What Azteclady Had Been Up To

I can’t begin to tell you all how much I love shopping at Etsy.com. My oldest daughter actually got me hooked on it and there is no amount of gushing from me to express how much I love and adore that website. You can find anything and everything you’re looking for. One of the emails I got today was from Azteclady and she shared why she’s been so quiet lately — she started a shop of her own at Etsy.com! Woohooo, AL! Congrats! For those that want to check out her goodies, you can find her shop here.

Read Full Post »

Elizabeth Hoyt’s Portrait of a Laughing Youth

NOTHING IS MORE INTOXICATING—

Reynaud St. Aubyn has spent the last seven years in hellish captivity. Now half mad with fever he bursts into his ancestral home and demands his due. Can this wild-looking man truly be the last earl’s heir, thought murdered by Indians years ago?

OR DANGEROUS—

Beatrice Corning, the niece of the present earl, is a proper English miss. But she has a secret: No real man has ever excited her more than the handsome youth in the portrait in her uncle’s home. Suddenly, that very man is here, in the flesh—and luring her into his bed.

THAN SURRENDERING TO A DEVIL.

Only Beatrice can see past Reynaud’s savagery to the noble man inside. For his part, Reynaud is drawn to this lovely lady, even as he is suspicious of her loyalty to her uncle. But can Beatrice’s love tame a man who will stop at nothing to regain his title—even if it means sacrificing her innocence?

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

PORTRAIT OF A LAUGHING YOUTH

Years ago I was staying the night in a motel in strange city and as I lay in bed, flipping channels on the TV, I caught an old black and white movie. It was called Laura and it was about a police detective investigating the murder of a young woman. In one of the early scenes, he walks into her library and there’s a huge portrait of her over the fireplace. The detective stares at the portrait, and as he does, the camera lingers too. She’s beautiful—wide eyes, pale, creamy skin, and long dark hair. As the detective talks to her family and friends about her we realize that he’s beginning to fall in love with her, this woman he never met while she was alive.

And then an interesting thing happens: the woman walks in her apartment, alive and well.

In my most recent book, To Desire a Devil, there’s a portrait, too. Except in my book, the portrait is of a laughing young man and in place of the detective I have an inquisitive young woman. Beatrice Corning lives with her Uncle Reggie and ever since Reggie became the Earl of Blanchard, they’ve made their home in the luxurious Blanchard townhouse. In one of the sitting rooms of the townhouse is a portrait of the laughing young man. He’s Viscount Hope, the eldest son and heir of the last earl. Viscount Hope was killed seven years before in the French and Indian War, but Beatrice likes to sit and gaze at his portrait even though she never met the man when he was alive.

And then an interesting thing happens: one day in the midst of a formal tea party a bearded madman stumbles in, raving in French. Even though he now looks nothing like his portrait, Beatrice knows he is Viscount Hope.

Which raises an interesting question: what happens when the image you’re infatuated with comes alive? Viscount Hope isn’t like the portrait anymore. For one thing, the picture was painted when he was a youth—now he’s a man. Furthermore, he’s spent the last seven years as a captive of war. He’s grimly determined to win back his title and lands, and relentless in that pursuit. Perhaps most distressing for Beatrice, he never smiles anymore. Is there anything left of the smiling youth in the portrait? And if there isn’t, can she still love Viscount Hope?

I hope you enjoy To Desire a Devil.

For an excerpt of TO DESIRE A DEVIL, click below — 

Read Full Post »