The Widow's Christmas Surprise

 

 

The Widow's Christmas Surprise

by Jenna Jaxon

GENRE: Historical Romance

The death of her husband has thrown Lady Maria Kersey’s future into doubt—and her heart into the arms of a man she cannot have. But Christmas with the Widows’ Club will bring choices—and surprises--that may change all her holidays to come . . .

Maria just gave birth to her first child, a beautiful daughter—but the event is shrouded in sorrow.  A month earlier, Maria’s husband, Lord Kersey, was killed in a duel under compromising circumstances. Worse, Maria’s failure to provide a male heir has stripped her of any hope of an inheritance. Scorned by the ton, one of her few allies is her late husband’s steward, Hugh Granger. Hugh is everything her husband was not—warm, charming—and penniless. . . .

Hugh has fallen desperately in love with Maria, but has little to offer but comfort. As their attraction becomes impossible to resist, Maria flees to London to spend Christmas with her dearest friends, a group of widows who lost their own husbands in the Battle of Waterloo. Little does she know the holidays will reveal a twist of fate she never expected—proving that the greatest Christmas gift is the magic of true love . . .

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NOTE: The book is on sale for $0.99.

Excerpt:

“Would you and Lady John come to tea with me and my sister tomorrow afternoon at Wingate?”

“I would be delighted to meet Miss Granger. I shall ask my cousin, but I am certain she will wish to make the acquaintance as well.” Her eyes sparkled with true joy, making Hugh almost giddy with relief.

“Thank you, my lady.” She was so close, so temptingly close. Her face tilted up to him brought her mouth only inches from his lips. If he swayed slightly toward her—

She rose up and brushed her lips against his in a fleeting kiss that seemed to last far longer than the few seconds it surely took. Still, he savored the warmth of her mouth, the sweetness of her breath, the closeness of her face next to his. Not a sensual kiss, but one so comforting he could forget the worries for his family completely for those few blissful moments. Heaven in several different ways.

Then she was gone, slipped out the door with only the swish of her purple skirts lingering on the air. 

Hugh gazed about the room, not entirely certain what had just happened had been real. And if it had been—and he hoped like the devil it had been—then he must figure out what Lady Kersey had meant by kissing him, and how they could go on from here.

About the Author:

Jenna Jaxon is a best-selling author of historical romance, writing in a variety of time periods because she believes that passion is timeless. She has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, Jenna has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own stories.

She lives in Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets--including two vocal cats, one almost silent cat, two curious bunnies, and a Shar-pei mix named Frenchie.

 

Q&A With the Author
Who is your favorite author and why?

     That’s kind of a tricky question since I read in several genres. If we’re talking horror/thriller then hands down it’s Stephen King. I’ve loved his books for 50 years. And it’s not for the thrill mostly, although I do like to be scared by his books, it’s more because of the way he invests the reader in his characters so deeply almost from the first pages. He has an unerring sense of what to write to put the reader squarely on the side of the protagonist from the beginning. You care deeply about these people, all of his characters (except the villains). Which is why I read his books over and over.

   If we’re talking about romance, then again hands down it is Jo Beverley. I love her characters and her detailed plots that have their own dark twists sometimes. And I especially love her heroes. Beowulf Malloren, Marquess of Rothgar for me is the epitome of the dark hero: handsome, skilled in weapons and in the art of making love, intelligent, and generally sexy as hell. And to top it off, he has a tragic past that keeps him from marrying. I absolutely LOVE his story Devilish, the last book of the Malloren series proper (there are books about the family’s Friends after it). Oh, dear. Just thinking about it I must go pick Devilish up again…

What is your favorite quote and why?

     “If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
    It were done quickly.” Macbeth, Act 1, scene vii

     Yes, I love Shakespeare and Macbeth is one of my favorite plays by him. I love this quote because of the momentum it seems to suggest, a “get ‘er done” feeling that, in reality, Macbeth is loathe to do because he knows there will be consequences. So he hesitates despite the impetus of the quotation. Still, I find it a galvanizing quote, especially in it’s mis-quotation: “If it were done, then it were best done quickly.” If you’re going to do this thing, then do it now.

      
What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?

  Plot and character, in that order. With natural-sounding dialogue a close third. Setting and description are nice, but not as necessary, in my opinion. I often have to remind myself to put in details about rooms and clothing and such. I’d much rather show what people are doing and saying. When I read I often ignore the written descriptions and make them up in my head!

What is your favorite part of this story?

  I think my favorite part of The Widow’s Christmas Surprise is the scene with Maria and Hugh skating on the pond. I think skating is such a romantic activity. I love to watch the ice skaters in the Winter Olympics, so beautiful. Unfortunately, I never learned to ice skate (being from the South I didn’t really have a chance growing up), but it looks so pretty and during the Regency it would be on of the few times a lady could hold hands with and be close to a gentleman without causing a scandal!

Which Character was the most fun to write about? Why?

   For some reason, I identified with the hero, Hugh, most closely in this book, not the heroine. I really got into his back story and the drama going on at his home, so it was fun to write him.

Which Character was the hardest to write about? Why?

     I found Maria more of a challenge to write in this book. In the first book, when she’s introduced, she’s very young, only seventeen. Now she’s eighteen, has a child, and has been widowed again. But even though she’s been through all this, she’s still a bit naïve and not very savvy about her position and her surroundings. This was harder for me to write, because she doesn’t begin as a strong heroine (she does have a strong arch or journey during the book, though) and most of my heroines are very strong characters. So it was a little harder to write about Maria.

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BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B2B8KLB3

GIVEAWAY

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