People have desired diamonds and other fine gems for centuries. Exceptional stones have adorned crowns and jewelry worn by royalty. I’m not descended from kings and queens, but I sure do appreciate and admire a beautiful gem. One with a historic past and an alleged curse makes it even more interesting. The Hope Diamond, a gorgeous blue diamond, is just such a gem. It is believed to be bad luck by some and good luck by others. Just in case there’s some truth to the curse, I’m glad the Hope is safely on display in the Smithsonian Institution, not owned by just one person.

After seeing the infamous blue diamond for myself in Washington, DC, and reading more about it, I started to wonder if there might be a sister stone cut from the same rough. I made my speculation a reality in BLUE DIAMOND DEATH, a romantic suspense novel set on the sunny shores of La Jolla, California. I grew up in La Jolla, and it has some very nice jewelry stores, but where there is wealth, there is crime.

My heroine, Kathleen McGuire, is a gemologist and jewelry designer. I enjoyed researching her field of expertise, even attending a seminar at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in Carlsbad, CA. Poor Kathleen is suffering, though, and she has closed her heart to the possibility of finding love with a good man, especially a man in law enforcement.

Enter Mike Ryan, a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It seemed only right for me to feature an ICE agent in a setting so close to the U.S.-Mexican Border. Mike’s job is his life, and he’s not interested in a long-term committed relationship, but there’s something about Kathleen that takes his focus off the job.

Creating these two characters who must struggle, learn, and grow as individuals before they can find their happily-ever-after together was a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy getting to know Mike and Kathleen as well as I did.

BLURB

A woman in danger:  Gemologist and jewelry designer Kathleen McGuire has no intention of falling for another man in law enforcement—a man who wants to be her hero. Her shattered heart cannot endure any more pain. But anonymous threats against her life push her to the brink, and she reluctantly accepts the help and protection of handsome Mike Ryan, a federal agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Though attraction sizzles between them, Kathleen fights temptation and desire. She is a long-term relationship kind of woman, and Mike is a short-term commitment kind of guy—until one night changes everything.

A man who vows to protect her:  Working a drug-related money-laundering case in the sun-drenched seaside community of La Jolla, California, Special Agent Mike Ryan needs a confidential informant familiar with the jeweler he’s investigating. Beautiful Kathleen McGuire isn’t who he had in mind for the job, but what she knows could break his case wide open. Arresting drug traffickers and their scummy, money-laundering partners is a mission to Mike, but when a stalker’s threats against Kathleen escalate, Mike makes protecting her his priority. Before long, he finds himself emotionally entangled with Kathleen, his heart and his future in as much danger as Kathleen’s life.

Blue Diamond Death, a sensual contemporary romantic suspense novel, has approximately 64,200 words and is about 265 pages in length.

EXCERPT

Cupping his eyes against the jewelry store’s glass door, Mike peered inside. His gaze stopped at the showroom’s small desk.

A young woman he’d never seen before sat unmoving behind the desk. Shoulder-length, dark brown hair framed an attractive heart-shaped face with a creamy complexion.

Wanting a better look, he leaned a fraction of an inch closer. That was when he noticed her eyes. They stared straight ahead, as if looking at nothing. And yet those eyes also seemed to be seeing too much, though what, Mike couldn’t guess. He only knew he didn’t want to look away.

His heart kicked up an extra beat, startling him. San Diego had lots of pretty women, but not a one of them had made him feel anything more than an appreciation for their natural, sun-touched beauty. This woman, however, did something to him. She seemed so lost and alone, and he knew what that felt like. He tried not to think about it, or about her, other than how she could let him in to see Ambrose.

He rapped on the glass.

Her eyes cleared instantly, and she leaped up from the chair like a frightened rabbit.

Mike winced. “Sorry,” he said through the glass. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She stuffed an envelope and sheet of paper into the middle of a stack of mail on the desk. “You didn’t,” she called out, her voice muffled by the distance and barrier between them.

