Spotlight on Sunday

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Spotlight on Music on the Waters

St Magnus Cathedral, and its organ, play a central part in Music on the Waters, the latest novel from Caroline Warfield. The video above gives the history of the cathedral.

I love stories about two people groping their ineffectual way towards an understanding, and this is a delightful one. The hero is a successful businessman, but hasn’t been quite as successful in understanding his now deceased wife. He needs help with his wild children, especially the daughter who seems increasingly distant. But he is certainly not interested in another meek conventional wife who won’t express an opinion of her own.

Ann appears on the surface to be such a woman, but Alec first sees her when she is playing the organ — can he coax her to be, with him, the vibrant passionate woman she becomes when she plays?

Ann is the daughter of a bullying father, well used to everyone telling her that her thoughts, feelings, tastes, and opinions are wrong. She has learned to hide her appreciation of, and talent for, the music of the great masters. Instead, she teaches and conducts saccharine ballads, while yearning for something more. She has no idea what Alec is up to, but she doesn’t trust it.

The outcome of this romance was never in any real doubt, but the steps and missteps in the developing relationship are wonderfully satisfying, and Warfield has also given us a delightful supporting cast, including a trio of engaging children.

You won’t regret buying this story (for a mere USD99c, or free on KU). Without the twists and the life and death situations of Warfield’s great Children of Empire series or her compelling Christmas Hope, it nonetheless left me with a smile and a warm heart. Perfect comfort reading.

Music on the Waters

Sir Alexander Bradshaw needs a wife, a sensible woman to manage his unruly sons and sullen daughter. No suitable candidates appear, however, and Alec resigns himself to spend another long, dark Orkney winter companionless. When an acquaintance suggests a music teacher might occupy his daughter, he embraces the idea.

Ann Dunwood travels to Orkney for the opportunity to play the Kirkwall organ. For the beauty of the instrument, Ann endures the conservative choir members who wish to perform the most banal of hymns; she’s done it before. She knows how to fade into the shadows and keep to her place.

When he happens upon Ann in the cathedral, Alec is enchanted by the woman at the keyboard, who fills the room with a Bach fugue. Yet, when the music ends, the object of his fascination turns into a demure mouse. Alec determines to reignite the passion he glimpsed in her and fill his home with music.

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Spotlight on Suffering, Hope, Romance and a new release

 

Eggs are a symbol of hope. Hence the saying about counting chickens before they are hatched.

In much of the Christian world, people are celebrating Easter Sunday, and its message of hope. We’re on Monday here in New Zealand, and I’ve been reflecting overnight about pandemics, lock down, the resurrection, and historical romance. Romance as a genre, in fact. The common thread, I think, is hope.

The message of Easter is that happy ever after is possible. Suffering during the days and nights of pain, but at last comes the dawn of the day of joy. Most religions, I think, have a similar message. Bad stuff happens to good people, but endure. This too shall pass. In the end, it’ll all work out.

As for pandemics, we’ve been here before. You’ve probably heard that the Black Death wiped out a third of the population of England. At the time, they thought it was the end of the world, and it was the end of the world as they knew it. But they replaced it with a one that was in many ways better — no more serfs, for a start. After the 1918 to 1919 flu epidemic, the world bounced into the buoyant and productive years of the 1920s. For each disaster, there is a recovery.

Lock down — being shut into a small space alone or with your nearest and dearest — is going to end. Hope helps us to come through better than before. I’ve decided I’m not in lock down; I’m on a retreat! (Spiritual, writers, or gardeners, it varies according the day and the weather). For children, it is the temporary normal. I strongly suspect that, decades from now people will be telling their children stories of the things they did as children in the Covid-19 lockdown. For many of them, it will sit in their minds as a golden period during which they had the attention of both parents, though I know that isn’t all the story. Some families have been forced to make hard decisions about putting their children with relatives while they continue to work in essential services. Some households are not nice places to be at the best of times. Still, there is always hope for a better tomorrow.

(See the lovely New Zealand series, Inside my bubble, for what New Zealanders are doing on lockdown. This is microbiologist Siouxie Welles, who has become a bit of a media star for her clear, calm, interesting explanations about the pandemic.)

Suffering, leavened with hope, and ending well, is a pretty good description of the romance genre. Without a bit of a challenge, sometime a lot of a challenge, we don’t have a story. But it’s a romance precisely because it promises that things will work out in the end. Personally, I prefer to read books where the stakes are high, and the dangers real. I can enjoy them, knowing that my hero and heroine will fulfill the promise of happy ever after, and their near brushes with disaster make things even better. Romances aren’t the only happy endings, though. Many people find their fulfillment in their jobs, or friendships, or craft, and that, too, can be a happy ever after. Still, romances — and specifically historical romances — are my escapism of choice.

That’s why I’m still launching the first novel in my Mountain King series on Wednesday. I thought about delaying To Wed a Proper Lady when Amazon offered to let people off their usual punishment for not keeping to release dates (usually, if you miss a release date, you can’t do preorder for a full year).  But the world is in lock down, right? Escape is a great idea! You can read more about it and find buy links by clicking on the name, and that page also has a link to the prequel novella Paradise Regained (which is free on most platforms, and will soon be free on Amazon, I hope).

I’ve also written a prequel novella about the Duchess of Haverford, who appears throughout the series. This one isn’t a romance. Eleanor gets her happy ending, but it’s the other kind (although, to be fair, this is only the end of the novella — for the end of her story, you need to read the whole series). You’ll get access to a copy of Paradise Lost if you’re a subscriber to my newsletter, but as a teaser, here is the cover.

All the very best from my household bubble to yours in this time of hope.

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Spotlight on To Enchant a Highland Earl

Congratulations to Collette Cameron on her new release.

Sparks fly whenever they meet…not the sensual kind.

Pick up book 5 in the best selling Heart of a Scot Series today! Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

She knows precisely what she wants…
And it’s not the obstinate Highlander, Broden McGregor. Even if the handsome brute did recently inherit an earldom and a sizable fortune and now must wed to produce an heir. So why doesn’t Kendra object when the womanizing libertine boldly steals a kiss? And why does his promise of more sensual encounters thrill, rather than infuriate?

Fate turned his life upside down…
Not only did Broden inherit a title he never anticipated, someone wants him dead. At great peril to herself, Kendra saves his life, and the stunning lass he once regarded as his nemesis, becomes something more. But as his best friend’s adored sister, she’s off-limits. Besides, Kendra is prickly, opinionated, and holds him in contempt, though he has no idea why.

Antagonism transforms into sizzling desire…
Neither can deny nor resist the passion between them as secrets, temptations, and long-hidden love are revealed. But at what cost?

 

If you enjoy reading Highlander love stories brimming with mystery and suspense, a dash of humor, and gripping emotion, then you’ll adore Collette Cameron’s mesmerizing HEART OF A SCOT Series. Buy TO ENCHANT A HIGHLAND EARL and settle into your favorite reading nook for a rousing Highland adventure you can’t put down.

Though this book can easily be read as a stand-alone, most readers prefer to read the series in order.

HEART OF A SCOT:
To Love a Highland Laird
To Redeem a Highland Rake
To Seduce a Highland Scoundrel
To Woo a Highland Warrior
A Christmas Kiss for the Highlander
To Enchant a Highland Earl

Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0859MCHYF

Goodreads – http://bit.ly/2TkeKva

BookBub – http://bit.ly/2PvuSZV

Excerpt

Now, as he guided Kendra down the passageway, her honeyed heat, mere inches away, beckoned him. As did her perfume, light and tempting with a promise of spring. Fully aware, he flirted with danger and perhaps risked a slap, as well, he bent his neck and inhaled deeply.

Her womanly scent tunneled through him, an intoxicating elixir of femininity and Kendra.

She glanced up, curiosity rather than censure in her amused gaze. A winsome smile played around the edges of her soft, plump lips. “Are ye sniffin’ me, Broden?”

He chuckled as they turned the corner leading to the top of the stairs. No sense in denying the obvious. “Aye, I am. Ye always smell amazin’.”

His superior height gave him a delicious view of the tantalizing hills and valleys her bodice revealed. He was a lecher for taking advantage of it but, damn his eyes, if he could haul his attention away from the lush display.

Desperate for a distraction, he said, “Yer fragrance contains lemon?”

Those winged eyebrows of hers that so often pulled together in annoyance and scorn when in his presence, shied skyward, as a smile just this side of teasing, curved her mouth.

“Are we truly havin’ a discussion about my perfume?” A giggle escaped her, and she clapped a palm over her mouth.

He adored her laugh but was rarely gifted the chance to hear it.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m no’ laughin’ at ye. It just seems so ludicrous when a week ago, I wouldna have believed ye even aware I wore perfume.”

Oh, he was aware.

Too damned aware of everything about Kendra MacKay. That was the root of the problem. He couldn’t rid his consciousness of her. Even when he wasn’t with her.

“Never mind. It isna important.” Broden felt a sheer fool. He, who had his choice of any number of women, couldn’t hold an intelligent conversation with the only woman that mattered.

Her fingers tightened on his arm minutely, and she said, “If ye must ken, there is lemon in it. And camellia, along with the merest bit of juniper. That gives the fragrance a wee hint of mystery.”

“A bit of adventure and sweetness and mystery. And zest,” Broden murmured low, finding the conversation oddly arousing.

Did she dab the scent behind those delicate ears? Between her superbly ripe breasts? Inside her shapely elbows? Elsewhere?

Lord, help him.

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Spotlight on Fire & Frost: Melting Matilda

Fire & Frost is out in just over a week, and I’m really excited. I think this collection is the best the Bluestocking Belles have done yet! I’m going to be celebrating each of the novellas over the next couple of weeks, with excerpts and everything!

First up, my own novella, Melting Matilda.

Her scandalous birth prevents Matilda Grenford from being fully acceptable to Society, even though she has been a ward of the Duchess of Haverford since she was a few weeks old. Matilda does not expect to be wooed by a worthy gentleman. The only man who has ever interested her gave her an outrageous kiss a year ago and has avoided her ever since.

Charles, the Earl of Hamner is honour bound to ignore his attraction to Matilda Grenford. She is an innocent and a lady, and in every way worthy of his respect—but she is base-born. His ancestors would rise screaming from their graves if he made her his countess. But he cannot forget the kiss they once shared.

Here’s an excerpt:

For more than a year, Charles had kept to himself the fact that the Haverford Ice Princess kissed like a flame. As he abandoned his own granite facade for once and for all, he rejoiced in her heat. This time was even better than the last, and the best was yet to come. Though perhaps not here in a family parlor where her brother or sisters could walk in at any time.

“I hope you do not want a long betrothal,” he whispered, between kisses.

She broke off her attempt to completely unravel his cravat. “Not long,” she agreed.

Her fervent answer demanded that he kiss her again, losing himself so deep he didn’t know they were no longer alone until a voice behind him said, “I trust you are betrothed to my sister, Hamner, for it would be most inconvenient to start the evening’s celebrations by killing you.”

Meet my hero, walking in the fog.

Charles lifted his hat in greeting, and sensed rather than saw her shoulder’s ease. Did she think an assailant unable to ape good manners? Stride by stride he approached, and stride by stride she came into better focus.
His heart sank as he recognized her. Of all the females to need his help, it had to be the Haverford Ice Princess. Nonetheless, manners demanded that he lift his hat again, bowing. A slight bow, peer to commoner, but still a bow. He fiercely resented the necessity, telling himself that a female with her breeding — or lack thereof — should not expect such recognition from a gentleman, but the ward of the Duchess of Haverford had every right to be treated with respect.
Miss Grenford returned a small curtsey, though a quick darting look at the fog hinted that she no more wanted to be rescued by him than he wanted to play knight errant to her.
Matilda Grenford had been bedeviling Charles since she first made her entry to Society, side by side with her equally problematic sister. No. She was more problematic.
“Lord Hamner.” Just that, and in freezing tones. No explanation of her presence alone in the street. No pleas to see to her safety. No smile.
“Miss Grenford.” How he wished Miss Grenford were more like her sister so he could blame her, instead of himself, for the insult that had sunk him so low in her regard. He’d fought an unwelcome and inappropriate lust in her presence since he asked her to dance at her debut ball two years ago. It was, of course, only lust. He would have recovered long ago, he was certain, if she had been in his keeping, but that would never happen.
Besides, for all that he told himself he would tire of her, he could not imagine it. He would not take a mistress he could not give up. He had sworn on his mother’s grave that he would have no other women when he married. He would never do to his wife and children what his father had done; marrying a proper lady when his heart was with his irregular family.
To marry Miss Grenford was unthinkable. When he wed, it would be to a maiden of pure bloodlines, both maternal and paternal. He owed it to his name. He owed it to the heir he and his wife would raise to the dignities of his title, and to any other offspring.
To offer protection to a ward of the Duchess of Haverford was impossible. She behaved like a proper lady, whatever her appearance. If he compromised her, he would be honor bound to offer for her, and would do so without even the incentive of an angry brother. The Marquis of Aldridge would avenge insult to any of the Grenford sisters, and Aldridge was deadly with both sword and pistol, but Charles’s own sense of what was due a lady would propel him to the altar without such a threat.
Sometimes, he struggled to remember that would be a bad outcome.

