Author Katherine Bone’s Upcoming Release + #RomanticIdea for Summer 2016

Summer #RomanticIdea

Katherine Bone’s #RomanticIdea for Summer 2016!

There’s nothing more romantic than watching the sun rise with the one you love. Add a stout cup of coffee for added benefit. It’s never too early or too late for rum! (Pirate!)

Pirate’s Coffee

1 Shot (Special Dark) Kahlua
1 Shot Rum, spiced
8 oz. Coffee

Mix together in glass and top off with ground cinnamon and/or whipped cream.

Daytona Beach Sunrise

Daytona Beach Sunrise

Rogue's Surrender coverBlurb:

The Rogue’s Surrender, Nelson’s Tea Book #3, Available July 12, 2016

He’d become a beast only she could tame.

Marked for death! Señorita Mercedes Vasquez has been betrayed by a member of Nelson’s Tea. Now her life is in the hands of the man she couldn’t save, a beast forged by Spanish hatred.

Lord Garrick Seaton, aka Captain Blade, is the only one who has a chance of pulling off a lifesaving mission. To do so, he must go to Spain and face memories of captivity and torture. But the fiery Spanish lady he seeks to rescue proves to be the greater threat. Can he protect his heart, or will she demand his complete surrender?

Preorder at Amazon.

~ Excerpt ~

Mercy’s gaze narrowed on the screened doorway with nerve-wracking precision.

The screen door handle jiggled slightly but stopped when it met grinding resistance. Muffled curses followed then a key grated in the lock.

She smothered a moment’s panic as the lock disengaged.

“Eddie?”

No response.

No. No. No, it isn’t him. Something is horribly wrong!

Her instincts sprang to life, and her senses climbed to extraordinary heights. She quickly retrieved her reticule, reaching inside to grab the small pistol she carried there. When her fingers grasped the gun, she exhaled in relief, and then aimed the weapon’s barrel at the cabin door.

Her heart thumped in her ears as the seconds dragged by.

She straightened her spine and cocked the trigger, widening her stance. No one enjoyed being backed into a corner, especially a spy. She’d shoot, if needed, with no regard as to who this man was. Too many lives depended on what she’d stored in her brain. If she wanted to make it to St. Mary’s in time to meet the vicar, she had to live.

The door squeaked on the hinge, opening with agonizing slowness like an ominous fog sweeping over a riverbank.

Que Dios le ayude. It was as if the invader wanted to increase her agony, making her anticipate the intrusion with paralyzing dread.

Her nerve endings shrieked like struggling, cornered rats as the door widened and a man’s long muscular leg prepared to step across the threshold. She held the gun steady, biting her lip in anticipation. Her trespasser wasn’t like anyone she’d ever seen before. His tall black boots and black breeches matched a fine woven linen shirt, over which he wore a dark draping broad-shouldered maroon jacket with intricate gold embroidery at the shoulders and sleeves. His shoulder-length black hair accentuated the distinguished lines of his high cheekbones and an aquiline nose. A black patch prevented her from looking into a pair of earth-shattering blue eyes.

Dios mio, he is formidably handsome. She was in true danger now. Her knees threatened to buckle. An impending swoon clouded her peripheral vision. She wasn’t afraid, per se, but paralyzed by an all-compassing innate awareness that awakened her body. This had never happened before.

She gasped.

He cocked his brow oddly in response, skin tugging cruelly above the left side of his mouth.

She immediately froze. Was the expression painful? Who had scarred the man?

Alarms sounded in her head. Lethal calm resonated from him as his stare left her to search the room with an odd familiarity. Her heart twinged. Was this Captain Blade, the notorious Lord Garrick Seaton? His comfortable stance, the way his gaze stroked the room like a loving caress, filled her with strange misgivings. It was as if he belonged here — not Eddie — not her.

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

The devilish man moved his left hand across his chest and took a humble bow. “Señorita.”

Katherine BoneBio:

National best-selling historical romance author Katherine Bone has been passionate about history since she had the opportunity to travel to various Army bases, castles, battlegrounds, and cathedrals as an Army brat turned officer’s wife. Who knew that an Army wife’s passion for romance novels would lead to pirates? Certainly not her rogue, whose Alma Mater’s adage is “Go Army. Beat Navy!” Now enjoying the best of both worlds, Katherine lives with her rogue in the south where she writes about rogues, rebels, and rakes—aka pirates, lords, captains, duty, honor, and country—and the happily-ever-afters that every alpha male and damsel deserve.

Lady Elinor’s Escape Excerpt & Summer #RomanticIdea

Summer #RomanticIdea

Today I’m sharing an excerpt from my Regency romance, Lady Elinor’s Escape, and my Summer #RomanticIdea.

“A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou” – The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

I love that quote, and it makes me think of romantic summer picnics—at the beach, by a lake, in the mountains or a park—whatever location works best where you live or vacation. But what to pack? Wine, bread, meat and cheese are a given, but don’t forget the summer fruit—ripe red strawberries, lush juicy peaches or crisp apples. There’s nothing like a taste of fruit to sweeten a kiss.

Lady Elinor's Escape coverLady Elinor’s Escape
by Linda McLaughlin
Sweet Regency Romance

Lady Elinor Ashworth always longed for adventure, but when she runs away from her abusive aunt, she finds more than she bargained for. Elinor fears her aunt who is irrational and dangerous, threatening Elinor and anyone she associates with. When she encounters an inquisitive gentleman, she accepts his help, but fearing for his safety, hides her identity by pretending to be a seamstress. She resists his every attempt to draw her out, all the while fighting her attraction to him

There are too many women in barrister Stephen Chaplin’s life, but he has never been able to turn his back on a damsel in distress. The younger son of a baronet is a rescuer of troubled females, an unusual vocation fueled guilt over his failure to save the woman he loved from her brutal husband. He cannot help falling in love with his secretive seamstress, but to his dismay, the truth of her background reveals Stephen as the ineligible party.

Excerpt:

Elinor looked around her. “Where shall we have our picnic?”

“I have a particular place in mind.”

A few minutes later, he reined in the horses near a small pond with a few ducks paddling on the surface. He put his hands on her waist and swung her down from the curricle. His hands lingered for a moment longer than necessary as he stared into her eyes. His were a dark liquid amber, like honey, and the warmth in his expression set her heart to racing.

Alarmed by her reaction, she stepped away from him. Oh my, this very private picnic might not have been a wise idea at all.

strawbewrriesAfter tethering the horses, he spread a blanket under a nearby oak, and then produced a picnic basket. While Elinor lowered herself onto the blanket, removed her gloves and bonnet, he dug into the basket. The picnic turned out to be a hearty repast of cold chicken, cheese, bread and butter, cider and sweet, fresh strawberries.

Elinor did not realize how hungry she was until she took the first bite of chicken. Before she knew it, she had devoured a bit of everything, aware of Stephen watching her the entire time.

“I did not mean to eat so much,” she said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“As you are so slender, I had not expected you to have such a hearty appetite,” he remarked with a smile. “I approve.”

“Everything was delicious.”

“I’ll pass your compliments on to Mother’s cook. She kindly provided the food.”

“You mean you cajoled her into it,” Elinor teased him.

He flashed her a boyish grin. “Cook always did have a soft spot in her heart for a hungry boy.”

“You must have had a wonderful childhood.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Fairly typical, I should imagine, except for my habit of bringing home stray and injured animals. I was the despair of my mother.”

Elinor laughed softly. “Then you have not changed much, only now you collect stray females. What does your mother think of that?”

Again he shrugged. “If only I were to marry one of them, she would not object at all, or so she says.”

“I see.” So he was under familial pressure to marry. But he could hardly consider a liaison with a seamstress. Was he pursuing her as one last fling before getting married?

“There is one strawberry left.” He held it out to her.

She leaned toward him and bit into the sweet pulp. A trickle of juice ran down her chin. With one finger, he captured the moisture, and then licked it off, all the while holding her gaze. Her eyes widened at the intimacy of the gesture as heat rose to her cheeks. She was in over her head here.

Buy now from Amazon, All Romance eBooks, BN/Nook, Kobo and Smashwords.

What is your favorite summer fruit? I’m torn between strawberries and blueberries.

Linda