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Sherry Ewing

~ Historical & Time Travel Romance Author

Sherry Ewing

Tag Archives: Hollystone Hall

First Kiss Friday with Jude Knight

19 Friday Nov 2021

Posted by SherryEwing in First Kiss Friday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#BellesInBlue, #ReadARegency, Be My Guest, Bluestocking Belles, Historical Romance, Holly and Hopeful Hearts, Hollystone Hall, Jude Knight, Regency Romance

Happy First Kiss Friday and welcome to my blog. It’s never too early to start celebrating the holiday season and my guest Jude Knight has an excerpt from her novella A Suitable Husband in the Bluestocking Belles’ box set Holly and Hopeful Hearts which is on sale for only $0.99! Happy reading, my lovelies, and enjoy.

James fell in love at first sight, but has been hitting one barrier to his wooing after another. At last, after eight months, he is alone with his beloved, as she decorates a room for Christmas. How could he bear to waste such an opportunity?

Excerpt:

“Very well, Lord Elfingham, I will put you to work.” She put one hand on his shoulder to help herself from the ladder. “Bring the ladder, please. I have more garlands to hang.”

James lifted the ladder and followed obediently in her wake. “What are we doing, pray tell?”

“We are having a costume party tonight. You heard?”

James nodded. His wardrobe was limited to what he could carry in his saddlebags, but the duchess had ordered chests of costumes and fabric brought down from the attics, and he had found the means to replicate his festival clothes as a mountain prince, or at least close enough for the audience.

If they wanted a barbarian, he would give them a barbarian.

“We did not decorate in here on Christmas Eve, since we had so much else to do, so I am putting up Christmas decorations. See? The evergreen is a symbol of life in this most holy season. And the holly, have you heard the song about the holly?”

Sophia sang for him, in a light alto, all the verses his father had taught them when he was a tiny child. This European holly was not precisely the same as the holly he had grown up with, but it was similar. For the pleasure of hearing her voice, he kept his counsel. 

She went on to explain the other Christmas customs, not just the foliage and ribbons and other materials used in the decorations, but the pudding that had been served at Christmas dinner, the Yule logs burning in various fireplaces around the house, and the boxes that the duchess had delivered the previous day to poor families around the district. 

“Cedrica and I, and several of the other ladies, were her deputies,” Sophia explained. “It was wonderful to see the happy little faces of the children, James.” 

James had stayed back from the hunt organized for the men in the hopes of spending time with Sophia, and had found out about the charity expedition too late to offer his services. “I am sorry that I missed it,” he said sincerely.

He noted one glaring omission in her descriptions. “Just a decoration,” she had told him, mendaciously, when he asked about the kissing boughs.

And now pretending to be ignorant of these English Christmas customs was about to pay off. One day, when she was safely his wife, he might admit to Sophia that he and the whole gala had hung on his father’s tales of an English Christmas, that his mother and her maids had decorated high and low, and his father had led the troops out to find a fitting Yule log to carry home in triumph on Christmas Eve. A harder job in his dry mountains than in this green land.

But this was not the time for that story. Not when Sophia was relaxed and about to pass under a kissing bough that retained its full complement of mistletoe berries.

James suppressed a grin. “Look,” he said, at the opportune time, pointing up. “My kaka—my Papa—told me about these.”

She stopped, as he had intended. With a single stride he reached her, wrapped her in his arms, and captured the lips that had been haunting his dreams this past eight months.

And she kissed him back. For a moment—for one long glorious moment, while time stood still and the world ceased to exist—Sophia Belvoir kissed him back.


James and Sophia first appeared in The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, a novella in the collection Holly and Hopeful Hearts. This collection is currently on sale at 99c, and the Bluestocking Belles will be discussing it on Facebook at 1pm (New York time) on Saturday 27th November.

We’d love for you to join us on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BellesBrigade/posts/3079496369002451/

About Holly and Hopeful Hearts

When the Duchess of Haverford sends out invitations to a Yuletide house party and a New Year’s Eve ball at her country estate, Hollystone Hall, those who respond know that Her Grace intends to raise money for her favorite cause and promote whatever love-matches she can. Seven assorted heroes and heroines set out with their pocketbooks firmly clutched and hearts in protective custody. Or are they?

Holly and Hopeful Hearts is a Bluestocking Belles Christmas collection, and is currently reduced in price to 99c.

Buy it at:

Amazon US:  http://ow.ly/INwa3049Ey3
Amazon UK: http://ow.ly/ZMuH3049ELM
Amazon Australia: http://ow.ly/TczG3049EQ2
Amazon Canada: http://ow.ly/IERm3049EYM
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/664559
Kobo: http://ow.ly/Vx1n304jGzj
Barnes & Noble: http://ow.ly/LqCI304jGuS
iBooks: http://ow.ly/JcSI304jGWE

For more links, see: https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/holly-and-hopeful-hearts/

A Suitable Husband, by Jude Knight

As the Duchess of Haverford’s companion, Cedrica Grenford is not treated as a poor relation and is encouraged to mingle with Her Grace’s guests. Surely she can find a suitable husband amongst the gentlemen gathered for the duchess’s house party. Above stairs or possibly below. 

Valuing Vanessa, by Susana Ellis

Facing a dim future as a spinster under her mother’s thumb, Vanessa Sedgely makes a practical decision to attach an amiable gentleman who will not try to rule her life. 

A Kiss for Charity, by Sherry Ewing

Young widow Grace, Lady de Courtenay, has no idea how a close encounter with a rake at a masquerade ball would make her yearn for love again. Can she learn to forgive Lord Nicholas Lacey and set aside their differences to let love into her heart?

Artemis, by Jessica Cale

Actress Charlotte Halfpenny is in trouble. Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and out of a job, Charlotte faces eviction two weeks before Christmas. When the reclusive Earl of Somerton makes her an outrageous offer, she has no choice but to accept. Could he be the man of her dreams, or is the nightmare just beginning?

The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, by Jude Knight

James must marry to please his grandfather, the duke, and to win social acceptance for himself and his father’s other foreign-born children. But only Lady Sophia Belvoir makes his heart sing, and to win her he must invite himself to spend Christmas at the home of his father’s greatest enemy. 

This novella was later rewritten as the novel To Wed a Proper Lady, the first novel in the series The Return of the Mountain King.

Christmas Kisses, by Nicole Zoltack

Louisa Wycliff, Dowager Countess of Exeter wants only for her darling daughter, Anna, to find a man she can love and marry. Appallingly, Anna has her sights on a scoundrel of a duke who chases after every skirt he sees. Anna truly thinks the dashing duke cares for her, but her mother has her doubts. 

An Open Heart, by Caroline Warfield

Esther Baumann longs for a loving husband who will help her create a home where they will teach their children to value the traditions of their people, but she wants a man who is also open to new ideas and happy to make friends outside their narrow circle. Is it so unreasonable to ask for toe curling passion as well?

Dashing Through the Snow, by Amy Rose Bennett

Headstrong bluestocking, Miss Kate Woodville, never thought her Christmas would be spent racing across England with a viscount hell-bent on vengeance. She certainly never expected to find love…

More about Jude Knight:

Jude Knight’s writing goal is to transport readers to another time, another place, where they can enjoy adventure and romance, thrill to trials and challenges, uncover secrets and solve mysteries, delight in a happy ending, and return from their virtual holiday refreshed and ready for anything.

Jude writes everything from Hallmark to Regency Noir, in different eras and diverse places, short, medium and extra long. Expect decent men with wounded hearts, women who are stronger than they think, and villains you’ll want to smack or worse.and all with a leavening of humour.

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

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JudeKnightAuthor/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudeKnightBooks

Pinterest: https://nz.pinterest.com/jknight1033/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jude-knight

Books + Main Bites: https://bookandmainbites.com/JudeKnightAuthor

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Jude-Knight/e/B00RG3SG7I

First Kiss Friday with Bluestocking Belle Amy Rose Bennett

04 Friday Nov 2016

Posted by SherryEwing in First Kiss Friday

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Tags

Amy Rose Bennett, Bluestocking Belles #BellesInBlue, Elopement, Enemies to lovers, Historical, Historical Romance, Holly and Hopeful Hearts, Hollystone Hall, Novella, Regency

Today is First Kiss Friday and this is the last novella being featured from the Bluestocking Belles holiday box set, Holly and Hopeful Hearts. Please welcome author Amy Rose Bennett and her characters from Dashing Through the Snow. Happy reading!

