Monday, December 2, 2013

Get Lost in a Royal Kiss




I'm delighted to welcome back good friend and fantastic author, Vanessa Kelly! Vanessa is an award-winning author who was named by Booklist, the review journal of the American Library Association, as one of the "New Stars of Historical Romance." Her sensual, Regency-set historical romances have been nominated for awards in a number of contests, and her second book, Sex and The Single Earl, won the prestigious Maggie Medallion for Best Historical Romance. Vanessa's next series, The Renegade Royals, is due to hit the shelves in November with an introductory novella, Lost in a Royal Kiss. Book One in the series, Secrets For Seducing a Royal Bodyguard, will release in January, 2014, and Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom will be out in April, 2014.
When not dreaming of plots for her next Regency historical novel, Vanessa also writes USA Today Bestselling contemporary romance with her husband under the pen name of V.K. Sykes.  She's also a member of Rock*It Reads, a group of bestselling traditional authors who are self-publishing, and of The Jaunty Quills. 



Jaunty Quills:  http://jauntyquills.com/

Excerpt from Lost in a Royal Kiss
Predictably, Sir Anthony resumed perusing her garb. His eyes glittered with masculine appreciation as they traveled over her, and a blush burned up her neck to her cheeks.
“You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here.” She pulled her wrapper more tightly around her, struggling since quite a bit of it had become trapped under her bottom. She let out a dismayed squeak when she glanced down and noticed that both night rail and wrapper were bunched up around her knees, leaving her feet and calves naked. She snapped her gaze back up to find Sir Anthony inspecting her bare legs.
“Yes,” he answered in a distracted voice. “I was just getting to that.”
Linnet wanted to squirm, but instead she wrapped her arms defensively around her body. That movement had the unfortunate effect of bringing his gaze up from her lower limbs, where it settled on her breasts. To her undying horror she could feel her nipples bead, instinctively pulling tight in response to his heavy-lidded gaze.
“I couldn’t sleep in this dreadful heat,” she said, jerking her arms up over her chest. “I thought I might find a book in Lady Farnsworth’s study to occupy my time.”
“Ah. That explains it.”
He sat on the bench, propping his shoulders into the corner of the bay, looking entirely at his ease. Linnet, however, was anything but, since the seat was not nearly big enough for both her and his powerful frame. She tried to edge backward, but had nowhere to go. His long legs stretched in front of her, blocking her in. If she wanted to escape, she’d practically have to leap over him.
But she didn’t want to escape, even though every moral precept she’d ever learned insisted she flee.
“Didn’t you have anything in your room?” he asked. “I brought your book back to the house this morning after your rather precipitous exit from the gazebo. I made certain the butler brought it to your room.”
Was he teasing her? He sounded amused, but she couldn’t really tell. If anyone had the ability to mask what he was thinking, it was Sir Anthony.
“Yes, thank you, but I was looking for something else,” she said in a polite voice. “Something that would help me to sleep.”
He tilted his head, studying her.
Definitely amused.
“And was it only the heat that kept you awake?” His voice held a husky note that made all her muscles want to go slack.
She shrugged. “I can’t think what else it could be.”
Her attempt at a casual gesture made her breasts jiggle under the light fabric of her nightclothes, and drew his attention back to her chest. She winced, painfully aware of her immodest appearance. Her lamentably plump breasts bordered on the indecent, and she always made sure to keep them chastely covered.
He reached out and trailed a finger along her shoulder to her neck. “I can think of one other reason why you couldn’t sleep, can’t you?”



