tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78580251466152273172024-03-05T12:11:50.809-08:00Romancing the VictoriansA site dedicated to historical romance fiction set during the Victorian Era and to exploring the history, culture, literature, music, fashion, and all aspects of the period of Queen Victoria's reign in Britain.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-31240711857732239012016-05-29T00:30:00.000-07:002016-05-29T09:21:37.779-07:00Sunday Snippet: One Dangerous Desire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tpiz_DxYhoY/V0n_rpDSMYI/AAAAAAAADLw/yW93IYacCRcTDuVzKSz8Tbblhy_yHI_aACLcB/s1600/300ONE-DANGEROUS-DESIRE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tpiz_DxYhoY/V0n_rpDSMYI/AAAAAAAADLw/yW93IYacCRcTDuVzKSz8Tbblhy_yHI_aACLcB/s320/300ONE-DANGEROUS-DESIRE.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<i>One of the great challenges of writing romance is figuring out reasons for your hero and heroine to end up on the page together. A lot. For historical romance authors, this is a particular sticky wicket, because etiquette demanded unmarried men and women be alone together as rarely as possible. Thank goodness for balconies and terraces and front steps! I love scenes where one character has escaped a ball or drawing room and the other follows, so you know I had to have one (or more!) in </i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Dangerous-Desire-Accidental-Heirs-ebook/dp/B00Y889ZN8?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&linkId=b4954bfd6e36500bc62bf37c6ac08769&ref_=as_li_ss_tl&tag=authchricarl-20" target="_blank">One Dangerous Desire</a><i>.</i><br />
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<i>In the scene below, American heiress May Sedgwick isn't fitting in as she should with Henry, Lord Devenham, the man she knows she ought to marry. Complicating matters, her former love, Rex Leighton (who's changed his name and remade himself as a successful entrepreneur in London) is present at the same society events, trying to marry his own aristocratic bride. </i><br />
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<i>They are competing, you see, to win a duke's wager and see who can marry a blueblood first.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>From Chapter Nine...</i><br />
<span style="font-family: 'book antiqua', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">A footman scurried to open the door and she stopped on the front
step, sucking in long gulps of cool night air. Moments passed before she tamed her
frustration, as much with herself as with Henry’s cousin and friends. She’d
never run away from a drawing room skirmish. Worry over her father seemed to be
fraying her nerves.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Escaping before the evening is over is my style, not yours.” Rex
had found her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Before she could put back her armor and guard against him, the
deep tone of his voice sent a wave of heat rushing through her body, igniting
memories she’d vowed to forget.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I intend to return to the ballroom momentarily, Mr. Leighton. You
needn’t have come to rescue me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He moved to stand next to her. Too close. So near his citrus and
spice cologne made her mouth water. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“You’ve never struck me as a woman who required rescuing.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">May sensed him watching her, not appraising her as those in the
ballroom had. His gaze was different. It always had been. He looked at her as
if she mattered. Not her fine clothes, whatever beauty she’d inherited from her
mother, or her father’s wealth. Just her. What she thought and needed and
desired.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Which sort of woman do I strike you as?” She hadn’t meant to
speak the question so softly, to let him know how eager she was to hear his
opinion. Even now, after so many years apart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He turned fully, facing her, though she continued to keep her
focus ahead. His gaze pressed like the stroke of fingertips against her face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Strong willed.” His voice was too deep, too full of admiration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“You mean stubborn?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He chuckled and a bit of her armor began to crumble. “Well, you
are your father’s daughter.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I won’t tell him you said that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“You’re a clever sort of woman.” He crossed his arms as he watched
her. “Too intelligent to waste your time talking about horse races.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">She swiveled to face him. “How did you know we were talking about
horseracing? You were on the other side of the room.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Does Devenham ever talk about anything else?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He smiled and May felt an answering tug at the corners of her
mouth. She tried for one of those English sniffs of disdain and only managed to
get a whiff of him. Not his cologne, but the unique scent of his skin, his
essence. She'd never forgotten it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I’m sure Henry can speak on many interesting topics. He would
have been tutored in polite conversation as he was in all the other rules of
etiquette.” Her throat burned as she spoke. She loathed the brittleness in her
tone as she reminded Rex of Henry’s virtues. Perhaps she was attempting to
convince herself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Fascinating man, the earl, I’m sure.” He seemed as unconvinced as
she was and flashed one of his potent grins. “Yet you knew where I was in the
room. His chatter was so interesting you took the time to look for me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Don’t flatter yourself. I was looking for Emily.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Liar.” He took a step closer, hovering over her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">A single step forward and she could touch him. Kiss him, if she
lifted onto her toes. She bit her lip, resisting the urge to move toward the wide,
heated wall of his body.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“You can’t lie to me, May. I know your tell.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“My tell?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He raised his hand as if to touch her. She leaned, aching to feel
his skin against hers. He offered her no satisfaction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Your right eyelash flutters.” He traced his finger in the air
over the arch of her brow. “Not quite a squint. Just an agitated little
quiver.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I do not quiver.” But she was, if one counted her belly, her
thighs, the tickle up her spine, and, probably, that traitor of an eyelash.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He lowered his face toward hers. Looked her straight in the eyes. “Don’t
deny what you want. That’s not the May I remember.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Perhaps I’m different now. As you are, <i>Mr. Leighton</i>.” May took a step back. She hated that he knew her so
well, that she’d allowed him into her heart, let him see parts of herself no
one else had. If he’d valued those moments, loved her as she’d loved him, it
would hurt so much less. But he hadn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Because you’ve learned the etiquette of London aristocrats?” He
closed the distance she’d created by stepping toward her. “You needn’t follow all
their rules, May.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">How dare a man who barely knew the rules of polite society lecture
her on ignoring them? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Not all of us can remake ourselves and do as we please.” Her tone
was more complimentary than she meant it to be. Wistful, even. Hadn’t she
considered remaking herself weeks before when presenting her sketches to Emily?
Dreamed of starting her own business, as he had, and succeeding in design
rather than the drawing room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“There’s a difference between you and me.” His voice dipped low, a
husky tone she felt like a whisper feathering against her skin. “You’re lovely
just as you are. No changes required.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Her heart thrashed in her chest as she bit back the words that
welled up. She wanted to tell him that he was lovely. With the moonlight
setting his eyes aglow and casting all the striking angles of his face in light
and shadow, he was beautiful. Far more appealing than any chiaroscuro drawing
she’d ever attempted. And the man he’d become—his confidence and
accomplishments—all of that impressed her too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“No,” she said, to herself and to him. She couldn’t allow herself
to be drawn in again. If she’d changed at all, it was because he’d taught her
not to trust too readily. “We should return to the ballroom. People will talk
if we’re both gone too long.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He took a step back when she pushed past him toward the door, then
he reached an arm out to stall her. “Will you dance with me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“No, I don’t think we should.” She imagined it, could already feel
the tingle of his hand clasped in hers, the press of his palm at her back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Because you’re saving all your dances for Devenham?” It was the
first time he raised his voice since joining her on the front step.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“As you’ve promised Caroline all of yours?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He shifted his arm to grip her lightly around the waist, finally
offering the touch she’d been craving from the moment he’d joined her outside.
Her body betrayed her and she pressed against his hand. Some part of her needed
this—his touch, his warmth, his nearness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I’d rather dance with you,” he whispered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Yes.</span></i><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> She wanted to dance with him
too. They’d never danced before. It would be new and fresh between them,
untainted by past hurts. But she’d want more. She already wanted more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“What about the duke’s wager?” Grasping, she searched for any
reason, any excuse, that would allow her to deny her desire to waltz with him.
“Dancing with me won’t win you the funds for your hotel.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Rex lowered his arm and shoved his clenched fist down at his side.
“Go, then. Devenham will have missed you by now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He’d rarely spoken to her in anger, but she heard it now in his
tone, felt it radiating off of him, as hot as the heat of his touch.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Enjoy the rest of your evening, Mr. Leighton.” </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
~*~</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If you enjoyed this excerpt, learn more about <i>One Dangerous Desire</i> and see my Pinterest board of story inspiration<i> </i><a href="http://www.christycarlyle.com/onedesire.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-87477932128569221942016-05-09T03:00:00.000-07:002016-05-09T09:16:31.279-07:00Meet Moment Monday: One Dangerous Desire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B2QDrBzvps4/VzAYLZZoHUI/AAAAAAAADIU/mI6jNq-wO9kcW-6a1OFJUaAZESHFPwdFgCLcB/s1600/ODDDiamond_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B2QDrBzvps4/VzAYLZZoHUI/AAAAAAAADIU/mI6jNq-wO9kcW-6a1OFJUaAZESHFPwdFgCLcB/s400/ODDDiamond_600.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
I love a story about second chances, especially a second chance at love. In <i>One Dangerous Desire</i>, I explore the sparks that fly when former lovers meet again many years later, both of them changed and determined not to get lost in their feelings for each other again.<br />
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As you can imagine, their first and completely unexpected meeting is an emotional roller coaster for both of them. Two Americans, one an heiress, one a former pickpocket and now a successful businessman, have both come to London to marry British aristocrats. They never counted on meeting each other.</div>
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Here's a snippet from May and Rex's meet moment.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Wait.”
Rex shouted the word and forced himself not follow her. He would not chase May
Sedgwick down the street like a lovelorn fool. He started breathing again when
she stopped, but May didn’t turn back. She halted on the pavement as if she’d
hit a wall. </span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">A few
steps ahead, May stood stiff and still, her fists clenched at her sides. She
hadn’t even bothered to retrieve her cloak and gloves when she fled Ashworth
House, and he shrugged out of his overcoat as he approached her from behind. He
moved as he would toward a skittish creature, afraid she might bolt at any
moment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Before
he could settle his coat on her shoulders, she twisted around and glared at
him. </span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Letting
her go would have been the wiser choice. Her accusing gaze bore into him and
there was nowhere to hide, no time to feign disinterest and smooth his
expression into one of indifference as he had in Ashworth’s sitting room. </span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Whatever
he was, whatever the yearnings of his twisted heart, he suspected she could
read every shade of it in the way he looked at her.</span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Her
mouth had gone round in shock when she’d first seen him, and he’d hated himself
for wishing for something more. Some flicker of pleasure. Some glint in her eye
to tell him she remembered the parts of their past that haunted him. When her
mouth trembled, he’d waited for tears. Now it was clear she would give him
nothing but wrath. And he couldn’t even claim he didn’t deserve it.</span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I
thought perhaps you were dead,” she said, her voice breaking on the final word.</span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">He’d
thought so too for a while. Maybe some piece of him had died when they parted.
Certainly he’d shed that naive and hopeful fool Reginald Cross long ago.
There’d never been another choice. Being fearless, willing to do anything to
survive, had meant the difference between wallowing in misery and stepping
forward into a chance at success.</span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“You
almost sound as if that would have pleased you.” He lifted his coat to arrange
it around her shoulders, careful not to step too close or touch her.
