A Guest Post and #Giveaway from Amanda Forrester

Hey guys! We’ve got a guest post (and a #giveaway) from Amanda Forester in which Ms. Forester shares her favorite scene to write from her new release If the Earl Only Knew, the first book in her new The Daring Marriages series. The novel follows Lady Kate Darrington and her brother Robert, the Early of Darington who have spent much of the lives restoring their family fortune through privateering. They finally return to London to find Robert a wife. Kate doesn’t want to get married, but when Robert is kidnapped she is forced to turn to Robert’s closest friend, and the only man she’s ever kissed, John Standon, the Earl of Wynbrook for help. From there the story follows John and Kate as they try to rescue Robert.

The second story, My Lord Darington, will follow Robert as he tries to find his own happily ever after.

The giveaway is for three lucky US winner each of whom will win a print copy of the book. Make a comment below to be entered in this drawing

Amanda: I had a great time writing the interaction between Lady Kate and Wynbrook because they are such opposites.  There is attraction there, but both are fighting it with a vengeance. I love this scene between Wynbrook and Kate early in the book because it shows both of their personalities and the manner in which they both keep each other unbalanced.

“Nooooooo, no, no.” The Earl of Wynbrook shook his head. He could not be seen riding through Town in such a contraption. It was unthinkable.

Lady Kate raised an eyebrow. “It is hardly as bad as that,” she said, surveying the broken-down carriage and the poor beast that was pulling it.

“You are right. It’s worse than that. But I must refrain from saying what I truly think because I am in the presence of a lady.”

“Don’t let that stop you.” She was glaring at him now. Somehow it did nothing to diminish the attrac­tion of her silver eyes.

“I do not suppose I could convince you to abandon this…this conveyance and take some other mode of transportation. A hack? A hobbyhorse? A wheelbar­row?” A man could hope.

“Good day, Lord Wynbrook.” Though her face registered no emotion, her eyes snapped with annoyance. Kate placed her books, papers, and ledgers on the front seat and climbed adroitly into the open carriage.

“Hold there. I have agreed to squire you about Town and so I shall.” Wynbrook hoisted himself up beside her on the front carriage seat and attempted to take the reins from her hands, but she held fast.

“Lord Wynbrook, there is no need to accompany me. I know you do not want to be here, and I assure you where I am going you do not wish to go. I will wish you a good day.”

“I promised your brother I would assist you and so I fear you must resign yourself to my presence.” The more she tried to get rid of him, the more determined he was to stay.

She turned her steely eyes to him, her glare as sharp as a knife. “I believe in speaking plainly. I know how much you dislike my family. I confess I overheard you speaking quite candidly to your brother regarding your feelings about us the last time we were in London.”

It took Wynbrook a moment to think back five years to the last time they met. In a flash, he remembered making some disparaging comments to his brother at the thought of Lady Kate and her brother joining them for the holidays. Tristan had been right to call him an arrogant arse. There had been a time when he thought himself entitled and invincible. How quickly things had changed.

Of course, that had not been the last interaction he had shared with Lady Kate before she disappeared from society. Was she going to list their other encounter as more evidence of his crimes against her? Surely his interaction with her in the study was far more egregious behavior, if she was in the mood to list his crimes against her. His eyes lingered on her full lips. He would never forget their taste.

He waited for her to continue and was met with a glare for his trouble. Were they supposed to pretend their rendezvous that night five years ago never hap­pened? More stony silence.

Apparently so.

Wynbrook took a deep breath of the cold, damp December air. He disliked apologizing, mostly because he hated the thought that his conduct was less than honorable, but in this case, an expression of regret to Lady Katherine was owed. “Please allow me to apologize for my conduct when I was young and dunderheaded. I most humbly ask your forgiveness for that day and anything else that I may have done or said that might have given you offense.” There, that was a blanket apology for all his misdeeds, spoken and unspoken.

“If I offer absolution, will you leave me alone?” she grumbled.

“I fear nothing can release you from the obvious displeasure of having me drive you to your errand and then safely back home. I will, however, promise never to burden you with my presence in the future.”

“As you wish.” She sighed, accepting defeat by handing over the reins. “Remember, I warned you.”

With that grim rejoinder, they were off. “C’mon there,” coaxed Wynbrook, trying to increase the speed of the old, gray horse to something of a relaxed amble.

“Pickles,” said Kate.

Wynbrook turned to Kate in confusion.

“The horse’s name is Pickles,” she clarified.

Of course it was. “C’mon there…Pickles.” If he was to be humiliated, it might as well be done in grand style.

Kate stared straight ahead, clinging to her books like a shield, her back as straight as a sword. If she noticed the looks of shock and surprise from the pass­ing carriages, she gave no indication. She contin­ued to provide him directions, leading not toward a modiste but toward the poorer part of Town. Where could she be going?

They rolled down the London streets, the dense coal-smoke-infused haze swirling around them. They turned down Farrigdon Street and they pulled up outside of a tall stone wall. Barred windows were built into the wall from which people called out, piteously begging for alms.

It was Fleet Debtors’ Prison. Wynbrook stared at her. What business could the daughter of an earl possibly have at a prison?

She shook her head at him. “I did warn you.”

Title: If the Earl Only Knew

Series: The Daring Marriages, #1

Author: Amanda Forester 

The chase is on in award-winning author Amanda Forester’s brand-new Regency romance series!

 

A sizzling scandal just waiting to happen…

 

Orphaned at a young age, Lady Katherine Ashton and her brother have spent most of their lives on the high seas, seeking to restore their family fortune through somewhat dubious means. After that kind of adventure, Kate knows she won’t ever be accepted as a proper society lady.

 

To the annoyingly clever, temptingly handsome, and altogether troublesome Earl of Wynbrook, society ladies are a dead bore. Kate, on the other hand, is scandalous, alluring, and altogether fascinating. And Kate can’t decide which she relishes more, the thrill of chasing fearsome pirates, or having Wynbrook chase after her…

Amanda Forester holds a PhD in psychology and worked many years in academia before discovering that writing historical romance was way more fun. A Publishers Weekly Top Ten author, her books have been given starred reviews from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and a Top Pick from RT Book Reviews. Whether in the rugged Highlands of medieval Scotland or the decadent ballrooms of Regency England, her novels offer fast-paced adventures filled with wit, intrigue, and romance. You can visit her at www.amandaforester.com. 

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