Scouting for The Perfect Mail-Order Bride

When I wrote my Frontier Bachelors series, the Wallin family had a good friend who’d had a rough upbringing but a heart of gold. I still get letters from readers asking when Scout Rankin will have his own story told. So I’m giddy to report that it’s here! The Perfect Mail-Order Bride launched on April 18.

Ada Williamson lived her whole life in the shadow of her charismatic, capricious sister. But when the beautiful Melinda decides to jilt her mail-order groom on the way to meet him in Seattle, Washington Territory, Ada’s conscience demands that she continue the journey and tell Thomas Rankin the truth. After all, she wrote most of the letters the couple exchanged, and she’s already halfway in love with the man herself. Yet somehow, one look at Thomas and the future he offers, and the truth never comes out. Suddenly, Ada finds herself not only out of the shadows, but living the life meant for her sister.

After making his fortune on the goldfields, Thomas “Scout” Rankin found he could buy almost anything he wanted, including the perfect mail-order bride in a territory where women are still few and far between. But past betrayals have left him wary, so he immediately notices that the woman who claims to be his mail-order bride doesn’t quite act the part. Still, someone wrote those letters that spoke to his heart. If getting to know Ada better will reveal the truth, he’s willing to try, even if he must protect his own secrets along the way.

But someone knows both their secrets and aims to use them to advantage. Can Thomas and Ada discover the truth, about their enemy, about their pasts, and about the love they both yearn to share?

The Huntress Reviews gave it five stars! “One thing is certain, if the author, Regina Scott, penned the story, it is sure to satisfy. Marvelous!”

“Scout is everything I remembered and more. He grew into the man that we hoped he would become and someone that we can fall in love with for himself,” said Hott Books.

The Perfect Mail-Order Bride is available in both ebook and paperback at fine retailers:

Smashwords 

Amazon (affiliate link) 

Barnes and Noble 

Apple Books 

Kobo  

Overdrive (request it from your local library)

Indie Bound (an independent bookstore near you) 

Bookshop (with proceeds benefitting independent bookstores) 

The Book Depository (free shipping worldwide) 

Such Language, Part 31

More wordly wonderment and wackiness, with some help from the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. What's your favorite word this week?

Hugger-mugger: By stealth, privately, without making an appearance. (Lady Alice Lonesley is so shy that she only wanted to invite three people to her come-out ball, but the marchioness would not hold such a hugger-mugger affair.)

Sneaksby: A mean-spirited fellow, a sneaking cur. (Never invite Sir James Haynoose to dine when it’s raining; he’s such a sneaksby that you’ll find your umbrella stand is empty after he’s left.)

Clapper claw: To scold, to abuse, or claw off with the tongue. (The last time he did that, though, Mama so clapper-clawed him that he didn’t appear in public on cloudy days for an entire month.)

Jobation: A reproof. (He richly deserved that jobation, for he also absconded with my French silk parasol.)

Pickle: An arch, waggish fellow. (My aunt always buys jolly Uncle Frederick green waistcoats because he’s such a pickle.)

High water: To have plenty of money. (As he frequently loses buttons from laughing too hard, it is good that it is high water with them.)

Sparkish: Fine, cheerful. (But with buttons or without, we love the sparkish old gentleman.)

Also sparkish is some recent happy writing-related news: What Lies Beneath, my World War I young adult fantasy, is a finalist in the North Texas RWA chapter’s Carolyn Readers Choice Award, in the Specialized category (along with one of my first writing friends, Janet Raye Stevens, and her time travel mystery-romance Beryl Blue, Time Cop.) Very excited!

And also, if you have a moment, do stop in at Lady Catherine's Salon on Facebook, a group for lovers of Regency romance, where I'm guest-hostessing this week. So far we're talking about being history lovers, what we collect, Regency fashions, and more. Come say hello!

 

Meanwhile, Back in Frontier Seattle

I have been fascinated by the Mercer Belles since I was a girl. I’ve written about them before. I even started an 8-book series about some of their fictional members coming to frontier Seattle and finding their happily-ever-afters. But the second book in the series introduced the Wallins, a family of five brothers and their sister, and they quickly took over the series.

Now the publisher, Love Inspired, has brought their story to life again, in a print and ebook duet with Texas Cinderella by the bestselling Winnie Griggs.

Wanted: the perfect partner

Texas Cinderella by Winnie Griggs

After life on her family's farm, Cassie Lynn Vickers relishes her freedom working in town. Until her father suddenly demands she come home. Her only option? Convince handsome newcomer Riley Walker to marry her. Riley is on the run to keep his niece and nephew safe from his crooked half brother. But a delay in Turnabout, Texas, shows him everything he didn't know he was missing: home, family—and Cassie Lynn.

Would-Be Wilderness Wife by Regina Scott

Drew Wallin's brother is determined to see him married—so he kidnaps Drew a prospective bride. Not only is Catherine Stanway beautiful, but she's a nurse who can help their ailing mother. Catherine has traveled West to use her skills to save lives, not to find a husband. If she gives in to Drew's matchmaking family, she'll be risking her already bruised heart. But maybe it's time she takes the ultimate risk!

You can find the duet at fine online retailers and booksellers near you. There was one other character associated with the Wallins that readers have been begging to receive a happily-ever-after. Keep an eye on this space for the publication of Scout Rankin’s story, coming April 18.

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Apple Books 

Kobo 

An independent bookseller near you 

The Book Depository, free shipping worldwide 

The Volume Vanishes (But the Ladies Will Find It!)

 

The Ladies of Almack’s are back again, this time investigating mysterious book disappearances in The Vanishing Volume.

 Here’s the blurb:

In the second installment of The Ladies of Almack’s series, all of London is enthralled by E.C. Spruce’s latest three-volume novel, The Fifty Shades of Udolpho...until the third volume begins vanishing from bookshops and bedside tables alike, leaving readers dangling and desperate to know what happens next. The Lady Patronesses of Almack’s investigate, with unexpected results—and an unexpected new friendship for Annabel...or perhaps two friendships, if she’ll only admit it...

I’ll admit that I had way too much fun writing this story. There’s a guest appearance by Miss Allardyce from my Leland Sisters books, age 5, and a sneaky homage to another character from one of my all-time favorite books. There are books and bookstores and book fan-girls and a medieval—nope, not going to spill the beans. 😊

The Vanishing Volume can be purchased directly from Book View Café in both EPUB and MOBI, as well as from all the usual online bookstore outlets. Print versions can be found at Barnes and Noble and Amazon (and pardon me for crowing, but the print versions are simply adorable grouped together on a shelf.) You can also read an excerpt on my website.

Book View Cafe

Barnes and Noble

Amazon (affiliate link)

Kobo

Smashwords

Apple Books