2024 in Review

It’s time to have a look at the year that’s finishing up, then peek into the one that’s about to start.

new editions of the Blood Brothers series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, in hard cover and trade paperback, launched at Kickstarter

In 2024, I created new print editions of my Blood Brothers series of medieval romances, in both trade paperback and hard cover, with new illustrations of the couples. I launched those editions with a Kickstarter campaign.

I published three new books this year:

The Stolen Bride, book three of the Brides of Inverfyre series of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix
The Hellion’s Heart, book four of The Ladies’ Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction series of Regency romances by Claire Delacroix
The Bluestocking's Bargain, book five in The Ladies' Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction Regency romance series by Claire Delacroix

First, I (finally) wrote and published The Stolen Bride, Evangeline and Duncan’s story and book #3 of the Brides of Inverfyre series. That wrapped up my To Write list for Ravensmuir, Inverfyre and Kinfairlie. Will there be more stories set in that world? Probably, but I wanted to get to a good resting point and we’re there now.

I also wrote and published the next two stories in my Regency romance series, The Ladies’ Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction. Both The Hellion’s Heart and The Bluestocking’s Bargain are now available in ebook and print.

I published some translations this year, too.

A Aposta da Viúva is the Portuguese edition of The Widow's Wager, book three of the Regency romance series The Ladies' Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction by Claire Delacroix
O Coração de uma Diabrete is the Portuguese edition of The Hellion's Heart, a Regency romance by Claire Delacroix

The Widow’s Wager and The Hellion’s Heart are now available in Portuguese.

La canaglia is the Italian translation of The Rogue, book one of the Rogues of Ravensmuir series of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix
Ladro di cuore is the Italian edition of The Scoundrel, book two of the Rogues of Ravensmuir series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix
Il cacciatore e l’ereditiera is the Italian edition of The Hunter & the Heiress, book two of the Blood Brothers series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix
Al mio unico desiderio is the Italian edition of The Stolen Bride, book 3 of the Brides of Inverfyre series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix
Un cuore dall' inferno is the Italian edition of The Hellion's Heart, a Regency romance by Claire Delacroix

The Rogue, The Scoundrel, The Hunter & the Heiress, The Stolen Bride and The Hellion’s Heart are available in Italian. I’ve just received the Italian translation for The Dragon & the Damsel and have that to format and publish, too.

The Wolf & the Witch Spanish edition
El corazón del granuja is the Spanish edition of The Hellion's Heart, a Regency romance by Claire Delacroix

The Wolf & the Witch and The Hellion’s Heart are both available in Spanish.

Die schon Braut, The Beauty Bride book one of the Jewels of Kinfairlie series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix in its German edition
La leggenda della Rosa Rosso, The Rose Red Bride, book two of the Jewels of Kinfairlie series of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix in Italian
The Beauty Bride, book one of the Jewels of Kinfairlie series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix, Portuguese edition

I’ve also had the rights to some translations revert to me, so have been making them available in new editions. The Beauty Bride in German was one of those books, and it’s now a free series starter at the portals. The Rose Red Bride in Italian is now available in my edition, as is The Beauty Bride in Portuguese. There are a lot more of these reversions coming in 2025 – once I have all four titles in the Jewels of Kinfairlie series available in any language, I’ll make The Beauty Bride a free read in that language.

Kickstarter campaign for the 25th anniversary of Love Potion #9 by Claire Delacroix writing as Claire Cross

I have a Kickstarter campaign planned for January to launch the new editions of my time travel romances. The featured title in the campaign is Love Potion #9, but all four of those books (originally published under the pseudonym Claire Cross) will be available in special paperback editions in that campaign.

Love Potion #9, a time travel romance by Claire Delacroix writing as Claire Cross, new cover
Once Upon a Kiss, a time travel romance by Claire Delacroix writing as Claire Cross, new cover
The Last Highlander, a time travel romance by Claire Delacroix writing as Claire Cross, 2022 edition

The new versions with these covers will be available from retailers in October. You can get your copy signed at Kickstarter, as well as early, with some fun swag. Follow the campaign here to be notified at launch.

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

I also have a Kickstarter campaign in preview for hardcover editions of The Champions of St. Euphemia, which I hope to launch later in 2025. You can follow the campaign here to be notified at launch.

And now, let’s talk about new stories. First up in 2025 will be The Duke’s Desire, the sixth book in my Regency romance series. The pre-order is up at the portals now.

I’m so looking forward to 2025!

2022 In Review

Some years fly by in a hurry and some move a little more slowly. 2022 seemed like a slow-mover to me, but maybe I was the one moving slowly. Covid really gave me a kick in January and it took me a while to get back to my regular speed. I took the month of May off, choosing to spend it in my garden and rethink my work schedule. That was great and I may make a habit of it. After that, I decided to concentrate on my historical romances for the rest of the year.

Claire Delacroix 2022 New Releases in historical romance

New Releases:

The Hunter & the Heiress was a surprise addition to the Blood Brothers series – I hadn’t originally expected Amaury to need his own book, but I was happily mistaken in that. The Dragon & the Damsel was just as much fun to write as I’d anticipated as Rafael and Ceara were a great match for each other. Both of these books were also published in large print hardcover editions, like The Wolf & the Witch, and The Hunter & the Heiress is also available in audio.

The Hunter & the Heiress, book two of the Blood Brothers series of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix
The Dragon and the Damsel, book three of the Blood Brothers trilogy of medieval Scottish romances by Claire Delacroix

I also returned to the Regency era and that interesting courtesan Esmeralda Ballantyne. She inspired a new series called The Ladies’ Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction. I published the first two works in that series, both of which were longer than I’d originally expected. I had this notion that they would be novellas of 25K words or so. Nope. The Christmas Conquest is 40K words and The Masquerade of the Marchioness is close to 70K. I need to block out more time to write these because they are longer, but they are a lot of fun to write.

The Christmas Conquest, a Regency romance novella by Claire Delacroix
The Masquerade of the Marchioness, a Regency romance by Claire Delacroix

I also participated in several multi-author anthologies this year, including Twelve Lords for Yuletide and Rogues, Ladies and Mistletoe.

Translations:

This year was enormously busy for translations of my historical romances. As you can see below, there were thirty-two of them altogether. While it’s fun to see my books in other languages, I’ve dialed it back twice already because the formatting and uploading is just too much work. I’d rather be writing new stories.

Claire Delacroix 2022 German Historical Romance Translations
Claire Delacroix 2022 Spanish Historical Romance Translations
Claire Delacroix 2022 Italian Historical Romance Translations
Claire Delacroix 2022 Portuguese Historical Romance Translations

Other Changes:

I did have most of my books in Kindle Unlimited for about a year, but decided this past fall that it wasn’t working out for me. They’re available at all portals again – although my Apple links have changed – and the reloading is a job I’m glad to have done. Some of my translations are still enrolled in KU and we’ll see how that goes in 2023. My newsletter moved to a new service, as well.

Coming in 2023:

I have several pre-orders already listed for the year ahead. First, there will be the next book in the Regency series, The Widow’s Wager, which features the younger sister of the Duke of Haynesdale and her secret crush, her brother’s best friend. The Scot and the Sorceress will be next – that’s Murdoch and Nyssa’s story and the finale of the Blood Brothers series. After that, I’m returning to the Rogues & Angels series with One Knight’s Desire, a tale of disguise and unexpected love. It’s pretty clear what I’ll be doing for the first six months of the year!

The Widow's Wager, book 3 of The Ladies' Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction series of Regency romances by Claire Delacroix
The Widow’s Wager
The Scot and the Sorceress, book four of the Blood Brothers trilogy by Claire Delacroix
The Scot & the Sorceress
One Knight's Desire, book three of the Rogues & Angels series of medieval romances by Claire Delacroix
One Knight’s Desire