Improper Wager by Kristabel Reed (Excerpt, review and GIVEAWAY) GFT ADULT title

Improper Wager

by Kristabel Reed

ADULT title

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GENRE:  Regency Romance

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BLURB:

Two years ago, Isabella Harrington defied her parents and society, and ran off with her lover to Milan. They thought they’d conquer the world at the gaming tables. But her dream of happily-ever-after led to nothing but debts and a shattered heart.

Abandoned and left on her own in a foreign city with little but her wits and skill, Isabella managed to survive. Survive and thrive, commanding the cards until she won enough to send for a very particular matchmaker.

Isabella needed a way back into the society she shunned and what better way than through a proper, aristocratic marriage? And this matchmaker of note would be her key back home to England.

Traveling the Continent, Jonathon, Duke of Strathmore, agreed to meet the mysterious Miss Harrington. Wary of the rumors surrounding her, a woman who vanished from London with only scandalous tales left in her wake, he hadn’t counted on the intriguing Isabella to thoroughly capture his attention.

Will a game of cards change both their fates? Will she become a mistress or a duchess?

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EXCERPT

“I’ve observed you this evening,” he said as they stepped outside.

“I’m well aware,” she said with the control that so fascinated him.

He raised his eyebrow and bit back a smile. Oh, that restrained passion captivated him. “I’d no idea you were so skilled at the games,” he said instead, leading her carefully along.

Watching her, he had the feeling she knew his game and didn’t rise to the bait. Jonathon bit back another smile.

“You didn’t give me an opportunity to show you the other night,” she said with a small grin that was more pride in her talents than interest.

But her gaze remained steady on his, darker in the shadowed balcony. Miss Harrington stood straight, with none of the deference normally given a duke. And none of the deference a woman in need of a suitable match to return to England ought to show.

She fascinated him all the more.

“And if I’m ready now?” His voice lowered, and Jonathon didn’t fool himself when he saw her breath hitch.

Her smile turned predatory. “I wouldn’t mind relieving you of the coin from your purse.”

He leaned closer and lowered his voice again. He watched her, knowing she followed his every move and was not unaffected. “Money holds no interested as a wager.”

She raised her own eyebrow in question. “You wish to make it a more interesting evening, then?”

“What terms would you suggest,” he asked softly, his breath a caress along her cheek, “to make it more stimulating?”

Buy links:

Amazon

B&N

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Kristabel Reed lives on the East Coast and loves to explore the steamier side of historical romance. "There are so many sexy situations that didn't just pop up in the 21st century and my goal is to burst the myth of the prim and proper debutante." She loves romances of all sorts but currently writes Regency and Contemporary romances with curvy women. She also loves old movies, taking the dog for walks, and anything Cary Grant. And is always interested in talking about erotic romance, so drop her a line: kristabelreed@yahoo.com; or Tweet her @kristabelreed; find her blog: kristabelreed.blogspot.com

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GIVEAWAY


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The tour dates can be found here


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My review:

3.75 out of 5 stars

Improper Wager by Kristabel Reed is part of the ‘Scandalous Encounters’ series and focuses on Isabella Harrington, who is living in Milan and searching for a way to return to England untarnished by the scandal that is a result of her injudicious decision to pursue a love affair with a soldier who captured her heart but ultimately betrayed her.  A bold decision to follow the advice of a matchmaker and attempt to ensnare the unconventional Jonathon Wakefield, Duke of Strathmore results in a wager that will test all of the skills that Isabella has had to hone to survive.  The challenge will be to determine who is going to be the true victor and whether the prize won is worth everything that was risked.

This erotic historical romance gives a glimpse of several exotic locales as well as the repercussions for flaunting society’s mores as it explores the challenges faced by a woman who has had to depend only on herself for survival.  The story starts off fairly low-key and is a little slow to gain momentum, but there are intriguing aspects of society portrayed, and I enjoyed the blossoming of the relationship, especially as Jonathon displays his skills at persuasion and coaxes Isabella to comply with his wishes as they take a roundabout journey to quash any hint of impropriety even as they establish their unconventionality by exploring their passion for each other.  The gradual revelation of the scars that each bears gives poignancy to their struggle and makes one root for their relationship to be successful.  I did get a bit frustrated with the heroine’s reluctance to set aside the past but the tale was heartwarming as one was able to watch them work their troubles out.  It would be nice to have a little more depth to the characters, especially since I suspect some of the secondary folks still have adventures to participate in, but I think this is a nice start to the series.

A copy of this title was provided for review

The Bloody City by Megan Morgan (VBT, guest post, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

It is my pleasure to have a guest post by author Megan Morgan, as she shares her answer to my question...


ELF: What was the most difficult thing to overcome on your path to becoming a published author and how did you conquer it?

OVERCOMING MY GREATEST OBSTACLE

by Megan Morgan

Hello! I’m happy to be here on The Reading Addict today and sharing my work with you. I want to talk about the biggest obstacle I overcame to get to this point, and I feel like a lot of authors out there will know exactly what I’m talking about. If you don’t yet, you probably will someday.

The most difficult thing I had to overcome on my path to publication was—me!

It’s no secret writers often suffer from self-doubt. Whether still trying to get published or with fifty books in print, every time a writer puts their fingers to the keyboard and pounds out a story, they worry—that it’s not good enough, that it won’t resonate, that it’s not worth being read. I guarantee even bestselling authors are plagued by this doubt. No matter how much I love the story I’m trying to tell, I still fret over if I just churned out a big steaming pile of garbage that no one will want to read, or if they do read it, they’ll point and laugh at me.

For many years, I let self-doubt and unrealistic expectations get the best of me. I slowly built my skills and ability to tell stories, but I always jumped before I was ready, too anxious and overeager to wait until I had polished my tale to perfection. Instead of rewriting and figuring out what did and didn’t work, I just wanted something to hand to a publisher and pray they would accept it. Of course, they never did. And so, the self-loathing and worry that I would never be ‘good enough’ started again, which kept me on the cycle of churning out mediocre (and sometimes downright terrible) work in a desperate rush to get noticed and validated. I wanted to chase the storm clouds of doubt away and be a real writer. But being a real writer takes time, and getting good at it takes even longer.

I finally found the patience, not only to learn my craft correctly, but to understand everything involved in both the creative and business sides of it. I don’t know how this happened—maybe I got older, or maybe it finally all sank in. Somehow, I worked through the tangle in my head. I got serious and focused. I learned to take a deep breath, look at things again, and try to do better before I sent something out into the world. I had to overcome myself and all my negative thoughts and emotions before I could find a clear path. I had to be open to what that path might bring and not impose my own ideals on it or try to force the direction it went. The path eventually led me to the right place, and to my surprise—there was still more to learn.

The most important thing I discovered is that publication isn’t so much a destination as another step on a long, ever-evolving journey. Publication isn’t a trophy to set on the mantle. It’s another turn of a wheel that you want to keep in motion for as long as you can.

I was definitely the biggest obstacle to myself on the path to publication. I had to grow and change, and so did my work. Sometimes I look back on myself in those days and shake my head, but fondly. I never gave up, no matter how much I painted myself into a corner, and that was the important part. That’s why I get to be here today, showing off my second book in my very first published series. This is the dream sad, anxious, self-loathing me wanted so bad, I just didn’t have a clear picture of it back then.

Remember: just because you’ve been hacking away at the foliage for ages doesn’t mean you won’t eventually find a path—keep on hacking!


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The Bloody City
by Megan Morgan



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GENRE: Urban Fantasy



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BLURB:


On the run…

It’s been four months since the head of the Institute of Supernatural Research was murdered. But that doesn’t mean June Coffin is out of hiding yet. In a world where being different can get you killed, it’s best to keep a low profile. Especially for a Siren who can control other people with the call of her voice. That goes double if your powers might be inexplicably growing…

On the hunt…

But June isn’t the only one trying to clear her name. There’s Sam, the charismatic paranormal rights leader, and Micha, the first human on record to go paranormal. All of them must bargain with a mysterious vampire named Occam Reed if they want to stay alive.

Out of time…

As tensions increase between humans and paranormals, June must decide who to trust. If only she could hear the song inside her heart…


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EXCERPT

The whole thing was like attending one’s own funeral, only slightly less creepy.

Midway through the next speech, movement behind the stage caught June’s attention. A group of people were gathering back there. Her spirits lifted. Maybe the FBI was about to throw down.

“What’s going on back there?” Sam stood on his tiptoes.

“Probably more people who want to talk.” June sighed.

She skimmed the crowd, seeing if anyone looked as bored as she felt. A familiar face popped out for a split second, and she quickly looked back at the spot. She had to be imagining things.

She wasn’t.

Roughly thirty yards away in the tight-packed crowd, a man stood, staring at them. He wore a hoodie despite the heat, the hood pulled up and shielding his face. His eyes were bloodshot and watery.

“Sam.” She scrabbled at his hand. “Someone’s watching us.”

The man moved toward them. The speaker on stage had finished and other people were coming out. Sam was focused there, but he looked at June, and then around.

“Occam,” she whispered. “To the left.”

Occam pushed up next to them and stopped. His eyes were rimmed with red, his skin flushed.

“I know you’re in there,” he taunted.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Sam whispered.

Dread welled in June’s chest. The intensity of Occam’s gaze chilled her to the bone beneath the blazing sun.

The blazing sun. A vampire was out in broad daylight. He didn’t even have the benefit of shade, like at the clinic. Why?

“Get out of here,” Occam said. “Or you are going to die.”



BUY LINKS


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AllRomance Ebooks


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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Megan Morgan is an urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and erotica author from Cleveland, Ohio. Bartender in an airport lounge by day and purveyor of things that go bump in the night, she’s trying to turn writing into her day job so she can be on the other side of the bar for a change. She’s a member of the RWA and author of the Siren Song urban fantasy series from Kensington Books, as well as numerous other shorter, sexy works. She resides on the shores of Lake Erie with her adult son and not-so-adult cat, the latter of which ‘helps’ her write her works by stuffing herself between writer and laptop on a regular basis.



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GIVEAWAY




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The tour dates can be found here

Dead in a Park by B.L. Blair (VBB, excerpt and GIVEAWAY) GFT

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Dead in a Park

by B.L. Blair

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GENRE: Mystery/Romance

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BLURB:

When Leah Norwood finds the body of Donald Collins in the city park, she doesn’t know he is a distant relative. Young Donnie was a jewel thief and a career criminal. Hidden in the lining of his suit jacket was an exact replica of a ring that has been in Leah’s family for over a hundred years. After her home is burglarized, the sexy chief of police is convinced the ruby ring has something to do with the murder.

Leah wants to find out what happened to Donnie, but why would someone kill for a hundred year old ring? She discovers a connection between Donnie and the drug-dealing Cantono family, between the Cantono family and a jewelry appraiser, and between the jewelry appraiser and one of her own employees. Chief Griggs might be onto something. All clues lead back to the family ring.

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EXCERPT

“Was he murdered?” I asked softly.

“Oh, yes. It was murder,” Griggs replied.

The last time I found a body it had never occurred to me that the police would consider me a suspect. As a law-abiding citizen, I had just assumed that people knew I was innocent. My experience with the police showed me I was wrong. I looked at both Griggs and Reddish.

“Please tell me you don’t think I killed him.”

Griggs snorted. “No, we don’t think you killed him. He was taller than you, and his neck was broken. No way could you have done that.”

“It was fast and neat,” Reddish added and then turned to Griggs. “Probably someone with military or combat training.”

“Someone who knows how to kill with their hands,” Griggs said softly.

