Leap Year Special and Fashion

Not only am I offering leap year special at BookGoodies.com, but I have an extra day to post  February fashions for 1816.

Promenade Dress - Ackermann's Februrary 1816

A morning dress, composed of the finest dark mulberry ladies’ cloth, finished at the bottom of the skirt with a new-invented trimming, which has an uncommonly light and pretty effect.

A plain high body, over which is worn a spencer made of velvet one shade darker than the dress and ornamented with white satin; the half-sleeve, which is composed of white satin, and finished with white silk ornaments, is particularly novel and tasteful.

Head-dress, improved French bonnet, lined, edged, and trimmed with white satin, and ornamented with white feathers. Pointed lace ruffs. Mulberry kid sandals and gloves.

The Roxburgh muff worn with this dress is composed of white satin and swansdown, and lined with white satin. This muff, which we may venture to recommend to our fair readers as a very elegant novelty, is just introduced by Mrs. Griffin, and is, from the beauty and delicacy of its materials, calculated only for the first style of promenade or carriage dress.

We are indebted to the taste and invention of Mrs. Griffin, of Rider-street, St. James’s, for both our prints this month.



Until next time............................

RT Roundup



Back home, it all seems a bit of a blur, but I had to share this picture of the book signing. I had two books to sign, Lady Rosabella's Ruse and Captured for the Captain's Pleasure.

Speaking of another kind of pleasure it was a delight to meet so many enthusiastic readers.

There were over 300 authors at the signing last Saturday and lots and lots of people who came to see them.


Here are four of the Hussies (Harlequin Historical Authors) after a lunch and a stroll in the sun. It was a lovely day for a walk.  From left to right, Ann Lethbridge (me), Blythe Gifford, Deb Marlowe and Michelle Willingham.
And here are the gift bags the Harlequin Authors put together for the Wednesday event, with Michelle Willingham and Blythe Gifford admiring their hard work putting them together. Of course we could not have done it without Kimberly Lang who was our Captain and got us all organized. She writes for presents and I am very much looking forward to reading her book.

Well that is it. Home again and looking forward to getting back into routine, until next time  Happy Rambles

News

Want to curl up with a book this Easter Weekend? Ninc has you covered.

 Novelist Inc has published Cast of Charcters an Anthology with  a stellar cast of authors. You can find out more here: http://www.ninc.com/ninc_books


TWENTY-EIGHT LEADING VOICES IN FICTION – INCLUDING ELEVEN NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHORS – JOIN TOGETHER IN A CELEBRATION OF GREAT STORYTELLING. We love fiction. It’s in our blood and it’s in our souls. Great stories thrill us and inspire us in a way that nothing else can. If you’re like us, then we invite you to revel in this anthology of all-original stories we’ve created for you.

Contributors include: CATHERINE ANDERSON, VICTORIA ALEXANDER, JO BEVERLEY, BARBARA BRETTON, JULIE COMPTON, TANYA ANNE CROSBY, CAROLE NELSON DOUGLAS, ROSEMARY EDGHILL, ANGIE FOX, HEATHER GRAHAM AND JASON POZZESSERE, GREG HERREN, VICKI HINZE, MARIANNA JAMESON, WAYNE JORDAN, KATE KINGSBURY, CJ LYONS, KATIE MACALISTER, ASHLEY MCCONNELL, JODY LYNN NYE, JULIE ORTOLON, DIANA PETERFREUND, LAURA RESNICK, PATRICIA RICE, DEB STOVER, VICTORIA STRAUSS, KAREN TINTORI, DIANE WHITESIDE And STEVEN WOMACK.

On top of that, what is personally exciting for me  is that in addition to the Anthology, there is an ebook full of sneak peeks of new novels including mine, The Laird's Forbidden Lady, which is out in June, available for free download at the Novelist Inc Website.http://www.ninc.com/ninc_books  All you have to do is go here and subscribe:  http://www.ninc.com  to be thrilled with oodles of excerpts from multi published authors.


Go order the anthology and check out the wonderful writers at Novelist Inc.

Next time, more on Cornwall.

