The Latest Addition to My Writers Tool KIt

Writers, do you ever feel stuck for just the right word to describe your heroine?  Below you will find the latest additions to my writer's tool kit.  Two lists of Ways to Describe Your Regency Heroine. As always, feel free to download and use them.

 You can find the rest of my Tool Kit posts here on my blog at:  Writer's Tool Kit and on Pinterest at:  Milly Jane's Writer's Tool kit  

My Box Set

All six of my Seductive Regency Romances are now available as a collection. You'll find handsome heroes and headstrong heroines, arranged marriages and love matches. A large wolfhound named Rufus, a cat named Artemis. Balls, secret passages, snowball fights, a frost fair, caverns and much more.

Find The Seductive Regency Romance Collection: Books 1-6 here:

Amazon  UK     USA    AUS    CAN

The Clothes Hanger Didn't Exist During the Regency

 

The Clothes Hanger

It’s easy to forget when we have been so used to seeing the simple clothes hanger in our wardrobes each day, that they haven’t always been there. And it is essential to remember if you are writing a Regency novel not to write them into your manuscript. Clothes were most often stored folded in drawers in an armoire, placed on a shelf, or hung on a hook or peg. 

Clothes hangers didn’t exist during the Regency.

There is some dispute about who actually invented the first wooden clothes hanger, but what is clear is that it didn’t appear until around 1869. Some attribute it to a man named O.A. North in Connecticut, and some to the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson who was himself an inventor.

In later years, the hanger would evolve to suit the needs of fashion. Victorians made great use of clothes hangers for their increasingly complicated attire, bustles, petticoats etc., and there were hundreds of patents submitted for variations of the hanger in the early 1900s. It is said the first wire hanger was created by Albert J. Parkhouse who worked for a novelty company in Jackson, Mississippi in 1903, and the first molded plastic hanger was created in 1967 by J.H. Batts.

So, if you're planning to have your Regency heroine hide in a wardrobe, closet, or armoire, it might be more plausible to have her hiding in the dressing room.

Word to Describe Tone of Voice

 

Here is the latest addition to my writer's tool kit. Words to Describe Tone of Voice. How it is said, can be  as important as what is said. Please feel free to download and use it.

The rest of my tool kit can be found here on my blog by clicking the link at the top of the page (on the right) or here at:  Writer's Tool Kit and on Pinterest at:  Milly Jane's Writer's Tool kit  

Ways to Describe Your Wealthy Historical Character's Home

 

Here is the latest addition to my Writer's Tool Kit, Ways to Describe Your Wealthy Historical Character's Home. Please feel free to download it.

The rest of my tool kit can be found here on my blog by clicking the link at the top of the page (on the right) or here at:  Writer's Tool Kit and on Pinterest at:  Milly Jane's Writer's Tool kit  

Favorite Moments from My Books

 I thought I would begin posting a few favorite moments from my books. It's not always easy to get a real feel for a book merely from a blurb, so I will be posting a series of short scenes or 'moments' from my novels that I am particularly fond of.

This is a moment from The Curious Curate and the Opera Singer when Amelie and Aiden first meet. She is being pursued by an ardent admirer and has taken refuge in a stable: 

The sound of the main stable door creaking open secured her attention. Quickly grasping her whip firmly in her hand she ducked down behind the closed half-door to Calliope’s stall out of view. If that odious man had followed her here after all…

“Hello?” a masculine voice called.

“Go away, I have no intention of becoming your mistress!” she called out.

A cultured and slightly amused voice answered her. “Indeed, madam! I am not currently seeking one!”

With her whip held aloft in readiness, Amelie popped her head above the half-door to see who the man was and gasped in mortification. A vicar.

The Curious Curate and the Opera Singer

 US   UK   CA   AUS  

Interesting Quote by Lord Byron

 

A cheeky sort of quote from the infamous Lord Byron who was, as many know, considered "Mad, bad, and dangerous to know,". However, it does appear he had a sense of humor. "All tragedies are finished by a death, all comedies are ended by a marriage."  

