Guest Post, Review, & Giveaway: COMPROMISING MISS TISDALE by Jessica Jefferson

The Author is giving away a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Cards (winner’s choice). 

Book Info:

Title: Compromising Miss Tisdale
Author: Jessica Jefferson
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: November 5, 2013

Book Blurb:

Ambrosia Tisdale is the very picture of propriety and the epitome of what a respectable young lady should be. Haunted by a memory and compelled by her family, she pursues perfection to a fault.

The Earl of Bristol, Duncan Maddox, has returned to London after years of familial imposed exile. As the second son, he has led a life filled with frivolity, leisure, and a healthy dose of debauchery. Now his older brother has died, leaving the family’s flailing legacy in Duncan’s unwilling arms.

At the behest of his uncle, Duncan is advised to do the one thing that could provide instant fortune and respectability – he must marry. But there is only one prospect who meets the unique requirements to solve all the Earl’s problems – the lovely Miss Ambrosia Tisdale. But securing the prudent daughter of a Viscount’s hand proves to be more challenging than this scandal ridden second son of an Earl has bargained for.

With scandal, extortion, treachery, and even love itself threatening to keep him from his goal, will Duncan succeed in compromising Miss Tisdale?

 

Guest Post:

MY WRITING QUIRKS

            I’ve always loved hearing about other authors’ little quirks and eccentricities.  Really, it’s creative individuals in general.  From the quite ordinary, such as absolutely having to write in one specific room, to the very “exotic” (think anything Capote).  Of course, I always believed myself to be different.  I mean, I don’t really have any quirks, I simply write when the muse strikes . . .  in only two rooms in my home . . . while reading every line out loud in a British accent.

Okay, so I have a few quirks.  I like to think of them as creative fuel.

First, there’s the small matter of where I write.  I like to write in complete seclusion.  Of course, without children – there is no such thing.  That’s why I often turn to my bathroom.  Be it in the small room with the actual toilet, or completely submerged in the bathtub, the bathroom is one of the few places I can escape my loving children.  I also do most of my writing in my bedroom . . . because there’s a lock on the door.  I tried writing in the office once, but they found me.

I also have to get in the mood.  I’m not talking candlelight and Kenny G, but rather, I must get my mind into the appropriate frame before writing.  I often pop “Pride and Prejudice” in the DVD player, or play music to inspire me. I reread parts of my book before writing almost every time.  Not the entire book, but just a few chapters.  I have read where some authors will wear period appropriate clothing while they write, but I’m not about to put all of this into a corset any time soon.  However, I do have one final quirk.  And this one is a impressively quirky.

I speak my entire book aloud.  I like to make sure that the conversations I write come off naturally and the dialogue flows.  That’s not anything out of the ordinary – except I do the whole thing in an awful English accent.  Everything I’ve learned about England, I’ve picked up from two major sources.  Those sources are both Merchant and Ivory and Harry Potter films.  I admit it’s a bit odd, and frankly I’m not very good at it, but there’s something about speaking the words out loud in that accent that helps me not only get in the mood to write Regency, but also review the words that I’ve already written.

My Review:

This book hit all the sweet notes for me, and then some. While reading, I had to check my smile because I continued to be surprised with the twist and turns of the plot as well as the actions of the characters. And I say this because the surprise was in a good way. If you would look at the book blurb, it has a typical set-up: gentleman plans to compromise a lady so he can secure her hand in marriage. But the author does her own unique take on this set-up. And I always appreciate authors who take something conventional and a bit cliché and present it as something entirely new or in a refreshing way. And that’s what Jessica Jefferson was able to do with this book, for me.

I particularly love how the author explores the individual pains that our hero and heroine have to overcome. Here you have a hero who somehow checks all the boxes of a rakish and irresponsible man but who you will discover struggles with the weight not just of his reputation but also of how he truly sees his worth as a person. Then you have a heroine who seems to be the picture of a perfect lady but underneath it all struggles with herself in staying true to her heart and the need to never compromise anything at all, especially when it comes to matters of the heart.

Add to that great character development arcs and I’m a happy camper. These characters are nuanced, complex, and completely lovable. And even though there might have been a few times where I wanted to question their actions and reactions, because clearly, I have become invested in where their story will take them, I have to say that the author has taken me somewhere exciting, somewhere unknown and yet familiar, some place where a happy ending is not just a simple given but has been worked out throughout the book.

I love that the word ‘compromise’ has taken several forms and meanings throughout the book. At the very basic level, ‘compromise’ meant an almost ruinous encounter that would result in an immediate marriage between two people of the Ton. But ‘compromise’ has also come to mean a settlement or a bargain of sorts, like in terms of reality vs. emotions. In this case, our two characters have a hard time compromising on them, which makes for a very interesting plot indeed.

My Rating: 4 happy stars!

 

 

Excerpt:

He stepped forward, a twig snapping under the force of his right boot.

She startled and turned.

She had been crying.  Even in the shadows he could see that her eyes were red and face blotchy from the trails of tears.  For once, Miss Tisdale did not look her best, and in that imperfection he found her to be the most enticing she had ever been.

Duncan fell into her eyes, endless pools framed with wet clumps of black lashes that drew him towards her.  And then her lips, already full, now swollen from her sobbing, parted slightly.

He was lost.  God help him, he was no longer intoxicated by brandy alone, but rather the beauty of one woman.

Duncan reached up and cupped her face in his hands.  Without any words or pretense, he simply swooped down and kissed her.  It wasn’t a gentle kiss, nor was it rough.  It was certain and decided.  He kissed her ardently, holding her face and savoring the salty taste of her tears still wet on her lips.

He waited for it to stop, for her to slap him or push him away.  But then she did something totally unexpected.  She grabbed his arms and kissed him back.  The action left him disarmed and completely infatuated.  This was the woman from the library whom he had come to remember.  And her kiss was not tentative as it once was – but now firm and without trepidation.

 

About the Author:

Jessica Jefferson makes her home in northern Indiana, or as she likes to think of it – almost Chicago.  Jessica originally attended college in hopes of achieving an English degree and writing the next great American novel.  Ten years later she was working as a registered nurse and reading historical romance when she decided to give writing another go-round.

Jessica writes likes she speaks, which has a tendency to be fast paced and humorous.  Jessica is heavily inspired by sweeping, historical romance novels, but aims to take those key emotional elements and inject a fresh blend of quick dialogue and comedy to transport the reader into a story they miss long after the last page is read.  She invites you to visit her at jessicajefferson.com and read her random romance musings.

Connect with Jessica Jefferson:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter

 

 

Giveaway!!!

The Author is giving away a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Cards (winner’s choice). 

If the Rafflecopter does not appear, you can go HERE instead.

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