I’m excited to be here on Fresh Fiction, one of my favorite websites. I’m also excited to tell you about my new book, Seducing the Marquess. In order to do that, I decided to step aside and let my characters tell you a little bit about themselves, and how they got into the mess that is their love story. First I present to you, Richard, Marquess of Devon. “Hello everyone, Lord Devon here. This is a bit awkward for me since I’ve never appeared on a website before. I hope to tell you a bit about myself because my author insisted. She threatened to take away my happily ever after if I didn’t make this appearance, so here we are, old chap. “First of all, I must tell you I never planned on having the type of marriage I ended up with. Who needs all the mess and entanglement of love? Well, it turned out I needed it. But my dear wife, Eugenia, went about it in such a bizarre way that we almost lost each other. You see, she found this little book that . . . . Well, maybe I should let her tell you about it.” (He…

When I received feedback from the early readers of my book, THE BROKEN TRAIL, I was prepared for all sorts of questions. It’s a contemporary romance and it deals with some pretty deep stuff so I was braced for anything, but not for the one I got the most often. No, that question was “Can I get the recipe for that tomato pie she makes?” There’s a lot of food in the book since Katherine, the main character, enjoys baking and in her hectic life hadn’t had time for it. Stuck in a small town in Maine she’s finally got time on her hands and she uses it to make apple pies, vegetable soup, bread, and on her very first night there, homemade cocoa though that turns out to be a bit of a mess. Out of all of those culinary delights, the tomato pie always stands out so I thought I’d share it here. Although considered a southern creation, I make it when my New England garden is right at the end of the season, giving up the last of the big, ripe tomatoes. Katherine’s Tomato Pie One pie dough – (I cheat and use the kind you buy…

Let us journey to Regency Era England for a Christmastide celebration. When the House of Commons recessed around December 20th for the Christmas holiday and Boxing Day (the day following Christmas Day), the ton flocked to their country estates for holiday parties with few remaining in London. The holiday celebration lasted twelve days, ending around January 6th, and was a time of many festivities and days spent with family. Unlike today, in Regency and Victorian times, holiday decorations were hung on Christmas Eve; including holly, ivy, and mistletoe. Sprigs of mistletoe were hung generously throughout a dwelling, and couples were called to hug or kiss below it for continued good luck in the upcoming year. The Yule Log was lit and kept burning through the twelve days. Most attended a Christian Mass on Christmas morning before returning home for a dinner of roasted goose or turkey—or even boar’s head—with sides of vegetables and stuffing for the fowl. There were also desserts; including Christmas plum puddings and mince pies. With their food eaten and dessert long past, family would sit before the Yule Log, though Christmas carols are historically named as a Victorian tradition, many families would gather to tell stories…