‘How to Deceive a Duke’ by Lecia Cornwell

STORY: When deception leads to desire . . .

When her stubborn sister runs off the night before her arranged marriage, Meg Lynton hardly hesitates before donning the wedding veil and walking down the aisle herself. It’s the only way to save her family from sure destitution. By the time her wealthy groom discovers he has married the wrong sister, it will be too late to annul their vows. And too late for Meg to escape her wifely duty to a man reputed to be a devil in battle and the bedroom . . .

A bride is the last thing Nicholas Hartley, Duke of Temberlay, wants. Then he sees Meg and realizes that his wedding night will be a great pleasure indeed. But aside from the agreeable business of begetting an heir, Temberlay will never change his wicked ways for a wedding vow—until he discovers Meg’s deception, and decides to teach the scheming beauty how to be a proper duchess, kiss by devastating kiss . . .

REVIEW: ‘How to Deceive a Duke’ lived up to its full potential, and then some!

In Marguerite Lynton, we have a heroine whose dedication to her family goes beyond love and sacrifice is nothing new to her when it comes to protecting them all from scandal.

In Nicholas Hartley we have a hero that holds his honor close to his heart and only a few know him well to vouch for it, as the rest of the world around him and especially his Grandmother, think him a womanizer, scoundrel and a man lacking in honor.

In the Dowager Duchess of Temberlay we have an old, bitter woman thinking both Nick and Meg are her private marionettes by pulling their strings and making them dance to her tune.

These are only three characters that will have you tied in knots while a multiple plot twists will show villains in places you hadn’t expected to find. From the moment these two meet, chemistry ignites and doesn’t let go. I adored Marguerite strength, practicality and no nonsense attitude and my heart went out to Nicholas as he struggled with who he was and who he wanted people to see when looking at him.

And while we root for our couple, Ms. Cornwell sneaks in a little surprise by letting us watch history in making and giving this story its epic feel.

Loved it; highly recommend it and looking forward to her next one in this series, ‘The Secret Life of Lady Julia’.

*Book provided by Avon through Edelweiss.

Fan2Author Interview with…Máire Claremont!

b2bMelanie: Hello Máire and welcome to b2b! I’m so happy you’re here! The buzz about ‘The Dark Lady’ is great! How exited are you with ‘The Dark Lady’ coming out?  I can’t even imagine the feelings you’re going through! The only closest I can compare it to is sending my kids off to the Kindergarten and hoping they’ll do good without me there to guide them….

Máire Claremont: Oh my!!!! I am totally over the moon. The release has been so exciting. I can barely believe it is all real. And yes, it is a bit like sending your baby into the world and hoping that no one bullies it.

b2bMelanie: Before I start with my interview, won’t you introduce yourself to our readers and tell us a bit about yourself and your début novel?

Máire: Well, I am a bit of a gypsy soul! I love to move. I’ve lived all over the US and the British Isles and Ireland. I have an M.A. in Drama and adore film and live theaters. My début is a bit on the different side. Very dark, focusing on a heroine escaping the insane asylum.

b2bMelanie: Máire, I am such a sucker for a tortured hero, and in ‘Dark Lady’ I had two-for-one. Both Eva and Ian traveled some rough road to their HEA and you made them work for it!

I found the story truly unique and exciting to read. You had me on pins and needles all through out! What made you choose this premise?

Máire: You know the premise was completely unmeditated. It came to me as I tried to go to sleep one night. The story literally came to me in the dark and I had to get up and start writing.

b2bMelanie: I must say that the many scenes you wrote just tugged at my heart-strings… How hard of a time did you have going so deep into the psyche of your Ian and Eva? I wondered if the intimate and sensual scenes came easier than those of Ian and Eva’s personal suffering. By the way, who did you model Eva and Ian after?

Máire: Oh thank you!!!!!!! Sometimes it was very tough, mining their grief and walking their paths with them. I loved writing the intimate scenes because it was a chance for them to be happy amidst their sorrows but it was also really natural to write the darker scenes as they were so true to character. Eva and Ian aren’t mirrored off anyone or anything. They are completely unique to me.

b2bMelanie: I think Cover Art is almost as much important as the content of the novels, but I find that not many publishers are acknowledging the artists or the models, and as an avid reader I love all aspects of the novel I’m about to read.

Tell me about the cover art for this book. It is stunning. This woman looks just like what I pictured Eva to be.

Máire: I got SO SO lucky!!! Jon Paul was the designer. Signet just really went to town on giving me the most beautiful cover. I sent them some images and we had a cover conference about the feel. Wait until you see Lady in Red’s cover!!!

b2bMelanie: You sure did! Jon Paul is such a sweetheart, not goona even attempt to hide my adoration for the man!

Let’s talk titles…How hard is it to ‘name’ your ‘baby’? Have you gone through more than one and can you tell us what they were? 

