Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Book Tour Redemption for a Rogue by Jennifer Conner (Guest Post & GIVEAWAY)


Jennifer Conner is here today taking about her short story that is long on emotion and angst.  Fans of less than perfect heroes will find Lord John to die for!  So keep reading to learn about these scarred heroes as well as having the chance to win a beautiful book locket.  So let's find out more about Redemption for a Rogue.....

Thanks for having me on today, and allowing me to talk about my new release, Redemption for a Rogue, with Books to Go Now Publishing.

I like taking historical ideas and adding modern society questions.

I didn’t start off wanting to tackle disabilities but more, I had the idea of wondering how people handled the same problems we deal with today but a hundred and fifty years ago. I live where there is a high concentration of military. Day after day, I hear stories of the returning soldiers and the problems they face.

They barely acknowledge it now, but what if you lived in an era that did not understand PTSD?In 1855? Especially if you were an upper crust man of society that were expected to keep up appearances and basically told to be perfect. The young men had to have returned from the very bloody battle of the Crimean War with some form of emotional damage.

In the first three stories I tackled PTSD, with Redemption for a Rogue, John has dyslexia. Another thing that did not even have a name in 1855. It was a time where there were no explanations. I looked for a more politically correct wording for John’s ailment, but his father would have probably called him retarded. It’s harsh. But possibly the way it would have been referred as.

My husband’s cousin had dyslexia in the late 50’s and struggled with being told he was slow in school, so it wasn’t 100 years ago. Debbie Macomber also has dyslexia. It must be so difficult to know HOW the words are supposed to be but can’t form them correctly. Sometimes this drives you. The cousin is now a teacher, and Debbie… well, it hasn’t slowed her down. I wanted my hero not so much to overcome, but to learn how to be happy and learn to work with it. You can’t ‘cure’ it, you live with dyslexia.

I’ve had great fun writing these short story historical and hope to write more. The Scots were in the Crimean War too. A whole new group!

I hope you will enjoy reading The Regimental Heroes short story series as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.


Told by everyone, including his father, he is slow-witted, Lord John Mitchell is willing to do almost anything to avoid helping run the family estate or care for his orphaned nephew. His lifelong battle learning to read and write has convinced him his father is right.

After the death of her husband in the Crimean War, Vivienne Ravenhill needs financial stability for her son and herself.

When Lord John’s father suddenly dies, he is thrown into taking on the estate and the family’s mill. Are John’s learning disabilities something he can overcome in order to handle this responsibility?

Will Vivienne find a place in his home...and his heart?

An interesting look at tackling dyslexia in 1855.

EXCERPT:

“I can’t do this,” John said barely above a whisper.

“My opinion differs, because I know you’re capable. You just need a little assistance. If I read the invoices, do you understand what needs to be done?”

“Of course.”

“Then I will fill in the forms.”

“Are you an angel sent to watch over me?” The shadow of John’s beard and dark hair gave him an intensely masculine quality.

She swallowed. “No, I am merely the hired governess.”

“I feel you have become much more to Graeme and me then merely a governess.” As he watched her, a shiver ran up her spine. His gaze implied things. Erotic things men and women never spoke of and only shared behind bedchamber doors. “Everything seems to holds less importance, because right now, Vivienne, all I want in the world is to kiss you.”

It was the first time he’d said her name. When she began to contradict his statement, he pressed a finger to her lips and then replaced it with his mouth. He leaned forward in his chair to pull her close. Her breasts pressed against the hard planes of his chest. Vivienne knew it was wrong, but her heart sang from his caress. Gentle. Loving.



AUTHOR BIO & LINKS:

Jennifer Conner is a best-selling Northwest author who has twenty short stories and one full length book on ebook and in print. She writes in Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance, Historical Romance, and Erotica.

Christmas Chaos was in the Kindle sales top 50 ebooks and #2 in the Romance category.

Her novel Shot in the Dark was a finalist in the Emerald City Opener, Cleveland, and Toronto RWA contests.

Jennifer is an Associate Publisher for the indie e-book publisher, Books to Go Now who resides in the Seattle area. They pride themselves in helping new authors get their foot in the door with well-edited manuscripts, professional covers, and platforms uploads.

She live in a hundred year old house that she grew up in. Her semi-small town holds an interesting mix of resident hillbillies, yuppies and Navy Seals. And of course Seattle, only a few miles away, is the birthplace of Starbucks so coffee is always on the check list. She blows glass beads with a blow torch, (which relieves a lot of stress and people don't bother you) and is  a huge fan of my local soccer teams, the Seattle Sounders, and Kitsap Pumas. Boys in shorts! :)


**********GIVEAWAY**********

Jennifer will be awarding a book locket to a randomly drawn commenter (US/CANADA ONLY) during the tour. 



-To be entered, MUST leave a comment, ALONG WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDY.
-One commenter will be chosen randomly from all comments made throughout the tour, so the more tour stops you make a comment on the greater your chances of winning.  A list of all participating blogs can be found here.
-Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM CST on 11/9.

7 comments:

  1. Thank you for the excerpt, now I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book. Love those little book lockets.

    miztik_rose@yahoo.com

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  2. I like that twist...To look at something like dyslexia before we had a name for it or any notion of what it was. I suppose someone would be considered "dim witted."
    catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

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  3. Sounds really good!! Thanks for the exerpt and the chance to win!
    natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

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  4. This sounds like a great story. Sabrina Jeffries also has a great story with the heroine having dyslexia, hiding it from everyone in her life except for her cousin/companion (TO PLEASURE A PRINCE).
    June
    manning_J2004 at yahoo dot com

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  5. I love the idea of a historical dealing with such heavy issues and still being a romantic read! Thanks for the review. Carin
    mawmom at gmail dot com

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  6. Sounds good, and the locket is lovely! Thanks for the excerpt and the giveaway!

    brendurbanist at gmail dot com

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  7. Love the idea ... just goes to show what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it. Can't wait to read the book :-)
    Deborah Broussard

    toughobird1954@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete