Warm up for winter



 

Hopefully, all of you are safe and warm as winter storms ravage the U.S. To help pass those cold winter nights, please check out: 

 

 

Enter daily to win one of 17 promotional paperbacks  

Outlaws by William Weldy

Only A Hero Will Do by Susan Lodge

First Frost by Liz DeJesus

Glass Frost by Liz DeJesus

Trusting Sydney by Helen Hardt

Taming Angelina by Helen Hardt

Treasuring Amber by Helen Hardt

2012: The Rising by Joanne Hirase

Typical Day by Gary K. Wolf

Obsession by JoAnne Keltner

Stained Glass byMindy Hardwick

Grape Bubblegum by Beth Bowland

Dragon Drop by Jerry Ackerman

New Girl by Joan B. Flood

The Fox's Mask by Anna Frost

Unforgettable You by Marci Boudreaux

Storm’s Fury by Nya Rayne

And one of 30 e-books:

3.99 by Richard Satterlie

100,000 Midnights by Aaron Smith

A Company of Thieves by David Pilling

A Place to Call Their Own by L. Dean Pace-Frech

A Reason To Stay by L.S. Murphy

A Sense of the Ridiculous by Heather King

A Willing Spirit by Cindi Myers

Alaska Heat by Vella Munn

An Incident on MSR Tampa by SS Hampton, Sr

Apple of My Eye by Elizabeth Botts

Baiting The Hook by Mary S. Palmer & David Wilton

Between by Clarissa Johal

Black Widow by Lena Austin

Bring Me To Life by Scarlett Parrish

Captain Westwood's Inheritance by Lynda Dunwell

Contingency Plan by Anita Ensal

Crazy Greta by David Hardy

Daughter of the Earth and Sky by Kaitlin Bevis

Deep Into The Night by Tracie Ingersoll Loy

Dragon Revealed by Nulli Para Ora

Enchanted Realms by Eleni Konstantine

Forget the Misteltoe by Lizzie T. Leaf

Her Goblin Prince by Thalia Frost

High Stakes by Chad Strong

ICE blue by Susan Rae

Identity Thief by Milo James Fowler

Keeper of Directions by L.K. Mitchell

Kojiki by Keith Yatsuhashi

Little Bird by Liza Gaines

Looney Dunes by Anne Skalitza

Masquerade by Sloane Taylor

All entrants are eligible for Grand Prize Drawing January 31

Grand Prize 

Warm Up for Winter Basket

Snuggly Blanket

$20.00 Musa Gift Certificate 

Starbucks Coffee

Coffee Mug

Specialty Chocolates

 PLUS  5 paperback books: 

Marissa's Choice by Kadee McDonald

The Dominus Runes by Peter Lukes

Walking the Dog by Linda Benson

Love Lies Bleeding by Laini Giles

For his Love by Nya Rayne

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Cooking with Musa

My fabulous publisher, Musa Publishing, is two years old this month! Sloane Taylor put together many of the recipes that have appeared on the Musa Blog over the last two years. As part of the birthday celebration you can get the cookbook (normally $2.99) for FREE when you buy another Musa book from its website.

There are recipes that I've posted on my blog but there are lots more you haven't seen before. So, please check it out here: Cooking with Musa.

Cooking with Wenches - Vonnie Hughes' Curry and Captive

 

Welcome to the blog, Vonnie. Take it away...

Stirring up something good. Spice up your life with a new dish that's not expensive and really takes very little hands-on time. I offer you one of our family favorites and I think you'll enjoy it, too. This sweet, mild curry serves eight.

TANGY CURRY

2½ lbs of cubed cheap steak (it will be simmered for ages so cheap steak is fine)
2 finely chopped onions
1 chopped apple
2 chopped carrots
2 tablespoons of ordinary flour
Juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons of golden syrup (light treacle)(corn syrup)
1 dessertspoon of mild curry powder
1 medium tin of tomato soup
1 small tin of pineapple pieces

Place the steak in a large pot. Add the onions, apple and carrots. In a bowl mix the flour, lemon juice, golden syrup, curry powder and a little of the pineapple juice. Stir this flavored thickening and add to the meat in the pot. Add the tomato soup and pineapple pieces. Cook on a very low heat for two hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. (A little extra liquid may be needed. Water is fine).