Máire: The Dark Lady was ALWAYS the title. I was so lucky. It came to me. It’s a reference to Shakespeare’s Dark Lady sonnets. And my editor loved it and it never had to change.

b2bMelanie: Do you let someone read your work during your writing process? Who’s the lucky person and why? Or do you wait ‘till it’s finished, then you let someone read it…and who?

Máire: Oh yes! Delilah Marvelle author extraordinaire reads everything I write! Lacey Kaye also often looks and my amazing agent Helen Breitweiser!

b2bMelanie: OMG! The Delightful Ms. M. sure is lucky! I can’t tell you how lucky I was to meet her last year. Adore her!

We all have favorite books, authors… How about you? Are you willing to fess-up?

Máire: Elizabeth Hoyt is my very favorite historical writer right now with Delilah Marvelle making a very close second. They both write amazingly detailed deep books.

b2bMelanie: Totally with you on that one!

What’s on your TBR right now?

Máire: Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt and Forever A Lord by Delilah Marvelle.

b2bMelanie: I don’t have Hoyt’s, but now must get it. As for Delilah’s book, I read it as soon as I got my special ARC copy and loved it!

Now, that ends up our ‘professional’ portion of this interview. Are you ready to get personal? Or are you going to chicken out on me?

Máire: Do I look like a Chicken?!? LOL.

b2bMelanie: HAHAHA!…Let’s get Personal:

So, tell us something personal about yourself that you’d like us to know…anything that makes you comfortable…or not…like how many times did you fall in love?

What’s your favorite meal of the day (food)? Flannels or Silk? Do you like to cook? What’s your favorite spot in the house? Cats or Dogs? Champagne or Beer?  Your favorite time of the year? What are your fears? Your joys?

Máire: Oh Wow! I am almost never in love! I think that’s why I love romance. I can fall in love whenever I want!

M favorite meal is dinner. I adore Indian food! Chicken tikka Masala?? nom nom om.

I’m flannels all the way because they are the best to write in!

My favorite spot in the house is. . . the bed. I even write in it.

I adore cats!! Always have. I love their snobbiness.

I’m a total Champagne girl. I adore bubbles!

My favorite time of year is Fall. I love the transition and the turning of the leaves! Such a gorgeous time of year!

Fears?? Failure of course or rejection. The nice thing is with all the writing, I’ve had to face my fears. And the more you face those fears, the stronger you become.

I do cook and actually like it unless I’m cooking just for me.

My joys??? Traveling!!! I could travel all year long and never get tired of living out of my suitcase! In fact, that’s my goal, to be able to travel ALL the time.

b2bMelanie: Máire, thanks for ‘coming over to play’! I wish you a long and ‘muse’ filled writing life. It has been a pleasure and much fun to host you and get to know you.

*For Author’s Bio, please click on her photo. 

*Máire can be found here: Website / Blog / Facebook / Tweeter / Pinterest / 

“The Dark Lady” now available at: Amazon / Kindle / B&N / Nook /

*For an EXCERPT please click on the book cover.

GIVEAWAY

One commenter will win a choice of copy or eBook

of THE DARK LADY and all you need to do is answer a question…

If you could travel to any time, what it be and why??

* US only!

‘The Promise’ by Kate Worth

STORY: When pastry chef Jane Gray tries to sell her daughter’s locket, she becomes the unlikely subject of a massive police hunt and fodder for London’s tabloid press. Secrets unravel, lies are exposed, and the Duke of Rutledge demands custody of his niece.

Charming and handsome, the duke’s brother Finn spends his leisure time between the sheets of London’s most beautiful, wanton women. The seasoned rake is perplexed by his attraction to demure, virtuous Jane… definitely not his usual type. It soon becomes evident there is more to Jane than meets the eye and Finn longs to possess the passionate woman hidden beneath her modest facade.

When the publicity draws the attention of a madman from Jane’s past and Finn is forced to enter London’s dangerous underworld in a heart-stopping race to save her.

REVIEW: Have you ever read a book that after you read that last sentence, you had this overwhelming urge to start reading it all over again, just to make sure that it was as good as you thought it was?

Well, that’s how I felt as I finished reading THE PROMISE. I just couldn’t believe that this was a début [DEBUT!] novel. Last time I felt like that was after reading Grace Burrowes’ THE HEIR and time before that was Judith James’ BROKEN WING.

I honestly can’t remember what attracted me to this book or if anybody recommended it to me, but I found myself reading the Amazon sample of it and rushed to buy it as soon as the sample was finished.

The cover and the blurb are good, but the book is an amazing story of true, passionate and just so sweet love. Ms. Kate Worth played her characters like a violin! She made even me fall in love with Finn, Cam, Augustus and the urchins, Coop and Ben! Hell, she made me love even the butler, Peckham! She left me wanting even their happily ever after…And how about the Duchess Justine, Cam and Finn’s mama, herself? I’m thinking she deserves a love interest of her own…Come to think of it, that’s not a bad idea…

When an author leaves me in a state of dreaming up HEA’s for the characters that she populated her story with, I call that great writing. When she has me in tears while I laugh and cry at the antics of her characters, I call that great writing. When I want to smash the villains face in, I call that great writing. Not wanting the book to ever end, I call that great writing…

If you don’t read this book, you’ll miss out on an adventure, intrigue and an overall passionate romance that will touch your heart and your funny bone…

And I know you don’t want to miss out on that!

*Book purchased from Amazon.

‘The Dark Lady’ by Máire Claremont

STORY: Lord Ian Blake has returned from India a broken man. Years ago, he pledged to Lady Eva Carin—his childhood companion and first love—that he would bring her husband back alive. His failure haunts him. But even his jaded soul can’t anticipate the shocking sight of beautiful, independent Eva confined in a madhouse.

Locked in an asylum, forgotten by society, Eva is adrift in both body and mind. For Ian to break her free, they must cross a powerful enemy—and prove her sanity to England’s unforgiving aristocracy. But the biggest danger of all may come when the secrets of Eva’s tragic past are finally unlocked.

REVIEW: The first word that came out of my mouth as I’ve finished reading this story was WOW… and then I exhaled.

‘The Dark Lady’ by Máire Claremont is her début, and what a début it is!

If you’re like me, one of those bookworms that have a need for the book to grab them from the first page, then you’re in luck if you decide to read this book. You’ll be on pins and needles ‘till the end.

For a change this story develops in 1865, Victorian era and what a contrast to Regency era it is. For some reason it looks like women suffered even worse than in the earlier years. This is the case with our heroine. This woman, as the story opens, is in hell and she’s hanging by a thread.

Lady Eva Carin not only lost her husband, but soon after suffered a loss even greater than that, a loss of her son in an accident of her making. Thomas, her brother-in-law who is now the new Lord Carin, uses her pain and devastation to his advantage and commits her to an asylum in which for the past two years she’s endured many ‘disciplinary’ treatments ordered by the woman who runs the place, such as a regular dose of opium to a point of addiction, many beatings and more.

Lord Ian Blake is back from India and as much as he dreads coming face to face with Eva, he knows that he ows her the truth about Hamilton’s death, and feel that this as his only opportunity of redeeming himself in her eyes and coming to terms with his role in it. He’s been haunted with memories of not just Hamilton’s death but also with their life as children as all three have grown up together in a wonderful home provided by Hamilton’s father, Lord Carin. He took in both Eva and Ian after their individual parents died. As they grew together, boys were always vying for love and approval of the old man but it was Hamilton who started envying the bond that had developed between his father and Ian.

Ian on the other hand hadn’t realized that his earnest admiration and love for Lord Carin was a sore point to his best friend so whatever he did to please him, Hamilton viewed it as a challenge and affront to his own character. Even Eva was in some way touched by their rivalry. While they all were aware of her duty to marry Hamilton, they also realized that she had more in common with Ian than Hamilton, but neither Eva nor Ian voiced their thoughts or feelings out loud as that would be a breach of duty and bring much hurt to the man who they both loved like a father.

Ian is shocked to find out that she’s been committed, but once he enters the hell she’s been living, he is livid and enraged. The only thing stopping him from committing murder is the thought of saving the poor creature who is now Eva.

What an awesome characterization of a woman on a brink this was. I was brought to tears as Eva goes through so many emotions, not believing her eyes or her laudanum infected mind that there is someone who cares if she’s dead or alive.

And then there’s Ian caught between his quilt over his best friend’s death and desire for the woman he always loved but could never allow himself even a dream of having.

Beside being well written and plotted, paced to perfection with many moments of hair-raising action,  this is without a doubt, one of the best haunting, poignant and heart wrenching stories of love I’ve read in a while.

Bookworms, mark your calendars for February 5, 2013 and remember that as the arrival of Máire Claremont. This author is here to stay and I welcome her with open arms.

*Book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

‘The Sinning Hour’ by Elise Rome

Mel’s Author Recommendation: Today I’d like to jump in myself and tell you about this author I discovered a couple of years ago. Her name, then, was Ashley March. 

I honestly don’t know how we got introduced to each other [we never met in person] but from the start, we hit it off. It was like we’ve known each other forever. I remember being scared to pick one of her books to review because I was dreading it being bad!

In the end, I was so glad I started to read them. 

Have you ever read a book that grabbed you from the first sentence? The opening scene? Well, that’s Elise Rome aka Ashley March. Her stories are character driven by heroes and heroines breathing life to the story she’s telling. Her plots are fun and entertaining. 

When I asked her if she’d like to stop by and be featured this month, she politely declined as the book she is writing now has yet to be finished. That, however, didn’t stop her to offer to push her fellow author Carrie Lofty. She recently read ‘His Very Own Girl’ and was blown away by the story and wanted to spread the word to all of us bookworms out there. What a class act this woman is!

