Title: A Baron in her Bed
Author: Maggi Andersen
Publisher: Knox Robinson Publishing
Length: 302 pages
Subgenres: Historical,
Suspense, Romance
BLURB:
Horatia’s plan to
join the London literary set takes a dangerous turn. Now that the war with France
has ended, Baron Guy Fortescue arrives in England to claim his inheritance.
When Guy is set upon in London, a stranger, Lord Strathairn, rescues and
befriends him. But while traveling to his country estate, Guy is again
attacked. Guy suspects his relative, Eustace Fennimore, is behind the attacks
on his life. Horatia refuses to believe her godfather, Eustace, is responsible.
Secure in the knowledge that his daughter will finally wed, Horatia’s father
allows her to visit her blue-stocking aunt in London. But Horatia’s time spent
in London proves to be anything but a literary feast, for a dangerous foe plots
Guy’s demise. She is determined to keep alive her handsome fiancé, who has
proven more than willing to play the part of her lover even as he resists her
attempts to save him.
~ * ~
EXCERPT:
She patted The General’s nose and fed him an apple. By the time
the last of it had disappeared, she heard the clip of a horse’s hooves on the
gravel drive. She peeped out of the barn door and saw the baron, tall in the
saddle, riding towards the house.
Horatia stepped out and beckoned him. He caught sight of her and
rode towards the stables then dismounted and led the horse inside.
“Sorry, my lord,” Horatia said, adopting Simon’s gruff voice. “We
have no footman here. No under-groom neither. I’ll stable your horse.”
“Simon, good fellow,” he said warmly. “I came to thank you again.
I am indebted to you.”
“No need for that, my lord,” she said. “Everything’s right and
tight here as it happens.” She turned her back to lead his horse into one of
the stalls. Seizing a brush, she bent and swept it over the horse’s flanks.
He came to rest an arm on the stall door. “I am relieved. If you
had lost your job, I was going to ask you to work for me.”
She straightened to brush the horse’s back, confident of the poor
light. “Mighty good of you, my lord. But not at all necessary.”
“Eh bien,
merci encore.” He turned towards the door.
Relieved it had gone so well, Horatia stepped out from behind the
horse. She looked up to see if he had gone and found him watching her with his
arms folded.
The elation left her, and she took a deep, shaky breath.
“Did you really think you could go on fooling me?” A note of
outrage lay beneath the humorous tone in his voice. “How many people around
here have red hair like yours?”
“My hair’s not red,” she said, incensed. “It’s chestnut.”
“I wondered how far you would carry this ruse, Miss Cavendish.”
She backed into an empty stall as he strode towards her.
He followed her inside. Reaching over, he whipped off her hat, and
her hair came loose and tumbled around her face. “So, what do you have to say in your
defense?”
“Nothing, my lord.” Horatia lifted her chin, her heart pounding
loud in her ears. She chewed her lip. She would have to brazen this out.
Annoyed blue eyes stared into hers. “I do not like to be toyed
with. I thought there was something wrong with me.”
“Pardon?”
“Watching you bend over in those breeches. Zut! From the first, I felt a strong attraction to you. And then,
when I saw you dressed as a woman, I understood.”
“You knew it was me at the dance?” She scowled. “And you
deliberately teased me?”
“Don’t you think you deserved it?” He seized her shoulders and
gave them a shake. “You tricked me. Why?”
She swallowed. “No trickery, my lord. I was dressed this way when
I found you, if you recall. I needed to keep up the pretense.”
He shrugged. “But why do you dress like that?”
She couldn’t explain her restlessness to him and tossed her head.
“I prefer to ride astride.”
He raised a brow. “You like a strong beast moving beneath you?”
She bristled at the insult. “I like to ride alone.” He made it
sound as if she gained some sort of indecent enjoyment from the exercise. Her
face heated. To ride astride was unfeminine, she knew, but that fact had never
bothered her before.
“But to do so places you in peril.”
Horatia drew herself up. “I can handle myself as well as a man.”
“You believe that, do you?” His gaze flicked over her. What was he
thinking? She quivered under his scrutiny.
BUY LINKS:
Barnes and
Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-baron-in-her-bed-maggi-andersen/1112790397?ean=9781908483348&r=1%2c+1&cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-GwEz7vxblVU-_-10%3a1&
EM: Welcome to My World, Maggi. It's lovely to have you here today. :-)
MA: It’s lovely to be here, thank you for inviting me.
Firstly, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m a multipublished,
Amazon bestselling author of historical romance, romantic suspense and young
adult novels. I live in Australia with my husband, a lawyer and our cat, Affie
who rules us.
How long have you been writing for?
Most of my life, but
I only decided to write for publication ten years ago.
Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer?
Yes, always, although
life got in the way. I married and raised three children then studied for two
degrees before I began to consider a career in writing.
What is your favourite genre to read? To write? And why?
I love to read and
write romantic suspense and mysteries, both historical and contemporary.
Who is your favourite author? Fave book? And why?
Eloisa James is a
favourite. I loved her Duchess series, because of the quirky characters and the
humor. I’m a Georgette Heyer fan too.
How do you get your ideas?
Sometimes ideas come from
dreams. Sometimes I have to do a lot of brainstorming. I can get ideas from old
black and white movies at times too.
In your opinion what is the hardest part of the writing
process?
Rewriting. They say
writing is 5 % writing 95% rewriting. I agree, it’s the rewriting which is so
crucial to the success of a novel.
In your opinion what is the best part of the writing
process?
When, with very
little effort on my part, the dialogue between my main characters flows as if
by magic, with strong sexual tension and spine tingling romance.
Are you a planner or a panster?
I’m a bit of both
these days. I dislike ending up with a first draft which is as shapeless as the
jumper Holly Golightly was knitting in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It takes a lot
of work to change it and I have written myself into a corner more than once in
the past. Now I shape it scene by scene, but I don’t work from a synopsis, and
the story can change and go off on tangents I didn’t foresee.
Do you prefer to concentrate on one story, or juggle a
few?
When I first started
to write, I’d tackle three at once in different genres! Now I stick to one and
try to make it the best I can.
Tell us about one of the most favourable scenes you have
written.
In A Baron in Her
Bed, Horatia Cavendish must maintain her disguise as a male groom during a
night spent in a hut in the forest with the Baron. Very difficult when she must
share a bed with him!
Out of all the characters you have created, who is your
favourite and why?
I’m fond of all my
characters, even the villains. Guy, Baron Fortescue is quite delicious in my
opinion. He’s gorgeous, but not perfect. He doesn’t easily forgive those who fail
to take him on trust. He’s an alpha male who expects his word to be law. Until
Horatia teaches him otherwise. His imperfections make him all the more
attractive in my view. Horatia isn’t perfect either; she’s reckless and
impulsive, but also brave and loyal.
If you could meet any fictional character, who would you
meet and why?
Mm. I’d have to say, Guy
Tuesdale, Baron Fortescue. Tall dark, blue-eyed and half-French? Definitely!
But in a book by another writer it would be Hawker in The Black Hawk by Joanna
Bourne. He’s a great character, complex, rather dark, brave and passionate. And
the fascinating, brooding Brisbane in the Lady Julia Grey Series by Deanna
Raybourn.
Are you working on anything at the moment?
Taming the Gentleman
Spy is the next in the series. It is released in September by Knox Robinson
Publishing. It features spy, John Haldane, Earl of Strathairn and Lady Sibella
Winborne.
Do you have any current releases?
A Baron in Her Bed – The
Spies of Mayfair, Book One
With Murderous Intent
(Contemporary Romantic Suspense) just released by Black Opal Books.
The Folly at
Falconbridge Hall (a Victorian romantic suspense) is released on 8th
May 2013.
Blurb:
London, 1816. A handsome baron. A faux betrothal. And Horatia’s plan to
join the London literary set takes a dangerous turn.
Now that the war with France has ended, Baron Guy
Fortescue arrives in England to claim his inheritance, abandoned over thirty
years ago when his father fled to France after killing a man in a duel. When
Guy is set upon by footpads in London, a stranger, Lord Strathairn, rescues and
befriends him. But while travelling to his country estate, Guy is again
attacked. He escapes only to knock himself out on a tree branch.
Aspiring poet
Horatia Cavendish has taken to riding her father’s stallion, “The General”,
around the countryside of Digswell dressed as a groom. She has become bored of
her country life and longs to escape to London to pursue her desire to become
part of the London literary set. When she discovers Guy lying unconscious on
the road, the two are forced to take shelter for the night in a hunting lodge.
After Guy discovers her ruse, a friendship develops between them.
Guy suspects his relative, Eustace Fennimore is behind
the attacks on his life. He has been ensconced in Rosecroft Hall during the family’s
exile and will become the heir should Guy die. Horatia refuses to believe her
godfather, Eustace, is responsible. But when Guy proposes a faux betrothal to
give him more time to discover the truth, she agrees. Secure in the knowledge
that his daughter will finally wed, Horatia’s father allows her to visit her
blue-stocking aunt in London.
But Horatia’s time spent in London proves to be anything
but a literary feast, for a dangerous foe plots Guy’s demise. She is determined
to keep alive her handsome fiancé, who has proven more than willing to play the part of her lover
even as he resists her attempts to save him.
Buy
Links:
My
Website: http://www.maggiandersenauthor.com
Publisher: http://www.knoxrobinsonpublishing.com
BARNES
& NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-baron-in-her-bed-maggi-andersen/1112790397?ean=9781908483348
Any advice you would like to give aspiring writers?
Firstly, don’t give
up; it’s writers who persist whose dreams come true. Take every opportunity to
learn your craft. Don’t be in a rush to send the work off. Leave it for as long
as you can, then read it again. You’ll be surprised at the mistakes you find.
Be careful who you show your work to before it’s finished, some won’t read in
the genre, won’t understand it and may damage your already fragile writer’s
ego. Find a critique group which will foster your talent, rather than one where
the criticism is destructive! Take the nuggets of good criticism you get and
consider it. Read heaps of books in your genre to understand how the best
writers do it. Aim high, and the very best of luck!
EM: Thank you so
much for joining me!
MA: It was my pleasure! Thank you for inviting me!
Maggi Andersen
~ * ~
About the
Author:
I
am an Australian author with a BA in English and an MA in Creative Writing. My
lawyer husband and I live in a pretty, historical town in the Southern
Highlands with our spoiled Persian cat, plus the assorted wildlife we feed:
chickens wander in from next door and give us lovely eggs, ducks swim in our
pool, parrots and possums line up for bananas and seed. I write historical
romance, contemporary romantic suspense and young adult novels.
Social Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/maggiandersen
Website: http://www.maggiandersenauthor.com
~ * ~
Rafflecopter
Code for Tour Wide Giveaway:
Giveaway is
a $20 Amazon card plus the winners choice of 2 of her books!!
~ * ~
Tour Stops:
March
22nd: Review My Reading Obsession: http://4myreadingobsession.blogspot.com/
I'm sorry I missed thanking you for featuring me on your lovely blog, Elizabeth. Not sure how that happened, but many thanks!
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