Best served with rice and a tossed green salad. Now while you have that 2 hour wait, how about a step back in time with an intro to one of my Regency novels?

When Alexandra Tallis sets free the attractive man her sister stupidly tried to hold captive, her actions lead not only to a love she never thought to find, but also to a horrific family secret that threatens that love.

When Alexandra Tallis discovers that her witless sister has imprisoned their father’s nemesis, Theo Crombie in their attic, she quickly frees him, fighting an unladylike impulse to keep him as her own special captive. Despite the brutal beating she receives from her father for her actions, Alexandra continues to yearn for the delicious Mr. Crombie even though she knows that nothing will ever come of her dreams.

Injured and shackled in a stranger’s attic, Theo unexpectedly discovers the woman of his dreams. But how can he pursue those dreams when her bizarre family’s complex relationships threaten the very foundation of his existence? Somehow Theo must find a way through this maze to claim his lady.

To read an excerpt from Captive, please click HERE.

Vonnie Hughes is a New Zealander living in Australia. She loves animals and jogging. Vonnie writes Regencies and romantic suspense novels along with short stories.
She is presently working on a romantic suspense, working title: Innocent Hostage and a Regency novella, working title: A Tale of Two Sisters. Her earlier book Coming Home is about a soldier and a nurse, thrown together during the Napoleonic wars, who find more danger on their return to England than they ever did on the Iberian Peninsula. The Second Son is actually a prequel to Coming Home. A second son, filled with angst, stands to inherit a title and property through the death of a brother he has always loathed and mistrusted. A young disabled woman teaches him how to find his self-respect and how to love.

Another Regency Historical, Mr. Monfort’s Marriage, has businessman Matthew Monfort inveigled into marrying an earl’s daughter. With good reason he loathes the ton, so his new wife needn’t think she’s going to win him over, even though she’s quite delightful…and intelligent…and sweet…However Verity shows him that not all members of the ton are idle layabouts and that he can do much good with his largesse and with—shock, horror—the unexpected and embarrassing title conferred on him by Prinny.

All of Vonnie’s books are available on Amazon and Musa Publishing. Learn more about Vonnie Hughes on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Goodreads.

***
Nancy here again. I just finished Captive and I really enjoyed it. Alexandra isn't your typical lady of the Ton. In other words, she has spunk and a brain. Theo is pretty yummy too, and definitely as hot as the curry!  Please check it out.

Avoiding 5 Writing "Mistakes"

I recently finished editing New Bohemia: Just One Night and am waiting to get it back from the first beta reader. Waiting for those comments is always nerve wracking. Instead of obsessing, I thought I'd share some editing tips I've learned from my "mistakes" along the way. The list below contains some of the things I check my work for before I end the first stage of editing.

1. Don't have disembodied body parts.

I owe my education on this one to Celina Summers, Head Muse at Musa Publishing. It was something that I'd never considered before she pointed it out. Now I can't ignore when it happens. I tend to make this "mistake" when I'm trying to vary sentence structure and not constantly start the sentences with a pronoun or proper noun.

What do I mean by disembodied body parts? When there's no person attribution and the writer uses only the unattributed body part to function as the sentence's subject. 

So, the sentence, "Fingernails scraped across the chalkboard" falls into this category. Really, the nails did it by themselves? They weren't attached to fingers and those fingers weren't attached to a hand? Unless, you're reading a zombie novel and the parts really can act without being attached to someone, it's probably better to write "Her fingernails scraped across the chalkboard." 

2. Watch out for unintentional distancing in the narrative.

My first editor at Musa, Jennifer Ayers, pointed this out to me. It was one of those face-meet-palm moments because it's brilliantly simple once you know what you're looking for.

