“Rafe,” Kate hissed to her husband, directing his attention to the newcomer.
With a gesture Rafe bade the man come into the room. Their interest piqued by this diversion, his friends sobered. Sir Josce sat suddenly straighter as recognition flashed over his face. Dread followed.
“Arnold of Haydon,” he called. “Why come you here, when you should be at Lady Haydon’s side during my lord sire’s absence?” Lord Haydon was escorting his middle daughters back to their convent school.
Grief twisted the messenger’s face. He dropped to his knee before his lord’s bastard son. “It’s terrible news, sir,” he cried. “Your lady stepmother bids me bring you home to her. Your sire is dead.”
This novel, and the three that follow it, were written under the pseudonym of Denise Hampton. It was a strange series of very unfortunate events that led to my having to take on a nom de plume, most of which had to do with counting beans. It seems that when Barnes and Noble reported returns on my seventh book, Lady in White, there was a computer glitch and the returns included not just the Lady in White books returned, but all the returns on the previous six books as well. In fact, according to B&N's accounting they returned more books than they originally ordered. There was no protesting. If the computer said that's what they returned, than that's what they returned.
As any author will tell you, having huge returns on a book is a black spot that cannot be overcome, not with print outs and certainly not with logic. The damage was mortal and Denise Domning, which really is my name, had to die. Some time before that I had visited England with a friend and managed to finally get to Hampton Court. It was mid-winter and frigid and the place still resonated for me. So, when it came time for me to pick a pseudonym, Hampton leapt to mind.
Starting over didn't last. After selling my fourth book to Avon, I, as well as a number of other Avon authors, was dropped when Avon sold to another publishing house. That's when I started "not writing" in earnest. Don't know what that is? That's me, fading away to become a ghost writer, then a web designer as well.
Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed Rafe and Kate, and their sort of Romeo and Juliet story. Josce's story follows this one, then Ami's comes next. If things go well, someday some of their other friends may appear in books as well.
As a thank you to all of you out there who turned Rannulf and Rowena into best sellers, I'm offering my novella "An Impetuous Season" FREE on my website. Click here to download it
In case this is the first book of mine you've read, here is the full list. And thank you!
The Graistan Chronicles (sometimes known as the Seasons Series)
Winter's Heat
Summer's Storm
Spring's Fury
Autumn's Flame
A Love for All Seasons
The Lady Series, although two doesn't quite a series make. There were supposed to be more. Hmm, I wonder... .
Lady in Waiting
Lady in White
The Warrior Series
The Warrior's Wife (previously The Warrior's Damsel)
The Warrior's Maiden (previously My Lady's Temptation)
The Warrior's Game
My only Regency era book. I'm sorry. It was too modern for me. I'm better off back when guys just bashed each other with hunks of steel.
Almost Perfect
Monica Sarli's Memoir Men-ipulation
And then there's Monica Sarli's memoir that I co-wrote. Men-ipulation is a memoir of addiction and recovery. After fifteen years abusing Cocaine, Crack and (her personal favorite) Heroin, Monica chose on August 4, 1986 to clean up and hasn't looked back-even though cleaning up cost her everything she valued in life. For anyone struggling with addiction or who loves someone suffering with addiction, this is a book you won't want to miss. (And, yes she really talks like that...all the time.)
By the way, I'll note here that I am title defective. For the first five books, my fabulous stepdaughter Amberly Neese came up with the original and very clever idea of using the seasons, and the publisher ran with it. Beyond that, well, I count on the kindness of editors and others.
If you want to keep up with me or send me a note, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or visit my website at DeniseDomning.com where you can read my blog. I'll warn you, the blog has nothing to do with writing. Instead, it's the chronicle of how my husband takes me on a journey into Green Living and Permaculture. I have a feeling this will turn out to be a mangling of "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "Green Acres".
Wish me luck (I'll need it) and happy reading!
The Warrior's Wife Page 28