Ashley March will have her new book, under her brand new name of Elise Rome, out probably some time next year and I for one will be here to welcome her under that name.

And as we all are waiting for it, I thought why not give you a taste of her prose? Now, get a cup of coffee, tea or whatever poison it’s the closest to you, and enjoy this short excerpt.

Clicking on the cover, you’ll find a two chapter excerpt. For further information about Elise, please click on her photo or the links provided.

EXCERPT:

“Miranda wrapped the shawl around her shoulders then returned the bonnet to her head, carefully tying the ribbons in a bow. Shadows edged her vision as she watched Mr. Astley stride back to his chair.

Envy curled in her chest at the way he moved: no tucking of the chin or stooping of the shoulders for him. No hurrying as if through dank and filthy lanes, constantly looking to the salvation of the next alley. No fear of being preyed upon inside this grand hulking town house, where servants guarded his every step and power made his words both currency and weapon.

Her gaze flew to the plate of food on his desk. The tower of food. Pastries stacked so thick and high, with golden, flaky crusts, and he ignored them all. Hadn’t even spared them a glance while toying with her earlier, moving his books into their own sturdy little tower.

Cherry. They would be cherry tarts, she was certain. The sauce sweet and voluptuous, juice exploding from the bits of fruit and gushing over her tongue. A buttery shell, so soft and moist as it crumbled against the roof of her mouth—

God. Saliva ran slick over the insides of her cheeks. Her stomach clenched with greedy fervor.

Wicked, her father had called her, for daring to seek work from a nude portraitist. Wicked, he’d said she would become, warning that her duties in such a depraved household would likely be the same as a harlot’s.

Perhaps he’d been right, Miranda thought, swaying a little. She’d stood in Astley’s house for less than an hour and already felt quite wicked. Envy and greed and taking the Lord’s name in vain. Soon she would succumb to the sins of theft and gluttony. Lust, presumably, could not be very far behind.

Astley had hired her. Hired, when everyone else had threatened to fetch the constable or sneered in her face. And all she could think about was snatching the plate of pastries and scurrying away like the mouse he’d likened her to, hunkering down in the nearest corner as she shoveled the tarts into her mouth—one, two, three…there would never be enough to calm the gnawing inside.

“Miss Post?” Suddenly he was there, in front of her again, his hand cupping her elbow.

How she resented him—for his casual disregard of the pastries, for knowing he need only ring the servants’ bell to summon more food from his kitchens. He should have emptied the plate as soon as it was delivered; the contents should now be stretching and warming his stomach rather than lying there untouched, taunting her.

He probably knew nothing of the sour taste of hunger, of these awful black shadows that dimmed sight, of the cold and numbness and hollowing inside. He’d likely dripped with sweat under the summer sun, when even at noon in August she’d been forced to wear a shawl and her thickest stockings in a futile attempt to keep warm.

Indeed, he was hotter than the sun now: the fingers he wrapped around her arm sent heat sinking into her skin, through her flesh, to her very bones. Miranda fought the instinct to lean into him, to climb up and wrap her body around his. She could steal his food and all of his heat and not have to worry about becoming hungry or cold again until the next day.

Hired. The word whispered again in her mind. She’d not yet settled her faith on it, though. It sounded like a promise. A very nice promise, but then she knew how transient promises could be. And this one wasn’t nearly as substantial as the endless ache she woke to and fell asleep with each day.

“Miss Post?” he repeated, neither altering the inquiry’s volume or tone. He seemed to employ patience like some men used a blade; it made her wary. “You denied illness yet appear as if you might collapse at any moment. And retrieving you from the floor would be very inconvenient. The mud, you see.”

The whores across from the tenement would have crawled all over themselves for a chance at Mr. Simon Astley, so kind and chivalrous was he.

“Come now,” he coaxed. She wondered whether he was conscious of stroking the inside of her elbow with his thumb, whether a caress—like patience—was just another of his preferred tools in extracting information. She wondered whether he realized there was mud at her elbow, too. “We’re not strangers anymore, are we? You may tell me the truth.”

She hadn’t said it in nearly two months. She’d rather have stolen the pastries, but his grip was too tight for her to escape. She darted another covetous glance at the plate and immediately felt her pulse throb with regret. Foolish. Foolish. Confessing her weakness in such a way.”

 

FEATURED AUTHOR:  Elise Rome [aka Ashley March]

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‘Heiress at Heart’ by Jennifer Delamere

BOOK BLURB: A youthful indiscretion has cost Lizzie Poole more than just her honor. After five years living in exile, she’s finally returning home, but she’s still living a secret life. Her best friend Ria’s dying wish was for Lizzie to assume her identity, return to London, and make amends that Ria herself would never live to make. Bearing a striking resemblance to her friend, and harboring more secrets than ever before, Lizzie embarks on a journey that tempts her reckless heart once again . . .

