Cecelia Mecca's Blog, page 15

Hot Holiday Book Picks {PA Live Segment}

Did you see me on PA Live today on WBRE? I’m so glad you’re here to check out my top holiday book picks for 2019. You’ll be seeing these names again in the future, but for now, grab a book (or two) for your favorite reader. Each of the selections below are the series starters mentioned on the show, a good place to begin for anyone new to these authors. Enjoy and happy shopping!

Romance

Border Series Book 1

by Cecelia Mecca

Bloodwite Origin Story (free)

by Cecelia Mecca

Blood Duet Book 1

by Maria Luis

Blades Hockey Series Book 1

by Maria Luis

Urban Fantasy

Nate Temple Series Book 1

by Shayne Silvers

Feathers & Fire Book 1

by Shayne Silvers

Thriller

John Milton Series Book 1

by Mark Dawson

The post Hot Holiday Book Picks {PA Live Segment} appeared first on Cecelia Mecca.

View more on Cecelia Mecca's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 07, 2018 07:50

Unwrapping Romance: Historical Romance Excerpt Hop

One of the best parts of the holiday season is gifts. And romance readers know the best gifts often come between the covers of a romance novel. To help you find great books to kick back with this hectic holiday season, a group of my historical romance author friends & I have collected these fun, exciting excerpts from our stories. It’s some of the best historical romance out there! Come read excerpts where surprises abound, truths are unpacked, and the best gifts come in unexpected, heroic packages.

As for my excerpt from THE GUARDIAN’S FAVOR coming on December 6, 2018, only read if you’re caught up with the Border Series since there’s a big surprise in the very first few lines of the book. Keep reading and be sure to add to your Goodreads TBR so you don’t miss the special release week price.

Since surprises are so much fun, hop around to some of your other favorite historical romance authors to unwrap additional excerpts, and be sure to leave a comment letting me know what you think about Clarissa’s reveal!

Hop here:

The post Unwrapping Romance: Historical Romance Excerpt Hop appeared first on Cecelia Mecca.

View more on Cecelia Mecca's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 04, 2018 04:17

What’s Hot Now – Historical & Paranormal Romance Novels

So many this week to choose from plus a bonus genre (urban fantasy) from a series I’ve been reading. Check out more about that on last month’s Books & Binges and let me know which of these titles would recommend!

Historical Romance New Releases

The Runaway Bride, Claire Delacroix
Very Regency Christmas, Julie Johnstone
The Laird’s Yuletide Bride, Emma Prince
His Lass to Protect, Emma Prince
The Appeal of an Elusive Viscount, Hildie McQueen
The Highlander’s Hellion, Eliza Knight

Historical Romance Sales & Pre-Orders

The Duke of Danger, Darcy Burke (.99)
The Redeem a Highland Rake, Collette Cameron
Highland Defender, Julie Johnstone
The Highlander’s Welsh Bride, Cathy McRae

Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy New Releases

Witches Brew, Shayne Silvers & Cameron O’Connell
Charming Her Mates, Dia Cole
The Tower, Rylee Davidson
Ghost of a Chance, McKenna Dean
Bearly Married, Zoe Ashwood (free!)

The post What’s Hot Now – Historical & Paranormal Romance Novels appeared first on Cecelia Mecca.

View more on Cecelia Mecca's website »

1 like · Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on November 27, 2018 06:36

The Guardian’s Favor: Border Series Book 8 Sneak Peek

Chapter 1

Highgate End, Scotland 1274

“Are you going to be ill?” Aidan asked his sister-in-law.

Gillian sat clutching a chamber pot as tenderly as if it were a newborn babe. Her fondness for that pot had been growing of late.

He rushed to her side, pulled her hair behind her back and waited. Aidan had come to the solar looking for his brother. Instead, he’d found Gillian, alone with her chamber pot, looking much as she had every day this past sennight.

“I don’t believe so.”

Aidan wasn’t quite sure he agreed, so he decided to stay put for now. Peering around Gillian’s shoulder to see her face, he said, “You don’t look good, lass.”

