Weekend Writing Warriors ~ 09/02/18 Heart of a Scoundrel

 

I am back again on Weekend Writing Warriors! Last week I was off at a book signing in Portsmouth, VA, but I’m off this week for Labor Day, so I’m here and ready to share a brand new snippet from a brand new work.

Heart of a Scoundrel is Book 4 in my Regency novella series Handful of Hearts, where we once again meet Richard, Lord Somersby (a not very nice gentleman from the first book of the series Hearts Beneath the Mistletoe). In this first snippet, I’m introducing Richard and giving the set up for the story.

(You all also get a preview of the cover reveal that’s scheduled for tomorrow on my blog. 🙂 It’s designed by Danielle Fine, who’s my editor and has designed the covers of all my indie works. What do you think?)

Richard, Lord Somersby has just been told he’s to marry Lady Edith,  a young bluestocking he’s never met before in a marriage arranged by his father to gain valuable property. The rakish Richard is not enthusiastic about the arrangement–until his father offers to make the deal a bit sweeter by way of a wager that Richard can hardly resist.

(Creative punctuation utilized to conform to WWW rules and snippet may therefore be slightly different from published version.)

“A wager for…?”

“Your racing stable, of course,” the marquess said and poured himself another two fingers of brandy, “you haven’t gone off that, have you?”

“Not in the least.” Excitement poured through him; a true horse enthusiast, Richard already had a bevy of fine cattle, but a racing stable! It had been that reward that had prompted him to pursue Jenny Crowley this past Christmas, to disastrous ends. Still, the promise of more horses could tempt him to almost anything.

“Good,” Father said and finished off his drink, “I think you’ll find my wager is full enough of adventures even for you.” His smile widened into a grin. “I wager you cannot break three girls’ hearts before the ink is dry on Lord Drummond’s settlement papers.”

“The devil you say!”

BLURB:  

Recent heiress, Miss Amanda Sharp, is out in Society for the first time and enjoying the social whirl, especially when she dances her first dance with the handsome Lord Somersby. She’s aware of his bad reputation with ladies, but she’s confident she can lead him down the aisle to the altar without raising a scandal. Headstrong, and determined to reform Lord Somersby, Amanda finds herself in danger of losing more than a hand of cards to the scandalous lord.

Richard, Lord Somersby, has another wager to win. He must woo and jilt three young ladies in a month’s time in order to win his racing stable before donning the leg shackle of marriage with a duke’s daughter. His third victim is Miss Amanda Sharpe, a refreshingly determined young woman who makes her interest in him well known. It should be child’s play for the villainous Richard to woo her, make her think he’s in love with her, then spurn her. A plan that might work if he can keep his mind on winning rather than on the lady’s entrancing form and fiery spirit.

Heart of a Scoundrel will be available for pre-order on Amazon in early September.

 

Books in The Handful of Hearts series:

 

 

 

 

 

And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here.  There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.