Blood Brothers Heading for KU

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

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

This fall, I enrolled most of my historical romances in Kindle Unlimited, since Amazon is the portal where I sell the most historical romance. The exceptions were the Brides of North Barrows series—some of those stories are in anthologies that are available at all portals, so they’re ineligible for Kindle Unlimited and Blood Brothers. The Wolf & the Witch is available at all portals and so is the pre-order for The Hunter & the Heiress. Having the other books in KU working out fairly well and it sure is a lot less work to manage.

I had a hard look at Blood Brothers this past weekend, and it is amazing how heavily skewed the numbers are toward Amazon. I’ve started to take The Wolf & the Witch down from wide publication, with the goal of enrolling it in Kindle Unlimited by the middle of November. It’s come down first from the aggregators and KOBO, since those distribution chains take the longest to change.

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

The Hunter & the Heiress is available for pre-order at some portals and of course, I want to honor the pre-orders that exist. I’ll try a strategy popular with historical romance authors with this book—the book will be published at those portals so the pre-orders can be fulfilled. It will available in wide distribution for a week before being moved into Kindle Unlimited and made exclusive to Amazon. This works well for other authors and may prove to be the path going forward.

The Regencies sell much better than the medievals at other portals, so I’m thinking about starting another Regency series that will be widely available.

Five-Star Reviews for A Baron for All Seasons

Posted on September 9, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

One of my favorite parts of publishing a book is seeing the first reviews come in – especially if they’re good ones! Here are the first two reviews for A Baron for All Seasons, and they’re both five-stars!

A Baron for All Seasons, #3 of the Brides of North Barrows series of Regency romances by Claire Delacroix

“The characters come to life on the pages and pull you in to their world. Delacroix is a masterful story teller who weaves together a fascinating tale of family drama, societal norms, perseverance, honor and love. I devoured it within a day…an exceptionally written, delightful tale of Regency romance.”

Here’s the full 5-star review from Naomi, posted on Bookbub.

Tina has also posted a five-star review on Goodreads:
“Surprises abound and readers will love the eventual HEA for these two young lovers. Ms. Delacroix writes believable, memorable characters and lovely and descriptive prose that moves the story along. I highly recommend A Baron for All Seasons.”

You can read Tina’s entire review here.

Have you reserved your copy of this second-chance Regency romance yet?

Rupert Haskell has always thought that Anthea, his friend Alexander’s younger sister, would make an excellent choice of bride, but the loss of his inheritance made it impossible for him to court her. Caught between his honor and his heart, the only way he can show his esteem for Anthea is remove the stain from her name—even if that means having to watch her marry another man.

Anthea Armstrong left London in her debut season when she was falsely accused of theft. Now that the real villain has been apprehended, she’s returned to town to arrange her brother’s wedding. She hopes to once again encounter the mysterious suitor who stole her heart with a kiss at a masquerade ball…when she realizes the mysterious man is none other than Rupert Haskell, can she convince this proud man of honor to take a chance on love?

A Baron for All Seasons will be available in September 2021.

Pre-order available at some portals:

A Baron for All Seasons will also be available in mass market paperback:

First Knights Today!

Posted on August 17, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

First Knights, a digital bundle of four medieval romance series starters by Claire Delacroix

First Knights includes four medieval romance series starters from the Queen of Medieval Romance, Claire Delacroix. Be swept away to a realm of pageantry and chivalry, where each knight competes for his lady’s favor, each lady knows her heart’s desire—and love conquers all. Included in this digital bundle are four first-in-series medieval romances: One Knight Enchanted, The Princess, The Beauty Bride and The Crusader’s Bride.

In One Knight Enchanted—book #1 of the Rogues & Angels series—Annelise seeks refuge at a keep when she is separated from her party and pursued by hungry wolves. The price of admission is marriage to its mysterious lord, and she agrees—only to find herself in a luxurious palace, and seduced by her secretive spouse. Her new husband believes he is doomed, but Annelise knows that love can conquer all. Can she save her husband from the curse placed upon him, or will breaking her promise to him cost any chance to win his wary heart?

In The Princess—book #1 of the Bride Quest series—Brianna is obliged to choose one of three brothers as her husband. Instead, she challenges them, vowing to wed the one who brings her a gift that makes her laugh. She has no intention of laughing at all, but one brother, Luc, declines to follow her whim. Sparks fly between the willful princess and the disillusioned knight after his brothers depart, and from this battle of wills, an unexpected love dawns. When the other knights return, will Luc take up his sword again to defend the maiden who has claimed his heart, or will Brianna be compelled to wed another?

