Next in Regency Romance

Posted on May 30, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

What’s next in my Regency world?

The Daughter's Disguise, book seven of the Ladies' Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction series of Regency romances by Claire Delacroix

The duke and Esmeralda’s story brings many ongoing story threads to a close but as mentioned yesterday, I have a Big Finish in mind for this series.

Actually, it’s Esmeralda’s idea – she has insisted that Ophelia Pearl, the actress, deserves her own HEA. Ophelia’s romance will be a Christmas story called The Daughter’s Disguise, a holiday romp filled with the mistaken identities, disguises and secrets that have come to characterize this series.

At this point, I don’t have a publication date for the book, though it has a cover and a landing page here on the site: my schedule is quite booked this year (although Esmeralda is dismissive of that) so I’ll write the book before listing it for pre-order.

I also am thinking of running a Kickstarter campaign with special print editions of this series, with new covers. The Daughter’s Disguise would then be available first at Kickstarter and later at the retail portals. I think this series would lend itself well to character illustrations and pretty books.

You can watch the page and blog her for updates, and/or subscribe to my historical romance newsletter, Knights & Rogues, for updates.

Esmeralda has more ideas for the future (she believes sleep is over-rated) but we’ll save them for the moment, at least until I make more progress on her list so far.

A Bit More about The Duke’s Desire

Posted on May 29, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

The duke and Esmeralda’s story, The Duke’s Desire, began much earlier than the prologue of their book. While I included some glimpses into their past connections so that The Duke’s Desire would stand along, you may want to read those earlier encounters in their entirety.

FIVE star review for The Duke's Desire, book 6 of The Ladies' Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction series of Regency romances by Claire Delacroix

Here’s a brief history of appearances of Esmeralda and the Duke of Haynesdale in my books. 🙂

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

Esmeralda and made her first appearance in A Most Inconvenient Earl, book four of the Brides of North Barrows, my first Regency romance series. (Sebastian Montgomery was the man who first broke Esmeralda’s heart.)

I was intrigued by her right away.

The Duke of Haynesdale makes his first appearance in The Christmas Conquest, but his holding has appeared in my stories before. You might want to read about Bartholomew, an earlier Lord Haynesdale who reclaimed his stolen legacy in my medieval romance, The Crusader’s Kiss.

The duke and Esmeralda’s story was originally intended to be a subplot and a thread running through all the other books in the Ladies’ Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction series, but by the time I wrote The Widow’s Wager, they were starting to steal the limelight.

The Duke’s Desire begins at roughly the same time as The Hellion’s Heart, which is when I forcibly pushed these two into the background. 🙂

The Christmas Conquest, a Regency romance novella by Claire Delacroix

The duke meets Mrs. Oliver at Rockmorton in The Christmas Conquest when he visits Rockmorton at Christmas.

The duke spars with Miss Ballantyne at the soirée in The Masquerade of the Marchioness.

In The Widow’s Wager, Esmeralda is charged with Jacques’ crime and Damien decides to make matters right – and also when he visits her in prison to present his plan. (I love that scene!)

The Hellion’s Heart, book four of The Ladies’ Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction series of Regency romances by Claire Delacroix

In The Hellion’s Heart, Damien retrieves Sylvie from France while Esmeralda remains imprisoned.

The Bluestocking’s Bargain has few scenes with this pair, but it does follow Patience and Arthur’s quest to publish Esmeralda’s book.

What happens next? The Duke’s Desire ties up many ongoing plot threads in this series, but there’s one more story I want to write. More about that next time. 🙂

The Duke’s Desire – Today!

Posted on May 28, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

The Duke’s Desire is available today!

The romance between the Duke of Haynesdale and Esmeralda Ballantyne was planned to be a sub-plot that carried through the entire series. By book four, it became clear to me that these two needed their own book as they were not inclined to stay in the background. The Duke’s Desire begins at roughly the same time as The Hellion’s Heart.

This book stands alone, and includes references to earlier scenes between these two. If you would like to read all the detail, please start at the beginning of the series. The duke meets Mrs. Oliver at Rockmorton in The Christmas Conquest, and spars with Miss Ballantyne at the soirée in The Masquerade of the Marchioness. In The Widow’s Wager, Esmeralda is charged with Jacques’ crime and Damien decides to make matters right – and also when he visits her in prison to present his plan. (I love that scene!) In The Hellion’s Heart, Damien retrieves Sylvie from France. The Bluestocking’s Bargain has few scenes with this pair, but it does follow Patience and Arthur’s quest to publish Esmeralda’s book.

Tropes for The Duke's Desire, book 6 of The Ladies' Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction series of Regency romances by Claire Delacroix

The Duke's Desire, book six in The Ladies' Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction Regency romance series by Claire Delacroix

Esmeralda Ballantyne is the most successful courtesan in London, a woman envied by many and a mystery to all. When her past threatens the future of her younger sister, she finds an unexpected champion in the Duke of Haynesdale, a gentleman driven by his honor to intervene on her behalf, despite his disapproval of her trade. Does she dare to trust her newfound protector with her truth, or is the duke – like so many men of her acquaintance – interested in only one kind of compensation from her? As much as she refuses to surrender to any man, Esmeralda fears her impulse will lead her astray…will the price of capitulation be her fiercely defended independence or her heart?

Damien DeVries, the Duke of Haynesdale, abandoned his rakehell ways when his father bought his commission. The youngest of three sons, he never expected to inherit the duchy, and finds himself discontent, burdened by responsibilities and – according to his mother – past due to wed and provide an heir. The difficulty is that the only woman of interest is the forbidden beauty, Miss Ballantyne. There could not be a less appropriate choice for his duchess, but no other woman tempts him…

Drawn together by an irresistible desire, duke and courtesan agree to a short affair. But their mutual need proves insatiable, growing stronger with each night together. The duke becomes convinced that they must marry – but can Esmeralda ever trust a man fully? Her one last secret will either draw them together or drive them apart forever – when she finally shares it, can they put the betrayals of the past behind and forge a future on their own terms?

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The Duke’s Desire – Today!

Posted on May 23, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

The Duke’s Desire is available today from my online store, Hazel & Honeysuckle Press! You can also pre-order it at the portals for delivery next week.

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Update on The Duke’s Desire

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Deborah Cooke

This morning, I moved out the publication date for The Duke’s Desire to May 28. It’s just a short delay, as the book is longer than I’d anticipated and I want to give it another read-through (or two) before loading the files to the portals.

If you have pre-ordered this book already, you will likely get a message from your portal of choice about the change.

Esmeralda Ballantyne is the most successful courtesan in London, a woman envied by many and a mystery to all. When her past threatens the future of her younger sister, she finds an unexpected champion in the Duke of Haynesdale, a gentleman driven by his honor to intervene on her behalf, despite his disapproval of her trade. Does she dare to trust her newfound protector with her truth, or is the duke—like so many men of her acquaintance—interested in only one kind of compensation from her? As much as she refuses to surrender to any man, Esmeralda fears her impulse will lead her astray…will the price of capitulation be her fiercely defended independence or her heart?

Damien deVries, the Duke of Haynesdale, abandoned his rakehell ways when his father bought his commission, and the injury he sustained is a permanent reminder of his wasteful youth. The youngest of three sons, he never expected to inherit the duchy, and finds himself discontent, burdened by responsibilities and—according to his mother—past due to wed and provide an heir. The difficulty is that the only woman of interest is the forbidden beauty, Miss Ballantyne. There could not be a less inappropriate choice for his duchess, but no other woman tempts him to abandon convention and return to his wicked ways again.

Drawn together by an irresistible desire, duke and courtesan agree to a short affair. But their need for each other proves so insatiable that it cannot be denied. Does Damien dare to surrender his heart to a woman like Esmeralda? Can Esmeralda trust any man fully and give Damien his deepest desire? There is one last secret she holds that will either draw them together or drive them apart forever—when she finally shares it, can they put the betrayals of the past behind and forge a future on their own terms?

Coming in May 2025

Pre-order available at some portals: