Victoria Vane's Blog, page 13
November 6, 2013
Seduction by a Rogue
Treacherous Temptations
Hadley and Mary in the Garden at Blanchard House
He laughed, a harsh sound, all sign of humor leaving his eyes. “Don’t let any of it fool you, my dear, for even the most tarnished silver can acquire a gine and gleaming polish. And believe me, there is far more tarnish here than an innocent and unschooled eye such as yours can discern.”
“Why would you speak so of yourself?” Mary protested.
He reached for a red-gold curl that had escaped her lace cap and coiled it around his !nger. “I would forewarn you, Miss Edwardes that I am a man, and men in general are not to be trusted…” He held her gaze as he slowly released the ringlet, allowing his fingers to skim her cheek. “…especially
not by pretty young virgins.”
First kiss at Kensington Gardens
“It’s not that–” she turned to protest but stopped when he brushed the corner of her mouth with his thumb. Her gaze widened as he inspected it with a half-smile.
“A vestige of jam tart, I believe. But alas,” he gave a helpless shrug. “I have no napkin.” Before she realized what he was about, he brushed her lips in a feathery kiss, lingering at the corner of her mouth, where his tongue flicked out to taste her. The unexpectedness of it stunned her.
“Lord Hadley! Wh-what are you doing?”
“If you have to ask, I must be losing my touch. Perhaps I should try again?”
(After several more!)
Only a kiss?
It was staggering.
Her mind was lost to time and place, as if nothing existed beyond his divine mouth. He discarded her bonnet and tangled his fingers in her hair. She whimpered, clutching at his lapels, yet he refused to relent. Mercilessly, he intensified the kiss, pulling her so far in; submerging her in so much sensation that Mary thought she would drown in the pleasure of it.
At the Water Gardens of Bushy Park
“Desire is oblivious to time and place, dear Mary; and Jenny, bless her, is the very soul of discretion. I want you, Mary. Please trust me, my sweet. Let me show you the ways of love.”
She stared back at him, her body filled with the want he had described, but common sense held her surrender at bay.
“Love? Don’t speak of love to me. You describe meaningless pleasure. It has nothing to do with love!”
He gave her a roguish smile. “Pleasure is never meaningless, my sweet.”
November 3, 2013
Fun at the Carolina Renaissance Festival!
Had a wonderful family outing today at the Carolina Renaissance Festival just outside Charlotte, NC. If you are anywhere near the area it’s a worthwhile day trip!
We were especially impressed with the variety of entertainment. It was great family fun!
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November 1, 2013
And the Winner is….
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With love,
Victoria
October 31, 2013
A WILD NIGHT INDEED!
When they reentered the receiving room, an entirely new scene greeted them. The room was a shambles. Articles of clothing littered the trees, and male and female bodies slumped everywhere in a drug-like stupor of satiation.
“Where do you think to find him?” she asked.
“Look no further.” Ned inclined his head toward the dais with a glower. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
For surrounded by women and sprawled like a god, or more aptly, a satyr, on the queen’s throne, naked as Adam with a floral wreath on his head and phallic scepter in hand, was Ludovic, Viscount DeVere.
Lacking any sense of shame, he idly caressed the breast of the woman who held his cup to his mouth whilst another knelt between his knees fondling his manhood. To Phoebe’s shock, he seemed to positively glory in the dissolute decadence, as if he were Bacchus incarnate with the entire night tailored for his own sensual gratification.
The moment had come, and she found herself hesitating. Dear God in Heaven. What would Kitty do now?
“You shouldn’t see this.” Ned growled. “I would be more than pleased to call a hack to take you home.”
Grappling with her feigned sangfroid, Phoebe swallowed. Hard. “But whatever for?” The cool response commanded a supreme effort. “I sought DeVere, and here he is.” She couldn’t help slanting a glance at Ned. His jaw was clenched, his pulse throbbing visibly in his neck.
“You really wish to go through with this?” he asked in an undertone. “You see how he is. He’ll only use you and cast you aside.”
“What does it matter? As long as I get what I need, we shall call it an equal trade.”
“I don’t believe you mean that!”
“But, indeed, I do,” she replied, directing a brazen gaze to DeVere and endeavoring to keep it above the impressive staff jutting from his nether region. “For needs must—”
“When the devil drives?” Ned flicked a bilious look from Phoebe to DeVere.
“You might say that.”
