Author post and Giveaway: Emily Greenwood

Welcome to Emily Greenwood :)

Writing Regency Widows with Emily Greenwood

I’ve been wanting to write a Regency widow’s story for a while, and with Eliza in HOW TO HANDLE A SCANDAL, I finally got my chance. Why a widow? The short answer is freedom, independence, and knowledge.

In a number of ways, a Regency widow had more of the freedom to act on her own that women of today enjoy, which makes her potentially more easy for modern readers to identify with. One of the most frustrating creativity-stimulating aspects of writing about young, unmarried Regency ladies is the unwritten social code of the time. Ah, those Regency rules! It’s fun to figure out how to either play within the rules or break them, and I love writing about young ladies just discovering courting and kisses. But the challenging reality for a romance writer is that single young ladies in the early 1800s weren’t supposed to be alone with men. So how will they kiss? Or have the kinds of intimate, relationship-building encounters that we all want to see them have? It can’t all happen during a chaperoned tea party.

A widow, excitingly, wasn’t held to the same strict standards, and it wasn’t an instant scandal if she was with a man on her own. So, possibilities!

And then there’s the issue of independence. When a Regency woman married, she became part of a single unit whose head was her husband, which meant that she gave up her legal status as an individual. She also gave up control of her money, land, and other assets she brought to the marriage. Not the most appealing scenario for a modern woman, and wickedly, some of us give a silent cheer whenever one of those fictional Regency ladies is liberated from an unfulfilling marriage. Once a husband died, a widow regained the rights she’d lost at marriage. She could once again own property, she could inherit property from her husband, and any property she’d brought into the marriage would revert to her.

Is it any wonder that many widowed women chose not to remarry?

Eliza, the heroine of HOW TO HANDLE A SCANDAL, thinks she’s going to be one of those happily single widows. Deemed a scandal during her first Season, she marries a kind, serious man in an attempt to remake herself into a more virtuous person. When he dies after a few years, she’s sorry to lose him but grateful for everything he gave her. Now independent and with money and a house of her own, Eliza’s looking forward to a fulfilling, meaningful life as a single woman.

Everything’s going according to plan until Tommy Halifax, one of the casualties of her scandalous Season, returns to England after being gone for six years. He’s incredibly handsome and dashing, and all the ladies of the ton are whispering about how swashbuckling he is, and suddenly Eliza’s long-repressed temptation to be scandalous is beckoning.

Which leads to the other fun thing about widows in the Regency, at least as far as a romance writer is concerned: knowledge. Having been married meant that even if a woman had had an unsatisfying sex life with her husband, or a bad one, or even none at all, no one expected her to be innocent. Which is why when Eliza decides that she needs to visit a high-class brothel for an important reason, she convinces herself that it won’t be too much of a disaster if she’s discovered there because she’s a widow.

Fortunately, it turns out that Eliza is wrong, and disaster does loom, though for completely unexpected reasons, and she’s not going to stay a widow for long. But though the last thing she wants is to marry again, this time she’s choosing the perfect man—she just doesn’t know it yet.

Giveaway

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How to Handle a Scandal by Emily Greenwood
The Scandalous Sisters, Book 2
ISBN: 9781492613688
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Genre: Historical Romance 

About the Book

THEY THOUGHT THE DEBUTANTE WAS SCANDALOUS

Miss Elizabeth Tarryton was the toast of the London Season the year she was seventeen and spurned young Tommy Halifax. A careless flirt who didn't know what she wanted, she was startled into laughter by his public proposal of marriage. Furious and heartbroken, Tommy promptly left home for a life of adventure in India.

IF THEY ONLY KNEW ABOUT THE WIDOW

Seven years later, Elizabeth has much to make up for, but the methods she chooses for doing good are as shocking as her earlier wanton behavior--should the ton ever find out. Tommy returns to England a hero, with no intention of allowing himself to be hurt by a woman ever again, but he's fascinated nonetheless by Elizabeth, now widowed and more alluring than ever.

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About the Author

Emily Greenwood worked for a number of years as a writer, crafting newsletters and fundraising brochures, but she far prefers writing playful love stories set in Regency England, and she thinks romance novels are the chocolate of literature. A Golden Heart finalist, she lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters.

Connect with Emily Greenwood

Website: http://emilygreenwood.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Emily-Greenwood-365744720128570/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/emigreenwood

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Mischief by Moonlight - Emily Greenwood

With the night so full of romance...

Colin Pearce, the Earl of Ivorwood, never dreamed he'd desire another man's fiancée, but when his best friend goes off to war and asks Colin to look after the bewitching Josie Cardworthy, he falls under her sparkling spell.

Who can resist mischief?

Josie can't wait for the return of her long-absent fiancé. If only her beloved sister might find someone, too...someone like the handsome, reserved Colin. A gypsy's love potion gives Josie the chance to matchmake, but the wild results reveal her own growing passion for the earl. And though fate offers them a chance, a steely honor may force him to reject what her reckless heart is offering...

My thoughts:

Boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, but boy's best friend gets there first. Yes poor Colin, his friend Josie grew up, he started falling for her but his best friend Nicholas won her.

Colin is still in love with her, but he is a good friend, so he becomes a good friend and only that to her. And again I found myself reading about a nerdy hero who loved history (yay! my kind of guy.)

Josie was a whirlwind! At times I did not think they would suit that well, I thought her sister Edwina would fit him better. But, that's the thing, you never really know. And they were already best friends too, he had a calming effect on her.

And of course there is mischief going on. Josie tries to set Colin up with her sister, she even gives him a potion. There is a London season and these two slowly moving even closer. But there is that bog cloud, she is in love with someone else, or is she?

Conclusion:

A fun mischievous book.

Cover

works

Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Expected publication: June 3rd 2014 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Mischief #3
Historical romance
for review

Author Interview and bookgiveaway: Emily Greenwood

I have one more author interview before Christmas. Today's author is Emily Greenwood and there is a giveaway at the end too.

Welcome!

Thank you so much for having me here today to celebrate the release of GENTLEMEN PREFER MISCHIEF!

1. Tell me about yourself

I love to read and cook, and I love writing when it’s going well, and not so much when it isn’t J I have watched a decadent number of TV and movie productions of nineteenth century books. Austen, Bronte, Dickens, Eliot—I find them all enduringly fascinating. I have two teenage daughters and a husband, who are all super supportive about my writing. 

2. Your new book is called Gentlemen prefer Mischief.  Tell me about the book too :)

It all starts with haunted sheep. Or rather, rumors that the sheep belonging to Miss Lily Teagarden have become possessed by the evil spirit that’s believed to inhabit the woods between her family’s property and the estate belonging to their neighbor, Hal, Viscount Roxham. The rumors are causing trouble and she needs Hal’s help, however much she doesn’t want to ask for it— he’s pretty much her least favorite person.

A teasing, playful rake, Hal broke Lily’s heart four years ago without even knowing it. When this prim, cool beauty appears at his estate and insists he resolve the problem in the woods, he’s instantly intrigued, both by her ridiculous problem, and the way she’s changed since he last saw her years ago. But hardly has he begun to investigate when she mysteriously begins throwing mischief in his path. Soon, the fascinated Hal can’t seem to get enough of Lily—too bad she’s the only woman in England who doesn’t think he’s Lord Perfect.

3. Why is Roxham the man to fall in love with this winter?

Roxham would definitely keep a reader feeling cheery over the long days of winter. He’s a golden boy from the top of his blond head to the soles of his polished black boots, and it’s hard to miss the spark of mischief in his blue-green eyes. In addition to being witty and smart, he’s all about play and pleasure…what’s not to like? 

4. What made you drawn to writing historical romance?

Many of my favorite books were written in nineteenth century Britain. In addition to loving the pretty settings and clothes, I’m fascinated by the tensions in a society so ruled by class and gender. So when I discovered authors like Mary Balogh, Jo Beverley, and Judith Ivory, I was hooked on historical romance.

5.  What is coming next from you?

The final book in my Mischief series is MISCHIEF BY MOONLIGHT, which will be out in June 2014. Here’s the story in a nutshell: Engaged to the perfect man, Miss Josie Cardworthy wants her sister to find the same bliss—with Josie’s dear friend, the Earl of Ivorwood. But when Josie gives Ivorwood a love potion, she’s the one who falls under the handsome earl’s spell.

Thanks!

GIVEAWAY

1 copy of Gentlemen prefer mischief

1. Open to US and Canada

2. Ends Jan 4

3. Just enter :D Ask questions if you wanna too

Review: Gentlemen Prefer Mischief - Emily Greenwood

It's going to take a dash of mischief to bring these two together…

If it hadn’t been for the haunted woods, Lily Teagarden would never have spoken to her neighbor, Viscount Roxham. Known to the fashionable world as Lord Perfect, to Lily he’s a man she can never respect…and the careless rogue who broke her fledgling heart. But sightings of eerie lights among his trees are causing her trouble, and she needs his help.

Intrigued by this prim beauty who was once an ugly duckling, Roxham agrees to investigate, though hardly has he begun when she mysteriously undermines his efforts. The mischief she throws in his path awakens his sleeping heart, just as his touch stirs a passion she can’t accept. But Roxham is the last man to whom Lily would surrender, and it’s going to take everything he’s got to win her love.

My thoughts:

I have reached a conclusion that I really enjoy house parties in regency romances, there are just so many opportunities for the couple to fall in love. And yes of course there is one here, why would I mention it otherwise ;)

Lily is really prim and proper. But she had to be the one who kept it all together. While Hal is carefree and reckless. He was never meant to be a viscount. She had a crush on him when younger, he crushed those feelings (well not crushed but teased it out of her). They are such an unlikely couple. But she needs someone who makes her let loose, and he needs someone that teaches him values.

The romance, oh tease tease, anger and banter. They have a long way to go and the more they argue the more they want each other.

Oh and I did not even know it was book 2 so it works awesome as a stand alone.

There is also the hunt for some lights in the woods but mostly it's about these two arguing and making it very fun to read.

Conclusion:

A light fun romance.

Cover

Nice

Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Published December 3rd 2013 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Mischief #2
Historical romance
For review