Elaine Violette & A Kiss of Promise

Today I'm turning the blog over to Elaine Violette to share her love of historical romance and tell us about her upcoming release, A Kiss of Promise. I love that cover!

Welcome, Elaine!

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What I love about historical romance…

Writing historical romance has come very natural to me since it has always been my favorite genre to read.  Although historical romance authors create their plots and characters, I appreciate their research into the history of English peerage, dress, customs,  architecture, foods, dating rituals, etc.  Historical romance must not only include a delicious romance but care must be taken for time period accuracy. Before an author can take off into flights of fancy by adding a spirit, a vampire, even a time traveler to their plot, he or she must be well-versed in historical fact to make the story believable.

Hmm, spirits, now that would lead me into a discussion of the manuscript I am presently working on… Today, I’d like to tell you more about my newest historical romance, A Kiss of Promise, to be released on April 3^rd, 2014, and available now for pre-order on Amazon and other major sites.

Romance and Betrayal in A Kiss of Promise
In A Kiss of Promise, my characters venture to America from England. Martin and Alaina have a past history as children of the peerage. They meet under tragic circumstances and their attraction to each other cannot be denied.  Because of their wounded pasts, both need healing before their romance can develop. Martin chooses adventure in America over commitment; Alaina arrives in America under duress.  A conniving villain demands her cooperation to close a lucrative business deal her father left unfinished before his death.  She must present herself as his fiancée in Boston or see her brother, Richard, suffer the consequences.  Only Martin, who left her behind in England with only a kiss of promise, can save her from ruin.  She may need his help to rescue her, but she doesn’t need to accept a proposal out of pity.

I enjoyed delving into Boston history as Martin desperately searches for Alaina when he discovers her plight.  From the elegance of the English ballroom to a Boston brothel, both take fear-filled journeys before they meet again to deal with their turbulent relationship.  No easy trip to a happy-ever after ending!


Other works
I should mention York Blackstone, Martin’s older brother whose story is told in my debut Regency novel, Regal Reward. In Regal Reward, the Blackstone brothers struggle to clear their father’s name after he is framed for treason, arrested, stripped of his titles, and thrown into prison to die. The Blackstone brothers are tossed to the streets to survive as beggars and thieves.   York Blackstone fights to reclaim his father’s title, his family’s honor, and win Marielle who has been claimed by the son of his father’s accuser.  Though Martin and Alaina meet in Regal Reward, their story is saved for A Kiss of Promise.

In my second Regency historical, A Convenient Pretense, I had fun including my love of writing poetry. For Emily Grace,

A grand bouquet would never please
Or words of flattery appease… 

Emily prefers to remain single and write poetry. Her mother’s bitterness over marriage has left Emily disbelieving of wedded bliss.  Marcus Deming, an earl, who must marry eventually, is in no hurry to be leg shackled.  When the two devise a plan to avoid their aunts’ marital meddling, they never expect it to lead them into a more devious pretense that must be discovered before it leads to tragedy for Emily and her family.

Author Elaine Violette

A little more about my background.
I am a veteran high school English teacher with a BS in English Education from the University of CT and an MS in Educational Leadership from Central CT State University.  I presently teach public speaking part time at a local community college. I am a member of Romance Writers of America, CT Romance Writers (CTRWA) and Charter Oak Romance writers (CORW). I love life on the Connecticut shoreline with my golfing husband, Drew, and delight in being a wife, mother, and grandmother to six beautiful grandchildren.

A Kiss of Promise Buy Links:

Available at Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, for your Kindle,
For your Nook, and at All Romance eBooks.

Elaine’s website: http://www.elaineviolette.com

Online links to contact or learn more about Elaine:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/elaineviolette.author
Blog: http://elainevioletteblogs.blogspot.com/
and Twitter https://twitter.com/elaine_violette

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Do you like historical romance, too? If not, what is your favorite romance genre? Elaine and I love comments, so don't be shy.

Linda

Read An E-Book Week Featuring Lady Elinor's Escape

Read An E-Book Week is an annual March event that I'm happy to participate in. I started reading e-books way back in 1999, when the computer was the only option. Those early e-books were in PDF or HTML format, and there were no bookmarks. I used to keep a post-it glued to my laptop where I could not what page I'd stopped on. Since then I've graduated to dedicated e-book readers, like the RCA Gemstar and the Amazon Kindle. Now I do most of my reading on an iPad 1 and I still love it.

Smashwords is having their annual promotion where many e-books are deeply discounted or offered for free, including my sweet Regency romance, Lady Elinor's Escape.

Blurb:

Lady Elinor Ashworth always longed for adventure, but when she runs away from her abusive aunt, she finds more than she bargained for. Elinor fears her aunt who is irrational and dangerous, threatening Elinor and anyone she associates with. When she encounters an inquisitive gentleman, she accepts his help, but fearing for his safety, hides her identity by pretending to be a seamstress. She resists his every attempt to draw her out, all the while fighting her attraction to him.

There are too many women in barrister Stephen Chaplin’s life, but he has never been able to turn his back on a damsel in distress. The younger son of a baronet is a ‘rescuer’ of troubled females, an unusual vocation fueled guilt over his failure to save the woman he loved from her brutal husband. He cannot help falling in love with his secretive seamstress, but to his dismay, the truth of her background reveals Stephen as the ineligible party.

I'm offering free copies of Lady Elinor's Escape through Smashwords weeklong promotion. Don't forget to use the RW100 Coupon Code.

In addition, Lady Elinor's Escape is still on sale at Amazon and Barnes & Noble for 99 cents through March 8.

Linda

Lady Elinor's Escape - Linda's Book Featured in the Eggcerpt Exchange

Once again, I'm participating in Tina Gayle's annual Eggcerpt Exchange, starting on March 5.

For more details, go to http://www.tinagayle.blogspot.com/2014/02/40-days-of-continuous-promotion-for.html

Lady Elinor's Escape, part of the Eggcerpt Exchange fun.
Genre: Sweet Regency Romance

Blurb:

Lady Elinor Ashworth always longed for adventure, but when she runs away from her abusive aunt, she finds more than she bargained for. Elinor fears her aunt who is irrational and dangerous, threatening Elinor and anyone she associates with. When she encounters an inquisitive gentleman, she accepts his help, but fearing for his safety, hides her identity by pretending to be a seamstress. She resists his every attempt to draw her out, all the while fighting her attraction to him.

There are too many women in barrister Stephen Chaplin’s life, but he has never been able to turn his back on a damsel in distress. The younger son of a baronet is a ‘rescuer’ of troubled females, an unusual vocation fueled guilt over his failure to save the woman he loved from her brutal husband. He cannot help falling in love with his secretive seamstress, but to his dismay, the truth of her background reveals Stephen as the ineligible party.

Now the Eggcerpt:

“Excuse me, madam, but I could not help overhearing you say that you must leave for London immediately. Allow me to introduce myself. Stephen Chaplin, Esquire, at your service.”

Elinor turned to face the gentleman who had suddenly appeared. She stared at him through a haze of black, taking advantage of her veil to get a closer look at this tall, dark-haired, seemingly well bred gentleman. He was above average height, with finely chiseled features, and while he could not, strictly speaking, be deemed handsome, there was something in the intense scrutiny of his light brown eyes that drew her to him. By the cut of his bottle green Superfine coat, which emphasized his broad shoulders, but was not so tight as to hamper movement, and his casually tied neckcloth, she surmised he was no society dandy.

“How do you do?” she said politely, extending one black-gloved hand.

“Fine, thank you.”

As he took her hand and bowed over it, Elinor savored the warmth of his touch for a moment. It had been a long time since someone had touched her out of kindness. Suddenly realizing she was clutching his hand, she withdrew hers. He studied her, his gaze seeming to penetrate the veil, and she could only stand like the veriest lump under his scrutiny.

“I beg your pardon, madam, but what did you say your name was?”

“Eli—” Elinor broke off and feigned a cough, panic bubbling up inside. Her name. Dear heavens, she needed a new name. If she told him who she was, he would never agree to take her to Mimi. She stared down at the gentleman’s yellow nankeen trousers and shiny brown boots. “Brown,” she stammered. “Ellie Brown.”

“Mrs. Brown, may I offer my assistance? I’m heading for London myself and would be pleased to convey you as far as Chippenham, where you may pick up another stage coach.”

Relief flooded through her at his offer, but could she trust him? No proper young lady rides in a closed carriage with a gentleman who is not related to her. The words of her governess rang in her ears. “I do not think—”

“Of course, you are cautious,” he interrupted smoothly. “Any genteel lady would hesitate to trust a strange gentleman.”

"But I am not a lady,” she blurted. If Aunt Sarah learned that a ‘lady’ had been here, she would know where to look for her. “I am merely a seamstress.”

"Really,” he drawled, doubt evident in his tone.

“Yes, I have a position awaiting me in London.” She was surprised, and a bit uncomfortable, at how easily the lies flowed from her lips, but they were necessary.

Lady Elinor's Escape is available at:
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00CHSNEII
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lady-elinors-escape/id645217449
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-ladyelinor039sescape-1169382-160.html
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lady-elinors-escape-linda-mclaughlin/1100559263
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/lady-elinor-s-escape
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/312406

Online Contacts:
Website: http://www.lindamclaughlin.com
Blog: http://flightsafancy.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LindaMcLaughlinAuthor
Twitter @LyndiLamont: https://twitter.com/LyndiLamont

Thanks for letting me share.

Linda

December Book Review Club

Mai Tai One On

by Jill Marie Landis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first in the Tiki Goddess mystery series is set (mostly) in a seedy but vintage seaside bar where the protagonist, Emily, works for her Uncle Louie. Rumors reached her in So. Calif. that her uncle was becoming a little dotty, so Em pulled up stakes and moved to Kauai to manage the bar and save her uncle's business. One of her cost-cutting measures was to hire a local dance troupe, the Hula Maidens, in place of professional entertainment. The Maidens, a group of eccentric women of varying ages and dancing abilities, provide assistance, conflict and lots of comic relief.

The mystery starts when their neighbor, Harold Okamato, is found murdered in the luau pit. The police detective sent to investigate is Roland Sharpe, a handsome local who sometimes moonlights as a Samoan fire dancer. Em is attracted to him, but annoyed when he homes in on the Tiki Goddess's bartender Sophie as primary suspect. Convinced Sophie is innocent, Em and the Hula Maidens naturally set out to find the real culprit.

Mai Tai One On is an enjoyable and amusing cozy mystery filled with lots of local color and eccentric characters. I'm looking forward to reading the next one, Two To Mango.

Disclaimer: Jill is a long-time personal friend, but that in no way influenced my review. If I hadn't liked it, I wouldn't have posted a review.I bought her book on sale from the Amazon Kindle store.

The Christmas Cuckoo

by Mary Jo Putney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A charming Regency holiday story that revolves around a mistaken identity by a mistress of her craft.

Newly minted earl, Major Jack Howard has just sold out of the Army and returned to London only to find his aunt, the dowager countess, determined to control his every move. In a moment of rebelliousness, he boards a stagecoach bound for Bristol. Too much whiskey to stave off the cold leaves him in a drunken stupor at an inn in Chippenham.

Meg Lambert arrives at the inn looking for her brother's friend Captain Jack Howard, and find the major instead. Not realizing he's the wrong man, she takes him home for the holidays. Once he sobers up, Jack realizes he's been mistaken for someone else, but the Lambert home is so warm and welcoming, he puts off confessing his true identity. He knows he's a cuckoo in another bird's nest, but has no wish to leave, especially since he's falling in love with Meg.

Silent Night: A Lady Julia Christmas Novella

by Deanna Raybourn


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Julia and Brisbane spend another Christmas at Bellmont Abbey, her family's home (originally visited in Silent in the Sanctuary. Once again, ghosts are at play, only this time less murderous. The mystery is pretty thin, but Julia's family is as wonderfully eccentric as before, making for a delightful read. A fun choice for the holidays.

View all my reviews

 Linda

As always, click on the graphic below for more great reviews from the Barrie Summy Book Club.

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Sneak Peek Sunday July 14

It's Sneak Peek Sunday again, this time with a six-paragraph snippet from my sweet Regency romance, Lady Elinor's Escape, showing Elinor's first meeting with Stephen Chaplin.

In this scene, Lady Elinor has run away from her abusive aunt and made it as far as the nearest coaching inn where she just missed the coach to London. Aware of her plight and suspecting she is in trouble, Stephen approaches to offer his assistance.

Elinor turned to face the gentleman who had suddenly appeared. She stared at him through a haze of black, taking advantage of her veil to get a closer look at this tall, dark-haired, seemingly well bred gentleman. He was above average height, with finely chiseled features, and while he could not, strictly speaking, be deemed handsome, there was something in the intense scrutiny of his light brown eyes that drew her to him. By the cut of his bottle green Superfine coat, which emphasized his broad shoulders but was not so tight as to hamper movement, and his casually tied neckcloth, she surmised he was no society dandy.

“How do you do?” she said politely, extending one black-gloved hand.

“Fine, thank you.”

As he took her hand and bowed over it, Elinor savored the warmth of his touch for a moment. It had been a long time since someone had touched her out of kindness. Suddenly realizing she was clutching his hand, she withdrew hers. He studied her, his gaze seeming to penetrate the veil, and she could only stand like the veriest lump under his scrutiny.

“I beg your pardon, madam, but what did you say your name was?”

“Eli—” Elinor broke off and feigned a cough, panic bubbling up inside. Her name. Dear heavens, she needed a new name. If she told him who she was, he would never agree to take her to Mimi. She stared down at the gentleman’s yellow nankeen trousers and shiny brown boots. “Brown,” she stammered. “Ellie Brown.”

Lady Elinor's Escape is on sale for 50% off at Smashwords for the month of July during their Summer/Winter Promotion. Use coupon code SSW50. Rogue's Hostage and Worth The Risk, by Lyn O'Farrell, are also 50% off this month.

Lady Elinor's Escape is also available from Amazon, All Romance eBooks, BN/Nook, iTunes, and Kobo.

And as always, click here to read this week's fabulous Sneak Peek Sunday snippets.

Happy reading!

Linda

Hump Day Reads

Lady Elinor's Escape is featured today at Julie Kenner's Hump Day Reads!


My thanks to Julie and her assistant Rachael for the consideration.

Linda

#SPeekSunday

A month ago, I introduced Lady Elinor Ashworth, heroine of Lady Elinor's Escape, in a Sneak Peek Sunday post. Today's snippet introduces Stephen over breakfast at a country inn, after reuniting the proprietors with their runaway daughter Nancy.

Lady Elinor's Escape
Sweet Regency Romance
by Linda McLaughlin

Nancy fisted her hands on her hips. “Now that isn’t enough breakfast for the long trip to London. I’ll bring ye some of our fine Wiltshire bacon, too.”

Stephen laughed. Ever since he’d arrived, one Wainwright or another had been pressing food and drink on him. “Very well, Nancy. Toast and bacon.”

She turned and walked away, weaving between the crowded tables. She seemed like a different girl than the half-starved waif his housekeeper had taken in two months ago. He frowned, remembering her tale of being lured to London by a smooth-talking stranger only to be abandoned as soon as she had conceived. What kind of cad deserted a woman in a delicate condition? The only thing worse was a man who used his fists on a female, like that blackguard Northam.

Stephen closed his mind to that line of thought. Deborah had been gone for six years now, and if not forgotten, at least the pain of her death had faded. At her funeral Stephen had vowed never again to walk away from a woman in need, which was how he found himself at an inn in Wiltshire during the Season.

When Nancy returned with his breakfast, he applied himself to the large slab of bacon and toast dripping with butter, and then washed it all down with strong black coffee.

Rescuing damsels in distress was hungry work.

Lady Elinor's Escape is available at Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords.

Click here to read more Sneak Peeks.

Linda

More Historical #bookbuffet

The Book Lovers’ Buffet contnues. Load up, you won’t gain a pound!

