Never Doubt a Duke, Out Loud

Audio books are an exciting frontier for literature these days. In an industry where flat is the new up when it comes to sales, audio books continue to see double digit increases. I admit I was not much of a connoisseur. The few I listened to never seemed to capture the story for me. And then Jannie Meisberger approached me about producing an audio book of Never Doubt a Duke, and I fell in love.

Jannie was born in England. She attended a British boarding school, where she studied elocution. She has university degrees are in Modern Languages (French and German) and Communication & Theatre Arts. How perfect for a narrator! I was just as delighted to discover that she now lives across Puget Sound from me. I thought you’d enjoy learning more about her and the audio book process.

What made you decide to become a narrator? I had studied music and acting in school in England and worked for an international organization in Europe before moving to America and raising a family. I inherited my mother’s ability to pick up accents and dialects and had great fun ‘performing’ bedtime stories to my children as they were growing up! 

After a career in international education, I decided to get back in acting, this time voice acting. I completed a number of projects, including children’s concert narration and recording public domain poems and short stories for LibriVox, before deciding that my passion was audiobook narration. I recorded my first audiobook in 2014 and have now recorded 36 audiobooks with number 37 in production.

What do you love best about being an audiobook narrator?  I get to travel through time, journey into different worlds, real and imagined, voice a myriad of characters, and bring all these wonderful stories to the world of audiobook listeners. It is also a joy to collaborate with a group of creative authors that I am honored to call friends.

What drew you to Never Doubt a Duke and the Fortune’s Brides series? As a schoolgirl in Bath, England, I fell in love with Regency period novels, notably Georgette Heyer, as well as the classic Regency authors including Jane Austen. I have narrated a number of Pride and Prejudice variations, so you can imagine how delighted I was to come upon Never Doubt a Duke and the Fortune’s Brides series and discover that they had not yet been made into audiobooks. I was even happier to discover that Regina lived not far from me, so I had the opportunity to meet and chat with her about her writing career in general and Never Doubt a Duke in particular.

What’s your secret for creating an audiobook that captures the characters and the story?  Lots of careful preparation! The average time a narrator spends per finished hour of the audiobook is between 4-8 hours preparation, sometimes more. This includes requesting character descriptions and pronunciations of names from the author, as well as reading the manuscript several times through, listing all the characters and voices for each. I make short recordings of each voice for reference and check various online resources for pronunciations of certain words. Being English, this means checking both the English and American pronunciations of many common words, to ensure whichever pronunciation I choose remains consistent throughout the book!

What was the most challenging about recording Never Doubt a Duke? I always keep in mind that the author has spent many months, even years crafting each book, and it takes a leap of faith to trust a narrator to give just the right voice to the story. I truly believe we are a team. The author’s words are the stars, and I hope my voice allows the listeners to be enthralled by the story. When Regina and I met, she shared her concerns about an audiobook version of her book, and I am so happy she trusted me to record this first book in the Fortune’s Brides series. It has been a true pleasure to narrate, and I’m looking forward to narrating the continuing journey of Miss Thorn and dear Fortune through the peerage!

So, stay tuned! Jannie is currently recording Never Borrow a Baronet too!

You can learn more about Jannie at https://www.voicebyjannie.com.

And you can find her marvelous recording of Never Doubt a Duke at

Audible 

Amazon 

iTunes 

Celebrating a Duke's Birthday

One year ago this month, Fortune’s Brides debuted in Never Doubt a Duke at fine online retailers around the world. It was the first time I tried putting my own books into print as well. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s been a lovely year. The book earned a Gem award from Kathy’s Review Corner as one of the best books of 2018. It was also chosen by reviewers at Hope by the Book as one of the year’s best reads.

To celebrate the book’s birthday, I’ve put it for sale for 99 cents for one week only—May 30 through June 5. If you have a copy, you might let someone who would enjoy one know. If you haven’t read it, here’s a little about the book:

After spending the last ten years following her late husband on campaign, the irrepressible Jane Kimball finds herself badly in need of a position to support herself. Marriage holds no appeal; she’s not likely to find a husband like her Jimmy again. But when Miss Thorn of the Fortune Employment Agency offers her a post with the Duke of Wey, Jane feels drawn to help the lonely widower with his three daughters. He may seem a bit aloof, but Miss Thorn’s cat Fortune approved of him. Why should Jane doubt a duke?

Alaric, Duke of Wey, commands his staff, his tenants, and the halls of Parliament, managing vast holdings in England and across the seas. Why is it he cannot manage his own daughters? As an old danger rears its head, he comes to rely on Jane’s practical nature and her outspoken ways to navigate the waters of fatherhood. And when necessity dictates he take a wife, thoughts turn to an unlikely governess who might make the perfect bride.

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Happy birthday, Duke!

Nice Way to Start the Year

I style myself as an award-winning author, but the number of awards is much smaller than that of some of my sister authors (cough, cough, Marissa). So, when I hear that my books have made some list, I get rather giddy. Allow me to share that giddiness with you.

For the third year in a row, I am honored to have one of my books on Kathy’s Review Corner’s Gems list, this time for Never Doubt a Duke, the first in my Fortune’s Brides series. Kathy is a voracious reader, and I appreciate how she works with authors to showcase great books. She chooses her favorite books of the year to include on the Gems list. You might drop by for a visit. 

Never Doubt a Duke also graced the Favorite 2018 Books list at Hope by the Book. My thanks to Alysha Worthen and her blog, For the Love of Christian Fiction, for the nomination.

If you’d like to catch up with the latest of my Fortune’s Brides series, Never Vie for a Viscount was launched on December 28. Lydia Villers wants to leave behind her life as a social butterfly and pursue a career in natural philosophy. A shame the only scientist available to assist her is the man she had once hoped to wed. Viscount Worthington has been betrayed once too often, including by the bubbly beauty who now wants to work at his side. How can he believe Lydia’s intentions are true this time? With the help of Miss Thorn and her beloved cat Fortune, an enthusiastic young lady and a wary lord might just discover that only together do they make the perfect chemistry.

Here’s a little taste:

As the rest of the team murmured their goodbyes, Lydia went to set the pincushion on the shelves. Irritating, impossible man. How was she to learn anything when Worth set her at meaningless tasks? Was he trying to force her to leave?

She gasped, whirling. “You are! You want me gone.”

His sister Charlotte frowned. “I’m sure I never said any such thing.”

Worth had his hands behind his back, as if intent on hiding something. “If the work displeases you, Miss Villers, we will not hold you to your agreement of employment.”

Charlotte stared at him. Lydia raised her chin and looked him in the eye. The grey seemed darker, as if his thoughts were as dismal.

“I came here to learn more about natural philosophy,” she told him. “Nothing you have done, nothing you can do, will change that, my lord.”

She thought he might look disappointed, perhaps chagrined that she had caught him at his game. Instead, he stepped forward and offered her his arm.

“In that case,” he said, “may I see you home, Miss Villers?”

She wanted to refuse. He had disappointed her too many times. But he obviously had a hypothesis about her. She should let him test it, offer him evidence that she was more capable than he knew. If he spent time with her, learned more about her, perhaps he would come to understand why she was here and be more inclined to let her help.

She put her arm on his. “Very well, my lord.”

He escorted her to where she’d left her things in her tiny room, then led her back through the house and out the front door.

“I apologize,” he said as they walked along the pavement at the edge of Clarendon Square.

“For humoring me or for failing to accept the results of my experiment?” Lydia asked, voice pleasant from long practice.

“For upsetting you,” he said. “I dislike seeing you unhappy.”

Lydia stopped, forcing him to stop as well. “How extraordinary. Do you dislike seeing Miss Pankhurst unhappy?”

He cocked his head as if considering the matter. “I would like to think so.”

“Then you would allow her to commandeer your time with useless experiments.”

“No.”

He had always seemed so open, so obvious in his thoughts, until he had sent that horrid note dismissing her. Could she believe him now? How could she continue to work in that house if she didn’t?

“Then why,” she asked, “did you do that for me?”

Again, his answer was swift. “Every natural philosopher has a right to test a theory. My approval, the application to my research, appeared immaterial in that moment. I wanted to know how you would go about testing it, your response to the testing.”

“So, you did have a hypothesis about me,” Lydia said, “and you were testing it too. What was your hypothesis, my lord?”

He colored. Truly, it was an amazing sight. The red climbed in his cheeks until it clashed with his auburn hair. “I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps I was merely curious.”

Curious, or wondering whether she’d behave logically? Of course, on hearing what he’d done, she’d all but stomped her feet and called him names, so there was that.

“Apology accepted,” she said, starting forward at a brisk pace.

He hurried to fall into step beside her. “Thank you.”

“However,” Lydia said, skirts sweeping the pavement, “I believe reparations are in order.”

“I see.” He nodded thoughtfully. “Flowers perhaps?”

Lydia clucked her tongue. “Nothing so common, sir. You wounded me deeply.”

“Should I apologize again?”

He sounded so perplexed, hands going behind his back once more. Was that what he did when he was uncertain? She could not doubt that she had disquieted him.

But she did not intend to encourage him.

“No,” she said. “But you could give me a greater part in the work.”

She glanced at him to find his head down, his gaze on the stone at their feet. “Alas, it would be unfair to Miss Janssen and Miss Pankhurst to take their work from them.”

Lydia stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading up to Meredith’s door. “Surely there must be something. Perhaps if you told me what we are working toward, I might be able to propose a role.”

His face closed, and he took a step back from her. “I’m afraid that must remain quiet for now. Good afternoon, Miss Villers.”

He turned and strode back the way they had come, for all the world as if she were chasing him.

You can find Never Vie for a Viscount in ebook at many fine online retailers and in print from Amazon:

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Amazon

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Kobo 

Apple Books 

Here’s to a great year, my dears. You know it will be amazing because, it’s 19!

Interview: Meredith Thorn of the Fortune Employment Agency

I am pleased to have with us today Miss Meredith Thorn of the Fortune Employment Agency. The raven-haired, lavender-eyed Miss Thorn recently featured in my Never Doubt a Duke and Never Borrow a Baronet and will shortly be involved in Never Envy an Earl. She and her beloved pet Fortune consented to sit for a brief interview. Welcome, Miss Thorn and Fortune.

Miss T: A pleasure.

Fortune consents to have the top of her head rubbed.

19T: A lady of your breeding generally doesn’t trouble herself with matters of trade. What led you to start the Fortune Employment Agency?

Miss T: I observed that many young women ended up going into service, of a sort—governesses, companions, teachers, and the like. In some cases, they were well treated, becoming cherished members of the family or the institution they served. In others, their lives became nothing short of drudgery, with little hope of change. I determined to change that.

19T: There are other employment agencies. Why is yours special?

Fortune pulls away to regard me as if I have suddenly forgotten something important.

Miss T: The Fortune Employment Agency is special because Fortune and I take great care in matching the situation to a lady’s particular needs. For example, Jane Kimball had lost her husband in battle, and with him any chance of having a family. I introduced her into a household where she had every opportunity to find a family of her own.

19T: Yes, I understand she’s shortly to be married. I received the invitation just the other day. A duke, no less.

Miss T, smiling: Yes, quite.

Fortune seems to be smiling as well.

19T: Why did you name your agency after your cat?

Miss T, turning her smile on the gray cat, who gazes back with copper-colored eyes: I’ve found Fortune to be very wise when it comes to determining the character of a lady and a gentleman.

19T: More skilled than you?

Miss T: Decidedly so. My discernment has failed once or twice, with disastrous results. Fortune’s never fails.

19T: Never?

Fortune turns her back on me.

Miss T: Not that I have found. She picked the Duke of Wey for Jane and Sir Harry Atwood for Patience. And she was quite fond of the Earl of Carrolton.

