Happy Holidays, Readers and Friends

 Here we are! It's almost Christmas.

For me, the gift this year is that I've gotten through a very difficult six months involving COVID, my mother, my job, packing and moving (for the last time, I swear!) and moving into a new place. There were also some emotional stressors that I usually don't experience. I almost feel like writing one of those 'stressors' as the villain in my next manuscript!!!

So, I am ready for the new year with plans to write like CRAZY. I've got an actual writing commitment for an anthology that is coming along nicely though I have changed my hero from one obvious choice to a secondary character that just popped into the second scene in my book. Love when that happens!!!

To all my readers, I hope you have a joyful, blessed and meaningful Christmas. And my gift to you... I'll try to keep my motivation up to continue to write interesting romances.

Greetings and updates

 Sometimes I am just shocked by how much time passes between blog posts. Even commitments to post "once a week" get lost in the shuffle.

So, what am I working on:

Book 4, Infamous Forresters, about brother Oliver and the mysterious Lavina. I still don't have a name for this work.

Book 5, Infamous Forresters, titled Miss Sinclair Dares It All, about Virginia Sinclair and brother Nicolas. Oliver and Nicolas are twins, so I am lightly coordinating their stories. Not as easy as I thought it might be.

A new book titled The Thomas Browne Affair as part of the Love and Other Curiosities Boxed Set due out late next year. This has been a fun story to write and is currently getting all my time.

Wicked Affairs

Wicked Affairs.

Marriages to die for.

Or cheat, steal and lie for.

 

Available for review at Booksprout

 Hi Readers -

If any of you are interested, I still have a few copies of Wicked Scoundrel left for review over at Booksprout. Below is the connection. It's a FREE read but there is an expectation of a review, both from me and Booksprout (to maintain integrity of their review program offerings.)

https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/88089/wicked-scoundrel

Thank you! E.

WICKED SCOUNDREL book cover reveal

If writing is baking, then book covers are the cream cheese frosting on top of my sexy cinnamon roll. I love getting my covers back from the visionary Dar Albert at Wicked Smart Designs. What makes Dar so great is she gets my idea for the cover without having to write a 5,000-word essay!

So, here is the long-awaited cover for Book Seven in the Wicked Affairs series - titled WICKED SCOUNDREL. And don't worry, there are more books planned.

Excerpt:

Rose Elliston, the Duchess of Sandhurst, kept her arm firmly wound with Anne VanLandingham’s, Pelham's eccentric duchess, though the two weren’t fast friends. In public, Anne never shied from her reputation, which somehow protected the person she was with, which was just what Rose needed—to be unnoticed.

“I received a letter from the abbess this morning. She wants me to visit again,” Rose said in a low voice.

“That was rather timely,” Anne replied. “Perhaps there are more nobles in debt than I had imagined.”

Rose took a deep breath. There were no right decisions, only expedient ones.

“You are not having second thoughts are you, dear?” Anne asked.

“Do I really want to tie myself to a man who is incapable of managing his own finances?” Rose asked. Oh, if that were really her only problem!

“The pool of suitors is limited. You haven’t told me the particulars of your urgent situation, though I’ve always prided myself on my intuition. In this case, time is more important than money, hence my suggestion for a man indebted. Reverse the tables for once. When your marriage contract is prepared, demand that you provide him a quarterly allowance and let it be known that you will not cover any of his new gaming debts. Then avoid him for the duration of your marriage, except for the childbearing.”

Rose laughed. She had to - the situation was so ridiculous and desperate.

“I will attend her as soon as possible. I only wanted to tell you that your idea had born fruit. Hopefully there is more than one to choose from,” Rose said.

“What? One bad and one worse?” the duchess said and laughed. “Oh, that was rude of me, but then I’m not known for precise etiquette.” If Rose remembered rightly, Anne was a coalminer's daughter from Wales, who happened to be extraordinarily beautiful. They stopped beneath a large oak. “Do you want me to escort you back to Madame DuPuis’? I would be happy to do so."

“Thank you, but this is about my future. You didn’t need to offer advice, you know. I would have figured out a solution eventually.”

“When one of my peers’ cries at one of my splendid balls, it is my highest duty to help resolve the situation. We duchesses must stand firm together, you know. But do come to Grosvenor Square afterward and we can gossip about the lords in debt to the abbess.” Anne patted Rose’s hand. “And you are not to worry. After you choose your new spouse, Rand and I will host you at our home and set you firmly on the path to social acceptance, duchess or not. When I am done with the two of you, it will be as if everyone fully expected the two of you to marry all along!”

COMING SOON!

 

Wicked Scoundrel coming soon

You are about to meet them! Rose Elliston, the Duchess of Sandhurst and Matthew Hardy, Lord of Nothing. 

Wicked Scoundrel edits are finishing up now and I just got the cover back yesterday. I know you've all been waiting patiently for a new edition to the Wicked Affairs series. Book Seven is full of marital angst along with all the hotness you've come to expect from this series. Stayed Tuned!

Missing Muse

Hello friends and readers,

Springtime is here again! While the days are bright and the weather perfect, I am finding very little motivation to write. Just spent the week with family doing Spring Break things that involved more sand than I really care for... :) But I do like the water, so I bore it cheerfully.

So, what's up with writing? I mentioned a few months ago I finished a new book for a publisher's series, which has some very specific characters and themes. I submitted it to that publisher at the end of January - and I've been depressed about it ever since. If I don't hear at the end of eight weeks, I'm going to do some rewrites on it. It will fit nicely into my Wicked Affairs series, but I do have to change a couple of characters.

I have my Wicked Affairs title ready, which I will tell you if/when I hear in the negative on my submission. Gah, I remember why I don't like to send my work off. Just the time it takes, the waiting, the doubts - and then if they say yes - a whole lot more waiting for a publishing date, etc.

Also, I've started a new Regency. I'm about 6,000 words in, but I'm thinking about changing my character traits. What I thought would be my hero's personality would be more interesting for a woman. Perhaps a bit tougher to write though... We'll see.

Coming Soon

I'm just wrapping a 75,000-word manuscript! This one is a little different. I've written this on spec for a submission to a publisher. This will be my second attempt for this series, so if I get turned down on this attempt, it's going to be part of my Wicked Affairs series instead. To do that I will have some revisions to make before I can get it up for sale. It's just a relief to have the story done - it's been an intense writing spree. Much faster than I normally write.

Also, let me know what you think of my H/h calling cards. It's a new marketing idea I had. Gives you a quick idea about the book, doesn't it?