Sherry Ewing's Blog, page 11
December 22, 2023
First Kiss Friday with Jude Knight
Thanks for dropping by my First Kiss Friday blog! With Christmas just days away, The Bluestocking Belles have a special treat for you. And this cover! I have no words it’s just so beautiful. Belle Jude Knight has an excerpt from her contribution today. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene from A Countess by Christmas. Happy reading, my lovelies, and Merry Christmas!
This excerpt is from A Countess by Christmas, my story in Christmastide Kisses, from the Bluestocking Belles and Friends. My heroine and her hero are courting under the watchful—and suspicious—eyes of her parents.
Excerpt:
The next day was Christmas Eve. Apart from the most basic of tasks to keep body and soul together, all work at Fairleigh Court was set aside as the entire household dedicated itself to decorating the stately old building.
Ben led an expedition of footmen and grooms—and Louisa’s father—to collect greenery. Mama and Louisa marshalled the female servants to gather everything necessary to make swags, wreaths, and kissing bows. They set up tables and chairs in the grand ball room, and the cook and her helpers brought in wassail and trays of Christmas bites to feed the workers.
Just in time, as the cartloads of men and foliage began to arrive.
Soon, the workers were spreading out in pairs and groups all over the house to transform it into a wonderland and fill it with snippets of Christmas carol, outbursts of laughter, and the occasional shriek of pretend outrage when someone got caught under a kissing bough.
Not Louisa. She was certain no footman would dare the combined wrath of Ben and her parents, but she also made certain not to tempt any of them. She would not have minded a kiss from Ben, but her parents, as usual, kept a close watch over her. Until just before dinner, when the house was at long last quiet, everyone having returned to their accustomed tasks.
As had become their custom, Ben and his secretary and guests—or Louisa and her secretary, her parents, and her guest—had gathered in the drawing room for quiet conversation until the dinner bell sounded.
“The drawing room looks lovely,” Louisa commented. The shabbiness of the room was completely hidden by the decorations, assisted by the candlelight.
“Your workers have done a marvellous job,” Ben agreed. He did this often—reminding her that the whole place was hers and that everyone worked for her. At first, it had frightened and irritated her, but tonight she felt a warm glow. She was beginning to think that she could do this. She could be a countess.
“Look up,” Ben added.
Louisa tipped back her head. She was standing under a kissing bough, and Ben was right beside her.
“Ben,” her father growled.
“William,” said her mother. “It is a Christmas custom, and hardly indecorous, considering her parents are right here.”
Ben smiled down at Louisa, his eyebrows raised in question.
“Happy Christmas, Ben,” she said in reply, and tilted her head back further, pursing her lips.
He put his hands on her waist, and she raised hers to rest on his arms. His mouth touched hers. Just gently, and she longed for more. Yes, being a countess would not be all bad. Not with Ben at her side.
She wished the rest of the people in the room somewhere far away. She hardly knew what came next, but she was certain that she would enjoy it.
When Ben released her, she wanted to frown like her father, but not at all for the same reason.
Christmastide KissesA Bluestocking Belles With Friends collectionSix charming holiday season romances from award-winning and best-selling authors.
The Bluestocking Belles and Friends brighten your holidays with:
A beleaguered uncle whose wards have run off every governess–what he needs is a wife, if only he can persuade the latest applicantA country solicitor who becomes an earl and then finds a secret that changes everythingA very proper clergyman battles very improper urges when he and a lady with a murky past find themselves snowboundA viscount whose search to unearth generations-old family secrets kindles the fire of love for his lovely search partnerA former army captain wonders if the best friend of his ex-fiancee is the woman he should have marriedA vicar with a misspent youth and the duke’s daughter who brings out the best in himSix gentlemen and the ladies with whom they discover the power of a Christmastide Kiss.
Buy linksBooks2Read: https://books2read.com/u/m26VG6
Meet The Bluestocking BellesThe Bluestocking Belles (the “BellesInBlue”) are a group of very different writers united by a love of history and a history of writing about love. From sweet to steamy, from light-hearted fun to dark tortured tales full of angst, from London ballrooms to country cottages to the sultan’s seraglio, one or more of us will have a tale to suit your tastes and mood.
Website: https://bluestockingbelles.net/
Meet Jude KnightJude always wanted to be a novelist. She started in her teens, but life kept getting in the way. Years passed, and with them dozens of unfinished manuscripts. The fear grew. What if she tried, failed, and lost the dream forever? The years since 2014 have brought 17 novels, 16 novella, 6 volumes of short stories, a number of awards, and hundreds of positive reviews. The dream is alive.
Website and blog: http://judeknightauthor.com/
Subscribe to newsletter: http://judeknightauthor.com/newsletter/
Jude’s bookstore: https://judeknight.selz.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JudeKnightAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudeKnightBooks
December 15, 2023
First Kiss Friday with Misty Urban
Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. I’m pleased to have as my guest a new author to me. Help me welcome Misty Urban who has a first kiss scene from her new release Viscount Overboard. We hope you enjoy this excerpt. Happy reading, my lovelies!
Excerpt:
He faced her and the heat from the fire soared up from her toes, traveling through her entire body. Her fingertips tingled. The hair on the nape of her neck rose.
His voice was a husky murmur. “Desire is powerful at any age.”
Oh, indeed it was. Gwen let her eyes drift closed as a shiver passed through her body. She leaned toward him, riveted by his warmth. His solidity. The delicious scent of him, leather and sweat and the barest hint of rosemary from her soap.