One of the main benefits of a third person point of view (POV) is it creates a connection between the reader and the character. When we create distance between the reader and the character we run the risk of losing the reader's interest and having her put the book down. Unintentional distancing is a type of POV violation or redundancy.

You create distance with a sentence like: "Bob felt the coarse texture of the rough spun wool under his fingers."

Why? Because we're already in Bob's POV. So telling me that "Bob felt" takes me a step back. A "better" sentence might be "The coarse texture of the rough spun wool abraded his fingers." Why do I think that's better? The precatory language "Bob felt" is gone. Also, the second sentence is more interesting because it tells me more about Bob and the feel of the material.

3. Avoid talking heads.

There are days I wonder if I should have been a screenwriter. My first draft of a scene is generally mostly dialog. I don't fill in the character movements or blocking fleshed out. While "talking heads" scenes are fine in a first draft, there needs to be more detail before the first beta reader gets a look. Long stretches of dialog needs to be interrupted by action, even if that action is as simple as standing up,.

4. When you limit weak verbs, characters rarely just "stand up" or "walk."

Speaking of standing up, motion gives you a chance to show character. Whether a character eases down into a seat, perches on the edge or extends his left leg out straight ad stiff when he sits tells a lot about who he is or his emotional state.  There's a difference between a character who "danced" across the street, and another who "lumbered" across it. The words "dance" and "lumber" evoke different mental images. Did you see a female moving for "danced" and a male for "lumbered"? I did.

Verb choices matter.

5. Remember the setting.

I just finished reading 20 storied for Flash Fiction Online's slush pile. At a guess one quarter of those stories suffered from the White Room Syndrome. It is almost never appropriate to ignore the setting. It is almost never appropriate to set a scene in a white painted room with white furniture. Yawn. I've seen a character waking up in a fully white room work once in a story. Once. And that character woke up in a hospital cell in a futuristic Center for Disease Control Center.

Also, keep in mind that POV matters when describing setting. An interior designer will notice more and different details than a 5 year old when looking at the same room. But both will notice and mentally, at least, comment on the space.

I hope this was helpful, or at least interesting. Now I'll go back to waiting. Sigh.

Cooking with the Wenches - Sam Cheever's Chicken with Tomatoes and Basil

A cool recipe and a hot read! Sam Cheever is here to provide both.

I use thin sliced chicken breast for this recipe, but you can also butterfly and pound whole chicken breasts to ¼ inch thick.

Chicken with Tomatoes and Basil

5 medium plum tomatoes, diced and seeded ¼ cup packed,
fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
5 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2½ tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves sliced or pounded thin (approximately 2 lbs.)

Combine tomatoes, basil, half the oil, vinegar, and garlic in a bowl, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown 3 minutes, or until golden and nearly cooked through, in half the remaining oil.

Flip and cook another 2 minutes on the other side. (Cook half at a time and keep the rest warm in a 200°F oven.)

Serve with sweet potatoes mashed with milk and Parmesan cheese.

Arrange the chicken on a plate with a scoop of mashed sweet potatoes and spoon a generous amount of the tomato mixture and juice over the top.

Delicious and pretty!

Now for that hot read we promised you.

Here's an intro from my erotic romance Cupid Only Rings Twice.

This Valentine’s Day, Rori’s gonna meet an honest to god Cupid. And he’ll use more than arrows to win her love.

Rori Foster is too beautiful to find love. Men just can’t seem to look past her exterior to recognize the human being inside. But, this Valentine’s Day, Rori’s gonna meet an honest to god Cupid. And he’ll use more than arrows to win her love.,

Unfortunately he’ll have to save her from the bad intentions of a cocky Love Demon first.

But Damios is determined to protect her. Even if he loses her in the process.

MINI EXCERPT:

Damios lowered his head, capturing her exquisite lips in a kiss that was less a tender wish and more an urgent promise. Her mouth opened under his and he accepted her offer, slipping his tongue past her lips to savor her sweet taste. She moaned softly as his hands slipped around her waist, up her back, and pulled her tightly against his chest. Her body heated under his kiss and her incredible scent slipped over him.

