Minerva Spencer's Blog, page 3
June 2, 2023
Because I’m a space cadet…??
Anyhow, I’ve got 2 items to share.
1st, I had a WONDERFUL interview with John Charles from Booklist/The Poisoned Pen! Yes, it was fun and he is always somebody I really love re-connecting with. We discussed my recent releases BALTHAZAR and THE DUELING DUCHESS (pics below) and lots, lots MORE!You can access that podcast for free if you click this LINK.
Yes, you can get your hands on an autographed print copy by entering on Goodreads. As always, these giveaways are free to enter.
There are only a few days left to sign up for a copy, so here is the LINK for that, too.
Here is the pretty cover and link, just in case you missed this one….
What else is new here? Well, I’m beavering away on SELINA, book 3 in THE BELLAMY SISTERS, and I’ve also spent a little time working on something completely new and unscheduled (BAD, author! Bad!) But it was such a fun idea I just couldn’t help it…
It has been raining like crazy here in the high desert which is just FABULOUS news for our drought-stricken neck of the woods. I love the rain but the dogs and chickens could live without it, lol.
That’s all for now. Have a great weekend!
SM/Minerva
The post Because I’m a space cadet…?? appeared first on Minerva Spencer & S.M. LaViolette.
Because I’m a space cadet…😜😁
Anyhow, I’ve got 2 items to share.
1st, I had a WONDERFUL interview with John Charles from Booklist/The Poisoned Pen! Yes, it was fun and he is always somebody I really love re-connecting with. We discussed my recent releases BALTHAZAR and THE DUELING DUCHESS (pics below) and lots, lots MORE!You can access that podcast for free if you click this LINK.
Yes, you can get your hands on an autographed print copy by entering on Goodreads. As always, these giveaways are free to enter.
There are only a few days left to sign up for a copy, so here is the LINK for that, too.
Here is the pretty cover and link, just in case you missed this one….
What else is new here? Well, I’m beavering away on SELINA, book 3 in THE BELLAMY SISTERS, and I’ve also spent a little time working on something completely new and unscheduled (BAD, author! Bad!) But it was such a fun idea I just couldn’t help it…
It has been raining like crazy here in the high desert which is just FABULOUS news for our drought-stricken neck of the woods. I love the rain but the dogs and chickens could live without it, lol.
That’s all for now. Have a great weekend!
SM/Minerva
The post Because I’m a space cadet…😜😁 appeared first on Minerva Spencer & S.M. LaViolette.
May 27, 2023
One Year Anniversary .99 Sale on PHOEBE!
A Wickedly Witty Age Gap Romance With Love Between the Classes!
PHOEBE book 1 in THE BELLAMY SISTERS is a sensual, sexy, and heartwarming love story about the girl next door and the powerful, wealthy stranger who changes her world forever. Minerva Spencer’s characters are witty and unforgettable and her romances are perfect for fans of Elizabeth Hoyt, Lisa Kleypas, and Meredith Duran.
Meet the Bellamy sisters, five young women who will do anything to save their siblings and keep the wolf from the door.
Lady Phoebe Bellamy will do anything to save her family estate—even marry the devil himself…
The Bellamy family has only four months before they’ll lose the very roof over their heads. While Phoebe’s older sisters venture out into the world to earn the necessary funds, Phoebe herself—plain, levelheaded, and responsible—stays home to care for her younger siblings and parents. But then she meets Viscount Needham, a fabulously wealthy, brand new peer, and everything changes.
When Phoebe learns that her father is determined to marry one of his daughters to Needham, she knows it’s time to act. She certainly can’t imagine saddling any of her beloved sisters with the brutally handsome upstart. So, she does the unthinkable and proposes to Viscount Needham herself…
Paul Needham attended the best schools, belongs to all the proper clubs, and can buy and sell half the House of Lords and still have money to spare. And yet the ton still treats him with disdain. Marrying one of their own is the fastest way to legitimize his place in society. But that doesn’t mean that he has to like his bride. He certainly won’t ever love her. Their marriage will be nothing but a mutually beneficial business arrangement.
Except it doesn’t feel like a simple transaction when Phoebe is in his arms…
They are complete opposites with nothing in common. Class differences and prejudices divide them. Is love enough to bridge their two worlds—or are they destined for heartbreak?
PHOEBE is the wickedly witty and sensually steamy first book of a five-book series. Each story in THE BELLAMY SISTERS stands alone.
The post One Year Anniversary .99 Sale on PHOEBE! appeared first on Minerva Spencer & S.M. LaViolette.
May 18, 2023
BALTHAZAR: THE SPARE is out in the world today!
BALTHAZAR: THE SPARE, which is book 1 in THE HALE FAMILY SAGA: AMERICANS IN LONDON, is live and in the wild!
Here is the lovely cover, the blurb, and a link to grab a copy….
The Hale family is coming to London, and the ton has never seen anything like it…
Meet the Hales, a wild, wealthy, and witty family of loveable misfits who are about to take London by storm. If you loved Mary Balogh’s Bedwins, Julia Quinn’s Bridgertons, or Loretta Chase’s Carsingtons, you’ll adore the Hales!
Victoria Dryden gave Balthazar Hale the last thing he ever expected. A reason to stay…
Balthazar and his siblings are living the good life in the utopian community of Canoga, New York, where they have a degree of sexual and intellectual freedom few men—and even fewer women—have ever known.
But sadly, all good things must come to an end.
When their father dies, the Hale siblings discover two disheartening truths. First, they have an older brother none of them knew existed. Second, this stranger is not only the heir to an English dukedom, he’s also their new legal guardian.
Before the Hales know it, all five siblings are dragged to England to take their places in strait-laced, stuffy ton society, where their guardian expects them to make respectable marriages.
All Balthazar wants is a way out.
Until he meets her.
Victoria is a woman with dangerous secrets. She’s the exact opposite of marriage material.
Falling for her could ruin both their lives.
But none of that matters when she’s in Balthazar’s arms…and his bed.
Finding their way to happily ever after would be so easy in Canoga.
Too bad they aren’t in utopia anymore…
This sexy Victorian historical romance features enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, opposites attract, and enough steam to melt your Kindle!
THE SPARE is the first in a sensual, adventurous, and loveable 6-book series that features all the Hale siblings.
The post BALTHAZAR: THE SPARE is out in the world today! appeared first on Minerva Spencer & S.M. LaViolette.
May 13, 2023
Another STARRED review for THE DUELING DUCHESS!
This has been a wonderful month for reviews! I don’t think I’ve ever received 3 trade reviews in one month before. I am SO thrilled and grateful for all of them. Have a look below…
A
STARREDreview from BOOKLIST for THE DUELING DUCHESS
Gaius Darlington, Marquess of Carlisle, is used to women wanting to kiss him, but Cecile
Tremblay is the first woman who says she wants to take a shot at him. Granted, taking aim with a gun at Gaius is part of Cecile’s act as a markswoman for Farnham’s Fantastical Female Fayre, but Gaius (who is working incognito in the circus as Guy Darling) still can’t figure out why Cecile is the one woman who seems immune to his legendary charm. Given her secret craving for reading London’s gossip columns, Cecile knows exactly who Gaius really is. What’s more, Cecile knows getting involved with someone who is fated to wed an heiress is asking for trouble. So why, after just one kiss, does Cecile wonder what a future with Gaius—in which she takes only verbal shots at him—might be like? With the second inventively populated and ingeniously plotted addition to her Wicked Women of Whitechapel series, following The Boxing Baroness (2022), Spencer scores a direct bull’s-eye with another carefully calibrated mix of steamy passion, delectably dry humor, and daringly original characters.