A committed clergyman, Geoffrey Somerville’s world is upended when he suddenly inherits the title of Lord Somerville. Now he’s invited to every ball and sought after by the matchmaking mothers of London society. Yet the only woman to capture his heart is the one he cannot have: his brother’s young widow, Ria. Duty demands he deny his feelings, but his heart longs for the mysterious beauty. With both their futures at stake, will Lizzie be able to keep up her façade? Or will she find the strength to share her secret and put her faith in true love?

EXCERPT:

In no time, James and Lucinda were ensconced in a discussion that Lizzie found impossible to follow. It seemed to baffle Geoffrey as well, and he gave Lizzie a bemused smile.

“How naughty of James to waylay Miss Cardington’s interest from you,” Lizzie whispered.

Geoffrey nodded. “We are left on our own, it seems.”

He looked more than a little pleased at this prospect, however, and Lizzie took a sip of lemonade to hide the burst of pleasure this gave her. “I am glad you will be coming to Grandmamma’s dinner party. I have missed—” She pulled up short. “That is, I shall look forward to seeing you again.”

“Have you missed me? I am sorry I have not been able to call. I have a clerk who has been helping me organize my business affairs, and unfortunately he seems to have overestimated the actual number of hours in a day.”

His manner softened as he said this, the hard control she’d seen earlier easing up a bit. Lizzie took a moment to savor looking at him, to drink in the joy of being here with him, one of the few precious moments she was storing away for a much more sorrowful day.

“May I surmise that you were not offended by the things I asked you—about my brothers, I mean?”

“No,” she said. “I wanted to share those things with you. However, later I became worried that perhaps they had stirred up unhappy memories—”

“Quite the contrary,” he interrupted. “They helped me very much.”

Their conversation seemed like nothing on the surface, within earshot of James and Lucinda. But Lizzie knew the current running beneath their words was deeper than anyone else could imagine.

Geoffrey took her hand. “I think, I hope, we are friends still, Ria.”

Friends. Given who she was, both in her real and pretended identities, she could expect nothing more. Something in her heart twisted and tumbled, knowing even this would not last. “I—yes, of course we are friends.” She licked her suddenly dry lips and tried again. “I am honored.”

Geoffrey sent a quick glance to James and Lucinda, but they were still deep in discussion. He opened his mouth to speak, but whatever he had been about to say was preempted by the arrival of Lord and Lady Cardington.

“There you are,” Lady Cardington boomed. “We have been looking for you this half hour or more.” She fanned herself. “The crowds! I did not think there were this many people in all of London.”

Geoffrey offered his hand to Lizzie. “Until next week, then.”

Lizzie nodded, trying not to dwell too much on the warmth of his hand or the way she felt oddly unmoored when he released it.

Geoffrey took Lucinda’s arm, and they followed Lord and Lady Cardington back through the crowds toward the entrance. Lizzie was struck with a pang of remorse as she watched the familiar way Geoffrey leaned in toward Lucinda to catch something she was saying.

“What a charming interlude that was,” James remarked.

“Yes,” Lizzie agreed, unable to repress a sigh. “It was.”

For my review of ‘Heiress at Heart’ please visit by clicking on Romantic Crush Junkies Reviews eZine. Thanks!

FEATURED AUTHOR: Jennifer Delamere

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‘The Mad Lord’s Daughter’ by Jane Goodger

STORY: Locked away by her reclusive and intensely protective father, the recently deceased “Mad Lord of Northumberland,” Melissa is beautiful and educated but painfully naïve about the real world–and the dark secrets of her birth. Now in the care of her uncle, the Earl of Braddock, she must prepare to enter London society and find a proper husband, a task that grows complicated when she falls for the one man she can never have. Just as a promising new life begins to eclipse her tragic past, she’ll find herself consumed by a forbidden love that could destroy it all…

REVIEW: There’s nothing worse for a reviewer then the fear that one’s review of a beloved book will be weighed, measured and found wanting.

Ms. Jane Goodger is very new to me and after only two books, her writing leaves me breathless. She weaves her stories with out most care and I find her characters, even the ones on the periphery of the story, were given an element of humanity, which brought them to life for me.

Her broken heroes or heroines always rise like a phoenix from the ashes and my heart is filled with joy watching them reach their happily ever after.

She never takes her secondary characters for granted and she cleverly incites our curiosity with them that in the end we’re left asking to know and want one of their own stories. That was the case of Miss Diane Stenhope, our heroines chaperon and Lord Braddock, the hero’s father. Their happily ever after was as much interesting as John and Melissa’s. That kind of writing takes forethought and ingenuity and the author has achieved both in this novel.

The story was paced to perfection, as our hero and heroine slowly develop a friendship and comradery, which gives both time to develop deep and lasting feelings of love for one another. Melissa grew up in such a confined enviroment, that the first thing that comes to her mind when she meets John is a feeling of awe and strong desire, not of passion, but of longing to be just like him, fearless and carefree.

If you’re looking for a story that will curl your toes with sweet, passionate and very sensual content, you won’t go wrong in picking this one up.

ARC provided by the Author.

Lord Willington and Miss Melissa Atwell of ‘A Mad Lord’s Daughter’ Interview

Ms. Friedman: It is an honor to host you both and I’m truly humbled by your visit today.  Thank you for making time in your busy schedules for this interview. Please, make yourselves at home and we shall begin….

Miss Melissa Atwell: Thank you so much for inviting us!

Lord Willington: I’ve been looking forward to it.

Ms. Friedman: Now, the questions I have are quite personal, but fun never the less. But before I get to them, tell me how have you both been since last I saw you? I believe it was only four days before your impending nuptials?

Miss Melissa Atwell: Well, we’re doing wonderfully. Very happy. John was so handsome at the wedding. And Charles was there, which I thought was very nice of him.

Lord Willington: Indeed. Though I did think he just might cold-cock me again. It was a nice wedding, wasn’t it? And Lady Willington was beautiful.

Ms. Friedman: My congratulations to both, and I guess you are now officially Lady Willington. It does have a nice ring to it, yes? Tell me, as your childhoods were vastly different, I hoped you would share with us a childhood memory that brings a smile to your face or makes you tear up?

Lady Willington: Oh, it has to be listening to my mother and father talk whilst sitting by the fire on those cold winter nights when the wind whistled outside. I can’t remember what they discussed, but it was calm and so safe. I remember thinking how wonderful it would be to love someone the way they did each other.

Lord Willington: I suppose for me it would be the time I hid my father’s braces. All of them. He chased me about the house, holding his pants up, and of course he couldn’t catch me—until I collapsed in tears, I was laughing so much. We have had so many grand times, father and I.

Ms. Friedman: That is very touching, Lady Willington. Lord Willington, it sounds like you have had and continue to have a very rare and loving relationship with your father, Lord Braddock.

You know, I was so happy to see your friendship blossom into love, but do either of you have a wish or a dream still left unfulfilled and what would that be?

Lady Willington: I would like to have the laws changed so that people are more accepting of illegitimate children.

Lord Willington: We are working on that, my colleagues and I, but it is so difficult. People have become so rigid in their beliefs.

Ms. Friedman:  With both of you giving so much of yourselves, I have no doubt that changes will happen.

I wondered if you would be so kind to share with us your greatest accomplishments and regrets thus far….

Lady Willington: I went to a country fair! Just last week. I didn’t even mind when the juggler took my hand and tried to teach me to juggle. Well, not so much. Regrets? I wish my father were alive so he could see how very happy I am.

Lord Willington: I wish I hadn’t been quite so pig-headed about love.

Ms. Friedman: Oh, I am so happy to hear that you are conquering your fears my Dear. [leaning to Lord Willington's side and in a stage whisper] Most of us knew you had no prayer after we saw you look at her, but are so happy that you came to your senses, young Man.

Now, before we get to more questions, hoe about some tea? [as both Lord and Lady Willington not with thanks I pour]. Delicious…well, where were we? Oh, yes, let’s have some fun and lighthearted questions, shall we? Lord Willington, what is Lady Willington’s weakness?

Lord Willington: Iced cream. I swear I could get her to do just about anything with the promise of some. Oh, and she’s rather fond of Darling, her dog. She’s rather big-hearted about just about everything, come to think of it.

Ms. Friedman: That’s marvelous! I love them too! Lady Willington, can you tell us what is Lord Willington’s favorite scent?

Lady Willington: He does rather seem to like the way my hair smells.

Ms. Friedman: Interesting…This question is for both of you. What is your favorite mode of transportation?

Lady Willington: The train. It’s so wonderfully fast.

Lord Willington: The train. It’s so wonderfully private [winking at his lovely wife, while she blushes].

Ms. Friedman: [smiling at both and with a cough to get their attention] Here are some questions that would make all young debutantes blush, but never the less all want to know:

Silk or cotton? Outdoors or indoors? Top or bottom?

Lady Willington: I’m afraid I don’t understand your question [as Lord Willington leans over and whispers in her ear] Oh, goodness! Silk, indoors. And both! [with a lush and a broad smile at her husband]

Lord Willington: I concur. [wagging his eyebrows at his lady, he takes her hand and softly kisses it]

Ms. Friedman: Well, this was such a delightful visit. I would like to thank Ms. Goodger for making the introductions and to both of you for being so gracious to indulge me with this visit. Before I let you go let me thank you both for an enlightening and fun visit! Please be sure to convey my regards to Lord Braddock and Miss Stanhope and give them my felicitations in regards to their upcoming nuptials.

Lady Willington: We’re so happy for them.

Lord Willington: I’m rather smug about the whole thing, actually. I’ll pass on your regards.

