Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Dear Mrs. Connolly,

As always, I look forward to your Georgian historicals. In the past, I’ve found them entertaining, informative, moving. When Samhain offered us their new releases, I eagerly snapped this one up. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work for me as well as most of your past historical books.

Has your hero Nick Seyton not heard the old phrase “Don’t shit where you eat?” If not, then he certainly knows the general reason why someone coined it by the time this book is over. I can understand that he was devastated when the woman he loves elopes with another man on the eve of their wedding. But…I mean, who has a sexual affair with one’s own cousin’s wife? And this is while he’s busy boinking half the female population of England by the sounds of it. Mention is made of one poxed old man and I can’t help but wonder if Nick’s insides are a roiling brew of bacteria that can cause the nastiest of infections.

Okay, so now after the death of Isobel’s husband, Nick has a chance to regain the love of his life. Go Nick and ‘cheers mate’ that he …

Dear Mrs Connolly,

I know we at DA (okay, me in particular) have harshed on some of your latest paranormal books but with “Met by Chance” I can happily say you’re cooking with gas again. After finishing this, I need to go back and try the first two books in this “Triple Countess” trilogy from Samhain.

You have this gift for being able to give modern readers a real feel for the Georgian period and life among the upper classes. In public it’s all show and aristocrats were trained for this from birth. There is one’s public ’show’ face and the private self only revealed to a select few. Charles Dalton, Marquis of Petherbridge, is a master at hiding himself in plain sight. He seems more of a throwback to Richard, Lord Strang. Here’s a man who makes an entrance.

A stir at the other end of the room made her look up. People moved aside, silks and brocades swirling in a kaleidoscope of movement. “Now that,” came her mother’s low voice, “is what I call an entrance.” Rarely had Perdita seen anything so fabulous. A rara avis, a man …

Dear Mrs Connolly,

I love your Georgian historical series featuring Richard and Rose. Your Regency novel didn’t work as well for me so when you wrote offering a chance to read a paranormal, and one including American characters, I was intrigued and curious as to what I’d think of it. Well, some parts are okay while others are annoying.

Dev Wyvern is Welsh, tall, dark and sexy as sin. He’s also a shapeshifter. When he walks into Alix Lancaster’s jewelry shop she knows her brother, Clay, is setting a trap for him. Clay is a member of the PHR, sworn enemies of all Talents. So does Alix betray her brother by warning Dev, or let him walk into a lethal snare?
Dev is drawn to Alix like few other women. But can he trust her? Sent by the enigmatic Cristos, the boss of Department 57, to expose a PHR cell, he finds love and danger waiting for him. He takes both of them on, and has to make a choice; will she forgive him if he destroys the brother of the woman he loves?
Will they get out alive?

When I started reading “Jewel of the Dragon” …

This was originally posted last August. The book, however, was not in print anywhere as the author had moved publishers. I received notice that this is now available from Mundania Press in both print and ebook form. This is a favorite series of Jayne and mine and one of our first introductions to epublishing. Who knew it could be so good?
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Dear Mrs. Connolly,

I had often heard you mention your books at the yahoo Regency chat site but when I first decided to try them, there were very few reviews out there. So I pretty much had to take a big ($17.00) gamble on this one as at the time I wasn’t reading ebooks. I’m glad to say it paid off nicely. Though it’s listed as an out of niche romance/mystery, the mystery actually takes second place to the romance. I’m glad to hear that the whole series, as well as two new books, will be available again in ebook and print form from Mundania Press.

What we get is a period (Georgian) detailed look …

I asked two Triskelion authors, one a former author, and one a current author, about the changes at Triskelion. Theresa Meyers, President of Blue Moon Communications, and author of The Spellbound Bride, related this tale:
My book was contracted to come out in print with Triskelion and would have been in bookstores in less than two weeks. There were multiple signings scheduled with Borders and Barnes & Noble, ads placed, I had gotten media coverage, high reviews from multiple sources and had spent a considerable amount in printing ARCs and excerpt booklets for massive mailings out to booksellers and bookclubs nationally. It was the bookstore who was to have my first signing that called me to tell me they couldn’t order my books for the signing and that I might want to contact my publisher. I did and that is when we all found out via email that the company had decided to restructure.

While I understand that Triskelion, like any business, needs to protect its bottom line and that a healthy Triskelion will ultimately be better for ebook authors all around, I am disappointed that in my case the book didn’t make it to the shelves …

Dear Mrs. Connolly,

Even if I have to wait for the next two new books about Richard and Rose, I’m so glad that Mundania will be releasing the entire series to some new fans. “Harley Street” takes up where the third novel in the Richard and Rose series, “Venice,” left off. The series follows the courtship, marriage, honeymoon and now first months of married life back in London of Richard Kerre, Lord Strang, heir to the Earldom of Southwood and Rose Golightly, a young woman of no great distinction from Devonshire, England.

In book one, “Yorkshire,” the two met and fell instantly in love much to the distress of their families. Richard was a well known rake and philanderer while Rose was a provincial nobody. Add to that fact that Richard was betrothed and Rose had a young curate who fancied her as a step up in their society and you can see why neither family was pleased. But the couple persevered and we watched the lead up to their marriage in “Devonshire” and their honeymoon in “Venice.”

All along, they’ve had to deal with a society who thinks Richard will soon begin to cheat on Rose, …

Dear Mrs. Connolly,

Forget anything I’ve ever said about British authors not writing enough sex scenes. In VENICE, you’ve finally gotten your two protagonists married and they’re off for their bride trip to beautiful, golden Italy. Only they have a slight problem. Two actually. Someone is trying to kill them and impostors have stolen their identities.

From the back blurb:

The third book in the Richard and Rose series shows Venice in all its glittering magnificence as well as its dark side.

When their wedding day nearly turns to tragedy by an assassin’s bullet, Richard takes no more chances with his beloved Rose. They will travel incognito to Venice.

Venice is as full of knaves as London. Two of the villains mark Richard and Rose as their particular quarry. Do they hold the key to the assassination attempt or are they playing a deadly game of their own?

Once again we can see that you’ve obviously done your research into everyday life of the Georgian period and it’s displayed so nicely one is never even aware of it. When they discover the impostors, Richard and Rose decide to have some fun stringing them along and take the personas of a middle …

“A wedding… or a funeral?

Rose Golighty and Lord Richard Strang anticipate their long-awaited wedding. But dark whispers reach Richard’s ears of smugglers threatening the county’s peace. Events escalate until Rose’s life is threatened. Richard knows he must act to save her and her friends from disaster. Even if his bride has to trade her wedding gown for widow’s weeds.”

Dear Mrs. Connolly,

You’ve given us a strong sequel to your first book in this series, Yorkshire, which follows the on going romance between Richard Kerre, Lord Strang and his love, Miss Rose Golightly. We watched these two fall in love at first sight in Yorkshire and now, six
months later, they are counting down the last weeks until their marriage.

We get to see Rose triumph at the Exeter Assembly when she arrives with her beloved (and very handsome) fiance. Shy Rose had suffered many an evening there passed over by the young men and it was a joy to see her blossom. We see the county gentry being convinced by the obvious love between the two that this is no rash marriage and that Rose really has gained the heart of this notorious lord. We …