Calvin Vaughn’s unwanted advances had left a foul imprint on her. She wanted it erased. She wanted to immerse herself in Pen instead. The thrill that went through her at his very nearness tore free the parts of her she held so tightly. The sheer intensity of wanting him cleared her mind and cleansed, somehow. The man had plucked a burr from Ifor’s collar before it could prick the blind boy. He had let Cerys lure him into her hunt for St. Sefin’s lost treasure.
He had, that very afternoon, come back from mucking stables around Newport with a new set of boots for Tomos. In truth an old set that the cobbler had repaired, in return for Pen’s help in making deliveries. But he had brought boots.
She turned to him and drew a deep, steadying breath. “Will you kiss me?”
“What?” His eyes widened, growing dark, and his voice was thick and deep.
“I asked will you—”
The rest of the words disappeared on his lips as he swooped in. This was no tentative foray. His hot mouth fell upon hers and she opened her lips eagerly to his seeking tongue. The contact summoned a wave of molten desire, swift and shocking. She’d expected him to know how to kiss a woman. She’d expected to enjoy it. But this—she dug her hands into his hair to hold his head so she could kiss him forever, let the whole world fall away and leave just them, just this, his warm mouth, his clever tongue, the scent of the man making her head swirl. Kissing Penrydd felt like the most important, the most profound, the most necessary thing she had ever done in her life.
Behind her, the kettle screamed.
Viscount OverboardBy Misty Urban
When the war-scarred Viscount Penrydd washes up in 1799 Newport minus his memory, Gwenllian ap Ewyas decides not to tell him he owns, and threatened to sell, the property she’s made a refuge for her and other lost souls.
Gwen found healing from her haunted past by making St. Sefin’s into a sanctuary for the hurt and abandoned, and she’ll do anything to preserve the place-including lie to the English lord who owns it until she can win him to her cause. But making Penrydd her stableboy is a dangerous game, especially when he’s a target for an outside menace moving into Newport. Even more unsettling for Gwen, under the scars and arrogance is a man she can admire and possibly love. But as shadows from both their pasts appear at St. Sefin’s, Gwen risks losing her livelihood, her home, and her heart when Penrydd learns just how far she’s gone to deceive him.
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Viscount-Overboard-Ladies-Least-Likely-ebook/dp/B0CJFYD24J/
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book/1144349420?ean=9781648395277
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/viscount-overboard-misty-urban/20851818?ean=9781648395277
About the Author:
Misty Urban is a fiction writer, medieval scholar, freelance editor, and college teacher. She holds a Ph.D. in Old and Middle English and an MFA in fiction from Cornell University and lives in a small town along a big river in eastern Iowa.
Find me:
Website: https://www.mistyurban.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mistyurban
December 8, 2023
First Kiss Friday with Katherine Kayne & a Giveaway!
Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. Today my guest is Katherine Kayne who has an excerpt from her novel Bound in Roses that releases January 23, 2024. We hope you enjoy this excerpt. Be sure to read all the way to the end to learn about Katherine’s giveaway. Happy reading, my lovelies!
EXCERPT:
Aboard the SS Wilhelmina, Pacific Ocean,
At the entrance to San Francisco Bay
The 1st of March, 1910
It was that briefest of moments right before the sun rose. The tip of the day coming to greet her. Not light enough to really see, but enough to make out the California hills and the edges where land met water. Different shades of black marked by lighthouses on either side of the Bay. Pinpoints of light already flickering near the city.
Very few of the other passengers were out and about. Most were in their cabins packing their last items. Some were even still asleep. Meanwhile the ship hummed as the crew prepared to bring the Wilhelmina into port.
For this dawn arrival Lokelani chose to stand at the rail at the bow of the ship. Facing directly into the wind, she slouched deep into the layers of clothing she’d donned in the faint hope of keeping warm in the early March chill.
Her gloved hands gripped the rail as the ship began its entry through the Golden Gate into San Francisco Bay. She braced for the jolt that she knew would come, the jolt all ships experienced when crossing that point where the swirling currents transitioned from the rough Pacific waves to the calmer waters of the Bay. What kind of twisted humor caused a person to name an ocean “Pacific” when it was so notoriously rough? In fact, the nearer they came to California, the rougher it always was.
The jolt came, mild this time, perhaps due to the unique construction of the Wilhelmina. The captain had bragged that the ship had special bilge fittings that made her more stable. Lokelani had to admit she’d been less seasick this trip.
And then the sun rose, peeking over the Sierras. When (or if?) she made it back to Maui one day, she must ride up Haleakalā to greet the dawn once again. That ride was no
colder an adventure than this.
For the last two days she’d kept to her cabin with the queasiness she always experienced in rougher seas, the sea air not enough of an antidote under those harsher conditions. She’d not seen Artemus since his promise to finish the letter. But he had sent the steward with a box of Chinese ginger candies and a note suggesting their use. The candies did help. This was the best she had felt in days.
A large presence moved along the rail and landed at her side. “Good morning,” he said. “I am glad to see you survived.”
Her mouth curved in a delighted smile. “With your help, thank you very much. I must ask you to let me know where to get more of the ginger. It is quite helpful.”
“I’d be happy to share my secrets.” He leaned in closer, his arm touching hers. “Any secret at all.”
Her mind went momentarily blank. She could—no, should—pull away. But she did not want to. He smelled so good. Spicy, earthy, something she could not put a name to. Like incense. Artemus. Her conscience scrambled to convince herself that this attention was all very brotherly. But her gut, her na‘au, knew better. She should back away. She did not. Rather, she moved even closer, amazed at her own boldness. “My, but it is cold.”
It seemed then the most natural thing in the world for his arm to snake around her to pull her near. To use his big body to shelter her from the wind. His chin rested on her shoulder as they stared at the dark water together, watching the rising sun paint the tips of the waves with color. “
This should help,” he said. “I’m quite a windbreak. Did you feel the ship shudder when we crossed the current line?”
“Yes, I did.” She relaxed against him, again as if it were the most natural thing in the world. How could that be? “Now, about those secrets of yours . . .”
“Actually, there are not that many. I am quite the bore.”
The sound of a cough came from behind them. Artemus’s arm dropped in a heartbeat as he turned to keep her behind him. Out of sight, or at least unrecognizable, one might hope. Artemus was very wide, after all.
A male voice. “Mr. Chang, we have received the transmission you were expecting.” The crinkle of paper transferred hand to hand.
“Thank you, Purser McDowell.”
“Good morning, sir,” the purser said. Lokelani was about to breathe again when the voice added, “Good morning, Miss Letwin” before footsteps led away.
“I’m sorry.” Artemus turned back to her with a grimace. “I did my best to block you from view.”
“Then you must simply get larger.” Whatever was possessing her? She reached up to grab his ear and pull his face down a bit. “You just need to be bigger, that’s the thing.”
He grinned, his face now very close. His glasses down his nose. Just like the boy who’d tickled her when she was a girl. Who’d called her Toad.
And so she kissed him.
Bound in RosesBy Katherine Kayne
A red-hot Hawaiian romance blooms for a buttoned-up botanist who must learn to let go and embrace the ancient voice within her.
After a failed engagement to a high-society suitor in San Francisco, Lokelani “Lucky” Letwin returns home to Hawaii, leaving her beloved rosebushes behind. She’s desperate to establish a life of her own—a daunting task for any unmarried female in the early twentieth century but particularly for one passionate about the science of plants. A stubborn, song-filled girl grown into an accomplished woman, Lokelani is haunted by a family tragedy. She is as reluctant to acknowledge her past as she is to accept the supernatural force building inside her, strong and inevitable. She is a mākāhā, a Gate, ever connected to the power of the land . . . if only she will admit it.
In her quest to retrieve her roses, Lokelani is reunited with Artemus Chang, a childhood friend, who’s now a handsome and successful lawyer. As the spark between them grows, Artemus agrees to help her recover her roses, only to discover her kisses leave him literally breathless. When a mystical teacher—a kumu—enters Lokelani’s life, her embrace of the voice of ancient power bubbling up within her—her leo—takes on a new urgency.
Will Lokelani continue to be bound by guilt and fear? Or will she learn to bring together her worlds as a botanist and a Gate—a conduit able to channel the power of the ʻāina into the world—to sing once more and claim her love?
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CK57Q93D?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_2NSY6K81ZQQ21S5HYC5N&language=en-US
About the Author:
Award winning author Katherine Kayne writes deeply romantic historical fantasy set in old Hawaii. Her critically acclaimed debut novel BOUND IN FLAME delivers myth, magic and all the sparks promised by the title. The next installment in her Hawaiian Ladies’ Riding Society series, BOUND IN ROSES, is available for preorder now.
Katherine’s novels are filled with horses and history and happily ever after . . . and heroes strong enough to follow their heroine’s lead. She spends a part of each year on Hawaii Island immersing herself in Hawaii’s past. Accompanied – of course – by the occasional mai tai and her own true love. Katherine created the world of the Hawaiian Ladies Riding Society to tell the stories of the fearless horsewomen of the islands’ ranches. Because who doesn’t love a suffragist on horseback? With a bullwhip? Wearing flowers? If you come along for the ride, be prepared for almost anything to happen. Katherine can promise you fiery kisses, charming cowboys, women who ride like the rainbow to save the day, and that rarest of beasts – handsome men who like to dance.
Social Media Links:
Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/46FHJ0g
Website: www.katherinekayne.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k2writesbooks/
Leave Katherine a comment to receive a print ARC copy of Bound in Roses. Tell us what you enjoy best about the holiday season and Katherine will chose a winner on Monday!
December 2, 2023
$0.99 Holiday Sale!
$0.99 Sale for the Holidays!
Santa is coming early with this holiday sale to stuff your Kindle or eReader full of my ebooks. My next release, Knight of Darkness: The Knights of the Anarchy (Book One) is available for preorder and releases February 9th. Plus, I have several more books that are series starters. Everything is on sale through January 2nd. Grab yours now and feel free to blame me for your next book hangover!
Click on any of the buy links below or the tab above to learn more about these incredible best sellers!
Knight of Darkness ~ Sometimes finding love can become our biggest weakness: https://amzn.to/47Gu0Hp
If My Heart Could See You: The MacLarens, A Medieval Romance (Book One) ~ When you’re enemies, does love have a fighting chance? books2read.com/u/bP5QJ3
Hearts Across Time ~ A special edition box set of my medieval time travels For All of Ever and Only For You, Katherine and Riorden’s complete story in one book! Sometimes all you need is to just believe…books2read.com/u/meqPgm
A Kiss for Charity: The de Courtenay’s (Book One) ~ Love heals all wounds but will their pride keep them apart? books2read.com/u/bzpzg9
Under the Mistletoe ~ A new suitor seeks her hand. An old flame holds her heart. Which one will she meet under the kissing bough? books2read.com/u/4j9vvm
December 1, 2023
First Kiss Friday with Maeve Greyson
Thanks for stopping by my First Kiss Friday blog. Please welcome my guest Maeve Greyson who has an excerpt from her book To Steal A Duke. This cover is just stunning. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene. Happy reading, my lovelies.
Excerpt:
“You…do not…understand,” she hiccuped, then released another long, high-pitched cry.
“Then make me understand. I am not leaving, remember?”
She didn’t answer, just remained silent except for her weeping. But she stayed in his arms, curled on his lap, and for that, he was glad. He hoped neither Lady Sophie nor Lady Ardsmere came searching for her. Calming Celia was his honor alone, and he would guard that honor fiercely.
After a while, she resettled herself until her head rested on his shoulder. He enjoyed sitting like this and hoped it lasted quite some time. Eventually, she hitched in several quick sniffs, then slowly pushed herself upright, but kept her gaze downcast as if ashamed to look him in the eyes. She swiped at his chest as though trying to brush away nonexistent crumbs. “I fear I have completely dampened your shirt. Please forgive me.”
He reached up and touched her face, running his thumb across her cheek to wipe away the trails of her tears. “Will you forgive me for our misunderstanding in the park?”
A corner of her mouth quivered upward as though she wanted to smile but wasn’t quite ready. “Yes, my lord. I forgive you.”
“Elias,” he reminded her softly while gently pulling her closer.
“Elias,” she repeated, as though entranced. Her lips parted as her gaze lowered to his mouth, and she pulled in a shaking breath. “Are you going to kiss me?”
“If you will allow it.”
“I will,” she whispered, then leaned in and hesitantly touched her lips to his. She halted and drew back the slightest bit. “But be warned—I have only read about kissing. Never have I put it into practice.”
“Then let us test your comprehension of the literature you studied.” He slid his fingers up into her thick, loosely bound hair and cradled her head as he tilted her back. Starting slowly, so as not to frighten her, he nibbled gently across the soft suppleness of her mouth and tasted her with teasing flicks of his tongue. She surprised him by sliding her arms around his neck and opening to him, pulling him in as if starving, to commit fully to the union.
He tightened his embrace and poured every ounce of his yearning into it. She tasted of wonderment, need, and passion waiting to be unleashed. The soft weight of her on his lap combined with her mouth against his made him groan, then stop himself before doing something rash. This was not the proper time for anything more than a heated kiss. To take advantage of the lovely Celia now, when she was at her most vulnerable, would be an unforgivable disgrace and make him appear to be a rakehell of the worst sort. His Celia deserved better.
“Why did you stop, my lord?” Her breathy whisper almost made him groan again. “Did I botch the kiss?”“Absolutely not.” He cupped her cheek and tenderly stroked his thumb across the plump swell of her bottom lip. “Your kissing is beyond compare.”
To Steal a Duke
The Sisterhood of Independent Ladies – Book One
By Maeve Greyson
She didn’t steal. She simply took what was rightfully hers—including his heart.
Charles, Duke of Hasterton, admired and respected for his cunning business acumen both at home and abroad has an astounding secret. He is imaginary. But his brilliant twin sister Cecilia is quite real. She was born in Germany after her father died and taught to guard the title, wealth, and power like the rare stolen treasure that it is. After all, as a daughter, she could never inherit the dukedom legally.
Cecilia and her mother cultivate the ruse of the fictional duke quite nicely. Everybody who is anybody in London believes His Grace resides with them at their stunning residence in Germany. Their acquaintances in Germany believe the pretend peer is always in London or traveling the world over. But when Cecilia’s mother falls victim to a grave illness and begs to visit her beloved London one last time, even though it’s risky, Cecilia can’t refuse her. But her mother can’t travel alone, and Cecilia refuses to entertain superficial men pining for nothing more than her dowry. So, she poses as her mother’s companion to ensure their elaborate farce remains safe. While everyone is told Lady Cecilia remained in Germany because of frail health, Miss Celia Bening, companion to the dowager duchess, enjoys the freedom to handle whatever arises—or at least, she tries.
Lord Elias Raines might be the second son of a duke and the youngest solicitor in his law office, but he’s proven himself so capable and talented that when his mentor dies, he’s promoted to partner and assigned to the rich, influential clients cared for by the man who taught him everything he knows. Well, almost everything. His dearly departed advisor failed to mention some of the peculiarities in the Duke of Hasterton’s file. Elias’s requests for the duke to review the oddities have, so far, gone unanswered. Luckily enough, he discovers the duke’s mother is in London. While decorum demands he wait for answers from the duke, he can’t refrain from digging deeper when the dowager duchess requests he draw up her will with a suspiciously generous endowment for her companion, the lovely Miss Celia, an intriguing woman who drives him mad with desire.
Delightful, passionate, and at times heartbreaking, a merry chase is had by all until a lifetime of secrets explodes. Elias must make a choice—help Cecilia devise a plan to protect the world she and her mother so carefully crafted or end their illegal scheme and escort them both to the prison.
Only one can win: his profession or his heart—until a third option too terrible to imagine rears its ugly head and makes the choice for them both.
INTERNATIONAL BUY LINK: https://books2read.com/tostealaduke
About the Author:
USA TODAY Bestselling Author, Multiple RONE Award winner, HOLT Medallion Finalist 2022 and 2023.
Maeve Greyson’s mantra is this: No one has the power to shatter your dreams unless you give it to them.She and her husband of over forty years traveled around the world while in the U.S. Air Force. Now they’re settled in rural Kentucky where Maeve writes about her courageous Highlanders and the fearless women who tame them. When she’s not plotting the perfect snare, she can be found herding cats, grandchildren, and her husband—not necessarily in that order.
Social Media Links:
Newsletter: https://maevegreyson.com/contact.html#newsletter (When you sign up you get a free novella.)
Website: https://maevegreyson.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaeveGreyson
My Facebook Group: Maeve’s Corner: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaevesCorner
November 24, 2023
First Kiss Friday with Elizabeth Ellen Carter
Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. Today I have Elizabeth Ellen Carter as my guest with an excerpt from My Earl Aas An Alien. I got such a kick out of the premise of this story that it was a one click buy for me. Read on and enjoy, my lovelies!
