New Release! Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness--and a chance to win an iPad Mini!

I am so thrilled to announce the latest Half Moon House series story!  If you read A Slight Miscalculation, the FREE Half Moon House short story, then you'll recognize Liberty Baylis, our new heroine!

It's warring nations, dueling philosophies and the battle of the sexes as American-born Miss Liberty Baylis takes on Simon Lansing, Viscount Brodham, in the fight for her friend's happiness. 

Brodham wants only to retire to the peace and quiet of his country estate, but he'll take on the cheeky American chit if that's what it takes to keep his nephew safe and happy. 

The war is on . . . but when banter and flirtation become weapons and kisses disrupt strategies, will Brodham and Liberty ever wish for the battles to end?

LATPOH is also part of the Red Door Reads Who's Ben Skrewd? Novella Event!  Eleven RDR authors bringing you eleven stories featuring a Red Door and a mysterious character named Ben Skrewd.  Check them all out--and play the Where's Ben? game--for a chance to win an iPad Mini!  Search for the hidden Ben Skrewd figure somewhere on my website--and on each of the other authors's sites too.  All the details can be found at www.RedDoorReads.com!

I hope you love Liberty and Brodham's story--and good luck finding Ben and getting that iPad Mini!

Deb

Play Regency Match Game!

Regency Match Game: Week Three!

Seven authors of Regency Romance are banding together to give you a taste of Regency Fun at this year’s Romantic Times 2014 Conference!

You can get in on the fun even if you aren't attending RT2014! Help us out with our second round matches. Click through the link below to fill in the blanks and input your matches. A randomly selected player will win a free book from Ava Stone!

http://bit.ly/1d52Ihz

And watch the video below for a fun example of how the game will go—and try to match Julia London, Ava Stone, Sabrina Jeffries, Claudia Dain, Tammy Falkner, Deb Marlowe and Karen Hawkins!


VIDEO LINK - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzQCsX48bKs

A New Release--and it's a Freebie!

I'm very excited to bring you a short story connected to the Half Moon House series! In A SLIGHT MISCALCULATION we get a glimpse into characters we've seen before, as well as a new face or two--and a peek at the goings-on at Half Moon House!

This short story is currently FREE at iBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. 



William Hampton, Viscount Worthe, prefers the remote stability and predictability of the stars to the perplexing changeability of people. An astronomer, he’s fashioned for himself a focused, industrious, simple life. He leaves his quiet retreat, however, when his mathematical computations, included in an article on orbital variations, are questioned. 

Miss Jane Tillney is volunteering at Half Moon House when Lord Worthe finds her. The Viscount is handsome and charming, but unfortunately his entire outlook is miscalculated, not just his astronomical equations. 

Lord Worthe is intrigued by Jane, her generous spirit and her unusual freckles, but can he find a way to open his heart and let her shine her light on his life?

The Either . . .Or Game--Thanksgiving Style!

I thought it would be fun, since Thanksgiving is just next week (Ack!) to play the Either . . . Or game, holiday style!

Travel?
Either  Home for the Holidays . . . Or . . . Traveling to visit Family or for Fun?

Turkey?
Either…..Roasted….Or….Fried?

Stuffing?
Either . . . . In the Bird . . . Or . . . In a casserole dish?

Dessert?
Either . . . .Traditional Pie . . . Or . . . Cake or something different?

After Dinner?
Either . . . Football . . . . Or . . . Movies?

What are your Thanksgiving traditions?  I'll start us off with my answers.

Travel--For the past 10 years or so, we've stayed home for Thanksgiving.  I cook dinner and my sister helps out with sides.  I admit I'm ready to try something new.  Family is too far for a short visit, but I'd love to go out one year or, like my neighbors do every year--plan a fun and adventurous vacation.

Turkey--I usually roast the turkey. We don't have a fryer…I've never even tried the fried kind.  One year, though, we were in the midst of a home improvement project and I put a turkey breast in the crockpot.  It turned out great--so tender!

Stuffing--None of my boys eat it, so I usually just make a small dish on the side for my sister and me.  Of course, it has to be homemade and similar to my Grandma's recipe!

Dessert--Valiant Husband loves apple pie.  Eldest loves pumpkin. Youngest doesn't eat either, so I sometimes end up making cookies or something for him too.

After Dinner--Neither of the above.  Valiant Husband will watch a bit of football, but the rest of us usually sit around in a turkey coma, play games and start our Christmas lists.

Now, your turn!

Fall Favorites

Fall Favorites

I love autumn.  It's (usually) one of the best seasons in North Carolina, long and beautiful with gorgeous keep-your-windows open weather and amazing color.  We've got the beauty this year, even if the weather is holding out on us and giving us overcast, cloudy days.  But there are still plenty of reasons to love the fall--and here's a list of my (somewhat shallow but true) favorites:

1.  Fall food. 

     I'm not talking fair food, although the State Fair is going on right now and judging by my FB feed, lots of my friends are indulging in fried oreos, giant turkey legs and barbecue sandwiches with Krispy Kreme buns.  (Ugh)  Nope, I'm talking good, homemade comfort food for when the nights start coming earlier and the temps dip down in the evening.  We had pot roast tonight.  And that is one meal that every one of my picky eaters love.  Soups, chili, casseroles--and the baking!  Fall puts me in the mood to bake.  We've already been through a couple batches of chocolate chip pumpkin muffins this year and a big batch of cookies this week.

2.  This is where the weather would usually go, but see above.

3.  Fall TV!  

    Here's where the shallow comes in, but I love veggin' out with a good TV series, and the fall season is always fun after the summer drought.  I'm digging Castle again, now that they are back in NYC.  I just enjoyed the finale of Project Runway last week.  I've recently discovered Face Off, which is fun.  We love The Big Bang Theory and I'm enjoying trying out some new shows to see if they stick--still up in the air about Sleepy Hollow, but I'm hooked on Orange is the New Black.

4.  Fall clothes. 

    Am I the only one who loves to dig out the long sleeves, the yoga pants and the soft cashmere sweaters after shorts weather?  I love switching seasons in clothes..it's like a whole new beloved wardrobe every few months.

5.  Costumes

     We are a costume family and Halloween is the perfect excuse to go gangbusters!   The kids and I have been working on our costumes and having a grand time.

So there you have my faves!  Will you share yours?  What's your favorite fall food?  Do you love yoga pants?  Costumes?  The hot guy who plays Ichabod Crane?  Spill, please!  

Originally posted at Lady Scribes

One of Those Days

I'm writing this at the end of a very long day--one of THOSE days.

I used to have those days all the time when the kids were little.  The days when you never got a shower because one spilled bottle of hair spray somehow led to the next kid digging ashes out of the woodstove and spreading them across the carpet.  (Yes, that really happened!)

Today I started out already behind, with more to do than I could possibly get done.  I had a writing goal that I got mostly done.  I did get briefly distracted by a Twitter discussion of the new Castle premier, but the real reason I didn't completely finish was because I had a lightbulb moment about one of my characters that I had to get down. A good distraction!

But then came the forgotten paper that must be emailed to school right away, the after-schoolI"m starving hours, the pages of college applications that must be discussed and dissected before they are entered, the missing work shirt, the discussion of how best to model a brain for school (I lost--one of the old bike helmets has been sacrificed in lieu of modeling clay) and the crap-I'm-missing-an-ingredient-in-the-middle-of-getting-dinner-ready moment.

Poor Valiant Husband got sent out to fetch vital ingredients and brain parts, I got to do the dishes, fold the laundry and figure out why new episodes of Adventure Time are not getting recorded as scheduled.

But it's all good.  I love my kids and my career, even if they do butt heads most days.  I'm NOT wishing my days or my kids away, so please no one lecture me.  I don't have time to listen.  I have to go post this blog and finish my words for the day.  And then I'm going to take a shower.

And tonight, I might consider squeezing in a coconutty girlie drink before bed.

What about you?  Do you have THOSE days?  Do you have dueling parts of your life?  What do you do to handle it?

*Originally posted on the Lady Scribes blog

New Release!

New Release! An Unexpected Encounter

I'm thrilled to bring you An Unexpected Encounter, the first novella in the Half Moon House series! This story was first published in the Encounter at the Museum anthology, but is now also available alone.

It has been altered a bit. An epilogue has been added.



Tall, practical girls might not be worth much in a man's world, but Miss Lisbeth Moreton knows she's worth more than the squire's prized heifer. To change her fate, she's run off to a date with destiny at the British Museum. Her would-be rescuer never shows, but an unexpected encounter with Lord Cotwell and his lonely ward might lead to altogether new prospects . . . and perhaps to love.