Wed Under Western Skies UK, May

I just received one whole copy of this anthology with the beautiful cover!
For three special women, love will be found in the most unexpected of places!

ABANDONED by Carolyn Davidson
The sole survivor of a wagon train raid, Elizabeth Travis has been left with amnesia. Cameron Montgomery comes to her rescue and takes special care of her. But how can she desire him while she's a woman with no past?

ALMOST A BRIDE by Cheryl St.John
The only unmarried woman in town, Charmaine Renlow has been waiting years for her beau to propose, and she's had enough. Maybe it's time to move on to greener pastures...like single father Jack Easton's homestead!

HIS BROTHER'S BRIDE by Jenna Kernan
Only a desperate woman would marry a man she'd never met, even if it was her dying husband's last request. But with a young daughter to protect, Clara Justice is desperate, so she accepts the proposal from Nate, the black sheep of the family...

M&B H March Release: The Tenderfoot Bride by Cheryl St John

A new start, a new home…
Linnea McConaughy was not the sturdy widow rancher Will Tucker expected to manage his household. Instead, she was a tiny slip of a woman whose eyes betrayed a desperate need to find a place to belong. Will found himself wanting to protect her and offer her a home with him…
…and a new love?
Linnea knew that she had to keep her past a secret, even though her attractive employer had shown her kindness, even tenderness. But could Will ever accept her shameful past – and another man’s baby?

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M&BH March release: The Countess Bride by Terri Brisbin

She could be no man’s wife!
Catherine de Severin brought nothing but herself to the marriage bed. A penniless orphan with a shadowed past, she was not a fit bride for a rich and powerful comte.
But Geoffrey Dumont cared not, and would defy anyone – even the King – to marry his beautiful Cate!
This loving marriage denied her, her memory a blur, Catherine had chosen a veil and a cloister. Then Geoffrey, the man she loved past reason, abducted her. Catherine could resist her own desire…but she had no defence against his passion!
England, 1198

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M&B H March release:High Seas to High Society by Sophia James

A woman of mystery
Asher Wellingham, Duke of Carisbrook, was captivated by her! He had happened upon Lady Emma Seaton swimming naked and, beyond her beauty, had seen the deep curling scar on her thigh – a wound that could only be the mark of a sword. Who was this creature of contradictions? Something about her brought back tantalising memories from the past. With her ill-fitting, threadbare clothes concealing the body of an angel, what kind of woman truly lay behind her refined mask? High-born lady or artful courtesan, Asher wanted to possess both!

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M&B March Release: Rogue's Widow, Gentleman's Wife by Helen Dickson

He’s back…for his bride
Amanda O’Connell is in a scrape. If she doesn’t find a husband while she’s in America, her father will marry her off against her will.
Then Christopher Claybourne – a dark, mysterious rogue sentenced to death for murder – inspires a plan.
She’ll marry him secretly, and return home a widow…
Everything works perfectly, until Amanda meets her father’s new racehorse trainer. He’s gorgeous, he’s a gentleman and he’s…her husband! Christopher has escaped, determined to clear his name. Then he’ll claim what is rightfully his – his title and his bride!

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Innocence and Impropriety Attends King's Theatre by Diane Gaston

My latest book, Innocence and Impropriety by Diane Gaston is out in bookstores this month.

Rose, the heroine of Innocence and Impropriety, is a Vauxhall singer who aspires to sing opera at the King’s Theatre, a dream her mother was unable to fulfill in her own youth. The hero, Flynn, makes Rose’s wish come true.


















The King’s Theatre of 1817, when Innocence and Impropriety is set, was located in Haymarket in London and possessed the exclusive right to hold performances of Italian Opera. The first theatre on the site was built in 1705. It burned down in 1789 and was rebuilt in 1791--the theatre of the story.














The theatre had five tiers of boxes for which the beau monde purchased subscriptions for the season.

Mozart’s Don Giovanni had its London premiere at King’s Theatre in 1816, and was performed at the theatre in 1817 when the story is set.

Invoking the name of his employer, the Marquis of Tannerton, and providing generous payment out of Tannerton’s funds, Flynn arranges with Mr. Ayrton, director of the season, to have Rose tutored in the opera by Miss Hughes-Gatti, who sang Elvira in Don Giovanni, and Signor Angrisani, who played Don Giovanni.

Mr. Ayrton really was the musical director who brought Don Giovanni to the London stage and Signor Angrisani and Miss Hughes-Gatti did perform the opera.