Excerpt from My Earl Was An Alien:
On the evening of the following day, after a flurry of messages back and forth to arrange a meeting of the parents, Jasper found himself unable to sleep. At first he imagined it to be the excitement of the day, but began to sense turmoil in Thalian’s guarded thoughts.
“What’s up, old chap?” he asked at last. “You’re keeping me awake.”
“I’m sorry,” said Thalian, “but there’s a problem. Will there be more kissing?”
“I should hope so! What’s wrong with that?”
Thalian sighed. “I’ve been reviewing the data. You remember I said your skin-to-skin contact with others caused a slight voltage differential? Well, when you and Celeste touched lips, it was much higher.”
“And the problem is?”
“I’m worried such contact might cross the consciousness barrier.”
“Are you saying she might hear you like I do?”
“I doubt it. But I did get a glimmer of her. Not her thoughts, just an overall… sense of her being there.”
“But she was there. I was kissing her!”
“You know what I mean,” Thalian snapped. There was a pause before he continued calmly. “It wasn’t that your feelings were heightened – which they were – but I had the idea that if it had gone on much longer, she’d start to sense I was there too. Anyway, we both know my presence has to remain secret, so I’d much prefer it if there was no more kissing.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen!” Jasper exclaimed out loud. “I’ve only just got started kissing Celeste. Let me tell you, there’s going to be a lot more of it.”
Thalian groaned, and Jasper could feel his dismay. Actually, he could feel another emotion from him – fear.
“Listen, old chap,” he said as soothingly as he could, “there’s no avoiding it. I’ve just proposed to the girl and been accepted. She’s going to expect kisses. If I stop now, she’ll get upset.”
There was silence between them for a minute. Jasper wracked his brains for a solution, and the first thought that came into his head was simply to tell Celeste what was going on.
“We can’t do that,” Thalian protested. “And I’m not just saying that for my sake. If you tell her about me – she’ll think you’re mad, and it’ll have the same effect as you refusing to kiss her.”
About My Earl Was An Alien
A Regency romance with aliens?
Don’t ever challenge me to write something!
It was movie night at our place one evening last year when my husband and I were still chuckling at the concept behind the film we’d just watched on DVD. It was Cowboys & Aliens, the 2011 Jon Favreau-directed action flick that mashes together, well, cowboys and aliens.
We’d thoroughly enjoyed how the cast played it dead straight as an amnesiac outlaw, various other characters, and the people of an 1873 western town battled invading aliens in this unexpected mix of genres.
Then Duncan turned to me and said, “I bet you couldn’t combine a Regency romance with aliens.”
“Bet I could,” I countered instantly. “But it’ll be a comedy and you’re going to help me do it.”
And now here we are – My Earl was an Alien, our first writing collaboration since we were journalists (and film critics!) together, released October 31, apt I thought since it’s Halloween, and it tells the tale of an earl who’s kind of haunted by a gaseous being from a far-off planet.
It’s a romantic comedy featuring Jasper Farley, Earl of Holcombe, and his childhood friend, Lady Celeste Belmont, dealing with an alien possession, parents who are pushing them to marry, and a race against time to make a rescue rendezvous.
My Earl was an Alien is available now. I think it’s got just the right mix of laughter and ‘the feels’. I hope you think so too.
Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/3RbzggL
About the Author:
Elizabeth Ellen Carter is USA Today bestselling author and an award-winning historical romance writer who pens richly detailed historical romantic adventures. A former newspaper journalist, Carter ran an award-winning PR agency for 12 years. The author lives in Australia with her husband and two cats.
Social Media
• Web: http://eecarter.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethEllenCarter
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/eecarterauthor/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabeth_ellen_carter/
• BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/elizabeth-ellen-carter
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ElizabethEllenCarter
November 23, 2023
A new release on preorder!
Hello to all my fabulous readers and happy Thanksgiving!
I have news for you that just couldn’t wait. Now available for preorder is my first book in a brand-new series with Dragonblade Publishing. Knight of Darkness: The Knights of the Anarchy (Book One) will release on February 9, 2024. I can’t say enough good things about this cover. Isn’t it fabulous?
Read on to learn more about book one.
Knight of Darkness:Knights of the Anarchy (Book One)
By Sherry Ewing
Available for Preorder for $0.99!
Sometimes finding love can become our biggest weakness…
Wymar Norwood understands responsibility. His two brothers have been in his care since his parent’s death. With his title and lands stripped from him by the usurper Stephen, he aligns himself with the Empress Matilda, the rightful Queen of England. If he can win her favor and become her champion knight, he prays all will be returned to him.
Lady Ceridwen Ward of Norwich is out to prove not only to herself but the Empress that she is more than capable of protecting those she loves. She hides herself in the guise of a knight and follows along with her men to Lincoln to raise her sword for the Empress’s cause. But life can become complicated, especially after your identity is revealed.
But Wymar and Ceridwen have a common enemy who is bent on revenge. They will need to search their souls and overcome grief in order for their love to survive life’s greatest test.
Buy Links or Read for #FREE in Kindle Unlimited: https://amzn.to/47Gu0Hp
November 17, 2023
First Kiss Friday with Cerise DeLand
I’m so happy you’ve stopped by my First Kiss Friday blog. Today my guest is my dear friend Cerise DeLand who has an excerpt from her novel You Made Me Love You. Isn’t this cover just beautiful? Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies!
Excerpt:
Kendryck put his two hands to her cheeks. “I told myself I would not take you like a villain.”
“Hmmm,” Tynely said as she considered that with a tip of her head this way and that. Then she pulled at the end of his beautifully tied cravat and said, “You aren’t.”
He took her by the shoulders. “Not against the stables, not in a carriage. We must be in a bed.”
“I do agree.” She sank to lick the skin of his corded neck. “But one must have a few bites of bliss before the main course.” She undid the button of his soft linen shirt and kissed the hollow of his throat. “Otherwise, one’s appetite is not prepared.”
He laughed, he groaned, then he pressed her flush to his chest. “You should have told me you were a tease.”
She rolled her eyes. “Why? Isn’t this more fun?”
He hooted. His grip on her was mighty and seductive. “What should I know, my darling?”
“About…?”
“Making love to you.”
She bent to his mouth and licked his bottom lip. “That I will be as needy as you.”
“Thank God.”
“That I will want all of you as mine.”
“I rejoice at it. And? Anything else?”
“That I am yours completely and you may have me at your will,” she whispered and took one of his fingers and nipped the end, “as long as I may have you at mine.”
YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU
By Cerise DeLand
Love does not advertise.
Love extracts no price.
When a young widow wishes to marry again, will the man she grows to love ask more than she can give?
Mrs. Tynley Wallingford yearns for a quiet, comforting marriage to a man whom she can respect. She’ll go to any lengths to find the best candidate who can respect her, in turn. Even correspond with one fellow at length before she agrees that Kendryck Hollens is the man whose words awaken her desire for a husband she might grow to love.
Tynley takes a risk and sails to Wales with the best intentions. She finds in Kendryck a man with a noble ambition—and a family filled with age-old conflict and despair.
Kendryck Hollens returns home to Wales after fifteen years abroad, a stranger to his cantankerous family. He assumes his rightful title as baron of the legendary house of Strade and attempts to change the dastardly reputation of his ancestors, and put his siblings on the right path to a purposeful life.
Thrilled that Tynley has come to his home, he notices that her presence creates challenges among those in his family. But he feels assured she can help him obtain what he wants most in this world.
When a tragedy threatens to ruin his ambition and his family, he fears the price of endurance will ruin Tynley’s personal objective too—and drive her from him.
How much can one ask of one whom they love? Are any prices too high?
BUY LINK: https://books2read.com/u/4jBX9o
About the Author:
Cerise DeLand is the USA TODAY Bestselling Author who believes love brings rich rewards from a life lived with honesty, valor—and a functioning funnybone.
Known for her poetic elegance and accuracy of detail, she’s won awards for many of the more than 70 novels she’s written.
Her work has been nearly life-long! First published in 1991 by Kensington, then Pocket Books, St. Martin’s Press and independent presses, she is now published by DRAGONBLADE PUBLISHING. Plus her books have been monthly selections of the Doubleday Book Club and the Mystery Guild.
To research, she’s dived into the oldest texts and dustiest library shelves. She travels abroad taking good walking shoes, big notebooks, trusty pens and a camera! She visits chateaux and country homes she loves to people with her own imaginary characters.
And at home every day? She cooks. (Every night.) Never dusts. (That can be a problem.) She goes swimming or pumps iron once a week and tries (desperately) to grow vegetables in her arid backyard in south Texas!
Website: https://www.cerisedeland.com
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Cerise-DeLand/e/B0089DS2N2/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cerise.deland/
Blog: https://cerisedeland.blogspot.com/
BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cerise-deland
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCba82P_Q1kUrJUVVW0CwJmw/
November 10, 2023
First Kiss Friday With Peri Maxwell
Welcome back to my First Kiss Friday blog! Today’s guest is Peri Maxwell who will be sharing her first kiss scene from her story HIs Secretive Madam. Isn’t this cover just stunning? Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies!
Excerpt:
The only thing more surprising than kissing a prostitute in Parliament was that the prostitute was Jocelyn Kirk.
Drake had never considered kissing her. But here he was, her lips pressed to his, her breasts against his waistcoat. He didn’t need to see them to imagine her cleavage. He’d gotten a good look every time she’d knelt lower than her waist.
Her grip on his neck threatened bruises. Drake rested a hand on her waist, reassuring her that he understood the plan. Though God only knew how he was going to get them out of this.
Jocelyn’s ribs curved under his thumb, and her hip flared against his palm. God, she was delicate. Her warm breath fanned his cheeks, leaving peppermint lingering in its wake. Her lips were as soft as the cotton blouse teasing his fingers.
It had taken months of life in London for Drake to rid himself of the briny scent of life in Highcliffe. Jocelyn smelled of salt, just enough to be buried under the smell of bluebells, violets, and lavender. Just enough to be tucked under the warm odor of moss.
He’d expected roses and musk—the scents of a bedroom. He got the wildness of a bluebell wood after a sea-fresh storm.
Jocelyn’s tongue was hot and slick against his, tasting him, and her soft sigh reached through him to stiffen his body in indecent places. Her soft curls clung to his fingers, and the shell of her ear led him to the curve of her jaw. The bone there was fine, but the muscles beneath it were strong and sure.
“Ahem. Sir!”
It took a moment for the words to breach Drake’s thudding heart and filter to his brain. He dragged his lips from Jocelyn’s and forced himself to ignore her dazed stare. Using his body to block her from view, he looked over his shoulder. Viscount Stratford stood at the end of the hall, flanked by a peer who was much more amused by the situation.
“My apologies, sir. What did you say?” Drake asked.
Stratford’s eyes widened. “I asked, what the devil do you think you’re doing?” Though his words were indignant, he craned his neck in an effort to see Jocelyn.
Drake drew her closer with one hand while he used the other to free her fingers from his hair. They left a shivery trail in their wake. Her lips were wet from their kiss, and he could still taste her on his tongue. “I think that would be obvious, your lordship.”
