Next week I’ll be changing to a brand new short story I’m writing for Halloween called Hearts at All Hallows Eve. It’s set in the world of my Handful of Hearts series and it will be FREE to those who sign up for my newsletter in October! Just click here. 🙂
Today I’m sharing another snippet from Widow that continues from last week. Charlotte has been thrust inside the tollbooth to find the man she loves with a pistol to his head.
(Creative punctuation utilized to conform to WWW rules.)
Charlotte’s heart thudded painfully in her chest. The light flickered, dimming to a dull gray as she began to slump again. Oblivion would certainly be preferable to what her father surely had in store for her.
Cold water hit her face and chest, forcing her back into consciousness.
“You will be awake to see this, Charlotte.” Her father thrust a stoneware mug at the tollkeeper, who clutched it to his chest as if it were a shield. Then her father nodded to the man with the pistol.
“No! You cannot kill him.” Charlotte wrenched her arms out of the man’s grasp and lunged for the gun.
BLURB for To Woo A Wicked Widow:
The war years are behind them.
The future is before them.
And one by one, the widows of Lyttlefield Park are getting restless . . .
Lady Charlotte Cavendish is still the spirited girl who tried to elope in the name of love. That dream was thwarted by her father who trapped her into a loveless, passionless marriage. But now widowed, Charlotte is free to reenter the giddy world of the ton—and pursue her desires. For hardly your typical widow, she remains innocent to the pleasures of the flesh. Yet her life is finally her own, and she intends to keep it that way . . .
Nash, the twelfth Earl of Wrotham, is beguiled by Charlotte at first sight—and the feeling is mutual. When he receives her intriguing invitation to a house party, the marriage-minded lord plans to further their acquaintance. But even he cannot sway her aversion to matrimony, and only with great restraint does he resist her most tempting offer. For unbeknownst to Charlotte, the misadventures of the past are revisiting them both, and bedding her could cost him everything—or give him everything he ever wanted . . .
Available for pre-order at Amazon.
Books in The House of Pleasure series:
And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.
He is such a rotten S.O.B. You’ve painted this scene so well!
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You are awful leaving us with that last sentence. High drama, very tense. Good job.
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Charlotte’s father is awful! It sounds like a long, twisted road to happily ever after for Charlotte and her beau.
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High drama indeed and so much tension packed into one tiny snippet! Really well done and I’m on the edge of my chair yet again 🙂
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So this tollkeeper is just standing there and letting this happen? Not terribly brave of him.
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You always manage to grab my attention, Jenna, and this is no exception. Riveting use of pacing and description.
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Thank you so much, Nancy! I wanted this book to start with a “bang” so to speak. Gotta get the readers interested. So I wrote what started out as just reported back story and I’m so glad i did. 🙂
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“No! You cannot kill him.” Charlotte wrenched her arms out of the man’s grasp and lunged for the gun. Good save?? looking forward to outcome…#wewriwa
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Well, not as good as it could have been, actually. I’ll becoming back to this story in November, so you’ll find out eventually. 🙂
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Lunging at people with guns isn’t good – guns tend to go off- but I’m guessing this will all work out in the end 🙂 Great snippet. Tweeted.
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You’re so right, Daryl. Lunging around guns is a perfect recipe for disaster. And yes, it works out, but not exactly as Charlotte might have wished. 🙂
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What a horrible father!
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He certainly is, Andrea. I find I have a tendency to write villainous fathers, though my own was anything but. I guess I’ll need to work on that. 🙂
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Oh gosh! What a way to end that snippet! So much suspense! Love it! 🙂
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Thank you, Jessica! I love leaving the reader with a good hook. 🙂
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Lots of action and tension. I’m not at all sure she’ll manage to save him.
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It is touch and go, isn’t it? Thanks so much, Ed!
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