When Victoria ascended the throne, The King’s Theatre became Her Majesty’s Theatre. By 1847 it no longer carried the title Italian Opera House, and it became the London theatre to showcase romantic ballet. In 1867 the theatre burned down and another was built but later demolished in 1892 and replaced by the present building.


Today Her Majesty’s Theatre in the Haymarket is home to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, premiering at the theatre in 1986 and remaining there ever since.

When I am able, I love to pepper my books with real historical characters such as these. To me, it brings the history alive and makes the story more real. And setting my stories in real places like King’s theatre and Vauxhall Gardens helps to transport me to the era I love the most--The Regency.

What Regency settings have you enjoyed the most?

(Images of the theatre and some of the above factual information comes from Wikipedia)

Cheers!
Diane

Read Reviews of Innocence and Impropriety at Amazon and Romance Readers Today.

Vote for Diane’s A Reputable Rake for Favorite Historical and her Mistletoe Kisses for Favorite Anthology at eHarlequin.com.

Visit Diane every Monday at Risky Regengies.

HH March Release: The Matchmaker's Marriage by Meg Alexander

Despite constant admonitions to be discreet, Amy Wentworth had never learned to hold her tongue! Bright, honest and forthright, she couldn't bear any form of unkindness, and it was her good nature that made her take Miss Charlotte Skelmersdale under her wing.
It had seemed like a good idea to make a match for Charlotte with Sir James Richmond. But somehow Amy found she couldn't do it. James was everything she herself wanted in a husband—now Amy just needed to convince him!

Read the excerpt

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The Matchmaker's Marriage

HH March Release: The Adventurer's Wife by Anne Herries

With supporters rallying for Mary Queen of Scots and the Spanish invasion fleet on the horizon, Queen Elizabeth I turns to her secret service for help.
An adventurer and privateer serving the Queen's spymaster, Sir Christopher Hamilton is dispatched to watch over Anne Marie Fraser. Held hostage because of her treacherous father's support for Mary Queen of Scots, Anne Marie's cloistered plight angers and then frustrates Kit. Rescuing her from her father's cruel hands, Kit seeks permission from the Queen to marry. But he hasn't counted on Anne Marie's fury at discovering his deception. She will marry him, but she won't be his wife in anything more than name!

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The Adventurer's Wife

HH March Release: Mustang's Wild by Stacey Kayne

With the deed to her land and a kid brother to protect, mustanger Skylar Daines shouldn't have tangled with the likes of Tucker Morgan. But his stolen kiss scatters her senses and, quicker than a whirling dust devil, they're wed!
To her relief, Tucker's keen to fix the marital slipup—and then he tells her the deed she holds belongs to him, and him alone. Maybe she shouldn't rush to have their marriage annulled. No man, no matter how good-looking, is going to swindle Skylar out of the one thing she yearns for most—a home.

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HH March Release: Crusader's Lady by Lynna Banning

Soraya al-Din is a woman bent on revenge. Disguised as a boy, nothing will keep her from her quarry!
Marc de Valery is a war-weary knight who has one last duty—to protect King Richard on his perilous journey back to England.
As the sun rises over the golden desert, Soraya sets out with Marc. It is the first step on a journey that will take her away from all she knows—across the Mediterranean to the beautiful Italian countryside and over the harsh French Alps. While danger follows close in her footsteps, can she shield her heart against the honorable knight she has sworn to destroy?

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Crusader's Lady

HH And M&BH March Release: Innocence and Impropriety by Diane Gaston

Jameson Flynn is a man with a mission. Nothing will knock him off course. Until one summer's evening in Vauxhall Gardens, when a woman's song reminds him of the world he left behind.
Rose O'Keefe's beautiful voice and graceful, earthy sensuality have made her a sensation among the pleasure-seekers of the night. In such dissolute company, how long can it be before her virtue is compromised?
The man who can make or break Flynn's career desires Rose as his mistress. Soon Flynn will have to choose what matters to him most—success or love….

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Innocence and Impropriety

HH Release: Beau Crusoe by Carla Kelly

Stranded alone on a desert island, he had lived to tell the tale. A triumphant return to the ton saw James Trevenen hailed as Beau Crusoe—a gentleman of spirit, verve and action. But only he knew the true cost of his survival!
Susannah Park had been shunned by Society. She lived content with her calm existence…until Beau Crusoe determinedly cut up her peace! The beautiful widow wanted to help him heal the wounds of the past—but what secrets was this glorious man hiding?

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Beau Crusoe