The Hesitant Husbands -- An Author's Confession

This is not part of the official #MarchMadnessSale because these next books are only $.99. However, I wanted to include them on the blog for future reference.

As I was writing the first three novels for The Reluctant Grooms series, I had all these peripheral players-- Davingdale, Greenleigh, Perrington, and Winsbarren. They were all so lonely, what could I do but find them wives. Problem is, nearly every single review ends, sometimes begins with, "I wish it were longer."

I know, everyone wants longer love stories. But at the time I was writing two of these, I was on vacation in Rhode Island. I wrote ROMANCING LADY RYDER, LADY CADORET'S LONGING, and was trying to finish a romantic women's fiction novel I was writing under another name. I wish I could have turned them all into novels, believe me, I really do. I had so many great ideas, but time constraints and writing obligations left me with four short stories.

However, whilst writing my new series Ladies of Dunbury, you will find the Hesitant Husbands as well as the Reluctant Grooms within their pages. I want to make sure all loose ends are totally tied.

Winsbarren

Rowena

Davingdale

Ophelia

Dorcas

Perrington

Greenleigh

Illora

And there you have The Hesitant Husbands.

Amazon

Smashwords

Only $.99 cents all the time. Sweet SHORT Regency romances.

Did you know, ROMANCING LADY RYDER stayed in the top twenty on Amazon's "espionage" list for over two years!

And everyone loves Davingdale. Just saying.

Anne Gallagher (c) 2019

The Earl's Engagement #MarchMadnessSale

The Earl's Engagement
#MarchMadnessSale
$2.99 thru March 31

Summoned from his castle in Caithness, Gregory Scott, the Earl of Bailey hurries to London, believing his dearest relation on her deathbed. When the true reason for his presence is resolved, Rory is left unoccupied in Town.

Seeking out an old acquaintance, he discovers Lord Briden nearly penniless, mentally unstable, and entirely dependant upon his spinster daughter for the care and upkeep of their estate at Primrose.

The beautiful Lady Rosamund is part hoyden, part bluestocking, part servant. Wanting nothing to do with Society, her uncommon way of life spurs Rory into offering assistance, but Rosamund adamantly refuses. When Rory learns the lecherous lord next door is blackmailing Rosamund, he devises a scheme to help her whether she wants it or not.

The idea to find Rosamund a husband goes slightly awry, as Rory doesn’t bargain for falling in love with the enigmatic Lady Rosamund. And when his plan turns up another beau for Rosamund, can Rory let her go?

The Earl's Engagement is the fifth story in the original set of novels. I found another Reluctant Groom and had an extra lady hanging around, so I decided to see if they would go well together.

Gregory Scott,
Earl of Bailey

Gregory Scott, the Earl of Bailey, is a long-lost nephew of Lady Olivia. He's fond of his castle in Caithness and rarely ever leaves it, until Olivia sends him a missive requesting his presence. He thinks she's dying. When Rory arrives and finds out that Olivia only wants him as a fake groom for a hapless waif, he is livid. Until he meets the girl (At the end of THE LADY'S FATE) and decides she might make a handsome wife after all. However, when the girl's beau finally steps up an marries her, Rory is left in London with nothing to do. He decides to look up an old Professor.

Lady Rosamund

Oona

Lady Rosamund Briden, daughter of the Earl and Countess of Warwicke, has literally kept the house from falling down through her father's failing illness. Her mother was raised to be a Countess not a housekeeper, and Oona, the maid, and Gibbs the butler are well into their pensions. Rosamund has no time for fivolity, fun, or friends. If she's not taking care of the house, she is helping her father with his final tome on Ancient Greece. His mind is slipping faster into nothingness and she has spared his feelings by writing his book. If found out, this would ruin his name in Society and with his colleagues at the University.

Lady Warwicke

George Briden, Earl of Warwicke

When Rory shows up at Rosamund's house, pretty much all hell breaks loose. Rosamund's life is turned completely upside down--he wants to help her fix the place up. However, when a spat turns ugly and Rory falls from the roof, Rosamund realizes how much she truly cares for him. But when her secret concerning her father's book bubbles closer to the surface, Rosamund does everything she can to push him away.

Love triumphs in the end. I always cry when I read this book. I think I cried when I wrote it. I feel so bad for Rosamund. Talk about a sympathetic character.

Gibbs

Primrose

So there you have it. THE EARL'S ENGAGEMENT.

On sale now thru March 31
$2.99

Amazon

Smashwords

#MarchMadnessSale
#ShamelessPromotion

Anne Gallagher (c) 2019

A Romantic Regency Collection is Published

Yes, I know, it's about time. But my latest endeavor A Romantic Regency Collection is finally up and running on Amazon.


Here's the cover copy.

In this Romantic Regency Collection, Anne Gallagher takes the novellas you love and puts them together in one volume. With added content to enhance the stories you already know, she’s also included another short novella LADY CADORET’S LONGING, written exclusively for this collection.

A WIFE FOR WINSBARREN – A bumbling Viscount searches for a wife and a friend convinces him to place an ad in the newspaper to find one. Now with added chapters to include more of Rowena’s story.

LOVE FINDS LORD DAVINGDALE – Lord Davingdale wants nothing to do with women until he meets the enigmatic Miss Ophelia Trent. This short novella was written as the companion piece to A HUSBAND FOR MISS TRENT. Now for the first time, the two have been combined to give you both points of view in the same story.

ROMANCING LADY RYDER – Lord Greenleigh is not what he appears to be in Society. His other life – as a spy for the Foreign Office. When he meets the lovely Lady Ryder, will she spill all his secrets?

LADY CADORET’S LONGING – Lady Dorcas Cadoret, secretly engaged these five years to her childhood sweetheart, is overwhelmed with grief when Peter is killed in action two weeks before his commission is over. His brother, Daniel, is very kind, and rumors abound there is more to his attention than just being her guardian angel.

            As they share a forbidden kiss, Dorcas thinks it is Peter’s lips upon hers and Daniel is overwrought by feelings he should not be having about his late brother’s fiancée. Can Dorcas find a way to love Daniel for himself or will Peter’s memory haunt Daniel and Dorcas forever?

Here's the link for Amazon

My New Cover for A Romantic Regency Collection

Isn't it beautiful?

What I'm Doing Now

Forgive my absence last week. One thing led to another and before I knew it the weekend was gone. I do try to post every Sunday.

For those of you who didn't know, I've published ROMANCING LADY RYDER. I do wish someone would tell me what they think, but nary a soul has written in public or private. I believe, the first review is always the hardest to hear, only as the waiting draws out the OCD tendencies to check the book stats every hour. lol.

I've finished combining A HUSBAND FOR MISS TRENT and LOVE FINDS LORD DAVINGDALE. I've been wanting to do that for a long time and just now
recently have completed the task. Why, you may ask did I wait so long? Why did I write them separately in the first place? 

I wrote Miss Trent as a companion piece to A WIFE FOR WINSBARREN as she is one of the ladies he meets. However, once the story was finished, as it was only written from Ophelia's point of view, I knew I needed to add Davingdale's. However I didn't really know Davingdale all that well as a character so it took me some time to get him just right. He also appears in a novel I started writing, so I had to mesh the two timelines and characters.

Anyway, the reason I bring this up  -- I've combined these two short stories into novella length, and along with ROMANCING LADY RYDER, a revamped version of A WIFE FOR WINSBARREN, and two  new short stories LADY CADORET'S LONGING, and a title to be named later, I'm going to put them all into one volume. A ROMANTIC REGENCY COLLECTION. Which will also allow me to produce it in paperback for those of you who are so inclined to read paper books.

I'm not sure how long it will take to get this together as I'm in the middle of a move and although I'm trying to keep my computer up and running for as long as possible, I'm going to have to stop at some point. Hopefully, I'll have it ready by the end of the summer.

So that's what I'm doing now.

What I'm Working on Now

For the last forever, it seems, I've been working on my latest short story ROMANCING LADY RYDER. However, what I thought was a short story, is slowly turning into a novella. I just can't seem to stop writing it. Perhaps it's because I don't write along any strict outline, but rather let my characters do the talking. And they love to talk.

ROMANCING LADY RYDER is a departure from all my other books, in that, I've taken several real life people from the anals of time and placed them directly in this story. The Marquess of Wellesley, The Earl of Harrowby, his brother, Sir Richard Ryder, and the Tsar Alexander's top man, Mikhail Novosiltsov. I wanted to somehow encapsulate them all into a tale of spies and espionage -- please do not ask me why, I really couldn't tell you.

All in all, it's turning out rather well, slowly but surely. The Russians and the French are still vying for control of the upper Continent; Bonaparte has seduced Tsar Alexander into his machinations to conquer the world, but Alexander (after realizing Napoleon is a bit of a lunatic) is trying to get out of his clutches. And the only way to do that is to ally with the British.

Which is where the Earl of Greenleigh, the hero in ROMANCING LADY RYDER, comes in. It seems he is a brilliant operative for the Foreign Office, his boss, Secretary Wellesley. The only problem is, Lady Ryder is also playing a part in this deadly game of secrets. Her father (Earl of Harrowby), the third most powerful man in the British government, a right hand to William Pitt, is a Secretary without portfolio. (Which means he can give orders to whomever and whenever he chooses.) And when he gives the order for Greenleigh to deal with Novosiltsov first hand, the stakes are raised. Why, you may ask?

Because Lady Ryder is also playing by her own set of rules, to avenge the death of her intended -- Cheval (the Marquis de Chevallion) a French operative trying to overthrow Bonaparte's rule from inside the French domination. Lady Ryder wants to know who killed Cheval -- was it really the French, trying to thwart the Russian alliance with England, or the Russians, thinking Cheval was a double agent? Then again, could the order have been given by an English Duke whom no one suspects save Lady Ryder? It's handy when your dad is so powerful. Lady Ryder knows how to pick locks and no paperwork on his desk, or anyone else's for that matter, is safe from her prying eyes.

So, that's what I've been working on. And now you know why it's taking me so long to write it. Espionage is not as clear cut as it seems.