Dashing Through the Snow, by Amy Rose Bennett

Miss Kate Woodville, teacher and bluestocking, enjoys her independence, thank you very much. But when a very determined viscount insists she accompany him on a mad dash through the snow to Gretna Green to stop his younger sister, Violet, eloping with Kate’s own brother, she has little choice but to go. She’ll risk the ruin of her own pristine reputation if it means she can save Freddie from Lord Stanton’s wrath.

As they race along the road north and then back to Hollystone Hall in Buckinghamshire for a New Year’s Eve charity ball, hearts and wills are certain to collide. But will anyone—Freddie and Violet, or Kate and Lord Stanton—find the path to everlasting love?

First Kiss Excerpt

Kate Woodville, confirmed bluestocking, and Lord Stanton have found themselves—quite unexpectedly—sharing confidences late on Christmas Eve…

The heavy silence extended between them until Kate scraped up the courage to murmur, “Forgive me, my lord. Perhaps I have been too frank. It seems the wassail has loosened my tongue.” And made me fanciful.

“There is nothing to forgive,” said Lord Stanton. He gifted her with a warm smile that made her pulse dance oddly. “Thank you. For confiding in me. It cannot be easy to share such private matters.”

“No…” The moment stretched and Kate found that her gaze was trapped with Lord Stanton’s. The mood had shifted again, had become even more intimate. Tender yet also taut. Filled with expectation. It was too much to take in. If she stayed too much longer, she might begin to believe Lord Stanton cared for her which was utterly ridiculous.

She needed to go.

Kate stood and was taken aback to find she was a little light-headed from all the wassail and wine she’d drunk; she put a hand against the brocade covered back of the settee to steady herself. “I think I should retire.” She glanced at the mahogany longcase clock beside the door leading to the Great Hall and the stairs. It was almost midnight. “It is quite late.”

“Yes.” Lord Stanton rose also, a frown of concern creasing his brow as he regarded her. Perhaps he’d noticed she was slightly unsteady as he said, “Let me escort you.”

However Kate shook her head. “No, that won’t be necessary. Good night, my lord.” She crossed the room to the open doorway but as she took a step over the threshold, her slipper caught on the edge of the hall runner and she tripped. Gasping, she clutched at the doorframe but then strong male arms caught her and she found herself pulled up against Lord Stanton’s tall muscular frame, her back to his front.

“Careful now,” he murmured against her hair. His breath teased the hair at her temple, the curve of her ear, raising pleasurable goose-bumps along the exposed flesh of her neck.

“I… I’m not usually so clumsy.” She turned in his arms and attempted to take a step back so she could thank him eye to eye but Lord Stanton’s hold about her waist firmed.

“Well, well,” he said, his voice as rich and potent as the wassail punch they’d just been drinking. “Look where we are, Miss Woodville.” He glanced above their heads before his eyes met hers again. “Or may I call you Kate?”

“Whatever do you—?” Kate tilted her head up and then swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. Oh, no. A large garland of mistletoe—a kissing bough—hung from the carved wooden lintel right above them. “We don’t have to hold to tradition,” she whispered, her gaze returning to Lord Stanton’s.

“Oh, I think we most definitely do.” He pushed one of her curls behind her ear. “It’s Christmas Eve. It would be most remiss of us not to.” His gaze, as soft as moonlight on water caressed her face. Her lips. “May I kiss you?”

Oh, my goodness. I must be dreaming. Kate’s pulse thrummed with anticipation and her heart swelled with unexpected pleasure. Lord Stanton wants to kiss me. Before she’d even thought through the consequences her wassail-addled brain formulated a response and she whispered, “Yes.”

Lord Stanton’s mouth tipped into a devastating smile just as the longcase clock began to chime the hour of midnight. “Merry Christmas, sweet Kate.”

He raised a large hand and cupped her cheek as if he were touching something as delicate as a Christmas rose. Holding her breath, her gaze dropped to his mouth as he tilted his head then oh, so slowly lowered it. And then she stopped thinking as overwhelming sensation swept her away. The slick brush of warm yet firm lips over hers, the sliding caress of Lord Stanton’s other hand up her back to her nape, the push of his fingers into her hair as he angled her head slightly and claimed her whole mouth, the intoxicating scent of his cologne wrapping round her, the rush of tingling heat through her whole body, all of these things sent her spiraling high, so high until she felt like she was flying.

When the tip of Lord Stanton’s tongue swiped boldly across her lower lip, she gasped at the decadent sensation, the unexpected, wicked, earthly pleasure of it. Her lips now parted, he took the opportunity to explore her further, his tongue slipping inside her mouth, stroking and tasting her until she was moaning, gripping his wide shoulders, pushing herself shamelessly against his hot, hard chest, seeking more, wanting something else from him. She hardly knew what that was until Lord Stanton’s skated his hand from her neck down to her shoulder then his fingers slid beneath her spencer and gently covered her breast. Desire flared hotter, brighter. All these years she’d been a spinster she’d never known that this was what she’d been missing. Never dreamed a kiss could be like this. Her first kiss—

“What the bloody hell are you doing with my sister, Stanton? Unhand her this instant.”

About Amy Rose Bennett

Amy Rose Bennett has always wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. An avid reader with a particular love for historical romance, it seemed only natural to write stories in her favourite genre. She has a passion for creating emotion-packed, racy stories set in the Georgian and Regency periods. Of course, her strong-willed heroines and rakish heroes always find their happily ever after.

Amy is happily married to her own Alpha male hero, has two beautiful daughters, and a rather loopy Rhodesian Ridgeback. She has been a speech pathologist for many years but is currently devoting her time to her one other true calling – writing romance.

Find Amy at:

Website and Blog |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest

About Holly and Hopeful Hearts

Release date: November 8, 2016

When the Duchess of Haverford sends out invitations to a Yuletide house party and a New Year’s Eve ball at her country estate, Hollystone Hall, those who respond know that Her Grace intends to raise money for her favorite cause and promote whatever love-matches she can. Seven assorted heroes and heroines set out with their pocketbooks firmly clutched and hearts in protective custody. Or are they?

Holly and Hopeful Hearts is a Bluestocking Belles Christmas collection, with a novella from each Belle and a bonus novelette. For more than 684 pages of holiday reading, preorder now. The Belles support the Malala Fund, with 25% of proceeds from this publication.

A Suitable Husband, by Jude Knight

As the Duchess of Haverford’s companion, Cedrica Grenford is not treated as a poor relation and is encouraged to mingle with Her Grace’s guests. Surely she can find a suitable husband amongst the gentlemen gathered for the duchess’s house party. Above stairs or possibly below.

Valuing Vanessa, by Susana Ellis

Facing a dim future as a spinster under her mother’s thumb, Vanessa Sedgely makes a practical decision to attach an amiable gentleman who will not try to rule her life.

A Kiss for Charity, by Sherry Ewing

Young widow Grace, Lady de Courtenay, has no idea how a close encounter with a rake at a masquerade ball would make her yearn for love again. Can she learn to forgive Lord Nicholas Lacey and set aside their differences to let love into her heart?

Artemis, by Jessica Cale

Actress Charlotte Halfpenny is in trouble. Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and out of a job, Charlotte faces eviction two weeks before Christmas. When the reclusive Earl of Somerton makes her an outrageous offer, she has no choice but to accept. Could he be the man of her dreams, or is the nightmare just beginning?

The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, by Jude Knight

James must marry to please his grandfather, the duke, and to win social acceptance for himself and his father’s other foreign-born children. But only Lady Sophia Belvoir makes his heart sing, and to win her he must invite himself to spend Christmas at the home of his father’s greatest enemy.

Christmas Kisses, by Nicole Zoltack

Louisa Wycliff, Dowager Countess of Exeter wants only for her darling daughter, Anna, to find a man she can love and marry. Appallingly, Anna has her sights on a scoundrel of a duke who chases after every skirt he sees. Anna truly thinks the dashing duke cares for her, but her mother has her doubts.

An Open Heart, by Caroline Warfield

Esther Baumann longs for a loving husband who will help her create a home where they will teach their children to value the traditions of their people, but she wants a man who is also open to new ideas and happy to make friends outside their narrow circle. Is it so unreasonable to ask for toe curling passion as well?

Dashing Through the Snow, by Amy Rose Bennett

Headstrong bluestocking, Miss Kate Woodville, never thought her Christmas would be spent racing across England with a viscount hell-bent on vengeance. She certainly never expected to find love…

Buy Links

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA

Smashwords | Kobo | Nook | iBooks

One lonely kitten needs a home!

29 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by SherryEwing in 2017

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#BellesInBlue, Bluestocking Belles, Historical, Historical Romance, Holly and Hopeful Hearts, Hollystone Hall, Novella, Regency, Regency Romance, Sherry Ewing

Hollystone Hall is not only filled to capacity with guests attending a house party, but there are kittens running amuck and getting under foot everywhere you turn! Read an excerpt from my novella, A Kiss for Charity, within the Bluestocking Belles upcoming holiday box set, Holly and Hopeful Hearts.

Excerpt:

Nicholas shrugged out of his jacket and threw it upon the chair by the fireplace. A soft muffled sound, followed by the movement of the garment, had him peering over the back of the chair. He picked up his coat and saw a small ginger tabby kitten curled up in a fur ball of fluff. Its tail twitched.

“Mew.”

The poor little thing was the color of marmalade, with dark stripes from the tips of its ears to the end of its tail. Bright green eyes stared up at him.

“Mew,” the kitten repeated.

Nicholas had always been fonder of dogs than cats, but he picked up the animal all the same. “Where did you come from?” he asked.

Blanche would just love this little baby to coddle. The small beast began to purr ferociously, content when Nicholas began to scratch behind its ears.

Nicholas tugged at his cravat with his free hand until he heard a soft knock at his door. Unsure who was disturbing him, he went to the door to open it, and the feline took the opportunity to scamper out of his arms and out the door.

The fact that the kitten decided not to remain in his company was hardly something to be concerned about. The lady who stood at his open door, however, was.

He frowned. Apparently the silent signals he had been giving the woman were not clear enough, since she now took a chance of being found out by knocking at his door at this hour.

“Grace…” Her name came out of his mouth before he could take the word back.

“Nicholas…” His name, as it passed her lips, almost caused his heart to stop its beating.

He opened the door wider to let her decide if she would enter or not. Apparently he was a glutton for punishing himself because he had no idea what the hell he was doing allowing her entrance into his bedroom of all places.

 A Kiss for Charity by Sherry Ewing

Young widow, Grace, Lady de Courtenay, is more concerned with improving her mind than finding another husband. But how was she to know that a close encounter with a rake at a masquerade ball would spark her interest and make her yearn for love again?

Lord Nicholas Lacey has been on his own for far too long after losing his wife in a tragic accident. After a rare trip to a masquerade, his attention is captivated by a lovely young woman. Considering the dubious company she keeps, perhaps she might be interested in becoming his mistress…

From the darkened paths of Vauxhall Gardens to a countryside estate called Hollystone Hall, Nicholas and Grace must set aside their differences in order to let love into their hearts. It will take more than a dose of holiday cheer to see these two on the road to finding their happily-ever-after and a kiss for charity may just be what they both need.

A Kiss for Charity is one of eight novellas within the Bluestocking Belles 2016 holiday box set, Holly and Hopeful Hearts, with 25% of the proceeds benefiting the Belles’ mutual charity the Malala Fund. Release date November 8, 2016.

Holly and Hopeful Hearts  a Bluestocking Belles Collection

When the Duchess of Haverford sends out invitations to a Yuletide house party and a New Year’s Eve ball at her country estate, Hollystone Hall, those who respond know that Her Grace intends to raise money for her favorite cause and promote whatever marriages she can. Eight assorted heroes and heroines set out with their pocketbooks firmly clutched and hearts in protective custody. Or are they?

Buy Links

Amazon US  | Barnes & Noble  |  iBooks  |  Kobo  |  Smashwords

 Amazon AU  |  Amazon BR  |  Amazon CA  |  Amazon DE  |   Amazon FR  |  Amazon UK

KITTEN GIVEAWAY
Looks like the little tabby kitten in A Kiss for Charity
has adopted Grace as her new owner.
Enter my giveaway for your chance to win one of your own!
Enter here:  a  Rafflecopter giveaway
The winner for the stuffed tabby kitten will be announced at the Belles’ Facebook event on November 13th.

 Join our Hopeful Hearts Ball Facebook  here

First Kiss Friday with Bluestocking Belle Caroline Warfield

28 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by SherryEwing in First Kiss Friday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#BellesInBlue, Bluestocking Belles, Caroline Warfield, Holly and Hopeful Hearts, Hollystone Hall, Novella, Regency, Regency Romance

It’s First Kiss Friday and that means I get to introduce you to Bluestocking Belle Caroline Warfield and her characters from her novella, An Open Heart, in the Belles’ box set, Holly and Hopeful Hearts, available for pre-order. Happy reading and enjoy this first kiss scene!

In An Open Heart, a mentor helps Adam understand true openness and sends him across three countries to lay his heart at Esther’s feet at Hollystone Hall. Remembering their argument on the day they parted, she won’t give him an chance. The large house party makes it easy for her to avoid him for a few days. She fully expects him to turn up his nose at the mascquerade. When he not only attends, but does so in a costume sure to get her attention, she finally can’t resist him—or their first kiss.

Excerpt:

“Will you walk with me, my lady?” the man asked in a familiar voice.

Adam’s voice. He had come.

When she put her hand in his, he held it high in a courtly manner and began to promenade around the room, nodding as a gracious king might do to the curious and amused onlookers. He promenaded past the grinning Grenford brothers, Hythe in his Tudor tights, and the duchess dressed as Catherine the Great. He promenaded past the entire company and walked her out the door, down the hall, and into a small withdrawing room. Esther moved along beside him, stunned into inaction.

Before she could register that he had closed them in alone, he tore the false beard from his face—wincing a bit when the adhesive stuck to his skin—tossed it aside, and took her in his arms with a predatory gleam in his eyes. She couldn’t move while his mouth descended toward hers. She wondered distantly if she ought to refuse his kiss, but no power on earth could make her do so. The moment she had dreamed about, longed for, and denied since the moment he came to work for her father three years before had arrived.

She leaned into it, and curiosity gave way to wonder. His mouth felt warm and firm against hers. He began to move, and warmth filled her too, fire bursting forth deep inside her. Then his tongue touched her lips, and her knees gave so that he had to pull her against his body until they touched, shoulder to knees, and she thought she might melt. What could she do? She responded in kind, tongue to tongue, and gripped him in return.

They both were panting when he pulled his mouth away and cradled her head against his shoulder. “Will you listen to me now, Esther?”

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 while 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.

Social Media Links:

Visit Caroline’s Website and Blog

Meet Caroline on Facebook

Follow Caroline on Twitter

Email Caroline directly

Subscribe to Caroline’s newsletter

Renegade Wife Pinterest Board

Amazon Author

Good Reads

About Holly and Hopeful Hearts

Release date: November 8, 2016

When the Duchess of Haverford sends out invitations to a Yuletide house party and a New Year’s Eve ball at her country estate, Hollystone Hall, those who respond know that Her Grace intends to raise money for her favorite cause and promote whatever love-matches she can. Seven assorted heroes and heroines set out with their pocketbooks firmly clutched and hearts in protective custody. Or are they?

 Holly and Hopeful Hearts is a Bluestocking Belles Christmas collection, with a novella from each Belle and a bonus novelette. For more than 684 pages of holiday reading, preorder now. The Belles support the Malala Fund, with 25% of proceeds from this publication.

A Suitable Husband, by Jude Knight

As the Duchess of Haverford’s companion, Cedrica Grenford is not treated as a poor relation and is encouraged to mingle with Her Grace’s guests. Surely she can find a suitable husband amongst the gentlemen gathered for the duchess’s house party. Above stairs or possibly below.

 Valuing Vanessa, by Susana Ellis

Facing a dim future as a spinster under her mother’s thumb, Vanessa Sedgely makes a practical decision to attach an amiable gentleman who will not try to rule her life.

A Kiss for Charity, by Sherry Ewing

Young widow Grace, Lady de Courtenay, has no idea how a close encounter with a rake at a masquerade ball would make her yearn for love again. Can she learn to forgive Lord Nicholas Lacey and set aside their differences to let love into her heart?

Artemis, by Jessica Cale

Actress Charlotte Halfpenny is in trouble. Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and out of a job, Charlotte faces eviction two weeks before Christmas. When the reclusive Earl of Somerton makes her an outrageous offer, she has no choice but to accept. Could he be the man of her dreams, or is the nightmare just beginning?

The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, by Jude Knight

James must marry to please his grandfather, the duke, and to win social acceptance for himself and his father’s other foreign-born children. But only Lady Sophia Belvoir makes his heart sing, and to win her he must invite himself to spend Christmas at the home of his father’s greatest enemy.

Christmas Kisses, by Nicole Zoltack

Louisa Wycliff, Dowager Countess of Exeter wants only for her darling daughter, Anna, to find a man she can love and marry. Appallingly, Anna has her sights on a scoundrel of a duke who chases after every skirt he sees. Anna truly thinks the dashing duke cares for her, but her mother has her doubts.