Blog Tour Giveaway:  one ARC of SECRETS FOR SEDUCING A ROYAL BODYGUARD, Book one of The Renegade Royals series, per the total number of stops. (US/Canada only)


a Rafflecopter giveaway






ALL IT TAKES IS ONE KISS…
In this thrilling introduction to her Renegade Royals series, Vanessa Kelly transports readers to the court of King George III—where a London street urchin unwittingly plays Cupid, ushering in a new era—and ultimately a new kind of royal…
With her widowed mother working long hours as governess to the royal children, Linnet St. Clare must look after her siblings and run the household. Now she must add to her worries the fate of Dominic, a poor orphan who has inspired the wrath of the king himself. Clearly Linnet has no time to consider her own desires—much less notice the attentions of a certain handsome, powerful magistrate…

Sir Anthony Tait is at a loss for how to capture Linnet’s interest. If only she would be still long enough for courting. Outright seduction seems the only answer. But will his kisses be enough to persuade her—or might Anthony have something to learn from young Dominic about matters of the heart? And in saving the boy’s future, might Anthony and Linnet at last create their own?…


59 comments:

  1. Congrats to Vanessa on the new release and series.

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    1. Jane, I'm always happy to see a new book from Vanessa and this one is terrific.

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    2. PJ, thank you so much for hosting me, and I'm thrilled you enjoyed Lost in a Royal Kiss!

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  2. Vanessa, I enjoy your books and look forward to this new series. I am curious to see what Dominic has to teach Sir Anthony. It is nice to see the books coming out close together. I prefer to read a series in a short period of time. It keeps the characters and overall story arc fresh. I hope all the books in the series do well.

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    1. I enjoyed Linnet and Sir Anthony but it's Dominic who stole my heart. I'm excited to meet him as an adult in the series!

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    2. I really love Dominic, librarypat. Secrets comes out in January and Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom will be out in April. Then we jump to November 2014 for the novella which tells Dominic's story, and books 3 and four come out in January and spring of 2015.

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  3. I loved the excerpt and I'm really looking forward to reading this book and series.

    Marcy Shuler

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    1. I enjoyed the novella and am excited for the series to begin. Hope you enjoy it too, Marcy!

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  4. I enjoyed your interview Vanessa. It 's going to be another winner for sure.
    I love that this starts another new series or you and all of us readers.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

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    1. I'm excited for another new series from Vanessa too, Carol! Thanks for stopping by today!

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  5. I loved Lost in a Royal Kiss too, PJ. Of course, I've been a Vanessa Kelly fan since her first book, but I am especially fascinated by the premise of this series.

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    1. Janga, that means so much to me - thank you! My editor and I had several long discussions about the premise and how to make it work. I hope we pulled it off!

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  6. I'm so happy to see you doing a new series!!! I love your books!

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    1. Thanks, girlygirl! I'm pretty excited about The Renegade Royals.

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  8. Hi Vanessa, I'm a huge fan of yours and love anything that you write.

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    1. That's so kind of you, Diane - thank you! I hope you love the new series, too!

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  9. I really enjoy your books.

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  10. I'm really looking forward to your newest series since I have enjoyed your other books!

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  11. looking forward to the new book (lovely cover)

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    1. gamimistress, I really lucked out with the covers for my new series.

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  12. This cover is just simply sexy! Cannot wait to read it.

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  13. I'm really forward to reading Lost in a Royal Kiss. Linnet and Sir Anthony sound like wonderful characters.

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  14. Congrats on the new release! It sounds like a really good one. I can't wait to read. I do so love the cover, it's very pretty.

    mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

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  15. Thanks for the excerpt. Is royalty tangential to the plot or a main ingredient? The blurb says Linnet's mother works for the royals, yet the title references a royal kiss. So is the hero related to royalty?

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    1. Kim, he isn't, although he's a trusted confidant to the king and a very powerful man at court. But it's also part of the larger concept of the series, and previews how young Dominic becomes the leader of The Renegade Royals--the heroes of the later books who are all illegitimate sons of the royal princes of England. So royalty is integral to the series.

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  16. Congrats on your new release! Looks like a great read and I would love to read.

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    1. Thanks, Quilt Lady! For you NOOK users, the novella is now free on B & N, which is a really pleasant surprise!

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  17. Linnet sounds like an amazing woman. Did you fashion after someone you know.? Do certain characteristics appear in most of your heroes and heroines? If so, what traits do they have in common? or are all of your characters unique individuals?

