EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING Historical Romance Showcase

I'm excited to welcome today two of my fellow historical romance authors with books published by Evernight!  I invited these ladies to stop by and talk a little about their work, so here they are....


NICKY PENTTILA

For me, the fun of writing historicals is getting to play “What would it be like?” What would it be like to have a talent such as composing or performing but be forbidden to do it because you’re a girl and so it’s Against Society’s Rules? What would it be like to be an all-truth-and-nothing-less man and find yourself falling for someone who spends her days idling in the Social World, telling the “white lies” that Society trades in?

In my story A Note of Scandal, Olivia Delancey is a Regency Uptown Girl, and her surprise beau, Will Marsh, is a tradesman. Worse, he’s the publisher of a newspaper, which back then as today is often considered a scurrilous profession. Each has strengths and weaknesses and a chance to change the game, if they dare. And neither expects the repercussions.

As a writer in these times, I freely express my talent; the idea that I couldn’t (or couldn’t as easily) if I’d been born in the past stuck in my craw. I had to find a way for my Olivia to get some satisfaction, some amount of joy. As a former newspaperwoman, I know that there are many more good journalists than rotten ones, and it sticks in my craw that we good ones get lumped in with the bad. So I made a hero out of one of us.

One thing that surprised me when I wrote it was how funny some scenes turned out to be: both Olivia and Will turned out to have great senses of humor. Bonus!

 

A NOTE OF SCANDAL - A desperate composer tricks a principled newspaper publisher into printing a false story, and then falls for him. How can she prove that she’s worth a second chance?

Want to read more? A Note of Scandal is available now at:

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/a-note-of-scandal-by-nicky-penttila/

All Romance eBooks,

Amazon | Paperback at Createspace | Audiobook at Amazon/Audible (and via iTunes)

Nicky Penttila writes stories with adventure and love, and often with ideas and history as well. She enjoys coming up with stories that are set in faraway cities and countries, because then she *must* travel there, you know, for research. She lives in Maryland with her reading-mad husband and amazing rescue cat. She’s chattiest on Twitter, @sunshinyday, and can also be found at nickypenttila.com.

TAMSIN BAKER

My first ten years of reading romance was devouring sexy level mills and boon. Then, about 5 years ago I found one of Sabrina Jeffries’ Regency novels in a second hand book store. Thanks to falling in love with her style, I got on book depository and bought everything she had ever written. Then of course came, Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Karen Hawkins and Stephanie Laurens.

So when I began to write Erotic romance I took my love for Regency with me. I love the setting, the rules, the society. And if you can throw in vampires and a bit of ménage loving, then why not?

Eternal Hearts -

For five hundred years, vampires Nathaniel and Michael have loved each other. But without their third mate, they feel empty and incomplete.

Lady Margaret Tonnington is a recent widow who has finally got some control over her life. The last thing she wants or expects are two male vampires, both claiming to need her. She is shocked by the strength of their passion for each other and wants to be a part of that love.

But Michael and Nathaniel want to bind her to them forever. Margaret is hesitant to change her life and fights to stay human. A compromise will be almost impossible, however it is essential for her vampire mates' lives that she does.

Want to read more?

Eternal Hearts is available at the following online stores -

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/eternal-hearts-by-tamsin-baker/

http://www.amazon.com/Eternal-Hearts-Third-Bite-ebook/dp/B00D7EHN7E/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1372335963&sr=1-4&keywords=tamsin+baker

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-eternalhearts-1216947-160.html

Thanks for visiting, ladies!

I hope you enjoyed this peek into some of the books Evernight has to offer. The historical section has something in it for everyone - with sub-genres of every sort. For more, check out the shelf of historical romances here - http://www.evernightpublishing.com/categories/Historical/?sort=bestselling


 

Love is in the Air - Blog Hop

Spring is on the way - hopefully! I know for a lot of us, the season of rejuvenation and renewal (and nice weather!) still feels a long way off. To get a little warm-up for the change of seasons, here is an excerpt from LADY MERCY DANFORTHE FLIRTS WITH SCANDAL (Sydney Dovedale book 3) coming to a bookstore or an e-reader near you in June 2013.

I'm looking forward to watching the flowers bloom in my garden and being able to sit outside with my coffee in the morning. What do you look forward to about Spring? Leave a comment below and you could win an arc copy of LADY MERCY DANFORTHE FLIRTS WITH SCANDAL!

Don't forget to check out the other authors participating in this blog hop. Good luck!

Excerpt from LADY MERCY DANFORTHE FLIRTS WITH SCANDAL

　

There he was, slumped over the table. Panic squeezed around her heart with cold fingers until her searching eyes adjusted to the dim, smoky light and she saw the pewter jug beside his head. Mercy exhaled in relief. Unless he’d cracked himself over the head with it, he was merely drunk. That she could deal with, thanks to experience with her brother. Since no one else was brave enough to beard the beast in his lair, the task was up to her.

She hitched up her skirt and petticoat, climbed onto the brick window ledge, and swung her legs into the room. It was an action no proper chaperon would have condoned, but Mercy could never be kept out of somewhere she intended to be.

The shutters fell back against the wall with a clatter, causing Rafe to jerk upright in his chair as if roused by cannon fire. He swore loudly, holding his hands to his brow, and then she watched his gaze tracking the pale morning light where it cleared a path through the ashen gloom. Stiffly, he turned his head, and a pair of furious, hot blue eyes burned into her, scorching her fine gown.

When he spoke, his voice cracked, and the way he set each word down like a heavy burden was more menacing even than the manner in which his eyes raked over her. "My Lady Bossy-Breeches…what the blazes are you doing here?"