“Why thank you. ’Tis kind of you to say, brother.”

He should not taunt her, but Aidan could not resist. “The bairn is a wee lassie, no doubt. Another Lyndwood girl come to save the de Sowlis men.”

Even as he said it, he could see the color return to Gillian’s face. He allowed her hair to fall back against her gown and pulled up a wooden chair to sit beside her. Poor Gillian was often forced to sit, the babe growing bigger inside her every day, and Aidan did not wish to make her feel uncomfortable by towering over her.

“Your brother is convinced otherwise. He believes the babe is a boy.”

“His son would be lucky to have such a father.”

“Kind words from my brother? To what do I owe the pleasure?” Graeme de Sowlis, clan chief and Aidan’s only remaining family member, by blood, walked into the room and strode straight to his wife.

“I’d not have said them had I seen you standing there preening.”

Both men knew that statement was not true. Aidan revered his older brother.

“Were you ill?” Graeme knelt beside his wife.

“Nay.” She looked into the pot. “Not this time, thank the heavens.”

Graeme placed the chamber pot on the floor. When he laid his hand on her slightly rounded stomach, a familiar pang of fear tore through Aidan. This babe, whether it be a nephew or a niece, would not be harmed. If the border descended into chaos, an event some claimed had already happened, they would forsake their family home before they put Gillian and the wee one in danger.

Highgate End may have been the seat of Clan Scott for four generations, but it was nothing more than dirt and stone. If not for the people under their protection, he’d have begged Graeme to take Gillian away. In fact, he’d suggested it once, but his brother had refused to listen.

“You’ve heard about Douglas?” his brother asked.

“Aye. According to his messenger, the Lord Warden is only a half day’s ride from Highgate.”

Graeme merely nodded, still crouched beside Gillian.

The look on his face was enough to convince Aidan his brother shared his concerns.

Graeme had never hidden his emotions well, his only failing as clan chief. His brother’s strength and skill with the sword was unmatched, yet even the most undiscerning adversaries could read his every mood from afar. If he were angry, his foe knew immediately. Now, his worries were written across his face. Worry over the increasing number of raids, the possibility of the first outright battle at the border in years, and the impending arrival of the Lord Warden.

“What do you think he wants?” Graeme stood and began to pace the room.

With more sunlight than most chambers at Highgate Castle, courtesy of an outside wall and two windows whose shutters were currently thrown wide open to usher in the unusually warm April day, the solar had always been the brothers’ favored meeting place. Gillian could oft be found in here as well. She liked to imagine the darkness of the long winter was finally behind them, but Aidan feared just the opposite was true.

He shook his head. “I neither know nor want to know. A visit from the Lord Warden now can mean only one thing.”

Graeme stopped pacing long enough to stare at him, prompting Gillian to speak up.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

Aidan hated the worry in her voice, but surely she should be worried. They all should.

“He would not,” Graeme said. His tone did not match his words.

“Why else would he come here now?”

“Would not what? What do you imagine he wants from you?” Gillian asked.

Graeme attempted to explain. “At the council six month earlier, he broached the idea of involving the Earl of Theffield in our dispute with the English border lords.”

“The earl,” Aidan said, “has property in both England and Scotland.”

Graeme’s scowl for the man was warranted. Cruel and selfish, the Earl of Theffield tended to elicit such sentiments. Thankfully, he hardly ever visited his northern estates, which were his in name only.

Gillian was rightly confused. “But what has that to do with us?”

“Our father knew the man as well as any Scotsman,” Graeme said. “Even though he had no alliance with him and rarely visited Sutworth.”

“Sutworth? Isn’t that the one that borders our land?”

“Aye.” Graeme resumed his pacing, but not before he shot a look at Aidan. Once again, he failed to hide his emotions. The pity in his eyes was as obvious as it was unwelcome.

“But I still don’t understand—”

“The Earl of Theffield is Lord Caxton’s overlord,” Graeme said. “As Caxton’s overlord, the Earl of Theffield has the authority to force Caxton to step down.”