I swallowed. Candace had shot and killed two people in December and tried to kill me twice. She had been crazy, her behavior unexpected and unpredictable, which had made the situation scary. This sounded worse. A person who was calm and rational murdering someone with their bare hands was chilling. And I couldn’t forget about the weird shoe thing.

“Did you find his shoes?”

“No,” Griggs replied, turning toward me.

“Why would someone want his shoes?”

“Who knows? There wasn’t much of a struggle, although there were multiple sets of footprints. But all appeared to be made by people wearing shoes.” He turned away from me and back toward Reddish. “Between Leah and her dog stomping around, I doubt we’ll get any viable footprints.”

“Hey,” I said indignantly. Both men ignored me.

“Let’s keep the area secure anyway,” Griggs continued. “Send a team out to see if they can find anything. Maybe the shoes will show up somewhere else in the park.”

Buy Links

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iBooks

B&N

Kobo

Smashwords

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

B. L. Blair writes simple and sweet romance and mystery/romance stories. Like most authors, she has been writing most of her life and has dozens of books started. She just needs the time to finish them.



She is the author of the Holton Romance Series and the Leah Norwood Mysteries. She enjoys reading books, writing books, and traveling wherever and as often as time and money allows. She is currently working on her latest book set in Texas, where she lives with her family.



Website
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Leahnorwoodmysteriesblog





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GIVEAWAY


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The tour dates can be found here

Treasured Find by Nancy Corrigan (Re-release spotlight, excerpt and review) ADULT title

Treasured Find

Royal Pride, book 1

Sometimes the greatest finds are unexpected

After five centuries, Rafe Alexander knows what to expect from life—boredom broken by the occasional call from Shifter Affairs. No matter how mundane the job, he always accepts their plea for help. He knows what it’s like to lose loved ones to the shifter trafficking rings decimating their species.

But the task that takes him to West Virginia changes everything. A human is dead. A shifter child is missing. And the human female connected to both tragedies is hiding a secret.

He needs to discover the mystery surrounding her. But the felines he houses—lion, tiger and jaguar—want him to get close to her for another reason. Jasmine is special, both for how she affects him and for the treasure she’s been guarding.

And as danger mounts, he’s left balancing his desire for revenge and his need to protect. But the line between them isn’t always black and white, especially where his family is concerned.

NOTE: This book was previously released. It has been revised and re-edited.

Excerpt #1

“Don’t get any crazy ideas. I am not going out with any of your husband’s friends. No more blind dates, thank you very much.”

“You don’t need any help from me. Once you drop the ‘stay away from me’ glare you usually wear around members of the opposite sex, you’ll have no problem picking up a guy.” Cindy tapped a single finger against her chin. “We might even have to beat them off you, especially if you display your goods a little more.”

She tugged at Jazz’s shirt until the lacy edge barely covered her nipples.

Jazz gasped and slapped away her friend’s hands. She quickly righted her top and glared at Cindy. Jazz hated her goods. Her breasts were too big for her frame, but genetics was a crapshoot. You got whatever the DNA mixing bowl dished out.

“Stop it. I am not enticing any lewd perverts with a showing of my goods.”

Cindy raised her hands. “Just promise me you’ll keep an open mind.”

Jazz bit back her sharp retort. Cindy meant well. It wasn’t her fault Jazz had to keep men at arm’s length. It wasn’t Jazz’s either, but those were the facts. Time for another lie. What was one more?

“Fine. The next hot guy who shows any interest in me…” I’ll ignore just like I did with the blond hunk Josh was talking to. She inwardly rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of her lame fib. “…will be the one I take home.”

“Now that’s an offer I can’t resist.”

Jazz pivoted. A wide expanse of muscle filled her vision. She followed the ridges of his stomach lower. His narrow waist met lean, denim-covered hips. Openmouthed, she stared at the growing bulge in his pants. An answering spark of arousal lighted within her. Shivers of awareness, the same ones that had skipped down her spine a few minutes ago, traveled from the hardening tips of her breasts to her clit. The bundle of nerves took on a heartbeat of its own.

She glanced into his face. Exotic, uptilted honey-brown eyes were framed by long blond lashes. Specks of color floated in those oddly bright eyes—gold, blue, green. Beautiful and downright captivating.

His full lips, parted slightly, glistened as if he’d licked them. She swiped her tongue across her suddenly dry ones.

“Am I hot enough for you?” He rubbed his thumb over the corner of her mouth. “Because I’m interested. Very, very interested.”

Get the book at…

Amazon

Other shifter books:

ROYAL Pride series

Ø  Beautiful Mistake, book 2, available for Pre-order, releases 1-11-16

Ø  Favorite Obsession, book 3, available for Pre-order soon

KAGAN Wolves series (a parallel series set in the same world as the Royal Pride series)

Ø  Chance on Love, book 0.5, releases 2-23-16

Ø  Bridged by Love, book 1, available now

Ø  Shared for Love, book 2 (MMF), releases 5-10-16

The details…

Book Title: Treasured Find

Series Name: Royal Pride

Series Number: 1.0

Author: Nancy Corrigan

ASIN: B016LI22XC

Length: 92K

Publication Date: November 11th 2015

Add Treasured Find to Goodreads

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A little about Nancy…

A true romantic at heart, Nancy Corrigan is convinced there’s a knight in shining armor for every woman (or man), but you won’t find damsels in distress in her stories. She adores pairing alpha heroes with women strong enough to match them and bring them to their knees. She also enjoys flipping the traditional roles in romances because her motto is—love and people should never be forced to conform to anyone’s norm.

She holds a degree in chemistry and has worked in research but now focuses on ensuring quality. She considers it the perfect outlet for her as she’s the first to admit she has some OCD tendencies. It carries over into her writing life too. While engrossed in a novel, she has a habit of forgetting to eat and sleep. Fortunately, she’s married to her own knight in shining armor who understands her oddities and loves her anyway. They reside in Pennsylvania with their three children, dog, snake and guinea pigs. Her other interests include tattoos, animals, classic cars and all things spooky and sexy.



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4.5 out of 5 stars
Treasured Find by Nancy Corrigan is the first book in the ‘Royal Pride’ series and centers around several very special children who are of interest to Rafe Alexander and his pride. Jasmine (Jazz) has been very careful to hide the two very special little boys that are the one bright reminder of a horrific time in her life, but when a close friend is murdered, she knows that she must share some of her secrets with her ex, who has suddenly become a guardian of a remarkable little girl. Despite her distrust of Rafe’s sudden appearance in their lives, she is inexplicably drawn to him but then she discovers he’s exactly what she has been warned against. Now she must decide whether to trust her instincts, and the wrong decision can be fatal for all of them.

This fascinating paranormal romance is a delicious introduction to a world that has very special feline shapeshifters who are part of the elite section of their society. I love the novelty of these multispecies shifters, and the complex organization that they have. There are several intriguing characters that are introduced, as well as several layers of mystery, some of which is resolved in this story, and others which will continue into other books in the series. The combination of shapeshifters, children, and humans is a great draw and provides a nice change from many of the stories in this genre. The heat and complicated relationship between the main characters is delicious, and I was fascinated by the interaction of the multiple felids. Many of the characters have painful pasts that have made them despair of finding a true mate, but one definitely hopes that even the most damaged of them will find someone to love and be loved by.

It is my understanding that this is a revamped and re-edited version of an earlier release and that this story is connected to the ‘Kagan Wolves’ series but I had no trouble reading it as a stand-alone story and I am anxious to read more stories that are set in this world because I can’t wait to find out how some of the issues are resolved.

A copy of this title was provided to me for review

Broken Wings by Mindy Larson (Woodland Creek series) Guest post and GIVEAWAY

I have the pleasure of having a guest post by author Mindy Larson, who shares advice.

ML:
On the way to the library one afternoon, my youngest daughter, Brooklynne,  asked me a question that would change my life. With her signature dimpled smile, she inquired, "Mom, will you ever be famous like Suzanne Collins?"

My green eyes widened as a smile began to spread across my face, thrilling me with the possibility.

"Oh gosh, I really hope so!" I told her, my face beginning to warm some.

With a confident, all knowing smile, Brooklynne said, "You will be, Mom. It just takes time. And you just need a large variety of people to read your books. They'll talk about them. They'll write reviews. It'll spread like wildfire! Just like Hunger Games did. She went on to tell me Ms Collins has written another series that have also captured my youngest's heart, Gregor The Overlander series. This leads me to step number one.

1-The more books you write, the more readers and fans you'll gain. Loyal readers will check out your latest work, and new readers, will check out your previous work.

2-This is obvious. Connect and utilize social media.  Instagram, Facebook, start a blog, newsletter. Pin on Pinterest, and if you’re not already, get on Goodreads.

3- Have a large support group that includes, a street team, other authors, beta readers, your loved ones, and always, always,  have your books professionally edited.

4- Have your books reviewed by as many as possible. Not only do reviews help to sell more books, you learn from them.  If one person says your book is boring, but 35 say, it was  a thrilling ride, that one person was probably just in a bad mood. On the other hand, if 35 say you have plot issues, and one said it was the best thing ever, there are plot issues and you should look into those, ASAP.

5- And lastly, whether you becoming famous or not, write because you like to write.

 “I did it for the pure joy of the thing. And if you can do it for joy, you can do it forever.”- Steven King.

Woodland Creek Series.
30 Authors. 30 Shifter Stories.
woodlandcreekseries.com

See the blogpost here for other great titles

Broken Wings

Meet sexy bad-boy biker, Plymouth Crane. Owner of Crane Motorcycle and Repair by day. Pegasus shifter by night. The super-sexy, beast of a man only has eyes for Paloma Foster—coffee shop owner, and unknowingly, half-breed pegasus shifter. Unfortunately, she’s also his ex. Every day his heart and his body push him to question his resolution to break up with her, to allow her to be “normal.” Especially when she finds another man.

Caught in a love triangle between two sexy men with too many secrets, Paloma remains ignorant of the shifter population of her hometown, Woodland Creek, Indiana, as well as to her own heritage. She begins her day with coffee and ends it with wine, all the while hoping to discover the truth of where her heart belongs.

Big plans are in store for the shifters of Woodland Creek, especially the only half-breed left in existence, Paloma Foster.

Amazon

Goodreads

About the Author

Mindy Larson is an Amazon bestselling author and lives happily ever after in Southeast Idaho with the love of her life and five kids. Besides Broken Wings, A Woodland Creek novel, she's the author of Sweet Tooth a paranormal erotic short story part of the Just Desserts Collection, and the paranormal romance series The Pre-Earth series. Including: The Beginning of The End, This Morning I Woke Up Dead, Wake Up! We’re No Longer Dead and No One Gets Out Alive. Watch for In My Dreams an erotica contemporary spin-off of her Pre-Earth series. Coming soon.

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GIVEAWAY

There are three amazing prizes for this blog tour!

• Always Loyal, a Michael Stokes photography book
• Exhibition, a Michael Stokes photography book
• $20 Giftcard to your choice of Amazon, B&N, or Starbucks

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NAKED: A Novel of Lady Godiva by Eliza Redgold (VBT, guest post, excerpt and GIVEAWAY) GFT

It is my pleasure to have a guest post from author Eliza Redgold, who shares her thoughts on...


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Q. What would be your dream place to visit and why?
 

A:          If you are a ‘kindred spirit’, familiar with the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery, you will know why my dream place as a writer and a reader is Prince Edward Island. And I went there!

Green Gables, as readers know, is the fictional home of Anne of Green Gables, the heroine of the famous children’s books. The story books, written in the early 20^th century, have stood the test of time and remain children’s classics to this day. Children still warm to the red haired, feisty orphan Anne, who always managed to find herself in a scrape, often caused by an over active imagination and romantic nature, but whose intelligence and integrity usually won through.