Electricity never sparked more brightly than May’s eyes as she stared at him,
warily watching his every movement. </span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">When he
reached up to tug the coat snug at her neck, she shoved his hands away and
pulled the lapels together herself.</span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Truth
pleases me most of all, Mr. Leighton, or Cross, or whatever it is you call
yourself now. Do you even know how to tell the truth?” Her breath puffed out as
she spoke and the cool air rouged her cheeks and mouth into tempting daubs of
color in her otherwise pale face. </span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“I never
lied to you.” He couldn’t meet her eyes, couldn’t let the loathing in her
sapphire gaze seep in beyond his well-constructed walls. </span><span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "book antiqua" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">“You
said I should wait for you. I went to Central Park, just as you requested, and
you never came.” She swallowed convulsively, as if she was choking on the
words. “You promised we’d never be parted. The least you did was lie to me.”</span> </div>
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Want to read the rest? <i>One Dangerous Desire</i> is available for $1.99 at all e-tailers.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-20789187840557126842016-04-19T00:00:00.000-07:002016-04-19T00:00:08.207-07:00Release Day for One Dangerous Desire!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KacGJ296PBc/VxWqZHA_ZwI/AAAAAAAADFs/5_Y0ZAeuT3AmLZ96eY_AkKZRQSX4ltIVwCLcB/s1600/400ONE-DANGEROUS-DESIRE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KacGJ296PBc/VxWqZHA_ZwI/AAAAAAAADFs/5_Y0ZAeuT3AmLZ96eY_AkKZRQSX4ltIVwCLcB/s400/400ONE-DANGEROUS-DESIRE.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
I am SO excited for the release of <i>One Dangerous Desire</i>, the third book in my Accidental Heirs series from Avon Impulse. American heiress May Sedgwick, my heroine, appeared as a secondary character in the first book, <i>One Scandalous Kiss, </i>when she found a match with that book's hero less than appealing.<br />
<br />
Now, in <i>One Dangerous Desire,</i> readers will get to meet May afresh. She's spent over a year in England and is enjoying the independence she's found in London. She's even beginning to doubt whether her initial goal of finding an aristocratic husband is all that it's cracked up to be. <br />
<br />
But when she's offered a wager, pitting her against Rex, Leighton, the man who broke her heart years ago in New York, May can't resist. How can she win the wager? By being the first of the two of them to marry an English aristocrat.<br />
<br />
Rex Leighton has remade himself as a successful entrepreneur in England, but he wants to find a way into the top echelons of London society. Finding an aristocratic bride seems the key—until he meets May again. He may have left his checkered past behind him in New York, but he's never forgotten the hold she had on his heart.<br />
<br />
<i>Here's an excerpt...</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">A man she’d relegated to her dreams had crashed
in and collided with her Thursday afternoon. Impossibly, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he</i> stood before her. The man she kept confined in her heart and
mind. The same man, and yet so changed. He was no longer the poor shop clerk
she’d pined for, impossibly yearned for year after year until she’d almost
forgotten how to yearn for anything else. The eyes were the same mercurial brew
of gold and azure, and all the angles of his face still aligned with irritating
perfection, set off by a divot in the center of his chin. That gleaming dark
hair she’d once sifted through her fingers shone like rich mahogany in the
afternoon light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">But his gaze was remote, impassive, as if a pane
of murky glass separated them. She was the one stuck on a curio cabinet shelf,
and he was coolly examining her from the other side. His clothes were those of
a prosperous gentleman, not the outdated and oft-mended single suit owned by
Reginald Cross. Worst was the arrogant tilt of his chin. The Reg of her
memories had only ever looked at her with admiration and pleasure, what she
imagined in her silly youthful way was love. No one had ever made her feel as
important with a single glance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">He wasn’t the same man. Couldn’t be. The duke
called him Leighton, not Cross. A striking resemblance. Nothing more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">May reminded herself to breathe and stepped
forward to be introduced to the polished gentleman who could not be the shop
boy who’d broken her heart in New York City.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Mr. Leighton took two steps forward, and her
momentary grasp on composure faltered. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reg.</i>
His scent, the firm line of his mouth, the large, elegant hand extended toward
her—they belonged to Reginald Cross. Smarter, wealthier, older, and with an
abundance of confidence his younger self had lacked, but still a man she’d once
known. The only man she’d ever loved.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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You can grab an e-copy of <i>One Dangerous Desire</i> at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/One-Dangerous-Desire-Accidental-Heirs-ebook/dp/B00Y889ZN8" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-dangerous-desire-christy-carlyle/1122599630" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/one-dangerous-desire" target="_blank">Kobo</a>, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/one-dangerous-desire/id998604006?mt=11" target="_blank">iTunes</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.tastybooktours.com/2016/03/one-dangerous-desire-accidental-heirs-3.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMeFyMrXHvXCu1WU_sfuJpWvWTWkuPvZX5klJZmE7jChim-P7o7uwUkfyLx4tJgFa5x0GmpOY0AbUztvPiXk_cLAsyBCEncKuy4xcFMf1vhzrfg3DQuebzKZZKE4ZkNgdaQ94InF8wLQbd/s1600/VT-OneDangerousDesire-CCarlyle_FINAL.jpg" /></a></div>
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I'm on a release our for the rest of the month with Tasty Book Tours. You can find links to my blog posts and <a href="http://www.tastybooktours.com/2016/03/one-dangerous-desire-accidental-heirs-3.html" target="_blank">enter a giveaway here</a>.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-86273574155599327692016-03-01T00:30:00.000-08:002016-03-01T00:30:02.154-08:00TBR Tuesday: Susanne Lord's In Search of Scandal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E2Pq_YYDA6E/VtEzFXGNu1I/AAAAAAAAC-8/_EZYpi5my68/s1600/Cover_ISOSsmall%2Bcopy.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E2Pq_YYDA6E/VtEzFXGNu1I/AAAAAAAAC-8/_EZYpi5my68/s320/Cover_ISOSsmall%2Bcopy.tif" width="194" /></a></div>
I'm so excited to welcome Susanne Lord to Romancing the Victorians for TBR Tuesday. I read and reviewed Susanne's debut novel, <i><a href="http://amzn.to/24obOxl" target="_blank">In Search of Scandal</a></i>, for <a href="https://romance.nightowlreviews.com/v5/reviews/christy-carlyle-reviews-in-search-of-scandal-by-susanne-lord" target="_blank">Night Owl Reviews</a> and thoroughly enjoyed Will and Charlotte's story. Not only was I thrilled to find a fabulous new voice in Victorian historical romance, but I loved her characters, humor, and the emotion woven throughout the story.<br />
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<i>From the back cover:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
All of London is abuzz with the tale of Will Repton. The lone survivor of a massacre in Tibet has returned to England a hero, but the traumatized explorer has no time for glory. Another dangerous expedition awaits. Nothing will deter him from his quest, and no one will unearth his secret—until Will meets Charlotte Baker…<br />
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<i>Now let's find out a bit more about Susanne!</i></div>
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<b>1. What book have you read more than once and still go back to because you love it so much? What keeps you coming back?</b><br />
<br />
LORD CAREW’S BRIDE by Mary Balogh is such a favorite of mine that re-reading the book is like visiting old friends. The ‘friends-to-lovers’ romance between Hartley Wade and Samantha Newman is perfection. Hart has been left with a disability from a riding accident and is a rather average-looking man, but is kind, honorable and quietly confident. Samantha is warm and open-hearted herself, but disillusioned by romantic relationships and wounded from events in her past. I’ll not say anything more lest I ruin this for first-time readers, but if you love a beta-hero, Balogh has created the absolute best in Lord Carew.<br />
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<b>2. What convinces you to add a book to your TBR pile? </b><br />
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A wounded, reclusive or misunderstood hero is nearly always a TBR for me. I’m always on the hunt for those heroes like the men in FLOWERS FROM THE STORM by Laura Kinsale, NOT QUITE A HUSBAND by Sherry Thomas and THE MADNESS OF LORD IAN MACKENZIE by Jennifer Ashley.<br />
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<b>3. What's the one writing accompaniment you can't do without? (music? tea? coffee? sticky notes? fuzzy slippers? etc.)</b><br />
This question made me laugh as I wrote an entire blog post about ‘my go-to place to write’ and the rituals I follow in a writing day. Short answer: coffee, and my two writing partners who keep me motivated, inspired and accountable.<br />
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<b>4. What's your favorite scene in your most recent book?</b><br />
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The epilogue of IN SEARCH OF SCANDAL is my favorite scene but no spoilers here! Leaving your characters with their own, unique ‘happily ever after’ is always a challenge, but Will and Charlotte were given the ending they truly needed and deserved, while also (hopefully) inspiring curiosity about the other characters in the series.<br />
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<b>5. Reveal something you learned while writing your last book (about yourself, your setting, history, etc.)</b><br />
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My father was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in March of last year, and passed away in June. I was on deadline for a book, so on all the four-hour Amtrak rides home to visit my parents I was writing my ‘fairy tale set in England,’ as a friend aptly put it. The day my father passed, I was sitting on a cot in his hospital room, writing. In the hard days that followed, I kept writing and when I wasn’t writing, I was reading historical romances because those things soothed me. They still soothe me. <br />
<br />
Romance authors and the genre don’t get much respect, but I never knew before how desperately comfort could be needed, and how much can be found in a book, especially a fairy tale. So I learned to be grateful to those who spend hours alone in a room, drinking coffee and typing, to share a story that can provide so much comfort. <br />
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Thank you so much for visiting Romancing the Victorians, Susanne!<br />
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Here's <a href="http://amzn.to/24obOxl" target="_blank">a link to grab your own copy</a> of In Search of Scandal. I thoroughly recommend adding this one to your TBR pile! :)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-72167515474980569202016-02-15T00:00:00.000-08:002016-02-15T00:00:07.531-08:00Release Day! Passionate Promises: Nine Stories to Stir Your Passion<br />
<br />
I'm so excited about the release of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Passionate-Promises-Passion-Embracing-Anthology-ebook/dp/B01866XFA6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1454373618&sr=1-8&linkCode=sl1&tag=authchricarl-20&linkId=365543cbe346c7e38b8d1980d4dfac67">Passionate Promises</a>, a collection of nine historical romance novellas by bestselling authors, and all for $0.99!<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Passionate-Promises-Passion-Embracing-Anthology-ebook/dp/B01866XFA6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1454373618&sr=1-8&linkCode=sl1&tag=authchricarl-20&linkId=365543cbe346c7e38b8d1980d4dfac67" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iTwfwTpSLdk/VsFySlhPutI/AAAAAAAAC6s/97Ov0HNcvfQ/s400/Passionate%252BPromises%252BFinal%252BBox600.png" width="400" /></a></div>
I was honored to be asked to contribute a story along the with the likes of such talented historical romance authors as Ella Quinn, Collette Cameron, Bronwen Evans, Victoria Vane, Barbara Monajem, Michelle McLean, and Violetta Rand.<br />
<br />
My novella, <i>Never Tempt a Rogue</i>, finds Felicity Beckett, a young woman who's been bruised by love and become the chaperone for her cousin, squaring off with Alexander Evering, Viscount Lindsay, the man she must keep her cousin away from at a country house party.<br />
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Of course, it doesn't help that Lord Lindsay is distractingly attractive. This is Felicity's first impression of the scoundrel.<br />
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As you might imagine, their first meeting at the house party doesn't go so well. Here's a little snippet:</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“What’s
<i>your</i> name?” He knew enough of decorum
to realize their whole encounter was inappropriate, but he was damn well going
to know her name. She was the first indication that coming to his aunt’s house
party might have been a good decision.</span><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“My
name is irrelevant, my lord.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“I’m
very sorry to hear that. Your parents were cruel to name you such a thing. A
lady like you deserves a much prettier name.” He couldn’t resist teasing her.
Later he’d be a gentleman, perhaps even apologize for his behavior, but now,
when this woman stood looking at him as if she’d like his head on a spike, he could
only think of ways to make her eyes to flare again.</span><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“My
name,” she bit out, her straight white teeth clenched in a grimace, “is
Felicity Beckett.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Laughter
rumbled up his chest. “Felicity?” He looked at her lovely flushed face and
roared with mirth. He hadn’t laughed in six months, and it felt freeing and glorious.
“You do know what that word means, don’t you?”</span><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">She
scowled. “I assure you I am very happy when men like you don’t provoke me.”</span><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">To read more, grab your own copy of the Passionate Promises boxed set now!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
</span><div style="text-align: center;">
Amazon: <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F1JUgSTg&h=rAQEhtec-AQFdSgWYx0onZXqC7SQFUfsH5fLCVqRbaTj_Sg&enc=AZPpXpK6GNt4R2bcmshLwpqH5egGqcZfsObFDGNOynl1rwksNP0GCroox6yyhBcs0UIOzDDmsWqYxjAER_8Qe5B9aLz59FJua0lKKm0O7d7Ls0zlwxZ68DgycFdKI8xLhYxWpC0ru9EHoppX2bWmSjjUNRY8c1fXPwxWrpHkGceUYCtdl0BD9D4hfonttisWNhA&s=1">http://amzn.to/1JUgSTg</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
BN: <a href="http://bit.ly/1VRENUK">http://bit.ly/1VRENUK</a> </div>
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iBooks: <a href="http://apple.co/1VRERnh">http://apple.co/1VRERnh</a> </div>
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Kobo: <a href="http://bit.ly/1VREXLy">http://bit.ly/1VREXLy</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-14827800080915902372016-02-07T00:00:00.000-08:002016-02-07T10:10:21.078-08:00Valentine's Blog Hop! Spend a Week with Your Favorite Heroes <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YNOQvite2Us/VrV5mrR6OQI/AAAAAAAAC2w/Z0O4UifMxcg/s1600/a05db47d-c659-484e-b77c-08ce18fad070.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YNOQvite2Us/VrV5mrR6OQI/AAAAAAAAC2w/Z0O4UifMxcg/s1600/a05db47d-c659-484e-b77c-08ce18fad070.jpeg" /></a></div>
Thank you for stopping by to learn more about my hero from <i>One Tempting Proposal</i>, Sebastian, Duke of Wrexford!<br />
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<b>I am giving away TWO signed paperback copies of </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">One Tempting Proposal. </i>To be entered into a random drawing, all you have to do is LEAVE A COMMENT! Tell me what your ideal Valentine's Day gift would be.<br />
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<b>I'll draw the winners on February 14th and post them here and on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/historicalromanceauthorchristycarlyle?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>.</b><br />
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<b>What is your strength?</b><br />
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As a mathematician, I used to think logic was one of my strengths. Yet since encountering Lady Katherine Adderly at the first ball of the season, my thinking has been anything but logical. The woman is quite a...distraction.</div>
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<b>What is your weakness?</b><br />
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I've been told that I can be too single-minded, and have a tendency to hold a grudge. However, since agreeing to Kat's scheme to convince our families that we're engaged, I'm finding tenacity a very useful trait.</div>
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<b>What would you like to get on Valentine's Day?</b></div>
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I crave a private moment with Lady Katherine (Kat), when we aren't pretending to conduct a courtship for the benefit of others.</div>
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<b>What would be your perfect date?</b></div>
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A dark, clear night in London and a visit to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to observe the stars. Beyond our loyalty to our siblings, Kat and I have a fondness for stargazing in common.</div>
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<b><br />What are you giving the heroine for Valentine's Day?</b></div>
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Kat adores plants and flowers. It would be quite a coup to gift her with a unique specimen, something she couldn't find in England. Some tropical orchid, perhaps.</div>
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<b>Be sure to visit the other authors on the Valentine's Day blog hop to meet more yummy heroes and have a chance to win additional giveaways!</b></div>
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1. <a href="http://www.laurel-odonnell.com/" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Laurel O'Donnell</a></div>
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2. <a href="http://barbaradevlin.com/news-contests/" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Barbara Devlin</a></div>
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3. <a href="https://web.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/www.welfonder.com" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sue-Ellen Welfonder</a></div>
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4. <a href="http://lanawilliams.net/" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lana Williams</a></div>
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5. <a href="https://andrearcooperauthorblog.wordpress.com/" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Andrea R. Cooper</a></div>
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6. <a href="http://cathleenross.com/CR/blog/" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Cathleen Ross</a></div>
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7. <a href="http://romancingthevictorians.blogspot.com/">Christy Carlyle</a></div>
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8. <a href="http://amyjarecki.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amy Jarecki</a></div>
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9. <a href="http://www.kathrynleveque.com/" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Kathryn Le Veque</a></div>
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10. <a href="http://elizabethrosenovels.com/" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Elizabeth Rose</a></div>
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11. <a href="http://rjkaufman.blogspot.com/2016/02/valentines-day-blog-hop-featuring-heros.html" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ruth Kaufman</a></div>
