A WHISPER OF DESIRE BLOG HOP

Today on the blog, join Author Bronwen Evans for the release and celebration of her new historical romance, 

A WHISPER OF DESIRE, A Disgraced Lords Novel. 

BLURB:

Sensual heat melts the ice in the new Disgraced Lords novel from USA Today bestselling author Bronwen Evans, as a marriage of convenience leads to delightful pleasure—and mortal danger.

Lady Marisa Hawkestone’s nightmare is just beginning when she wakes up naked, with no memory of the night before, lying next to Maitland Spencer, the Duke of Lyttleton—a man so aloof and rational he’s nicknamed “the Cold Duke.” A scandal ensues, in which Marisa’s beloved beau deserts her. As a compromised woman, Marisa agrees to marry Maitland. But on her wedding night, Marisa discovers the one place the duke shows emotion: in the bedroom, where the man positively scorches the sheets.

Taught from a young age to take duty seriously, Maitland cannot understand his new wife’s demands on his love and affection. Marisa’s hot-blooded spirit, however, does have its attractions—especially at night. In retrospect, it seems quite silly that he didn’t marry sooner. But being one of the Libertine Scholars requires constant vigilance, even more so when the enemy with a grudge against his closest friends targets Marisa. Now Maitland must save the woman who sets his heart aflame—or die trying.

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author, Bronwen Evans grew up loving books. She writes both historical and contemporary sexy romances for the modern woman who likes intelligent, spirited heroines, and compassionate alpha heroes. Evans is a three-time winner of the RomCon Readers’ Crown and has been nominated for an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award. She lives in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand with her dogs Brandy and Duke.

Bron loves hearing from avid romance readers at Bronwen@bronwenevans.com You can keep up with Bronwen’s news by visiting her

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A WHISPER OF DESIRE :   

Maitland Spencer, the Duke of Lyttleton, had always simply been her older brother’s somewhat handsome yet standoffish friend. He’d never shown an ounce of interest in her, or her in him. She looked him over. “Are you ill?”

Perfectly arched eyebrows lowered into a frown. “I’m very well, and you?”

“I’m stunned, actually. You’re flirting with me.”

“I wasn’t flirting. I was merely stating a fact.”

Of course he was. Literal was his middle name. “Then perhaps you can unhand me, sir,” she said, looking pointedly at his large hands still firmly holding her waist, “unless you do have intentions of flirting with me.”

To her dismay, he did not take his hands from her; instead, they tightened and pulled her close, and he gently moved her into an alcove, away from prying eyes.

“What if I decided I did want to flirt with you? Perhaps even declare my suit? Don’t look surprised—you are one of the most sought-after debutantes this season.”

“Has Sebastian put you up to this? There is no need for him to pester me. I know who I will marry; I’m simply waiting for him to ask.”

Maitland’s eyes roamed her face, stopping at her lips. “A beauty such as you should not have to wait. I would decline him on principle. What would you do if I got down on bended knee here and now?”

Heat flared over her skin. Flustered, she didn’t know how to reply. What had come over His Grace tonight?

“I suspect I would think you in your cups, Your Grace. In all the years I have known you, you’ve never looked at me twice.”

He pressed closer. “That’s not true, little one. It would have been inappropriate for me to notice you until I knew my mind. I find that tonight I know exactly what I want.”

His eyes flared with something she’d swear was heat. Perhaps their dance earlier had affected him as much as it had affected her.

“I’m not for the wanting, so you can stop this silly flirtation.”

“I have no need to flirt, little one. When I want a woman she is left in no doubt as to my intentions.” His mouth trailed up her neck until he reached her ear. He softly added, “And they rarely deny me.”

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TMCRA - Work in Progress

It's December and I hope to leave 2015 with a bang. I'm back to work on my romantic suspense based in Mumbai's sex trade. While the setting and topic for the novel is heavy and heartbreaking, my research into police procedurals and Mumbai's legal system is fascinating. Eye-opening. It's amazing that from seeming chaos there is eventual order.

Here's a snippet from TMCRA. I'm quite fond of the title of the book already, though I suspect I'll need to change it. Anyway, that's a poll for another day. 

Shankara tore after them. She wanted to call PJ and report the kidnapping. Okay, maybe kidnapping was taking it a bit too far considering the kidnapee had gotten into the car of her own volition. But something didn’t seem kosher, and Shankara’s gut was doing summersaults.

She scooter-stalked the Land Rover. Luckily, it wasn’t going fast because of the traffic, and she managed to keep it in sight from a couple of cars back and to the left. One-handed, she fished her phone out of her pocket and speed-dialed PJ. The inspector’s phone was engaged. Cha! What a nuisance. She speed-dialed Sarika next, her near, dear and longstanding colleague. Rather, she tried to. Sarika’s phone kept ringing, nonstop, like it was on call waiting or being intentionally ignored. Typical. Sarika had a new man in her life, and spent every waking minute either flirting with him on the phone or screwing him for real.

Frustrated, Shankara dropped the phone into the slot between the handlebars. She’d text Sarika later. Hopefully, a text might get through her colleague’s romantic haze to the emergency at hand. The SUV passed Mumbai Central Station, heading north toward Saat Rasta. The road had opened up, the traffic moving faster now. Shankara grabbed the handles of the scooter with both hands and revved up, fearing she’d lose them. She passed the lane that led to her home, barely sparing it a glance.

Where the hell were they headed? To a hotel? Maybe a private flat the man used for his assignations? An empty office, perhaps, she guessed wildly, as they drove into Lower Parel. Blocks of residential and office complexes, a five-star hotel and two shopping malls flew by on the left, while rundown shops and closed-down mills lined the right. Half the buildings were new and competing for the “architectural marvel” prize, the other half old, dark and unhappy-looking. Then, just as she prepared to take the flyover, the Land Rover switched lanes and turned onto a dingy side street. Shankara paused at its mouth for a few seconds before following. No other cars buffered her from the Land Rover now. If the man looked into the rearview mirror, he would spot her. The streetlights were dim, but they were there. She rolled forward cautiously, staying on the shadowy side. The lane was narrow, walled on both sides and stinking to high heaven. Beyond the walls on the right, rose the aluminum and tar roofs of a slum. A dense border of trees jutted out above the wall on her left. All along that wall were signs that cited the area was private property and trespassers would be prosecuted.

About halfway down the lane, the Land Rover stopped, a gate opened, and it drove through. The gate closed behind it. 

“Now what?” Shankara murmured, peering through the iron bars of the gate, careful to use the wall as a shield in case of security guards or CCTV cameras. It was an old mill complex. A few rundown buildings sprouted out of the overgrown vegetation. Though there was a clear road leading through the center of the property, lined with trees on either side. She switched on the map app on her phone, a dot blinked on and she googled the address. 

~ Excerpt TMCRA © Falguni Kothari

CHARACTER INTERVIEW - Michael's Mystery

Today, on the blog I have with us a character from Linze Brandon's novel, 

Michael's Mystery: The Nations of Peace.

What is your name? Do you have a nickname?

Hey there, I am Andesine Cle'era. I have a nickname, but only one person may call me Andi.

Describe yourself in one sentence.

I am a magician, a healer, that grew up on Kryane after my parents had to flee from my home planet many suns ago.

So, what’s your story?

Like other healers on Kryane, I have no standing in the magician's order, but when our Grandmaster was using his own people to exact revenge on innocent people, I had to do something.

My parents told me about the Lords of the High Council when I had been a child, and I knew they were the only means to help us. The Grandmaster has the ultimate power base on our planet, so I had no other choice but to report him to the High Lords. Seeing so many families suffer because of the Grandmaster, was the last straw.

Then Michael showed up. He was sent by the High Lords to investigate the Grandmaster and I had to help him. The problem was that I had to lie to him, and he knew I did. I didn't like doing it, and I wanted to trust him, but there was more at stake than my own well-being.

I liked working with Michael. Alright, I more than liked him, but he was only a visitor to my home, so getting involved would be really stupid. Then again, it isn't everyday that a girl gets to meet a guy with such incredible hair.

Favorite movie?

I live in a remote village in a desert. There are few opportunities for us to enjoy such entertainments.

Tell us a joke.

A dragon, a magician and a vampire decide to have a drink together. Who will be stuck with the bill?

The vampire, since the other two will magically disappear.

What would you do if you woke up and found a giraffe in your house?

Uh, what is a giraffe?

What makes you laugh out loud?

The antics of the pre-school children in our village. They love to tease their teacher, who happens to be my best friend, Lindi.

Do you have a secret?

Yes, I have many secrets that I have to keep for both my own sake and that of my people. But I can tell you this much: I am not just a healer.

And last, give us a brief introduction about your creator.

Linzé loves romance and wants to see all her characters get their happily-ever-after, but she knows it is not an easy road when you have to deal with evil Grandmasters and their secret agendas.

Throw in the Lords of the High Council, a sexy investigator and healer with a lot to hide, and she had her work cut out for her. We just loved throwing magical curve balls at her.

Fortunately, her engineering background can be quite useful when dealing with magic fights, wars and all kinds of technology that feature in the Nations of Peace series.

Since fantasy is not her only genre, I suppose understanding maths and physics also comes in handy with the science fiction and non-fiction projects.

But she is human, and she and her mate lives in Pretoria, South Africa (on the third planet in the ninth solar system) with domesticated wolves (I think you call them dogs) from where she records our stories to tell the rest of the universe.

You can follow her on the information super highway, I don't she will mind too much.

*** BOOK  TOUR ***

It was time for the Lords of the High Council to step in when the Grandmaster of Kryane is accused of murdering his own people. They had little choice but to prevent the collapse of the whole magicians order, so they sent Michael to investigate the allegations.
The people of the desert planet were an enigma, but none more than Andesine, the healer assigned to assist Michael. Why did she report the Grandmaster? Was she involved, or was there something more sinister going on?
The more people they interrogated the more they suspected that nothing was as it seemed. Not the murders, nor the Grandmasters' motive as everyone thought.
Unable to resist the growing attraction between them, Michael and Andesine learn that they had to trust each other with their own secrets, and risking any future they might have.
Time and again the High Lords had to step in to prevent chaos on Kryane, but time was running out for Michael and Andesine. They had to get a new Grandmaster in place before the Kryane Order collapsed completely. And they had to find the who the true culprit was.
Fortunate to escape an attack from this monster once, they were risking the lives of many others in the process. Before the High Lords could formulate a plan, Michael and Andesine were captured, leaving the High Lords helpless to prevent it.
Kidnapped and imprisoned, Andesine was confronted with the realisation that if they were to survive their ordeal, it was up to her and her long suppressed powers. But as a healer she saved lives, would she be able to destroy the monster before he forces her to unleash her power to destroy the future of mankind?

About the Author:

Teaching herself to read before she went to school, it was the start of her life long love affair with books. Trained as an engineer, Linzé has worked as an export consultant and is presently a project manager. Although she still loves to read, she also enjoys counted stitch embroidery, archery, tai chi, fly fishing, painting, her husband's medal winning photographs and watching Manchester United play.

She counts both novels and short stories to her publishing credit. Her fourth novel, Waiting for Adrian, is planned for publication early in 2016. Her story, The Vernal Equinox, was a finalist in a sci-fi flash-fiction competition in 2015.

Linzé Brandon lives in Pretoria, South Africa, with her engineer husband and German Shepherds who are convinced that the world revolves only around them.

Follow Linzé Online:

Blog * FB Author Page * Twitter * Pinterest * Smashwords * Goodreads * Google+ * Wattpad * IndieWriteNet 

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