And my heroine:

If the two of them made it out of the near-invisible city streets alive, Matilda Grenford was going to kill her sister Jessica, and even their guardian and mentor, the Duchess of Haverford, wouldn’t blame her. Angry as Matilda was, and panicked, too, as she tried to find a known landmark in the enveloping fog, she couldn’t resist a wry smile at the thought. Aunt Eleanor was the kindest person in the world, and expected everyone else to be as forgiving and generous as she was herself. Matilda could just imagine the conversation.
“Now, my dear, I want you to think about what other choices you might have made.” The duchess had said precisely those words uncounted times in the more than twenty years Matilda had been her ward.
When she was younger, she would burst out in an impassioned defense of whatever action had brought her before Her Grace for a reprimand. “Jessica is not just destroying her own reputation, Aunt Eleanor. Meeting men in the garden at balls, going out riding without her groom, dancing too close. Her behavior reflects on us all.”
Was that the lamppost by the corner of the square? No; a few steps more showed yet another paved street with houses looming in the fog on both sides. Matilda stopped while she tried to decide if any of them were in any way familiar.
Meanwhile, she continued her imaginary rant to the duchess. “Even in company, she takes flirtation to the edge of what is proper. This latest start — sneaking out of the house without a chaperone or even her maid — if it becomes known, she’ll go down in ruin, and take me and Frances with her.”
Matilda had gone after her, of course, taking a footman, but she’d lost the poor man several mistaken turns back. Matilda had been hurrying ahead, ignoring the footman’s complaints, thinking only about bringing Jessica back before she got into worse trouble than ever before. Now Matilda was just as much at risk, and she’d settle for managing to bring her own self home to Haverford House, or even to the house of a friend, if she could find one.
Home, for preference. Turning up anywhere else, unaccompanied, would start the very scandal Matilda had followed her sister to avoid. If Jessica managed to make it home unscathed, Matilda would strangle her.
In her imagination, she could hear Aunt Eleanor, calm as ever. “Murder is so final, Matilda. Surely it would have been better to try something else, first. What could you have done?”

Fire & Frost: released 4 February. Buy now!

Join the The Ladies’ Society For The Care of the Widows and Orphans of Fallen Heroes and the Children of Wounded Veterans in their pursuit of justice, charity, and soul searing romance.

The Napoleonic Wars have left England with wounded warriors, fatherless children, unemployed veterans, and hungry families. The ladies of London, led by the indomitable Duchess of Haverford plot a campaign to feed the hungry, care for the fallen—and bring the neglectful Parliament to heel. They will use any means at their disposal to convince the gentlemen of their choice to assist.

Their campaign involves strategy, persuasion, and a wee bit of fun. Pamphlets are all well and good, but auctioning a lady’s company along with her basket of delicious treats is bound to get more attention. Their efforts fall amid weeks of fog and weather so cold the Thames freezes over and a festive Frost Fair breaks out right on the river. The ladies take to the ice. What could be better for their purposes than a little Fire and Frost?

Apple Books
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AmazonUS

Amazon Global: AU BR CA DE ES FR IN IT JP MX NL UK

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More holiday reading — add your favourites (or your own) in the comments

My friends have also been publishing holiday books. I’ve put a few below. Please feel free to add more in the comments.

Caroline Warfield

Caroline Warfield’s Holiday Collection

Love and hope at Christmas and always.

The link takes you to more information and buy links for:

Christmas Hope

During four wartime holidays 1916-1919 a soldier and the widow whose love gives him hope cling to life and love. After the Great War will it be enough?

Lady Charlotte’s Christmas Vigil

Love is the best medicine and the sweetest things in life are worth the wait, especially at Christmastime in Venice for a stranded English Lady and a handsome Italian doctor.

An Open Heart

Two people who don’t celebrate the same holiday as the other folk at a Regency house party, hold fast to their Judaic traditions. Can they also open their hearts and minds to love? It first appeared in Holly and Hopeful Hearts.

A Dangerous Nativity

With Christmas coming, can the Earl of Chadbourn repair his sister’s damaged estate, and more damaged family? Dare he hope for love in the bargain?

This book is a prequel to both Children of Empire and the Dangerous Series. It first appeared in Mistletoe, Marriage, and Mayhem, and is always **FREE**

Sherry Ewing

Under the Mistletoe

A new suitor seeks her hand. An old flame holds her heart. Which one will she meet under the kissing bough? Under the Mistletoe

One Last Kiss

Sometimes it takes a miracle to find your heart’s desire…

E. Ayers

A Sister’s Christmas Gift

When tragedy strikes, career woman Brandy Devin is left to pick up the pieces of her sister’s life. What she finds changes her life forever. The bonds of family are strong, and love is even stronger.

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Holiday reading in the spotlight

 

Are you looking for some holiday reading? I have some novellas and some collections for you. Click on the title to go to more information plus buy links.

Jude’s Christmas books

Paradise Regained

In discovering the mysteries of the East, James has built a new life. Will unveiling the secrets in his wife’s heart destroy it?

If Mistletoe Could Tell Tales

Wanted: love stories for a carriage-maker’s daughter, an admiral’s child, the unwanted wife of an earl, a nabob’s heiress, a duke’s cousin, and a fanatic’s niece

This 2017 collection has four novellas and two Christmas-themed short stories. Each of the novellas is also published separately, so you can buy individually if you have some of them and want the others without buying the collection.

A Suitable Husband (novella)

The cousin of a duke, however distant, can’t marry a chef from the slums, however talented. But dreams are free.

All that Glisters (story from Hand-Turned Tales)

Rose is unhappy in the household of her fanatical uncle. Thomas, a young merchant from Canada, offers a glimpse of another possible life. If she is brave enough to reach for it.

Candle’s Christmas Chair (novella)

Love blossoms between a viscount and a carriage maker’s daughter. Can they bridge the gap between them?

Gingerbread Bride (novella)

She runs away from unwanted complications and into disaster. Saving her has become a habit Rick doesn’t want to break.

Lord Calne’s Christmas Ruby (novella)

One wealthy merchant’s heiress who spurns fortune hunters. One impoverished earl with a twisted hand. Add one sweet aunt and one villainous rector, and stir.

Magnus and the Christmas Angel (story from Lost in the Tale)

Scarred by years in captivity, Magnus has fought English Society to be accepted as the true Earl of Fenchurch. Now he faces the hardest battle of all: to win the love of his wife.

 

Hearts in the Land of Ferns: Love Tales from New Zealand

Escape to beautiful New Zealand to enjoy tales of lovers who win against the odds.

A collection of Jude Knight’s New Zealand stories: two historical and three contemporary suspense.

All That Glisters: In gold rush New Zealand, they seek the treasure of a true heart (from Hand-Turned Tales)

Forged in Fire: Forged in Fire, their love will create them anew (from Never Too Late).

A Family Christmas: She’s hiding out. He’s coming home. And there’ll be storms for Christmas. (from Christmas Babies on Main Street)

Abbie’s Wish: Abbie’s Christmas wish draws three men to her mother. One of them is a monster (from Christmas Wishes on Main Street).

Beached: The truth will wash away her coastal paradise… (from Summer Romanceon Main Street ).

Christmas anthologies with other authors

Authors of Main Street

Contemporary romance. Most of the novellas are set in small town United States. My four (listed below) are set in New Zealand.

Bluestocking Belles

Historical romance, mostly Regency or close.

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Sunday Spotlight on Christmas Hope

A compelling story of love in impossible circumstances

I loved this book.

Caroline Warfield invariably engages our hearts, and Christmas Hope is no exception. Harry has the heart of a poet; a heart that is sickened by life with the Canadian Forces in the trenches of WWI. Rosemarie is a widow struggling to feed herself and her son, Marcel, while withering under the contempt of small-minded locals. Harry’s hunt for his lost bible brings them together. For Harry, Rosemarie and Marcel come to represent all that is good and peaceful. For Rosemarie, Harry is a light in the darkness.

The book follows them through four years, each ending in a Christmas, as their relationship deepens in brief encounters stolen out of the ruinous war. Even the end of the war does not bring peace for this small would-be family — Rosemarie has been evacuated out of the path of the battles, and she and Harry have lost touch with one another.

Part 4 of the book is set in 1919, beginning as Harry faces repatriation from Wales to Canada, his father’s well-meant interference in his future, and the influenza that devastated the post-war world. Rosemarie leaves her son with his uncle to search for her beloved. Nothing is easy.

I enjoy Warfield’s decent men and courageous women. Harry might just be one of my favourites. I particularly cherished his scenes with Marcel. As for Rosemarie, watching her overcome obstacle after obstacle, including her own self doubt, broke my heart — but I trusted Warfield to mend it again, and she did. Right at the eleventh hour, which is the best time, in a novel.

I strongly recommend Christmas Hope.

Christmas Hope

When the Great War is over, will their love be enough?

A wartime romance in four parts, each ending on Christmas, 1916-1919.

After two years at the mercy of the Canadian Expeditionary force and the German war machine, Harry ran out of metaphors for death, synonyms for brown, and images of darkness. When he encounters color among the floating islands of Amiens and life in the form a widow and her little son, hope ensnares him. Through three more long years of war and its aftermath, the hope she brings keeps Harry alive.

Rosemarie Legrand’s husband left her a tiny son, no money, and a savaged reputation when he died. She struggles to simply feed the boy and has little to offer a lonely soldier, but Harry’s devotion lifts her up. The war demands all her strength and resilience, will the hope of peace and the promise of Harry’s love keep her going?

Buy links:
Barnes & Noble * Kobo * Apple 

Amazon: US * UK * CA * AU * IN

Excerpt

Harry woke with a stab of fear. He reared up, groping for his rifle, afraid he had fallen asleep on duty.

He sank back into the bed as awareness flooded in. No enemy lurked. He reposed in soft covers in an unfamiliar room, his clothes had gone missing, and he wasn’t alone. A small boy watched him steadily from the doorway. Memory flooded back—fleeing from Lens, frantic to get to Rosemarie. He hadn’t deserted; he’d gotten leave or rather had it thrust on him with orders from Captain Mitchell to come back whole. He remembered a frantic journey, reaching her cottage, falling against the door, and not much else.

“You are dirty,” the boy said, approaching the bed. Harry ran a hand across the stubble on his face. It came away filthy.

“Apparently so. And you are tall, much too tall to be Marcel.”

The boy stiffened in offense. “I am Marcel. I am three.” He held up three fingers.

Before Harry could think what to say next the boy ran to the stairs shouting, “Maman, ‘arry is awake!”

His soldier’s instinct took stock of his surroundings. The room spread out under peaked roof beams. He doubted he could stand upright anywhere but the center of the room; it had only one way out, the direction Marcel had taken. He had slept in an actual bed. Rosemarie’s bed, it has to be. Did we share it? He thought not. If we had, I would certainly remember.

The blankets he lay in were worn and mended, but warm enough and clean—at least they had been until he lay in them. Since whoever took his clothing left his drawers and nothing else, he thought it best to stay nested where he lay. A tiny window at the peak of the roof let in a beam of light. It appeared to be slanted low in the sky. Does that window face east or west? Did I awake at dawn or sleep round the clock?

He could hear the boy talking with his mother and the sounds of pots and pans. Sharp awareness told him one more thing. Somewhere in this haven, fresh bread baked, sweet dough, he thought. His mouth began to water. With that, came the realization of gnawing hunger.

He debated what to do, undressed and feeble as he was. He envisioned Rosemarie fussing over her baking, and an even greater hunger overcame him, one he might do well to tame before he got out from the covers.

Her appearance in the doorway, his own vision of heaven itself, carrying a basin of steaming water, saved him the decision.

She put it on the little three-drawer chest against the opposite wall, along with the towel and rag she had over her arm.

“You’ll want to wash up,” she said. “I’m sorry we have no bathing tub. I found Raoul’s robe in storage,” she added, pointing to a purple robe draped over a trunk. The trunk, Marcel’s pallet at the foot of the bed, and a chest of drawers furnished the tiny room. She looked oddly shy, as if having him tucked in her bed with her late husband’s things nearby made her awkward.

Raoul. He had forgotten the husband, long dead now. The acid of pointless jealousy ate at him, and he could think of nothing to say. He sat up, letting the blanket fall to his lap, and her eyes dropped to the floor, but not before he caught the heat when she spied his naked chest. The jealousy fell away.

For more about the book and a giveaway, go to Silver Dagger Tours. The stops are near the foot of their tour post, and the Rafflecopter is under that.

Meet Caroline Warfield

Caroline Warfield

Award winning author Caroline Warfield has been many things: traveler, librarian, poet, raiser of children, bird watcher, Internet and Web services manager, conference speaker, indexer, tech writer, genealogist—even a nun. She reckons she is on at least her third act, happily working in an office surrounded by windows where she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and the far-flung corners of the British Empire. She nudges them to explore the riskiest territory of all, the human heart.

Visit Caroline’s Website and Blog                http://www.carolinewarfield.com/

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Email Caroline directly                                   warfieldcaro@gmail.com

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Bookbub                                             https://www.bookbub.com/profile/caroline-warfield

 

 

Caroline’s Other Books

Amazon                       https://www.amazon.com/Caroline-Warfield/e/B00N9PZZZS/

Bookshelf                      http://www.carolinewarfield.com/bookshelf

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Physical book launches

I’m just checking the page proofs for the print versions of the first 4 books in the Golden Redepenning series. I’m using a New Zealand printer for a physical book launch in the first book shop in New Zealand to carry my print books, Almo’s Books, in Carterton.

I’m organising long distance, since I didn’t get everything done before I received the three grandchildren I’m looking after while their mother has a much overdue and well-deserved holiday. I had them at my place last weekend, and now I’m at theirs for a week.

Aren’t the colours great? I wanted each of the books to be different, but clearly related. The spines need a bit of adjustment, but the printer emailed me the measurements, and I fixed them before I left Featherston.

I could maybe have used reversed text for my author piece on Realm, but otherwise, I’m pretty happy.

Now to check the contents.

Sometime in the next two days I need to print the posters I made before I left, and email them to the 5 local libraries and the various community centres with a request to put them up on noticeboards.

I’ve made a Facebook event, and I need to share it around. I’d like to get my invitations handed out on the train where I wrote at least half of each novel, but I’ll have to figure out how to do that long distance.

And then I need to update the sales one-pager for each book and send it to bookshops, and make sure that my updates at the National Library and Nielson Book Editor have taken effect.

And write a speech.

All this while prioritising the grandchildren and the day job. Sigh.

Meanwhile, I’m close to finishing The Gingerbread Caper, and the house is back on the market with a new agent — I still have the windows and oven to clean and one large garden to weed, but we’re at least ready for the photos, if not for the open homes.

Lists. I need lists

If you’re in the Wellington area on 24 September, please join me for a convivial evening at Almo’s Books. 6pm to 7.30 pm. I’d love to see you.

You're invited to the launch of Unkept Promises.

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Spotlight on The Herald’s Heart

My review of The Herald’s Heart: A gem for lovers of the medieval

In The Herald’s Heart, Rue Allen has given us a medieval novel that is out of the ordinary, with an unusual plot, strongly drawn characters, and gothic overtones, including a mad anchoress and a haunting.

Three people are out for revenge — or is it justice? — for the crimes of one man, and him an untouchable feudal lord. Their plots conflict: the hero and heroine, in particular, can’t both achieve their goals. A win for one is a loss for the other. 

The hero is a King’s herald, sent on a mission to call the lord to account. He has his own reasons for relishing the king’s work. The heroine is a great lady and heiress brought low and reduced to scraping a living amongst people who regard her as mad. 

I found the hero’s insistence on continuing to call the heroine a liar long after her main claim was proven to be annoying, but his eventual capitulation and grovelling were satisfying.

More would give away plot points you really ought to read for yourself, but I can’t resist telling you that the murder weapon might just be the most unusual one I’ve ever heard of, and depended on intimate knowledge of the victim and his own co-operation.

Rue tells us about her book

Jude, thank you so much for the opportunity to share The Herald’s Heart with your followers. Please allow me to explain a little bit about the inspiration for The Herald’s Heart. At the time I was drafting this story, identity theft was a major news story (yes, the book is that old). I knew that proving one’s identity in the middle ages was difficult, if not nearly impossible. It was the job of the royal heralds to visit every noble household, verify identies, record any changes, and if it was important, accept copies of the records about the local yeoman population. A herald was essentially a census taker, and the information was used for the same purposes as a present day census: to assign taxes, to draft soldiers and sailors, and maintain identies.

Imagine, if you will, having to rely on the hand written record of a man, who may no longer be alive, to verify that Sir So-and-so of Somewhere in England actually was the person he claims to be. What happened when two claimants to a title appeared whom no one had ever seen before? No wonder medieval kings and queens required that their nobles show up at the royal court on a regular basis.

When the royal summons was ignored, as it was in The Herald’s Heart, the king (or queen) would dispatch a herald to record the truth of things and perhaps carry a message to the delinquent noble that his royal master was not pleased. Appearance at court alone would prevent any dire consequences.

You’ll note that I just said the herald might carry a message. That was in some respects their major job, especially in time of war. But The Herald’s Heart is inspired by the census taking aspect of a herald’s work. I had  a wonderful time writing this story and pray you will enjoy it when you read The Herald’s Heart. Please leave a comment letting me know if the story interests you or not.

The Herald’s Heart is available for pre-order now through this Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bowW2A. The book is set for general release on September 2, 2019. If you would like to know more about The Herald’s Heart, you may find an excerpt here https://www.rueallyn.com/hh-excerpts-and-links/

Blurb:  

As one of King Edward I’s heralds, Sir Talon Du Quereste imagined he would someday settle on a quiet little estate, marry a gently bred damsel, and raise a flock of children. The wife of his daydreams was a woman who could enhance his standing with his peers, and certainly not an overly adventurous, impulsive, argumentative woman of dubious background.

When her family is murdered, Lady Larkin Rosham lost more than everyone she loved—she lost her name, her identity and her voice. She’s finally recovered her ability to speak, but no one believes her claim to be Lady Larkin. She is determined to regain her name and her heritage, but Sir Talon Du Quereste guards the way to the proof she needs. She must discover how to get past him without risking her heart.

Meet Rue Allyn

Award winning author, Rue Allyn, learned story telling at her grandfather’s knee. (Well it was really more like on his knee—I was two.) She’s been weaving her own tales ever since. She has worked as an instructor, mother, sailor, clerk, sales associate, and painter, along with a variety of other types of employment. She has lived and traveled in places all over the globe from Keflavik Iceland (I did not care much for the long nights of winter.) and Fairbanks Alaska to Panama City, Panama and the streets of London England to a large number of places in between. Now that her two sons have left the nest, Rue and her husband of more than four decades (Try living with the same person for more than forty years—that’s a true adventure.) have retired and moved south.

When not writing, enjoying the nearby beach or working jigsaw puzzles and singing along with her playlist, Rue travels the world and surfs the internet in search of background material and inspiration for her next heart melting romance. She loves to hear from readers, and you may contact her at Rue@RueAllyn.com. She can’t wait to hear from you.

What Rue likes best about the belles is their can-do spirit. “This group isn’t afraid to try anything the publishing world can dish out. The only other place I’ve found such completely supportive energy is with my fellow sisters-in-arms, both active duty and not.”

Social Media Links:

FB– https://www.facebook.com/RueAllynAuthor/

Twitter– https://twitter.com/RueAllyn

RAmblin’ Author Notes, blog— https://www.rueallyn.com/blog/

Amazon– https://www.amazon.com/Rue-Allyn/e/B00AUBF3NI

Email– Rue@RueAllyn.com

Goodreads– https://www.amazon.com/Rue-Allyn/e/B00AUBF3NI

Pinterest– https://www.pinterest.com/RueAllyn/

Author pic: See attached.

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Spotlight on Never Kiss a Toad

The epilogue to this novel has been posted on Wattpad. We’ve reached the end. Time to go back to the beginning and edit it into something shorter and more concise, but we’re delighted with the reaction we’re getting to the current lo-o-o-ong draft.

Epic love story… Good you did not hurry through to the climax,😉 now the afterglow is going to be brighter, and the afterthoughts sweeter,☺ this is not a story we shall forget in a hurry. Thank you for sharing it with us.

WOW!
That’s the only word for this amazing journey of Sally & David. I absolutely loved this novel. ❤️❤️
Thank you to both the authors for sharing this with us. 🙂

Nice, eh? And Wattpad followers will be pleased to know that we’ve written the first scene of the story of what happens next for Maddox and Gills.

To read the book go to my profile or Mari’s on Wattpad (or wait about 18 months).

https://www.wattpad.com/user/JudeKnight
https://www.wattpad.com/user/marianagabrielle

Here’s the blurb:
David “Toad” Northope, heir to the Duke of Wellbridge and rogue in the mold of his infamous father, knows Lady Sarah “Sal” Grenford, daughter of the once-profligate Duke of Haverford, will always hold his heart. But when the two teens are caught in bed together by their horrified parents, he is sent away to finish school on the Continent, and she is thrown into the depths of her first London Season.

Can two reformed rakes keep their children from making the same mistakes they did? The dukes decide keeping them apart will do the trick, so as the children reach their majority, Toad is put to work at sea, learning to manage his mother’s shipping concern, and Sal is taken to the other side of the world, as far from him as possible. How will Toad and Sal’s love withstand long years of separation, not to mention nasty lies, vicious rumors, attractive other suitors, and well-meaning parents who threaten to destroy their future before it has begun?

(Toad, by the way, is the son of Mari’s Regency hero Nick, the Duke of Wellbridge, and Sally’s father is our own Marquis of Aldridge, now the Duke of Haverford.)