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12. <a href="http://lilybaldwinromance.com/" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lily Baldwin</a></div>
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13. <a href="http://www.elizaknight.com/" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Eliza Knight</a></div>
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14. <a href="http://tarahscottromanceauthor.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tarah Scott</a></div>
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15. <a href="http://wp.me/p4NdNN-7q" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Victoria Zak</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-30034208244527466522015-12-15T00:00:00.000-08:002015-12-15T00:00:13.253-08:00Ten on Tuesday: My 10 Favorite Victorian Films and TV Shows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VahpRoLT1Kk/Vm8DZxPtEsI/AAAAAAAACtY/fMvBjpzCVg0/s1600/penny-dreadful-season-1-dvd-cover-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VahpRoLT1Kk/Vm8DZxPtEsI/AAAAAAAACtY/fMvBjpzCVg0/s320/penny-dreadful-season-1-dvd-cover-11.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but it seems to me that Victorian-set films and TV shows have flourished in recent years. There are several that I consider modern classics and have watched more times than I'm willing to admit, and yet I'm thrilled to find and hear about more popping up all the time.<br />
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Do you have a favorite Victorian era-set film or TV show?<br />
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When I want to get in a Victorian mood, these are my ten favorite go-to movies and shows:</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KACFMHO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KACFMHO&linkCode=as2&tag=authchricarl-20&linkId=Z6F233Y4B4K7AV4E" target="_blank">Penny Dreadful</a> - Ask my friends and family. I talk about this series way too much. The sets and costumes have an authentic late Victorian era feel, but the extraordinary writing by John Logan and unforgettable performances by Eva Green, Billie Piper, and the rest of the cast are what keep me watching, again and again. Bringing fictional characters like Victor Frankenstein and Dorian Gray to life in Victorian London? Oh yes, it's a concept brilliant enough to make me a perma-fan.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L-tVpO5x_fw/Vm8Df8LMZ9I/AAAAAAAACtg/nD52TFfO10A/s1600/tumblr_nyw8l2YYlq1ud2p0eo2_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L-tVpO5x_fw/Vm8Df8LMZ9I/AAAAAAAACtg/nD52TFfO10A/s320/tumblr_nyw8l2YYlq1ud2p0eo2_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://amzn.to/1m1AARx" target="_blank">North and South</a> - I'm not referring to the epic Civil War miniseries I watched as a kid, though that was awfully good too. This <i>North and South</i> refers to the adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel that pits a mid-Victorian northern industrialist against a gently bred young lady from southern England. The multi-part British TV series features Richard Armitage looking breathtaking in period costume and contains one of THE best "look back at me" moments on film.</div>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/1m1AJob" target="_blank">Ripper Street</a> - This series is gritty, set in post-Jack the Ripper late 19th century London, and features one of my favorite actors, Matthew MacFadyen, in the leading role as Scotland Yard detective Edmund Reid. I love this series so much that it fed my imagination and played a big part in inspiring my <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B011M9B740" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="47bb9da8520c7db4c3bbf46876ac18a6" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Whitechapel Wagers" href="http://www.amazon.com/Whitechapel-Wagers-3-Book-Series/dp/B011M9B740/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=authchricarl-20&linkId=47bb9da8520c7db4c3bbf46876ac18a6&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_3323135" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Whitechapel Wagers</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_3323135" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=authchricarl-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=47bb9da8520c7db4c3bbf46876ac18a6&_cb=1450113773486" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /> series, set in 1880's London.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTfBj05VUXAumdxkYz4EtKlLWKZhZUg4kbpVho352UmWeRnLx_D6_G5zXj1n2d7K5q5DoaSA1q1GePHHKofcrGezSKWzVjFCfRqwrBxrEODoBcj6ICaP49s4oxePCOd19QlYUR6r9m6AX/s1600/o-OLIVER-TWIST-570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTfBj05VUXAumdxkYz4EtKlLWKZhZUg4kbpVho352UmWeRnLx_D6_G5zXj1n2d7K5q5DoaSA1q1GePHHKofcrGezSKWzVjFCfRqwrBxrEODoBcj6ICaP49s4oxePCOd19QlYUR6r9m6AX/s320/o-OLIVER-TWIST-570.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/1m1BIoc" target="_blank">Oliver!</a> - This may just be the film that started it all for me. I was forced to watch it as a kid in school, and then found that I wanted to watch again. Based on Charles Dicken's <i>Oliver Twist</i>, this colorful, raucous Carol Reed musical wound its way into my heart and probably still influences my notions of Victorian era London.</div>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/1m1BVI7" target="_blank">Little Dorrit</a> - Another Dickens adaptation, though much more recent, by the BBC, and without much singing. This one features Matthew MacFadyen as the oblivious but charming Mr. Clennam, and a perfect performance by Claire Foy as Amy Dorrit, who's raised by her father during his imprisonment in Marshalsea debtor's prison.</div>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/1m1C8Lz" target="_blank">Jane Eyre</a> - This book by the incomparable Charlotte Bronte is one I'll re-read for the rest of my life, and I'm always excited when a new film or TV movie adaptation pops up. The most recent, featuring Michael Fassbender as the secret-keeping, mid-Victorian era hero, Edward Rochester, may be one of my favorites.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002N7RYAW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002N7RYAW&linkCode=as2&tag=authchricarl-20&linkId=MOF5456HQPHLBTVZ" target="_blank"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002N7RYAW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002N7RYAW&linkCode=as2&tag=authchricarl-20&linkId=MOF5456HQPHLBTVZ" target="_blank">Wuthering Heights</a> - Those Bronte sisters were awfully talented. Based on Emily Bronte's classic <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4FAprEY2To49A4Xo6bRPXgwZdoAVdn9iQJsY0SyHO2T4gfwpb4YIiER_xCr6OyLhlzvRewnA9ggN86tY3sHChDLPNPjWfWBTKfaQ94M85zKU0I4QHgafN3rMw4mOuywe5TRMmJEA_d1FG/s1600/Charlotte-Riley-and-Tom-H-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4FAprEY2To49A4Xo6bRPXgwZdoAVdn9iQJsY0SyHO2T4gfwpb4YIiER_xCr6OyLhlzvRewnA9ggN86tY3sHChDLPNPjWfWBTKfaQ94M85zKU0I4QHgafN3rMw4mOuywe5TRMmJEA_d1FG/s320/Charlotte-Riley-and-Tom-H-001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
tale, this adaptation features Tom Hardy as the tormented Heathcliff and Charlotte Riley as Cathy. Despite the tragic love story featured in the book and film, it's fun to watch this particular adaptation and know that Hardy and Riley became a couple after meeting during filming and are now happily married.</div>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/1YaweZS" target="_blank">Tess of the D'Urbervilles</a> - I must admit this isn't my favorite Thomas Hardy novel, but this is definitely my favorite adaptation of the book about a young woman who retains strength and identity despite being misjudged and mistreated by virtually every man she meets. Gemma Arterton glows as Tess in this particular BBC film version of the book.</div>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/1Yaw9FL" target="_blank">Far from the Madding Crowd</a> - Bathsheba Everdene is one of my favorite Thomas Hardy protagonists, just as Gabriel Oak is one of his best male characters. This recent film adaptation featuring Carey Mulligan as the feisty female landowner and the MANY men who woo her is a compulsively re-watchable gem.</div>
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<a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B00O8BC17M" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="86dd645b48d03f85fc5b5dfa5f622cf3" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Knick" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Knick-Season-1-Various/dp/B00O8BC17M/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=authchricarl-20&linkId=86dd645b48d03f85fc5b5dfa5f622cf3&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_6802711" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Knick</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_6802711" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=authchricarl-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=86dd645b48d03f85fc5b5dfa5f622cf3&_cb=1450113937351" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /> - I might be cheating a little bit with this one. It's set in early 1900's New York, and Queen Victoria passed away in 1901, so it's not quite the Victorian era. Yet the show is so fabulous I have to mention it. Focusing on the Knickerbocker Hospital, it's patients, staff, and those running the facility, the TV series features characters tackling every turn of the century social issue and perennial personal issues like addiction, racism, infidelity, religion, and, of course, early 20th century advances in medical science. Clive Owen dominates the show as the charismatic, tempestuous, and troubled physician John Thackery.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-71212263881908279622015-12-07T00:00:00.000-08:002015-12-07T08:57:59.931-08:00Meet Moment Monday: Lily Maxton's One Good Thing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8m3bbiH1s7K4U3M1CkRmqzt06G852LbB8JfBLRXtDsYKYsOM2t_oyBLEQSsHlukCoJ9tfdsyRV4I8MUfVlxWtqOkIk5eifsSLa2Vib6Qtfj_NAVyvagau6m1zhAkZ0CE8wAsH_f0GTwN/s1600/OneGoodThingLilyMaxton7%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8m3bbiH1s7K4U3M1CkRmqzt06G852LbB8JfBLRXtDsYKYsOM2t_oyBLEQSsHlukCoJ9tfdsyRV4I8MUfVlxWtqOkIk5eifsSLa2Vib6Qtfj_NAVyvagau6m1zhAkZ0CE8wAsH_f0GTwN/s400/OneGoodThingLilyMaxton7%255B1%255D.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
I'm so excited to have the fabulous <a href="http://www.lilymaxton.com/" target="_blank">Lily Maxton</a> at Romancing the Victorians today. She's a multi-talented writer who has releases in both New Adult contemporary romance and historical romance.<br />
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Today she's sharing the meet moment between her hero and heroine in One Good Thing.<br />
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<i><b>Here's a bit more about the book: </b></i><br />
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Danielle is fresh out of college and should be ready to face the world, but she’s terrified of failing, both in her life and in love. Everything feels safe, from her boring starter job to her tiny, depressing apartment-that is, until she meets Evan, the coworker who pokes all of her buttons in all of the right ways. He’s cute, sweet, self-assured and has a way of seeing the brave, sarcastic woman underneath her worries. He also has a way of getting her into the most compromising positions … in the most unlikely places.<br />
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As their work email heats up, their relationship moves from friends with benefits to more than just benefits. But, like all fledgling couples, they’ll have to overcome a few obstacles on their way to their happily ever after, including evil German Shepherds, boomerang ex-boyfriends, scheming coworkers, and company parties gone awry.<br />
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<b><i>Here's the fantastic first chapter!</i></b></div>
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<b><u>Chapter One </u></b></div>
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I was a failure. Officially. The evidence couldn’t have been more obvious if it had punched me in the face—Friday night at a Halloween contest for pets. I didn’t even have a pet. I was here because my roommate had entered the contest, and I didn’t have anything better to do than tag along.<br />
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And if that red flag wasn’t enough, a dog had just stuck its slobbery nose up my backside. I shouldn’t have worn a flirty, short skirt; the hem lifted and air brushed the part of my leg where the upper thigh curved; maybe more important, I shouldn’t have worn a thong with the skirt. It wasn’t one of my brighter moments.<br />
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But what I’d been thinking was this: my boyfriend and I were supposed to go on our first real date in weeks, and even though it wasn’t the kind of thing I would normally do, I thought he’d appreciate both the skirt and the thong.<br />
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He’d canceled.<br />
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Now the only one appreciating it was the dog, whose moist breath I could feel against my bare ass.<br />
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This was why I avoided impulsive moments. Impulse and I just didn’t get along. And I didn’t even like wearing thongs. Whose idea was it to stick fabric between someone’s butt cheeks and call it underwear?<br />
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It was unnatural. And I was paying for the travesty.<br />
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I reached behind me, my hand landing not on the dog’s thick, furry skull but on some sort of plastic helmet. I gave it a fierce shove and the dog whined. Like I was being really cruel for dislodging its nose from my crotch. But my skirt didn’t fall to cover me. The hem had somehow gotten stuck in the top band of my underwear. How had the stupid mutt managed that?<br />
<br />
I yanked the fabric back into its proper position and turned slowly, hoping that no one stood behind me, but half expecting the entire population of the park to be pointing and laughing. Was it too much to ask that the earth crack open and swallow me into its fiery depths before I died from mortification?<br />
<br />
When I faced the park, there was no crowd gathered, but I didn’t manage to walk away unscathed. A small group of people were gathered around a nearby park bench, and a man jogged over from their direction. I glanced past him to the others, but they were deep in their own conversation and didn’t notice me.<br />
<br />
He stopped in front of me and knelt to pick up the leash that trailed on the ground.<br />
<br />
I stared down at his head. He looked young. He might have been attractive but it was difficult to tell at this angle. He had on dark jeans and a well-fitted black T-shirt.<br />
<br />
<i>Earth, now would be a good time.</i><br />
<br />
“Sorry,” he said. “Vader got away from me.”<br />
<br />
A German shepherd stood at my feet with a lopsided grin and tongue lolling out. He sported a Darth Vader helmet and cape and was wagging his tail as his wet doggy eyes stared up at me like he’d done something praiseworthy.<br />
<br />
The creature was beyond evil. Horns and a pointy tail would have been a more accurate costume.<br />
<br />
And then I looked back to the owner to observe him more closely. It was a mistake. Now that he was standing and I could see him straight on, I could tell that he was sort of cute. And that just made everything worse. His brown hair glinted with reddish highlights, ending past his ears with a curl. His face was longish with high cheekbones and a straight nose that had a slight bump on the bridge. Light blue eyes held mine steadily.<br />
<br />
I looked down; that was a bigger mistake. My gaze fell on his mouth.<br />
<br />
His lips. I swallowed. They were full, curved, sensual, and right now they were tilted in an apologetic smile.<br />
<br />
Which meant, most likely, he’d glimpsed some or all of my butt, possibly even my lacy red thong.<br />
<br />
Hot lips or not, my body heated with embarrassment that quickly morphed to anger. It was my coping mechanism for shame—probably not a good one. Even though it was warm for mid-October, I pulled my jacket tighter around my torso, my arms wrapping around my chest.<br />
<br />
“Keep track of your stupid dog,” I snapped.<br />
<br />
He patted the dog’s side like I might have hurt its feelings. “He just does that sometimes. I guess he thinks he’s being friendly.”<br />
<br />
That was it then. He’d seen the whole thing—the <i>whole</i> thing. I actually felt <span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">vaguely nauseous.</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-5349e202-75a0-33db-a59b-c8ce11ca1322"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-5349e202-75a0-33db-a59b-c8ce11ca1322"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why was this happening to me? Why did it have to be a young, attractive male? The only young, attractive male who should have seen my thonged ass was my boyfriend. Not to be perverted or anything, but I’d rather have an old lady check out my butt than this guy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That’s great,” I said, taking refuge in sarcasm. “I hope lots of strange dogs want to be friends with you. You’ll see how fun it is to have their nose up your . . .” I didn’t finish that statement—the word got stuck in my throat and I could feel my face burn.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He didn’t say anything for a long moment, and I noticed his lips were pressed together, like he was trying not to smile. Or laugh. “It’s not a big deal.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hadn’t realized my mortification was so hilarious. If looks could kill, the glare I shot him then would have made his face melt off his skull, like something from an </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Indiana Jones </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">movie. At my level of pissed-off-ness it was hard to be clever. “That’s great,” I said. Again.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But at least I said it in a really seething way.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He actually did laugh then, a little huff of amusement that made me want to disappear off the face of the planet. He started to say something, but I brushed past him and he fell silent.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I couldn’t get away from him fast enough.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, that meant turning my backside to him again. Surreptitiously, I ran my hands down my hips to make sure the skirt covered everything it was supposed to cover. And then, with long strides, I </span>crossed the mulch path to find my roommate.<br />
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<u><b>Buy Links</b></u></div>
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<a href="http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/one-good-thing-9781619637825/">Bloomsbury</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=9781619637825">Kindle</a></div>
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<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781619637825">iBooks</a></div>
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<b><u>Author Bio</u></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.lilymaxton.com/" target="_blank">Lily Maxton</a> grew up in the Midwest, reading, writing, and daydreaming amidst cornfields. After graduating with a degree in English, she decided to put her natural inclinations to good use and embark on a career as a writer. She loves history, tea parties, long meandering walks, and everything romance.</div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-17828899145405863552015-11-17T00:00:00.000-08:002015-11-17T00:00:14.025-08:00New Release: Celebrating the book birthday of One Tempting Proposal!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qoBhBoefNRY/Vkq2GyPZuKI/AAAAAAAACoY/_cGAkXLZCcw/s1600/ONE-TEMPTING-PROPOSAL400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qoBhBoefNRY/Vkq2GyPZuKI/AAAAAAAACoY/_cGAkXLZCcw/s400/ONE-TEMPTING-PROPOSAL400.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
The second book in my Accidental Heirs series is near and dear to my heart for several reasons. It features my first duke hero, my favorite mean girl, and the scents of many of my favorite flowers. The plot also offers a bit of a nod to one of my favorite writers, William Shakespeare.<br />
