Christmas With The Marquis

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. A randomly drawn winner will receive $15 PayPal cash. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

When an arrogant Marquis’s seduction fails, he plans a Xmas celebration at his country estate. Inviting the one girl who not only rejects him but seems to hate him is part of his plan to win her. His scheming soon turns to much more than decorating the house for Xmas. Abigail’s beauty incites a plan for revenge on the Marquis by his most depraved enemy, who is bent on kidnapping and raping Abigail. Can the Marquis save her and make this a merry Christmas after all?

Enjoy an excerpt:

Abigail called after them. “Galoshes are by the back door. Gloves and scarves also. You don’t want to wear your best clothes on an expedition like this, gentlemen”

She leaned back in her chair and watched them go. Startled, but pleased, she hurried to her own rooms to change into riding clothes and tall boots. She adored tramping in the woods and how could she not join in the search for the perfect Yule log? After scarcely a thought she pulled on the breeches she wore when she was riding at home with no one caring what she did. She pulled on her riding boots, although she picked her second-best pair. Who knew what such wonderful snow would do to good boots?

She ran lightly down the steps to the back door. A small screech escaped her when the felt herself hauled against a strong chest, and looked up in astonishment at a livid Jason glaring down at her. Maybe not Jason, right now. No, definitely the Marquis. An irate Marquis, giving her a good swat on her rear and glaring at her.

“Don’t you even think of trying to escape me, you little fool. You’re not at your country home. You’re at mine, with some of the most licentious noblemen in London who’d be delighted to see you so scantily clothed. Do you want them to line up at your door tonight, you vexatious idiot?”

Abigail simply stared at him for a moment, her temper ready to boil over, when he suddenly softened, ran his hands over her hips and around her waist and pulled her against him. His kiss was hot and blazing, lingering at her lips with his tongue pushing into her mouth in a dizzying display of passion that had her clinging to his coat lapels.

“My god, Abigail, how am I going to stay away from you?”

He lay his forehead softly against her hair and softly caressed her well rounded bottom.

Stunned, she couldn’t think of a thing to say. She wrenched herself away and fled back to her room. She’d simply not thought of anything but her own comfort and that wonderful snow. Of course a woman didn’t appear in breeches at a house party for London aristocrats! Not unless there was a hunt scheduled or good riding was available.

She was an idiot.

How could she face Jason, and indeed her grandmother? And she herself was supposed to be chaperoning Bettina?

Burying her face in her hands, she tried to shut out her regretful thoughts. The fact that her every thought centered on Jason and his reactions didn’t even occur to her.

She didn’t see the lascivious face of Lord Wilcombe, earl of Wilmington, watching them from a corner of the hallway.

About the Author:

Jean feels she’s very much a Californian although she was born in Ohio. California has been home for a good many years. Life changed drastically for her when she was six and her father died incredibly from an errant golf ball. A dishonest insurance agent forced her sheltered mother to seek work, and she became a teacher. Her hours required Jean to be alone in the house in the afternoon, and since she was forbidden to leave till her mother got home, she became an avid reader. The local library supplied most of the books and she developed early her two of main interests, Jane Austen and King Arthur.

Reading is still one of her favorite activities, although she sometimes has to push it aside to make room for her enduring love of writing. Her journalism degree was used infrequently until recently. Marriage and raising two children pleasantly got in the way. After twenty years of being a real estate broker and with the kids raised she finally could devote her time to writing, her first love.

Jean's enchantment with the lore and legends of Druids and, therefore, delving into their history led to fascinating research that inspired her popular Garland of Druids Series for Cerridwen Press. She's now enjoying writing stories filled with magic and romance for her Songs of the Mages Series, also for Cerridwen Press.

Few things in her life have been so satisfying, especially when all her books have a happy ending. Wonderful to make happen. It only gets more interesting when a secondary character demands his very own book. Who would want to deny him? Not Jean! "She has recently left Cerridwen and Ellora's Cafe Press and is now writing exclusively for MuseItUp, the largest Canadian publisher. "

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1771239.Jean_Hart_Stewart
http://www.jeanhartstewart.com/
https://www.facebook.com/authorjeanhartstewart
https://twitter.com/JeanHartStewart

Buy the book at Amazon or MuseItUp Publishing.

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The Reluctant Bride: Winner of the Choc-Lit Australian Star Competition

The Reluctant Bride

by Beverley Eikli

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

BLURB:

Winner of the Choc-Lit Australian Star competition!

Emily Micklen is proud, passionate – and left with no option after the death of her loving fiancé, Jack, but to marry the scarred, taciturn, soldier who needs to secure a well-connected wife.

Major Angus McCartney hopes that marriage to the unobtainable beauty whose confident gaze about the ballroom once failed to register his presence will offer both of them a chance to put the past to rest.

Emily’s determination to be faithful to Jack’s memory is matched only by Angus’s desire to win her with honour and action. Sent to France on a mission of national security, Angus discovers how deeply Emily has been duped, but the secrets he uncovers lead them both into danger. Can Angus and Emily unmask the real conspirators before they lose everything?

 

 

EXCERPT:

 

‘It’s not a sin, unless you get caught.’

 The gentle breeze seemed to whisper Jack’s teasing challenge, its soft, silken fingers tugging at Emily’s ingrained obedience. She put down her basket and stared with longing at the waters below, sweat prickling her scalp beneath her poke bonnet as desire warred with fear of the consequences.

 ‘Where’s your sense of adventure, Em?’

 Still resisting, Emily closed her eyes, but the wind’s wicked suggestiveness was like the caress of Jack’s breath against her heated cheek; daring Emily to shrug aside a lifetime of dutiful subservience – again – and peel off her clothes, this time to plunge into the inviting stream beneath the willows.

 She imagined Jack’s warm brown eyes glinting with wickedness. Taunting her like the burr that had worked its way into the heel of her woollen stockings during her walk.

 Exhaling on a sigh, Emily opened her eyes and admitted defeat as she succumbed to the pull of the reed-fringed waters.

 Desire had won, justified by practicality. If she had to remove one stocking to dislodge the burr she might as well remove both.

 Scrambling down the embankment, she lowered herself onto a rock by the water’s edge. Her father would never know. If he glanced from his study in the tower room, where he was doubtless gloating over his balance sheet, he’d assume she was a village lass making her way along the track. Emily had never seen him interest himself in the poor except …

 Like most unpleasant memories, she tried to cast this one out with a toss of her head, still glad her father had never discovered what she’d witnessed from her bedroom window one evening five years ago: the curious sight of Bartholomew Micklen ushering the beggar girl who’d arrived on his doorstep into his carriage. Then climbing in after her before it rumbled down the driveway and out of sight.

Now was just another of those moments when Emily was glad her father remained in ignorance. Her insurance, should she need it, was that she knew a few of her father’s secrets the excise men might just want to know.

 By the time the first stocking had followed Emily’s boots onto the grassy bank she was bursting with anticipation for her swim.

 What did one more sin matter when she’d be Mrs Jack Noble in less than a week?

 

 

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Beverley Eikli is the author of eight historical romances published by Pan Macmillan Momentum, Robert Hale, Ellora's Cave and Total-e-Bound. Recently she won UK Women's Fiction publisher Choc-Lit's Search for an Australian Star competition with her suspenseful, spy-based Regency Romance The Reluctant Bride.

She's been shortlisted twice for a Romance Readers of Australia Award in the Favourite Historical category — in 2011 for  A Little Deception, and in 2012 for her racy Regency Romp, Rake's Honour, written under her Beverley Oakley pseudonym.

Beverley wrote her first romance when she was seventeen. However, drowning the heroine on the last page was, she discovered, not in the spirit of the genre so her romance-writing career ground to a halt and she became a journalist.

After throwing in her job on South Australia's metropolitan daily The Advertiser to manage a luxury safari lodge in the Okavango Delta, in Botswana, Beverley discovered a new world of romance and adventure in a thatched cottage in the middle of a mopane forest with the handsome Norwegian bush pilot she met around a camp fire.

