Welcome to Medieval Mondays! Our theme for this first round is the hero and heroine’s first meet.
This week I’m hosting my great friend, Barbara Bettis and her medieval romance
The Lady of the Forest
Excerpt:
She curled in her lips to cushion her teeth and gripped the knife between them. Breath by shallow, silent breath, she eased into a crouch. Balanced on her toes. Blanked her mind. And waited. He stopped. Right beneath her perch. Praise God. Kate slid the knife into her hand and jumped. * * *
Lord Henry of Chauvere reined in his mount beneath a huge oak and hunched his shoulders in disgust. Sometime during the day, the murdering bastard’s trail had disappeared.
Come visit me next week for the next installment: https://elisabethhobbes.co.uk
And leave a comment for a book drawing at the end of the tour. To review last week’s
installment:
Jenna here. If you’re following my snippets too, I’m on Barbara Bettis‘s blog today.
Blurb:
He must pursue his enemy; she must protect her people. Can their love survive the
duties that drive them apart?
Blurb:
When her elderly husband dies, Lady Katherine fakes her own death and disappears into the forest with others escaping the brutish new lord. Determined to protect her people, she knocks the wrong man senseless. But Lord Henry isn’t an enemy, he’s the brother of her childhood friend. Although his tender confidence tempts her, she’s bound by duty.
Henry of Chauvere has found the one lady he wants for his own, never mind she’s tied him hand and foot. When he learns the king has ordered her to wed Stonehill’s ruthless new master, he insists Kate seek haven with his sister. But she won’t desert her friends. Henry vows to solve her problem, provided he catches a traitor before the threat from Kate’s past catches her.
When a daring rescue compels Henry and Kate to join forces, their attraction grows into love. If only duty didn’t drive them apart.
My 10 year anniversary celebration continues with the highlighting of my second series, The House of Pleasure. And today I’m giving a snippet from Book 2, Only Marriage Will Do.
Set in the wild and wicked Georgian era, Only Marriage Will Do is the story of a woman who doesn’t know whether or not she is actually married to a man she hates or not.
Lady Juliet Ferrars flees London when she discovers the man she was engaged to has gone through with a proxy marriage against her wishes. She isn’t sure if he’s lying, or if she is indeed married to the villain. We are in her POV .
(Creative punctuation utilized to conform to WWW rules and snippet may therefore be slightly different from published version.)
“Are they bringing the tub– I think the lavender oil will help me relax.”
“Very good, my lady,” the deep masculine voice froze her, vial in hand.
Her head snapped up.
A towering male figure stood shadowed in the doorway.
Dear God, Philippe had found her.
“Or is it Mrs. Dawson perhaps?”
No accent; he was not Philippe–then a hired thug sent to kidnap her?
Strength drained away as she dropped the box and whirled around, seeking a way out of the room that suddenly seemed to close in on her.
Bottles crashed and the reek of jasmine filled the room; Juliet shrieked and stumbled back behind the bed–trapped. Easy prey.
BLURB:
Happily-ever-afters don’t always begin at “I do.”
When the man of her dreams rescues Lady Juliet Ferrers from the villain claiming to be her husband, she is sure she has found her one true love. But is she free to marry him? Not to be deterred, Juliet arranges for her hero to escort her to her family estate in far off Northern England—hoping that along the way she can win his love—and his hand…
Captivated by Juliet’s sweetness and beauty, Captain Amiable Dawson can’t help but be spellbound by the promise of a life with her. But the spell breaks when questions arise about her marital status. Soon the upstanding Amiable is unsure if he is indeed married to Juliet. And when his rival absconds with her, Amiable must choose between the law of the land and his heart’s desire to rescue Juliet once more…
Only Marriage Will Do is available on Amazon and other e-book retailers.
And all my self-published books are on SALE for .99 on Amazon until midnight tonight. Click this link to my Author Page to find 8 of my indie books, plus Only Scandal Will Do, on sale. Happy reading!
And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.
Even though I missed Valentine’s Day itself–hope yours was happy–I did come up with a way to celebrate this whole weekend.
Starting yesterday, all of my single-title self-published books, are on sale for .99 each! And the sale continues until midnight, Sunday February 17. Check it out below. Heart of Delight is currently available only in the boxed set Nine Ladies Dancing, so that link takes you there. And my Kensington title Only Scandal Will Do is also on sale for .99 so I’ve included it here as well.
So 10 Jenna Jaxon books for just .99 each. Happy Reading!
Welcome to Medieval Mondays! Our theme for this first round is the hero and heroine’s first meet.
This week I’m hosting the fabulous Cathy & DD MacRae and their medieval romance
The Highlander’s Welsh Bride
Excerpt:
Carys peered down into the frothy churn of water about the boulders at the foot of the castle, measured the width of the window with a hand splayed within its opening.
“’Tis a fair drop.”
Pivoting on her heel, Carys faced the man at the door, amazed he’d entered unnoticed. His bulk filled the entry and he ducked as he stepped inside. He fastened the latch behind him, the click echoing in the nearly empty room, reminding Carys she was trapped.
If you’re following my snippets too, I’m on Cathy Macrae’s blog today.
Blurb:
It was over. Prince Llywelyn was dead, his soldiers fleeing before King Edward’s army. Carys, a distant cousin to the prince, herself a princess of Wales, had picked up arms alongside her husband more than a year ago. Now homeless, her husband buried beneath the good Welsh soil, she seeks shelter in the north, far from the reach of Longshanks’s men. Carys and Wales would never be the same again.
It was time. Birk MacLean has been ordered to take a bride and produce an heir. He grows weary of the lasses paraded before him, women of delicate nature and selfish motives. He desires a wife strong enough to help lead one of the most powerful clans in Western Scotland.
One like the Welsh woman sitting in his dungeon, arrested for poaching MacLean deer.
Can Birk convince Carys marriage to him is preferable to a hangman’s noose? And will the heard-headed Scot be worthy of a Princess of Wales?
From the towering Welsh mountains to the storm-swept Scottish coast comes a tale of betrayal and loss, deceit and passion. An epic tale of honor and the redeeming power of love.
My 10 year anniversary celebration continues with the highlighting of my second series, The House of Pleasure. And I’m beginning with Book 1, Only Scandal Will Do.
Set in the wild and wicked Georgian era, Only Scandal Will Do begins with a kidnapping, and the auction of a lady in an infamous brothel, the House of Pleasure.
Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam, newly newly arrived in London from the colony of Virginia, has been kidnapped and is being sold as a courtesan in a notorious brothel. Here’s a bit of the auction that may seal her fate. We are in the POV of the man who is considering buying her.
(Creative punctuation utilized to conform to WWW rules and snippet may therefore be slightly different from published version.)
“I’m offered six hundred pounds for this worthless Christian slave,” the auctioneer intoned, from in front of the stage, “the man who masters her will have his work cut out for him–she’s a feisty one, she is. Who’s up to the challenge?” he goaded the crowd.
Indeed, the girl looked less and less like a slave–she sat stock still in an attitude of defiance at the senator who drew the whip back for a blow. The man flicked the lashes forward, though without any force; Amorina would not want her girls marked. But the little imp on the floor grabbed the leather straps as they fell, twisted them around her hand, pulled sharply downward and the senator, caught off guard, tumbled onto the stage. The girl jumped to her feet, trying to free the whip from beneath the body of her fallen master. As she tugged, her hair rippled around her in the lamplight, a sensual river of burnished copper swirling like a bright mantle.
He has the woman of his dreams, but what price will he have to pay to win her heart?
Kidnapped and sold at auction in a London brothel, Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam squelches an undeniable attraction to the masked stranger who purchased her, pits her wits against him, and escapes him and the scandal that would ruin her life.
Unable to resist temptation in a London brothel, Duncan Ferrers, Marquess of Dalbury, purchases a fiery beauty. She claims she’s a lady, but how can she be? No lady of his acquaintance in polite society is anything like her. Then he discovers she is who she says, and that this latest romp has compromised her reputation. He knows how that is. One more scandal and he’ll be cast out of London society, but he needs a wife who’ll provide an heir to carry on his illustrious family’s name. He seeks out Katarina, intending only to scotch the scandal, but instead finds his heart ensnared. He’s betting their future he’ll capture her heart, but does he have what it takes to win the wager?
WARNING: A blade-wielding heroine who crosses swords with a master of sensuality.
Only Scandal Will do is available for .99 on Amazon and other e-book retailers.
And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.
In February, I’m continuing my 10 year anniversary as an author by spotlighting or highlighting my first true series, The House of Pleasure. Set in Georgian England, the series follows the friends and family of the Marquess of Dalbury, the hero of the first book who comes close to being embroiled in a terrible scandal. Appropriately, the book is titled
Only Scandal Will Do.
The idea for Only Scandal Will Do (originally titled The Marquess Makes a Mistake!) came to me while reading Mary Balogh’s The Secret Pearl, in which a woman forced by circumstances to sell her body and accept what almost amounted to a rape in order to survive. As I said, I was a very young writer with a passion for history and (not knowing any better at the time) I actually put a rape into the story. After some consultations with other writers and a lot of research into the dos and don’ts of current romance standards, I re-wrote that scene and several others after it which had to change because of what didn’t happen. I read Jo Beverley’s Malloren series, and used The Marquess of Rothgar as a role model for my hero. So the book took better form and I sent it out valiantly to editors and agents alike.
And I got a lot of requests–at least 47 of them, because I got 47 rejections. I re-wrote it twice on R & Rs, and got rejected again. I landed a spot with it in The Knight Agency’s pitch contest that year–and lost out at the semi-final level. I was about to throw in the towel with frustration when I participated in an online chat with an editor for a small e-book press–Lyrical. I hadn’t submitted to many small presses because I wanted to hit the big time, because I had complete faith in this book. But I began to listen to the things this Lyrical editor was asking me about the book, and realized that she was actually interested in the book. So, at her request, I sent in a query to Mary Murray of Lyrical Press, and got the email I’d been hoping for: an offer of a contract.
It may not have been the proudest day of my life, but it is in the top 5.
That was in the summer of 2011. I’d started writing the book in November 2009 (it was the second book I wrote, after Time Enough to Love), and it was finally published as an e-book in August 2012. I had an absolutely delightful experience with my editor, Mary Murray, who was a dream to work with. She put me on the road to my current success in the romance genre and I can never thank her enough for believing in my book.
Then, in January 2014, Lyrical Press merged into Kensington Publishing, and I acquired a big name publisher literally over night. (I still remember reading the email with shock.) Only Scandal Will Do was contracted by Kensington with a request for more volumes in the series. (But those are tales for the coming weeks in February.)
I have titled this post Playlist for Pleasure, because as I was writing and re-writing, and wishing and hoping to get Scandal published, I often listened to or was inspired by pop music on the radio. The song that stuck with me during the writing of Scandal and through it all was Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance. I still think of it when I think of the book. 🙂
Not that the book and video have anything to do with one another (although I believe my heroine would gladly have torched the hero at several points in the book. LOL)
Read Only Scandal Will Do and see if you think it’s a bad (good) romance.
BLURB:
He has the woman of his dreams, but what price will he have to pay to win her heart?
Kidnapped and sold at auction in a London brothel, Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam squelches an undeniable attraction to the masked stranger who purchased her, pits her wits against him, and escapes him and the scandal that would ruin her life.
Unable to resist temptation in a London brothel, Duncan Ferrers, Marquess of Dalbury, purchases a fiery beauty. She claims she’s a lady, but how can she be? No lady of his acquaintance in polite society is anything like her. Then he discovers she is who she says, and that this latest romp has compromised her reputation. He knows how that is. One more scandal and he’ll be cast out of London society, but he needs a wife who’ll provide an heir to carry on his illustrious family’s name. He seeks out Katarina, intending only to scotch the scandal, but instead finds his heart ensnared. He’s betting their future he’ll capture her heart, but does he have what it takes to win the wager?
Content warning: A blade-wielding heroine who crosses swords with a master of sensuality.
EXCERPT:
“Put her back in the carriage, now!” Her assailant snarled the brusque command, sending a shiver of fear through Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam.
An unseen attacker seized and tossed her into the coach. Gagged, hands pinioned behind her back, ankles bound together, she lay trussed like a Christmas goose in a cramped bundle on the hard plank floor of the dim carriage, her diaphanous Grecian costume in ruins. Schemes for escape flashed through her head in a dizzying whirl.
The horses jerked forward, the uneven cobblestones of London’s streets jouncing her already aching body.
All because she’d been bored.
Doggedly, Katarina tested the bonds securing her hands, strained against the coarse rope then relaxed, seeking play in the cords. None. She muttered a curse and forced her whole body to relax. Tension would never free her. Rough and tumble games growing up with Jack had taught her that.
Jack! God, where was he? Was he alive or… She’d heard one muted cry when they were attacked, then nothing. If her brother were dead, it would be her fault.
Katarina pulled and twisted her wrists. If they had stayed in Virginia, they would have been better off. London was far wilder than she would have believed. Although she’d heard of women being abducted by highwaymen, she’d thought them only tales–until now.
But when Jack inherited a title, they’d been forced to come to London. The six months of mourning for their father not quite over, Great-Aunt Harriet now commanded the little social life allowed her. The past month had found her stuck all day with strong tea and inane gossip about her aunt’s old friends. Finally, rebellion set in. Over breakfast this morning, she’d demanded Jack escort her to a masquerade ball this evening, ironically attired as Athena, goddess of war.
A nasty rut jarred the carriage, making Kat groan. What wouldn’t she give for Athena’s armor at this moment, or at least her spear. She had to admit, though, she’d gotten her wish. She wasn’t bored now.
If you’d like to check out Only Scandal Will Do, it’s available on Amazon currently for just .99. It’s also available at B & N, Kobo, iTunes, and Google.
I’m back this year for Medieval Mondays and our theme for this round is the hero and heroine’s first meet! This is the beginning of the posts where you’ll see the beginning scene of the meeting of Lady Alyse de Courcy and Sir Geoffrey Longford, at the court of King Edward, in the year of Our Lord, 1348.
This week, the first excerpt from
Jenna Jaxon’s
Time Enough to Love
Excerpt:
“Lady Alyse de Courcy!” King Edward called out again, bringing Alyse’s head up like a startled deer. “Present yourself before the court.”
Alyse shot off her seat. Oh, Lord! She had kept King Edward waiting.
“I beg pardon, sire.” She hurried from behind the table, too aware of all the eyes now on her.
Follow me along for the snippet number 2 on Cathy Macrae’s blog next week.
Blurb:
When Lady Alyse de Courcy is betrothed to Sir Geoffrey Longford, she has no choice but to make the best of a bad bargain. The hulking knight is far from her ideal man, and although he does possess some wit and charm, he is no match for the sinfully sensual man she secretly admires, Thomas, Earl of Braeton, her betrothed’s best friend.
From the first, Sir Geoffrey finds himself smitten by Lady Alyse, and, despite her infatuation with his friend, vows to win her love. When Geoffrey puts his mind to wooing Alyse, he is delighted to find her succumbing to his seduction. But when cruel circumstances separate them, Geoffrey must watch helplessly as Thomas steps in to protect Alyse—and falls in love with her himself.
As the three courtiers accompany Princess Joanna to her wedding in Spain, they run headlong into the Black Plague. With her world plunged into chaos, Alyse struggles with her feelings for both the men she loves. But which love will survive?