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My fantastic Avon editor encouraged me to redeem my mean girl from <i>One Scandalous Kiss</i>, and I had to find my way into Kitty's heart to give her a worthy hero. While fierce alpha heroes certainly have their appeal, I knew that Kitty needed a hero with the ability to soften her tough, untouchable exterior. Thus, mathematician turned duke, Sebastian Fennick, Duke of Wrexford, began tapping on my shoulder. He has his own wounds, of course, and his desire and admiration for Kitty might just end up redeeming her as much as it does him.<br />
<br />
<i>Here's the blurb:</i><br />
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Becoming engaged? Simple. Resisting temptation? Impossible.</div>
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Sebastian Fennick, the newest Duke of Wrexford, prefers the straightforwardness of mathematics to romantic nonsense. When he meets Lady Katherine Adderly at the first ball of the season, he finds her as alluring as she is disagreeable. His title may now require him to marry, but Sebastian can’t think of anyone less fit to be his wife, even if he can’t get her out of his mind.</div>
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After five seasons of snubbing suitors and making small talk, Lady Kitty has seen all the <em>ton</em> has to offer…and she’s not impressed. But when Kitty’s overbearing father demands she must marry before her beloved younger sister can, she proposes a plan to the handsome duke. Kitty’s schemes always seem to backfire, but she knows this one can’t go wrong. After all, she’s not the least bit tempted by Sebastian, is she?</div>
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~*~</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JkiWhu0rnUU/Vkq5Bpn3z3I/AAAAAAAACok/_7xLB1pc7RE/s1600/e2f3ae077018f313c06305b16ddb6b19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JkiWhu0rnUU/Vkq5Bpn3z3I/AAAAAAAACok/_7xLB1pc7RE/s320/e2f3ae077018f313c06305b16ddb6b19.jpg" width="233" /></a>If you'd like to check out some of my visual inspiration for the book, hop over to <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/christycarlyle/one-tempting-proposal-accidental-heirs-2/" target="_blank">my Pinterest board for One Tempting Proposal</a>. I will give you a hint: gorgeous British actor Jude Law served as my hero inspiration for Sebastian. </div>
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Grab your own copy of <i>One Tempting Proposal</i>! It's available now for $1.99.</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amazon: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/OTPAmazon" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://bit.ly/OTPAmazon</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Google Play: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/OTPGooglePlay" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://bit.ly/OTPGooglePlay</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iTunes: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/OTPITunes" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://bit.ly/OTPITunes</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-6b5a22d5-13e4-5d7b-67b3-6a5131f1558a"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kobo: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/OTPKobo" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://bit.ly/OTPKobo</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25204334-one-tempting-proposal" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcADKDkpTO7lKPXz2LgCBQGXvRF0-kiWmUc1fzY83xnXX4JCCMIBwJlOrOge4Q6tWgOIqcE0FNjv0g50IpmIZCOLeFCMpx-c3VYDNol4Tg6qlrxYZJlTPuBCGOLv4ecEDQigwRdcgF9hS/s1600/goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898.png" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-43346227573277376342015-08-12T00:00:00.000-07:002015-08-12T13:36:13.220-07:00Accidental Heirs Series and My Victorian Era Inspiration<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://amzn.com/B00V3MGEOA" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIxV61gu5rBEV1KYbGTxbNDAJPcygNK4rsnVUzU7L7HhStyzyzSD5WC27T8xqpALMnfOJoFiXCm99Sd0cNVH-l-WTnViZBkyAEno_lhLKvd8rzqkesrAirzGTLvmlgEadkBIwEe_g-X3s/s320/9780062427991.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<br />
Life is unpredictable, and none are more aware of it than those who worry about passing on their titles and properties. In the 19th century, when less advanced medical care and war, illnesses, or injury often shortened lifespans, British titled gentleman and ladies sought to produce an heir, but also a spare. Or two.<br />
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They knew that the men who inherited titles and grand estates were often not the one raised for the task. Primogeniture, the law or custom in which titles and estates were inherited by the firstborn son or eldest male heir in preference to spreading out a family's wealth among several siblings, meant that English estates, property, and possessions were kept together. Yet it might leave younger siblings, particularly if they were women, in quite modest circumstances, while uncles or male cousins inherited the whole of the family estate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKnLcJvBM6yaTXHyjjhnlFh18a44mAemU2XNPHtqTchmFTYdjtAjQMrO4OKX7C3peRhlRJhEetulSiEZEtzD20bdNMqNWBveHLbD7RFXq8hXhBkYYDKX3bVqSgp2x7b4P8ydAkAAUr3EB/s1600/Queen_Victoria_-_Winterhalter_1859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKnLcJvBM6yaTXHyjjhnlFh18a44mAemU2XNPHtqTchmFTYdjtAjQMrO4OKX7C3peRhlRJhEetulSiEZEtzD20bdNMqNWBveHLbD7RFXq8hXhBkYYDKX3bVqSgp2x7b4P8ydAkAAUr3EB/s320/Queen_Victoria_-_Winterhalter_1859.jpg" width="209" /></a>Queen Victoria herself is actually a fascinating case of unexpected inheritance. She was the granddaughter of King George III, and her grandpa and grandma, Queen Charlotte, worked very hard to produce plenty of heirs. Charlotte gave birth to fifteen children, thirteen of whom survived. Two of George's sons did become king. King George IV reigned from 1820-1830 and his younger brother, King William IV, ruled from 1830-1837, but when Victoria's uncle died in 1837, she was her grandfather's next legitimate heir. She became queen at only eighteen years old and reigned for nearly sixty-four years.<br />
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Another story of unexpected inheritance links directly to the current royal family. Take one handsome son of an Irish peer, add an American heiress, and you have a fascinating story of marriage and inheritance. In 1878, Frances "Fanny" Work, the daughter of a wealthy New York stockbroker, Franklin Work, fell for the dashing James Burke Roche, the second son of an Irish baron. They married in 1880, but Frances's father, a self made man, wasn't terribly impressed with Roche, and he wasn't keen on his American millions supporting an extravagant Englishman. You see, <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IPD4UZ-Ty2c/VcrYGR5LdCI/AAAAAAAACRk/FBsR-REjitQ/s1600/1003587_0_0_sch-58_724x368.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IPD4UZ-Ty2c/VcrYGR5LdCI/AAAAAAAACRk/FBsR-REjitQ/s200/1003587_0_0_sch-58_724x368.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
James liked to gamble. Rather a lot.<br />
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The situation was so bad that, in 1891, Frances divorced James for desertion. Several years later, James's older brother passed away before him, and he unexpectedly became the third Baron Fermoy, but his marriage to Frances had already ended.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPBe9T2-zsndz44VBzzCjENJPvlXLuUXCxUCbjOBeKvY4zqmRThpt09UgxNxtVln7r4kqXoDQVUTDR_2FrSr8OdmSlK3XIyGJAlWvQFzxcp0P6KvDbupMpas2MhQ-qmBXzZ8LExwlmlMH/s1600/prince-william-300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPBe9T2-zsndz44VBzzCjENJPvlXLuUXCxUCbjOBeKvY4zqmRThpt09UgxNxtVln7r4kqXoDQVUTDR_2FrSr8OdmSlK3XIyGJAlWvQFzxcp0P6KvDbupMpas2MhQ-qmBXzZ8LExwlmlMH/s200/prince-william-300.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
So how are Fanny and James linked to the current royal family? The couple had four children before they parted, including Edmund Maurice, the grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales. Thus, American Frances is the great great grandmother of Prince William and Prince Harry.<br />
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When I conceived my Accidental Heirs series, I took inspiration from these stories and many others. In my first book of the series, my hero, Lucius, Viscount Grimsby, is one of those younger brothers who assumes he must find a profession. But when his brother dies, he becomes a viscount, future heir to an earldom, and responsible for a crumbling estate and his ailing father. After losing his mother at a young age and facing his father's rejection for years, Lucius has learned to stifle emotion and focus on the practical. When suffragette bookseller Jessamin Wright storms into a fashionable soiree and kisses him in front of everyone, she turns his world upside down.<br />
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Jess has problems of her own. She's inherited her father's bookshop, but she'd never known just how far he'd sunk the shop into debt. In a desperate bid to earn enough money to keep the place afloat, she agrees to a vengeful young woman's scheme to embarrass Viscount Grimsby. One kiss, in public, for one hundred pounds.<br />
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What neither suspects is how that one scandalous kiss will change everything.<br />
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If you pre-order <i><a href="http://amzn.com/B00V3MGEOA" target="_blank">One Scandalous Kiss</a></i> now for $1.99, it will be delivered to your e-reader on September 8th!<br />
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Please consider <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/515862891897877/" target="_blank">joining me on Facebook to celebrate the release of One Scandalous Kiss</a>! We're having a party on September 13th with guest authors and lots of giveaways.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-15431492315921661562015-07-14T00:00:00.000-07:002015-07-14T00:00:06.911-07:00Cover Reveal! I Spy a Duke by Erica Monroe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Zx17nsSKkg/VaSUiggfivI/AAAAAAAACIc/jeYHnM6DK_A/s1600/heiresslogo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Zx17nsSKkg/VaSUiggfivI/AAAAAAAACIc/jeYHnM6DK_A/s200/heiresslogo.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm so excited to be sharing in the reveal for the first book in Erica Monroe's upcoming Covert Heiresses series, about four women who by day are the talk of the </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ton, </span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and by night are England’s top spies. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I Spy a Duke introduces James Spencer, Duke of Abermont, and Vivienne Loren, a governess with a secret agenda. </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vCvOwkoMPhA/VaSUv-tPzZI/AAAAAAAACIk/EYOZonohB1w/s1600/ISPYADUKE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vCvOwkoMPhA/VaSUv-tPzZI/AAAAAAAACIk/EYOZonohB1w/s400/ISPYADUKE.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cover designed by Designs by BMB</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blurb: </span><span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #191919; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She wants revenge…</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #191919; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When bluestocking Vivienne Loren becomes the governess for the wealthy Spencer family, she’s searching for clues about the murder of her brother, not a husband. But Vivienne didn’t count on James Spencer, the autocratic and infuriatingly handsome Duke of Abermont.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #191919; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He needs a wife…</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #191919; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As head of Britain’s elite intelligence agency, James has no time to woo a wife. When he discovers Vivienne’s thirst for revenge has made her a pawn in the treacherous plot, James realizes they can help each other. She’ll become his duchess, and he’ll keep her safe from one of Napoleon’s deadliest spies.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #191919; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What begins as a marriage of convenience quickly becomes anything but, as they find out love is the most dangerous mission of all.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Release Info: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I Spy a Duke releases October 5, 2015.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Special sale price of 99c for preorder – get it now before it returns to full price</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Goodreads Link: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25781790-i-spy-a-duke">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25781790-i-spy-a-duke</a> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amz: </span><a href="http://bitly.com/isdamaf" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://bitly.com/isdamaf</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BN: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/1Ir7dAA" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://bit.ly/1Ir7dAA</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All Romance E-Books: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/1JvdnkM" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://bit.ly/1JvdnkM</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.2;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.2;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Author Bio: </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Erica Monroe is a USA Today Bestselling Author of emotional, suspenseful historical romance. Her debut novel, A Dangerous Invitation, has been nominated in the published historical category for the prestigious 2014 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Romantic Suspense. When not writing, she is a chronic TV watcher, sci-fi junkie, comic book reader, pit bull lover, and slow runner. She lives in the suburbs of North Carolina with her husband, two dogs, and a cat. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reach Out to Erica:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daring Dames Reader Group: </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/340385932818144" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.facebook.com/groups/340385932818144</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Web: </span><a href="http://ericamonroe.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://ericamonroe.com</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twitter: </span><a href="http://twitter.com/ericajmonroe" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://twitter.com/ericajmonroe</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friend her on Facebook: </span><a href="http://facebook.com/ericamonroeauthor" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://facebook.com/ericamonroeauthor</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-553019162037995992015-06-01T00:00:00.000-07:002015-06-01T08:19:35.198-07:00Meet Moment Monday: Laurel O'Donnell and My Noble Knight<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's something about medieval romance novels that I can't resist, so I'm especially thrilled to welcome award-winning author and fellow </span><a href="http://www.lovehistoricals.com/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b>Love Historicals</b></a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> pal </span><a href="http://www.laurel-odonnell.com/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b>Laurel O'Donnell</b></a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for Meet Moment Monday. Today we're featuring the meet scene between Layne and Griffin from her delicious medieval romance, </span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://amzn.com/B00N8AIC4K" target="_blank">My Noble Knight</a></i></b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Even more exciting? I designed her cover for the book!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a bit about the story...</span></b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Layne Fletcher, the only girl in a family of three boys, has grown up learning to use a sword and joust, but she is not a knight. She and her brothers have been traveling from tourney to tourney to make enough coin to buy their own farm to shelter their ailing father. When her brother is found unconscious before an important tournament, Layne takes his place on the jousting field against... </span></span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Griffin Wolfe, the undefeated jousting champion. When he is unhorsed by a slip of a woman who is not a knight, he demands retribution. His honor will not allow him to let a woman be thrown in the dungeon and he has no choice but to pay her fine, ordering her to travel with him until her brothers can repay him. Griffin attempts to educate Layne in the art of being a woman, but finds he is attracted to her exciting personality and uncommon beauty despite her less than lady like ways. </span></span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But someone is trying to sabotage Griffin as he competes in the tournaments. Can Layne and Griffin discover who the culprit is while keeping their families safe and their growing attraction secret?</span></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The moment that will make you want to read the rest...</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He turned and headed back to his pavilion where his squire was preparing his armor. Around him, spectators continued to arrive, the wealthier guests heading for the wooden stands, others staking out their spots in the fields for the best view of the joust. He turned the corner of a pavilion that bore the flapping flag crest of lord Crandall and a small whirlwind slammed into his chest. Griffin grunted and scowled, caught by surprise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He lowered his gaze to see a pile of wild dark hair at his feet. Two hands emerged into his view and separated the hair to reveal two beaming blue eyes staring up at him. “Pardons, sir." The hands pushed the hair further back to reveal a face and Griffin was shocked to see a woman! If it weren't for her delicate face and full lips, he wasn't sure he would have realized she was a female. She wore brown breeches on her slender legs and a dusty green tunic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Instinctively, he reached out a hand to her. “Are you hurt?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Her blue eyes twinkled and a smile spread across her lips as she reached for his hand. “You're strong, but not a rock. I am unhurt.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When her fingers closed over his palm, a searing jolt raced through Griffin. He almost pulled his hand free of hers, but his upbringing overrode his surprise and he easily lifted her to her feet. There was something instantly intriguing about the woman, even though she was dressed in men’s clothing. He withdrew his hand. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“The joust,” she answered. “It's already crowded and I have to get a good spot to watch.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Griffin frowned slightly. Women did not dash around running into men looking for the closest spot to watch a joust. He stepped aside. “Far be it from me to stand in your way.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She nodded and walked past him, her steps more measured.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He watched her walk away. At least she had slowed her pace. His gaze took in her body. Her bottom was hidden beneath the tunic that fell to her mid thigh. Her legs were covered with knee high black boots. Very inappropriate for a woman, but so very intriguing. Suddenly, she turned and locked gazes with him. A slow smile turned up the corners of her lips into a lovely, knowing smile. It was like the sunrise on a glorious morning. His spirit lifted at the mere sight of her grin. He couldn’t help but smile back at her; her grin was infectious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Forgive me for crashing into you.”Griffin nodded slightly and then she was gone, swallowed up by the sea of villagers and merchants arriving for the joust.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B00N8AIC4K" target="_blank">Get your copy of <i>My Noble Knight</i> at Amazon</a>!</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More about Laurel...</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Laurel O’Donnell</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> has won numerous awards for her works, including the Holt Medallion for </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.laurel-odonnell.com/medieval-romance-novels/a-knight-of-honor.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">A Knight of Honor</a></strong></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">, the Happily Ever After contest for</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline;"><strong> <a href="http://www.laurel-odonnell.com/medieval-romance-novels/angels-assassin.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Angel’s Assassin</a></strong></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">, and the Indiana’s Golden Opportunity contest for </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.laurel-odonnell.com/paranormal-romance-novels/immortal-death.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Immortal Death</a></strong></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.laurel-odonnell.com/medieval-romance-novels/the-angel-and-the-prince.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Angel and the Prince</a></strong></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> was nominated by the Romance Writers of America for their prestigious Golden Heart award. O’Donnell lives in Illinois with her four cherished children, her beloved husband and her five cats. She finds precious time every day to escape into the medieval world and bring her characters to life in her writing.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-40058634193807541622015-05-18T00:03:00.000-07:002015-06-01T08:21:27.845-07:00Meet Moment Monday: Where the Wild Wind Blows by Nancy MorseI'm excited to welcome fellow historical romance author and <a href="http://www.lovehistoricals.com/">Love Historicals</a> member, Nancy Morse. Nancy's Native American historical romance, <i><a href="http://www.nancymorse.com/books.html" target="_blank">Where the Wild Wind Blows</a></i> is the first book in her Native American Wild Wind Series. <br />
