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Lady Merry's Dashing Champion

She stood in the bow, breathed in the sharp odor of the sea, lifting her eyes to watch the crying seagulls circling overhead. She felt the ketch meet the waves under her feet, spread her legs to keep her balance and turned her face to the blowing spray. She felt cleaner at that moment than she had since becoming Lady Felice, and somehow safer.... Then thought herself mad. Safer with this man who hated her as Felice and would loathe her more as a commoner pretending to be his wife?

Still, he could not control the regard in his eyes or mask his kindness. Nor could she ignore the good man beneath the hard, protective shell. She did not want to know that. It made it so much harder for her to use him, though she had no choice.

She tried to move farther into the bow, but his body followed hers with increased pressure, his arms going around her, his hands resting on the railing. She was trapped in a warm, fleshly prison cell, and any wish to escape fled immediately.

"If you crush my breath, Giles, there will be little left of me.... Whatever your plans for tonight."

He moved back, but just enough to allow her to inhale, which she did, fairly swallowing the salty sea air. Needing more, she raised her face and breathed deeply, realizing too late that her head now rested on his shoulder. She did not move away.

"You know well what my plans are."

Meriel had never been the coquette, though she felt herself about to become one. "I've heard what pirates do to captured women."

Her head resting against him softened the answer he might have given. "Perhaps my plans are sweeter, though nonetheless inescapable."

"But, my lord, I can't believe a peer of England, especially one with such a worthy little ship..."

Though he could not see her face, Giles felt her joy in his ketch as a kind of shiver. "I thought you hated my ship." There was even more puzzlement in his voice than when he'd released her from the cabin below. "You always refused to sail with me, preferring the wilder shores of Whitehall Palace."

"Giles," she said in his wife's voice, "you seem unable to allow me any change at all, but would keep me forever a nineteen-year-old bride."

"Untrue. Indeed, I demand change in you." He felt her body stiffen against him.

Then she spoke in her own humor: "Do you give no quarter, then, upon your pirate ship?"

"Nay, I will give you none wife. What I will give you is a son and heir to my title. You'll walk that plank tonight."

Available August 7, 2007

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"Westin moves her exciting story along, filling the pages with vibrant details and intrigue. There's fun, sex, spying, passion and danger -- everything you need for a wild historical romance ride."

-- Romantic Times

"Vivid historical description places the reader right in the thick of things...truly delicious loves scenes...a wickedly rousing time. Jeane Westin certainly tells a grand romantic tale."

-- Historical Romance Writers review

Now available!

Lady Katherne's Wild Ride

In Restoration England, when a lady’s life depends on the chivalry of her master, a ravishing young noblewoman escapes to the stage and embarks on a life of danger and desire alongside the most charismatic of strolling players…

For years, Lady Katherne Lindsay’s uncle has denied her noble position (heritage) and treated her like a servant. But the night she foils his lecherous plan to steal her virtue, she becomes a suspected murderess with a bounty on her head. To avoid hanging from the king’s gallows, she is forced to take shelter with a dashing actor and play along as his leading lady, despite the constant threat of capture…

Jeremy Hughes is notorious for his performances upon the stage and in the bedchamber. Any wise woman would keep her distance from such an irresistible libertine. But as Lady Katherne blooms into both an accomplished actress and a confident woman, she can’t help giving her whole heart to Jeremy…longing to win him for a lifetime of daring love and passionate adventure.

August 2006

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"Roguish Jeremy teaches Katherne to embrace life and live each day to the fullest--lessons readers will relish--as she rushes headlong from one escapade into another.  Westin recreates the bawdy Restoration era to perfection with colorful historical detail and each rapier-sharp piece of dialogue.  A delightful action-packed read a la Shakespeare in Love."

-- Romantic Times, August 2006

 

"Lady Katherne's Wild Ride is a big wow of a book!  A lot of things are going on making it very exciting to read.  The characters are fabulous and I truly adored them all.  Kit is determined and hard-headed, but all woman.  Jeremy is arrogant, hard-headed, all man and his love is potent.  I recommend this story highly." 

--Tammie Ard, Fresh Fiction

"Lady Katherne's Wild Ride is a terrific Restoration romance starring a likeable woman in peril and her champion who not only risks his life to keep her safe, but mentors her that you only have one time at living so make the most of it.  The support cast from real persona like the monarch and actress Nell Gwyn and Lord Rochester to the literary players like the villain and his wife add to a fine pairing as she lands in one dangerous caper after another while he daringly leaps in afterward to protect his beloved."

--Harriet Klausner, The Best Reviews

"This beautifully written book is impeccably put together and the language is gorgeous.  You'll see what I mean once you read it.  Jeremy, our hero is an extremely likeable character with a charm that seeps through the pages.  Lady Katherne is a beautiful and elegant woman, who is more passionate than she realizes.  This book is for the intelligent romance reader (is there any other kind?) so sit back and enjoy a well crafted historical romance with all the little touches that make you feel as if you are right there with the central characters." 

--Official Review/Historical Romance Writer Newsletter

"Jeane Westin's new book has two of the most loveable characters in fiction to date...Katherne and Jeremy just jump off the page as you read their adoring story...Please run to your bookstore and pick up a copy of Lady Katherne's Wild Ride, you won't be disappointed!"

--Featured Review/Book Cover Reviews

A Few Notes From The Author On The Characters In This Book Who Really Lived, Though All Dialogue and Situations Are Fictional

Historical novelists generally follow two paths.  One group believes every fact must be accurate.  The second group will bend a fact or a date if it works for the story or characters.  I probably fall somewhere between these two groups.  I will bend an historical fact, but only for a good purpose.  For example, although John Wilmot, Lord Rochester, did open a doctor’s practice under the name Doctor Alexander Bendo and specialize in treating infertile women (with some success as I wrote), he did so a few years later than the setting of this book.  My apologies to all historical purists, but this was just too delicious a fact to omit, when defining an age and a character for a reader.

Lord Rochester is one of the most intriguing personalities of the reign of King Charles II (1660-1685), generally called the Restoration Period.  A renowned and sensuous poet and playwright, he was also a determined and busy libertine, who died in his early thirties from drink and disease, his handsome body a wrecked shell.  It was said he converted to Christianity on his deathbed, his mother finally having her way.  His final confession of sin circulated for decades as a warning to the ungodly.  None of his friends believed it.

George Jolly, a retired actor, really did have a “nursery” for beginning actors in London although I was unable to discover exactly where it was located.  I placed it near the theaters of the day as that seemed a likely place.

Nell Gwyn, was a popular early actress, who rose up from the gutter to lie down in the king’s bed.  Although she acted in Restoration plays for only a few years, hers is the name most remembered.  Other actresses, more famous in their time and longer-lasting on the stage have been forgotten by all but theater historians.  Nell was noted for her wit, her charity and her common touch.  Once, when abroad in the king’s carriage, she was booed by Londoners who thought her one of the king’s foreign, Catholic mistresses and began to pelt the carriage with refuse.  Nell stuck her head from out the window and yelled:  “Leave off!  I am the Protestant whore!”  I hope, one day, to write again about the fascinating Nell.

To me King Charles II is a more intriguing monarch than Henry VIII.  Just as highly sexed as Henry (whose prowess was honored by becoming a popular oath—By The Great Harry!), Charles didn’t behead his cast-off mistresses, but made them rich duchesses, refusing to divorce his childless queen.  He is remembered as “The Merry Monarch,” and he probably did love his little golden dogs best of all those in his lascivious court.  

Both Jeremy Hughes and Katherne Lindsay are characters wholly from my imagination, although I hope they are true to the theater people of their day.  If they didn’t really live in history, they lived for me. . .and now I hope they live for you.

If you would like to read more about this fascinating period of English history, I recommend:

Samuel Pepys’ Diary, Graham Greene’s Lord Rochester’s Monkey, Antonia Fraser’s Royal Charles, Liza Picard’s Restoration London, and The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre

Click here for a peek inside Lady Katherne's Wild Ride

Lady Anne's Dangerous Man

Signet/Eclipse

Lady Anne Gascoigne is eager to take her wedding vows-until she discovers her devious fiancé has conspired to let King Charles II steal her virtue. Now, to save her honor and her life, she must flee under the protection of a notorious but charming rake who has just escaped hanging-and proceeds to win her heart. 

January 2006!

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Click here for a peek inside Lady Anne's Dangerous Man

"Westin's debut is a sparkling gem complete with wild adventures, actual historical personages, events and colorful tidbits and authentic dialogue. The era, the people and the story are brilliantly brought to life by a shining new star on the romance horizon."

-- Romantic Times, Top Pick!

Lady Anne Gascoigne would have done almost anything for her handsome fiance, Edward Ashley Carter, but she drew the line at becoming King Charles II's latest mistress. When Anne overhears Edward offering Charles her virginity in an attempt to gain the Merry Monarch's favor, she flees the palace for the safety of her own home where Anne's father comes up with the clever scheme of placing Anne under the protection of notorious highwayman John "Gentleman Johnny" Gilbert, who, in exchange for his help in escaping the hangman's noose, promises Anne's father that he will keep Anne safe until her betrothal can be annulled. As John gets to know the irrespressible and irresistible Annie just a little bit better, he quickly discovers that keeping his word may be more difficult than he ever could have imagined. In her dazzling debut the author deftly combines a cast of colorfully original characters with a richly detailed historical setting to create a vivid and satisfying tale of adventure; intrigue, and passion. John Charles

-- From BookList, American Library Association

"A spirited lady, a dashing highwayman and a rich cast of characters make for a delightful swashbuckling romance."

-- New York Times bestselling author,  Jo Beverley

 

"Jeane Westin brings Restoration England to life in a sweeping tale of passion and adventure."

-- Lauren Royal, author of LOST IN TEMPTATION

 

"An old-fashioned swashbuckling romance with smart, sexy overtones."

-- Suzanne Enoch, author of AN INVITATION TO SIN

 

"A seductive pleasure -- Indulge yourself!"

-- Eloisa James, author of YOUR WICKED WAYS

 

You'll laugh, you'll cry, but you are so going to love this very refreshing and enticing historical that you'll definitely relegate it to your keeper shelf!

-- historicalromancewriters.com 

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