It's my day to blog . . . .

Hi, everyone

Well, today is my day -- my first romance novel, Anchor and Storm, will be released today by Ellora's Cave. I am SO excited!

Here is the blurb:

Edgar Armstrong, Earl of Callander, had not given much thought to marrying and producing an heir…until he meets Emily Sinclair. When their easy companionship grows into love, they learn that Edgar’s progressively debilitating disease could be passed on to his children. As their joy turns to despair Edgar finds a solution. If he can’t get her with child he knows just the man who can. But will Emily agree to his plan?

Angus MacNeill, Lord Callander’s groom, thinks Emily married Edgar for his title, his money and the security he can give her. And when Edgar approaches him with a very unusual request Angus questions his master’s motives. Still, it doesn’t stop him from accepting Callander’s terms—it’s the only way he can be with Emily, even if only until she conceives.

Deeply in love with Edgar, Emily will do anything he asks of her. But she never suspected he’d ask something like this! Despite Edgar’s reassurances she worries that his plan could destroy their marriage rather than strengthen it. And when she makes her choice, Emily wonders if there’s room enough for two men in her heart—and in her bed.

And here is an excerpt:

Emily sat on the rug, her arm resting on the raised hearth. Despite her nearness to the flames, her whole body trembled with chills. She wrapped her shawl more tightly around her nightdress and took yet another deep breath, dreading the encounter that was to come at any moment.

When she heard the tapping of Edgar’s cane coming down the hallway, she knew it was time to face him. She had no idea how he would respond and hoped that perhaps her decision would make him abandon this whole idea.

As he entered the room, he said, “Emily? Are you all right?”

She nodded, trying to swallow past the knot of nervousness in her throat. Her heart pounded in her chest and her hands shook. She felt the beginnings of a dreadful headache.

He sat down in one of the two chairs in front of the fireplace and leaned toward her. “Something is troubling you, my dear. Can’t you tell me what it is?”

She took a deep breath and glanced up at him, then quickly looked away again. “I-I have decided.”

“Oh, I see.” There was no need for him to ask her what she had decided.

“You said his coloring didn’t matter.”

“That’s true, I did.”

“Nor his education or status in life.”

“No. If there is a child from the union, I will claim it. He or she will have the best education available, so it matters not how schooled the father is.”

He waited for her to continue, but her courage again failed her. “So, who is it to be?”

She squeezed her eyes shut and in a shaky voice, whispered, “Angus MacNeill.”

For a moment, the only sound in the room was the crackling of the logs in the fire. The small pang of fear that had started in her stomach now spread to her chest and she found herself holding her breath, waiting for his reaction. From his stunned silence, she suspected it wouldn’t be good.

Then he started to laugh. A more apt term, she thought, would be guffaw! He threw his head back against the chair and tears ran down his cheeks. Although he had an easy wit, she had never seen him laugh so hard.

“Edgar, that is unworthy of you!” She had worried over what his reaction would be, but she never suspected this. She suddenly found herself defending her choice. “Angus is an educated man. And he would have been a great chieftain, had it not been for the Rising. He—”

Edgar was shaking one hand at her and wiping his eyes with the other, his mirth finally subsiding. “I know, I know.”

“Then why are you laughing?”

“Oh, my dear,” he said, clearly making an effort to control himself, “Angus was my choice all along.”

Now it was her turn to be silent. She stared at her husband in disbelief. When she saw he was being serious, she asked, “Then why didn’t you tell me?”

All the laughter drained from his face, replaced by a tender smile. “As I told you before, I could not choose the man with whom you would be so intimate. I trusted you to pick the right man and you did.”

“Oh, Edgar,” she replied, shaking her head. Her headache was becoming worse, she pressed the heels of her hands to her forehead. “It doesn’t matter. He’ll never agree to do it.”

“Are you so sure of that?”

“Aye, a cat and a dog get along better than we do.”

“From the way he took care of you when I was ill, I suspect he will not object.” He reached over and took her hands away, then leaned down to peer into her face. “Shall I speak to him tomorrow?”

She nodded. “But if his reaction is no, as I’m sure it will be, don’t tell me what he says. I don’t think I could stand to hear it.”

“All right.”

“And tell him that, when we go riding together after, we will never speak of it.”

With Taige's help, you will see my cover flashing around on the left side of this page. This book is worth buying just for the cover -- WOW, it is HOT!

You can also read an interview with me in Lady Jaided magazine on the Ellora's Cave website. Just go to the Authors link and click on New Authors.

I hope that both the blurb and the excerpt whet your curiosity enough to buy the book and, if you do, I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks so much,
Kate Poole