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<b>Here's a bit more about the story...</b><br />
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<i>Katie McCabe, daughter of an Indian trader, finds herself alone when her family is killed in a battle between the Army and the Indians. She is rescued by Black Moon, a fierce Lakota warrior who has vowed to keep the white people from taking his land, and is taken to live with his people. The love that ignites between these two wild hearts is tested by treachery, abduction, prejudice, a promise to a dying woman, and the tensions that erupt between the Sioux and the Army during the turbulent 1850s. From the war-torn Great Plains to the opulence of St. Louis, a headstrong white girl and a proud Lakota warrior fight for their love and the wild country of their birth.</i><br />
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<i><br />WHERE THE WILD WIND BLOWS is the first book in the Native American Wild Wind Series. Book 2, WINTER WIND, follows the tumultuous adventures of Katie and Black Moon as a new threat arises, testing the strength of their love.</i><br />
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<b>I dare you to read this meet scene between Katie and Black Moon, and not want to read the rest of the story.</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There was nothing friendly about him. He sat without moving, deceptively relaxed in a cross-legged position, puffing silently on a long-stemmed pipe. The fire sent shadows flickering across his face and bare chest and cast him in an ominous light. There was a menace about him, an undisguised hostility, and a proud arrogance. The colors and design of the beaded bag that hung from his rawhide belt confirmed that he was Lakota.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Her voice sounded small and childlike when it slipped into the space between them. “How long was I sleeping?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If he was surprised that she spoke his language, he gave no indication of it. Tossing a stick onto the fire, he said stoically, “The sun has risen and fallen once.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A day. She had slept an entire day. It seemed incredible until she recalled just how much there was to forget. She began to tremble, and into the darkness she raged at the utter senselessness of it all. “Why did they have to die like that?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A muscle twitched in his high-boned cheek. His voice came low and reeking of bitterness from across the flames. “Word of this killing will spread like wildfire and many others will be asking that question.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Remembering what her father always told her about the Indian way, Katie swallowed down the lump in her throat and said in a voice that quavered, “My father will have many fine gifts for you for helping me to escape.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Your father is dead.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">She did not hear him. “He will be very grateful to you.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He repeated, “Your father is dead.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This time she could not block it out. His cold, flat words were the awful confirmation of what she had already sensed in the depths of her being. They had a final, absolute ring to them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Richard.” She uttered the name as part statement, part question, aimed at no one in particular.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He tapped the spent ashes out of the pipe bowl, saying as he did, “The one with hair the color of the red dog is dead.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It wasn’t that he referred to Richard as a fox that caused her to flinch, but the casual way in which he said it. Tears began to form, hot, stinging tears of disbelief and outrage and sorrow. Her shoulders started to shake as great sobs seized her. Like water from a broken beaver dam the tears rushed from her eyes and she wept into her hands. First, her mother had been taken from her, leaving a void that would never be filled. Now, her father and brother, and with them, dreams of Ireland and a life that was never to be fulfilled. The world was suddenly a dark and lonely place, with death and destruction as the only rewards for living.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Black Moon watched her from across the embers. “Death is part of the circle of life,” he said. “Man moves in a sun-wise direction. He comes from the south, the source of all life, and moves toward the west, the setting sun of his life. As he grows older, he approaches the cold north where the white hairs wait. If he lives long enough, he comes to the source of light and understanding that is the east. From there he returns to the place where his life began, to his mother, the Earth. We all return to the place of our beginning. Only the weak ones cry.” There was no pity in his voice, no compassion, only a hint of mocking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Katie lifted her chin and glared back at him. With tear-stained cheeks and eyes wild and bright, she declared with a sudden burst of pride, “I am not weak. I am strong.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">His face remained implacable. He gave an indolent shrug, and said, “Is that why you shake like a frightened long-ears? Tell me, little red-haired long-ears just how strong you are.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“I am no rabbit,” she said. “Do not call me that.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">His jaw tightened at her insolence. “I will call you whatever I please.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“I have a name. It is Katie.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Names can be changed. A boy is known by his cradle name until he earns a new one.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“But I am a woman, and even among the Lakota a woman does not change the name she receives at birth. My name is Katie and I will answer to no other.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">From the storm clouds she saw gathering in his smoky eyes she expected him to draw his knife from its hide sheath and silence her with it for speaking so boldly. But he made no move toward his weapon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They lapsed into silence. Katie had no idea how long she sat there with her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms hugging them tight. During the indeterminate hours that passed in which neither of them spoke, she scrutinized him from across the flickering flames.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">His hair, unbound and hanging long and straight over his shoulders, was blacker than the recesses of the cave where no light shone. The fire illuminated a face that bore the stamp of power and sheer force of will. With its high cheekbones, straight nose and well defined mouth, its handsomeness was compelling. It drew her toward it, much like the glazed windows of her father’s cabin on the Laramie had often drawn magpies that flew against them with a thud and an explosion of feathers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">She could not help but notice that his legs were slim and hard, made for wrapping around a horse’s bare back. A lean, tough belly showed not a hint of extra flesh. His bare narrow shoulders seemed perfectly made for slipping easily through thick groves and brush. His arms were well-muscled from a lifetime of drawing taut bowstrings. A band of red-dyed porcupine quills spanned one forearm. The hands that held the pipe, with their long, tapered fingers, were almost too beautiful to belong to a man.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yet despite the physical appeal of him that she found so compelling, there was a hardness about him, of angular features and taut muscles and the suggestion of an inflexible spirit. But it was his eyes, in which the flames of the fire shone so brightly, that burned with such undisguised hatred it sent chills through her and forced her to turn her face away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The silence stretched on and on.</span><br />
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<b>More about Nancy...</b><br />
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Nancy Morse is an award-winning author of historical, contemporary and paranormal romance, where love is always an adventure. She lives in Florida with her husband and a very spoiled Alaskan Malamute. Visit with her at <a href="http://www.nancymorse.com/">http://www.nancymorse.com</a> and on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/q36h8oz">Facebook</a>. </div>
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<b>Grab your copy of Where the Wild Wind Blows!</b><br />
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<a href="http://amzn.com/B004Z1COXG" target="_blank">Amazon</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-48408510394956396152015-05-11T00:05:00.000-07:002015-05-11T00:05:00.579-07:00Meet Moment Monday: Eruption by NA Contemporary Author J. Hughey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rJ3C4lcjgV8/VU7XKB-OR4I/AAAAAAAABj4/XTrP3bDE38U/s1600/VQ_0098_JHughey_Eruption_hires_final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rJ3C4lcjgV8/VU7XKB-OR4I/AAAAAAAABj4/XTrP3bDE38U/s400/VQ_0098_JHughey_Eruption_hires_final.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
I'm so pleased to welcome New Adult Contemporary author J. Hughey to Romancing the Victorians for Meet Moment Monday.<br />
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Here's a bit about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eruption-YellowblownTM-Book-J-Hughey-ebook/dp/B00MRHAIRO/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank"><i>Eruption</i></a>, the first book in the Yellowblown™ Series.<br />
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<i>I’m in the middle of the perfect college semester, hundreds of miles from Mom, with an awesome roomie and my freshman crush finally becoming a sophomore reality—Hotness! I’m figuring out calculus, I’ve got both hands on the handlebars and the wind of freedom in my hair. What on earth could slow my roll?<br /><br />How about if the Yellowstone volcano erupts for the first time in 630,000 years, spewing a continuous load of ash (crap) all over North America? Think that’ll put a kink in my bicycle chain?<br /><br />Make that kinks, plural, because here’s a scientific fact I’ll bet you didn’t know. Nothing ruins the perfect semester like a super caldera. Now that I’ve made you smarter today, maybe you can tell me how to keep my life cruising in the right direction—no to Mom, yes to roomie, double yes to Hotness!—during a global disaster?<br /><br />My lame name is Violet and, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m not hanging from the side of a cinder cone on the last page of this trauma, but there’s definitely more to come. Unless, of course, humans become extinct and then there’s not. Duh.</i><br />
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In this excerpt, protagonists Violet and Boone have their first real meeting. They met briefly on freshman move-in day, but he was in his official capacity as a Resident Assistant, not at liberty to notice the new girls. Today Violet is out for a bike ride to escape her cray-cray roommate.<br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-a87eebbd-3bef-e3c9-d381-1368b600e09e"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After my responsible escape, I’d ridden four or five miles out of town then looped back on the country roads. At the first stoplight, a biker came toward me on the perpendicular street. He nodded at me and looked away then looked back at about the same time I recognized him. Boone freakin’ Ramer. The unexpectedness both jazzed and horrified me. Hotness, all to myself, yes, but he was seeing me in a helmet, sports sunglasses and a water bladder backpack.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey,” I said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He wore sunglasses, too. The reflective orange lenses hid his eyes, but not his frown. “Aren’t you a freshman at Western Case?” he asked. His voice was nice, not crazy deep but definitely masculine, and he spoke with a slow cadence, in no hurry at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah,” I said. Scintillating. Brilliant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What’d you think of the game?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What game?” I scooted my bike farther onto the shoulder of the road as a car cruised past. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The football game. Today. At home.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t follow sports much. Was it good?” Those maddening mirrored glasses hid everything. His extended silence couldn’t be a positive sign.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you lost?” he finally asked.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I glanced around. “I don’t think so. Do I look lost?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His self-deprecating smile thinned his lips but showed no teeth. “No, sorry, most students only ride far enough to find beer.” He moved his head in a way that suggested he was checking out my gear. “I should’ve noticed you weren’t dressed for a grocery run.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I only did about ten miles,” I said with a shrug.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Twice what I can do on these hills.” He grimaced.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I slid my sunglasses off my sweaty nose. I didn’t like not seeing his eyes and hoped he’d show me his if I showed him mine. I used the maneuver as an excuse to check out the rest of him. His biking shorts were loose, like gym shorts, accentuating awesome, tight calves. The top half of him didn’t disappoint, either, with the thin fabric of his shirt plastered over his pecs. He was respectably muscled, not over-juiced like Bodacious. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hot. Ness.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“New to biking?” I asked.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Rehabbing my knee.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That sucks.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yep.” He finally removed his sunglasses to wipe his forearm over his ruddy face.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What happened?” I indicated his leg with the tip of my chin.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His quick glance registered surprise before he gave the same odd little smile. “Oh. I was a quarterback for the football team. Took a low hit at the end of last season.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I squinted at his leg. “Wow, those scars are tiny.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He prodded at a shiny pink dot on his hairy skin. “The doctors in Pittsburgh are some of the best.” He sounded tired, or sort of downcast. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In an unusual moment of insight, I said, “Was today the first game since?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yep.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m guessing you didn’t play?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He looked down the street, away from me, then at the road cinders at our feet. “This is the first fall I haven’t played ball since I was six.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Wow. I can’t think of anything other than, you know, the basics like breathing I’ve been doing for that long.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He smirked.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Docs wouldn’t clear you?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“They did. I didn’t.” He picked up the front of his bike by the handlebars then set it back down. “When the mom who drove you forty miles round trip for midget practices and the dad who wrecked his shoulder passing the ball back to you both say it’s time to quit….”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sounds like your parents are good at mind-jobs, like mine.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He smiled a little more cheerfully and I smiled back, glad because he’d been cruising toward miserable. Just the image I wanted to create—here’s the sports ignoramus who can totally bum you out in thirty seconds flat.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“They let it up to me in the end. I made the right decision. It’s not like I have a chance to go pro. I’ll be able to walk when I’m forty, maybe throw the ball with my own kid.” A shrug bunched the muscles at his shoulders. Another shadow of doubt passed over his face.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The bike’ll be good for you.” Again with the brilliance, as if some millionaire orthopedist hadn’t already told him about biking. Duh.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I can go farther in Nebraska. Fewer hills,” he said. He reached for the water bottle attached to the down tube of his bike, and I could almost see him shaking off the blues. “Where are you from?” His green eyes bored into me with unanticipated curiosity.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Indiana. We have hills but not like this.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why do you ride?” he asked after he’d finished taking a deep drink from the Copperheads Football bottle.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Um, mostly ’cuz it feels good. I mean, it helps me to clear my head.” </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It feels good?</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Really, did I say that out loud?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Endorphins,” he said. “Though I could do without the bugs smacking me in the face.” He tucked the bottle in the cage and pushed his sunglasses back on. “Wanna head back?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sure.” I slid my own glasses on and clipped one foot into a pedal.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We stood on the corner, ready to launch, each waiting for the other to lead.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You go ahead,” he finally said with a chuckle.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Is this a test to make sure I’m not lost?” </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No.” He grinned. “My mama taught me ladies go first.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rolled my eyes, checked traffic and pushed off, thanking God my other biking shoe clicked neatly into its bracket.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Clips,” he said from over my left shoulder. “You’re brave.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Power on the upstroke and downstroke,” I said.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Or instant death the first time I tried to stop.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I laughed. “I practiced in my front yard for awhile. If I can do it, anyone can.” I shifted into a lower gear for the gentle climb. The real bitch of a hill would come at the end.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t baby me, now,” he said.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Have it your way.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He panted in even, deliberate puffs by the time we reached the edge of campus, but he hadn’t given up. He’d stayed on my back wheel. I did a cool down loop on the local streets before guiding us to the dorm.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I stepped off my bike and reluctantly removed my helmet. My stubby ponytail was mostly intact, though much of the front section of my hair slipped from the skinny hairband. I did my best to tuck the errant strands behind my ears.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He arranged his own gear then looked at me with the green stare again, more intense than before. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m sure we freshman all look alike.” I extended my hand. “Violet Perch.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Boone Ramer.” He took my hand and, though our palms were hot and sweaty, he continued to hold it, lighting a fuse of attraction that sparked up my wrist and past my elbow. “Violet. Unusual name. I’ll remember it now.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah, it’s kind of a curse,” I said as the heat passed my shoulder to go straight to my skort.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I didn’t mean unusual bad. It’s nice. Feminine.” He released my hand while his eyes touched me, sliding down my pink jersey and along legs I knew weren’t particularly long but had hints of muscle definition. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I knew what I was. In our world of breast enhancements and thigh gaps, I didn’t have the right dimensions to attract a guy in Boone’s league, especially with my sports bra smashing my itty bitty titties down to nothing. Helmet hair, sweat stained armpits, padded bottoms, and black sturdy shoes completed the non-seductive, flat-chested ensemble. I was all in.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His face sharpened in a way that suggested he might like what he saw. My nostrils flared in immediate, misguided response. God, he was magnetic.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re in good shape,” he said appreciatively. “I bonked on the last hill but you pulled me up.” He waggled his brows at me. “Couldn’t let you make me look bad.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My face flushed beyond exercise-induced red. “You did good.” We wheeled our bikes toward the door and I’d almost worked up the courage to ask if he’d like to ride together again when a trilling voice called his name. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FC9Tw9xzZtg/VU7Xl74hW7I/AAAAAAAABkA/9XlA7K52MeI/s1600/VQ_0098_JHughey_RhyoliteDrifts_hires_final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FC9Tw9xzZtg/VU7Xl74hW7I/AAAAAAAABkA/9XlA7K52MeI/s400/VQ_0098_JHughey_RhyoliteDrifts_hires_final.jpg" width="254" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twyla Blakelock, who’d ignored me at a rush party last week, bounced up to press her glossy lips against his mouth. Her nose wrinkled. “Ewww, you’re all sweaty,” she said.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What kind of moron touches him and says </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ewww</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, I thought. You’re ewww, Twyla.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey, I’ll see you later,” I said out loud, eternally grateful for the guy who came out the door at the right time to hold it for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">~ * ~ </span></span></div>
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In celebration of the May 5 release of book two in the series, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rhyolite-Drifts-YellowblownTM-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00VGOQ9VS/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">Rhyolite Drifts</a></i>, both books are on currently sale for 99 cents.<br />
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<i><b>Learn More About J. </b></i></div>
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J. Hughey knows what a girl wants. Independence. One or two no-matter-what-happens friends. A smokin’ hot romance. A basic understanding of geological concepts. Huh? Okay, maybe not every girl is into geology, but J. Hughey is, and in the Yellowblown™ series she combines her passion for a timeless love story with her interest in geeky stuff to help Violet Perch get a life, despite an ongoing global catastrophe.<br />
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J. Hughey also writes historical romance as Jill Hughey. You can find out more about her at her website <a href="http://www.jillhughey.com/">www.jillhughey.com</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-90708056326743114412015-04-28T00:01:00.000-07:002015-04-28T10:09:35.859-07:00TBR Tuesday: Lily Maxton's The Mistake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Xa8jKY5iYc/VT6Q0TNPhPI/AAAAAAAABhs/G17J1xRQQU0/s1600/TheMistake-400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Xa8jKY5iYc/VT6Q0TNPhPI/AAAAAAAABhs/G17J1xRQQU0/s1600/TheMistake-400.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am so excited to welcome Lily Maxton to Romancing the Victorians! I first discovered Lily when I read and <a href="https://romance.nightowlreviews.com/v5/reviews/christy-carlyle-reviews-the-love-match-by-lily-maxton" target="_blank">reviewed her novella, <i>The Love Match</i>, for Night Owl Reviews</a>. I was hooked on her characters, her voice, the lovely banter and attraction she was able to create between her characters and I have vowed to add every single Lily Maxton book to my TBR pile. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her newest release is <i>The Mistake</i>, and I can't wait to read it. </span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a bit more about The Mistake...</span></b></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Infamous courtesan Julia Forsythe is the former mistress of a ruthless marquess. She’s also expecting his child. But while she longs to flee from his cold clutches, the welfare of her unborn babe prevents it. Now she must find a way to remain a “mistress” in name, if not in deed. And her plans are only complicated by a growing affection for the estate’s head gardener…</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-6cd3bffb-fc57-8af3-7ced-972e0dac2204"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fifteen years ago, Adam Radcliff once shared a close friendship with Julia. Now they stand worlds apart in both lives and statuses, sharing only the memory of that old friendship. But even as Julia slips out of the marquess’s lascivious clutches, she finds herself seeking the pleasure of Adam’s company. Now Adam is falling more deeply for Julia, even knowing that wanting another man’s mistress will only bring ruin upon them both…</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grab it now!</span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mistake-Entangled-Scandalous-Lily-Maxton-ebook/dp/B00V39P8KY" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Amazon</a><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mistake-lily-maxton/1121494603" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Barnes and Noble</span></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mistake-entangled-scandalous/id979972272?mt=11&uo=4" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">iTunes</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25240264-the-mistake" target="_blank">Add it to your Goodreads "Want to Read" Shelf</a></b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Now let's find out a bit more about Lily...</b></i></span><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bio</span></i></b><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MV_2hL8y5dI/VT6RBWCtduI/AAAAAAAABh0/1nknXfzYnYM/s1600/LoveMatch250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MV_2hL8y5dI/VT6RBWCtduI/AAAAAAAABh0/1nknXfzYnYM/s1600/LoveMatch250.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lily Maxton grew up in the Midwest, reading, writing, and daydreaming amidst cornfields. After </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">graduating with a degree in English, she decided to put her natural inclinations to good use and embark on a career as a writer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">When she’s not working on a new story, she likes to tour old houses, add to her tea stash, and think of reasons to avoid housework.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fast Five with Lily Maxton</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. What book have you read more than once and still go back to because you love it so much? What keeps you coming back?</span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-6cd3bffb-fc5e-7a13-48db-31c9936e6942"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Almost anything by Lisa Kleypas, really—I think that woman might own my soul. To get more specific, I’ll say Seduce Me at Sunrise in the Hathaway series. In Seduce Me at Sunrise, the humor that comes from the family dynamic is wonderful, and I absolutely love the romance between Win and Kev, who have longed for each other since they were children and never acted on it (I’m a sucker for childhood love if it’s done well…so much angst and sweetness!).</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-fe6c80ce-fc5e-466f-d503-3433b69a8404" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. What convinces you to add a book to your TBR pile? </span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-6cd3bffb-fc5e-f721-34d1-afc0f1130722"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first thing is if I’ve read and enjoyed other books by that author—then I’ll automatically add them to my TBR. Second is a toss-up between an interesting blurb and recommendations from other readers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. What's the one writing accompaniment you can't do without? (music? tea? coffee? sticky notes? fuzzy slippers? etc.)</span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-6cd3bffb-fc5f-3612-475d-d6c407f3d94d"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Something caffeinated! Coffee more often lately, but I like tea as well! </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. What's your favorite scene in your most recent book?</span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-6cd3bffb-fc5f-6a36-5854-e8c0059acc24"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s a scene where my hero and heroine are at a pub, and they’re making up a back story about a morose man who’s drinking away his sorrows. There’s one point when they’re arguing about something and the heroine brings up Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet to prove her point, and our baffled hero asks who Mr. Darcy is. I had so much fun writing that scene. Another reason I like it is because it’s the first scene that really shows how these characters interact together when they let their guard down.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Reveal something you learned while writing your last book (about yourself, your setting, history, etc.)</span></span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I learned that the flower Sweet William is edible and supposedly tastes like cloves (I’ve never tried it myself). I don’t know if I’ll ever fully understand the directions my research takes me in.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be sure to enter the Rafflectopter giveaway to win a $5 Amazon gift card or an ebook copy of Lily's wonderful novella, <i>The Love Match</i>.</span></span></div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="806bd7562" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/806bd7562/" id="rcwidget_6gp3ed34" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-63590102453140845472015-04-09T15:50:00.001-07:002015-04-09T15:56:43.790-07:00New Series Coming from Avon Impulse! The Accidental Heirs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XwMTBQVqThQ/VSbn7hoKM_I/AAAAAAAABeQ/hK-2EVDXgLU/s1600/englishcountryhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XwMTBQVqThQ/VSbn7hoKM_I/AAAAAAAABeQ/hK-2EVDXgLU/s1600/englishcountryhouse.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
What would you do if you found out you'd inherited a title and all the wealth and responsibility that came with it? How would it change your life and your choices? What would you need to do to adapt to your new life? How would it affect your family?<br />
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That's the premise of my new series coming soon from Avon Impulse. Beyond being thrilled to be writing for my dream publisher, I am so looking forward to sharing these characters and their late 19th century world with you!<br />
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Set in England during the 1890s, the Accidental Heirs are men who never expected to inherit titles or wealth. Whether second sons or not from aristocratic backgrounds at all, they carried on with their lives expecting to make their own way in the world. But when they're told they've inherited titles, wealth, and all the responsibilities that go with it, all their best laid plans are turned upside down. </div>
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<i>ONE SCANDALOUS KISS (coming September 2015!)</i></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8B1HQJY1VA0/VSboA1YIxQI/AAAAAAAABeY/Vt8jQSroe10/s1600/kiss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8B1HQJY1VA0/VSboA1YIxQI/AAAAAAAABeY/Vt8jQSroe10/s1600/kiss.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Kissing a viscount for a hundred pounds sounded like a good idea at the time...</i><br />
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Take Jess, a suffragette struggling to keep her father's bookshop afloat, and Lucius, a second son who never expected to be heir to his father's crumbling estate, and one scandalous public kiss that neither of them can forget, and you have the recipe for <i>One Scandalous Kiss. </i><br />
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Garnish with a clever matchmaking aunt, a scheming marquess's daughter, an American heiress bent on aristocratic husband hunting, and irresistible twin pugs.<br />
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You can pre-order Jess and Lucius's story now for $1.99 and it will be delivered to your e-reader in September.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/One-Scandalous-Kiss-Accidental-Heirs-ebook/dp/B00V3MGEOA/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">Amazon</a><br />
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-scandalous-kiss-christy-carlyle/1121695020?ean=9780062427991" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a><br />
<a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/one-scandalous-kiss" target="_blank">Kobo</a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/one-scandalous-kiss/id979344762?mt=11" target="_blank">iTunes</a><br />
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Stay tuned for more about my characters, giveaways, and the reveal of my cover. And don't forget to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25204333-one-scandalous-kiss" target="_blank">add <i>One Scandalous Kiss</i> to your Goodreads shelf</a>.<br />
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To see some of the my visual inspiration for the story, <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/christycarlyle/one-scandalous-kiss-an-accidental-heirs-novel/" target="_blank">head over to my <i>One Scandalous Kiss </i>Pinterest board.</a><br />
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In the meantime, tell me, have you ever inherited something you didn't expect? Would you want to inherit an aristocratic title? </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-78887664452522152412015-02-20T10:58:00.000-08:002015-02-20T11:20:27.700-08:00Author Feature: Anna Markland and her Viking Roots Medieval Romance Saga<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIoqqjfvj-tSQvF1xuYh1SOXPvBjIr9ifYiBK08hLjPGCg-qSjmqWkhZhTZ9SpAwPUMPoTcIuGzI8MCbITzd9gENsSe57JyAJNnkyS3haxdquNt5y9rIaUzHfo9zouNJYmcSTNb8q7OjUF/s1600/RoverBetrayed_CVR_MED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIoqqjfvj-tSQvF1xuYh1SOXPvBjIr9ifYiBK08hLjPGCg-qSjmqWkhZhTZ9SpAwPUMPoTcIuGzI8MCbITzd9gENsSe57JyAJNnkyS3haxdquNt5y9rIaUzHfo9zouNJYmcSTNb8q7OjUF/s1600/RoverBetrayed_CVR_MED.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the outset of my writing odyssey, I embarked on telling the story of a noble Norman family caught up in the Conquest of England. I subsequently wrote four series of books about the family and its offshoot branches. I am an amateur genealogist, hence my interest in ancestry and roots.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I then decided to turn my attention to the ancestors of these Normans. Who were they, and how did they establish a powerful province in what was then West Francia whose warriors eventually conquered England, most of Wales, parts of Scotland and then turned its attention to Ireland? (Not to mention Italy)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, they were Vikings, those fierce, indomitable Scandinavians whose exploits changed much of the world.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The ones I was interested in came to Francia in 911 AD from Norway, led by a man named Hrolf Ganger, who subsequently took the name Rollo. It was from him that William the Conqueror was descended.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Viking Roots series tells the tale of a man who came with Rollo and founded a powerful dynasty of his own.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rover Betrayed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is the newly released third book in the series. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00THULYX6/ref=cm_sw_su_dp" target="_blank">It’s currently available for preorder on Amazon.</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The hero is Magnus, the son of the original Viking to come with Rollo, Bryk Kriger (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rover Bold</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjujA__PhYf4xHkGwKtGI98nsFMiFaEKlDi7o5FK7rnPt65wX20Kdt8TjGyTTwJoYCHlUWsv7Le_EoU3TN7u-znZ402xSzs6P6YBOHzzGyV6OVOBgsMmOUuVYE3eiQKXWZqXZIaEQa19P46/s1600/RoverBold_CVR_MED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjujA__PhYf4xHkGwKtGI98nsFMiFaEKlDi7o5FK7rnPt65wX20Kdt8TjGyTTwJoYCHlUWsv7Le_EoU3TN7u-znZ402xSzs6P6YBOHzzGyV6OVOBgsMmOUuVYE3eiQKXWZqXZIaEQa19P46/s1600/RoverBold_CVR_MED.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though recently widowed, Magnus is obliged to leave his grieving daughters to fight against Flemish incursions into Norman territory. He captures Judith, a Flemish noblewoman, and quickly loses his heart. But can he trust her not to betray him and his country to her powerful brother, the Count of Flanders.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b>Bio:</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was born and educated in England, but I’ve lived most of my life in Canada. I was an elementary school teacher for 25 years. It was a rewarding career, financially, spiritually and emotionally.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After that I worked with my husband in the management of his businesses. He’s a born entrepreneur who likes to boast he’s never had a job! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My final “career” was as Director of Administration of a global disaster relief organization. </span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">I then embarked on writing a romance, essentially for my own satisfaction. I chose the medieval period mainly because that genre of historical romance is one I enjoy reading.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have a keen interest in genealogy. This hobby has had a tremendous influence on my stories. My medieval romances are about family honor, ancestry, and roots. As an amateur genealogist, I cherished a dream (as do many) of tracing my own English roots back to the Norman Conquest—an impossibility since I am not descended from nobility! So I made up a family and my stories follow its members through successive generations.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the things I enjoy most about writing historical romance is the in-depth research necessary to provide readers with an authentic medieval experience. I based the plot of my first novel, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conquering Passion</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, on an incident that actually happened to a Norman noblewoman.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope you come to know and love my cast of characters as much as I do.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dmo3kUbThBw/VOeDStie6UI/AAAAAAAABaY/sM5vgheVA0Q/s1600/annacropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dmo3kUbThBw/VOeDStie6UI/AAAAAAAABaY/sM5vgheVA0Q/s1600/annacropped.jpg" height="320" width="225" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Links:</span></div>
