New Edition of The Crusader’s Bride in Spanish

Posted on November 3, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

The rights to the Spanish translation of The Crusader’s Bride (La novia del caballero de las Cruzadas) have reverted to me, which means there’s a new edition of this book out in the world. It also means that now all the books in the series are linked up in a row at the retail portals, which makes me happy. The new edition has no reviews, which makes me less happy, but it’s on sale for just 99cents and that might help.

The links have also changed for the other four books at KOBO, just FYI. They lost their reviews with the change, too. 😦

The Crusader's Bride, book one of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, Spanish edition

The Crusader's Bride, book one of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, in Spanish

Gaston luchaba por el deber y el honor, hasta que Ysmaine lo tentó a luchar por su amor…

Cuando el caballero templario Gaston hereda inesperadamente los bienes de su familia, sabe que necesita una esposa y un heredero. Un matrimonio de conveniencia con una viuda que necesita ayuda es una solución práctica y la pareja de recién casados abandona Jerusalén, encargándose de la entrega de un paquete para los Templarios. Lejos de la vida que ha conocido durante años, Gaston rápidamente se da cuenta de que no está siguiendo su plan, especialmente su misteriosa esposa, cuya presencia despierta un fuego inesperado…

Ysmaine, que ha enviudado dos veces, duda de que se vuelva a casar otra vez, y mucho menos de tener un matrimonio por interés, hasta que se ve encantada por el rudo caballero que intenta defenderla. Ysmaine vuelve a casarse, no solo por su propia elección, sino con un guerrero cuyo honor admira. Está decidida a demostrarle a Gaston que el matrimonio tiene más que ofrecerles a ambos que un heredero, pero primero debe ganarse la confianza del hombre cauteloso con el que se ha casado impulsivamente…

Ninguno de los dos se da cuenta de que a Gaston se le ha confiado el tesoro de los Templarios, y mucho menos de que alguien en su pequeño grupo tiene la intención de robar el premio a cualquier precio. En un grupo de extraños con secretos, ¿podrá Gaston atreverse a confiar en su nueva esposa? ¿Podrá Ysmaine convencer a Gaston de que le confíe lo que sabe? ¿Podrán resolver el misterio juntos antes de que el plan del ladrón se haga realidad y todo esté perdido?

Esta es una traducción al español neutral de América Latina.

Compre La novia del caballero de las Cruzadas ebook:

Digital vs. Print

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

One of the fun things about creating new editions is learning more about the printing process, now just what is possible but how different designs print. There’s often a variation in appearance between the digital image and the final printed product, and I enjoy the challenge of figuring out why – then fixing it.

The new covers for the Champions of St. Euphemia special editions are a good example. They are gorgeous covers, created by Dar Albert. Here are all five of them, plus the new Reader Companion cover:

The Crusader's Bride, book one of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, special edition

The Crusader's Heart, book two of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, special edition

The Crusader's Kiss, book three of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, special edition

The Crusader's Vow, book four of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, special edition

The Crusader's Handfast, book five of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, special edition

The Reader Companion for the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

When the first copies of the books arrived, I thought they looked a bit dark. This would be because there’s very high ink coverage on this image (the colours are saturated) and the ink would expand slightly on the paper used for the cover. I chose a matte stock which is velvety but slightly more absorbent than a coated glossy paper. Each bit of ink spreads a little bit, and when there’s a lot of ink coverage, the image ends up looking darker. This is called dot gain.

I sent a set of books to Dar to see what she thought and she agreed. She adjusted the files, I uploaded them again, and ordered a new set of books. They arrived yesterday, so I photographed them outside in the shade. The original version is on the left and the updated cover on the right.

The Crusader's Bride, book one of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

I mostly see the difference in the type, but they are brighter overall.

The Crusader's Heart, book two of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, special edition trade paperback

The Crusader's Kiss, book three of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, special edition trade paperback

The difference also seems greater to me in the two green covers.

The Crusader's Vos, book four of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, special edition trade paperback

The Crusader's Handfast, book five of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, special edition trade paperback

These are the trade paperbacks but the dust jackets on the hard covers are printed on the same paper.

Also, my proof copy of the new Reader Companion arrived. It’s the same trim size as the books, so it’s not that thick, but it looks great. I like the big gem on the back. 🙂

These books were available in my July Kickstarter campaign, which is open for late pledges through August 7. Visit the campaign here.

After that, you can order the books from my online store, right here, for delivery after February 2026. Shop the Champions at Hazel & Honeysuckle Press here.

The Champions of St. Euphemia special editions are coming to Kickstarter in July 2025

Five HardCovers

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

I made a video of the five new special edition hardcovers of the Champions of St. Euphemia. Have a look!

I think they’re really pretty.