Liar. Mike knew scared when he saw it. But she rebounded quick. Admirable. She had a tough streak to her, one he suspected did not get breached very often. He’d caught her during a private and vulnerable moment. What had she been thinking about? he wondered, then reminded himself that he didn’t want to know. He had come here to enlist Ambrose’s help, not get curious about a pretty woman’s distressing thoughts.

AUTHOR BIO

 Ann Collins was born and raised in La Jolla, California, the setting for Blue Diamond Death. Some translations of La Jolla are said to mean “The Jewel,” which she felt would be the perfect name for her story’s fictional jewelry store. As a child, Ann enjoyed and admired rocks, graduating to geodes and then fine gems. She has seen diamonds being cut in Amsterdam and pearls being sorted in Japan. Two gemology highlights during her world travels were the Crown Jewels in London and the Hope Diamond and other gems at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. Ann writes fiction and nonfiction. She enjoys bringing La Jolla and San Diego to life for her readers. She has published a historical romantic suspense novel entitled A Matter of Marriage, set at the Hotel del Coronado (Hotel Grand Victoria in her book) in the late 1800s. Her first historical romance novel, Protecting Jennie, was published by Harlequin Enterprises, won the romance category of the San Diego Book Awards, and received four stars from Romantic Times Book Reviews.

Ann’s creative outlets also include nature photography. She especially enjoys shooting landscapes and seascapes. She has two images in the 2015 Sierra Club Wilderness Calendar. To read more about Ann, please visit Compass Point Press or her photography website, Images By Ann Collins. To connect with Ann on Facebook, please go here (Facebook.com/AnnCollinsAuthor). Ann is also on Goodreads.

BUY LINKS

Amazon Kindle US: http://amzn.to/1qwZ4mX
Barnes & Noble Nook: http://bit.ly/1sFVqXD
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1trpJyG

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/blue-diamond-death/id905516433?mt=11&uo=4

Print Version

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1kMyPRq

“Seduction in a Santa Claus suit? How is that supernatural?”

 by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

I love writing about paranormal worlds. Love it. And another thing I love is Christmas. Always have. The sights, the smells, the crazy feelings of happiness . . .

So when I was asked if I’d like to write a story about Christmas for Harlequin’s Desire line, which is contemporary, rather than paranormal, I jumped at the chance. (That jump could have earned me a gold medal)

For a paranormal romance writer like me, used to the built-in conflicts and tension of the supernatural world, dealing with two characters in tension for other reasons seemed a challenge at first. So when Christmas became my theme, I knew I could do this, and the writing flowed. I mean . . . Christmas is about magic, right?

To get started on this new challenge, I just asked myself this question: Who doesn’t like the holiday?

I couldn’t honestly answer that from my own perspective, so I added another question: If someone wanted to like the holiday, but couldn’t, for some reason, what might that reason be, and how could they get around it?

And so, in answering that, I had my story. And Kim McKinley’s life took on a life of its own.

Toss in a sexy adversary with a big heart, like Chaz Monroe, who isn’t afraid to try anything to get his best new employee to handle Christmas ads for his agency… and sparks flew.

This is “The Boss’s Mistletoe Maneuvers.” (You get a medal for saying that title five times, fast). I’m celebrating its release, hot off the press after my latest September Nocturne paranormal release of “Immortal Obsession.” These are the new two sides of me, as a writer, and I accept the challenge wholeheartledly, because it’s really all about making the magic work.

So if you feel the need for some light-hearted pre-holiday spirit, can read beyond the paranormal worlds we all have grown to love, and would like to share in my delight for the season as that season approaches, I hope you’ll join Kim, Chaz, and me on our crazy romp through love, loss, and the ultimate magic of a very special holiday. We’d love to meet you there.

Thanks for joining me today.

May you find your own magic this year!

