Monday, December 27, 2021

Christmas Book Tour: Finale


On tour with Prism Book Tours
 
We hope you enjoyed the tour! If you missed any of the stops, you can
see snippets and the link to each full post, as well as the giveaway below . . .
 
December 7th: Launch
 
 

December 8th: Nancy Campbell Allen - The Matchmaker's Lonely Heart


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter
Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Target 

Snippet from the Guest Post (find the full post here):
 
Et voila! A new Victorian series was born, featuring three cousins who live in London and are determined to become modern Women of Independent Means. My books almost always feature a healthy dose of mystery along with the romance, and I believe people who have enjoyed my work in the past will not be disappointed here!
 
 
 
 
 December 9th: Rachael Anderson - Five Kisses


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub
Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Snippet from the Excerpt (find the full post here):
 
The dark-haired man pushed away from the bookcase and pointed to the shelf above her head. “I’m guessing you used the stack of bibles as a stool to reach this shelf here.” He patted the place where Frankenstein once stood. “Is there a book I can get for you so you can climb down from your perch? People are beginning to stare, and I doubt the proprietress would appreciate seeing any book, especially a bible, being used as a stool.” 
 
 
 
 
December 10th: Sarah M. Eden - The Merchant and the Rogue


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Bookbub
Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Target 

Snippet from the Guest Post (find the full post here):
 
I set this story, a mystery filled with creepy scenery and disconcerting characters, in the real-life Museum of Natural History in Dublin, Ireland. This museum was opened in 1856 in a stately Dublin building, and very little about it has changed since. It is often described as “a museum of a museum.” Walking through this piece of Dublin history is like stepping back in time. And it is one of the most wonderfully creepy places I have ever had the joy of visiting.
 
 
 
 
December 11th: Arlem Hawks - Georgana's Secret


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub
Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Target 

Snippet from the Excerpt (find the full post here):
 
She wiped the moisture from her eyes and watched the bright moon above them. He
ignored the moon and the way it tripped across the waves. Tonight he forgot the ocean. He
watched her.
 
His heart pounded between his ribs, and he nearly let it push him forward to kiss that
contented smile. How would it feel to have Georgana Woodall’s soft lips caressing his own? To
be wanted by someone like her would be a wondrous thing.

 
 
 
December 12th: Jess Heileman - The Nabob's Daughter


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Bookbub
Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon

Snippet from the Excerpt (find the full post here):
 
My palms were clammy within my gloves, and I mindlessly rubbed them against my middle. Did I truly have the tenacity to enact such a preposterous scheme? It wasn’t too late to simply comply with Papa’s demands and marry Lord Denhurst’s son. I wavered between two seemingly detestable options. Then an image of India filled my mind’s eye. If I abandoned my plan now, I would likely never see my home again. Once Papa was in England, he would see me married, just as he said he would. That would not do. No, I needed to convince Lord Denhurst to revoke his offer, thus adhering to Papa’s admonition that I would not make him break his word, and to be on my way home before Papa arrived.  

 
 
 
 
December 13th: Krista Jensen - Miracle Creek Christmas


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter
Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Snippet from the Guest Post (find the full post here):
 
Miracle Creek Christmas was originally titled, "Hold on Forever" after the song by Rob Thomas, who I adore. The song so perfectly expresses the way Riley and Mark come to feel about each other--"Lay down all your troubles end to end, they could reach up to the stars. So many roads, you don't know where you've been, but you still know who you are . . . Just fall apart if you need to. I'm here and I won't leave you now. Don't look down. Hold on forever..." Such a great song for these two.  

 
 
 
December 14th: Jen Geigle Johnson - A Christmas Kiss


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook
Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Snippet from the Excerpt (find the full post here):
 
Evaline carefully wrapped a black band around her arm. “Remy, could you help me tie it tight enough that it will stay?”
“Certainly, my lady.” Her loyal lady’s maid cinched it and applied a pin at the back for good measure.
“Excellent. Mother deserves longer than the small three hundred and sixty five days of mourning no matter what Father or Aunt say.”
 
 
 
 
December 15th: Josi S. Kilpack - Love and Lavender


Follow the Author: Website | Blog | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Bookbub
Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Snippet from the Guest Post (find the full post here):
 
Josi's Top 10 Christmas list, in very particular order:

10. The Christmas Season
9. Singing Christmas songs at church
8. Wrapping presents
7. October 15th, when I buy all the presents online . . .
 
 
 
 
 December 16th: Carla Laureano - Discovered by Love series


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Snippet from the Guest Post (find the full post here):
 
Romance novellas are short and sweet, and they focus exclusively on the falling-in-love butterflies between the main couple, without much distraction from outside plot or secondary characters. Setting adds a necessary texture and interest to an otherwise straightforward story, and it can either act as a main feature in the couple’s burgeoning romance or as a source of conflict that threaten their happiness. So with that kind of importance in the story, why not make it a great one? 
 
 
 
 
 
December 17th: Sarah L. McConkie - Meet Me Under the Kissing Bough


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Bookbub | LinkTree

Snippet from the Guest Post (find the full post here):
 
This book is a retelling of A Christmas Carol. Most of the character's names are some kind of spin-off of the original, or found somewhere in the book. It was fun figuring out a way to make past, present, and future work through letters and not ghosts!
 
 
 
 
December 18th: Carol Ross - His Hometown Yuletide Vow


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | BookBub

Snippet from the Excerpt (find the full post here):
 
“I didn’t even know you were participating in the auction until I saw the program tonight. Before I could find you myself, a friend introduced me to Todd, and Todd asked if I’d be willing to meet you...” Derrick’s mouth pulled up on one side like he was trying not to smile. He was all boyish innocence and every bit as appealing as Anne remembered as he added, “He, uh, he actually asked me if I’d flirt with you a little.”

Anne choked out a surprised laugh. “Thank you for sparing us both that awkwardness.”

Grinning, he assured her, “It wouldn’t be awkward for me.”
 
 
 
 
December 19th: Nichole Van - Brotherhood of the Black Tartan series


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Bookbub | Pinterest

Snippet from the Excerpt (find the full post here):
 
“Dinnae mock a fine kilt, Peter. The kilt swish is no’ tae be underestimated.”
“The kilt swish?” Lady Jane’s tone dripped with scorn.
“It’s a well-known fact that the lasses appreciate watching a man’s passion pleats swish as he walks.”
“Particularly from the backside,” Kieran helpfully clarified.
 
 
 
 
 
December 20th: Anneka R. Walker - Brides and Brothers


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Bookbub | Pinterest

Snippet from the Excerpt (find the full post here):
 
It didn’t bode well if thoughts of dating again had distracted him to the point of nearly burning down his house. While he loved living in a bachelor pad with his brothers, a guy could only live off frozen food for so many years before he cracked. If getting married could change this, dating might be worth it. With a sigh of disgust, he rinsed the charred hot pad under water. He let it drip dry before he opened the drawer next to the oven and threw it in. 
 
 
 
 
December 21st: Camron Wright - Christmas by Accident


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub
Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Snippet from the Guest Post (find the full post here):
 
In the story I pay subtle homage to many Christmas classics, perhaps borrowing a line of dialogue from one or including an obscure quotation from another. While some references are obvious, others are subtle. A fun game as you read is to see how many you can find.
 
 
 
 
December 22nd: Julie Wright - A Captain for Caroline Gray


Follow the Author: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Bookbub | Amazon
Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Target 

Snippet from the Guest Post (find the full post here):
 
Women really did cross oceans to finds husbands. They were called the Fishing Fleet women. The Fishing Fleet began at the end of the seventeenth century when the East India Company began shipping women from England to India to marry their officers. The title of “Fishing Fleet women” is used as an insult as it was used to refer to women who had to go out “fishing” for husbands.

 

 

 

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Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Christmas Book Tour: A Captain for Caroline Gray By Julie Wright


On Tour with Prism Book Tours
 
 
 Today's featured book is A Captain for Caroline Gray by Julie Wright. Keep reading for the book blurb, an author guest post, and the $75 Amazon giveaway!
 
 


Caroline Gray would rather be daring and intelligent than demure and insipid, which is why she is still unmatched after her third season in London. Her family’s threadbare finances leave Caroline with only one choice to secure her future: sail with the Fishing Fleet to India, where the son of a family friend is willing to consider an engagement to her.



 
 
Guest Post

7 Random Facts on Research, Characters, Plot and Author: A Captain for Caroline Gray

1. Women really did cross oceans to finds husbands. They were called the Fishing Fleet women. The Fishing Fleet began at the end of the seventeenth century when the East India Company began shipping women from England to India to marry their officers. The title of “Fishing Fleet women” is used as an insult as it was used to refer to women who had to go out “fishing” for husbands. By the time of this fictional setting of 1820, the East India Company had removed itself from the business of finding husbands for their officers, but women still made the journey when their prospects at home were slim. There is a lot to admire about a woman with the courage to leave home and country to find her future in a distant land.

