Scandal's Bride
by Pamela Gibson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Historical (Regency)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Lady Gwendolyn
Pettigrew longs to be a mother, but refuses to marry the lecherous old fool her
father has found for her. When her best friend convinces her to consider her
husband’s younger brother as a suitable candidate, Gwen agrees to a marriage of
convenience, hoping against hope that her dream of becoming a mother will have
a chance.
The Hon. John
Montague, a penniless younger son, is handsome, witty, and thrilled that a
woman with a dowry has agreed to wed him. Best of all she’s a fiercely
independent bluestocking, a woman who won’t want to bother with a family.
Because John has a shocking secret. He’s vowed never to bring a child into the
world, a child who, like his own mother, might carry the strain of madness.
As secrets unfold,
tension grows, threatening the fragile bonds they’ve forged. Worse, someone wants them to abandon their
home and leave Yorkshire, and they’ll stop at nothing to make it happen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
“May I come in?”
A frisson of excitement made every nerve ending tingle in
anticipation. Did he want to consummate their marriage tonight? She looked down
at her serviceable white cotton nightgown with its high neck and long sleeves.
She’d put it on because it was heavy and warm. If she’d known John would be
joining her in her bed, she would have left her hair loose and worn the pretty
gown Miranda had given her as a wedding gift.
Oh
Lord, oh Lord.
She let out the breath she didn’t even realize she was
holding. Pulling the covers up to her chin, she called out, “Come in.”
He poked his head through the door. His coat and waistcoat
were off, and his cravat was in his hand. He looked mussed and adorable.
“I want to apologize for my behavior. I shouldn’t have run
off like I did. I was feeling . . . ill-tempered . . . and didn’t want to
subject you to my mood. I promise not to do it again.”
She peeked over the top of her covers. “You are forgiven.
But I must say I was worried about you. Where did you go?”
“I rode toward the village, turned around, and came back. I
gave my horse a good gallop and then a rub down in the stable.”
“I see.” She paused, not knowing what else to say.
He smiled. “We’ll play whist tomorrow night. I know you
enjoy the game.”
“I shall look forward to it.”
“Good night, Gwen.” He closed the door firmly, and his
footsteps echoed down the hall.
Why were her eyes filling with tears?
1)You’re
marooned on a small island with one person and one item of your choice—who is
that person and what item do you have?
That’s easy. The person would be my husband and the
object would be a small sailboat. When we first started dating, he often took
me aboard his boat (no engine), and we’d sail from the Southern California
Coast thirty-six miles to Santa Catalina Island. He knew how to navigate by
looking at the stars and had all kinds of useful knowledge, like how to rig the
tiller for hands-free sailing, so the occupants of the boat could do other
things. If the island had food, water, and a means to make a shelter, it would
become our home base. But we’d know we could leave any time and go exploring. I actually used some of this in a scene in
another of my historicals, called Shadow of the Fox. The hero helps the heroine
escape an unwanted arranged marriage and they set off by sea.
3) Take these three words and give me a 100 word or less scene using them: hammer, saucer, traffic lights.
“It’s a timing device. It works
like a miniature traffic light. Push a button when someone wants to speak and
the light is green. After two minutes, it turns yellow. One minute later it’s
red. The bloke speaking has three minutes to address the committee.”
“You
want to get us killed? These are angry people. They’ll want to give us an
earful for ten or fifteen minutes each.”
He grinned and pulled out a hammer. “It’ll
make their eyes as big as saucers when they see this gavel. They’ll keep their
complaints to three minutes. You’ll see.”
4) What is your idea of how to spend romantic time with your significant other?
I’m going to switch this question a bit to talk about the
fantasy of romance versus the reality. When my husband took an early
retirement, he convinced me to do the same. We bought a two-person cruising
boat and set off. My friends pictured a romantic vacation, lying on a deck,
cocktail in hand, letting the breeze ruffle my hair as we passed by beautiful
islands or anchored in a private cove. It was not. It was hard work, trekking
miles to a grocery store when in a port, hauling laundry to marina washing
machines, cooking in cramped quarters, and when underway—fighting the elements,
hoping you’d make your next anchorage without puking. Real romance, for us, is
tucked up together on a comfy couch, each reading our respective books,
listening to soft jazz; sitting on the bed, watching over the other when sick;
a comforting hug when one of us has had a bad day. I could go on, but you get
the idea. It’s all the little things you do for each other that says, “I love
you.”
5) When you start a new story, do you begin with a character, or a plot?
Looking back at the books I’ve written, I’d have to say I
begin with a character. For example, in my first book, A Kiss of Cabernet, my
character is a young vineyard manager who works on an estate with an absentee
owner. What does she want, what’s in her way, how will she overcome these
obstacles? What character traits should she have that will hinder or help her
along the way. In this case the hero came second and was developed in much the
same way, except I made him her opposite.
I also gave him a serious problem to solve which became part of his
motivation and one of the overall themes of the book. I’m a pantser, so the
plot is a vague outline in my head of where to begin and where to end.
Everything else is free flow.
9)
Is there a story that you’d like to tell but you think the world isn’t ready to
receive it?
Decades ago I wrote my first novel. It was the story of a gumball, sitting on the top of his world, contemplating his fate as he fell slowly through the layers of other gumballs, heading straight to the chute that would take him to oblivion. It was an allegory about dying. I thought it quite clever. An agent thought it quite clever. An editor at a big publishing house thought it quite clever. Then the marketing team took a look at it and said, “No!” They said it couldn’t be marketed. End of story. The manuscript is languishing at the bottom of my dead manuscript box. Someday, I’ll get it out.
Decades ago I wrote my first novel. It was the story of a gumball, sitting on the top of his world, contemplating his fate as he fell slowly through the layers of other gumballs, heading straight to the chute that would take him to oblivion. It was an allegory about dying. I thought it quite clever. An agent thought it quite clever. An editor at a big publishing house thought it quite clever. Then the marketing team took a look at it and said, “No!” They said it couldn’t be marketed. End of story. The manuscript is languishing at the bottom of my dead manuscript box. Someday, I’ll get it out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Author of
eight books on California history and twelve romance novels, Pamela Gibson is a
former City Manager who lives in the Nevada desert. Having spent the last three
years messing about in boats, a hobby that included a five-thousand-mile trip
in a 32-foot Nordic Tug, she now spends most of her time indoors happily
reading, writing, cooking and keeping up with the antics of her gran-cats,
gran-dog, and gran-fish. Sadly, the gran-lizard went to his final reward. If
you want to learn more about her activities go to
https://www.pamelagibsonwrites.com and sign up for her blog and quarterly
newsletter. Or follow her in these places:
Bookbub:
www.bookbub.com/profile/pamela-gibson
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pamgibsonwrites/
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/pamgibsonwrites
Website:
www.pamelagibsonwrites.com
Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/pamgibsonwrites
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Pamela-Gibson/e/B00MKVB4XE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
a Rafflecopter giveaway
