These are summaries for my three WIPs I’m currently working on.
A Flame in the Forest
In the frozen wastelands of the Ice Fields, a town struggles to survive the war that has dragged on for years. The draft has left too few hands to bring in the harvest and the stores are dwindling. Faced with starvation, Mariya volunteers to do the impossible. Journey into the forest to find the Witch in the Woods and plead for her help. But the Witch does not give aid without a price. To save her town, Mariya must complete a series of three tasks, before the stores empty and her people starve.
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Setting: The village of Turzno, in a fantasy-style Siberia with the time period roughly equivalent to the 1910s.
Main characters:
Mariya Nikolaevna Churkhova:
All her life, Mariya was told she’d be a wife. And she had been, until her wealthy husband’s death forced her to return to her childhood home. A Pozharni, with the ability to control heat, she’s the only one in the village who can survive the journey through the taiga. Now the fate of the town rests on her shoulders.
Vladimir Nurzhanovich Abaev:
All his life, Vladimir was told he’d be a soldier. And he had been, until an injury left him unfit for duty. A foreigner to the town still, now he must keep hope alive until Mariya returns. But in times of war, hope is a hard thing to keep.
Östenbach is a bustling metropolis and the capital of the Kingdom of Koravia/ With its king ailing it’s the First Minister who truly wields the power of government and seeks to unite all of Masuria under Koravian leadership.
For years, Zilla has worked as the First Minister’s spy. As a Shadow Walker she can move through shadows undetected, a perfect thief of secrets. But it’s the secrets of her employer which she now seeks to steal.
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Setting: Östenbach is a fantasy-style Berlin with the time period roughly equivalent to mid 19th century.
Set in the same world as A Flame in the Forest.
Main characters:
Zilla Yasbeck:
Pressed into government service after a tragic event left her in the First Minister’s debt, there is nothing Zilla wants more than her own freedom. And nothing she will not to do gain it.
Maximilian Reventlow:
An idealist and a firebrand, Maximilian has dedicated his life to his newspaper and the dispersal of his ideas. But as war looms, Maximilian must choose between the people he loves and the cause he believes in.
Wilhelm von Hohenau:
The son of a prince and his morganatic wife, Wilhelm has always straddled two worlds, never fully belonging to either. Now with war on the horizon, he finally has a chance to prove himself to his father’s family.
In Want of a Wife
Impulsive, impetuous, unthinking. Cecily Montgomery has hated Laurence Fairchild ever since the summers they spent together as children at their godmother’s estate. Even as adults, her distaste for him has not abated. Now the London Season is upon them, and Cecily’s mother is intent on her marrying the Duke of Ashfield. If only Laurence wasn’t so intent on distracting her with his antics and ruining all their carefully laid plans.
Genre: Historical Romance
Setting: 1893, London
Main characters:
Cecily Montgomery:
Cecily has spent years learning how to be the perfect bride to find the perfect husband. After a disappointing first season, Cecily’s mother is determined that she will snag the greatest prize — the Duke of Ashfield. And Cecily is determined to make her mother proud.
Laurence Fairchild:
With his family’s estates failing, Laurence is under increasing pressure to find a wealthy bride to save the estate with her dowry. And he just might, if it wasn’t for his childhood friend catching all of his interest. This new Cecily is a stranger to him, but Laurence is adamant at proving that the spirited girl of his childhood is underneath her new, cool reserve.
He has the title. She has the money. A perfectly suitable arrangement in every way. Of course, his title comes with a flailing estate and a meddling sister, and her money comes with a rebellious daughter in tow. What once seemed a practical, uncomplicated match soon proves anything but.
Add in a few kisses in the parlour, confessions in the garden, and trysts in the library, and you get the recipe for true love.
Genre: historical romance
Setting: 1893
Status: currently writing first draft
Tag: my wips: to marry a duke
Main characters:
Nellie Stalworth:
Marriage had never been a part of Nellie’s plans. All she wanted was to conduct her experiments in peace. But when the daughter she had as a teenager is left orphaned, Nellie must marry to assure their place in society.
Edward Pemberton:
The catch of the season, Edward had his pick of heiresses, but it was the eccentric Miss Stalworth that caught his eye. With the drought ruining the harvest, Edward needs all the help he can get to save his failing estate.
Isobel Steele is in search of a husband. But, despite her sizeable dowry from her wealthy father, her illegitimate birth means the only proposals she receives are the indecent kind. What she needs is a man as scandalous as her.
Dominic Beresford is in trouble. His estate is bankrupt, he’s drowning in gambling debt, and after his latest scandal his grandmother has cut him off. What he needs is an heiress desperate enough to marry him.
Genre: historical romance
Setting: 1873
Status: currently writing first draft
Tag: my wips: the heiress and the rale
Main characters:
Isobel Steele:
As the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman, Isobel has always lived on the fringes of polite society, whose opinion she has scorned. In her own affairs, she has always kept her heart on a tight leash. And it’s certainly not love that she wants from a marriage now.
Dominic Beresford:
For years, Dominic has lived the life of a reckless rake. He’s drunk, gambled, engaged in scores of love affairs, never caring about the destruction he left behind in his wake. But when his grandmother cuts him off from his only income, he finds he’ll agree to reform…for the right price.
Read the book people are calling a "refreshing" addition to the romantasy genre and "masterfully written"
When The Stars Alight features a star princess who must use her wits to survive in the court of a heartless demon king, while caught in a deadly romantic rivalry between his two sons.
This gothic fantasy set in a vibrant gaslamp world is a must-read for fans of Catherynne Valente and Angela Carter. It’s written in lush, lyrical prose full of intricate worldbuilding, courtly intrigue, and magic that seeps through the pages. Beneath its light, romantic and whimsical veneer, you can expect darkness, brutality and passion.
The heat has melted my brain so much at the time I'm typing this I'm not confident I can come up with anything coherent. In any case, I chose this particular date for a reason (16 June 2023) to release WTSA and it's because it's the in-world birthday I've had for Laila as a character since I created her 18 years ago.
I've carried her with me for a long time and she and I have grown together. It pains me, in some ways, to have a version of her story I've "set in stone" and released out into the world for public consumption, because it feels like I've relinquished a piece of my soul and that eventually I'll have to say goodbye to her once this series is finished, and move onto newer pastures.
I'm not someone who is able to let go of things easily. That's been both a blessing and a curse. It means I can hold a grudge like nobody's business but it also means I'm resilient. And when I care about something. Really, truly care. Nothing will stand in my way. That's the reason why I'm here today with a published book backed by my own funding, my blood, sweat and tears (not to discount the hard work of those who've contributed to this book and also supported me and its development) but just to say... I made it. Against all odds. I made it here.
If I can say nothing else for this book I can at least say my stubbornness paid off.
“A maiden of the stars. A monster from the shadows. A collision that rewrites their worlds.“
The first instalment of The Essence of the Equinox, this book tells the story of Laila Rose, the Princess of Soleterea as she venters to the country of Mortos.
The writing for this book is decadent, with extravagant descriptions that paints a vivid and evocative image of the world. The food descriptions in particular are mouthwatering. The third person omnipresent narrator provides a constantly shifting perspective that puts you in the shoes of many characters, allowing the reader to have a wider experience.
The world of WTSA is beautifully developed and so interesting. Soletera and Mortos are wonderfully crafted and distinct, described in striking detail. The symbolism between the two is so well crafted, with the Solarites representing light and life, and the Occasi darkness and death (with light also being shown to be dangerous too). On the face of it, the militaristic Mortos may seem more dangerous, but Soleterea is not without its own power plays.
At the heart of this story is Laila, a wonderfully well-developed character. Someone with a strong moral compass, an idealist at heart, charming and manipulative, a true power player. Much of her character is defined by her mother, Amira, an interesting character in her own right.
Laila’s relationships with the brothers Darius and Dominus are interesting and complex. It’s clear that she has different motivations going into each and different dynamics with each of the brothers. Darius is an absolute fave of mine, I love his intelligence, snarky wit, and ambition. The romantic relationships also add an interesting dynamic to the sibling relationship between the two brothers, exacerbating the existing conflict and jealousy between the heir and the bastard.
This is a book for people who love exquisite prose, magnificent worldbuilding, interesting and complicated character dynamics, and strong female characters.
A fantastic read I would highly recommend. I’d also recommend checking out @aninkwellofnectar‘s blog to learn more about the book and preorder a copy here.
“oh klaus is so mean to his siblings” well have considered klaus’ siblings might just have bad vibes??
LOL.
tbh I think fandom often overrated them as siblings/had a way too rosy view of their dynamic. no matter what they said about enjoying the ~messiness, they rarely acknowledge they were just… not that important for klaus or his journey; that he ACTIVELY preferred and chose other people over them and thought very little of them.
I can’t say I care about them as a family unit, although I do enjoy klebekah (I DEFINITELY get why some people shipped it, even if their reasoning about it irks me xD), and I do find the intricacies of klelijah interesting… eh. the only time they really catch my eye as a whole is when mikael or esther are involved on some level, because of how it unveils so much about the cycle of abuse within.
and if this all sounds very klaus centric, it is because klaus was AT the center of it all. I can’t even pretend to have more than two thoughts about elijah-rebekah, kol-elijah, rebekah-freya, etc. if klaus is not involved LOL. there’s barely anything to sink your teeth into there.
I never really thought of it before, but now that you say it, Klaus doesn’t actually value his family all that much. He certainly doesn’t value their opinions in the way he does Caroline’s or Cammie’s. I don’t think he particularly respects them (he definitely doesn’t respect Kol and Finn). I mean, the fact that he could have them all daggered at one point and, effectively, have no siblings and be pretty unaffected shows he doesn’t really care about them. Honestly, I think it’s Elijah and Freya really who are invested in the idea of the Mikaelson family as a unit. They buy into their mythos, whereas Klaus just seems to use it either as a tool to project power or to control his siblings. He does not really care about them as individuals.
I think in terms of priorities, the only members of his family that rank highly for Klaus are Hope and Hayley. It’s actually interesting in terms of Marcel, because Klaus was the only one to ever really consider Marcel family (Elijah outright states he never valued Marcel as anything other than a tool for Klaus’ redemption), and honestly I think Klaus valued and respected Marcel more than his siblings.
And yeah, there was zero-investment from the show in any Mikaelson relationship that didn’t involve Klaus, either between the siblings or between the siblings and their parents.
“WHEN THE STARS ALIGHT is an adult fantasy novel featuring a complex female lead, a vibrant gaslamp world, and a gothic love story between a maiden and a monster that changes their worlds forever. “
For My Lady's Heart by Laura Kinsale has one of the most hysterical openings of a historical romance I have ever read.
--our hero is a knight
--he is married to a crazy woman who thinks she's receiving visions from God and has basically semi-tricked him into taking her to a nunnery (he thought she just wanted to pray over a relic! he thought maybe she'd chill on the God thing after that! he didn't realize this was a pERMANENT DEAL)
--he's like "but if someone was like holding a knife to my throat and it was fuck me or I die... you'd fuck me right?" and she's like "no <3"
--his wife sorta coerces him into taking a vow of chastity and then telling the God Warriors he's also chaste so that they'll let her into the nunnery??? and he's like "well fine it's not that big a deal" but then this Hot Bitch he saw earlier comes in and was like "MMMMM ACTUALLY DON'T THINK HE'S CHASTE, HE POPPED A FULL BONER WHEN HE SAW ME"
--and he's like "... well yeah, but it's been a WHILE"
--the God Warriors are like whatever it's fine just pay us ALL YOUR MONEY to commit your wife to a NUNNERY forEVER
--and he's like "OH MY GOD FINE" but then it turns out someone (maybe the priests???) also jacked all his shit and now he's a homeless knight with no horse, no armor, and no money
--and the Hot Bitch from earlier, who is AN ACTUAL PRINCESS is like "my b you poor helpless horny man, here's some jewels"
--and he goes "I HAVE LITERALLY NOTHING ELSE TO LIVE FOR SO I GUESS IT'S YOU NOW"
As much as I didn’t like Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale (the Quaker heroine just did not work for me), that opening was insane. I really love the absolute insanity of old school historicals. My reaction to pretty much every plot point in an old school historical is essentially ‘this might as well happen’. I feel like Lorraine Heath is one of the authors today that gives me old school vibes in the total insanity of her plots/premises, which is probably why I love her books.
Starting Passions of a Wicked Earl by Lorraine Heath and I've got to say, Lorraine calling Westcliffe kinda ugly here is giving big Lisa-Kleypas-Continually-Calling-Westcliff-Ugly-But-DW-Y'all-He-Still-Fucks vibes:
Wow a complex mother of the hero who had extramarital affairs because she'd been made to marry two old men, is currently living her best life by sleeping with a painter 15 years younger than her, and gives this advice to her estranged daughter in law??
New rule, any hero with the title Westcliffe just has to be ugly hot.
I really love how the mother in this series is treated as a complex individual. She loves her sons, but her feelings towards the fathers of the first two bled over into her treatment of them to both of their detriments. Also, I love how Ainsley seems like the perfect guy in his brother’s books, lovely, generous, has his shit together and is the most responsible and emotionally mature of the three brothers despite being the youngest. And then you get to his book…
Can you suggest a historical romance where the couple engages in oral sex and hand stuff before marriage explicitly to avoid pregnancy. Then, have a back cracking good wedding night?
I am not asking for a friend. I want to read a novel like that.
Hi there! I honestly can’t think of any book where they don’t have sex to specifically prevent pregnancy before marriage. Most of the books I’ve read fall into a few categories: Either they just go for it and if she gets pregnant, then they marry, and if not, eh they’ll eventually marry anyway. Other times they don’t engage in p-in-v sex and do other stuff purely by coincidence and not for any particular reason, and then have a bangin wedding night (I was very close to recommending Fiona and the Enigmatic Earl which falls into this category). Then there’s the third category where they marry but don’t have sex because they don’t want to fall pregnant for whatever reason (but they crack at some point ofc). I can’t really say I’ve read a book where they like one another enough to engage in other sex acts but draw the line at p-in-v sex to avoid getting pregnant because they’re probably chill with that happening at that point.
Also, just legally speaking (at least in Georgian/Regency/Victorian England), as long as you were married by the time your child was born, the kid was legitimate, regardless of who the biological father was which a) went a long way in mitigating the taboo of having a child out of wedlock and b) this was ABSOLUTELY something couples historically took advantage of…. statistically, while I don’t remember exact numbers, the number of marriages that occurred while the bride was probably preggo is actually wild.
Anyway, if anyone else has a rec for this person, lmk!
This isn’t an exact match, but one where I can remember there was a lot of *pant pant* anticipatory stuff for Reasons is Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell. However, in this case, the hero and heroine are arranged to marry (it’s a medieval) and do marry pretty early in the book, BUT! He doesn’t want have sex with her until she’s had her period, because he thinks it’s possible she was fooling around with her friend beforehand (she wasn’t) and the hero is super focused on having a legitimate son and heir. They definitely do STUFF before then though, and the waiting is super intense.
Also, the heroine famously comes from a long line of druidic women who have to come during sex in order to conceive. And they have to be iN LOVE in order to conceive a son. The hero doesn’t buy this, because (wait for it) He Can’t Love.
Published in the 90s, so TWs for dubcon (very light dubcon, imo, but just to cover the bases) and some general weirdness I don’t remember specifically, but would probably be edited out today. I will say this is entire series is a top favorite of mine because it is *unhinged*, and the hero goes on one of the peak Crazy Man speeches I’ve been lucky enough to read.
Older historicals in general may be more the way for this, because it was more common for authors to adhere to the “wait until the wedding night” thing than it might be now?
I can think of a couple Kleypases where I think they wait–I don’t think Gabriel and Pandora have sex until the (fab) wedding night in Devil in Spring, and they definitely Do Stuff before then, but I don’t think there was a super focus on preventing pregnancy as the reason. In fact, Gabriel does tell Pandora that condoms exist, lol. Harry and Poppy also don’t have sex until the wedding night in Tempt Me at Twilight, but it’s HORRIBLE. I can’t remember if Tom and Cassandra wait for the wedding night in Chasing Cassandra (I think they do…?) but I do know that the best part of that book is him fingering her during the marriage negotiations and Devon being like *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* Y'ALL GOOD IN THERE??? while Cassandra is all “oh yeah super fine very good all set”.
Accidentally Compromising the Duke by Stacy Reid is BIIIIG on the “let’s do other things to prevent pregnancy” thing, but again, it’s after the marriage. The hero is determined that the heroine not get pregnant, so at first he’s not even willing to touch her, but she eventually gets him to do… stuff…. and stuff leads to… other stuff…. and listen, pull and pray is NOT a foolproof method!!!
In The Governess Game by Tessa Dare, the hero explicitly says he doesn’t do p-in-v sex to avoid pregnancy, so when he and the heroine start having sex they don’t have p-in-v sex until right at the end (but that isn’t a wedding night so doesn’t quite count).
Oh, I lots. My favorite self-made Kleypas heroes are Derek Craven (the best one, no other self made hero stands up to him, that’s my MAN), John McKenna (became a highly successful business bitch just to prove a point, and I respect that), and Rhys Winterborne (Mr. Do Me In Your Department Store So I Know It’s Real). Kev Merripen would be there, but tbh Kev is less self made and more “the Hathaways’ Chief of Staff” who’ll fuck you super good.
We talk a lot about Winter Makepeace, rightfully so, but what about his brother Asa??? Asa is running a pleasure garden, he ran away from home for years only to show up SUPER MAD in Scandalous Desires when he found out Mickey O'Connor was boning his sister, he gives big snarky rake energy but then when push comes to shove he’s like the sweetest man ever???? And he’ll put on a show in a moving carriage while confronting a highwayman directly after.
