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About Deborah Cooke

I write romance novels, including medieval romances as Claire Delacroix, and contemporary and paranormal romances as Deborah Cooke. I also am an avid knitter and sewist.

Blood Brothers is enrolled in Kindle Unlimited!

As promised, the Blood Brothers series of medieval romances have been enrolled in Kindle Unlimited for one 90-day term, starting today. They’ll return to wide distribution (and my online store) after July 3 when that term ends. Only the first two books have ever been in KU, so here’s a chance for subscribers to binge the series.

Visit the Blood Brothers Pinterest pages!


The Wolf & the Witch

The Wolf & the Witch, book one of the Blood Brothers trilogy of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix

Denied his rightful legacy, Maximilian de Vries devised a plan to avenge himself upon his father and see his own future secured. Allied with his two half-brothers, he descends upon ancient and mysterious Kilderrick, determined to seize the keep once promised to him, regardless of the price. A woman rumored to be a witch is the sole one bold enough to defy him but Maximilian has a solution—he will take her to wife, whether she be willing or nay, and seal his claim.

But this powerful warrior has yet to match wits with Alys Armstrong, a maiden with a thirst for vengeance and a fury that might exceed his own. Alys has no intention of capitulating to the proud and powerful rogue who stole everything from her—no matter how seductive his touch might be—and she does not share his compulsion to fight fair.

Bitter enemies from the outset, Maximilian and Alys’ match is a battle of wills. When passion flares, will either of them be able to resist temptation? And when Kilderrick itself is in peril, will they join forces to save the holding they each prize—and the unexpected love they value above all else?

Five star review for The Wolf & the Witch, book one of the Blood Brothers series of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix

Buy the ebook:

Five star review for The Wolf & the Witch, book one of the Blood Brothers series of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix

The Hunter & the Heiress

The Hunter & the Heiress, book two of the Blood Brothers series of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix

Nothing could be further from Amaury de Vries’ expectations than joining his half-brother’s company of mercenaries in the wilds of Scotland. A knight and a champion at the joust, he expected to inherit a holding—until the man he has known as his father revealed a terrible truth and disavowed him. Left with nothing, Amaury rides to Kilderrick, where he loses his heart to a beautiful noblewoman in the forest. A practical man, he knows he has no right to court the lady, but when she is abducted, Amaury follows, determined to fulfill his knightly duty by aiding a damsel in distress.

Elizabeth d’Acron has been a pawn and a prize, pursued for her father’s wealthy holding, and wants only to be desired for herself. Seized again, she vows she will surrender to no man—even the handsome knight who comes to her rescue. And truly, there could be no one more vexing than this confident yet inscrutable man, so concerned with duty that he could be wrought of stone—but Elizabeth soon learns that she can trust Amaury to defend her at any cost. She does not expect the seductive fire awakened by his touch, much less his conquest of her wary heart—but has she fallen in love with a man whose affections are already claimed?

Snared between duty and passion, Amaury finds himself beguiled by the lady who challenges his every expectation, but knows he has little to offer her. But when Elizabeth is threatened by a former suitor who will not be refused, Amaury risks his all in her defense, hoping it will be enough. But can he intervene in time? And will love alone convince Elizabeth to place her hand in his for all time?

Five Star review for The Hunter & the Heiress, book two of the Blood Brothers series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

Buy the ebook:

Five Star review for The Hunter & the Heiress, book two of the Blood Brothers series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

The Dragon & the Damsel

The Dragon & the Damsel, book three of the Blood Brothers trilogy of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix

A mercenary convinced that each man must see to his own survival first, Rafael has learned to savor the moment and its pleasures. He is interested solely in conquest and coin, not any promise of the future—until an alluring maiden challenges him, defying him to stake a claim. Rafael cannot resist Ceara with her flame-red hair and keen wits, but their cat-and-mouse game takes a dangerous turn when Ceara is stolen by her kin. Rafael cannot stand aside when the damsel’s survival is at risk—though if she has stolen his shielded heart, she must never know of his weakness…

Ceara fled an arranged marriage, determined to wed for love or not at all. A horsewoman and huntress herself, she has encountered no man worthy of her affection—until she matches wits with Rafael, with his flashing eyes and seductive touch. She knows the handsome warrior seeks only one prize from her, but hopes to steal his heart. When she is captured and compelled to return to her betrothed, she is thrilled that Rafael lends chase. When he claims her as his own bride, Ceara dares to hope for more than a marriage of convenience.

But Rafael appears to be interested solely in conquest and passion, and their match becomes a battle of wills. Will Ceara be cast aside when her newfound spouse is offered the prize he desires above all else? Warrior and damsel, can these two wounded souls learn to surrender the truth of their hearts—before their union is shattered forever?

Five Star review for The Dragon & the Damsel, book three of the Blood Brothers series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

Buy the ebook:

Five Star review for The Dragon & the Damsel, book three of the Blood Brothers series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

The Scot & the Sorceress

The Scot and the Sorceress, book four of the Blood Brothers trilogy by Claire Delacroix

Embittered by his losses and thwarted in his pursuit of vengeance, Murdoch is sworn to avenge his father by striking a blow against his enemy, the Silver Wolf. But the wise woman of the woods offers herself in exchange for peace, Murdoch cannot resist temptation. The mysterious beauty lights a fire in his blood, a need for more than vengeance, and Murdoch finds himself enchanted.

Nyssa is blessed with visions of the future to come, but believes that she is the last of her lineage of healers. When she dreams that her sister’s daughter yet lives but is in peril, she knows she must find the child, defend her and teach her. She strikes a bargain with Murdoch, a warrior with fearsome fighting skills, to aid in her quest, never guessing that her need for his touch will be so overwhelmingly powerful—or that she has the power to heal his wounds from the past.

Bound together by passion, Murdoch and Nyssa journey north to confront the shadows of her past. When Nyssa surrenders to her enemies for the sake of her sister’s child, Murdoch realizes that he must defend justice everywhere, beginning with the rescue of his beloved—no matter the cost to himself. Can Nyssa and Murdoch each relinquish the burden of the past to claim the promise of a future together?

Five star review for The Scot & the Sorceress, book four of the Blood Brothers series of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix

Buy The Scot & the Sorceress ebook:

Five star review for The Scot & the Sorceress, book four of the Blood Brothers series of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix

Books and More!

One of the fun things about running a Kickstarter campaign for new editions is when all the goodies come in. Let’s have a look at most of the goodies and books for the Blood Brothers special editions campaign.

Last week, the first lot of books arrived. These were the trade paperbacks, and I’m so pleased with them. The matte finish is so velvety!

Blood Brothers special edition trade paperbacks with duplexed covers

These editions have the new illustrations by Dar Albert. For the trade paperback, the covers are duplexed, which means the illustration is printed on the inside of the cover, like this:

Blood Brothers special edition trade paperbacks with duplexed covers

The part of the illustration with the sword is on the inside back cover but I didn’t take pix ot it.

These special edition interiors include some different typographic elements, but also include the Blood Brothers map and family trees. The family tree for Jean Le Beau is in all four books, then each book has a family tree for the hero and for the heroine. Those elements are included in all of the special editions – ebook, trade paperback and hardcover.

The spiral notebooks featuring the new illustrations have also arrived.

Blood Brothers spiral notebooks

And there are postcards. There’s a set of four of the new illustrations, and a set of four of the original cover art (with the guys alone). They all have the same reverse side which is shown at the bottom right.

Blood Brothers postcards

Plus those big bookmarks have arrived. There’s a set of four of these: they all have the same reverse side with the original covers.

Blood Brothers bookmarks

I’ve been packing boxes for the fulfillment of the Kickstarter. The hardcover editions have shipped to me, so I’ll show them to you once they arrive. I’ll pack the rest of the Kickstarter pledges then and the campaign will be done. I’ve also been making book charms with these new covers and will show you those with the hardcovers.

You can pre-order signed copies of the print books in my online store – that will be for the first fulfillment after the Kickstarter campaign, and I’ll place that order in June.

The spiral notebooks that are left are available in the store now. They won’t be restocked, so once they’re gone, that’s that. You’ll find them in New Arrivals there, as well as the discounted sample copies of The Hunter & the Heiress that I ordered in advance of the campaign. Those books have the illustration on the cover, but don’t have the map or family trees inside.

The Hunter & the Heiress Sample Special Editions – and Spiral Notebooks

I’m slowly getting organized after the completion of the Blood Brothers Kickstarter campaign for the new special editions. Yesterday, I realized I had two sample copies of The Hunter & the Heiress in need of homes.

These are the copies I ordered for the video. They have the new cover illustrations – on the case laminate of the hardcover, and duplexed on the inside of the cover for the trade paperback – but don’t have the other content added to the book interiors during the campaign. There is no map and there are no family trees. Still, they’re very pretty books and should be on someone’s shelf. 🙂

You can find them in the store under New Arrivals. There’s only one of each, so once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Also, I added spiral notebooks to the campaign. There’s a set of four, each one featuring one illustration. I ordered some of The Hunter & the Heiress and am really pleased with how well they came out.

They’re 5.5″ x 8.5″ with 80 lined pages inside. The cover has a nice velvety finish.

Spiral bound notebook with the cover illustration for The Hunter & the Heiress
Spiral bound notebook with the cover illustration for The Hunter & the Heiress
Spiral bound notebook with the cover illustration for The Hunter & the Heiress

As is so often the way with printing, it made sense to round up my order quantities, a little above the actual quantity needed for the KS fulfillment. So, I’ll be adding these to the online store, too. The notebooks for The Hunter & the Heiress have already been added to the New Arrivals there.

Blood Brothers Special Editions – and Kindle Unlimited

The Wolf & the Witch, book one of the Blood Brothers series of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix, special hardcover edition
The Wolf & the Witch special hardcover edition dust jacket

The Kickstarter campaign for the new special editions of my Blood Brothers series ended on Saturday night. It not only funded but we reached stretch goals to add the Blood Brothers map and nine family trees into the new editions, as well as two sets of postcards and one set of bookmarks, printed for backers of signed books and as digital downloads for all backers. I also added some pretty spiral bound notebooks this time and will be doing that in future campaigns, too.

What happens next is the fulfillment, which will be all behind the scenes (pretty much in my dining room.)

Two other things are happening now that the campaign is completed. First, there’s a pre-order available in my online store for these new print editions. The Kickstarter fulfillment will be completed first, then the books ordered through this pre-order. If you pre-order before June 1, your books will be ordered in June and ship to you in July. These editions are signed, so they will ship from Canada.

See the Blood Brothers pre-order at Deborah Cooke’s Books.

The Dragon & the Damsel, book three of the Blood Brothers series of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix, special hardcover edition
The Dragon & the Damsel special hardcover edition dust jacket

You might notice that the special edition e-books aren’t listed there. That’s because Blood Brothers will be enrolled for a 90-day term in Kindle Unlimited. The first two books have been in KU before, but not the last two, so you’ll be able to binge the series there. The plan is for the books to be enrolled by the beginning of April, which will take their 90-day term through the end of June, but that will depend upon how promptly the other portals remove the books from sale. They have to be available exclusively at Amazon for their KU term.

Yesterday, I began to unpublish the four books from portals with long distribution chains, so depending where you shop, they may be vanishing. The last place I’ll unpublish them is my own online store, since it updates immediately.

My next Kickstarter campaign will be for a new hardcover omnibus edition of my fantasy YA Dragon Diaries trilogy. Watch the blog on my Deborah Cooke site for more details about that.

The Widow’s Wager Now in Portuguese!

The Widow’s Wager, book three of The Ladies’ Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction, is now available in a Português edition. Nicholas and Eliza’s story is called A Aposta da Viúva in Português.

Ela se casou uma vez por dever, mas só voltará a fazê-lo por amor…

A Aposta da Viúva is the Portuguese edition of The Widow's Wager, book three of the Regency romance series The Ladies' Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction by Claire Delacroix

Desde que se lembra, o coração de Eliza North pertence a Nicholas Emerson, um amigo de seu irmão mais velho. Contudo, Nicholas sempre foi indiferente à Eliza, e quando ele comprou uma comissão e partiu para a guerra, ela escolheu um casamento sensato. Viúva e de volta à casa do irmão, ela reencontra o Capitão Emerson e percebe que seus sentimentos não mudaram. Ela aceita o pedido dele para ser a dama de companhia da irmã mais nova dele, Helena, esperando que assim conquiste a atenção dele, com a ajuda da misteriosa Sra. Oliver e seu guia para a sedução.

Nicholas Emerson jamais poderia aspirar se casar com a filha de um duque, em especial uma tão pragmática como Eliza sempre foi. O fato de ela ter se casado por algo tão caprichoso como o amor faz com que ele se pergunte o quão bem ele conhecia Eliza. Ela ainda é a única mulher que chama sua atenção, mas ele sabe que os ferimentos de guerra impossibilitam um casamento. Ainda assim, ele não resiste à chance de pedir a ajuda de Eliza para a segunda Temporada de Helena, e a chance de ter a companhia dela.

Nenhum dos dois antecipa o comportamento selvagem de Helena ou a aliança necessária para defender a reputação da moça. Confiante nos conselhos do manuscrito da Sra. Oliver, acerca das artes da sedução, Eliza coloca os conselhos em uso, para espanto de Nicholas. Como ele pode recusar a mulher que ama, mesmo sabendo que nunca poderá garantir a felicidade dela? Preso entre a honra e o amor, Nicholas precisa aceitar seu legado de guerra e, assim, tentar construir um futuro. Seria Eliza a mulher capaz de curar suas feridas?