There will be one small change to them at this point. I think the covers are a bit dark in real life, so I sent a set to the designer to have her look at them. She agrees and has lightened them a little bit, so they’ll print brighter and more jewel-toned. It’s one of those variations between how the image appears on screen and how it appears in print, and is the result of paper being a bit absorbent. The ink spreads a bit into the paper, which makes the printed result look darker. This is called dot gain and it’s another reason why it’s a good plan to order proofs in advance.

If you look at the video for the trade paperbacks, you may notice how vivid the colours are on the duplexed illustrations of the couples on the insides of the cover. The paper used for the covers is coated on that side, so it’s less absorbent – so the image is brighter.

You can order these books through my Kickstarter campaign now, or pre-order them in my online store for delivery next year. They won’t be available in stores.

First Stretch Goal for the Champion of St. Euphemia Kickstarter campaign for new editions - unlocked

We have unlocked the stretch goal for the set of five postcards. Yay! Now we’re stretching to put gold foil on the backs of the postcards.

Second Stretch Goal for the Champion of St. Euphemia Kickstarter campaign for new editions

The Kickstarter campaign goes through July 31, so don’t miss out on all the extra goodies available through the campaign! Back the campaign here.

Five Trade Paperbacks

Posted on July 14, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

The first set of special edition trade paperbacks for the Champions of St. Euphemia have arrived, so today we’ll have a look at them.

As well as the new covers, these editions feature a duplexed cover with the illustration from the current retail editions printed on the inside of the cover. They also include the new series map and background images on the chapters.

These trade paperbacks are available through my current Kickstarter campaign, which runs until the end of the month. After that, you’ll be able to order them in my online store for delivery after February 2026 or for pick-up at in-person events after February. They live on the Champions page in my online store.

Backers of the Kickstarter campaign get a lot of bonus goodies along with their books. First, there’s the digital download of the new Reader Companion for all backers, as well as the downloadable map, ten downloadable family trees and five downloadable colouring pages.

Backers of the print editions will get a signed bookplate for each book ordered, as well as a luxe foil bookmark and a set of stickers featuring the illustrations.

I’ve also added a tier to get just the print goodies – the stickers and the bookmark – along with the trade paperback version of the Reader Companion. It’s available as a reward, or as an add-on, if you choose a single book.

The printer sent me a notification that the hard covers shipped at the end of last week, so I should be able to show them to you soon. 🙂

The Kickstarter campaign runs through July 31 and has funded. Don’t miss out on the extra goodies for backers!

More Pieces for the Champions Kickstarter Campaign

Posted on July 7, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

I’ve been a bit quiet this past month, as I’ve been juggling a lot of things. One of those things is the Kickstarter campaign for the new editions of The Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances. It’s coming together really well, so let’s have another peek before it launches on Wednesday.

First up, we have a map.

map for the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances, created by Sarah Waites at The Illustrated Page

The map is included in all new editions (ebook, trade paperback and hardcover). It will also be available as a digital download for all backers, so you can print out a larger version at home.

I’ve already told you about the new Reader Companion, which is also a digital reward for all backers.

Reader Companion for the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances, available at Kickstarter in July

I’ve also made the Reader Companion a pre-order in my online store. It will deliver in February 2026. There will also be a trade paperback edition of the Reader Companion, available at Kickstarter in July or in my online store in February. It won’t be distributed to retailers.

Buy directly from the author at Hazel & Honeysuckle Press and have your ebook delivered via BookFunnel

When you order all five print books through the campaign, you’ll get a set of five signed bookplates, a set of five round stickers featuring the illustrations of the couples, and a luxe bookmark with foil. You can order drop-shipped books, which saves on shipping costs, and these other rewards will be mailed to you separately.

Rewards with five print books, including signed bookplates, stickers and a foil bookmark

The digital rewards on this campaign include the Reader Companion, the download of the map, but also a download of the ten family trees from the Reader Companion, and five colouring pages, too.

Digital rewards for the Kickstarter campaign for the special editions of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances

Kickstarter has added a new feature supporting payments by installment. If your pledge is $175 CAD or more, this option will be offered to you. It divides the pledge into payments – I think there are three in total. One third of the pledge is charged at the end of the campaign, then the other two at 30 day intervals. Please read the details at Kickstarter, in case I’m mistaken about this.

I’ve also enabled late pledges on this campaign, which means you can back certain tiers until August 15. Between the end of the campaign and August 15, however, those tiers are slightly more expensive.

I also made two videos this weekend. The first shows my proof editions of The Crusader’s Bride – the covers are perfect, but I’ll tell you about the changes made to the interiors for the final books.

The second shows two of the additional rewards included with the top reward tier, the one that includes all five signed hardcovers.

The campaign launches on Wednesday July 9, and will conclude on July 31. Follow the campaign here to be notified at launch.

new hardcover special edition of The Crusader's Bride, book one of the Champions of St. Euphemia series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, coming to Kickstarter in July 2025

Claire Delacroix

Bestselling Author of Medieval Romance and Fantasy Romance

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