In a plot twist, Anne was not real, but Green Gables was. It was the real life home of cousins of the author Lucy Maud Montgomery, who grew up on Prince Edward Island, where she wrote Anne of Green Gables. Today, visitors can go to the Green Gables farmhouse, which is designed to look as if the fictional Anne really did live there. It is a somewhat confusing experience to peer into the upstairs rooms that has been recreated as ‘Anne’s bedroom’, where her famous puff sleeved dresses hang: fiction and reality almost dizzyingly blur.

When I visited Prince Edward Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, I discovered Anne of Green Gables tourism has grown into one of the major Prince Edward Island industries. The area around Cavendish, the fictional ‘Avonlea’ from the books, which contains Green Gables and Montgomery’s childhood home, has been made into a National Park. It is an area of such subtle, delicate beauty that it is easy to see why. Whether you want to roam through ‘The Haunted Wood’ or ‘Lover’s Lane’ featured in the Anne books for literary, aesthetic or botanic reasons, you will not be disappointed.

Prince Edward Island, or PEI as it is known, lives up to the fiction it has inspired, with its red clay roads, spectacular seas, rugged cliffs, delicate wildflowers, and lush grass. Dotted all over the landscape are gracious painted wooden farm houses and steepled churches of austere beauty. The island has an extraordinary sense of timelessness. It certainly gave me ‘scope for the imagination’!

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Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva

by Eliza Redgold

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GENRE: Historical Romance/Fiction

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BLURB:

We know her name. We know of her naked ride. We don’t know her true story.

We all know the legend of Lady Godiva, who famously rode naked through the streets of Coventry, covered only by her long, flowing hair. So the story goes, she begged her husband Lord Leofric of Mercia to lift a high tax on her people, who would starve if forced to pay. Lord Leofric demanded a forfeit: that Godiva ride naked on horseback through the town. There are various endings to Godiva’s ride, that all the people of Coventry closed their doors and refused to look upon their liege lady (except for ‘peeping Tom’) and that her husband, in remorse, lifted the tax.

Naked is an original version of Godiva’s tale with a twist that may be closer to the truth: by the end of his life Leofric had fallen deeply in love with Lady Godiva. A tale of legendary courage and extraordinary passion, Naked brings an epic story new voice.

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EXCERPT

If the rider heard he made no sign. Clad in a silver helmet and armored in brown leather, he galloped under the arches, my warning ignored. His great black horse circled the courtyard, raising dust as he halted in front of the steps.

For a moment he didn’t move. Nor did I, except to tighten my fingers on the handle of my blade.

He lifted off his helmet.

A pair of piercing eyes met mine.

This is not Thurkill.

The knowledge flashed into my brain. The man in front of me was tall and strong. Many years younger than my father, perhaps thirty years of age, his face a tanned brown. His hair, tawny as an owl wing, fell to the studded collar of his armor, its leather stretched across his shoulders.

He spoke. “You are Godiva.”

Hawk high I lifted my head. “I am. Who are you? Why have you come to my lands?”

Dirt swirled in the air as his horse hoofed the ground. River deep turned his gaze as he took me in, lingering on the thick braid that fell over my shoulder to brush to my thigh.

 “Well?” A flame flickered though me, hotter than fear. A flame I’d never known.

 “Who are you?”

Amazon
 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

ELIZA REDGOLD is an author, academic and unashamed romantic.

Eliza Redgold is based upon the old, Gaelic meaning of her name, Dr Elizabeth Reid Boyd. She was born in Irvine, Scotland on Marymass Day and currently lives in Australia. She has presented academic papers on women and romance and is a contributor to the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Romance Fiction. Eliza has also written two upcoming Victorian historical romances for Harlequin Historical. Look out for ‘Enticing Benedict Cole’ in November 2015.



Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva was released internationally by St Martin’s Press New York in July 2015.



Follow Eliza Redgold on

Twitter: @ElizaRedgold
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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway


The tour dates can be found here