The Buffet’s “Bouquet of Books” sale will be open May 1-3. More than 175 e-books, all reduced in price to just 99 cents. Save in categories such as Young Adult, Contemporary, Paranormal, Suspense, Erotic Romance, and more, including my historical romance Rogue's Hostage!

PLUS, visit the website to win gift cards to your choice of online retailers. $400 in gift cards up for grabs!

Today's focus is on foreign-set historical romances, including Regencies.

An Exotic Heir - Meredith Bond

Warning--dangerous to your heart:
love and revenge in Regency Calcutta.



To Dare the Duke of Dangerfield - Bronwen Evans

Book #1 Wicked Wagers Trilogy, Regency Romance

Spirited heroine, rakish duke, and three wagers that will change their lives…


Wear Black - Heather Hiestand
Victorian Paranormal

Death is only the beginning... Vampires & Jack the Ripper!



Redeemed - Jill Hughey
Medieval Romance

Doeg has two requirements in a wife. Philantha has only one, but it will test the barriers he has erected around his body and heart.


To Wed the Earl - Anthea Lawson
A Regency Novella

When the rakish Earl of Edgerton catches Miss Miranda Price breaking into his library at midnight, secrets are revealed that will change the course of their lives... forever.


Ventre a Terre - Lydia M. Sheridan
Quirky Regencies Sweetly Told

Rosamund Hilliard, singing for her supper at the grand houses of England, must flee her suitors when her scheming is discovered


Go to the Book Lovers Buffet site for all the books and buy links. Enjoy!

My Lady Elinor's Escape new release giveaway continues through May 5. I'm giving away a $10.00 gift certificate of the winner's choice: Amazon, BN, Starbucks, etc. Winner will be notified on May 6. There are several ways to enter.

1) Leave a comment here. If you are commenting anonymously, please leave an email address so I can find you if you win!

2) Friend me at Goodreads or Shelfari. (I will friend you back)

3) Join my YahooGroups announcement list.

Linda

Meet Lady Elinor #SPeekSunday

Before I get into this Sunday's Sneak Peek, I want to announce that the cover of Lady Elinor's Escape, designed by the very talented Lacey Savage, made the finals in the April 2013 Indie eBook Cover Awards! This month's Guest Judge Scarlett Rugers, a professional book cover designer, from Melbourne Australia, had this to say about the cover:

A historical regency romance with absolutely gorgeous golden colours – the placement of elements and colour scheme are well-balanced and harmonious.

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks the cover is absolutely stunning!

The book is a traditional Regency romance. Here's the blurb:

Lady Elinor Ashworth always longed for adventure, but when she runs away from her abusive aunt, she finds more than she bargained for. Elinor fears her aunt who is irrational and dangerous, threatening Elinor and anyone she associates with. When she encounters an inquisitive gentleman, she accepts his help, but fearing for his safety, hides her identity by pretending to be a seamstress. She resists his every attempt to draw her out, all the while fighting her attraction to him. 

There are too many women in barrister Stephen Chaplin’s life, but he has never been able to turn his back on a damsel in distress. The younger son of a baronet is a ‘rescuer’ of troubled females, an unusual vocation fueled guilt over his failure to save the woman he loved from her brutal husband. He cannot help falling in love with his secretive seamstress, but to his dismay, the truth of her background reveals Stephen as the ineligible party.

(For those not familiar with the genre, Newgate was the name of a prison in London.) Now for our Sneak Peek at the first six paragraphs of Chapter One:

She might as well be in Newgate.

Lady Elinor Ashworth stared out the window of her bedchamber at acres of farmland sprouting new growth. Spring green brightened the vista, taunting her with the promise of freedom. After three long, lonely months trapped in this cottage, her spirit cried out for something more, something she could not name.

She glanced at the sketchbook in her lap. She had intended to draw the pastoral scene outside her window, but her hand had sketched a young lady forlornly staring through the panes of a window. A truer self-portrait had never been drawn.

Until the last few months, she had been allowed to wander alone through the Wiltshire countryside, but no longer. Not since Aunt Sarah came out of her melancholy and turned into a raving madwoman.

