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CLOSER TO SIN
Elizabeth Squire
Released April 15th, 2016
Escape Publishing
Elizabeth
Squire brings a fresh voice to historical romance in this tale of intrigue and
passion.
CLOSER TO SIN
Liliane Desailly travels to
Napoleonic France after receiving a plea for help from her French cousin. She
learns she is the key to fulfilling her grandfather’s legacy, but to do so she
must masquerade as a spy and courier secrets on behalf of the British
Admiralty.
Sinclair Charlcroft is the British Admiralty’s
last hope. Napoleon’s Grande Armée is poised to invade Britain, an English spy
is missing and a traitor has infiltrated the Admiralty’s intelligence network.
Pursued by Napoleon’s agents,
Liliane and Sinclair cannot reveal their true identities until they unlock the
secrets of the legacy—and only then can they unlock the secrets in their
hearts.
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What books/authors have influenced your writing?
Although not a book, I think the movie Romancing The Stone was my earliest writing influence; that was the point where I decided I was going to write romance, just like Joan Wilder. It had everything: high stakes, tension, conflict, emotional highs and lows, passion and love. A few years after that I discovered Shirlee Busbee’s Lady Vixen. It’s the story of a run away girl who disguises herself as a cabin boy on board a privateer’s ship, and falls in love with the captain—it was at this point my love the unconventional heroine was born. I’m also a huge fan of Julia Quinn for her use of humorous, witty repartee to keep the conflict brewing and move the story forward. My other big influence is Mary Balogh; her mastery in building emotional tension and weaving it right throughout the story is something that I dream of being able to do. With those fabulous role models as my influence, it’s no wonder I’d drawn to writing emotionally charged high-concept romances filled with witty dialogue!
Chapter 1
France, February 1805
Liliane sat opposite her cousin Solange, gingerly sipping a mug of honey mead. Around them the air was thick with smoke, layered with the pungent smell of onions, hops and sweat. The local village inn was loud with the lunchtime patronage of local farmers and fishermen whose conversations were punctuated with raucous laughter and ribald jokes. One of the men nudged his companion and gestured towards her. She fidgeted self-consciously and tucked her blue woolen shawl more securely across her shoulders. Goodness, they behaved like they'd never seen a woman in here before.
A hush momentarily descended upon the room. Solange leaned towards her and whispered. ‘Be ready, ma petite. He's here.’
Liliane glanced over her shoulder. As her gaze swept the room she was arrested by the sight of a figure silhouetted in the doorway.
Heavens above. She momentarily closed her eyes, his image imprinting upon her brain. Now this man was definitely no fisherman. Even in the crowded noisy tavern his presence was imposing. Mesmerized, she studied him further. His body was encased in a white linen shirt and buff breeches, while ink black hair fell across his brow, drawing her attention to hooded eyes and a firmly set jaw. He stepped into the room and casually looked around the tavern, running his hand through his hair to push it back from his face. Her fingers tingled, and she lifted her own hand to her hair, twisting the sable strands between her fingers, wondering if his hair would feel as soft and silken.
Liliane froze. Oh Lord, he was watching her. The loose tendrils that tangled about her fingers singed as though she had been caught running her hands through his hair. The air around her seemed to ripple and she felt, rather than saw, the moment he decided to move. Holding her gaze, he moved from the doorway and light flooded back into the room. Her breath caught in her throat. It was incongruous that a man of his height could move with such surety and grace, almost a menacing prowl. Although one thing was certain, there was absolutely nothing dandified about him. As he made his way through the tavern his commanding posture induced the inn's patrons to step aside in deference.
He drew closer and she jerked back around to face Solange. How mortifying to have been caught staring at him. She flicked a look of uncertainty towards her cousin. Surely he wasn't the man they were here to meet? This man didn't accord with the image she'd painted in her mind. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting—perhaps someone older, less imposing. Someone safe. Not someone whose very presence drew the attention of every person in the room. And certainly not someone who, with a single glance, could induce her to forget precisely why she was on the wrong side of the Channel, drinking mead and speaking in French, instead of shopping on Bond Street.
Q & A with Elizabeth Squire
What books/authors have influenced your writing?
Although not a book, I think the movie Romancing The Stone was my earliest writing influence; that was the point where I decided I was going to write romance, just like Joan Wilder. It had everything: high stakes, tension, conflict, emotional highs and lows, passion and love. A few years after that I discovered Shirlee Busbee’s Lady Vixen. It’s the story of a run away girl who disguises herself as a cabin boy on board a privateer’s ship, and falls in love with the captain—it was at this point my love the unconventional heroine was born. I’m also a huge fan of Julia Quinn for her use of humorous, witty repartee to keep the conflict brewing and move the story forward. My other big influence is Mary Balogh; her mastery in building emotional tension and weaving it right throughout the story is something that I dream of being able to do. With those fabulous role models as my influence, it’s no wonder I’d drawn to writing emotionally charged high-concept romances filled with witty dialogue!
