Winners!

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.

Readers n Ritas! Look out Dallas!

If you are in the Dallas area, or feeling adventurous, there is still time to sign up for the Fabulous Readers & Ritas weekend, November 9th-11th, 2012, sponsored by Fresh Fiction. I’ll be there–ready to meet all of you, taking part in the panels and generally hanging out and having fun. There will raffle baskets, giveaways and goodies galore, as well as a great roster of authors.

If you can make it, make sure to introduce yourself to me! Sign ups, information and a list of participating authors can be found on the Readers & Ritas website.

If you are planning on attending and need goodies for your bookstore, library patrons or bookclub, make sure to contact me ASAP so I can pack enough surprises for everyone.

The Queens of Romance Tea

Coming Sunday, September 23rd, join Elizabeth, Susan Wiggs, Yasmine Galenorn and Teresa Meyers for a delightful afternoon chat about Regency Romance, Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Romance and Steampunk, (with a touch of romance). The event, part of Northwest Bookfest, is free, but reservations are required.

From last year's tea: Susan Mallery, Elizabeth Boyle and Lisa Kleypas


Gather up a posse of friends, grab your questions and come laugh with the Queens of Romance.

To hold your spot, email: parkplacebooks@integra.net or call 425.828.6546. Refreshments provided by Costco.

A Scandalous Price

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

 

 

In the Throes

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

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.

Along Came a Bestseller

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

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

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.

Rhymes with Love ~ A New Series

Maybe you’ve heard, but my new book, Along Came a Duke, is part of new series, Rhymes with Love. I thought I’d share with you a bit of insider info and get you ready to jump into the world of Kempton, England.

I started this new series for a variety of reasons–I had felt that the Bachelor Chronicles had run its course. While at first, I thought about doing another spin-off series with Lord Andrew and his band of misfits from Lord Langley is Back in Town, but then I got hit with another idea: a village in England that is cursed.

Before you get to alarmed that this series is going to be paranormal, it is not. The curse was only the starting point.

The first peek at the steamy stepback!

Like any idea, the spark or the curse, in this case, began brewing around in my imagination, and suddenly I saw the entire village. High Street–with its tidy row of shops, the lane running up the backside of the village from the vicarage and St. Edwards, a wonderful stone church dating back to Norman times, with its tall tower that had weathered centuries. And spinsters and young ladies with nothing to do. Not a single gentleman will marry them. And most haven’t the means to go to London.

Then I realized what the true heart of this series must be–it wasn’t the curse, but the friendships, the deep, abiding friendships these women would forge.

Far better for storytelling than just a mere curse.

The more I wrote, the more I fell in love with how these friends looked out for each other, viewed each other as sisters more than friends, and how they would find their place in a world that usually gave unmarried women a skeptical eye.

The first three stories revolve around Tabitha Timmons, Daphne Dale and Harriet Hathaway. None of them are prepared for marriage, courtship or even a flirtatious glance, but what they lack in guile and intrigue, they make up for in sheer determination, spunk, and humor.

Look out London, here comes the spinsters from Kempton! And happy reading!

P.S. And why is the series called Rhymes with Love? Because the titles of the first three books are all taken from nursery rhymes: Along Came a Duke, And The Miss Ran Away with the Rake, and If Wishes were Earls.

As you will notice, the cover for Along Came a Duke even sports the perfect tuffet on which to eat curds and whey while awaiting a duke.

And finally and most importantly, if you haven’t heard, the digital version of Along Came a Duke is on pre-sale for $4.99 at Kindle and Nook.

CONTEST:

To get ready for the May 29th release of Along Came a Duke, I am giving away four prize packets–each of which will include an advanced reader’s copy of Along Came a Duke, as well as an autographed copy of one of Julia Quinn’s books. The prize packet will also feature tons of author swag and bragging rights to have been one of the first to read Along Came a Duke.

To enter, answer the following question before midnight PDT, May 12th: Which is your favorite nursery rhyme?