Tag Archives: #BellesInBlue

A young lady’s reputation is at risk again!

13 Tuesday Apr 2021

Posted by in Uncategorized, New Release

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Elsie carefully balanced the tea service on the tray she carried up the stairs at The Queen’s Barque Inn. She had almost reached the top when the owner’s dog came bounding up behind her barking at her heels begging for attention.

“Not now, Hector,” Elsie said while the dog pranced around her feet. “Can’t you see that I’m busy?” The dog seemed to understand and took off for another part of the inn.

Busy! Busy didn’t even begin to describe what Elsie had been reduced to! She was a lady’s maid and not meant for the duties in the scullery, for goodness sake! But once they had arrived at the inn, Elsie had been overrun with chores after Miss Miranda de Courtenay had offered Elsie’s services. Mr. and Mrs. Brewster, who were the owners of the inn, had been more than grateful to have an extra set of hands to help with their overflowing guests who had also become stranded at the inn due to a storm.

It had taken Elsie a while to get accustomed to where everything was located since the inn was a labyrinth of confusing corridors connecting the entire inn and mismatched rooms with décor from every century of past years. You would have thought the builders would have put more planning into its construction but it appeared as though they added onto it over the years as the owners saw fit. And the cleaning! Why some rooms were so worn down they surely hadn’t seen a proper cleaning in years. Only the mice, rats, and spiders seemed to enjoy these rooms and obviously were not happy their messy domain had been ruined by busy maids.

Some rooms had been converted for the injured and Elsie had been reduced to collecting soiled bandages and used bedding to be laundered. She’d mopped and swept floors until she felt that she’d never stop sneezing from the accumulated dust that reached her nose. Finally, after a hot bath, she was now properly dressed and ready to take tea to Miss Miranda. Perhaps afterwards, she might be able to just go back to her room in the servant’s quarters and nap.

She continued down the second-floor corridor until she saw Charlotte Brewster, one of the owner’s daughters, peering down into one of the more presentable parlors of the Queen’s Barque Inn. At Elsie’s approached, Charlotte silently placed one finger over her mouth and nodded down. Elsie quietly stepped forward to view the scene. One elegantly dressed gentleman sat with two ladies who leaned forward and giggled in delight while he opened a newsprint and began to read.

Gentle Readers:

This just in from The Queen’s Barque in Fenwick on Sea!

Who was the fashionable damsel who entered the inn looking like a drenched field mouse, with no one else to give her countenance but her maid? None other but Miss d.C. Dedicated readers of The Teatime Tattler will be familiar with the escapades of this particular young miss. She has been a frequent piece of tittle-tattle in previous editions, barely escaped ruination in the past several years. There’s sure to be a bit of excitement while she’s stuck here.

Which of the several eligible peers also stranded at the inn will she set her cap on? We’ll just have to wait and see. Knowing her past, anything is possible. Stay tuned for further developments.

An anonymous reporter
for The Teatime Tattler

The gentleman finished and the ladies laughter echoed throughout the parlor. The tea service rattled in Elsie’s hand and when the group below began to look around, Charlotte quickly took Elsie’s elbow so they remained unseen by the nearby wall. Charlotte took the tray from Elsie while she attempted to catch her breath.

“Good heavens! How in the world did that rag learn Miss Miranda was here?” Elsie asked.

“The gentry aren’t the only ones who’ve been spreading the latest bit of gossip. My mum has had to reprimand more than one servant daily to keep their mouths shut whenever that newspaper gets delivered,” Charlotte said with a grimace. “You best make your way to your mistress without delay. She needs to learn that a reporter has somehow learned she’s in Fenwick on Sea.”

“It won’t be the first time her reputation has suffered because of gossip, but it hardly seems fair when this time all she’s doing is going to visit a friend,” Elise said with a frown before she realized she was telling a complete stranger Miss Miranda’s business. Elsie’s eyes widened with worry.

Charlotte gave her a small smile. “I understand,” she whispered before handing the tray back to Elsie. “I must be about the chores my mum has given me but know I won’t say a word about what we overheard.”

“Thank you,” Elsie nodded in gratitude hoping the young girl would be true to her word.

Charlotte left and Elsie took a deep breath before heading toward Miss Miranda’s room. She hesitated but an instant before she gave a short knock. At the call to enter, Elsie opened the door to view Miss Miranda sitting quietly reading a book. Elsie’s expression must have said much for Miss Miranda put the book down in her lap.

“What’s happened now?” she asked as though prepared for the worst.

Elsie placed the tray on a table then poured Miss Miranda a cup of tea, not that tea would actually calm the young lady after she learned she was once again the topic of the latest gossip. “I have news…”

WHO IS THE SNOOPING REPORTER?

As told in Storm & Shelter in eight original novellas, refugees—the injured, the devious, and the lonely, lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all sheltered at the Queen’s Barque Inn. Now concern is buzzing in Fenwick on Sea and across these United Kingdoms, as scurrilous gossip about the goings on during the recent storm spread through the reports in that scandal rag, The Teatime Tattler. Who is the snoop?

YOU CAN HELP

Correctly identify the reporter and be entered to win a $100 gift card and other great prizes. There are details and instructions for entering here: https://bluestockingbelles.net/…/wanted-the-snooping…/

CLUES

There are clues in every story in Storm & Shelter. Find more clues by following on to each stop in our Snooping Reporter Blog Hop. The next stop is https://alinakfield.com/storm-shelter-release-day-blog-hop/

ABOUT THE BOOK ~ Storm & Shelter: A Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends

When a storm blows off the North Sea and slams into the village of Fenwick on Sea, the villagers prepare for the inevitable: shipwreck, flood, land slips, and stranded travelers. The Queen’s Barque Inn quickly fills with the injured, the devious, and the lonely—lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all trapped together. Intrigue crackles through the village, and passion lights up the hotel.

One storm, eight authors, eight heartwarming novellas.

MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE SET: Before I Found You, A de Courtenay Novella By Sherry Ewing

A quest for a title. An encounter with a stranger. Will she choose love?

Miss Miranda de Courtenay has only one goal in life: to find a rich husband who can change her status from Miss to My Lady.

Captain Jasper Rousseau has no plans to become infatuated during a chance encounter at a ball.

Their connection is hard to dismiss, despite Miranda’s quest for a title at all cost. What if the cost includes love?

Buy Links:

Amazon US |  Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Google Books | Kobo

Amazon AU |BR |CA |DE |ES |FR |IN |IT |JP |MX |NL |UK

Angus & Robertson

A GIVEAWAY FOR THIS STOP!

To be in the running for an eCopy of either A Kiss For Charity or The Earl Takes A Wife (Books 1 & 2 of my De Courtenay series) comment below and tell me: What are you looking forward to the most when we return to our new normal? I’ll generate a random winner Sunday, April 18th.

Good luck and don’t forget to continue on to the next stop on our blog hop at Alina K. Field’s blog here: https://alinakfield.com/storm-shelter-release-day-blog-hop/

First Kiss Friday with Caroline Warfield

26 Friday Mar 2021

Posted by in First Kiss Friday

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Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog! Today’s guest is Caroline Warfield who will be sharing an excerpt from her novella The Tender Flood found in the Bluestocking Belles’ box set Storm & Shelter. The boxset is currently on sale at a special preorder price of only $0.99. Grad your copy before the price increases. Release date is April 13th! Read on and enjoy this excerpt, my lovelies.

In THE TENDER FLOOD a coachman who believes himself beneath an earl’s granddaughter tries to keep his distance. He fails. This is their first kiss.

Excerpt:

“I’ll check the barn one last time. Be ready to go.”

Patience groaned. Her heart fell, forcing her to admit she had hoped for a declaration—of affection of—she refused to think farther than that. She grabbed up the few things she meant to take in a sack, including a jug of milk for Hercules. A sound at the door drew her attention; he had come back and stood holding the door jamb with both hands.

Before she could speak, he crossed the room and pulled her into a crushing embrace, taking her mouth with his until her knees failed and she had only his embrace to rely on.

***

Insanity born of hope. Zach could think of no other explanation for his behavior. When she responded to his kiss with sweet passion, coherent thought eluded him. One dainty hand slid up his neck and into his hair as if to pull him closer. The other clung to his shirt. He pulled his mouth away forcing himself to gentle the kiss, only to nibble the corner of her mouth and kiss his way across her cheek to her ear.

She groaned and followed his lead, the difference in their height, enabling her to kiss his neck just above his collar. An urge to tear his shirt off to give her access shook him, bringing him to his senses. He removed the hand that had somehow migrated to her round little behind and the one around her back anchoring her to him, gripping her by her upper arms instead.

He held her away, but not far, their mouths still inches apart.

“A gentleman would have offered for you first thing this morning, before Banks even arrived. This display of behavior—”

“Are you saying you aren’t a gentleman, Zach?” She wrinkled up her nose, teasing him adorably.

His laugh tasted bitter on his tongue. “I’m no man of leisure, wealth, or title. Isn’t that the definition of a gentleman?”

“If behavior matters, you’re more gentleman than all the social climbing fops who thought to pursue my uncle’s favor by courting me.”

That startled him. It cooled his heated blood like an ice bath. “Is that what happened? Why you aren’t married?”

She nodded shyly, dipping her forehead to his chest. “It was long ago.”

“Fools the lot of them,” he muttered, kissing the top of her head. “Come sit. We need to speak rationally, and I can’t with you this close.”

ABOUT THE TENDER FLOOD

Neither battle nor loss of his leg destroyed Zachery Newell. Working as a coachman, he tries to build a life in spite of his injuries, while he plans for the sort of life he knew in childhood, happy and content above his father’s print shop, but when a woman races out of the storm and into the stable yard of The Queen’s Barque with a wagon full of small boys, puppies, and a bag of books, he is enchanted.

Dismissed by a charity school, Patience Abney struggles on her own to create The Academy for the Formation of Young Gentlemen to give every boy a happy and productive life. Now the roof has caved in. Though she managed to get her boys to the safety of an inn, she has no idea how she will rebuild.

Zach knows Patience, the granddaughter of an earl, is far above the touch of shopkeeper’s son. He tries to keep his distance, but when the two of them make their way across the flooded marsh to her damaged school in search of a missing boy, attraction grows into passion, complicating everything.

ABOUT STORM & SHELTER

Eight Authors, Eight Heartwarming Novellas, One Catastrophic Storm

When a storm blows off the North Sea and slams into the village of Fenwick on Sea, the villagers prepare for the inevitable: shipwreck, flood, land slips, and stranded travelers. The Queen’s Barque Inn quickly fills with the injured, the devious, and the lonely—lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all trapped together. Intrigue crackles through the village, and passion lights up the hotel.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US |  Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Amazon AU |BR |CA |DE |ES |FR |IN |IT |JP |MX |NL |UK

Angus & Robertson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award winning author of family centered romance set in the Regency and Victorian eras, Caroline Warfield has been many things, and believes she is now in at least her third act. She works in an office surrounded by windows where she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and the far-flung corners of the British Empire while she nudges them to explore the riskiest territory of all, the human heart. 

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

14 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by in 2020

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Happy Valentine’s Day to all our wonderful readers!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for making Fire & Frost a bestselling box set. The Bluestocking Belles and I are thrilled with all the marvelous reviews we’ve been receiving and also for the set hitting several bestseller lists including, Amazon, Goodreads, and Smashwords.

You are the ones to make this happen. Thank you for supporting the Bluestocking Belles by purchasing a copy of Fire & Frost. Your purchase also supports our mutual charity, the Malala Fund. Our readers are the best!