Oh for the love of God, housework! Cleaning, of any type! I know it needs to be done, but seriously, it sucks the life from me. And it just never ends!
Share a funny incident in your life.
My husband and I have two daughters, and the youngest, Miss S, shares my love of reading and words. She is also very proud of her sophisticated vocabulary. About five years ago, my parents were visiting and we decided to all catch the train up to the city for the day. Miss S, then aged seven, was reading her book when she handed it to me and asked me to hold it…
“Why?” I ask her.
“Because I just need to put my testicles on,” she replies, perfectly straight-faced.
Surely I had heard wrong. “Pardon?” I glance over at my mother to see her face arrested in horror.
“I need to put my testicles on,” says Miss S again as she reaches into her backpack.
Oh dear. “Um, don’t you mean your glasses?” I’m trying desperately not to laugh, and my poor mother is starting to look like she wants to sink into the seat.
Miss S sighs with exasperation at having to repeat herself. “Yes mummy, my testicles!” Did I mention that she’s always been very proud of her sophisticated vocabulary?
By this stage a number of the passengers around us have stopped what they are doing and are listening intently to the conversation. My mother is eying off the carriage window with the look of a woman who is seriously contemplating jumping from a high-speed train.
“Sweetheart,” I say to Miss S, as I’m unable to control the tears of laughter streaming down my cheeks, “I think the word you’re looking for is spectacles.”
“Ohhhhhh,” she said, as realization slowly dawned.
Miss S turns 13 next Saturday—in the way of all good parents, we have yet to let her forget this particular little faux pas!
“Because I just need to put my testicles on,” she replies, perfectly straight-faced.
Surely I had heard wrong. “Pardon?” I glance over at my mother to see her face arrested in horror.
“I need to put my testicles on,” says Miss S again as she reaches into her backpack.
Oh dear. “Um, don’t you mean your glasses?” I’m trying desperately not to laugh, and my poor mother is starting to look like she wants to sink into the seat.
Miss S sighs with exasperation at having to repeat herself. “Yes mummy, my testicles!” Did I mention that she’s always been very proud of her sophisticated vocabulary?
By this stage a number of the passengers around us have stopped what they are doing and are listening intently to the conversation. My mother is eying off the carriage window with the look of a woman who is seriously contemplating jumping from a high-speed train.
“Sweetheart,” I say to Miss S, as I’m unable to control the tears of laughter streaming down my cheeks, “I think the word you’re looking for is spectacles.”
“Ohhhhhh,” she said, as realization slowly dawned.
Miss S turns 13 next Saturday—in the way of all good parents, we have yet to let her forget this particular little faux pas!
What's your pet peeve?
People who are needlessly rude and nasty to others. There is enough sadness in the world without deliberately making others miserable.
When you are in writer mode, music or no music? If music do you have a playlist
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on the next book in this series; the story of (Liliane’s uncle) Nathaniel Manning, the Duke of Martinbury and Jacinta Pasqual who meet when Nate travels to France in search of ‘the Castilian’, an assassin thought to have information on the missing agent, Gareth Whitby.
I don’t have a lot of time for watching television, so when I discover a show I like, then I’m definitely a binge watcher. At the moment I’m binging on the Outlander series. Or rather, Sam Hueghan’s character Jamie…
Elizabeth
Squire’s love of writing romance couldn’t be further from the life she had
carved out for herself. Raised in outback and rural Australia, Elizabeth was
determined to live a life vibrant with passion, travel, adventure and
discovery—other than the one she had already lived through the pages of the
innumerable she read and loved. And so, turning her back on a life in the bush,
she invested a lot of years chasing her dreams—she enjoyed a career as a
commissioned in the Royal Australian Navy, and counts white-water rafting the
Zambezi River, travelling by safari truck through Africa, and back-packing
through Eastern Europe with her young family as just a few of her many adventures.
But
amongst the adventure, the urge to write intensified as story lines and
dialogue continued to materialize from the recesses of her mind. She finally
accepted that the voices in her head were really characters enmeshed in the
tumultuous Georgian and Regency periods, vying for life on paper.
After a nomadic lifestyle, Elizabeth has now settled into her own home and loves nothing better than bringing her passionate heroines and daring rakes to life. She lives with her own hero and one true love, two beautiful daughters and two delinquent miniature long-haired dachshunds. Closer to Sin is Elizabeth’s debut novel.
After a nomadic lifestyle, Elizabeth has now settled into her own home and loves nothing better than bringing her passionate heroines and daring rakes to life. She lives with her own hero and one true love, two beautiful daughters and two delinquent miniature long-haired dachshunds. Closer to Sin is Elizabeth’s debut novel.
Thank you for hosting Elizabeth and CLOSER TO SIN!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting me Eski Mama Reads! Elizabeth.
ReplyDelete