Weeeee, New Historical Author!

I like to joke that Tessa Dare and I were two ships passing in the night. See, Tessa used to work for my current employer as a children's librarian. About a month before I started The Old Job, Tess went off on maternity leave, and eventually decided to make it permanent. Girlfriend had bigger fish to fry. Oh, like signing a three-book contract with Ballantine. In another turn of events, Ballantine then decided, "Hey Tessa, we want to release your trilogy in back to back to back months." And so, here it is....2009 and the first book in Tessa's debut trilogy lands on July 28. Gather round Bat Cave followers and bask in the glow of pretty, pretty covers and the promise of a new historical author for us all to glom with abandon.


Goddess Of The Hunt - July 28, 2009

Description: Ever the bold adventuress, Lucy Waltham has decided to go hunting for a husband. But first she needs some target practice. So she turns to her brother’s best friend, Jeremy Trescott, the Earl of Kendall, planning to hone her seductive wiles on him before setting her sights on another man. But her practice kisses spark a smoldering passion—one that could send all her plans up in smoke.

Jeremy has an influential title, a vast fortune, and a painful past, full of long-buried secrets. He keeps a safe distance from his own emotions. But to distract Lucy from her reckless scheming, he must give his passions free rein. Their sensual battle of wills is as maddening as it is delicious, but the longer he succeeds in managing the headstrong temptress, the closer Jeremy comes to losing control. When scandal breaks, can he bring himself to abandon Lucy to her ruin? Or will he risk his heart, and claim her for his own?

Surrender of a Siren - August 25, 2009

Description: Desperate to escape a loveless marriage and society’s constraints, pampered heiress Sophia Hathaway jilts her groom, packs up her paints and sketchbook, and assumes a new identity, posing as a governess to secure passage on the Aphrodite. She wants a life of her own: unsheltered, unconventional, uninhibited. But it’s one thing to sketch all her wildest, most wanton fantasies, and quite another to face the dangerously handsome libertine who would steal both her virtue and her gold.

To any well-bred lady, Benedict “Gray” Grayson is trouble in snug-fitting boots. A conscienceless scoundrel who sails the seas for pleasure and profit, Gray lives for conquest—until Sophia’s perception and artistry stir his heart. Suddenly, he’ll brave sharks, fire, storm, and sea just to keep her at his side. She’s beautiful, refined, and ripe for seduction. Could this counterfeit governess be a rogue’s redemption? Or will the runaway heiress’s secrets destroy their only chance at love?

A Lady of Persuasion - September 29, 2009

Description: Only one thing could convince Sir Tobias Aldridge, an incorrigible rake, to profess undying fidelity to a woman he’s just met. Revenge. What better way to get back at his enemy, than by stealing the scoundrel’s sister? Not that Toby finds it a chore, seducing a beguiling, sultry beauty freshly arrived from the West Indies. With Isabel Grayson, vengeance is doubly rewarding.

Isabel is determined to marry a wealthy, powerful lord and become a lady of influence, using her rank and fortune to fight social injustice. Sir Toby, with his paltry title and infamous reputation, is unsuitable husband material—but he makes her blood race, her heart pound, and her long-buried passions come to the surface. If she can reform the charming devil, she’ll get exactly what she craves: society’s respect. But it’s a dangerous gamble. For if Toby wins this battle of persuasion, Isabel could lose her heart.

OK, so they aren't westerns. But they're historicals! And my burn out on English historicals appears to be lifting (the Bat Cave Jury is still in the Cautiously Optimistic Phase on that front). And look kids - not a vampire, werewolf, pixie, faerie, wood nymph or leprechaun to be found. Oh, happy day!