♥ ¸.•*(¸.•*´♥`*•.¸)`*•.♥
Fire & Frost – Only $0.99
Curl up with the gift of a great book this Valentine’s Day. Fire & Frost will warm your heart!
In a winter so cold the Thames freezes over, five couples venture onto the ice in pursuit of love to warm their hearts.
Love unexpected, rekindled, brand new or rediscovered—even one that’s a whack on the side of the head—heats up the winter. After weeks of fog and cold all five stories converge on the ice at the 1814 Frost Fair when the ladies’ campaign to help the wounded and unemployed veterans of the Napoleonic wars culminates in a charity auction that shocks the high sticklers of the ton.
In their 2020 collection, join the Bluestocking Belles and their heroes and heroines as The Ladies’ Society For The Care of the Widows and Orphans of Fallen Heroes and the Children of Wounded Veterans pursues justice, charity, and soul searing romance.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day 2020 with five interconnected Regency romances.
Buy links:
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2LGvSbK
Apple Books: https://apple.co/355nXMG
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2sdPVYd
Kobo: http://bit.ly/36nYwX
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2LF74AK
International:
Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2t7vMDH BR: https://amzn.to/2rybx1o CA: https://amzn.to/2Pcnenz DE: https://amzn.to/2E2sIL6 ES: https://amzn.to/2E77hZr FR: https://amzn.to/2RKJc2J IN: https://amzn.to/35bdCPd IT: https://amzn.to/2qIOSz2 JP: https://amzn.to/35c8mLw MX: https://amzn.to/2YATO5r NL: https://amzn.to/2YGzhfR UK: https://amzn.to/2YArBf2

First Kiss Friday with Caroline Warfield

07 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by in 2020, First Kiss Friday

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Welcome to another First Kiss Friday. Today’s guest is my dear friend Caroline Warfield who is sharing an excerpt from her novella Lord Ethan’s Courage found in our box set Fire & Frost. Happy reading, my lovelies, and enjoy!

Unlike the heroes of the other stories in Fire & Frost, Ethan isn’t able to actually bid on Flora’s time and her basket in the ladies’ charity auction due to illness. He sends his brother as surrogate. He does, however, have a surprise for her.

Excerpt:

She took a step back, arms akimbo and flashed him stern frown. “Is that all you want to say? ‘Call on me?’ Where is your courage when I need it?”

He came closer to her. “I have no right to say more, but if you can be patient…”

Flo heaved a sigh of exasperation and closed the distance between them, grabbing his shoulders, and meeting his lips with her impatient ones. After a heartbeat he returned the kiss with an achingly tender one, using his damaged arm to pull her close while he feathered his graceful fingers across her cheek.

“Much better,” she sighed against his neck, “But know this. I can wait out my mourning and your illness, but do not ask me to be patient.” She spat each of the last words out one by one. “I am not a patient woman when I know what I want, Ethan Alcott, and I want you.”

He kissed her again, this time deeply, passionately, possessively. When she moaned and pulled him closer, he pulled back, tipping his forehead onto hers. “Your brother believes you deserve a Season. I agree. If you still want this in a year…”

“God save me from men and their honor,” she muttered into his cravat.

About the Story

When Flora Landrum’s family is thrown into mourning and her brother loses himself in his new duties as earl, she refuses to be shunted off to her sister’s household under the eye of her vile brother-in-law. If the new earl can take time from his problems to do charity work for returning veterans, so can Flora, even if she has to sneak behind his back to visit some unsavory neighborhoods.

Lord Ethan Alcott lost his desire to live after the horrors of the peninsular war. The courage that enabled him to lead men into battle and drove him to charge into the rioting in its aftermath to save innocents failed him when he woke up on a troopship, just one wounded man among many. He was content to sit among the most wretched in an alley waiting for death until the day an innocent young lady stormed bravely among them determined to alleviate what suffering she could. She ought not be there and honor bound him to find her family and tell them so.

Flora might be insulted by the interference, but she isn’t about to let him sink back into misery. Ethan has a new battle on his hands, one for his life.

Fire & Frost:
A Bluestocking Belles Collection
Only $0.99

In a winter so cold the Thames freezes over, five couples venture onto the ice in pursuit of love to warm their hearts.

Love unexpected, rekindled, or brand new—even one that’s a whack on the side of the head—heats up the frigid winter. After weeks of fog and cold, all five stories converge on the ice at the 1814 Frost Fair when the ladies’ campaign to help the wounded and unemployed veterans of the Napoleonic wars culminates in a charity auction that shocks the high sticklers of the ton.

In their 2020 collection, join the Bluestocking Belles and their heroes and heroines as The Ladies’ Society For The Care of the Widows and Orphans of Fallen Heroes and the Children of Wounded Veterans pursues justice, charity, and soul-searing romance.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day 2020 with five interconnected Regency romances.

BUY LINKS

Amazon US  |  Apple Books  | Barnes & Noble | Kobo  | Smashwords

Amazon Global:

AU BR CA DE ES FR IN IT JP MX NL UK

About the Author

Award winning author Caroline Warfield has been many things: traveler, librarian, poet, raiser of children, bird watcher, Internet and Web services manager, conference speaker, indexer, tech writer, genealogist—even a nun. She reckons she is on at least her third act, happily working in an office surrounded by windows where she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and the far-flung corners of the British Empire. She nudges them to explore the riskiest territory of all, the human heart.

Visit Caroline’s Website and Blog  http://www.carolinewarfield.com/

Meet Caroline on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/carolinewarfield7

Follow Caroline on Twitter https://twitter.com/CaroWarfield

Email Caroline directly   warfieldcaro@gmail.com

Subscribe to Caroline’s newsletter  http://www.carolinewarfield.com/newsletter/

Amazon Author http://www.amazon.com/Caroline-Warfield/e/B00N9PZZZS/

Good Reads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8523742.Caroline_Warfield

Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/caroline-warfield

Caroline’s Other Books

Amazon                      https://www.amazon.com/Caroline-Warfield/e/B00N9PZZZS/

Bookshelf                    http://www.carolinewarfield.com/bookshelf

Happy Release Day ~ Fire & Frost

04 Tuesday Feb 2020

Posted by in 2020, New Release

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It’s always a great day to celebrate when you release a new book baby into the world (although my brother would say it’s in honor of his birthday ~ Happy Birthday, Tim).

