Virtual Book Tour: Irresistible by Darcy Burke

 Good morning everyone! Please welcome author Darcy Burke to Full Moon Dreaming! She is here to tell us about her new release, Irresistible. Darcy will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to one randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter during the tour. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. To find the other stops on her tour, go here. Don't forget to look for the Rafflecopter at  the end of this post!

 

Irresistible

by Darcy Burke

 

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GENRE: Historical Romance (Regency)

 

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BLURB:

 

Jessamine Goodfellow has spent six Seasons avoiding the parson’s trap, and spinsterhood is finally within her grasp. A brilliant scholar, she longs for adventure and new experiences, things her family frowns upon. Presented with the opportunity to use her puzzle-solving talent on a secret mission for the Foreign Office, Jess eagerly accepts. Even when it means posing as the wife of a scorchingly attractive Scotsman who she must also covertly investigate as a possible double agent.

 

Lord Dougal MacNair, the new Viscount Fallin, has always completed his assignments for the Foreign Office alone. Now he’s saddled with an overly enthusiastic amateur partner. She possesses a remarkable intellect, but something about her isn’t quite right, and after two failed missions, Dougal is certain someone is working against him. Battling their secret suspicions, Dougal and Jess dive deep into their cover as a married couple, which arouses temptations they find irresistible. Danger is all around them, but it’s their hearts that may be the most imperiled.

 

 

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EXCERPT:

 

 

“Have you ever given up on a cryptogram?”

 

“No.”

 

“And I imagine some of them weren’t easy.”

 

She exhaled. “No, they were not.”

 

“I assumed as much. I know you, Jess, and you’re tenacious.”

 

“We haven’t even known each other a fortnight,” she scoffed. “Not officially anyway.”

 

“What does that mean, ‘officially’?”

 

She took a generous drink of brandy. “We have met before. Four years ago. I remember it distinctly.”

 

“Four years ago?” Damn, now he felt terrible. “How can you be sure?”

 

She gave him a haughty look of certainty that quite frankly pricked his desire. “Because I am. You asked me to dance at the Edgemont Ball.”

 

He’d danced with her. Four years ago. And never again. Worse, he didn’t remember it. He was an absolute cad. “I should have remembered you. I can’t imagine why I didn’t.” he said softly.

 

Sentiment, which he preferred to indulge in small, manageable doses, threatened to send him to her chair, to take her hand and beg her forgiveness. A husband would do that. A lover. He was neither and since they were alone, there was no reason to continue the pretense. Only, he was fairly certain he was no longer pretending.

 

 

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Darcy Burke is the USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy, emotional historical and contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age 11, a happily ever after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan who loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations. Click here to Join her Reader Club.

 

A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, artist daughter, and imaginative son who will almost certainly out-write her one day (that may be tomorrow).

 

They’re a crazy cat family with two Bengal cats, a small, fame-seeking cat named after a fruit, an older rescue Maine Coon with attitude to spare, and a collection of neighbor cats who hang out on the deck and occasionally venture inside. You can find Darcy at a winery, in her comfy writing chair, or binge-watching TV with the family.

 

Her happy places are Disneyland, Labor Day weekend at the Gorge, Denmark, and anywhere in the UK—so long as her family is there too.

 

Social Links

 

Website https://www.darcyburke.com/

Reader Group Newsletter https://smarturl.it/DBReaderGroup

Facebook https://smarturl.it/DarcyBurkeFB

Darcy’s Duchesses Facebook Group https://smarturl.it/Duchesses

Instagram https://smarturl.it/IGFollowFB

Twitter https://www.twitter.com/darcyburke

BookBub https://smarturl.it/DBbookbubfb

Goodreads https://smarturl.it/grfollowfb

 

IMPOSSIBLE Buy Links

 

AMAZON https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Q2PVNM5/

APPLE https://apple.co/3nek4A9

NOOK https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/impossible-darcy-burke/1140862602?ean=2940160998404

KOBO https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/impossible-46

 

 

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INTERVIEW 7

 

Who is the last person you hugged?

