Hello everyone,
I've been very distracted lately. I've been so distracted that I've had little time to check in here or do much online. The reason is a good one, a great one in fact. I've finally finished my 6th full length novel, the 5th full length historical novel, and the third in my series, Reluctant Heroes! Wow that was a mouth full
That's my 6th full length novel , as I have two Christmas short stories available.
That's my 5th historical romance novel, as I have four others available, plus a contemporary romance (The Rock Star Next Door). They are in order:
Dark Hero
Some Enchanted Waltz
Bright Scoundrel
The Widow' Christmas Wish
And it's the third story in the Reluctant Heroes Series!
Dark Hero is number 1
Bright Scoundrel is number 2
Gallant Rogue is number 3
This has been a long time coming: the book took me a year and a half to finish. Then it was sent to the editor, and then I had to wait for it to be returned, fix edits, than have it formatted for ebooks and print! So, join me in this awesome celebration, a big moment in my otherwise quiet life; the final release of Gallant Rogue.
What's it about, well, it's about a woman trying to run away from her past. She's the illegitame daughter of a Spanish man and a slave. Her father was the plantation steward and had a love affair with her mother. She's scorned as a bastard, as the grand-daughter of a Voodoo priestess, and because she married another bastard of mixed blood, the former plantation owner's son, Gareth O'Donovan.
Chloe was Elizabeth Beaumont's friend and her paid companion in Dark Hero. She married Gareth O'Donovan and had nine years of wedded bliss. Her romance with Gareth was in the short story, A Christmas Kiss.
Well, it's ten years later, and Chloe is now a widow. She's tired of living at Ravencrest estates, where her friend and patroness is happily married and surrounded by children. She's lonely, and yet, she's scorned by those outside the plantation house as a bastard child of mixed blood. She decides to strike out on her own and search for her father's relative in Spain. She's hoping to pass herself off as a lady there, or at least as legitmate. Her uncle Miguel is a Spanish Marquis, and so her hopes are high that she can re-invent herself in a land where no one knows her secrets. There's just one problem with this plan, Spain is on the brink of war with France. Of course, as the inhabitants of Ravencrest Plantation live in the West Indies, they can hardly be aware of the turmoil simmering in Spain at the moment. Chloe sets sail for Spain, with Captain Rawling as her escort and protector.
Jack Rawlings has always admired Chloe. He had intended to court her years ago, but someone else beat him to the punch and married her before he could make his interests known to the lovely Miss Ramirez. Now, he's charged with protecting her as they sail to Spain. Jack is pulled apart by his feelings for her, as he realizes that the lovely widow, Chloe O'Donovan, is not the simple maid he had admired and wished to wed a decade earlier. She's become a diamond of the first water, cultured and educated, and he feels he is beneath her. Jack has a tragic history: he loved a lady and lost her in a horrible situation. His fiancee was captured by Barbary Pirates years ago, and murdered. He was supposed to deliver the ransome, but he arrived too late only to learn she had been murdered. He couldn't forgive himself, and turned to piracy. That's where he met his ally Donovan Beaumont. Together, they terrorized ships in the East Indies as Black Jack and the Raven. Since then, he lost his wealth through gambling, his ship, and much of his self respect. He needs to rescue a lady, desperately, to make up for having failed his lady years ago. Chloe's in luck, as he's just the man to keep her from harm.
When they arrive in Spain, all is not well. Chloe's uncle is missing. They set out in search of him, and encounter bandits and French troops. Jack must protect her at all costs. He's determined in his quest, and will not rest until she is safely delivered to her uncle. But when they arrive at the villa near the sea, they find that Uncle Miguel's life of priviledge is about to end. He's the prisoner of French soldiers, suspected of being in league with the Spanish militia hiding in the hills. Worse for it, the French Captain has evil designs on Chloe. Can Jack save her and her uncle? Will they escape the powder keg of revolutionary Spain, or will they all become victims of French retaliations?
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| Goya's Third of May, 1808, French Soldiers shot Spanish citizens in retaliation for their rebellion. |
I am excited about this new book. I was inspired by the storyline through art history, Goya's painting about real life events of the Spanish revolution against the French occupation, in The Third of May, 1808, and also by the PBS series, Sharpe's War. So, for the last year and half, I've had my mind in 19th century Spain.
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| Sean Bean as Officer Richard Sharpe |
The Sharpe Series, written by Bernerd Cornwell, is about a British Officer, Richard Sharpe, who had many adventures in Europe during the Napoleonic Wars. Many of the novels have been made into a television series, with much of the action taking place in Spain when England stepped in to fight with the Spanish to push off the French. This took place a little later than my story, Gallant Rogue, as the British only stepped in the summer of 1808, and fought for years to free Spain from the French occupation. I watched the Sharpe's series a bizillion times to get a feel for Spain in this time period, and because Sean Bean is such a hottie I could see my dear Captain Jack Rawlings being like him!
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| Sharpe with sword drawn and his men at his back |
Sharpe was a rifleman during that war. He led his troops into the Spanish interior and had many adventures. If you love historical dramas, this is an excellent series to watch. I'm addicted, and yes, Sharpe has some romance enter his life, too!
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| Yes, a yummy hero, and the inspiration for Jack Rawlings! |
Sharpe and his men spent years in Spain. Sharpe even married a Spanish woman, a very fiesty woman who was a member of the secret Spanish Militia. She was a spy for the militia and helped the British get past the French troops. Like I said, this TV show is addicting, and you'll have countless hours of enjoyment in it if you like historical sagas with action, adventure, and romance. You can get it online, or at your library in the U.S.
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| Here we have Mr. & Mrs. Sharpe, his Spanish wife. |
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