19T: Oh, who has Fortune matched to the earl?

Miss T: I am not at liberty to say.

19T: Fine. Then let’s talk further about you. You take your duty quite seriously, I see. Did you have a difficult time in service yourself?

Miss T, adjusting the lace at the cuffs of her lavender gown: Something like that.

19T: And has Fortune matched you with a gentleman?

Fortune: Meow!

Miss T: Now, now, none of that. I’m merely considering the matter. He has a long way to go to prove himself to me after how we parted.

19T: Do tell!

Miss T: I really should be going. Perhaps another time.

So, it seems Miss Thorn still has a few secrets she will not share. Never fear, dear reader, we will unearth them.

And so can you, in Never Borrow a Baronet. Here are the links one last time:

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iTunes 

How Many Brides for Fortune?

Thank you to all those who have bought and reviewed and written me about Never Doubt a Duke and the new Fortune’s Brides series. I cannot tell you how gratified I am by your encouragement. One question keeps coming up: how many brides will Fortune arrange?

For those of you who haven’t read the first book or heard much about it yet, Fortune is a grey cat with a white blaze down her chest and copper-colored eyes. I picture her as a type of British shorthair.

Her owner, Meredith Thorn, runs the Fortune Employment Agency. Meredith has had some misfortunes of her own, and she doesn’t entirely trust her own judgement when it comes to people. But she trusts Fortune to know whether a gentleman is worthwhile pursuing as an employer.

Or a husband.

My current plan is to have Fortune involved with matching every level of title, though not necessarily in the order of precedence: prince, duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron, baronet, and knight. If everything goes as planned, the first four books will be out this year:

• Never Doubt a Duke, out now
• Never Borrow a Baronet, available for preorder now
• Never Envy an Earl, out in August
• Never Vie for a Viscount, out in November.

Phew! Fortune is going to be one busy kitty.

If you have other questions about the series, please let me know, and I’ll be delighted to answer.

Never Doubt a Duke

Sounds like a good title for a blog post, doesn’t it? It’s also the title for my new release. This is one of those books of your heart. It has no publisher home (Edwards and Williams is my own imprint). It was blessed with a fabulous editor, a wonderful proofreader, and a talented cover artist. And now it’s out in the world.

After spending the last ten years following her late husband on campaign, the irrepressible Jane Kimball finds herself badly in need of a position to support herself. Marriage holds no appeal; she’s not likely to find a husband like her Jimmy again. But when Miss Thorn of the Fortune Employment Agency offers her a post with the Duke of Wey, Jane feels drawn to help the lonely widower with his three daughters. He may seem a bit aloof, but Miss Thorn’s cat Fortune approved of him. Why should Jane doubt a duke?

Alaric, Duke of Wey, commands his staff, his tenants, and the halls of Parliament, managing vast holdings in England and across the seas. Why is it he cannot manage his own daughters? As an old danger rears its head, he comes to rely on Jane’s practical nature, her outspoken ways to navigate the waters of fatherhood. And when necessity dictates he take a wife, thoughts turn to an unlikely governess who might make the perfect bride.

Here’s a little taste:

Jane Kimball was the only person in the schoolroom as the duke and his butler entered. She was standing by the worktable, wiping a slate with a cloth.

“Everything all right?” Alaric asked.

As if the butler expected a confrontation, he faded into the background.

Mrs. Kimball glanced up at Alaric. “Lessons have been cancelled by a fit of pique. I had the effrontery to introduce arithmetic. Her Grace is consoling them with tea and cakes.”

She didn’t seem angry, though she certainly had a right to be. In fact, she seemed a bit downcast. Her dark eyes were shadowed, and her usually upright frame slumped. He moved farther into the room.

“I approved of the introduction of that subject,” he reminded her.

“You did. And I said I’d deal with Her Grace. I failed, at least for now.” A smile crept into view. “Don’t worry, Your Grace. This is no more than a skirmish. I refuse to surrender so soon in the engagement.”

She could not know the armament arrayed against her. No one bested his mother. His father had chosen his bride well. His mother wore the dignity and grace of a duchess like a coronation robe and exerted her power as a scepter.

“Focus on the girls,” he advised. “They are your calling.”

She stacked the slate with two others. “If only I could convince Lady Larissa that there is more to life than her come out.”

He pressed a hand to his chest in mock dismay. “No! How can you possibly say so?”

Her mouth twitched. “Perhaps because I’ve lived so much longer than she has.”

“Yes, I can see that you are ancient.”

She gave it up and grinned. “Takes one to know one, Your Grace.”

No one talked to him the way she did. He liked it. But as he grinned back, she sobered.

“Truly, if she has the idea that the only thing of any importance in her life is her come out, what has she to look forward to beyond it? If that is the best she has to experience, I feel very sad for her future.”

Put that way, so did he. “A come out is an important event, but I wouldn’t want her to focus on it to the exclusion of all else.”

“Too late,” she said. “But we may be able to get through to her.”

We? How surprising to meet someone who assumed he had a part in his daughter’s lives. His late wife Evangeline had held them close, convinced him it was in their best interests. His mother had stepped smoothly into the void his wife had left. With his father held up as the very essence of a duke, he had attempted to fill the same role. He had never questioned his duty.

Perhaps I should.

Dangerous thought. The House of Wey was built on centuries of tradition. Every role, every action was codified in the hearts and minds of his family, his staff, his tenants. He had been proud to step into his father’s shoes, for all he wondered about his ability to fill them. Perhaps that’s why he hadn’t argued against his arranged marriage to Evangeline. A duke’s daughter herself, she’d known exactly how to fit into his world. At times, her rigid adherence to tradition had eclipsed his own.

But she was gone now. And nothing he’d tried so far has helped his daughters.

He offered Mrs. Kimball his arm. “What say we make the first attempt at persuasion now?”

She stared at him. “It was fairly clear I wasn’t invited to tea.”

“Neither was I,” he said. “But they are my daughters, and they are your responsibility. It’s time we made that clear.”

She regarded him a moment more, then came to lay her hand on his arm. “Right beside you, Your Grace.”

Why did he have the feeling that was right where she belonged?

You can find Never Doubt a Duke in ebook at online retailers, with print available through Amazon:

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Amazon   

Barnes and Noble 

Kobo 

iBooks 

Regina Scott Returns...to the Regency

I’m baaaack.

Back in the Regency, that is. For nearly 2 years, all my new releases have focused on frontier Seattle. While I loved getting to delve into local history, and there are more stories calling, I have missed my beloved Regency England. That’s why I’m over the moon delighted to let you know that the first book in my new Regency-set series, Fortune’s Brides, is up for preorder now and will release May 18.

After spending the last ten years following her late husband on campaign, the irrepressible Jane Kimball finds herself badly in need of a position to support herself. Marriage holds no appeal; she’s not likely to find a husband like her Jimmy again. But when Miss Thorn of the Fortune Employment Agency offers her a post with the Duke of Wey, Jane feels drawn to help the lonely widower with his three daughters. He may seem a bit aloof, but Miss Thorn’s cat Fortune approved of him. Why should Jane doubt a duke?

Alaric, Duke of Wey, commands his staff, his tenants, and the halls of Parliament, managing vast holdings in England and across the seas. Why is it he cannot manage his own daughters? As an old danger rears its head, he comes to rely on Jane’s practical nature, her outspoken ways to navigate the waters of fatherhood. And when necessity dictates he take a wife, thoughts turn to an unlikely governess who might make the perfect bride.

You can preorder at fine online establishments:

Smashwords 

Amazon   

Barnes and Noble 

Kobo 

iTunes 

In honor of this new release, I’m running a cover reveal Rafflecopter giveaway through April 28. Enter to win an e-book copy of all five of the stories in my Uncommon Courtships series. 

Regardless, The Unflappable Miss Fairchild, the first in that series is free on all online retailers through April 28. 

It’s good to be back.