Interview with Rachel Brimble

Rachel Brimble is our guest today. Rachel lives in a small town near Bath with her husband and two young daughters. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find her with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family and beloved black labrador. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England, although she hopes a dream visit to Canada might just change her mind! FINDING JUSTICE is your debut novel for Harlequin. What do you think was the special ingredient which caused it to be picked up? 

Emotion, emotion, emotion! I must have been given this advice a hundred times from different Harlequin writers over the years, but just didn’t GET it. Harlequin, of course, want a great story but it is the emotions of the hero and heroine they crave more than anything. What are they thinking? Feeling? Wanting? Fearing? All of that internal dialogue and emotion needs to be on the page as well as heaps of interaction between the hero and heroine to constantly reveal their internal conflict. Easy, right?

Some writers need silence, others prefer the bustle of a coffee shop. What is your favourite mode of working?

Silence – I can only create new words if I have absolute silence so I utilise the time my children are at school and my husband at work to get the words on the page and also tackle edits. If they’re home, I find I can easily work on promotional interviews/blogs or plot my next story. I’ve become quite adept as using my time to its optimum!

You write about contemporary women. Do you take your notebook and pen for a walk and observe those around you, or do they just emerge on the page?

More often than not, they emerge on the page. I am ashamed to say I very rarely use a notebook, although I always carry one. As most romances are all about emotion, pain and happiness, I dig deep into my own experiences and those of the people I’ve known or still know. The external plot often emerges from the hero or heroine’s internal struggle and tends to come to me once I’ve got a real feel of the driving emotion or theme of what it is I want to convey.


Are you involved in social networking and blogs? Any tips for other writers? 

I sometimes fear I play out my entire life on Twitter and Facebook, ha ha! As I’m at the computer more hours than not, it’s very easy to pop in and out of both sites, letting people know my thoughts or what I’m doing. My biggest tip with social networking is not to make it entirely about your work and promoting your next story. People want to know who you are, bits and pieces about your daily life, your family, your likes and dislikes. The one thing I try to do as much as possible is retweet other writers successes, appearances and funny comments. Pay it forward. That’s the secret!

Which three books would you take on a desert island with you, and why?

All time favourite is Gone With The Wind. I am obsessed with stories set against the American Civil War. I just love them and this novel has so much more. I’ve read it four times so far. Anything by Nora Roberts. I first discovered the writer who was to become my favourite romance author whilst browsing through a bookshop at Hay-on-the-Wye. I picked up a random Nora Roberts and a random J D Robb. Unbeknownst to me, they were the same writer.

So what next? Can you tell us something of your work in progress?

I have just sent the second book for Kensington to my agent last week and I’m now plotting book three for Harlequin. The second book with them: A MAN LIKE HIM, is out in August. Finding Justice is available now from Harlequin Superromance and in April, the first of a two book Victorian romance contract I signed with E-Kensington will be released. THE SEDUCTION OF EMILY is set in Bath and about a confidence trickster wooing an upper middle class lady in the name of vengeance. He soon realises just what a bad idea that is… Busy, busy, busy!

Old friends, new secrets Sergeant Cat Forrester lives by her own set of rules. 
When her childhood friend is murdered, Cat’s world is thrown into chaos. Especially because Jay Garrett-a man from her past-is a suspect, and he needs her help to prove he's innocent. After all they once shared, how can she say no? 

The attraction flares between them, and getting involved with a suspect is a huge risk. But the more time Cat spends with Jay, the stronger the tug on her heart. He is the same caring, irresistible man she remembers. Yet she can't let her emotions interfere with the case—solving it is top priority. But as she digs deeper, she discovers Jay has secrets that may jeopardize any possible future together. 

Book Depository

Amazon US

Thank you for sparing time to talk to us today, Rachel. We wish you continuing success with your books. 
Best wishes, Freda 

Find out more:

http://www.rachelbrimble.com/ 
http://rachelbrimble.blogspot.co.uk/ 
https://twitter.com/RachelBrimble 
Facebook

Interviews on the RNA Blog are for RNA members, although we do occasionally take guests. If you are interested in an interview, please contact me: freda@fredalightfoot.co.uk 

Interview with Christina Courtenay

Today we welcome Christina Courtenay to the Blog. Christina lives in Herefordshire and is married with two children. Although born in England she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden. Do tell us about your latest book and what inspired you to write it. 

