The Final Kickstarter Bonus – and a Last Chance Sale

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

I’ve added a bonus to the Kickstarter campaign for the new editions of my Bride Quest series of medieval romances and wanted to share it with you.

It’s a fabric book cover for the hardcover editions. Here it is flat with a copy of The Princess – you can see the inside of it here.

fabric book jacket for the new hardcover edition of The Princess, a Kickstarter reward made by Deborah Cooke

There’s an elastic on the left to hold the book closed when you aren’t reading and a ribbon bookmark with a charm on the end of it.

I had the fabric printed using the design of the dust jacket without any type. Here’s the front on the left and the back on the right – you can see the charm, too.

And here’s the book cover at work. You can also see the cream interior stock in this picture.

This fabric book cover, made by me, will be included with every pledge that includes a SIGNED hardcover copy of The Princess in the Bride Quest Kickstarter campaign. You can buy just The Princess signed in hardcover, the three books in the Bride Quest I signed in hardcover or all six books, and you’ll get one of these fabric covers. Although it’s made for The Princess, it will fit The Damsel, The Countess and The Beauty, since they have spines of similar width. It might fit The Heiress and The Temptress but I don’t have copies of those two yet to be sure, and they are a bit fatter.

This is a one-time opportunity to add this exclusive swag to your collection. There won’t be any extras as I’ll be sewing them to order!

The campaign ends tonight at 8PM and there’s a Last Chance Flash Sale on the signed hardcover editions, available from 8AM Eastern to the end of the campaign. Don’t miss your chance to add this special bonus and these beautiful editions to your collection.

Visit the Kickstarter campaign for the Bride Quest 25th anniversary commemorative editions.

Easter at Airdfinnan

Posted on June 9, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

There’s another bonus story to catch up with the characters from the Bride Quest II.

Six years after the end of The Temptress, the family have all been invited to Airdfinnan to celebrate Easter, as well as the knighting of Jacqueline and Angus’ oldest son Fergus. There’s also a betrothal planned between their oldest daughter, Annelise, and Rowan’s son, Nicholas. An arranged marriage between the pair might make sense, but more than one person in attendance is keeping quiet about their doubts. The mysterious vine that bloomed during Bayard’s courtship of Esmeraude is growing again, though, seemingly determined to ensure that the path of true love succeeds. Will Nicholas make a love match instead of an arranged marriage?

Easter at Airdfinnan, the epilogue to the Bride Quest II, will be available in ebook on its own, and is included in the new mass market paperback and hard cover editions of The Temptress.

This story is available as an advance ebook and add-on in the Bride Quest Kickstarter campaign, and will be published on its own in ebook on December 12, 2023.

There wll be a Last Chance flash sale for the last 12 hours of the Kickstarter campaign, starting at 8AM Eastern on the morning of Saturday June 10. The special will be available until the campaign ends at 8 PM and will feature the SIGNED hardcover editions of The Bride Quest.

Visit the Kickstarter campaign.

25th anniversary commemorative editions of The Bride Quest at Kickstarter, May 30 to June 10

Christmas at Tullymullagh

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

Five years after the end of The Heiress, the brothers Fitzgavin gather at Castle Tullymullagh with their wives and families to celebrate the Yule, and a gentle ghost seizes the opportunity to add to the good fortune of all.

This new epilogue to the Bride Quest I is available in ebook on its own, and is included in the new 25th anniversary mass market paperback and hard cover editions of The Heiress. Although it actually occurs after events in The Countess, you don’t have to read Eglantine and Duncan’s story before this one.

This story is available as an advance ebook to all backers in the Bride Quest Kickstarter campaign – they’ll get it in July – and will be published on its own in ebook on December 12, 2023.

Pre-order links to come.

The Temptress 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

Last cover reveal! Phew. This has been a whirlwind but a fun one.

My campaign is underway at Kickstarter to celebrate 25 years since the original launch of my Bride Quest series of medieval romances. There are new editions of the six Bride Quest books coming to retailers in November. Each book has a new cover illustration of the couple. The image is the cover of the new mass market paperback edition. It’s also the case laminate on the new hardcover edition, which has an image similar to the current trade paperback on the dust jacket. These books will be available for pre-order shortly – the new editions of The Princess is already available for pre-order and I’ve added the links to the landing page here on the site.

