Historical Romance

Paperback, E-book & Audiobook 368 Pages

August 17, 2021 by Shadow Mountain

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Guest Post

Real Life Setting from The Merchant and the Rogue

The Merchant and the Rogue contains a story, written in the style of a 19th Century “Penny Dreadful”--a story, usually melodramatic and over-the-top, that was published in serial form for one penny per installment--as it would have been written by the hero of The Merchant and the Rogue, Brogan Donnelly.

I set this story, a mystery filled with creepy scenery and disconcerting characters, in the real-life Museum of Natural History in Dublin, Ireland. This museum was opened in 1856 in a stately Dublin building, and very little about it has changed since. It is often described as “a museum of a museum.” Walking through this piece of Dublin history is like stepping back in time. And it is one of the most wonderfully creepy places I have ever had the joy of visiting.

The large, four-story building is filled to the rafters with taxidermied animals, skeletons, pelts, preserved fauna. Many of the specimens have been on display for over 150 years. This museum, filled with once-living creatures, is known affectionately amongst the locals in Dublin as “The Dead Zoo.”

The museum offers an online virtual tour of the exhibits, the main hall, the wings and balconies, and it is fascinating! Go have a virtual look around, then go read “The Dead Zoo” woven through The Merchant and the Rogue. The creepiness of it is some of the most fun I’ve had creating a setting.

 

 

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December 7th: Launch

December 18th: Carol Ross - His Hometown Yuletide Vow

December 19th: Nichole Van - Brotherhood of the Black Tartan series

December 20th: Anneka R. Walker - Brides and Brothers

December 21st: Camron Wright - Christmas by Accident

December 22nd: Julie Wright - A Captain for Caroline Gray

December 23rd: Grand Finale

Historical Romance

Paperback & ebook, 296 Pages

September 14, 2021 by HEA Publishing

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Excerpt

The dark-haired man pushed away from the bookcase and pointed to the shelf above her head. “I’m guessing you used the stack of bibles as a stool to reach this shelf here.” He patted the place where Frankenstein once stood. “Is there a book I can get for you so you can climb down from your perch? People are beginning to stare, and I doubt the proprietress would appreciate seeing any book, especially a bible, being used as a stool.”

Knowing he was probably right, Sarah ignored his proffered hand and stepped down on her own. She glared at the few people she caught looking their way before returning her attention to the mysterious stranger.

Goodness, he was tall. The top of her head barely reached his shoulders.

His lips quirked into a half smile. “Feeling a wee less holy now?”

Blast his charming accent. “Perhaps. But I’m not sure if my decreased proximity to God is to blame or someone else.”

He chuckled, then folded his arms, still clutching the book, and propped a shoulder against the shelf once more. “You should probably try reading the bible instead of standing atop it,” he suggested. “In fact, there’s a story in Genesis—that’s the first book, you see—”

“I’ve heard of it,” she said testily.

“About a civilization who tried to build a tower to Heaven, as you have done, and had their languages confounded as a result.”

Sarah cocked her head. “Your point, sir?”

“’Tis a good thing we can still understand one another.”

“I might prefer it if we couldn’t.”

He grinned, not seeming the least bit put out. “In that case, you should have built a taller tower.”

Sarah eyed the book tucked under his arm, wondering if she dared to snatch it away and make a run for it. Surely, he wouldn’t make a scene by chasing after her. Though the scene she’d make would be something for the gossips.

“You keep eyeing this book, which leads us back to where we began. How can a story about a monster be, how did you put it? Incredibly dull?”

Sarah had to concede it hadn’t been the wisest thing to say. She should have said it was disturbing and caused the worst sorts of nightmares. That would have been more plausible.

“I haven’t the faintest notion. Perhaps the plot is tiresome and uninteresting.”

“Then I shall like it all the more. I prefer tales that play out at a more deliberate and leisurely pace, especially when monsters are involved. Now, is there a book I can procure for you, or were you really trying to gain some ground with God?”

Though he didn’t smile, his eyes gleamed, and his lips twitched in the most irritating manner. He was laughing at her. In fact, he’d probably been laughing the entire time. Argh. Had he seen her reach for that book and had taken it on purpose? The gleam in his eyes told her that could easily be the case.

Abominable man.

Sarah folded her arms, ready to be done with this silly charade. “If you must know, I have been on the hunt for that book for over a year now and was in the process of finally obtaining it when you stole it out from under me. Should you insist on borrowing it first, I would be most appreciative if you would tell me when you plan to return it so that I can borrow it next.”

He looked down at the book and examined it a moment. “Why didn’t you say as much to begin with? Had I known this was the book you were after, I would have done the gentlemanly thing and allowed you to have it first.”

She eyed the book, still in his hands, not quite trusting him or his handsome face. “Are you a gentleman, sir?”

“Nae,” he said with a grin. “Just a man who spied a bonnie lass and couldn’t resist teasing her a little. I hope you’ll forgive me, just as I hope you’ll sleep more soundly than I did after reading that book.”

He took hold of her hand, and his gaze locked on hers. Ever so slowly, he lifted her fingers to his lips and pressed a deliberate, almost seductive, kiss to her knuckles.

She inhaled sharply as the heat from his lips burned through her hand, igniting something within. A strange sort of fire sparked to life, surging through her body and evoking a myriad of sensations—both thrilling and terrifying.

Sarah had been kissed on her hand before, but never like this—or rather, it had never affected her like this. She stiffened, staring at him as though he were the devil himself. Perhaps he was. Come to taunt and tempt and wreak havoc on her senses.

Excerpted from Five Kisses by Rachael Anderson, Copyright © 2021 by Rachael Anderson. Published by HEA Publishing.

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Tour Schedule
(Posts go live on the day they're scheduled.)

Open internationally
Ends December 13, 2021

Historical Romance

Paperback, E-book & Audiobook, 313 Pages

September 7, 2021 by Shadow Mountain

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Guest Post: Inspiration for The Matchmaker's Lonely Heart

I have my editor, Lisa Mangum, and the podcast “Lore,” by Aaron Mehnke, to thank for the inspiration for The Matchmaker’s Lonely Heart. Lisa had been listening to Lore and mentioned an episode I’d also heard (because you can’t listen to only one Lore episode, you have to binge them all). The episode was about a gentleman whose wife died of a mysterious illness, and then his second wife tragically died…a string of sick and dying wives began to arouse suspicion among locals and law enforcement alike.

One of the fun details we’d also discovered about the Victorian era was the popularity of personal ads in local papers and magazines. I combined the idea from the Lore episode with an imagined character who works for a newspaper, has an insatiable sense of curiosity, and is a voracious reader of mystery and romance novels.

Et voila! A new Victorian series was born, featuring three cousins who live in London and are determined to become modern Women of Independent Means. My books almost always feature a healthy dose of mystery along with the romance, and I believe people who have enjoyed my work in the past will not be disappointed here!

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Tour Schedule
(Posts go live on the day they're scheduled.)

Open internationally
Ends December 13, 2021

On tour with Prism Book Tours

 

Tour Schedule
(Posts go live on the day they're scheduled.)

Books on Tour