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The Professor's Secret
English professor Claudia Manchester secretly writes spicy romances as April Mayes, the Queen of Steam. She wants to keep her side job under wraps till she’s secured tenure, but when she’s pressured by her agent to appear at some out-of-state conferences, she agrees … if she can go in disguise. Dressed as her sexier alter ego, she meets historical romance writer and high school history teacher Bradley Davis and passion ignites. But can true love be built on lies? And will he still want her when she reveals her real self?
182 pages, ebook
Published March 21, 2016
About the author
Peggy Bird
40 books105 followersBorn in Philly, raised in the suburbs, I moved to the Northwest as an adult and, other than a year in England and a couple years in Montana, have happily lived here ever since.
My work life has been more complicated. I was a nurse, political staffer, lobbyist, association executive and community affairs consultant before I followed my passions to writing and art glass. Not as much money but a whole lot more fun.
In 2012 my life changed dramatically when several of the books I'd started out writing as mysteries were contracted for publication by Crimson Romance. Since June of that year I've had six books in the Second Chances series released as ebooks and trade paperbacks and a second series, A Holiday for Romance, begun.
Some of the characters in my books share my love of glass art--there's a gallery owner and a kiln-formed glass artist, a glass jewelry artist who has better luck making perfect beads than I do and, in the first Holiday for Romance book, a glass blower. It's an enjoyable way to share my love for glass art through my other love, writing.
All of the books take place primarily in the Pacific Northwest where I live but sometimes Philly, where I grew up. slips in. It's easy writing romances in such a beautiful setting!
I love to hear from readers so feel free to contact me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peggybirdauthor
or Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggybirdwrites
My work life has been more complicated. I was a nurse, political staffer, lobbyist, association executive and community affairs consultant before I followed my passions to writing and art glass. Not as much money but a whole lot more fun.
In 2012 my life changed dramatically when several of the books I'd started out writing as mysteries were contracted for publication by Crimson Romance. Since June of that year I've had six books in the Second Chances series released as ebooks and trade paperbacks and a second series, A Holiday for Romance, begun.
Some of the characters in my books share my love of glass art--there's a gallery owner and a kiln-formed glass artist, a glass jewelry artist who has better luck making perfect beads than I do and, in the first Holiday for Romance book, a glass blower. It's an enjoyable way to share my love for glass art through my other love, writing.
All of the books take place primarily in the Pacific Northwest where I live but sometimes Philly, where I grew up. slips in. It's easy writing romances in such a beautiful setting!
I love to hear from readers so feel free to contact me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peggybirdauthor
or Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggybirdwrites
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 31, 2018
This was a fun, flirty romance. I thought the 'twist' was fun--Claudia is a college professor trying to gain tenure but has a secret life as romance author April Mayes. She has avoided publicity to maintain her secret but then her publisher convinces her to attend a conference. In a city far from home and with a makeover, she is able to maintain her facade . . . until she meets Brad. She's never reacted to someone like she does him and so, of course, she panics and then creates yet another new persona. Brad is also a teacher with a pen name for his historical romances and from the moment he first sees her, he is determined to solve the mystery that is April Mayes. I love watching their relationship develop and, while I felt Claudia should come clean, I also felt that her reactions were absolutely believable and probably what I would do in the same situation! Bird develops not just a fun romance, but also likeable, well-developed characters with unique backgrounds. These are definitely people I want to get to know! . . . now if I could just find one of April's books . . .
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 12, 2016
What a fun read! This is vintage Peggy Bird, as the book is set in Portland and Seattle. Peggy makes you almost feel like a native as she describes traffic patterns, landmarks and grocery stores in her part of the country. She also takes us to a romance writer's conference and makes you a part of the whole experience along with Claudia, the heroine, who is a first-time participant. Claudia hides behind a pen name for her racy novels, but is quickly unmasked by Brad, a fellow, hunky, author. She has to scramble to find another name to use to keep her upcoming tenure position safe. When one little lie leads to another, Claudia has trouble keeping things straight. The only thing she hasn't lied about is her feelings for Brad, who has become more than a convention hook-up. I couldn't put this book down, and highly recommend it.
September 10, 2019
Reviewed by Heather
Book provided by the publisher
The Professor’s Secret by Peggy Bird is a well written, fun romance. The description of the cities and events paint a picture that makes the reader feel like they are actually there with the characters.
I loved the characters. They were all well developed and had a sense of humor. Claudia Manchester is absolutely amazing. She tries to hide the fact that she is an author by using a pen name, April Mayes. She feels like her writing would be frowned upon by her colleagues because she writes erotic romance. While attending a conference to promote her books and speak about writing, she meets Bradley Davis, a historical romance writer and high school teacher. He is immediately attracted to Claudia and is going to stop at nothing to learn more about her. As their relationship develops, there are twists and turns that are both hilarious and spicy. I love how Claudia and Bradley interact with each other. Claudia does a fairly decent job at covering her true identity for as long as she can. However, the person she actually is and the person that she is pretending to are so different that she struggles to keep up the act. When this start to unravel, it gets even more interesting.
There are some spicy scenes in this book. I like the story line but I think that Claudia took her act a little further than it should have went. All in all, it was a great read.
Book provided by the publisher
The Professor’s Secret by Peggy Bird is a well written, fun romance. The description of the cities and events paint a picture that makes the reader feel like they are actually there with the characters.
I loved the characters. They were all well developed and had a sense of humor. Claudia Manchester is absolutely amazing. She tries to hide the fact that she is an author by using a pen name, April Mayes. She feels like her writing would be frowned upon by her colleagues because she writes erotic romance. While attending a conference to promote her books and speak about writing, she meets Bradley Davis, a historical romance writer and high school teacher. He is immediately attracted to Claudia and is going to stop at nothing to learn more about her. As their relationship develops, there are twists and turns that are both hilarious and spicy. I love how Claudia and Bradley interact with each other. Claudia does a fairly decent job at covering her true identity for as long as she can. However, the person she actually is and the person that she is pretending to are so different that she struggles to keep up the act. When this start to unravel, it gets even more interesting.
There are some spicy scenes in this book. I like the story line but I think that Claudia took her act a little further than it should have went. All in all, it was a great read.
July 12, 2017
Oh my God, I loved this book! Of course a romance author writing about a romance author was going to yield an authentic book, but this was just something special. The layered theme of a Romeo and Juliet plot line while the heroine wrote her own Romeo and Juliet plot line: masterful. The issue of how academia and commercial fiction still (unnecessarily) clash: timely. The trips to the conferences were immersive and made me feel like I'd been on vacation. But the best part was the sweet, sexy love story between Brad and Claudia/Claire/April. Perfect summer read; perfect happy ending. Make sure you have several hours of free time when you pick this one up, because you will not want to put it back down!
March 20, 2018
Claudia Manchester, English Lit professor, writes sizzling erotica under the pen name April Mayes. If her colleagues found out, she'll never get tenure.
Brad Davis falls in love with Claudia, but she won't tell him her real name. He knows her by yet another name - Claire Mason.
I really liked the characters in this book. Especially Claudia. Brad was a bit of a insensitive arse at one point and the resolution dragged a bit, but I cared about Claudia and wanted to see her have her happy ending.
There was some interesting discussion about the perceptions of the romance genre in there (all in context, obviously, because Claudia is an English Lit professor) and a rather excellent put down when someone asks her if she's done all the things she writes about.
This book was rather hotter than the books I normally read (sex in a kitchen sounds unhygienic to me, but then, I'm British and we can be weird about these things).
Brad Davis falls in love with Claudia, but she won't tell him her real name. He knows her by yet another name - Claire Mason.
I really liked the characters in this book. Especially Claudia. Brad was a bit of a insensitive arse at one point and the resolution dragged a bit, but I cared about Claudia and wanted to see her have her happy ending.
There was some interesting discussion about the perceptions of the romance genre in there (all in context, obviously, because Claudia is an English Lit professor) and a rather excellent put down when someone asks her if she's done all the things she writes about.
This book was rather hotter than the books I normally read (sex in a kitchen sounds unhygienic to me, but then, I'm British and we can be weird about these things).
April 7, 2016
Peggy always guarantees a good romance. This one was definitely fun.
As Sir Walter Scott said, “O, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive.”
Claudia Manchester is a professor of English Lit at Portland State University, and is eagerly awaiting her chance to secure tenure but there’s only one problem…she’s also a romance writer and her agent wants her to start attending author functions such as writers conferences. Her pen name is April Mayes. When she finally gives in to her agent’s request, she agrees to go but only if she can go as April and not as Claudia – in disguise, in other words – but as her alter ego instead of her staid professor self. April is known as the Queen of Steam and so as April, Claudia discovers a whole new side of herself.
When she encounters a hot and handsome fellow romance writer, high school history teacher, Brad Davis, she discovers that April is much more willing to have fun than Claudia ever was. But what happens when Brad discovers the truth that April/Claire isn’t the real her?
Knowing that a lot of romance writers use pen names, this was a fun story for many reasons. As an aspiring author, I’ve considered the use of one myself but since I’m not a very good web weaver, I figure it would be more trouble than it’s worth to try to keep a cover story straight. Just the problem that poor Claudia seems to find herself in when Brad, who also writes under a pen name – Davis Churchill – begins to unravel her woven web but instead of coming clean, she creates yet another persona tangling her web even more so.
I love how Peggy infused the world of romance writer conference with all that comes with it. How she plunked this poor introverted college professor/sexy romance writer smack down in the midst of it with the undeniably delicious temptation of Mr. Hot and Handsome Brad Davis to keep her on her toes, sweating her woven web, and trying to grab a moment when she can breathe even as she wishes he’d steal away her breath again.
I’ve never had the luck to attend a conference but I know Peggy has and I’m so glad she wrote a story that allowed us to experience one even if only through Claudia and Brad’s eyes. Peggy always creates the most real, alive, and wonderfully delightful characters, people that I would thoroughly enjoy knowing in real life. Claudia and Brad are no exception. They are wonderfully clumsy, each trying to impress, and deceive, while trying to make a connection that will last. Whether, she’s Claudia, April, or Claire, our heroine is as sweet, complicated, and adorable as any romance heroine and Brad is definitely her hero.
If you love sweet, flirty, and terrifically fun romance, I highly recommend reading THE PROFESSOR’S SECRET by Peggy Bird. It’s a quick, fun read that will have you wishing for your own nom de plume to secret behind in hopes of meeting your own Mr. Hot and Handsome.
***eARC provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.
As Sir Walter Scott said, “O, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive.”
Claudia Manchester is a professor of English Lit at Portland State University, and is eagerly awaiting her chance to secure tenure but there’s only one problem…she’s also a romance writer and her agent wants her to start attending author functions such as writers conferences. Her pen name is April Mayes. When she finally gives in to her agent’s request, she agrees to go but only if she can go as April and not as Claudia – in disguise, in other words – but as her alter ego instead of her staid professor self. April is known as the Queen of Steam and so as April, Claudia discovers a whole new side of herself.
When she encounters a hot and handsome fellow romance writer, high school history teacher, Brad Davis, she discovers that April is much more willing to have fun than Claudia ever was. But what happens when Brad discovers the truth that April/Claire isn’t the real her?
Knowing that a lot of romance writers use pen names, this was a fun story for many reasons. As an aspiring author, I’ve considered the use of one myself but since I’m not a very good web weaver, I figure it would be more trouble than it’s worth to try to keep a cover story straight. Just the problem that poor Claudia seems to find herself in when Brad, who also writes under a pen name – Davis Churchill – begins to unravel her woven web but instead of coming clean, she creates yet another persona tangling her web even more so.
