Release date: CURRENTLY UNCHAPERONED - 13 January 2021

 I've got my release date for CURRENTLY UNCHAPERONED, the first book in the Currently Charmed series, out from The Wild Rose Press.

13 January 2021

I'll be talking much about this on social media over the next few months.  #CurrentlyUnchaperoned

Happy Book Birthday - Part II

Happy Book Birthday
Bride of the Dark
Joining her sibling today
18 Oct 2018

To save everyone she knows and loves, Adrastea agreed to marry Mor-Lath, God of the Dark. But what does Mor-Lath get?

The mystery behind his reason for the marriage deepens as he introduces her to his priestesses, his library, and even the God of the Light. The only place he didn't introduce to her was his bed.

This baffles her. Without consummation, the marriage isn't complete in Adrastea's eyes, making her the bride, but not a wife.

Why did he marry her? An ancient prophecy provides both the reason and the reluctance of Mor-Lath when it comes to his bride, and that which he desires most could also be the one thing that destroys them both.

Where to buy: Amazon | Books2Read (universal link to many of your favourite retailers)  

_____________________________
Her Grace is having triplets.

A Clarification of Definitions

So I'm throwing my hat into a three-ring circus this month with all the pitch contests.  One consistent quality is that each entrant has to define their genre.  Always useful.

I'm pitching a Fantasy Romance, but not every contest has #FR as a category. Do I cringe and stick a #PR tag on it, or do I be true to the novel and double-tag it with #F and #R?  I've been doing the latter, because Of The Dark, despite it's magic, is definitely NOT a Paranormal Romance.

There is a difference between Paranormal Romance and Fantasy Romance.

• Paranormal Romance is a real world with a layer of magic over it. 
• Fantasy Romance is a fantasy world (sometimes a second world, alternate reality or otherworld) with magic in it.

If you take all the magical stuff out of your world, and left everything else behind, how would your Romance be categorised?  If you remove the vampires and the shifters et al., you'd be left with a contemporary Romance. Take magic out of a Fantasy Romance, you've still got a Fantasy Romance.

I can't call an otherworld Fantasy Romance a "Paranormal", because there's no "normal" to para.

______________________________
Her Grace finds these contests fun, but doesn't eschew the Original Contest of sending a query to an agent the old-fashioned way.

Happy Book Birthday, The White Feather

The White Feather

14 September 2016

The White Feather is out today! Have you got your copy yet?

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | KoboBooks | The Wild Rose Press | GoodReads

Crippled by a fear of firearms, James Cowper is rejected by the draft during the Great War. For this, the villagers mark him as a cowardly pariah. Cruelly shamed by them, James attempts a desperate deed by the tombstone of the village's most famous lady, Georgia Palmerton, also known as the Stoweham Ghost.

A hundred years ago, a romantic rival cursed Georgia Palmerton. Since then, she's wandered in phantom form, naked and alone, watching generations grow up, marry, live, and die. Georgia could be restored back to life, if someone had the courage to help her.

Freeing Georgia from physical death is a simple matter. Freeing James from social death is altogether more challenging, especially when he is asked to give up everything he's ever known. Now that the ghost and the pariah have found each other, will love and courage be enough to save them both?

___________________________________________
Her Grace asks that after you've read The White Feather, please leave an honest review on Amazon, GoodReads or wherever you purchased your copy. This helps more than you know.

Interview: Debbie Peterson

Shahar hanging out with Debbie

Today I interview fellow Wild Rose Press author Debbie Peterson, author of Spirit of the Knight and other fun books.

Officially, her bio says:

Debbie has always had a soft spot for fairy tales, the joy of falling in love, and happily ever after endings. Stories of love and make believe has filled her head for as long as she can remember. However, it was her beloved husband who encouraged, cajoled and inspired her to take up a pen and write some of them down. Her journey to published author could fill quite a few pages. However, in June of 2010, she submitted her debut novel “Spirit of the Rebellion” to The Wild Rose Press. Inkspell Publishing, published her second novel, “Shadow of the Witte Wieven,” and the rest is history.

When she is not busy conjuring her latest novel, Debbie spends time with the members of her beloved family. She also pursues her interests in teaching classes on and searching out her family history—and somewhere in there, makes time to study mythology, as well as all things ancient and historic.

So yeah. We have a few things in common. Of course, I had to interview her:

DKP: Hello Heidi! What fun it is for me to be here with you today, so thanks for the invitation!

HWK: I enjoyed reading SPIRIT OF THE KNIGHT and I especially loved your take on ghosts. Sir Cailen and his knights weren’t exactly the “dead and passed over” kind of traditional ghosts. What inspired their stuck-in-limbo-ness?

DKP: First of all, let me say that I’m so happy you enjoyed the book. I had a lot of fun writing it. So, what inspired Sir Cailen and his knights’ unconventional state of being? I suppose I should begin by telling you that I’ve chosen to write paranormal/fantasy romance because I love making an impossible love, quite possible after all.

HWK: Ah, a woman after my own heart.

DKP: And therefore...

Sir Cailen began as a minor character in my novel, Spirit of the Revolution and as I wrote the chapter in which he appeared, his story began to evolve in my mind. I saw him as living under a curse that he had no knowledge of. I realized at that point, that I needed to tell his story in complete detail.

HWK: You and I share a love for family history. What draws you to family history?

DKP: My ancestors are more than just names and dates to me. They are real people who lived real lives, experienced real joys and real sorrows.  I suppose the writer in me has an unquenchable thirst to know those stories, to know of their hardships as well as their triumphs.

HWK: Any fun tales of your ancestors you’d like to share?

DKP: Fun tales? Now that’s a loaded question! I have so many I could share.  But maybe I’ll just leave you with a small glimpse of one of my favourites. My great-grandmother appeared to my great-grandfather shortly after she passed away with a specific message that had everything to do with the love they had for each other. Perhaps this story is part of the reason I so enjoy writing tales of ghostly romance....   

HWK: Which of your books is your favourite and why?

DKP: Odd though it may seem, I really don’t have a favourite. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing each of my novels and have come to love each of my characters. They are each very special to me in their own way and for a variety of reasons.

HWK: Your favourite food in the Whole Wide World has been banned by law! What do you do?

DKP: Bootlegging immediately comes to mind.  I mean if it worked during prohibition, I’m sure it would work just as well for me!

HWK: You are given a million dollars with the caveat that you cannot spend any of it on yourself or anyone you know personally. What would you do with it?

DKP: Oh, wow...so many places, so many things to choose from. If it had to go to one place I would probably donate it to the Wounded Warrior project. I have a deep love and respect for those in the military who are so willing to give their lives so that I can enjoy the freedoms I have. As the popular and often quoted Facebook post says: Heroes don’t wear capes, they wear dog tags.

HWK: Preach it! If you could convince the world of ANYTHING, what would it be?

DKP: I think it would be that we have the inherent ability to love each other—that we have the power to eradicate the hate that’s so prevalent in the world today. After all if they can do it -- http://www.pawmygosh.com/friends-furever/ -- so can we! (Do I sound like I’m on a soap box?)

HWK: We all need to stand on soap boxes. Thanks for hanging out with me today.

______________________

Sir Cailen's a handsome fellow.

Here's the official blurb for Spirit of the Knight:

She fell deeply in love with him in the early days of her childhood. And in return, she captured his heart the moment he first cast his gaze upon her...

Renowned artist, Mariah Jennings hired to paint a thirteenth-century Scottish castle, gets the shock of her life when she encounters the handsome knight who has dominated a lifetime of portraits and sketchbooks.

But Sir Cailen Braithnoch is no ordinary ghost, nor did he suffer an ordinary death. Magic of the blackest kind cast a pall over the knights centuries ago. As the ghost and his lady seek to unravel the paradox surrounding his death, black arts, otherworldly forces, and a jealous rival conspire against them.

Will those forces tear them apart, or is their love destined to last throughout the ages?

Be like Her Grace and buy Spirit of the Knight:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Wild Rose Press 

Hang out with Debbie:

Website: http://dk-peterson.com

Blog: http://debbie-peterson.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @DebbiePeterson1 

Goodreads: Debbie Peterson 

Facebook: Debbie Peterson

My Cozy Regency Romance Novel: Currently Unsupervised

Right now, the plot of this novel is drawn all over the large window of my office. I formulated this plot backwards. I started with what one of my characters describes as "The Whole Situation", a bit of scandal that must remain under wraps No Matter What.

I've got the major players, and lots of arrows drawn here-there-everywhere, describing what's happening and to whom, and what will happen if The Whole Situation is discovered. (Really. Why some people must leave incriminating documents lying about, I don't know.)

Essentially, Our Heroine, Miss Felicity Abbot of the Essex Colchesters has a talent for undoing locked things. She's also got a bit of an attitude and a rebellious streak. Can you blame her?  She's been kept from the London Season for reasons entirely out of her control.  Naturally, she's going to sneak off to see what's so great about a Party.  Oh, and she thinks negus tastes absolutely terrible.

The first draft is complete, but needs a bit more tweaking. Some of it sags a bit in the middle. However, I do love the scandal.

_______________________
Her Grace loves a good scandal, as long as she's not involved. She prefers to watch the train wreck from a safe distance.

My Regency Romance with Magic: Her Endearing Young Charms

Another born-in-November NaNoNovel.

Miss Merribelle Hales spent years imbuing a silver locket with man-attracting charms. On her way to her first London Season, her locket is stolen--along with a kiss--by a highwayman. Her only clue to his identity: a pair of intense eyes. Without her best charm, how will she ever be able to compete on the Marriage Mart?

Lord Alexander Rochester has worries aplenty. His ailing father's contested estates are woefully in debt, so he must seek a wealthy wife. His courtship of Miss Hales goes terribly awry with a simple kiss that leads to his slapped face and an accusation of theft.

It's a case of mistaken identity. Alexander knows and fears the real culprit. He faces the loss of his father, his estate and the lady he loves at hands of the Handkiss Highwayman.

I love Our Heroine of this novel, the Honourable Miss Merrybelle Hales. She's got attitude and a few flaws. She's not afraid to speak her mind from time to time. Sometimes her sense of self-togetherness is threatened by fear, but very rarely does she give in to that fear.

Actually, I love several of the characters of this sweet little Regency Romance with Magic. Merrybelle's brother George is a standout. Some of his dialogue is among my favourite lines.

Lord Alexander, Our Hero, has a heavy weight on his shoulders, and it shows. Poor lad. He's a lot more fun when he's not being crushed by Hard Knocks.

I love how there's magic, but it doesn't totally dominate the worldbuilding. It sits on juuust this side of plausible.

After Of The Dark, this has to be my favourite novel.

______________________
Her Grace, of all the Romance genres, loves Regency Romance the best, possibly because of the presence of a comedy of manners.

Edited to add:  This novel is published. Please get it, read it and leave an honest review.

Amazon ebook | Amazon paperback | Smashwords | Kobo | B&N | iTunes | GoodReads

My First Pitched Novel: "Almost An Empress"

It took over a dozen novels, but now my mastery of the Craft was coming to fruition.  I'd had a fair bit of luck getting several short stories published, as well as regular columns for internet magazines and some non-fiction articles for rather prestigious publications.

I could safely say I'd moved from Apprentice Writer to Journeyman. Yay!  (If anyone asks, I tell them I'm a Journeyman. 'Cause that's what I am.)

I was inspired to write another novel based on Middle-Eastern culture (pre-Islam), with feminist overtones.

Dance is women's magic--a close-kept secret. Maysa ibn-Nabil has been trained well. As the daughter of a powerful lord, she becomes the first wife of the new young Emperor, well-placed to influence an entire nation. It is a political marriage only, one that looks never to be fruitful.

The throne is not a safe place. One of the Emperor's brothers escaped the purge of rivals. Now he challenges the Emperor for control of the nation.

The true power of the nation is not the man who sits on the throne, but the woman who stands behind it. Seating the best man to rule would be a simple matter, if not for a rival magic--unknown to Maysa--that is counteracting her own.

Hmm...  not the best blurb. I'll have to work on that.

So, I got an opportunity to pitch my novel.

Back then, few publishers accepted unsolicited manuscripts.  So when Harlequin/Silhouette opened up, for a time, to unsolicited queries, I queried away!

Not my best query evar (see below), and it was not a surprise to see my novel be rejected.  But hey! I'd pitched.

            Maysa, daughter of a powerful sheik, finally comes into her own as a woman grown with the completion of her year as a Dancer.  Unbeknownst to men, who believe it to be nothing more than entertainment, Dance is also the women’s magic, with which they influence the world.

            When Maysa returns home after her year of study, she learns that Idris, the man she loves, is leaving for war.  Wanting to convince him to stay, yet not raise the suspicions of her mother, she dances “Remember Me”.  Unfortunately, he follows his honor.

            She follows the wishes of her father and enters into a pleasant, albeit short-lived marriage with an older man.  After she is widowed, the young emperor desires her as his wife.  It is a political marriage, where she doesn’t even like him, much less love him.  No sooner is the betrothal contract signed, than Idris returns, looking for her.  Indeed, he remembered her because of her dance--so much he couldn’t get her out of his mind…  Can love defy an imperial contract?

            In the tradition of an "Arabian Nights" tale, "Almost an Empress" is the story of Maysa’s journey through marriage, widowhood, and an unwanted engagement to convince Idris of her love.

Um, still not right. Maybe I don't know my own novel.  That can happen.  You write the novel and are so close to it that sometimes you can't see the themes for what they truly are.

Themes I played with:

• Sisterhood
• Dance as a secret magic to influence the world
• Secret love
• Successful (albeit short-lived) marriage and subsequent widowhood
• Political instability
• Women as a respected socio-political power.
• Political marriage (arranged marriage)
• Music as a secret magic to influence the world
• Teamwork
• Family Betrayal
• Fratricide

Several years later, I rewrote the novel as a NaNoWriMo project.  It's better, but not my best novel to date.  Ah well.  Revisitation is always an option.

________________________

Her Grace once learned American Tribal belly dance and would love to learn Urban Tribal, that tightly-controlled and mesmerising style: World Horror Con 2008 Gothic Belly Dance

Any Time But Now

I am not into contemporary romance.  It just doesn't sing for me.

I love historical romance. I love futuristic romance. I love otherworld romance. Anything, anytime, anywhere but here.

Maybe this is because I read for escapism.  Historical fantasy paints an idealised picture of romance in a different time period, safely glossing over the majority of social woes, disease, war and more. Futuristic and otherworld also aim for a more idealised portrayal of worlds that don't exist.  Worldbuilding in these categories can be done well enough for readers to suspend their disbelief.  Ignore the ubiquitous poverty and rampant chauvanism of Regency. Forget the disease and war-torn Mediaeval. Bypass burnt-out humanity in the future.  Get to the good stuff--love never dies.  We're all in it for the HEA.

With contempo, everything has to be as real as the author can make it. Anything that's not honest and real feels fake. You can't get away with tweaking the worldbuilding.  And I love me some good worldbuilding, larger-than-life.

Also, I think the dialogue may have something to do with it.  Contemporary dialogue simply isn't romantic enough for me.  "Hey, Baby," might be a commonly-used pickup line, but it doesn't do anything for me.  If anything, I find it a bit of a turn-off.

So give me romance in some setting other than the Here and Now. Take me to someplace I can never go. Thrill me. I live in the contemporary world every day. It can be a bit tedious at times and downright disappointing.

Sometimes I just wanna escape.

_____________________
Her Grace has always wanted to visit Narnia.  Ever notice how a wardrobe and a TARDIS are similar?