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    1. I'm very fond of Linnet, Laurie. I didn't specifically fashion her after someone I knew, although I had a certain type of woman in mind when I wrote her. She's a very nurturing, strong woman, who takes care of her own. I do think all my heroes and heroines share the characteristics of being strong-minded but very kind and compassionate people. Some of the men tend to stray to the bad boy side, but they're also the kind of guys who would go out their way to rescue a kitten from a tree.

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  18. I love the excerpt & looking forward to reading this one!

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  19. Ooooh... this sounds awesome! Congrats to Vanessa on the new release! This has been a very fun tour :)

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  20. I can't believe today is the last day of the tour. I enjoy reading each of the excerpt so much. I can't wait to get my hands on this when school is over so I can relax and just read

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  21. I'm so glad you enjoyed them, Sandy. I don't know if you're a NOOK reader, but it's currently free on B & N. Don't know for how long, though.

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  22. I loved the book! What a wonderful way to kick off a new series! I am looking forward to the next story! I really enjoy your writing style and the pace of your books!! Thanks for the mini vacation and the ones to come! :)

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  23. What a great excerpt. I'm so glad you visited The Romance Dish today, because this is the first I've heard of your new series. I look forward to reading it.

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  24. Vanessa, thank you so much for visiting with us today and thanks to everyone who has stopped by! I've been on the road all day and unable to check in until now. I'll take a look at all the comments after I get the car unpacked and the dogs settled.

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  25. Vanessa, you do seduction or sensual scenes sooooo well...after reading this excerpt I had to fan my face! :-) Thanks for this post...the last in your tour. Now I need to go to Amazon to get this book! Ta ta for now. jdh2690@gmail.com

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  26. These excerpts just keep getting better! I SO hope to get this for Christmas -- or any of the books in the series!! Thanks for the wonderful tour, Vanessa!

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  27. Love the excerpt!! I can't wait to read this!! So enjoy Vanessa's books. Not to mention the beautiful covers!!

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  28. Sounds wonderful!
    Was there one point in the book that gave you fits, either you couldn't figure out what the characters were trying to tell you or was this one of the books to write where editing (cutting out parts) was the hardest to accomplish?
    Can't wait to read it

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  29. Do you ever model any of your characters after people you know or have known in real life? I'm looking forward to reading this series.

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  30. YAY!! Big congrats Vanessa on your new release! ((hugs))
    I know your new series will be wonderful, your books do not disappoint.
    Have a wonderful time on your book tour.
    P.S. ~ please do not enter me in contest. :-)

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  31. Hi Vanessa!

    I've loved your books ever since I helped out a friend who was a Manger at a Waldenbooks when she lost some of her associates who when to our local college right before Christmas and she called to ask me if I could help her out for the Christmas rush. I noticed that the one book flying off the shelves of the historical romance section was your book Mastering the Maruqess and picked it up as a Christmas gift for myself from Santa! I loved it and always looked for a new book by you every time I went into the store since then. Unfortunately it closed along with all the other Waldenbooks but I bought a Kindle so now I'm getting your books at Amazon and love I can pre-order them and have them magically appear on release day!

    Somehow I missed doing that when Lost In A Royal Kiss came out November 26th! I guess the rush of Thanksgiving made me momentarily lose my mind! I'm so excited that both Secrets of Seducing a Royal Bodyguard (release 1/7/14) and Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom (release 4/1/14) are already both available for pre-order!

    I love your books so please enjoy the Christmas and New Years holiday and then get back to writing! I can't wait to find out what your working on next!

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  32. Hi, Vanessa! I’m curious to know if it’s difficult to get into the right mind set when you go from writing as Vanessa Kelly to VK Sykes and back again. The genres seem to be so different in many ways. I do admire you for being able to do that. I wonder if that means you are both right and left-brained? If so, that’s a real feat! Congratulations!

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  33. Hi Vanessa! I can't wait to get to know your Renegade Royals! Maybe I'll even take one of them to bed with me.......since that is where I usually read!

    Wishing you and Randy and the rest of your family a very Merry Holiday Season!

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