She brushed dirt from her frock and checked that her bonnet remained in place. If she was going to face this man, eye to eye, and deal with the business for which she came, Mercy needed all her parts in order. This was a man who earned money by fighting with his fists, and she knew he had a hot temper. However, she thought with a sudden sly smile, he was her property now, was he not? Rafe Hartley’s boxing contract was in her hands. With this pleasing thought in mind, Mercy ran her wondering gaze over his wide shoulders, down his chest to his narrow hips and thick, hard thighs. Her eyelids grew heavy; her pulse quickened. Her teeth dug into her lower lip, and she forgot—for just a moment—what she’d gone there to do.

"Well?" he barked as he jerked to his feet and the chair fell back to the flagstones with a bang. "You’d better have a damned good reason for coming here, woman."

It did not escape her notice that this was the second time he’d said "damn" in her presence. He not only said it, he relished the word.

Mercy’s gaze fastened on the abused chair. Someone ought to pick that up before it was tripped over, she thought.

"Well?" Rafe demanded.

Back to the business at hand. "I’m here to set you straight, Master Rafe Hartley. Apparently no one else has the courage. Your father thinks you should be left to your own devices until you stop sulking. But I have no time to wait around on your whim. Oh, and I’ll take an apology, too, for those things you said to me in the churchyard. I understand I must make certain allowances for your temper in the heat of that moment, but I would like an apology nonetheless."

"Don’t hold your breath for one, meddlesome harridan."

He stood before her, shoulders braced, fists at his side—a man ready to chase her out. She might as well be ten again and guilty of aiming an egg at the back of his head. Mercy could almost see the yolk dripping down the side of his neck, as it did back then.

Assessing him slowly, inch by inch, Mercy was just as astonished by his height today as she was every time she saw him since he turned fifteen and shot up almost overnight. It never ceased to shock. Rafe Hartley continued stretching north, and his shoulders were, she was certain, wider than some doors.

His eyes were still as blue as cornflowers, his hair as black as a crow’s wing. And that sizeable chip remained on his shoulders, possibly growing in unison with their width.

copyright Jayne Fresina 2013 LadyMercyDanfortheFlirtsWithScandal.

 

Lady Mercy likes her life neat and tidy. She prides herself on being practical—like her engagement to Viscount Grey, whose dark coloring coordinates very well with her favorite furnishings. But things start to get messy when her best friend abandons her fiance at the altar, leaving it up to Mercy to help the couple. There's just one problem. The jilted man is Rafe Hartley—Mercy's former husband.

Rafe has not forgiven Mercy for deserting him when they were seventeen. Their hasty marriage was declared void by law, but in his eyes the bossy little vixen was still his wife, even if the marriage lasted only a few hours. And Mercy "Silky Drawers" Danforthe still owes him a wedding night.

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HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE EXCERPT. Leave a comment below for a chance to win and don't forget to check out the other authors on the blog hop!

BLOG HOP coming soon!

Will the real Lizzie Bennet stand up?

Over the years Jane Austen's character, Elizabeth Bennet, has been portrayed by a number of talented actresses, who all put their own touch on the feisty, opinionated miss. I know which is my favorite. Who's yours? I'd love to hear what you think and why. Who came closest to the vision you had after reading the book?
And if you had the opportunity to cast a new version, which of the current actresses would you choose?

Of whom could you hear Mr Fitzwiliam Darcy declare, "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me."?

Greer Garson

Jennifer Ehrle

Keira Knightly

Elizabeth Garvie

 

 

Gemma Arteton

 



The character of Lizzie Bennet is so beloved, so well known, that it must be a pretty daunting task to play her. I confess, I often imagine who might portray my heroines in a movie version and I'm a tough, protective mummy when it comes to my characters! I wonder what Miss Jane Austen herself would think of these ladies and which one would meet with her approval. Although it's interesting to note that the first illustrations of her characters had Lizzie as fair and her sister, Jane, as a brunette, Miss Austen herself leaves only the mention of Lizzie's "bright eyes" and light figure with which to tease us. And, of course, her petticoats, shamefully "six inches deep in mud."

Problem solved - for now

Well, I managed to reclaim my Twitter account from the hackers.

Apparently thousands were hacked likewise, so at least I know it wasn't just me. But it makes me wonder how long it will be before the same thing happens again.

On a brighter note - today I'm guesting on SOS Aloha and talking about Trifle. Stop on over and comment for a chance to win a copy of THE WICKED WEDDING OF MISS ELLIE VYNE!

Hmmm. Trifle....

http://sosaloha.blogspot.com/2013/02/guest-post-jayne-fresina-and-wicked.html

Nuts

I can't remember a time when I didn't have stories and characters dancing around inside my head, vacuuming away all the sensible, grown-up thoughts a person is supposed to have. As a child, walking or cycling to school, I used to pass the time by continuing stories in my head, "writing" a chapter a day, purely for my own amusement. I know there's more than one bus driver out there who has yelled at me as he races by, "Watch where you're going, missy!", while I wobble along, with my mind in the clouds, my feet pedaling madly, trying to get whatever masterpiece I'd made in Home Economics or Woodwork home in one piece in the basket of my bike. 

 

 

 

People often say to me (now that my dirty secret is out), "How can you have all these characters and stories floating around in your head?" I think it scares them. Well, no more than it does me sometimes!

 

Truth is, I don't understand how people can walk around without those characters in their head. I'm normal!



 

 

I honestly have no idea where it all comes from. I get my inspiration from the strangest places. I have entire conversations with characters in the shower - when I'm not singing. But if I had to give up writing, I know then I really would go crazy!

New Cover Art

Coming to bookstores (physical and virtual) in June 2013, LADY MERCY DANFORTHE FLIRTS WITH SCANDAL (Book three in the Sydney Dovedale series). Available for pre-order now from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.