Eighteen years later, after exploring the world in the back of Cessna 404s and CASA 212s as an airborne geophysical survey operator during low-level sorties over the French Guyanese jungle and Greenland's ice cap, Beverley is back in Australia teaching in the Department of Professional Writing & Editing at Victoria University, as well as teaching Short Courses for the Centre of Adult Education and Macedon Ranges Further Education.

She writes Regency Historical Intrigue as Beverley Eikli and erotic historicals as Beverley Oakley.

 

Beverley won the Choc Lit Search for an Australian Star competition with The Reluctant Bride.

 

Shortlisted for the 2012 Australian Romance Readers Award for her novel Rake's Honour

 

Finalist in the 2011 Australian Romance Readers Awards for her novel A Little Deception.

 

Links:

http://beverleyoakley.com/Beverley_Oakley/Welcome.html

 

https://www.facebook.com/beverley.eikli?ref=tn_tnmn

 

Beverley is giving away a $20 Amazon/B&N gift certificate, so follow her tour and comment often.  You can find her tour at

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/08/book-blast-reluctant-bride-by-beverley.html

 

 

 

 

 

Cosmetics and Regency Ladies by Guest Blogger Amy Corwin

You're going to like this author, folks. Join me in welcoming Amy Corwin to the blog. Amy, I love this!

If you’re like me, you’re always fascinated by potions, lotions and cosmetics. Maybe it’s the idea that you can stave off the effects of time and find that perfect solution that will let you—finally—catch the attention of that guy you’ve been lusting after. Maybe it’s just the fun of pampering yourself for a few minutes out of your busy life.

In any case, this idea is not new. Throughout history, women (and men) have created cosmetics to smooth their skin and make them attractive to the ones they desire.
So it’s not surprising to discover that Sarah Sanderson, the heroine of the historical romance, The Bricklayer’s Helper, is desperate to find that elixir that will dissolve years of sun damage and make her beautiful. However, Sarah is not your typical Regency lady, and a good face cream is more of a necessity than a luxury. She’s lived a hard life as a bricklayer’s helper for more than a dozen years, and it has left the inevitable marks on her face and hands.

You see the character of Sarah is based upon a real Regency woman who, after being orphaned at an early age, decided it was better to live as a man and find honest work then live on the streets as a prostitute-one of the few jobs open to females alone in the world. So like that brave woman, Sarah labors hard outdoors for thirteen years until the person who murdered her family discovers her identity.

However, when she enlists the aid of an inquiry agent, William Trenchard, she soon finds herself in the awkward position of wishing to make herself more attractive to the man she’s trying very hard not to fall in love with.

So, what would she do?

Her first stop might be the ladies’ magazine, La Belle Assemblée. This wonderful periodical often had recipes in it for skin lotions and tinctures, as well as descriptions and pictures of the latest fashions. Herbals were also full of natural remedies. Some, like rose water, are still in use today by those who enjoy making their own beauty supplies.

The following is a recipe Sarah would definitely use to fade her unbecoming tan and make herself more beautiful to her handsome hero, William.

Crême de l’Enclos

Use this every morning and night to remove a tan.
Take half a pint of milk and mix with the juice of a lemon and a spoonful of white brandy. Boil and skim of all scum. When cool, it is ready to use.

I’ve been tempted to try that, myself, as gardening has created a few brown spots that I’d love to get rid of. Lemon juice as historically been used for fading spots and lightening hair, so it’s not surprising to find it used in this lovely Regency potion.

And now, here is an excerpt from Sarah and William’s story…

Book: The Bricklayer’s Helper
Published by: The Wild Rose Press
Publisher website: http://www.thewildrosepress.com
Release date: Aug 6, 2010
Author: Amy Corwin
Author website: http://www.amycorwin.com

In this scene, Sarah has pushed William a little too far and she’s about to get everything she deserves…and then some.

Excerpt from The Bricklayer’s Helper

“Get back into bed, or I’ll put you there.”