Interview with a Rake

Here is where you pay for the research by letting me post about my book Lady Rosabella`s Ruse. Of course, you can quite easily skip the whole thing, so I don`t feel the slightest bit guilty.

None of the women at an "anything goes" house party catches Garth Evernden's jaded eye. The only one worth noting is a covered-up lady's companion with an intriguing hint of exotic beauty the eighth Baron Stanford would like to uncover…

Miss Lethbridge:   Here we are readers, at this elegant country house not far from the Kent coast where a group of rather risque ladies and gentlemen have gathered for a week or two of "fun".  At the moment, I am lying in wait for Lord Stanford, Garth Evernden, a well-known man about town.  (Smiles sweetly at the tall dark gentlemen trying to avoid her.)  Good morning Baron Stanford, isn`t it rather early for you to be up and about?

Lord Stanford:  (Impatient sigh.) Excuse me. I am rather busy at the moment. Looking for someone.

Miss Lethbridge:  (Sneaky smile. Oh goody, we are going to get some dirt. My editor will be pleased.) Really? And who would that be?

Lord Stanford:  (dark eyebrow raised) Not the sort of thing I am in the habit of revealing, madame.

Miss Lethbridge:  I thought you hated this sort of contrived  "naughtiness" where people pretend to be wicked, Garth? May I call you Garth?

Garth: (a rather bored expression crosses his face) If you wish. If I am going to be honest, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for a certain young lady. He looks around. She is the wife of a good friend of mine.

Miss Lethbridge:   Isn't that rather disloyal?  (I realize I am frowning at him and try to merely look interested. I realize by the flash of anger in his eyes I am not doing a very good job.)  Er... so that is who you are looking for this morning?

Garth:  That is who I was looking for when I arrived here yesterday.  (His smile becomes rather wolfish and I take a step back) I don't think she was all that happy to see me.

Miss Lethbridge: That pleases you?

Garth:  It's a place to start. At least I have her attention.

Miss Lethbridge:  But if you are not looking for her this morning, who are you looking for?

Garth:  Our hostess's companion, Rose. I caught her sneaking into the house last night. There is something going on with that young lady.

Miss Lethbridge: And that intrigues you, does it?


Garth:  Look, despite that she is a funny old stick, I like Lady Keswick . If this companion of hers, Rose, is up to no good, I think she ought to be warned.  And if she is up for night time assignations, then...well...  Yes, I'm intrigued. Under those widows weeds is a flower that is both  exotic and secretive. What is she hiding? .

Miss Lethbridge: So now you are in pursuit of two women?

Garth:  (wicked grin).  You didn't actually think I was going to give the plot away, did you? 

 I was hoping.   He brushes past me and heads for the breakfast room, where uninvited reporters are not permitted. Blast.  Perhaps I will get more information out of Mrs Rose Travenor. Perhaps I should hide in the garden and wait for her to appear.  And if I learn anything, anything at all, you Dear Reader, will be the first to know. Tune in again next time.  Until then, Happy Rambles


You, dear reader, can purchase Lady Rosabella's Ruse at all your favourite stores, either in person or on line.  Here are a few links for various on line places from various places around the world if you would find them helpful. While you are it it you might want to look out for The Royal Weddings Anthology out in Print this month.



Save 20% everyday at Harlequin.com


Find "Lady Rosabella's Ruse" At Barnes and Noble
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Find "Lady Rosabella's Ruse" at Chapters in Canada

"Lady Rosabella's Ruse" at Mills and Boon    

"Lady Rosabella's Ruse at Foyles" UK

Find "Lady Rosabella's Ruse" at Blackwell Books

Find "Lady Rosabella's Ruse" At Pickabook, UK


AbeBooks.co.uk - New, Secondhand, Rare Books


Find "Lady Rosabella's Ruse" on Amazon.com



Lady Rosabella's Ruse at Amazon.co.uk

New Book Out


A Rake for Christmas    

It is always special when a book comes out.  This one is a short story, my very first Christmas themed book. I got the idea for the setting when I visited Keates's house on Hampstead Heath one summer.  Not that my rakish hero is a poet. Far from. He's a very bad boy.

