THE BLURB:
Olivia Grace has secrets that could destroy her. One of the greatest of these is the Earl of Gracechurch, who married and divorced her five years earlier. Abandoned and disgraced, Grace has survived those years at the edge of respectability. Then she stumbles over Jack on the battlefield of Waterloo, and he becomes an even more dangerous secret. For not only is he unconscious, he is clad in an enemy uniform.
But worse, when Jack finally wakes in Olivia’s care, he can’t remember how he came to be on a battlefield in Belgium. In fact, he can remember nothing of the last five years. He thinks he and Olivia are still blissfully together. To keep him from being hanged for a traitor, Olivia must pretend she and Jack are still married.
To unearth the real traitors, Olivia and Jack must unravel the truth hidden within his faulty memory. To save themselves and the friends who have given them sanctuary, they must stand against their enemies, even as they both keep their secrets.
In the end, can they risk everything to help Jack recover his lost memories, even though the truth may destroy them both?
ABOUT AUTHOR:
USA Today best-selling author Eileen Dreyer has won five RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America, which secures her fourth place in the Romance Writers of America prestigious Hall of Fame.
Eileen is an addicted traveler, having sung in some of the best Irish pubs in the world, and admits she sees research as a handy way to salve her insatiable curiosity. She’s also trained in forensic nursing and death investigation, although she doesn’t see herself actively working in the field, unless this writing thing doesn’t pan out.
Eileen also writes as Kathleen Korbel and has over three million books in print worldwide.
Born and raised in Missouri, she lives in St. Louis County with husband Rick and her two children. She has animals but refuses to subject them to the glare of the limelight.
I am honored to say that Eileen Dreyer is here today, to write a guest post. Here it goes:
What’s a Good Forensic Nurse Like You Doing In The Nineteenth Century?
Or, Really? Romance?
I’ll be frank with you. I didn’t start out as a romance reader or writer. I began my reading as a solid mystery reader. I cut my teeth on nancy Drew and never looked back. In fact, my first foray into writing was when I realized at the age of ten that I’d read all the Nancy Drews in the library, and the next one wouldn’t be out for (gasp!) an entire year. That was when, literally, the lightbulb went on over my head.
“But wait, ” I said , sounding suspiciously like a character from Masterpiece Theater. ” I can write the stories myself. And ( sounding even more suspiciously like very other author who has ever set finger to keyboard) , I can make them turn out the way I want them to”.
And I have written suspense. In fact, as a veteran trauma nurse, I have killed off on-page everyone who ever annoyed me when I worked ( and yes, thank you. It did feel good.) Then why, you ask, would I stray into romance? Easy. Two words. Happy ending.
Considering what my job was, and the fact that I am the matriarch of a large, noisy, complex Irish-American clan , I long ago stopped reading books that reflect reality. Thank you very much. I’ve had enough reality to depress Betty White. I wanter to feel better about myself and my world. And yes, suspense does that for me. As opposed to my real world, my suspenses, the bad guy always gets caught, and he or she is always punished. Almost as satisfying as seeing the CEO of my mythical hospital die a terrible death.
I can almost hear you thinking, ‘ well, yes. But that’s a reasonable fantasy. Everybody wants to believe that. But who’s ever going to believe that you are going to find a way to live happily ever after with an earl of the realm who looks suspiciously like Hugh Jackman?
Not the point . Although the fantasy is delightful, it’ not the core of what appeals to me about romance. When I was thirty-one, I was dragged kicking and screaming into romance-land by a nurse friend. I, too, had thought they were drivel. At least until I read one. And then two. And then a hundred. They’re like Frank Capra films. No matter what awful things happen during the course of the story ( an if you really watch, It’s a Wonderful Life,Jimmy Stewart spends an awfully long time miserable) , the message is if we work together, we can make things turn out all right. We can have hope. Even more important, since romance really is a genre written by women for women , we’re telling our sisters that there really is a good reason to have next generation of babies ( read most of the Russian Classics and you won’t be so sure)
I found that I like happy endings. I needed happy endings. I contend we all do, the romance is 51 % of the paperback market , not because women are so sexually frustrated that we must live our lives vicariously through the heroines , but because again and again, we reinforce our basic beliefs and hope in hope. Strong stuff, if you ask me . Hugh Jackman is just icing on the cake ( and very nice icing he is)
And in the mean time, if in BARELY A LADY I can write a rousing adventure that begins at the Battle of Waterloo and ends with devastating revelations and reconciliation between the hero and heroine, if I can spend time with people I find compelling and want to root for , if I can laugh and cry over a story that makes me feel better, there isn’t anything wrong with that. In fact, I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.
Thanks Ms Dreyer for this wonderful post.
Product Details
- Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: Forever (June 29, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446542083
- ISBN-13: 978-0446542081
I have 5 copies of this book for giveaway, thanks to Anna@Hachett.
July 1st – July 11th
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