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Sunday Story Sample: Boaz’s Wager (Boaz Wins Eva in a Bidding War)

Quick background into this scene:

Boaz showed up in Mitch’s Win as Mitch’s brother who was struggling to get his life back on track. At the end of Mitch’s Win, he finally does, but until he gets married, he can’t get his children back because the children (Leroy and Hannah) are 3 and 4 and need a mother to take care of them while he works.

In the scene below, Boaz finds two women are for sale. His friend Herb just bought one. Now Boaz is going to bid on the second one.

Fun side note: Eva Connealy (the heroine in this book) originally appeared in Isaac’s Decision. She had a crush on Isaac Larson, but he ended up marrying Emily instead. So this is her happy ending.

“Now,” the man who was standing next to the brunette began, “this here is Eva.”

“I’m not for sale!” she protested and tried to free herself from his hold, but he held onto her arm. “Unhand me at once, you brute!”

“She’s a fiery one, but that’s good news, gents,” the man said then his smile widened. “Imagine this kind of passion in the bedroom.”

The men roared with laughter and Boaz took the opportunity to wiggle his way closer to Eva. It didn’t really matter what she looked like. One woman was as good as another as far as he was concerned, but he was happy to note that she was pretty.

“Who’ll start the bidding at $20?” the man asked.

Eva gasped and voiced her protest, but someone called out, “$20!”

“$25,” Boaz countered. If he was going to do this, he needed to do it quick.

“$30,” someone else called out.

$35,” Boaz replied.

And so the bidding continued. The higher the bidding went, the more irritated Eve got, and considering how upset she’d been before, that was saying a lot. He’d be lucky if she talked to him after this was over.

Finally, the bidding came to a tie at $150, and that tie was between Boaz and Otis Mills. The man holding onto Eva searched the crowd. “Come on, men! Doesn’t anyone have a little bit more than $150? Women don’t come to Lewistown every day.”

Boaz mentally thought of everything he owned and as much as he tried, he couldn’t figure out anything that was worth adding to the money he had saved. He looked at Otis to see if he could top that amount, but Otis shook his head.

“Why don’t we race for it?” Boaz asked Otis.

After a moment, Otis nodded his agreement.

“Sound fair?” Boaz asked the man holding Eva’s arm.

The man glanced at his partner who said, “Alright. You two will race from the wagon down there to this line.” He walked over to a clear spot and used the boot of his heel to make a line in the dirt road. “The first one over that line gets his bride.”

“I won’t marry either one of them,” Eva protested, doing her best to slap the man’s hand from her. Again, it was to no avail. She grunted and stopped fighting. “This isn’t fair. I am a human being, and it’s not right to sell a human being.”

Ignoring her, the man gestured to Boaz and Otis. “You ready to race?”

Boaz tightened the reins on his horse, hesitant to go through with it, but then he reminded himself of Leroy and Hannah and strengthened his resolve. Eva was going to be married before the night was over, so it made no difference to her which man got her.

Taking a deep breath, he led the horse away from the crowd then hopped into the saddle so he could trot over to the wagon.

As Otis approached, he smiled. “I think you’re a good man and all so don’t take it the wrong way when I say I hope you lose.”

“I was about to say the same to you,” Boaz replied with a chuckle.

When they ready, they turned their attention to the men selling Eva. From the distance it was hard to make out Eva’s facial expression. Boaz gripped the reins. If he won the race, it was going to be an interesting evening.

One of the men held his hand up in the air and counted down to one then told them to go. Boaz kicked his horse in the sides and began to race. Leaning forward, he ignored everyone else and focused on his goal. Leroy and Hannah. He was doing this for them.

The length to the finish line wasn’t long, and really either he or Otis could easily win the race. Otis was just as good on a horse. Though he was tempted to look over at his competitor, he reminded himself to stay focused on the line in front of him. Taking the time to see where Otis was at could slow him down by a couple seconds, and right now, he needed every second he could get.

The crowd cheered them on, some calling out Boaz’s name and others lent their support to Otis. After Boaz crossed the line, the crowed erupted into a round of applause. Boaz ventured a look in Otis’ direction, wondering which one of them got to the finished line first. To his relief, he won. But he’d only won by a couple inches. That was closer than he liked, but he did it. He took the hat off his head and wiped the sweat from his brow. He did it. The point was he did it. And now he could take his children home to live with him.