Lord Caxton, the English Warden of the Middle March, was the reason the Scottish clans had stopped attending the monthly Day of Truce, a day of reckoning for all crimes committed on the border, arbitrated by two wardens, one from either side. Caxton had little interest in fairness, and his willingness to accept bribes and look the other way had allowed too many accused Englishmen to walk free. Until he was removed from his position, the Scottish border lords refused to uphold the tenets of the Treaty of York, which had given them thirty years of relative peace.

The Scottish border lords had tried, and failed, to have Caxton removed from power. Even the intercession of their king had done nothing. The English sovereign had insisted his beloved Lord Caxton would not be removed as warden.

To Gillian, the solution must have seemed inspired—Theffield had land in both Scotland and England, surely he could and would intercede. Her eyes lit up, the possibility of peace at hand, until she looked at him. And Graeme.

“Then why has no one spoken to him yet?”

Aidan did not want to be the one to eradicate Gillian’s last hope for peace, so he let his brother do it. “There is a reason Theffield was dismissed as a potential path to peace.”

“A good reason,” he added.

Gillian studied each of them in turn. “He is that bad then?”

Aidan could not answer. He couldn’t think of the man without his fingers itching to grab the dirk at his side and toss it into the closest target.

“Aye, lass,” Graeme said. “He is, and worse. Perhaps Douglas has other plans,” he added, his voice unconvincing. “Perhaps there is another reason for his visit.”

Gillian’s chin lifted. “You think he comes to ask you to treat with Theffield?”

Dread filled Aidan’s gut. He feared exactly that.

“He asked it once before,” Graeme said. “At the council meeting. But while our father knew the man, dealt with him when necessary, neither Aidan nor I have any love for him. But there is no other who would dare approach him. The earl and Douglas nearly killed each other once. The idea was dismissed at the meeting, when there was still hope . . .”

“There is still one thing I do not understand.”

He and his brother waited.

“Why do you look at Aidan,” she asked Graeme, “as if he lost his favorite dirk? What are you not telling me?”

Before either of them could answer, the color leached out of Gillian’s face. She leapt from her seat and grabbed the chamber pot next to her, leaving him thankful not to be forced to answer that particular question.

* * *

“Lady Clarissa! We did not expect you.”

She tried to smile at the maid she’d known since birth, but even the sight of Eda could not comfort her this day.

“I did not expect to be home so soon.” Her back straightened, and she asked, “Is my father in residence?”

Eda’s frown confirmed it. The thought that her father might be away from Theffield Castle had been her only solace on the journey back home.

“He is,” Eda said, her eyes conveying sorrow, and maybe regret. They were the same emotions she felt for the maid, a woman who had served Theffield faithfully and whose only rewards were the constant demands of a cruel and obstinate master.

“Shall I have your old chamber prepared?” Eda asked as she peered around Clarissa’s shoulder. “Are you here alone?”

She’d returned to Theffield without her husband. That simple answer would infuriate her father, the full truth even more so. And though Clarissa trusted Eda as much as she trusted anyone, she would not confide in her until privacy could be ensured.

“Aye,” she said simply, hoping her voice sounded more confident than she felt. “Lord Stanley bade me visit out of respect for my father. He would have accompanied me but was called to court just before I left.”

As expected, Eda did not question her or accuse her of any falsehoods. Instead, she set in motion the flurry of activity that would be expected upon the arrival of the earl’s daughter. Ushered into the hall, Clarissa soon found herself sitting at the head table in front of a goblet of wine and a plate of food, this despite the fact that the midday meal had long since ended. The servants had given her the kind of greeting one might expect from family, and she allowed herself a small smile. It felt good to forget, if only for a moment, this would be anything but a welcome homecoming.

Her father would question her story, of course. He would be disappointed that she’d dared venture beyond her husband’s castle walls without the man. But with any luck, he would have no recourse with her errant husband so far south, in London.

According to her, at least.

Clarissa glanced down at her hands, which she’d shoved beneath the table. Willing them to stop shaking, she thought of how much older she felt than when she’d left Theffield nearly two years ago. At twenty and three, she was by no means an old woman. But that did not stop her from feeling like one at times. She’d lived more than one lifetime, it seemed. One as a young, idealistic and hopeful girl who saw herself as the heroine of some great tale, pitted against her father, the villain. And then there was her second lifetime, the hell in which she currently lived. The father she’d hoped to defeat had been replaced with a husband who was equally as bad, or perhaps worse. His only redeeming quality was that he had agreed to set her aside, the blessing that had forced her back home.

“My lady, would you like more wine?”

Had she drunk the first goblet already? Indeed, and eaten her fill as well. Clarissa took a deep, steadying breath, asking the question she did not really want answered.

“Nay, thank you. But if you will,” she asked the servant, “do you know precisely when my father will return?”

Clarissa did not have to look up for her answer. As always, his presence made itself known by the reaction of those around her. She knew the signs well. Shoulders tensed. Eyes averted. All, including her, held their breath as the Earl of Theffield entered the hall.

It was not only his height and rigid countenance that made the earl an imposing figure. His cold hazel eyes, flat and emotionless, were the feature most noticed first.

“I cannot say I am glad to see you daughter,” he said, each step toward her more menacing than the last. “I’m told you are here without Lord Stanley?”

She watched him approach, waiting. If she spoke too soon, Clarissa would appear to be acting defensively. Too late, she risked incurring his ire for disrespecting the great Earl of Theffield.

She repeated the lie she’d told Eda. “Lord Stanley bade me come to visit, out of respect for you, Father. He would have accompanied me but was called to court just before I left.”

Years of dealing with her father had taught her not to offer more information than was necessary for fear it would be used against her.

“Why?” he demanded quietly.

Servants scattered, and she did not blame them for making themselves scarce. Clarissa only wished she could leave with them. She would never have returned if she’d had anywhere else to go.

“Why did he demand I come or why—”

“Do not”—his voice lowered—“question me.”

She lowered her eyes, hoping the gesture would soften his tone. How quickly she had forgotten his dislike of questions. Her father asked, she answered. That was the way it had always been.

“He believed you would wish to see me,” she lied. “And I know not his purpose for his journey to London.”

She continued to peer down at her hands, willing him to believe her. If he did not . . . if he sent her back . . .

“I do not want you here.”

Looking up, Clarissa nearly apologized for her presence. It would have been the smart thing to do, but she could not bring herself to do it. So much had transpired since her marriage, the young woman who’d left Theffield Castle at twenty and one was not the same one who sat here now.

“Of course,” she said instead, hoping her tone was appropriately deferential.

It worked. One final grunt, and he walked away.

“I trust you are not staying long,” he called back, eliciting looks of pity from those servants who’d been brave enough to remain in the hall. The same looks she’d been receiving her whole life. But their lot was surely worse than hers. They served her father, just as she did, although with no recourse but to do his bidding and accept his verbal abuse.

Do I really have any more recourse than they?

Nay.

But she did, at least, have a plan.

Put THE GUARDIAN’S FAVOR on your Goodreads TBR list so you don’t miss the special release week price when it’s live! Existing CM Insiders, don’t forget to check out the bonuses as well.

The post The Guardian’s Favor: Border Series Book 8 Sneak Peek appeared first on Cecelia Mecca.

View more on Cecelia Mecca's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on November 20, 2018 10:02

Books & Binges: Current TV Show and Book Obsessions

I’m a binge-watching, reading obsessed romance author who loves all things vampire, medieval and period dramas, not to mention happily ever afters, and am always on the hunt for the next great watch or read. Updating this page with my current obsessions– not just good reads or TV shows but binge-worthy ones— I hope to keep others up all night with their new favorite book or TV Show.

In the first Books and Binges post, I shared my love of The Originals and all things Shayne Silvers. While I’m still reading the Feathers & Fire series, I have finished The Originals and have lots to say about that finale. Join my Immortal Ambassadors reader group, post with, “What did you think of The Originals” and watch me unleash.

In the meantime, here are my current books and binges for November. Thoughts? Have you read/watched either?

October 2018

Previous Books…

and Binges

What books and binges are you obsessed with right now?