The Bluestocking Belles and I are pleased to release our latest collection, Fire & Frost. Taking place during the last Frost Fair of 1814, you’ll find five stories to give you hours of reading pleasure. My contribution to the set is A Second Chance At Love with Viscount Digby Osgood and Lady Constance Whittles whom you first met in Under the Mistletoe. Be sure to read to the end to learn about our blog hope and contest!

Be sure to grab your copy for only $0.99 and remember that with your purchase a percentage of the sales will go to our mutual charity The Malala Fund.

Fire & Frost: A Bluestocking Belles Collection
Only $0.99!

In a winter so cold the Thames freezes over, five couples venture onto the ice in pursuit of love to warm their hearts.

Love unexpected, rekindled, or brand new—even one that’s a whack on the side of the head—heats up the frigid winter. After weeks of fog and cold, all five stories converge on the ice at the 1814 Frost Fair when the ladies’ campaign to help the wounded and unemployed veterans of the Napoleonic wars culminates in a charity auction that shocks the high sticklers of the ton.

In their 2020 collection, join the Bluestocking Belles and their heroes and heroines as The Ladies’ Society For The Care of the Widows and Orphans of Fallen Heroes and the Children of Wounded Veterans pursues justice, charity, and soul-searing romance.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day 2020 with five interconnected Regency romances.

A Second Chance At Love

Viscount Digby Osgood returns to London after a two-year absence, planning to avoid the woman he courted and then left. Surely she has moved on with her life; even married by now. A bit of encouragement from a friend, however, pushes him to seek the lady out. Can she ever forgiven him and give them a second chance at love?

Lady Constance Whittles has only cared for one man in her life. Even after he broke her heart, it remains fixed on him. Another man tries to replace him, but she soon learns she can never feel for him a shadow of what she still feels for Digby. One brief encounter with Digby confirms it; she is more than willing to forgive him. Can they truly take up where they left off?

Charity projects and a Frost Fair on the Thames bring them together, but another stands in their way. Will he tear them apart?

Fire & Frost Buy links:

Amazon US  |  Apple Books  | Barnes & Noble | Kobo  | Smashwords

Amazon Global:

AU BR CA DE ES FR IN IT JP MX NL UK

How about a blog hop & contest to celebrate?

Read and comment on five original pieces relating to our stories at each hop, comment on the Belles’ blog and you’ll be in the running for a $50 Amazon gift card. We’re keeping this contest open until Saturday, February 8th. Start the hop here!

The Book Palace on Ice for Imaginative and Curious Minds

02 Sunday Feb 2020

Posted by in 2020, New Release

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Lord Digby Osgood held tightly to the lady on his arm after she lost her footing on the ice. He gave her a reassuring smile silently telling her he would never let her fall.  Lady Constance Whittles murmured a soft thank you and Digby swore his heart flipped end over end when she moved a little closer to his side.

They continued on their way through the stalls of the Frost Fair. It had already been a fun-filled day despite the cold weather. They had enjoyed the Tea Shoppe on the Ice followed by the stall featuring Anna’s Hot Roasted Chestnuts. He had been more than thrilled when they had come upon Wilfred Bagshotts Portraits on Demand and he insisted Lady Constance sit for a drawing. The miniature was now tucked away in his coat and he would see that it was properly framed once he returned home.

But when they came upon The Book Palace on Ice for Imaginative and Curious Minds, a squeal of delight escaped Constance’s lips. Digby could not refuse her plea to take only a small peek at what the stall had to offer. Small peek, indeed. He should have known the lady would become lost in the makeshift bookstore the moment she stepped foot inside. Digby had been waiting for the past twenty minutes. Not that he minded. Constance loved her books and he would deny her nothing as long as she was happy.

“Checking out my sister’s competition, Lord Osgood?” That voice held a hint of sarcasm but still remained civil enough to not offend.

Digby turned and saw none other than Samuel Clemens, the editor and owner of The Teatime Tattler. “Mr. Clemens,” Digby replied with a nod of his head. “What brings you here in such inclement weather?”

“My stall is just around the corner and business has never been better. Not only have I sold more copies of my newspaper than usual, but everyone wants a keepsake from the Frost Fair. We keep running out of paper,” he said before he held out a sheet for Digby to take.

His newspaper was nothing more than a gossip rag, Digby thought but took the offering of the keepsake knowing Constance would like it. “It appears the Frost Fair has been a big success for everyone who has a stall,” he replied before pulling the edges of his coat closer together.

“I could not agree more,” Samuel said before his attention turned to the people in The Book Palace stall. “Ah… I see what keeps you here. Lady Constance has been very helpful to my sister’s business. I hope she does not lose the lady to another store once this is over,” he said with a chuckle.

“I am certain Lady Constance is more than happy to work for your sister as long as Miss Amelia will have her.”

Samuel tipped his hat. “I must be off. I cannot keep the world waiting for the latest news.”

Digby watched the man leave before he noticed Constance reaching for her reticule to make her purchase. He quickly stepped forward. “Allow me, my lady,” Digby said.

“I do not mind paying for the book, my lord.” Constance once more brightened his day with her smile.

“I must insist.” Paying the man, Digby offered his arm again to his lady as they began perusing the other stalls. They came upon the next stall, The Mystical Oracle Madam Amy Quinton. “Do you wish your fortune to be told, Constance?” he asked with a grin.

“Perhaps after we see the elephant? You did promise me you would take me to see it,” she said, her eyes twinkling in delight.

“And so I did. Let us make our way to see the beast then we can return here to see what the oracle has to say about our future.”

Constance gave his arm a squeeze. “I already know our future, Digby,” she replied.

“You do?” he said looking down into her beautiful face. Constance never looked lovelier.

“Of course! We shall live happily ever after!”

Digby swore his heart melted right then and there. His future indeed looked bright as long as Lady Constance remained in his life.

Was there really a bookstall at the 1814 Frost Fair?