Often as Regency romance writers, we love to feature Byron in our books. While Byron doesn't actually apear in my book The Curious Curate and the Opera Singer, one of his poems does, along with many references to his notorious reputation.

In The Curious Curate and the Opera Singer when Amelie (my heroine) discovers more about Aiden (my hero) she compares the two, after all, Aiden has only been sent to act as a temporary curate to his uncle for a year due to his own bad behavior. Amelie teasingly refers to each of them as a scapegrace. 

Despite his notoriety, Byron was a very talented writer and I discovered a poem while writing this novel that I fell in love with and gave a very special place in my book. (Aiden quotes the poem in my book)

It is called, She Walks in Beauty

She Walks in Beauty

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

George Gordon Byron was born in London1788 and died in Greece in 1824.

I have been lucky enough to visit his ancestral home Newstead Abbey, and you can find my photographs of that visit here. Or simply look to the right under pages and click on Pictures of Newstead Abbey.

The Latest Addition to My Writer's Tool kit

 

Here is the latest addition to my writer's tool kit: Happy and Cheerful Ways to Describe Your Characters. If, like me, you love to read or write about characters with loads of humor, then this is the list for you. The rest of my tool kit can be found here on my blog by clicking the link at the top of the page or here at:  Writer's Tool Kit and on Pinterest at:  Milly Jane's Writer's Tool kit  

What is a Gentleman?

 

I found this quote quite interesting. The definition of a gentleman can vary greatly depending upon your opinion and the era you have in mind. But the definition of a wolf never changes.

A wolf is: A caring highly intelligent animal, very playful and devoted to his family/pack and ferocious in their defence when necessary.

No quite what you were expecting? I will be posting lots more quotes in the coming days. Have an opinion? Feel free to share it below!

While away a couple of hours in the pages of a book this weekend.

 

While away a couple of hours in the pages of a book this weekend. Enter another world, where nothing is quite as it first appears.

A little trouble, a little laughter, love, and a whole lot of sensuality feature in this Regency romance, In Devlin’s Arms.

Devlin Rochdene, the fourth Earl of Cariston, is at his wits’ end. He has been backed into a corner by Lady Clarissa Dravenbrook—a young woman he was caught in a compromising position with—a situation she orchestrated. Now she is insisting that he announce their engagement in The Scottish Daily Times the next day, or she will destroy not only his good name but his reputation in the shipping business.

He is only one voyage away from solvency, so now, faced with losing either his financial freedom or his personal freedom, he must make a choice. But just when he thinks things can’t get any worse, in walks his young neighbor Lady Chantal Havonford—Tally, with a dueling pistol, demanding his assistance with a problem of her own.

Can he solve one problem with another? As he is leaving on his ship the next day he has to act quickly. If he marries Tally, Clarissa will be thwarted, but will that be the end of it? Or is it just the beginning? And is the feisty Clarissa all that she seems? That lies with his best friend Vincent Harper, Viscount Braden, to discover. (This book contains two love stories in one.)

In the US Find In Devlin's Arms here 

In the UK Find In Devlin's Arms here

In Australia Find In Devlin's Arms here 

In Canada Find In Devlin's Arms here

Favorite Quotes

 

I love this quote from Jane Eyre. "I would always rather be happy than dignified." Jane was ever the practical heroine. I think it is something that happens to us all when we fall in love. We worry far less about how we might appear to the world. And in most romance novels, it's not long before the hero or heroine are getting their priorities straight and realizing what truly matters. Love conquers all. Especially in romantic comedy.

Stuck inside because of the heat?

 

If you're stuck inside, whatever the reason, take a little time to read a lighthearted romance. Need a new book boyfriend? Well, I have just the one for you. He will take you to another world. Regency England awaits. A fun and playful story, filled with mischief and sensuality. 

The Third Dance

Rex Rosslare, the Duke of Remstone, is back in England, it’s not his favorite place, but duty calls. He’s a self-sufficient adventurer who has spent more than a decade travelling the world, and has learned a task or two most dukes would never contemplate undertaking themselves.

