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.

The Beauty is a Free Read!

Posted on October 2, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

The Beauty, book five of my Bride Quest series of medieval romances, is a free read at most portals – today through October 30! Fall in love with Angus and Jacqueline’s story today!

Remember that there are new print editions of this series coming in November, in both hard cover and mass market formats.

The Beauty, #5 The Princess, #1 of the Bride Quest series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

Certain she will never wed for love, sworn to let no man possess her for her beauty alone, Jacqueline de Crevy has vowed to become a bride of God. But en route to the convent of Inveresbeinn, her party is ambushed by a knight, who snatches Jacqueline from her saddle and spirits her away with him.

He is Angus MacGillivray—not the black-hearted ravisher she fears but a valiant man of honor who has returned to Scotland seeking justice…and revenge. Angus has come home from the Crusades to find his family murdered and his birthright seized. Sworn to reclaim his rightful lands, he has kidnapped the stepdaughter of Duncan, chieftain of Clan MacQuarrie — Angus’s avowed enemy.

But his lovely captive refuses to be the chattel—or ransom—of any man…until Jacqueline senses the yearning heart beneath Angus’s embittered facade. In spite of himself, Angus has let this defiant beauty touch his very soul. And as desire flames between them, a lady fair and her battle-scarred knight will fight for a love that could banish all the sorrows of the past…

“With its well-drawn background and escalating sexual tension, The Beauty is a tale to warm a winter’s night.”
Romantic Times

The Beauty, book five of the Bride Quest series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix in its original mass market edition — Original mass market edition

“A lovely story!”
The Oakland Press

USA Today Bestseller

New York Times Bestseller

Winner
2001 Best Long Historical Romance
Greater Detroit RWA Booksellers’ Best Awards

A Rhapsody Book Club Selection

tropes for The Beauty, book five of the Bride Quest series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

“Another fantastic medieval romance from this extremely talented author! Wow, I can’t praise this book enough. I loved these two characters so much, as well as the storyline. Containing myriad twists and turns and surprises before reaching stunning completion, you won’t want to miss reading this one!”
Old Book Barn Gazette

Buy The Beauty ebook:

“The Beauty is a heart-wrenching beauty-and-the-beast tale…a tale readers can devour. Thank goodness there are other books in the Bride Quest series—I’m hooked!”
The Romance Journal

Upon a Midnight Clear

Posted on September 29, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

I’ve made a little change this week – Upon a Midnight Clear, the bonus epilogue to my Regency romance The Christmas Conquest, is now included in the ebook of The Christmas Conquest as well as the print edition. Previously, you had to sign up for my newsletter to download the bonus epilogue.

If you bought The Christmas Conquest after September 28, 2023, you’ll get both.

If you bought The Christmas Conquest before September 28, 2023, your portal of choice might offer an updated version, or you can download if from BookFunnel using the link below.

BookFunnel

GoodReads

If you have the newsletter sign up link, it should still work.

The Christmas Conquest, a Regency romance novella by Claire Delacroix

Love was not part of the plan when this marriage was arranged…

Rhys Bettencourt, Baron Trevelaine, had every intention of avoiding his family’s curse. An arranged marriage to a plain bluestocking of fortune should have ensured the provision of at least one heir. After all, it was beloved Bettencourt wives who always died in childbirth. But practical Catherine undermined her husband’s scheme by stealing his heart. The only way for Rhys to protect her is to deny them both physical satisfaction, against his own desires. 

Catherine Carruthers was content to wed for practical considerations and accept an arranged marriage to please her family. Two years later, though, Catherine is certain that her dashing aristocrat of a husband regrets his choice and that her marriage will never be more. She accepts an invitation to Rockmorton Manor for Christmas to decide whether to leave Rhys and return to her father’s house. Upon arrival, though, Catherine discovers pages of sensual advice left in her room—as well as Rhys determined to convince her to stay. Can their marriage be saved? 

Armed with information and with little to lose, Catherine embarks upon a campaign of seduction that Rhys is powerless to resist—even as he fears for Catherine’s fate if he surrenders to temptation. Caught between love and the wretched curse, can Rhys find a way to keep his cherished wife safely by his side?

Buy the ebook:

New Blood Brothers HardCover Editions

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

My next Kickstarter campaign will feature new hardcover editions of the four Blood Brothers medieval Scottish romances. It will launch on February 13 and run through the 24th.

As you know, the books are all available in ebook, in trade paperback and in large print hardcovers right now – plus the first two are available in audio. I’ve been able to simplify this campaign since I have a better idea what you all like. 🙂 We’ll focus on the signed books this time.

I’ll show you the new covers when they’re done – they’ll have couples on the case laminate and no people on the dust jacket. There will be postcards of the new images, coloring pages, stickers and a MAP, as well as a Blood Brothers world guide in ebook. The Early Bird special is a set of four vellum inserts, one for each book, that go along with the set of signed copies of all four new hardcovers. The vellum images will be the cover art from the current trade paperbacks.

The preview page is live at Kickstarter now, and you can follow it to be notified when the campaign launches.

Follow the Blood Brothers campaign.

Blood Brothers medieval romances new hardcovers coming to Kickstarter in February 2024

Shifting Publication Dates

Posted on September 25, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

I moved a couple of publication dates. If you had pre-ordered either of these books, you’ll have received a notification from your portal of choice.

One Knight's Desire, book three of the Rogues & Angels series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

First of all, One Knight’s Desire will be published November 14 instead of October 24. Since there isn’t an Amazon link, I wanted a little extra time for that to populate after the final book is uploaded. Also, I really like having the print edition available on the same day as the ebook, so this short delay will ensure that’s the case for Lothair and Magdala’s story.

The Stolen Bride, book three of the Brides of Inverfyre series of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix

I’ve also moved the publication date for The Stolen Bride into the new year. In this case, the book will be done close to the previous publication date, but the portals are very slow at processing content between US Thanksgiving and the New Year. We’ll just avoid all possible complications and delays over the holidays by moving the publication date for Ramsay and Evangeline’s book to January 15 instead of December 26. This move means that the Amazon pre-order has been cancelled and that the book will have a different Amazon link when it’s published.

This is the last step in my transition away from asset-less pre-orders. From here on out, my books will only be available for pre-order when the book is done!

Print Editions of The Scot & the Sorceress

Posted on September 22, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

Links are live for the print editions of The Scot & the Sorceress! Murdoch and Nyssa’s story is available in both a trade paperback edition and a large print hardcover edition. Some links are still populating, but the most popular ones are live.

Remember that there will be collectors’ hard cover editions of all four Blood Brothers books, coming to Kickstarter in February 2024.