Her eyes turned silver as she studied him, her head cocked to one side. “If you think you can, I recommend you try."

“I don’t foresee any difficulties,” he said, striding toward her. After all the stabbing and head-bashing, he thought she’d have enough sense to stay abed.
Obviously, he was wrong.

He deliberately came to a stop mere inches from her, hoping to discomfort her at least half as much as she had discomforted him since their first meeting.
She stared at him, her chin thrust out at a mutinous angle. Although she blinked a few times, she didn’t back away.

He glowered.

Her eyes blinked more rapidly.

So he did the only thing he could think of that would put the fear of God into her soul.

He leaned nearer and kissed her.



Amy, thanks for coming. Your book sounds absolutely fabulous, and I think I'll try that potion myself. The stuff my dermatologist gave me didn't do much good to get rid of spots. If I have good luck I'll report back.

Laura Hogg Stopped By

Hello, there. It's week two of my Wings month, and today's special guest is author Laura Hogg. I got to know Laura a year or so ago when I reviewed The Twelfth Kiss for her. I enjoyed the book so I'm glad she could be here. If you're interested in either submitting a manuscript to Wings or checking out their books you can do so at http://www.wings-press.com.

Remember that if you leave a comment for any one of the authors your name will be entered in a drawing for a copy of my Wings release The Welcome Inn.

Okay, let's get to that interview. Laura, thanks for stopping by.

Laura: It was my pleasure.

1.For the benefit of anyone not familiar with your work, can you tell us how you became a writer? Is it something you always wanted to do? When I was a little girl, I played piano and wrote poetry. Growing up, I wrote stories and songs, being in a rock band. In college, I wrote stories. Then one day, in my thirties, I got the courage to submit my first story to a publisher.

Music and writing, for me, were always intertwined. It was my goal as a youth to someday get a book published. It was a scary thing, submitting.

2.I know what you mean about scary. I still get scared when I submit something. Tell us about your writing. What genres do you write in, etc.
I mostly write historicals, romance, and paranormals, and some modern-day. I love history and research stuff all over the map of time. My next story to come out will be a Western, Emma the Outlaw. Let’s see, with Wings ePress, I have a story called The 12th Kiss. It’s an adventurous story set in 1820 London.

With other publishers, I have a variety of work out. One of my novels, Romeo vs. Juliet, is a time-travel. The hero is an Elizabethan man, and the heroine is a modern-day women. When my hero does something bad, his wife chases him through many eras in history, and they have quite a time of it. My novel, For the Love of a Queen, is a post-apocalyptic novel set in the near future.

My novella, Double Vision, is a paranormal where the hero and heroine fall in love on the astral plane.

My short stories are various, from Medieval to the 1920s, and my work ranges from sweet to very steamy.

3.Do your family and friends know you’re a writer? If so, what was their reaction? They know. My mom was very supportive. I lost her recently and dedicated my one and only Inspirational Romance to her.

My dad, a sister, husband, and daughter are also supportive. My daughter is also a writer, but her style is very different than mine.

4.If you could travel back in time which era would you pick? (I bet I know the answer to this one. I’ve read the book.) Hard choice. Aw, thanks, Elaine. That is very sweet. Thanks for reading my book. The Regency was a fascinating time, that’s for sure, but as a female, gosh, this choice is difficult…I’d have to say maybe the 1920s because women gained a lot more freedom. I'm currently researching this exciting era. I’d tell my friends to save money and not invest in the stock market, if I could go back there. ;) But if I could just drop in for a day or two and observe, I’d really like to hear Jesus speak in person.

5.How long did it take you to write The Twelfth Kiss? Here’s the strange thing. It usually takes me a lot longer to write a book, but…well, let me backtrack for a sec, at that time in my life, I was yet unpublished. I was going through something very stressful and prayed for help. I, as a Catholic, also asked the Angel Raphael to add his prayers to mine. One day shortly after, I woke up and felt inspired, and this story came out in a mad rush. I was so inspired, in fact, that I named a main character Raphael.

