Hi, everyone–if you’re looking for my books online, you might notice that there are fewer than there used to be. I’ve recently gotten back the rights for the three Matchmaker titles and for two of the Romance of the Turf books, A Gentleman’s Game and Scandalous Ever After. What this means is that the publisher is no long offering them for sale, and I get to put out my own editions.
I can’t put an exact release date on the titles yet since it depends on a lot of factors: cover design, editing, formatting. I’ll keep you posted through my newsletter or through social media. It’ll take a while to get them back into your hands, but I look forward to making that happen!
Dear friends, I’ve been on an online hiatus for a while and have missed you very much. I hope you’ve all been safe and well.
Going forward, I’ll be able to be more in touch, mainly on Twitter and in my Facebook group. I’ll continue posting recommendations on BookBub, too. Bonus: if you follow me on BookBub, you’ll get a notification when one of my books goes on sale.
I’ve been working on something new, though it’s not finished yet. When I have news to report, my newsletter subscribers will be the first to get the word. I invite you to sign up! I’ll never share your information and I won’t overwhelm your inbox.
As always, take care and read something fabulous. <3
Thanksgiving is drawing near in the USA, and I’ve got much to be grateful for. At long last, the Romance of the Turf series is wrapped up with the release of His Wayward Bride! Jonah and Irene’s love story released as an ebook on November 5, and a print edition is now available too. It’s mass market sized, so it’ll line up beautifully with the other Romance of the Turf stories on your shelf. (I might possibly be a perfectionist.)
His Wayward Bride is my third book this year–fourth, if you count the reissue of The Sport of Baronets*–which is a pretty swift pace for me. As I mentioned last month, I’ve been on deadline for the eight years since the release of my first romance, during which time I’ve written 20 more novels and novellas.
But over the past several years, a trio of chronic health conditions have worsened steadily, and each book has become harder for me to write. Ultimately, I’ve been proud of every book once I finished it, but my body and brain are worn out.
Which brings us to the hiatus of this post’s title. I’ve been thinking about what I could step back from, and the answer I’ve regretfully come to is social media. I love the chance to connect with readers and fellow authors, but I need to try something different for a while.
So, at the end of this week I’ll begin an online hiatus from my social media accounts. I’m not sure how long the hiatus will be. It’ll be a surprise to all of us! I’ll leave my accounts open, as I look forward to returning to you all once I’m healthier. In the meantime, be sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter for news and exclusives. You can also follow me on BookBub to be alerted to sale prices on my books.
Much love, dear readers, and take care. I’m thankful for you. Truly. <3
*Correction: Er, actually it’s the fifth release! A Novella Collection came out in May.
The November 5 release day for His Wayward Bride is a mere eight days away! The books are being formatted as I write this, and a digital edition will be out next Tuesday. The print edition always seems to take a bit longer, but I hope to have it to you the following week.
To celebrate the release of His Wayward Bride, I’ll be visiting Vanessa Kelly’s Clan Kendrick Facebook group on November 6. And the following Wednesday, November 13, my Facebook group will have a book club discussion of Sarah MacLean’s Brazen and the Beast. For both days, expect fun chat and lots of giveaways—hope to see you there!
This month has been full of family visits, which has been lovely. My brother’s family visited one weekend, then one of my aunts came to stay the following weekend. I traveled a lot in the first half of the year, and I’m so grateful to be home for a while and still get to see loved ones. We’ll get another visit over Thanksgiving. If you’re in the USA, have you made your Thanksgiving plans yet? If you’re in Canada, I hope you enjoyed a good holiday!
We didn’t buy Halloween candy until this past weekend, which was almost a smart choice. It would have been better not to buy candy until the afternoon of Halloween, since we’ve already opened the bags and started snitching. Little Miss R has decided to dress as Rosie the Riveter this year, which delighted my heart. She’s disappointed in me for not planning a costume as well, but those days were over for me quite a while ago. Unless I can be “writer in a hoodie and PJ pants,” I’m not interested.
Before the end of the year, I’ll begin an online hiatus, the details of which I’m still thinking through. For the past eight years—since October 2011, when my romance debut released—I’ve been constantly on deadline. During that time, I’ve written 20 more books. Some writers produce much more, and I’m grateful to them for creating so many of the books I love to read. For me, though, this has been a lot, especially as I deal with chronic health issues. So I’m thinking about how I can step back in some ways while I begin writing something new.
All just an FYI. I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter if you haven’t yet, as subscribers will always get the scoop whether I’m online or not. Thank you for reading! You’re wonderful. <3
Hello again, everyone! My August offline wasn’t really a month off, but it allowed me some much-needed breathing room. Little Miss R started middle school, I continued working on His Wayward Bride for its November release, and I got The Sport of Baronets ready for reissue.
That’s the big news so far this month: you can get Hannah and Bart’s story again. It’s been reissued with gorgeous cover art that reflects the importance of horses to the story—and to the series as a whole, since the Chandler family inhabits the heart of the Regency horse-racing world.
The Romance of the Turf series contains 5 stories:
*The Sport of Baronets, an enemies-to-lovers novella that introduces the Chandler family and gives youngest sibling Hannah her love story.
*A Gentleman’s Game, a road romance featuring younger brother Nathaniel.
*Scandalous Ever After, a friends-to-lovers romance that was an NPR Best Book of 2017.
*The Way to a Gentleman’s Heart, a second-chance romance novella that introduces Mrs. Brodie’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies in a duo of the same name.
*And finally, His Wayward Bride will be coming your way on November 5.
The first excerpt from HWB appeared in Rose Lerner’s Patreon newsletter last Wednesday. I posted the entire first scene on my site last Friday, and newsletter subscribers got to read the remainder of Chapter 1 that same day. HWB is still going through revision and editing, so these excerpts might not be 100% final, but they’re close. I hope you’ve all enjoyed your first glimpse of Irene, the resourceful pickpocketing teacher heroine, and her mysterious marriage to Jonah Chandler.
A new cover is being created for HWB to better represent Irene as a biracial woman. And the promised print edition of The Sport of Baronets is in the works too! It’s taking a while because I requested a custom size for the paperback. I want it to be mass market sized so it’ll match the novels in the series. Picky? Maybe so, but think how pretty they’ll look when they’re all lined up on a bookshelf. 🙂
Hope September is going well for you! What have you been up to?
Summer is flying by! I can’t believe it’s already the last day of July. Here’s what’s happened this month:
*My brother’s family moved halfway across the country, and we road-tripped to help them unpack.
*I enrolled Little Miss R for middle school (sob!).
*She had 2340983409 playdates with friends while I continued revising His Wayward Bride based on 9 sets of feedback (only one of those numbers is an exaggeration).
There’s just a smidge left of summer for us, and I’m planning to spend it offline. Little Miss R will be starting at a new school, and we’ve got a lot to do to get ready for the year. I’m also working on finishing His Wayward Bride for an October release, and I’d like to get The Sport of Baronets ready for reissue in September.
So, I’ll see you after Labor Day! Hope all is well with you, and that your summer–or winter, if you’re in the southern half of our beautiful world–has been a happy season with many great books.
Happy June! This month has been…a lot. But in a good way. 🙂
The biggest news is that How to Ruin a Duke is now available! This duo of new Regency novellas from Grace Burrowes and me released on June 11. This is the second time Grace and I have worked together, and I loved it just as much as our first collaboration (the now-retired The Duke’s Bridle Path, which included my novella Desperately Seeking Scandal). My novella features a luthier heroine–she builds and repairs stringed instruments–and a hero who does a little bit of everything, especially avoid his past. Grace’s story includes a duty-bound duke who becomes the subject of scandal–and the lady who just might be behind his undoing.
In other news, I’ve got the rights back to The Sport of Baronets. That novella is the first story in the Romance of the Turf series, which includes HEAs for the talented but troubled Chandler family at the heart of the Regency horse-racing world. The Sport of Baronets is Hannah and Bart’s story, an enemies to lovers tale with a bit of inspiration from the Sherlock Holmes story “Silver Blaze.”
Having the rights back means this: at first, the book was released through a publisher (in this case, Sourcebooks). Since it’s been out for several years, they’ve agreed to return the right to publish the book, so now I can release it on my own. The Sport of Baronets will be unavailable for a while as Sourcebooks removes the current edition from sale and I work on a new one. Look for a rerelease of The Sport of Baronets in September–just in time to get you ready for the final Romance of the Turf story, His Wayward Bride, in October.
Yep, this is finally an update on His Wayward Bride! Jonah and Irene’s story has been a long time coming, as you’ve seen hints in the earlier Romance of the Turf stories about Jonah’s mysterious missing bride. Where has Irene been throughout the Romance of the Turf series? At last, you’ll find out–and there’s a big connection to Mrs. Brodie’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies.
As always, this book will be able to stand on its own for readers who are new to the series. But if you’ve read the earlier Romance of the Turf books, you’ll notice that all the ongoing plot threads are tied up. I’m planning on either October 15 or 22 as a release date for His Wayward Bride. If you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you’ll be notified when the release date is set and the book is available.
Outside of the book world, Little Miss R turned 11 this month (!!). That’s not particularly little anymore, but I’ve become used to calling her that online, and Medium Miss R doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. She’s home with me a lot this summer, which has delayed the deadline for His Wayward Bride but has been a delight. She still likes me and wants to be with me, which I’m not taking for granted as we move through the tweens!
To spend as much time as possible with my girl this summer, I’ve stepped back from regular posting on my Facebook page. I’m still active in my readers’ group on Facebook, and I’d love to welcome you to be a member there for weekly giveaways and new posts nearly every weekday. I’m also popping up on Twitter sometimes, but in August, I’ll take a complete online hiatus.
That’s all the news for now! How’s your summer going–or winter, if you’re in the southern hemisphere?
It’s summer! At least, it is according to the school calendar here. Little Miss R has finished elementary school (!!) and begun her summer break, so I’m in a scramble of day camps and playdates as I work toward my next deadline. (It’s for His Wayward Bride, and I should be able to share more info soon.)
This month marked the release of A Novella Collection, which pulls together four stand-alone novellas at a discounted ebook price. I’ve just reviewed and approved the final proof for the print edition, so I’d expect that to go live early next week. The print edition is going to be a lovely trade paperback–I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.
I’ve also just received the ebook edition of How to Ruin a Duke, beautifully formatted by writing partner Grace Burrowes. For this title, the print edition will go up first–maybe even early next week! Then the ebook will come out on the official release day, which is June 11.
For self-published works–which this is–it’s not possible to put up a print edition for pre-order. It’s available for purchase as soon as the link goes live. So that’s why I don’t have a print link for you yet, but as soon as I do, you’ll be able to order the print edition.
Yesterday I recorded a podcast with author Julia Kelly and her sister Justine, the co-hosts of You’re Never Going to Read This. Every episode is warm, fun, and a little cheeky. I heartily encourage you to get caught up! My episode with the sisters will air sometime in June, perhaps around the middle of the month. We talked about everything from my new releases to the book club I’ve accidentally founded within my family, and there are LOTS of book recommendations.
And finally, my Facebook readers’ group enjoyed a book club discussion of Lisa Kleypas’s Devil’s Daughter earlier this month. The book club is a quarterly affair, but I’ll be offline in August (see above re: summer and the child care struggle). So the group voted to wait on the next book club until November rather than cramming in another discussion ASAP. Apart from our formal quarterly book club, we share weekly what-are-you-reading recommendation posts, and I post giveaways and sneak peeks at what I’m working on. If you haven’t yet joined the group, I’d love to see you there!
Look at me, squeaking in the April update under the wire! It’s still April for a whopping 13-ish hours, as of this posting, and the reason I’m posting so late in the month is because of what a crowded month it was.
I began the month with a long-needed outpatient surgery; nothing major, but it kicked my energy to the curb for a while as I recovered. I’m still not back to 100%, but I have the hope of being more than 100% (at least, what my 100% has been for a while) in the long term. We shall see.
Last week, my mom and I drove to Louisiana—about 800 miles—to visit my grandmother and other relatives in the area. We’d been planning to wait until the end of the school year, which is another month away, but one of my aunts had cancer surgery in mid-April and we thought she might need a hand. I did help her with an organization project (and play with her adorable parrots), but she’s actually doing really well! What good news.
And my grandmother, at age 92, has bounced back from a number of health issues and is currently doing well too. She’s sharp enough to complete destroy my mom and me at progressive rummy—which is pretty much a family tradition, because she has ALWAYS completely destroyed EVERYONE at progressive rummy. “Just lucky,” she excuses. Hmm. Funny how the same person is always lucky. 😉
I brought a virus home with me and am currently sore-throated and scratchy-voiced. But! My typing fingers are doing fine, and I have lots of fun book news to share.
First of all, four of my backlist novellas are being bundled into a box set—so if you’d like to collect them all, you can get them much more cheaply than buying each one individually. This bundle is creatively called A Novella Collection, and the cover is quite lovely, don’t you think?
Soon after that, How to Ruin a Duke will be published! This novella duo by Grace Burrowes and me tells two linked stories about a scandalous novel and its impact on a couple in trade (that’s my story—the heroine builds stringed instruments) and the unfortunate ducal subject of the novel (that’s Grace’s story—which I absolutely love, and I think you all will too).
And finally, Shana Galen and I are running the first-ever sale on our duo, Mrs. Brodie’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies. For just one more day, you can get the ebook for 99 cents, down from its regular price of $3.99.
Our Mrs. Brodie stories can stand on their own, but we also had fun connecting them to other books. My novella, “The Way to a Gentleman’s Heart,” features a cook heroine and a second chance with her first love, and it introduces some characters who will play a big part in His Wayward Bride–the last Romance of the Turf book, out this fall.
And…that’s it for April. Whew! What has this month been like for you?
Dear readers, I feel as if I’ve spent half the month of March on an airplane! This has been a month of much travel for me, with two trips to North Carolina. In between, Little Miss R had spring break, so there hasn’t been much of what I’d call a “normal” schedule this month. Now that things are a bit calmer, I can happily report that it’s all been lovely. Here’s what’s up.
The first trip to NC was purely for family, while the second was to present at Duke University as part of the UNSUITABLE lecture series. Check out the official-looking poster for the event! Using my novella “The Prodigal Duke” as a sort of case study, I spoke with a fabulous, engaged audience about historical research methods–especially Vauxhall Gardens and tightrope walking. The tightrope-walking heroine of The Prodigal Duke was inspired by a real-life wire-walker named Madame Saqui, and we all had a great time looking at historic images and talking about the balance between history and fiction.
What else happened this month? Why, something new has popped up for pre-order: my June novella duet with Grace Burrowes, called How to Ruin a Duke. Grace and I worked together for the now-retired novella duo The Duke’s Bridle Path in 2017 (Desperately Seeking Scandal was my novella in that duo), and I’m so glad we could write together on another project. With all my travel, I’m not quite done with my novella yet, but Rowena and Simon’s story is coming together nicely. I hope you’ll all enjoy meeting them in June, along with Grace’s couple!
Also coming soon: a boxed set reissue of some of my older novellas. Reissuing a collection will allow me to create a print edition for those of you who prefer that format, and the collection will represent a discount over buying each novella separately. This box set will be posted soon on my site and my social media accounts, so check in on Facebook and Twitter and you’ll get the latest scoop. You can also subscribe to my newsletter for big news like new releases.
Thanks for reading–and if you’re traveling this month, may you be safe and well!