So when Mary Anne Clarke seeks an escape from her squalid surroundings in Bowling Inn Alley, she ventures first into the scurrilous world of the pamphleteers. Her personal charms are such, however, that before long she comes to the notice of the Duke of York.With her taste for luxury and power, Mary Anne, now a royal mistress, must aim higher. Her lofty connections allow her to establish a thriving trade in military commissions, provoking a scandal that rocks the government - and brings personal disgrace.A vivid portrait of overweening ambition, MARY ANNE is set during the Napoleonic Wars and based on du Maurier's own great-great-grandmother. In Regency London, the only way for a woman to succeed is to beat men at their own game. So when Mary Anne Clarke seeks an escape from her squalid surroundings in Bowling Inn Alley, she ventures first into the scurrilous world of the pamphleteers. Her personal charms are such, however, that before long she comes to the notice of the Duke of York.With her taste for luxury and power, Mary Anne, now a royal mistress, must aim higher. Her lofty connections allow her to establish a thriving trade in military commissions, provoking a scandal that rocks the government - and brings personal disgrace.

    Tormented by horrific nightmares since the death of her baby five years before, literary agent Lyn Ravenshaw agrees to accompany an author to Wales, where she encounters an eccentric young widow desperately afraid for her own infant's safety and a reclusive playwright who could be her only salvation.

    . . a Christmas Eve to Remember: The Wise Virgin by Jo BeverleyIt was quite daring of Edmund de Grave to rescue Lady Nicolette de Montelan before her father found out she was pregnant with an enemy family's child. Unfortunately, he kidnapped the wrong woman when Nicolette's cousin, Joan, took Nicolettes place as the Blessed Virgin in the Christmas re-enactment—a last minute change that seemed fitting given her "condition".Now, Lady Joan finds herself trapped in a cave on Christmas Eve with the great Edmund de Grave and neither are very happy about it. He's fuming because his plan was spoiled and worrying about his brother, now in enemy hands. She's perturbed that a man she thought a hero is the type to get a lady "with child" outside of marriage.There's a battle brewing as the fires of ancient hatreds are stoked and the true spirit of Christmas is about to be tested.From the Publisher: Fans of Jo Beverley will recognize this story as one of her early works previously published as part of an anthology. Readers with a passion for history will enjoy the author's penchant for detail and accuracy. Fans of Elizabeth Chadwick, Bernard Cornwell and Philippa Gregory as well as Tamara Leigh and Suzan Tisdale will delight in this medieval romance.

    Three years after her husband, Alex, disappeared, shot down over Germany, Jo Manders still mourns his loss. Working as a paid companion to Alex's wealthy, condescending aunt, Dottie Forsyth, Jo travels to the family’s estate in the Sussex countryside. But there is much she never knew about her husband’s origins…and the revelation of a mysterious death in the Forsyths’ past is just the beginning… All is not well at Wych Elm House. Dottie's husband is distant, and her son was grievously injured in the war. Footsteps follow Jo down empty halls, and items in her bedroom are eerily rearranged. The locals say the family is cursed, and that a ghost in the woods has never rested. And when Jo discovers her husband’s darkest secrets, she wonders if she ever really knew him. Isolated in a place of deception and grief, she must find the truth or lose herself forever. And then a familiar stranger arrives at Wych Elm House…

    Instead she found terror and murder...Isolated in the Gilmartin ancestral home in Herondale, Deborah and young Carreen were left to face a nameless, unseen danger lurking in the frozen village, where only the flick of a curtain at a window or some random footprints in the snow, showed that it was inhabited at all.Alone in a house that had known violence, Deborah turned to Carreen's cousin Jeremy, as attractive as he was cynical and mysterious. But was he really a friend, or was he the enemy? In spite of Jeremy - or because of him? - Deborah found herself fighting for her life in an affair so bizarre as to shatter the silence of Herondale forever.1973 printing, with the "Ace * First in Gothics" banner at the top of the front cover.

    She is looking for adventure and love…not an arranged marriage to a man she hasn’t seen in years. She travels to America to join her betrothed and quickly realizes that the boy she met and wrote letters to is not the man she is committed to marry. Thanks to a chance meeting with a local matchmaker, Lorraine gets the opportunity for a second chance in the woods of Northern Pennsylvania. Milo Murphy moved to America to pick up where his parents left off…farming the land and building a home in Montrose, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, he spends more time mining coal in nearby Scranton than he does tending his property. A looming strike at the mine offers Milo the chance to move to his farm full time. However, he quickly learns that creating a future is a lonely job, so he sends a letter to a mail order bride agency, hoping they’ll send him the girl of his dreams. The moment they meet, their connection is undeniable. But will it be enough to keep them together as they try to carve out a place on their new land?

    The Eastwind sails for the American colonies in two weeks. If Silvia chooses to accept the offer of a mysterious benefactor, she must be ready to risk her life for a chance at freedom.Silvia's dark fate starts here, in a novella-length prequel to the sexy Gothic romance novel Dark Splendor.Dark Prelude is approximately 14,500 words long.

    The noble Felmont family is infamous for both. Unfortunately, Lizzie has accidentally ruined Lord Felmont and her banker uncles are forcing her to marry him. No one ever said that Felmont males are handsome. They are famous for their long noses and their passionate natures. The only thing they all agree on is the need for one of them to marry Lizzie to keep her fortune in the family. Lord Felmont had wanted to marry for love but Lizzie has ruined his chance for happiness, and now she fears he is going to take his revenge. Lizzie shudders at the thought!

    Life for Sarah Willcox has not been easy since her father died. It’s the late 1920s and Sarah loves her work as an apprentice in the sheds at the Staffordshire-based pottery Frenshaws. She is able to escape her miserable home life where her hateful step-father Joe abuses her mother. But there’s no escaping it completely, as Joe also works at the pottery company. When Sarah’s talent is recognized by the master potter and owner, Daniel, she is sent to Design School where she meets wealthy Annabel and they quickly become friends. But Sarah’s life is far from settled. Beneath Daniel’s dedication to work lies a deep compassion and a long-standing interest in Sarah and her family. On her fifteenth birthday, a violent tragedy sends Sarah’s life spiraling into an entirely new direction. She escapes to live with her grandmother where she learns secrets about her past and a heritage that she never knew existed. A whole life she had never imagined opens up for her, but will it come at too high a price? The Tower Room is a thoroughly moving tale about secrets, deception and new beginnings.

    But when he dies on their wedding night, she finds herself a penniless widow. Her only legacy is Brooke House, a Gothic revival manor in the wilds of the Hudson River Valley. However, the eerie mansion comes with two tenants. One is a hostile ghost. The second, and far worse, is former violinist Roderick Brooke--the most insolent, dangerous, maddeningly gorgeous man she's ever met.As Sybil and Roderick engage in a battle of wills--and wits--she finds herself increasingly drawn to him despite her growing suspicion that there is a connection between him and the spirit that haunts Brooke House. But soon an even greater threat arises: the mysterious queen of local society, Mrs. Lavinia Dove. For reasons that Sybil can't imagine, Mrs. Dove is determined to have Brooke House and Roderick for herself... if necessary, by deadly means.

     Louise, Ellen, and Angel Bannister have enjoyed the comforts of a wealthy upbringing, but yearn for something more exciting than their anticipated lots in life. As the times begin to change and the war rumbles through London, the Bannister girls face challenges that will test their resolve and strip them of their innocence. In a London full of speakeasies and suffragettes, will the war bring the Bannister girls closer together, or end up tearing them apart? The Bannister Girls is a poignant tale of desire, loss, and fervent love in a war-torn country set within a vital age of progress, change, and upheaval.

    And behind its doors, amid the flickering shadows and secret passageways, danger lies in wait… TO HIS EVERY DARK DESIREEvangeline Pemberton has been invited to a party at the sprawling estate of reclusive Gavin Lioncroft, who is rumored to have killed in cold blood. Initially, his towering presence and brusque manner instill fear… until his seductive attentions and unexpected vulnerability conquer her resistance.But when a guest is murdered, Evangeline is torn. Could the man to whom she is so powerfully drawn, also be a ruthless killer?

    But this time it’s different. This time, she interferes with one of the Four Kings, and the brotherhood will not rest until they marry her off and place her securely under a man’s thumb. Only they have to catch her first.The Earl of Northwick is falling for this writer, sight unseen. Will she be pretty? Will she have all her teeth? In his rush to claim her for himself, regardless of who she might ultimately be, he places her in grave danger - her desperate enemies are watching closely for the moment her mask is removed.

    His rakish lifestyle has provided him with every pleasure possible, but now it’s time to settle down. To find his future duchess, he decides to hold a secret dinner party. But the ladies have an impossible task; leave their homes unchaperoned. Certainly from those brave enough to attend, he will find a woman worthy of his attention.Alice Egerton is a helpless romantic. Reading her books and keeping a low profile is her cup of tea. But when her sister decides to leave their house unchaperoned, she is ready to do anything to prevent her ruination.This roguish duke is definitely one to stay away from.Surprisingly, the only lady who catches Henry’s attention is neither a debutante, nor a diamond of the first water, but a bluestocking hiding inside his library, making fun of his eccentric way of choosing a bride.As the only woman who has ever resisted his charm, he decides that he should win her. What a task it would be to unplug the wallflower…He set her body on fire, she burned his rakish past…

    Dawn hopes they arrive in time so she can be there for Wintra when she delivers her baby. To their surprise, Torr, Wintra’s husband, arrives looking for his wife. It seems Wintra left home just before a snowstorm hit and though he followed after her when he found out she was gone, the blinding snowstorm forced him to take shelter.Torr is mad with worry for his wife. Cree is ready to beat Torr for not keeping his sister safe, and Dawn attempts to calm both men as the three wonder...where is Wintra?