The illustrious team at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books created an Unhinged Romance Bingo in December, and you have until March 20 to complete it. This theme is a lot of fun. If you’re playing and you still need to fill a few spaces, some of my books could help you out.
Start Mid-Series: This one’s kind of a gimme; pick up any title except book 1. My series in print are Holiday Pleasures, Romance of the Turf, and Royal Rewards.
Niche Business or Hobby: To be honest, I don’t remember all the weird stuff my characters do, so there could be a lot of niche interests lurking in my books. Rhapsody for Two fits this category well as the heroine, Rowena Fairweather, is a luthier (she makes and repairs stringed instruments). Bonus: it’s a stand-alone novella, so you’ll get a quick read with no series connections.
Swiss Army Knife Character: This means a character who is a Lot of Things, and Benedict Frost, the hero of Fortune Favors the Wicked is your man here. He’s a bookseller’s son turned sailor who left the military after losing his sight to study medicine, then become a traveler, memoirist, and treasure-seeker. (Some aspects of his life are based on a real historical figure named James Holman!)
A Favorite Author Blurbed It: Well, it depends who your favorite authors are! Love Courtney Milan as much as I do? You’ll find her blurb on The Viscount’s Inconvenient Temptation. The marvelous Vanessa Kelly blurbed The Earl’s Holiday Wager, and blurbs from the wonderful Julianne MacLean appear on the original editions of the Royal Rewards quartet.
Pet That Isn’t a Dog or Cat: Here again, Rhapsody for Two can help you out, because the heroine keeps a pet hedgehog named Cotton. And of course, every book in the Romance of the Turf series includes horses and their stable companions.
Am I the Asshole?: TBH, someone is the asshole at some point in most books–though if I did my job right, you’ll understand why and you’ll see them change. For instance, the hero of The Earl’s Holiday Wager might say “Everyone thinks I’m cool because I have money, think of interesting bets, and throw great parties, but I’d rather go to bed early with a good book. If my cousin knew what a nerd I really am, he’d wreck my reputation, and I’m lonely and don’t have anything else. So I let him talk me into placing a scandalous wager on the woman I like, especially because it means I’ll get to spend more time with her. AITA?”
A Book in a Book: Rhapsody for Two is doing some heavy lifting in the Unhinged Bingo, as includes a subplot about a scandalous novel that’s taken society by storm. It’s the most unhinged of all my romances, I guess? Desperately Seeking Scandal also includes a “field guide” called Ways to Wed for Wealth that could count as a book within a book.
Knotting: If you’re really desperate to fill this square, there’s a secondary character in Those Autumn Nights who knits a lot.
Happy reading!