Guest Post with Author Shana Galen and Giveaway

Today I am so happy to welcome Shana Galen back to the blog. Shana is celebrating the release of her latest book A Rogue Pirate's Bride and is here today to share some snippets from the book. First lets get to know Shana a little bit.

Shana Galen is the author of numerous fast-paced adventurous Regency historical romances, including the Rita-nominated Blackthorne’s Bride. Her books have been sold worldwide, including Japan, Brazil, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and the Netherlands, and have been featured in the Rhapsody and Doubleday Book Clubs. A former English teacher in Houston’s inner city, Shana now writes full time. She’s a wife, a mother, and an expert multi-tasker. She loves to hear from readers.

Places to find Shana:

| Site | The Jaunty Quills | Facebook | Twitter |

First of all, thank you so much to Danielle for inviting me to blog today. I’ve been looking forward to this stop!

I love reading book excerpts. Not only do I find it interesting to see what snippets authors choose to share, I like getting a glimpse of the style of the book as well as who the characters are. My one problem with excerpts is they are usually long. Even when I choose a short excerpt to post, it’s probably at least 700 words. I find myself putting off reading excerpts until later, when all my work is done or the baby is asleep, and of course, later never comes.

Not to mention, many of you who are visiting today have probably seen me at other blogs and read one or more excerpts from The Rogue Pirate’s Bride already. The book came out last month, so some of you may even have bought it and read it already (yay!). And I wanted to do something fun and original for Danielle’s blog.

Well, I can’t claim this is very original, since I got the idea from Elise Rome, but I’ve never done it on a blog, so it’s original to me.

I thought I would post my favorite quotes from the first five chapters of the book, and have you tell me which you like the best and why. Maybe these snippets will intrigue you, and maybe you won’t have to wait until later to read the rest of this post.

Chapter One:

“He’s dressed as a gentleman—navy coat, white cravat, buff breeches.”

She saw him now and nodded. “A gentleman pirate.” She shook her head. “Contradiction in terms.”

“The rumor is he’s a deposed marquis whose family fled France during the revolution.”

She scowled at him. “Don’t tell me you believe that rubbish. All the pirates concoct romantic stories. Just because one claims he’s a duke, doesn’t make him any less of a thief and murderer.”

Chapter Two:

He’d had reservations about making Ridley part of the crew of the Shadow, but how was he going to tell a man who looked like a leviathan no? Thinking it might deter the fearsome giant, Bastien had made a point of stressing that he wasn’t a pirate. “I’m a privateer,” he’d said. “I have a letter of marque from Spain.”

Ridley smiled, showing one gold tooth in the midst of a sea of white. “Sure, Cap’n Cutlass. Whatever you say. I’ll call you a privateer, and you can call me...Ridley.”

Chapter Three:

“Do you think putting yourself in danger would have made Tim happy?”

She looked up at Percy now.

“Tim was my friend too, or have you forgotten? And he would have wanted me to look out for you. He would have wanted you to live a long life, not die at the hands of some pirate in a tavern brawl.”

He was right. She knew Percy was right.

Chapter Four:

He kissed her passionlessly, more intent on shielding their identities from El Santo and the men with him. He wanted them to see nothing more than a couple engaged in a romantic rendezvous.

A somewhat tumultuous rendezvous as his cabin girl was fighting him with everything she had. She was petite, but she was feisty and strong. It took all of his concentration to keep her under control. He might have had a moment to enjoy the kiss—she still tasted of cherries—but she bit his lip and he had to suppress a bark of pain.

Chapter Five:

“Would you like me to demonstrate my aim now?” El Santo said, and Raeven felt the barrel of the pistol dig painfully into her temple. Devil take it! First her wrist, now her temple. She was going to be black and blue.

Cutlass shrugged. “Go ahead. As I said, she’s only a whore. She means nothing to me.”

Raeven knew he was trying to help her. She was almost certain El Santo was a Barbary pirate. The waters of the Mediterranean all but choked with the vermin right now. And the Barbary corsairs liked nothing better than captives to ransom. As the daughter of a British admiral, she’d be a fine prize.

Still, she thought Cutlass might have managed to look a tad bit concerned.

El Santo cocked the pistol, and Raeven decided she would have to be the one to end this stand-off. In a single move, she freed the dagger from her skirts, slipped free of El Santo’s hold, and plunged it into his thigh. She caught a glimpse of pure surprise and shock on his face. He truly hadn’t expected her to be any danger. But then she wrenched the dagger deeper and the shock faded, replaced by pain and anger. He howled and grabbed for her. She sidestepped, bent, yanked the dagger back out, and dove for the exterior door.

“No!” Cutlass yelled. “We’ll be shot.”

So which quote do you like best? Why? I’ll be checking in all day to read your comments. I’m also pleased to offer copies of The Rogue Pirate’s Bride to two readers who comment (U.S. and Canadian residents only).

Revenge should be sweet, but it may cost him everything…

The marquis de Valère escaped certain death in the French Revolution and is now an infamous privateer. Out to avenge the death of his mentor, Bastien discovers himself astonishingly out of his depth when confronted with a beautiful, daring young woman who is out for his blood…

Forgiveness is unthinkable, but it may be her only hope…

British Admiral’s daughter Raeven Russell believes Bastien responsible for her fiancé’s death. But once the fiery beauty crosses swords with Bastien, she’s not so sure she really wants him to change his wicked ways…

Places to Purchase:

| Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

**Giveaway**

Shana will be giving away a copy of The Rogue Pirate's Bride to 2 lucky winners (US & Canda shipping ONLY). So make sure to leave a comment and to fill out the Rafflecopter form for your chance to win.

Good Luck =)

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