Linda

Linda Thomas-Sundstrom is award-winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance novels for Harlequin’s Nocturne and Desire imprints. Vampires, Werewolves and Spirits are the usual fodder for this writer, who also swears that the sheer magic of the Christmas season is equally as compelling for inspiration. Linda lives in the West, juggles teaching, writing, family, and caring for a ranch, and says that there are so many stories she wants to write, she types as fast as she can.

Linda’s web site: http://www.lindathomas-sundstrom.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LindaThomasSundstrom

“The Boss’s Mistletoe Maneuvers”

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Bosss-Mistletoe-Maneuvers-Harlequin-Desire-ebook/dp/B00K9ZXZJO/ref=asap_B002BMBNS8_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415021412&sr=1-2

“Immortal Obsession”

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Obsession-Linda-Thomas-Sundstrom-ebook/dp/B00JIHAU06/ref=asap_B002BMBNS8_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416589630&sr=1-3

If you follow the news, West Africa seems to be an inherently dangerous place. Between Ebola and various rebel groups, it’s not a place most foreigners would want to visit. But the West African country I lived in during the late 1990’s was a peaceful, relatively safe place and I have many fond memories. Someday, I hope to return.

Here are a few of my memories:

What I remember above all else is the generosity of the people. Despite living in what most Americans would consider poverty, the West Africans I met laughed a lot and had a love of life that I admired. They also liked to tease.

The wild beauty of the country is something I’m using in my next series. It’s humbling to stand in a field at night, with no artificial lights for miles, staring up at a thick blanket of stars that appears so close you should be able to touch it. Picking my way through village streets with only lantern light to guide me over the uneven terrain made me realize why fire draws us on a primitive level.

Although vendors displayed piles of used Western clothing at the market, for my business clothes I paid to have dresses made by a seamstress. It seemed a luxury, but this was simply the local custom for both men and women.

My biggest concern was staying healthy. Malaria was a threat mitigated by daily anti-malarial medicine, but despite boiling and filtering my water I still ended up with both an intestinal bacterial infection and intestinal parasites. We called the parasites our tiny pets.

For local transportation I walked, rode my bicycle, or occasionally hitched a ride on the back of a motorcycle. Traveling to another town meant riding in the back of a pickup truck with a canvas canopy overhead and two benches lining the sides so it could serve as a public bus. To get to the other end of the country, I rode a public coach bus with the aisles clogged with sacks of yams or other produce.

The overwhelming heat was something I quickly became accustomed to. The region I lived in was dry, with little humidity except in the rainy season. With temperatures routinely over 100F for months at a time, it got to the point that any temperature below 80F felt cold. Just like the locals, I found myself piling on coats and layers as the temperature dropped into the chilly 70’s!

Ever since I left West Africa I’ve wanted to set a story there. But I had to wait for the right idea to take root. Eventually, the idea for WAR popped into my head. WAR stands for West African Rangers, an underground resistance organization. The world in which WAR operates is a fictionalized version of West Africa. I spent quite a lot of time researching the history and demographics of the region before I decided on which countries to merge and which countries to split in my new reality. I even drew a map by hand that displays the new countries and their borders.

In this version of West Africa, a vicious group of rebels have emerged, calling themselves the African Freedom Army. Their stated intent is to rid West Africa of all foreign influence and to build West Africa into a stronger, more profitable region based solely on the intellectual and physical strength of its people. Their underlying goal, however, is to turn the region into a staging ground for terrorist attacks against the rest of the world. As AFA grows in power and takes more territory, the corrupt and inefficient governments of West Africa prove unable to successfully defend themselves. With the U.S. and other powers distracted by events in the Middle East and Asia, West Africa is on its own.

WAR is created by a former government official who understands that governments alone are not going to be able to save the region from falling to the rebels. WAR recruits those people brave enough to stand up to the rebels. Military personnel, doctors, journalists, and so forth, these supporters contribute to WAR the best they can, turning it into a sort of Robin Hood organization that offers help to the oppressed while fighting a guerrilla war against the rebels. WAR has also attracted a great number of expats to its ranks, particularly foreign soldiers who see this region as a strategically key spot that must remain free and democratic in order to protect the security of the rest of the world. Most of the foreigners who have aligned with WAR also have personal reasons for staying in West Africa and joining the fight.

This setup allows me to write a multi-national cast. The hero and heroine of the first book are both American. The hero of the second book is Scottish. The rest of the current cast includes West Africans, a South African, an Aussie, a Swede, and of course, more Americans.

I’m so excited to be finally able to share this amazing world with my readers!

The first book in this series is WAR: Disruption. Here’s the blurb:

He’s been trained for war. No one prepared him for love.

Black ops soldier Max Lansing has twelve days to stop an international arms dealer from recovering a missing weapon of mass destruction and selling it to a vicious group of West African rebels. He doesn’t have time to play babysitter to former ballerina Emily Iwasaki, who’s on a dance tour to raise money for war orphans. But when rebels attack the tour group, Max steps in and saves her. As the days tick down to the arms deal, Max and Emily race through the jungle ahead of the rebels. Keeping Emily safe is messing with Max’s timeline, but when it comes down to saving the day or saving the girl, there’s really only one choice.

WAR: Disruption is available for preorder at the following retailers. The official release date is December 15, 2014.

iBooks:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/war-disruption/id938493003?mt=11&uo=4&at=11lMGZ

 Kobo:

http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=yPsso8k62Zg&subid=&offerid=314164.1&type=10&tmpid=9310&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.kobobooks.com%2Fen-US%2Febook%2Fwar-disruption

Amazon US:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PCYLP12/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00PCYLP12&linkCode=as2&tag=vanekier-20&linkId=Y6PU6SPY3XWLFKFP

Amazon UK:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/WAR-Disruption-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00PCYLP12/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415728211&sr=8-1&keywords=war%3A+Disruption

Bio

Vanessa Kier spends way too much time thinking up ways she can torture her characters. A worst-case scenario thinker, she’s been creating stories in her head since childhood. Now she’s found her niche in writing romantic thrillers that combine intense emotion with action-packed plots. The author of six books in The Surgical Strike Unit series about a privately run special operations group, she has set her new series WAR in West Africa, where she lived for a time.

When she’s not writing, listening to music, or playing puzzle games on her mobile device, Vanessa writes the occasional Tech Talk column for her local RWA chapter’s newsletter and takes long hikes in the nearby hills.

For cover reveals, advanced excerpts, and other exclusive content sign up for her newsletter here http://eepurl.com/ssAbv. To learn more about Vanessa please visit her website www.vanessakier.com. She loves to hear from readers. You can also find her on Twitter https://twitter.com/VanessaKier or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vanessakierauthor.

What do ghosts have to do with Christmas? A lot, if you are interested in contemporary Gothic romance and paranormal romance, like me. I was raised on Gothic stories and I’ve read it all, from the classic romances of Phyllis Whitney to the Victorian ghost stories like, THE TURN OF THE SCREW. How could I not want to mix them together?

In my latest book, GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST, I combined the holiday season with a haunted house. In fact, this is the first of a series of haunted holiday romances, starting with a Christmas romance and covering all the holidays through the year. I really wanted to do something different for the holidays and I’ve always wanted to write a ghost story. I combined the two and Haunted Holidays was born.

If you like short cotemporary novels with a fast suspense feel, and love Christmas but want something different, then GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST is for you. I hope you enjoy it. To spread the holiday cheer I’m giving away an e-copy to one lucky winner.

 Ghosts of Christmas Past

 Jen MacNamara flees the Christmas wedding of her best friend and cheating fiancé and runs to the country to spend the holiday alone. It’s the perfect plan, until her unexpectedly sexy neighbor and landlord, Nate Pierce, insists on bringing the holiday to her—complete with a Christmas tree, hot chocolate, and an unexpected kiss.

 And that’s not Jen’s only problem.

 The cozy country farmhouse is already occupied by something evil. Now Jen’s nights are spent wrapped in sensual dreams of a past life, and her days growing closer to Nate as they solve the mystery of the malevolent ghost that haunts not only the house, but also wants Jen dead.

 Dare to discover Jessica Aspen’s sexy, new adult, contemporary, Gothic romance, today.

 Available at:  Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Ibooks, AllRomanceEbooks

Add Ghosts of Christmas Past to your Goodreads shelf.

 Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9899558-3-6

Print ISBN-13: 978-1503039636

ISBN-10: 1503039633

• ASIN:B00MIEB294

Date ebook Published 8/7/14

Date Print book published:

Word count 42,469

#pages 138

Available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Ibooks and AllRomance E-books

Add to your Goodreads shelf.

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22885908-ghosts-of-christmas-past

Amazon http://amzn.com/B00MIEB294

Barnes and Noble  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ghosts-of-christmas-past-jessica-aspen/1120081837?ean=2940046275964

Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/ghosts-of-christmas-past-4

AllRomanceEbooks https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-ghostsofchristmaspast-1591200-344.html

Apple Ibooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id907478817

 Excerpt:

Jen turned, gazing over the bare winter fields to the tangle of trees. No explanations, no obligations, no complications. For two whole weeks she could just hide here, and write.

The first genuine smile she could remember since April spread her face wide.

Then the pickup arrived.

Black, large, and full of male attitude it parked right next to her vacation house, dwarfing her small car and taking up the entire drive.

“Oh, there’s Nate now.” Mrs. Castlebury waved at the man pushing an eager black Labrador back into the cab while trying to exit the vehicle.

He got the door shut, faced them, and grinned. Dressed in New England casual of laced-up work boots, jeans, and plaid shirt under a denim jacket, Nate Pierce, striding across the snow, hand out in welcome, was a commercial for settling down. Tall. Good-looking in a rugged, works-for-a-living kind of way. And he had a dog. A big, sloppy, super-cute dog, wagging its tail and drooling on the driver’s side window.

For one impulsive moment Jen wished this was her life. She loved big dogs, the country, and secretly, men in plaid shirts, but she hadn’t had the opportunity for any of it since her dad’s death. Their daddy-daughter fishing trips, where he’d gotten to get out of his suit and she’d gotten to be free of her school uniform, had stopped cold the year she’d turned twelve.

This was the first time since then she’d ventured outside of somewhere hot and warm with a very clean, very controlled hotel. Her mom’s idea of a vacation. Of course, neither her mom nor her ex, Jason, tolerated dogs of any size. And as for living outside of the Boston city limits?

Neither of them would consider the horror.

She squashed the sudden surge of loneliness and desire for something she’d probably never have, and pasted on a smile.

Mr. Good-Looking Country Boy tramped through the snow to the porch, pushed his overlong forelock of sandy brown hair off his face, and held out a hand. “Hi, I’m Nate Pierce, your landlord.”

“My what?” She shot a quick look at Mrs. Castlebury.

“Your landlord, dear. I’m just the listing agent. Nate owns the house and he’ll see to any upkeep you need.”

“In fact, I’ll be back in an hour or so after you’ve gotten settled and bring the Christmas tree.”

“The Christmas tree?” She’d forgotten. She’d purchased the Christmas in New England package because it had been cheaper than renting by the day. “That’s not necessary,” she said, her voice chillier than she’d intended.

“I’ve already cut the tree down.” Nate’s friendly grin wavered as did his hand hovering in the air between them. “It would be a shame to waste.”

She didn’t want to be friendly with the neighbors. She wanted to hide out and recuperate. Make up her mind as to what in the world she was going to do next. But good manners won out.

Jen repressed a sigh, reached out, and slid her bare hand into his. As it disappeared into his tan callused grip, her hand seemed slim and small. He squeezed gently and a tingling warmth spread across her skin.

Hot caramel sensation slid from the connection between them, up her palm, along her arm, and through her entire body. Her hand tightened automatically, and a responding spark lit in his eyes.

Jen swallowed. Shoot! She wasn’t ready for this. She was here to lick her wounds, not some guy’s abs. And given the strength in his hand and his wide shoulders, she’d bet he had some killer abs.

She gazed up into Nate’s warm chocolate brown eyes and his face blurred. For a moment she saw another face superimposed over his. Same brown eyes, same tanned, rugged New England skin, but more boyish, broad-boned and black haired.

Every hair on her scalp tried to climb out of its slicked back, ponytailed restriction.

Then her new neighbor’s sharper, more intense features came into focus. Jen panicked and jerked her hand away. Wiping her buzzing palm on her long red wool coat she backed up, nearly running into Mrs. Castlebury.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Pardon me.” She circled around, putting the older woman between herself and Nate Pierce.

What the hell just happened?

Jen tucked her hands into the safety of her coat pockets, surreptitiously rubbing her tingling right palm along the silk inside her pocket. Trying to get rid of the strange feeling spreading along her skin and telling her pounding heart that everything was fine. That something bizarre hadn’t just happened to her. And that life was safe and normal.

Author Bio:

Jessica Aspen has always wanted to be spirited away to a world inhabited by elves, were-wolves and sexy men who walk on the dark side of the knife. Luckily, she’s able to explore her fantasy side and delve into new worlds by writing paranormal romance. She loves indulging in dark chocolate, reading eclectic novels, and dreaming of ocean vacations, but instead spends most of her time, writing, walking the dog, and hiking in the Colorado Rockies. You can find out more information and read about Jessica’s paranormal romances at http://JessicaAspen.com

To sign up for Jessica Aspen’s new release email please go to: http://eepurl.com/zs4Sj

 Author web links: (web, blog, twitter, facebook, goodreads, etc)

 Website: http://jessicaaspen.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5759763.Jessica_Aspen

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaAspen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaAspenAuthor

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jessicaaspen/

Join the Jessica Aspen mailing list! Get the scoop on new releases, sales, plus the chance to win ARCs and participate in special giveaways.  When I send you an email, there’s always something in it for you! http://eepurl.com/zs4Sj

Thanks Cynthia for having me as your guest today.

Amber de Burgh – Book 3 of my Daughter’s of the Dagger Series is one of the four daughters of a baron. Ruby, Sapphire, Amber and Amethyst were all named after the jeweled daggers their mother bought in superstition from a blind old hag, as she was barren and the superstition said this would guarantee she conceive one child for each dagger bought.

My Daughters of the Dagger Prequel is free to get readers started in the series.

Getting back to Amber – she is a novice in an abbey, studying to take her final vows. That is, until she meets the mercenary, Lucifer (Lucas) who is one hell of a man, and they are sent on a pilgrimage together. Amber intends on praying, but that is the furthest thing from Lucas’s mind. Matter of fact, he is on a mission to steal the Regale Ruby from the Canterbury Cathedral.

 Back then, people were very superstitious, and believed in all sorts of things. One thing they believed in was holy relics. Holy relics were usually a bone, some hair, a piece of clothing, or anything that supposedly came from a saint. People believed if they were to buy, touch or even kiss one of these objects, they or their loved ones would be healed – and/or it would pave their way to heaven.

People were sometimes so desperate to attain a piece of a holy relic, that while kissing one, they would even try to bite off a piece to take with. Churches prided themselves on who had the most or the best relics, because that was a big draw to bring people and therefore more money to their church. So oftentimes, the priests back then (who were not as holy as you’d think) would go about trying to steal the relics from each other. It was kind of like a fraternity trying to steal each others’ mascot.

Amber works as an illuminator in the abbey’s scriptorium. This is a wonderful process which I describe in the book, as well as the life of a novice inside the abbey walls, and the process of going on an actual pilgrimage.

 Amber – Book 3 of my Daughters of the Dagger Series is on sale for 99 cents at Amazon until Sunday. The books are now also offered as a boxed set – including the prequel, and offered as print books as well.

Please see more details on my website: http://elizabethrosenovels.com.

The link for Amber is: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9UBU6Y

And for the free prequel: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EAMJHOE

My books are also available at Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo and Smashwords.

Book Trailer for Daughters of the Dagger: http://youtu.be/ssDA4LGsqH0

 Bio: Elizabeth Rose is the author of over 30 books, and writes historical, contemporary and paranormal romance. Her latest book in her Tarnished Saints Series, Wrangling James – Book 6, a small town cowboy, will be released this month.

Excerpt from Amber – Book 3:

Bowerwood Abbey, England, 1357

Vespers had just finished, and Amber de Burgh of Blackpool, novice of the Sisters of St. Ermengild, blessed herself as the doors to the church slammed open, and in entered the devil himself.

All heads of the congregation of praying nuns and monks turned toward the door, and Father Armand who was conducting the service looked up sharply in surprise.

“Lucifer!” he cried out, startling everyone inside the church. “Bid the devil.”

Commotion broke out and the occupants of the church parted like the Red Sea. The nuns huddled together in a hurry, quickly blessing themselves and praying aloud in the process. The monks gathered together at the other side of the church in silence.

Amber raised her chin, looking over the heads of the nuns, surprised to see a man standing in the doorway instead of the horned and hoofed demon she expected to find. A bedraggled man with a chain around his neck and chains on his wrists stood in the entranceway. His legs were spread, and his hands raised to stop the doors of the church as they hit the wall and swung back toward him. Lightning illuminated him from behind, and thunder boomed from outside as rain pelted down like a barrage of arrows from the sky, crashing against the stone steps of the church directly behind him.

“Father,” the man said in a low voice through clenched teeth, and Amber knew he was speaking to Father Armand. “I will see you in Hell before I do your bidding again, you bloody bastard!”

Cries of shock went up from the group of nuns around Amber and one of them swooned, ending up prone on the floor in a tangle of her black robes and long veil. Several of the sisters rushed over to assist her. The monks at the other end of the church conversed in hushed whispers behind their hands. Amber curiously made her way from the wooden bench at the front of the church closer to the door to gaze upon this spawn of the devil.

I always feel when writing my Regency and Georgian romances that I am penning fairytales for grown-up little girls! For me, the attraction both in writing and reading these novels is the magical element of reaching into history and leading an impossible partnership into the happily ever after.

It fascinates me how the major fairytale themes come up again and again, in all genres of romance. Cinderella is forever popular, even when turned on its head with the heroine taking the unattainable prince role and the hero becoming Cinderella – like the film Notting Hill.

But a close second is, I think, the Beauty and the Beast scenario. Is it a similar thing in that the hero is unattainable? Rather than simply outclassing the heroine in the fortune or status stakes, he is too wounded to be won.

Whether his scars are external or internal doesn’t matter. They are so deep that it seems impossible for the heroine to assuage his pain. Can she tame the beast? We are hooked into the story by wanting to know how.

My story Fated Folly, a tale of the ogre and the minx, is a combination of these two themes. Rupert is a widower in his early thirties, far too old for a girl just turned eighteen. But that doesn’t stop mischievous Clare from tumbling into love with him.

BLURB

When youthful Clare Carradale beards the ogre in his den, she is instantly smitten with Sir Rupert Wolverley’s raw and powerful attraction. In an attempt to prevent her brother eloping with Sir Rupert’s niece, Clare is herself compromised. She must either marry his young cousin, Lord Ashendon, whom she detests, or Rupert himself.

Can Clare’s hopes of a radiant future be realised in this uneven and improbable match? Both Fate and Ashendon conspire against her. But Clare’s true battle lies in overcoming Rupert’s inner demons, if she is to save her marriage and win through to a promise of happiness.

EXCERPT

‘Sir Rupert, are you offering yourself up as a sacrifice on the altar of matrimony?’

He grinned. ‘Miss Carradale, I am.’

