TRUE PRETENSES short story!

To celebrate the release of Listen to the Moon (about a very proper valet and a snarky maid-of-all-work who marry to get a plum job), here is the traditional free short story about the characters of my last book, True Pretenses.

It’s probably no surprise to anyone that I’ve been reading a lot about Aaron Burr. He was in England in 1808-9, and I kept coming up with different crossover scenarios where my characters met him. A few weeks ago, I spent some time fantasizing about Ash and Rafe running a con on him, and when Courtney Milan and Jenni requested I actually write it, I couldn’t resist.

The story follows directly from this passage in Burr’s journal, when he “[l]ost or spent 28 shillings and a pair of gloves” in Birmingham on Christmas Eve 1808, on his way to Edinburgh. As it happens, Ash mentions in True Pretenses that he was in Yorkshire on Christmas Eve 1808—in Dewsbury, to be exact, where they ring a bell once for each year since Christ’s birth.

Dewsbury is just off the Great North Road, north of Birmingham and south of Edinburgh…

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Masterpost: LISTEN TO THE MOON blog tour

blog tour

This is the masterpost for the Listen to the Moon blog tour! Links will be updated as the posts go up.

12/18 – Romancing the Book – Q&A – talking Listen, what one thing I would take with me to a deserted island (spoiler: it’s Oliver Queen), and much, much more!
12/28 – Risky Regencies – New scholarly-nonfiction-style cover for Listen, plus I’m taking requests!
1/1 – All About Romance blog – Being a servant in the Regency was a truly terrible job.
1/4 – Smexy Books – Ten of my favorite fictional servants, from The Secret Garden to Iron Man.
1/5 – Romance Bookmark Radio, interviewed by Renee Bernard.
1/6 – Angieville – How my starchy valet hero was inspired by Wolverine. No, really.
1/8 – Heroes & Heartbreakers – Favorite Anna/Bates (Downton Abbey) moments
1/9 – Harlequin Junkie – Some fun facts about Listen to the Moon, an exclusive excerpt in which John and Sukey go to a servants’ ball, and more.
1/11 – Ever After Romance – My favorite strong, silent types from Courtney Milan to Star Trek.
1/12 – The Romance Dish – My favorite makeover scenes from Dorothy Sayers to Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
1/22 – The Jaunty Quills – Scarcity, generosity, love, and food hoarding.

I’ll be giving away an e-book of Listen at most stops!

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See all DVD extras for Listen to the Moon.

Spoiler-friendly "Listen to the Moon" discussion post

ListenTotheMoon220pxHi everyone! This is a spoiler-friendly discussion and questions post for Listen to the Moon. I’d love to hear anything you have to say about the book! And if there’s anything you want to know (about the book, about writing the book, about characters in the book, about what happens next, anything really), this is a good place to ask.

Thank you to everyone who was excited for John and Sukey’s story!

LISTEN TO THE MOON short story – taking suggestions!

So I have a tradition. Every time I release a book, I celebrate by posting a free short story based on a suggestion from a reader about the characters from my previous book. NB: All contain spoilers.

For In for a Penny, I wrote “Four Times Percy Garrett Didn’t Kiss [SPOILER REDACTED], and One Time He Did“.
For A Lily Among Thorns, I wrote “The way of a man with a maid“, about Deborah Hathaway’s first two weeks of marriage to Jonas…which do not go very smoothly.
For Sweet Disorder, I wrote “Poor child of Doubt and Death“, in which Nick is a vampire and Phoebe is a dragon and everything else is pretty much the same.

The True Pretenses short story, in which Ash and Rafe con Aaron Burr, will be up in January!

And now it’s time for me to take reader suggestions for a Listen to the Moon short story!

I’ll take suggestions of any kind, in any format, as detailed or vague as you like. What ifs, alternate universes, missing scenes, backstory, and future scenes are all fair game. Feel free to treat your comment like a mini-brainstorming session if you want!

You can see past suggestion posts here.

Legal stuff: by submitting a comment on this post, you permit Rose Lerner to develop your story idea without any expectation of financial compensation or remuneration. The resulting story will be available to readers free of charge.

Some suggestions to get the ball rolling:

1. Sukey and Toogood are struck by lightning and swap bodies.
2. Sukey works at a coffee kiosk and Toogood owns the upscale classic-cocktail bar across the street.
3. Nora Khaleel and Imogen Makepeace go to the fair together.
4. Sukey learns she’s a fairy changling, and she and Toogood have to journey to Faerie to get back the human baby she was swapped for.
5. Footman Toogood babysitting little Nick at Tassell Hall.

Comment section is SPOILER-FRIENDLY!

New contest: LISTEN TO THE MOON e-books, and a gift basket!

ETA: This contest is now closed. JCP won the gift basket, and K, Elaine C, Joye, Angela, and LSUReader won the e-books!

Listen to the Moon comes out in just a few weeks, and to celebrate, I’m giving away 5 e-books and a lovely gift basket of items (basket not included)!

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Pictured: Spokemodel T-Rex with silver tray of brandy (not included) and gift basket items in an elegant setting (also not included)! Image credit: “Holkham Hall” by Hans Rosbach.

Listen to the Moon is book 3 in my Lively St. Lemeston series, and this one focuses on a romance between servants! (Readers of Sweet Disorder may recognize them…)

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