Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors !

This week I’m continuing to post snippets from my upcoming Georgian novel, A Countess Never Tells, Book 3 of my Captivating Countesses series. The book releases on Tuesday, August 29, 2023 and is currently up on pre-order for .99. 

This book brings back the characters from A Countess of Convenience, particularly Judith and John (Lord and Lady Haxby), as Kitty Tate, the heroine is John’s younger sister and Judith’s childhood friend and now sister-in-law. 

BLURB:

They say rakes make the best husbands…but do they?

At the age of twenty-four, vivacious Kitty Tate is having the time of her life in her first London season—such a good time in fact, she’s caught the eye of Lord Ashwood, the ton’s most notorious rake. And he’s caught hers.

She’s instantly taken with the handsome lord and finding out he’s a scoundrel doesn’t deter her one bit. Which is why her brother has forbidden her to see him. Unfortunately for him, Kitty has a mind of her own and the willpower to fight for what she wants.

Ash plans to be a dedicated rake until he’s old and gray, but at the moment he’s determined to seduce the delicious Miss Tate despite her brother’s objections. She’s such a blend of innocence and siren he cannot wait to welcome her into his bed. When he finds Kitty eager to be seduced, Ash’s desire burns brighter still.

But a dastardly wager surfaces, and Ash discovers a truly despicable man is determined to beat him to Kitty’s bed. Forbidden to marry her, Ash must now find another way to protect the woman he’s come to love before she’s ruined by another man.

Today I’m continuing on with chapter one of the novel. Miss Kitty Tate is at a ball and after dancing with a very handsome gentleman she’s just met, he goes off to his next partner. This week I’m skipping ahead towards the end of the chapter. Kitty is talking to a friend of hers, Lady Phoebe, about the gentleman with whom she just danced and discovers that the gentleman is not who he pretends to be. her friend wants more details! Enjoy!

EXCERPT:

Cutting her gaze over to Kitty, Phoebe raised her delicate eyebrows. “He didn’t attempt anything of the sort during your dance, did he?”

“Of course not.” But Kitty wasn’t about to admit he had tried to get her to go out on the verandah with him. She didn’t want Phoebe to think her a ninny. “He was a perfect gentleman–rather witty, once he started to talk, though somewhat dull in the beginning.”

“I doubt anyone would call Lord Ashwood dull.” Phoebe chuckled quietly. She cocked her head. “What was he like as a dance partner?”

And a little more for good measure. . . 

Much as she’d like to say he’d been clumsy, or unskilled, Kitty had to give the handsome devil his due. “He was an exquisitely adept partner. So easy to follow and once he began to speak of his travels in Italy…” Kitty gritted her teeth. “I was particularly enthralled with some of the things he’d done there.”

“Oh, that’s right, Mama said he’d been banished after he’d ruined the third young lady. She too got married off, to an elderly gentleman who didn’t mind I suspect.” Phoebe frowned, which should have made her look worse, not more lovely. “His mother does not show her face during the Season. Poor lady.”

“If he’s so wicked, why is he still received in a house such as Lady Sutherland’s?” Anyone flouting Polite Society’s rules so brazenly shouldn’t be received anywhere.

A Countess Never Tells is now up for pre-order, set to release on August 29th! Here’s the link if you want to grab this “bad boy” for .99!

And the first book of the Captivating Countess series,  A Countess of Convenience, is available on Amazon in e-book for .99, and in print and is on KU. Here’s the link for those options.

I’m now also part of two anthologies for Dragonblade–one that’s part of their Lyons Den shared world called Night of Lyons. My novella is called The Lyons’ Wager and is the pre-quel to the Welwyn Marriage Wager series. Night of Lyons is available on pre-order on Amazon for .99! 

The other one is an historical cookbook of recipies dating back over the centuries complied from the kitchens of Dragonblade authors and their ancestors. It’s called  Dragonblade’s Historical Cookbook, currently on pre-order for .99. It releases October 23, 2023 (just in time for Thanksgiving cookery!). My grandmother’s cornbread dressing I make every Thanksgiving is in there.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There are some fantastic snippets to be read.

Captivating Countesses series