Boaz slid off his horse and Herb ran over to him to pat him on the back. “You did it! Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Boaz glanced at Eva then the blonde woman. Both remained with the men who were selling them, but he could tell that the blonde was more shocked than angry about being sold. “You too. I think you’re going to have an easier time with your bride than I will with mine.”

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Published on February 02, 2014 07:44

Mister Christopher Robinson Finally Gets His Interview (after I Post Where The Earl’s Scandalous Wife is Up for Anyone Interested)

So I had planned to give Christopher time to talk on this blog, but other things kept getting in the way, most notably the release of The Earl’s Scandalous Wife. Since I don’t want to delay letting him come on this blog another day, I’m going to quickly link to where this book is at on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Then I’ll get into the interview.

*Oh, I got the new release email to work this time. I guess the secret is to send it out right away instead of trying to schedule it to go out at a future time. These lessons have to be learned through trial and error.

The Earl’s Scandalous Wife can be found at these links right now.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

(It is approved for premium distribution at Smashwords. So it should be up on Kobo, iBooks, Flipkart, Sony, Disel, Page Foundry, Oyster, Scrid, and other sites Smashwords distributes to in one to a couple months. I really don’t know how long it takes books to get on these other channels, but I have set Smashwords up to distribute to them.)

***********

Now that I got that out of the way, I can finally bring Christopher on.

Christopher: Well, it’s about time. You’ve been promising me that I’ll get to defend myself since last week.

Ruth: I know. It took longer than I had hoped. I had to get Perry’s book out.

Christopher: And you were also working on Boaz’s Wager. You’ve been spending all your time on his book.

Ruth: You know I work on more than one book at a time.

Christopher: But you’ve been spending most of your days on this one. If any other book gets written in right now, it’s The Mail Order Bride’s Deception. I don’t see what’s so great about the historical west in America.

Ruth: Which is why I put you in the Regency setting. You would never have lasted without the comforts you were given because you happened to be the wife of a wealthy widow.

Christopher: Are you implying I’m only with Agatha for her money? Because I can assure you, that isn’t the truth.

Ruth: I know it’s not. I wrote your book, remember? But we’re not here to talk about His Reluctant Lady. Today we’re here to talk about The Earl’s Scandalous Wife.

Christopher: If it weren’t for me, Perry wouldn’t even have a wife, scandalous or otherwise. But the fact that she is scandalous deserves my highest respect.

Ruth: So you would say that what you want most in that story is for Perry to get married.

Christopher: Yes, and by the title, we all know my plan works.

Ruth: As you were in the process of finding Perry a wife, what was the most horrifying thing you had to do?

You can't be serious. You're placing me in a barn?

Christopher as he recounts his ordeal of finding Perry a wife.

Christopher: Find her. You would be surprised at how many ladies there are who don’t meet up to all of Agatha’s qualifications. Agatha had this long list of things that Perry’s future wife had to be. She had to be young, attractive, kind, and able to deal with boredom. The young and attractive part was easy. There are tons of those kinds of ladies on the prowl for a titled gentleman. But kind and able to overlook Perry’s tendency to be boring? That was the challenge.

Ruth: So how did you do it? How did you find her?

Christopher: It was incredibly hard. I had to go to every ball and dance with every eligible lady I could find. Through the whole time Agatha watched me to make sure I was doing my job, too. If I went off to talk to my friend Ethan, she’d come up to me and remind me I had work to do. Little did she realize that I was working. Ethan would help me pick out ladies I should talk to, and if there’s anyone who understands ladies, it’s Ethan.

Ruth: It sounds like you feel unappreciated.

Christopher: You bet I feel unappreciated. I gave up time alone with Agatha to do this, and being with her is a lot more fun.

Ruth: But you did find the right lady.

Christopher: Yes. Miss Paula Leighton was perfect, especially since she didn’t mind Perry’s cane. I led Perry out to the veranda where Paula was lying in wait to make her move. I wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but I was sure whatever it was, it’d be worth seeing Perry embarrassed. He’s easily scandalized. So I left Perry out there in Paula’s capable hands and went to get Agatha.