An Open Heart, by Caroline Warfield

Esther Baumann longs for a loving husband who will help her create a home where they will teach their children to value the traditions of their people, but she wants a man who is also open to new ideas and happy to make friends outside their narrow circle. Is it so unreasonable to ask for toe curling passion as well?

Dashing Through the Snow, by Amy Rose Bennett

Headstrong bluestocking, Miss Kate Woodville, never thought her Christmas would be spent racing across England with a viscount hell-bent on vengeance. She certainly never expected to find love…

 Buy Links

 Amazon US  |  Amazon UK  |   Amazon AU  |   Amazon CA 

Smashwords  |  Kobo  |   Nook  |   iBooks

First Kiss Friday with Bluestocking Belle Nicole Zoltack

21 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by SherryEwing in First Kiss Friday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#BellesInBlue, Bluestocking Belles, Historical Romance, Holly and Hopeful Hearts, Hollystone Hall, Nicole Zoltack, Novella

Today on First Kiss Friday I’d like to welcome Bluestocking Belle Nicole Zoltack and her characters from Christmas Kisses, her novella within our holiday box set Holly and Hopeful Hearts currently available for pre-order. Enjoy the following excerpt!

Excerpt

Anna has fancied Benjamin Huxley, the Duke of Barnet, for quite some time now, seeing beyond his skirt-chasing ways. Her mother, of course, is scandalized and wishes Anna would consider another option. Thus far, Anna has not given into her mother’s wishes…

Anna didn’t know what to think. For so long, she had wanted Benjamin to look at her as he was staring at her right now, had wanted to hear what he was saying, had wanted him to kiss her.

But now that he was kissing her, she wanted to kiss someone else.

She put a hand to his chest and shifted back. “I am sorry, Benjamin, that things did not work out for you and Florentina—”

He captured her hand and held it there against him. “If you are willing—”

“I—”

His smile died. “It’s Pershore, isn’t it.” His nostrils flared. “I see how he looks at you. You would rather have him than me? I thought…”

“I’m sorry. I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Then this conversation is over.” Tight-lipped, Benjamin walked off.

Only then did Anna come back to reality and realized how many others were in the parlor, and she flushed. So many prying eyes, so many wagging tongues. Why, someone might send in a bit about her and the duke to The Teatime Tattler!

And if one of the gossipers were to find Jasper…

About Holly and Hopeful Hearts

When the Duchess of Haverford sends out invitations to a Yuletide house party and a New Year’s Eve ball at her country estate, Hollystone Hall, those who respond know that Her Grace intends to raise money for her favorite cause and promote whatever love-matches she can. Seven assorted heroes and heroines set out with their pocketbooks firmly clutched and hearts in protective custody. Or are they?

A Suitable Husband, by Jude Knight

As the Duchess of Haverford’s companion, Cedrica Grenford is not treated as a poor relation and is encouraged to mingle with Her Grace’s guests. Surely she can find a suitable husband amongst the gentlemen gathered for the duchess’s house party. Above stairs or possibly below.

Valuing Vanessa, by Susana Ellis

Facing a dim future as a spinster under her mother’s thumb, Vanessa Sedgely makes a practical decision to attach an amiable gentleman who will not try to rule her life.

A Kiss for Charity, by Sherry Ewing

Young widow Grace, Lady de Courtenay, has no idea how a close encounter with a rake at a masquerade ball would make her yearn for love again. Can she learn to forgive Lord Nicholas Lacey and set aside their differences to let love into her heart?

Artemis, by Jessica Cale

Actress Charlotte Halfpenny is in trouble. Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and out of a job, Charlotte faces eviction two weeks before Christmas. When the reclusive Earl of Somerton makes her an outrageous offer, she has no choice but to accept. Could he be the man of her dreams, or is the nightmare just beginning?

The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, by Jude Knight

James must marry to please his grandfather, the duke, and to win social acceptance for himself and his father’s other foreign-born children. But only Lady Sophia Belvoir makes his heart sing, and to win her he must invite himself to spend Christmas at the home of his father’s greatest enemy.

Christmas Kisses, by Nicole Zoltack

Louisa Wycliff, Dowager Countess of Exeter wants only for her darling daughter, Anna, to find a man she can love and marry. Appallingly, Anna has her sights on a scoundrel of a duke who chases after every skirt he sees. Anna truly thinks the dashing duke cares for her, but her mother has her doubts.

An Open Heart, by Caroline Warfield

Esther Baumann longs for a loving husband who will help her create a home where they will teach their children to value the traditions of their people, but she wants a man who is also open to new ideas and happy to make friends outside their narrow circle. Is it so unreasonable to ask for toe curling passion as well?

Dashing Through the Snow, by Amy Rose Bennett

Headstrong bluestocking, Miss Kate Woodville, never thought her Christmas would be spent racing across England with a viscount hell-bent on vengeance. She certainly never expected to find love…

Holly and Hopeful Hearts is a Bluestocking Belles Christmas collection, with a novella from each Belle and a bonus novelette. For more than 800 pages of holiday reading, preorder now. The Belles support the Malala Fund, with 25% of proceeds from this publication.

Buy Links:

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA

Smashwords | Kobo | Nook | iBooks

Bio:

 

Nicole Zoltack loves to write in many genres, especially romance, whether fantasy, paranormal, time travels or regency. She’s also a freelance editor and a ghostwriter. When she’s not writing about ladies and their gentlemen, superheroes, or witches, she enjoys spending time with her loving husband, three energetic young boys, and precious baby girl. She enjoys riding horses (pretending they’re unicorns, of course!) and going to the PA Renaissance Faire, dressed in garb. She’ll also read anything she can get her hands on. Her current favorite TV shows are The Walking Dead and Gotham.

First Kiss Friday with Bluestocking Belle Jude Knight

14 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by SherryEwing in First Kiss Friday

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#BellesInBlue, Bluestocking Belles, First Kiss Friday, Historical, Historical Romance, Holly and Hopeful Hearts, Hollystone Hall, Jude Knight, Novella, Regency Romance

Today on First Kiss Friday, I would like to welcome back Bluestocking Belle Jude Knight as she gives us an excerpt from her novella in the Belles’ box set, Holly and Hopeful Hearts. Jude’s been busy as she has two stories in our box set. Happy reading and enjoy!

In The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, James fell in love at first sight, but has been hitting one barrier to his wooing after another. At last, after eight months, he is alone with his beloved, as she decorates a room for Christmas. How could he bear to waste such an opportunity?

Excerpt:

“Very well, Lord Elfingham, I will put you to work.” She put one hand on his shoulder to help herself from the ladder. “Bring the ladder, please. I have more garlands to hang.”

James lifted the ladder and followed obediently in her wake. “What are we doing, pray tell?”

“We are having a costume party tonight. You heard?”

James nodded. His wardrobe was limited to what he could carry in his saddlebags, but the duchess had ordered chests of costumes and fabric brought down from the attics, and he had found the means to replicate his festival clothes as a mountain prince, or at least close enough for the audience.

If they wanted a barbarian, he would give them a barbarian.

“We did not decorate in here on Christmas Eve, since we had so much else to do, so I am putting up Christmas decorations. See? The evergreen is a symbol of life in this most holy season. And the holly, have you heard the song about the holly?”

Sophia sang for him, in a light alto, all the verses his father had taught them when he was a tiny child. This European holly was not precisely the same as the holly he had grown up with, but it was similar. For the pleasure of hearing her voice, he kept his counsel.

She went on to explain the other Christmas customs, not just the foliage and ribbons and other materials used in the decorations, but the pudding that had been served at Christmas dinner, the Yule logs burning in various fireplaces around the house, and the boxes that the duchess had delivered the previous day to poor families around the district.

“Cedrica and I, and several of the other ladies, were her deputies,” Sophia explained. “It was wonderful to see the happy little faces of the children, James.”

James had stayed back from the hunt organized for the men in the hopes of spending time with Sophia, and had found out about the charity expedition too late to offer his services. “I am sorry that I missed it,” he said sincerely.

He noted one glaring omission in her descriptions. “Just a decoration,” she had told him, mendaciously, when he asked about the kissing boughs.

And now pretending to be ignorant of these English Christmas customs was about to pay off. One day, when she was safely his wife, he might admit to Sophia that he and the whole gala had hung on his father’s tales of an English Christmas, that his mother and her maids had decorated high and low, and his father had led the troops out to find a fitting Yule log to carry home in triumph on Christmas Eve. A harder job in his dry mountains than in this green land.

But this was not the time for that story. Not when Sophia was relaxed and about to pass under a kissing bough that retained its full complement of mistletoe berries.

James suppressed a grin. “Look,” he said, at the opportune time, pointing up. “My kaka—my Papa—told me about these.”

She stopped, as he had intended. With a single stride he reached her, wrapped her in his arms, and captured the lips that had been haunting his dreams this past eight months.

And she kissed him back. For a moment—for one long glorious moment, while time stood still and the world ceased to exist—Sophia Belvoir kissed him back.

About Holly and Hopeful Hearts

When the Duchess of Haverford sends out invitations to a Yuletide house party and a New Year’s Eve ball at her country estate, Hollystone Hall, those who respond know that Her Grace intends to raise money for her favorite cause and promote whatever love-matches she can. Seven assorted heroes and heroines set out with their pocketbooks firmly clutched and hearts in protective custody. Or are they?

Holly and Hopeful Hearts is a Bluestocking Belles Christmas collection, with a novella from each Belle and a bonus novelette. For more than 800 pages of holiday reading, preorder now. The Belles support the Malala Fund, with 25% of proceeds from this publication.

Holly and Hopeful Hearts is on pre-order at

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK  |  Amazon AU  |  Amazon CA

Smashwords  |  Kobo  |  Nook  |  iBooks

A Suitable Husband, by Jude Knight

As the Duchess of Haverford’s companion, Cedrica Grenford is not treated as a poor relation and is encouraged to mingle with Her Grace’s guests. Surely she can find a suitable husband amongst the gentlemen gathered for the duchess’s house party. Above stairs or possibly below.

Valuing Vanessa, by Susana Ellis

Facing a dim future as a spinster under her mother’s thumb, Vanessa Sedgely makes a practical decision to attach an amiable gentleman who will not try to rule her life.

A Kiss for Charity, by Sherry Ewing

Young widow Grace, Lady de Courtenay, has no idea how a close encounter with a rake at a masquerade ball would make her yearn for love again. Can she learn to forgive Lord Nicholas Lacey and set aside their differences to let love into her heart?

Artemis, by Jessica Cale

Actress Charlotte Halfpenny is in trouble. Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and out of a job, Charlotte faces eviction two weeks before Christmas. When the reclusive Earl of Somerton makes her an outrageous offer, she has no choice but to accept. Could he be the man of her dreams, or is the nightmare just beginning?

The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, by Jude Knight

James must marry to please his grandfather, the duke, and to win social acceptance for himself and his father’s other foreign-born children. But only Lady Sophia Belvoir makes his heart sing, and to win her he must invite himself to spend Christmas at the home of his father’s greatest enemy.

Christmas Kisses, by Nicole Zoltack

Louisa Wycliff, Dowager Countess of Exeter wants only for her darling daughter, Anna, to find a man she can love and marry. Appallingly, Anna has her sights on a scoundrel of a duke who chases after every skirt he sees. Anna truly thinks the dashing duke cares for her, but her mother has her doubts.

An Open Heart, by Caroline Warfield

Esther Baumann longs for a loving husband who will help her create a home where they will teach their children to value the traditions of their people, but she wants a man who is also open to new ideas and happy to make friends outside their narrow circle. Is it so unreasonable to ask for toe curling passion as well?

 Dashing Through the Snow, by Amy Rose Bennett

Headstrong bluestocking, Miss Kate Woodville, never thought her Christmas would be spent racing across England with a viscount hell-bent on vengeance. She certainly never expected to find love…

 About Jude Knight

Jude Knight has been telling stories all her life: making up serial tales to amuse her friends and children, imagining sequels to books that have moved her and left her wanting more, occasionally submitting short stories to magazines and the radio, and starting more than a dozen novels set in different times and places.

She has devoted most of the last forty years to a career in commercial writing and raising a large family. She wrote and published her first historical romance in 2014, and now has the wind in her sails and a head full of strong determined heroines, heroes with the sense to appreciate them, and villains you’ll love to loathe.

Website and Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest

First Kiss Friday with Bluestocking Belle Jessica Cale

07 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by SherryEwing in First Kiss Friday

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#BellesInBlue, Bluestocking Belles, First Kiss Friday, Historical, Historical Romance, Holly and Hopeful Hearts, Hollystone Hall, Jessica Cale, Regency Romance

Today on First Kiss Friday, it is my pleasure to welcome Jessica Cale and her characters from Artemis in the Bluestocking Belles’ holiday box set Holly and Hopeful Hearts. Let me also just say that this story is brilliant and had me hooked from the very first page! You’re going to love it, along with this excerpt. Enjoy!

Excerpt:

“Charlotte?” Apollo’s voice was a temperate breeze in the chill of the night. He had been so kind to her. She wanted to be his countess, wanted to be the kind of wife she believed he deserved, but knew in her heart she couldn’t. She hated to prevent him from finding such a paragon, but she couldn’t cheat her child of the chance at a good life, either. She could not protect them both. When she turned to face Apollo, there were tears of frustration in her eyes.

He gathered her in his arms and held her close without a word, and a pathetic-sounding sob broke free from her throat at the surprise. Aside from dancing, he’d barely touched her. She surrendered to it, cautiously wrapping her arms around his long, lean waist. His shirt was stiff with starch beneath her cheek and the delicious smell of him drove all thought from her mind. His cologne was light and vaguely herbal, like elderflowers and lemon in brandy. Masculine, but not overtly so. It mixed with his own chemistry and became something more, the smell of desire itself. It would be so easy to love him, but she knew she would be doing him a disservice.

He loosed his hold on her only enough to seek her gaze with heavy-lidded eyes blue as medicine bottles. “What troubles you?”

She glanced over his shoulder to be sure they were alone. “I don’t belong here.”

“You belong with me.” His assurance was heady as laudanum and twice as tempting. She longed to drink his words and forget.

“You deserve better,” she said, looking away. “I can’t be everything you need.” She pulled out of his arms reluctantly and sunk onto a bench overlooking a fallow field.

He sat beside her without a sound. “You already are.”

Her laugh was defensive and more than a little morose. “The things I’ve done, Apollo…”

He took her hand, offering her his strength. “I don’t care, Charlotte.”

“You ought to,” she fired back, but did not withdraw her hand from his grasp. “It wasn’t just Marksby. Perhaps you’ve heard the rumors. If you haven’t, you will. Byron, Coleridge, Kean, dozens of others. Opium, laudanum, absinthe, women.” Her voice cracked.

His eyebrows shot up at her confession. “Women?”

She cringed inwardly. Her past had succeeded in shocking him where her behavior had failed. “Many,” she confessed. “So many. What must you think of me?”

He wrenched his gaze away, appearing to consider something. Having second thoughts, like as not. She couldn’t blame him.

Her hands shook as she tried to explain herself. He had been lovely to her and the last thing she wanted was to hurt him. “If I may be candid, I’ve come to care for you a great deal and that is the reason I cannot let you marry someone like me. You ought to find yourself a real lady with whom to acquire a child or two.”

“And you?” His face looked stricken as he turned to her, his high cheeks streaked with red. “You will miss your lovers?” he asked without a hint of judgement or scorn.

Her chest shook with unshed tears in time with the shaking of her hands. “I do not want you to think for a moment my reluctance stems from any defect on your part. It is rather the contrary. We will never be equals, and I cannot allow myself to believe you could ever truly return the feelings I have for you.”

He opened his mouth to speak, clearly miffed.

“Forgive me, I did not mean to cause you embarrassment,” she said. “What I am failing to articulate is this: you need a lady deserving of your kindness, someone from your world. I do not belong here.”

“I daresay I know a thing or two about not belonging.” He let out a long breath. “Charlotte, I adore you. I don’t want someone from this world, I want you. You have brought a light into my life I thought was extinguished forever. Don’t leave me.”

As if she could. The moonlight in his eyes inspired a kind of madness in her, and her gaze dropped again to his lips as he implored her, “Don’t go.”

If his eyes were the ocean, his voice was the undertow, drawing her into the unknown. She drifted into him like a ship lost at sea, helpless against his pull, until she felt his face against hers. Her cheek connected with his lean jaw and she could smell the elderflower on his throat. His pulse echoed in her ear, or perhaps it was her own.

Because she might never get another chance, she touched her lips to his.

He let her.

It was strange and marvelous, kissing someone for the first time. The surprise at the new sensation gave way to a restless eagerness to taste and know through touch. The greater significance of the moment was lost to details like the way his nose touched her cheek and the feel of his breath on her lips.

He cradled her face in his hand as he returned her kiss, his mouth remarkably soft for something that looked so sculpted. Like the man himself, his kiss was achingly sensual; there was nothing Charlotte could do but submit. Emboldened by her involuntary moan, he deepened the kiss, tasting her so thoroughly she felt dizzy.

Coming up for air, he rested his forehead against hers. She took his face in her hands, caressing the blade of his cheeks and the plane of his jaw. His eyelashes tickled her face as he closed his eyes, relaxing into her hands.

In all her years, she had never been kissed like that. A heady mix of desire, devotion, and natural skill, it was more than a kiss, it was love itself.

Jessica Cale is the award-winning author of the historical romance series, The Southwark Saga. Originally from Minnesota, she lived in Wales for several years where she earned a BA in History and an MFA in Creative Writing while climbing castles and photographing mines for history magazines. She kidnapped (“married”;) her very own British prince (close enough) and is enjoying her happily ever after with him in North Carolina. Visit her history blog at www.dirtysexyhistory.com.

Website

ABOUT HOLLY AND HOPEFUL HEARTS

 When the Duchess of Haverford sends out invitations to a Yuletide house party and a New Year’s Eve ball at her country estate, Hollystone Hall, those who respond know that Her Grace intends to raise money for her favorite cause and promote whatever marriages she can. Eight assorted heroes and heroines set out with their pocketbooks firmly clutched and hearts in protective custody. Or are they?

A Suitable Husband, by Jude Knight

As the Duchess of Haverford’s companion, Cedrica Grenford is not treated as a poor relation and is encouraged to mingle with Her Grace’s guests. Surely she can find a suitable husband amongst the gentlemen gathered for the duchess’s house party. Above stairs or possibly below.

Valuing Vanessa, by Susana Ellis

Facing a dim future as a spinster under her mother’s thumb, Vanessa Sedgely makes a practical decision to attach an amiable gentleman who will not try to rule her life.

A Kiss for Charity, by Sherry Ewing

Young widow Grace, Lady de Courtenay, has no idea how a close encounter with a rake at a masquerade ball would make her yearn for love again. Can she learn to forgive Lord Nicholas Lacey and set aside their differences to let love into her heart?

 Artemis, by Jessica Cale

Actress Charlotte Halfpenny is in trouble. Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and out of a job, Charlotte faces eviction two weeks before Christmas. When the reclusive Earl of Somerton makes her an outrageous offer, she has no choice but to accept. Could he be the man of her dreams, or is the nightmare just beginning?

The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, by Jude Knight

James must marry to please his grandfather, the duke, and to win social acceptance for himself and his father’s other foreign-born children. But only Lady Sophia Belvoir makes his heart sing, and to win her he must invite himself to spend Christmas at the home of his father’s greatest enemy.

Christmas Kisses, by Nicole Zoltack

Louisa Wycliff, Dowager Countess of Exeter wants only for her darling daughter, Anna, to find a man she can love and marry. Appallingly, Anna has her sights on a scoundrel of a duke who chases after every skirt he sees. Anna truly thinks the dashing duke cares for her, but her mother has her doubts.

An Open Heart, by Caroline Warfield

Esther Baumann longs for a loving husband who will help her create a home where they will teach their children to value the traditions of their people, but she wants a man who is also open to new ideas and happy to make friends outside their narrow circle. Is it so unreasonable to ask for toe curling passion as well?

Dashing Through the Snow, by Amy Rose Bennett

Headstrong bluestocking, Miss Kate Woodville, never thought her Christmas would be spent racing across England with a viscount hell-bent on vengeance. She certainly never expected to find love…

Holly and Hopeful Hearts is a Bluestocking Belles Collection available for pre-order at $2.99 and will be released November 8, 2016. 25% of the sales benefit the Belles’ mutual charity the Malala Fund.

Buy Links:

Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

Kobo | iBooks | Nook | Smashwords

First Kiss Friday with Sherry Ewing and A Kiss for Charity

30 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by SherryEwing in First Kiss Friday, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#BellesInBlue, A Kiss for Charity, Bluestocking Belles, First Kiss Friday, Historical, Historical Romance, Holly and Hopeful Hearts, Hollystone Hall, Novella, Regency, Regency Romance, Scottish Romance, Sherry Ewing

Today on First Kiss Friday, I’d like to introduce you to my hero, Lord Nicholas Lacy, and heroine, Grace, Lady de Courtenay. As you’ve already seen in the previous two weeks, I’ll be showcasing each of the novellas in the Bluestocking Belles’ next box set, Holly and Hopeful Hearts. My novella is entitled, A Kiss for Charity and we find my couple meeting at a masqurade ball at Vauxhall Gardens. Please enjoy this excerpt of their first kiss!

Excerpt:

“May I have the pleasure of this dance?” he inquired politely, already knowing her answer.

Her gloved hand slipped into his and he felt as though he had waited his entire life for her to say yes. Yes to the dance. Yes to anything else he might propose, be it for one night or something they might both wish to be a longer commitment.

She was an accomplished dancer. He had already witnessed her talent, yet it was far more pleasurable to watch her when she was now his partner instead of another. He wished to know who she was, but the fast paced dance was hardly a place to carry on a meaningful conversation about getting to know one another.

Was it two dances later or maybe three? Nicholas lost track of time but finally, he placed his hand about the lady’s waist to expertly guide her out into the garden. It had been some time since he had allowed himself the pleasure of enjoying a woman’s company, especially in the moonlight.

The evening was cool, and when he saw her shiver, he shrugged out of his jacket since he had left his cape behind in the supper box. He placed the garment about her shoulders. She took ahold of the lapels and brought it closer. He swore he could hear her sniff the edges as if she were going to commit to her memory the smell of his cologne once he was gone.

Nicholas reached out to remove her mask so he could finally see all of her features.

“No.” She held out her hand to stop his efforts. “The domino stays in place if you wish me to remain here with you.”

“If that is your wish, so be it.”

“It is,” she answered quietly.

Nicholas did not remember it being this difficult to kiss a lady in the moonlight, but she must desire to be with him, too, else she would not be standing outside with him now. He could no longer stand the distance between them. Surely some form of spell had been cast upon him to be acting so rashly.

“Who are you?” he asked, taking ahold of both her arms and bringing her closer.

“Does it matter?”

“How else am I to call upon you tomorrow if I know not your name tonight, my lady?”

This unknown woman who teased his senses gave a careless shrug but took a step closer. She placed her hand upon his chest. “Let it be enough that for tonight I am free to do as I please.”

He grinned at her response. One moment Nicholas was staring into her mask and brown eyes, and the next he was lowering his mouth to meet her lips.

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Grace was unsure if it was the moonlight that drove her to such reckless behavior or the thought of having just one moment in time to treasure with a man who wanted to be with a mysterious, and perhaps, desirable woman. In either case, nothing prepared her for the instant their lips met. She supposed that since she did not protest going down the garden path with him that this would be the natural course of what would happen next. But still… surely she was slipping at the very brink of tasting heaven itself from their first kiss.

Such a kiss was at first like an introduction when his mouth slowly slid over hers as though he were searching for some hidden meaning to their attraction to one another. There was nothing demanding or urgent in seeing the matter over and done with. No, the kiss was a mingling of breaths. It was two souls connecting in the night. A simple kiss, yet there was nothing simple about it. He stopped as quickly as he started then stared into her eyes, yet she knew the domino hid her features well enough that he would be unable to identify her in the light of day.

Adrian would be mortified if he had any idea what she was up to with a complete stranger. Thinking of her brother conjured an image of her deceased husband. Although his kisses had been pleasurable, they could not compare to what this stranger made her feel.

“Tell me who you are,” he urged again. He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear that had fallen from her coiffure and then cupped her cheek. “You must tell me.”

She leaned into his palm. The sensation of his thumb tracing her skin had her resolve weakening but not enough to reveal her identity. “I cannot, for I will not have you think less of me from my actions here this night. I am not what I seem.”

“I see a desirable woman I wish to get to know better,” he declared with a grin and an appreciative glance at her heaving bosom. There was no way she could mistake his meaning given the proximity of their bodies and the bold glare he gave her down the length of her body.

ABOUT HOLLY AND HOPEFUL HEARTS

When the Duchess of Haverford sends out invitations to a Yuletide house party and a New Year’s Eve ball at her country estate, Hollystone Hall, those who respond know that Her Grace intends to raise money for her favorite cause and promote whatever marriages she can. Eight assorted heroes and heroines set out with their pocketbooks firmly clutched and hearts in protective custody. Or are they?

