Wednesday 29 July 2020

Welcome to Steamy Romance Author - Ella Jade


I’m delighted to welcome contemporary romance author, Ella Jade, to my blog.

Ella Jade - Author

Hello Ella – It’s great to have you as a guest on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat. We connected through our publisher – Beachwalk Press, where, in case your readers don’t know, there are lots of your sexy, hot romances to be found. But before we hear about your latest self-published novel - The Secrets We Keep - here are a few questions which will hopefully give your readers and followers an insight into some of the things that matter to you.

Arabella: When writing a novel, how do you work? Are you a plotter or pantser?
Ella: I start out a plotter. I usually write the ending first so I know where I’m headed. The beginning and the end are pretty much set when I start. It’s the middle that takes me places I don’t always expect.

Arabella: Where do you read? Sofa or bed or ____?
Ella: I mostly read in bed. Ever since I was a child, reading was how I ended my day.




Arabella: In your latest release, The Secrets We Keep, who is your favourite character and why?
Ella: Xavier is my favorite character. As with most of my heroes, he is complicated. I liked having to fix him. Knowing he carried a pretty significant secret through most of the book made him even more challenging to write.

Arabella: Which would you prefer to do: 1) spend a morning vigorously working out at the gym, 2) be pampered from head to toe at the spa and beauty salon, 3) indulge and pile on the pounds with a romantic dinner for two?
Ella: Can I pick all three? Most of my mornings are spent working out and every time I finish writing a book, I treat myself to a massage because my neck and back can’t take anymore. I’ll always take the fattening romantic dinner for two!




Arabella: Which of the following would you rather wear?
      1)      beach shorts and top
      2)      evening skirt and blouse
      3)      pyjamas and slippers

Ella: I’m a PJ girl all the way! I like being comfortable.



Arabella: We all have a long list of books we keep meaning to read but never have the time for --- which book is a must read for you this season?
Ella: I have so many on my Kindle. I keep promising myself I’m going to get to 11-22-63 by Steven King.

Arabella: What about your future plans? Any books or series in the making?
Ella: I have the third book in my Clark Brothers Series, Waiting for Max,  releasing in September.  My goal for 2021 is to finish my Mafia Heat Series. Book four is scheduled for February and I’m probably being really ambitious but I want to get the last two out by the end of 2021.


Thank you for joining me on the blog, Ella. Xavier sounds hot, and I’m keen to discover what his secret is.
Wishing you all the best for The Secrets We Keep, and I’ll also keep an eye out for Waiting for Max.
Arabella


About Ella Jade

Ella Jade - Author

USA Today bestselling author Ella Jade has been writing for as long as she can remember. As a child, she often had a notebook and pen with her, and now as an adult, the laptop is never far. The plots and dialogue have always played out in her head, but she never knew what to do with them. That all changed when she discovered the eBook industry. She started penning novels at a rapid pace and now she can't be stopped.

Ella resides in New Jersey with her husband, two teenage boys and a feisty Chihuahua writing companion. When she's not chasing after her kids, she's busy creating sexy, domineering men and the strong women who know how to challenge them in and out of the bedroom. She hopes you'll get lost in her words.

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Book Blurb:   The Secrets We Keep



I didn’t plan to lie but now it’s my only option.

Kara
My husband left me.
Our life was perfect or so I thought.
We adopted a gorgeous little girl.
Our very own miracle.
After my divorce, I meet an intriguing stranger.
Rich, powerful, sexy, and determined.
He’s wonderful to my daughter.
He treats her like she’s his own.
I find myself in a fairytale.
Every story has something dark lurking at the surface.
Xavier has a secret.

Xavier
My late ex-girlfriend kept a secret from me.
She had our child but gave her up for adoption.
Four years later, I’ve uncovered the truth.
The woman raising my daughter is beautiful, loving, and intelligent.
Any man would be lucky to have her.
And then there is my child.
The love I didn’t know existed.
I don’t know how to disrupt their world and tell them who I am.
I insert myself into their lives instead, hoping to get what I want.
I’ve fallen for Kara but our beginning is built on a lie.
That’s my fault.
How can I tell her who I am, without losing her?
Without losing them?

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Friday 24 July 2020

A Bride for Lord Redfield - Arabella Sheen EXCERPT 3



A Bride for Lord Redfield


by

Arabella Sheen

A risqué regency romp enjoyed by both servants and masters as love and passion is discovered―above and below stairs―in his lordship’s household.