THE GILDED FAN is a historical romance and adventure novel set in the 1640s. It follows the story of a half-English girl who has to flee Japan when the ruler decides to evict all foreigners, even those with one Japanese parent. She has no choice but to go back to her mother’s country and persuades the captain of a Dutch trading ship to give her passage to Europe. Unfortunately for her she arrives just as the English Civil War is starting, so her trials and tribulations are far from over!

The Gilded Fan is the sequel to The Scarlet Kimono, (although it can be read as a stand-alone). I was inspired to write it because I love Japan and having lived there, their interaction with foreigners intrigued me. When I did some research and found out about all the foreigners having been evicted, it made me wonder what would have happened to the children of the hero and heroine of The Scarlet Kimono, and I just had to find out.

Are you inspired to write about real people in your historicals? 

No, I try to avoid them because I prefer my characters to be wholly fictitious. It gives me more freedom as I don’t have to follow the real happenings of someone’s life. They do sometimes creep in anyway, like the Scotsman Colin Campbell in my first novel Trade Winds, but I kept his appearances to a minimum.

I know that you are very involved in many other writing related tasks, tell us about your routine and how you fit everything in.

I think lists is the answer! I make lists for all the things I have to do and try to do them in order if possible. I don’t really have a routine as such, I just work as much and as often as I can.

Do you edit and revise as you write, or after you have completed the first draft? What method works best for you?

I edit a little bit as I go along, but mostly after the first draft is finished. I find it helpful to start each day’s writing by reading through what I did the day before, and then I can’t help tinkering with it a little bit. Usually I try not to do too much rewriting at that stage though. I prefer to get the whole story down first.

What do you enjoy most about your particular genre?

I’ve always liked learning about history and there is something particularly romantic about the past, I think (at least for us since we didn’t have to live through it!). Perhaps it’s because historicals can be a bit like fairy tales for grown-ups, with rich and handsome lords and beautiful ladies? I’ve always loved fairy tales too.

If you could slip into a time machine and meet a famous historical figure from the past, who would you choose and why? What would you ask him or her? 

It would have to be either Prince Rupert of the Rhine or Bonny Prince Charlie. The first, I would just like to get to know him as he seems to have been a fascinating man. As for the prince, I’d ask him why on earth he couldn’t have been satisfied with being king of Scotland! If he had, perhaps he wouldn’t have lost the whole lot and the Highland culture would still exist as it was then.

What do you look for in a hero? 

I’m afraid I’m very shallow, I love alpha heroes - handsome, strong, capable and resourceful, able to hold their own in a fight, but with a sense of humour, intelligence and kindness as well. They have to have long hair (don’t mind the colour) and love animals.

Which is your all time favourite book?

Can I have more than one, please? ‘Midnight is a Lonely Place’ by Barbara Erskine, ‘Cotillion’ by Georgette Heyer, ‘Possession’ by A S Byatt, ‘Shadow of the Moon’ by M M Kaye and ‘Sophia’s Secret’ by Susanna Kearsley (sorry, I can never choose between them!).

So what next? Can you tell us a little about your work in progress? 

My current WIP is the third book in the Trade Winds trilogy, but I will also soon be doing edits on my next-to-be-published book which is a contemporary YA novel CALLED NEW ENGLAND ROCKS, coming out in August. I’m looking forward to that as it’s a complete change for me!

 

How do you start a new life, leaving behind all you love? 
It’s 1641, and when Midori Kumashiro, the orphaned daughter of a warlord, is told she has to leave Japan or die, she has no choice but to flee to England. Midori is trained in the arts of war, but is that enough to help her survive a journey, with a lecherous crew and an attractive captain she doesn’t trust? 

Having come to Nagasaki to trade, the last thing Captain Nico Noordholt wants is a female passenger, especially a beautiful one. How can he protect her from his crew when he can’t keep his own eyes off her? During their journey, Nico and Midori form a tentative bond, but they both have secrets that can change everything. When they arrive in England, a civil war is brewing, and only by standing together can they hope to survive …

Christina is an RNA committee member and the current vice chairman. In 2011, her first novel Trade Winds (Sept 2010) was short listed for the RNA’s Award for Best Historical Fiction. Of her other novels, The Scarlet Kimono won the Big Red Reads Best Historical Fiction Award 2012, Highland Storms won the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel 2012 and The Silent Touch of Shadows is shortlisted for the same prize this year.

Thank you for sparing time to talk to us today, Christina. We wish you continuing success with your books. 
Best wishes, Freda 

Find out more: 

Website – http://www.christinacourtenay.com
Choc Lit - http://www.choc-lit.co.uk/ 
Amazon

Interviews on the RNA Blog are for RNA members, although we do occasionally take guests. If you are interested in an interview, please contact me: freda@fredalightfoot.co.uk 

Interview with saga writer Jessica Blair

I’m delighted to welcome Bill Spence to the Blog today. Born in Middlesbrough and trained as a teacher, he has also served as a Bomb Aimer in Lancasters of 44 Squadron Bomber Command on 36 missions. He has worked on the administrative side of the Catering Department at Ampleforth College, and written part time from the early 1950s until 1977 when he became a full-time writer. Bill is better known as Jessica Blair, who was born in 1993. You write wonderful historical sagas, and have enjoyed a very successful career, do tell us how it all began. How did you get your first break?

My first book was written for a competition for a war novel. Though it did not win, the organisers took it for publication in 1959 in paperback. I enjoyed the longer format as opposed to articles so followed it with 36 Westerns for Hale. At the same time I wrote two more war novels and studied the history of whaling. This resulted in a highly illustrated book of the same topic published in 1980 titled HARPOONED.

I then used this knowledge as the background to my first historical saga THE RED SHAWL published by Piatkus in 1993. I have remained with Piatkus, now an imprint of Little Brown Book Group, ever since and am currently completing my 22nd historical saga for them.

Has your childhood influenced what you write in any way?

My parents encouraged me to read and to love books. Unknowingly this probably stimulated a desire to emulate the writers of these books. I loved fact and loved stories – these have come together in my writing life

Is a sense of place important to you in your writing? How do you set about the research?

A sense of place is important to my writing. I try to absorb the atmosphere of places I visit so that if I use them in my novels I have a feeling for the settings I am using. Most of my sagas start in Whitby, on the Yorkshire coast, a very atmospheric place, and whenever I visit I am walking the streets with my characters. Because I have experienced the Arctic, in some small measure, I am able to recreate it in my novels. The same can be said about Orkney and Shetland, and I could recall through memory and photographs of other places I have visited. Likewise I have used my experiences flying in the RAF during the war. If I need to use a setting with which I am not personally familiar, or it is of a different era, I will research it thoroughly in relation to the material I require. Over the years I have built up a very useful library. Before the age of the internet I wrote all over the world especially when I wrote HARPOONED. I have found that most people are very helpful with enquiries.

How long, on average, does it take you to write a book, and how much editing do you do?

My novels are 100,000 words. From putting down the first word on the computer I reckon on having it ready for the publisher in nine months. Of course much has been going on in my mind before the first word goes down. I do as little editing to the actual happenings in the story as possible - they must be right first time or the story won’t flow properly, but I do keep an eye out for grammatical mistakes, good expressions, creating the right atmosphere and so on as I go along, then I will do a final editing and tidying up when the novel is finished.

How do you start a new novel? Do you do much advance planning?

I get a subject that will form the setting and background for the new novel. I place my two main characters within that and ask myself ‘What if?’ The answers coming from that question will bring the story to life and as it does other characters will make their mark, all developing together. I do not do advanced planning in detail, only sufficient to present the idea in broad outline on which my publisher will make a decision.

Have you ever written for other media, or a different type of novel? 

I have not written for other media, though I have contributed a book review column in the Gazette and Herald, published out of York, a weekly newspaper of the Newsquest Group, for fifty years . I ‘cut my teeth’ on Westerns after my first novel based on RAF Second World War. I learned story-telling from them which stood me in good stead when I turned to historical sagas written as Jessica Blair.

What do you think is the most essential element of a good novel?

Plausible characters in plausible action against a plausible background.

Bill relaxing.

I know you are a passionate book collector, which is your favourite book of all time, and why?

This is a difficult question. I love books, non fiction and fiction. I was brought up on John Buchan – great story-teller. Of present day authors I like Susan Hill, especially her ghost stories. With my interest in whaling, I must say Moby Dick – a great story of a man’s passion in pursuit of fulfilment that puts him in contest with life and the natural world.

So what next? Can you tell us a little about your work in progress? 

By the time you read this my latest novel A TAPESTRY OF DREAMS will be in the hands of my publisher looking to publish in 2014. This is set in the West Riding of Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire during the middle of the 19th century concerning the woollen industry and sheep. My previous novel IN THE SILENCE OF THE SNOW will have appeared on February 7, 2013 in hardback, along with the paperback of the previous hardback THE ROAD BENEATH ME. At present I am toying with various ideas for the next Jessica Blair novel. Blurb for IN THE SILENCE OF THE SNOW

A panoramic novel covering the momentous years of two world wars when lives were torn apart. 

French-born Marie Gabin forms a friendship with Veronica Attwood in their final two years at school, but this is tested when Marie is forced to disclose a secret to her friend. In the shadow of this revelation, the girls grow up on a country estate in North Yorkshire. The First World War takes its toll when Marie loses the man she loves and Veronica's husband suffers injuries which eventually leave her a widow, but she finds consolation in her love for the land. Returning to France, Marie marries her childhood sweetheart, but once again life brings involvement in war for the two friends. 

Loving their Yorkshire land, Veronica and her daughters enlist in the Land Army. When a bomber squadron arrives on a newly constructed airfield on part of the estate, relationships are formed. Elise joins the RAF and is recruited into the SOE. But secrets will out. On a mission to France, Elise faces dangers she did not expect as she searches for Marie and the truth - a truth that will have an outcome she never envisaged. 

Thank you, Bill, for sparing time to talk to us today. We wish you continuing success with your books.
Best wishes, Freda 

Find out more about Jessica Blair: 
http://www.jessicablair.co.uk
http://www.piatkus.co.uk 
http://www.little brown.co.uk 
or find him on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. 

Interviews on the RNA Blog are for RNA members, although we do occasionally take guests. If you are interested in an interview, please contact me: freda@fredalightfoot.co.uk 

February Releases

Margaret Mounsdon The Heart Of The Matter

Thorpe

Large print paperback

Feb 1, 2013

£8.99

When screenwriter Dominic Talbot leaves his briefcase in Georgia Jones's cab she winds up being his personal driver. No one believes in the on set curse until a cameraman breaks a leg, a fire breaks out and the leading man catches chicken pox

www.margaretmounsdon.co.uk

margaretsromanceworld.blogspot.com

Margaret Mounsdon Love Among The Arts part one

People's Friend Pocket Novel No 723

Jan 31, 2013

£1.99

Stella Bates a freelance photographer decides on a lifestyle change after a failed engagement - with startling consequences.

(Second part to be published 14 February - St Valentine's Day!)

mounsdma@sky.com

www.margaretmounsdon.co.uk

http://margaretsromanceworld.blogspot.com

Annie Burrows Never Trust a Rake

Mills & Boon

paperback

Feb 1, 2013

£4.99

rumour has it that the Earl of Deben, the most notorious rake in London has set aside his penchant for married mistresses and turned his skilled hand to seducing innocents.  But once he tangles with Miss Henrietta Gibson, it becomes hard to tell just who is seducing whom... 

www.annie-burrows.co.uk

Scarlet Wilson Her Inescapable Temptation

Mills and Boon Medical

Feb 1, 2013

Paperback £5.49  Kindle £3.11

Nurse Francesca Cruz has taken a job on a cruise ship bound for the Mediterranean – the perfect retreat from her break-up – except she finds herself trapped with gorgeous, arrogant doctor Gabriel Russo. She knows his type well, and won’t be tempted twice. But with nowhere to escape – except overboard – and her delicious boss lying in the next cabin, it’s easier said than done!

www.scarlet-wilson.com

Copyright © 2013 by 

Harlequin Enterprises Limited

Rachel Brimble Finding Justice

Harlequin

Feb 5, 2013

Old friends, new secrets 

Sergeant Cat Forrester lives by her own set of rules. 

When her childhood friend is murdered, Cat's world is thrown into chaos. Especially because Jay Garrett-a man from her past-is a suspect, and he needs her help to prove he's innocent. After all they once shared, how can she say no? The attraction flares between them, and getting involved with a suspect is a huge risk. But the more time Cat spends with Jay, the stronger the tug on her heart. He is the same caring, irresistible man she remembers. Yet she can't let her emotions interfere  with the case-solving it is top priority. And as she digs deeper, she discovers Jay has secrets that may jeopardize any possible future together.