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<a href="http://amzn.com/B00THULYX6" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rover Betrayed</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (special preorder price)</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.annamarkland.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Website</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twitter @annamarkland</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Markland-Novels/343342275682430#!/pages/Anna-Markland-Novels/343342275682430?sk=app_106171216118819/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Facebook</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/RHayH" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Newsletter Sign Up</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/annamarkland1/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: blue; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pinterest</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Excerpt: (Judith has swooned on catching sight of the Viking army. Magnus is carrying her.)</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Magnus carried the distraught woman into the abbey, wondering how she’d known he was of Viking descent without his helmet. Perhaps because he was fair of hair she’d assumed.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If only the Flemish woman would stop screeching. The sure way to silence her came to him in a moment of clarity. He sat down on one of the benches half way to the altar, bent his head and clamped his mouth over hers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her eyes flew open. She stopped squirming.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her lips were surprisingly sweet and her skin smelled faintly of wood smoke. It reminded him of home. Her body felt right in his arms now she’d calmed, though she was still panting.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He dragged his eyes away from her heaving breasts and met her gaze. Something in those startled green depths kicked him in the gut and spiraled into his shaft. He deepened the kiss, running his tongue along the seam of her lips.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her breathing slowed and her skin warmed. The fear in her eyes turned to puzzlement. She parted her lips.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Desire flooded Magnus’s body. He itched to explore her mouth with his tongue, but doing so would frighten her. He sensed she was still a maid, unused to men. He licked the tip of her tongue, elated when she didn’t withdraw. He kept his eyes locked with hers, making sure he hadn’t alarmed her.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His shaft turned to granite when she moaned, deep in her throat, and swirled her tongue over his bottom lip.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whatever plagued his throat chose the moment to resume its tickling. He eased her away from his body as a coughing fit racked him. She looked at him strangely, but then she too coughed.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He reached into his gambeson for the flask of apple brandy, hesitating as he uncorked it. There wasn’t much left. Her eyes were watering. He steadied her shoulders with his hand, and lifted the flask to her lips.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She pulled back when the aroma of the fumes hit her nostrils. “Drink,” he insisted, pointing to his throat. “It helps.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She put her hands around the flask and took a sip, then as he’d known she would, squeezed her eyes tight shut and grimaced. But the coughing stopped.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She smiled weakly. Desperate to keep the smile on her lovely face he searched for inspiration, then drew two of Ida’s linen squares from inside his tunic. He handed her one and blew his nose on the other.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She gave him the flask, then dabbed at her nose.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He took the last swig of brandy. The fiery liquid cleared his head. He tapped his chest. “Magnus,” he said.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She furrowed her brow. “Judith,” she replied in a husky voice, handing back the linen square.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sight of Ida’s handiwork in another woman’s hand broke the enchantment. His daughters hadn’t yet accepted their mother’s death. He was part of a war party and she was his hostage. Her brother would pay a hefty ransom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">He shook his head, placing her on the bench beside him. “Keep it,” he said, coming to his feet. “Stay here. There is no escape.”</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-23081200532449290802015-02-14T00:05:00.000-08:002015-02-14T11:28:25.879-08:00Valentine's Day Blog Hop and Giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Thanks for joining the Love Historicals Valentine's Day Blog Hop and Giveaway! <a href="http://www.lovehistoricals.com/" target="_blank">Be sure to return to the Love Historicals site for a chance to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card.</a><br />
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I hope you found me from the <a href="http://www.lovehistoricals.com/" target="_blank">Love Historicals site</a> one of my <a href="http://www.lovehistoricals.com/" target="_blank">Love Historicals</a> fellow authors' sites. <b>Remember the name of my hero below and be sure to go back to <a href="http://www.lovehistoricals.com/" target="_blank">Love Historical site</a> to enter to win a $100 gift card!</b><br />
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On the day devoted to love and romance, Love Historicals authors agreed to feature the most romantic scene from our most recent novel.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sBDzXREcqpw/VNJh7Kkr5FI/AAAAAAAABWI/XuxAFvIw5-Q/s1600/RecklessWager_200bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sBDzXREcqpw/VNJh7Kkr5FI/AAAAAAAABWI/XuxAFvIw5-Q/s1600/RecklessWager_200bright.jpg" height="200" style="cursor: move;" width="133" /></a><i><a href="http://amzn.com/B00RKZV39K" target="_blank">Reckless Wager</a> </i>features two of my favorite characters I've ever written. Both Detective Benjamin Quinn and Kate Guthrie are scarred by past experiences, and in each other they find the second chance at love that everyone deserves.<br />
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For me, one of the most romantic scenes in the story is the moment when Kate chooses not to let Ben walk out of her life. She doesn't know him well, but she knows he's not a man she's ready to say goodbye to. Though she doesn't know it yet, it's the moment that will change her future and give her a chance at love like she's never experienced before.<br />
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Be sure to visit the other Love Historicals authors on the hop and our main website for more giveaways!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0pbTUK-FDGE/VJHp_R9BmjI/AAAAAAAABPk/CuR7XyPnp7A/s1600/text-separator-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0pbTUK-FDGE/VJHp_R9BmjI/AAAAAAAABPk/CuR7XyPnp7A/s1600/text-separator-21.jpg" height="63" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Kate watched Detective Sergeant Quinn walk away. His tall, broad form and black coat were easy to spot, even in the early morning mist. His strides were long, his gait hurried, as if he wished to escape her as swiftly as he was able.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He would find Rose. Kate was certain of it. Even on short acquaintance, Kate sensed a deep vein of tenacity in Detective Quinn. It was something in his eyes. A hunger, a craving—a look she wouldn't soon forget.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">She squinted. His dark form faded, becoming harder to see. The streets filled quickly with carts and carriages and pedestrians buying or selling goods. The fog still clung in corners and soon the detective, the first man who had kissed her on the mouth in nearly ten years, would merge with the London haze.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She started after him. In her practical boots, her stride was sure, and she caught up to Detective Quinn quickly.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">She couldn't just let him disappear into the crush of Whitechapel. That figure, hunched against the wind, unmistakable with those wide warrior shoulders and hair that only revealed its true auburn color when a slice of sunlight broke through the haze. That less-than-a-gentleman detective sergeant who'd kissed her quite inappropriately and more deliciously than any man ever had.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If she let him go, how would she ever learn what happened to Rose? And then another thought—foolish, improper, bone deep. If she let him go, would any man ever kiss her that way again?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Detective!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">The news that the fellow pushing his way through the throngs on Whitechapel Roadwas a police detective caused a bit of consternation among the crowd. Kate saw a group of men move away from Detective Quinn and a woman selling rags shouted something no lady would dare repeat. The man himself stopped his progress and watched her approach.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kate slowed to a more ladylike pace and took a deep breath before she paused in front of Detective Quinn. He'd crossed his arms, and she could see the muscle in his jaw ticking where he clenched it. He was so tall; she took a step back to gaze up at him properly. Clear-eyed and clean-shaven, he exuded an air of confidence she hadn't seen in him the night before. The bluish shadow of a bruise marred the skin near his right eye and cheek, and Kate wondered again about how he'd been wounded. His eyes appeared darker in the daylight than they had in his dim lodging room, but perhaps it was just irritation that turned them a deeper blue. And he was irritated. She expected him to say so, but he simply gazed down at her so intently she was certain he would divine every secret she had ever stashed away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"I would like to come with you to find Rose."</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">He moved, his chest heaving up and down, and Kate thought he might be on the verge of a coughing fit. Then she heard laughter bubbling up, a rich, deep chuckle that shook his whole body. His smile took her breath away. She felt dizzy, on the verge of giggling, but stopped herself. He was laughing at her, after all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">"I fail to see what is so amusing, Detective."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kate took a step back when he reached for her, but he wouldn't be deterred. Detective Quinn moved closer, grasped her shoulders, and turned her around. He pulled her flush against his body, embracing her in his arms, surrounding her with his heat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Do you see that man across the way? Near the pub entrance?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Y-yes." Kate spoke through the shivers sparked by his nearness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">"He steals the lives of girls like Rose. Forces them onto the streets and then takes their earnings. Beats them, or worse, if they refuse to pay."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kate tried to look back at the detective, but he'd bent his head close to hers. He whispered in her ear, warming her skin with his breath.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">"And the woman over there, sitting on the pavement?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kate nodded, her hair brushing against his cheek.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">"She's fresh out of Newgate. Though she looks old and broken, she's the nimblest thief I've ever known. Take care not to pass her on the street. She'll cut your purse from your skirt and you'll be none the wiser."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">"I—" Kate opened her mouth to protest. She'd learned her lesson about Whitechapel early on and took care never to bring valuables with her when she volunteered at the clinic. She certainly wasn't fool enough to carry coin loose in her skirt pocket.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">"See the boy. He's just under the stairwell, covered in grime. Rather blends in with the bricks and muck, doesn't he? Young Tommy Lark looks and listens. He listens to the streets for the King of Thieves and then he sings just like his namesake when he finds a likely mark. Be careful not to let him hear your address when you call it up to the cabbie. Especially if you've any valuables at home you'd care to keep."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leaning to the right, he placed a finger under her chin, tilting her head toward him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"You have no idea of the dangers all around you. If you did, you wouldn't walk these streets so blithely."</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-69649596483067005282015-01-14T09:24:00.001-08:002015-01-14T09:24:30.710-08:00Love in the Time of Jack the Ripper<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/806bd70/" id="rc-806bd70" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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Join me at <a href="http://www.annamarkland.com/" target="_blank">Anna Markland's blog today</a> as I talk about Love in the Time of Jack the Ripper!
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8ggPG1n7U7g/VLamBZOgQYI/AAAAAAAABTc/42PcSQ0mj7k/s1600/Illustrated_Police_News_-_Jack_the_Ripper_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8ggPG1n7U7g/VLamBZOgQYI/AAAAAAAABTc/42PcSQ0mj7k/s400/Illustrated_Police_News_-_Jack_the_Ripper_2.png" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-83198947305314963182015-01-01T12:30:00.000-08:002015-01-02T15:55:25.587-08:00Happy New Year Giveaway! Celebrating the Release of Reckless Wager<a id="rc-806bd70" class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/806bd70/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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I'm having a giveaway! Be sure to enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card, ebooks, or a print copy of my new release, <i>Reckless Wager.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2PKmcqotrDWN_rYQmwUZJJ5ykNrgI9Bx7F0Vzt7_prePPKYNYSKCVGhyphenhyphenxJG-o7JQfuD05nRFHJT9SWvZWqz7Gnce3gpMd5UP7kytXTR34QpGmW18Bi9yL-2gF6AsBJsDuB8yRnSneP2Rn/s1600/Tennysonquote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2PKmcqotrDWN_rYQmwUZJJ5ykNrgI9Bx7F0Vzt7_prePPKYNYSKCVGhyphenhyphenxJG-o7JQfuD05nRFHJT9SWvZWqz7Gnce3gpMd5UP7kytXTR34QpGmW18Bi9yL-2gF6AsBJsDuB8yRnSneP2Rn/s1600/Tennysonquote.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
Here's wishing you and yours at 2015 filled with blessings, fun adventures, and lots and lots of good books to read. :)<br />
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I hope reading lots of books is among your 2015 goals. I've just entered the Goodreads challenge and declared that I hope to read 60 books in a year. How many do you think you'll read in 2015?<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/483-want-to-read-more-this-year-join-the-2015-reading-challenge" target="_blank">You can join the Goodreads challenge here.</a><br />
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My big news for the start of the year is that I've just released the third book in my Whitechapel Wagers series, <i><a href="http://amzn.com/B00RKZV39K" target="_blank">Reckless Wager</a>. </i>For those of you who read <i>Wanton Wager</i>, you might recall Will's younger sister who nursed him back to health after his return from the Second Afghan War. Well, <i>Reckless Wager</i> is Kate's story. But don't worry if you haven't read the others. As with each of the books, this one can be read all on its own.<br />
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Here's a bit about <i><a href="http://amzn.com/B00RKZV39K" target="_blank">Reckless Wager</a>.</i><br />
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Unlucky in love and estranged from his family, Detective Sergeant Benjamin Quinn is obsessed with solving the Ripper crimes. When he’s suspended from the Metropolitan Police, it’s another failure in a long line of disappointments. But a new mystery arises when a beautiful widow shows up at the most infamous pub in Whitechapel seeking his help. He’s determined to assist Kate Guthrie, and equally determined to quell his growing attraction to her. <br />
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Kate Guthrie hides painful secrets from her first marriage and has avoided matrimony for nearly ten years. Now she’s finally decided it’s time to remarry and move on with her life, even if it means giving up the charity clinic work in Whitechapel that makes her days worthwhile. But when a battered young woman turns up at the clinic claiming to have been attacked by Jack the Ripper, Kate seeks out Detective Sergeant Benjamin Quinn, a man who sparks feelings in her too potent to deny. <br />
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I'm a compulsive list maker, so of course I have a New Year's Resolutions list as long as my arm. Here are a few highlights:</div>
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1. Write! More often and more books than I ever have before. My goal is to release 8 titles in 2015.</div>
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2. Get Fit! As a writer and cover designer, I spend more time sitting down than I did when I was teaching (and never sat down!), but I'm determined to get in better shape and be more active this year.</div>
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3. Travel! My husband moved from Scotland to the US four years ago to marry me and he hasn't been back to the UK since. We hope to rectify that in 2015 and make a visit to Scotland. I'm hoping we can slip in a few days in London too. :)</div>
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Do you make resolutions for a new year? What are some of your goals for 2015?</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-67072616107852529582014-12-19T00:00:00.000-08:002014-12-19T00:00:06.263-08:00Historical Romance Guest Author: Gina Danna<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm so thrilled to have <a href="http://ginadanna.com/" target="_blank">Gina Danna</a> at Romancing the Victorians today! Thank you for visiting, Gina! </span><br />
