Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors!
I’ve switched to my next big release in late December, Book 4 of The Widows’ Club series, Much Ado About A Widow! If you’ve been keeping up with my widows over the past year or so, this book is Georgie’s story–a true romantic comedy adventure romance. Of course, nothing else would do for the heroine, Lady Georgina Kirkpatrick!
BLURB:
Lady Georgina Kirkpatrick defied her family, jilted her fiancé, and married the man she loved. But when her husband died at Waterloo, she was delivered right back into her father’s power . . .
Victory is sweet—but England’s triumph was Georgie’s rout. Now that she’s widowed, the loathsome marriage her father first arranged has simply been renegotiated. With neither money nor rights, and nowhere to flee, all she can do is cherish her last weeks of freedom. . . . Until a band of ruffians overtake her carriage and kidnap her. When she escapes in seaside Brighton and encounters her brother’s rather wild friend, Lord St. Just—whom she suspects aspires to be a pirate—she’s prepared to entertain more of his adventurous suggestions than usual . . .
St. Just knows his mind and his duty, and he loves a challenge. Helping a fair lady make her farewells to hoodlums suits his talents well. Within the hour he has Georgie, her lady’s maid—and her little dog too—sailing for his castle in Cornwall. Meanwhile, the lady’s entire family, her kidnappers, and her scheming intended are in pursuit. But as he and the indomitable Georgie grow closer, he begins to suspect that together they will prove a match for them all . . .
I started my snippets a good way into the story. Lady Georgina, on the way back to her father’s house to an arranged marriage with a man she’s already jilted once, is kidnapped. She manages to escape and runs straight into the arms of her brother’s friend, Robin, Marquess of St. Just. She’s more than distrustful of Rob, having convinced herself the young man is wild and has ambitions to become a pirate. But beggars can’t be choosers, so she enlists his aid. He’s rowed her out to his ship and they have settled down to get to the bottom of things. In today’s snippet, Georgie has finished her tale and asks a favor of Rob.
Some portions of this snippet may be changed from the book’s regular format to allow for WWW’s 10 line requirement.
SNIPPET:
Lord St. Just sat still, his fingers from both hands lightly touching one another at the tips, his face a study.
“If you could loan us your carriage, we will be on our way to Blackham Castle before the sun has traveled another hour, then once we are out of Portsmouth, we can stop at an inn for tonight and complete our journey tomorrow–my father will, of course, arrange to have your carriage returned.”
“I am sorry to put a damper on your plans, but I am afraid I have no vehicle to loan you,” he said, his grave countenance affirming that he spoke the truth.
“Why ever not?” The words made no sense–why would a gentleman of means not keep some sort of vehicle? “You mean you do not have a carriage–allow me to assure you, a curricle, while not as comfortable for a long drive, will certainly do under the circumstances.”
A gentle smile spread over his face as he said, “I fear I must truly disappoint you, Lady Georgina, but I have no means of transportation of any kind here in Portsmouth, save the Justine.”
“You don’t?” How singular of him. “Do you prefer to walk everywhere?”
Much Ado About A Widow is now available for pre-order here and will release on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2019!
And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.
The Widows’ Club series by Jenna Jaxon
Check them out on my Amazon Author Page!
Jenna Jaxon Romance--because passion is timeless. 
That was an intriguing snippet. Can’t wait to find out why he has no carriage, although if he’s going to become a pirate he really doesn’t need one. I’m a huge fan of romantic comedies.
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Me too, Elaine! From Romancing the Stone to Notting Hill, I can’t get enough. So I finally wrote one!
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Highly unusual indeed! Love the slant this is taking and I wonder what his response will be?
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That response should come next week!
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Clever way to raise a reader’s curiosity! Great excerpt!
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Thank you, Hywela!
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What’s the Justine? A ship? I love the premise of this book. Cute snippet.
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Thank you so much, Diane! Yes, the Justine is Rob’s ship, where they are currently talking.
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Ah, shades of Mr. Knightley in Emma, who preferred to walk everywhere.
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Well, Rob has a different reason here. LOL Stay tuned for next week’s snippet!
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I giggled just reading the premise for this story. I can hardly imagine all the hijinx they’ll get into. Great snippet, as always! 🙂
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Thank you, Julie! Oh, yes. They have a quite an adventure and hijinx is only the tip of the iceberg of what they get into. LOL
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I’m curious to know the answer as well! I enjoy the way your stories take a different angle to some of the Regency tropes, like the vehicles always being available…or not. Excellent excerpt!
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Thank you, Veronica! There’s actually a very simple explanation for this–that we see next week. 🙂
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That seems very unusual for a person of means in any era! It certainly complicates everything.
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Oh, there’s a reason why. We find it out next week. 🙂
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Well, that definitely puts a damper in her plans. What will she decide now? Great snippet!
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Thank you, Jessica! Well, she has some suggestions, but he has some of his own!
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Jenna, you always bring wonders to this writer. Again, I’m getting a kick out of this latest snipett. So what happens next?
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Thank you, Charmaine! That will be revealed (at least a little more) in next week’s snippet!
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