Christina Courtenay The Gilded Fan

Choc Lit  

Feb 7, 2013

£7.99

Historical romance set in 1640s Japan and England - Midori has to leave Japan or die. She persuades the captain of a Dutch trading ship to give her passage to England and they become close. But both have secrets and in England, a civil war is brewing - only by standing together can they hope to survive.

www.christinacourtenay.com

Nicky Wells Sophie's Run

Feb 7, 2013

Sapphire Star Publishing

Paperback and ebook

£10.57 Paperback; Kindle price TBC

Her famous star remains her rock while life takes her on a little detour…

So she has finally found the man of her dreams; well, she’s seen him, for sure!  Yet rock star and ex-fiancé, Dan, keeps getting in the way of her new romance—even if he is just trying to be helpful. A fire, an impromptu mini-trip with Dan, and a dreaded wedding later, Sophie is still struggling to meet the love of her life. Then, just as she is getting it together with her perfect man, best friend Rachel commits an act of unspeakable betrayal. Sophie has had enough. Surprising herself and shocking her friends, she embarks on a secret journey and eventually gets her life back on track.

Vanessa Devereaux  Saturday Night Blues

Evernight Publishing-Romance On The Go Line 

E-Book

Feb 13, 2013

$2.99

Natasha Walker felt like Cinderella after her sister and brother-in-law headed out for a romantic dinner on Valentine’s Day night. She’s been left to babysit her nephew and when she decides to watch a DVD, the evening takes a turn for the worst after a vase falls onto her foot and she’s ends up in the ER.

But it’s not all bad news because Dr. David Walker is on call that night and he and Natasha both feel there’s a special something happening between them. Should David break the rules and look through her medical files to get her home phone number so he can make a house call?

www.evernightpublishing.com and www.vanessadevereaux.com

Sheryl Browne  A Little Bit of Madness

Paperback and e-book

Feb 14, 2013

Paper: £7.99. Kindle £0.77

No rest for the wicked

Saving Charlton hall will burrow into your heart.

Celia Summers, intrepid mother of two, is too cuddly for sweatpants, she suspects. But then, her class at The Harbour Rest Home are similarly clad. Celia loves her work as an art therapist. She’s proud that she gives her elderly independents something to look forward to, even if her partner, Martin, disapproves of her efforts. He also has other things on his mind - telling complicated lies to Celia so he can sell Charlton Hall, his mum’s house, to pay off his debts.

Meanwhile, Celia fights to secure gallery space for her geriatric charges’ artwork, and to keep The Harbour from being closed. She’s even ready to abseil from a church steeple to bring attention to the plight of her old people, no matter that she might fall and end up splattered all over the flagstones. When she does fall, however, it’s much more painful - in love with PC Alex Burrows. Will he be her white-knight-in-blue and ride to her rescue? 

Celia pictured the headline—Elderly Independents Take Housing Battle to the Top.

Yes, more like Deranged Do-Gooder Air-Rescued from Church Steeple.

Oh God, she couldn’t. Absolutely couldn’t. She’d be paralysed with fear before she’d climbed the steps to the roof. Or drawn irresistibly to the edge, vertigo driving an urge to throw herself off.

Yes, well, that was the aim, wasn’t it, though preferably after they’d attached the rope?

www.sherylbrowne.com

Portia Da Costa The Accidental Call Girl

Black Lace

Paperback

Feb 14, 2013

£6.99

When Lizzie Aitchison meets John Smith in the bar of the Waverley Grange Hotel she doesn't realise at first that he thinks she's "working". The chemistry between them is dynamite from the very first glance, and she can't resist the allure of his fallen angel face and his lean body clad in a sharp business suit. Pretty soon, she's playing a dangerous game. John's a no nonsense guy who seems to be set on engaging an escort for sex rather than simply meeting a pretty girl to chat up, and if that's the only way she can spend more time with this gorgeous man, Lizzie decides to act the part. Over just one drink, she becomes "Bettie", the high class call girl...

http://www.portiadacosta.com/accidental.html

Lynda Dunwell  Captain Westwood’s Inheritance

Musa Publishing

Ebook

Feb 15, 2013

£3.45

Can love triumph over treachery and abduction? Struggling to restore his family estates, Captain Sir Jonathan Westwood declares he is in no position to offer any lady marriage, even the pretty Miss Ellis. Talented Catherine Ellis wants to become a professional artist but her father won’t allow it. She falls in love with the dashing sea captain but believes she is unworthy of him. Assisted by friends, Sir Jonathan has almost succeeded to saving his inheritance when Catherine is abducted by pirates. Can Jonathan save the woman he loves and find happiness?

www.lyndadunwell.com

Serena Clarke  All Over The Place

Crimson Romance

e-book (print on demand to follow)

Feb 18, 2013

£3.29

Livi Callaway has fled back to London after a reality TV disaster in New Zealand. Safely anonymous in the big city, she’s determined to stay under the radar from now on. But her attempts to build a new life are complicated by unexpected visitors from her old one, and new dangers and temptations lie in wait.

Late one night, she meets a mysteriously sexy American on the Underground – and the events that follow take her from Pooh Bear to the golden lights of Paris, via a trail of rock stars dead and alive. A family in disarray, a determined Swede, a crazed Australian and a childhood friend (who might yet be more than that) have her all over the place as she tries to discover the American’s secret – while keeping her own.

With help – and occasional hindrance – from her friends, what she eventually finds is something unexpected...sometimes, running away can lead you to exactly what you didn’t know you needed.

               

www.serenaclarke.com

Wendy Soliman Forgotten Heiress

Samhain

E-book

Feb 19, 2013

$3.85

Eloise Hamilton, the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy banker, knows society’s hallowed doors are closed to the likes of her. She attends her first country ball with no expectations, not even when Lord Richard Craven, heir to a dukedom, singles her out.

Harry Benson-Smythe is shocked to return from a long absence to find that the sight of Craven sniffing around an all-grown-up Eloise incites a disconcerting level of jealousy. All for a girl he once thought of as a little sister—now a woman his father will never allow him to take to wife.

But there are other ways to be together, as in joining forces to investigate the disappearance of several local girls. Yet when Harry catches Craven kissing Eloise, he decides he will damn well be the one to show her how it’s done—properly.

Craven will not let Eloise’s rejections and Harry’s insults go lightly by. He had plans for Eloise’s virginal body—even if life as they all know it ends in a hellfire of bullets.

www.wendysoliman.com

Charlie Cochrane  Promises Made Under Fire

Carina

Feb 25, 2013
£1.55

France, 1915

Lieutenant Tom Donald envies everything about fellow officer Frank Foden--his confidence, his easy manner with the men in the trenches, the affectionate letters from his wife. Frank shares these letters happily, drawing Tom into a vicarious friendship with a woman he's never met. Although the bonds of friendship forged under fire are strong, Tom can't be so open with Frank--he's attracted to men and could never confess that to anyone.

When Frank is killed in no-man's-land, he leaves behind a mysterious request for Tom: to deliver a sealed letter to a man named Palmer. Tom undertakes the commission while on leave--and discovers that almost everything he thought he knew about Frank is a lie...

Victoria Lamb  His Dark Lady

Bantam

Hardback

Feb 28, 2013

£16.99

London, 1583.

When young, aspiring playwright William Shakespeare encounters Lucy Morgan, one of Queen Elizabeth I's ladies-in-waiting, the two fall passionately in love. He declares Lucy the inspiration for his work, but what secret is Will hiding from his muse?

Meanwhile, Lucy has her own secret - and one that could destroy her world if exposed. No longer the chaste maid so valued by the Virgin Queen, she also bore witness to the clandestine wedding of Lettice Knollys and Robert Dudley, a match forbidden by the monarch.

England is in peril. Queen Elizabeth's health is deteriorating, her throne under siege from Catholic plotters and threats of war with Spain. Faced with deciding the fate of her long-term prisoner, Mary, Queen of Scots, she needs a trusted circle of advisors around her now more than ever.But who can she turn to when those closest to her have proved disloyal? 

And how secure is Lucy's position at court, now that she has learned the dangerous art of keeping secrets?

www.victorialambbooks.co.uk

Janet Woods  I'll Get By

Severn House UK

Hardcover 

Feb 28, 2013

£19.99

London WW2. Meggie Elliot goes to work in a decoding unit and falls in love with her aristocratic, but mysterious boss, Nick Cowan, who doubles as a burglar in his spare time. 

http://www.janet-woods.com

Angela Britnell Hidden Truths

Desert Breeze Publishing

E-book

Jan 11, 2013

$5.99

Anonymous letters and phone calls are only the beginning of Fiona's troubles. The investigative journalist is about to expose a celebrity businessman's criminal activities but he's determined to stop her. She's not the only one to use rural 

England as a bolt hole, and when she meets another runaway 

from life a serious case of true love attacks them both. Blake Mayer, an American, is recovering from a nasty divorce plus deep into a bad case of songwriter’s block. 

The truths they hide from each other, an exploding caravan and their interfering families are only a few of the obstacles love must overcome to win them over.

www.angelabritnellromance.com