My new historical romance, FAIR AS A STAR, is the first book in my Victorian Romantics series. Set during the summer of 1864, it features a handsome and compassionate clergyman hero and a courageous heroine who just happens to be betrothed to his brother. After a year-long stay in Paris, Beryl Burnham has returned home to the idyllic village of Shepton Worthy ready to resume the life she left behind. Betrothed to the wealthy Sir Henry Rivenhall, she has no reason to be unhappy–or so people keep reminding her. But Beryl’s life isn’t as perfect as everyone believes. . . F is for Family. Something Beryl values more than anything. A is for Alliance. The upcoming marriage of Beryl and Sir Henry Rivenhall. I is for Impetuous. Beryl’s younger sister Winnifred is driven more by emotion than good sense. R is for Romance. Sometimes it happens where you least expect it. * A is for Attraction. Mark Rivenhall has been besotted with Beryl for as long as he can remember. S is for Sisterhood. The bond that Beryl shares with Winnifred. * A is for Affinity. Mark and Beryl have always been friends. * S is for Supportive. Mark gives…

For the month of Bastille Day, I’m serving up a selection of historical fiction that captures the time just before, during, and after the Revolution. Caught in the merciless cogs of this seismic shift are four very different women, some who will thrive–and one who will pay the ultimate price for being on the wrong side of history. Beginning first with the one who loses the most, we have ABUNDANCE by Sena Jeter Naslund. Much like Sophia Coppola’s film Marie Antoinette, Naslund’s book looks at Marie’s life through her own eyes. Beginning as a giddy 14-year old thrilled to be going to France to marry the 15-year-old Dauphin, completely unprepared for the vicious cauldron of political intrigue that is Versailles, Marie is dazzled by the court, who seemed charmed by her. But although she works hard to build a relationship with her husband, his failure to consummate the marriage and give France the heir it needs sours her life at court. She buries her disappointment by retreating in opulent comfort, surrounding herself with a small coterie of women friends, the Austrian ambassador–the Swedish Count Von Fersen. By the time the long-awaited children arrive, France is in desperate circumstances, with bitter…