My Newest Release!

 

Hayden Hamilton and the Lady

A Regency Romance

Hayden stood and pulled Lady Emma up into his arms, assaulted by the deepest ache a man could suffer. Once he released her, she would be gone forever. “I am a Montague, and you are a Capulet. I would never be welcome in your family’s home. We are lost to each other.”

It's ready! Hayden Hamilton and the Lady is not available at Deseret Book and can be purchased online at deseretbook.com. It will also soon be available on Amazon. Here's a short synopsis:

Emma Stuart, daughter of Lord Claridge, distinguished member of His Majesty’s Privy Council, delights in playing pranks on noblemen who inflict misery upon others. Twice Lady Emma shames the Marquess of Richmond for his ill use of gently bred ladies. In return, he blackens her reputation.

Hayden Hamilton, a handsome London barrister, has a mysterious power over Lord Richmond and proves that the marquess tricked Emma into meeting him in a dark billiard room at a ball. Even so, her suitors disappear. Livid at being exposed, Lord Richmond plots with another nobleman to avenge himself.

Emma finds herself falling in love with Hayden, who has publicly vowed never to marry a lady born to wealth and privilege. Unbeknown to her, she has beguiled him body and soul, though he is determined to forget her. Just when fate reveals the cause of his power over Lord Richmond and makes a union between Hayden and Emma possible, he learns she has changed in ways that may set her forever beyond his reach.

Book #4 is off to the printer!

It had been three long years since my third book was published when my editor, Linda Prince, at Walnut Springs Press challenged me in November of 2021 to finish my fourth book by May of this year. The three years since A Dangerous Affection was published had been very difficult, and at the time of Linda's challenge, I was less than half done with Hayden Hamilton and the Lady. Wanting very much to finish and thinking it would help me do so to have a firm goal on the horizon, I committed to finishing by May. In spite of two difficult rounds of COVID and numerous other adversities, I rounded the home stretch and crossed the finish line, albeit a little late, and it went to press last Friday. I worked very hard to make it happen and am grateful it is done. It will soon be on store shelves and on Amazon and Deseret Book Online. I will let you all know as soon as it is available for purchase. Thank you for all your wonderful support!

A Dangerous Affection

I learned this afternoon from my publisher that the Kindle version of my most recently released novel, A Dangerous Affection, is now marked down to $4.99!


https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Affection-Wanda-Luce/dp/159992188X

Do you love the Regency Era language of Jane Austen or do you just want Regency-set novels?

As I read Regency-set romances by modern-day authors, I am saddened that the revered beauty of nineteenth century writing is largely tossed aside in preference for the plainer prose and dialogue of the twenty-first century. It is not only the way of life depicted in Jane Austen's novels that holds an intense charm for me; the style of her writing that immortalizes the language of the time is for me like a song of enchantment. I love the unique placement of her words and her flowery phrases. Too many of her present-day fans dislike her complicated syntax and shudder when they find it in a modern-day novel set in the Regency Era. Most only want a distant taste of the language of that time period. I understand why. I really do, but it is still unfortunate.

Below, I have selected a few examples of Jane Austen's beautiful phrases that present-day authors would likely find drastically altered by their editors or publishers and regarded as pretentious and annoying by their readers. Beneath each example, I have attempted to show a modern equivalent to the example and to demonstrate how much beauty is lost by writing the phrase in today's language.  I am an old hardliner who deeply loves the historic writing of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Jane Austen's style is a lost art from a bygone era. In my rewrite of excerpts from Jane Austen's novels, the song in her syntax has almost been reduced to noise. 

Pride and Prejudice: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

In today's style:  Everyone knows that a rich man must need a wife.

Persuasion:  Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever.

In today's style:  Tell me I'm in time and that you still love me.

Emma:  I lay it down as a general rule, Harriet, that if a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to refuse him. If she can hesitate as to ‘Yes,’ she ought to say ‘No’ directly. It is not a state to be safely entered into with doubtful feelings, with half a heart.

In today's style:  If a woman isn't sure she should accept a man, then she should refuse him. If she hesitates to say yes, she should say no. She shouldn't marry someone if she isn't certain.

Sense and Sensibility:  I could not be happy with a man whose taste did not in every point coincide with my own. He must enter in all my feelings; the same books, the same music must charm us both.

In today's style:  I couldn't be happy with a man who didn't share my taste in everything. He must feel like I do and enjoy the same books, and he must enjoy the same music I do.

AMY MARTINSEN, a very talented author

I am so excited to tell you about Amy Martinsen, a wonderful author and an amazing person, whom I greatly admire. I asked her if I could interview her and post it on my blog. Someone suggested I read her book, Changing Worlds. I loved it and am now a fan. Below are the covers of two of her books that I have read and love along with my interview. I hope you will take a minute and read through it. Her books can be purchased at https://www.amazon.com/Amy-Martinsen/e/B01M1KY52M

CHANGING WORLDS
Anna Barrett works for Kamp Keepers, a company that hires BYU students to help out at girls’ camps all over the country. Her latest assignment takes her to the dense forest of Kentucky and Camp Boughlynch, owned by Sylvia Boughlynch and her two sons. Anna finds herself drawn to the handsome Daniel Santini, who confides that he took the Kamp Keepers job to lay low after joining the LDS Church and leaving his mafia family’s organized crime ring.