A Suitable Husband, by Jude Knight

As the Duchess of Haverford’s companion, Cedrica Grenford is not treated as a poor relation and is encouraged to mingle with Her Grace’s guests. Surely she can find a suitable husband amongst the gentlemen gathered for the duchess’s house party. Above stairs or possibly below.

Valuing Vanessa, by Susana Ellis

Facing a dim future as a spinster under her mother’s thumb, Vanessa Sedgely makes a practical decision to attach an amiable gentleman who will not try to rule her life.

A Kiss for Charity, by Sherry Ewing

Young widow Grace, Lady de Courtenay, has no idea how a close encounter with a rake at a masquerade ball would make her yearn for love again. Can she learn to forgive Lord Nicholas Lacey and set aside their differences to let love into her heart?

Artemis, by Jessica Cale

Actress Charlotte Halfpenny is in trouble. Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and out of a job, Charlotte faces eviction two weeks before Christmas. When the reclusive Earl of Somerton makes her an outrageous offer, she has no choice but to accept. Could he be the man of her dreams, or is the nightmare just beginning?

The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, by Jude Knight

James must marry to please his grandfather, the duke, and to win social acceptance for himself and his father’s other foreign-born children. But only Lady Sophia Belvoir makes his heart sing, and to win her he must invite himself to spend Christmas at the home of his father’s greatest enemy.

Christmas Kisses, by Nicole Zoltack

Louisa Wycliff, Dowager Countess of Exeter wants only for her darling daughter, Anna, to find a man she can love and marry. Appallingly, Anna has her sights on a scoundrel of a duke who chases after every skirt he sees. Anna truly thinks the dashing duke cares for her, but her mother has her doubts.

An Open Heart, by Caroline Warfield

Esther Baumann longs for a loving husband who will help her create a home where they will teach their children to value the traditions of their people, but she wants a man who is also open to new ideas and happy to make friends outside their narrow circle. Is it so unreasonable to ask for toe curling passion as well?

Dashing Through the Snow, by Amy Rose Bennett

Headstrong bluestocking, Miss Kate Woodville, never thought her Christmas would be spent racing across England with a viscount hell-bent on vengeance. She certainly never expected to find love…

Holly and Hopeful Hearts is a Bluestocking Belles Collection available for pre-order at $2.99 and will be released November 8, 2016. 25% of the sales benefit the Belles’ mutual charity the Malala Fund.

Buy Links:

Amazon US | Amazon Australia | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK

Kobo | iBooks | Nook |  Smashwords

First Kiss Friday with Bluestocking Belle Susana Ellis

23 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by SherryEwing in First Kiss Friday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#BellesInBlue, Bluestocking Belles, Historical Romance, Holly and Hopeful Hearts, Hollystone Hall, Novella, Regency, Regency Romance, Susana Ellis

Today on First Kiss Friday I’d like to welcome Bluestocking Belle Susana Ellis and her characters from Valuing Vanessa which is one of the novellas in the Belles’ holiday collection, Holly and Hopeful Hearts.

Excerpt:

It was a warm evening for September, but the breeze was refreshing, and soon Vanessa was feeling more herself. Rows and rows of Chinese lanterns were strung around the terrace and the garden area, not only illuminating the Herringtons’ fine plants and statuary, but also deterring the sort of dalliance that dark corners seemed to invite.

“Tell me about your wife,” she invited. A risky move, perhaps, since he’d seemed reluctant to speak of her that night at Vauxhall, but if she and George were indeed headed for matrimony, she needed to know about his first marriage.

They stood arm-in-arm at the balustrade, admiring the lush beauty of the garden against the dark backdrop of the night sky. She felt his body tense at the question, and briefly wondered if she had gone too far. “You needn’t speak of her, if you would rather not.”

“No, no, it’s been two years now, and I suppose I should be able to speak about it by now.”

And so he told her the story of his youthful marriage, how it had begun with such promise, and then, over time, began to fade when his wife’s longings to live like the aristocrat she was caused a rift between them.

“Genny had great hopes of someday regaining the title and estates that were lost in the revolution, but each year that the war went on without resolution, her bitterness grew, until it began to spread to my daughter. It was no use reasoning with Genny or her mother, the displaced countess.” His voice cracked. “There was nothing I could do to make her happy, not even when there was more money to spend, for gowns, for redecorating, and such. It didn’t help that her younger sister wed the brother of a duke and socialized in the highest circles.”

“Ah, Lord Nicholas. He lost his wife in the same accident, did he not?”

“He did, yes. He and Juliette were a true love match. Juliette never showed any signs of discontent with her situation, but then, she married into a ducal family—Lord Nicholas is still the presumed heir, as his brother has only daughters—and being the younger sister, she couldn’t aspire to the hereditary title, even if it still existed.”

Vanessa squeezed his hand, wishing she knew how to help him. As an unmarried woman, she was hardly qualified to give marital advice. But she was old enough to have learned that marriages begun happily could still go wrong, particularly when one or both parties were very young.

“Marriage is always a risk,” she began, “for the woman, since she gives herself to her husband and loses the limited rights she had as an independent woman. And ‘till death do us part’ can be a disaster if the parties grow and change and find they no longer care for one another.” She cleared her throat. “I confess I had doubts when my sister wished to wed at barely seventeen. But she was adamant, and I have come to believe that Reese sincerely loves Genie and their son and would never choose to destroy that.”

“Seventeen,” George murmured. “Only two years older than Louise.” Then he turned to Vanessa. “Have you never wished to marry, Miss Sedgely? I have no wish to be impertinent, but I have found myself wondering if you have forsworn the institution for yourself, or whether it is a matter of not finding the right gentleman. Because I cannot believe that a lovely, intelligent young lady as yourself should be lacking suitors.”

Vanessa grinned. “Why Mr. Durand, you will have me blushing,” she teased. “No, in all seriousness, I have not had a serious suitor since I was eighteen—that was six years ago, mind you—and my esteemed fiancé deserted me to flee to Gretna Green with a milkmaid.”

Mr. Durand’s eyes looked to pop out of their sockets. “No, really? A milkmaid?”

“I’m told she was rather pretty.”

“I suppose you were heartbroken. What a ramshackle fellow he must have been!”

Vanessa shrugged. “Humiliated, more like. It was an arranged marriage, you see. My parents—my mother really—have always wished to work their way into the lower aristocracy, and he was a baron. And at the time, I would have done anything to win their approval.” She sighed deeply. “I had a brother a year younger than I who died of a fever when he was two. I had it as well, but survived. I’ve always felt my parents blamed me for that. When Eugenia came along, it was as though I didn’t exist.”

She put her hands on his upper arms and smiled up at him. “But that is all water under the bridge. Eugenia is a lovely person and I love her dearly. My mother—well, she is who she is. While I have learned to deal with her, I should not be at all reluctant to marry some kind and trustworthy gentleman and manage my own household. And I shouldn’t be at all put off if he were to have a daughter of his own.”

For a moment George looked dazed, and then his eyes filled with tenderness and he bent down to take her chin in his hand and touch her lips with his. Vanessa hooked her arms around his neck in attempt to get closer. His lips were firm and persistent, and she trembled with a desire she had never felt before. His hands slid to her waist, and he pulled her closer to him, so that she could feel the strength of his hard body. Vanessa lost all rational thought, her only desire being to never have to let go of this dear man ever again.

“Vanessa!”

It was Mrs. Sedgely and she was enraged.

“Mrs. Sedgely—” George began.

“You!” she cried. “Do not even speak to me—I am so angry I shan’t be able to contain myself.”

Cotter, Vanessa’s abigail, ventured forward hesitantly. “Mr. Durand, sir. There is a message for you. The Herringtons’ servants have been searching for you for quite some time. I believe it is urgent.”

George’s hand flew to his chest. “Louise! It must be Louise!” He looked at Vanessa apologetically. “I beg your pardon, my dear. I must leave you now, but I will call on you tomorrow if I can.”

He bowed his head to both ladies and rushed through the door.

Vanessa’s eyes followed him, feeling disoriented. “Louise! What can have happened to her?”

Her mother’s lips formed into a fine line. “Do not be a fool! You have much more to worry about than a silly chit. Do you not realize that your scandalous rendezvous with that-that scoundrel was witnessed by at least half of the guests in the ballroom?” She pointed to the pair of double doors that had been propped open for the purpose of drawing air into the ballroom. “You have made our family the laughingstock of the ton!”

Vanessa looked through the open doors at the throng of disapproving faces staring at her.

Bloody hell!