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A USAToday Bestselling author, Gina Danna was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and has spent the better part of her life reading. History has always been her love and she spent numerous hours devouring historical romance stories, always dreaming of writing one of her own. After years of writing historical academic papers to achieve her undergraduate and graduate degrees in History, and then for museum programs and exhibits, she has found the time to write her own historical romantic fiction novels.<br /><br />Now, under the supervision of her three dogs and two cats, she writes amid a library of research books, with her only true break away is to spend time with her other life long dream —her Arabian horse—With him, her muse can play<br /><br />Web: <a href="http://www.ginadanna.com/">www.ginadanna.com</a><br />FB: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/GinaDannaAuthor">www.facebook.com/GinaDannaAuthor</a><br />Twitter: @GinaDanna1<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gina's new book, <i>Great and Unfortunate Desires, </i>is set during the Victorian era. I'll move over and let her explain what drew her to the period.</span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Writing a Victorian-era story....</span></b></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />A couple of years ago, I had finished my novel on the American Civil War – Victorian America. It is an era I’m very familiar with, being a historian and a Civil War reenactor. I’ve done a ton of research in the lifestyles of the era, social mores, societal events and of course, the War itself, especially on the impact it had on the American people. I was pleased with my manuscript and sent it to the agent I had at that time, who promptly told me I should return to writing about lords and ladies.... My first manuscript, which got her attention to represent me, was on Regency England, and with the Civil War not a topic she was thrilled about, she hoped I’d return to the popular era of Jane Austen.<br /><br />Problem was, I didn’t want to go back there. So I mulled it over and since I was comfortable with America’s Victorian era, I went to England at the same timeframe. The recent movies on Sherlock Holmes had my attention and with a comment made about Dr. Watson and his military service during the Afghanistan. So with doing research, discovered about the Great War with Russia and the beginning of my story took hold.<br /><br />Writing about the Victorian era is fascinating. A time when the bustle was in, corsets still worn, manners improving, and technology picking up speed. It was the industrial revolution with factories and machines, gas lighting, the beginning of electricity, trains the fastest means of transportation plus many more inventions, modernizations that open the doors to new plots, twists in people’s lives and events, and so much more!<br /></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome to the Victorians and Great & Unfortunate Desires!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~ Here's a little more about Gina's delicious novel ~</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Great & Unfortunate Desires</i></b><br /><br />Victorian England c. 18701<br /><br />Operating as a British spy, Tristan St.James, the new Marquis of Wrenworth, barely escapes Afghanistan with his life in the spring of 1869. He plans to seek vengeance against the traitor who exposed him and for the agent he’s forced to kill. Returning to England, as a lord, he must marry. Haunted by guilt from the horrors of war, he avoids love at all costs, but finds himself drawn to the only woman who is disinterested in him.<br /><br />Lady Evelyn Hurstine has waited over two years for the return of her love, a man who left for war in the East. But during that time, she suffered a brutal assault, resulting in a child and fear of any man touching her except for the man she once knew. The pursuit by the marquis scares her but her excuses against his proposal dwindle.<br /><br />Their marriage strengthens into love until she discovers her husband isn’t the safety she believed but the one who killed the man she once loved. Caught in a world of intrigue and mayhem, Tristan must prove his love to her before the traitor destroys them both.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Grab your copy at any online ebook retailer!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;">Amazon: </span><a href="http://amzn.to/1ERFHZb" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;" target="_blank">http://amzn.to/1ERFHZb</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;">Nook: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/1xpB0lQ" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1xpB0lQ</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;">iBook: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/1sAsmg9" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1sAsmg9</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;">Kobo: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/1wf9Kn0" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1wf9Kn0</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;">Comment on this post and let Gina know what you like best about Victorian romance. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;">If you haven't read historical romance set during the era, tell us why. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue Light', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"><b>Include your email address for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card.</b></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-63460879624605543952014-11-11T11:06:00.001-08:002014-11-11T11:06:34.225-08:00Romance Writers Weekly: Character Wrangling<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><br /></i>Thanks for joining the Romance Writers' Weekly blog hop! Today we're talking about wrangling and developing characters, one of my favorite part of the writing process.<br /><br /><br />I hope you joined me from <a href="http://victoriabarbour.com/blog" target="_blank">Victoria Barbour's</a> page, and big huge thanks for this week’s questions from <a href="http://edenashe.com/" target="_blank">Eden Ashe</a>!<div>
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<i>1. How much free reign do you give your characters during a story?</i></div>
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I am a plotter, so I generally have a strong idea of what my characters are going to do, what they <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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need, and where they are going, but sometimes they surprise me. Sometimes minor parts of their story, which I only intended to include as backstory, turn out to be much more important. It's as if they need to work that problem out, even if I wasn't terribly bothered about at all. </div>
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In my current work in progress, <i>Reckless Wager</i>, my hero, Detective Sergeant Benjamin Quinn wants to resolve his family issues, yet all I intended was to have him hunt Jack the Ripper. And fall in love with my heroine, Kate, of course! Ben's need to resolve matters with his family is now a bigger part of my story than I ever intended, but it's where he's led me, time and time again.</div>
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<br /><i>2. Have your characters ever done something so out of the blue that not only changed your story, but changed the tone and maybe even the genre you were originally going for? (Like your contemporary romance turned into a spicy paranormal)</i></div>
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I haven't had that happen yet, but I'd be open to it! I know that sometimes my characters lead me down rabbit holes I didn't expect to travel, but they usually stick firmly in their late Victorian world. :)</div>
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<i>3. Do you have one character in your head that is sort of boss over all the rest? Or do you decide who to work on and when?</i></div>
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Ben is dominating a bit in <i>Reckless Wager</i>, I must admit. I started out thinking of this as chiefly the heroine's happy ending story, but Ben definitely wants his time on the page too. Kate is a secondary character from a previous novella, so she was a priority, but Ben is going to get equal time. </div>
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In most cases, however, my characters allow me to the tell their story much as I had intended. It's actually the stories I haven't written yet, the characters that are just faint sketches in my mind, who are the loudest and most eager to have their stories told. And I can't wait to flesh out every single one of them. </div>
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Now, join me at the fabulous <a href="http://sarahhegger.com/sarah-hegger" target="_blank">Sarah Hegger's</a> blog to find out how she answered the same questions!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-49917487585541839972014-09-23T09:06:00.001-07:002014-09-23T09:08:43.022-07:00Romance Writers Weekly: Unexpected Writing Paths<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn’t you like to know more about your favorite authors?<br /><br />Well you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all... About our writing of course!<br /><br />Every week we’ll answer questions and after you’ve enjoyed the blog on this site we’ll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride!<br /><br />I hope you joined me from <a href="http://ronnieallennovel.com/gemini/blog-1" target="_blank">Ronnie Allen's</a> page, and big huge thanks for this week’s questions from <a href="http://definingjjdevine.weebly.com/ramblings-of-a-writer" target="_blank">JJ Devine</a>!</i><br />
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Here we go!</i><br />
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<b>1. You’re moving right along with a storyline and suddenly it takes an unexpected twist. Do you go with the flow and follow where the twist leads you or do you conform your story to your way?</b><br />
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Though I have become a detailed plotter over the last year, my stories still take their own lovely paths, and I'm happy to follow. As I write, the story continues to unfold in my head, like a train that I am always trying to catch up with. I view my plotting efforts, notes, research, etc. as the tracks that I'm following, but there are always bends and bridges ahead that I can't quite see when I start.</div>
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My second Whitechapel Wagers novella, <i><a href="http://amzn.com/B00KS9NWTO" target="_blank">Wanton Wager</a></i>, took an unexpected turn early on when Lord Ashdowne, who I expected to be a minor character who would only appear in one chapter, turned out to be a menacing presence throughout much of the story.<br />
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<b>2. What time of year is your best time for writing? Winter, Summer, Fall, Spring?</b></div>
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I am not sure I have a best time of the year for writing. I try to write everyday or every week at a bare minimum, so I need to be productive all year round. I've gotten to the point that I can write anywhere or anytime, since I need to meet deadlines and publication goals.</div>
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However, I certainly have favorite seasons or those that most inspire me. Fall is my favorite season. When I the calendar turned over to the fall season a couple of days ago, it gave me a little inner thrill and sense of relief. I knew cool breezes, gorgeous colors, and heavenly scents were on their way. I love fall leaves, plump pumpkins, apple pies, and all the beautiful sights and scents of fall. I also love the light during autumn. It seems to take on a bluer, almost grey hue, and I find it soothing after the bright rays of summer. </div>
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<b>3. When looking for a publisher do you chose a traditional press, indie route, or one that does both ebook and print?</b></div>
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My goal as an author is to be published in as many formats and via as many pathways as possible. I am currently indie published, but I will soon be submitting a manuscript to a traditional press and another to a smaller e-publisher. However, I will never stop publishing my own work, and I will always offer short stories free. I currently have a few free short stories online at <a href="http://freereadsfromthegenre-istas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Free Reads from the Genre-istas</a>. </div>
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It's an exciting time in publishing, and being the curious sort, I want to learn about and experience all the opportunities I can. I think it's worth considering every option.</div>
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Want to find out how <a href="http://www.xioaxelrod.com/" target="_blank">Xio Axelrod</a> answered these three questions? I do! Join me at her blog next.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-21788716767515686692014-09-17T00:00:00.000-07:002014-09-17T16:17:13.504-07:00Writing Process Blog Hop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was tagged by <a href="http://www.patyjager.net/Blog.html" target="_blank">Paty Jager</a> to participate in the Writing Process Blog Tour. Be sure to stop by her blog to find out how she answered these questions! She posted on her blog last Wednesday and answered the four following questions and then I'll tag at least<br />
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one more author to post next Wednesday, September 24th.<br />
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<i><b>Here are the questions:</b></i><br />
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<b>1. What are you working on now?</b><br />
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I am currently working on the next novella in my Whitehchapel Wagers series. This one's called Reckless Wager and features Kate Guthrie, the sister of my hero from the second novella, Wanton Wager. Like the other stories in the series, this one's set in Whitechapel in 1888, during the period of the Jack the Ripper murders. The story's hero, Detective Sergeant Benjamin Quinn is obsessed with catching the Ripper, even months after the murders seemed to have stopped late in 1888.<br />
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<b>2. How does your work differ from others of its genre?</b></div>
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I think this particular series differs from others in the historical romance genre because of the setting. This series was conceived as being set in Whitechapel at a very specific time, and I knew some of the characters would be involved in the Ripper investigations. Though these aren't mysteries per se, the mystery of the unsolved Ripper crimes does provide—I hope—a tense and interesting background for the stories.<br />
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<b>3. Why do you write what you do?</b></div>
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I write historical romance because I love historical romance. I have been reading historical romance for years, and there are few genres that are as near and dear to my heart. Perhaps it's because I love studying history, and the 19th century has always held a special fascination for me. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YQscYy09IHc/VAVLcwPsfbI/AAAAAAAAA28/PY5d_BkTpCg/s1600/084.TIF" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YQscYy09IHc/VAVLcwPsfbI/AAAAAAAAA28/PY5d_BkTpCg/s1600/084.TIF" height="320" width="256" /></a><b>4. How does your writing process work?</b><br />
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My process always starts with an idea that strikes me. I will often envision it like a scene from a movie. I'll see a character and know their core desire, their motivation, and sometimes their conflict. Then I start building their story. I am becoming more and more of a plotter as time goes on, as it truly helps me to be more productive when I sit down to write. So lately I have been filling out charts and spreadsheets and creating copious notes <i>about</i> my story before I actually begin writing. Once I start writing, things always change a bit, but I am happy to have a clear road map (my plotting notes) along the way.<br />
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Your next stop on the Writing Process blog hop should be <a href="http://www.judithashley.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Judith Ashley's blog</a>. Judith writes wonderful women's fiction in her Sacred Women's Circle series. She'll post next Wednesday, September 24th, so be sure to stop by!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858025146615227317.post-57334176980836000282014-09-09T10:55:00.002-07:002014-09-09T12:25:09.313-07:00Romance Writers Weekly: Six Word Memoir<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn’t you like to know more about your favorite authors?<br /><br />Well you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all... About our writing of course!<br /><br />Every week we’ll answer questions and after you’ve enjoyed the blog on this site we’ll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride!<br /><br />I hope you joined me from <a href="http://rainswritingrealm.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Raine Balkera's</a> page, and big huge thanks for this week’s questions from <a href="http://banterwithbeth.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Beth Carter</a>!<br /><br />Here we go!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>1.What’s your favorite aspect of novel writing? Dialogue? Setting? Conflict?Narration? Explain.</b></span><br />
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You know, I have always had a hard time deciding. Even when I'm choosing between two blouses or two different candle scents, etc., I struggle to chose. Believe me, this character trait drove my parents <br />
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and grandparents crazy when I was a kid!</div>
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My initial response to this question is that I love all aspects of novel writing, and it's completely true. However, if forced to choose, I'd have to say that developing my characters is the best part. My ideas for a story usually start with a character who comes into my mind as a living, breathing human being with a complicated history and a burning desire for something. In other words, they usually come to me with their motivation and conflict set. And the more I listen to them, the more they "tell" me. I complete character questionnaires and detail information about their childhood, preferences, dislikes, and beliefs that often don't even make it into their story. However, knowing my characters in depth makes them easier to write, and easier for me to fall in love with each and every one of them.</div>
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One little revelation about my writing inspiration is that often I will see an actor's performance in a movie or television show, and their looks or mannerism will spark a character idea for me. Recently I watched a British television series called <i>Breathless</i> on PBS, and was completely enamored with English actor Jack Davenport's performance. I'd seen him in other films, but something about his performance in <i>Breathless </i>sparked a story idea, a character, who I've been thinking about for days. I have to get the story idea written down or it will distract me so much I won't be able to work on my current work in progress. New characters are so persistent!</div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b>2.How do you choose the setting for your plot? Are they always similar settings or does it vary? (i.e., small town, big city, castle, etc.)</b></span><br />
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Setting usually comes when that character shows up in my head. He or she know exactly where they live, and, for most of my stories, that's in England. My current historical romance series, Whitechapel Wagers, is set in the East End of London in 1888. I have spent lots of time researching the history of the area and have a map of 19th century Whitechapel tacked to the wall next to my desk. Grounding myself in the geography of the setting I'm writing about is important to me, and I never mind devoting time to researching setting. One of my favorite aspects of writing historical romance is the notion of transporting readers (and myself!) to another time and place.</div>
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In future stories, my settings will vary. One of my current projects is a historical romance that is mostly set on an estate in Berkshire, England. Another future project is a historical mystery series set in Gilded Age Chicago. I love researching the 19th century, whether it be on the U.S. or British side of the pond.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br />3.I’m a big six-word memoir fan. (Hemingway even wrote one.) Describe your writing day using just six words.</b></span></div>
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Ugh! Six words? Seriously? Challenging!</div>
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Okay, here goes...</div>
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Amid quiet and coffee, characters meet writer.</div>
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I can't wait to see <a href="http://ronnieallennovel.com/gemini/blog-1" target="_blank">Ronnie Allen's</a> six-word memoir. Follow me to her blog!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08844647108522152502noreply@blogger.com9