Ruth: Did Agatha know Perry was about to get involved in a scandal?

Christopher: I felt no need to worry Agatha with the pesky little details. I only told her that I found the perfect lady for Perry and would introduce Agatha to her.

Ruth: Was there a moment when it looked like Perry wouldn’t get to marry Paula?

Christopher: You bet there was, and it was all Perry’s fault. After Paula did her part and kissed him, he tried to cover it all up by saying it never happened. If he had any appreciation for all the work I went through to get Paula, he wouldn’t have done that.

Ruth: But Perry’s plan didn’t work.

Christopher: Thankfully, it didn’t. I hurried off and told everyone I came across about the kiss. I might have exaggerated a couple things.

Ruth: Exaggerated what?

Christopher: I merely told everyone that I caught Perry intimately entwined with Miss Leighton. I might have suggested something far more interesting than a simple kiss, but the details elude me at the moment.

Ruth: You have a way of making things sound worse than they were.

Christopher: Worse? I wouldn’t say ‘worse’. I’d say it was good. If I didn’t give out enough juicy information for the gossipers so they’d even remember Perry was involved in the scandal.

Ruth: Well, it worked. Perry is now happily married.

Christopher: Yep, it just goes to prove that miracles do happen, even to gentlemen as boring as my cousin.

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Published on January 25, 2014 10:58

Quick Update about the New Release Email List

I was going to do an interview with Christopher tonight, but I ended up spending all morning publishing The Earl’s Scandalous Wife (at last check, it’s not live on Amazon or B&N yet). Then I spent all afternoon and evening working through emails. So Christopher will just have to wait and if he doesn’t like it, I can send him to Lord Roderick’s to clean out some stalls.

Last month when Bride by Arrangement came out, I scheduled the new release list for a day out and it never got sent. I have no idea why. I tried rescheduling and it didn’t work either. t will try sending out the list for The Earl’s Scandalous Wife once it’s live on Amazon and B&N (B&N usually takes the longest but usually only by a day). Instead of scheduling it to be sent out in advance, I’ll just have it go out right away.

Hopefully tomorrow I can bring Christopher in so he can nag—I mean delight me—with whatever he wants to say.

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Published on January 21, 2014 18:59

Sunday Story Sample: The Earl’s Scandalous Wife (Christopher’s Mission Begins)

As Christopher wished, I am posting this sample of The Earl’s Scandalous Wife. In a day or two, Christopher will be in for an interview. :-)

Christopher groaned and leaned his head against the seat of the carriage. “You can’t be serious.”

Agatha crossed her arms. “I am serious. We aren’t going to our estate until you find your cousin a wife.”

“I’ve been looking for a suitable lady and there’s no one. No one!” He threw up his hands in despair. Why couldn’t she let the matter go? At least for this year. “We should try again next year. There’s bound to be a better selection of ladies to choose from then.”

“You haven’t been diligent in your search.”

“I haven’t been diligent? I’ve been asking everyone if there’s a lady who’d be willing to marry Lord Clement, but they all say no.”

“You can’t ask only three people and expect to find her.”

“It wasn’t three. It was five.” When he saw her eyes grow wide, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a light squeeze. “I’m teasing. I asked more than five. It was ten. Maybe even twelve.”

“This isn’t amusing, Christopher,” she admonished as he kissed her neck. “We won’t be leaving London until Perry has a wife.”

“And she has to be young, attractive, kind, and overlook his boring tendencies?”

“Of course.”

“You are difficult to please. Do you know how hard such a lady is to find, especially one who doesn’t mind being bored?”

She sighed. “Perry isn’t boring. I don’t want to hear anything else about him being boring. Now, I want you to help me seek out a suitable lady for him tonight. Ask every gentleman there if he has a sister or daughter who is looking for a husband.” She adjusted her gloves. “You know how much I hate going to balls.”

“Which is why we should have stayed home.” He kissed her and wiggled his eyebrows. “We could have a lot more fun there.”

“We’ll have fun later. Right now, we need to work.” After a moment, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while if you find him a wife tonight.”

