Maggie Robinson is a former teacher, library clerk and mother of four who woke up in the middle of the night, absolutely compelled to create the perfect man and use as many adjectives and adverbs as possible doing so. A transplanted New Yorker, she lives with her not-quite perfect husband in Maine, where the cold winters are ideal for staying inside and writing hot historical romances. A two-time Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice nominee, her books have been translated into nine languages.
Have you ever wanted to run away from home, or send annoying relatives away for a while? Escape responsibilities and problems and have a quiet month in the country? In my latest series, Cotswold Confidential, I made up a tiny village, Puddling-on-the-Wold. It serves just that purpose, a 19th century “rehab center” that refreshes with daily walks, good wholesome food, and kindly lectures by the doctor and vicar. It becomes the fictional repository for troublesome offspring who require a little “attitude adjustment,” and a haven for those who check themselves in to contemplate a change of life.
My husband and I actually ran away one spring a few years ago—packed up and rented a cozy cottage in the Gloucestershire town of Painswick for three weeks. The charm of the place was undeniable—there was a gourmet restaurant at the end of the street, a pub around the corner, and an antique shop I spent too much money in. My husband kept hitting his head on the door lintels and breaking overhead lamps (the cottage was built for Snow White’s buddies), but he learned to cook on the AGA and watch British game shows where he knew NONE of the answers. I sat on the church pew in the kitchen madly typing away, admiring the snowdrops in the back garden through the window, and drinking endless cups of tea. One of our daughters visited with her family, and we caught up with two English couples we’d met on a cruise. When it was time to leave, I didn’t really want to.
I used my walks around the steep streets and sitting in quiet reflection in the ancient churchyard as a basis for the adventures my characters have. The hero of Book One, Schooling the Viscount, Captain Lord Henry Challoner, gets sent to Puddling when he can’t adjust to civilian life or his injuries. Lady Sarah Marchmain (Sadie), the heroine of Book Two’s Seducing Mr. Sykes, is there because of her refusal to marry the man her father picked out for her. In Book Three, Redeeming Lord Ryder, out in November, both the hero and heroine are wrestling with some pretty major demons. But despite the serious nature of various issues, all the books are full of “laugh out loud moments” (Flippin’ Pages) and “a light-heartedness without being light-weight.” (The Romance Dish)
Here’s an exclusive excerpt from Seducing Mr. Sykes, after Sadie has tried to run away to escape her fate: marriage in the morning!
“She should never have come here.
But here she was.
Sadie should have lied, said of course she’d stay the night. Of course she’d marry him tomorrow. She was relatively good at lying, had honed her skills on her nannies and governesses and father. Her untruthfulness was one of the reasons there had been such a turnover in the staff as she was growing up.
Until Miss Mackenzie, who was built like a stevedore and could swear like one too. Nothing naughty Sadie did got by her—the least little infraction was always punished. She believed her father had stolen the governess from a women’s prison; she might have even been an inmate for all Sadie knew. Miss Mac was a terror.
God hates a liar. Miss Mac’s favorite words as she blistered Sadie’s ruffle-clad behind.
God probably was not all that pleased with Sadie now either. She had caused a commotion running away, frightened her elderly minders, and had not even managed to get anywhere.
What were her chances setting out at night on foot from Sykes House? Sadie peeked out the casement window. There wasn’t even a moon, just a spatter of stars in the velvet-black sky. Her cast-off clothes were in a terrible goat-infused state, and she still had no money.
If she hadn’t been so filthy and exhausted earlier, she would have secreted away a pair of Tristan Sykes’s candlesticks to sell somewhere once she ran away again. He had some lovely things in this little house. Evidently he was a man of some taste and discernment, which was only fitting for an architect and garden designer.
Did he look upon her as a collector might? It was too dark to tell now that he’d blown out the candle. Was she one more pretty thing to put on a shelf? That’s all a wife was—a decorative object who was meant to keep her mouth shut and her legs open.
He didn’t really want to marry her either. Why was he so insistent upon it? Just because he was afraid her father would make a stink about Puddling’s propriety and efficacy? No one with any sense would pay attention to her father.”
If you could spend a month—or three weeks—in the country to get away from it all, where would you go?
I’ll give away download of either Schooling the Viscount (one of Amazon’s Top 20 Romances of the Year So Far) or Seducing Mr. Sykes (the Lyrical Staff Pick for June) to one commenter!
In Maggie Robinson’s sparkling new series, the quaint village in Gloucestershire is where the wayward sons and daughters of Great Britain’s finest families come for some R&R—and good old-fashioned “rehab”. But sometimes they find much more . . .No one at Puddling-on-the-Wold ever expected to see Sarah Marchmain enter through its doors. But after the legendary Lady’s eleventh-hour rejection of the man she was slated to marry, she was sent here to restore her reputation . . . and change her mind. It amused Sadie that her father, a duke, would use the last of his funds to lock her up in this fancy facility—she couldn’t be happier to be away from her loathsome family and have some time to herself. The last thing she needs is more romantic distraction . . .As a local baronet’s son, Tristan Sykes is all too familiar with the spoiled, socialite residents of the Puddling Rehabilitation Foundation—no matter how real their problems may be. But all that changes when he encounters Sadie, a brave and brazen beauty who wants nothing more than to escape the life that’s been prescribed for her. If only Tristan could find a way to convince the Puddling powers-that-be that Sadie is unfit for release, he’d have a chance to explore the intense attraction that simmers between them—and prove himself fit to make her his bride . . .
Check out the Cotswold Confidential series:
- 1 eBook copy of Schooling the Viscount or Seducing Mr. Sykes
To Enter:
- If you could spend a month—or three weeks—in the country to get away from it all, where would you go?
- US shipping ONLY.
- Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.
Good Luck!
Special thanks to Maggie Robinson for sponsoring this giveaway.
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I like historical fiction and have visited the Cotswold's in England many years ago with quaint towns and roads with hedges and thatched roofs. I love the setting and the characters having to follow the customs of the days.
ReplyDeleteThe Cotswold area is one of my favorites! We went back last year and stayed in a cottage in Kingham, also charming. :)
DeleteA long way to go but I'd love to visit the wilds of Scotland to get away from it all.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most magnificent drives I've ever taken was through the Highlands. Scotland is just gorgeous.
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