Heather Boyd's Blog, page 4

Meet Winston

Meet Winston…the temporary valet

Winston had never known any male traveler to carry so many trunks before, and could not wait to unpack the contents to find out what they contained. Fine clothing was Winston���s weakness, and Lord Stratford dressed very well indeed.

Unpacking would have to wait until the butler had gone, though. The older man had first watched from the far doorway until beckoned inside. Winston knew better than to put off the inevitable questions about replacing Cuthbert so abruptly. Butlers were the most important men in any household, and this one had been asking questions for five minutes already.

���I came here as a boy and never left,��� the older man murmured, leaning against the bedpost momentarily.

Winston was not surprised by the butler���s admission. Some servants were as immovable as the vast homes they served. They often had limited patience for outsiders, too. Cuthbert had said he���d come from London, and so far, he didn���t seem unduly missed by any servant here.

���Never, sir?��� Winston approached the only trunk opened during the journey and took out a nightshirt and laid it across the high pillows already on the bed, along with Stratford���s silk robe. Not that there was much hope the man might choose to wear either garment. He hadn���t so far after Winston���s three days in his service. But Lord Stratford carried them, and the option was there for him to don either garment should he ever choose to be modest.

���No. I never wanted more for my life than this,��� he said. ���My family is here, in the village two miles away. I see them once or twice a year,��� he admitted.

���The first butler I ever worked with was much the same,��� Winston promised, closing one trunk and opening the next, nearly crowing at the excitement of seeing a fine dark navy-blue cloth���perhaps a frock coat���on top. ���He was devoted to his post and the family he had worked for all his life, much like you.���

The butler approached. ���Why did you leave that post?���

���I wasn���t wanted,��� Winston said with a shrug and picked up the coat, frowning. It would need pressing before it could be worn. Lord Stratford could not wear wrinkled garments. Cuthbert should have packed this trunk far better than he had. ���And I wanted to see something of the world, sir.���

The old butler scoffed at the idea. ���And was it all you expected?���

���Yes, and no.���

���That is the case with everything. When you are older, you���ll understand the world can be wherever you find yourself, and you should be grateful to belong anywhere,��� the butler said condescendingly.

Winston didn���t want to belong. Never had. Never would. Although, Winston would give anything to belong to a coat like this one. When the butler was gone, Winston would properly unpack and admire everything normally beyond the reach of a mere servant.

Winston glanced at the easel propped up against the bed, then cast an eye about the room, looking for the best place to move it to. Lord Stratford claimed to be something of an artist, but he had given no directions for the easel���s positioning.

Mr. Seymour approached. ���Move that chair, set the easel at an angle facing the bed. Lord Stratford paints in the mornings. The light is best then, he says.���

���Thank you, sir,��� Winston murmured before grasping a large, heavy armchair single-handedly and maneuvering it out of the way. ���My predecessor gave no instructions for that stack of paintings, either.���

The butler started to flick through them. There were more than a dozen to go through. Some complete, others painted over in one color as if he had been unhappy with the work and wanted to hide it. ���Lord Stratford keeps them anywhere about the room he likes until he���s no wish to see them anymore. Then they are stored in the attics, with all the others he���s painted over the years.���

���Are there many?���

���Dozens, I should imagine. Only a few were deemed good enough to have been hung about the palace. The late duke������ The older man did not finish his statement, but he didn���t really have to. Winston could well imagine a powerful duke would have no time for what might be considered a younger son���s frivolous pastime. He wondered briefly how Lord Stratford stood in the current duke���s eyes. He was a younger brother and might be considered a burden on the estate, as many were.

Winston grappled with one large unfinished work, carefully set it on the easel, and then stood back. ���This is, I believe, his latest work.���

The butler came around the easel to view it. ���Unfinished.���

���Indeed.���

Lord Stratford had spent most of the evenings of the journey staring at it, but had not painted even a single brushstroke on the canvas. It was of a voluptuous woman reclining on pillows in a flowing red gown, surrounded by candles. She was very beautiful. Why else paint her, of course? Perhaps she was his sweetheart or lover or even his own wife. Lord Stratford had never said he was married, and Winston had not thought to ask. But it was easy to see what the painting might become if the young lord spent more time finishing the canvas, and less trying to provoke a rise out of his temporary valet. He had talked constantly about his home, and pestered Winston with questions, too.

And once they���d arrived, he had immediately run off to meet his brothers without so much as a backward glance. Winston couldn���t ever imagine feeling that same way about going home.

Desperately Seeking Seduction will be available Tuesday 18 April. Click here for more information

The post Meet Winston appeared first on Heather Boyd | USAT Bestselling Author.

Meet Lord Stratford Sweet

Meet Lord Stratford Sweet…

 

Lord Stratford Sweet smirked. ���It���s big, isn���t it?���

His companion turned obediently to look. ���I���ve seen bigger.���

���I���d like to know where,��� Stratford muttered, and then sat back with a grunt.

���It is impressive,��� Mr. Dane Winston offered with an indifferent shrug.

Stratford pursed his lips in annoyance at the faint praise for so grand a view. ���Ravensworth Palace is one of the largest homes in all of England. You could get lost in there on the first day.���

���I���ll do my best not to,��� Winston murmured, a faint twist of condescension hovering on the fellow���s lips. ���But if I do, I will ask for directions, or perhaps a map.���

Stratford had been forced to hire a replacement for his usual valet, Cuthbert, who���d been injured at the first inn they���d stopped at on his journey home. Cuthbert couldn���t have carried out his duties with a broken wing and banged up head from his tumble down the staircase, and Stratford couldn���t function without a valet to clean up after him. That way led to chaos and tardiness his brother the duke would tease him about. Although this fellow was young, Dane Winston had been eager to escape the inn where he���d been slaving away underpaid, for a better position and wages. Even if it was only to be a temporary position.

Winston was hard to figure out and harder to impress.

Stratford had taken him on despite only having the innkeepers word he was a sensible and dedicated worker and would give him no trouble. But as a traveling companion, he left a lot to be desired.

Winston���s indifference to the things that mattered had begun to irk the longer they were trapped inside the slow-moving carriage. Stratford talked a lot, but Winston seemed to prefer their journey be conducted in near silence. It had already been an hour since their last real conversation. Stratford was about ready to toss Winston out to ride on the back of the carriage with the grooms. However, given the man���s small stature, there was an obvious risk he���d lose the valet at any rough spot along the road.

He regarded Winston with a critical eye, yet again wondering if he���d made a mistake plucking him out for the plum role. Stratford was the younger brother of the new Duke of Ravenswood, after all. But given that Winston had performed all the duties expected of a valet exceptionally well���save for conversation���he had little choice but to keep him until Cuthbert recovered and appeared at Ravenswood Palace. If only Winston had a more outgoing personality, Stratford would be entirely satisfied with his new employee.

He sighed and set his preoccupation for getting a rise out of his new employee aside until later. Coming home would be interesting. It was the first time he���d ever looked forward to it, that he could ever remember. The long-suffering servants should be happy about it too. ���You can trust the butler to set you right. That man knows every nook and cranny in the place. He rose through the ranks from pot boy. As for the other servants, I could not say who you might rely upon.���

Winston nodded. ���I will be guided by your wisdom.���

���That would be a nice change. I told Cuthbert to watch that step and he still blundered into a fall,��� Stratford complained. ���Cuthbert surely must have noticed the wobble going up.���

But on the trip down the next morning, he took a tumble and had broken bone. Quite an unsettling howl he���d made, too. By midday, Stratford had known he had to leave the moaning servant behind. It was not every day your beloved elder brother hosted the family for the first time since becoming the Duke of Ravenswood. Stratford was already late.

He turned to take in the view of his ancestral home as they drew nearer. Ravenswood Palace, deep in the heart of Somerset, was a truly spectacular building. Four floors in total, thirty-five bedchambers. Nestled on a slight rise of land. It commanded a view of many miles in every direction.

But best of all was what would be found inside. He could not wait to see all those smug faces in the family wiped clean when they were denied the privilege of the new duke���s favor. Their hands outstretched and smiles imploring, and then those same greedy hands closing over nothing but air as their smiles became a mere memory. It was their own damn fault that Ravenswood would never give any one of them a penny. They should have been kinder to him all along, rather than pandering to the late Duke of Ravenswood���s capricious whims because he preferred to foster competitiveness for his attention.

Stratford���s elder brother, Algernon Sweet, sixth Duke of Ravenswood, did not suffer fools. And the family had a legion of those. He would have to be on his guard, and Stratford had counted on Cuthbert keeping his ear to the ground in the servants��� hall for any potential signs of trouble. Without Cuthbert���s insights, he would have to face the family at large with more of a disadvantage than usual.

But Stratford had made the best of a bad situation. The inn really had only the one decent footman who had dared apply for the position before Stratford had decided he even had need of a replacement. Mr. Dane Winston had seemed the only logical choice. Quite bold, too. He���d quickly gathered up Stratford���s things strewn about the room, spoke with his moaning valet, and promised Stratford would not regret his hire.

And he had not, for the first days, but he would wait to pass judgement until he���d spent a few days at Ravenswood. That would surely be a test of his new valet���s mettle.

When the carriage finally stopped at the front of Ravenswood Palace, he bounded out and rushed toward the massive carved old entrance doors, leaving the servants to do what they normally did when he wasn���t around. It was not strictly a palace, Ravenswood, but the name had stuck, and Father of course would never have diminished the family���s importance by changing it back to merely calling it an overly large manor house.

The Ravenswood butler stepped out the doors before he could reach them, beaming a smile of welcome. ���Lord Stratford. Welcome home.���

 

Desperately Seeking Seduction releases April 18. Click here to find a pre-order link.

The post Meet Lord Stratford Sweet appeared first on Heather Boyd | USAT Bestselling Author.

Easter Monday

Hope you’re all having a really nice, chocolate filled, long weekend like me.

Take care

The post Easter Monday appeared first on Heather Boyd | USAT Bestselling Author.

WeWriWa Aftermath

Hey, welcome back for a new round of WeWriWa (Weekend Writing Warriors)��a weekly hop for writers who blog their work! Thanks everyone for dropping by last time and commenting. Much appreciated.

Last week I posted an excerpt from��Wicked with Him��and a few were worried about Amity’s ruin and disliking Roman for it so I’m continuing today with an excerpt to show a little more of how he’s feeling now…

Women only ever wanted him for a quick tumble anyway.

Amity had wanted that, too���now to his regret. And now, he had to behave as he always did. He had to be certain he was never a suspect and end up married or shot or cut to ribbons at dawn. There was still so much more he had to do to make George Sweet pay dearly for his misdeeds. ���Surely she wants marriage.���

���If she does, she isn���t saying so. George probably won���t trick anyone into taking her on now, anyway. She���s revealed a stubborn streak most men would find unattractive. He���s made his displeasure with her behavior well known. Issuing all sort of threats in the hope of loosening her tongue. Fairbridge had to intervene.���

 

And a little more…

That had an ominous ring to it. He turned to Stratford immediately. ���What do you mean by that?���

Stratford scowled darkly. ���Caught George���s filthy paw before he could strike Amity���s upturned face. It was almost if she was daring him to beat her. This scandal will end talks of Amity marrying, and after that violent display, my dear cousin might find himself on the outs with society ladies for a while. He���s always hidden his brutish nature well���until tonight.���

Roman straightened, fury building inside him unlike anything he���d ever experienced. He���d known George Sweet was a bully for years, especially toward his fellow man, but not when it came to women. And women in his family could never escape such violence when it happened behind closed doors without help. ���He tried to strike Amity?���

���The man is beyond the pale. No wonder she���s willing to risk being cast out, or perhaps that was what she hoped for.���

He craned his neck, hoping to catch sight of Amity. ���What will be done with her?���

About the Book

Scandals rarely take place in the center of the ballroom, but on the fringes anything is possible.

From the moment George Sweet stole his intended, Roman Crawford has pursued every possible manner of revenge against the nasty scrub. Though he does have his limits. Debauching Sweet���s sister, a veritable paragon of vestal goodness, is beyond the pale���yet that is exactly what the lady herself requests.

If public humiliation is the only way Amity can escape an arranged marriage to one of her vicious brother���s cronies, then it will be on her terms. She enlists the aid of her brother���s greatest enemy, who she���s certain will be happy to see her brother brought low by her corruption. But Amity is no fool. Roman’s heart will always belong to another.

***

Click the link to the Wicked with Him page to continue reading and��to find other authors taking part in WeWriWa, click the image below.

The post WeWriWa Aftermath appeared first on Heather Boyd | USAT Bestselling Author.

Happy mail day

I forgot to share my big excitement this week. It’s Happy Mail Day.

The paperback edition of Desperately Seeking Seduction landed on my doorstep this week. I love having a physical edition of my work to hug. It looks so good beside Wicked with Him too.

This was a wonderful story to write and I hope you love it just as much as I do.

DESPERATELY SEEKING SEDUCTION

APRIL 18

When Lord Stratford finds his new valet is keeping an outrageous secret, discovery could bring shame upon both himself and his brother, the new Duke of Ravenswood, whose duchy is already in dire straits. It will take an unexpected attraction, a long-forgotten painting, and a demanding houseguest to avoid a ���Sweet��� scandal.

A Steamy Regency Historical Romance novel

 

Visit the book page to learn more

Do you still read print books or are you eBook all the way now?

The post Happy mail day appeared first on Heather Boyd | USAT Bestselling Author.

April Regency Reads

I’m starting a regular feature on my blog from this month to showcase new releases and pre-orders by other authors in the regency historical romance genre. I used to do this on Twitter but since I’m no longer posting there I’ll do it here once a month. Anyway, take a peek at the new books in this months April Regency Reads and perhaps you’ll find your next book boyfriend among them.

April 1:

Detecting Danger
(Sinclair and Raven Book 11)
by Wendy Vella

He could no longer deny what was inside him…
Will she forfeit her happiness to keep him safe?

Legend, love and destiny, with a hint of magic.

Available on: AMAZON

April 4:

Romancing the Heiress
(Lords in Love Book 3)
by Darcy Burke

Return to the annual Marrywell May Day Matchmaking Festival where childhood friends Leah and Phin are reunited for the first time in seven years. He���s looking for an heiress to save his botanical gardens, while she is intent on saving him from a horrible match.

Available on: AMAZON�� | ��APPLE�� | ��NOOK

April 10:

Persuasions of an Earl’s Daughter
(The Duchess’s Investigative Society Book 9)
by Samantha Holt

She’s not about to let him steal anything else from her…least of all her heart…

Mystery, romance, and strong-willed heroines!

Available on: AMAZON

April 21:

Defying the Earl
(Lords in Love Book 4)
by Erica Ridley

Rather than meet her unwanted new guardian as instructed, she attends a ball and comes kiss-to-kiss with an adorably befuddled handsome lord instead. But the grumpy, sexy stranger turns out to be her new guardian, hell-bent on marrying her to someone else!

A fun, flirty guardian-and-ward forced proximity romp

Available on: AMAZON

April 27:

The Baron’s Return
(Landing a Lord Book 7)
by Suzanna Medeiros

She broke his heart once before. He won���t give her the chance to do it again.

Baron Cranston���s offer of a marriage of convenience could give the newly widowed Abigail the second chance she never expected to have with the only man she���s over loved. She just needs to convince the stubborn baron that his heart isn���t as closed off as he believes.

Available on: AMAZON����| ��APPLE BOOKS ��| ��NOOK

There are many more of course, but it should be enough to fill a few hours. (Authors you can add your book in the comments sections below if you like, too) ��

What other great reads have you found this month?

Affiliate links used on this blog post

The post April Regency Reads appeared first on Heather Boyd | USAT Bestselling Author.

Thursday . . . Good and bad

Change is the only constant in life, right? This Thursday we’ve got some big changes in the book world. Good and Bad. The bad first…

Book Depository is Closing

I’ve used Book Depository for print books for a really long time and I’m sad to hear its going to be closing down. Readers can still order books up until midday on the 26th April. There’s more info on the site��if you need more info.

But now for the good…

Kobo Plus Territory Expansion

Kobo has a ebook subscription service called (imaginatively) Kobo Plus and they are now open to resident of the United States and the UK, too. It’s similar to Amazon’s KU but doesn’t require authors to be exclusive to them. I know Kobo plus has been very popular for my readers this past year. I’ve not been given the option to add my books to those regions on the Kobo Dashboard yet, but I’m sure that will be coming any day now. You can sign up for Kobo Plus for the low price of $13.99 AUD, $9.99 USD or����8.99 UK per month. This subscription is great for voracious readers. Happy reading!

And a farewell…

[image error]To Twitter. After 14 years of loving the social media site over all others, the immediacy of connecting with readers and other authors, I’m done there. The new owner is determined to cut our visibility and line his own pockets. Absurd for a man supposedly worth billions already. I have kept my account, but I will no longer be posting or visiting the site to interact with anyone. I haven’t yet decided upon a replacement social media site (never really been a fan of Facebook since its impossible to be seen by your followers there too) but you will find me here on my own blog. Would love for you to say hi sometimes. �� ��

The post Thursday . . . Good and bad appeared first on Heather Boyd | USAT Bestselling Author.

Love and Other Disasters is coming soon

So excited to share details of the third Scandalous Brides novel coming July 11.

Love and Other Disasters, Scandalous Brides Book 3

Third son. The spare���s spare. That is the whole of it, where Jasper Sweet is concerned, disregarded by his late father and overlooked by his elder brothers. Everything and everyone he���s ever cared for inevitably going to someone else. There���s little point to putting his heart on the line, so a rake is all he���ll ever be. A disgruntled one, at the moment���forced to put his family���s financial struggles before his own and endure a summer at their country estate with naught but his brother���s young sons for company.

And the boys��� governess. An uptight, argumentative spinster who���s vexed him at every turn from the moment she entered his brother���s employ. A servant who is hardly worthy of his notice.

Until he discovers Sophie Radcliffe is not at all what she seems.

Getting closer to the woman isn���t wise, but when she deigns to help him with a scandalous scheme to refill his coffers, he can scarcely resist. And in fact, he doesn���t. In Sophie, he���s found a woman of similar mind, similar ambition���similar passion.

As summer at Ravenswood Estate rolls on, and Sophie and Jasper grow ever closer, the formerly unrepentant rake begins to glimpse a future for himself he���d previously never considered. But he should have known better.

For yet again, what once was briefly his, is soon coveted by another.

Love and Other Disasters, is book 3 in the Scandalous Brides series but can be read as a standalone. Hope you’re keen for a nutty wild ride with this one. You can pre-order the book now from the following retailers.

AMAZON US | AMAZON UK | AMAZON CA | AMAZON AU

APPLE BOOKS US | APPLE BOOKS UK | APPLE BOOKS CA | APPLE BOOKS AU

BARNES & NOBLE

KOBO US | KOBO UK | KOBO CA | KOBO AU

SMASHWORDS

You can add Love and Other Disasters to your Goodreads Shelf and to your Bookbub Wish List. If you’re interested in the other books in the series please visit this page.

The post Love and Other Disasters is coming soon appeared first on Heather Boyd | USAT Bestselling Author.

WeWriWa Cause and Effect

Hey, welcome back for a new round of WeWriWa (Weekend Writing Warriors)��a weekly hop for writers who blog their work! Thanks everyone for dropping by last time and commenting. Much appreciated.

Last week I posted an excerpt from��Wicked with Him, and I’m continuing today with an excerpt a little further along in the story…

The sound slowly rose to a crescendo before some grabbed him by the shoulders to whisper. ���Did you hear? Sweet Paragon has been ruined!���

It had begun. Roman glanced back at the speaker, feigning utter surprise at hearing such shocking news. Lord Stratford Sweet, one of Amity���s male cousins, was grinning from ear to ear though.��

Roman narrowed his eyes. ���Should you be spreading gossip about your own cousin like that?���

���I didn���t do it,��� Stratford exclaimed hastily. ���George is livid. You should see the scene he���s making over in the library.���

���Also your cousin,��� Roman drawled slowly, hiding how he really felt behind an expression of concern. But he turned his eyes toward the far door, hoping to catch a glimpse of his enemy brought low, and of Amity, too.

And a little more…

���Why are you not there now?���

���Ravenswood sent me away. One of my aunts has fainted and I failed to catch her. Algernon is trying to take charge.���

Roman had not realized the Duke of Ravenswood and his oldest son and heir, Algernon Sweet, Earl of Fairbridge, was in attendance tonight. Roman may not have agreed to meet with Amity if he���d know of their presence. Ravenswood was a cold bastard, but Fairbridge, although quieter than Stratford, was someone a fellow should never think to cross either. He hoped Amity could hold her tongue in the face of that cousin���s likely displeasure. ���What will be done about finding the fiend?���

Stratford shrugged. ���No doubt Ravenswood will do his best to flush him out so George can have the pleasure of shooting him at dawn tomorrow.���

Amity had predicted that possibility, too, and still Roman had gone to her. Helped her ruin herself and enjoyed every moment. He scanned the room discreetly, reminding himself where the closest exit was if a speedy departure became necessary. ���Do they have any idea who it might have been?���

���No. Amity���s lips are sealed tighter than her legs once were,��� Stratford muttered coarsely, then chuckled. ���I always knew my cousin had a wild heart hidden under all of that prim muslin and lace she wears.���

Wild heart, indeed.

About the Book

Scandals rarely take place in the center of the ballroom, but on the fringes anything is possible.

From the moment George Sweet stole his intended, Roman Crawford has pursued every possible manner of revenge against the nasty scrub. Though he does have his limits. Debauching Sweet���s sister, a veritable paragon of vestal goodness, is beyond the pale���yet that is exactly what the lady herself requests.

If public humiliation is the only way Amity can escape an arranged marriage to one of her vicious brother���s cronies, then it will be on her terms. She enlists the aid of her brother���s greatest enemy, who she���s certain will be happy to see her brother brought low by her corruption. But Amity is no fool. Roman’s heart will always belong to another.

***

Click the link to the Wicked with Him page to continue reading and��to find other authors taking part in WeWriWa, click the image below.

The post WeWriWa Cause and Effect appeared first on Heather Boyd | USAT Bestselling Author.

WeWriWa Ruin Me

Hey, welcome back for a new round of WeWriWa(Weekend Writing Warriors)–��a weekly hop for writers who blog their work! Thanks everyone for dropping by last week and commenting. I enjoyed reading your work too.

Last week I posted an excerpt from my last release, Wicked with Him, and I’m continuing with it today…

Roman knew exactly who was trying to talk to him, and why she was trying so hard not to be seen. He could hardly believe she���d dare. Lady Amity Sweet, niece to the current Duke of Ravenswood, sister to the man he loathed beyond all reason, shouldn���t have sought him out. Not unless she was wanted to be used in Roman���s bid for unending revenge against her older brother. She could be ruined in the blink of an eye. ���How may I be of assistance?���

���Ruin me.���

Roman blinked, believing he���d misheard his own thought coming from her lips. ���I beg your pardon?���

���Ten minutes. Beneath the staircase. Meet me there and tell no one.���

No one would believe him if he did, anyway.

About the Book

Scandals rarely take place in the center of the ballroom, but on the fringes anything is possible.

From the moment George Sweet stole his intended, Roman Crawford has pursued every possible manner of revenge against the nasty scrub. Though he does have his limits. Debauching Sweet���s sister, a veritable paragon of vestal goodness, is beyond the pale���yet that is exactly what the lady herself requests.

If public humiliation is the only way Amity can escape an arranged marriage to one of her vicious brother���s cronies, then it will be on her terms. She enlists the aid of her brother���s greatest enemy, who she���s certain will be happy to see her brother brought low by her corruption. But Amity is no fool. Roman’s heart will always belong to another.

***

Click the link to the Wicked with Him page to continue reading and��to find other authors taking part in WeWriWa, click the image below.

The post WeWriWa Ruin Me appeared first on Heather Boyd | USAT Bestselling Author.