About one year ago, Crimson Romance decided to expand into the novella category. So, of course, the competitor in me decided to give it a go and see what happened. I'd been wanting to write a story about how Charlotte & George Fitzpatrick met, and thought a novella would be the right length to tell their story.So, on June 9 the prequel to the Cotillion Ball Series will be released along with a bundle of the first three books in the series. What better way to get to know the family than to start at the beginning?
Here's the cover for the novella. Doesn't Charlotte's expression say it all?
Blurb:
Long before The Reluctant Debutante, there was the story of Charlotte Ashcroft and George Fitzpatrick.
They were two young strangers
in New York City until Charlotte took matters into her own hands. Confronted by
a busybody who would surely inform her mother she was where she shouldn’t be,
and alone, she forced the man in the jaunty blue hat who had caught her eye to
act as her escort. By going along with the ruse, George Fitzpatrick sealed his
fate with Charlotte. He would become her husband. Now she just had to convince
him he couldn’t live without her.
No Buy Link yet, but stay tuned!
Here's a taste of what's to come:
Here's a taste of what's to come:
“Charlotte? Is that you?”
Charlotte cringed inside her Sunday best, lavender dress. She knew that voice.
Accepting her fate, she turned to face the old busybody.
“Well, hello there, Mrs. Beasley. How are you this fine Sunday afternoon? Are you
also planning to attend Frances Wright’s speech?”
Mrs. Beasley’s spine straightened at the suggestion, and her gaze pierced Charlotte.
“Heavens, no. I have no wish to fill my head with such nonsense. Where is your mother? I should say hello.”
“Mother’s not with us today. We took the omnibus to get here.”
“What? Without a male escort? Is your mother aware of what you’re doing, young lady?”
Charlotte glanced around the street where they had been dropped off. Suddenly, she spied a familiar hat in the crowd. A blue hat with a feather tucked into the grosgrain ribbon. Her heart began to race as he came toward her.
“Ah, but we do have a proper male escort.” She wrapped her hand around the man’s arm, bringing him, if somewhat reluctantly, to her side. “This is our chaperone, Mrs. Beasley.” Charlotte turned her eyes toward the man and held her breath, silently pleading with him to catch on to her plight.
He executed a proper bow toward Mrs. Beasley, and Charlotte let out her breath a bit at a time. “George Fitzpatrick, at your service, Mrs. Beasley.”
Mrs. Beasley’s face was still full of disdain. “George Fitzpatrick? I’ve never heard of you. Just how do you know Charlotte Ashcroft?”
Charlotte cringed inside her Sunday best, lavender dress. She knew that voice.
Accepting her fate, she turned to face the old busybody.
“Well, hello there, Mrs. Beasley. How are you this fine Sunday afternoon? Are you
also planning to attend Frances Wright’s speech?”
Mrs. Beasley’s spine straightened at the suggestion, and her gaze pierced Charlotte.
“Heavens, no. I have no wish to fill my head with such nonsense. Where is your mother? I should say hello.”
“Mother’s not with us today. We took the omnibus to get here.”
“What? Without a male escort? Is your mother aware of what you’re doing, young lady?”
Charlotte glanced around the street where they had been dropped off. Suddenly, she spied a familiar hat in the crowd. A blue hat with a feather tucked into the grosgrain ribbon. Her heart began to race as he came toward her.
“Ah, but we do have a proper male escort.” She wrapped her hand around the man’s arm, bringing him, if somewhat reluctantly, to her side. “This is our chaperone, Mrs. Beasley.” Charlotte turned her eyes toward the man and held her breath, silently pleading with him to catch on to her plight.
He executed a proper bow toward Mrs. Beasley, and Charlotte let out her breath a bit at a time. “George Fitzpatrick, at your service, Mrs. Beasley.”
Mrs. Beasley’s face was still full of disdain. “George Fitzpatrick? I’ve never heard of you. Just how do you know Charlotte Ashcroft?”
“We’re old friends who love adventure. When I decided to escort Charlotte and her
lady friends on their outing today, we thought an omnibus ride would be a delightful way
to get there. And it certainly has proven to be so.”
Mrs. Beasley was somewhat mollified, if not totally convinced, sending a loud harrumph” their way before she moved on.
“Oh, Mr. Fitzpatrick, thank you ever so much. We would have been in grave trouble if not for you.” Charlotte fawned over the man.
“Well, since I’ve saved you from your current peril, and since we don’t know who else you’ll run into, perhaps I should finish the job you’ve assigned me to and escort you ladies to your final destination? May I meet the other ladies in your party?”
