Lynne Barron's Blog

 

As you likely know by now, I adore first kisses. One of my favorites to write was the first kiss shared by Lilith and Jasper in Taming Beauty.  It was an unexpected and unanticipated kiss that took Lilith by surprise and changed her fate forever.

And for a limited time you can enjoy that delicious moment, and many more besides, for free!

Taming Beauty Free on Amazon thru November 13

 

I hope you enjoy this prelude to a kiss…

Then he stalked her, prowling across the space separating them, slowly and purposefully.

Lilith lifted her chin and eyed him, enjoying the fluid grace of his movements, so rare in a man of his size, while she waited for him to commence with the lecture on propriety and children and dirty laundry strung about and flapping on the breeze for all to witness.

Malleville did not halt a proper distance from her, nor did he halt an improper distance from her, but kept coming until he was almost upon her.

Then he was upon her, his strong arms lashing out and winding around her, lifting her clear off the ground. In the next moment they were falling, tumbling into the tall grass. Malleville twisted to take the brunt of the fall, landing with Lilith splayed along all those hard muscles, her legs tangling with his, her breasts flattened to the hard wall of his chest, her fingers clutching his shoulders.

Before Lilith could offer up a single word in protestation or entreaty, he rolled, taking her with him and tucking her under him with his elbows resting beside her pinned arms and his legs clamped along the length of hers.

He was going to kiss her. Lilith knew the prelude to a kiss when it knocked her to ground, even if it was unfamiliar ground, soft and springy and faintly prickly.

It wasn’t until his lips touched hers that she realized she knew precious little about kissing.

Malleville’s lips were cool, blessedly cool and firm. And unbelievably soft.

He didn’t plunder but took his time, pressing tender kisses along her upper lip before exploring the lower with little nips and nudges that had her mouth falling open on a gasp of surprised delight.

His tongue swept from one corner of her lips to the other, as if he must discover every texture and taste before accepting the invitation she offered.

Cradling her head, he sifted his fingers through the wayward curls unleashed from the bun atop her head, exploring the tangled locks with the same gentle diligence and patience.

Lilith sighed, awed and undone by the tenderness she hadn’t anticipated, hadn’t realized had been missing from her life for years, for eons. Forever.

Taming Beauty Free thru November 13

 

Congratulations to my latest Corset Winner: Joanna Davis.

 
Sadly, in South Florida we skip right over autumn and go from eleven-and-a-half months of summer to two measly weeks of what passes for winter in the tropics. So anytime I can find an excuse to celebrate this neglected season and the myriad shades of yellow, orange and red that go with it, I happily do so. Giving away this lovely creation is my way of celebrating autumn with you.
 
 

 
To enter to win simply post a Comment. Any comment will do, a bit of news, an idiom that’s always struck you as amusing, a historical ideal you’ve found ludicrous or a notion of any sort.

I’ll randomly choose one winner from all entrants . 
(U.S. Only)

 

My Darling Gunslinger is Free October 26-30th.

 

Bounty hunter Tyler Morgan has nothing to his name but a horse named Pocahontas, a dog-eared dictionary and a pair of six-shooters he dreams of hanging up forever. When luck smiles upon him and he wins a ranch on a single hand of cards, he doesn’t gamble on finding a proper English lady, her son and a motley assortment of misfits living on his land.

Fall in love with this lonely, rough-around-the-edges, tough-as-nails, tender-hearted gunman today! 

My Darling Gunslinger Free on Amazon

Am I the only reader out there who thinks finding a truly great Historical Romance novel is rather like trying to find a good man on a dating website?

Before my husband and I finally decided to get married, we split up for almost a year. About half-way through this break up, I joined a few dating sites and spent hours looking at the pictures and biographies posted by hundreds of men with the potential to be just my type: funny, kind, intelligent blue-collar hunks of a certain age living within 30 miles of my little city by the sea. I sent a few of them a wink or nudge or whatever it was that led to flirting by way of instant messages and emails. Alas, I did not go out on a date with any of them.

It’s probably a good thing, as clearly I cannot judge a book by its cover, blurb or sample.