Then I put the story up with a large critique group for many months. (The revisions took longer than the writing of the first draft). The Regency era was new to me at the time, and I was still researching that time in history and fixing things in the novel as I learned new details. Most people in the group were great and offered me wonderful advice on how to tighten up the novel. It was a lot of work, but fun! However, there was one Regency expert who tore the book up to shreds and was harsh in her criticism. It discouraged me so bad that I almost gave up writing. After days of sadness, I lifted my chin, so to speak, and forged ahead.

I polished the novel with the advice of many people to help and submitted it, my first, to a publisher. It got rejected. Months later, that publisher went out of business. The second publisher, Wings ePress, accepted it! Wings, what a coincidence.

I got the email at night—my first book contract! And called up my mom. She was so happy for me.

6.That's an inspirational story, Laura. Thank you so much for sharing. What’s your writing day like? Well, currently, I'm the breadwinner, because my husband was laid off. I work at a little school during the day helping out kids and adults with reading disabilities. It’s a great job with the best bosses. Then I come home at night and plop down at the computer and write/research for hours at a time.

7.Are you working on anything right now? If so, can you share a little with us. I'm working on many things right now. I have several under contract at this time and have yet to get assigned editors for those. Those stories differ greatly: one is a Victorian novella, others vary from modern-day stories about a female rock musician (hmm, wonder where I got that idea from, lol) to paranormal (A lady has to go to hell and steal the keys from the gatekeeper to hell, gets down there and discovers it’s her ex-lover) to many other types of stories, including a screenplay.

8.If you could meet any author in the world, who would it be? Someone who would be open to reading my work! (Why does the little guy get ignored so often? When I buy books, I often go for an unknown author first). I have a multitude of library cards and use them. Good thing I take the bus home from work and can get in more reading time.

9.Give us your links so we can find you on the web. Be sure to tell us where we can find your books.
This is the addy for my paranormal blog:
http://traveltheages.blogspot.com/
If anyone who writes paranormal would like a guest spot there, please let me know. Authors should help each other out when possible. We’re all in this together, right? I believe there’s room up at the top for all of us.

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/l_hogg

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/editpicture.php#/profile.php?id=626483435&ref=profile

My husband is currently putting together another web site for me, so I don’t have one right now.

The 12th Kiss (set in 1820): http://www.facebook.com/editpicture.php#/profile.php?id=626483435&ref=profile

Double Vision (paranormal):
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/paranormal/romance/double-vision/prod_74.html

Romeo vs. Juliet (time-travel), For the Love of a Queen (post-apocalyptic), Copacetic and Baby Vamp (Vintage 1920s—nothing to do with vampires, lol):
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/laura-hogg-m-166.html?zenid=0822b8b1803fd9539238850b75325206

Isanne’s Revelation (Medieval time-travel, Inspirational Romance)
http://www.whiterosepublishing.com/cartage.html?main_page=index&cPath=154

Emma the Outlaw (Western):
http://eirelander.webs.com/emmatheoutlaw.htm

And others under contract but not out yet.

10.Would you share an excerpt from The Twelfth Kiss?
At one-thirty a.m. a lord dressed in breeches laced over a pair of fine shoes, a quality shirt, a lush white cravat with a diamond pin sparkling within its folds and a velvet trimmed coat pushed open the door, dripping wet; long, drenched strands of blond hair sticking to his neck, and falling to his shoulders; and he gripped a pistol at his side. He was accompanied by an angry-looking stout man even bigger in muscle size than he was, nicely dressed as well, but obviously not a lord, more like an American. The lord strode across the room with his friend and sat at the bar, great perturbation marring his features. He ordered a drink and slammed it down. He gestured rapidly for another. The innkeeper poured him one.

“What troubles you this night, my lord?”

“My wife has been kidnapped. My brother-in-law and I are searching around here. I have others looking elsewhere. Have you seen anything unusual this way tonight?”

Chuckling caused him to turn around.

“Is something funny?”


Laura, thank you so much for the interview. I'll look forward to reading more of your work.