So when his horse casts a shoe and the blacksmith is somewhat ‘indisposed’, he takes on the challenge himself; his prize Thoroughbred is more friend than mount and he wants to assure his well-being. But while rendering the new shoe in the blacksmith’s stead, he meets Lady Caprice, a capricious young woman whose horse has also cast a shoe.

Caprice, he’ll never think of her as anything else!

Young Lady Caprice is enjoying one last afternoon of freedom before going to London to begin her Season. In a compromise with her grandmother, she informs him, she has agreed to attend just the Little Season. She is a year or two older than the typical debutante, and a whole lot more worldly-wise.

She rides astride without a groom in tow, carries a small flask of brandy on her hip. And is not even remotely cowed by meeting him—an unknown man complete with scars and an eye patch—wielding the heavy tools in the blacksmith’s stead. He agrees to shoe her horse for her, but in return he requests one small thing—a kiss—and he is instantly aware that the kiss is her first.

Unfortunately, she is leaving for London the following day. So obviously he must follow. Daggert, his manservant/friend and helper is highly amused by the way Lady Caprice is able to twist his jaded employer around her little finger. But then Daggert has never seen the man fall in love before.

Only days into his sojourn in London, Caprice is tying Rex in knots. And Daggert can’t wait to see what will happen next. The girl doesn’t even bat an eyelid when Rex, who is known for his infamous temper, roars like a baited lion when she attempts to sneak into his home via the garden trellis.

But the question is, when Caprice asks Rex for the one thing a debutante would never dare risk, a third dance with the same man—almost the ton’s equivalent of a public declaration—will he comply? Has he met his match? Or does the thrill of travel and adventure call once more?

In the US Find The Third Dance here  

In the UK Find The Third Dance here

In Canada Find The Third Dance here  

In Australia Find The Third Dance here

Pineapples Were Once A Sign Of Great Wealth

 

Pineapples Throughout History

If you have ever attended a stately home and wondered why there are so many carvings of pineapples on finials, panelling and even newel posts, wonder no more.

For about 250 years, up until the Victorian era, pineapples were so expensive that they literally cost a small fortune. Initially called pine apples, the name later became one word. But few people actually ate the sweet fruit. At dinner parties it was displayed usually in a specially designed ceramic dish, surrounded by other sliced fruits for the diners to eat, while the pineapple remained untouched. The pineapple itself would be displayed until it became rotten.

Shops sprang up where one could rent a pineapple for a special event, much like someone renting an exquisite piece of jewelry or a fancy car today.

If you want people to believe you are wealthy, you have to look the part.

In the Victorian era, it became easier to both grow and import pineapples so they quickly lost their cachet.

The next fad? Celery. Did you ever look at a humble bunch of celery and imagine simply owning it in Regency England would have made you appear wealthy? It was particularly hard to grow, and just as in the case with the pineapple, it was displayed in specially designed vases for the owners to show it off to their guests, and was often a target for thieves.

We often think of thieves stealing into a stately home in search of valuables, silver, jewels, etc, but did you ever imagine that they may have simply been there to make off with the pineapple and celery? Well, its food for thought anyway.

 

This is why I write romantic comedy!

This is why I write lighthearted books and romantic comedy. With a hero who can laugh and a heroine who likes to tease him into it, the possibilities are endless. All of my books contain humor, some more than others.

My Most Sensual Title--An Aspiring Courtesan

 

Looking for a little spice, but with a genuine and heartfelt love story? Then check out my most sensually explicit and romantic love story.

An Aspiring Courtesan

Olivia Everton—Livvy, wants to be a courtesan. She has a naturally sensual nature and a good idea of what the position entails, thanks to a little verbal tutoring from her aunt who was once a courtesan herself. The only problem is, she has absolutely no experience, at least… not yet.

Livvy’s older cousin Alina, has been head housemaid to Derek Hansford, the Earl of Devensley, for more than ten years. He is a kind man, the job is secure and comfortable, and he has a delicious friend in Dalton Bayworth, the Duke of Borden, who has been Alina’s occasional lover on his many visits to Devensley Castle for years.