With the advent of digital ebooks, and the ease of self publishing, there are so many books to choose from now. So how is it possible that in recent months, I’ve picked the wrong ones more often than not? I read the blurbs and samples, perused both the positive and negative reviews and still somehow ended up with far too many books I simply could not finish. Even a few new releases by some of my favorite authors left me feeling unsatisfied after I’d loyally trudged my way to the last page.

I know I can be picky, even persnickety on occasion, but I swear I’m not impossible to please. I’ll happily ignore a few typos and misplaced commas, skip over a bit of repetitious inner angst and suspend disbelief a time or two if the writing is solid and the premise of the story is engaging. While I admit that I am always on the lookout for books featuring complicated characters who are true to themselves and unique plots that wander, skip or even dance a jig off the beaten path, I also enjoy tried-and-true scenarios and trite plot devices. I read and write Historical Romance, after all. But give me a twist to go with the timeworn, I beg you. Something fresh and fun out of left field. A tired tale revamped with a dash of the unexpected. A seemingly cookie-cutter hero or heroine who turns out to be a lopsided, three-tiered spice cake.

What’s a reader to do? Well, this reader became so disheartened, so afraid to risk wasting her time only to be disappointed yet again, that she spent hours, days, weeks, browsing covers, reading blurbs, samples and reviews until eventually they all blurred into the same story. All without one-clicking a single book. Rather like my time on the dating website circuit.

And then I went back to the truly tried-and-true. I scrolled through my library and re-read some of my all-time favorite romance novels, many of which I’d already read repeatedly. And I realized two very important things.

Firstly, my tastes have evolved and become a tad more refined. So maybe those new releases by favorite authors left me unsatisfied simply because they are no longer my cup of tea. And those books that went unfinished? Well, we all know we have to kiss a lot of frogs before we find a prince. And, yes, I do realize I’m playing fast and loose with the cliches and idioms in this blog post, but surely by now you know that’s how I roll.

Secondly, there is a reason some Historical Romance novels become classics. They are beautifully written, the plots intricately woven, the characters so vibrant they leap off the pages, the emotions evoked so real and true and pure that the stores themselves are timeless. My tastes may change, broaden and expand in unanticipated directions, but I cannot imagine I will ever be disappointed when I curl up on the couch to read them from the first page to the last.

So, if you find yourself wallowing in the Historical Romance doldrums, here are a few books I suggest to put some wind in your sails:

Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels

Judith Ivory’s Untie My Heart

Meredith Duran’s Duke of Shadows

Lisa Kleypas’s The Devil in Winter

****

When I’m not frantically searching for a fabulous book to read, or getting lost in a classic that will never go out of style, I am feverishly working on book 4 in the Idyllwild Series. If you haven’t reads the first three books in the series, now would be a good time to find out why readers are devouring them and craving more.

****

Congratulations April’s Corset Winner: Charlene Whitehouse.

 
Do any of you remember seeing this picture of my very first corset? I named him George, and I hugged him and petted him and squeezed him. Or vise versa.



 

In keeping with this nostalgic mood I’m in just now, June’s  Corset is almost identical to the first corset that began the collection that now decorates my office, otherwise known as Lynne’s Lovely Lair.   
 
 

 
To enter simply post a Comment. Any comment will do, a bit of news, an idiom that’s always struck you as amusing, a historical ideal you’ve found ludicrous or a notion of any sort.

I’ll randomly choose one winner from all entrants on July 1st. 
(U.S. Only)

 

 

When I began Taming Beauty I had no intention of embarking upon an entirely new series. After all, I still have Gilroy’s tale to tell as book 4 of my Idyllwild Series, and books 2 and 3 of what will one day be a series featuring Veronica and Bernice from Pretty Poison.

Alas, in the course of writing Taming Beauty, I introduced Lilith’s sisters, Harry and Kate – honestly they were only meant to be minor secondary characters with no responsibilities beyond moving the plot forward – and they simply demanded more page time. More and more and more, until I had no choice but to give them their very own stories.

I knew little of Harry beyond the fact that she was another of Lord Dunaway’s illegitimate daughters, as well as the granddaughter of the Duke of Montclaire and the Scandalous Bathsheba Sinclair. She’d proven herself to be particularly prickly, surprisingly cynical and exceedingly clever. Her father, the debauched and dissolute Dunaway, described her as a woman destined to carve out her own fate. Harry proudly proclaimed herself determined to lay waste to all the Earl of Dunaway held dear. I suspected Harry needed a charming rake to smooth her jagged edges and introduce her to the softer, sweeter side of life with a liberal application of laughter and love.

But who was Miss Hesperia O’Connell? While creating teasers for Taming Beauty I came across this lovely painting that just captured my imagination…

Victorian Lady, Green Dress by John O’Brien

I recognized Harry in the woman standing alone before a window, quietly surveying her domain. But as Harry isn’t a country girl, her domain would hardly feature a pond with swans gliding over its placid surface. Nor would we find her in Mayfair, Fitzrovia or even Bloomsbury. No, Harry’s stubborn desire to control her own future would put her in the heart of London, where her curiously calculating mind and mercenary tendencies would allow her to bloom and thrive.

Thus, I transformed the luxurious parlor into a spacious flat that had previously housed a dance academy, and situated it atop a book shop in a working class neighborhood in the East End of London.                                             

In exploring various neighborhoods suitable to Harry’s needs, I discovered Wellclose Square. Dubbed one of the East End’s “Lost Squares” and possibly the site of one of London’s “Lost Rivers”, Wellclose Square was once part of the Precinct of Well Close and has a rich history dating back the dissolution of the monasteries. With its close proximity to the River Thames, Wellclose Square was inhabited by working and middle-class men and women whose businesses were local to the area or connected to the river or the sea.

           Corner of Stable Yard, Wellclose Square    

The neighborhood had a sordid side as well. At one time, the Neptune Street Gaol, the Court House and the Cock and Neptune pub were connected to the extent that the publican acted as gaoler. Philanthropist John Howard visited in 1777 and described the gaol (mostly utilized as a debtor’s prison) as a “resort of idle and dissolute persons, who came there to drink and play, and were encouraged to do so by the keepers in order to increase the profits of their office.”

 

Grace’s Alley, Wellclose Square

 

With the neighborhood possessing that sort of seamy reputation, is it any wonder that Phineas believes Harry to be running numbers and rigging boxing matches for Wellclose Square’s version of a crime lord?

Courting Chaos is available now at Amazon.

Read an Excerpt

Congratulations to our latest Corset Winner: Nancy Zahar. 
 

April’s Corset is a Spring Fling of Floral Fuschia, outrageous enough that Harry might have had gown run up from the same fabric (with an outlandish bonnet to match, of course). 
 




To enter simply visit My Website and post a Comment. Any comment will do, a bit of news, an idiom that’s always struck you as amusing, a historical ideal you’ve found ludicrous or a notion of any sort.

I’ll randomly choose one winner from all entrants on May 1st.
(U.S. Only)

Have you read the one about the lady of little fortune and less-than-illustrious lineage who married the dashing  duke?

It’s a common theme in historical romance novels set in the Regency era, and one of my personal favorites. Alas, through no fault of her own, the average woman was more likely to be run over by a carriage while crossing Oxford Street than to marry a handsome, young duke.

I’m no mathematician, but by my calculations there were approximately thirty dukes in Great Britain at the turn of the nineteenth century. Subtract the royal princes who could not marry without The Mad King’s consent, along with those already married or still in the nursery, and London’s marriage-minded misses had this motley assortment to choose from:

The Duke of Dorset was out of the nursery, though only just barely, when he passed away unmarried at the age of 22 in 1815.

The Duke of Bedford was available for bringing up to scratch, but only during the narrow window of opportunity from 1801 to 1803 when he was between wives.

The Duke of Devonshire who was known as the Bachelor Duke, for good reason as he managed to avoid marriage entirely.

The Duke of Marlborough became eligible (depending upon one’s notion of eligible) when he was widowed at 68.

The Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry was ripe for the picking when he was widowed at 42.

The Duke of Argyll is my favorite I think. He inherited the dukedom in 1806 when only 38, and was snatched off the market four years later.

The Duke of Roxburghe was clearly some woman’s idea of the perfect husband, seeing as he was widowed at 71 and remarried at 72. 

The Duke of Newcastle was available only until 1807 when he married at 22.

*****

My newest release features the granddaughter of a duke, though you’d never guess it by the company she keeps or the neighborhood she calls home.  

