It’s finally here!  At long last, Diana Highwood gets a romance of her own.  Beauty and the Blacksmith is available today in digital format.*   I hope readers will enjoy reading her happy ending as much as I loved writing it.

If you’d like to chat about the book with me and other Spindle Cove readers, please join us over at Goodreads for a reader party on the evening of Friday, May 3rd!  Details here.

Until then, I can only say (with a little help from the talented Sara Lindsey):

*If you’re waiting for the print edition, I have been promised that it will be available for order soon. Please keep checking back for more information.  Sorry for the delay!… Read More »

My pal Sara Lindsey made this adorable badge! Feel free to save, pin, share as you please!

… Read More »

In just two weeks, Aaron and Diana’s story will be available! Beauty and the Blacksmith releases April 30th, followed by Any Duchess Will Do on May 28th.

In anticipation, Avon Books is offering an amazing sale! Spindle Cove e-books are just $0.99 at USA retailers! (Prices may vary internationally.)

This limited-time sale includes:
A Night to Surrender – $0.99
A Week to Be Wicked – $0.99
A Lady by Midnight – $0.99

And of course, the Spindle Cove novella Once Upon a Winter’s Eve continues to be $0.99, too.

The whole series to date can be yours for under $4. It’s the perfect time to recommend Spindle Cove to a friend (or all your friends!), or catch up on any of the books you might have missed.

In other news, I couldn’t be more honored that A Week to Be Wicked has been chosen to receive the RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Award for Historical Love and Laughter. I love RT!

And lastly – I vow, I will be working on that video I promised in exchange for my DABWAHA Final Four appearance! Videos take more time, and it’s been a busy few weeks. But it’s coming. 🙂 … Read More »

Luke Trenton, Viscount Merritt, returned from war a changed man. Battle stripped away his civility and brought out his inner beast. There is no charm or tenderness in him now; only dark passions and a hardened soul. He has nothing to offer the starry-eyed, innocent girl who pledged her heart to him four years ago.

But Cecily Hale isn’t a girl any longer. She’s grown into a woman—one who won’t be pushed away. She and Luke are guests at a house party when a local legend captures their friends’ imaginations. While the others plunge into the forest on a wild goose stag chase, Cecily’s on the hunt for a man. She has only a few moonlit nights to reach the real Luke…the wounded heart she knows still beats inside the war-ravaged body…or she could lose him to the darkness forever.

You might be wondering…
Is this a new story?

It is not a new story, but it might be new to you. This novella was originally published in 2009 under the title The Legend of the Werestag. (And no, it was never a paranormal romance!) I’m delighted to make it available again for readers who might have missed it.

What does it cost?

This novella is intended to be free as an e-book. If your e-retailer has it listed for a price other than $0.00, you are welcome to download the free PDF here. For those who prefer print, a print-on-demand paperback … Read More »

Thank you, all who voted for A Lady by Midnight in the DABWAHA tournament! It was a hard fought match against Courtney Milan, and her excellent book The Duchess War.  The lead changed several times, and it was a tight race…but Team Tessa prevailed in the end!

So here is the scene I promised.  A bonus from the margins of A Lady by Midnight, wherein Colin teaches Thorne to waltz.  I had too much fun writing it.  I will freely admit, much of the dialog lacks a certain…historical accuracy.   🙂

Reader warning:  Profanity ahead.

“First, let’s make one thing understood.” Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne, tapped a hand to his chest.  “You came to me, Thorne.  So recognize the skills.  And stop scowling.”

“I’m not scowling.”

“No?” Colin tilted his head, examining. “I guess that’s just your face.  Unfortunate.”

Samuel Thorne released his breath in a long, long-suffering sigh.

He should have known this was a bad idea.  It wasn’t as though he and Lord Payne were friends.  During the year they’d both lived in Spindle Cove, there’d been no love lost between them.  They’d sniped at one another, disagreed at every turn.  Colin was a viscount, and a talkative, spendthrift, rakish one at that.  Thorne came from nothing, said little, and currently wished he were anywhere but here.

But he had no choice.  The ball was mere days away, and it would be Thorne’s one and only chance to prove himself worthy of his … Read More »

Woohoo! Thanks to all your votes, A Lady by Midnight has made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the DABWAHA tournament! And as promised, here’s a peek at Chapter 21 of Any Duchess Will Do.

NOTE: This excerpt has explicit content. It is for readers who are over 18 years old.

from Chapter 21 of Any Duchess Will Do

“There are thirty-three ranks of precedence between a serving girl and a duchess,” Pauline said quietly. “Did you know that? The chart takes up three pages in Mrs. Worthington’s Wisdom. I have it all in my head. Duchesses are at the very top—after the queen and princesses, of course. The order goes duchesses, marchionesses, countesses … ”

As she recited the ranks, she ticked them off on her fingers. “ … then wives of the eldest sons of marquesses, then wives of the younger sons of dukes. Then come the daughters. Daughters of dukes, daughters of marquesses. Next viscountesses, then wives of eldest sons of earls. Then daughters of earls … ”

“Pauline.”

“ … that’s ten ranks already, and I’m not even to baronesses yet. Let alone all the orders of knighthood and the military ranks. And below those, you have—”

He approached her and tipped her face, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Pauline.”

“I’m not even on the chart.” She blinked hard. “A girl like me, Griff … I’m so far below you. When we’re alone together, we might be able to forget it. But … Read More »

Fun Images to Share

Virtual buttons created by CrocoDesigns, just for fun–feel free to share, pin, tweet, like, save, screen on a t-shirt, or print out and decoupage!

The Stepback

Strangely enough, my books’ cover art is often finished before I’m even done writing the book! So I always try to make sure the heroine is wearing the dress on the cover at some point during the story. I made certain Susanna wore purple, and that Kate wore a gown of dark blue. (Minerva and her white sheets were easy!)

When I got the beautiful cover for Any Duchess Will Do, I was instantly in love with it – it’s one of my favorite covers I’ve had – but that gorgeous dress Pauline wears is a rather interesting pinkish-lavender shade. Attempts to name it resulted in interesting debate among my friends. Pink, lavender, mauve, fuschia, berry…all these and more were suggested. When I went to write that dress into the story, I still wasn’t sure what to call it.

So instead, I wrote the color-naming dilemma into the book.

“The color isn’t too awful?” She twisted a fold of the skirt. “The draper called it ‘dewy petal,’ but your mother said the shade was more of a ‘frosted berry.’ What do you say?”

“I’m a man, Simms. Unless we’re discussing nipples, I don’t see the value in these distinctions.”