2. Working on this book required a lot of nautical know-how. My naval-captain-father, Walter Peterson (who plays the character of Lieutenant Peterson), was only too happy to impart his knowledge on a grateful daughter. Anything that might be wrong in regards to the ship is not the fault of the captain, but of the author.

3. There is a hidden Nathan and a hidden Alison in every book I write. Sometimes they get big characters to play and sometimes they only get a single mention. It’s always fun to hide the Nathan and Alison and to get feedback from readers when they find them.

4. A Captain for Caroline Gray is the first regency novel I’ve ever written, but I have been an avid fan of the genre for many years. I loved being able to move into the time and language in a setting that is not often used in the regency genre!

5. Living on a ship makes for tight quarters, but they sure do utilize every inch of space they are given! They even have a carpentry shop and a doctor’s cabin for when repairs of ship and crew were necessary.

6. Caroline’s ability with art allows her to get into spaces a lady would not normally be allowed which gave her opportunities to become friends with members of the crew and allows the reader little glimpses into those lives that are sometimes not thought about in the regency time.

7. Captain Scott might seem gruff and unrelenting when it comes to a person’s word by modern day standards, but this is at a time when one’s word was their honor and one could be challenged to a life-threatening duel over something as “trifling” as a man’s word. Not saying that deceptions didn’t occur, because of course they did. These are people we’re talking about here, but there is something admirable about a person who values the honor of their word.

 
 
 
 
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Ends December 29, 2021


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Monday, December 20, 2021

Christmas Book Tour: Brides & Brothers By Anneka R. Walker


On Tour with Prism Book Tours
 
 Today's featured book is Brides & Brothers By Anneka R. Walker. Read on for the book description, an exclusive excerpt, and your daily $75 Amazon giveaway entry!
 
 


 
A modern retelling of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Camille Kelly is in real danger of becoming an old maid—at least by Cherish, Montana, standards. She has all but given up on finding Mr. Right—until her broken laptop leads her to Aiden Peterson, a tall, dark, and handsome computer genius. Camille would never have believed her magic moment was right around the corner, but after two whirlwind weeks, she has a ring on her finger and has happily ever after in sight. However, she soon discovers Aiden is part of a daunting package deal . . .

As the eldest of seven brothers, Aiden has never had a problem living under the same roof as his rambunctious siblings. When he falls for Camille, he is confident she’ll fit right into his family’s already bursting home. He thought wrong. Aiden and Camille’s storybook romance comes to a screeching halt when she discovers her new living situation. Not willing to submit to a life mothering a bunch of grown men, Camille has only one option: she embarks on a campaign to improve her new brothers-in-law and marry them off. And what better candidates for wives than her own best friends?



 
 
 
Excerpt

No one should underestimate the influence of a woman. If Aiden Peterson had realized this a few years ago, it would’ve saved him a lot of grief in his efforts to parent his six younger brothers. Lost in his thoughts, Aiden leaned against the marble countertop in his kitchen while he waited for his dinner to finish cooking. It had been a week since he’d said goodbye at the airport to his baby brother, Grant, who had deployed to Iraq. Watching Grant hug his girlfriend, the woman who’d turned him into a well-behaved man almost overnight, had reminded Aiden of a promise he’d made ten years ago at his parents’ graveside—one he intended to keep.

The timer went off, and Aiden pulled the pan of fish sticks and fries out of the oven. He grimaced when he accidentally dropped the hot pad onto the heating element. Instantly, a corner of fabric disappeared in a small flame. He grabbed a spatula, scooped the burning hot pad onto the floor, and deftly pounded out the flames.

It didn’t bode well if thoughts of dating again had distracted him to the point of nearly burning down his house. While he loved living in a bachelor pad with his brothers, a guy could only live off frozen food for so many years before he cracked. If getting married could change this, dating might be worth it. With a sigh of disgust, he rinsed the charred hot pad under water. He let it drip dry before he opened the drawer next to the oven and threw it in.

“I saw that.” Benson drawled from the other side of the room. Aiden glanced at his brother just thirteen months younger than him, sitting in the family room just off the kitchen. He wished Benson didn’t have an inch on him in height and a broader chest. It had been so much easier to tell his brothers to mind their own business when they were smaller. “When are you going to learn how to cook?” Benson asked him.

“No need when I have you around,” Aiden said. Benson was the only one of the Peterson brothers who knew how to cook, and his meals consisted of potatoes and potatoes.

“What if I get married and leave?”

Aiden’s brow rose. It was ironic how casually Benson had brought up marriage, the topic that kept ringing in his own mind. “You have to learn how to talk to girls before you can get married.”

Benson had a lot going for him, but he was reserved and antisocial. He needed a woman to pull him out of his shell. In fact, all his brothers could benefit from the influence of a woman—a person who could bring light back into their lives, like Amy had done for Grant.

Benson picked at his teeth with a toothpick. “There isn’t a need to talk to girls. They talk enough for everyone.”

Benson’s hang-up with dating was part of the Peterson plague. They’d had to be independent and emotionally guarded for so long, but it didn’t have to be like that anymore. Once Aiden married, the pattern would cycle right down the alphabet. Next would be Benson, then the twins, Cade and Daegan, then Flynn, Easton, and Grant. In fact, Aiden didn’t see why he couldn’t get the older five married before Grant’s deployment ended in a year’s time.

No one else was home, so this was Aiden’s opening to confess his thoughts and gauge Benson’s reaction. “We can work on the talking-to-girls thing. I want you to start dating.” He had Benson’s full attention now. Aiden juggled a hot fish stick back and forth between his hands before setting it back down in the pan with resolve. “Seeing Grant and Amy together got me thinking about Mom and Dad. After the crash, I vowed I’d get us all married and settled down. More than anything, they wanted us to find happiness with our own families. It’s been ten years. It’s time.”

Excerpted from Brides & Brothers by Anneka R. Walker, Copyright © 2021 by
Anneka R. Walker. Published by Covenant Communications.
 
 
 

 
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Sunday, December 19, 2021

Suffering the Scot (Brotherhood of the Black Tartan #1) by Nichole Van

 

On Tour with Prism Book Tours
 
 
Today's featured book is Suffering the Scot (Brotherhood of the Black Tartan #1) by Nichole Van. I just started reading this book myself after having recently finished another by Nichole Van that I LOVED. So this post, reflective of my enthusiasm for a new (to me) author that I am so excited to share with you, is a little longer than usual. Keep scrolling for a blurb on book 1, an excerpt of book 1, plus a bonus of that excerpt read by a Scot. Oh and of course, your entry in the $75 Amazon giveaway! 😊




 
From book 1, Suffering the Scot:
 
Lady Jane Everard cannot abide the new Earl of Hadley. The unmannered Scot is a menace to genteel ladies everywhere, what with his booming laugh and swishing kilt and endless supply of ‘ochs’ and ‘ayes.’ Jane wishes Lord Hadley would behave as an earl should and adhere to English rules of polite conduct. 
 
Andrew Langston, the new Earl of Hadley, knows that the English aristocracy think poorly of his lowly Scottish upbringing. This is hardly new. History is littered with the English assuming the worst about Scotland. By living up to their lowest expectations, he is simply fulfilling his civic duty as a Scotsman. 
 
Jane sees Andrew as an unmannered eejit. Andrew considers Jane to be a haughty English lady. But, as the saying goes, . . . opposites attract. 
 
And what if beneath his boisterous behavior and her chilly reserve, Andrew and Jane are not nearly as different as they suppose? Can Scotland and England reach a harmonious union at last?



E-BOOK SALE ALERT! 
Book One is FREE and the other books are only 99 cents each!
(December 19-25)

 
Excerpt

From Suffering the Scot, Brotherhood of the Black Tartan, book 1

Andrew spread his hands wide. “It’s a problem for all us Scottish men, tae be honest. Our cross tae bear.”

Lady Jane opened her mouth. Shut it. And then shook her head. “I am sure you are both quite delusional.”

“Nae, the lasses cannae help themselves,” Andrew said.

“Aye. A man strolls by in a kilt, and the lasses go all shoogly in the legs.” Kieran sagged in his chair, mimicking the motion of a lady swooning.

“That is simply ridiculous.” Lady Jane shook her head.

“’Tis the Lord’s own truth, Lady Jane.” Andrew pressed a hand over his heart.

“Aye,” Kieran chimed in. “They dinnae call a kilt the passion pleats for nothing.”

“Passion pleats?!” Peter hooted, slapping his knee.

“Dinnae mock a fine kilt, Peter. The kilt swish is no’ tae be underestimated.”

“The kilt swish?” Lady Jane’s tone dripped with scorn.

“It’s a well-known fact that the lasses appreciate watching a man’s passion pleats swish as he walks.”

“Particularly from the backside,” Kieran helpfully clarified.