My son. He delivered an amazing closing argument for a trial of Goldilocks in Forensics class in high school. He was so happy and proud, and I couldn’t be prouder.

 

What are you reading now?

In a Different Key, a book about the history of autism. My daughter is autistic. She’s an artist in her junior year of college currently working on a graphic design project of three book covers! Sadly, they are not for me!

 

How do you come up with the titles to your books?

It varies. Sometimes they come to me, other times I have to work very hard to come up with something! When I wrote the Phoenix Club, I decided on single word titles that start with the letter I. This came from a brainstorming session with someone, but I don’t remember who! Most of the titles came very easily/were obvious. I just titled a new series I’ll be writing later this year and those titles also came very quickly – we (I’m writing the series with my bestie) decided on a naming convention for branding and they just sort of fell into place.

 

Share your dream cast for your book.

I am SO bad at this! I don’t ever picture real people when I write, so the casting question always throws me off. For my upcoming release, I can totally picture Keira Knightley and Chiwetel Ejiofor who played a couple in the film Love Actually.

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Virtual Book Tour: Her Caprice

Good morning!  Please welcome author Keira Dominguez, who is here to tell us about her newest release, Her Caprice. I am really looking forward to this, as I am a real sucker for a good Regency. You can never have enough of those, right?  Keira will be awarding $15 in Boroughs Bucks to two randomly drawn winners via Rafflecopter. Look for the Rafflecopter at the end of this post. The more you enter, the more chances you have of winning! To find the other stops on Keira's tour, go here

Her Caprice

by Keira Dominguez

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GENRE: Historical Romance (Regency)

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BLURB:

A MOST PRIVATE BATTLE

Since Beatrice Thornton was 13 years old she's been living with a secret that could ruin her family forever. Her parents are the only ones who know, and now, seven years later, they are forced to put on a sham for Beatrice's late first Season. The plan, make Beatrice as mousy and ill-clothed as possible so no suitor would consider her. Then they can all escape back to their country home in Dorset to keep the terrible secret safe. But the unthinkable happens... Beatrice meets a man who gives her hope of a normal life, and Beatrice dares to love with horrible consequences.

Captain Henry Gracechurch has resigned his commission after living through the horrors and waste of war. Recently returned from Spain, he is cajoled by his formidable godmother to make an appearance at one of her famous balls. When he sees a young woman abandoned on the dance floor, honour commands him to save the day. Nothing could have prepared him for meeting the person who is a balm to his soul and gives wings to his heart. But winning Beatrice Thornton will take every ounce of courage he has, and this is a war he will win, no matter the cost.

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EXCERPT:

“Always the hero,” Fox stated, appearing from the ballroom as Henry trained his eyes down the hall where Miss Thornton had disappeared. “But it’s caddish to give a girl hopes, Harry. Particularly such a dull-looking mouse.”

Henry’s jaw set. It hadn’t been like that. Meeting Miss Thornton had been more like finding a brother-soldier, someone whose warm laughter and ready wit had plucked him out of the madness of Spain and put his feet down on the soil of England. For a few brief minutes, she’d made him feel that he was not wholly alien here.

In the face of that, the fashion of her dress was totally irrelevant.

Henry followed Fox into the ballroom again and they watched the dancers until Henry put the back of his hand to his mouth, yawning. When Miss Thornton left, all his energy had seemed to go with her, and the weariness that was a massive wave he’d been outrunning since Spain was finally going to break.

“You should be in bed,” Fox noted, stifling his own yawn. He raised his voice over the violins and noise of the party. “Speaking of which…. Where—?”

The music came to an uneven halt and the long lines of dancers froze like grappling statues. “Dear guests—” A voice rang out from a tiny woman at the dais. Lady Sherbourne. “I had hoped for an exciting party, but did not dare pray for something so memorable. London has brought out one of its finest fogs for us.”

Talk rumbled through the room.

“That’s torn it,” muttered a man to Henry’s right. “Can’t leave now. I’m for the library sofa. Every man for himself.”

Gentlemen closest to the garden doors swung them wide, displaying a thick wall of fog that rolled through the crowd like a malevolent guest, arriving late and sending dangerous greetings left and right.

Henry’s heart skittered to a stop. How long had it been since Miss Thornton left? A quarter of an hour? More? The answer made him sick. It was too late to chase after them.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Keira Dominguez graduated from BYU with a B.A. in Humanities and lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and five children.

For the last decade, she has co-authored The Uncrushable Jersey Dress, a blog and Facebook page dedicated to mid-century author, Betty Neels. Cultivating this corner of fandom confirmed the suspicion that people who like sweet romances are as smart, funny, and are as interesting as readers of any other genre.

When Keira is not busy avoiding volunteerism at her kids’ schools like it is the literal plague, she enjoys scoring a deal at Goodwill, repainting her rooms an unnecessary amount of times, and being seized by sudden enthusiasms.

Take Tea with Keira -

website: keiradominguez.com

facebook: facebook.com/keiradominguez8/

twitter: @keira_dominguez

instagram: keiradominguezwrites

BUY LINKS:

http://www.boroughspublishinggroup.com/books/her-caprice

https://linkmaker.itunes.apple.com/en-us/details/1451254386?country=us&mediaType=books&term=her%20caprice&type=book

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N9B81QR

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130437723?ean=2940155962496

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/her-caprice

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/920856

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Bloggers Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes

Wow, for many of you, these names need no introduction. Certainly not for me. Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes are THE grand couple of Days of Our Lives. I'm very honored to have them as my guests today on my blog. They've embarked upon a new venture - writing. And today they're going to tell us all about their first novel, Trumpet. Please welcome them if you will, while I make some tea.

Good morning, Susan and Bill . It’s so great to have you here! 

(1)   Could you start by telling us some background information on the hero and heroine from your latest release?  TRUMPET is our debut historical novel. We are lifelong professional performers and the characters are—you guessed it—actors! Actors of the British stage in 1803, the Regency.  Lizzie Trumpet is the innocent daughter of a popular performer, longing to follow in his footsteps.  Jack Faversham, her love and nemesis, is hardly a hero, rising out of the London slums to fame and misfortune. The story is epic, embracing two decades of eventful history. Lizzie crosses paths with the glittering personalities of the age, including the real-life Giovanni Belzoni, whose Egyptian adventures she shares.  

(2)   What three features do you think are important for her to possess?  Lizzie has grace and talent, but her ability to overcome tragedy and recreate herself is paramount. Thirdly? She has a strong sense of humor, that quality that makes life bearable and a friend unforgettable.    

(3)   Do you base your characters on people you know in real life?  Of course. We’ve known some pretty colorful types amongst show folk. Their traits and foibles pepper the book. The creative life hasn’t changed much over the centuries. To be famous, to be a failure. The world has always been fascinated with celebrity. We found a hundred parallels to modern times in the age of Napoleon, when the world was constantly at war, and the future so uncertain.

(4)   Do your friends and family read your work?  They may see themselves flitting through these chapters. We love our very big family, and Lizzie loves hers as well. For their sake she steps into a dangerous life and bears it all to keep them going. Sounds pretty contemporary, doesn’t it?

(5)   Do you have a critique partner, or belong to a writing group?  Hayes and Hayes are thirty-seven years married, and have been acting together on DAYS OF OUR LIVES for over forty years. We are truly partners, not to say famous for it.  Our only writing group is our collection of editors. God bless ’em.

(6)   What is the best part of writing in your genre?  Seeing it in print. We enjoy  historical fiction, and TRUMPET is just that, with a romantic glow about itself.  After gobbling a thousand books it feels glorious to see our own in a reader’s hands.

(7)   Do you watch or play sports?  We are fascinated with basketball. Bill had a childhood filled with baseball, as most American boys do. 

(8)   What has been your best ever vacation?  Our honeymoon in Italy. And...the trip to Italy with our children and grown grandchildren last year, and…all the dozen trips to Italy in between.

(9)   What are your hobbies? Opera.  Watercoloring. Tap-dancing. Bill is currently doing interviews for a documentary film on his career, and we both are still hard at it on DAYS OF OUR LIVES.  Keeping the house, garden and a family of four children, twelve grandchildren and eighteen great- grandchildren leaves precious few hours to indulge in scrapbooking, roses, barbershop harmony and singing in the church choir…but we try!

(10)           Do you have any pets?  An imaginary dog named Scraps, who is very clean and barks excitedly when we come home. 

Thanks so much for allowing me to interview you today! It’s been fun! Say hello to Scraps for me!

Excerpt:

     “Elizabeth, you must perform. I will teach you a style of acting that is revolutionary. You have seen my work. You understand the art I worship.”

     She took a step closer. “Since I was a child, watching my father on stage, I longed to be there with him.” Jack watched Lizzie struggle to go on. “You have just described the dream of my life. There is nothing I want more, but…Mr. Faversham—Jack…I am not free.”

     He reached for her hands and pulled her down beside him on the stump. “Explain why you are not free.”

     In a long and tearful soliloquy, Lizzie told her story of the past year. She was too candid for propriety and too wrought-up by his presence to withhold anything. In this soulful state, she was so beautiful and vulnerable that Jack had to fight to keep his hands off her.

     “You need, as in a play, an ailing uncle to leave you a great inheritance,” Jack suggested with sympathy.

     “Indeed, I have just been offered ‘protection’ by a gentleman.”

     “It must be Dampere, the creature! I guessed as much! That’s why I broke in upon your privacy in such haste. Listen to me, Elizabeth. I promise you a weekly income, not of shillings, but of pounds. From the sound of it, your first concern is caring decently for your family. Join me and you will be able to provide for your father and aunt and whoever else you are carrying on your lovely back.”

     The emotional girl looked at him as though he were a god.

     Jack turned on his serpent-of-Eden charm. “Why take up with that toad Dampere? Come with me and live your passion while you keep your reputation. I can turn you into a real princess, Pocahontas—a princess of the stage.”

     That did it. Dazzled, Lizzie said something irrational that meant yes: “The honor…do all I can…prove your faith.” It was the grateful garble of a person saved.

     Satisfied to have gotten his way, Jack sealed the bargain by taking her head in his hands and kissing her full on the mouth. “Gad, we’ll be good; I know it.” He bowed and strode to his hired horse. “I have urgent business in the city. Be glad, Elizabeth. I certainly am.”

     He leaped into the saddle and cantered away. Actually, he was off to a backstage intrigue at Covent Garden. Waiting in his dressing room, another would-be actress, of no performing ability whatsoever, was ready to audition what talent she did have on the chaise lounge.

     Lizzie watched Faversham until she could see him no more. A freshening breeze lifted the leaves of the oak tree. She touched her tingling lips and thanked God for escaping a sordid life. He is my savior. Now I won’t have to do as Octavia does.

Blurb for Trumpet 

Brilliant and sassy Elizabeth Trumpet fantasizes starring on the London stage, but to become an actress in 1803 is tantamount to losing her virginity in the most debasing way.

After watching her mother die and her father lose his mind, the courageous sixteen-year-old must find a way to save her family. She scores her first acting job as a fencer - the deadly skill she learned from her brother training for the military. Blessed with talent and a rare singing voice, Lizzie pursues her career, learning from theatrical characters high and low.

When reckless actor Jonathan Faversham sets eyes on Miss Trumpet, he knows he's found the partner of his life. But Faversham carries ruinous baggage from a dark past. Entangled in lust and ambition, Lizzie gives him her heart and they reach the heights together. Until Lizzie gets more applause than he does...

From the magnificence of Regency palaces and the Theatre Royal Covent Garden to the sun-baked pyramids of Egypt and the arms of a real-life Samson, Lizzie is never far from trouble. As her brother rides to glory with Wellington in the Napoleonic Wars, great events threaten her survival. Danger lurks behind stage curtains, when a madman sets fire to take her life and she lifts a sword in revenge.

Will this once innocent girl, with her rise to stardom, be remembered for her art? Or for her shame?

        Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes

Bill and Susan, it's been a privilege to be able to host you here today. I wish you every success with  your novel, and with future books.

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie