Weekend Writing Warriors ~ 7/19/20 Only Marriage Will Do ~ ” I Come to Claim My Wife”

Posted on July 19, 2020 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors!

For July I’m celebrating Christmas all month, so one would think I’d take snippets from one of my Christmas novellas. However, instead I’m choosing a Christmas scene from the second House of Pleasure book, Only Marriage Will Do, which is now up for pre-order on Amazon. It will release on July 31.

Check out my new blurb for Only Marriage Will Do:

BLURB:

Not all Happy-ever-afters begin at “I do.”

Two unexpected callers turn Lady Juliet Ferrers’s world upside down. The first claims to be married to her via a proxy marriage, a statement she can scarcely credit—except she was betrothed to him once upon a time. To deter him, Juliet acts boldly when a stranger appears, declaring he is her husband. But when she is finally alone with the handsome visitor, she finds herself hoping she can turn her falsehood about their marriage into truth.

Captain Amiable Dawson seems to have stepped into a fairy land when a beautiful young woman he’s never met introduces him as her husband. The more she explains her situation, the less he is inclined to believe her, yet Amiable is a pushover for a damsel in distress. Against his better judgment, he agrees to accompany her to her family’s estate far to the north. Along the way the passion between them sizzles until a happy-ever-after is all but assured. However, the question of Juliet’s true husband rears its head again, forcing Amiable to wonder if he is married to the lady or not.

When his rival abducts Juliet, Amiable is compelled to choose between the woman he loves or the law of the land that decrees she is not his wife. Desperate to rescue her at any cost, his last resort may be to kill the man who stands in the way of their happiness.

I began my snippets for Marriage well into the story just as I did for Scandal. Captain Amiable Dawson and Lady Juliet Ferrers married in July under rather strange circumstances: another man, a former suitor, has claimed he is already married to Juliet. She and Amiable spent the autumn months trying to verify that their marriage was indeed valid, but have not heard definitively from the courts. So on Christmas Eve, Amiable’s sisters have thrown them a reception to celebrate their marriage. Now, however, an unknown man has crashed the party, bringing one with him too well known to Juliet–the man claiming to be her true husband.

EXCERPT:

“How dare you enter here?” Amiable dropped his hand to his sword. “Damnation.” No weapon to hand. He had not deemed it necessary at this gathering.

“I dare to come claim my wife, monsieur—my legal wife.” St. Cyr’s smile broadened as he waved his hand toward Mr. Haimes.

The gentleman spoke up quickly. “I suggest we join his lordship in the reception room,” he turned glowering eyes on St. Cyr, “where I instructed you to wait, my lord.”

“I have come to claim that which is my own, Haimes—I have waited long enough.”

And now a litte more of the scene :

“She’s not going anywhere with you, St. Cyr.” Spoiling for a fight, Amiable glanced at the family’s ancient ceremonial broadsword hung above the fireplace. By God, he’d take that weapon and end the discussion here and now.

“At last I have the law on my side, Monsieur Morley. Do you plan to disobey the fine English law that says a wife belongs with her husband?”

Juliet clutched his arm tighter. Stark terror drained her face to a pasty pale. “Do not worry, sweetheart,” he murmured in her ear. “I will never let you go.”

Only Marriage Will Do is available on Amazon for pre-order until July 31 at the pre-order price of just $1.99. The book reverts to its regular price of $4.99 on the day after Release Day, Saturday, August 1. Grab yours while you can!

And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.

Posted in Historical Romance, House of Pleasure, House of Pleasure Series, Only Marriage Will Do, Promotion, Weekend Writing Warriors | Tagged damsel in distress, Georgian romance, historical romance, Jenna Jaxon, proxy marriage, two husbands, Weekend Writing Warriors | 19 Comments

The Writer’s Eye: Using the Senses in Romance Writing ~ The Sense of Taste

Posted on July 15, 2020 by Jenna Jaxon

When I first began writing, I blogged a lot about the craft of writing and my thoughts on writing, pretty much as I went along. One series of posts I did almost ten years ago was on using the senses in writing romance. Since I’m once again looking through the writer’s eye at the craft of writing, I thought I’d revisit these posts over the next few weeks, look at them with a more experienced eye and revise as the need arises. This is the final post on the topic of senses, writing with the sense of taste.

Picture a candlelit dinner that ends with dry champagne and juicy strawberries dipped in dark chocolate, the sweet and tart flavors mingle on the characters’ tongues as they look into each other’s eyes and think about a mingling of another sort. Can you almost taste that moment?

If you can, then I have successfully demonstrated the power the description of taste has over the reader. This power is what you need to exercise when you write romance. Even though the sense of taste is, hands down, the most difficult one to put into your writing, it is nevertheless essential that you do so.

One of the powers of the sense of taste is that taste is linked to smell and can also evoke memories. “Food has the power to evoke emotion. Taste can inspire the imagination and trigger memories of the past,” says Krysten Hammond, in an article called “Writing Sense: The Sense of Taste.” She groups foods into three categories: savory foods, comfort foods, and sweet foods. Each category has the ability to connect characters to different experiences, from the worldly sensuousness of the savory, to the coziness of comfort food, to the decadence and abandon of sweets.

We often believe writing about taste is difficult because there are limited opportunities for the action. I mean, just how many scenes can one write with the characters sitting down to dinner or noshing between meals? Laurie Alice Eakes reminds us that there are more opportunities for exploring taste than merely relying on food. “We also taste in other ways. Fear brings a flavor to our mouths, a dry, tinny sensation. Your character wakes up from a blow on the head and has a foul taste in one’s mouth.” In her article, “Writing with Good Senses Part V: Taste,” she suggests another way to include this sense other than with the use of food. “Your character is traveling on a bicycle, motorcycle, or horse. The road is dusty. He tastes—what is in the area? Alkali? Copper? Or maybe she’s lying in the grass nibbling on a blade of it. Yes, this is technically eating, but it’s not a meal or snack.”

Of course, the ultimate place for the sense of taste is when the hero and heroine discover each other using this sense in the most intimate ways. Possibly the best article I have found that describes intimate ways to taste is “Awaken Her Senses,” in Best Life Magazine. The section on page 72 entitled “Taste: Your flavor awakened me and I have been hungry ever since,” by Daphne Merkin, vividly describes the many ways and places that lovers can explore each other using taste. “What I can still taste on my tongue…is a musky essence of his skin, fragrant with artifice (the soap and cologne) and cut with reality (the perspiration brought on by physical exertion).” She describes the taste of his breath, “slightly minty, with a papery undertone of cigarette smoke,” and after they made love, “I would lean over and run my tongue along the side of his neck, half ingesting and half inhaling the taste of him.”

When the circumstances of our plots offer such an opportunity to showcase this sense, we as writers must seize the moment in our characters’ lives and make the most of it.

I doubt that I have always used the sense of taste as effectively as I might. The following short passage from my medieval romance, Time Enough to Love, is one in which I have actually managed to used taste:

She bit into the succulent roasted squab, her favorite dish, then dared glance back to Lord Braeton’s table again. He was staring at her. Alyse stopped, teeth sunk in the squab’s leg. The delicate, flavorful meat turned rancid in her mouth, its luscious smell now noisome. She dropped the morsel back onto her trencher with nerveless fingers.

Having now written this post, however, I see places in the passage where the description of taste can be certainly be enhanced. Ah, the glory of revision!

Do you include the sense of taste in your writing as much as you should? Do you create opportunities for this sense to “shine” in your works? Please leave a comment and thanks for sharing!

Thanks for coming by! Join me next week when I move on to another aspect of the writing life.

Posted in On Writing, On Writing Romance | Tagged five senses, Jenna Jaxon, romance and the sense of touch, sense of taste, writing about the sense of taste, writing romance, writing the senses | 1 Comment

Medieval Monday: Final Excerpt from Time Enough to Love

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome to Medieval Monday, a blog hop for those who love a medieval romance. Over the next 11 weeks, I and 10 other medieval romance novelists will share snippets from one of our works.

This is our last session for our theme of Nature, and I’m finishing up with an extended excerpt from my medieval romance Time Enough to Love.

We began toward the end of the book, when the hero, Sir Geoffrey Longford and heroine, Lady Alyse de Courcy, have just escaped the Black Plague in Bordeaux, France, and are traveling toward Alyse’s father’s home in northern France. They have been camping for almost 10 days as their journey takes them out into the beautiful French countryside.