All her life Elinor had dreamed of adventure, so what she was planning to do should not daunt her in the slightest. She had read about people braving the ocean in small boats, exploring the jungles of Africa, searching for ancient artifacts in Egypt.

In contrast, stealing out of her aunt’s house in the dark, walking to the nearest coaching inn and traveling by herself to London hardly qualified as an adventure. The merest of escapades, in fact. Or so she assured herself to calm the butterflies suddenly dancing in her stomach. Still, what other choice did she have?

Lady Elinor's Escape is now available at Amazon,  All Romance eBooks and Barnes and Noble. Coming soon to other retailers.

To celebrate the reissue of Lady Elinor's Escape, I'm giving away a $10.00 gift certificate of the winner's choice: Amazon, BN, Starbucks, etc. Winner will be notified on May 6. There are several ways to enter.

1) Leave a comment here. If you are commenting anonymously, please leave an email address so I can find you if you win!

2) Friend me at Goodreads or Shelfari. (I will friend you back)

3) Join my YahooGroups announcement list.

Click here to read more Sneak Peeks.

Linda

My Tortured Hero: Updated

This was supposed to be my portion of the Tortured Hero Blog Hop, which unfortunately had to be cancelled. However, that's no reason for me not to talk about the hero of my newest release.

There's something about a tortured hero that appeals to a woman's tender nature. She can't help but wonder what made him the way he is and what she can do to ease his pain. But he never makes it easy for her, does he?

We all know how to recognize a tortured hero when we see one, right? He's the bad boy who thumbs his nose at authority and hides his pain under a  don't-give-a-crap attitude. Or the brooding loner or drifter who shuns society to nurse his wounds.

Or maybe not. He could also be a charmer who hides his inner angst with a flirtatious manner or a polite smile.

Stephen Chaplin, the hero of Lady Elinor's Escape, falls into the latter category. A respectable barrister with ties to the ton, on the surface he seems like a well-adjusted Regency gentleman. A paragon of virtue, in fact. But inside, he's torn up by guilt over the death of his first love Deborah at the hands of her abusive husband. He's also unable to forgive her brother, his former friend, Marcus Knightley, for not helping them to elope. Stephen's distrust of Marc complicates matters considerably when Lady Elinor is reported missing.

Stephen has tried to make up for his failures by helping other women in distress, which is why he's unable to resist the heroine when she rushes into a rural inn, desperate to catch a coach to London. But Stephen is not the only one hiding secrets, and trust doesn't come easily to a woman like Lady Elinor.

Lady Elinor's Escape
by Linda McLaughlin
Sweet Regency Romance 

Lady Elinor Ashworth always longed for adventure, but when she runs away from her abusive aunt, she finds more than she bargained for. Elinor fears her aunt who is irrational and dangerous, threatening Elinor and anyone she associates with. When she encounters an inquisitive gentleman, she accepts his help, but fearing for his safety, hides her identity by pretending to be a seamstress. She resists his every attempt to draw her out, all the while fighting her attraction to him.

There are too many women in barrister Stephen Chaplin's life, but he has never been able to turn his back on a damsel in distress. The younger son of a baronet is a rescuer of troubled females, an unusual vocation fueled guilt over his failure to save the woman he loved from her brutal husband. He cannot help falling in love with his secretive seamstress, but to his dismay, the truth of her background reveals Stephen as the ineligible party.

Lady Elinor's Escape is now available at Amazon, All Romance eBooks, and Barnes and Noble. Coming soon to other retailers.

What draws you to the tortured variety of hero?

To celebrate the reissue of Lady Elinor's Escape, I'm giving away a $10.00 gift certificate of the winner's choice: Amazon, BN, Starbucks, etc. Winner will be notified on May 6. There are several ways to enter.

1) Leave a comment here. If you are commenting anonymously, please leave an email address so I can find you if you win!

2) Friend me at Goodreads

3) Join my YahooGroups announcement list.

Linda McLaughlin

Website: http://www.lindamclaughlin.com/

Blog: http://flightsafancy.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LyndiLamont

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/lindamclaughlin