Category Archives: Elizabeth’s Books

Winners!

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Here is the list list of winners from my 20th Book Giveaway Contest. Winning entries came from my Newsletter subscribers, my Facebook fans and my Twitter peeps. I want to thank everyone for taking the time to enter and for your enthusiasm over my 20th book, AND THE MISS RAN AWAY WITH THE RAKE.

Facebook/Twitter winners:
June Manning ‏
Stephanie Cecil Putteet
Jennifer Richardson Bradley
Cindy Hughes
Beth Cottone (Claimed)
Tammy Sommervold (Claimed)
Elizabeth Sells
Crystal Broyles (Claimed)
Karen Haas (Claimed)
Donna Hammer Durnell (Claimed)

If your name is listed above, to claim your prize you will need to email me (elizbo AT elizabethboyle DOT com) your mailing address before April 4th. Any unclaimed prizes will be given away in a second chance drawing.

Newsletter winners:
Rosemary Krejsa
Kay Plough
Judy Jeanes
Linda Price
Ana Sosa
Dale Kirk
Jane Irish Nelson
Melena Verity
Damaris Sanchez
Silvana Seraji

If your name is listed as a Newsletter winner, you can just sit tight. Your box will be mailed to you this coming week.

Contest Coming! Sign up Now!

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To celebrate this week’s release of my 20th book, And the Miss Ran Away with the Rake, I’m throwing a cyber-party with tons of prizes–20 boxes filled to the brim with books and goodies, and author swag. I’ve been shaking down all my author friends and cleaning out the contest closet to make sure these boxes are loaded.

But the first 10 boxes will go only to my newsletter subscribers! If you are a subscriber to my newsletter, all you have to do is hold tight until you get my newsletter on Tuesday and follow the instructions to enter.

Not a subscriber? Just get signed up before midnight, PDT, Monday, March 25th. You can sign up here.

 

 

A Scandalous Price

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Avon loves to pick out a few ebooks each month and offer them at the crazy, ridiculous price of $1.99. So this month you can get one of my favorites, Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress for just $1.99.

This was the book everyone wanted me to write–Pippin and Dash’s book. Their first meeting in This Rake of Mine, on a smuggler’s beach, caused quite the stir. I got email after email after email, all saying the same thing: Write Pippin and Dash’s book. I also got one letter that scolded me for having a young girl of 15 being kissed.

But didn’t we all dream of being kissed like that at 15? By a truly bad boy. Kissed so our toes curled up in our shoes and we never, ever forgot it?

I took my time getting to their story–there were other books to write first: Love Letters from a Duke, Confessions of a Little Black Gown. Then I sat down to write their story. And I knew two things–I hadn’t told the entire story of their past encounters and their love story would be one of second chances found. This book encompasses their 20 years of trying to find a way to be together. And since it is a romance, I don’t think you need to be told how it ends.

Get Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress in your favorite format for only $1.99.


· Kindle from Amazon
· Nook from Barnes and Noble
· Kobo e-readers
· Sony e-readers
Read an excerpt

 

 

Looking Back: Something About Emmaline

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Since Avon Books has my electronic backlist on sale right now, I thought it would be fun to look back at the titles that are being offered for $4.99. Over the next 6-8 weeks, I am going to pick a book and look at the inspiration behind it, the characters and perhaps some of the challenges behind writing it.

I had to start with one of my favorites (yes, an author can have a favorite), Something About Emmaline. This was the first book in the Bachelor Chronicles series. Something you might not know is that this series was inspired by a traffic sign. Yes, an exit sign off the highway, which read: Sedgwick Rd, Tremont Rd. I thought those were amazing hero names, and thus came to life, Baron Sedgwick.

I had my hero, but the real kernel of inspiration for this book came while watching the movie, The Importance of Being Earnest. Of course, I could blame Colin Firth’s presence on the screen, because he is such an inspiring sight, however the entire plot line of the story intrigued me—the idea of a man with two identities—the solid, country gentleman and his alter ego, his made-up “brother” Ernest, the rakish, man about town. The secret identity and grand lie stuck in my brain and began to rattle around. I kept seeing my hero, Alexander Denford, Baron Sedgwick, the solid, dependable, rather boring sort of fellow who wanted to keep the status quo, but I could just never see him being the rakish devil-may-care kind of Corinthian that an “Ernest” character would require.

Then I realized what I really loved about the plot was the weight of that huge lie, and the great lengths to which Alexander would have to go to when it started to unravel. Suddenly, I saw it—Alex didn’t make up a brother, he made up a wife—because he was tired of everyone pestering him to get married. And in a flash, Emmaline was born. His perfect English wife—reliable, respectable, sickly and therefore, never seen. Alex had his perfect life without anyone trying to match him up since he was already “married” to Emmaline.

Now of course, I couldn’t leave him a happy man, so I therefore had the great joy of creating his Emmaline—I knew that from the moment she stepped into his life, a living breathing, hot blooded wife, she would have to turn everything in his orderly existence upside down, whether it was intentional or just part of her quirky and slightly mad character. Much of the inspiration for her character came from another of my favorite movies, Auntie Mame, with Rosalind Russell. At times, I almost felt sorry for Alex as he scrambles to stay one step ahead of his unraveling deception. Okay, maybe I didn’t feel all that sorry him—because it was tremendous fun to tell his and Emmaline’s story.

Two side notes: My working title for this book was The Importance of Being Emmaline. The powers that be changed it to Something About Emmaline. Whatever the title, the book is a rollicking good time. Secondly, the picture on the right is from the manga version of the story. This was my first book translated into Japanese and one of two of my books that were also done in a manga version.

Get your digital copy of Something About Emmaline on sale for $4.99 from:

· Kindle from Amazon
· Nook from Barnes and Noble
· Kobo e-readers
· Sony e-readers

Or you can read the excerpt here.

P.S. Have you read Something About Emmaline? What was your favorite part?

In the Throes

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I am in the throes of finishing my book, so I haven’t been blogging as much as I like. I’ve got a great list of blogs I plan on doing this summer–behind the scenes looks at my previous books, spilling hints about upcoming projects, but right now, I have only one thing to do:

Finish the book. Oh, and this blog post.

Because I promised a winner.

Without further ado, the winner for the contest is: Diane Nelson, who commented on June 21, 2012 at 2:59 pm. Congratulations, Diane, and thank you to everyone who made such great comments about audiobooks.

Sigh. Now it is back to crunch time. The book HAS to get done. Even this weekend while I was stuck trapped having a lovely time with family obligations, in my head I was writing.

So the rest of this week you will find me, head down and buried in pages–revisioning, cutting, adding, laying it all out on the floor and walking my way though the story like a giant story board. Dumping scenes that don’t work, combining scenes that would work better together. At this point I have nearly all the pieces, it is just getting them in the right places.

Thought this picture from my Pinterest collection was perfect:

Hope your week is less frantic!

Along Came An Audio Book

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Over the years, people have asked and asked for audio versions of my books. And I have had to answer with a sigh of longing and say, “Sorry, they haven’t done audio versions yet.”

No more. Finally, I have an audio book!

Along Came a Duke, the audio version, is now available for download. I am so new to this whole audio thing, I need to know how do you listen to these? How do you download yours and where do you listen to them? What devices do you use? Have you ever listened to an audio book and was it a yea or a nay?

On this, I need your expertise. Comment away, please!

One lucky commenter will win a prize pack of surprises–I’ll pull it together a great box of treats from the prize closet, but it is assured to hold an autographed book or two, author swag and a really cool coffee mug. And whatever great surprises and cool things I can dig out.

Enter before midnight, Saturday, June 23rd.

Weaving Series

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Someone in Dallas this weekend asked me if when I started a new series, such as Rhymes with Love, am I tempted to bring in old characters from my other series. The answer: Boy, am I ever!

Old, familiar characters are what makes writing a series fun.

Anyone who has read my Danvers series will notice I have a slight fondness for Temple. He appears in nearly every book. I adore that man, er, character, to the point that borders on obsession. I had thought that after giving him his own book, Stealing the Bride, that would be enough. No. He had a habit of wandering onto the page of whatever story I was telling, slanting a rakish wink at me,  and while I was still flush with joy at his arrival, make himself indispensable. Wretched rogue!

So when I started writing Along Came a Duke, I really had to keep all the old characters at bay, barring the door to my office. Refusing their friend requests on Facebook.

Even Temple.

But that doesn’t mean the old books are not in the new series. Because like Temple, I am a wretched rogue at heart. And there are two “cameos” in Along Came a Duke. You may or may not have noticed them. One is a reference from to Love Letters from a Duke and the other is from It Takes a Hero.

In the interest of not providing spoilers, did you spot them, yea or nay?

Along Came a Bestseller

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First and foremost, I would not be able to celebrate this moment without all of you who went out and grabbed a copy of Along Came a Duke–you are why it is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller this week. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

What has been so much fun is meeting so many of you at the events in Tulsa and around Chicago. Too much fun. Too many laughs (really, is there such a thing?). And so many lovely people, such as our Chicago stalkers who turned up at both events to see all of us (me, Julia Quinn, Rachel Gibson, and Pamela Palmer.)

What is it like to travel in a pack of authors? Well, you are in good company because there is always someone to go find coffee with (and they never question how often you need coffee), and no one objects when you pull to a stop in the airport for the airport bookshop. And you laugh. Lots.

Rachel Gibson and I were in Tulsa a day early for our appearance on Good Day Tulsa, which couldn’t have been more lovely. The people were so nice and made us feel right at ease. And suddenly, there you are in the chair, in front of three cameras and off you go and before you know it, the whole thing is done. Whew!

What always surprises me is how many people these events can draw. All three venues were packed! I am just awed and so humbled that you all will give up your weekend afternoon or an evening to come meet one of us. It truly is a rare and special experience for us authors and all of us thank you.

And if you didn’t get to one of the events or you live too far to make it, there are signed copies of Along Came a Duke at Anderson’s Bookshop, in Naperville (call 630-355-2665) and signed copies of a bunch of my backlist at the Barnes & Noble/Woodland Plaza in Tulsa (call 918-250-5034).

And next up? Dallas! For the Boas & Tiaras Tea on Saturday. If you are in the Dallas area, check my Events page for details and the links for tickets. Anyhoo, if you can make it, I would love to see you all there, or back here next Monday with a full report and lots of pictures. I have my tiara all ready. Sadly, I am allergic to boa. LOL.

Along Comes 19

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Nineteen seems to be the number of the day. My 19th book, Along Came a Duke, comes out. It is also my 19th wedding anniversary. How’s that for chance?

I think of all that has passed in the last 19 years and it feels like such a long time. Getting married. Buying a house. The people we’ve lost in that time–our dear grandmothers, my husband’s father, friends and other family. The people who have arrived–our two sons, ten nieces and nephews (granted, one of them had already arrived when we married.)

And getting published. Not just one book, but nineteen of them. When I got married I was still working on my very first book, a Cavalier adventure titled, The Spanish Blade. Bits of that book, the myth of the blade and the story of a female adventurer have made cameos in my subsequent historicals, mostly as an inside joke, my own quiet nod to my apprentice years.

Nor have these 19 years been easy–challenges in writing, in my marriage (no long term marriage is always one long happy ending, if I have learned anything over these years is that an enduring marriage is work, compromise and at times, just plain not easy. Challenges come from all corners and our greatest has been our youngest son being born with autism. I usually don’t get this personal in my blog, but sometimes I find it ironic that while I write about happy endings, life and marriage isn’t always the bed of roses that we usually find a hero and heroine in at the end of a book.

But I never stop believing that it is possible. Call me a “the-glass-is-half-full” sort of gal.

Yet, despite the hills and valleys that is life, real life, I know two things today: I love what I do for a living–I struggled to be published because I love writing and I have continued through 19 books because I find the entire process and the mystery of putting words and characters together so very fun.

And secondly, nineteen years later, I still adore and love my husband. Probably more than I did the day I married him.

Here’s to 19 more. Books and years.

Winners

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What a jam-packed busy weekend. Hope you had a lovely weekend and a Happy Mother’s Day. I finally had time to pull winners of the Along Came a Duke arcs, as well as autographed Julia Quinn novels, this morning and now I am going to post their names:

Barb Ritchie, Jenn H, Linda Mc, and Mary Falls.

There were a 112 of you to choose from, so I truly put the Random Number generator through its paces this morning. Poor thing nearly fainted from exhaustion.

And if you didn’t win an ARC of Along Came A Duke, don’t despair, there is only three weeks until it releases. And if you hurry, you can get the digital version of Along Came a Duke at the special $4.99 presale price for your Kindle and Nook.