Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors!
Thank you to everyone who came by to visit last week! I’m continuing with another snippet from my Regency Christmas novella, A Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe, that released last week!
This scene is a little further along in the novella. Jenny is at her aunt’s Christmas house party where the handsome Lord Somersby has proposed the company play Blind Man’s Bluff while the orchestra is on a break.
“This seems much more wicked than the game I played as a child,” she whispered to her friend.
“I daresay it will be for you, my dear,” Celinda said as she leaned toward her. “I believe Somersby aims on catching only one person.”
Jenny’s head went up, her gaze drawn back to Somersby who stood like a beagle sniffing the air, turning his head from side to side.
“I think you’re going to be it,” Celinda laughed and scooted away as Lord Somersby made a rush toward them.
Jenny squealed and dodged around his outstretched arms, barely escaping the fingers that stretched toward her. She inched around the side of the ballroom, trying to slip behind some of the other players. They, however, kept constantly pushing her and the other girls into Somersby’s path. She held her breath, her back pressed against the onlookers at the side of the room as the young lord made his way toward her.
Blurb for A Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe:
Is one kiss ever enough?
Jenny Crowley has been duped! At her eighteenth birthday celebration her parents announce that instead of having the London Season she’s dreamed of for years, Jenny has been betrothed from birth to Alexander Isley, son of family friends and heir to a title. A distraught Jenny refuses point-blank to marry Alec, and when her aunt offers to whisk her away to a Christmas house party, complete with many eligible young bachelors, Jenny jumps at the chance to enjoy a variety of entertainments, be courted, and perhaps fall in love.
Alec Isley is between a rock and a hard place. He desires a marriage with Jenny no more than she does, but when his family’s dire financial status is revealed, he follows Jenny to the house party in hopes of convincing her to marry him after all. When he discovers who else is courting her there, Alec is frantic to keep her from making a dreadful mistake. Struggling with new-found feelings for his childhood friend, can Alec convince her of his love in time to save her from being ruined under the mistletoe?
A Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe released this week and is available at Amazon and Smashwords!
And the short story that was the inspiration for the novella, ‘Tis the Season, is currently FREE in my short story collection All Wrapped Up on Amazon!
That’s all for this week. Hope you enjoyed it!
And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.
What a fun snippet! Might Alec get to her before the naughty Lord Somersby catches her??
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A sensual game of blind man’s bluff. I never would have thought of it.
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A little racy for our perceptions of the Regency, but according to my research, it was played as a party game. Of course, there were chaperones present. 🙂
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I’m guessing she’ll be pleased if he catches her. 🙂 Enjoyed the snippet.
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Oh, she’ll be pleased and terrified, Karen. There’s a forfeit attached to being caught. Next week we’ll find out what that forfeit is.
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It sounds like a fun game, more interesting than the Dead Man’s Buff my best friend and I got in trouble for playing on account of certain of the items used! The overall party sounds fun too.
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Now Dead Man’s Buff sounds like a weird horror-erotic thriller, Carrie-Anne! LOL But very creative! Glad you stopped by!
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Well, it’s not much of a challenge for him, is it? But I suspect he’s probably okay with it.
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Oh, yes, Caitlin. He’s totally okay with not much of a challenge. Lord Somersby always plays to win, regardless. 🙂 Thanks for coming by!
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How she doth protest, yet I think she wants him to catch her! LOL! A fun scene with great description!
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Thank you, Dani! Now confess, didn’t we all want to be caught–and not want to be caught? LOL
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So true!
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Oh nice! It’s so lively and descriptive. I felt like I was there with them.
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Thank you, Cara! There’s no better compliment. 🙂
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Congratulations on the release. I love the blurb and enjoyed the excerpt. I wonder what will happen if he catches her! I may have to read more of this. 🙂
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Thank you, Stephanie! I hope you do get to read more. There will be more of this scene next week, too.
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I feel like I’m at the party and I can also feel her dismay – really well written! Great excerpt…
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Thank you, Veronica! It was a fun scene to write. Everyone loves a party, right? 🙂 Glad it put you in the scene.
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The way you write a scene where in so few lines – I can visualize it and am smiling at delight with the playfulness of the game. Fabulous job.
Tweeted.
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Thank you so much, Daryl! I’m so tickled that it put you in the scene so quickly. I tried to make the whole novella feel playful and fresh.
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Round and round she runs and still he’ll catch her. What fun. I smiled as I read your charming snippet, Jenna.
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Thank you, Charmaine! This little Christmas story is supposed to be fun, so I’m glad it’s doing its job. 🙂
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What a fun excerpt! You do such a great job describing the scene and putting the reader right in the action. Congrats on your release, Jenna! 🙂
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Thank you, Evelyn! You know, as a writer, it’s all there right in your mind and the challenge is to get it all onto the page correctly. So glad it came alive for you. 🙂
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