'The Duke's Blackmailed Bride' - this Little Story is Doing Great on Amazon

'The Duke's Blackmailed Bride' is currently sitting at #10 on Amazon's Kindle Regency Romance list, #26 in Historical Romance. It's so gratifying. I struggle with longer length fiction so the world of e-publishing and e-reading is ideal for me. This little story has received some really good reviews but I must meet the challenge of completing something more substantial.

I'm hard at work on another Regency - floundering a bit with character development and plot but I know if I just keep typing, the story will work out in the end. I'm too easily diverted by research, finding intriguing details and spinning off into parallel reading that's fascinating but not necessarily productive to my work in progress.

'The Duke's Blackmailed Bride' hits Amazon Bestseller Regency Romance lists

So exciting: 'The Duke's Blackmailed Bride' is currently #69 on Amazon's Top 100 Regency Romance list  and at #10 on Amazon's Hot New Regency Romance list!

The Duke's Blackmailed Bride Got Romance Review - Four Stars!

"Wonderful Descriptions Transported Me to a Faraway Time and Place"
I was so excited and pleased to read the following review on Amazon from Got Romance Reviews: "The Duke's Blackmailed Bride is a wonderfully spicy Regency romance. The traditional storyline is enhanced by the engaging characters and the setting. Vanessa is a feisty heroine but there is more to her than the gossiping ton knows and I loved watching Northbridge's reactions as he discovers the woman beyond the scandal. There are hidden layers to the hero as well and I loved uncovering the emotions behind the taciturn lord. Wonderful descriptions transported me to a faraway time and place. This was a great break to the everyday and I cannot wait to read other offerings by this author."

Thank you so much for this wonderful review. Receiving this kind of feedback is enormously reassuring and encouraging.

Ten Tempations from The Duke's Blackmailed Bride

Emma Lai interviewed Vanessa, my heroine from 'The Duke's Blackmailed Bride'. Read Emma's blog http://emmalaiwrites.blogspot.com/ to read about Vanessa's ten tempations.

Great Review for 'The Duke's Blackmailed Bride' - 'A Wonderful Story'

There are few things more warming to a writer's heart than to read a positive, totally unsolicited review. Sizzling Hot Book Reviews has given me a marvellous review for 'The Duke's Blackmailed Bride'. I'm so glad the reviewer, M Dobson, enjoyed reading this short Regency romance - I certainly enjoyed reading her review. Here's a summary of the review:

"The Duke's Blackmailed Bride is a fun Regency romance about two people who are afraid to show their true feelings for each other or anyone else. 'The Duke's Blackmailed Bride' is a wonderful story that shows that some things, like love, are worth waiting and fighting for."

Thanks so much!
Purchase 'The Duke's Blackmailed Bride' from Amazon.

The Duke's Blackmailed Bride - New Release!

I'm excited to announce the release of my short Regency, The Duke's Blackmailed Bride, available now from The Wild Rose Press. Thanks to Susan Yates and all the people at Wild Rose who do such a wonderful job of helping and supporting their writers.

Blurb
Vanessa Fitzwilliam is in dire straits. Her father’s death has left her with a crumbling manor and a handful of old retainers relying on her for support. When the Duke of Northbridge sweeps into her life with a surprise proposal, Vanessa is tempted—but the arrogant duke believes her to be something she’s not.

Hardened by the ravages of war, Northbridge seeks a wife who will provide him with an heir but make no demands on his emotions. The scandalously experienced Vanessa, neither clinging nor innocent, seems the perfect choice. But Northbridge isn’t prepared for her reluctance to accept him, or his own fierce reaction to her beauty.

To fulfill his desires, Northbridge is prepared to be ruthless, but can he bend Vanessa to his will? Or has the Duke met his match?
(Regency)
Rating: Spicy
Page Count: 51
Word Count: 11600

Enjoy!

Is Communication only about Words?

Japanese-inspired bridge



As writers, we are obsessed with words. Not many things delight me more than discovering a new word and being able to use it in the right place. (For a great tip about finding and saving words, visit Julie Musil's blog post 'Tips for Word Thieves.).

Some years ago I flew from New Zealand to the U.K. stopping over in Osaka for the night. On the next leg I sat next to a Japanese woman and we found we could communicate easily without a formal language.

We didn’t know each other’s name. We couldn’t speak or understand each other’s language. But we smiled at each other as we settled in and were almost as close as two people can physically be, for 12 long hours on the flight from Osaka to London.

After a little while we each pointed to our hearts and gave each other our names, then stumbled awkwardly over the pronunciation and didn’t attempt it again. She ordered English breakfast tea with milk and sugar while I sampled udon noodles and green tea. She put a gently restraining hand on mine and shook her head when I was about to pour soy sauce over my dessert.

We showed each other photographs of our families and exclaimed at how beautiful and undoubtedly clever were our respective children. We communicated with gestures, smiles and a few words of broken English. I felt ashamed that I didn’t know any Japanese words to break. We understood that we were each going to visit our adult children, she her daughter, I my daughter and son, who I hadn’t seen for almost five years.

She slept on my shoulder while I looked at the pictures in her magazine and tried to decipher the captions. At the end of our journey we gathered our luggage from the overhead racks, smiled, touched hands briefly and then were separated as we were herded into customs.

Now and then in the long queues we caught each other’s eye and smiled again, raising our eyebrows and rolling our eyes at the long wait. It was all new to me and I moved forward without impatience, enjoying the spectacle of so many different people gathered together. I wondered what lay in wait for some, and sympathised with the harried parents of small children who grizzled or shrieked or whined, exhausted from hours of inactivity.

The cheerful rosy-cheeked customs officer wished me a happy holiday, and I made my way through more passageways, my shoulder aching beneath too-heavy luggage until I came to the arrivals area where my son let out a whoop, leapt over the barrier and hauled me into an embrace.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw my friend again. The greetings between she and her daughter were much more decorous but the joy on their faces could not be mistaken. As we smiled at each other over the shoulders of our adult offspring, it didn’t matter that we had no words to communicate. We already had a shared language. We were mothers sharing the inexpressible joy of being reunited with our children.

What are your thoughts about communicating without a written or spoken language in common? I'd love to hear from you.