Christmas Earworms: Mary, Did You Know?

by Cassandra Samuels

Angels We Have Heard on High was always my favourite as a kid. I loved to sing the chorus as loud as I possibly could, not sure that everyone appreciated the screeching but I am sure they at least understood the enthusiasm. Now, as an adult, I still love it. When it comes to watching the Carols at Christmas time on TV, I always feel like it is finally Christmas. It is usually the first carol played on Christmas morning unless my husband gets there first and then it’s Bing Crosby all the way.

A new to me carol that I have come to love is called Mary, Did you Know? sung by Pentatonix. Just lovely.

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As the Black Raven, she’s cold, distant and alone…untouched by the gossip and scorn of her aristocratic peers. Until he enters her house — and her life — then suddenly her icy shell is no match for the heat of attraction…

Notorious Widow Lisbeth Carslake, Countess of Blackhurst was acquitted of her husband’s murder, but no one believes in her innocence. Known as the Black Raven, bringer of bad luck and death, she is eviscerated by the gossips and mocked in the clubs.

She’s also the subject of London’s most scandalous wager.

Oliver Whitely, Earl of Bellamy, needs money, but it takes more than a few drinks to take on The Black Raven Wager. He finds himself drunk, at her house, and—more surprisingly—agreeing to a business proposal at the end of a fire poker.

She will let him win the wager, and he will help find her husband’s killer before the killer finds her. But business agreements don’t mean trust, and Lisbeth certainly doesn’t trust Oliver, her body’s reaction to him, or her heart.

Love may be the biggest gamble of their lives, but is it a wager their hearts can afford to lose?

Feed Your Reader: Fresh, Funny Regency

One knight, one runaway heiress, one rollicking romance:  A breath of fresh air in Regency romance!

Proud and haughty, Lord de Waare is almost as medieval as his castle…until he accidentally abducts a governess, who turns out not to be a governess at all, and who shows this knight that his heart is not as armoured as he thought.

A girl with a dangerous past, Marina would happily disappear again, but since de Waare won’t let that happen, then the least he can do is help her clear her name. But moving back into society is dangerous for her and for the stern man she’s coming to love. She knows the rules of honour and society, and she won’t allow de Waare to compromise the principles that define him.

But de Waare didn’t become the Crusader by accepting defeat. Faint heart never won a fair lady, and de Waares always win.

“My Lady Governess is a sprightly and highly entertaining historical romance that had me laughing out loud. A great treat for fans of the genre.” – Anna Campbell, author of the bestselling Dashing Widows series

‘Extremely clever and unusual take on a Regency romance’ — Judith Gollihar, NetGalley

‘This was one of my favourite reads of 2017.’ —Sonya Heaney, NetGalley

My Lady Governess is available for now!

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Exclusive Excerpt 2: My Lady Governess

One knight, one runaway heiress, one rollicking romance:  A breath of fresh air in Regency romance!

“Miss Frome.” He smothered his incredulity. “Are you telling me you’re a fallen woman?”

She cringed. “Yes, my lord.”

 “Rubbish.”

 “I beg your pardon?” She shot blue daggers at him, even as he straightened up to look down on her in more ways than one.

 “Rubbish. If you must lie to me, try not to insult my intelligence so brazenly. I can tell a fallen woman, Miss Frome, and you aren’t it.”

 Clinging to her ridiculous defence, the blonde put up a good fight. “How dare you? I am what I say! How dare you disbelieve me on such a subject? You’re insulting,” she raged on, really panicking now and saying anything in desperation. “I’ve been the worst hussy you’ve ever met!”

Tam eyed the worst hussy he’d ever met, and went from curious about her to all-out determined that he’d find out what the hell lay behind this; under no circumstances was this little blonde idiot being letting out on her own. A fallen woman…dear God.  And this was the girl he was going to marry. She wasn’t what he had ever expected, nor what he would ever have chosen. She wasn’t his type – he liked blondes, but he liked them tall, languid and experienced, not five feet one, energetic and with as much as sense as one of his geese.

She was noisy. She was rude. She was also about to learn that telling fantastical lies to him was a very bad idea.

It only took him two seconds. Before she knew what he was about, he seized her by her shoulders, pulling her out of the chair and up into his hold, where he kissed her fast but expertly, and with impressive power.  Barely given time to gasp, she made one cut-off sound of shock before her knees rather satisfyingly seemed to give way and she surrendered. He let go to watch as she dropped back into the chair gasping; she choked, turned a dozen shades of scarlet, trembled violently, then sat with her hands clenched, speechless and with no idea where to look. Certainly not at Tam, who leaned back against the table again and didn’t have to say a word.

No, he hadn’t thought so. Fallen woman, his backside. 

My Lady Governess is available for pre-order now!

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Exclusive Excerpt: My Lady Governess

One knight, one runaway heiress, one rollicking romance:  A breath of fresh air in Regency romance!

Marina was flung into the carriage so fast she had no chance to carry out her plan of clawing his eyes, for before she could bounce up off the floor he had yelled at the coachman to drive on, and the next moment his travelling chaise shot away at such a speed that flinging herself from it was an impossibility. That being the case, she flung herself at him instead, nails at the ready, but he grabbed her hands with ease and ordered her in vain once more to shut up.

 “You can’t take me with you! You can’t! What will I do? I’m wearing my nightdress!”

 “You brought it on yourself, woman. You need a lesson, and if that lesson means walking five miles back in your hideous nightdress then so be it.”

 “You bastard,” Marina howled, once again failing to claw him, although this time she got one hand free, flailing it around to line up for the best hit, the two of them on the seat fighting to his outrage.

He barked, “Damn it, how dare you? You ought to know your place!”

“You miserable, stuck-up snob!” she screamed, then seeing an opening appear by his left eye, struck at him. She missed again, yanking her hand backwards to avoid its capture, only this time de Waare, snatching at it, missed in his turn.

Instead he grabbed her nightcap, pulling it before he realized, and it came off in his hand because he pulled quite hard. So, to his gin-soaked obvious astonishment, did her hair. Well, it didn’t come right off. It just slipped over to one side in the most comical manner, and revealed itself to be, unmistakably…

“A wig?” he asked.

My Lady Governess is available for pre-order now!

iBooks, Booktopia, Google, Kobo, Nook, Amazon AU, Amazon UK, Amazon US