Ms. Friedman: Thank you and God Bless you!

I hope you all enjoyed this post and now author Jane Goodger will choose two winners to receive her new release of ‘Mad Lord’s Daughter’. ut before she does, let’s make this a bit interesting, shall we? What is your favorite mode of transportation?

*open to US only

The Making of “An Affair with Mr. Kennedy” by Jillian Stone

He’s a still-waters-run-deep kind of man, and he is one of my favorite heroes.

When I set out to write the Gentlemen of Scotland Yard, I knew my very first Yard man had to be a brave and intrepid detective as well as an intriguing, potentially explosive lover. I thought long and hard about which detective’s story I wanted to tell first, but in the end, I went straight for the stoic, aloof romantic hero.

Thinking back to the beginning, I’m sure Mr. Kennedy started out as a kind of Mr. Darcy meets Sherlock Holmes character. I wanted him to be somewhat awkward and disinterested in social situations, as well as mildly disdainful of the upper classes. At the same time he needed to be intuitive, curious, with a razor-sharp mind and a surpassing talent for lovemaking. I have an affinity for the reserved alpha male with a much less tamed side he reveals only to intimates! I think this combination, the man who is firmly in control––until he’s not, makes him YUM!

I wrote An Affair with Mr. Kennedy in such a way that the reader is gradually treated to more hidden aspects of the hero’s personality as they turn the pages. In the first chapters, Zak Kennedy is confident in a quiet, reserved way, while his taciturn demeanor can make him appear cool and detached. But give him a second glance (which he always gets because he is a handsome, imposing man) and one becomes more intrigued. As the story deepens, a somewhat more personable detective begins to emerge. There is also a magnetism to his enigmatic side, which makes a girl wonder what other charms lie beneath that stiff, high-pointed collar and those tight fitting breeches! And by the end of this romantic escapade? I hope I have created a male hero that readers will always remember.

For those of you who haven’t been introduced, a brief excerpt from An Affair with Mr. Kennedy.

Set-up: As it is raining heavily, Mr. Kennedy offers his new neighbor, the lovely young widow, Cassandra St. Cloud, a ride home in his carriage.

The heavy rain and underground rail construction conspired to make their simple commute home a miserable slog across town. London streets were in a constant state of flux, what with the Underground expansion and electrical cables laid out in street gutters. On days like today, it could easily take the better part of an hour to transect the city.

The rat-a-tat of rain, though calmative, did not dispel a chill in the air. From their brief encounter at the orphanage, he gleaned enough to surmise Cassie knew The Bloody Four as social acquaintances. He wondered if now would be a good time to broach the subject of Gerald St. Cloud with her. During their ride in the park, all that charm school business had knocked him off his game. Zeno settled into his seat, unable to stop staring at his new neighbor. Not unhappily, she appeared to return his interest.

“Do you dance, Mr. Kennedy?”

“I try to avoid it whenever possible, Mrs. St Cloud.”

She studied him with a beguiling half smile, just the barest ends of a superbly sensuous mouth turned up in quizzical amusement. “I take that to mean you do dance, but perhaps only in the course of duty. When it is forced upon you?”

She made him feel as silly as that exhaustive, tedious brother-in-law of hers. Zeno no longer tried to feign indifference toward the attractive widow, particularly since he could not seem to tear his gaze away.

He exhaled a loud sigh. “Women take pleasure dressing in evening gowns, being waltzed about a ballroom and whispering tittle-tattle.” He loosened his cravat. “Men, on the other hand, must endure high-pointed collars, feet crushed by dainty toes—and tittle-tattle.”

She pressed her lips together and formed a dimple. “The only reason I ask is I am quite sure my brother will wire back and beg off at the eleventh hour. And frankly, I’ve not much time. The ball is tomorrow evening, you see…”

Her conversation faded, accompanied by a wistful, resigned shrug. “I suppose I could always tag along with Gerald and Miss Templeton.”

He contemplated the idea of escorting her to the ball. On the yea side she provided perfect cover. He could observe the Bloody Four unawares in their milieu, take note of their friends and associates. As for the nay?

Zeno listened absently to the pattering of rain on the carriage roof. The woman frazzled him at times. Especially when she bit her lower lip and let it slip out from under pearl white teeth. Like now.

“Mrs. St. Cloud. Do you wish for me to escort you to the crush of the season?”

Her gaze slipped away, then back again. She added a nod.

“Please accept my offer of escort, as long as my company brings you greater happiness than the attentions of Lord Rosslyn.”

“It brings me a great deal more happiness, Mr. Kennedy.” The sparkle in her eyes so beguiled him, he allowed his smile to widen.

“I believe we have an engagement, madam.”

A MR. KENNEDY BACKGROUND BONUS EXTRA

For those of you who have read An Affair with Mr. Kennedy, here are a few little known facts about the first hero of the Gentlemen of Scotland Yard series, taken from my original character notes on the story!

Detective Inspector Zak Kennedy

Born: Zeno Augustus Kennedy “Zak” to his friends. (Named after Zeno of Citium, a Greek Stoic philosopher)

DOB: February 10, 1852

Birthplace: Isle of Skye, Scotland

Mother deceased, father retired school teacher. 1 brother, Ariston, works as a stillman at Talisker distillery.

Education: Fettes College, Edinburgh and St. John’s, Cambridge University. Played Rugby and sustained knee injury. Joined choir at St. John’s (has lovely tenor voice).

Military: 2nd Dragoons, Royal Scots Greys. Reassigned to intelligence work in France, then Burma.

Employment History: Resigned military commission and applied to Home Office, London. Accepted and assigned to Special Branch, Scotland Yard.

Commenters: Romantic heroes like Mr. Darcy, the archetype of the aloof romantic hero, have long been the stars of romance fiction. Who’s your favorite reserved alpha male? Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, John Bates from Downton Abbey, Jack from Lost, or someone else?

I have three copies to giveaway of An Affair with Mr. Kennedy. A signed copy to a US and a Canadian commenter and a copy (unsigned) to an International commenter (via Book Depository).

To connect with Jillian Stone-Facebook and Tweeter.

‘An Affair with Mr. Kennedy’ by Jillian Stone

STORY: London, 1887. Part stoic gentleman, part fearless     Yard man, Zeno “Zak” Kennedy is an enigma of the first order. For years, the memory of a deadly bombing at King’s Cross has haunted the brilliant Scotland Yard detective. His investigation has zeroed in on a ring of aristocratic rebels whose bloody campaign for Irish revolution is terrorizing the city. When he discovers one of the treacherous lords is acquainted with his free-spirited new tenant, Cassandra St. Cloud, his inquiry pulls him unexpectedly close to the heart of the conspiracy and into the arms of a most intriguing lady.

And Cassie is no Victorian prude. An Impressionist painter with very modern ideas about life and love, she is eager for a romantic escapade that is daring and discreet. She sets her sights on her dour but handsome landlord, but after she learns their meeting was not purely accidental, she hardly has a chance to forgive her lover before their passionate affair catapults them both into a perilous adventure.

REVIEW: The above blurb perfectly summarizes the gist of the story, and gives you just the right amount of ‘bate’ to lure you in, and once you start reading, you’re sucked into the story that is perfectly balanced between the pace and plot, but always and without a doubt character driven to a point that a reader is living the emotions of the characters and feeling the danger around them.

I was thoroughly engrossed and fascinated with this unique romance. And let me tell you, this was a romance in every sense of that word. Even though our heroine comes from a self-admitted ‘bohemian’ family, she is a woman who knows exactly who she is and what she wants. No excuses, no apologies. I think that’s what attracts our hero to her, her ‘individuality’ was unique, and she was a stunner, too! For a man who has always taken himself and his job seriously, he desperately needed someone of Cassie’s caliber to take that ‘bit of starch’ out of his collar and expose him for the charmer and romantic that he really was. A scene in which they walk through the door after a weekend with her family, she’s going through a pile of messages, (mostly his, handing it to him), was so sweet and romantic, it will melt your heart…

“’…I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to receive messages for me. I hope you don’t mind.’ He leaned close and stole a fleeting kiss to her neck, just under the earlobe.

Aroused from a stimulating carriage ride home, her body tingled from his brief caress. ‘It would seem the neighborly thing to do.’

A grand new flower arrangement had been placed on the round pedestal table in the middle of the reception hall. As Zeno opened one communiqué after another, she gravitated toward the stunning new bouquet. Opening the hand written envelope, she removed a gilt-edged card.

For a glorious weekend. And might I further express my appreciation with a kiss placed just beneath your ear?

All my affection,

          Zac”

While this suspenseful romance set in Victorian era is chock full of historical detail so well written that you will see the London streets, women riding bicycles in their bloomers, railway and even a roadster in your mind’s eye, make no mistake, its sensuality will take your breath away.

Everything in this story played out like a movie, from the sophisticated, fun and witty dialogue to the supporting characters that were vivid and three-dimensional and intriguing and entertaining as much as our main protagonists. I would love to know more about Scarlet aka Kitty Matthews, his brothel informant and Scotland Yard blokes, Rafe Lewis and Flynn Rhys. What cool dudes they were! And what about his ‘sleuth in training’ housekeeper, Alma Woolsley? She was great! This story will not only appeal to us hardcore romance lovers, but to all of you ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and even ‘Dr. Who’ fans.

Ms. Jillian Stone wrote a novel that is different from anything I’ve read and its uniqueness makes it memorable. Way to go, Ms. Stone! Listen well, my little Bookworms, if you’re looking for a novel that will get your heart rate up with its sensuality, action and sweet romance, all at the same time, this is the book for you as well! I will be eagerly awaiting the next one, and the next…