Courting Chaos is available for pre-order for only $0.99.

What happens when London’s longest-reigning rake decides to make mischief?

Born of scandal and raised in squalor, Miss Harry O’Connell turned her back on her feckless, frivolous father and carved out a life for herself in the working-class neighborhood of Wellclose Square. She’s a creature of habit, a stickler for schedules, a keeper of secrets, and a woman adamantly opposed to wasting so much a single minute – let alone a spare shilling – on useless endeavors, sentimental nonsense or impossible expectations.

Opposites attract…

With three men standing between Phineas Griffith and the nearest title, he was perfectly content to float through life on a wave of mistakes, mishaps, coincidences and luck. Two unfortunate accidents and an apoplectic fit later, the new Viscount Knighton finds himself saddled with a decimated estate, a mountain of debt and two sisters in need of launching into Society in tandem. There’s really nothing for it but to woo and wed an heiress post haste.

Orbits align…

An unwelcome visit from the Earl of Dunaway sets in motion a convoluted chain of events that put Harry on a collision course with the handsome fortune-hunter. And wreak havoc with her meticulously managed, precisely timed and exactingly organized life.

Worlds collide…

Phineas cannot afford the luxury of falling in love with a prickly, pragmatic and penniless woman. Harry hasn’t the time or inclination to dally with a charming rake when all her considerable talents are aimed at laying waste to all the Earl of Dunaway holds dear.

And chaos ensues.

Some forces are greater than gravity and some risks worth taking. Can these two star crossed lovers find the wherewithal to risk it all for a happily-ever-after that defies all odds?

Available for Pre-Order

Read an Excerpt

January’s Corset is a lovely cream paisley print, just the sort of surprisingly sweet bit of fluff Miss Harry O’Connell would hide beneath her outrageous gowns. 

To enter simply post a Comment.
Any comment will do, a bit of news, an idiom that’s always struck you as amusing,a historical ideal you’ve found ludicrous or a notion of any sort.

I’ll randomly choose one winner from all entrants on October 1st.
(U.S. Only)

Just last night I said to Abigail, “I have too many characters floating around in my head and all of them want their stories told now.” It bears mentioning that it was past midnight, I was wandering through my house in the dark because I couldn’t be bothered to fumble around for light switches, and these words were only the last in a long, meandering monologue delivered to remind myself it’s better to have too many stories bobbing on the surface of my brain than none at all. Also, Abigail is my dog.

Neurotic little fur-ball that she is, Abigail is the keeper of all my secret frustrations, setbacks and snafus. Partly because she likes to hang out in my office with me while I write, but mostly because she listens so well, always understands where I’m coming from and sympathizes with every word I say.

Abigail knows I have six stories – and more than twice as many characters – swimming around in my mind just now. Six stories in various stages of completion. 

A few pages of notes scribbled on scraps of paper in the middle of the night for Lady Sylvia Grenville’s jaunt from London to Montana.

An outline of Lady Bernice’s seemingly never-ending fascination for Lord Jamison.

Two two rough chapters of Miss Kate Price’s trials and tribulations as one of Lord Dunaway’s six daughters.

An unfinished novella featuring Kiljoy, the disreputable Duke of Mountjoy who, oddly enough, captured the hearts and imaginations of readers in Unraveling the Earl.

A half-written story for Miss Veronica Ogilvie – the woman readers love to hate in Pretty Poison.

And, finally, a nearly complete novel for Miss Harry O’Connell, appropriately entitled Courting Chaos, as this book has caused all sorts of mischief and mayhem in my life of late.

Is it any wonder I’m a bit scatterbrained at present? That I engage in philosophical discussions with my dog in the wee hours of the night? If I could just get one story finished…

Oh, who am I kidding?

Certainly not Abigail.

One story finished will only lead to another just beginning, and three further along in the telling. Characters wading out of the water will only make room for more to dive right into the churning sea. 

In the words of Lilith Aberdeen, in Taming Beauty, upon her first sight of the ocean, “But this…it’s so…vast…endless…I feel dizzy…or something rather like it.”

This, my friends, is why I write, and why I’ll continue sharing all my troubles and triumphs with a little dog while fictional characters are carried on the current of my mind. Because writing six stories simultaneously makes me feel dizzy…or something rather like it. 