In The Beauty Bride—book #1 of the Jewels of Kinfairlie series—Madeline flees her arranged marriage to the notorious outlaw Rhys FitzHenry, only to be pursued and seduced by her stubborn betrothed. Is she just a possession to this man who wants a son above all else, or can she capture his love for her own? Why does Rhys tell her so many stories, and what do they reveal about her enigmatic husband’s hidden heart?

In The Crusader’s Bride—book #1 of the Champions of St. Euphemia series—the widow Ysmaine makes a marriage of convenience, accepting the offer of a Templar knight in Jerusalem who is leaving the order to return to France. When their party is attacked, Ysmaine learns that Gaston carries a secret treasure in trust for the Templars, Ysmaine knows that her new husband’s survival may depend upon her assistance—and that this man of honor has stolen her heart. Can she persuade him of the merit of love and trust before it’s too late?

The First Knights digital boxed set includes four thrilling series starters by Claire Delacroix, bursting with medieval romance, adventure, suspense, and love everlasting. Be swept away to Claire’s medieval world in this introduction to four of her medieval romance series today!

Available Today!

A Most Inconvenient Earl

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

The Brides of North Barrows series of Regency romance novellas will be completed soon!

In September, A Baron for All Seasons will be published. This is Anthea and Rupert’s story. Click on the cover to see the synopsis and buy links.

In March, A Most Inconvenient Earl will be published. This is Eurydice and Sebastian’s story, and it will be included in a Christmas anthology this fall. In March, it will be available on its own, in ebook and print.

I’m so excited to be finishing up this series!

A Most Inconvenient Earl, book four of the Brides of North Barrows series of Regency romance novellas by Claire Delacroix

Eurydice is convinced that a marriage of convenience to the notorious Sebastian Montgomery would be ideal: in exchange for one child, she can retreat to his country house to read and write to her heart’s content, while he continues to create scandal in London. The only trouble is that nothing with Sebastian goes according to plan, and she soon finds herself falling in love with her unpredictable, mischievous and secretly honorable husband. How could she possibly claim the heart of such a wicked rogue?

Sebastian is bored with life and all its amusements, until his friend’s ward makes a startling proposal. He likes that Eurydice surprises and challenges him—it’s only fair that he ensure that she has more experience of life to write about. A wild ride to Gretna Green and a very hasty courtship convince him that resilient and clever Eurydice is the perfect wife for him. He intends to court her properly and win her heart in time—but Eurydice turns the tables on him but soliciting advice in seduction from his former mistress, which leaves Sebastian scrambling to repair a Christmas—and a marriage—gone awry.

Solo edition coming March 2022.

Pre-order available at some portals:

The Brides of North Barrows

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

Oh, things have changed around again!

I told you recently that Anthea and Rupert’s book – A Baron for All Seasons – would be included in an anthology available this fall. Well, this is a post about best laid plans going awry! I was challenged to make their romance a Christmas story, which is what needs to be in the anthology. The story starts in January, at the end of A Duke by Any Other Name, and it just felt mean to make Anthea and Rupert wait almost a year for their HEA, especially since this is a second chance romance and they’ve been waiting a while already. I did a lot of walking and thinking and finally surrendered to their idea of how the book should be – and I love the result! I went back to the original cover, which I also love.

This all meant that I needed a story for that anthology. Fortunately, I’d been working on Eurydice’s story when I was stuck, which is set at Christmas. How perfect is that? It will be in the anthology – you’ll meet Sebastian in A Baron for All Seasons and I hope you like him as much as I do. A Most Inconvenient Earl will be available on its own in 2022, and also in a print edition. This will complete the Brides of North Barrows series.

The anthology is planned for October release, so I set up the pre-order for Anthea and Rupert’s book for September. You can reserve your copy now. 🙂

Anthea Armstrong left London in her debut season when she was falsely accused of theft. Now that the real villain has been apprehended, she’s thrilled to return to Town to help arrange her brother’s wedding. Even better, she might once again encounter the mysterious suitor who stole her heart with a kiss at a masquerade ball and have a wedding of her own.

Rupert Haskell has always thought that Anthea, his friend Alexander’s younger sister, would make an excellent choice of bride, but the loss of his inheritance during her debut season made it impossible for him to honorably court her. The only service he can do for the lady who holds his heart is erase the stain entirely from her name—even if that means having to watch her marry another man. Caught between his principles and his growing love, how can Rupert deny his heart once he knows the lady shares his regard?

Pre-order available at some portals: