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I am so happy that this little 'phoenix' story has found its place in the sun. I say 'phoenix' because it seems to had multiple reincarnations - beginning as a short story (A PERSON OF NO CONSQUENCE) and expanded into a novella for a Christmas anthology (TWELVE ROGUES OF CHRISTMAS) as NINE YEARS 'TIL CHRISTMAS. And now here it is, standing by itself with a gorgeous new cover... my little regency Christmas romance... A CHRISTMAS LOVE REDEEMED - a second chance at love story with a touch of Cinderella! It is release day and you will find it as an ebook only at all your favourite ebook retailers. A CHRISTMAS LOVE REDEEMED February 1816: Fabien, Comte de Mont Clair, once a highly decorated officer of the exiled Napoleon, cuts a dashing swathe through a London society ball, his eyes only for the glittering ladies of the ‘ton’. His heart jolts at the sight of a woman sitting in a shadowed corner. Not just any woman, but one he would have once given the world for.
For Hannah, Lady Trevan, catering to the spoiled darlings of the ton as a humble chaperone is nothing compared to the pain she suffered at the hands of her late husband. Alone and impoverished, she is a person of no consequence but once, a long time ago, she sacrificed her world for the dashing Comte de Mont Clair. Now all she can do is hope that he may glance her way…  Everybody deserves a second chance to find love... even books... and I am delighted to announce that LORD SOMERTON'S HEIR (a #regencyromance AND #historicalmystery) is going to be relaunched on 1 September in print, audio and digital. The text has been refreshed and revised and the cover is simply gorgeous. Sebastian Alder's sudden elevation from penniless army captain to Viscount Somerton is the stuff of fairy tales, but the cold reality of an inherited estate in wretched condition leaves him little time for fantasy, and the memory of his wife's brutal death haunts his every moment. When he learns of the mysterious circumstances of his cousin's demise, he must also look for a potential murderer ... surely not Isabel, his cousin's ladylike widow? Isabel, Lady Somerton, is desperate to bury the memory of her unhappy marriage by founding the charity school she has always dreamed of. Her hopes are shattered from beyond the grave when she is left not only penniless but once more bound to the whims of a Somerton ... although perhaps the new Lord Somerton is a man she can trust ... or even care for? Suspicion could tear them apart ... honesty and courage may pull them together. The current digital version is still available but the print book can be pre-ordered HERE... and stay tuned for news of the audio book (Have I said how much I love audiobooks?).  
Ooh... I've been looking forward to this one... a Regency Noir with shades of "Lamplight" with a wounded hero (my favourite trope) from the pen of the talented Jude Knight!
As I do with all my guests I have asked Ms. Knight to share a tidbit of interesting research she found while writing the book... Chocolate - Regency Style
Thank you for inviting me to take tea with you, Mrs Stuart. It's a favourite drink of mine, and was one of the three great non-alcoholic beverages enjoyed by people in the Regency world I write about. Tea, coffee, and chocolate. And today I wanted to talk about chocolate.
Hot chocolate arrived in England in the seventeenth century, via Europe. Mrs Whites Chocolate House was founded in 1693, as a club for gentlemen. (It later moved to St James Street and dropped most of the name. You’ll know it as Whites.) In 1808, chocolate is the preferred morning beverage of my heroine, Ella Melville. The chocolate she enjoyed came as a paste, to be made into a drink with milk, cream, sugar, and flavourings. It would be twenty years before a Dutch chemist would work out a process to separate the cacao butter from the solids, producing Dutch cocoa, which could be powdered. In another 20, Joseph Fry would add some of the melted cacao butter back in and make the world’s first chocolate bar. But that was far in the future. In Ella’s day, as for thousands of years, chocolate was a drink made from a paste made by crushing fermented, dried and roasted cacao beans. The Mesoamericans, to whom it was a sacred and powerful drink, mixed it with water and flavoured it with chili peppers. The Spanish soon learned to add sugar or honey, to remove the bitterness. Here’s how Miller, Ella’s maid, would have prepared her chocolate. Put a pot of water on the heat and over it place a heat-proof mixing bowl. The bowl should not touch the water. Add a dollop of chocolate paste (you can use bittersweet chocolate, around 1.5 ounces) and a small splash of water. Melt the chocolate paste gently, stirring now and then. Take one cup of milk and one cup of cream, and place in a pan over medium heat. Bring it to just under a boil. When it is steaming and hot to the touch, add one quarter of a cup of sugar and stir to dissolve. Stir the milk into the melted chocolate a little at a time, and continue stirring until everything has mixed well. Add flavouring, such as vanilla or nutmeg (or chili, if you’re very brave). Serve.
Chocolate was served from a tall pot that had a hole in the lid for the molinet, a kind of swizzle stick that was used to keep the chocolate well blended and frothed.
About A RAGING MADNESS
Their marriage is a fiction. Their enemies are all too real.
Ella survived an abusive and philandering husband, in-laws who hate her, and public scorn. But she’s not sure she will survive love. It is too late to guard her heart from the man forced to pretend he has married such a disreputable widow, but at least she will not burden him with feelings he can never return. Alex understands his supposed wife never wishes to remarry. And if she had chosen to wed, it would not have been to him. He should have wooed her when he was whole, when he could have had her love, not her pity. But it is too late now. She looks at him and sees a broken man. Perhaps she will learn to bear him. In their masquerade of a marriage, Ella and Alex soon discover they are more well-matched than they expected. But then the couple’s blossoming trust is ripped apart by a malicious enemy. Two lost souls must together face the demons of their past to save their lives and give their love a future. Read an excerpt...
Kerridge was alone when she brought Ella’s evening dose of laudanum. Presumably Constance believed that Ella was still under the influence of the measure forced down her throat this morning, and would swallow Kerridge’s without offering a struggle.
Constance was nearly right. Even though Ella had managed to dribble at least part of what she secreted in her cheeks onto the pillow without Constance noticing, she was still mazed. Another dose would take her under, but Kerridge resented being forced to a task so beneath her dignity as a dresser, and would do no more than make sure the liquid arrived in Ella’s mouth. She would not insist on waiting until Ella swallowed, would not pinch her nose and hold her jaw shut. Being too meek would be suspicious. Ella turned her head away from the spoon, her teeth clenched shut, but yelped at Kerridge’s sharp pinch and the dresser immediately forced the spoon into Ella’s mouth. Glaring sullenly, she stopped struggling, and the dresser withdrew the spoon, stretching her thin lips into a smug smile. “There, Lady Melville. This would go more easily for you if you would just do as you are told,” she said. Buy A RAGING MADNESSAbout Jude Knight
Jude Knight’s writing goal is to transport readers to another time, another place, where they can enjoy adventure and romance, thrill to trials and challenges, uncover secrets and solve mysteries, delight in a happy ending, and return from their virtual holiday refreshed and ready for anything.
She writes historical novels, novellas, and short stories, mostly set in the early 19th Century. She writes strong determined heroines, heroes who can appreciate a clever capable woman, villains you’ll love to loathe, and all with a leavening of humour. Website and blog: Facebook: Twitter: Pinterest: Smashwords: Goodreads: Amazon author page:
It is always a pleasure to welcome my friend Ella Quinn to my table. Ella has another gorgeous Regency Romance (with a fabulous, fabulous cover!)... read on for more information and details of how you can win an Amazon or BN Gift card!
THE SECOND TIME AROUND
Can a beautiful Worthington widow find love again? Depends on who’s asking . . .
Before he died, Patience was the Earl of Worthington’s second wife. So why shouldn’t Patience be allowed a second chance at marriage, too? Of course, finding a new husband was not something the mother of four had ever planned on. But a surprise encounter with her first love has suddenly made the impossible seem possible all over again . . . It seems like a lifetime ago that Richard, Viscount Wolverton, was halfway around the world, looking for adventure . . . while Patience, at her coming-out, was left with no choice but to take old Worthington’s hand. Richard never forgot the woman whose heart he yearned for—and now that he’s back, he’s not going to let her slip away again . . . Read an excerpt...
Patience gasped. Not loudly, she was much too self-contained to draw attention to herself. But Richard could feel her pulse jump, and he was pleased that he still had the ability to shake her calm, to make her react to him. He wondered if her old husband had been able to command her attention in the same way. The corners of his lips twitched. Probably not. Whether she knew it or not, she was his and always had been.
