Kay Springsteen's Blog, page 3

This Christmas…

Dear 2013 World:

I grew up in a fairly traditional family. My mum came to America from England post WWII. My dad’s mum had come over from there sometime before 1912. So my dad was born here but my mum had a lot of English traditions that she brought to the family. Somehow, it worked and we had traditional American Christmases while I was growing up. Stockings were hung, Santa visited. All of our extended family – all on my mom’s side – resided in England, so no huge family get-togethers for me. My mom, my best friend throughout my life, made every day seem like Christmas but over the holiday, it was somehow even better. She made sure we spent time Christmas shopping together, she stood in long lines to see Santa, took me to community Christmas parties where we had visits with Santa, did arts and crafts, and participated in sing-alongs. She taught me how to hide, disguise, and wrap presents, decorate a wicked Christmas tree, write and send Christmas cards. She taught me that it wasn’t what I received on Christmas but what I gave that was the most fun. And I did not get everything I asked for. But I loved everything I got.

Over the years, the routine sometimes varied. My brother is a decade older than I am, so he spent some holidays away from home during his service in the US Air Force, and when he came home, he got married, and later had a daughter. Instant extended family there, because Lyn had family in northern Michigan, and sometimes my brother and sister-in-law would take me along on visits up there beginning the day after Christmas. Not too often, though, because I always discovered that I missed my parents and home.

And then I grew up and had my own family. And discovered a whole new world as the MOM at Christmas time. Thankfully, I had such a wonderful example with my own mom and dad. We always tried to make Christmas special for the kids and they seemed to have fun. But alas, time continues to pass. We lost our first child at the age of 2-1/2, and the day after my sister-in-law at a young age of 40. Later, my dad, and then my niece’s first little boy, and soon after that my children’s other granddad. And most recently, only a few years ago my mom, and now my children are grown with families of their own – each in his/her own special version. Now… I am the GRANDMA of Christmas. But sadly, we haven’t had a family Christmas where we’ve all been together for years. My oldest resides in Michigan. One of my twins is in Okinawa, where her husband is stationed with the US Marines. But even though I’m not with them, in a way, I am, for they carry on a lot of the same traditions I taught them, which my mom had taught me. Mary and her husband Matt, recognizing that many of those stationed with them have no family on-base, and no way to go home for the holidays, have opened their hearts and home to celebrate with those who would otherwise be alone.

Each new role – child, mother, grandmother of Christmas – has brought to it something special. And I guess that’s the point. Life moves on. Things inevitably change, one’s perspective changes. Some memories are good, some maybe not as good, and some maybe sad or poignant as the people we love pass on and go to Jesus, or just plain cannot be with us to celebrate the holiday. There is, however, one constant – that “reason for the season,” Jesus Christ. I am grateful for every moment I have been able to spend on this earth, happy or sad, spent with all my family or scattered. We are all where we are supposed to be, and whether near or far, on this earth, or in heaven, there is always the glue that keeps us one family. There is always love, the perfect love that Jesus taught.

So my Christmas wishes for all of you this year are three – that you will experience a wonderful, Jesus-filled Christmas, that your hearts will be filled with love and joy for others, and that you have the fellowship of family and friends holding you in their hearts.

Merry Christmas, world.

Release day: ELECT by Rachel Van Dyken

I am  pleased to help spread the word about ELECT, the hot new book from Rachel Van Dyken’s Eagle Elite Series! You’ll want every book in this amazing New Adult series!!

Nixon Abandonato made his choice. And now he has to pay the price. Tracey is the love of his life, but being with him has made her a target of his family’s enemies. The only way to keep Trace alive is convince the world she means nothing to him.

Trace Rooks has fallen irrevocably in love with the son of her family’s sworn rival, and she knows in her bones nothing can tear them apart. Until Nix suddenly pushes her away and into the arms of his best friend… But Trace isn’t ready to give up on a future with Nix–and if he won’t fight for them, she will.

In the end, a sacrifice must be made. A life for a life. For what better way to cover a multitude of sins than with the blood of a sinner . . .

Excerpt:

I woke up with a killer hangover. My fault. Grumbling, I took a shower and went downstairs to get some breakfast before I went over to the Space to see if Phoenix would change his tune.

“Hey.” Trace was sitting at the table eating some toast.

“Hey.” I waved. Idiot. She was sitting right in front of me.

Her eyes didn’t leave mine. I was frozen in place and could literally hear every beat of my heart in the silence.

“You’re wrong, you know.” She stood and walked toward me. “About a lot of things—everything, actually. And you’re an ass.”

“I—”

“I’m talking, you’re listening.” She smirked and grabbed the front of my shirt and pushed me toward the pantry. She slammed me against the door, pretty forcefully, I might add, and then opened it and shoved me in. I mean, I could fight her but I was too damn turned on and curious to do anything except stare at her.

“I. Want. You.” She took off her shirt. What the hell? “Only you.” Her jeans were next.

The pantry immediately became my number one favorite spot in the house.

Facing me in nothing but her scandalous white lacy underwear, she whispered in my ear. “This. What you see? What’s in front of you, it’s not just about me wanting you. I want all of you. I want to be vulnerable with you, exposed. But you have to let me…maybe the reason I don’t want to open up that part of myself to Chase is because he isn’t you, Nixon. He doesn’t have this.” She placed my hand on her bare skin right above her breast. Shit, I was slowly dying inside. Did she even realize what the hell she was doing to me?

“He doesn’t have our history, our past, our drama. I love him, you’re right. I love him so damn much that I can’t imagine life without him. But he and I—we aren’t this. So tell me, Nixon. Tell me if you want me to forget. I’ll forget what we have, if that’s really what you want. If you want me to jump into his arms without looking back, I will. But know I’ll hate you forever for giving me up.”

“I’m not,” I interrupted her. “You can’t give up something you never had.”

She slapped me hard across the face. “You promised, Nixon. You promised me.”

I kissed her hard on the mouth, clenching her wrists in my hands as I pinned her against the door. “You’re right,” I growled and pulled away. “And I’m sorry for hurting us, for hurting you, but Trace…next time you trap me in a closet, in nothing but your underwear. I will take advantage of you. I’ll screw you until you forget your own name. Don’t play with fire, and don’t mess with me. I’m still terrible for you; he’s better, and I stand by what I did. Now move out of the way before I truly lose control and steal your virginity next to the damn Cheerios.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared as I sidestepped her and walked out of the pantry and directly into Tex.

“Whoa!” Tex looked at my face and then lower. His smile widened. “Taking care of business in the pantry or Mrs. Butterworth just make you horny?”

“Shut up.”

“It’s cool! She’s naked, I get it!” Tex called after me, while I raced back up the stairs, grabbed my phone and keys, and then ran out of the house. Away from Trace, away from everything.

Rachel Van Dyken’s Bio:   Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of Regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor. She keeps her home in Idaho with her husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers!

 Raffle Copter Link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/OTE3MmMxYTA5NWI0YjhkMjZkNWU0YzM1M2E1YzU2Ojk3/

Links:

Website: http://rachelvandykenauthor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelVanDyken

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RachVD

ELECT Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18210033-elect

Rachel Van Dyken Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4882127.Rachel_Van_Dyken

She’s ba-aa-ck! Moriah Densley GIVEAWAY

We’re celebrating the re-release of Victorian romance, The King of Threadneedle Street!

Did you know Moriah Densley is not only a talented (fabulously talented!) author but an exceptionally gifted jewelry artisan as well? How about I let her tell you!

…………………………………….

Jewelry making is a hobby I’ve enjoyed for years. When writing the scene in The King of Threadneedle Street where Andrew gives Alysia a rare lavender pearl jewelry set, I went wild with my imagination. I created Victorian-style pearl, onyx, and crystal jewelry for the release-day giveaway; here’s where the inspiration came from:

     Before Alysia dressed for dinner, Marsden delivered a small white case and left without a word. She unfolded the note to see Andrew’s capricious scrawl. He wrote, Please wear these for me tonight. She unwrapped the chocolate truffles and nibbled on one as she opened the lid of the box.

She gasped — an elaborate jewelry set glowed in the lamplight. Breathtaking pearls, a smoky lavender color and set in designs she had never seen the like of. The necklace was not merely a strand, but an arrangement that resembled an elaborate tiara, or half of a snowflake. Woven into delicate patterns with graduated-sized pearls, it looked like some priceless artifact discovered in an ancient tomb.

Alysia dropped her dressing robe to hold the necklace against her collar. She fastened the clasp and tried on the matching earrings and bracelet. Exquisite. And that he’d picked the color to complement her eyes? Romantic. She looked in the mirror to see the luster of the pearls reflecting the lavender facets of her eyes, making them paradoxically smoky and bright.

Andrew knew what he was doing.

And, indeed, MORIAH knows what she is doing! Just check out a few samples of her work!

And you could win! Just go to Moriah’s website and blog to enter for a chance to win her fabulous giveaway!

ABOUT the AUTHOR

Bestselling author Moriah Densley sees nothing odd at all about keeping both a violin case and a range bag stuffed with pistols in the back seat of her car. They hold up the stack of books in the middle, of course. She enjoys writing about Victorians, assassins, and geeks. Her muses are summoned by the smell of chocolate, usually at odd hours of the night. By day her alter ego is your friendly neighborhood music teacher. She lives in Las Vegas with her husband, four children, and two possibly brain-damaged cats.

 Moriah has a Master’s degree in music, is a 2012 RWA Golden Heart finalist, 2012 National Reader’s Choice Award winner, and ’12 NRCA “Best First Book” finalist. She’s the author of the bestselling “Rougemont” Historical Romance series from Eskape Press, and the “Network-One” Paranormal Romance series coming 2014 from Entangled Publishing. Moriah is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan of Greenburger Associates.

 

 

FIND MORIAH’S WORK ON:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Kobo

All Romance eBooks

Amazon UK

FIND MORE MORIAH:

Website blog: http://moriahdensley.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MoriahDensley

Twitter: http://twitter.com/moriahdensley

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/moriahdensley/

Goodreads:

Welcome Best Selling Author Ruth Hartman!

Okay, so today this CRAZY DOG LADY (a/k/a/ me) is hosting my good friend, Ruth Hartman, a self proclaimed… well, how about we let her tell it!

……………………………………………………………………….

I am a crazy cat lady. I make no excuses for it and in fact wear the honor proudly. Three very spoiled cats, all named after some of my book characters, share a one-hundred-year-old farmhouse with my husband, Garry and me. Max, Roxy and Remmie rule the house, of course, expecting the humans to bow and scrape and see to their every whim.

Which of course, we do.

My very first published story was in “I Love Cats” magazine several years ago. I sent in a memory of the first cat Garry and I shared. His name was Arthur and he resembled a Russian Blue, though I’m sure he was a mutt, considering we got him from the animal shelter.

Arthur lived to be sixteen, but when he was twelve, one day he couldn’t decide if he wanted in the house or out on the patio. He raced back and forth while I held the door open. I thought he’d made up his mind at last and shut the door. But he must have had second thoughts and tried to race back into the kitchen at the last minute. When I saw the fur and blood from his tail all over the floor, I screamed. So did Arthur. Our adventures with the plastic lampshade he had to wear and how drunk he was from the pain meds made up the crux of my little story.

My excitement was so great when I received the magazine in the mail, I could hardly stand it. I was a published writer. Me! Next came a memoir about my struggles with severe OCD. Then a romance. And more romances. I was on a roll. About a year ago, I had my first historical romance published. Once that happened, I knew I’d discovered my niche. Something clicked and I felt I’d finally found my writer’s home.

And every single book I’ve ever written has touted at least one cat. Some contain several. To me, if one of my stories doesn’t have something that’s covered in fur and purrs, it’s not complete. Since my life would be lacking without cats, why should my story characters have to do without? Don’t they deserve to be happy?

A couple of my books even focus on cats. “Better than Catnip” a contemporary romance, takes place in a cat rescue shelter. And “Romance at the Royal Menagerie”, a historical romance, is about a girl whose father works at the Tower of London’s zoo. That story was really fun to write because the heroine gets to play with the BIG cats!

As you can see, my fondness for cats has a way of leaking out into my books. It can’t be helped. Once you reach the professional level of crazy cat lady, there’s no turning back.

Francesca Hartwell adores cats of every kind. Lions, leopards, tigers. And they all love her. Good thing she gets to see them every day, since her father is their caregiver in the Tower of London’s Royal Menagerie. She’d love to find a man with whom she could share her love of animals, but so far, no one has stolen her heart. And there’s the added snag that whoever she marries must not have anything to do with nobility, as her mother had left her and her father for an earl.

John Fairgate has three rules given to him by his uncle. Inherit the title of baron upon his uncle’s death. Give up ornithology. And marry a childhood acquaintance. The first two, John will abide by, but won’t like. But the third, marrying a shrew who makes his skin crawl, he simply cannot do. Meeting Miss Francesca Hartwell at the zoo, however, has given him other ideas for a wife. But she’s not titled or wealthy. How will he be able to convince his uncle that she’s the woman of his heart?

AND JUST AS YOU THINK IT CAN’T GET ANY BETTER… SHE WRITES ANOTHER BOOK!

Augustus Sinclair has a broken heart. His betrothed has dropped him for his best friend. Former best friend. When he meets Anne Balfour, though, he questions whether he’d ever really been in love with his fiancé. Some of Anne’s reactions to what he considers everyday activities are puzzling, but that doesn’t stop him from falling head over heels for the first time in his life.

Anne Balfour is amazed to be a guest at the Shrewsbury’s, one of Mayfair’s most well-to-do families — even if the circumstances are less than ideal. Still, she can’t help but get caught up in the excitement of society life. Especially when in the company of Augustus Sinclair. He makes her believe in love and romance, even if she is just the dustman’s daughter.

These and Ruth’s other wonderful adventures are available wherever e-books are sold, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble

 

Victorian Romance Writer Moriah Densley

A Huge welcome to Moriah Densley, who is stopping by to talk about her hero, Wilhelm, in her Victorian Romance Song for Sophia. I had the privilege of reading Song for Sophia, and I promise, those of you who like the historical story-telling style of Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series), will love Moriah’s books.  A caution for my normally sweet readers, this book does contain some adult content.

…………………….

Following My Hero Down the Rabbit Hole

When I created Wilhelm Montegue, I bit off more than I could chew. An autistic savant with a photographic memory and a talent for mathematics and music, he was exploited by the army during the Crimean War as a spy and assassin before being captured and tortured by the Russians. He has PTSD on top of the autism ― he’s a mess. It wouldn’t be difficult to have him committed to an asylum, and he has enemies.

Silly pantser me, I was having a ball with my unusual hero until I hit a wall, because A) I know squat about math, and, B) I was only portraying the upside of savant syndrome – the cool genius stuff, like composing brilliant music. Fortunately for me, music is my day job, but that’s where Easy Street ended.

When I say hit a wall, I mean everyone who read the first draft hated it. I took the hint. Shedding a tear or two, I hit “delete,” stared in denial at the blinking cursor and white expanse of blank screen… then didn’t write. Not for months. My hero was so way smarter than me. Composers, literature, and linguistics I can fake, but calculus? No dice.

I had to learn about the Quadratic Table of Residues – sounds like a kitchen sanitation issue to me – well enough to convince readers these brainy thoughts flowed naturally from the character.

Savant syndrome and synesthesia have always interested me. How can a person be off-the-charts genius yet struggle with a simple limitation? Think Rain Man. Laura Kinsale, Jennifer Ashley, and Lisa Kleypas, to name a few, wrote beautiful stories featuring heroes with some sort of mental disorder. I couldn’t get enough of this kind of tortured hero.

I was inspired by Kim Peek, an autistic megasavant known as “The Real Rain Man.” He memorized nine encyclopedia volumes at age four. A capable reader finishes two pages in about three minutes. Kim Peek read the same text in eight seconds, his left eye reading the right page while his right eye read the right page, and he recalled 98% of the text. However, the simplicity of choosing clothes to wear was beyond his comprehension, and he couldn’t fasten buttons.

Over and over I heard similar stories from savants — astounding genius paired with seemingly random disabilities. Prodigy musicians, chess champions, architects – who couldn’t tell you how to fry an egg, who don’t comprehend sarcasm. I took the most brilliant qualities and the most frustrating limitations I found in real cases, added a dazzling pair of pectorals, and the new Wilhelm emerged.

Not only is his freedom at stake, but he so badly wants to win over Sophia, and doesn’t know how. His genius brain can’t comprehend social complexities such as diplomacy. It was a bit painful as an author to make a character so earnest yet so flawed. Nothing about relationships comes easily to him, and he feels failure very keenly. While he is aware of the opposing forces in his brain, he can’t control them.

I liked him. Irreverent, moody, yet fiercely loyal and passionate. Did the new Wilhelm pass muster? For months I collected nasty rejection letters, then imagine my surprise to get a call from the Julia London, saying my historical romance was a 2012 RWA Golden Heart finalist! Then it won OKRWA’s 2012 National Reader’s Choice Award. That book is now published as SONG FOR SOPHIA, and the next in the Rougemont Series will be released Dec. 1, 2013 from esKape Press.

I’m very eager to see what readers think of the characters.

~~What makes an unconventional character work or not work? Do you have a square-peg-in-a-round-hole story too? Join the discussion!~~

EXCERPT:

He appeared thoughtful, doodling mathematics in the margin of his newspaper. Then she noticed the numerals and their odd arrangement in his formulae. When she quit trying to understand the equation and took in the whole, Sophia gasped as she saw outlined figures—two of them, male and female—engaged in the very act that had transpired last night in his bedchamber.

 

“Wil, what is that?”

He hummed. “Just the product of a bit of inspiration. If I can solve this equation, I may have discovered the solution to a divergence of the harmonic series paradox. Architects everywhere will petition my sainthood.”

Sophia muttered, “Yes, darling. Submit that to the Oxford department of mathematics.” The addition of a horizontal figure eight—the infinity sign–and the number 1 made it even worse when combined with a zero.

He shot her his rakish pirate smirk. “Simple calculus. The equation is completely viable.”

Brilliant madness.

“Yes, I can see that.” Lovely, how she inspired him to expound on his talent. Put that in a history book: Anne-Sophronia Montegue: muse for mathematical erotica.

BLURB/COVER COPY

To win a man’s heart, a woman must have the mind of a diplomat, a general, and Cleopatra, all in one.

Desperation has led Anne-Sophia Duncombe to a life of exile. Still, she is always just one mistake away from capture and a marriage she would rather die than endure. As a last resort to remain hidden from her former life, Sophia attempts a radical scheme; a life of humility and disguise.

Rumor has it Wilhelm Montegue, the Earl of Devon, is insane. A tormented war hero haunted by scandal, he is only tolerated because of his brilliant mind and swarthy good looks. His unmentionable “condition” which keeps him confined to his country home is also the source of his talent for composing music.

When a new housemaid is hired at Rougemont, Lord Devon is perplexed to find himself fascinated by her. He knows the exquisite beauty is keeping secrets but her siren’s voice draws him ever closer, and he can’t resist the intoxicating scent of danger surrounding her.

2012 RWA Golden Heart® Finalist

2012 OKRWA National Reader’s Choice Award Winner, Historical Romance

2012 OKRWA National Reader’s Choice Award Finalist, Best First Book

“5-Crown” Review, RomCon®

BIO

Moriah Densley sees nothing odd at all about keeping both a violin case and a range bag stuffed with pistols in the back seat of her car. They hold up the stack of books in the middle, of course. She enjoys writing about Victorians, assassins, and geeks. Her muses are summoned by the smell of chocolate, usually at odd hours of the night. By day her alter ego is your friendly neighborhood music teacher. She lives in Las Vegas with her husband and four children. Published in historical and paranormal romance, Moriah has a Master’s degree in music, is a 2012 RWA Golden Heart finalist, 2012 National Reader’s Choice Award winner in historical romance and ’12 NRCA “Best First Book” finalist.

LINKS

I love connecting with readers on my blog: http://moriahdensley.com, where I post news, free chapters, and snarky articles about publishing and life as a writer, including a series called “Weird Stuff Kids Say.”

Check out what readers are saying at: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13633768-song-for-sophia?ac=1

Come hang out with me:

http://www.facebook.com/MoriahDensley

http://twitter.com/moriahdensley

http://pinterest.com/moriahdensley/

Read Chapter 1 Free: http://moriahdensley.com/chapter-1-song-for-sophia/

Get the ebook for only .99!

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Song-Sophia-Rougemont-Novel-ebook/dp/B00FENESX8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1380071497&sr=8-3&keywords=moriah+densley

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/358080

All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-songforsophia-1304415-162.html

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Search?Query=song+for+sophia

Sneak peak (coming soon!) – More Rougemont

Sweet Saturday Sample

From current work in progress… The Acrobat. If you’ve read The Toymaker, you’ll know who Eduard and Elise are…

* * * * * *

Eduard paused in the doorway to the workshop, turned in time to watch as Elise board the Duchess of Greenbriar’s coach. She epitomized elegance as she climbed the step, almost as though she were a lady instead of a governess. He particularly enjoyed watching her when she played lawn games with the children. When she combined her natural grace with all that lively energy…

Before the footman closed the door, she poked her head back outside. Catching his stare, she waved and then ducked back inside.

Heat invaded Eduard’s face like a horde of French soldiers. Bee’s bells, he hated being caught in the act of ogling the woman. But he grinned as the coach drove out of sight — the view had been worth it. Shaking his head, he turned and stepped over the threshold. His young guest sat on one of the work stools, an open book before him on the bench, the stub of a pencil held loosely in his hand as he drew fast, sure lines across the page. Frowning, Eduard leaned closer. The leather-bound book with the gilt-edged pages looked expensive.

And familiar.

“Is that one of your father’s Shakespeare volumes?”

Howard lifted one shoulder and continued to draw.

“Does he know you have it?”

Another shrug.

Irritation began a slow crawl along Eduard’s nerves. “Have your manners deserted you, boy?”

“No, sir,” mumbled Howard, his hand drifting to a stop in mid-sketch, and finally he looked up. He worried at his bottom lip with his teeth. His gaze strayed to the book, but he put the pencil down and waited.

The hollow expression in the boy’s eyes tugged at Eduard. He knew that expression well. It had once stared back at him every time he’d looked in a mirror. “Does the duke know you’ve made off with one of his books and you’re scribbling in it?”

“I’m not—” Howard stiffened, then he seemed to deflate in his seat. “No, sir. That is, he knows I borrow his books, but he doesn’t know I draw in them.”

“Them?” Eduard heaved an exasperated sigh. Obviously, the problem was larger than he’d imagined. If the boy could only understand that his adoptive father would give him anything in the world — even the world itself were it possible. He crossed his arms over his chest. “In exactly how many of your father’s books have you been drawing?”

Howard lowered his head. Though he no longer chewed his lip, his mouth worked as though he fought the need for tears.

Eduard relaxed his stance and laid one hand on the boy’s thin shoulders, speaking in a gentler tone. “He’ll not hold it against you, boy. But what possessed you to ruin your father’s books?”

“I didn’t ruin them!” Howard jumped from the work stool and stood almost eye-to-eye with Eduard. His clear greenish gaze flashed as he closed the book and snatched it up. “I only draw in the blank spaces! Not on the words. You can still read the words!” Breathing heavily, he thrust the book into Eduard’s hands. Then he pushed his way past and ran for the door.

Stunned, Eduard could only watch Howard make his hasty exit. The boy obviously needed a moment or two, some time to recover a bit of composure. Eduard could give him that. Greenbriar Meade wasn’t a place anyone could get lost in for very long.

The book’s leather binding cooled his fingers. Gold letters proclaiming the book to be A Midsummer Night’s Dream graced the cover. One of the duke’s favorite volumes at that. Idly, Eduard lifted the cover and flipped through the pages. Phillip would rather replace a set of priceless books than punish the boy who had already lost his natural parents at a young…

…age.

Eduard stopped flipping and began turning the pages one at a time. Howard hadn’t lied. He’d confined his drawings to the margins, the blank spaces at beginnings and endings of chapters. Details seemed to leap off the pages. Jenny, riding on her adoptive papa’s shoulders, baby Reggie sitting astride a stick horse Phillip had made especially for him, Jenny again, this time cradling her peg doll. And a picture of the Duchess of Greenbriar in her curricle. The details had been drawn with exquisite care, down to the fine scratches along the sides, made several months earlier when the carriage had run off the road and into some bushes.

As he closed the book, more pencil markings on the last page caught his eye, and he lifted the back cover again.

Elise stared out at him. Gradually, his mind filtered in other details. The boy had been sketching the fun in the square earlier. A grin tugged Eduard’s mouth upward as he recognized himself on the rope, apples flying through the air in front of him. His gaze slid back to Elise’s likeness. She stared at the performance with rapt attention. The lovely smile curving her lips tugged an answering one from Eduard.

OTHER REGENCY ROMANCE AVAILABLE NOW:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

^*^*^*^

Back to Sweet Saturday Samples

How I First Ran Across Rachel Van Dyken

So, when I was first working as  a freelance editor for Astraea Press, Stephanie Taylor sends me a book to edit called Every Girl Does It. Well, at the time, I ended up getting tied up with other work and I wasn’t going to be able to get to that book, so Stephanie gave it to someone else. (Rats! I missed out on that one!). But then, one day, Stephanie asked if I could make galley corrections to a book (galley corrections are the author’s final minor touch-ups, typo corrections, etc.). I opened the file and found myself drawn back to Regency England as a young couple searched for duck ponds and found love. I found myself so caught up reading The Ugly Duckling Debutante that I had to keep going back to insert the corrections when I found myself pages ahead of where I was supposed to be.

I think I knew right then that Rachel would “make it,” and I’m happy to say I was right! Go Rachel! Congratulations on your recent success! To help celebrate, I’m giving away a Kindle or Barnes & Noble or Kobo or Smashwords version of ANY ONE of Rachel’s books and any one of my own books. Just Check out our Amazon author pages to see what you might win and then leave a comment below. Two winners will be chosen at random.

Rachel Van Dyken’s books.

Kay Springsteen’s books.

Continue on your hopping way!

Let’s link!

1.
Rachel Van Dyken



2.
Kim Bowman



3.
Gunnar Grey



4.
Ruth J. Hartman



5.
Patricia Kiyono



6.
Kay Springsteen



7.
C.S. Moore



8.
Joselyn Vaughn



9.
Lynn Spangler



10.
Jessie Andersen



11.
Calico Daniels



12.
Lisa Orchard



13.
Wendy Knight



14.
Brenda Maxfield



15.
Moriah Densley



16.
Meg Mims



17.
Leah Sanders



18.
Kristin Vayden



19.
Jennifer Comeaux



20.
Heather Gray



21.
Catherine Bennett



22.
Elaine Cantrell



23.
Iris Blobel



24.
Jennifer Rae Gravely



25.
Kelly Martin



26.
Jeff Salter



27.
Lindi Peterson



28.
Sherry Gloag



29.
Tifferz And Her Sisterz Book Review



30.
E.A. West



31.
Christina Cole – Historical Romance



32.
Karen King



33.
Vivian Roycroft



34.
Cheryl Kay



35.
Calle J. Brookes

Spring Fling Giveaway WINNERS!

WOW! I had so many entries, I did three drawings for three top prize winners (one book from each group):

Kim Pinch

Bonnie Hilligoss

Tifferzbookreview

And, I added a second chance drawing, where three people got to choose one book each:

Michelle Koerner

Cathie Caffey

Liz Riggs

Congratulations, all! Thank you for participating, and happy reading!

Spring Fling Giveaway Hop May 1-7

Hop back to yesteryear with a romance set in Regency England. Want to win some ebooks? It’s not complicated! Just comment below for a chance to win (via Random.org drawing) your choice of either my Christmas Regency The Toymaker, or A Lot Like a Lady or Something Like a Lady, written by Kim Bowman and myself.

<><><><><>

He was a duke who wanted to be a toymaker. She fell in love with a toymaker but her parents wanted her to marry a duke.

Which will win? Love….? Or duty?

Sometimes it’s just not possible to be a lady. Especially when lemons are on the table.

And while we’re here, take a gander at these other Regency Romances you might enjoy. The winner of the prize above will also receive a choice of any one of these fine Regency Romances.

<><><><>

<><><><>

But that’s not all! From my contemporary back list, you may also choose one of these:

That’s THREE books of your choosing! Good Luck and I hope you’re enjoying the hop!

A huge thanks to my fellow authors Vivian Roycroft and Kim Bowman for contributing to this prize package. Be sure to check out their contribution to the blog. You’ve probably already visited their websites.

ALL ebooks will be GIFTED through either AMAZON (for Kindle owners) or SMASHWORDS (for all other formats). Please do not enter if this is not acceptable.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of the hop with a visit to each of the Linky’s below.

Please review all my hop rules here:

http://www.iamareader.com/giveaway-hop-rules

……………………

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Something Like a Lady on Sweet Saturday

Happy Sweet Saturday!

It’s here! If you’ve been waiting to find out what happened to Annabella, read her story in Something Like a Lady!

Using both hands, Annabella squeezed Seabrook’s neck. At least in her mind, it was his neck she twisted instead of the remains of her very last lemon. But it was so much more satisfying to imagine the infuriating visitor’s neck under her hands. She gave the yellow rind a vicious twist. As the juice dribbled into the goblet of water with pathetic little splashes, the sour smell tormented her nostrils. If she never had another lemon…

She set the depleted rind on the table and paused. The yellow peel performed a slow unfurling, like the sudden bloom of a wild rose on the trellis outside, lending the impression it was somehow still living. She frowned. As revolting as it was, the bit of lemon was all that was left of her edible sustenance. Once she gave it to him, she’d have nothing to eat unless she wanted to consume sticks and bugs.

A quick shake of her head dispelled the notion of starvation. Abby would bring her some food.

Annabella crossed to the window and peered out, but no one strode along the pathway toward Rose Cottage. With a sigh, she returned to the table where she’d been preparing the lemonade for Seabrook.

Her gaze fell on the little silver pot Juliet had tucked into her canvas valise. Annabella had danced with delight when she’d discovered it contained a generous measure of sugar. That had been the only thing to make the lemonade palatable. She reached for the container. The silver had gone black with tarnish. Wherever Juliet had pilfered the sugar pot from, it hadn’t seen use in some time. When she lifted the lid to discover only half of the white sugar remained, Annabella’s spirits fell a bit. If she added a pinch to his lemonade, she’d have less for herself. Shouldn’t she save the confection for her own use? After all, she hadn’t invited him into her home.

Still… The lemonade would be quite bitter without it.

Of course, she wouldn’t be drinking it, so why should that matter to her? She started to set the lid in place but paused with her hand hovering over the sugar bowl. It would be truly horrid to offer him just lemon dripped into water with no sugar to cut the tartness. Adding just one pinch would help. And maybe it would improve his insufferable disposition to boot.

All the sugar in the world won’t sweeten that one.

A smile tugged at her lips. Well, she didn’t have all the sugar in the world, but maybe enough… The smile blossomed and her mood lifted as she set the lid on the table and picked up the sugar bowl. Humming to herself, she upended the pot and tipped the contents into the goblet then picked up a spoon and gave a hearty stir.

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble as well as other fine E-book dealers.

Return to Sweet Saturday Samples!