— John Charles
Spencer’s alluring second Wicked Women of Whitechapel novel (after The Boxing Baroness) stars Cecile Tremblay, one of four owners of Regency England’s first all-women circus, Farnham’s Fantastical Female Fayre, who also performs as a crack shot in one of the circus’s most popular acts. When Cecile’s former lover Guy Darlington shows up at her circus pleading for a job as Cecile’s assistant/drudge after losing his fiancée and his dukedom to his long-lost cousin, Cecile reluctantly takes him on. She has not forgotten how Guy previously insulted her with an offer to install her as his mistress while he went on to wed a more suitable woman. As the pair spend more time together, however, Cecile sees that he truly regrets his previous behavior and he confesses he’s never stopped loving her. But can guarded Cecile tear down her walls and open up about her mysterious past enough to return his feelings? The unusual backdrop of the circus continues to set this series apart, and the resilient female supporting cast add both charm and humor to the sensuous romance. Readers won’t want to put this down. (May)
Spencer (The Boxing Baroness) sets the tone for her Bellamy Sisters series with an engaging Regency love story in which the primary hurdles are the heroine’s pride and her family’s prejudice. Lady Phoebe Bellamy, who is sensible but haughty and sometimes considered plain, does her best to manage the household in the face of her father’s propensity for squandering their fortune. Despite her best efforts, however, the family will soon own nothing but their titles. Meanwhile, Paul Needham, a newly made viscount, is one of the richest men in England, but his surly, standoffish reputation precedes him. He dislikes society, but he requires both a respectable country home and a wife if he hopes to carve out a place in it for his illegitimate daughter. When Needham looks into renting Phoebe’s family estate, the Bellamy sisters find their parents ready to marry any one of them off to solve their financial woes. So Phoebe heroically spares her sisters and saves the family fortunes by proposing to the viscount herself—not expecting she may actually fall in love. There are hints of “Beauty and the Beast” to the sultry dynamic that arises between the leads as they navigate the complexities of Regency social status. Spencer creates characters worth rooting for. Readers will be eager to see Phoebe’s sisters find their own matches next. (Self-published)
The post Another STARRED review for THE DUELING DUCHESS! appeared first on Minerva Spencer & S.M. LaViolette.
March 7, 2023
HYACINTH is 8 Days at #1 on Amazon! ? ?
So excited to see this very special (to me!) book doing so well. It has spent the last 8 days at #1 on the Amazon charts.
HYACINTH isn’t the only one of my books that has been doing well this week. I FINALLY counted up the books that have made the top 100 lists (these are the various historical romance lists on Amazon) and there are SEVEN!!
They are:
NOTORIOUS, OUTRAGEOUS, THE FOOTMAN, PHOEBE, THE BOXING BARONESS, AND SELINA (which is on pre-order and yet made it onto a list!)
The success of this book is really motivating me to work, work, work! So THANK YOU to all those readers out there who support my w with their precious time and hard earned money!!
I JUST finished edits on another of my books, THE CUTTHROAT COUNTESS, and have begun work on BALTHAZAR: THE SPARE, which is the first in a brand new series. I am super excited about this series as it leaps “The Pond” so to speak and brings a family of rowdy Americans to London. This is also a Victorian Era series, so that is a nice change of pace for me.
As a writer, there are few things more rewarding than seeing one of your books getting reader love. I don’t read GR or Amazon myself, but Mr. Spencer goes through reviews and picks out those reviews he thinks I will enjoy the most. I have to say that I have really loved the ones I’ve read about HYACINTH. I feel like a lot of people really “get” her (even though she’s not pretty or popular or “normal”), which makes me feel like I succeeded with what I set out to do, which was tell a story about a woman who doesn’t measure success the way society does and never really expected to find happiness in marriage. And yet she does! Yes, of course she does, this is a romance, after all!
Have you read HYACINTH? You can read it for free if you have KU and it’s only $4.99 in ebook, which is less than one cup of coffee from Starbucks and it will keep you amused for a LOT longer.
Here is the link, just in case you are interested. You can use the free “look inside” feature and read at least 3 chapters of the story if you want an advance peek…
The post HYACINTH is 8 Days at #1 on Amazon! ? ? appeared first on Minerva Spencer & S.M. LaViolette.
HYACINTH is 8 Days at #1 on Amazon! 🤩 🥳
So excited to see this very special (to me!) book doing so well. It has spent the last 8 days at #1 on the Amazon charts.
HYACINTH isn’t the only one of my books that has been doing well this week. I FINALLY counted up the books that have made the top 100 lists (these are the various historical romance lists on Amazon) and there are SEVEN!!
They are:
NOTORIOUS, OUTRAGEOUS, THE FOOTMAN, PHOEBE, THE BOXING BARONESS, AND SELINA (which is on pre-order and yet made it onto a list!)
The success of this book is really motivating me to work, work, work! So THANK YOU to all those readers out there who support my w with their precious time and hard earned money!!
I JUST finished edits on another of my books, THE CUTTHROAT COUNTESS, and have begun work on BALTHAZAR: THE SPARE, which is the first in a brand new series. I am super excited about this series as it leaps “The Pond” so to speak and brings a family of rowdy Americans to London. This is also a Victorian Era series, so that is a nice change of pace for me.
As a writer, there are few things more rewarding than seeing one of your books getting reader love. I don’t read GR or Amazon myself, but Mr. Spencer goes through reviews and picks out those reviews he thinks I will enjoy the most. I have to say that I have really loved the ones I’ve read about HYACINTH. I feel like a lot of people really “get” her (even though she’s not pretty or popular or “normal”), which makes me feel like I succeeded with what I set out to do, which was tell a story about a woman who doesn’t measure success the way society does and never really expected to find happiness in marriage. And yet she does! Yes, of course she does, this is a romance, after all!
Have you read HYACINTH? You can read it for free if you have KU and it’s only $4.99 in ebook, which is less than one cup of coffee from Starbucks and it will keep you amused for a LOT longer.
Here is the link, just in case you are interested. You can use the free “look inside” feature and read at least 3 chapters of the story if you want an advance peek…
The post HYACINTH is 8 Days at #1 on Amazon! 🤩 🥳 appeared first on Minerva Spencer & S.M. LaViolette.
February 28, 2023
Launch day for HYACINTH!
Meet the Bellamy sisters, five young women who will do anything to save their siblings and keep the wolf from the door.
Lady Hyacinth Bellamy’s plans were flawless. Until fate dealt her a hand she never saw coming…
Romance isn’t for the plain, shy, and awkward—a painful truth that Hyacinth knows better than anyone. But Hy refuses to let anything or anyone stop her from living life on her own terms. Independence—and the opportunity to secure her family’s future—is finally within her grasp. But then Hy crosses paths with a meddling duke and everything changes…
Sylvester Derrick, Duke of Chatham, is bored. Even gaming and debauchery have lost their appeal. And he’s fed up with women who can’t see that he’s more than a title, a collection of scars, and unusual…appetites. Then he spots a young card sharp who is anything but boring. Clearly, Hy is the person who can make Sylvester feel something again…
It’s not long before Hy and Sylvester realize they have more in common—in and out of the bedroom—than they ever thought possible. But is happily ever after in the cards for a man who has been broken by love and a woman who doubts its very existence?
Grab your copy or read it on KU!
The post Launch day for HYACINTH! appeared first on Minerva Spencer & S.M. LaViolette.
February 14, 2023
St. Valentine’s Day sale .99 & 1.99 on 2 super spicy Hist Roms ? ?
Stephen Chatham is everything Jo Leather ever wanted. Despite Stephen’s tragic past, he’s kind, brilliant, and the best employer Jo’s ever had. Falling for him was easy. Stopping him from discovering that Jo is actually Josephine—and keeping him from hating her when the truth inevitably comes out? That will be infinitely more difficult.
Stephen doesn’t have much experience with love, but he’s known enough betrayal to last two lifetimes. Emotion doesn’t come easily to him. Neither does passion. But for reasons he can’t fathom, his valet—his very male valet—stirs both in him. Is he losing his mind—or is he falling in love with his servant?
Caught between their desire and society’s expectations, can Jo and Stephen find their way to happily ever after? Or is the distance between their worlds—and hearts—simply too great to bridge?
HIS VALET is an angsty, dark, standalone historical erotic romance novel featuring consensual BDSM and M/F, F/F, M/M/F, voyeurism, exhibitionism, explicit love scenes that will melt your kindle, and, YES, a happily ever after!
This is EROTIC ROMANCE, not erotica. That means this book has a real story and lots of it.
