MY GREAT APOLOGIES! To those last week who visited my blog and did not get a return visit from me. I did some in the morning, but around noon I went into a technical rehearsal for a show that went up this past weekend, so I’ve been sort of off the grid for about a week. But I’m back now and if you visited last week, I’ll be coming by your blog first thing and reading and commenting on both last week’s and this week’s posts. I appreciate you all so much for coming by and critiquing my work!
I’m still counting down to my upcoming 2017 release, Only A Mistress Will Do, here’s more of Mistress before its release on April 4th.
I’m skipping ahead from Violet’s interview with Madam Vestry to the night Violet finally meets her first customer. Here is the link to the previous post if you want to catch up.
Miss Violet Carlton is a woman facing a horrifying decision: become a prostitute in order to live or retain respectability and starve. Madame Vestry, owner of the House of Pleasure, has agreed to see Violet. To evaluate her as a prospective employee, Mavame Vestry insists on an inspection to confirm Violet’s virgin state. And having been satisfied of it, she arranges for Violet to entertain her first customer.
(Creative punctuation used to conform to the WWW rules.)
Her head came up, back straight, forced smile plastered on her face as the door opened wide and she caught a glimpse of the man who had bought her for the night. Madame Vestry had informed her this morning that one of her regular customers had responded favorably to her invitation—she’d actually called it an invitation—and for Violet to make herself available in the green room at eight o’clock tonight.
She’d not been told who he was and somehow it mattered little to her she did not know the name of the man about to ruin her. One of the house rules forbade her to ask, though if the gentleman offered his name, that was his business. The other girls had told her if she needed to put a name to the face, to think of customers as “Lord John.”
This Lord John entered the small room in a swirl of black fur and sandalwood, the spicy scent tickling Violet’s nose, making it twitch.
She tipped her head back and looked up into the swarthy face. Dark hair and piercing blue eyes, a strong jaw, and a long, straight nose. Too tall though; he was too tall for her. The ridiculousness of the irrational thought broke through her lethargy and she forced herself up out of the chair as he strode toward her.
BLURB:
The man of her dreams…belongs to another woman.
Destitute and without friends, Violet Carlton is forced to seek employment at the House of Pleasure in London. She steels herself for her first customer and is shocked when the man rescues her instead of ravishing her. A grateful Violet cannot help but admire the handsome Viscount Trevor. But she must curb her desire for the dashing nobleman she can never have because he is already betrothed to another . . .
Tristan had gone to the House of Pleasure for a last bit of fun before he became a faithful married man. But when he recognizes the woman in his bed, he becomes determined to save her instead. Now, his heart wars with his head as he falls for the vulnerable courtesan. Unable to break his betrothal without a scandal, Tris resolves to find Violet proper employment or a husband of her own. Still, his arms ache for Violet, urging him to abandon propriety and sacrifice everything to be with the woman he loves. . . .
Only A Mistress Will Do is available for pre-order on
Amazon and B & N.
And Only Marriage Will Do, Book 2 of my House of Pleasure series, is on sale this month for .99! Here’s the link if you want to check it out before Mistress releases!
One last thing! My Thunderclap Campaign for Only A Mistress Will Do is still only a little over 1/2 way there. I need to get 100 supporters before April 4th and currently I only have 56 people signed up to Tweet or Share. Can you please help? I’ve be eternally grateful! Just click this link and agree to tweet or share. THANK YOU!
Books in the House of Pleasure series:
And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.
Jenna Jaxon Romance--because passion is timeless. 
I love the double meaning of Lord John, given what “john” is slang for in the modern era. Congratulations on your upcoming release!
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I’m intrigued by this ‘Lord John’. Great snippet!
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Wonderfully heart-stopping. Her revolting situation demands that she do this, but…
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Must be frightening. Is he going to be more than Lord John, I wonder?
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Love the last paragraph in particular. Great writing!
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Thank you, Amy! 🙂
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Wonderful. I can hardly wait to read this! 🙂
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Thank you so much, Teresa! I’m so excited for it to release!
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I can definitely see how this book belongs in the same series as Only Scandal Will Do — which I read, reviewed, and enjoyed. Keep up the good work!
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Wow! Thank you so much, Ed! I’m going to go right now and look for that review. 🙂 I’m always happy to thank reviewers and I’m pleased as punch that you enjoyed the book. I think this book is more like Scandal, with more of a darkness to it than Marriage had. I hope you can read and enjoy Mistress as well.
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Although I have Marriage on my Kindle, I have to warn you that my TBR pile weighs more than I do.
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Nice first glimpse of the hero.
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Thank you, Andrea!
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Of all the objections she might have to a customer, “too tall” isn’t so bad!
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Of course “too tall” can translate to “too big,” not only in height, but in more pertinent places for her trade. I think she’s also subliminally evaluating that. 🙂
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Sometimes when things are scariest, we need to think of something silly! If only to get over the fear!
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Exactly, Melissa! The mind will seize on those things as a defense mechanism when stress becomes unbearable. Thanks so much for coming by!
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This book sounds so good, can’t wait to read it in one sitting! Enjoyed the excerpt…
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Thank you so much, Veronica! I hope you will take breaks for coffee and snacks. LOL And I do hope you enjoy it!
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Fabulous attention to detail – even the “too tall” thought.
Tweeted.
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Thank you, Daryl! My editor has to constantly remind me to add in detail and description in my books. In the theatre I’m so used to the costume and set designers taking care of that I forget it’s up to me to do it in my novels. 🙂
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Too tall? That’s an interesting objection. Shows her fear for what he’s about to do to her. Well done!
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Thank you, Jessica. I wanted it to seem an odd observation, to help show her fear and mental distraction.
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Sad story and so frightening yet well told. I did support you, Jenna and always will.
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Thank you, Charmaine! Yes, I’ve tried to make Violet’s plight resonate with the reader. Glad I’m succeeding! And thanks for the campaign support as well! 🙂
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Lord John! LOL! Great descriptions and love her reactions, Jenna.
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My editor wanted him to have a name, I wanted it withheld for a while, so I played with the modern meaning of John. LOL Thanks so much, Nancy!
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I can see her doing this — focusing on something inconsequential to avoid the real serious problem. I’m looking forward to this one. I supported your Thunderclap.
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Thank you so much, Cara, both for you very kind words and for the support! 🙂
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Of all the possible Lord Johns, this one would be the most intriguing. Good job, Jenna. Can’t wait to read more
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Thank you, Kim! Yes, he is quite the mystery man at the moment.
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