Damios broke the kiss long enough to say, “I lied. I want to come inside.”

They both stilled for a moment, Damios realizing how his declaration had sounded and Rori’s lips twitching under a suppressed grin. He rested his forehead against hers, finding it hard to breathe.

“Sorry. That came out wrong.”

She chuckled huskily, skimming the tip of one velvet thumb across his bottom lip. “No. It came out just right.”

Damios bit her thumb softly and slipped his hands down her body, cupping the firm roundness of her buttocks. His lips found hers again and he groaned as she ground herself against him. Their kiss gained heat, their bodies thrumming under the imperative of a building need. Their tongues tangled, danced, and their hands skimmed, exploring with growing intensity...

To read more or purchase Cupid Only Rings Twice please click the vendor's name.

Musa Publishing | Nook | Kobo | Sony | ARe | Kindle | Amazon.uk | Amazon.ca

Sam Cheever writes mainstream romantic suspense and fantasy, all heat levels; and Declan Sands for M/M romantic suspense and fantasy. Her books are fast paced and fun loving. Not one of them will solve a single world problem, but you definitely won’t be bored while reading them! Sam’s published work includes 40+ works of young adult, romantic suspense, and fantasy/paranormal. Her books have won the Dream Realm Award for fantasy, been nominated and/or won several CAPAs, were nominated for Best of 2010 with LRC and The Romance Reviews, and won eCataromance’s Reviewer’s Choice award. She is published with Ellora’s Cave, both Romantica and Blush; Changeling Press; Electric Prose Publications (her own imprint), Musa Publishing, and Red Rose Publishing. She lives on a hobby farm in Indiana with 13 dogs, 2 horses, and one husband.

(HA! See, Husband, Sam has more dogs than I do.. That means we have to get more pets - Nancy)

Learn more about Sam Cheever on her blog Eclectic Insights. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter. You can also find Sam on Goodreads.

Making the holiday last with Sloane Taylor

One of the fun things about having a Federal holiday, like the Fourth of July, on a Thursday is that people tend to take Friday off and extend the weekend. So, to help you extend your Fourth of July celebration, I asked fellow Word Wench Sloane to share her favorite recipes.

So, take it away Sloane...

Friends are coming over on this weekend and Studs wanted a cookout with all his favorites. Since I never could refuse a good-looking man, I agreed. Here’s our menu with the recipes I created. I hope you like them.

Barbecued Pork Ribs Hamburgers Sloane Style My Mom’s Potato Salad Baked Beans Sweet Corn on the Grill Snazzy Sliced Tomatoes Ice cold lemonade Cold beer

Barbecued Pork Ribs

Pork ribs plan 1 slab for 2 people if you make all this food
Beer
Chicken stock
Barbeque sauce – Sweet Baby Ray’s is my favorite

Preheat oven to 325°F Place ribs in a pan and in a single layer. Pour in about a half inch of stock and the same amount of beer. Cover tight and bake 1 – 1½ hours. You want the meat tender but not falling off the bone. Carefully remove ribs from pan to a cookie sheet. Discard cooking liquid. Spread barbeque sauce over ribs. Heat grill to medium. Carefully rub vegetable or olive oil onto the grates. Lay ribs on grate and grill 10-15 minutes turning at least once and basting with sauce.

Hamburgers Sloane Style

Ground chuck about ¼ pound per adult Ground sirloin about ¼ per two adults
Worcestershire Sauce 1 dash per adult
1 egg per 1 ½ pounds meat
chives snipped, fresh or jarred

Beat egg lightly in a small bowl. Combine the meat, Worcestershire Sauce, and handful of chives into a mixing bowl. When the mixture is well combined, break off clumps of the meat and form balls. Set them onto waxed paper, then cover with another sheet of waxed paper. Use a cake plate or large soup bowl to press the meat into a patty the thickness you like. Refrigerate until ready to grill.

On medium heat, cook patties until they are done to your preference. Be sure to turn only once. Use any type roll that suits your fancy. Dress the burgers with ketchup, mustard, lettuce, onion, and tomato. You can also add cheese for the topping. If you do, then lay it over the burger a minute or two before the end of the cooking time.

My Mom’s Potato Salad

1 red potato per person
1 hard boiled egg for every 2-3 potatoes
one stalk celery for every 5 potatoes chopped small
½ med onion for every 5 potatoes chopped small
Pepper
Mayonnaise – NO substitutes

Boil the potatoes in their jackets until just fork tender. Remove from pot as they are done and allow to cool. Scrape the skins off. Slice in half widthwise then lengthwise. Slice into the bite size pieces.

While the potatoes are cooking, lay the eggs in a saucepan, cover with water, and place a lid on the pan. Bring to a boil, then shut off the heat and allow to sit on the burner for 7 minutes. Cut into quarters, then slice. Set aside covered with plastic wrap or a paper towel to eliminate drying out.

Combine celery and onion in a large bowl. Grind in a healthy amount of fresh pepper. Stir in several large spoonfuls of mayonnaise. You have to gauge by the number of potatoes you use. Mix well. Add the potatoes, two at a time and mix well. Continue until all the potatoes are added. Check the salad for dryness. It should be moist but not swimming in mayo. Add mayo as needed. Add the sliced eggs and stir again. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Baked Beans

1 small can Bush’s Honey Baked Beans
1 small can Bush’s Homestyle Baked Beans
2 tbsp. dried mustard
2 tbsp. maple syrup - optional 2 strips bacon

Preheat oven to 325°.

Pour beans into a metal loaf pan or oven safe dish. Stir in mustard and syrup. Lay bacon strips on top. Bake in the center of the oven uncovered for 45 minutes or until desired consistency. To cook on the grill: Heat grill to medium. Prepare as above, then place pan on top rack. Cook about 45 minutes or until desired consistency. To serve – discard bacon.

Sweet Corn on the Grill

1 ear fresh corn per person – do not remove husk
Water
Butter or margarine
Salt

Pour cool water into a container large enough to hold the sweet corn. Soak corn still in its husk at least 1 hour, but no more than 2 hours.

Set grill on medium high. Remove corn from the water and lay the ears on the grill. Roast until the husk is brown on that side, then turn and repeat the process. Total cooking time is about 20 – 25 minutes.

To serve - peel back the husks. Roll the ears in butter or margarine, then sprinkle on a touch of salt, and enjoy!

Snazzy Sliced Tomatoes

1 tomato per two people
Red wine vinegar
Garlic powder or fresh garlic minced
Fresh or dried chives

Prepare this dish about an hour or so before serving. Slice tomatoes ½” thick and arrange on a serving plate. Drizzle vinegar over the tomatoes, then dust with garlic powder or fresh garlic. Sprinkle plenty of chives across the top. Set on the counter away from sun or heat to flavor through.

Now after teasing your taste buds how about a quick trip to the balmy French Riviera to tempt some of your other senses with my new five book series?

Naughty Ladies of Nice is a deliciously steamy erotic series with a touch of humor and intrigue. Pour yourself a cool glass of your favorite beverage, perhaps a tall Perrier or a crisp Chardonnay, and let your summer sizzle with French Tart, French Delight, French Twist, French Kiss, and French Tickler. Here’s a little about FRENCH Tart, Book One. For a spicy excerpt, please click HERE.

Bon Appétit... Satisfy all your cravings at cooking school. Determined to prove herself and shed her party girl image, Donatienne Dubois pins her hopes on the exclusive cooking school in Nice, France. One by one her expectations are shattered by a foul-mouthed parrot, a bogus Michelin chef, and a headmistress with a heart of tungsten steel. Doni's lifesaver is a bad boy hunk too hot not to handle.

Mark Anderson is incognito and hating every minute. To pose as a student while keeping tabs on a rich wild child is his version of hell, until he partners with the dish of Crème Brule good enough to eat.

Class takes on a whole new meaning as Doni and Mark heat up the kitchen when they discover honey has better uses than sweetening tea.

Sloane Taylor believes humor and sex are healthy aspects of our everyday lives and carries that philosophy into her books. All her stories are set in Europe where the men are all male and the North American women they encounter are both feminine and strong. They also bring more than lust to their men’s lives.

Learn more about Sloane Taylor on her website, and of course her blog for easy recipes. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

***

 

Wow! Now I know what I do wrong when I cook corn on the grill. Thanks, I'll never make that mistake again!

 

Sloane's books are wonderful and engaging. They combine great characters, stories and locations. Sloane's books are always on my reading list.

Fourth of July Tribute to Old Glory from Dusty Crabtree

Once a year, Americans celebrate their country. We've had some glorious times and some rough ones, and we're likely to see more of both before we get off the merry-go-round. But even while we might not consciously be aware of it, Americans are patriotic and pull together based on the country they love every time there's a need.

Recently, the storms and winds here in Virginia pulled our flag pole to a 60% angle or so. My husband and son spent last weekend digging out the pole and resetting it so we could fly our flag today.


So, what happens when you get a patriotic Word Wench in a contemplative mood? A poem about a tattered flag, of course. 

"The Tattered Flag"
                         By Dusty Crabtree
 

It flaps in the wind limply at one corner. The other corner is ripped to shreds, caught, hanging on a wire, dejectedly. Unable to break free.

It's been windy. It's raining. It's nobody's fault.
 

And yet…it just feels wrong.  The moment I see it from my car, a whimper escapes my lips.  A pain shoots through my chest.  It aches. I want to cry.  I might as well have witnessed a young kid being pushed down by a bully.  How could someone treat the flag this way?  A sense of injustice burns inside so strong that my world turns upside down.

Such  a strong emotion for such a simple inanimate object. But it's not simple, is it? It represents our country's life. Our freedom. Us. So, I guess...in a way...it isn't just an object treated with disrespect. It's a living and breathing representation of hope. And if that's torn and tattered, then what do we have left?

 

#####

 



I agree with her. Hope is a resilient thing. And sometimes we find it in the tatters.

Dusty is celebrating another big anniversary - the release of her novel Shadow Eyes.  

The idea for Shadow Eyes actually first came to me as a screenplay for a Christian horror movie, if there ever was such a genre. The movie would have been about a cast of intertwined characters going about their lives and making mistakes with dark, creepy shadows (demons) hovering around them, whispering to them, and influencing them to do evil things. Only the audience would see the shadows. The characters would be completely oblivious. A few years after I’d had that idea, my friend suggested I write a novel like the paranormal angel books we’d been reading and loving. I’d always loved the concept of angels and demons in stories and immediately thought back to that screenplay idea. I just continued tweaking it until I had the basic concept of Shadow Eyes – a 17-year-old girl who had this special ability to see the shadows and light figures when nobody else could.

Iris thought she could ignore the shadows...until they went after everyone she loved.

BLURB: Iris Kohl lives in a world populated by murky shadows that surround, harass, and entice unsuspecting individuals toward evil. But she is the only one who can see them. She’s had this ability to see the shadows, as well as brilliantly glowing light figures, ever since an obscure, tragic incident on her fourteenth birthday three years earlier. Although she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival of three mysterious characters. First, a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend. As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity and become the hero she was meant to be.

To read an excerpt from Shadow Eye's, please click HERE.
Watch Shadow Eyes book trailer on YouTube.
Shadow Eyes is available at all major online bookstores.

Learn more about Dusty Crabtree on her blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

HAVE A GREAT 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE!

Who can resist a hero? New Release by Word Wench Susan Lodge

I admit it. I have a soft spot for Regency Romances, especially ones that break the traditional mold. Only A Hero Will Do is definitely one of those stories.A chance meeting, a cunning woman not willing to conform to society's strict rules, and a handsome doctor. What more could you want?  I hope you enjoy this peak at Susan Lodge's new release.


ONLY A HERO WILL DO The latest release by Susan Lodge.

Hetty’s desperate gamble to avoid an odious match lands her all at sea. Can an overbearing ship’s physician really be the hero she needs to escape her treacherous family?

BLURB: Marriage to a cruel dandy is not how Hetty Avebury envisions spending the rest of her life. Determined to raise funds to escape the match she earns money the only way she knows how—gambling. Her plans go astray and she finds herself onboard a man-of-war under the care of its stern physician. But Hetty soon realizes that the disapproving Doctor Withington is not at all the man she had first imagined.

If it wasn’t bad enough declaring one of the pressed men as a woman, Robert has been tasked with the tiresome job of returning her safely back to her dysfunctional family. It was ten years ago when his father gambled away his inheritance, home, and any chance of marrying the woman he loved. So when Robert discovers Hetty gambling he takes drastic action to cure her of the habit.

EXCERPT:

“Annie, will you please walk beside me? Try to remember, I am supposed to be your brother not your employer. You must keep your arm on mine.”

Annie pursed her lips but did as she was told. At five foot four, Hetty was tall enough to masquerade as a male. Her disguise was not of fine quality this time, as she had no desire to stand out in the crowd. It was serviceable and clean, if a little ill-fitting.

She resembled a rather youthful clerk.

They had left in the early hours after Hetty had written her aunt a short note to tell her not to worry. She couldn’t risk anything else, as she knew Stark and her father would ask too many questions. If she knew nothing, Aunt Amelia wouldn’t have to lie—something she didn’t like to do.

After a moment, Hetty and Annie searched for a respectable inn, both having missed breakfast. It was only after they had seated themselves in the Boar's Head and ordered a modest meal that Hetty realized it was a bad choice. The tables were occupied by groups of unsavoury looking males, half of whom were staring at Annie in a very vulgar way. Hetty looked around with a feeling of foreboding while picking at a cold rabbit pie. The room started to empty as a strange murmur of discontent rippled through the establishment.

Annie fidgeted beside her. “I don’t like it, Miss Hetty! It ain’t right.”

Hetty groaned. “Harry—not Miss Hetty! For heaven’s sake, Annie!”

“Beg pardon…Harry,” she said, as though the name was blasphemous, “but I think we should go now.”

Hetty agreed and prepared to rise when the door shot open and the remaining customers scattered in all directions. A small party of hefty men, armed with wooden batons, sauntered in and stopped in the center of the room, assessing the occupants.

Annie grabbed Hetty’s arm. “It’s the press-gang!”

It took a moment for Annie’s words to register then Hetty swallowed violently. If only her skirts were back on. One of them noticed her and narrowed his eyes with a terrifying gleam like a predator. He pointed his finger her way.

“Now, lad, I reckon you look ripe for adventure. Eager to serve your king, I wager.”

Hetty shook her head and grasped Annie. “No, sir, I have my sister here to look after.”

The man wandered closer, his fleshy face beamed and his voice cajoled. “What’s your name, lad, and how old are you?”

“Harry Blake. I am fourteen." Surely that is too young.

The man considered her for a moment, and Hetty didn’t dare to breathe.

“Bring him.”

Logic ceased. Hetty ducked under the table and tried to crawl toward the door, but one of them crunched a foul-smelling boot down on the small of her back, and her breath escaped in one whoosh of pain. A large hand hoisted her up by the neckcloth and placed her on her feet.

BUY LINK

Susan Lodge is a life long writer, but has marketed her work just these last few years. When she is not writing, Susan tinkers on her piano, enjoys the company of her children, or takes long walks along the coastline with her real life hero. Once asked the most important piece of advice she had been given in pursuit of publication, Susan answered - The only difference between the unpublished writer and the published writer is the fact that the published writer didn't give up.

Catch up with Susan on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.