If you’re like me, you’re busy busy busy. I love to visit blogs, but it seems I never have time to get by in a timely fashion…and never in time to win anything! Well, no worries about that here. The Historical Reader Salon will be open all month long and you can come by anytime during the month to join the conversation and enter to win! No rush, no hurry…just a nice relaxing visit (or three) at your leisure. Each month, I’ll throw out a topic for discussion as well as ways for you to win. We’ll keep the conversation going in the comments section and just see how our Reader Salon grows. Hopefully it will develop into a thriving community centered around what we all love—historical romance!

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Day 16: Checkmate, My Lord by Tracey Devlyn


Welcome to day sixteen of March SWEET Madness—a month long party to celebrate the upcoming release of my novel, SWEET MADNESS, available April 2, 2013.


Well, we’re over the hump, but certainly not on a downhill slide! Today’s featured author is none other than Tracey Devlyn, another co-finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence for published historical romance, for her novel, A Lady’s Revenge.



Today, I’m featuring her latest work, Checkmate, My Lord, the second in her Nexus Series!


More about the book:


A desperate mother falls in love with the spymaster she’s sent to betray.

Catherine Ashcroft leads a quiet life caring for her precocious seven-year-old daughter, until an unexpected visitor delivers a startling ultimatum. She will match wits with the enigmatic Earl of Somerton, and it’s not just her heart that’s in danger.

Spymaster Sebastian Danvers, Earl of Somerton, is famous for his cunning. Few can outwit him and even fewer dare challenge him–until now. After returning to his country estate, his no-nonsense neighbor turns her seductive wiles on him–but why would a respectable widow like Catherine risk scandal for a few passionate nights in his bed?


And now for the fun part—your chance to win! Just fill out the rafflecopter form below. Contest will be open for 2 weeks—US & CANADA only, please).
a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you don’t win (or just can’t wait to start reading!), here’s where you can get the book!



And to find out more about Tracey, you can visit her website at:




I am also giving away a copy of either my debut, SWEET ENEMY or SWEET DECEPTION (winner’s choice) EVERY DAY of March SWEET Madness! (you will need to enter this contest separately every day for a new chance to win! OPEN INTERNATIONALLY)

Sweet Enemy

Beakers and ball gowns don't mix, so when lady chemist, Miss Liliana Claremont, goes undercover as a husband-hunter to investigate Lord Geoffrey Wentworth, the earl whose family she suspects murdered her father, romance isn't part of her formula. But it only takes one kiss to start a reaction she can't control...

Read the Prologue and First Chapter HERE...

Sweet Deception

Lady criminologist, Miss Emma Wallingford, unknowingly finds herself tangled up in the dangerous final mission of Lord Derick Aveline, a spy who also happens to be her long-lost first love. But when deception, however sweet, is the name of the game, no one can be trusted. And every love--and every life--is at risk.

Read the First Chapter HERE.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And don’t forget SWEET MADNESS, coming April 2, 2013!

There’s a fine line between love and insanity…

Ever since her husband’s sudden and tragic death, Lady Penelope Bridgeman has committed herself to studying the maladies of the mind, particularly treating traumatized soldiers of the Napoleonic Wars. It is this expertise that brings the Marquess of Bromwich’s family to her door.

Gabriel Devereaux’s unexpected and unpredictable episodes are unlike any Penelope has studied. The once proud soldier has been left shaken and withdrawn, but she manages to build a fragile trust between them. Strangely, Gabriel seems completely lucid when not in the grips of his mania, and in the calm between bouts, she is surprised by how much she is drawn to him.

Despite his own growing feelings, Gabriel knows that he is fit for no one, and is determined to keep Penelope away from his descent into madness. But even though she knows firsthand the folly of loving a broken man, Penelope cannot stop herself from trying to save him, no matter the cost.

Read the Prologue and First Chapter HERE...

"In this emotional, compassionate romance...the powerful love story will sweep readers away."
~RT BookReviews, 4 1/2 stars

“The brilliance of Sweet Madness shines strongly and completely. Heather Snow is cutting edge…a master storyteller. Sweet Madness is a magnificent story.”
~Book Obsessed Chicks 5 stars


See you tomorrow, where our featured author is Monica Burns!!!


And don’t forget, giveaways are open for TWO weeks, so if you’ve missed any of the fabulous authors featured, visit the archives section and enter!

33 comments:

  1. My daughter tells me that I ruin her life when i refused her a cookie. She is only 4 yrs old btw. i laughed when she said that and it only made her more angry.

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  2. Thanks for the fun post and congrats ladies on the new releases! No kids in the immediate family. But I work in Pediatric healthcare and they can get pretty dramatic when it comes to shots/blood draws. Hearing them wail and carry on can be kinda funny :)

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  3. I taught kindergarten/first grade for 30 years and I raised two of my own children, so the funny things I have seen and heard could fill a book! :0)

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  4. I don't have children and I don't have a favorite thing a child in my life has done to make me laugh.

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  5. I use to work with kids ranging from the ages, 4-18. And they were a handful! They will say the darnest things sometimes! So honest and innocent. They make me laugh when I pretend to ignore them, the look they give is filled with so much anticipation and when I say, "I see you" they give the brightest smiles. What also makes me laugh is when they have arguments with another kid and its about the littlest thing to an adult but to them its everything. The most precocious thing a child has done was probably remembering things I had taught them the week before. I taught Lao Language and some of the students did not speak it at all but learned it so fast.

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  6. When my now 35 yo son was just a little guy, he and I had a thing we did with this;
    Mark: I know
    Mom: I know you know
    Mark: I know you know I know
    Mom: I know you know that I know you know
    ...and on and on it could go until we both were laughing so hard we couldn't keep up!

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. my son was very literal when he was little. I remember 2 things in particular. I had gone on a field trip with his preschool class. When we got back to the school, we couldn't get over to park, so the teacher said 'guess we'll have to go around the block." His answer was something along the line of 'you can't go around the block, it's not a circle, it's a square.'
    And another time (he was a bit older) the conversation was about the mathematical equation 'Pi R square', and his comment "Pie are round, Cake are square!" Today (and he's much older!) he says that same thing in fun.

    {sorry - I do not do Twitter}

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  9. I don't have children, but when friends started... I asked what was the hardest.. Answer was..'Not to laugh at their antics when you needed to discipline.. and waiting until later to crack up!'

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  10. Ah, there are a lot of interesting children's thoughts and comments! I have a daughter who will be 5 years old in a few months and a son who just turned 3.

    Just a few examples:

    I made ​​a fruit salad for children a couple days ago and my daughter thanked me: Arigatou Gozaimasu! Perfectly accented! My child suddenly spoken Japanese!

    When my son hits his leg, he holds his foot and says: Mom, my sock hurts!

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  11. I really liked Checkmate, My Lord I thought it was an excellent read :)

    As for child...humm.. not really sure. I have only been around a few children in my life. My favorite is always my sisters, she likes to make funny faces at you. We always tease my sister asking her, why does her child have a sour look on her face every time you take her picture ;)

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  12. i have a 7 year old daugther that all she does is make me laugh since she is a only child i am her entertainment... recently a friend but a picture of us when we were teen 15- 16 and i called my daughter over to show her a pic on me...

    me: look that was me when i was a teenage.
    her; wow mom you were beautiful teenager
    me; so i'm not beautiful now.?
    her: (looks at the picture then looks at me) mom you are a beautiful 40 year old but you were a beautiful teenager
    me: i'm only 31
    her; well you WOULD be a beautiful 40 year old.

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  13. don't have any kids nearby

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  14. can't think of any examples

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  15. My children are adults now, but my son use to ask this question when he was 7 or 8 years old. Hey Mom what waws your name when you were a kid??

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  16. I don't really have any children in my life, except my niece but she's only about a month old and I haven't met her yet :/
    Sad times lol

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  17. My sons are grown now and have sons and daughters of there own and I must admit I love seeing my precious grandchildren trying to pull some of the same tricks as my sons did and laugh when I see how they try to handle it!

    The first time that they ever pulled something that you could say that they were " precocious" was when my son set up a tent for them in the backyard 3 and almost 5 years old. My husband went out to check on them and thought he smelled smoke and when he looked inside the tent they were lighting matches!

