facts, and I adore her.

Highlander’s Hope

When I started writing, I knew I wanted to write a trilogy with a large cast of characters. Yes, I’ve been criticized for that, but I like large casts—as long as I can figure out who’s who. Thus,  Highlander’s Hope was born. I changed the title of my debut twice (The first two titles were heinous!) and after writing the other two books in the trilogy, The Viscount’s Vow and The Earl’s Enticement, I wish I had titled my first novel The Highlander’s Heiress. I’m actually going to use that title for another book …way down the line.

I thought I’d have The Earl’s Enticement cover to show off today, as well as links to the print version of Highlander’s Hope. Alas, as it happens in the publishing world, neither has occurred quite yet. I have seen the first two drafts of the cover, but I needed some changes made so it fit a wee bit better with the other two. There is a castle though!

Anyway, I digress.

Ella suggested I do a post on the series, and since The Earl’s Enticement is releasing in May 2014, I jumped at the chance. Then it occurred to me, I’d always referred to those first three books as the Blue Rose Series, but that doesn’t really work. I do mention blue roses in each of the books, but I also mention stays and laudanum and chamber pots. Can you imagine?

I have another series I’m writing (Yes, based on several of the characters introduced in the trilogy). I’m much more organized this time. It’s called Highland Heather Romancing a Scot Series, and I decided on the titles of all six books before I began writing them. Triumph and Treasure is done, and I’m plugging away on Virtue and Valor. Why, oh why couldn’t I have been that organized with the first three books?

So, I’m having a contest for a series name for Highlander’s Hope, The Viscount’s Vow, and The Earl’s Enticement. I’m announcing it here, “Thank you, Ella!” and will continue to take suggestions on my blog, Facebook, and Twitter through the end of the month. The blurbs for the first two books can be found by clicking on their titles in this post.

Here’s the blurb for The Earl’s Enticement.

She won’t be tamed.

A fiery, unconventional Scot, Adaira Ferguson wears breeches, swears, and has no more desire to marry than she does to follow society’s dictates of appropriate behavior. She trusts no man with the secret she desperately protects.

 

He can’t forget.

Haunted by his past, Roark, The Earl of Clarendon, rigidly adheres to propriety, holding himself and those around him to the highest standards, no matter the cost. Betrayed once, he’s guarded and leery of all women.

Mistaking Roark for a known spy, Adaira imprisons him. Infuriated, he vows vengeance. Realizing her error, she’s appalled and releases him, but he’s not satisfied with his freedom. Roark is determined to transform Adaira from an ill-mannered hoyden to a lady of refinement.

He succeeds only to discover, he preferred the free-spirited Scottish lass who first captured his heart.

~~~

I can’t wait to see your suggestions!

Oh, and one commenter will receive a digital copy of either The Viscount’s Vow or Highlander’s Hope.

To connect with Collette, simple head to her website for all her social media links.

Collette Cameron

 

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Spotlight on Regency Author Collette Cameron

The last time Collette visited, she was a debut author. Now her second book, The Viscount’s Vow, releases on September 4th, so we decided to do a spotlight and do a giveaway of her new book.

Here is the cover. I think it’s lovely, how do you like it?

Collette has also provided the blurb:

The Viscount’s Vow –  Blurb

 Amidst murder and betrayal, destiny and hearts collide when scandal forces a viscount and a  half-gypsy noblewoman to marry in this Regency romance, sprinkled with suspense, humor, and inspiration.

Half Romani, half English noblewoman, Evangeline Caruthers is the last woman in England Ian Hamilton, the Viscount Warrick, could ever love—an immoral wanton responsible for his brother’s and father’s deaths. She thinks he’s a foul-tempered blackguard, who after setting out to cause her downfall, finds himself forced to marry her—snared in the trap of his own making.

 When Vangie learns the marriage ceremony itself may have been a ruse, she flees to her gypsy relatives, declaring herself divorced from Ian under Romani law. He pursues her to the gypsy encampment, and when the handsome gypsy king offers to take Ian’s place in Vangie’s bed, jealousy stirs hot and dangerous.

 At last, under a balmy starlit sky, Ian and Vangie breech the chasm separating them. Peril lurks though. Ian’s the last in his line, and his stepmother intends to dispose of the newlyweds so her daughter can inherit his estate. Only by trusting each other can they overcome scandal and murderous betrayal.

And if you’re still not convinced this is a wonderful book. Here is an excerpt.

The Viscount’s Vow – Wedding Reception Scene

 “You didn’t eat much, wife.”

They were alone on the dance floor. Ian deftly twirled Vangie around his aunt’s smallish ballroom, mindful of the interested gazes watching them.

Stealing a glance at the smiling and nodding onlookers, he suppressed a frown. He felt like a curiosity on display at Bullock’s Museum. He wished others would take to the floor, so he could dispense with the devoted bridegroom facade.

The twelve courses at dinner had been torturous. His wife hadn’t taken more than a dozen bites nor said as many words. He’d tried to eat the succulent foods Aunt Edith had gone to such efforts to have prepared, but his anger made everything dry as chalk and every bit as tasteless.

“I’d not much appetite, my lord.”

He chuckled. “Don’t you think you might address me by my given name, wife?”

“Why?” she asked pertly. “I’ve known you but four days, certainly not long enough to be so familiar with you.”

He lowered his head, breathing in her ear, very aware every eye in the room was trained on them. He’d give them something to gossip about. “Because I want you to, wife, and you did promise to obey.”

He nipped her ear.

She jumped and a tiny yelp of surprise escaped before she clamped her lips together. Her eyes were shooting sparks again; only this time they were directed at him.

“What’s my name, wife?”

“Please, don’t call me that. I too have a name, as you well know.”

Drawing her closer, her breasts pressing against the breadth of his chest and cresting the edge of her bodice, he murmured, “Indeed, but Evangeline sounds . . . angelic, and we both know you’re no such thing.”

“Pardon?” She stiffened, trying to shove away from him. “I don’t under—”

His head descended again. “Say it, or I’ll trace your ear with my tongue.”

He grinned as her breath hissed from between clenched teeth. She stumbled, her fingers digging into his shoulder and hand. A very becoming flush swept across her face.

“Will you cease?” Her worried gaze careened around the room. “We’re being watched.”

Voice husky, he said, “Say my name, sweeting.”

Giving her a gentle squeeze, he started to dip his head, caressing her elegant neck with his hot breath.

“Ian, your name is Ian,” she gasped breathlessly, twisting her head away.

 Bio:

A life-long Oregonian, Collette Cameron was born and raised in a small town along the northern Oregon coast. Today she makes her home in a rural community, 30 minutes west of Portland. Her Victorian farmhouse sits on a one-acre certified wildlife habit, interspersed with a plethora of gardens: English, rose, butterfly, rock, water, and of course, vegetable.

A voracious reader of romance since her teens, she even named her daughter after a heroine in her favorite romance novel. An enthusiast of times gone by, and anything related to romance, she writes Historical Romance, with a dash of inspiration, a pinch of humor, and a liberal portion of suspense.

Having dabbled in interior decorating in her youth, Collette returned to school, graduating summa cum laude from Oregon State University, and went on to obtain her Master’s Degree in Teaching. She is member of Romance Writers of America, Rose City Romance Writers, The Beau Monde, and Love Faith and Hope, Inc., and a whole slew of other author/writer groups.

Some of Collette’s favorite things include unique blends of coffees and teas, trivia, Cadbury Milk Chocolate, inspirational quotes, and scented candles. Her Christian faith, husband, three adult children, and five miniature dachshunds round out her life quite nicely! When she’s not teaching or writing, she enjoys amateur photography, bird watching, gardening, interior decorating, rock-hunting, boating or fishing on the Columbia River, and reading of course.

To connect with Collette, please visit www.collettecameron.com or http://blueroseromance.com/

She can also be found on Facebook , Pinterest, Google+,  LinkedIn,  Twitter, and Goodreads as well as Highlander’s Hope Facebook Page

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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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