View more on Cecelia Mecca's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on November 20, 2018 03:53

Bad Boy versus Good Guy in Romance Novels

Every romance reader understands the difference between this:

Image Source: Pinterest

And this…

Image Source: Pixabay

In fact, my last release, The Rogue’s Redemption, featured a true medieval bad boy. The book opened with Reid Kerr in a compromising position. His antics grew so maddening at times, I resorted to slamming my laptop closed in frustration. His road to redemption was a long and twisty one, but my readers have also said he is one of their favorite heroes. Despite his behavior or because of it?

Us romance readers do seem to love a bad boy.

On the other hand, the next Border Series book hero could not be more of Reid’s opposite. I’m expecting readers to fall instantly head over heels with Aidan deSowlis, the younger brother of clan chief Greme who we met in The Warrior’s Queen. A protector whose heart was broken by the heroine of the novel once before, I was rooting for Aidan almost as hard as I was cursing Reid while writing Rogue’s. Not quite a beta hero–he is, after all, a medieval Scottish warrior– Aidan nevertheless has a softer side which we see right from page one.

So which do you prefer? A rogue like Reid whose edge keep the angst level high throughout the book or a lover like Aidan who you hope gets his second chance at love?

Get a new release alert for The Guardian’s Favor, Aidan’s story, when it’s released on December 6, 2018.

View more on Cecelia Mecca's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on November 13, 2018 10:49

Preparing to Write PNR: My Vampire Romance Binge

After publishing historical romance for just over a year, gaining enough of a foothold to quit the day job and fulfill a life-long dream of becoming a romance author, I woke one morning with a thought:

~a blood feud seven-hundred years in the making~

Let me backup. I’d not read paranormal romance before. As a historical romance girl, I spent much of my time reading about ballrooms across English and kilted Scottish Highlanders. But since I’d recently branched out to contemporary romance thanks to my girl Maria Luis who writes damn good books, my mind was a bit more open than usual for genres other than histrom or fantasy.

So after an epic True Blood (twice) and Vampire Diaries binge, with thoughts of of vampires swirling in my head, I had the idea of two warring families– one English and one Scottish– who later become vampires and continue to fued through the centuries. I was curious, then, about vampire mythology from the 13th century, the setting of my Border Series and a natural origin for my two non-existent vampires. Surprised to learn much of what we “know” about vampires originated from 19th and 20th century literature, I began to re-imagine how a story about two enemy vampires from the middle ages would be different than most.

By now, I also began to research the PNR market. Was it feasible to cross genres? Do historical readers read paranormal? The answers should have sent me running for the hills. Essentially, I’d be starting over. But the story idea stuck, the families beginning to take shape in my mind. What if they came to New Orleans, the original setting of Bloodwite, to fight over one girl? The love triangle idea was later scrapped, as was the setting. (Enter Stone Haven, Pennsylvania.) But the project was now full force ahead which meant I needed to get some reading under my belt.

Spending the summer exploring vampire romance novels, some better than others, I began to get a clearer sense of the genre and how it differed from the TV shows I’d spent the last year binging. Here are my three favorites:

Read the origin story to this new vampire romance series, ‘The Healer’s Curse’ FREE now.

Which vampire romance novels should I add to my TBR list?

View more on Cecelia Mecca's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on November 07, 2018 05:23

The Inspiration for Stone Haven, Pennsylvania in the Bloodwite Series, Part I

When I decided to write a vampire romance novel, my first thought for the setting was New Orleans. With its rich paranormal underpinnings and varied history, my favorite city in the U.S. seemed like the perfect backdrop for two centuries-old vampire families to meet their human nemesis. The only problem? I’m far from the only writer to recognize the Crescent City as fodder for vampire lore.

If not New Orleans, then where?

Pennsylvania had certainly not been on the top of my list. I don’t typically think “sexy” and “Pennsylvania” together, and I say this as a lifelong resident of the Keystone State. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great place to live? But as host to the most powerful vampires in the world? Surely not. Until I discovered Jim Thorpe.

Only a hour drive from my home in Northeast, PA, this gem of a town is sometimes called, ‘the Switzerland of America.’ I’d heard about it, of course, but never visited myself until deciding to use it as inspiration for my Bloodwite series. Researching online and speaking to others who had been there, I’d become convinced it was ideal for my upcoming stories. One my way into Jim Thorpe, I first noticed the brightly colored Victorian homes which immediately reminded me of the Esplanade Ridge Historic District.

Was I in Pennsylvania or New Orleans? It was like I’d struck gold!

Along Main Street which I’d already begun mapping in my notebook the minute I hopped out of my car, The Inn at Jim Thorpe also reminded me of the French Quarter with its elaborate wrought-iron balconies gracing the center of town. I toured the building, imagined my main character Alessandra staying there as she visited during a job interview. She moves to Stone Haven from Northeast PA to take a teaching job. Of course, this history teacher is fascinated with the inn’s past guests who include among them General Ulysses S. Grant and Buffalo Bill.

And then I saw the mansions.

I’d read about the Harry Packer and Asa Packer mansions online, but seeing them perched on a hill just behind Main Street sent me running, sans my family, toward the future homes of my two vampires. While the originals were built by the founder of Leigh University, one for himself and another for his daughter, mine would be occupied by two bitter enemies. One, an English vampire named Kenton Morley, once the earl of Rockford in 13th century Northumbria. The second, Lawrence Derrickson, the son of a clan chief and Scotsman whose sworn to protect his ancestors– the very ones Kenton and his brothers are attempting to wipe from the face of the earth.

In other words, they don’t like each other very much and have been bitter enemies for over seven hundred years. Ouch.

Fun fact: The Harry Packer Mansion, shown below along with my husband and daughter, was the inspiration for the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World.

Bonus Fun Fact: In the Bloodwite series, the mansions become the Henry Hutton and Addy Hutton Mansions.

If you’re still getting that New Orleans vibe, possibly courtesy of the Fleur-de-leis hanging from the balcony of the Harry Packer mansion, you’re not alone. When I took this shot, looking down to the courthouse and large clock tower that would be the centerpiece of Stone Haven, I could not have been more pleased with my choice. Surrounded by the Pocono Mountains, this throwback town complete with a five-and-dime shop and Harry Potter-inspired coffeehouse was shaping up to host my vampires quite nicely.

From the Harry Packer to the Asa Packer Mansion next door, we walked the same path Kenton would be taking to Lawrence’s house–likely to attempt to kill him– although we did not tour this second estate. In a future post I’ll take you inside the father’s mansion, but in the meantime, try to imagine this small town suddenly becoming home to the two most powerful families in the world. A backdrop worth visiting, don’t you think?

I feel a field trip coming on! Who’s with me?

Don’t miss the first Bloodwite book when it releases in January 2019. Download the origin story FREE and get notified with book one is released.

Have you been to Jim Thorpe, PA? How about my favorite city, New Orleans? What did you think?

View more on Cecelia Mecca's website »

1 like · Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 29, 2018 11:26

Historical Romance New Releases

Historical romance readers rejoice! A new batch of swashbuckling heroes and the heroines who try to tame them are out into the world. Check out some of the top new releases for this week which include my very own The Rogue’s Redemption, the 8th installment of the medieval romance Border Series. Readers are loving this one, I suspect, because of the ultra bad-boy hero Reid Kerr whose path to redemption is a rocky one indeed. Enjoy!

PIN ME!

View more on Cecelia Mecca's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 28, 2018 09:10

Books & Binges: The Shows and Books I’m Obsessed With Right Now

I’m a binge-watching, reading obsessed romance author who loves all things vampire, medieval and period dramas, not to mention happily ever afters, and am always on the hunt for the next great watch or read. Updating this page with my current obsessions– not just good reads or TV shows but binge-worthy ones— I hope to keep others up all night with their new favorite book or TV Show. For the record, the only time I binged so hard I never slept was during the third season of Hart of Dixie— SO good! Enjoy the recommends and stay in the loop when my new vampire romance series mentioned in the video releases in January 2019.

October 2018