Last year, Jennifer Haymore visited the Riskies to talk about her debut book, A Hint of Wicked! Now she’s back to introduce the sequel, A Touch of Scandal (an RT Top Pick review for April!). Comment for a chance to win a copy of A Touch of Scandal or a copy of her Dawn halliday release Highland Surrender–she’s giving away one of each! (Just let us know which you’d like in the comments…)
Riskies: Welcome back, Jennifer! Since I read A Hint of Wicked I’ve been dying to know what would happen to poor Garrett! Finally we have his story in A Touch of Scandal (and a heroine in disguise, too). Tell us about this book! What was the inspiration for the plot?
Jennifer: I’m so excited that Garrett is finally able to meet and fall in love with the woman who will be at his side forever! I think he really meets his match in Kate, and Kate is one of my favorite heroines. She’s so exuberant, honest, and full of life just thinking about her makes me smile.
Here’s the blurb for A Touch of Scandal:
The last thing Garrett, Duke of Calton, expects to find while tracking his sworn enemy is the delectable, mysterious Kate. This beautiful servant girl rouses a longing the battle-scarred ex-soldier had never hoped to feel again. But when she turns out to be the sister of the man he seeks, he’s convinced he’s been betrayed.
Kate knows her duty to her family, yet how can she ignore Garrett’s powerful pull on her heart? Or the heady temptation of his stolen and sizzling kisses? Scandal has followed the duke since the war. Now the greatest shock of all is on its way–the one that can seperate Garrett and Kate forever…
Riskies: And this is not your only new book on the shelves! Your other self–Dawn Halliday–laso has a new release, Highland Surrender. Tell us a little about this story.
Jennifer: After writing 2 books centering on love triangles, Highland Surrender is my attempt at a “love square.” There are 2 couples matched up at the beginning of the book, but they end up with different partners in the end!
Here’s the blurb for Highland Surrender:
Determined to put his roguish past behind him, the Earl of Camdonn arranges to marry the proper Lady Elizabeth. But when an accident lands the earl in the expert hands of a beautiful Highland medicine woman, all well-laid plans are thrown to the wind–and just as in the old days his passions run high…
Ceana MacNab has terrible luck with men. Resigning herself to the healing arts, she has steeled her heart against love. Then fate sends Cam her way. Even though he’s a well-bred Earl, and Ceana a low-born Highlander, their all-consuming passion may lead the way to lasting bliss.
Riskies: How do the two names differ?
Jennifer: I was Dawn before I was Jennifer! I think they’re both a lot alike, even though Dawn is (usually!) much spicier than Jennifer. But ultimately the reasons behind the two names had to do with contractual considerations…
Riskies: Did you encounter any interesting research tidbits for these books?
Jennifer: Too many to name! One that comes to mind is researching the industry of Glasgow in the early 18th century (well, okay that might not be interesting to some people, but it was to me, LOL!). One of the big ones was whale hunting…and I’ve read some pretty gruesome descriptions of how men hunted whales back then. Fascinating stuff!
Riskies: What’s “risky” about these stories?
Jennifer: A Touch of Scandal is risky because so much happens to the characters I worry the readers’ heads will whirl…
Highland Surrender deals with some edgy situations and relations between the characters that could definitely be called risky!
Riskies: And what’s next for “both” of you?
Jennifer: I’m finishing up edits on Jennifer’s next book, A Season of Seduction which is the final book in this trilogy. I’m so excited about this story! Dawn isn’t sure what’s next–she’s dreaming up her next project as we speak and hopefully it will be something containing more hot Highlanders!
You can visit Jennifer at her website here and Dawn at her site here!
I can imagine some of our Regency characters playing “ball” games with eggs. Egg Toss–throwing eggs in the air and catching them until they break. Egg Shackling–grasping a hard-boiled egg in one’s right hand and using it as a weapon to strike the eggs of other players. The winner is the one with the intact egg at game’s end. Egg Rolling, still traditional in Northern England, Scotland, Ulster and the Isle of Man–rolling colored hard-boiled eggs down a slope until they are cracked and broken, at which time they are eaten.
Don’t forget! It is All Undone at my new blog this month. Tomorrow I’ll announce last week’s winners. Wednesday I’ll tell you about Michelle Willingham’s and my Drive By Booksigning, and Friday I feature the second of my four anthology mates, Louise Allen, whose story in Pleasurably Undone is Disrobed and Dishonored. Yes there will be prizes both days!