If you haven’t yet read Taming Beauty, now is the perfect time to remedy that lamentable situation. I have expanded the story-line a tad and spiced up the naughty bits a smidgen, transforming a lengthy novella into a full-length novel just this side of short. Also, you’ll be ahead of the tide when Courting Chaos, Book 2 in my new Dunaway’s Daughters series, comes out later this year.

Taming Beauty is available for Pre-Order now.

Be sure to enter The Taming Beauty Pre-Order Giveaway for a chance to win a swag bag of goodies including a signed copy of Pretty Poison and My Darling Gunslinger, 2 Wine Bottle Corsets and 2 Corset Bookmarks.

Learn more about Taming Beauty

 

Congratulations to Diana Ware-Page, winner of August’s Corset. September’s Corset is a pretty pink, perfectly matched to the lovely cover for Taming Beauty. 




To enter simply post a Comment.
Any comment will do, a bit of news, an idiom that’s always struck you as amusing,a historical ideal you’ve found ludicrous or a notion of any sort.

I’ll randomly choose one winner from all entrants on October 1st.
(U.S. Only)

It’s August and for most of us that means scorching days and sultry nights. The perfect weather for staying indoors with a Sizzling Historical Romance. So from August 14 through the 20th, 36 authors have joined together to offer 36 ebooks with Heart, History and Heat for only $0.99.

From Sensual, Steamy and Spicy to Racy and Erotic.

Novels, Novellas and even Boxsets, all will be on sale for only $0.99  each August 14-20 at

The Sizzling Historical Romance Sale

 As an added bonus, we’ll be giving away a Kindle Fire and Six Classic Sexy Historical Romances that captured our hearts and inspired us to write. These are vintage stories from the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s that every fan of the genre simply must read. 

Sizzling Historical Romance Giveaway

*****

And while we’re on the subject of Sizzle, my latest Sexy Historical Romance is now available.

The Mad Earl’s Daughter is an Erotic Romp from beginning to end. Two hundred and eighty pages filled with all sorts of dallying and debauchery, mystery and mayhem, and a touch of madness. It is not intended for the faint of heart or sticklers for regency propriety. Or any sort of propriety for that matter.

The Parlor Maid in the Library with a Candlestick.

Hugh Forsythe has been living his life on the straight and narrow since turning his back on a family legacy of swindling, bamboozling and fortune-hunting. When he is hired to find a parlor maid who disappeared with a startling stash of priceless heirlooms, Hugh finds himself falling back on old habits in order to investigate the odd assortment of miscreants and unmarried women living in the mysterious house at Number 8 Huntley Street.

The Carpenter in the Dining Room with a Hammer.

Miss Annie Wellesley is in trouble. Someone is asking questions up and down Huntley Street and it is only a matter of time before the answers lead directly to her door. Deciding only a husband can save her from the secrets haunting her past and threatening her carefully crafted future, Annie sets out to seduce the handsome carpenter hired to refurbish her house. Amid the rubble of renovations, passion transforms into love, repairing Annie’s broken heart and restoring Hugh’s battered honor. But Annie is hiding more secrets, scandals and siblings than she can count and all too soon skeletons are popping out of the woodwork. 

The Heiress in the Foyer with a Knife.

As Hugh begins to unravel the convoluted conundrum of her identity, one thing becomes all too clear. Parlor maid or heiress, Annie is the Mad Earl’s Daughter and her life is in danger.

The Mad Earl’s Daughter is available for $2.99 or Free on KU.
*****


Congratulations to Antonia Rodriguez, winner of July’s Corset. In keeping with our Sizzling theme, August’s Corset is a super sexy little red number perfect for sultry summer nights.


To enter simply post a Comment.
Any comment will do, a bit of news, an idiom that’s always struck you as amusing,a historical ideal you’ve found ludicrous or a notion of any sort.

I’ll randomly choose one winner from all entrants on September 1st.
(U.S. Only)

I’ll let you in on a little-known secret – I did not set out to be a writer of erotic romance. 

When I began my first book I intended the story to fall within the realm of sensual romance, a bit of spice sprinkled throughout an otherwise purely romantic tale. The original manuscript was laced with purple prose – those silly euphemisms writers use to describe various parts of the body… buds, pebbles, pearls, etc. Oh, and just so we don’t ignore the manly parts…arousal, manhood and staff.

Alas, after months of sending out queries and receiving only silence or politely worded rejections in return, I decided to take a walk on the wild side. I added length and depth to the sex scenes and replaced the trite euphemisms with breasts, nipples, clitorises, cocks, shafts and the occasional erection and penis. 

I did not add a menage a trois, bondage, or even a spanking scene to the book. It was straight lovemaking between a man and a woman without benefit of toys, gadgets, whips or cuffs. And only one instance of rough handling by my hero. To put it simply, the story was barely erotic and then only by the grace of a few added details and naughty words.  

Armed with a sexier version of the original manuscript, I sent out another round of queries to publishers of erotic fiction. Much to my delight, I was soon under contract for a three book series with a publisher who shall remain nameless.

Thus Portrait of Passion was born. And soon afterward, died a slow, torturous death. Lost in the netherworld of books that aren’t erotic enough to satisfy fans of the genre, yet a touch (to a cock or clitoris) too racy for readers with a preference for more traditional sensual romance. 

By the time I recognized the abyss into which Portrait of Passion had plummeted, it was too late. I was under contract to write two more erotic romance novels to complete the series. I edged Widow’s Wicked Wish a tad nearer to the erotic side only in terms of the frequency of sexual encounters and a faint hint at the darker desires my heroine might enjoy in the not too distant future.

When I began the third book I decided to do more than take a little stroll on the wild side. Unraveling the Earl is a far more wicked and wanton tale, thanks to the heroine who is…well, wicked and wanton. Her past is littered with debauchery of all sorts, some of which trickles into her relationship with the hero of the story. There is a spanking scene, though it’s only two light taps instigated by the heroine during a light-hearted bit of role-playing. And she does wind up tied to a bedpost with a lavender ribbon, a scene which leads to all sorts of hilarity and mayhem. Oh, and she strips herself bare and diddles her goodies for her hero’s entertainment.

The antics of the heroine of Unraveling the Earl lead me to quite a dilemma, a crisis of conscience you might say. 

You see, in preparation for the day I would re-release the Idyllwild series, I read the first and second stories, marking naughty words and entire paragraphs and pages for deletion or revision in order to transform the stories from barely-erotic to slightly tamer sensual romance novels. And hopefully lift them from the abyss so that readers browsing for a book might actually discover them, perhaps even read and enjoy them. 

But then I started reading Unraveling the Earl.

And I came to the realization there is no way to transform this tale into anything other than what it is – a story wandering the fine line between erotic and sensual romance. A tale of a woman with a past so far beyond checkered it more closely resembles a garish paisley print, an enlightened acceptance of all the many and varied ways men and women make love, and a desire to please her lover in all ways. Thus pleasing herself in the process, selfish bit of muslin that she is.

I love this story, I ate and slept and dreamed this story while writing it. I was tormented and taunted by Georgie’s secrets and motives and her refusal to stay on the path to redemption. I was charmed and enchanted by Henry’s need to peel away her many layers, to discover the inner workings of her mind and finally solve the puzzle that is her heart.

The story will not work without her licentiousness, without her willingness to prey upon Henry’s desires for her own selfish ends. If I delete all the raunchy bits and pieces, the reader will never know Georgie, never see beyond her scheming and lying to the lost and heartbroken woman hiding behind it all, never believe an inherently good and kind man like Henry could fall in love with her.

And so, I have only made some minor revisions, given all three stories fresh edits and beautiful new covers, and re-released them in the hope that readers are willing to walk the fine line between erotic and sensual romance to discover my books. And that when they do, like Henry, they will fall in love with Georgie, just as she is.

“I was never good or clean or whole, my lord. I have always been wicked and broken and dirty. I am vengeful and covetous and impulsive and selfish, and I like that about myself. I like my murky morals and my stubborn streak and my dubious loyalty and my greedy desire to claim what I want, no matter the cost. I like it all and what’s more so do you.”        – Miss Georgie Buchanan  

             

    Portrait of Passion                                 Unraveling the Earl

                                     Widow’s Wicked Wish

Congratulations to the winner of June’s Corset, 
Lori Hammons. 

In honor of the re-release of Unraveling the Earl, 
July’s Corset is a pretty Paisley number perfect for Georgie Buchanan.  

 
To enter simply post a Comment.
Any comment will do, a bit of news, an idiom that’s always struck you as amusing,a historical ideal you’ve found ludicrous or a notion of any sort.

I’ll randomly choose one winner from all entrants on August 1st.
(U.S. Only)

My Darling,

I came across these lines in a book today and they made me think of you and me and us.

“You go, do what you must do, think on me, on what I cannot give you as well as what I can. And if there comes a time when you want me as I am, when you see me not as something imperfect and flawed, but as a woman with whom you wish to share your life, then ask me.” – Now Face to Face by Karleen Koen

I have been struggling since you left. Struggling to make sense of how we came to be here. I thought I had worked it all out in my mind and my heart. I had convinced myself that I was healing, that I was stronger, and that I was putting away my dreams of a lifetime together. But I was fooling myself. I was really only biding my time until you came back to me.

Once upon a time, I began a love letter with these words. My Darling was the love of my life but we were separated by three thousand miles and a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to a future together.

Sometimes finding our Happily Ever After is all about second chances. Occasionally it’s simply a matter of recognizing a second chance when it’s dangling right before you. More often than not it’s far more complicated, requiring us to be braver and stronger than we’ve ever imagined we could be. Brave enough to offer up our heart even when we are not entirely certain it won’t be broken again and strong enough to receive the offering, to hold onto the heart that’s been lovingly and trustingly placed into our keeping, to hold onto it against all odds the second time around.

So while I wrote these word (with the help of Karleen Koen), they might have been written by the heroine in Widow’s Wicked Wish. Like me, Olivia believes she has put away her dreams of a spending her life with the man she be loves. And like me, Olivia is given that most precious of gifts – a second chance at love.

This was not the first love letter I wrote to my husband, nor was it the last. In fact my most recent love letter was included in Widow’s Wicked Wish:

Thank you to my husband, the hero of my heart for choosing me, my son and a menagerie of pets over your dreams of children of your own. I’ll never forget the sacrifice you made to give me my very own happily ever after.

Widow’s Wicked Wish is available for Pre-order on Amazon

Read an Excerpt

When I began Portrait of Passion I never dreamed it would be the first in a three book series. I did not consider how difficult it would be to find a publisher. I never imagined I would spend months both dreading and anticipating opening my email. Nor did I truly appreciate how happy I would feel when I finally found an offer for acceptance amid all the rejections.  I did not ponder the perils and pitfalls of promotion. I didn’t even have a Facebook or Twitter account.

And I certainly never considered the possibility that I would come to love the story and the characters I’d created.  

But I did fall in love with Beatrice and Simon, and with the tale of three siblings bonded by blood, love and a small estate in the North of England. It broke my heart to see Portrait of Passion and the Idyllwild Series all but disappear into the netherworld due to a convoluted and complicated set of circumstances over which I had no control. 

I now have both the rights and the creative control of all three books in the series back in my loving hands. 

So it is with great pleasure and a bit of giddy excitement that I am re-releasing the Idyllwild Series, beginning with Portrait of Passion. Widow’s Wicked Wish and Unraveling the Earl will soon follow. 

I hope you too will fall in love with Idyllwild, with Beatrice and Simon, with Olivia and Jack, and with Henry and Georgie. 

For a limited time, Portrait of Passion is available for $0.99 and free on Kindle Unlimited. 

And not only Portrait of Passion. More than forty wonderful books will be on sale for $0.99 May 22nd through May 28th at The Historical Romance Sale! Don’t miss out on these great deals and even better reads! 

Congratulations to March’s Corset winner, Julie Stafford. I’m afraid April came and went with no corset giveaway and no newsletter, but I hope May’s pretty little pink and black corset will make up for my missing an entire month.

To enter simply post a Comment below. Any comment will do, a bit of news, an idiom that’s always struck you as amusing, a historical ideal you’ve found ludicrous or a notion of any sort.
I’ll randomly choose one winner from all entrants on June 1st.

If you missed March’s Issue of Corsets and Kisses, and would like to remedy the situation, please click here.

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