Charlotte quickly introduced him to Emma and Katie but did not yield her hold on his arm.
Mrs. Beasley was somewhat mollified, if not totally convinced, sending a loud harrumph” their way before she moved on.
“Oh, Mr. Fitzpatrick, thank you ever so much. We would have been in grave trouble if not for you.” Charlotte fawned over the man.
“Well, since I’ve saved you from your current peril, and since we don’t know who else you’ll run into, perhaps I should finish the job you’ve assigned me to and escort you ladies to your final destination? May I meet the other ladies in your party?”
Charlotte quickly introduced him to Emma and Katie but did not yield her hold on his arm.
They found their way to the Hall of Science where Miss Wright was speaking, and
George insisted on paying the entry fee for the four of them. They found enough open
seats to sit together and moved to the chairs. Charlotte waited for Emma and Katie to
claim a seat, and then she sat next to them, leaving only one remaining empty spot. Next
to her alone. She smiled at her craftiness.
He took the seat beside her then leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Mrs. Beasley was right. Young ladies such as you could get into a lot of trouble without a proper escort. I’m offering my services to you, absolutely free of charge, for the remainder of the afternoon.”
Charlotte’s laugh bubbled up. “I have a feeling, sir, you’re the biggest trouble I can get into today.”
He took the seat beside her then leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Mrs. Beasley was right. Young ladies such as you could get into a lot of trouble without a proper escort. I’m offering my services to you, absolutely free of charge, for the remainder of the afternoon.”
Charlotte’s laugh bubbled up. “I have a feeling, sir, you’re the biggest trouble I can get into today.”
Bundle:
The Reluctant Debutante
It’s
1855 in New York, and Ginger Fitzpatrick joins other women in support of Amelia
Bloomer’s cause. During a rally, a stranger helps her evade police. She is
introduced to him formally at her debutante ball, the latest society craze.
Although Joseph is a friend of her brother’s, he is half Indian and unsuitable.
Ginger must ultimately decide if Joseph is worth going against her family’s
wishes.
The Abolitionist's Secret
In 1856 New York, despite their divergent views on slavery, romance ensues when David dances with Heather at the Cotillion Ball and later that night, walks her home. An engagement quickly follows. When he receives word that his father is ailing, David wants her to accompany him home to Savannah to meet his family.
But she knows the South is no place for an abolitionist.
Banking On Temperance
Basil Fitzpatrick was born into a life of privilege. In 1856, at 23 years of age, he is the owner of the St. Louis branch of the family banking business. He has his pick of the ladies and life by the horns.
Temperance Jones and her family are far from privileged. Her father is a circuit-riding preacher from Pennsylvania. But the rumblings of a war between the North and the South force the preacher to move his family to Oregon rather than to take up arms against his fellow man. However, hardship and sickness slowed their pace, and they are forced to spend the winter in St. Louis, waiting for the next wagon trains to leave in the spring.
Basil is drawn to the family the moment they roll into town, partly because they remind him of his own big family in New York. But also because of the eldest daughter, Temperance. She is a tiny, no-nonsense spitfire bent on fulfilling her father’s wish to get the family safely to Oregon. Basil knows if he allows Temperance into his heart, he is accepting the obligation of her entire family. He wants Temperance like he has wanted no other, but is the burden of her family too much?
Basil is drawn to the family the moment they roll into town, partly because they remind him of his own big family in New York. But also because of the eldest daughter, Temperance. She is a tiny, no-nonsense spitfire bent on fulfilling her father’s wish to get the family safely to Oregon. Basil knows if he allows Temperance into his heart, he is accepting the obligation of her entire family. He wants Temperance like he has wanted no other, but is the burden of her family too much?
Temperance Jones and her family are far from privileged. Her father is a circuit-riding preacher from Pennsylvania. But the rumblings of a war between the North and the South force the preacher to move his family to Oregon rather than to take up arms against his fellow man. However, hardship and sickness slowed their pace, and they are forced to spend the winter in St. Louis, waiting for the next wagon trains to leave in the spring.
Basil is drawn to the family the moment they roll into town, partly because they remind him of his own big family in New York. But also because of the eldest daughter, Temperance. She is a tiny, no-nonsense spitfire bent on fulfilling her father’s wish to get the family safely to Oregon. Basil knows if he allows Temperance into his heart, he is accepting the obligation of her entire family. He wants Temperance like he has wanted no other, but is the burden of her family too much?
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