Hello, hope you all had a great weekend!

So, people have been asking about next year’s books, The Stud Club Trilogy. And I may as well start talking about them, since books one and two, One Dance with a Duke (5/25/10) and Twice Tempted by a Rogue (6/22/10), are now both available for pre-order! And because I’ve just recently received my lovely, sexy covers.

Oooh.

One Dance with a DukeTwice Tempted by a RogueThree Nights with a Scoundrel

What’s different about this series, compared to the first trilogy? Well, they’re a smidge darker in tone, as you’ll see from the series’ inciting event, but they still have a fair amount of lightness and humor. The characters are all a little older and experienced than they were in my first set.

But I’m sure the burning question is, “What the heck is the Stud Club? Are you joking?”

Well, I will admit. Like so many elements in my stories (hello, Werestag?), it did start as a joke. After writing a series that was largely heroine-driven, I wanted to switch emphasis to the guys this time. And one logical way to do that was to create my own take on a “Regency bachelor club” series. And if I was going to do that, I thought, why not call it what it is? A Stud Club. 🙂

But the Stud Club actually does have a meaning, and to explain, I will quote from the proposal I submitted for the trilogy:

In Regency England, horseracing was known as “The Sport of Kings,” the collective passion of the wealthy and well-connected. Noblemen spent vast sums of money breeding, stabling, and training thoroughbred horses to compete for honors at racetracks like Newmarket and Epsom Downs. The Jockey Club was an actual gentlemen’s organization—its exclusive membership, which included the Prince of Wales, took responsibility for the schedule and rules of organized horseracing.

In this trilogy, “The Stud Club” is the brainchild of one good-humored and universally-liked gentleman: Leo Chatwick, the Marquess of Harcliffe. Years earlier, Leo purchased a valuable stallion at auction—Osiris, a champion racehorse now retired to stud. So many of his friends asked for the favor of breeding privileges, Leo devised the Stud Club as a lark—he had Osiris legally put in trust and created ten brass tokens to represent membership in the club.

It worked like this: possession of a token entitled a man to send his mares to be mated with the famed Osiris. However, tokens could never be purchased or given away, only won or lost in a game of chance. In this manner, Leo created a sensation within the ton—a club so elite it had only ten members, yet membership was attainable to anyone with luck.

As the years passed, the club was a source of good fun and camaraderie, forging unlikely alliances across class barriers and furthering Leo’s reputation as an excellent sport. He was friend to all, enemy of none.

But on the night the trilogy begins, Leo is brutally murdered.

Yeah, that would be the source of the slightly darker tone. Poor Leo. But as you see, the Stud Club remains a joke, even within the books. It’s Leo’s joke on a class-conscious society, and his legacy to his peers. The heroes of the trilogy are the Club’s three surviving members (Only three, Tessa? But you said ten tokens! I know, I know, all will be explained…), the titular duke, rogue and scoundrel. Only chance could unite three such different men, and after Leo’s death, suspicion drives them apart. In the search for meaning and justice, they each find love in unexpected places. Which is good, because boy, do they ever need it!

More on the guys another time…

In the meantime, let’s just gaze at the models portraying them…and sigh.


15 comments to “I aim to tease…”

  1. catie james
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    1
    · October 13th, 2009 at 1:40 am · Link

    Ooo, I’ll take Bachelor #s 1 & 3 for my personal stable please! 🙂



  2. Kira Daniels
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    2
    · October 13th, 2009 at 7:47 am · Link

    Love this!! This sounds like a wonderful series, Tessa. Well done! I’ll take Stud #1. Yum!



  3. Mala
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    3
    · October 13th, 2009 at 7:51 am · Link

    I love that explanation for the Stud Club, and I’m definitely intrigued by Leo’s murder kicking off the trilogy! Nothing like a sudden death to bring people together. 😉



  4. Tammy D
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    4
    · October 13th, 2009 at 8:02 am · Link

    I’m really looking forward to this trilogy! Thanks for some teasers to whet our appetites. No way to choose between these bachelors, the covers are all gorgeous!



  5. Leslie Dicken
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    5
    · October 13th, 2009 at 9:39 am · Link

    Wow, these sound fabulous! I can’t wait to read them next year. And the covers are VERY VERY YUMMY! :mrgreen:



  6. Lindsey
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    6
    · October 13th, 2009 at 9:45 am · Link

    WoW, those are some smoking’ covers!! Just finishing up your first series, I cannot wait until this one comes out.



  7. Keira Soleore
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    7
    · October 13th, 2009 at 9:46 am · Link

    I’m very pleased that they’ve continued with the unique branding of your covers. Now you can spot a Tessa Dare novel at glance on a crowded aisle-long bookshelf.



  8. Lori
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    8
    · October 13th, 2009 at 10:34 am · Link

    Hello! Me likey!

    I must admit to being a little hero-centric…



  9. Venetia T.
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    · October 13th, 2009 at 12:47 pm · Link

    Thank you Tessa for the little teasers!

    Like I previously mentioned, I’m in love with these covers. They’re so beautiful and sophisticated.

    I’m also glad that this trilogy’s tone is slightly darker and more hero-centered. Those men on the covers are just *sigh*.



  10. Tessa
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    10
    · October 13th, 2009 at 1:54 pm · Link

    Thank you all for the kind comments on both the covers and the concept!

    Forgot to give names. Spencer is the duke; Rhys is the rogue; Julian is the scoundrel. You’ll hear more about them soon.

    And even though the catalyst for the books has to do with the guys, the women are very much active players in the stories, with their own goals and histories. I wouldn’t know how to write them otherwise!



  11. Ashley Ludwig
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    11
    · October 13th, 2009 at 6:28 pm · Link

    Can’t wait to meet them, or to see you tomorrow over at (a href=”http://www.mamawriters.com/blog””Mama Writers”> ! Should be lots of fun!

    Here’s hoping I did the XHTML right! ha!

    Ashley



  12. Ashley Ludwig
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    12
    · October 13th, 2009 at 6:28 pm · Link

    I didn’t! oh, dear. Oh well. Kids in the tub, and scoundrels on the brain… *snort*

    See you tomorrow!

    Ash



  13. Lynz
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    13
    · October 13th, 2009 at 8:05 pm · Link

    I’m not a huge fan of the photographic cover, so I don’t like these as much as I liked the last three, but they still scream Buy me! Buy me! Tessa Dare wrote me so I’ll be good! And, really, who am I to argue with covers?

    The series sounds wonderful and I look forward to reading it!



  14. Santa
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    · October 13th, 2009 at 9:39 pm · Link

    A trifecta of gorgeous, Tessa.

    Gorgeous stories, gorgeous book covers and gorgeous studs on the covers.



  15. Emmanuelle
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    15
    · October 14th, 2009 at 3:32 am · Link

    You’re such a tease !!!
    I want to know more about the duke, the rogue and the scoundrel, grrrrrr 😉
    At least I learned that this stud club has nothing to do with any kind of gigolo services !
    Great covers too.