As they put up camp and settled down for the night, Alyse becomes ill, which brings out the fact that she is pregnant. The question upon which that revolves is whose child is it?

I hope you enjoy this final snippet from Time Enough to Love, available on Amazon, B & N, and Smashwords.

BLURB:

When Lady Alyse de Courcy is betrothed to Sir Geoffrey Longford, she has no choice but to make the best of a bad bargain. The hulking knight is far from her ideal man, and although he does possess some wit and charm, he is no match for the sinfully sensual man she secretly admires, Thomas, Earl of Braeton, her betrothed’s best friend.

From the first, Sir Geoffrey finds himself smitten by Lady Alyse, and, despite her infatuation with his friend, vows to win her love. When Geoffrey puts his mind to wooing Alyse, he is delighted to find her succumbing to his seduction. But when cruel circumstances separate them, Geoffrey must watch helplessly as Thomas steps in to protect Alyse—and falls in love with her himself.

As the three courtiers accompany Princess Joanna to her wedding in Spain, they run headlong into the Black Plague. With her world plunged into chaos, Alyse struggles with her feelings for both the men she loves. But which love will survive?

EXCERPT:

“I know not what to hope for, Geoffrey.” The stony silence cut her like a knife. She had known he would take the news ill. ’Twas why she had hidden it as long as she could. Mayhap she could reason with him.

“This child is the only hope that some part of Thomas is still alive. He has no other heir. If this child is yours, Thomas and the Knowlton line are dead. As much as I would love to think that I bear your son, there is part of me that prays it is Thomas’s I bear instead.”

He stared at her so long without speaking that she began to tremble. What manner would his disappointment take?

“’Twas always Thomas you loved, was it not, Lady Braeton?”

She inhaled sharply. Lady Braeton. He would deny their very marriage in his rage?

“Thomas warned me you were in love with him the night our betrothal was announced. I saw it in your face, although I chose not to believe it after we met. I dared to think I had managed to capture your heart.” The bitterness in his voice was almost more than she could bear. “More fool I to think I could compete with the many charms of Thomas Knowlton.”

Icy fingers wrapped around her heart. “Geoffrey, that is not true! I have loved you almost from the moment of our first meeting.” He must believe her, for ’twas the truth. But she was too tired to think, too tired to reason with him.

Geoffrey’s harsh chuckle made her cringe. “I suppose it was quite a pleasant surprise to find me wed to another and Thomas asking to marry you at my request. I have done you great service since June, have I not, my lady?”

“No.” Would this nightmare never end? “My life has been naught but misery since then.” Alyse longed to scream at him, to pound his chest until she could beat sense into him. But his scornful words thrust too deep into her heart and exhaustion sapped her will. Miserable, she turned away from Geoffrey and vowed she would stay as far from him as possible. Perhaps she would find solace in sleep. She muffled her sobs, her last remaining strength draining into the cold ground.

To find out what happens next, Time Enough to Love is available at Amazon, B & N, and Smashwords.

The Time Enough to Love series by Jenna Jaxon

Posted in Medieval Monday, Medieval Romance, On Time Enough to Love | Tagged blog hop, Jenna Jaxon, Medieval Monday, medieval romance, Nature theme, Time Enough To Love | 2 Comments

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ 7/12/20 Only Marriage Will Do ~ Cold Dread

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors!

Check out my new blurb for Only Marriage Will Do:

BLURB:

Not all Happy-ever-afters begin at “I do.”

I begin my snippets for Marriage well into the story just as I did for Scandal. Captain Amiable Dawson and Lady Juliet Ferrers married in July under rather strange circumstances: another man, a former suitor, has claimed he is already married to Juliet. She and Amiable spent the autumn months trying to verify that their marriage was indeed valid, but have not heard definitively from the courts. So on Christmas Eve, Amiable’s sisters have thrown them a reception to celebrate their marriage.

EXCERPT:

“Very well, love, we will go together.” With a reassuring pat on her arm, Amiable led her out of the receiving line. When they reached Katarina, she gave them a nervous smile then closed her eyes briefly before speaking.

“Amiable, Juliet, this man,” she nodded toward the stocky gentleman, “is Mr. Haimes, one of Sir John Fielding’s Bow Street Runners. He is here because—” she fell silent as words seemed to fail her.

Cold dread gripped Juliet’s heart.

Katarina took a deep breath, a false smile plastered on her face. “Duncan is waiting for us in the small reception room in the front of the house.”

“Why?” Juliet turned anxious eyes to her husband.

And now to finish the scene :

“Because I have come to finally take you home, chérie.” The loathsome voice sent a shower of fear through her as Lord St. Cyr sauntered around the corner to stand in front of her, his cruel smile aimed directly at her.

Only Marriage Will Do is available on Amazon for pre-order until July 31 at the pre-order price of just $1.99. The book reverts to its regular price of $4.99 on the day after Release Day, Saturday, August 1. Grab yours while you can!

And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.

The Writer’s Eye: Using the Senses in Romance Writing ~ The Sense of Smell

Posted on July 8, 2020 by Jenna Jaxon

In post number two post number four of this series, I will explore the often neglected sense of smell. Remember that the senses are channels of communication. What does this sense communicate to you and to your characters? How important is the sense of smell and how can we insure that we give it the prominence it is due in romance writing?

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The sense of smell has been called our least important sense; is there any wonder, then, that it is often the one least used in writing, according to Chip Scanlan in his article “Writing With Your Nose.” “Our antiseptic age seems designed to rob us of smells or confuse our nose with synthetic concoctions that mask noxious chemicals with the aromas of the orchard.” Helen Keller called smell “the fallen angel.”

Least important perhaps, but still powerful, for nothing is so memorable as a smell. I have only to inhale the pungent aroma of a fresh-lit cigar and I am transported back to my aunt’s car early in the morning, a six-year-old again, taking my uncle to work. He smoked cigars. Odors have the power to fix time and place in our minds like a snapshot. Use that power in your writing to help your characters create a past.

Smell is also evocative of emotion. “The information of incoming odors is first processed by the emotions and subsequently identified. This places our sense of smell at the root of our emotional being,” states Laura Walters in “The Sweet Smell of Romance.”

Many writers will use the sense of smell when their hero and heroine meet for the first time. Their own unique scents create a powerful attractive force, which is a documented phenomenon. “Scents act as powerful triggers to our primal instincts when seeking out and evaluating a mate,” according to Dr. Alan R. Hirsch.

And finally, make your writing richer by adding odors the POV character would naturally smell within the scene to create a true sense of place. These smells need not always be pleasant; in real life we smell both the roses and the manure in which they grow. But creating an environment that evokes the world around your character will enhance your readers’ experience of that world.

The following excerpts from Only Scandal Will Do, my Georgian historical romance, shows how effective the sense of smell can be used to put the reader intimately into the scene.

“Lean your head just there, sweet.” His hand pressed her firmly against him so she could hear the strong beat of his heart, smell the clean, comforting citrus of his cologne. She liked that fresh smell.

But later that scent has different connotations:

She was rewarded, finally, for flung into the corner, hidden by the chair, lay the man’s big, black cloak. Gleefully, she grabbed the expensive garment and pulled the warm folds around her. It smelled like him, the clean, citrus rising from the collar. That scent might haunt her for the rest of her life, but could be endured for now.

And in a final example, a noisome smell can sometimes evoke an even stronger sense of character.

By the time the world stopped spinning, she was being borne down the corridor in Nigel’s arms. The rank smell of his sweaty, unwashed body permeated the mask and Kat fought back a wave of nausea.

Tell me how you put your reader into your scenes using the sense of smell? Do you find it more difficult to include smell than the other four senses? Is there a particular smell you find yourself using specifically for heroes or heroines?

Thanks for coming by! Join me next week when I wrap up my thoughts on the senses by exploring the use of taste in romance writing.

Posted in On Writing, On Writing Romance | Tagged five senses, Jenna Jaxon, romance and the sense of touch, sense of smell, writing about the sense of smell, writing about the senses, writing romance, writing the senses | 1 Comment

Medieval Monday ~ An Excerpt from The Prince’s Highland Bride by Cathy & DD MacRae

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome to Medieval Monday, a blog hop for those who love a medieval romance. Over the next weeks, 10 other medieval romance novelists and I will share snippets from one of our works. I haven’t been able to share snippets with these wonderful authors for a while, but I’m so glad I’m back!

Our theme for this session is Nature, and today I’m hosting Cathy & DD MacRae’s The Prince’s Highland Bride.

BLURB:

Free of court intrigue, Phillipe seeks a new start in life. Falling in love was not in his plans. Until he met Maggie MacLaren.

Phillipe de Poitiers, a prince of Antioch, finds himself a breath away from wrongful execution. Risking everything, he leaves behind his crown, his family, his country—and a body sworn to be his by the Bishop, himself.

Free of court intrigue and drawn to Scotland by memories of a woman who once possessed his heart, Phillipe sells his sword to pay for his travels and accepts the task of guarding the daughter of Laird MacLaren.

When Maggie MacLaren’s abusive marriage fails, she wants nothing more than to retire to her childhood home on the banks of Loch Lomond. Trouble follows her, putting her clan in danger, and she travels to the Isle of Hola, placing her safety in the hands of a mysterious mercenary with a haunted smile and a kind heart.

As Maggie and Phillipe struggle with their pasts, love blooms. But when a pirate’s treasure offers a seductive lure, will it free them—or prove the downfall of all they hold dear?

Nature can provide beauty and inspiration. It can also bring danger. Maggie’s island is a place of solace and great beauty, but it is also completely without defenses, something Phillipe must correct before he completes his task of protecting the woman he has come to love—and says good-bye to her forever.

EXCERPT:

The little girl shook her head violently and more strands of hair escaped the frayed plaits.

The other child stepped between Narfi and Svala. “Leave her alone. Ma said we mustn’t fight in front of Freya.”

Narfi sent her a scowl then gave a one-shoulder shrug.

“’Tis verra kind of ye, Narfi,” Maggie soothed. “But teasing lasses isnae how ye prove yer worth as a hunter. Come with me and I’ll let ye watch as Colyn eats.”

Join me on my blog next week for the final bit of the snippet: https://www.cathymacraeauthor.com/bits-n-bobs-author-blog

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: https://www.amzn.com/dp/B086Z153VH

Thank you so much for sharing that excerpt, Cathy. Hopefully, I’ll be seeing everyone on Cathy’s blog today as well for my snippet from Time Enough to Love.

And see you next Monday for the final excerpt from my Time Enough to Love romance on Medieval Monday.

The Time Enough to Love medieval romance series by Jenna Jaxon

Posted in Medieval Monday, Medieval Romance, On Time Enough to Love | Tagged blog hop, Cathy & DD MacRae, Jenna Jaxon, Medieval Monday, medieval romance, Nature theme, The Prince's Highland Bride, Time Enough To Love | 6 Comments

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ 7/05/20 Only Marriage Will Do ~ “I Don’t Like This”

Posted on July 5, 2020 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors!

Check out my new blurb for Only Marriage Will Do:

BLURB:

Not all Happy-ever-afters begin at “I do.”

I begin my snippets for Marriage well into the story just as I did for Scandal. Captain Amiable Dawson and Lady Juliet Ferrers married in July under rather strange circumstances: another man, a former suitor, has claimed he is already married to Juliet.She and Amiable spent the autumn months trying to verify that their marriage was indeed valid, but have not heard definitively from the courts. So on Christmas Eve, Amiable’s sisters have thrown them a reception to celebrate their marriage.

EXCERPT:

Laughing to herself, Juliet peered about the crowded room and spied Katarina near the entrance to the ballroom, a strange man, dressed in plain clothing, at her side. Deep in conversation, the two seemed at odds. Some instinct urged her to flight–she clutched her husband’s arm, her gaze darting about for Duncan.

“What is wrong, my dear?” Amiable looked down at her, frown lines springing onto his brow, “Are you fatigued already?”

“No, but look at the man Kat is talking to. Do you know him? He seems out of place here, don’t you think?” She glanced back to find her sister-in-law beckoning to them. “I don’t like this.”

And now to finish the scene :

“It’s likely nothing to alarm you. sweet. I’ll go see what this is about.” He took a step toward the mismatched couple.

“No.” She dug her fingers into his arm, and he pulled her forward with his momentum. “I won’t let you go, no matter what.”

Only Marriage Will Do is available on Amazon for pre-order until July 31 at the pre-order price of just $1.99. The book reverts to its regular price of $4.99 on the day after Release Day, Saturday, August 1. Grab yours while you can!

And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.

Happy 4th of July!

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Jenna Jaxon

Wishing everyone a

Happy 4th of July!

This year, believe it or not, our timeshare week begins today, July 4th, so my husband and I are traveling down to the Outer Banks for a week of relaxing in the sun while staying socially distant. I hope to send you pictures and videos of our home away from home that we’ve had for over thirty years. We absolutly love the place and can’t wait to get there again, despite COVID-19. We do plan to be careful when eating out and at the pool (I seldom even go to the pool, just sit on the deck and relax and write) so I’m excited to be going back.

The 4th of July has been special for the last 18 years, every since we moved to eastern Virginia, just across the York River from Yorktown and Williamsburg where the American Experiment began. It’s brought a deeper sense of history to me living here where our independence was won.

(Pictures courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

So I hope your celebration for the day is full of fun, food, and (at a safe distance) family.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Last year I posted the musical number “Battle of Yorktown” from Hamilton because it fit so well with the celebration of our Independence Day. So I’ve re-posted it again. And if you have the new Disney Plus channel, you can watch the entire musical with the original cast. I absolutely recommend it for your 4th of July celebration pleasure.

The Battle of Yorktown

Posted in Holiday Posts | Tagged 4th of July Celebration, Colonial Williamsburg, Hamilton the Musical, Independence Day, Jenna Jaxon, The Battle of Yorktown | 1 Comment

Only Marriage Will Do is on Pre-Order on Amazon

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Jenna Jaxon

On Tuesday, as part of my Release Day celebration for Only Scandal Will Do, I revealed the cover for Book 2 of my House of Pleasure series, Only Marriage Will Do. Yesterday I put it up for pre-order on Amazon at the pre-order price of $1.99. When the book releases on July 31, the price will revert to its regular price of $4.99.

So grab your copy today! Just click here!

BLURB:

Happy-ever-afters don’t always begin at “I do.”

When two unexpected callers turn Lady Juliet Ferrers’s world upside down, she’s left wondering what on earth to do. The first gentleman claims to be married to her via a proxy marriage, a statement she can scarcely credit—except she was actually betrothed to him once upon a time, an action she now bitterly regrets. Out of other options, Juliet acts boldly when a stranger comes to call, and declares he is her husband, hoping to discourage her dubious bridegroom from pursuing his claim. But when she finally has a moment alone with the handsome visitor, she finds herself hoping she can turn her falsehood about their marriage into truth.

Captain Amiable Dawson seems to have stepped into a fairy land when a beautiful young woman he’s never met introduces him as her husband. The more she explains her situation, the less he is inclined to believe her, yet Amiable is a pushover for a damsel in distress. And if any damsel ever needed his help it’s this one. Against his better judgment—and distracted by Juliet’s charming ways and dazzling beauty—he agrees to accompany her to her family’s estate days away to the north. Along the way the passion between them sizzles until a happy-ever-after is all but assured. But when the question of Juliet’s true husband rears its head once more, Amiable is forced to wonder if he is indeed married to the lady or not.

When his rival abducts Juliet, Amiable is forced to choose between the woman he loves or the law of the land that decrees she is not his wife. Desperate to rescue her at any cost, his last resort may be to kill the man who stands in the way of their happiness.

(I’m actually still tinkering with the blurb, so stay tuned for changes!)

EXCERPT:

London

July 2, 1761

The brass lion-head knocker under Amiable Dawson’s hand sent a sharp rap through the dark walnut door of Dunham House for the second time. The hot July sun hadn’t done his temper any good as he waited on the marble stoop for entrance to the Marquess of Dalbury’s townhouse. He’d been in a foul mood ever since the news of his beloved Katarina’s marriage to the marquess had reached him. Blast it to hell, the girl had accepted his proposal. At least he could make sure she was well and well taken care of by this man she had married.

At last a short, dark-haired maid opened the door. She took one look at him, gasped, and stepped back into the house. Her eyes widened and she glanced to her right, wringing her hands. “Who may I say—”

A man shouted from within. “No, I do not believe you.”