He pressed a kiss to her knuckles—only to make him more convincing as a besotted lover. It wasn’t that he liked her this close, that he couldn’t bear to let her go. Her knee grazed his inner thigh as she shifted. Then she did it again. After the third time, Drake moved out of reach.
Men got killed by being this distracted.
Buy Links
Amazon: https://a.co/d/30FzpOz
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/his-secretive-madam-peri-maxwell/1144108049
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Blurb
The girl from his past is now the most scandalous woman in London.
Everyone knows Jocelyn Kirk as the madam of The White Rose, London’s best brothel. What they don’t know is that she’s the daughter of Britain’s most wanted smuggler, and his imprisonment has left her to fend for herself. The lessons she learned as a child still apply—keep your mouth closed, your eyes open, and do what you must to survive. Drake Fletcher threatens everything.
Everyone believes Drake Fletcher is a respectable businessman. If they only knew how hard he’s worked to leave his criminal past behind. The lessons he learned as a smuggler still apply—keep your mouth closed, your eyes open, and stay true to your word. However, when he walks into The White Rose and comes face to face with Jocelyn Kirk, the rules go out the window.
Drake’s clandestine business is built on helping women rebuild their lives one secret at a time, and he’s determined to save Jocelyn from her fate. But she doesn’t want to be rescued. Her clients are the most influential men in Britain, and their pillow talk is valuable currency in bartering for her father’s release.
When Jocelyn’s spying puts her in the crosshairs of a murderer, she’s forced to turn to Drake for help. Soon, their reluctant partnership turns to a passion they can’t deny. Jocelyn is torn between her commitment to her father and a man she never expected; and Drake must choose between his carefully crafted life and saving the woman he loves-whether she wants him to or not.
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About the Author:
I have had my nose in a book since I learned to read, a hobby that I shared with my grandmother. She introduced me to romance, both contemporary and historical, at an age where I wasn’t quite sure about everything that was happening on the page.
I began writing as a challenge to myself, but I wrote my first historical romance on a dare. Now I’m hooked!
I prefers to write heroines who can stand toe-to-toe with a hero, challenge society’s rules for good reasons, and find love with heroes who admire an equal (even if it’s a little reluctantly).
An armchair historian, I also have a background in women’s studies. I like read–and write–books with humor and a good mystery. Not all my books are high-heat, but some are (just like real life relationships.)
I live in Arkansas with my husband and the two cats who rescued us. When I’m not writing or reading, I’m working at my day job or spending time with my family and friends (the same ones who dared me to write a historical romance).
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Social Links:
Website: perimaxwell.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorperi/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writerperi Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22406672.Peri_Maxwell
November 3, 2023
First Kiss Friday with Eliana Piers & a Giveaway!
Thanks for stopping by for another First Kiss Friday. I hope you’ve been enjoying my blog and finding some new authors. Today’s guest is Eliana Piers who has an excerpt from Good Duke Gone Bad. Be sure to read all the way to the end to learn about Eliana’s giveaway. Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies!
Excerpt:
THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT the way Lyle was holding his neck, as though he were in agony. As though it matched her own agony. She wanted–if she could finally admit it to herself–to touch him; massage away that pain. Her body was craving his nearness, and was jealous for his touch.
He was leaning in and she knew, she just knew he was going to kiss her. Her. She had resigned herself to being an on the shelf spinster. And him. He was…well, what was he now? At first he’d seemed arrogant, but then those closest to him–Joe and Lady Anna–had declared him kind and caring.
So now, she just yearned to have him wrap around her and she truly didn’t know what else to expect. But he must have been reading her mind, for he slipped a hand into the folds of her skirt and tugged her into him.
She tumbled through the scant inches between them and bumped into his body, unable to quell the heat mounting inside her. It was blazing, thick, and blurring.
The blurring clouded her eyes, and she couldn’t see what was happening, but oh, she could feel it.
His warm, gentle lips at the corner of her mouth. Then moving across her bottom lip, with a soft nip for her to open to him.
She felt reckless. Wanton. And carefree. This was a moment she was made for. Somehow her body was taking over her brain, and there was only giving in to it. And him.
With parted lips, she offered herself to him.
Lyle groaned low and quietly. For her. Suspended in time, she felt his hands begin roaming her sides. She couldn’t help a soft mewl. And then it was as if he was answering a deep call in her soul because his mouth, hot and wet, trailed down her jaw, back toward her ear, and down her neck.
One of his hands slipped down the small of her back and squeezed her bottom, pulling her up and even closer to him.
He moaned her name.
Lyle just moaned my name. Lyle… When had she begun to think of him as Lyle? He was no longer just that man. And this Lyle meant something to her, reticent as she was to admit it.
His hands gripped her waist and lifted her onto the table behind her. He swung her legs open and stepped between them. Lyle, who with everyone else had always been reserved, quiet, a mastermind behind the scenes, was taking action again with her. But this time it was passionate action.
Her head dropped back and his kisses trailed down her chest to meet the fabric of her dress. Oh, she was grateful to be dressed anew in her lower cut gown with an easily removable canezou that would grant access to her nipples that were now hard little nubs, aching to be…what? She didn’t know. But licked sounded divine.
“Lyle,” she pleaded. “More.” Her hands rubbed up and down his strong, rippled forearms, and another jolt of desire swept through her.
He moved her arms to his chest as he reached for her dress and untied it to release her waiting orbs. Please and yes were whispered into the universe by her and him. Together.
A warm hand lifted her yearning breast to his mouth, and he lavished it with a searing hot tongue.
His hands dropped to the hem of her skirt. “May I?” he mumbled.
He was asking her for permission. He wasn’t just taking what he could. He was giving her time to decide how she wanted to progress with him, and if she would. He wasn’t manipulating her, he was engaging her in the decision.
And by asking, he took away the question in her mind. Her body answered yes, yes, and more.
He lifted the fabric and bunched it around her hips, exposing her legs–and more–to the breeze. She wanted to lean back, but he held her upright as one hand feathered its way up her calf, behind her knee, and across her thigh.
Her core was throbbing. Throbbing for him. She needed him more than she’d ever needed anything in her life. More than air, more than water, more than dirt.
Dirt. The word jarred her into realization. He was her employer. She needed this job for her future. Her future.
“Lyle? What are we doing?”
He pulled back a margin to look into her eyes and whispered, “Only what you want to be doing.”
And as his hand swept across her inner thigh, she knew she wanted this. If she was to be a spinster, at least she would have this memory. This one moment in time with the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. Yes, she could admit it now.
He was magnificent.
Brazenly, she leaned in to offer a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth, just as he had done to her earlier.
He grinned as he leaned her back against the table. “Let me show you more, Bella.”
And his head was down between her thighs and her world exploded. What kind of man would treasure her this way? Kissing her inner thighs and slowly, oh Lord, ever so slowly sliding his lips to her muff.
Her eyes were squeezed shut as his tongue slipped between her lips, down there, and she saw black, white, blasting colors like fireworks.
“Oh, Lyle, please.” Her hands reached for something to hold onto. The table. Loose pots or plants. Her sanity.
“My darling, you’re beautiful,” his warm breath shook her anew, and then his tongue was lapping at her nub and all heaven broke loose.
LYLE’S AROUSAL WAS THROBBING. Clamoring against his breeches, it was begging to be released. His heart was stomping against his chest. He had never felt this way before. He had no clue what she was doing to him, and he didn’t have enough conscious awareness to plan his next move. He just needed now.
But he also knew that he needed this time to be for Bella. She was beauty, intelligence, strength, all wrapped into one. He would worship her body and praise her spirit.
This woman irritated him to no end, but somewhere along the way that irritation had evolved into inspiration, and he wanted to be something for her. Not just someone for himself.
His whole life he’d been focused on himself and his dreams. And his secrets. He was living his dream now, earning his own way in the world. But being here with her, he craved to be worth more.
So this needed to be all about her. All of his experiences culminated to this point, to her notch. Her warm, wet, notch. This was his only focus. He wanted her to feel all layers of pleasure, excruciating pleasure. And calling his name. He wanted to be the one to give her this gift.
So he sucked on her and lapped on her nub with a rhythm no body could ignore. And he laved and dipped inside of her until she yelled his name. And then he let her quivering cunny hold his tongue captive. The reverberations on his tongue made him even harder. He pulled out, releasing a grunt. Then braced himself with palms down on the table on either side of her hips.
She was still moaning her pleasure, and drawing out his name, “Lyle.”
He stood up, wiped his mouth, and yearned for more of her. As he gazed down, sprawled out on the table, eyes closed, he had an undeniable urge he’d never felt before.
Reaching down, he gathered her up into his arms and pressed her close so that her body molded to his. He could feel every inch of her against his groin all the way up to where she was tucked just under this chin, and he realized he didn’t want to let go. He was glad he had impulsively hired her, for redesigning even a small part of the garden. Maybe he could expand the area and she could stay longer. Maybe the gardens could be struck by lightening, and he would really have her for a long time.
What feelings of protectiveness and yearning came over him. Like finding a home he never knew existed. A home he never knew he wanted.
From her seated position, she was propped up against his chest with her arms draped around his neck as he stood between her legs again. Holding her, he ran his fingers gently along her bare skin. He nudged his nose against her neck and murmured into her hair, “Bella. My sweet, Bella.”
Good Duke Gone Bad (Book Three)By Eliana Piers
Enemies make the best lovers…
Until they reveal their true identities…
All Lady Bella wants to be is herself. And if that includes being a spinster, so what? She’s starting her own business doing what she loves, designing gardens; despite the ton looking down their noses at her ambitious spirit. She has the intelligence and competence to pursue her dreams, but can her heart and soul resist the lips of her infuriatingly desirable first client…
Mr. Lyle Fairfax does not want a wife. Not one picked by himself and certainly not one from the kindhearted, meddling, but discreet, dowager duchess. In Lady Bella he sees his escape. Her coming in to redesign his gardens is the perfect distraction to keep him too busy for a wife, as well as keep his secrets safe for now.
Her and her rose-tinted lips and ample… busyness will keep him from getting married, won’t they?
Read Free in Kindle Unlimited!
Buy Link: Books2Read: www.books2read.com/GoodDukeGoneBad
Giveawa yTo celebrate the launch, Eliana will give an electronic copy of any of the books in the series to one randomly selected person who shares this blog post on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok. To be eligible, tag 5 friends + ElianaPiers.
The winner will be chosen at random and can choose from any of the books found here: https://www.elianapiers.com/
About the Author:What makes people fall in love? Why do two people end up together? Every love story is unique and that’s what I love to write.
Eliana Piers has been writing and singing stories since she was five years old. After feeling inspired by authors like Julia Quinn, Tessa Dare, and Minerva Spencer, Eliana decided to test her quill on the page.
Writing about love and how two people come to connect and share parts of their souls with each other is now an obsession.
Eliana lives in Canada where she drinks ice caps every day.
Find Eliana Here:
http://www.instagram.com/elianapiersauthor
https://www.facebook.com/elianapiers
https://www.facebook.com/groups/elianasbeaumondereadergroup
www.amazon.com/author/elianapiers
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38242889.Eliana_Piers
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/eliana-piers
https://books2read.com/ElianaPiers
https://www.elianapiers.com/books
FREE BOOK Sweeten the Rogue bit.ly/SweetenTheRogue