But like Keates he does share his house with a very lovely lady. The house is divided into two apartments, not up and down, but side by side.  He has been watching her chase her cat in the garden, and calls her the cat lady, and she has been listening to his shenanigans through the walls of her house.
Their meeting is explosive, to say the least:

One more try and then she’d go home. She knocked harder and longer.
    The door flew open as if blown back by the wind. “I knew you’d be back,” a deep mocking voice said.
    He stepped into the lamplight.
    Mouth open she stared at the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. A blond blue-eyed archangel. Elegant of stature, he looked thoroughly masculine in his shirtsleeves and open collar. Perfection in a state of disreputable undress. Not the raddled roué she’d expected, but a Greek god and a dangerous pirate all rolled into one.
    A gust of wind drove snow in through his door and flakes clung to his long golden lashes. So pretty. So enticing. Heat rushed through her body. Like a bolt of hot lightning, longing trembled in her bones.   
    Yearning for something she could not have.
    “Only one of you?” Summer-sky eyes tracked down her length from head to toe.
    Oh how she wished she’d worn something less shabby than her old cat-catching shawl. “I—”
    A smile of appreciation curved his sensual mouth. “Well, since Heaven sent you, I’m sure you’ll make up for the lack. Come on in before you freeze.” He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her over the threshold and closed the door.
    Astonished she gazed up at him. Before she could utter a protest, his hands went to her waist and he brushed his warm dry lips across her mouth. A sigh of appreciation forced its way up her throat. She barely managed to contain it.
    Instinctively, she placed her free hand on his shoulder, intending to push him away, parting her lips to to tell him to stand back. She was sure that was what she meant to do, but when his tongue swept her mouth, warm and silky and tasting of brandy, the spicy scent of his cologne filling her nostrils, instead of pushing, her fingers curled into the soft cambric of his shirt and pulled him closer. Memories of the pleasure of kisses and caresses melting any thought of resistance.
    Slowly, lingeringly, he kissed her, exploring her mouth with the leisurely strokes of a master seducer. Finally he broke the kiss and she stood breathless, dizzy, held up only by the strong hands in the indentation beneath her ribs. It was all she could do to keep her feet, to not collapse from the delicious assault on her senses.
    His kiss had set free all the pent up desires of the past few weeks. Her insides ached and fluttered.
    He looked down at her, a lock of unruly tawny hair falling over his brow, a wicked smile curving his sensually carved mouth. “I just had to see if you tasted as good as you looked.” His smile broadened. “You do. Lucky me.”

Not that the path to true love is ever that smooth as he is about to find out.

Well that's all from me, until next time happy rambles.

Sneak Peek

There is nothing more exciting or as scary to a writer as seeing the cover for your book. Well, perhaps seeing an envelope from a publisher or an agent that has had your manuscript for a while is pretty scary.

Anyway I have to share my new cover. I really love it and I thought you should be among the first to see it.

Isn't that pretty? Come on, you really must agree. I must say I am very happy with it.

You can of course order the book on amazon, but it won't be out until October and it will be in bookstores, so you can wait for a while. In the meantime I am going to sit here and stare at the cover.



Here is another cover. I bet Lori was very pleased with this one. Her book out is this month, and I can't wait to read it. Hellhounds. Yummy. I have added the link and a bit of the blurb to tempt your appetite. You will love this exciting read.

Publisher: Silhouette Nocturne
ISBN: 0373617658
ISBN-13: 978-0373617654
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: June 1, 2007

Order Now from Amazon.com
Read the excerpt listed there, shivery and intriguing. Go check it out. It will make a change from Regencies and they do say variety is the spice of life. So get living ducks.

Risk Leidolf is a hellhound—a legendary, otherworldly creature who is both man and beast. For centuries, he’s been bound to do the bidding of an immortal witch. But after being ordered to destroy novice witch Kara Shane, the man within him rebels. And the beast within him is held at bay—for now.


Fiercely drawn to each other, Risk and Kara soon form a passionate alliance as they set out to find her missing sister—and the key to his salvation. For the power unleashed by the twin witches could free him from the immortal witch’s bondage. But that freedom comes at a steep price. For the fierce battle will put more than one soul at stake

To see more books by my friends go to Your Virtual Book Bag

Thursday, we will take a a peek at some Flora and Fauna, and then I am off the to Historical Novel Society Conference. And the following week I will have some fashion and some news.

Until next time, Happy Rambles.

A Regency Writer's Day Off - Or How to promote your books without really trying


Okay, not really, but I did have fun. As I announced a couple of weeks ago, April 28 I booksigned at the Chapters Indigo in the Town of Vaughn. For those of you not familiar with Ontario, or Canada, Vaughn is the City above Toronto and Chapters/Indigo is our Barnes and Noble.

As you can see from the picture, three of us signed on Saturday. We all write very different kinds of books. Teresa Roblin, my critique partner, writes contemporary, comedic, magic. Great books. And Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, a multi published author with the Toronto Romance Writers Chapter of RWA writes, fantasy and paranormal, some with a romance, but not all, and a bit on the dark side. And a lovely lady. It was a priviledge to sign with her. Well you already know what I do and I brought along Pistols at Dawn and my shop early for Christmas Holiday in the Heart Anthology from Highland press.

Saturday turned out to be a rather wet day for the last days of April in Ontario, but that didn't seem to stop the customers. Boy that store was humming! And the Manager, Vania, gave us pride of place, right by the front door, offered us water and coffee and generally made us feel very at home.

We even had the deputy mayor pop in. How about that. Teresa deserves the credit for organizing such a special day.

And, best of all, Vania invited us to go back again~~ any time.

So what made the event so successful. I thought it might be interesting for me to let you in on what seemed to work for us and what didn't work.

1. Working as a team with the manager really helped. We were accomodating, we provided advertizing, we arrived on time looking smart and professional.
Even though we were nervous, we looked the part.

2. This is only my second booksigning. What I noticed the first time was how people walk through the doors, see you sitting at a table and immediately avoid eye contact. I've done it myself, for heaven's sake. And when you smile and say hi, they almost jump out of their skins, and definately think you are selling raffle tickets and keep on moving.

3. It is even easier for them to pass on by if you sit at the table talking to each other.

4. Having friends and family drop by -- not all at once -- helps, when other people see a crowd, they tend to want to see what is going on. But let's be honest, you need to do lots of booksignings and you can't ask family to turn up for them all. But I did notice that if you can get one or two people to come to the table, others will at least take a peak.

5. We took turns in going around the store and speaking to people. It's great practice for figuring out how a character feels doing something totally outside of their comfort zone, if nothing else. Oh, that's the writer talking, not the promoter, sorry.

6. Something I found very helpful with the meet and greet around the store was my brochure and my bookmarks. I handed a browsing customer a brochure with a smile and told them we were local authors doing a booksigning at the front of the store and that they should feel free to pop by and say hi. Then I offered them a free bookmark to use in whatever book they were going to buy. My brochure has an excerpt of the first scene of my book and I think once they read a little bit of it, they were intrigued.
Several of those people bought books, some of them from all of us, wanting to support their local authors. And that is why Vania was so pleased. She could not believe how many books we sold in such a short time.

7. I used the fact that Mother's Day was coming up as an ice-breaker. You know, mother might like a personalized author signed book... and it is a romance, wink. One gentleman said his mother was fussy. I don't think he meant to be insulting because he looked exceedingly nervous.

8. Depending on what kind of books you are signing, watch your age group. I did tell a couple of mothers with teenagers that the books were at an adult level. I think it is only fair to be honest.

7. Some people dropped by for candies, and stayed to chat or buy ~~ so I do highly recommend bribes.

9. I also signed up a couple of people for my newsletter, so I feel as if I made some friends, perhaps even now you are reading this blog. If so. It was a pleasure to meet you last Saturday, and do feel free to write or leave a comment.

Now, if any of you are browsing your local bookstore and you see a person sitting behind a pile of books with a pen in their hand, go and say hello. Authors don't bite and they don't mind if you don't buy their books. What they hope is that next time you are looking for a book you remember their name.

I do hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the writers life. Until next time~~ as always ~~ Happy rambles.