ABOUT HOLLY AND HOPEFUL HEARTS

When the Duchess of Haverford sends out invitations to a Yuletide house party and a New Year’s Eve ball at her country estate, Hollystone Hall, those who respond know that Her Grace intends to raise money for her favorite cause and promote whatever marriages she can. Eight assorted heroes and heroines set out with their pocketbooks firmly clutched and hearts in protective custody. Or are they? 

A Suitable Husband, by Jude Knight

As the Duchess of Haverford’s companion, Cedrica Grenford is not treated as a poor relation and is encouraged to mingle with Her Grace’s guests. Surely she can find a suitable husband amongst the gentlemen gathered for the duchess’s house party. Above stairs or possibly below.

Valuing Vanessa, by Susana Ellis

Facing a dim future as a spinster under her mother’s thumb, Vanessa Sedgely makes a practical decision to attach an amiable gentleman who will not try to rule her life.

A Kiss for Charity, by Sherry Ewing

Young widow Grace, Lady de Courtenay, has no idea how a close encounter with a rake at a masquerade ball would make her yearn for love again. Can she learn to forgive Lord Nicholas Lacey and set aside their differences to let love into her heart?

Artemis, by Jessica Cale

Actress Charlotte Halfpenny is in trouble. Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and out of a job, Charlotte faces eviction two weeks before Christmas. When the reclusive Earl of Somerton makes her an outrageous offer, she has no choice but to accept. Could he be the man of her dreams, or is the nightmare just beginning?

The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, by Jude Knight

James must marry to please his grandfather, the duke, and to win social acceptance for himself and his father’s other foreign-born children. But only Lady Sophia Belvoir makes his heart sing, and to win her he must invite himself to spend Christmas at the home of his father’s greatest enemy.

Christmas Kisses, by Nicole Zoltack

Louisa Wycliff, Dowager Countess of Exeter wants only for her darling daughter, Anna, to find a man she can love and marry. Appallingly, Anna has her sights on a scoundrel of a duke who chases after every skirt he sees. Anna truly thinks the dashing duke cares for her, but her mother has her doubts.

An Open Heart, by Caroline Warfield

Esther Baumann longs for a loving husband who will help her create a home where they will teach their children to value the traditions of their people, but she wants a man who is also open to new ideas and happy to make friends outside their narrow circle. Is it so unreasonable to ask for toe curling passion as well?

Dashing Through the Snow, by Amy Rose Bennett

Headstrong bluestocking, Miss Kate Woodville, never thought her Christmas would be spent racing across England with a viscount hell-bent on vengeance. She certainly never expected to find love…

Amazon US  |  Amazon Australia  |  Amazon Canada  |  Amazon UK

Kobo  |  Smashwords  |  Nook  |  iBooks

About Susana Ellis

Susana has always had stories in her head waiting to come out, especially when she learned to read and her imagination began to soar. A former teacher, Susana lives in Toledo, Ohio in the summer and Florida in the winter. She is a member of the Central Florida Romance Writers and the Beau Monde chapters of RWA and Maumee Valley Romance Inc.

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First Kiss Friday with Bluestocking Belle Jude Knight

16 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by SherryEwing in First Kiss Friday

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#BellesInBlue, Bluestocking Belles, First Kiss Friday, Historical Romance, Holly and Hopeful Hearts, Hollystone Hall, Jude Knight, Novella, Regency

For the next eight weeks, the Bluestocking Belles will be entertaining you each Friday with an excerpt from our upcoming box set, Holly and Hopeful Hearts. We are really excited about this collective work we have put together and I guarantee you’re going to love it. With that being said, I would like to welcome author Jude Knight, who has an excerpt from A Suitable Husband. Enjoy!

In this excerpt from A Suitable Husband, Marcel Fournier, the chef, has attended the masquerade in disguise, and won a dance from the duchess’s cousin, Miss Grenford. And not just a dance, but a walk in the moonlit gardens.

Marcel fell silent. The moon would set soon. They would need to go in while it still gave enough light to find their way without falling into one of the moats or ponds. He did not want the dream to end.

Mademoiselle echoed his thoughts. “We need to go. It will be full dark when the moon goes down.”

Marcel stood reluctantly, and she stood with him, still in the warmth of his coat.

“It is cold, Monsieur,” she said. “Keep the robe around us both until we are inside.”

So he put his arm around her to help them walk in harmony, and—oh, magical night—she put her arm around him. Marcel said nothing as they walked slowly back to the house. He was soaking up the warmth of her, the curves of her, the way she fitted neatly under his arm.

He could not resist. Even one of God’s saints would have done it, and Heaven knew, Marcel was no saint. As they rounded the corner that concealed the door, he stopped and used his other hand to turn her toward him. Naturally, she looked up.

Her lips were as sweet as he had imagined, and she did not draw back and slap his impertinent face. Far from it. She pressed herself into the kiss, and though she was untutored in the art, she learned quickly. Marcel was left reeling when at last a burst of noise from inside the ballroom intruded, and they parted.

“Mademoiselle—” he began.

“Don’t.” Mademoiselle put up a hand to stop his mouth, and he kissed her fingers. “Don’t spoil it by apologizing.” She stood within his arms, but he could feel she was poised to flee, and he had no idea what to say or do.

A moment, and it was too late. She stretched up, gave him a swift peck on the lips, and slipped away from under his robe. Marcel watched, his hand touching the lips she had so favoured as she opened the door and returned to the party.

It is over, then, but more, so much more than I ever imagined.

He would not go back inside. He would find his way to his kitchen and become a chef once more. And this night would be forever a jewel to carry in his heart.

About Holly and Hopeful Hearts

When the Duchess of Haverford sends out invitations to a Yuletide house party and a New Year’s Eve ball at her country estate, Hollystone Hall, those who respond know that Her Grace intends to raise money for her favorite cause and promote whatever love-matches she can. Seven assorted heroes and heroines set out with their pocketbooks firmly clutched and hearts in protective custody. Or are they?

Holly and Hopeful Hearts is a Bluestocking Belles Christmas collection, with a novella from each Belle and a bonus novelette. For more than 530 pages of holiday reading, preorder now. The Belles support the Malala Fund, with 25% of proceeds from this publication.

Preorder links:

Amazon US: http://ow.ly/INwa3049Ey3

Amazon Australia: http://ow.ly/TczG3049EQ2

Amazon Canada: http://ow.ly/IERm3049EYM

Amazon UK: http://ow.ly/ZMuH3049ELM

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/664559

A Suitable Husband, by Jude Knight

As the Duchess of Haverford’s companion, Cedrica Grenford is not treated as a poor relation and is encouraged to mingle with Her Grace’s guests. Surely she can find a suitable husband amongst the gentlemen gathered for the duchess’s house party. Above stairs or possibly below.

Valuing Vanessa, by Susana Ellis

Facing a dim future as a spinster under her mother’s thumb, Vanessa Sedgely makes a practical decision to attach an amiable gentleman who will not try to rule her life.

A Kiss for Charity, by Sherry Ewing

Young widow Grace, Lady de Courtenay, has no idea how a close encounter with a rake at a masquerade ball would make her yearn for love again. Can she learn to forgive Lord Nicholas Lacey and set aside their differences to let love into her heart?

Artemis, by Jessica Cale

Actress Charlotte Halfpenny is in trouble. Pregnant, abandoned by her lover, and out of a job, Charlotte faces eviction two weeks before Christmas. When the reclusive Earl of Somerton makes her an outrageous offer, she has no choice but to accept. Could he be the man of her dreams, or is the nightmare just beginning?

The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, by Jude Knight

James must marry to please his grandfather, the duke, and to win social acceptance for himself and his father’s other foreign-born children. But only Lady Sophia Belvoir makes his heart sing, and to win her he must invite himself to spend Christmas at the home of his father’s greatest enemy.

Christmas Kisses, by Nicole Zoltack

Louisa Wycliff, Dowager Countess of Exeter wants only for her darling daughter, Anna, to find a man she can love and marry. Appallingly, Anna has her sights on a scoundrel of a duke who chases after every skirt he sees. Anna truly thinks the dashing duke cares for her, but her mother has her doubts.

An Open Heart, by Caroline Warfield

Esther Baumann longs for a loving husband who will help her create a home where they will teach their children to value the traditions of their people, but she wants a man who is also open to new ideas and happy to make friends outside their narrow circle. Is it so unreasonable to ask for toe curling passion as well?

Dashing Through the Snow, by Amy Rose Bennett

Headstrong bluestocking, Miss Kate Woodville, never thought her Christmas would be spent racing across England with a viscount hell-bent on vengeance. She certainly never expected to find love…

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