A graduate of the University of Michigan with a major in history, Cora is the 2014 winner of the Royal Ascot contest for best unpublished Regency romance. She went on a twelve year expedition through the blackboard jungle as a high school math teacher before publishing Save the Last Dance for Me, the first book in the Maitland Maidens series. When she’s not walking Rotten Row at the fashionable hour or attending the entertainments of the Season, you might find her participating in Historical Novel Society events, wading through her towering TBR pile, or eagerly awaiting the next Marvel movie release. If you’d like to find out more about Cora or her books you can visit her website, sign up for her newsletter, or connect with her on Facebook or Goodreads.
Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads | Twitter | Newsletter
Mr. Benedict Grey is the only heir to a long-standing title, and he knows his duty: find a suitable girl, get married, secure the succession beyond himself. But if a gentleman could be called a wallflower, Benedict would fit the description perfectly. And for the past six years, he’s been out of Society more than he’s been in it. How will he find a woman to wed and bed when he can barely converse with the ladies of the ton?Lady Honoria Maitland has promised her dying father that, before he breathes his last, she would find a husband to take care of her. But she wants a gentleman that loves her, not her dowry or her name. When she reunites with her old friend Benedict, she proposes a plan that will help them both: a faux courtship and betrothal. She can teach him how to woo a woman and simultaneously ease her father’s last days. But Honoria’s clever plan failed to account for Benedict’s heart...or her own. Is she strong enough to bear the loss of her father and her friend?
Smashwords | B&N | Kobo | iBooks
Excerpt
“It’s like an embrace. You’ve really danced like this with other gentlemen?”
She tilted her head back and laughed a little. “Yes, though not too many times. And—fortunately—never with someone I wasn’t fond of. Are you ready?”
He adjusted his hand on her back, fitting it snugly against the curve of her body. “I think so.”
“Step off with your right foot, just like before, and use your hands to turn me. Think of this”—she squeezed his left hand—“as the prow of a ship. You lead with that. This”—her other hand slid down his arm —“is like a rudder. A little pressure one way or the other on my back, and I’ll know which way to turn.”
He nodded. He could do this, if he could just concentrate on the steps rather than the woman so unexpectedly close to him. “Got it.”
She replaced her hand on his shoulder. “We’re ready, Aunt.”
The music began and Benedict stood still for a few moments, trying to get a feeling for the mechanics of the steps in this new position. Honoria’s expression and body were relaxed as she waited in the half-circle of his arm, as if she was perfectly comfortable being there.
Ready for some Author Q&A
When did you start writing, and was there a specific event or person who influenced you to become an author?
I didn't start writing seriously until a handful of years ago when on medical leave from teaching. I was having severe asthma problems and couldn't walk the length of my (tiny) apartment without stopping to rest, so I did a lot of reading. The reading eventually led to writing, which I hadn't done in several years at that point. I fell in love with it all over again, and I've been writing ever since!
Are you currently working on a project, and if so, can you tell us anything about it?
I'm working on the second novella in the Maitland Maidens series called Back In My Arms Again. It features Lady Cecilia Maitland (the aunt of Honoria in Save the Last Dance for Me) and the James Fitzsimmons, who was Cecilia's beau when they were young.
Check out all the great blogs that are a part of this event by following along on the Facebook Event Page.
No comments:
Post a Comment