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
Dear 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
In my next installment of The Fairbourne Quartet—The Conquest of Lady Cassandra—coming in late February—a secondary character emerged as I wrote who developed in unexpected ways. It was not some hunk who would require his own story (although Viscount Kendale, while still secondary, filled out quite nicely as I wrote this book.) It was not some sweet miss who would be a future heroine either (although Lydia, Southwaite’s peculiar sister, also came into her own as the pages passed.) Instead it was an elderly woman, Cassandra’s Aunt Sophie.
A little bawdy, a tad outré, and suspiciously independent like Cassandra herself, Aunt Sophie is having senior moments at best and slipping mentally at worst. Protecting Aunt Sophie from those who seek to use her to further their own agendas becomes Cassandra’s goal. Accumulating the funds to take Sophie away brings Cassandra into conflict with Viscount Ambury, the charming man about town who was Southwaite’s friend in the first book of the series. He wants both Cassandra and Sophie to stay in London because he is investigating a mystery that involves them.
Aunt Sophie reminds me of the actress Betty White. At an age when she has no one to impress and nothing to prove, having lived a nonconformist life for which she will never apologize, she feels free to speak her mind no matter what outrageous direction her mind takes. Whether flirting with Scottish footmen half her age, or commenting on women who rouge their bottoms, she was a delight to get to know. Cassandra takes after her in many ways, much to their family’s dismay.
Only after I finished the book did I notice that Cassandra’s story reflected experiences I have had, as have many of my readers. Caring for an older relative is becoming very common. The relationship reversals and the delicate negotiations involved are familiar to me. So are the emotions of watching a loved one who once protected me now need my help. This book is humorous, like Sophie is herself, but those poignant emotions are in it too.
I should have an excerpt of The Conquest of Lady Cassandra up on this web site by November, once copy edits are completed. It is available now for pre-order, however.
In other news, The Surrender of Miss Fairbourne is being rereleased this October in a special edition as part of Penguin’s Read Pink campaign. This edition is immediately identifiable because it has a pink ribbon on the front. Read Pink is my publisher effort to bring awareness to breast cancer research sponsored by The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Penguin is making a generous contribution to the foundation and it is everyone’s hope that readers will consider making contributions as well, to this good cause or to other nonprofits that work toward a cure. You can learn more about this initiative at www.penguin.com/readpink.
I will be giving an all day writing workshop in Raleigh (Cary), NC on October 13. If you are in that area and want information, click HERE.
Finally, if you live in the Pittsburgh area, I will be at a large group signing on October 27 from 1-6 pm at the Mt. Lebanon Galleria.
Enjoy the cool weather of autumn! For those of us who endured heat waves and drought this summer, the change of season is delicious this year. Whenever crisp breezes flow I think about snuggling in with a good book. Don’t you? My To Be Read pile is calling.
Madeline