    He immediately marched them inside and made them "explain themselves" about what they were doing. My older son was modestly contrite but when my younger son stood in front of him he looked up and said to him "I was just being a little boy!".

    While my older son and I were on the other side of the room trying to muffle our laughter and my husband sat there trying to not smile he finally said managed to say "Okay lets try that again - what were you doing wrong and why".

    For punishment they had to take out the trash for a month!

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  18. I have two boys that are 11 months apart. They're teens now, but when they were younger they would regularly make me LOL.

    When the oldest got mad at the youngest he used to call him "Devin Abbadee" in a stern voice (#2's middle name is Anthony).

    Both of them were c-sections and they saw the scar (from the navel down, not pantyline *g*) and knew that's where they'd come out. When the youngest first got curious about how they'd got in there I offered to tell him. He hesitated, than said NO! and backed away. :D

    Marcy Shuler
    bmndshuler(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  19. My daughter loved to climb trees, one day she came in with a birds nest with eggs, my husband put it back, and luckily the mother still hatched them.

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  20. I have the same story to show my daughter's precociousnes, along with something that we thought was very funny.
    When my son was around 7, we bought him a Speak & Spell. One of the words it asked you to spell was "isle, meaning island." My parents and I were in the store one day with my daughter, who would have been about 3, and one of us said something about an item being on such-and-such aisle, and she piped up, "Isle, meaning island." We just stood there and laughed hysterically.

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  21. My daughter painted my white king size bedspread all over with bright red lipstick one day. It never came clean so we had to buy another king size bedspread. Another time my son and a neighbor boy decided to pepper another neighbors house with fresh picked plums because they thought purple polka dots would look great. It's a wonder I didn't get premature gray hair! :-) jdh2690@Gmail.com

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  22. Our oldest daughter when she was 4 y/o informed the cashier she had a beard and mustache. The cashier was a woman and did have a very visible beard/ mustache. My hubby and I were horrified and couldn't go back to the store for a long time. However she's 20y/o now and we can laugh about it.

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  23. I loved Tracey's first book so much this next one is on my list. I look forward to reading more about Somerton and others within Nexus.

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  24. My kid is just a handfull. He is always getting into something, like getting stuck under the bed or locked in the spare bedroom. He is a mess.

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  25. we love to do jigsaw puzzles - even when she was little (like 3 or 4 yrs old), my niece would walk up to the table take a quick look, select a piece and fit it right in - we called her spooky!

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  26. My 2 year old cousin randomly drops to the floor and becomes a dog. We are all very suprised, of course. Oh no! He's become a dog! ;-) He's a cutie.

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  27. Looking forward to reading Checkmate, my Lord ~ and Sweet Madness. Thank you for all the lovely giveaways! Happy Reading and Writing ~ Cheers ~ Elizabeth

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  28. My youngest use to crawl to the bookcase and pull out the books on one shelf only, plop herself down in the middle of them, and start looking at them all. Unlike her older sister who would then crawl away from the mess she created.

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  29. When my now-grown son was just a precocious preschooler, he gave me an observation I’ll always remember. We were heading to daycare one foggy morning and he announced, “Look Mom, the clouds are still sleeping.” Actually it’s nice to have fond memories when I’m caught in fog.

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  30. I can't wait to read this series, I have one of your books that is out to be the next thing I read. I will be entering under the name of Virginia.

    I have a great nephew when he was about three or younger and his grandmother was keeping him, which was my sister. He called 911 and had the police knocking on her door. She didn't even know he had called them. I thought it was so funny at the time, when she had to explain to the police what had happened.

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  31. The other day my mom was telling me about how my niece threw a fit because her little sister ate her cookie. My mother was telling that it was just a cookie, she would make her some more and it wasn't blessed by the Pope. My niece (who is VERY dramatic) said, "It was too blessed by the Pope!"

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  32. My five children always kept us busy and laughing and crying. Their ages are within a five year span. They are now 25, 24, 21, 21, 20.(yes, twins!) They were always into something. The biggest thing that stands out is a tree house on fire, which was no laughing matter.

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  33. My 18 month old grandaughter brings her baby doll along with her for a treat and asks for a cookie for her doll too "cookie too" then she says "all done". She'll do a little dance when she gets her treats.

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