I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!! I confess–I ate too much junk food, and laid around reading too much when I have a lot of work to do. Oops. But this is a new week, and the WIP is moving forward! In the meantime, I forgot last week was release week for my new book, The Runaway Countess (Book One of The Bancrofts of Barton Park!). I am sooooo excited to talk about it here today, and also to give away a signed copy to one commenter….
Wed to Wickedness….
In Society’s eyes, Hayden Fitzwalter, Earl of Ramsey, and Jane Bancroft have the perfect marriage. But what can’t be seen are the secrets hidden behind closed doors. Believing Hayden will never renounce his dissolute ways, Jane flees to her family’s dilapidated estate in the country.
Years later, Hayden longs to win back the only woman who has ever touched his heart. But first he has to convince her that this rogue is ready to be tamed….
Bancrofts of Barton Park
Two Sisters, Two Scandals, Two Sizzling Love Affairs….
“I really loved this story, the gentle pace of the story along with a couple making it a go at it to heal their broken hearts proving that Happy Ever After does take work but it well worth it when she share it with the ones you love.
I’m looking to reading about Jane’s sister and the trouble no doubt she’ll get into!”–Goodreads review
We love to talk here about “risky” books (both reading and writing!), and this book felt very risky to me when I was in the middle of it. It was really the first time I tried an Austen-esque setting. Not an Austen-esque style, because that would be way too scary, but a setting much like Emma or Sense and Sensibility, a small country village and a few estates, with neighbors and families who knew each other well. Jane and her sister Emma have taken refuge at her father’s old estate, Barton Park, and it’s like many people going home as grown-ups–comforting and awkward at the same time! It was a challenge to get to know all these people and the dynamics of their lives together.
It was also the first time I have ever tried a “marriage in trouble” story. The hero and heroine are married for the whole story, but are sadly estranged. They married too young, too quickly, with no realistic idea of how a marriage partnership between them could work. They needed time and patience to realize what went wrong–and how to win each other’s hearts all over again. I admit I really ached for Hayden and Jane! I wanted so much for those two crazy kids to make things work, and once or twice I was sure they never could….
I loved spending time in this Regency world, getting to know these characters! I hope readers enjoy it too.
I’ll be giving away a signed copy to a commenter on this post today. Do you like marriage in trouble stories? Austen-esque stories of country settings and families? Speaking of families–what are you plans for the fall and all the holidays coming up???
Info at my own website (covers, excerpts, etc)
I love these types of stories. Your new book sounds awesome. Pretty cover. I am planning to do some reading and spend time with family during the holidays.
I like this type of book where the hero and heroine have to prove to the other person that they really do love them after they have made enough mistakes that they were driven apart in the first place. I am looking forward to reading it!
What a gorgeous cover!
I love it when the hero and heroine have to work for their relationship. It makes you love them more than if everything would be all sweet and rosy. I sounds like a great read!
The book definitely sounds interesting. It’s realistic in that couples who married too young and too quickly could easily wind up with expectations shattered and hearts broken. It’s also realistic in that you’ve given them time to mature; all the problems are not solved immediately. So the book is both realistic and romantic, which is a winning combination to me.
I love marriage in trouble stories and this book sound really interesting.
Being a boomer, I can relate better to more mature protagonists. But even when I was younger, I thought characters who had some experience were more interesting than very young ones who were just starting out in life. Most heroines only had their youth and appearance, with perhaps a couple of desirable personality traits, going for them. It was the heroes who had a lot of experience and things like wildly successful careers to make them more complex and intriguing.
Love all these comments! I actually really enjoyed writing this story, using all my own experiences with dating and relationships, what I learned/wish I had known/figured out as I got older. I really felt for Jane and Hayden, and even cried a little when I was afraid they wouldn’t figure things out in the end! 🙂
I am so looking forward to reading this one, Amanda! The idea of adult children moving home and of people who marry too young actually having no choice but to work it out or face a lifetime of heartache shows there really is nothing new under the sun, but oh the telling of the tale and the journey of the lovers is what makes for sigh-worthy romance!
I agree that the cover was gorgeous! I do also like stories where a couple gets married young, or they have a misunderstanding and one leaves. They usually both still love each other, with their hearts broken. When they meet again, it is a very rocky time as both usually don’t trust the other. I like those books, especially when the story progresses excitedly.
Austenesque stories are great, I have a weakness for those. Marriage in trouble stories can be good aswell, if the emotional aspect is rewarding for the reader. Have read a disappointing one, where everything was easily forgiven and like it never happened. Second chances need to be earned in my book 😉
Haven’t made any holiday plans yet, still have a couple of (fall) birthdays coming up ( including my own). After those celebrations I will ask my parents what they think. Maybe cook something fabulous together, renting some movies or just going away for a few days together. We always keep things simple, it’s about spending time together, not loads of cash on gifts or extravagance.