Everyone at the camp is required to wear a tracking device at all times, and Billy and Bobby Boughlynch forbid even the staff from going near a certain storage shed. Daniel and Anna suspect the sinister brothers are involved in illegal activities, using the girls’ camp as a front. When Billy and Bobby discover Anna knows too much, it seems they will stop at nothing to get rid of her.

But the troubles at Camp Boughlynch are only the beginning for Anna and Daniel as they fall in love and face the wrath of his family. Can she find the faith and inner strength to accept his past? And will the pair survive the mafia to build a future of their own?

THE SECRET OBITUARY WRITER

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if obituaries told the truth? The people of a small town in Montana don t have to wonder because they have Lizzy Langston, the secret obituary writer for the local newspaper. With information she receives at an anonymous email address, she produces mostly humorous, sometimes poignant, but always truthful obituaries that magically appear between sections A and B of the morning paper.

When several cryptic emails question the official details of a man s death, Lizzy elicits the help of handsome detective Jackson Clark. Together, they travel halfway around the world to search for answers . . . and maybe even find love along the way.

With mystery, romance, and a hefty helping of humor, The Secret Obituary Writer will keep you entertained until the very last page

MY INTERVIEW OF AMY

1. What was your inspiration for The Secret Obituary Writer? 

Well, first off, my publisher wanted me to write something humorous, so I had that in the back of my mind. But several years ago I read a book where one of the characters was an older man who wrote obituaries for the local newspaper - that was his only job. If he liked you, you received a glowing obituary - if he didn't, you maybe got a few lines. I just thought this was so funny and could see it actually happening somewhere. I put this character together with the idea of having obituaries tell the "whole" story about someone's life...so there you have it. Every time I've asked someone "what if obituaries told the truth?" they've laughed...so I felt I was on the right track.

2. What was your favorite obituary to write? 

I'd have to say, Darwin Strayhorn. I actually wrote this obituary as I was still formulating the idea for the book. He just kind of walked into my mind, sat down in a Starbucks and gave in to a Mini Frappuccino...I laughed out loud. Poor Darwin.

3. What advice would you give to beginning writers  

Well, I still feel like a beginning writer, so....I don't know. The only thing I feel worthy to share is my work ethic, which is to simply keep writing - every day if you can. Just keep at it! Because of some caregiving responsibilities that are mine and will be for a while, I've had to learn to write when and where I can. But I feel if you keep trying, the ideas and inspiration will come...but the work and effort have to come first.

4. What's next? 

I'm working on a continuation of The Secret Obituary Writer...just not through with Lizzy and Jackson and all those people in Cutlip, Montana. I'm about a third of the way through and hope to have a rough draft by the end of summer. I also have a few other ideas for completely different novels that keep elbowing their way into my thoughts. I just need that quiet cabin in the woods with no responsibilities that all we writers long for....ha!

ABOUT AMY
Amy Martinsen was born in Mesa, Arizona and has lived in the same neighborhood, on the same block and with the same people her entire life. She loves these people and has learned that you don’t have to travel to remote places to find fascinating stories; they are all around you if you are willing to listen and learn.
Amy received a Bachelor of Arts in English Education from Arizona State University and a Master of Arts in English from Northern Arizona University. She is the author of “The Tower of Babel and the Teaching of Grammar: Writing Instruction for a New Century” published in the September 2000 English Journal and the short story Lilly’s Photograph by Moose Enterprise in October 2002. She is the author of two novels: Changing Worlds published by Walnut Springs Press in 2015 and The Secret Obituary Writer published by Walnut Springs Press in 2016.

She loves to hear a reader have the “I just have to know what’s going to happen next” moment and strives to achieve that in her stories. Learn more about Amy and her writing at www.goawayimreading.com.

Review: Felicity~ A Sparrow's Tale

Felicity~ A Sparrow's Tale by Loralee Evans
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Exceptional! "Felicity" took my imagination on an exciting ride. The imagery, suspense, and creativity are woven together so masterfully, that I must admit I couldn't put it down, even as an adult reader. I think the young person in most of us never really dies. I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat as the tender but brave sparrow meet so many dangers with courage and determination. An entrancing tale that wove a spell around me as I read. Exellent writing that will charm any reader. I am so glad I got to read it.

View all my reviews

GOODREADS GIVEAWAY!!!

Welcome to my giveaway!!! In celebration of the release of my recent Regency romance, I am giving away two print copies. Just click on the LINK below to become one of the lucky winners.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25880047-in-the-wilds-of-devon