Weekly Announcements - 21 March 08

Congratulations to Morag McKendrick Pippin and Jennifer Mueller, both of whom had books included in DABWAHA (Dear Author Bitchery Writing Award for Hellagood Authors), a March Madness-style book tournament. Morag's Perfidia and Jennifer's Samburu Hills were both included among the tournament's eight historical category selections. Even though Perfidia lost to Juliet Landon's The Warlord's Mistress and Samburu Hills lost to Julie Anne Long's The Secret to Seduction, it's a really cool honor to have been selected as one of the eight best historical romances of 2007. Congratulations!

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Come help Carrie decide what to do with her TBR pile!

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Anne Whitfield's newest release, Broken Hero, has received a great new review from Brenda Talley of The Romance Studio.

Anne Whitfield has done it again. She quickly became one on my 'must read' list. ... Ms. Whitfield has taken a plot with horrible situations and deplorable conditions and made a beautifully intricate story which will grab the heart of her readers. ... I highly recommend this story to anyone who is interested in WWII and the scenery around this part of England.

Broken Hero will be released in print this April, or you can purchase it as an ebook here.

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Erastes has sold a novella called "Hard & Fast," a gay regency, to Linden Bay Romance. It will appear in an anthology of three stories, all gay historicals with fellow m/m writers Lee Rowan, whose story is Victorian, and Charlie Cochrane, whose story is about 1920s undergraduates. Congratulations, Erastes!

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We'll also draw the winner for Marianne LaCroix's new release, Pirate's Mistress, which includes two full-length pirate novels, "Crossed Swords" and "Sea Hawk's Mistress". Don't miss out! Leave a comment for your chance to win.

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Have a good weekend. If you have an announcement to make for next week, email Carrie! See you next week...

5 Cup Review From Coffee Time Romance

PERFIDIA
Morag McKendrick Pippin
Rating: 5 cups

Sophia de Havilland is a young woman who fled her native England when she walked in on her betrothed having sex with another man. She lives with her aunt in Berlin, Germany. Hitler rules Germany with an iron hand and Sophia is one of his favored Aryan misses. However all is not as it seems, and when Sophia is introduced to a handsome half American SS officer, it is not long before she begins to see the light in more ways than one with his help. Her emotions regarding him are mixed, but the attraction is definitely there.

Karl Von Richten is playing a dangerous game. Embroiled deeply in SS politics and one of Hitler's right hand men, he also helps "undesirables" escape Germany to a better life. He truly cares for Sophie almost from the beginning and tries in subtle ways to show her that Hitler and his plans for Germany are bad. In the process he falls for her hard, but feels he cannot truly have her, at least not in any permanent sense.

When Sophie's aunt wants to escape Germany and return to England, Sophie goes to Karl for help. Karl arranges for Sophie's aunt to get away, but in return he asks Sophie to pose as his mistress. Worried that he will want more from her than she is willing to give, at first she is unsure. However, when he assures her she will not be expected to be intimate with him, and that it will help to protect her from the SS figuring out the truth about her aunt, she goes along with it. Karl slowly but surely educates Sophie on what the Third Reich is really doing and it is only a short time before Sophie is helping him. But Karl has a greedy half-brother who wants his home, his lands and his title and who will stop at nothing to get them, even if it means turning his own brother in. Will Sophie and Karl be able to defeat this evil man?

Perfidia is an action packed book that gives a very detailed look at the Third Reich, and all the atrocities and corruption that the regime engendered. The reader is easily able to follow Sophie's progress from supporter of Hitler to rebel and spy as the clues are laid out one by one. The author does a splendid job of showing that not all German officers agreed with Hitler. Karl is mesmerizing as the SS officer who wants his country back and who will do anything to see that goal accomplished. Historically accurate down to the last detail, this book gives a bird's eye view into a world that unless you were actually there would be hard to understand, and yet Ms. Pippin pulls it off beautifully. I highly recommend this book both for its romance and history.

Regina
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books

5 Stars From Cata Romance!

PERFIDIA by Elspeth McKendrick
Reviews
Love Spell
Genre: historical
ISBN: 0505527391
Page Count: 320
Price: $6.99
Reviewer: Donna Zapf
Sensuality Rating: Sizzling
Star Rating: 5 Stars

Elspeth McKendrick, a new pen name for a favorite author, creatively weaves the atrocities of WWII Germany with a timeless romance forged by a love that is tested beyond human endurance.

Sophie de Havilland left England for good when she discovered her fiance in a compromising position with another man. She arrived in Germany to live with her widowed aunt just as the Third Reich came into power. Sophie openly admired the social changes that appeared to revitalize Germany. But even as she enjoyed the pleasures of the aristocracy, the real evil that was the German Nazis and especially the Gestapo was reveled to her. Her aunt begs Sophie to find some way to leave Germany and it just so happens that a German SS officer is willing to help, if Sophie remains with him as his pretend lover.

Sturmbannfhrer Barron Karl von Richten is not what he seems. Sophie is mesmerized by his piercing blue eyes and his handsome face but what does he really want of her. Karl assures Sophie that he will not touch her physically and only wants a ruse to keep other women away. All officers are expected to "breed" well and often, thus women are always being pushed on them. Sophie and her friends tread a perilous existence keeping in favor with the elite of the party but what of Karl, is he capable of perfidy? He has too many secrets and they are beginning to involve Sophie.

PERFIDIA, a nail-biting, edge of your seat, romantic thriller that had me steadily turning pages and blocking out the world while I raced to the conclusion, is the debut novel of talented Elspeth McKendrick. Captivating characters and a creative storyline that just would not let me go make PERFIDIA a riveting read. Personally, stories that intertwine history with fictionalized author creations are my favorite. The author must investigate, invent and immerse her readers in order to make the story come to life and Ms. McKendrick does that to perfection. The progressively budding romance between Karl and Sophie melted my heart and had me weeping as they suffered together for what they believed, trusting each other and ultimately willing to die for each other. Elspeth McKendrick has won a loyal fan with PERFIDIA, a most fascinating book.

Release date September 2007

Perfidia Release Party

In lieu of regular posts this week, we're hosting a party for one of our contributors. Morag McKendrick Pippen, w/a Elspeth McKendrick, releases her novel Perfidia today! What follows is more about the book, a Q&A with Morag, and the chance to win free books...

Morag's previous two books were published by Dorchester's Leisure imprint: Blood Moon Over Bengal and Blood Moon Over Britain, a HOLT Medallion winner. Perfidia, as part of the Love Spell line, is available now from all good booksellers. Here's the Amazon link.

PERFIDIA
"To you,
my heart cries out 'Perfidia,'
for I find you, the love of my life,
in someone else's arms..."
Sophie de Havilland fled London and her past, vowing never to return. In Germany she sought solace, with her aunt, and couldn't help but admire how the Third Reich had reclaimed a country so near ruin. But soon the veneer crumbled. Beneath the frenetic nightlife of 1939 Berlin, the swirling parties with the dashing SS in their night-black uniforms and their beautiful dames, she saw cancer growing. Stories of an impossible nature—terrible stories, terrible crimes—she began to believe.

These Nazis were Germany's demon lover: handsome, fearsome, faithless, murderous. Her aunt had been right to seek escape. But, was it possible? One man offered hope: a handsome half-American. But while his spicy scent and strong arms seduced her with safety, the lightning on his collar and his searing blue eyes reminded her that sometimes the handsomest faces hid perfidious intent.

Question & Answers with Morag
What makes Perfidia different from the two other historicals you've written?
Probably more violence (from the Gestapo), no sugar coating and a more serious theme.

What was the response from your editor or agent when you proposed this novel?
He (my editor) said I surprised him and he's rarely surprised. Also, that it was a powerful story.

How did you talk them past any concerns?
He said my readers would probably overlook the violence because they'd be too addicted to the story to mind very much.

What is the most challenging part about writing 20th century historicals?
What I would find challenging is writing a contemporary, paranormal, or erotica. Early 20th century seems to come naturally to me.

What about this book in particular?
It was difficult not to be depressed writing this everyday. I don't think it's depressing to read, but I had a lot of research to to which was pretty horrific.

What advice would you give to anyone trying to write or sell 20th century historicals?
Visit antique and collectibles stores. One can learn a lot about how people lived. Go to museums with early 20th century antiquities. Watch old movies. Read books in the time period. Acquire old magazines at garage sales and antique shows/stores. Talk to people who lived in those times. Write the best story you can.

What is your favorite genre or period to read?
Early 20th century or contemporary and romantic suspense.

Favorite book from the past year?
HIDING FROM THE LIGHT by Barbara Erskine

Five books from your TBR pile?
VANISH by Karen Robards
DAUGHTERS OF FIRE by Barbara Erskine
THE MEPHISTO CLUB by Tess Gerritsen
RICOCHET by Sandra Brown
WHITE HOT by Sandra Brown

Give us a tidbit of history that surprised you when researching Perfidia.
That many Germans escaped Germany by going on workers holidays to occupied Denmark then taking the ferry to Sweden.

Tell us what part of Perfidia is your favorite: the scene or element that, when you read it, leaves you feeling most satisfied?
I can't tell you -- it would give away an important plot point!

What's up next for you?
A contemporary supernatural thriller set in Scotland (on my agent's advice).

Thanks, Morag! And good luck with this new release. For those of you living in paradise, Morag is in the midst of planning book signings in Hawaii, where she lives. More information will be posted on her website.

WIN A COPY! For every fifteen comments we receive to this post, we're giving away a signed copy of PERFIDIA. Just tell us how you heard about Unusual Historicals OR your thoughts about a romance set in 1939 Berlin. Comments close at midnight on September 4th, at which time I'll draw up to FIVE random winners and announce their names the next day. Unusual Historicals authors are ineligible to win, but we can make comments!

Go! Spread the word!