The only problem with this arrangement is that Alina has now determined to marry George, the head footman, so her dalliance with the delightful duke must come to an end. And Livvy’s can begin, that is, if the sensual rogue is willing to take on and train a young and willing virgin as his lover. And to assist her on her path to becoming a high class courtesan.

The duke agrees to allow Livvy to spend the week with him during his stay at Devensley Castle, while he dodges the matchmaking machinations of two visiting families, and soon finds himself entranced with the naturally sensual beauty and her eagerness to learn.

Livvy’s impact stretches to his best friend the earl, and a curious young debutante in this playfully sensual and erotic tale. (This book contains two love stories in one.)

In the US Find An Aspiring Courtesan here 

In the UK Find An Aspiring Courtesan here

In Canada Find An Aspiring Courtesan here 

In Australia Find An Aspiring Courtesan here

The Jewel Thief

    

A mischievous ghost, a bewildered and fascinated earl, a masquerade ball and some ghostly surprises feature in this lighthearted Regency romance.

Griffin Blackstone, the Earl of Blakenheath, is resting in his room after a long journey to attend a house party at Tallander Castle with his younger sister Lissy. While she is out exploring the castle grounds with her long-time nanny, Griffin hears a strange sound in the room adjoining his own and hurries to investigate, but instead of a maid he discovers a shimmering apparition wearing his sister Lissy’s jewels.

Upon discovery, the spirit immediately disappears. Shocked but curious, he tamps down his initial alarmed instinct to dash out of there and waits for her to reappear. After all, even if he left she’d still be there and he can hardly have his sister return to a room bearing a ghost. But the playful and curious young specter is not easily deterred from her goal of acquiring the shimmering jewels, and Griffin finds himself in the strange predicament of trying to understand the ghost—that he discovers is known historically as the White Silhouette—and her motives.

He nicknames her Magpie as she is attracted to shiny objects. But his research shows her to be a young woman named Melissande DeMesurier Tallander who died of influenza a hundred years earlier.

Tallander Castle is up for sale, and not only is their hostess, the current Miss Tallander, hoping for a buyer, but she has also attracted many of the guests to the party by informing them that they are welcome to search the castle for the long missing Tallander jewels, though Griffin suspects he knows exactly who has stolen them.

The Jewel Thief US

The Jewel Thief UK 

The Jewel Thief Australia

The Jewel Thief Canada

Ways to Describe Your Regency Villain

Villains are almost as important as heroes, be sure to make them count with a vivid description.This is the latest addition to my Writer's Tool Kit. You can find the rest of my Tool Kit posts here on my blog at:  Writer's Tool Kit and on Pinterest at:  Milly Jane's Writer's Tool kit  

Ways to Describe Your Regency Rogue

Rogues make the very best heroes, don't they? This is the latest addition to my Writer's Tool Kit. You can find the rest of my Tool Kit posts here on my blog at:  Writer's Tool Kit and on Pinterest at:  Milly Jane's Writer's Tool kit

Take Care of Your Tired Eyes

Take Care of Your Tired Eyes

 

My husband recently had eye surgery and it made me think how very precious our sight is, and how in the era of our constant use of computer devices, we should all try to take better care of our vision. As avid readers and book lovers I’m sure many of us suffer from tired or dry eyes.

Look away from your computer screen often, remember to blink frequently it lubricates your eyes, try using a glare filter on your screen, or computer glasses that filter the glare for you.

Don’t rub your eyes with your fingertips, especially now with covid on the loose. Place a warm wash cloth over your eyes for several minutes once a day.

Use lubricating eye drops.

Try to keep the area around your computer/office area as dust free as possible

Make sure you remove all eye make-up thoroughly every night. Also consider using disposable mascara wands so you are not putting the used wand back into your mascara, (most, if plastic can be washed and reused many times over, not only will you not transfer any germs from your eyelashes into your mascara, but you will have better control over how much mascara you are applying.)

Try using a different filter when reading on your kindle especially at night, I use a black background with a white font, it’s easier on my eyes and doesn’t illuminate the room as much. Too much light can keep you awake, we read to relax at bedtime, right?

And when you take a book or device to the beach, be sure to wear your sunglasses.

What are your favorite tips for easing your tired eyes?

 

Writer's Tool Kit

 I am currently developing a writer's tool kit, which will include easy reference lists of hair colors, eye colors, synonyms for said, lists of names and places, etc. My first three posts are under the heading Writer's Tool Kit at the top of the main page here on my blog, or click this link to go straight there:  Writer's Tool Kit. Many more posts will follow in the next few days. Feel free to download and use them.

You can also find my tool kit on Pinterest here: Milly Jane's Writer's Tool kit

Update I just added three new posts of traditional girls names.

Update Today's post is an Extended Synonym List For Said.

Update  I  just added three new posts of traditional boys names.

Update  Today I added a list of character/personality traits.

Update My latest addition is a series of five lists of  Old Fashioned and Traditional English Surnames, perfect for your Regency characters.

Today's new posts include: Ways to Describe Your Regency Rogue and Ways to Describe Your Regency Villain  

Update  My most recent addition is Happy and Cheerful Ways to Describe Your Characters

Update In honor of Halloween I just uploaded Words For Use In Your Halloween Writing

Update  My latest addition is two lists of Ways to Describe Your Regency Heroine

 Writer's Tool Kit. 

Technophile or Old School?

 

As a writer are you a ‘Technophile’ or ‘Old School’?

I think when it comes to our writing most of us are somewhere in between. But no matter how tech savvy we are, or have to be, most of us have a favorite device.

I love my old Toshiba laptop, I bought it almost a decade ago, it’s large, over 17 inches, so has a great screen which makes it easy on the eyes. But all good things must come to an end. It’s getting old, and due to many moves, one or two keys are getting a little tricky. (I bought an additional keyboard, easy fix, right? But a temporary one.) I also have an Asus, which is okay, my husband insisted a few years ago I needed a new computer, so I got one, and used it a little, mainly for everything but my writing. For writing, it was always back to my comfort zone. My big Toshiba. Last year he thought I should upgrade, again, so I bought a hp, yes, my writing is still on the Toshiba.

In movies, we often see a writer portrayed as someone who still loves their old typewriter, (I’m not that old school) and who has piles of notes everywhere and yet he/she knows exactly what is where, so ‘woe betide’ anyone who moves them! The second part is half true, I do have piles of notes, I scribble ideas down and have to sort them later, but most of my work is done on the computer, my lovely old Toshiba.

Even in old episodes of Murder She Wrote, you see in the opening sequence Jessica Fletcher graduates throughout the series from typewriter, to word processor, to computer.

So, my goal for this weekend is to finally switch everything to the new one.

There is another little issue with my reluctance to change, English and American keyboards are not the same. I should probably explain that while I was born and raised in the UK, I have spent most of my adult life in the USA, and now I am back in the UK, (older and wiser, of course, grin) so I’m used to an American keyboard, I write in American English, and decades ago I inadvertently began calling my mum ‘mom’, and everyone in my family ‘honey’.

I like to know where my keys are, don’t like to interrupt the flow of writing with worrying that I’m hitting the wrong key on a UK keyboard, or if I’m using US or UK spelling etc., I continue to write in American English, and all my computers are US versions. As with all things in writing, consistency is best and that was how I started out.

Do you have a favorite device? A favorite place to write? I’d love to know.

English History and Film Locations

I posted this quite sometime ago, but with the increased recent interest in historic film and movie locations, I thought I would repost it in case you missed it.

Did you ever wonder where a movie was filmed, or see something in a movie that reminded you of somewhere you have visited? If so, copy and paste this link:

http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/j/Jane-Eyre-2011.php

This site is so much fun as you can find out where many well-loved movies were filmed.

One of my all time favorite movies, Jane Eyre, in one of it's many incarnations, was filmed at Haddon Hall (for the Thornfield Hall scenes) in Derbyshire.

Chatsworth House also in Derbyshire has been used for Pride and Prejudice. Hardwick Hall was used for some scenes in Harry Potter, and Highclere Castle is Downton Abbey. You can check out my pages to the left to see pictures of my own visits to these places, and go to the site to find out information on the locations of your own favorite movies. Have fun!

http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/j/Jane-Eyre-2011.php

Haddon Hall, Derbyshire (Thornfield Hall, Jane Eyre)

Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey)

Hardwick Hall was used in some scenes from Harry Potter

Chatsworth House was used in Pride and Prejudice

The Seductive Regency Romance Collection: Books 1-6

I'm so happy to announce that I have published my box set this weekend and all six of my Seductive Regency Romances are now available as a collection. You'll find handsome heroes and headstrong heroines, arranged marriages and love matches. A large wolfhound named Rufus, a cat named Artemis. Balls, secret passages, snowball fights, a frost fair, caverns and much more.

Find The Seductive Regency Romance Collection: Books 1-6 here:

Amazon  UK     USA    AUS    CAN

The Seductive Regency Romances

 I recently upgraded the covers of my six Seductive Regency Romances. What do you think? I like them! (The content is exactly the same if you bought one with a different cover) All can be read as standalone romances, but in order they are. The Aloof Marquess, The Enigmatic Earl, The Volatile Viscount, The Curious Curate and the Opera Singer,  Twin Rogues in Winter, and Midnight in the Garden with Eros. 

The Seductive Regency Romances

The Aloof Marquess

Can a cold and remote Marquess become a warm, loving and playful husband? Unlikely, but not altogether impossible. Or is it? An arranged marriage, an aloof Marquess, a sensual and determined bride. And a romance that begins on their wedding night.

The Marquess of Telforn has decided to take a bride. Now. In his matter-of-fact way, he heads to London at the start of the Season, and within a week he makes his choice.

Lady Ellena Astonbury is startled when after only the briefest of encounters with the aloof Marquess at the first two events of the Season, he approaches her father with an offer, and her parents are delighted to accept.

The Marquess requests an almost immediate marriage, and within days, Ellena is a Marchioness. Knowing little of the Marquess, she realizes that she will have no alternative but to get to know her new husband after their wedding.

Can her gentle and sensual nature turn the aloof man she married into a real husband?

The Enigmatic Earl

Can a battle weary lord preparing to head for the Season’s marriage mart find love in an unexpected place?

When Richard Merilstone, the Earl of Surcliffe, and Drake Warfield, Viscount Allum, ride up to their favorite haunt the Angel Fayre Inn to escape an impending storm, they are dismayed to find it appears to be closed.

But when they enter the quiet inn they find not only the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose, who are preparing for a family trip, but their niece Miss Angela Lowry. Although the inn is closed for business, as old and valued customers they are invited to join the family for dinner.

The Season is in full swing and both gentlemen must leave for London in the following days to begin their search for a bride. It is time to marry and neither is looking forward to it. They don’t expect to have the same luck as their friend and neighbor James Ashburn, the Marquess of Telforn, who despite his marriage of convenience was lucky enough to find love.

But under the tender auspices of the owner’s beautiful young niece, one last night at the inn proves to be revealing in many ways for one of them, and his life may never be the same.

The Volatile Viscount

Infuriated at being forced by his father into an arranged marriage with a bluestocking, Drake Warfield, Viscount Allum, is determined to get it over with and get on with his life. His gentle bluestocking, however, has other ideas.

How can someone who looks so sweet, soft and well… alluring, be so bossy, irritating and tempting all at the same time? She’s smart, practical, down to earth, curious and inadvertently sensual. And she is driving him completely insane.

She wears round owlish looking reading glasses that make her baby blue eyes look huge. Stargazes from her own library turret. Treats her household staff like family, and as the apple of her father’s eye, she always gets her own way. Until now. There are just a few things that Viscount Drake Allum is determined to set straight. Exactly who is now boss in that household. But will she listen? Unlikely.

This is the third in the Seductive Regency Short Story Series: The first is The Aloof Marquess, followed by The Enigmatic Earl and The Volatile Viscount.

The Curious Curate (and the Opera Singer)

When is a curate not a curate? When he is a dashing rogue sent to assist his Reverend Uncle as penance for his unruly behavior.

When the Marquess of Tyden learned of his youngest son, Lord Aiden Renford’s, roguish behavior in Town—duels, fist fights, and gambling—he knew there was only one solution for it. To send him to his uncle for a year. Under the Reverend Matthew Renford’s gentle guidance, Aiden would learn humility and to behave like a gentleman. The penalty if he refused? He would be cut off, not only from his funds, but from his family and all access to the family’s estates.

While the locals are happy to embrace the new temporary curate and welcome him into their homes, Aiden soon discovers that although he is counting the days until he regains his freedom, a year in Harelton is not such a bad bargain, especially when an unexpected guest arrives at the vicarage only a week before he is free to leave.

Miss Amelie Rouen is an opera singer, something many Londoners unfortunately appeared to equate with being a Cyprian. While being pursued by an ardent admirer, she takes refuge at the Harelton Parish Vicarage, and finds herself in the care of an unusual curate with twinkling eyes and a mischievous sense of humor, who looks like he belongs anywhere but there.

Can the attraction between the oddly matched pair lead to anything but heartache?

Twin Rogues in Winter

A pair of identical twins, a winter house party, a group of eligible young ladies, and the overwhelming temptation to switch identities. What could possibly go wrong?

Gareth and Callum Renford are identical twins, only the most discerning eye can tell them apart. Even their father gets them confused. But one thing sets them apart in a most dramatic way. One is a future marquess, and the other is not. So distinguishing one brother from the other is essential to any lady seeking a titled husband.

The two have always played the ‘which twin is which’ game and enjoyed confusing their friends and relatives. So when they are snowed in at a winter house party, they cannot resist. Will the guests be able to tell who is who? Not easily. And the mischievous pair are enjoying the game. Each would like to be valued for himself, regardless of his future prospects. And while love is the greatest prize of all, they don’t expect to find it.

But with a girl hiding under one twin’s bed and the sudden reappearance of an old flame, the twins might get a little more than they bargained for in this cheerful Regency romp filled with secret passages, snowball fights, parlor games and a winter frost fair.

Midnight in the Garden with Eros

An eagle-eyed artist with a checkered past, a bored country Miss, a cat called Artemis, caverns, and a ‘Greeks and Romans’ costume ball.

From humble beginnings to the height of fame, talented painter and sculptor John Ivers Mason is the toast of London. Tall, lean, handsome, and in possession of a pair of startling pale blue eyes and jet black hair, he is sought after not only for his skill and artistry, but his incredibly striking good looks.

But John’s lowly Newcastle background has made him cautious. While he is invited to many ton events as a celebrated artist, he is not truly a part of that world. Until he unexpectedly falls in love with a young woman who is.

Asked by her father to paint the fiery Miss Diana Wilmington at their country estate, he agrees—on one condition—that he be allowed to paint her for his own gallery too.

Diana is no typical member of the beau monde. She is feisty, stubborn, opinionated and definitely no shrinking violet. Almost perfect for him in fact. Except that he swore he would never marry.

But rules are made to be broken. Aren’t they?

 

Assuming she is alone in the garden, Miss Diana Wilmington is quite annoyed when in a rare whimsical moment she beseeches the newly arrived statue of Eros for a love match, and is overheard by none other than the statue’s amused sculptor himself. John Ivers Mason. The man is infuriating. But intriguing.

Although she is not usually of a whimsical mindset, Diana’s sister and several of her friends have recently married and she is feeling a little left out. Her father is not a fan of going to Town, and prefers to invite Town to him by creating his own entertainments at Wilmington Hall. And while she has no intention of succumbing to ‘wedded bliss’ with one of the stuffy, boring London fops who so often frequent their house parties, she doesn’t want to become an aging spinster aunt someday either!

But now the infuriating artist will be staying to paint her. And there is so much more to the talented artist than meets the eye.

You can find them all at my author pages on Amazon. Look below to find Amelie's (The Curious Curate and the Opera Singer) recipes for Almondine Biscuits and Mulled wine.

Thanks for reading!

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