#ManCandyMonday – Cillian Murphy from Peaky Blinders

My husband and I are hooked on Peaky Blinders. Think Boardwalk Empire but set in Birmingham, England. I love the history in the story, the romance and also, sexy lead Cillian Murphy. Cillian first caught my eye in 28 Days Later, a drama about a post apocaplyptic society where a virus has changed people into zombies. If you’re looking for something interesting to fill your nights, check out Peaky Blinders on Netflix and Cillian’s amazing blue eyes. Be warned though: You’ll have to turn on the closed captioning to make sure you’re getting all the dialogue on account of the British and Irish accents.

Photo Credit: Tim Cornbill [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Wicked Wednesday – Rogues and a Contest!

HOPE TARRI have the pleasure of having with me today the wonderful Hope Tarr who is telling us a little about her re-release of A ROGUE’S PLEASURE and offering a copy of her novel VANQUISHED to one lucky person. Hope is the award-winning author of thirteen historical and contemporary romances as well as a co-founder of Lady Jane’s Salon, New York City’s first and so far only monthly reading series for romance fiction. “Tomorrow’s Destiny,” Hope’s first novella, will release November 10th in a single title Christmas anthology, A HARLEQUIN CHRISTMAS CAROL, with Betina Krahn and Jacquie D’Alessandro. Visit Hope online at www.HopeTarr.com and find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Some of you may know that Caridad means Charity in English (my nickname by the way), so we’ve got 2 of the 3 virtues here today! Are there any Faiths out there to make it all three?

Without further ado – my friend and fellow author, Hope Tarr.

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A ROGUE'S PLEASURE Second chances at love, don’t you just…love them?

A ROGUE’S PLEASURE, my romance debut novel originally published in print with Berkley/Jove, is getting its own second chance at love as an e-book release with Carina Press, Harlequin’s digital-first imprint and like any proud mama I couldn’t be more pleased. The reissue, which sports gorgeous new cover art and an editing facelift, went live on August 16th, two weeks short of what would be the book’s tenth anniversary. How cool is that!?!

A ROGUE’S PLEASURE is a Regency romp that I’m thrilled to be able to share with a new generation of romance readers. To get the soiree started, close your eyes—okay, don’t close them since you need them open to read this—or better yet open your mind to the clip-clop of horses hooves instead of sirens and honking cars.

It is Regency England, 1812. Napoleon is wreaking havoc in Europe, including Spain and Portugal where ousting the rightful royals and setting his sibling, Joseph Bonaparte, on the Spanish throne has catalyzed a sweeping grassroots national resistance supported by Britain and its Allies. On the home front, private coaches traveling between the countryside and London are prime targets for the rogues of the road: highwaymen.

Put yourself in the shoes, or rather the Wellingtons, of my hero, Lord Anthony Grenville. Recently returned from the Peninsular War with a gamey leg and a bad case of combat stress masquerading as ennui, you are in your private coach en route to London with your fiancée, Lady Phoebe Tremont, and her shrew of a mother. To drown out the droning of your soon-to-be mother-in-law, you think not great thoughts but rather mundane ones. Will the inn’s beef be soured again? Sigh. Might there be a decent claret to bespeak in lieu of the usual ale? Must I really marry this pretty but deucedly dull girl? You are not only thinking such thoughts but lost to them when a shout of “Halt! Stand and deliver!” freezes the blood in your veins.

Chelsea Bellamy must raise the sum of 500 pounds to ransom her beloved brother. Having exhausted all other avenues, she has taken to the road disguised as the highwayman One-Eyed Jack, accompanied by her faithful manservant, the real One-Eyed Jack. Outnumbered though he is and hampered with womenfolk, still Anthony isn’t going down easily. He isn’t going down at all. Beneath his fancy frock coat, embroidered waistcoat, and frothy shirt, he has a soldier’s spine of steel—and a heart in need of saving.

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Thanks so much for joining me today at Caridad’s blog. Please post a comment by midnight EST Thursday August 26th and be entered to win an autographed copy of VANQUISHED, the launch for my Victorian-set “Men of Roxbury House” trilogy.

Huzzah,
Hope

Hope Tarr Photo Credit: Photo by BizUrban.com

Travel Tuesday – Buckingham Palace and Mews

Today’s Tuesday is some more photos from my trip to London. This time I’m taking you to Buckingham Palace and the Mews where the Royal horses, carriages and the like are stored.

First thing — the Queen’s Apartments in the Palace are only open in August and September when the Royal Family retires to Scotland for the summer months. During the winter you have to content yourself with views of the exterior, the changing of the guard and the museums at the Palace.

We watched the changing of the guard (some of the last slides you’ll see), but it was packed. We clearly had to get there a lot earlier than we did, but despite the crowd, we were able to see the nearly 45 minute long ceremony as the one group of guards is replaced. Mind you, it’s not just the guards, but their band and everything that is changed. So, there’s a lot of pomp with all the turnover.

We also had an opportunity to visit the Royal Mews and it was really interesting. We got to see some of the horses (huge huge animals) that pull the carriages as well as various carriages, limos, carts, etc. The most interesting one — a golden carriage made for Richard III. It was stunning and the artwork on the doors, etc. was amazing.

It was interesting to see all the different carriages as well as learn how some are postillion driven (riders are on the horses pulling the carriages) versus being driven by a driver on the wagon. A bit of trivia I know I’ll put to use in one of those historical flashbacks in a future novel!

Hope you enjoy these photos. If you can’t see the slideshow below, you can click on this link to visit my Facebook Page or copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2060062&id=1130005412&l=7c6a9b55a9