I love how Peggy infused the world of romance writer conference with all that comes with it. How she plunked this poor introverted college professor/sexy romance writer smack down in the midst of it with the undeniably delicious temptation of Mr. Hot and Handsome Brad Davis to keep her on her toes, sweating her woven web, and trying to grab a moment when she can breathe even as she wishes he’d steal away her breath again.
I’ve never had the luck to attend a conference but I know Peggy has and I’m so glad she wrote a story that allowed us to experience one even if only through Claudia and Brad’s eyes. Peggy always creates the most real, alive, and wonderfully delightful characters, people that I would thoroughly enjoy knowing in real life. Claudia and Brad are no exception. They are wonderfully clumsy, each trying to impress, and deceive, while trying to make a connection that will last. Whether, she’s Claudia, April, or Claire, our heroine is as sweet, complicated, and adorable as any romance heroine and Brad is definitely her hero.
If you love sweet, flirty, and terrifically fun romance, I highly recommend reading THE PROFESSOR’S SECRET by Peggy Bird. It’s a quick, fun read that will have you wishing for your own nom de plume to secret behind in hopes of meeting your own Mr. Hot and Handsome.
***eARC provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.
April 8, 2016
This was an enjoyable love story. Can you imagine being an author of erotic love stories by night and a university professor by day? Your English department colleagues look at commercial literature as a waste of time and for Claudia, she doesn't have tenure and the stuffy professors hold the key to her future.
So Claudia writes under a pen name April Mayes and for the first time is attending a romance writer's conference. At this conference she meets an amazing man and starts a relationship based on lies. Problem is she is falling for Brad, hard.
Brad Davis has met the woman of his dreams, but he knows she is hiding something from him. The question is what is it.
Then one day, he sees her on campus....What happens when Claudia's worlds collide? You have to read to find out!
This was an entertaining story, at times I just wanted to slap some sense into Claudia, but Brad was great.
I would recommend this for a great weekend read.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was an enjoyable love story. Can you imagine being an author of erotic love stories by night and a university professor by day? Your English department colleagues look at commercial literature as a waste of time and for Claudia, she doesn't have tenure and the stuffy professors hold the key to her future.
So Claudia writes under a pen name April Mayes and for the first time is attending a romance writer's conference. At this conference she meets an amazing man and starts a relationship based on lies. Problem is she is falling for Brad, hard.
Brad Davis has met the woman of his dreams, but he knows she is hiding something from him. The question is what is it.
Then one day, he sees her on campus....What happens when Claudia's worlds collide? You have to read to find out!
This was an entertaining story, at times I just wanted to slap some sense into Claudia, but Brad was great.
I would recommend this for a great weekend read.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.
August 4, 2016
The chemistry and sexual tension between Claudia and Brad sizzles! It’s a hot and steamy romance just like one Claudia would write under her pen name, April Mayes. I really enjoyed the transformation of Claudia, who is a bit uptight at the beginning but slowly becomes more easygoing, like the hero, Brad. His character really came to life for me. Not just sexy, gorgeous, and intelligent, but also determined. He pursues Claudia despite her sending him mixed signals due to her guilt over keeping secrets from him. The story demonstrates how what starts as one little white lie can cause your life to spiral out of control.
I enjoyed an insider’s look at the life of a romance writer. Just enough details were provided to make it interesting while keeping the romance story on track. I think a lot of readers would find this insight very intriguing. This is a fast-paced, flirty, and fun read I would highly recommend!
I enjoyed an insider’s look at the life of a romance writer. Just enough details were provided to make it interesting while keeping the romance story on track. I think a lot of readers would find this insight very intriguing. This is a fast-paced, flirty, and fun read I would highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews