Review of Christmas at Rakehell Manor

Christmas at Rakehell Manor has been reviewed by Angela, a guest reviewer over at The Armitage Authors Network.

You can check out the review (and the rest of the AA network blog) by clicking on the book cover link below :)

Christmas in July

Here in merry old England, it's July, it's the height of summer and, unusually, we're melting in 30 degrees of heat - so of course that means it's time to talk about Christmas! :D   (Well, I like to be different *g*)

Actually this blog post isn't to tell you that there are only 149 days, 4 hours, 2 minutes and 41 seconds left until Christmas ;0) but that my latest release Christmas at Rakehell Manor is now available.

If you've visited here before, you might have read about my writing process on Christmas at Rakehell Manor.  Rakehell - its working title - started out as a novella but very soon developed into a novel.  It turned out that hero Hugo and heroine Prue demanded a much more detailed story than I'd planned :D  I hope readers will enjoy their romance as much as I enjoyed writing it.

It seemed crazy to wait until nearer to Christmas to share Hugo and Prue with you all so if you're sunbathing on a beach or by a pool, why not enjoy some very early Christmas cheer with Christmas at Rakehell Manor?

I don't want to venture into spoiler territory so I'll say no more except to reveal the beautiful cover (designed by Sheyna Watkins)....*drum roll*  Ta Dah!!...

...and the blurb...



A house of sin...shrouded in mystery and steeped in ever more scandalous gossip, where debauchery and wild parties are rumoured to take place.

A notorious rake...whose wicked reputation sends neighbours swooning over their tea cups. Can he really be as bad as he seems?

A lonely paid companion...whose prim and practical exterior hides a lush sensuality waiting to be awakened.


Prudence Eylesbarrow is resigned to dreary spinsterhood and to never finding love. All she wants is one Christmas where she’s not at someone’s beck and call. 

But when Prue finds herself snow-bound at the infamous Rakehell Manor, her curiosity with Hugo, Marquess of Warwick – mysterious, handsome, world-weary, cynical – tempts her to reveal passions she never knew she possessed. Even so Prue is under no illusions. It was fool’s game to think a penniless nobody could tame the master of Rakehell, for that way lay heartache and social ruin.

Or has the time come for the power of passion, the promise of love and the magic of Christmas to unite two people from very different worlds? 

... and the buy links ...

Amazon.com    Amazon UK  



Check back here or my website and/or sign up to receive my newsletter, visit my Facebook author page or follow me on Twitter (@liz_hanbury) and look out for the chance to win a cute little prize inspired by Regency fashion:)

Oh and the paperback edition of Christmas at Rakehell Manor will be coming soon :) 

Free for one weekend only....

...two of my books :D

Midsummer Eve at Rookery End and The Cinderella Debutante are both free this weekend on Amazon.

So why not put your feet up and escape into a world of Regency rakes, rogues and romance - no Almack's vouchers, Vauxhall tokens, guineas, or payment of any kind required!!

Click on the book covers to follow the links and happy reading :)

 

 

Midsummer Eve at Rookery End

It's out! :)

The new ebook edition of Midsummer Eve at Rookery End (The Complete Collection) is available now with a gorgeous new cover designed by Sheyna Watkins

For the first time all the Midsummer Eve at Rookery End short stories come together in this edition.  It features an updated foreword, a prequel story (The Virtuous Courtesan) which appeared in the Brief Encounters anthology, the three original tales and a brand new story - Love's Thorne.  It also includes a preview of The Cinderella Debutante.

Midsummer Eve is the traditional time for love divination, when gentlemen and ladies can hope to meet their true love. Lord and Lady Allingham hold a lavish ball every year at their country estate, Rookery End, to celebrate this ancient custom.  These five little tales of love and passion take place in this romantic setting in Regency England.
 
Here's more on each story in the order they appear... 

 The Virtuous Courtesan -  A valuable portrait sparks a series of events that culminate in Lord and Lady Allingham's extraordinary first meeting.

Siren's Daughter - Following her disagreeable aunt's demise, Deborah King attends the midsummer ball where she encounters Sir Benedict Catesby. Can Deborah and Sir Benedict overcome past bitterness and let love triumph second time around?

Blue Figured Silk - The handsome Marquess of Shaftesbury is renowned as a rake and a gambler. When the Marquess arranges an assignation with an attractive widow in the garden, his encounter does not turn out as he expected...