But you can order advance copies of the new books through this Kickstarter campaign, running through June 10. I’m also doing the cover reveals during the campaign.

Here is the new cover illustration of Bayard and Esmeraude for The Temptress:

new cover illustration for The Temptress, book six of the Bride Quest series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

We end with another lovely cover. I think it’s fun that we were able to find stock to show the relationships between the characters – Bayard, for example, is the son of Burke from The Damsel, so we used a different pose of the same model (since Bayard is said to resemble his father.) He looks like more trouble, though, in this image, which is perfectly in character. And that little smile of Esmeraude’s is exactly perfect.

Bayard and Esmeraude’s story is a second Bride Quest, evocative of the challenge launched in The Princess. (So, it’s also great to have a similar palette for their illustration.) Bayard is accustomed to success in all endeavors, but Esmeraude wants to wed for love – he’ll have to lose his heart to win her hand, which isn’t part of his plan. These two lead each other on a merry chase, and it’s one that challenges both their expectations.

Tropes for The Temptress, book six of the Bride Quest series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

Here are the current editions of the book, including the ebook at left, the new mass market edition, the current trade paperback edition and the new hard cover.

current editions of The Temptress, book six of the Bride Quest series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

Here’s the new hard cover with both dust jacket and case laminate.

new hard cover edition for The Temptress, book six of the Bride Quest series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix

You can order copies of these new editions through Kickstarter until June 10, and receive your copies early, signed or personalized, and get some swag. Every backer at Kickstarter, for example, gets the ebook of the new bonus epilogue to the Bride Quest I, Christmas at Tullymullagh.

We’re getting down to the end of the campaign. Don’t miss your chance to order these new editions early and signed or personalized. The campaign ends Saturday!

Visit the Kickstarter campaign for the Bride Quest.

New Publication Date for The Scot & the Sorceress

Posted on June 6, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

I’ve moved out the pubilcation date for Murdoch and Nyssa’s story, which will now be published on July 15. I apologize for the delay but I want the series finale to be just right. If you’ve pre-ordered the book at any of the portals, you probably got a notification of the delay.

Amazon would not allow the publication date to be moved, so I had to cancel the pre-oder there. The book will be available at Amazon on the publication date, but you’ll have to order it again then. It’ll have a different ASIN.

I had planned to switch to creating pre-orders at Amazon only after I have a completed book, beginning in 2024. This just makes the change occur a little sooner.

I have two pre-orders remaining without book files – One Knight’s Desire and The Stolen Bride – and it is quite likely that I’ll have to cancel OKD at Amazon for the same reason as S&S. Although I’m writing more than usual this year, I’ve still fallen behind. I apologize for the inconvenience.

The Scot & the Sorceress, book two of the Blood Brothers trilogy of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix

Embittered by his losses and thwarted in his pursuit of vengeance, Murdoch is sworn to avenge his father. The sole means of striking a blow against his enemy, the Silver Wolf, is to seize that man’s beloved wife, Alys—but Murdoch cannot bring himself to injure a woman he has known all his life. When the wise woman of the woods offers herself in exchange for Alys’ freedom, Murdoch cannot resist temptation. The mysterious beauty lights a fire in his blood, a need for more than vengeance, and Murdoch finds himself enchanted. He never expects Nyssa, his apparent opposite, to burn with a similar desire for vengeance—but once she asks for his assistance, Murdoch swears gladly to do her will.

Nyssa is a healer and a wise woman, blessed with visions of the future to come. When her dreams fill with horrors for her kin in the distant north, she knows she must return to aid in their defense, no matter how long the odds against her. She strikes a bargain with Murdoch, a man with fearsome fighting skills, to aid in her quest, never guessing that her need to heal his hidden wounds will be so overwhelmingly powerful. Her visions warn that she has made an unholy alliance and that Murdoch’s anger will destroy her utterly—yet Nyssa cannot resist his fiery touch or the gift of watching him heal.

Bound together by passion and fury, Murdoch and Nyssa journey north, where they find her family snared in a battle that pits brother against brother. When Nyssa’s father surrenders her to his enemies for the sake of peace, Murdoch realizes that he must defend justice everywhere, beginning with the rescue of his beloved—no matter the cost to himself.

Series finale coming July 15, 2023

Pre-order available at some portals: