Countess of Scandal Blog Tour (Feb 8 - 19)

Countess of Scandal
by Laurel McKee

As children, Eliza Blacknall and William Denton ran wild over the fields of southern Ireland and swore they would be friends forever. Then fate took Will away to England, while Eliza stayed behind to become a proper Irish countess.

Years later, Will finally makes his way home-as an English soldier sent to crush the Irish uprising. When he spies the lovely Eliza, he is captivated by the passionate woman she has become. But Eliza's passions have led her to join the Irish rebel cause, and Will and Eliza now find themselves on opposite sides of a dangerous conflict.

When Ireland explodes in bloody rebellion, Will's regiment is ordered to the front lines, and he is forced to choose between his duty to the English king and his love for Eliza and their Irish homeland.







Laurel McKee lives in Oklahoma with a menagerie of two cats, a Pug, and a bossy miniature poodle, and loves dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs, and watching the Food Network-even though she doesn't cook.

Participating Blogs:

http://frugalplus.com/ Review, Giveaway 2/8/2010
http://www.mybookaddictionandmore.wordpress.com Review, Giveaway, Q&A 2/8/2010
justanothernewblog.blogspot.com/ Giveaway 2/8/2010
http://myfoolishwisdom.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway, Q&A 2/9/2010
www.booksoulmates.com Review, Giveaway, Q&A 2/10/2010
http://thebooktree.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway 2/11/2010
www.froggaritasbookcase.net Review, Giveaway 2/12/2010
http://mom2mycrazy2.blogspot.com Giveaway 2/13/2010
www.mgpblog.com Review, Giveaway 2/13/2010
http://chaoticbookobbsession.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway, Q&A 2/14/2010
http://www.rundpinne.com Review 2/15/2010
http://booksandmakeup.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway 2/15/2010
http://brokenteepee.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway 2/16/2010
http://bridget3420.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway 2/16/2010
http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com Review 2/16/2010
www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com Review, Giveaway 2/17/2010
http://www.renees-reads.blogspot.com/ Review, Giveaway 2/19/2010
www.thebookgirl.net Review, Giveaway 2/19/2010
http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/ Review, Giveaway 2/19/2010
http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/ Review, Giveaway 2/19/2010
http://www.madhattermom.com Review, Giveaway 2/19/2010

Countess of Scandal by Laurel McKee - Giveaway!

Countess of Scandal
by Laurel McKee

As children, Eliza Blacknall and William Denton ran wild over the fields of southern Ireland and swore they would be friends forever. Then fate took Will away to England, while Eliza stayed behind to become a proper Irish countess.

Years later, Will finally makes his way home-as an English soldier sent to crush the Irish uprising. When he spies the lovely Eliza, he is captivated by the passionate woman she has become. But Eliza's passions have led her to join the Irish rebel cause, and Will and Eliza now find themselves on opposite sides of a dangerous conflict.

When Ireland explodes in bloody rebellion, Will's regiment is ordered to the front lines, and he is forced to choose between his duty to the English king and his love for Eliza and their Irish homeland.

Listen to an excerpt.


Five Fun Facts

1) When I was a teenager, my friends were mostly fan-girls for movie stars and rock musicians. Not me. I was a geeky history fan-girl for people like Madame de Pompadour, Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, and Elizabeth I. (I had one friend who inexplicably liked Mary Queen of Scots! Despite the odds, we are still friends.) This made me a weird 14-year-old but has given me endless inspiration for stories. For Countess of Scandal, I looked at women like Mary Ann McCracken, Emily the Duchess of Leinster, and Margaret King.

2) As well as being a historical fan-girl, I’m a bona fide girly-girl, with secret guilty pleasures like Hello Kitty, bright pink shoes, and MAC lipgloss. That means I spend huge amounts of time researching my heroines’ wardrobes.

3) I had an inkling for the beginning of a story that would grow into Countess of Scandal years ago on a tour of the grand house Castletown outside of Dublin. Castletown was once owned by Lady Louisa Conolly, one of the famous Lennox sisters, and the home is stunningly gorgeous. The tour guide provided lots of information about the lives of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy and what they faced in 1798. It just took me a while to meet the characters to fill the story!

4) I have no sisters and always sort of wanted one. I even made my poor little brother have tea parties with me when we were kids. Maybe that’s why I love writing connected stories about sisters.

5) I always create characters collages when I start a new book. This usually entails copious amounts of time online looking at photos of hunky actors. Very hard work, but I’m willing to make the sacrifice for my book! For Countess of Scandal, I was inspired by Rupert Friend in uniform in Pride and Prejudice, and I pictured Eliza as looking something like Rachel Weisz. (I also create soundtracks for books! Lots of Chieftains and the Young Dubliners for this book…)

Giveaway

I have five copies of this book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) tell us if you were a fan-girl of movie stars and rock musicians or a historical fan-girl like Laurel McKee and leave your email address. (I was a fan-girl of movie stars and rock musicians - remember Leif Garret? and then there was a variety show I think in the late 70's with the Keane (?) brothers - very short lived but it was the first fan letter I ever wrote!)

For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)

This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Feb 10th! Good luck!

Mailbox Monday/In My Mailbox 12-14-2009

Mailbox Monday is hosted at The Printed Page or In Your Mailbox at The Story Siren. Please stop by those posts and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week!

Thicker than Blood by C.J. Darlington

Christy Williams has lived a troubled life but finally seems to have things back on track. She's working hard to build a career as an antiquarian book buyer. Things begin to unravel when a stolen Hemingway first edition is found in her possession, framing her for a crime she didn't commit. Soon Christy's fleeing from her shattered dreams, her ex-boyfriend, and God.

With no one to turn to, Christy yearns for her younger sister she left behind fifteen years ago. May's Triple Cross ranch could be the safe haven Christy is searching for, but will the sisters realize that each possesses what the other desperately needs before it's too late?

Dare to Surrender by Lilli Feisty

He Meets His Match.
She Meets Her Master.

Art gallery curator Joy Montgomery has never liked her body's generous curves. And she's always been too shy to explore her wild side. But tonight, everything is going to change. . .

Desperate to save her job, Joy approaches bad-boy artist Ash Hunter and asks him to exhibit his erotic work at her gallery. Ash agrees on one condition: Joy must pose as his model. But business soon turns to pleasure, as Joy experiences a passion beyond her wildest imaginings. . . and Ash finds more than just inspiration in his voluptuous new muse.

Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione

A Demon Enslaved

Lore is a Seminus half-breed demon who has been forced to act as his dark master's assassin. Now to earn his freedom and save his sister's life, he must complete one last kill. Powerful and ruthless, he'll stop at nothing to carry out this deadly mission.

An Angel Tempted

Idess is an earthbound angel with a wild side sworn to protect the human Lore is targeting. She's determined to thwart her wickedly handsome adversary by any means necessary -- even if that means risking her vow of eternal chastity. But what begins as a simple seduction soon turns into a passion that leaves both angel and demon craving complete surrender.

Torn between duty and desire. Lore and Idess must join forces as they battle their attraction for each other. Because an enemy from the past is rising again -- one hellbent on vengeance and unthinkable destruction.

A Black Tie Affair by Sherrill Bodine

Suited For Seduction

Fashion curator Athena Smith will do anything to get her perfectly manicured hands on the Clayworth family's celebrated couture collection for her exhibit. So when she's called in to make sure the gowns are the real deal, she's ecstatic. . . until a dress she's examining turns out to be loaded with toxins (talk about killer threads!) and Athena faints, only to wake up face-to-face with the One That Got Away, notorious Chicago bachelor Drew Clayworth.

Drew still believes Athena betrayed him all those years ago, and he's sure he can't trust her. But when the priceless gowns go missing, she offers to help track them down. Reluctantly allied in the quest, Drew and Athena are soon stunned by the barely restrained passion still sizzling between them. . . and memories both bitter and sweet. Is their new partnership just a business arrangement? Or is this something more than. . . A Black Tie Affair

Seduced by a Rogue by Amanda Scott

Flaxen-haired and beautiful, Lady Mairi Dunwythie is heiress apparent to the wealthy nobleman blocking Clan Maxwell's attempt to control much of southwest Scotland. Her first meeting with handsome Robert Maxwell ignites an attraction that is immediate, intense, and almost irresistible -- until she learns he is asking her father to submit to the Maxwell demands.

Rob is a warrior, a man of action. So when Mairi's father stands defiant, Rob daringly abducts her. As clan tensions mount, passion escalates between the lovers, tempting them beyond reason. Soon they must choose between loyalty and love. . .before the eruption of all out clan war.

Sleep No More by Susan Crandall

Danger Never Rests

The night was always Abby Whitman's enemy. As a young girl she walked in her sleep, and one night, she started a fire that scarred her sister for life and left Abby with unbearable guilt. . . and a loneliness that echoes within her.

And Evil Never Closes Its Eyes

Now Abby has begun blacking out again -- with apparently fatal results. A car accident has killed the son of a prominent family. Even though the evidence seems to exonerate her, Abby is plagued by doubts -- and soon by mysterious threats. Psychiatrist Dr. Jason Coble is intrigued by Abby and offers to help her explore the dark recesses of her mind. Through this terrifying journey, Jason's interest turns to passion, and he yearns to give her the love she craves. But first, Abby must trust him -- and shed light on secrets that will rock this Southern town and reveal a danger that threatens them both.

Countess of Scandal by Laurel McKee

Book One in the Daughters of Erin Trilogy

As children, Eliza Blacknall and William Denton ran wild over the fields of southern Ireland and swore they would be friends forever. Then fate took Will away to England, while Eliza stayed behind to become a proper Irish countess.

Years later, Will finally makes his way home -- as an English soldier sent to crush the Irish uprising. When he spies the lovely Eliza, he is captivated by the passionate woman she has become. But Eliza's passions have led her to join the Irish rebel cause, and Will and Eliza now find themselves on opposite sides of a dangerous conflict.

When Ireland explodes in bloody rebellion, Will's regiment is ordered to the front lines, and he is forced to choose between his duty to the English king and his love for Eliza and their Irish homeland.