“Very well,” he replied, tight-lipped. “If that is what you wish, far be it for me to deny a lady.” Ned made a mocking obeisance to the would-be demigod. “My lord DeVere.”
“Ah, Ned!” Ludovic cried in a voice slurred from drink. “I wondered where you’d gone. You’ve returned with a companion?”
“Only because the lady expressed a wish to make your acquaintance.”
Ludovic gave Ned a sardonic arch of his brow. “How extraordinary. Did she, indeed?” He abandoned the nearby breast to appraise Phoebe. “Charming.”
She realized she had passed muster when he waved away the woman between his legs and flashed her a bedazzling smile. “What is your name, my pet?”
“Kitty,” she replied.
DeVere threw back his head with a guffaw. “Kitty? How delightfully apropos!” His erstwhile companions forgotten, he patted a muscular thigh. “Come then, Kitty, my sweet, little puss. Sit on your master’s lap, and I’ll stroke you ’till you purr.”
***
– A WILD NIGHT’S BRIDE (Book #1 of The Devil DeVere, Library Journal Best E-book Romance 2012)
A Wild Night's Bride (The Devil DeVere)
October 22, 2013
A Scandalous Bargain!
Oct. 22, 2013 One Day Only
Entangled Scandalous titles are just $.99
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October 19, 2013
PODCAST : Victoria Vane talks about the History, Lust, and Leachery of TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS
http://blogtalk.vo.llnwd.net/o23/show/4/324/show_4324045.mp3
An unwary heiress and a dissolute nobleman in a dangerous game of seduction and intrigue…
A reluctant heiress resigned to her fate … Mary Elizabeth Edwardes has one of the largest fortune’s in England, but has no desire to leave her quiet country existence… and even less to acquire a husband she cannot choose for herself.
A dissolute nobleman bent on retribution … Trapped in a duplicitous existence since scandal destroyed his fortune and family name, Lord Hadley Blanchard has spent the better part of a decade posing as a disaffected exile while spying and seducing in the service of the English Crown.
A dangerous game of seduction, and intrigue … When summoned from abroad by a former lover, Lord Hadley perceives an opportunity for vengeance at last. By employing the full measure of his seductive charm, he woos the ward of the man who destroyed his life, little knowing that winning Mary’s fortune will mean risking his own treacherous heart.
October 17, 2013
Just Call Me Author Frankenstein
When I chose to write historical romance, one thing became eminently clear to me – my desire not only to craft emotionally compelling stories but to bring my chosen historical era to vivid life.
As a reader, I love to lose myself in any well-written historical romance, but I am most gratified when a novel is able to answer the cravings of both sides of my brain, by using people and events relative to the historical setting to take me well beyond the romance and deep into the era itself.
As an author, I want to truly immerse the reader in another time and place, not only by the characters’ dress, manners, and speech, but with the setting itself by interweaving real historical elements so seamlessly with the fiction that it becomes virtually impossible to distinguish the difference. In so doing, the setting becomes so much more than just a colorful backdrop but is almost equal to the characters in telling the story. I find that fact and fiction can be effectively combined in many ways.
In virtually all of my historical romances I often use real historical events in the backdrop as well as real people as secondary characters. While this requires a great deal of research, I find it a fabulous challenge to take what the past has left us and to fill in the blanks with imaginative speculation in order to re-create flesh and blood historical characters.
While my main characters in Treacherous Temptations are both fictional, they are closely modelled after real people. Hadley Blanchard’s character is based on Philip, Duke of Wharton, a brilliant young nobleman who also lost his fortune with the South Sea company. Disillusioned and on the verge of complete ruin, the duke went abroad and dabbled in Jacobite intrigue, but died early after an infamous (and short) life of dissipation.
Mary Edwardes was also modeled after one of the greatest heiresses of her time who made an ill-fated match with Lord Anne Hamilton (Yes, he was really named Anne, after his godmother the queen!) When Mary realized her profligate husband would likely squander her fortune, she took the drastic measure of destroying her marriage records and baptizing their infant son under her maiden name— choosing the stigma of bastardy over marriage to a noble rake! The real Mary Edwardes never rewed.
In Treacherous Temptations, Mary and Hadley are both pawns of unsavory secondary characters— Hadley’s wickedly wanton step-mother Barbara who is mistress to Mary’s equally unscrupulous guardian, the man responsible for Hadley’s ruin. Mary is faced with a marriage she doesn’t want arranged by her guardian in exchange for political favors. Hadley seeks to reclaim his lands and titles, as well as revenge on the man who ruined him. When Hadley perceives Mary as the answer to both, he sets out to seduce her— only to fall in love.
TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane
A reluctant heiress resigned to her fate… Mary Elizabeth Edwardes has one of the largest fortunes in England, but has no desire to leave her quiet country existence… and even less to acquire a husband she cannot choose for herself.
A dissolute nobleman bent on retribution… Trapped in a duplicitous existence since scandal destroyed his fortune and family name, Lord Hadley Blanchard has spent the better part of a decade posing as a disaffected exile while spying and seducing in the service of the English Crown.
A dangerous game of seduction, and intrigue… When summoned from abroad by a former lover, Lord Hadley perceives an opportunity for vengeance at last. By employing the full measure of his seductive charm, he woos the ward of the man who destroyed his life, little knowing that winning Mary’s fortune will mean risking his own treacherous heart.
For MY GIVEAWAY of a digital copy of TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS ,
please tell me your favorite horror movie!
CLICK BUTTON TO RETURN TO HOP:
October 13, 2013
THE TROUBLE WITH SIN Audiobook sale!
Never tried audiobooks? Are you looking for a chuckle?
Amazon has put THE TROUBLE WITH SIN audiobook on sale for $1.99
This comedic Georgian romp is narrated by the incredibly talented Guy Veryzer.
Play Sample:
October 12, 2013
THE TROUBLE WITH SIN *FREE* until 10/15/13
The Trouble with Sin (Devilish Vignette #2) is a comic romp that follows on the heels of Devil in the Making. It is also a prequel to Jewel of the East ( book #5 in the Devil DeVere series) coming in January 2014.
The Trouble with Sin … Is the devil within… Aspiring poet Simon “Sin” Singleton, has lived his life only for larks, laughter, and ladies of easy virtue, eluding defying, and flouting all manner of authority until his impetuous misdeeds finally catch up with him. Having lost his muse, his allowance, and even his friends by edict from a tyrannical father and puritanical mother, Simon is ready to drown himself in drink, until receiving an ingenious proposition that could change everything.
The wages of Sin is……twenty-five percent of the net! It seems a fantasy come true when Simon is offered an independent income by combining his two great passions– poetry and lewd women –by writing poetry about lewd women! Unfortunately, maintaining anonymity may be much harder than he thought…
Victoria’s Titillating Tidbits
I am often asked where I find the inspiration for my characters. And while occasionally I model them after a particular person, most often they form as an amalgamation of several different people, as was the case with Simon Singleton. I knew Simon had to share some traits with his best friend DeVere, but I also wanted him to be a man apart and not under DeVere’s shadow. The two historical figures that merged in my mind were the Irish poet Samuel Derrick, later the Master of Ceremonies at Bath, and another would-be poet, soldier, and renown Regency-era rake, Colonel George Hangar, 4th Baron Coleraine.
Derrick (once described by James Boswell as “a little blackguard pimping dog”) was reputedly the true mastermind behind Harris’s famous Directory of Covent Garden Ladies. Although the Ode to the Milkmaid of St. James is my own effort at lewd verse, most of the poetry quoted by Simon in the story may be attributed to Samuel Derrick.
It was also in reading about Hangar’s colorful life that Freddie came into being, as one of Hangar’s youthful misadventures was to elope and wed a gypsy girl who later ran off with a tinker! (Hangar never remarried!)
The Magdalen Charity was also a very real organization. First established in 1758 in Whitechapel “for the reception of penitent prostitutes”, it’s stated mission was: “to provide for women and girls on the streets a safe, desirable, and happy retreat from their wretched and distressful circumstances.” The first Magdalen Charity House opened in a former hospital with fifty beds and accepted six penitents the first day. By 1760, it boasted 131 female residents. In 1765 Queen Charlotte became a patroness, and the charity expanded to larger quarters. By 1769 over 1,500 women had passed through its doors, with most staying a period of three years.
THE DEVIL DEVERE SERIES (in reading order)
A Wild Night’s Bride #1
The Virgin Huntress #2
The Devil You Know #3
The Devil’s Match #4
A Devil’s Touch #4.5
Jewel Of the East #5 (coming January 2014)
PREQUEL VIGNETTES (in reading order)
Devil in the Making #1
The Trouble With Sin #2
Ned’s Folly#3 (late 2014)