“All right.” What he wouldn’t do for his wife. “I promise you that before the night is over, Perry will secure a betrothal that the lady in question won’t be able to get out of.”

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Published on January 19, 2014 17:50

Made a New Page Featuring My Works in Progress, Update on The Earl’s Scandalous Wife, and Signing the Montana Collection with a Publisher

It’s been a while since I did a general “updates” post so I thought I’d do it before I forget. Christopher has been bugging me to do a similar interview like I did with Perry last week. Since he craves the spotlight, I’ll oblige him. But tonight I wanted to let everyone know what I’ve been up to.

I Finally Made a Page Where I List All Of My Works In Progress

This was long overdue. I usually put a lot of books on the right side of this blog, and I realized this was cluttering things up. So what I decided to do was give the latest new release and two other books that are due to be the next two releases.

I don’t write in every one of those books every day. A couple of them only get something written once or twice a month. So the progress in the books on that list will vary. But you can go over there to see how close I am finishing them. :)

Here’s a direct link to the Works In Progress page, and you can find it along the black menu bar at the top.

(I couldn’t let Wagon Trail Bride or His Convenient Wife go, but I’m not promising they will be out this year.)

The Earl’s Scandalous Wife will *hopefully* be out by the end of this month.

I’m in the final editing stages as we speak.

Since this book concludes the Marriage by Scandal series, I am probably going to change the cover of The Earl’s Secret Bargain to better fit in with the new series I started, Marriage by Arrangement.

I’ve signed the Montana Collection historical romances with a publisher.

Long story short, but I sense that something is shifting in the publishing world. Guesses are only speculation, but I have been searching for a publisher for about two years. What I wanted most in a publisher was for the publisher to keep the content of my books the way I want them. I started self-publishing because I wanted to keep my books the way I wanted them. I had submitted them to publishers, but they either wanted me to change the content, wanted me to nix the sexual content, or wanted me to put sex before marriage. So I self-published.

Fortunately with the emergence of small presses, the rules are now more flexible and I found a publisher who will let me write the books my way. I still plan to self-publish some books, but I expect to do some shifting into the traditional publishing world in the upcoming world. I can be wrong, but I suspect small publishers will become more important. At the very least, I’ve always believed in not putting all of my eggs in one basket and see signing with a publisher as a win-win situation, especially since I am given lots of freedom in my contracts. The publisher is Parchment & Plume, and it will feature books similar to what I write (another thing that was important to me when making this decision).

I signed Mitch’s Win over to the publisher this month. So it’s already out, and it’s the first book in the Montana Collection. Most of you have already read it. If you have, you don’t have to read it again because it’s been kept the same as it was when it was self-published.

Boaz’s Wager is book 2 in the Montana Collection and is due to be released in March.

Patty’s Gamble is book 3 and is expected out by this summer.

There’s no set date on it yet, but I have started it. Patty’s Gamble is the complete rewrite of “The Keeping of Greg Wilson” which is a novelette I wrote years ago.

(The publisher has also let me keep the covers I wanted on them.)

****

Since I’m trying to keep my blog posts shorter this year so they don’t get so exhausting to read, I’ll end it here.

Tomorrow, I’ll let Christopher has some of the spotlight he’s been craving in the Sunday Story Sample. :-)

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Published on January 18, 2014 18:22

Bride by Arrangement and Mitch’s Win: Some Excerpts and a Chance to Get a Free Copy (or Two) in Exchange for an Honest Review

For a short time, I took down the offer for a free copy of Bride by Arrangement in exchange for a review on this blog. Now that I have Mitch’s Win up with my publisher, Parchment & Plume, I can put the offer back up.

I did originally publish Mitch’s Win myself, but I have now published it with Parchment & Plume, so if you already read Mitch’s Win, you don’t need to get this book again.

You don’t have to review both Bride by Arrangement and Mitch’s Win. You can pick one or the other. If, however, you would like to review both, then I’ll be more than happy to gift you an ebook copy of both books.

In exchange for an honest review, I’ll give you a free copy of the ebook of your choice. You only have to review the ebook I gift you.

If you have already bought one of these ebooks and are willing to leave an honest review, I’ll gift you another ebook I’ve written.

Below, I’ll give two excerpts from the two novellas in this anthology. The first one is from my novella “The Purchased Bride” and the second is from Janet Syas Nitsick’s novella “She Came By Train.”

Then I’ll post an excerpt from Mitch’s Win after that.

From “The Purchased Bride” which is about a mail-order bride whose brother sold her to a man she’s never met:

Ada turned her attention to him. “I’m here to be Pete Kelly’s wife, right? He doesn’t have another wife or illegitimate children or engages in anything wrong, does he?”

“No,” the preacher said. “Pete lives by himself on a farm. He’s tender and kind. He’s a good man.”

Jimmy placed her trunk in the wagon then came over to them. “The situation with Pete is a delicate matter.”

Her stomach tensed and her grip tightened on her purse. “What is his situation?” she forced out.

From “She Came By Train” which is about a woman who must choose between two men who are vying for her hand:

For the first time, he realized what a smart woman he brought here. Not just in her intellect, but she also was levelheaded and charming. What a combination! A surge of warmth filled him. “Have a seat, if you don’t mind. I forgot to open my mail.”

“Go ahead.” She settled in a seat in front of his desk.

He picked up a letter opener, slit the envelopes open, glimpsing at each one before he stopped at the last one. He examined the return address then opened it and read the letter. His jaw clenched. Raising his head to Opal, he said in a low voice, “Reverend Stone should arrive tomorrow.”

Her face blushed and she wiggled in her seat. “Oh, that’s wonderful.”

His stomach twisted in resentment. He could not understand his reaction. Stuffing the letter back in its envelope, he returned it to his desk and glanced up at her. “We’d better get going.”

~~~*~~*~~~

A scene where Mitch realizes a young woman is among one of the items being bid on in a poker game:

Mitch slammed his money in the middle of the table and told John, “She’s not in this. We’ll use my horse.”

“Like hell we will!” Abe yelled, pounding his fist on the table.

“The woman stays,” John said as he dealt Mitch five cards. “I already have a horse from Boaz.”

Mitch glanced at Boaz who refused to make eye contact with him. With a look at the poor woman who sniffed back her tears, Mitch knew he didn’t have a choice. His only hope was to win the game. Then the woman could go back home where she’d be safe, and his brother could keep his horse.

John motioned for him to check his cards. Mitch did. He had nothing. No pairs or partial straights. Nothing. If he hadn’t been watching John, he’d swear the man set it up so that he’d have to lose. Trying not to give away the fact that he had a bad hand, he saved a jack and king of hearts. Might as well pretend he had a pair.

He tossed the other cards face down on the table and held his two cards. “Give me three.”

As John handed him the cards, he glanced at the woman and prayed she wouldn’t have to end up with John. The possibilities of that scenario made him sick.

He turned his attention back to the three new cards that sat in front of him, face down. Well, this was it. He was either going to win or lose.

~~~*~~*~~~

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Published on January 16, 2014 01:50

Sunday Story Sample: The Earl’s Scandalous Wife (Why Perry Wishes I Would Delete Christopher From the Book)

Today, I thought I’d give an example of why Perry wishes Christopher wasn’t in The Earl’s Scandalous Wife.

Two days later, Perry was sorting through his ledger to balance his account when a knock came from his library door. Surprised that Paula felt the need to knock, he looked up. But instead of Paula, Christopher stood in the doorway, a question in his eyes.

“What is it?” Perry asked when he didn’t say anything. In all the time he’d known him, he never knew Christopher to be shy about saying what was on his mind. And in this case, he almost felt like his cousin was playing a game with him.

“I know you left London with a delightful young lady, but I don’t see her anywhere. Did she run off before you could marry her?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then where is she?”

“Not that it’s any of your concern, but she’s taking a bath in her bedchamber.” Why he was telling Christopher this, he didn’t know.

His cousin breathed a sigh of relief and walked further into the room, not bothering to wait for the invitation before he sat down and plopped his feet up on the desk. “That’s good. I tell you, it wasn’t easy to find a lady willing to marry you. Agatha’s been at me nonstop about finding you a wife ever since Sophie ran off with another gentleman.”

Fighting back the urge to grimace, Perry turned his attention back to the ledger. “Sophie wouldn’t have been happy with me. We would never have made a good match.”

“Precisely! I told Agatha that, but she was upset with her sister for days. You’re better off with someone who doesn’t crave constant excitement.”

“Oh?” While he knew Christopher considered him boring, he wished he wouldn’t point it out whenever possible.

“I meant the bad type of excitement.”

“I wasn’t aware that excitement could be bad.”

“Of course, it can be. Some gentlemen actually die in bed during lovemaking. Did you know that was possible? I didn’t until Ethan told me about Lord—”

“I’ve heard enough. Your point is well noted. Excitement isn’t always a good thing.”

“Fortunately, all has worked out and you’re married. You did marry her, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did. What kind of gentleman do you take me for? I wouldn’t run off with her and sully her reputation by not marrying her.”

“Well, I suppose one could argue that she sullied your reputation since she was the one who kissed you.”

With a sigh, he set his quill aside. “Did you come by to mock me?”

“No, I came by to make sure you’re married. Agatha fretted the whole time you were gone. Believe me, it’s not easy to talk a lady into doing anything interesting in bed when they’re worried about something.”

“Does everything have to be so…personal…with you?”

Christopher shrugged and clasped his hands over his stomach. “I happen to find such talk entertaining.”

“Apparently. In the future, I’ll thank you to confine such talk when you’re with your friends.”

Perry shook his head and shut his ledger, deciding he’d continue sorting through his finances at a later time. While he knew Christopher purposely said things to unnerve him, he couldn’t figure out how to ignore them. If he could, then he suspected Christopher would stop. After all, how much fun was it to try to bother someone who didn’t respond the way one hoped?

The sound of footsteps directed their attention to the doorway and Perry smiled when Paula walked by. She got lovelier each time he saw her. He called out to her, and she turned to enter the room.

“My cousin wanted to congratulate us on our wedding,” Perry called out, motioning to Christopher who at least had the sense to straighten in his seat.

“Yes,” he said and shot her a grateful smile. “Thanks to you, Perry finally has a wife. You’ll never know what a relief it is that someone made an honest gentleman of him.”

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Published on January 12, 2014 18:41

Questions with Perry Ambrose (aka Lord Clement)

Before I go into this post, I want to give a quick shout out to Cheryl R. for her help over the past week. :-)

Also, I tried to gift a copy of Bride by Arrangement to Sarah S. and kept getting a reply back from Yahoo telling me the email didn’t go through. Sarah, if you’re reading this, please leave a comment beneath this post so I can figure out a way to get in touch with you. :-)

***

Tonight, I thought I’d do a fun post. I found a list of questions authors can use when thinking of how to develop a plot. I thought it’d be fun to use some of these with my characters.

Tonight, I’m going to start with Perry from The Earl’s Scandalous Wife. It’s still in the editing process but should be out later this month.

Ruth: We’ll start with the most pressing question of all… Perry, what is it you want most?

Perry: I’d love it if Christopher left me alone in this book. Can you delete his parts in it while you’re still editing it?

Ruth: I meant, what did you want most during the actual story.

Perry: That is what I wanted while you were writing the story.

Ruth: Hmm…

Perry: Hmm what?

Ruth: I thought you would have said you wanted to get married.

Perry: But that’s a given since this is a romance and I’m finally the hero.

Ruth: Since you are the hero, I’d like true love would be what you want most.

Perry: I do want true love. I just don’t want Christopher to be a part of the journey that gets me there.

Christopher: Well, you wouldn’t take my advice and create a scandal.

Perry: Who invited you here?

Christopher: No one. Unlike you, I don’t stand on formalities. Sometimes you have to go out and make life happen instead of sitting back and letting life just happen to you. I mean, look at you. You spent three Regency novels moaning on and on about how much you want to get married but you don’t. If I didn’t do something in The Earl’s Scandalous Wife, someone else would be the hero.

Perry: That’s not true.

Ruth: Christopher, I brought Perry in to ask the questions to. I can ask you questions in another post. At that time, you can congratulate yourself on ensuring that Perry gets married in this book.

Perry Ambrose (aka Lord Clement)

Christopher: You didn’t have to come bail me out of trouble.