A Scandal at Midnight - Young governess Verity Brook accompanies Miss Amelia Gardiner to Rookery End and receives a shocking letter. Verity must act to avoid a scandal, but the only person she can turn to is the arrogant Sir Tristan Millforte - the nonpareil Amelia is to marry.

Love's Thorne - A wily valet lends a helping hand when Captain Simon Russell's future happiness is at stake. 


It's available on Amazon and Amazon UK.  Other buy links to follow.   Read an excerpt here.


Please consider leaving a review if you enjoy it.  Reviews help readers find books :)


*Note*

If you've previously purchased the Kindle eBook of Midsummer Eve at Rookery End, you can now access the new edition for FREE!

Opt in to receive book updates automatically. You can do this by going to Manage Your Kindle and clicking on the Manage Your Devices section. You'll find the option labeled Automatic Book Update.

Alternatively, get the updated version by going to Manage Your Kindle. Find Midsummer Eve at Rookery End in your Kindle Library, click on the "Update Available" link next to the title, and then follow the update prompts. All your devices that have the eBook currently downloaded will be updated automatically the next time they connect to wireless.
 


Also, to get the (Midsummer) ball *g* rolling, I'm running a giveaway - just click on the Rafflecopter widget below to get started and thanks for celebrating the start of summer with me!

 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sherry Gloag - Vidal's Honor

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Sherry Gloag to my blog.  Sherry's latest release is a Christmas Regency romance, Vidal's Honor,  and here she talks about the 'silent witness' in her story:

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The Silent Witness.

Do you ever wonder how there can be an influential silent witness, or an unnamed character, in a story?

Is it possible? 

Yes it’s possible, and in some cases essential. The reality first hit home when I read Nora Robert’s Northern Lights many years ago.

This story takes place in Alaska, and a couple of mountain ranges are named and mentioned throughout the tale.  A murder takes place on one many years before the opening of Northern Lights, while missing boys found on the mountain are the catalyst that reveals past events that impact directly on the present in this story. In strategic spots the mountains are mentioned and become true characters that, while passive in their presence, influence almost every facet of the tale. So in this instant the mountains in this case are the ‘silent witness’s.

In Vidal’s Honor, released by Astraea Press this November, the weather became the unnamed and passive character in my Christmas Regency romance.  Ask any Brit, and you will soon learn the weather is an abiding passion with them.  It is not unheard of for certain places in the UK to experience five different weather conditions in one day, so it offers a topic ripe for discussion. 

But what if the weather in question in a story are those of 1812?  How can you possibly have an accurate discussion about the state of the weather conditions two hundred years ago?

Well, it will be no surprise to research buffs that you can.  It was more in hope than expectation that I googled ‘weather conditions from July to October in the Spanish Pyrenees’, and again the same in France, and over several weeks while my hero and heroine travelled across a war-torn Europe in their attempt to reach England before Christmas.  I admit I became fascinated with the information, so much so that one scene was written completely round the weather conditions on the French and English Channel coastlines on a certain day. There’s nothing like a good storm to keep your main characters on their toes.  Almost at every stage of Vidal’s Honor the weather has an impact on unfolding events, if not specifically, certainly indirectly.  

The weather, therefore, became my ‘silent witness,’ and had many faces, and appeared in many guises, but its influence is revealed at the beginning and is still in evidence during the final stages of Vidal’s Honor.

When you are reading a story, do you take note of the silent witness in the tale? And for authors, how do you maximise the use of ‘silent witness’s’ to move your story forward?

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Multi-published author Sherry Gloag is a transplanted Scot now living in the beautiful coastal countryside of Norfolk, England.  She considers the surrounding countryside as extension of her own garden, to which she escapes when she needs "thinking time" and solitude to work out the plots for her next novel.  While out walking she enjoys talking to her characters, as long as there are no other walkers close by.

Apart from writing, Sherry enjoys gardening, walking, reading and cheerfully admits her books tend to take over most of the shelf and floor space in her workroom-cum-office.  She also finds crystal craft work therapeutic.

 

Vidal's Honor

When plunged into a world of spies, agents and espionage during the Peninsula wars, Honor, Lady Beaumont, flees for her life when the French capture her husband at Salamanca, and relies on his batman to arrange her safe passage back to England.

Viscount Charles Vidal is ordered by Robert Dumas, the First Lord of the Admiralty, to travel to Spain and escort the only woman he’s ever loved, Lord Devlin Beaumont’s widow back home before the French discover her whereabouts.

Their journey is fraught by danger, least of all knowing whether they are surrounded by friends or foe. Will they survive long enough to explore the possibility of a future together or will whispers of treason be enough to see Honor dispatched to Tyburn first?

Excerpt

While Vidal joked with his cousin, the viscount scanned the room. The smell of fine wine, whiskey and cigar smoke blended into a rich aroma that was as much a part of Whites as the card games, the background chatter, and outbreaks of lewd laughter from the younger members of the club. 

One member in particular interested Vidal tonight, and he watched Robert Dundas, second Viscount Melville, and First Lord of the Admiralty, take leave of his friends and head in his direction.He wondered why the man spent the best part of the night watching his every move, and paused in the act of fobbing his snuff box while he waited for the viscount to join him. 

“Take a walk with me?” Although couched as a question, Vidal noted the quiet steel of command in the other man’s voice. Dundas laid a hand on his arm; a companionable gesture for anyone interested enough to observe the two men leaving the club together. “I believe I live not far beyond your own house. I’d appreciate your company, and this is not the place for such a discussion. ” 

With an indolent twist of the wrist Vidal returned the modish lacquered box, unopened, to his pocket and nodded agreement. A man’s club was no setting for private conversation, and it was plain the man wanted to talk about something away from flapping ears. 

Together they strolled across the room stopping to take leave of several mutual friends.

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Vidal's Honor is available now from Amazon UK,  Amazon.com, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Bookstrand, Kobo, AllRomance ebooks

The Cinderella Debutante Giveaway

*Update 9th October - the giveaway is now closed.  Thanks to all who entered!  

The winners have been randomly selected and prizes forwarded so please check your inboxes.  Winners are displayed on the Rafflecopter widget below. 

Look out for more giveaways soon!*

 To celebrate the release of The Cinderella Debutante, I'm running a giveaway. Three winners will receive a £10 (or equivalent) Amazon gift voucher PLUS an ebook copy of The Cinderella Debutante!

Just click on the Rafflecopter widget below to get started or go to Twitter and tweet 'I've entered #TheCinderellaDebutante giveaway!'.

Good luck!!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Cinderella Debutante

My next Regency romance The Cinderella Debutante will be published by E-scape Press on 24th September 2012!

This release is particularly exciting as it's one of two books launching E-scape's new imprint Ballgown Books which will feature historical and contemporary stories.

The Cinderella Debutante is a light-hearted Regency romance based on the Cinderella story but with a few twists.  Don't ya just love Cinderella-themed stories?! :0)

Here's the blurb:

Lucy Sinclair’s London Season was cut short by tragedy. Now, five years later, she is returning but only in the shadow of her lovely step-sister. Belinda is determined to catch a titled husband and Alex, Lord Devlyn fits the bill perfectly.

Lucy finds Alex devastatingly attractive yet knows he will be dazzled by Belinda’s beauty. It seems her one chance of love is lost forever until an unlikely fairy godmother makes Lucy the belle of the ball...
 

I hope readers will enjoy.  The Cinderella Debutante is unashamedly sprinkled with oodles of wish-fulfillment fairy dust *g*  

Look out for more details, links, giveaways and a new E-scape website for Ballgown Books soon. 

Other news: the e-book edition of Ice Angel is finally out.  


Ice Angel is Book #1 in the Cavanagh family series and the prequel to A Bright Particular Star, although both books can easily be read as stand-alone. 

Ice Angel can be purchased from   Amazon.com,  Amazon UK, iTunes, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones and other on-line outlets. 

Mark your diaries...

...The Kindle edition of The Paradise Will is published on 30th September!

It's been a while coming so thanks to everyone for being patient; I know how frustrating it was to be unable to get hold of a copy because the print run had sold out. 

The Paradise Will was my debut novel and a finalist for the RNA Joan Hessayon award.   I loved writing it and adored each and every one of the characters (well, almost ... one character is better described as - er - interesting rather than adorable ;0) ) and am looking forward to re-visiting it via the shiny new Kindle I had for my birthday :-)

You can pre-order from Amazon UK and Amazon.com.  Other formats available very soon. 

Hope y'all enjoy!