Chapter 1 - Emily

EXCERPT 3

Redfield House was an old stone building of good proportions. And for a town house, compared to some places in Tunbridge Wells, it was well-situated and within easy walking distance of amenities. Lord Redfield was fortunate enough to have stables close by in the mews. The local church, which Lady Redfield attended most Sundays, was also within striking distance.
Lifting the long skirts of her dress and climbing the servants’ stairs at the back of the house, Emily stopped halfway on the landing. Looking out of the window, she could see down into the garden. It was small in size, laid mostly to lawn, and around the borders a few shrubs and bushes had been planted. Hidden behind the tall, box hedge was a pathway that led to a gate in the wall. The servants tended to use this entrance when coming and going, and from where Emily stood, she had a clear view over the hedge and could see Ruby approaching. Ruby had a spring in her step. Swinging the basket she was carrying, she disappeared from sight, entering the building through the kitchen door.
“What are you doing loitering here, girl? Get a move on.”
“Yes, Mrs. Clements. The bedchambers at the front of the house are ready for Mrs. Whitaker and Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood to use. I’m now on my way to make up Miss Rosalinda’s bed. I was airing her sheets in the linen cupboard again to make certain they were dry. Lady Redfield gave strict instructions and was very particular. She said everything had to be perfect for Miss Rosalinda’s room. And I was even told to put pink roses in there and not white ones.”
Mrs. Clements tilted her nose high. “I believe pink is Miss Rosalinda’s favorite color. But stop chattering, Emily. You have work to do. Go and make the bed. And make sure the window is closed and the chamber pot is beneath the four-poster.”
“Yes, Mrs. Clements.” Emily curtsied and moved off.
Reaching the bedchamber, she set about dusting the furniture and making the bed up in readiness.
A soft mattress and fresh linen was always nice, and it was a luxury Emily had yet to experience. The beds in the servants’ quarters were hard and prickly. A mattress stuffed with horse hair was anything but soft, and a change of sheets…well, that didn’t happen very often. She rarely had time to finish her chores, let alone look after her own needs. At night, exhausted from her duties, more often than not she just felt thankful for a place to rest her head and sleep.
Struggling to put the pillows inside their cases, Emily eventually managed the task and then started straightening the sheets and placing the blankets on the four-poster bed.
She thought that one blanket and the padded patchwork quilt ought to be enough. The weather was warm, and Miss Rosalinda could always find an extra blanket in the linen chest at the foot of the bed if she needed to.
Emily was tucking the last corner of the quilt into place when she heard a light tap on the door. She had left the door ajar. A head peered around the opening, and in an instant she saw that it was Robert.
“What are you doing up here?” she whispered. “You ought to be downstairs helping Mr. Henderson get the music room ready for tonight.”
The music room, quite large in size, was to be stripped of furniture and rugs, leaving only two chaise-longues and the barest amount of chairs around the edges of the room for people to sit on. The musicians, a violist and cellist from Pembury, were to be placed near the window, giving ample room for the guests to dance―if they so wished.
“We have unfinished business,” Robert said with a grin. And stepping further into the room, he closed the door behind him.
“You can’t. We can’t.” She laughed excitedly. “You shouldn’t be here. If Mr. Henderson were to catch you, you’d lose your job. We’d lose our jobs.”
“Then we will just have to make sure he doesn’t catch us, won’t we? Anyway, he thinks I’m still buying candles from the candle maker and charging them to Lord Redfield’s account. He’s afraid we’ll run out of them tonight and he’ll have to send me off to get some more. I told him it would take me at least half an hour, and old Henderson seemed happy with that.”
“Then you ought to go and buy them, not stand here talking to me.”
“I’ve already bought them. I left them downstairs near the pantry.”
“But won’t Mr. Henderson want you to do other things? He’ll want the silver polished and―”
“I doubt I’ll be missed,” Robert said with confidence. “Henderson’s got too much to keep him busy to notice I’m not back.”
“But that does not mean―”
“Emily…shut up and give me a kiss. It’s the least you can do after all the trouble I’ve been through to see you.”
Robert pulled her close to him. Emily could feel his warm breath catch against her cheek, and when his lips found hers, she didn’t resist. She couldn’t. She snuggled into him, and her senses were stirred. If truth be told, she’d always wanted him as much as he wanted her, only she dared not show her true feelings…until now.
She’d always had her eye on Robert. From the first moment she’d seen him, when he was standing at attention in the hall, waiting to open the library door for Lord Redfield, he had made an impression on her. She was sure he was destined for the finer things in life, and she wondered if she could become part of his journey. Servants weren’t supposed to see one another―not in that way. And to marry was practically unheard of. But that didn’t stop her wishing for bigger and better things―with Robert.
Robert’s hands reached for her breasts.
The low-cut neckline of her dress exposed an ample amount of cleavage, and when he squeezed, lifting her breasts upward toward him, his face came down to the deep crevice between her mounds. His lips kissed and his tongue lapped at any exposed skin he could find, and his touch, although rough, was pleasingly satisfying.
Beneath her clothing, Emily could feel her nipples swell and tighten. Cradling his head in her hands, she pulled him into her, burying his face still deeper between her breasts.
She inhaled his musky scent, and her senses were spinning.
Blindly, Robert pushed her back toward the newly made bed, and when the back of her legs touched the mattress, she buckled, falling down heavily onto the padded quilt. In an instant, he was on top of her, pressing her down into the soft bedding with his weight. And when his fingers slipped hurriedly beneath the neckline of her dress, it was so they could tug on the strings of her chemise and free her breasts.


A Bride for Lord Redfield
Copyright © 2019, Arabella Sheen
ISBN: 9781949300277
Publisher: Beachwalk Press, Inc.
Electronic Publication: February 2019
Editor: Lynne Sully
Cover: Fantasia Frog Designs

eBooks are not transferable. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

About Arabella Sheen 



Arabella Sheen is a British author of contemporary romance and likes nothing more than the challenge of starting a new novel with fresh ideas and inspiring characters.
One of the many things Arabella loves to do is to read. And when she’s not researching or writing about romance, she is either on her allotment sowing and planting with the seasons or she is curled on the sofa with a book, while pandering to the demands of her attention seeking cat.
Having lived and worked in the Netherlands as a theatre nurse for nearly twenty years, she now lives in the south west of England with her family.
Arabella hopes her readers have as much pleasure from her romance stories as she has in writing them.

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A Bride for Lord Redfield


Book Blurb: A Bride for Lord Redfield

A risqué regency romp enjoyed by both servants and masters as love and passion is discovered―above and below stairs―in his lordship’s household.

At Redfield House, everyone is busy with preparations for a ball, and rumor is rife in the servants’ quarters that the master is about to propose.
Lord Thomas Redfield realizes the time has come for him to take a wife and that this duty can no longer be delayed. The only trouble is…he isn’t sure the desire he once felt for Catherine, the woman he was previously betrothed to, is over and a new life with Rosalinda can begin.
Can Lord Redfield take Miss Rosalinda Mills for his wife, and will she agree to an engagement knowing he could still be in love with Catherine?
As the weekend unfolds and the fun begins, a bevy of illicit encounters are enjoyed between maids, footmen, grooms, and guests, while his lordship inwardly struggles with the problem of finding a wife.

Content Warning: contains passionate, sensual love scenes

UNIVERSAL BUY LINKS:  https://books2read.com/u/bzvgwD 
Arabella Sheen Website: http://www.arabellasheen.co.uk/   






Wednesday 22 July 2020

Welcome to Romantic Comedy Author - Judy Leigh

I’m delighted to welcome romantic comedy author, Judy Leigh, to my blog.


Judy Leigh - Author


Hello Judy – It’s been wonderful connecting with you through the Romantic Novelists’ Association. And before I go any further, I’d like to say I’m in awe of your work ethic. As soon as a shout-out was made for guests to appear on the blog, with spitfire speed, you responded and came back with fantastic chit-chat answers about yourself and your books. But before we discover more about your latest release, The Old Girls’ Network, here are some questions which will hopefully give your readers and followers an insight into some of the things that matter to you.


Arabella: You’ve got an idea for a story but it has yet to take shape. Where do you start? Do you concentrate on the location in the story, or developing the characters personalities, or are there other key points you might consider?
Judy: The initial stage of a novel is really interesting and I’m sure each writer has a different approach. I don’t rush anything. Firstly, I go for a long walk in the woods nearby and I allow the themes, the characters and the location to sink in and develop naturally. The rhythm of walking helps me to think. I consider the relationship of other characters to the main protagonist, and what my character(s) want to achieve, change or accomplish by the end of the novel. I think about the journey, trying to plot some twists and turns, but not too many at this stage. I make sure I have ideas about where the characters will be by the last chapter. Then I come home, have a cup of tea and make a big mind map on a piece of paper. After that, I walk away, give myself time and space and rethink, being happy to challenge what I’ve just thought about, to rip everything up and start again, but with a few clues about where I’m going.




Arabella: In your latest release - The Old Girls’ Network - what is the overall theme or premise, and what made you choose this topic?
Judy: I write books about older protagonists and, although I fell into doing this by accident during my Master’s, I love having the opportunity for my central characters to show that people, and especially women, who are over 50 can star in a story; they can enjoy life’s twists and turns and they can still love, travel, change and develop. The Old Girls’ Network is about two very different sisters, Barbara and Pauline, and their new house guest, the enigmatic Bisto Mulligan, a man who defies easy categorisation and the prejudices of those around him. Bisto is welcomed into the wonderful community of the village, Winsley Green, and he spends the summer there as the action unfolds. The themes are about characters never being too old to change or to love and that appearances are often deceptive. I chose this because it’s wonderful to have the chance to entertain readers, to create characters who are on a journey, as we all are, and to make a little magic, a little mischief and to write story that features an age group who sometimes feature only as subsidiary characters.

Arabella: You’re stuck in a lift and it’s a two-hour wait before a pain-free extraction. What emergency rations would you like to be sent down the lift shaft?
Judy: Books and music. That would keep me going. I’m quite dependent on my phone so I’d need that to be able to chat to people outside, making sure they are still there. That said, with a good book and some nice music, I might just keep the phone in my pocket…



Arabella: You’ve arranged to meet up with friends and family for an afternoon of fun. Where do you go and what do you do?
Judy: We’d usually go for a long walk. There is a place nearby where you can climb through woodland to the top of a beacon and see the surrounding countryside. There are horses, cows, sheep and the weather is unfolding all around. Or we’d go to the beach and walk on the sand and swish our feet in the sea. Then we’d go home, feed the cats, light a log fire, cook a meal, open a bottle of wine and talk. We’d end up debating things, all sorts of mad things, but conversation is such a blessing and of course it would all end up with shared laughter.



Arabella: The moment we are published, a career path is usually envisaged. Do you have any aspirations or ambitions for yourself and any future novels you might write?
Judy: Yes. Because my novels have been described as humorous and uplifting, and the characters are usually warm and fallible, I’d love the opportunity to see them on screen. Although I never allow real people to dictate my characters while I’m writing, when I’ve finished a novel, I cast the characters from well-known actors, just for fun. It’s often very exciting to imagine the novel visually. My background is in theatre, so it’s quite logical that I always think about performance when my characters are interacting. Even if no film comes my way, I’d love to keep writing, to continue to learn and to be able to entertain and engage readers for as long as possible.


Thank you for joining me on Arabella’s Blog and Chit-Chat, Judy. And I like how you talk about “older” protagonists and not “old” protagonists. Being over fifty, you’ve given me reassurance that life and romance ain’t quite over just yet! J
All the best for your latest release, The Old Girls’ Network
Arabella



About  Judy Leigh

Judy Leigh - Author

Judy Leigh has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset. After teaching theatre, writing lyrics for a punk band and setting up Shakespeare Festivals, she completed an MA in Professional Writing.  Her next novel,The Old Girls' Network, is available now and follows the bestseller, Five French Hens. All her novels, including A Grand Old Time and The Age of Misadventure, celebrate the ups and downs of life, relationships, the power of laughter and the belief that everyone has a second chance at happiness, whatever their age.

Judy writes: Commercial women's fiction/romantic comedy/novels about older protagonists.

Social Media Links:
My website is  https://judyleigh.com/, my Twitter is  @JudyLeighWriter and I also have a Facebook page people can like and follow. 


Book Blurb:   The Old Girls’ Network



After a health scare, 77 year-old spinster Barbara goes to convalesce in the sleepy Somerset village of Winsley Green with her sister Pauline. The sisters are chalk and cheese - Barbara, outspoken and aloof and Pauline, good natured and homely – so it’s not long before the tension starts to rise.

Released:16th June 2020

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Forbidden Stowaway - Arabella Sheen - EXCERPT 2

   Chapter One - Excerpt 2 Olivia was taken to the back of the tavern, where the landlady pulled aside a dark velvet curtain to reveal a ro...