None of my research found an actual bookstall on the ice but there were nearly a dozen printing presses producing keepsakes and commemorative poems. A printer named George Davis published a 124-page book called Frostiana; or A History of the River Thames In a Frozen State and the Belles referenced this material when we were working on our common theme for Fire & Frost. The entire book was typeset and printed in Davis’s printing stall set up on the frozen Thames.

The 1814 Frost Fair was also it’s last. With the old London Bridge being demolished in 1831, it was replaced with a new bridge with wider arches. This allowed the tide to flow more freely. The river was also embanked during the 19th century causing the river less likely to freeze.

You can read more about printing at the frost fairs here: http://www.letterology.com/2014/02/printing-at-frost-fairs.html

 

My contribution to Fire & Frost is A Second Chance At Love featuring Lord Digby Osgood and Lady Constance Whittles whom you first met in Under the Mistletoe.

Can the bittersweet frost of lost love be rekindled into a burning flame?

Viscount Digby Osgood returns to London after a two-year absence, planning to avoid the woman he courted and then left. Surely she has moved on with her life; even married by now. A bit of encouragement from a friend, however, pushes him to seek the lady out. Can she ever forgive him and give them a second chance at love?

Lady Constance Whittles has only cared for one man in her life. Even after he broke her heart, it remains fixed on him. Another man tries to replace him, but she soon learns she can never feel for him a shadow of what she still feels for Digby. One brief encounter with Digby confirms it; she is more than willing to forgive him. Can they truly take up where they left off?

Charity projects and a Frost Fair on the Thames bring them together, but another stands in their way. Will he tear them apart?

Fire & Frost:
A Bluestocking Belles Collection
Release Date: February 4, 2020
Preorder for $0.99

In a winter so cold the Thames freezes over, five couples venture onto the ice in pursuit of love to warm their hearts.

Love unexpected, rekindled, brand new or rediscovered—even one that’s a whack on the side of the head—heats up the winter. After weeks of fog and cold all five stories converge on the ice at the 1814 Frost Fair when the ladies’ campaign to help the wounded and unemployed veterans of the Napoleonic wars culminates in a charity auction that shocks the high sticklers of the ton.

In their 2020 collection, join the Bluestocking Belles and their heroes and heroines as The Ladies’ Society For The Care of the Widows and Orphans of Fallen Heroes and the Children of Wounded Veterans pursues justice, charity, and soul-searing romance.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day 2020 with five interconnected Regency romances.

Melting Matilda by Jude Knight – Fire smolders under the frost between them.

My One True Love by Rue Allyn – She vanished into the fog. Will he find his one true love or remain lost, cold and alone forever?

Lord Ethan’s Courage by Caroline Warfield – War may freeze a man’s heart; it takes a woman to melt it.

A Second Chance at Love by Sherry Ewing – Can the bittersweet frost of lost love be rekindled into a burning flame?

The Umbrella Chronicles: Chester and Artemis’s Story by Amy Quinton – Beastly duke seeks confident woman who doesn’t faint at the sight of his scars. Prefers not to leave the house to find her.

Buy Links:

Amazon US  |  Apple Books  | Barnes & Noble | Kobo  | Smashwords

Amazon Global:

AU BR CA DE ES FR IN IT JP MX NL UK

Comment to Win

Comment on this post, each of the other four, and the page on the Belles’ website here https://bluestockingbelles.net/frostfairhop/?fbclid=IwAR2qQS4IMhZYgVNvhbfFVmTf6Bm5tFwAJy5bxu21remzDRHzcM5rcRXa1sU to go into the drawing for the main prize in the blog hop, a $50 US Amazon card.

Tell me… what would have piqued your interest at the frost fair? What would you have liked to see? All comments on this post will go in a drawing for an eCopy of one the previous four Bluestocking Belles’ collections, plus a copy of Under the Mistletoe a prequel to A Second Chance At Love found in the Belles’ new box set Fire & Frost.

Did you miss the previous blog hop stop? You can access it here.

And don’t forget you have one more hop that surely you don’t want to miss. Find your way to That Mystical Oracle Madame Amy Quinton here: http://amyquinton.net/?p=2308

First Kiss Friday with Sherry Ewing

31 Friday Jan 2020

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Hello, my dearest readers! Today for First Kiss Friday I have a treat for you. You’ll be getting the first kiss scene from my novella A Second Chance At Love that is in the Bluestocking Belles’ box set Fire & Frost. This set is available for pre-order and releases on Tuesday, February 4th. Our set centers around a common theme, the Frost Fair of 1814, where the winter was so cold the Thames freezes over. I know you’ve been waiting for Lord Digby Osgood and Lady Constance Whittles story since Under the Mistletoe and now you’ll have it to add to your collection. Happy reading, my lovelies and enjoy!

Excerpt:

Constance waited in the foyer while a servant went to fetch her pelisse. Her aunt had stayed behind in the meeting room to finish up a few details, and Constance hoped this would give her some additional time alone with Digby. Her heart leapt when she saw him leaving the front parlor. She could barely contain her breathing as he came ever nearer to her side. How she loved this man.

“Your aunt—” he started to say, bowing over her hand.

“—is momentarily delayed,” she finished with a smile.

He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “Come with me,” he urged, while gently taking her elbow.

She gave a quick glance around and nodded. None of the other people gathering in the foyer paid any attention to them. They were too preoccupied with their own conversations or going on about the details of the event to follow next month.

Constance and Digby did not go far and she was thankful he escorted her into an open room with no door, thus ensuring her reputation remained intact. A nook not visible from the hallway gave them a semblance of privacy and she could only wonder what this man who owned her heart would do next. She did not have long to wait.

“You may think this is too forward of me, Lady Constance,” he began.

She let a light laugh escaped her. “We have known one another far too long to be so formal, my lord, at least when we are alone together.”

He brightened her day with his smile and brought her closer. “Constance… you do me a great honor.”

“The honor is mine, Digby,” she breathed in a soft whisper, resting her hands lightly on his forearms.

“During my time away, a day did not go by that I did not think of you. The hurt I caused you at our parting has weighed heavily on my mind for two long years.”

“I have already forgiven you for all that, Digby.”

“Yes, I know, and I am most grateful you can forget my foolishness. This may be too fast, since we have only just reunited, but I wanted you to know I still care for you, Constance.”

She reached up to cup his cheek. “Digby, surely you must know you still own my heart?”

“You give me hope for a future together,” he said in a husky tone.

“Nothing would make me happier.”

She thought she was prepared for when Digby bent down to place his lips upon her own. The kiss was gentle at first, a testament to what they truly felt for one another. But as she stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, everything changed. Digby pulled her into his arms and every fiber of her being burst in sheer joy. He deepened their kiss, and she was more than willing to follow his lead. Tingling sensations stole down her spine and Constance knew in this very instant that she had not lost his love. Surely, if Digby could kiss her like this then he would certainly wish for them to wed at some point in their future.

A Second Chance At Love in
Fire & Frost: A Bluestocking Belles Collection
Pre-order now for $0.99!

Can the bittersweet frost of lost love be rekindled into a burning flame?

Viscount Digby Osgood returns to London after a two-year absence, planning to avoid the woman he courted and then left. Surely she has moved on with her life; even married by now. A bit of encouragement from a friend, however, pushes him to seek the lady out. Can she ever forgiven him and give them a second chance at love?

Lady Constance Whittles has only cared for one man in her life. Even after he broke her heart, it remains fixed on him. Another man tries to replace him, but she soon learns she can never feel for him a shadow of what she still feels for Digby. One brief encounter with Digby confirms it; she is more than willing to forgive him. Can they truly take up where they left off?

Charity projects and a Frost Fair on the Thames bring them together, but another stands in their way. Will he tear them apart?

Buy Links for Fire & Frost:
Amazon US  |  Apple Books  | Barnes & Noble | Kobo  | Smashwords

Amazon Global:
AU BR CA DE ES FR IN IT JP MX NL UK

 

First Kiss Friday with Jude Knight

17 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by in 2020, First Kiss Friday

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Welcome to another First Kiss Friday. Today’s guest is my dear friend Jude Knight who will be sharing the first kiss scene from her upcoming novella Melting Matilda. Happy reading, my lovelies, and enjoy!

First Kiss Friday with Matilda and Charles

In this excerpt from Melting Matilda, a novella in the Bluestocking Belles’ box set Fire and Frost, the kiss is the first one in this book. They had another kiss a year before, and it haunts them. You’ll have to read the book to find out more.

Excerpt:

He had dressed with enormous care, driving his valet demented by changing his mind three times about his waistcoat, rejecting six cravats before settling on the seventh, and hesitating for twenty minutes on his choice of fobs. The valet would probably slit his wrists in despair if he could see how Charles had set his hair in disarray by running his fingers through it, and ruined the hard-won perfection of the cravat by tugging it further open because he felt it choking him.

Then the door opened. Matilda entered the room and he lost his breath again. She was magnificent in a violet gown that hugged her curves before sweeping out into a deceptively simple skirt that avoided fashionable ruffles in favor of more subtle stitching that added detail without fuss. The neckline was low enough to rivet his attention while still high enough to be demure by the current standards. She wore pearls at her neck, her wrists, dangling from her ears and glowing in her dark hair, and the blue eyes he met when he wrenched his attention from the snowy skin displayed by her décolletage had taken on a violet cast from the gown.

He gazed, losing track of time and space, until she said his name. “Charles?”

“I had a speech.” His voice croaked, and he swallowed. “I do not remember a word.”

With one hand, index finger outstretched, he traced an inch or so away from her face. “Why did I try so hard to resist you, you beautiful woman?”

It was the wrong thing to say. Her nostrils flared. “Because I am the base-born daughter of a harlot.”

“I cannot remember why I thought that important,” he confessed. “You are the beloved sister of the next Duke of Haverford, the ward of the current duchess, and a lady of impeccable education, training and manners. That is not why I love you, though.”

Her eyes softened. “You love me?”

“That was part of the speech. It is the only bit I remember. I look into your eyes, and I forget my own name.”

“Why?” Matilda asked.

“Why do I forget? No? Why now?” She colored, and he realized what she was asking. “Why do I love you? How can I explain something that has grown in my heart without my knowledge, even against my will?” He took both of her hands, and suddenly the words began to flow.

“I have been attracted to you since the first time we danced, but that is desire, and desire is a part of love but not the whole. I do desire you, my love, more and more each day, but I also admire you, I like being with you, I enjoy talking to you, I respect you. I want to see you every morning when I wake, to spend my days with you, to have the right to dance the first waltz with you at every ball, and to go home with you every night. I want to see your belly rounded with our child, and watch you as you gently teach them the way I’ve seen you teach your little sister. I want you and only you as my countess and the mother of my children. I want to grow old with you, Matilda Grenford.”

He dropped to one knee. “Miss Grenford, I esteem you with all my heart. Will you do me the very great honor of becoming my wife?”

He waited, his anxiety rising as she said nothing, despair taking over as tears rose and began to leak from her pansy eyes. Then she began to nod as she slipped to her own knees and reached out for him. “Yes. Oh, yes. Charles, I love you, too.”

For more than a year, Charles had kept to himself the fact that the Haverford Ice Princess kissed like a flame. As he abandoned his own granite facade for once and for all, he rejoiced in her heat. This time was even better than the last, and the best was yet to come. Though perhaps not here in a family parlor where her brother or sisters could walk in at any time.

“I hope you do not want a long betrothal,” he whispered, between kisses.

She broke off her attempt to completely unravel his cravat. “Not long,” she agreed.

Her fervent answer demanded that he kiss her again, losing himself so deep he didn’t know they were no longer alone until a voice behind him said, “I trust you are betrothed to my sister, Hamner, for it would be most inconvenient to start the evening’s celebrations by killing you.”

Melting Matilda

Her scandalous birth prevents Matilda Grenford from being fully acceptable to Society, even though she has been a ward of the Duchess of Haverford since she was a few weeks old. Matilda does not expect to be wooed by a worthy gentleman. The only man who has ever interested her gave her an outrageous kiss a year ago and has avoided her ever since.

Charles, the Earl of Hamner is honour bound to ignore his attraction to Matilda Grenford. She is an innocent and a lady, and in every way worthy of his respect—but she is base-born. His ancestors would rise screaming from their graves if he made her his countess. But he cannot forget the kiss they once shared.

For more about Fire & Frost, including preorder links, see: https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/fire-frost/

About Jude Knight

Have you ever wanted something so much you were afraid to even try? That was Jude ten years ago.

For as long as she can remember, she’s wanted to be a novelist. She even started dozens of stories, over the years.

But life kept getting in the way. A seriously ill child who required years of therapy; a rising mortgage that led to a full-time job; six children, her own chronic illness… the writing took a back seat.

As the years passed, the fear grew. If she didn’t put her stories out there in the market, she wouldn’t risk making a fool of herself. She could keep the dream alive if she never put it to the test.

Then her mother died. That great lady had waited her whole life to read a novel of Jude’s, and now it would never happen.

So Jude faced her fear and changed it–told everyone she knew she was writing a novel. Now she’d make a fool of herself for certain if she didn’t finish.

Her first book came out to excellent reviews in December 2014, and the rest is history. Many books, lots of positive reviews, and a few awards later, she plans to keep publishing until she runs out of years.

Website and blog: http://judeknightauthor.com/

Subscribe to newsletter: http://judeknightauthor.com/newsletter/

Bookshop: https://judeknight.selz.com/

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First Kiss Friday with Caroline Warfield

11 Friday Oct 2019

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If you’ve never read any of Caroline Warfield’s stories you are missing out. But today on First Kiss Friday she’ll be sharing the first kiss scene from her latest release Christmas Hope. Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies! Take it away, Caroline.

At this point in Christmas Hope, Harry has known Rosemarie a little over a month. He met her when she rescued his grandmother’s Bible from the Somme. It is Christmas 1916 and life is very uncertain. This kiss is a promise.

Excerpt:

Harry pulled the Bible over. Most of the pages were warped from water damage, and some were stained from the mud, but it felt familiar all the same. It never failed to fill him with thoughts of home. I will take them there.

Foolish that. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring, or when this war will end.

Rosemarie returned, looking as flustered as she had when she found him at her door. “He’s asleep,” she said as if he didn’t know it.

“Rosemarie, may I stay tonight?” His gaze never left hers.

She put up both hands as if to defend herself and blushed.

Before she could speak, he rushed on. “I mean no disrespect. I will sleep on the floor by the stove. Soldiers are used to sleeping rough.”

Her body relaxed, and she blinked.

He continued, “I rented my own boat this time. I can leave, but it’s dark, and I—” He sighed. “I really want to spend Christmas here.”

She stepped closer then. “I want it, too,” she whispered.

Her face was inches from his. She reached up a hand to push back his hair. He leaned in to smell her scent, all roses and woman.

Before he could close the distance for a kiss, she put a hand on his chest. “You will sleep on the floor. By the stove,” she said tartly, one brow raised.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, smiling.

He took her mouth gently. At her eager response, passion flared, and his kiss deepened before moving to her neck and the warm spot under her ear. The sound of her moan almost undid him.

An urge to ask her to marry him almost drove him to foolish declarations. Not now. Not yet. But perhaps someday. When all this is over, I will take her home. Let tomorrow bring what it brings. For now, this kiss will have to be enough.

He lifted her, carried her to her rocker, enfolded her in his arms, and began to kiss her in earnest.

Christmas Hope
By Caroline Warfield

After two years at the mercy of the Canadian Expeditionary force and the German war machine, Harry ran out of metaphors for death, synonyms for brown, and images of darkness. When he encounters color among the floating islands of Amiens and life in the form a widow and her little son, hope ensnares him. Through three more long years of war and its aftermath, the hope she brings keeps Harry alive.

Rosemarie Legrand’s husband left her a tiny son, no money, and a savaged reputation when he died. She struggles to simply feed the boy and has little to offer a lonely soldier, but Harry’s devotion lifts her up. The war demands all her strength and resilience,  but the hope of peace and the promise of Harry’s love keep her going.

PREORDER LINKS

Apple Barnes&Noble Kobo

Amazon: US * UK * CA * AU * IN

About the Author

Award winning author Caroline Warfield has been many things: traveler, librarian, poet, raiser of children, bird watcher, Internet and Web services manager, conference speaker, indexer, tech writer, genealogist—even a nun. She reckons she is on at least her third act, happily working in an office surrounded by windows where she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and the far-flung corners of the British Empire. She nudges them to explore the riskiest territory of all, the human heart.

Visit Caroline’s Website and Blog  http://www.carolinewarfield.com/

Meet Caroline on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/carolinewarfield7

Follow Caroline on Twitter https://twitter.com/CaroWarfield

Email Caroline directly   warfieldcaro@gmail.com

Subscribe to Caroline’s newsletter  http://www.carolinewarfield.com/newsletter/

Amazon Author http://www.amazon.com/Caroline-Warfield/e/B00N9PZZZS/

Good Reads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8523742.Caroline_Warfield

Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/caroline-warfield

Caroline’s Other Books

Amazon                       https://www.amazon.com/Caroline-Warfield/e/B00N9PZZZS/

Bookshelf                    http://www.carolinewarfield.com/bookshelf

 

First Kiss Friday with Rue Allyn

06 Friday Sep 2019

Posted by in 2019, First Kiss Friday

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It’s another First Kiss Friday and today’s guest is fellow Bluestocking Belle Rue Allyn who is sharing a first kiss scene from her latest release, The Herald’s Heart. We hope you enjoy this excerpt so happy reading, my lovelies. Take it away, Rue!

Sherry, thank you very much for the chance to share the first kiss from The Herald’s Heart, released just this past Monday. I do want to give your readers a small warning. Please do not be put off by the start of this scene. It is period appropriate. However, I assure you that Lady Larkin puts Sir Talon in his place very rapidly. Thank heaven he’s a quick learner and is willing to change is ways.

EXCERPT:

His eyes opened with the dawn. He shifted in the bed and looked over the side at the woman asleep on the floor. She lay curled, shivering within his cloak, only her hair and face showing. He regretted having to leave her there, but sharing a bed with her, no matter how attractive she might be, wasn’t an option. He could have given up the bed to her, but even his chivalry had its limits. ’Twas enough that he’d resisted the temptation her body offered.

A delicate snore snuffled from her. Good. She was sound asleep. He rose and donned his chausses, then sought out the chamber pot behind the corner screen.

When he returned, he found her where he’d left her. One long-fingered hand peeked out, clutching the wool around her. A whiff of lavender knifed through the smell of the keep. He knelt, lifting away the cloak, seeking more of that sweetness. He ached with longing for the comfort he might have found with her.

He sat behind her, lowered his head, and nuzzled his face into her soft cloud of hair, trying to memorize the specific combination of scents she used. God’s bones, but she smelled good. Warm and yeasty, like fresh bread, and was there a hint of pansy among the lavender?

He had a weakness for pansies. His cock lengthened painfully, and he readjusted his position, stretching out along her back. She was soft and warm. A man could resist only so much temptation. He sought and found her delicate nape, then scraped his teeth along her skin until he located her earlobe. He closed his lips over the pliant morsel and sucked. His tongue darted forward to tickle the firmer shell of her ear as his fingers released the knots he’d tied last night. Her bottom wriggled, and her feet swept up his legs. Yes, she wants me. He relaxed against her and moved his hand to her thigh.

She kicked him.

Talon howled in pain and rolled away from her. A thumb’s length higher and she would have unmanned him.

She rolled after him, pummeling his chest and head.

“Cease, vixen.” He raised his arms to ward her off.

“Nay. You sought to maul me in my sleep. I will teach you to try rape.”

Talon set his jaw against guilt. He had touched her without her leave. Still, he had never forced a woman in his life and would not start now. He fought her for control before she could harm herself.

“I intended no rape,” he grunted.

“What else could you intend?” She battled back, raining blows on his chest as she spoke.

In moments, he manacled her hands between their bodies. He used his legs to hold her down while he fumbled with one hand to retie the rope around her. She shifted and bucked below him, causing no undue amount of stress to his aroused flesh, but their positions protected him from direct attack.

Once the rope was secure, he placed a hand on each of her shoulders, weighting her legs down with his own. “Cease,” he shouted when she continued to rage beneath him.

His words had no effect. Was she mad? He caught a glimpse of her eyes as she tossed her head. He had seen such looks on men gone berserk in battle. To stop those men often required a strong blow to the head. He was not about to hit a woman. So he did the only thing that came naturally. He clamped an iron grip upon her chin and ground his lips upon hers.

Her screams became muted grunts, and she stilled. He eased back the pressure on her mouth and suckled on the plush lower lip, urging her to open for him.

She did, but only to bite him.

He whipped away from her, put a hand to his bleeding mouth, and stared at her. “I apologize. ’Twas the only way I could think to make you stop without doing you violence.”

Her lip curled, and he heard a snarl start low in her throat. “You would say anything to try to excuse your lust. You’re a man, so of course the situation is all my fault.”

“Nay.”

“Aye.”

“I only sought comfort. Then you seemed to want me.”

“The day I want you in any manner is the day the dead will walk.” She sidled as far from him as possible. “What sort of dunce are you to think a woman who kicks you wants you?”

“I thought that before you kicked me,” he mumbled. He pressed hard on his lip, trying to stop the bleeding.

She stared at him with disbelief and frustration and no little fear in the quiet trembling of her mouth.

This had to stop. She did not wish to lie with him. Fine. He did not require it. But if he could not have comfort, he would have peace with her. He would not permit anger, distrust, or fear to get in the way of that.

He pushed himself up. Then grasping her by the arms, he lifted her into a sitting position.

Her mouth dropped open. The muscles in her throat worked, but she remained silent.

“Yes?” he invited, setting her on the bed. Now that she no longer fought him, he would not mind hearing what she had to say. If her words bothered him, he could always gag her, since kissing proved dangerous.

The Herald’s Heart
by Rue Allyn

Her identity was stolen. He thinks she’s a murderer. Will love help them discover the truth?

Royal Herald Sir Talon Du Quereste imagined he would someday settle on a quiet little estate, marry a gently bred damsel, and raise a flock of children. The wife of his daydreams was a woman who could enhance his standing with his peers, and certainly not an overly adventurous, impulsive, argumentative woman of dubious background.

When her family is murdered, Lady Larkin Rosham lost more than everyone she loved—she lost her name, her identity and her voice. She’s finally recovered her ability to speak, but no one believes her claim to be Lady Larkin. She is determined to regain her name and her heritage, but Sir Talon Du Quereste guards the way to the proof she needs. She must discover how to get past him without risking her heart.

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Heralds-Heart-Rue-Allyn-ebook/dp/B07TVYHTDG

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/952179

Other Vendors:  https://books2read.com/u/bowW2A

About Rue Allyn:
Award winning author, Rue Allyn, learned story telling at her grandfather’s knee. (Well it was really more like on his knee—I was two.) She’s been weaving her own tales ever since. She has worked as an instructor, mother, sailor, clerk, sales associate, and painter, along with a variety of other types of employment. She has lived and traveled in places all over the globe from Keflavik Iceland (I did not care much for the long nights of winter.) and Fairbanks Alaska to Panama City and the streets of London England to a large number of places in between. Now that her two sons have left the nest, Rue and her husband of more than four decades (Try living with the same person for more than forty years—that’s a true adventure.) have retired and moved south.

When not writing, enjoying the nearby beach or working jigsaw puzzles, Rue travels the world and surfs the internet in search of background material and inspiration for her next heart melting romance. She loves to hear from readers, and you may contact her at  Rue@RueAllyn.com She can’t wait to hear from you.

Find Rue On Line:

Website~~https://RueAllyn.com

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Blog– https://www.rueallyn.com/blog/