Terri
Hi loves!
It’s Valentine’s Day, and hopefully you are celebrating in the way that suits you the best, whether it’s with dozens of red roses, a dinner date, chocolates for one, wine, or by rejecting the emphasis on consumerism our capitalist world places on every otherwise meaningful holiday.
(Wait, did I say that last bit out loud?)
My Valentine’s Day will be spent alternating between volunteering at a local music competition (I can play an assortment of instruments*, so I will be on the instrument stall) and working on my deadline.
Oh yeah, I know aaaall about romance.
*make a sound that almost sounds as though I know how to play an assortment of instruments.
What’s next?
I’ve been so busy writing, I haven’t had time for anything else, and I’m excited to share more about these books as publication gets closer.
I’ve ALSO got my next series planned, and hopefully you will be THRILLED to know it’s going to be my take on a Regency mail-order bride. Of course, such things did not exist in the same way in Regency England, so it’ll be a slightly different flavour. But it WILL have marriages of convenience and grumpy single men who are in need (but perhaps not in want) of a wife.
Oh, and my heroines will all have secrets that will inevitably come to light.
There will be angst. There will be sex. There will be emotionally constipated men. Forced proximity. Probably some yearning. All the good stuff.
I hope you’re excited because I can’t wait to get started!
Non-capitalist gift-giving
What could be more anti-capitalist than something that is free? If you’re yearning for something painfully romantic that will whisk you away into a world of happy ever afters and death-defying love, then you will be delighted to know that I have twelve fantastic free books for you.
In case you’re not convinced and haven’t already read The Spinster’s Seduction, here’s a little snippet:
“Where are we, anyway?” he demanded as he came up behind her. “I have never been here before.”
“Nor I. But is it not beautiful?”
He barely cast it a glance before taking her arm. “I suppose so. But Evie, listen to me—”
She tugged free from his grasp and approached the archway. For a moment, she felt as though she was advancing through history, through time itself, as though once she emerged through the arch, she would enter a different realm. Perhaps one of the faeries, trapped to dance and drink their sweet wine forevermore. Some part of her mind knew she was being ridiculous, her over-active imagination telling tales of a world that did not exist, but she could not suppress her feeling of wonder. She placed one hand against the frost-slicked stone and stepped forward.
Too late, she saw the ice glistening below.
Her foot shot out from underneath her, and she toppled, her hand scraping helplessly across the icy rock. The sky tilted as she fell, and she might have landed hard if strong arms hadn’t grabbed her arm, hauling her around and into his chest. Evelyn collided with Charles, her world utterly topsy-turvy, a shriek caught in her throat. Her fingers curled into his lapels to steady herself, but instead of releasing her as she’d expected, his arm merely curled around her waist, holding her in place.
For a long moment, neither of them moved. There was nothing but the sound of their breathing and the wind against bare branches. Evelyn tipped her head back to find Charles looking down at her, his face tight and hard with shock. His gaze met hers in a blaze of heat that looked like anger—or perhaps something else
“What were you thinking?” he demanded, his temper like the rush of a pepper against her tongue. Yes, the heat in his eyes had certainly been anger. “You should have been more careful in this weather.” Yet still didn’t he let her go, holding her against the warmth of his body.
She smiled up at him, feeling as though she’d been trapped in honey, sticky and sweet. “I’m all right,” she said.
The wind picked up, and it began to snow. Large, thick flakes that dusted his hair and danced along his lips, melting instantly against the warmth of his skin.
“Charles?” she whispered, and he blinked, as though seeing her for the first time. His lips parted on an intake of breath, and she had the sudden, heady thought that she could kiss him now. That, perhaps, he might want her to. Or at the very least, he might not push her away. And if they kissed, then surely then he would agree to ravish her in all the ways she wanted.
Surely.
“Evie,” he said, throaty suddenly, and she felt already as though she was drowning, the air rushing from her body. “You have snow on your nose.” Slowly, he reached up to brush it off.
“Kiss me,” she said.
His entire body went rigid. “Excuse me?”
Oh no. Her fingers tingled, and she curled them into fists, willing away the shaking. She had already decided what she wanted, and this would be her last adventure before she settled into the second half of her life. This ought to be easy to say.
He skated his fingers along the curve of her cheekbones. “You don’t know what you’re asking of me,” he murmured.
“I think I do. I’m asking you to teach me how to kiss. Properly, not like Julian did when I was fifteen.” She wrinkled her nose. “For instance, I have heard that the use of tongues while kissing is pleasing, but my recollection of the act is very different.”
His expression darkened. “That boy has been your only kiss?”
“No one else has expressed any wish to kiss me,” she said, serene at the prospect. In all her years, she had never wanted to kiss them, either. “I’m odd, you see.”
“I do not see,” he said, tone unusually harsh, and then he brought his mouth down on hers.
(If you’re wondering, yes I’m still obsessed with Charles, he is quite literally one of my favourite romantic heroes I’ve ever written, and his bond with Evelyn is SO SPECIAL. It’s absolutely what sold me on writing friends to lovers because before, if you can believe it, I wasn’t that fussed).
So yeah. If you haven’t read it, now is your chance to do so without any financial commitment. And, of course, the other incredible books are also free. What a bargain.
Book recs
I have an amazing book for you today that (alas) is not free, but is such a romantic, fun, banter-filled escapade that I really cannot recommend it enough. (I got to read it as a beta reader and I had SUCH a good time, all my comments were basically just me screaming.)
Also available in KU!
Rachel Rowan is SUCH a talented author, and never fails to hit me in all the feels. Her books just feel real, you know? Lived in. And really, when it comes to historical romance, that is absolutely what I want.
That’s all from me today, so enjoy your bubble baths, sexy histroms, and your rejection of patriarchal ideals.
Terri x
Kiera
Hello from Kiera!
I’m having an insanely busy start to the year, with new writing projects, renovation works for BOTH my adult kids and joining a band for the first time! However, I’m so glad to have plenty to keep me occupied in this ATROCIOUS weather, as those of you from the UK will no doubt agree.
On the literary front, I have joined a collaboration of authors creating a Christmas Runaway Brides Series, a set of novellas which will be releasing from August onwards. I can’t tell you how much fun I’m having with them. Because the MFCs of my two novellas are sisters, I’m writing both stories together, and seeing events from very different perspectives is very entertaining.
Hot on the heels of those novellas, a favourite character of mine from ‘A Lady’s Desire’ is demanding his own novella. Wentworth finds life to be far more complicated than he ever expected—and far more satisfying too! More of his story later.
In the meantime, here’s a peak at my son’s living room, part-plastered by yours truly!
Tomorrow I shall get busy painting the walls: at least they now resemble a smooth, flat surface, as opposed to smears of lumpy icing!
Till next time,
Kiera x
