Timeless Quills author Catherine Gayle was a guest on Blog Talk Radio today, where she read an exclusive sneak peek excerpt.

Catherine's novella, To Enchant an Icy Earl, will be featured in the historical romance anthology A Season to Remember, which will release next week from Night Shift Publishing. Other novellas in the anthology are written by Timeless Quills authors Jane Charles, Ava Stone, and Jerrica Knight-Catania.

If you want to be one of the first to hear it, listen in at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/2012/09/26/rrw--whats-write-for-me.

Today, we're participating in a blog hop that focuses on heroes, and have decided to each shamelessly brag about our favorite heroes!

Rose Gordon: I have a serious weakness for flawed heroes, and my favorite is Sir Wallace Benedict, the thrice-jilted baronet from Her Imperfect Groom. Between his need for perfection in his actions and attire and chronic counting when nervous, he's as far from perfect as one can get. Except to the one woman who loves him because of his imperfections just as much as he loves her and hers. Sir Wallace is my favorite because of all the obstacles he has to overcome, the most important being that though can accept other people's imperfections, he must learn to accept his own, too.
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Rose's Website

Suzie Grant: My favorite is Captain Blac Barclay, from Wrong Kind of Paradise, is a man who keeps his word. He feels he must always do the "right" thing for fear of ending up a failure like his father. Honorable, organized, he lives his life on the straight and narrow. But when a pirate takes him under his wing and shows him that a man's title doesn't make him a good man, he learns to judge by actions instead. Blac Barclay is a dark-haired privateer who really is a man with heroic traits--"the good guy"--and that's the reason he's my favorite hero.

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Suzie's Website

Jerrica Knight-Catania: Well, this is like asking me to say what my favorite donut is! (For the record, I love them all!) But if I have to choose, I'm going to go with Lord Michael Wetherby, from The Bedeviled Bride. He's the most beta character I've ever written, and therefore he's closest in personality to my own husband. Not that he can't exert power, but he prefers to be thought of as the nice guy. He's fun-loving and funny, sweet and compassionate...and all he wants is for his wife to love him in return. Poor guy really has his work cut out for him, though, with Elizabeth Crawley. Hell hath no fury...

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Jerrica's Website

Ava Stone:  Although I usually say my favorite hero is the one I’m currently writing, whoever he may happen to be, I have always had a soft spot for Alexander Everett, the Duke of Kelfield, from A Scandalous Pursuit. Alex is one of those rakish dukes with lots of money and a biting wit. He’s handsome and sexy as the devil with dark hair and grey eyes that seem to catch everything. But underneath all his bravado is a man with abandonment issues and tender heart that beats only for Olivia Danbury. He makes me sigh whenever he steps on a page.

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Ava's Website

In addition the grand prize giveaway being offered by the Heroes Blog Hop, which consists of three prizes for three different winners: a Kindle Fire/Nook Tablet, a $50 gift card, or a giant box of swag, we at TimelessQuills will also be doing a drawing for a $50 gift card to be used at either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. So be sure to leave a comment with your email address to be entered into both drawings. 

Our winner will be selected by random.org and will be  posted August 1, 2012.

Thank you all for stopping by and click the following image to return to the list of other blogs participating in the hop. 

*GIveaways are open to internationally, EXCEPT, the giant bag of swag. 

Fabulous historical romance author, Jerrica Knight-Catania, is heating up your summer with a hot sale! For Kindle only, get all 4 Wetherby Brides novels for just under $3! The Wary Widow is still FREE and the other three books - A Gentleman Never Tells, More than a Governess and The Bedeviled Bride are just $0.99! But only through July 31, so act fast!

One of our fabulous historical romance authors, Rose Gordon, is selling books for charity this month.

Book 1 of her romance series (Groom Series), Her Sudden Groom, is on sale for $0.99 right now, and all the proceeds from this book are going toward her goal of $5,000 that she's aiming to raise in the name of Multiple Sclerosis research.

Click on the picture to be taken to the Kindle version of the book or read the full blog post HERE to link to other ebook outlets.

Edward Banks, Lord Watson has known most of his life that one day Regina Harris was to be his bride--but somebody forgot to inform her...

An avid academic and aspiring scientist, Edward is pleased to find that he won’t have to bother with the nonsense involved in courting a young lady.

Young and naive, it doesn't take much for her social-climbing father to convince Regina the man she's to marry has requested her hand out of love, but devastates her when she learns the truth.

 Now, it's up to a man who's more comfortable in a conservatory than a drawing room to prove to Regina that she's more than just the proverbial sacrificial lamb that helped gain her family their foot in Society's door and that he--if no other gentleman--is trustworthy. But he just might be the one doing the learning as he'll be forced to acknowledge that sometimes the most combustible elements aren't the ones you control, but sometimes the ones you don't.

This book is now available for 4.99 at the following:

All Romance eBooks

Amazon

Apple/iBooks

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

I'm so excited to announce the release of my latest historical romance novel, The Gypsy Bride! The second book in the Daring Debutantes series, this extra-long novella is an exciting romp through Regency England--

Engaged to a reprehensible baron, Bianca Manning knows she must do something to escape her fate. She decides that a Romany camp is the last place her mad fiance would think to look for her.

The last thing Emilian Carrol needs is a spirited Englishwoman in his life, but he can't seem to say no when she begs to hide out in his tribe's camp. And maybe she's just the thing he needs to help heal his wounded heart.

Thomas Barclay, future Viscount Grantham, is bored to tears and looking for a distraction. When his old friend Baron Tisbury asks for help in tracking down his missing fiancee, Tom decides to make himself useful and goes in search of the wayward girl.

Caught between two worlds, Bianca must figure out which man holds the keys to her heart.

When I set out to write this romance series, I wanted to do something different. I didn't want to write another traditional, formulaic historical romance. I wanted to branch outside the norm, do things with my stories and my characters that probably would not have actually happened in Regency England, but that weren't completely outside the realm of possibilities. So you won't find magic or werewolves here, but you will find gutsy heroines, and heroes that you will fall in love with.

The Gypsy Bride is available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords!

And if you missed the first installment of the Daring Debutantes series, click here to find links for The Robber Bride!

I have a confession.

My name is Rose Gordon, and I love flawed characters—especially when it's the hero.

While we each have a small part of ourselves that roots for the bad boy's redemption and love to see him fall to that dreaded state of love, I also like to see the “nice guy” get the girl, too.


In all four of my Groom Series books, the hero is the furtherest thing from a “Lady's Man” as one can get. Each hero has his own “oddity” and unique solution on how to handle his predicament. Yet, despite his oddity or foolishness, still manages to win the heroine's affection.

Her Sudden Groom--

Hero: Mr. Alexander Banks, heir to a barony

Oddity: Science Nerd

Situation: He's just been told he has one month to marry or he'll have to marry the worst chit in England.

His Brilliant Solution: Treat his quest for a bride, and courtship of her, as a science experiment!

Her Reluctant Groom--

Hero: Marcus Sinclair, Earl of Sinclair

Oddity: Heavily scarred over the upper half of his body, limps

Situation: Has fallen in love with the younger sister of the lady who jilted him

His Brilliant Solution: Two parts: 1. Send the spinster heroine to London where she has a chance to make a real match. One with a man who wasn't disfigured in more ways than one while chasing down her sister. 2. Then try his damnedest to forget about her.  

Her Secondhand Groom--
Hero: Patrick Ramsey, Viscount Drakely

Oddity: Widower with three young girls whose first wife hated marital intimacies

Situation: As his three daughters are getting older, they need both a mother and a governess. As fate would have it, Patrick has just found a woman who he thinks could suit both roles!

His Brilliant Solution: Marry this Plain Jane from the village and have her play both the role of mother and governess. Surely her personality is just as bland as her looks and he'll have no problem                                                                 
keeping his hands to himself...

Her Imperfect Groom-- 

Hero: Sir Wallace Benedict

Oddity: Extreme social awkwardness. Counts everything, fidgets, strives for perfection, cannot maintain eye contact. (Modern day this would be classified as Aspergers Syndrome)

Situation: This thrice-jilted baronet has built a wall around his heart, knowing full well that no woman could possibly love him despite his oddities. But that doesn't stop him from being attracted to one Miss Edwina Banks.

His Brilliant Solution: When the woman he's fallen in love with reveals her plan to offer him wooing advice to win back the affections of the first lady who jilted him, Wallace decides to use her wooing advice her.

Like I said, I love flawed, imperfect heroes who have obstacles to overcome in order to find their happily-ever-after. To me, it makes the ending that much sweeter.

Hello, one and all. My names is Niles Thornton, Baron Quinton. Feel free to call me Quin, since that's what everyone else does. I'll only grumble about the responsibilities that come with the title for a bit. You know, responsibilities such as acting like a respectable gent and doing as the ladies expect of me, that sort of thing.

My authoress, Miss Gayle, thought to do an interview with me today. I wasn't overly enamored of that idea, however. After all, she might ask me questions about things I am not overly fond of discussing--like my father--and I couldn't have that.

Besides, I'm Lord Quinton. I shouldn't have to do as she says. So I refused her suggestion of the interview and took matters into my own hands. I'm sure she'll thank me for it later. I mean, can we be serious for a moment? Who would want to read an interview with me, after all?

Precisely--no one.

Does anyone know where they keep the brandy in this place? I don't seem to see a sideboard, or even a glass for that matter. What sort of place doesn't have a good stock of brandy?

"Ahem. The ladies of Timeless Quills have placed all spirits under lock and key, just as I instructed them to do."

Jonas? Good God, who invited him today? Just because he's my best friend, he seems to think he can just barge into my non-interviews and get rid of the spirits.

"And why would you have done anything of that sort?" I ask on a groan.

"For the same reason I removed it all from Quinton Abbey." Jonas takes a seat and makes himself comfortable, despite the clenched fist forming in my right hand. "And don't worry, all of you lovely readers out there. Truly, he'll thank me for it later."

"I'll thank you to leave me in peace."

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

I punch the striped silk cushion on the sofa I'm seated upon, since it really wouldn't do to plant Jonas a facer with an audience watching us so closely. "And why not?"

"Lady Quinton wrote me," Jonas answers, as cool as you please.

Of course, Aurora and her penchant for writing would be at the root of the issue. I should have known it. Granted, some of her writings had been rather helpful..but still. I ought to insist she allow me to see any letters she's written before she sends them. If I'd done that, I could have prevented Jonas's current interruption.

"Did Miss Gayle know that you'd be interrupting her blog today?"

"Did Miss Gayle know that you intended to ignore her request for an interview and take matters into your own hands?" Jonas crosses his arms over his chest, assuming what I can only imagine is meant to be a menacing posture.

A knock sounds at the door, even as my fists are yet again forming.

Damnation, who else intends to interrupt me while I'm trying to deal with Miss Gayle's blog? And with no brandy, for Christ's sake. "Come!" I bark out, fully intent on sending whoever it is away without preamble.

But then my half-sister, Nia, comes through the door. "Aurora sent for me," she says, rushing inside...but then she halts suddenly when she sees Jonas. Her mouth opens and closes, like a fish forgetting it has gills and trying to breathe like a human.

Yet another missive my sweet wife has sent without informing me. "Why in God's name would she send for you?" I regret the harsh tone as soon as the words have left my mouth. It isn't Nia's fault Jonas has removed my access to brandy. "I apologize. Do you know why she sent for you?" This time, my tone is kinder though no less aggrieved.

But Nia's eyes flutter over to Jonas and away, and a harsh blush stains her cheeks. And then I know.

She's matchmaking again. "AURORA!!!"

**The authoress, Catherine Gayle, steps in before any more harm can be done.

If you'd like to get to know Quin, Aurora, Jonas, and Nia better, you can find them in TWICE A RAKE, the first book in my Lord Rotheby's Influence series. Nia and Jonas will have their own time in the spotlight sometime in the not too distant future. Be on the lookout for their story.