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NEW RELEASE: A Christmas Code
Please join me in celebrating the release of book 2 in the Code Breakers Series: A CHRISTMAS CODE. Now available at online retailers for just $0.99!
Lady Gwyneth Beaumont has long awaited the opportunity to show Viscount James Ashworth that she is no longer the impetuous child who dogged his footsteps. Now a much sought-after debutante, she is determined to prove to the hard-headed rake that she is a grown woman and a worthy participant in both the spy game and the game of love.
Ash, recently returned from three years undercover in France in His Majesty’s service, wants nothing more than to complete his final mission and retire to his bucolic country estate. However, what seemed a simple assignment to protect the Prince Regent at a Christmas party turns into a maze of intrigue, desire, and treachery.
Adding to the perilous secret operation is one problem Ash never anticipated: The appearance of the reckless, enticing Gwyneth, who has blossomed into a gorgeous woman and self-appointed spy. When a snooping Gwyneth uncovers a shocking secret, she puts herself in mortal danger.
Can Ash protect Gwyneth and the Prince from French assailants and, at the same time, win the passionate lady’s heart?
Can Ash and Gwyneth both triumph as winners in the game of spies and love?
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Cover Reveal: A Christmas Code
With the arrival of November and Christmas merchandise at retailers, it’s starting to feel like the holiday season. Which means it’s time to reveal the cover of my upcoming release A CHRISTMAS CODE. This novella from my Code Breakers series will be available November 11. Until then, enjoy the beautiful cover designed by Kim Killion.
Regency Halloween Traditions
Halloween has been celebrated for centuries, although not in the commercial context we know today. Many scholars believe today’s candy-and-goblin version of Halloween originates from a 2,000-year-old Celtic festival know as Samhain (“summer’s end). In the 8th century, this pagan ritual was incorporated into Christianity by blending it with All Saints Day. Over time, the original customs and traditions change.
Dressing in costumes and begging for treats are thought to have evolved from early practices of “mumming” and “guising”—folks would disguise themselves and ask neighbors for food. The medieval Hallowmas “souling” custom is similar; on November 1, poor people went door-to-door, offering prayers for the dead in exchange for food. The disguises were also a way of tricking malevolent spirits.
During the Regency period, All Hallows Eve traditions were mainly practiced in England by country folk, although people in Ireland and Scotland upheld the customs although not for the same reasons. Children would dress up in costumes and march through the streets. Soul cakes, representing the food given to poor beggars, became sweet treats eaten on the holiday.
Other Regency traditions include pumpkin carving (Jack’s Lanterns, carved and illuminated to ward off evil spirits), ducking for apples (catching one was said to give you the ability to see into the future) and a practice stemming from the Scot/Northern English name for October 31, “Nut-Crack Night” (tossing hazelnuts into a fire to foretell the future for you and your love).
What is your favorite Halloween tradition?
Excerpt: WOMEN UNDER FIRE
If you haven’t picked up my latest release, WOMEN UNDER FIRE, Book 2 in the Grayce Walters series, enjoy this excerpt.
About WOMEN UNDER FIRE:
Life has heated up for Grayce Walters: thrust into the public eye and hounded by the media after solving an arson case with a critical clue from a French Poodle. When Ewan Davis, the sexy arson investigator Grayce has been steaming things up with, starts talking commitment, she definitely feels the burn.
Then a desperate mother begs Grayce to help find her missing daughter—an Afghanistan war veteran suffering from PTSD, and Grayce reluctantly takes on the case, following a disturbing clue provided by the missing young woman’s cat. Calling once again on the aid of her cross-dressing best friend and her shrewd assistant, Grayce uncovers a terrorist plot with chilling international implications.
Grayce races to rescue the young veteran before the escalating danger explodes. But if she manages to escape the threat, will she find the courage to commit to the fiery passion that awaits her wrapped in Davis’s arms?
Click here to read the opening scene of WOMEN UNDER FIRE.
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