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All We See or Seem

by Leah Sanders

Giveaway ends September 29, 2012.

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Sweet Saturday: Daddy's Little Girl

The Duke of Montmouth’s Winter Ball was the first the duke had had since his marriage last winter. As such, it promised to be a memorable event. Anastasia Trent, the only daughter of the Earl of Marks, had been looking forward to it for weeks. Ever since her father informed her of the betrothal to Baldwyn Sinclair.

Anastasia had been in love with him for ages, though he had never shown much interest in her. Truth be told, she hadn’t seen him in several years, but that last meeting still made her cringe with abject shame. How she could have ever been so purely disgraceful and immature was beyond her own understanding.

She only hoped he had forgotten the incident.

There was a sort of hope in that he had agreed to the betrothal. At any rate, tonight they would announce their engagement, and he would be hers forever, just as she had always dreamt.

Last year, her eighteenth year, she had begged her father to allow her to sit out another Season and debut at nineteen. She realized it would be strange to be presented so late, but there was only one man she had ever wished to marry, and as he was in Scotland, there was no use in coming out.

Her father had always indulged her every whim, and though Anastasia had never told him her reasons for hesitation, she knew he had a suspicion. When he brought her into his study one day a few weeks ago and asked her how she felt about a marriage to the duke, she could hardly contain her enthusiasm.

Finally, the evening of the ball had arrived. Anastasia had spent the entire day preparing herself—two baths, four hairstyles, and seven gowns later, she was ready to meet her groom-to-be. A bit of the old schoolgirl giddiness bubbled in the pit of her stomach, and she prayed she wouldn’t have to make another trip to the necessary.

Her father awaited her at the foot of the staircase. Her heart soared as she descended, and her feet hardly touched the floor. If the look on her father’s face was any indication, the pale gold gown she had finally settled on was the perfect choice.

“You are a vision, my sweet,” her father crooned, offering his arm gallantly. His broad grin and sparkling blue eyes warmed her heart. He still cut a dashing figure with the brush of silver at his temples, highlighting his chestnut hair. It was a shame he refused to marry again after her mother had passed away.

He often told her she looked like her mother, but Anastasia knew it wasn’t true. She had his hair and his eyes, while her mother was a blonde beauty with marvelous hazel eyes. If she inherited any of her mother’s traits, it would have to be her spirit…her sense of adventure. Though Anastasia hardly remembered, her father told her many stories of Lady Marks’ escapades. Each new story inspired her more than the last.

Her favorite, of course, was the tale of how her mother captured her father’s heart.

It was that story—that fairy tale—that burned in her soul since childhood.

She wanted a story like that.

Meet & Greet: Katherine Bourne

Lady Katherine Bourne

Daughter of the Earl and Countess of Banbury

Lady Katherine, the beautiful but rather accident-prone daughter of the Earl of Banbury, has been infatuated with the Duke of Paisley ever since their first meeting, when she was nothing more than a child. His noble and chivalrous nature has always captured her girlish fantasies.

On the other hand, she has always had a strong aversion to the incorrigible and rakish tendencies of Benedict Devlyn, the Devil Duke. No matter how sinfully handsome he is.

When she hears the news that the Duke of Paisley will be returning from Scotland for a short time to choose a wife, she plans to make certain she is in the forefront of that race. Even better, his grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Durbin, seems to be on her side in the matter.

Imagine her disappointment when she arrives at the Montmouth Winter Ball to discover her one-time ally has already finagled a betrothal between Paisley and some other girl, and had in mind instead that Lady Katherine be a match for none other than the Devil Duke... the last man on Earth she would ever choose.

Sweet Saturday: Deal or No Deal?

“In that case, Anastasia Trent, if you wish to travel in my carriage, you shall have to buy a seat.”

“Is that so? And what is the going rate for passage in such a broken down third-rate conveyance?”

“It is quite expensive, my dear. I fear you cannot afford it.”

“Then you have grossly misjudged me, Your Grace, for I am a lady of some means.” The sparkle in her eyes spelled mischief and mirth. How he loved her. What had taken him so long to realize it? “Name your price, good man. For I am in desperate need to arrive in London today.”

“Desperate need?” Baldwyn put his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “Very well. The cost for passage to London this day is one kiss… Payable in advance.” He lowered his head to hers, but she slipped one finger in front of his lips, stopping his forward motion inches from her mouth.

“I have not yet consented to your terms, sir.” A wry smile played on her lips. “I wish to offer a counter.”

“Anastasia,” Baldwyn whispered against her finger. “One does not say she is desperate and then expect to have bargaining power.”

She giggled. “No. No, I suppose not. But will you not hear me out?”

“What is your offer, Princess?” He placed a lingering kiss on the finger that blocked his path to her lips.

She brought her hand down to rest on his chest. “Two. One now…” she rose onto her tiptoes, meeting his lips with her own in a slow, warm caress that he could feel all the way through him. Baldwyn was breathless when she pulled away. “…And the second payable on safe delivery.”

He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. “Sweet Anastasia,” he whispered hoarsely. “You have much to learn about bargaining.”

~Two Turtledoves (work in progress)

Spotlight: Samantha Combs

Welcome, Samantha Combs, author of the new release Waterdancer! Thanks for joining me today, so honored to be helping you celebrate your newest release!

What inspired you to write this book?

It was actually an idea from one of my kids.  The best ideas I get come from them going, “Hey, Mom, what if... (fill in the blank)…”  My daughter asked me wouldn’t it be cool if she could breathe underwater.  I told her she would need to be a fish.  She asked, “Like a mermaid?”  My son busted in with, “No, a sea creature.  That’s way cooler than a stupid mermaid.”  That’s all it took.

Kids really do have good imaginations. Mine are constantly offering ideas for stories too!

How did you come up with the title?

Same conversation with my kids.  Daughter: If I was a mermaid I would dance in the water all day long and twirl my pretty green tail around.

I love the title! She did well on that one!

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I don’t usually do “message” books on purpose, but if this one has one, it’s that love can help you move mountains if it’s true and real.

What are your current projects?

I’m writing a YA contemporary and also a new YA paranormal, on the dystopian side.  I am also shopping my newest book, a dark YA paranormal called The Deadlies.  A group of Southern girls at an antebellum prep academy become possessed by the demons of the seven deadly sins.  And only one girl can save them.  Only she doesn’t know it yet.

That is an intriguing premise—sounds really creepy!

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

The business of writing is challenging.  Writing is awesome.  Marketing, production, pimping… not so much.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

It may seem cliché, but I have always loved Stephen King.  He has a way of introducing you to the paranormal, the supernatural and extraordinary in such an ordinary way.  He takes you by the hand and leads you into the weird and odd casually, and long before you realize where you are going.  By then, it’s too late to leave.

From the Back Cover:

As if high school isn’t hard enough, try being Bailey Wasserman.  Try being the new girl in town, navigating a touchy relationship with your flighty mom’s rich new husband in a brand new town he’s just moved you to.  Add to that finding out that your father, a semi-pro surfer who’s just mysteriously re-entered your life after nearly fifteen years of silence, is half sea-creature and you’re about to inherit that particular gene on your sixteenth birthday which is only a few days away, all after you just met the cutest surfer boy you’ve ever seen in your life.

Bailey feels she and her mom have always met life’s challenges as a team of two, more like best friends than mother and daughter.  But her mom’s recent marriage has changed all that.  Having her little brother Landry is all Bailey can find good about that union.  The move to wealthy Del Mar from their humble beginnings has turned Bailey sour, until a chance meeting of surf hottie Jack West changes all that.  Then, when her father reenters her life, with his annoying Zen-surfer lingo and a talking turtle he claims is her spirit guardian, no less, he threatens the only relationship Bailey thinks is working in her world. She soon finds out that’s not all his arrival will do.  His presence and their shared family trait could ultimately force Bailey to make a decision that will alter the course of her own life and those she loves… forever.

Waterdancer is available from these booksellers:

Amazon                              Barnes & Noble                              Musa Publishing

Want more information about Samantha Combs’s available titles? Check out her website!

New Release: Whispered Music by Rachel Van Dyken

Rachel Van Dyken's London Fairy Tales

Book Two

Whispered Music

FROM THE COVER:

He wasn’t looking for a savior…

Scarred at a young age, Dominique Maksylov, Royal Prince of Russia, has lived a reclusive life. As a musical prodigy, his music has wide reach into the world, but few ever see his face. He never ventures into polite society, but when he discovers he is the only heir to the Earldom of Harriss, he goes to one ball. And that one ball, was enough to change the direction of his life forever.

But how could he possibly have known that other person— the other half of his whole—would not only need his help but threaten his very existence?

She didn’t know how hard it would be to love the broken.

Isabelle Hartwell’s mother just sold her to the Beast of Russia. He’s mean, temperamental, and the most virile, handsome man she has ever encountered. But he has a secret, one he’s willing to die for and he refuses to let anyone in. Will she be able to reach his heart before it’s too late?

Find out if love prevails in this regency retelling of how Beauty tamed the savage Beast…

Wanna find out more? Visit Rachel Van Dyken's website for Release Information and to enter her drawing for a Kindle Fire!

AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT:

Amazon                    Barnes & Noble                   Astraea Press

Meet & Greet: Benedict Devlyn, the Duke of Creighton

Benedict Devlyn

Duke of Creighton

"The Devil Duke"

After the death of his parents, Benedict Devlyn was taken in and raised by his Aunt Agatha, the Dowager Duchess of Durbin. She was strict and insisted on things being done her way. Benedict, however, was a strong-willed child who never liked to do things by the book. And so he came by his nickname, "the Devil Duke" quite honestly by doing exactly whatever pleased him.

A man of rapidly changing tastes, he has had eight different mistresses in the last year, whom he hires as his housekeeper for as long as they can hold his interest.

It should come as no surprise, that he has no intention to marry any time soon. No woman can capture his heart. But his aunt is growing impatient. She will see him married before her time comes, no matter what methods she must employ to see it done. Poor fellow, he won't even know what hit him!