“I do not care what you believe. I told you the truth.” A woman’s voice, raised and sharp with terror, sent a chill through Amiable.

Katarina. What in God’s name?

He barged past the stunned girl and strode down the hall toward the commotion. He burst through the doorway, expecting to defend the woman he loved, only to stop dead at the sight of a man lunging across a sofa and grasping a woman by the wrist. Amiable had half drawn his sword before he realized the woman was not Katarina, but a complete stranger. He dropped it back into its scabbard. None of his affair after all.

The young man, foppishly dressed in a robin’s egg blue satin coat dripping too many layers of frothy lace at throat and wrists, looked at Amiable, a snarl on his lips.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the woman wrenched her arm from the man’s grip. “Praise God. He has arrived at last.” She staggered as she righted herself. “Now you will have to believe me, Philippe.”

The fop scrambled back off the sofa and groped for a black lacquer walking stick that lay on the floor. Lips pressed together, he glowered at the woman. “That remains to be seen, ma chère. In any case, I have shown you the papers. They speak for themselves.”

The woman ran from behind the sofa to Amiable’s side, grazed a kiss over his cheek, and whispered, “For God’s sake, help me. I am alone and he wants to force me to go with him. Please, agree with whatever I say.”

He smiled into her pleading face, then grasped her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze to signal his acquiescence. “Whatever is the matter, my dear?” Hell if he knew. However, he could play his part, even with little information. Let the lady lead and he’d follow as well as he could.

The woman swayed toward him, then took a deep breath. “My dear, may I present Viscount St. Cyr?” She nodded toward the fop. “Philippe, my husband, the Earl of Manning.”

Only Marriage Will Do is available for pre-order on Amazon. Grab your copy for just $1.99 today!

Posted in House of Pleasure Series, New Release, Only Marriage Will Do | Tagged $1.99 Pre-order, damsel in distress, House of Pleasure Series, Jenna Jaxon, marriage by proxy, Only Marriage Will Do, two husbands | Leave a comment

The Writer’s Eye: Using the Senses in Romance Writing ~ The Sense of Touch

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Jenna Jaxon

The mechanics of the sense of touch are different from those of the other four senses. Sight, smell, taste, and sound are each located in one specific part of the body. Touch is located everywhere. This sense originates in the dermis, the deepest layer of skin. It contains thousands of nerve receptors that, when stimulated, carry messages of pain or pleasure to the brain via the spinal cord.

Of greatest interest to the writer, however, is the fact that touch is experienced over every inch of the body. Immediately, the possibilities for the use of this sense explode. Any part of a character’s body can be described as feeling some stimulus and can therefore be affected by it. Heroines can delight in cool sand between their toes, revel in the heat of the sun on their face, or shiver as an ice-cube slides down their back.

Describing an intimate touch is the stock in trade of the romance writer. We’ve all written love scenes and, from sweet to scorching hot, the sense of touch figures prominently. A kiss is a mere touch of the lips—but in the hands of a skillful wordsmith, it is an event that will rock the reader to her soul. Well written, smokin’ love scenes transport the reader into the scene most often through depiction of the sense of touch. Catherine Texier, in the article Awaken Her Senses, describes exactly how revealing a man’s touch can be: “The touch of a man is his imprint, his signature. How soft or callous his hands are, how dexterous his fingers, how insolent and bold, how sensual or rough his handling of your body. . . . Each one of his moves reveals his character, his mood of the moment, and his knowledge of you.”

When all is said and done, however, what we are talking about is the skillful use of language. Writers create everything using the exact words that will evoke the senses in the reader. Channel that language into your writing and your readers will “feel” right along with your characters.

A quick excerpt from my newly released romance Only Scandal Will Do, the hero and heroine’s first kiss hopefully illustrates that all important sense of touch:

She felt every magnificent swirl of his tongue, not only in her mouth but in the deep, private places of her body as well. Katarina moaned into his mouth, the low, guttural sound coming from some unknown reservoir of need. Pressing him to her, her hands slid up the steely hard muscles of his back, evident even through his cloak and clothes.

Do you include the sense of touch in your writing as much as you should? Do you create opportunities for your reader to feel everything right along with the characters? Please leave a comment and thanks for sharing!

Thanks for coming by! Join me next week when I explore the use of smell in romance writing.