Melissa Griffin is quite literally sick and tired. She’s the owner of one of London’s most exclusive brothels, but her failing health is telling her she can’t continue to keep working at her current pace. A relaxing stay in the country is exactly what she needs. Falling for the small town’s gorgeous young vicar—a virgin, no less—was never part of her plan. Their love is scandalous, forbidden…and everything Melissa never knew she wanted. Denying her feelings is unthinkable. Avoiding devastation when her past inevitably drives them apart? Impossible.
Magnus Stanwyck never resented his vow of celibacy…until meeting Melissa. As beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, the mysterious woman captures his heart in a way he never could’ve anticipated. No matter what stands between them, no matter the cost, he’ll do whatever it takes to possess her—heart, body, and soul.
By day, they’re opposites who were never supposed to be together. By night, their passion threatens to overtake them. When all is said and done, can Melissa and Magnus overcome the obstacles (and enemies) that stand between them? Or will fate deny them their happily ever after?
MELISSA AND THE VICAR is a steamy, full-length romance novel with elements of taboo love, marriage of convenience, and opposites attract. If you love older woman and younger men stories with lots of sizzle and heat you’ll adore Melissa and Magnus’s love story.
This is book 1 in THE SEDUCERS series, a Regency romance trilogy that explores life on the wild side!
The post St. Valentine’s Day sale .99 & 1.99 on 2 super spicy Hist Roms ? ? appeared first on Minerva Spencer & S.M. LaViolette.
St. Valentine’s Day sale .99 & 1.99 on 2 super spicy Hist Roms 🥳 💋
Stephen Chatham is everything Jo Leather ever wanted. Despite Stephen’s tragic past, he’s kind, brilliant, and the best employer Jo’s ever had. Falling for him was easy. Stopping him from discovering that Jo is actually Josephine—and keeping him from hating her when the truth inevitably comes out? That will be infinitely more difficult.
Stephen doesn’t have much experience with love, but he’s known enough betrayal to last two lifetimes. Emotion doesn’t come easily to him. Neither does passion. But for reasons he can’t fathom, his valet—his very male valet—stirs both in him. Is he losing his mind—or is he falling in love with his servant?
Caught between their desire and society’s expectations, can Jo and Stephen find their way to happily ever after? Or is the distance between their worlds—and hearts—simply too great to bridge?
HIS VALET is an angsty, dark, standalone historical erotic romance novel featuring consensual BDSM and M/F, F/F, M/M/F, voyeurism, exhibitionism, explicit love scenes that will melt your kindle, and, YES, a happily ever after!
This is EROTIC ROMANCE, not erotica. That means this book has a real story and lots of it.
Melissa Griffin is quite literally sick and tired. She’s the owner of one of London’s most exclusive brothels, but her failing health is telling her she can’t continue to keep working at her current pace. A relaxing stay in the country is exactly what she needs. Falling for the small town’s gorgeous young vicar—a virgin, no less—was never part of her plan. Their love is scandalous, forbidden…and everything Melissa never knew she wanted. Denying her feelings is unthinkable. Avoiding devastation when her past inevitably drives them apart? Impossible.
Magnus Stanwyck never resented his vow of celibacy…until meeting Melissa. As beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, the mysterious woman captures his heart in a way he never could’ve anticipated. No matter what stands between them, no matter the cost, he’ll do whatever it takes to possess her—heart, body, and soul.
By day, they’re opposites who were never supposed to be together. By night, their passion threatens to overtake them. When all is said and done, can Melissa and Magnus overcome the obstacles (and enemies) that stand between them? Or will fate deny them their happily ever after?
MELISSA AND THE VICAR is a steamy, full-length romance novel with elements of taboo love, marriage of convenience, and opposites attract. If you love older woman and younger men stories with lots of sizzle and heat you’ll adore Melissa and Magnus’s love story.
This is book 1 in THE SEDUCERS series, a Regency romance trilogy that explores life on the wild side!
The post St. Valentine’s Day sale .99 & 1.99 on 2 super spicy Hist Roms 🥳 💋 appeared first on Minerva Spencer & S.M. LaViolette.