He might have guessed, Rupert thought, that she would turn it all into a joke. He was glad. It made it easier. He must feel his way, for he was on delicate ground. Truth to tell, he had shocked himself almost as much as he had shocked the child. She was speaking again, and he was obliged to force back an extraordinary heady lightness that had invaded his mind.

‘It is quite enchanting of you, Sir Rupert, but I cannot let you do it. You had no hand in compromising me. Besides, you don’t want to marry me. You said it was preposterous.’

‘No, that was your father’s word, not mine. I dare say it will be thought a trifle eccentric, but that, I imagine, should not trouble you.’

‘No,’ Clare agreed, eyes dancing. ‘After all, we must not forget that I am a minx who is going to lead my husband a dance.’

He laughed. ‘And I am an ogre. How in the world shall we manage?’

Clare’s face clouded. ‘You didn’t mean it.’

‘I did. I do.’ He found her hand and lifted it to his lips. He felt the quiver of her fingers and folded them inside his much larger clasp. ‘Don’t be afraid.’

‘Oh, I’m n-not,’ Clare stammered, struggling with her churning emotions. ‘Only—only shocked.’ She hazarded a naughty twinkle. ‘But pray don’t offer me any brandy this time. You cannot wish for a wife who is addicted to the bottle.’

‘I don’t wish for a wife at all,’ he returned, laughing.

Clare’s spirits plummeted, and did not rise even when he instantly retracted.

‘No, I don’t mean that. Rather let me say I am not hanging out for a wife. I have an heir, you see. Marriage—a second marriage—had not seemed…’

‘And now you mean to disrupt your life, all to save my face,’ Clare stated flatly, the disappointment a lead weight in her bosom. She felt her other hand taken and both were held so strongly that she was hard put to it not to wince, despite the deep delight his touch engendered.

‘Listen, Clare, this is not in any sense an ideal solution, I know that. But your case is desperate, and it is in some sort my fault—’

‘It most certainly is not!’

‘We will not dispute that. Say then, my responsibility, for it is my relative—I refer to Ashendon—who put you in this situation.’

It was not at all what she wanted to hear, and she tried to protest.

‘But that is—’

‘Hear me out. I am sure you will not “disrupt my life”. I only hope I may not altogether wreck yours by such a marriage. For I know it cannot be a real marriage, not at first at least. You are so very young.’

She heard a wistful note in his voice and wondered at it. ‘Well, but I have heard of many marriages unequal in age. And you are not so very old either.’

‘I am three and thirty, and that is old enough. You are exceptionally young, and cannot be expected to know your own mind.’

‘But I do know it,’ Clare protested with a touch of indignation, hardly aware of how she returned the pressure of his fingers. ‘You have not asked me what is in my mind, Sir Rupert.’

His grip relaxed, and he smiled a little. ‘Under the circumstances, I think, don’t you, that we can dispense with the title?’

She let out a gurgle. ‘You mean I should call you “Rupert” instead of “ogre”?’

‘That was not precisely the exchange I had in mind,’ he said drily, and released her hands.

Clare looked down at her own fingers. They were tingling from his hard grasp, and her heart was pumping so hard it threatened to choke her. What had possessed her to challenge him so? At any second he would ask her what was in her mind and she could not answer him.

She felt his fingers under her chin and lifted her eyes to meet his questioning glance, schooling her features to hide the confusion of her mind and heart.

‘What is it?’ he asked, unnervingly aware of her change of mood.

Clare summoned her twinkling smile. ‘Are you quite sure you wish to make this chivalrous gesture?’

‘Gesture?’ He released her chin. ‘I am offering you the protection of my name, Clare.’

Her lip trembled in spite of herself. ‘Nothing more?’

‘My God, so that is it! My poor child, I am not a monster. You need not fear that I shall importune you with unwanted attentions.’

Fear? Unwanted? Good heavens!

LINKS

Currently on sale at 0.99c or 0.77p

AMAZON US

http://tinyurl.com/my8j3bq

AMAZON UK

http://tinyurl.com/mfadgyb

Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/369243