“Aye, allow me to show ye.” Andrew stepped away from the table, walked to the door with extra swagger in his step, turned, and strode back to the table. His kilt swinging like a bell back and forth with every step.

He spread his hands wide. See what I mean.

She shook her head. I’m not convinced.

Andrew motioned to Kieran. He stood with a grin.

“Watch carefully,” Andrew said.

Side-by-side, he and Kieran walked to the door, shoulders back, head high. Andrew’s kilt bumped his knees as it swung. He could practically feel the intensity of Lady Jane’s eyes drilling him between the shoulder blades.

Turning around, Andrew held Lady Jane’s gaze as he walked back. She tried to maintain a demur posture, but Andrew knew she had been looking.

Rare was the woman who could resist a braw Scot in a kilt.

Lady Jane pressed her lips together, clearly not wishing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

Andrew was having none of it.

He wanted Fiery Jane.

Folding his arms across his chest, he angled forward. “Now, I dinnae want to argue with ye, Lady Jane, but I have noticed ye eyeing the kilt swish a time or two. Not just tonight.”

“I have done no such thing, Lord Hadley.” Lady Jane’s brows drew down, while a hot flush crept up her neck, challenging her denial. “Precisely how much whisky have you imbibed this evening?”

“I willnae allow you tae change the subject, Lady Jane.”

“I am hardly changing the subject.” Lady Jane surged to her feet. “I am merely pointing out that you are wrong, my lord—”

“I’m no’ wrong.”

“—and furthermore, calling a kilt the passion pleats is the most absurd phrase—”

“Accurate. Ye mean the most accurate phrase.”

“I most certainly do not!” Lady Jane hurled the words at him.

As they spoke, Andrew found himself leaning toward her, fists pressed against the tabletop, his entire body angled. For her part, Lady Jane motioned widely, all pretense of decorum forgotten—gray eyes flashing, chest heaving, auburn curls framing her fine-boned face.

Fiery Jane, at last! Utterly freed and snapping with life.

She was magnificent.

It had taken nearly ten days of constant harassment, but Andrew had finally broken through her reserve.

He felt like crowing from the rooftops.

Right after he throttled her.

Excerpted from Suffering the Scot by Nichole Van, Copyright © 2021 by
Nichole Van. Published by Fiorenza Publishing.


A Scot Reads an excerpt from Suffering the Scot by Nichole Van



 
 


About the Author

 
Nichole Van is a writer, photographer, designer and generally disorganized crazy person. Though originally from Utah, she currently lives on the coast of Scotland with three similarly crazy children and one sane, very patient husband who puts up with all of them. In her free time, she enjoys long walks along the Scottish lochs and braes. She does not, however, enjoy haggis.



 
 
 
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Ends December 29, 2021


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Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Christmas Book Tour: Love and Lavender (Mayfield Family Romance #4) By Josi S. Kilpack


On Tour with Prism Book Tours
 
 
Today's featured book is Love and Lavender (Mayfield Family Romance #4) by Josi S. Kilpack, aka one of the best books I've ever read. Read on for the book blurb, Josi's Top 10, and your entry for a $75 Amazon gift card! If you win, it's my personal recommendation that you treat yourself to all of the books in this series. Just. So. GOOD!
 
 


Hazel Stillman is a woman of rare independence and limited opportunities. Born with a clubbed foot, Hazel knows marriage is unlikely, so she devotes herself to teaching at a private girls' school.

When her uncle offers Hazel a substantial inheritance if she marries, she is offended. What kind of decent man would marry for her money? But when she learns the school might be sold, she knows she must consider all her options.


 
Other Books in the Series

 
 



Top Ten with Josi S. Kilpack


Josi's top 10 Christmas list, in very particular order:

10. The Christmas Season

9. Singing Christmas songs at church

8. Wrapping presents

7. October 15th, when I buy all the presents online

6. The nativity

5. Christmas Afternoon when we watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy

4. December 26th, when I put away all the Christmas decorations

3. Christmas eve dinner by candlelight

2. Christmas Morning when we open the presents

1. Thanksgiving

P.S. Yes, I'm also super fun at parties. :-)
—Josi




 
Tour Giveaway


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Monday, December 13, 2021

Christmas Book Tour: Miracle Creek Christmas By Krista Jensen

 

On Tour with Prism Book Tours
 
 
Today's featured book is Miracle Creek Christmas By Krista Jensen. Read on for the book description, About the Author, and today's $75 Amazon giveaway entry!
 


Miracle Creek Christmas
By Krista Jensen
 
When Riley Madigan moves to the sleepy mountain town of Miracle Creek, she hopes her new job as a high school art teacher will help her mend her recently broken heart. A little peace and quiet would be a gift this Christmas season. The last thing on her mind is love.

Former firefighter Mark Rivers has spent the last year recovering from burns sustained during a rescue operation. He’s been trying to piece his life back together but still struggles both emotionally and psychologically. When he meets Riley, he finally sees something that might bring some light back into his life.

When Mark asks Riley to work on a special nativity project, he finds himself falling for her quirky, unaffected ways. Riley doesn’t seem bothered by his scars, but is her affection for him real, or is this just another act of charity? One thing’s for certain, in a small town that views Mark as a fragile hero, it’s hard to pursue a relationship without everyone in his business. And although Riley has sincere feelings for Mark, is she ready to risk her heart?

Broken hearts and lives are mended as the town of Miracle Creek comes together to celebrate a Christmas to remember.



 


About the Author


Award-winning author Krista Jensen works and plays in the Pacific Northwest with her little black dog and anyone else who wants to tag along. When she’s not exploring the outdoors, she can likely be found with her laptop, a pretty spiral notebook and Pilot Precise V7, writing about love, triumph, and really great kisses. 
 
Either that or she’s switching laundry wondering who keeps wearing all these clothes. 
 
(It’s her.) 
 
For book info and other good things, follow Krista on Instagram @kristajensenbooks.



 
 
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Friday, December 10, 2021

Christmas Book Tour: The Merchant and the Rogue (The Dread Penny Society #3) By Sarah M. Eden

 

On Tour with Prism Book Tours
 
 
Today's featured book is The Merchant and the Rogue (The Dread Penny Society #3) By Sarah M. Eden. They are stand alone novels, but if you haven't read the first two books, you'll definitely want to pick them up as well. Keep reading below for the book blurb, an inside scoop from the author, and today's $75 Amazon entry!






London, 1865 
 
Vera Sorokina loves reading the Penny Dreadfuls and immersing herself in tales of adventure, mystery, and romance. Her own days are filled with the often mundane work of running the book and print shop she owns with her father. The shop offers her the freedom and income to employ and protect the poverty-stricken Londoners she's come to care about, and it gives her father something to do other than long for their hometown of St. Petersburg. She is grateful for the stability in their lives, but she often feels lonely. 
 
Brogan Donnelly was born and raised in Ireland, but has lived in London for several years, where he's built a career as a Penny Dreadful writer. He has dedicated himself to the plight of the poor with the help of his sister. His membership in the secretive Dread Penny Society allows him to feel he isn't entirely wasting his life, yet he feels dissatisfied. With no one to share his life with but his sister, he fears London will never truly feel like home. 
 
Brogan and Vera's paths cross, and the attraction is both immediate and ill-advised. Vera knows from past experience that writers are never to be trusted, and Brogan has reason to suspect not everything at her print shop is aboveboard. When the growing criminal enterprise run by the elusive and violent Mastiff begins targeting their area of London, Brogan and Vera must work together to protect the community they've both grown to love. But that means they'll need to learn to trust each other with dangerous secrets that have followed both of them from their home countries.



 
Other Books in the Series

 
 
 

Real Life Setting from The Merchant and the Rogue


The Merchant and the Rogue contains a story, written in the style of a 19th Century “Penny Dreadful”--a story, usually melodramatic and over-the-top, that was published in serial form for one penny per installment--as it would have been written by the hero of The Merchant and the Rogue, Brogan Donnelly.

I set this story, a mystery filled with creepy scenery and disconcerting characters, in the real-life Museum of Natural History in Dublin, Ireland. This museum was opened in 1856 in a stately Dublin building, and very little about it has changed since. It is often described as “a museum of a museum.” Walking through this piece of Dublin history is like stepping back in time. And it is one of the most wonderfully creepy places I have ever had the joy of visiting.

The large, four-story building is filled to the rafters with taxidermied animals, skeletons, pelts, preserved fauna. Many of the specimens have been on display for over 150 years. This museum, filled with once-living creatures, is known affectionately amongst the locals in Dublin as “The Dead Zoo.”

The museum offers an online virtual tour of the exhibits, the main hall, the wings and balconies, and it is fascinating! Go have a virtual look around, then go read “The Dead Zoo” woven through The Merchant and the Rogue. The creepiness of it is some of the most fun I’ve had creating a setting.
 
 

 
 
 


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