Free Title - Imogene

Hi Everyone,

I don't know if you've seen my push for the FREE book Imogene. This is the first in the Imogene Farrell Series - 4 books about the irrepressible heroine of Victorian England. I've always felt this is one of my best series, maybe because Imogene is one of my best heroines. She's true to herself, determined and always looking out for her family.

This FREEBIE is available for a limited time! Hope you enjoy this one and the other books in the series. Jump over to the PAGES section if you want to get more information for all of the books. Also, the series is available in a bundle and that is still cheaper than buying the other 3 books as individuals.

Amazon Link for Imogene

Also available at most other major retails stores.

Release Day: The Frenchman's Widow

It's the new year and I forgot to make a list of resolutions. So let me make one now: I resolve to continue writing novels.

And... Here is the next one.

The Frenchman's Widow is book three in the Imogene Farrell series. I love this girl. She's a true changeling, masquerading as a boy and trying to stay alive in Victorian London. When her brothers are on the run from the law, she hides with Mary Fitzpatrick, an old friend of her deceased mother.

There, Imogene learns some of the ways of lady and what she doesn't know, she can mimic. Her old foes are still looking for her and when she is at her most desperate, Jack Davenport, sweeps into her life to rescue her. In exchange, she agrees to be his mistress.

It is no hardship for Imogene. She has loved him for the first moment they met.

But when Jack marries, he and Imogene separate. Imogene can't be the other woman in Jack's life and she can't trust the man Jack calls his friend - Geoffrey Shiffington. Without her brothers, Imogene isn't safe in London so escapes to Paris where fortune is more kind.

The Frenchman's Widow picks up five years later, when Imogene returns to London to attend her brother Charlie's graduation from King's College seminary. Unbeknown to her, Jack has helped Charlie with his education and his acceptance at King's. Jack also provided a suitable job for Danny at one his farms in Deal.

Jack really has been a god-send to the Farrells. Only Jack is still married. Time hasn't dulled Imogene's feelings for him. Accepting that Jack will never be hers, she sets about building a life for herself, her family and the tide of children who find their way to Imogene's door.

I should mention Dar Albert - she designed these series covers for me. And I JUST LOVE THIS ONE. It is so Imogene - showing her determination.

I hope you enjoy this novel. The final book, Lady Prescott's Confidential Matter, will be out next month, which you can pre-order now.

A Christmas Giveaway Extravaganza

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and to celebrate the holidays I am giving away ebooks! What you sayz? Yep, all of the ebooks I have released are eligible (and are still "in print" and not including anthologies). 



Is there a book missing from your collection? Or are you just starting out and not sure what to read?









Here's all you gotta do: 

1) On the front page of my blog sign up for Eliza by Email
2) In the comments of this thread, tell me which ebook you want - don't forget your email address and how you want the book delivered (Nook, Kindle, etc.) The first person to tag/claim one of my ebook wins it. If someone beats you to the book you wanted, post a second choice in another comment. We'll do this until one of each book has been claimed or until December 31st. Oh, and one win per person.

Remember: First person to claim a book by its title, wins it!

I'm limiting this to Kindle, Nook and Ellora's Cave, since I have accounts with each of them.

Imogene Farrell - Book cover reveal

I've got a new series coming up, something near and dear to my heart, mostly because I love the tough, foul-mouthed orphan Imogene Farrell.

I'm showing the covers here but jump over to the series page and you can also see the blurbs for each book.

I have the lovely Dar Albert to thank. It wasn't easy to find a cover model that would work for all four covers, but she got close.  I absolutely love the Book Three cover for the Frenchman's widow - it is so absolutely perfect for that book. Right now, I'm targeting November 1st as the release date for book one!

                       

Imogene's World

Greetings, friends. The days pass quickly especially when time must be spent between an EDJ and writing... And the one thing that always seems to get neglected is the blog.

So what have I been doing?

I'm spending my allocated television time obsessing over Outlander, re-watching Part One of Season One. Only twenty days to go until we get new episodes. There have been some great interviews with the Outlander cast and crew. I hope you haven't missed them. This is the sort of epic I dream of writing.

Well I am working on an interesting project at the moment. Needless to say it is a historical novel but with this one, I am straddling the Regency/Victorian eras. I'm calling it my Dickensian novel. It is a four part story with two parts per book - the total word count is going to push 180,000 words so, for me, it will be a pretty big undertaking. I am currently writing Part Four, the final, glorious phase of my heroine's life.

Let me tell you about Imogene. In my mind, I see her as "Olivia" Twist. A street urchin with three brothers who manage to get by on the streets of London. She is on the cusp of womanhood and a certain madame wants Imogene to whore for her - a situation Imogene is resigned to. She has also met a certain gentleman who has taken an interest in her.

Imogene falls in love with Jack, knowing they will never be together. But he is fun and he is willing to pay her well for a few months of her time. Needless to say she is left heartbroken.

In Part Two, we find out what Imogene has been up to. She is a new woman, the widow of a respected Parisian merchant. And upon her return to London, she runs into the love of her life.

Will Jack break her heart all over again?

