Hi there,

this is the March newsletter, but also -- yay! -- heralds a new book.

An Unlikely Countess is appearing on shelves now, but the official pub date is March 1st. To celebrate that, I've created a video. It's a book trailer of sorts, but it's mostly to show you some of the real locations used in the books; or in some cases, used as inspiration. For example, the picture representing Keynings is the center block of Aske Hall in Yorkshire, which was my inspiration. I visit it a few years ago because my father-in-law worked there before WW II.

You can see the video here, but please note that it contains some details of the storyline, if you really like to avoid those.

If you like the video, spread the word. If you encourage me, I might do more of them. One on Georgian costume, for example.

I have two excerpts of An Unlikely Countess up now -- the beginning, and a short later scene. You can read the opening here and the next scene here.

The reviews have been excellent. For example, "Great read!" from Fresh Fiction, and "...a delightful, deftly plotted exploration of social class, gender roles, and romance," from Publisher's Weekly. I liked that PW picked up on the exploration of the lives of Georgian women from very different social ranks, but really liked it being a great read.

The electronic book revolution.
An Unlikely Countess is available in print and as an e-book. I haven't bought an e-reader yet, but it's only because I can't make up my mind. Because so many people now read electronic books, I have a web page explaining where you can buy the book. It covers print and e-book, but is mainly for the new e-book reading people. That page is here. (I gather there might be a problem with fictionwise not carrying my books at all. I'm looking into that.)

Not everyone understands what e-readers are, so I'm giving a brief explanation. An e-reader is an electronic device that can store a book and show it page by page on a screen. People have been reading books this way for a while, even on small devices, but recently there's been a huge improvement in the quality of the screens, as with the Nook and Kindle, and at the same time the price has come down.

There are some advantages to them. A big one is that a slender and quite light device can hold hundreds of books. Fabulous when we go on holiday! But don't worry, print books aren't going away anytime soon.

E-books can also be read on a computer. This isn't ideal, but it is a way you can read The Demon's Bride if you don't have an e-reader. This Georgian novella was published nearly 20 years ago in a collection called Moonlit Lovers, which is long out of print. In February, my publisher put it out again in e-book form at only $2.99. The same places that I've listed as selling the e-book of An Unlikely Countess will sell this one, too.

What's next?
A number of reissues, but I mentioned those last time. I'm currently working on A Scandalous Countess, in which a young widowed countess needs to restore her reputation.

If you're a historical romance reader who lives in the UK, I'd love to hear from you. I think we need to group together. We can find a way.

On the home front, literally, we've bought a house here in Devon, so I suppose we're staying a while. Perhaps next time I'll post some pictures of that. Or even make a video -- of the transformation. It needs work.

All best wishes,

Jo

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