If only he hadn’t been such an idiot. Who forgets the year of his beloved’s come out? A young man who had traveled halfway across the world looking for adventure, that was who. By the time he had returned home, it was just days before her marriage to Lord Worthington. He had argued with her father to be able to see her, but it was as if her parents had locked her in the house. When they’d traveled to Town for the wedding, he had followed. However, his pains had been to no avail. Neither her mother nor father was going to let him ruin their plans for Pae. After all, an earl outranked the heir to a viscount. There was also the scandal that would ensue if she broke the betrothal just days before the nuptials. He would not have cared, but he was the only one. Even his parents would have been appalled if Pae jilted Worthington for Richard. Too late. That is what everyone had told him. But he wasn’t too late now. BUY Links
Meet Ella Quinn
Bestselling author Ella Quinn’s studies and other jobs have always been on the serious side. Reading historical romances, especially Regencies, were her escape. Eventually her love of historical novels led her to start writing them. She has just finished her first series, The Marriage Game, and her new series, The Worthingtons, began in April 2016.
She is married to her wonderful husband of over thirty years. They have a son and two beautiful granddaughters, and a dog. After living in the South Pacific, Central America, North Africa, England and Europe, she and her husband decided to make their dreams come true and are now living on a sailboat cruising the Caribbean and North America. Europe is next! Website: www.ellaquinnauthor.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/EllaQuinnAuthor Twitter www.twitter.com/ellaquinnauthor Blog http://ellaquinnauthor.wordpresscom 
If you like your regency romance with a touch of romance, then The Soldier's Woman is for you.
The debut novel from Aussie Author Kelly Lyonns (KA Lyonns by any other name!)
Kelly will be awarding a digital copy of The Soldier's Woman to 5 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.
Scroll down to enter the Rafflecopter! About THE SOLDIER'S WOMAN
It is 1810 somewhere in the chaos of war-ravaged Napoleonic Portugal. Miss Charlotte Everslea, dedicated member of an ancient secretive Guild and skilled paranormal artefacts hunter, has found herself trapped behind enemy lines. Colonel Maximillian Bladewood is used to giving orders and having them obeyed, both on and off the battlefield. But the petite golden-haired hoyden, to whose accidental intervention he owes his life, challenges both his authority and his sanity. Their cross-purposed journey will reach a crossroad where one or both of them will need to compromise.
Read an excerpt...
Dressing the soldier’s wound
Without a word she came up beside him and knelt down. He hesitated, unsure what she meant to do. So she met with no resistance as she gently took his arm onto her lap and started to wrap the cut in a strip of cloth. He stared at the top of the golden head bent intently over her work. His eyes locked on the wisps of fine-spun hair straying to caress her long neck. For all her gentleness there was a firmness to her touch that both comforted and reassured. She has done this before. His thoughts went no further as his eyes roved, fastening on her neat fingers, mesmerised as they deftly wrapped the cloth. He refused to allow himself to think about from where she had magicked the bandage. But his eyes were drawn back to the column of her smooth neck. Ah, her cravat was missing. The small collar and frill of her habit shirt now plain to see under the front of her jacket, as was the peep of pale skin where the edges of the fine cloth met. His lips clamped shut, mimicking the equally firm iron will he clamped down over his thoughts. Instead, he concentrated on calculating how far the British lines might be; when his dress boots had been last polished; where his dress boots might actually be; if his Sergeant had remembered about that loose shoe on his horse. He most definitely did not think about Miss Charlotte Everslea pressed up against his thigh, or the way his frozen hand was slowly thawing in the warmth of her lap, or how her fingers skimmed his skin as she wound the makeshift bandage.
THE SOLDIER'S WOMAN is available now from AMAZON
Meet Kelly Lyonns
After earning a living as a freelance environmental scientist, writer and editor, Kelly Lyonns has evolved into a creative writer. She cohabitates with three cats, two children and a husband in a house so packed with character even the termites live next door. Burning questions about ecological sustainability and how to tie a Regency bodice, keep her on the internet deep into the night.
She enjoys tea, meditating, Jane Austen, solar punk, science fiction, sculpting and science. She frequently succumbs to the need to write. She rarely succumbs to the need to vacuum. Connect with Kelly at her Website, Facebook and Twitter Enter the contest to win one of 5 ecopies of THE SOLDIER'S WOMAN |
Alison StuartAlison writes historical romances and short stories set in England and Australia and across different periods of history. Archives
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