I am joining in Brenda Novak’s fight against juvenile diabetes again this year. I have a critique up for auction. If you win, I critique 50 pages and a synopsis, and we can also meet in San Antonio to discuss the work, if you are going to the RWA conference this summer. Not a writer? Drop by the auction for lots of goodies, everything from signed books to vacation getaways, all being auctioned for a very good cause. http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/
Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category
Win a Critique
Wednesday, April 30th, 2014Note from Madeline – December 2013
Sunday, December 1st, 2013
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of The Counterfeit Mistress! It made the USAToday list during a very competitive month. I am also grateful to all of you who wrote reviews of it at the various online sites.
Cover reveal! The fourth and final book of The Fairbourne Quartet will be released June 3. It is titled The Accidental Duchess. Readers have already met the two main characters, the proud Duke of Penthurst and Lydia, the Earl of Southwaite’s “problem” sister. Doesn’t the cover look light and fresh? I love it.
Happily on the shelf, and a self-proclaimed “woman of the world,” Lydia hides secret dreams, grief, and unorthodox ideas behind an enigmatic, unrevealing expression. Readers, however, have glimpsed the real Lydia in the ways she interacts with Emma and Cassandra in earlier books. Restless and hungry for excitement, and rebelling against the constraints put on her by society and her family, she has recently taken to gambling, and shown uncanny luck at the tables. When she finds herself in need of a large amount of money, fast, she takes up a wager from the duke, one that she assumes she will win. With one draw of the cards, however, her whole future will change.
Penthurst has known Lydia her whole life. In fact, upon her birth, his aunt and her mother made a pact that the two of them would marry, a bit of antiquated nonsense that he publicly repudiated upon inheriting the title when he was fifteen. He has had little contact with Lydia in recent years, and she is not too demure to explain that the reason is because she does not like him one bit. Suddenly, however, he finds himself rescuing her from one disaster after another and getting little thanks for his trouble. When she creates a situation that accidentally compromises her, the only solution is marriage. Lydia is the only woman in the world who does not want to be a duchess, however. He almost has to drag her to the altar.
An unruly young woman. An arrogant duke. A marriage of obligation. A duel with reasons and consequences no one has guessed. A cunning blackmailer and the burden of secrets— The Accidental Duchess follows the rocky path, sometimes poignant and sometimes hilarious, that these two people trod toward trust and love. An excerpt will be up in a month. It is available for preorder now.
Other news— You may have learned that The Goddess Blogs, in which I participated, has ended. You will find me around and about in cyberspace, visiting other blogs and being more active on Facebook and other social networks. You can “Like” me on Facebook here.
I am hard at work planning my next series, which will be a trilogy. There will be no reveals on that until I know I have it nailed down the way it will remain. It is always exciting for me to start a series, however, so I am having fun world-building and creating characters.
If you are a member of my Parlor Talk group, you should have received a mailing of your requested bookmarks, along with a little charm themed to The Counterfeit Mistress. If you signed up and requested bookmarks, and did not get an envelope, contact me through any of the links on my site that allow you to send me a message. Any reader can join Parlor Talk here.
If you are reading this in December, have a good holiday season! And everyone have a Happy New Year!
Madeline
Note from Madeline – February 2013
Friday, February 1st, 2013Dear Friends,
Despite the cold and snow, I am beginning to look forward to February. I keep having books released near the end of the month and this year is no different. Seeing one of my books published is always exciting and banishes winter cabin fever.
On February 26, The Conquest of Lady Cassandra hits the shelves and the eBook stores. This is the second book in The Fairbourne Quartet and it features the very independent Lady Cassandra, and the charming Viscount Ambury, both of whom readers met in the first book, The Surrender of Miss Fairbourne.
- Reviews are already coming in.
Booklist
- said: “ (Hunter’s) characterization is superbly subtle, and the sexual chemistry she cooks up between her deliciously independent heroine and delightfully sexy hero is pure passion.”
RT Book Reviews gave it 4 ½ stars, made it a Top Pick, and noted: “. . . as smart and sharp as the best Regency romances can be. With its tangy dialogue, Pride and Prejudice themes, bits of mystery and nefarious characters, readers may be reminded of Jane Austen.”
To celebrate its release I will be doing a video chat with four other authors on February 27 at noon eastern time. We will be gabbing and answering questions. If you go to the site in advance you can RSVP, and then you will be reminded of the chat a day ahead and again when it is starting. As part of the party we will have a scavenger hunt with prizes of books and also a $250 bookstore gift card. I hope you will join us. http://www.spreecast.com/events/hot-talk
Then through my Facebook page I will soon be running a major drawing that I call Lady Cassandra’s Jewels. In the novel, jewels that Cassandra inherited from her aunt and which she sold at auction play an important role. So I decided to have jewelry as the prizes for this event. They won’t be Cassandra’s diamonds and sapphires (I am sure you understand!), but nice pieces that can be worn without putting on a gown too. If you are on my mailing list you will be alerted to this drawing when it starts.
My Parlor Talk group continues to grow and I am doing special things for them with this book. I am having a charm handmade that is a miniature chandelier earring— much like the ones that Ambury bought at the auction and believes were stolen. This is the second charm I have done for my Parlor Talk readers to celebrate a new book, and I hope to continue the tradition. If you want to join Parlor Talk, you can sign up by clicking the Parlor Talk link on my home page.
As the big day approaches, I am putting the final touches on the third book in the series. Titled The Counterfeit Mistress, it will be released in September. I will have information about it up on my site in a few months. For now I can reveal that the hero is Kendale. His male friends are convinced he needs a woman, and if ever a man did, it is this one. But the woman he ends up with is hardly the type of sweet innocent Southwaite and Ambury have assumed would one day turn his head.
I should get back to those final touches now! I hope you will take a look at Cassandra’s story. I have just posted a second, different excerpt for readers today.
Madeline
