Saturday, August 1, 2015

WE LOVE HISTORY TOUR: BENEATH SLEEPLESS STARS BY ELIZABETH COLE

  
RWA/NYC Celebrates Historical Romance.
Medieval Times. Regency. Victorian. WW II. Jazz Age, 50s, etc.
Visit us daily for excerpts from our members’ historical novels.  
Happy Reading!




BENEATH SLEEPLESS STARS
By Elizabeth Cole


SUMMARY:  A lady haunted by nightmares, a duke chased by death, and an answer hidden in the night sky…

Insomnia and a passion for astronomy keep Lady Violet Holloway awake all night. She’s content to remain alone with her telescopes and treatises, until an unexpected marriage proposal changes everything. Though she’s never met him, Violet is handed off to a lord whose name is only mentioned in whispers.  Alexander Kenyon is the Duke of Dunmere...better known as the Duke of Death, after losing three wives under unusual circumstances. He’s learned his lesson about the dangers of falling in love, so this marriage is purely for convenience. He has no time for a bride anyway, no matter how intriguing she is. As an agent of the Zodiac, he is tasked with solving a string of perplexing murders hinting at a political conspiracy.  As the stars spin overhead, the date of the next murder draws near. Violet and Alex must work together to stop it, or risk losing the life they’ve found together. 

BENEATH SLEEPLESS STARS is the fifth novel in the Secrets of the Zodiac, a series of full-length historical romances: Featuring sexy storylines, complex characters, and international intrigue, set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.



“What do you think of this one?” 

Alexander Kenyon, the seventh Duke of Dunmere, braced himself as his uncle pushed a small portrait toward him from across the vast desk of his study. The miniature portrayed a young woman from the waist up, sitting demurely in front of a woodland scene. The subject was pleasant enough, Alex thought. Ash brown hair framed delicate features, and brown eyes gazed placidly at him. If the artist was honest, she was a slip of a thing.

“Who is she?” Alex asked. 

Uncle Herbert checked a small notebook he was holding. “Lady Violet Holloway. Good family, though not nearly so wealthy as in previous generations. Impeccable bloodline, though. By all accounts a perfect lady. Most importantly, the Holloway women are known to be fearsomely good breeders. Twins as often as not.”  His uncle nodded significantly. 

Alex sighed. Of course. The fact that he was now thirty-four with not a single heir was clearly weighing on his family’s minds. His heirless, childless state was not for lack of trying. Now Alex needed to marry again. His uncle Herbert Kenyon took on the duty of sorting through potential brides to suggest. It was not an enviable task. 

There were few eligible ladies who actually possessed all the qualifications necessary to be considered as the next duchess of Dunmere. The obvious choices—the daughters or sisters of other dukes, and earls, and viscounts—were assessed and discarded one by one. Many were too old or too young. Even more were already promised to others. Several had scandals attached to their names. Of the small number of ladies who somehow managed to cross all those hurdles, none were willing to marry him specifically. They knew better.

Alex’s bad luck in brides was now infamous.  




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Elizabeth Cole is an author of historical romance. She can be found hanging around museums, coffeeshops, and graveyards…but not after dark. She is a full-time writer now, but before that she worked in bookshops, libraries, archives, or anywhere there were books to be read and cared for.  When not writing, she reads with her book club or watches extremely bad movies—the kind with more explosions than acting. Just a bit of a nerd, she also loves board games and tabletop RPGs. She will not divulge how many dice might be in her house at this moment.  Visit her at:



REMEMBER TO COME BACK TOMORROW
FOR ANOTHER HISTORICAL ROMANCE EXCERPT. 


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