On This Christmas, I Thee Wed (Christmas in the Castle) Holiday Historical Romance by Virginia Barlow Book Tour with Guest Post & Giveaway
ON THIS CHRISTMAS I THEE WED
Virginia Barlow
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GENRE: Holiday Historical Romance
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BLURB:
Bartered
to Viscount Hudson Becker by her father, Lady Lavinia Holbrook escapes her
arranged marriage and travels to her Godmother, the Duchess of Chauncy to seek
asylum. Determined to put men and marriage behind her, she is unprepared for
the duke's interest or his heated kisses. The Duke of Chauncy believes love is
a weakness and refuses to take a bride despite his mother's scheming. When the
duchess makes a wager he will marry by Christmas, he considers the matter a
lark. Until Lavinia gets under his skin, and he rethinks his position on love
and happy ever afters.
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EXCERPT
His mother had nothing to do but plot his matrimonial demise
and design a nursery for his progeny.
God. Though he loved her with all his heart, why wouldn’t she accept his decision to remain a
bachelor?
Lavinia’s voice played in his head.
There, neither Papa nor the viscount can order me to do
anything I don’t want to do.
He understood her frustration, but even Scotland wouldn’t
save him from his mother. The woman had a tenacious streak to rival Satan’s.
And who the hell was the viscount? He knew of no scandal
involving Lavinia.
Her voice continued.
I refuse to be some man’s broodmare, impregnated and
discarded…
Snorting, he wanted to add his discontent to being a…What
would a man forced to sire a child be called, anyway? A brood sire?
He chuckled. Discarded like a settee in the parlor.
Forgotten until the lord required someplace to sit. The girl
used amusing analogies, he thought. But if she were his, he wouldn’t be sitting
on her. Nay, she would be atop him. The memory of her soft body in his arms
made him rigid.
Shifting in his seat to ease his ardor, he remembered her
mentioning being abducted by a Scot and taken to the highlands to ravish. Then
her voice went all dreamy and soft as if ravishment by a highlander were every
girl’s
fantasy.
His lips tightened as he swung his chair around to stare out
the window, steepling his fingers in thought.
English lords were much better lovers and far superior in
every other avenue. What the devil did she have against them?
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Guest Post:
What do you love the most about the time period of your
book?
I love everything about the period. The symmetry and balance
of the architecture with long paned windows and central doorways pleases the
eye.
Interior rooms were warmed with ornate fireplaces, while
columns and detailed cornices gave the rooms elegance. Real wood floors crafted
in clever designs and covered with elegant rugs make me sigh with delight.
Imagine an elaborate two-story home with long wide windows adorned
with heavy velvet drapes, thick oriental rugs covering polished wooden floors.
And ornate fireplace cracking and snapping with heat where satin settees face a
shiny oblong coffee table laden with a silver tray and tiny delicate finger
sandwiches.
Fragrant tea fills the air as ladies in silk and satin take
their seats and join in quiet conversation. Their hair is curled high on their
heads and strung with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds. Elaborate
jewelry set with the same stones glisten in their ears, around their throat and
wrists, and sparkle on their fingers.
Gentlemen in long black coattails and satin breeches
approach and sit beside the beautiful ladies.
Gentlemen held open doors and kissed a lady’s hand. They
offered protection, companionship, and compassion.
Integrity, valor, and honor were respected and admired in
both men and women. And if a lady were in trouble, men would offer to assist,
not look the other way.
Everything had an extra curve or a gilded edge adding
elegance, detail, and richness to every situation, whether about clothing,
architecture, household furnishings, or shoes.
Can you imagine how silk stockings would feel? Or the swish
of silk skirts around your legs?
How about sleeping in a feather bed with silk sheets and a
satin comforter? The luxury and opulence of the era make me sigh with
appreciation.
While I am sure the restrictive corsets and narrow views on
women’s rights were a trial to those who lived during this wonderful era, I
would like to spend a day in their shoes. What would a Christmas Ball be like
in a long silk gown?
Roasted chestnuts, apple tarts with warm cinnamon filling,
fig pudding, and molasses cookies fill the air as the orchestra plays the
latest dance. A handsome gentleman in black coat tails bows and extends a
white-gloved hand, asking for a dance.
The gleaming wooden parquet floor is filled with swirling
silk gowns and black formal wear.
Groups of people hold low conversations on the sides as the
dancers sway to the music. A massive log crackles in the large ornate marble
hearth while people sip glass cups of rum punch.
I can see all the details in my mind’s eye, and as I search
for an answer to the question, I cannot name a single thing I love the most
about Regency Era.
The truth is, I love it all and spend many happy hours there
crafting my stories of danger and romance.
As my newest romance, On This Christmas I Thee
Wed becomes available on December
19th, I
hope you will join me and the characters of my story.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Virginia Barlow has been a dreamer her whole life. She loves
reading, traveling, and roses. She will dive headfirst into any romance she can
get her hands on in any genre. Although her first love is Regency Romance and
always will be. Something about the era
calls to her soul like a siren’s song rising from the depths.
She loves to write steamy romances whether fantasy, historical, or
contemporary, all are liberally spiced with adventure and sensual, seductive
heroes. Her heroines are just as compelling with equal parts intelligence,
sass, and backbone. They give as good as they get whether saving their man’s
life or responding to his heated kisses, they’re all in.
The most important thing in Virginia’s life is her family, and
spending time with them. When she is not bouncing a grandbaby in her arms or
handing out popsicles, she is writing and dreaming up her next love story. Virginia has published fifteen romance novels
with another two on the way and has half a dozen more circling around inside
her head eager to make their debut.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19838312.Virginia_Barlow
https://www.virginia-barlow.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3046288755596817/
https://x.com/Virgini35142126
https://www.instagram.com/virginia.barlow/
Amazon: https://a.co/d/fH0ojHY
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GIVEAWAY
The
author will be awarding a digital copy of A Lilli By Any Other Name to a
randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you so much for featuring ON THIS CHRISTMAS I THEE WED
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