Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Thank You Anne Gracie

The wonderful Anne Gracie was brave enough to take us on for the two Saturdays with her Conflict workshop. Anne’s approach to helping us understand the concept of internal and external conflict was very helpful. You know how it is, you think you have a handle of this conflict thing, than someone walks in and turns the light on and you think, “Crap I was doing this all wrong.” LOL. Well that is how I was feeling. Now I have it, re-writes are underway; conflict is tighter this time (I hope).

Anne write Regency Romance novels that take you back to England and a time I’m sure I should have lived. Take some time and visit Anne’s Website or the Word Wenches Blog, were Anne and the other ladies will keep you entertained with blogs on writing and life.

These are the two latest novels by Anne:

His Captive Lady

England 1818. Harry Morant's tough exterior hides a badly scarred heart. Home after eight years at war, Harry is planning a practical, unemotional marriage. But his careful plans are threatened by an unexpected passion for an unknown lady. A lifetime of lies has brought Lady Helen (Nell) Freymore to the brink of ruin. Forced into a marriage she never thought to have, she soon finds herself powerfully drawn to this deceptively gentle soldier... and increasingly worried about his reaction once he discovers her secret.

The Stolen Princess

The first in a new series about four soldiers back from war, and forced to adapt to a new world

The estranged youngest son of an earl, Gabriel Renfrew earned glory and honor on the battlefield, but now, without purpose, he finds himself deliberately courting danger. One night he races his horse along a death-defying moonlit cliff—and stumbles upon a beautiful woman obviously in need of saving…

A princess on the run, Callie has disguised herself and her son, the Crown Prince, as commoners, hoping to protect him from those intent on stealing the throne. She has no choice but to trust the handsome ex-officer who’s come to her rescue, even when he insists that only a marriage of convenience will provide her the ultimate protection. Can
her new husband keep Callie and her son safe from assassins? And what will he do to her heart?

Also by Anne Gracie:

The Perfect Kiss

To rescue her friend . . .

In three years on the marriage mart Grace Merridew has never met a man whose kiss stirred her senses. So she makes plans for a life of adventure instead — to see the moon rise over the pyramids of Egypt and dance amid the marble ruins of Greece. But first she has to help a friend...

. . . she must enter the lair of the Wolfe.

Grace’s timid friend is being forced to marry Dominic Wolfe, who stands to inherit a huge estate when he weds her. The Wolfes have a terrible reputation, and if there's one thing Grace cannot stand, it's a girl being bullied. When her friend begs for help to escape the marriage, Grace agrees to act the plain and mousy chaperone on their visit to the groom-to-be. But when they arrive nothing is as they expect, and Grace soon finds herself being pursued by a big bad Wolfe — with strictly dishonourable intentions...

The Perfect Stranger

They vow to love, honor and cherish ... and then get to know one other...

With her signature spirit, Faith Merridew has left everything she’s ever known for the man she thought was the love of her life. Instead he leaves her name—and dreams—in the dust. That is, until she crosses paths with Nicholas Blacklock, a Waterloo veteran, who offers to save her reputation with a marriage of convenience.

A hardened soldier, Nick hides a deadly secret—and tries to keep Faith at arm’s length. But even though Nick can command legions of men with a word, his orders go sweetly ignored by his convenient bride. And as they come to know one another more deeply, she brings out in him things he thought dead: gentleness, laughter…and love…

The Perfect Waltz

Hope Merridew dreamed of dancing the perfect waltz with the perfect man — and he's not the tough, dark stranger who has come to London to court another woman. Only how can she resist him? Sebastian has his own demons: a dark past to come to terms with and two desperately needy little sisters to care for. For their sake he must resist Miss Hope Merridew — but can he?

The Perfect Rake
She ran from a brute...

Fleeing the harsh guardianship of her grandfather, Prudence Merridew escapes with her beautiful younger sisters to London. One of them must marry—and fast. To act as her sisters' chaperone, Prudence invents a secret engagement to a reclusive duke... But when the duke arrives unexpectedly in London, she needs his help to avert disaster....

into the arms of a rake

Aristocratic Gideon, handsome, rakish and with a strong frivolous streak, casually hijacks Prudence's game, awarding himself a stolen kiss or three along the way. Used to managing sisters and elderly men, Prudence is completely out of her depth with a charming, devious and utterly irresistible rake. And her plot goes terribly—if deliciously—awry...

Gallant Waif

Kate Farleigh was absolutely stunned when her refusal to accept Lady Cahill's offer of "charity" resulted in her being swept away in her sumptuous carriage. But the real reason behind the older woman's antics became stunningly clear upon meeting Lady Cahill's enigmatic grandson, Jack Carstairs.

Wounded in the Peninsular War, disowned by his father and dumped by his fiancée, Jack had shut himself up in his country estate, but Kate had no patience with such behaviour. Suddenly Jack found himself with a purpose, trying to steer clear of Miss Farleigh's attempts to interfere with his chosen lifestyle. Why, if he wasn't careful, Kate just might succeed in her attempts to make him want to rejoin the human race!

Tallie's Knight
Miss Thalia Robinson, a destitute orphan, was fortunate that cousin Laetitia allowed Tallie to look after her adorable three children. Life was bearable because Tallie lost herself in daydreams, but the arrival of a house party to aid Magnus, Earl of D'Arenville, to find a wife, turned her world upside-down.

Magnus's cold facade had been pierced by a delightful small girls, and he'd decided he wanted children. For that, he needed a wife. But things didn't go according to plan, for Magnus was so taken with Tallie's loving treatment of the children in her charge he ignored the debutantes and decided she was the one he would marry...

An Honorable Thief
When Miss Kit Singleton's arrival in London coincided with a spate of robberies from members of the ton, Hugo Devenish couldn't explain why he suspected the innocent-looking beauty. But when the clues added up, Hugo knew his instincts had been right all along. Kit had to cease this dangerous game immediately!

Only for Kit, it wasn't a game; she'd made a sacred promise to avenge her papa's honour. Surely Hugo could understand that she mustn't break her word - even to please the man she was falling in love with.

A Virtuous Widow
It is almost Christmas, 1816, but there will be no feasting and family celebration for Ellie Carmichael, an isolated young widow, left destitute when her husband committed suicide to avoid his debts. All she has is her beloved small daughter, four year old Amy, who has never accepted her father's death, and puts a candle in the window "to guide my papa home".

One bitterly cold night, a stranger collapses on Ellie's doorstep, a man with no boots, no memories and no name, a man who swiftly enchants Ellie and her daughter alike.
Now Ellie must protect her daughter, her virtue and her heart from the stranger, for who knows what his secrets may be...

Thank you Anne Gracie for your time and help.

Sandie

2 comments:

  1. Anne is a wonderful author and an exceptional teacher. She led the bootcamp 109'ers through unknown territory and deep into conflict. I came away with a much greater understanding of how to create tension between my hero and heroine. Her criticisms were constructive and enlightning.
    What a woman!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sandie, another brilliant and detailed post from you - you're so thorough!

    Anne's workshop was fantastic. It really got me thinking about the conflict between my characters, and working out ways to fine tune this important element of the story.

    ReplyDelete