It should be pointed out that right after Winter loses his virginity in a moving carriage in Thief of Shadows, he like, STOP DROPS AND ROLLS outta there to face an angry mob or something… And right after Asa jacks off in front of Eve in Sweetest Scoundrel, he has to be all “THE LADY SAID NO” to ye olde carjackers. The Makepeace dudes bounce back HARD.
I loooove Jack Dodger in Between the Devil and Desire by Lorraine Heath. Such a deeply competent yet deeply wounded and super slick romance hero. And there’s a level of debatability about his TOTAL self made status, but he counts to meee.
Once More, My Darling Rogue actually has another “is he tho” self made hero lol. Because like. Drake Darling spent his young childhood in HORRENDOUS conditions… But he did then get adopted by a duke and duchess. BUT BUT BUT so much of his struggle in his book is not feeling like he’s really Sterling’s son… and then the end…. I want to WEEP. But also, Drake tells this woman with amnesia who he fully knows is not his housekeeper, that she’s his housekeeper, just because she’s a bitch (and he wants to fuck her real bad). He makes her wash his back AND HE HAS A GIANT DRAGON TATTOO (which he got because his adoptive father HAS ONE ALSO LMAO). How can I not endorse that kind of hero.
I love Griff from Scoundrel of My Heart by Lorraine Heath because he begins as this spoiled second son of a duke, then his family loses literally everything, and he has to start over as a self made man!!! Yes!!!!!!
Li Tao in The Dragon and the Pearl by Jeanie Lin. My man…. grew up on the streets… was killing people for spare change and doing some street fights… blossomed into an amazing warlord, who ALSO has a dragon tattoo!!!
Joanna Shupe writes wonderful self made heroes. Her Uptown Girls trilogy has all self-made heroes, I think–Frank from The Rogue of Fifth Avenue grew up super poor and becomes a successful lawyer/fixer (who wants to bone his boss’s daughter real good), Clay Madden is a casino owner, Jack is a successful gangster, which counts, I think.
Speaking of casinos, imo Bourne from Sarah MacLean’s A Rogue By Any Other Name is borderline because like yeah he’s a marquess but he gambled away literally everything when he was what? 18? 21 max? And he had to dig deep to become a successful gambling hell owner.
Cull from Pippa and the Prince of Secrets by Grace Callaway is SO swoony to me. He’s all scarred and tough but tender and adoring with Pippa and just wants to make her happy and also has a flute with which he commands a child army, it is what it is.
It’s all about the vibes. Jack and Drake may not technically qualify as self made, but they have the vibes of a self made man. That exquisite confliction between the past and the present, and feelings of not belonging. Which makes Griff and Bourne interesting inversions of this trope, as men who had it all, lost it all and then had to remake themselves.
Oh, interesting! My top 3 does change a lot, of course.
Elizabeth Hoyt first.
Favorite: Thief of Shadows, because I think it’s a nearly flawless blend of adventure, sex, angst, and romance. Totally sweeping. Both the hero and heroine are unique and incredibly well written.
Least Favorite: To Seduce a Sinner, probably? It’s not a bad read as a romance; she does well with it. But it’s less memorable than others, and I personally don’t love the whole “heroes were tortured by indigenous people” backstory for this series, and that’s huge in this one.
Joanna Shupe.
Favorite: The Duke Gets Even. She built up to it perfectly. It’s intensely romantic and challenges some of the things we expect from romance novels. Great enemies to lovers vibes, and I love a book with rough sex. I just really, really believed those two were in love.
Least Favorite: The Heiress Hunt. It’s good, and I recommend it as part of the Fifth Avenue Rebels series, but it’s safer and less dynamic than her other books.
Lisa Kleypas.
Favorite: Dreaming of You. Beautifully written, perfectly angsty, fun, formative.
Least favorite: Hello Stranger. I really dislike this book. So boring.
I agree that The Heiress Hunt is the weakest in that series. If you read that then The Duke Gets Even (or vice versa) you’d probably get a bit of whiplash because tonally they’re quite different, but if you read in order you can clearly see the progression (the series definitely got sexier with each book and unfortunately that means The Heiress Hunt falls a bit short when compared to Duke Gets Even or The Bride Goes Rogue). Which makes sense for the start of a series, it just means I don’t enjoy the book as much as the others, especially compared to The Duke Gets Even. But I love couples with build-up over multiple books, so I tend to prefer later books in a series anyway.
ALT
