January 23, 2011

I’m making lemonade! 82

by Beverley Kendall • Giveaways, Miscellaneous, Odds and Ends News • Tags:

You know the old saying, ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.’  Well this past week I found out that my publishing (former) company has officially passed on my option book, AN HEIR OF DECEPTION, which is the third book in The Elusive Lords series. Kensington, like all publishing companies, must look at their financials when deciding to re-contract an author and it appears that my debut, SINFUL SURRENDER did not sell as well as they would have liked so it makes no business sense to contract me for another book.

This is the news I expected when I found out just how many (or few) print copies of SINFUL SURRENDER sold. But really no hard feelings, I was happy to have my first two books published at all so all I can do is move on and go forth to make that lemonade. What does this mean? This means that despite the fact that New York doesn’t want AN HEIR OF DECEPTION (Waaaawaaaaa, Alex’s book) I know my fans do. They’ve been asking for this book actually since SINFUL SURRENDER so I’ve decided that the show must go on so I will self-publish the book.  I’m incredibly fortunate because I know someone who can design me a smashing cover and I have two friends who are more than willing to lend their editor credentials to edit the book.

The release date of AN HEIR OF DECEPTION is August 9, 2011 and I’ll also be releasing a connecting novella,  ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE & SEDUCTION April 12, 2011. Why am I self-publishing this book? Because this is the book of my heart. Don’t get me wrong, I love the other two books in the series but Alex’s story…is the story resonates inside me like nothing else I’ve ever written. Here’s the blurb:

After three years of carousing and debauchery, Alex Cartwright, heir to the Duke of Hastings, has put his life back in order. Having embraced sobriety for two years, he has no intention of revisiting the past or risking his heart again. But the return of the very woman who introduced him to the darkest side of hell brings not only the painful, haunting memories of bittersweet love and abandonment, but the son he never knew he had. Alex will do anything to make his son his legitimate heir, including wresting a child from his mother’s arms and imperiling long-held friendships. Vowing he feels nothing for her, he soon fears the most painful deception of all are the lies he tells to his heart.

News of her sister’s illness brings Charlotte Rutherford back to England, ending a five-year absence. After finding her sister healthy and hale, Charlotte learns the person she believes caused her to flee on her wedding day is dead, taking with her the secret that could destroy her family’s place in society and forever tarnish a dukedom. But when Alex discovers her other secret—their son—Charlotte has an altogether different battle ahead. She must now fight one love to hold onto the other—the man whose touch still makes her burn, for the child who is her very world.

Voilà! There you have it, my lemonade.

Now how about something extra sweet? Comment and enter to win Eloisa James’s February Top Pick, WHEN BEAUTY TAMED THE BEAST and Amanda Scott’s HIGHLAND MASTER!

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