The setting in the first part of the novel is London but the second part is set in Brighton so I'm getting to know the town and its amazing Royal Pavilion, Chain Pier and other locales. Plus the Brighton and London Railway.

 I'm hoping Imogene will be available for sale sometime this summer with back to back releases.

She doesn't believe in curses...until after the ball

Was the rapid beating of her heart a mere symptom of disloyalty? Or a greater excitement? The ball, her scandalous dress—the mysterious and desirable man before her?

So why hadn’t she determinedly said no? The idea should have been dismissed with an arrogant wave of her hand and a haughty lift of her brow.

The skin at his neck was tanned but not overly so, as if he might spend time out of doors. His hands were roughened but not unpleasantly. His cologne, what she could smell, was light, fresh and not overbearing. Underneath the costume and faux accent, he was a gentleman in language and manner but he was not a dandy. His behavior was that of a cautious rake, subtly testing her will and resistance to determine if she had either. Was he playing a part too?

With little willful intent, just a natural curiosity to know who this man was, she stroked her finger over the skin of his neck. Contemplation of his question was a surprise. What was she worth? And was she really considering such a shocking—outrageous—proposal?

“I know a private place,” he said, assuming her lack of response was acquiescence. Maybe it was.

Was sin only about circumstance, she wondered? Here, at this ball, dancing with a stranger, he presented an unthinkable opportunity. What a strange word to describe something so inherently wrong. And something so foolishly dangerous.

An occasion to sin, that’s what this was.

An occasion to do something delightfully wicked, scandalous in magnitude and unforgivable if discovered.

Purchase AN OCCASION TO SIN here!

St. George's Church - both of them

If you've ever read a Regency romance (or Georgian or Victorian,) it is likely you've heard of St. George's Church at Hanover Square. And this church should not be confused with St. George's Bloomsbury, not far away, just down Oxford Street. We're going to talk about that church too.

The parish church of Mayfair is endowed with the romanticism of the time. Here society's elite, at least in the fictional world of a historical romance writer's imagination, are married with all ton nobles in attendance.


The church was one of the Fifty Churches project included in the Queen Anne's Act of 1711. This church was built between 1721-1724. John James was the designer.

First the bad news. The church isn't that big. I may be wrong, but I would be surprised if the church held 250 people. I'm still looking for this information and hopefully I will have it by the time I'm ready to post this blog. The church has an open nave with aisles; the overhead galleries supported by large wooden beams. There is a great pipe organ at the back of the church, or behind you as you enter from St. George's Street. I have some great videos of the interior but they aren't loading to the blog. Sorry.

I was last in St. George's around Christmas time in 2012. I was the only person in the church aside from an organist, who remained hidden from me. However, the music the mysterious musician played resounded throughout the church. I sat in one of the pews for about fifteen minutes and enjoyed the peaceful interlude. The church is famous for its musical traditions and was the home of George Handel for nearly 34 years and is currently the venue for the London Handel Festival.

Aside from the German Handel, who became a British citizen in 1727, the church has other international connections. The windows contain Flemish glass from Antwerp, circa 16th century. And here is a new word for you: reredos. From Wiki, a reredos is "an altarpiece, or a screen or decoration behind the altar in a church, usually depicting religious iconography or images." The reredos was designed by the Dutch-British sculptor Grinling Gibbons, one of the most acclaimed wood carvers working in England during that time. The reredos at St. George's includes scenes from the Last Supper which were painted by William Kent.

One of the famous weddings to occur at St. George's was that of future American President Teddie Roosevelt to Edith Carow in 1886.

In 1969, the church's cemetery grounds were closed, at first an issue of public health and then for area redevelopment. "11,500 further remains were taken to West Norwood Cemetery and cremated, for burial there." Wiki.

The other St. George's at Bloomsbury was designed by Hawkesmoor and finished in 1731. Nicolas Hawkesmoor was a student of Sir Christopher Wren, the renowned architect. After the Great Fire of 1666, Wren was charged with rebuilding 52 churches within London. While Wren was credited for his architectural genius, some of the creative genius behind these churches has been attributed to Hawkesmoor.

Which leads to a sharp criticism of the design of St. George's Bloomsbury. According to one book I read, Hawkesmoor used a description of Mausolus's tomb as a model for this church. Pliny was the source for this information and "if the original possessed all the faults of the copy, we can scarcely understand its having been considered one of the seven wonders of the world."

Here's a the wiki entry for this amazing site, a surprisingly durable triumph that endured through Alexander the Great and until it was destroyed by earthquakes in the 12th century.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_at_Halicarnassus

But back to St. George's...

The church's steeple and tower were built to the side of the main building. And my favorite sarcastic aristocrat of the time, Horace Walpole, commented, that it was a "masterstroke of absurdity, consisting of an obelisk, crowned with the statue of King George I, and hugged by royal supporters."

Right away, one can see the similarities in the churches, especially the magnificent Corinthian pillars out front. So next time you are in London, stop by these iconic churches and feel the sublime weight of history in their surroundings.

For a bit of fun, have you read any romance novels with scenes or marriages set at either of the St. George's?