Weekend Writing Warriors ~ 7/05/20 Only Marriage Will Do ~ “I Don’t Like This”

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors!

 

For July I’m celebrating Christmas all month, so one would think I’d take snippets from one of my Christmas novellas. However, instead I’m choosing a Christmas scene from the second House of Pleasure book, Only Marriage Will Do, which is now up for pre-order on Amazon. It will release on July 31.  

 

Check out my new blurb for Only Marriage Will Do:

BLURB: 

Not all Happy-ever-afters begin at “I do.”

Two unexpected callers turn Lady Juliet Ferrers’s world upside down. The first claims to be married to her via a proxy marriage, a statement she can scarcely credit—except she was betrothed to him once upon a time. To deter him, Juliet acts boldly when a stranger appears, declaring he is her husband. But when she is finally alone with the handsome visitor, she finds herself hoping she can turn her falsehood about their marriage into truth.

Captain Amiable Dawson seems to have stepped into a fairy land when a beautiful young woman he’s never met introduces him as her husband. The more she explains her situation, the less he is inclined to believe her, yet Amiable is a pushover for a damsel in distress. Against his better judgment, he agrees to accompany her to her family’s estate far to the north. Along the way the passion between them sizzles until a happy-ever-after is all but assured. However, the question of Juliet’s true husband rears its head again, forcing Amiable to wonder if he is married to the lady or not.

When his rival abducts Juliet, Amiable is compelled to choose between the woman he loves or the law of the land that decrees she is not his wife. Desperate to rescue her at any cost, his last resort may be to kill the man who stands in the way of their happiness.

I begin my snippets for Marriage well into the story just as I did for Scandal. Captain Amiable Dawson and Lady Juliet Ferrers married in July under rather strange circumstances: another man, a former suitor, has claimed he is already married to Juliet.She and Amiable spent the autumn months trying to verify that their marriage was indeed valid, but have not heard definitively from the courts. So on Christmas Eve, Amiable’s sisters have thrown them a reception to celebrate their marriage.

EXCERPT:

Laughing to herself, Juliet peered about the crowded room and spied Katarina near the entrance to the ballroom, a strange man, dressed in plain clothing, at her side. Deep in conversation, the two seemed at odds. Some instinct urged her to flight–she clutched her husband’s arm, her gaze darting about for Duncan.

“What is wrong, my dear?” Amiable looked down at her, frown lines springing onto his brow, “Are you fatigued already?”

“No, but look at the man Kat is talking to. Do you know him? He seems out of place here, don’t you think?” She glanced back to find her sister-in-law beckoning to them. “I don’t like this.”

And now to finish the scene :

“It’s likely nothing to alarm you. sweet. I’ll go see what this is about.” He took a step toward the mismatched couple.

“No.” She dug her fingers into his arm, and he pulled her forward with his momentum. “I won’t let you go, no matter what.”

 

Only Marriage Will Do is available on Amazon for pre-order until July 31 at the pre-order price of just $1.99. The book reverts to its regular price of $4.99 on the day after Release Day, Saturday, August 1. Grab yours while you can!

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