Release Day! Two Audio Books

As previously reported, two more of my books are now available in audio editions.

The Last Hellion was the last of the Scoundrels series, whose centerpiece is Lord of Scoundrels. It features an intrepid lady journalist and the kind of duke who gives dukes a bad name—as he demonstrated during his short appearance in Lord of Scoundrels. The bulk of the story takes place in London, with a fast and furious side trip of a carriage race to Portsmouth.

Miss Wonderful was the first book I wrote after a few years' hiatus. This was the first time I'd actually envisioned a series from the start, rather than finding out I had a series as I went along. But I miscalculated, and ended up with a five-book trilogy. Its hero is not the eldest son but one of the younger ones, who'd entered the Napoleonic Wars just in time to be badly wounded at Waterloo. Faced with the choice of finding employment or finding a wife, he opts for work—and finds himself in in battle once again. This time it's over a canal, and a determined redhead is leading the charge against him.

Kate Reading narrates.

I hope you enjoy her, and the stories.

Late-breaking news: Celebrating release day, the AudioGals are interviewing narrator Kate Reading, offering first chapters listens, and giving away ten sets of the Audible downloads. You can meet Kate virtually and enter for your chance to win here.

The Last Hellion & Miss Wonderful Audio Releases

An alert, very diligent, and loyal reader has let me know that my two latest audio books, The Last Hellion and Miss Wonderful, narrated by Kate Reading and scheduled for 12 May release, are now available for pre-order.

Next in production will be Mr. Impossible and Lord Perfect.  We're aiming for a June or July release for these, the second and third Carsington books.

Miss Wonderful is here at Amazon.

The Last Hellion  is here at Amazon.

 

What is Lady Day?

In Lord of Scoundrels, Lord Dain refers to an event occurring between Candlemas and Lady Day. These dates may not mean much to many readers.  Following is a short explanation, which I originally wrote for Two Nerdy History Girls.                                 ***

In my book Lord of Scoundrels, Lord Dain refers to an event occurring before Lady-Day.  He does not mean the singer Billie Holiday.

He’s referring to a Quarter Day, as do characters in many books.  These are important dates in the British calendar, as the following page illustrates.  It’s from a little instruction manual, The Guide to General Information on Common Things (1868).

According to Hone’s Every-day Book, Vol 1,  “Lady Day is a holiday at the Public Offices, except the Excise, Stamp, and Custom.”  He describes various religious festivals associated with the day, then goes on to note:  “In England, Lady Day is only remembered as the first quarter-day of the year, and is therefore only kept by tenants who truly pay rent to their landlords.”

However, servants were customarily paid on quarter days as well.  Though we tend not to use religious holidays as the marking points nowadays, we do continue to to divide the year into quarters for various financial transactions, e.g. quarterly reports.

William Hone explains Candlemas here.

Image: William Redmore Bigg,The Severe Steward, or Unfortunate Tenant (1800-01), courtesy Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection.

Clicking on the image will enlarge it.  Clicking on the caption will allow you to read at the source, where you can learn more and enlarge images as needed.