Hi From Bronwyn Scott

Hi Michelle,
Just wanted to say that I'm hooked up! My profile worked so I am in the loop. Looking forward to blogging here.
Nikki (AKA Bronwyn Scott).

Where do your ideas come from?

Sometimes that’s a hard question to answer, but not in the case of INNOCENCE UNVEILED, my June release.

My second “royal bastard” romance was sparked by a very specific incident in 1337, reported by the chroniclers. As King Edward III was trying to gain support for his claim to the throne of France, he sent an “embassy,” or diplomatic mission, to the Continent to recruit allies. Along with the diplomats traveled a number of “bachelor” knights, each wearing an eye patch and swearing not to speak until he had performed some deed of arms in France.

My hero is one of those knights, but instead of staying with the group, I imagined him riding off alone. Of course, I had to follow him, and he led me into a web of secrets, deceptions, and lies, where to trust anyone, even a beautiful woman, could lead to betrayal. And death.

Where did all this happen? In Ghent.

I can hear you now. Where????

Ghent is a beautiful city in Belgium, but in the 14th century it was in the duchy of Flanders and the cloth-making powerhouse of the Continent. Responsible for the second of the basic necessities (food, clothing, and shelter), the city imported raw wool from England, wove it into cloth, and exported it back across the Channel.

Because of the close economic ties between England and the Flemish cloth makers, the burghers, or the middle class, found their economic and political interests tied to England’s, while the Count of Flanders was tied to the Court of Paris and the French king. Even language divided them, with the burghers speaking Flemish and the nobles speaking French.

So in a city swarming with suspicion, my story took shape.

He is a man of secrets. He shares a king’s blood, but his mother’s shame means he’ll never claim his birthright. Now, disguised as a smuggler, he is a spy in a city of enemies.
She is a woman of lies. She hides her hair under the veil of a married woman to protect her father’s weaving business. Desperate for the banned wool, she opens her home to the alluring smuggler.
Sleeping under the same roof, they fight temptation at every turn. In a town where no one feels safe, she makes him yearn for things long forbidden, but can he trust her when the truth may mean betrayal---and death?

Their tug of war, and that of the factions in Flanders, changes the course of history.


For more about the book, and the place, visit me at http://www.blythegifford.com/.



The Graslei in Ghent. Picture by http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:China_Crisis
License by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/

HH May Release: Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady by Bronwyn Scott

Determined not to enter into a forced marriage, Julia could see no way out—unless she were to become a ruined woman! Notorious rake Paine Ramsden was reputed to have no qualms about seducing innocents, so maybe he would help with her…predicament.

Certainly, Paine deserved his rakish reputation, yet Julia was so achingly pure, one night with her might just ruin him! Awakening Julia's sensuality aroused unfamiliar feelings in him—was it too late to make them both respectable?
Read the excerpt

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Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady

HH May release: Western Weddings Anthology

Rocky Mountain Bride by Jillian Hart

Savannah Knowles arrives in Montana expecting to marry Nate Brooks, but he has never heard of her! Can this quiet man find room in his heart for lonely Savannah?

Shotgun Vows by Kate Bridges

Milly Thornbottom has a crush on Mountie Weston Williams, and one stolen kiss changes their lives! After they're marched straight to the altar, can her crush possibly develop into more?

Springville Wife by Charlene Sands

Grace Lander returns to Springville to pick up the pieces of her life and become the town's schoolmarm. Single father Caleb Matlock's kiss may be just what Grace needs to mend her heart and make a home!

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Western Weddings

HH May Release: Cooper's Woman by Carol Finch

Alexa Quinn wanted much more from life than a society wedding. She was determined to make her busy father see her true worth. So when secrets and lies threatened the good work he was doing, Alexa seized her chance to save not only her father, but herself as well.

Enter Wyatt Cooper—ex-lawman, legendary gunslinger and a fine-looking man! He was the best in the West for stopping trouble in its tracks, but for Alexa he meant excitement, adventure and danger. Just what she was looking for….

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Cooper's Woman

HH May Release: Taken by the Viking by Michelle Styles

A Viking raid

They claimed they came in peace, but soon Lindisfarne was aflame. Annis of Birdoswald fled in fear, but she could not escape the Norse warriors.

An honorable captor

One man protected her—Haakon Haroldson. The dark, arrogant Viking swept Annis back to his homeland, taking her away from all she held dear.

A new life—as his mistress!

Now Annis must choose between the lowly work that befits a captive, or a life of sinful pleasure in the Viking's arms!

Read an excerpt

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Taken By the Viking


If you are intereseted in Vikings, Harlequin ebooks are offering a three book bundle of some of the earlier Viking/AngloSaxon books!

HH May release: A Wealthy Widow by Anne Herries

Elegant, beautiful and inordinately rich, Lady Arabella Marshall is used to fending off fortune-hunters' unwanted flattery—but now such attentions have become deadly!

Lady Arabella is quite alone in the world, so she turns to the aloof and enigmatic Charles Hunter for protection. She instinctively trusts this quietly handsome gentleman. But, for safety's sake, Arabella cannot let her heart rule her head….
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A Wealthy Widow

HH May release: Talk of the Ton by Mary Nichols

Her name was on everyone's lips. They were agog to find out what Miss Elizabeth Harley had been doing down at the East India Docks. And in such shocking apparel! Why, her uncle's generosity in giving her a London season had been thrown back in his face.

Elizabeth had not meant to sully her good name. All she'd craved was a chance to travel. Andrew Melhurst had come to her rescue when she needed him most, but should she consider marrying him to save her reputation?

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Buy:
Talk of the Ton