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May 23, 2013
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Sweet Salt Air: Exclusive Excerpt
Barbara Delinsky
Showing posts by: Manda Collins click to see Manda Collins's profile
Mon
Jan 14 2013 2:30pm
Excerpt
Manda Collins

How to Entice an Earl by Manda CollinsLady Madeline Essex is the last of the unwed “ducklings” in her family-and by far the most outspoken. But when she boldly enters London's most notorious gaming house in search of fodder for her novel, even her sharp tongue can't save her from the horrible crime she stumbles upon there. As luck would have it, first on the scene is the last man she wants to see her vulnerable. The one man who could tempt her heart . . . Christian Monteith, the new Earl of Gresham, isn't much for card rooms and gaming halls. But as a favor to his former commanding officer, he's investigating a gamester for espionage on the night that Maddie ventures in, looking more enticing than he's ever seen her. Suddenly, his feelings for his friend aren't so friendly anymore. And when her curiosity brings the impetuous novelist to the attention of a madman, Christian will stop at nothing to protect her-from a sinister plot that is far more dangerous than any stolen kiss.

Get a sneak peek at Manda Collin's's How to Entice an Earl (available January 29, 2013) with a special excerpt of Chapters 1-2.

Chapter 1

What about Lord Fortenbury?” Cecily, Duchess of Winterson, asked her cousin Lady Madeline Essex, her voice low so that the other attendees of the Wexford Ball wouldn’t hear them.

As on so many previous occasions, Cecily, Maddie, and their cousin Juliet, now Lady Deveril, looked out at the dancers at a ton gathering without taking to the floor themselves. But this time it was from choice rather than a lack of partners—at least for the two mar­ried cousins. Both Cecily and Juliet had just released their husbands to find their way to the card room so that they could chat with Maddie, who had thus far been unable to remove herself from the ranks of the wallflowers.

[Log in or register to read the full excerpt of How to Entice an Earl...]

Thu
Jul 5 2012 5:30pm
Excerpt
Manda Collins

How To Romance a Rake by Manda Collins

You can lead a wallflower to the ball, but you can’t make her bloom—unless one daring young bachelor turns up the heat…

What’s a nice girl like Miss Juliet Shelby doing at a place like Lord Deveril’s ballroom? With her shy demeanor, she’s a total stranger to the dance floor and a source of mockery for the ton. So imagine her surprise when Deveril gallantly comes to her defense—and offers to teach her to dance! Juliet can hardly believe the most handsome bachelor in London would notice her, until he takes her in his arms and sets her heart ablaze…

Lord Alec Deveril has never felt such a spark of attraction for an unmarried lady before. Unlike the “fashionable” ladies he’s accustomed to, Juliet possesses a generous spirit, a fiery intelligence—and an explosive secret. Deep in the London underworld, a dear friend has vanished, and Juliet fears the worst. Deveril insists on helping, escorting her through the darkest alleys in town. But he too is hiding a shocking secret—and the only way he can defeat the devil in his past is to seduce the angel in his arms…

Get a sneak peek of How to Romance a Rake by Manda Collins (available July 31, 2012) with an excerpt of Chapters 1-2.

Chapter 1

From his close-cropped golden curls to his gleaming dancing shoes, Lord Deveril was a man envied by men and adored by women.

And he was bloody tired of it.

[Sign in or register to read an excerpt of How to Romance a Rake…]

Mon
Jan 23 2012 6:00pm
Excerpt
Manda Collins

How to Dance with a Duke by Manda Collins

What’s a wallflower to do when she’s suddenly in need of a husband? Use all the pluck and moxie she can muster to get what she wants…

Miss Cecily Hurston would much rather explore the antiquities of Egypt than the uncharted territory of marriage. But the rules of her father’s exclusive academic society forbid her entrance unless she weds one of its members. To clear her ailing father’s name of a scandalous rumor, Cecily needs to gain admission into the Egyptian Club—and is willing to marry any old dullard to do it.

Lucas Dalton, Duke of Winterson, is anything but dull. He’s a dashing and decorated war hero determined to help Cecily—even if that means looking the other way when she claims the dance card of Amelia Snow, this season’s most sought-after beauty. But Lucas has a reason for wanting Cecily to join the Egyptian Club: His brother went missing during one of Lord Hurston’s expeditions to Egypt. An alliance with the explorer’s bluestocking daughter could bring Lucas closer to the truth about what happened…or it could lead him to a more dangerous love than either he or Cecily could have imagined….

Get a sneak peek of How to Dance with a Duke by Manda Collins (available January 31, 2012) with an excerpt of Chapters 1-2.

(And be sure to enter for a chance to win a copy of the book!)

Chapter 1

Miss Cecily Hurston battered her ivory-tipped parasol against the hulking footman who none too gently thrust her through the doors of Number 13 Bruton Street.

[Sign in or register to read an excerpt of How to Dance with a Duke…]

Mon
Aug 8 2011 3:00pm

High Noon by Nora RobertsOnce upon a time in Romancelandia, before there were Bridgertons, before there were Bullet Catchers, before Virgin River was a gleam in Robyn Carr’s eye, there lived upon this Earth a type of romance novel rarely seen these days.

Yes, friends, I speak of that rarest of literary unicorns, the standalone romance novel.

I’m not sure when standalones went out of fashion. I suspect it had something to do with the three-book deal in New York publishing. And with the need for authors to build reader demand. After all, it’s much easier to increase anticipation for an upcoming release when the reader already knows the characters you’re going to write about. And if you can build up that demand over the course of many books, as Jo Beverley did with Rothgar or Mary Balogh did with Wulfric, readers will practically weep with wanting that last book of the series.

[So what should I read in the meantime?...]

Wed
Jul 27 2011 1:18pm

They got Romance in my Suspense! Or is it Suspense in my Romance? 

With one foot in romance and the other in suspense, romantic suspense is a strange beast.  And for the reader who knows how much romance they want in their suspense, and conversely how much suspense they want in their romance, it can be difficult to tell from the label on the spine what to expect from a new author. If only there were an FDA label on the back listing the percentages of romance and suspense in each book. 

Since it doesn’t look like the FDA will start checking the percentages any time soon, we readers are forced to rely on each other to learn which books to try and which to avoid. To that end, I’ve performed my own Goldilocks routine and found three bears romantic suspense authors whose titles are “just right” at 50% romance / 50% suspense.

For the full article on three authors who’ve found the perfect mix of romantic suspense, visit our sister crime fiction and mystery blog, CriminalElement.com.

Fri
Jun 24 2011 10:30am

Woman listening to music by LaertesCTB via FlickrSongs that tell stories appeal to me, both as a reader and writer of romance fiction. Tropes that populate the romance genre can also be found lurking within the lyrics of popular story songs. Here are a few depicting our favorite heroes:

1. The Reformed Rake

I’ve got a couple of favorite musical depictions of the reformed rake. But the one I come back to again and again is classic ’80s southern rock band 38 Special’s “Caught Up in You.”

Our hero, the speaker in the song, begins his song by expressing his disbelief that he is the one begging his woman not to let their love “slip away.” After all, he’s a rake. We know this because he tells us so—“Don’t you know the kind of man I am?”

[We do now!...]