Regency Thunderdome!!

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Kensington Publishing is running a fun #Ultimate Heroes competition on their website and Tumblr page. My book, CONFESSIONS OF A ROYAL BRIDEGROOM, is pitted against Theresa Romain’s SEASON FOR SURRENDER. Since Theresa and I are good pals and love each other’s books, we’ve decided to engage in an epically lame battle of Regency-themed trash talk. You can follow along on Twitter, if you like, under the hashtag of #UltimateHero. We’re having a great time!

You can vote for the heroes here. The best part? You can vote for either hero as many times as you like! *snort*

PS. Both CONFESSIONS and SEASON are on sale on Kindle and Nook for only $2.99 for the month of Feb!

And I’ve got another stop on my VK Sykes MEET ME AT THE BEACH blog tour today. Just click here to read an excerpt, review, and for another chance to enter my fabulous contest.

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Have a great day!


Blog Tours, Giveaways, and Even More News!!

Meet Me at the Beach cover

So much news that I hardly know where to start! Today marks the beginning of the blog tour for my upcoming small town romance release, MEET ME AT THE BEACH, co-written with my hubby as VK Sykes. This is book one in our new Seashell Bay Series, which takes place in a small island community off the coast of Maine. We’re VERY excited about this series, and hope you’ll give it a look. You can check out the tour sites today to read excerpts, reviews, and for a chance to enter our contest. The Grand Prize is a $50 Amazon gift card!

Feb 9th- Book Mama Blog (Excerpt)

(Stop 2) Written Love Reviews (Review)

(Stop 3) Roberta’s Dreamworld (Excerpt)

I’m visiting Ramblings From This Chick today, with love letters between Evie Whitney and Will Endicott, the heroine and hero from HOW TO PLAN A WEDDING FOR A ROYAL SPY. I really enjoyed writing them, and I hope you’ll stop by to check them out. There’s a giveaway, too!

And did you know that CONFESSIONS OF A ROYAL BRIDEGROOM, the second book in The Renegade Royals historical romance series, is now on sale for only $2.99 on Kindle and Nook?

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That is a really good deal!! If you haven’t tried any of my books or this series, this is a great way to start.

Buy on Kindle

Buy on Nook

Finally, I’m running a swell giveaway on my facebook page today. I’m giving away a copy of my pal Theresa Romain’s fabulous historical romance, SEASON FOR SURRENDER. It’s a lovely book and I would encourage you to hop on over to my facebook page to enter the contest.

More news to come, so stay tuned!


Guest Author: Theresa Romain & Giveaway!!

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I’m so happy to welcome the lovely and talented Theresa Romain to the blog today.  Theresa writes witty, emotional, truly beautiful Regency-set historical romance.  She’s here today to tell us about the new book in her bestselling Christmas romance series.

Your new book, Season For Scandal, is the 3rd book in your wonderful Holiday Pleasures Series.  What’s the thread that connects these stories?

Vanessa, thank you for welcoming me today!

They’re all set in the same Regency world, so there are continuing characters even though every book stands on its own. The hero and heroine of SEASON FOR SCANDAL—Edmund and Jane—both turned up in the previous Holiday Pleasures book, SEASON FOR SURRENDER. So I hope it’s fun for readers to see these secondary characters get their own chance to find love.

Your heroine Jane Tindall is one of my favorite kinds of heroines, one who must survive on her wits and courage.  What can you tell us about Jane?

Thanks! Jane is a fun character to write because she’s not quite within the bounds of polite society. She hasn’t been raised with much money or many social graces, and so she has a bit of a chip on her shoulder, and a great craving to advance herself. But she’s not a ruthless person by any means! She’s also very loyal and warm-hearted. And for most of her life, she’s given that loyalty and devotion to Edmund, who turns out not to be quite the hero she thinks…

Season

Readers are often very interested in the research we bring to our books.  Did you have to do a lot of research on Regency gambling?  Did you find any other interesting historical elements in which to ground your plot?

At the beginning of SEASON FOR SCANDAL, the characters play vingt-et-un, which is basically blackjack. So that didn’t take as much research as the bits of chess that come into the story later. (I am sooooo not a chess player.) But most research I did was related to social events, like how people bought ices at Gunter’s or what the punishments were for theft. I also researched a few rebellions that became part of the plot: the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. On a more romantic note, I also checked out wedding traditions of the time. Jane and Edmund get married very early in the story, and so their wedding is an important story event.

You have another historical that’s recently come out.  What can you tell us about it?

Thanks for asking! Besides the Holiday Pleasures romances, I’m also working on the Matchmaker trilogy of historicals. The first Matchmaker romance, IT TAKES TWO TO TANGLE,  features a wily widow and a wounded ex-soldier in a Regency take on the Cyrano plot. ITTTT just came out in September, and the next Matchmaker book will be published in May. I’ve seen some preliminary cover art, and it’s gorgeous!

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Thanks for being with us today, Theresa!  Readers, Theresa is giving away a copy of her wonderful new book, A Season For Scandal.  For a chance to win, tell us your favorite part of the holidays–or any holiday–for a chance to win.

SEASON FOR SCANDAL

UNLADYLIKE RISK

Jane Tindall has never had money of her own or exceptional beauty. Her gifts are more subtle: a mind like an abacus, a talent for play-acting—and a daring taste for gambling. But all the daring in the world can’t help with the cards fixed against her. And when Edmund Ware, Baron Kirkpatrick, unwittingly spoils her chance to win a fortune, her reputation is ruined too. Or so she thinks, until he suggests a surprising mode of escape: a hasty marriage. To him. On the surface, their wedding would seem to satisfy all the demands of proper society, but as the Yuletide approaches, secrets and scandals turn this proper marriage into a very improper affair.

Book order links:

Print: amazon • barnes & noble • book depository • books-a-million • indiebound • kensington • posman bookspowell’s • watermark

Ebook: ibook • kensington • kindle • nook 

 


Holiday Galas Galore!!

Yes, folks, it’s that time of year again – the festive time of holiday galas!  And have I got a great one for you.  Along with acclaimed historical romance authors Victoria Alexander, Grace Burrowes, and Theresa Romain, I’ll be hosting an all-day online holiday gala on Nov. 30 at The Romance Dish.  It’s called Romancing The Holidays, and I can promise you that it’s going to be a very special event.  We’ll be hanging out at The Romance Dish all day, chatting about our favorite holiday festivities, exchanging recipes, and chatting with our readers.  And we’ll be giving away prizes – lots of prizes.  Just take a look at this list!

PRIZES FOR ROMANCING THE HOLIDAYS (by the hour)

LADY LOUISA’S CHRISTMAS KNIGHT, by Grace Burrowes

HIS MISTLETOE BRIDE, by Vanessa Kelly

SEASON FOR SURRENDER, by Theresa Romain

WHAT HAPPENS AT CHRISTMAS, by Victoria Alexander

Holiday Stocking filled with all 4 books

Book + Mug + English Christmas crackers

Book + What Happens at Christmas mouse pad + White House Christmas Ornament

Book+ Southern praline candy + What Happens at Christmas mouse pad  

Book + Mug + Loose-leaf tea plus tea strainer

All 4 books + Christmas Ornament + Tea Towel + English Christmas crackers

Book + Set of David Winter cottage ornaments

Grand Prize:  eReader + Box of chocolate truffles + Set of David Winter cottage ornaments

Wow!  That’s a pretty spectacular list of prizes, right?  Staring at 9 am, we’ll be giving away one of these prize packages to event participants every hour, culminating in the grand prize of an e-reader, chocolates, and ornaments.  Talk about getting into the holiday mood!

And you know what else is cool?  We’ll also be giving away gift baskets to women’s shelters and libraries, and we’ll be encouraging our readers to make donations too.  We really hope you’ll join us for Romancing The Holidays at The Romance Dish on November 30.  For more info and to sign up for this special event, please visit our Romancing The Holidays website.

And in more holiday news, have you heard about The Year End Splash Party over at The Romance Reviews?

Over 300 hundreds authors are participating in this month long event, with more than 400 hundred prizes up for grabs.  I’m taking part too, and will be appearing on December 10th, doing a Q & A and giving away books.  Please join me and all the authors for this fantastic party which is already up and running.  Just stop by The Romance Reviews to join the fun.

And don’t forget to visit our Romancing The Holidays website to sign up for the our special gala, too!

PS.  I’m on the road today, visiting at Ramblings From This Chick and giving away a copy of His Mistletoe Bride.  Come join us!


We Have A Winner!

The winner of Theresa Romain’s new book, Season For Surrender, is Penney Wilfort.  And the winner of Pamela Aares’ book, Jane Austen and the Archangel, is Maycee Majors.  Congratulations!  I’ll be in touch.

Thanks to all you great folks for stopping by my blog.  My guest author tomorrow will be Brenda Jernigan.  Be sure to stop back for that!

And for all of you who joined my Author Buzz contest, I’ll be announcing the winners later today.  Stay tuned!


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