Perry: If I hadn’t, you might not be here today. You’d be surprised how many death threats you received over the years. Running interference for you was a full time job. But that’s besides the point, what other questions do you have for me, Ruth?

Ruth: When you think of The Earl’s Scandalous Wife, what do you consider to be “your bleakest moment”?

Perry: That one is easy. It’s when Christopher gave me that so-called gift.

Christopher: First of all, that wasn’t a gift for you. It was for Paula. Second, if there’s anyone who needs that kind of book, it’s you. We all know you’re clueless when it comes to the bedchamber. Quite frankly, I don’t even know what you’re supposed to do with…it.

Perry: It?

Christopher: Well, this is a PG-rated blog. I’m not really sure I can get away with saying the actual word.

Perry: Christopher, it seems to be your life’s mission to annoy me. Ruth, do you really have to wonder why I want him removed from the book? He’s like a constant thorn in my side. I have done everything I can think of so he turns out to be a respectable gentleman, and no matter what I do, he refuses to act appropriately.

Christopher: Being “appropriate” is boring.

Perry: Well, I’d rather be boring than annoying.

Christopher Robinson

Christopher: All I can say is thank goodness you end up with a lady who isn’t stuffy and uptight. If she didn’t have a scandalous side to her, there’d be no hope for you.

Perry: Sometimes I feel sorry for myself.

Christopher: I would too if I were you.

Perry: I feel sorry for myself because I have you constantly saying and doing things to get under my skin. You intentionally try to bother me.

Christopher: If you weren’t so funny, I wouldn’t do it. Your problem is that you take everything too seriously.

Ruth: Perry, if you feel that Christopher is doing this, then you need to act like whatever he says doesn’t bother you. That’s how you resolve that conflict in your story.

Perry: I’ve tried. But it’s not so easy when I found out he told everyone at White’s that he caught one of the maids leaving my bedchamber very early in the morning.

Christopher: No one believed me. They did, however, believe you were faking the limp. We had a good bet going on that one.

Perry: Just the fact that you even say stuff like that is why I don’t want you in my book. I honestly don’t know how Agatha can stand to be in the same townhouse as you.

Christopher: It’s because I read that book. You should, too, unless you want Paula to ditch you in favor of a lover.

Perry: I can’t take this anymore. I’m done with this post. *leaves*

Ruth: You know, Christopher, you don’t have to be so hard on him. He did take care of you after your parents died.

Christopher: All I’m trying to get him to do is have some fun with life. The poor man needs help. If I didn’t intervene in this book, he would be going to London at the age of 60 without a wife and no heir. Instead of making me the bad guy, he should be thanking me. And you should too. If it weren’t for me, there would be no book. When everyone reads it, they’ll know what I mean. I expect lots of emails thanking me for finally making Perry happy.

Ruth: I think that you’ll be waiting a long time for those emails to come in, just like you’re still waiting to hear that you’re a better hero than Dave Larson.

Christopher: I am better. I think you’ve deleted those so I never see them when they come in.

Ruth: Nope. Not a single one has come in. Not a single one. Dave is still the most popular hero of all time. Maybe if you gave Perry a break, someone would actually like you.

Christopher: No, I don’t think so. I’m fun and lovable as I am. Nice try, Ruth, but I’m going to make sure Perry gets a wife, no matter what it takes. People will read the book and realize the course I chose was the best one.

Ruth: We’ll see.

***

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Published on January 10, 2014 18:21

Bride by Arrangement: Some Excerpts and a Chance to Get a Free Copy in Exchange for an Honest Review

Well, I’m back from Christmas vacation. I decided to take a break with my kids since they were off school for two weeks plus today (school was canceled due to a cold snap coming through). Now that they’re ready to head back, I figure I should, too. :)

The Anthology Janet Syas Nitsick and I Are Working On

The Anthology Janet Syas Nitsick and I Published with Parchment & Plume, LLC

I don’t know how many reading this post have already gotten Bride by Arrangement, but I’d like to try something I haven’t done yet on this blog. In exchange for an honest review, I’ll give you a free copy of the ebook. If you have already bought it and are willing to leave an honest review, I’ll gift you another ebook I’ve written.