Always a Booklover: Jenna Jaxon

Hey guys! Welcome to today's blog tour stop! Today, Jenna is joining us with a guest post about the wild 18th century. It certainly is a good read so do take some time to look at it! :) Oh and the cover's really pretty, isn't it? :)

Only Scandal Will Do

Kidnapped and sold at auction in a London brothel, Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam squelches an undeniable attraction to the masked stranger who purchased her, pits her wits against him, and escapes him and the scandal that would ruin her life.

Unable to resist temptation in a London brothel, Duncan Ferrers, Marquess of Dalbury, purchases a fiery beauty. She claims she's a lady, but how can she be? No lady of his acquaintance in polite society is anything like her.

Then he discovers she is who she says, and that this latest romp has compromised her reputation. He knows how that is. One more scandal and he'll be cast out of London society, but he needs a wife who'll provide an heir to carry on his illustrious family's name. He seeks out Katarina, intending only to scotch the scandal, but instead finds his heart ensnared.

He's betting their future he'll capture her heart, but does he have what it takes to win the wager?

WARNING: A blade-wielding heroine who crosses swords with a master of sensuality.

Jenna Jaxon

Jenna Jaxon is a multi-published author of historical and contemporary romance who has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, Jenna has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own writing.

Jenna lives in Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets. When not reading or writing, she indulges her passion for the theatre, working with local theatres as a director. She often feels she is directing her characters on their own private stage.

She has equated her writing to an addiction to chocolate because once she starts she just can’t stop.

Website | Facebook

And now, let's welcome Jenna to the blog!

The Wild 18th Century

One of the reasons I decided to set my House of Pleasure series, of which Only Scandal Will Do is the first book, in the 18th century instead of the more popular Regency period, was the reputation of the period for being much wilder, more dangerous, more colorful. I’d been introduced to the Georgian period--named for the three Hanoverian kings who reigned throughout the century--in Jo Beverley’s Malloren series and fell in love with the colorful lifestyle that seems to alternate between the Age of Reason and the Age of Rowdy.

I love the fact that aristocratic men during this period wore bold colors, powdered wigs, and face paint (in some instances), yet beneath the surface were deadly competitors skilled with sword and pistol, had voracious appetites where women were concerned, and could converse on a myriad of topics that would leave us scratching our heads today. This is the stuff of which heroes are made.

Some of the more colorful items from the century that I was able to use in Scandal were the death of the Earl of Ferrers--the last peer to be hanged for murder; the erotic art of Françoise Boucher; the Venetian masquerade; and Harris’s List of prostitutes.

The last item I found fascinating. Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies or A Man of Pleasure’s Kalendar was a directory of working prostitutes published at Christmas by Samuel Derrick, whose pen name for the publication was Jack Harris. The directory listed names and addresses of “working girls,” a description of physical appearance of the woman (including the size of her breasts), the special services they performed and the charges (ranging from 5 shillings to 5 pounds) a gentleman could expect to pay for said services.

An excerpt from the 1788 directory notes a “Miss Johnson: The raven colored tresses of Miss J-ns-n are pleasing, and are characteristic of strength and ability in the wars of Venus. Indeed, this fair one is not afraid of work, but will undergo a great deal of labour in the action; she sings, dances, will drink a cheerful glass, and is a good companion. She has such a noble elasticity in her loins that she can cast her lover to a pleasing height, and receive him again with the utmost dexterity. Her price is one pound, one, and for her person and amorous qualifications, she is well worth the money.”

Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies was published each year between 1757 and 1795 and sold over a quarter of a million copies during that time.

I mentioned Harris’s List in passing only in Only Scandal Will Do, but thought it would give a bit of period color to the book and a passing salute from my hero Duncan, who, as a rake, may have been rather familiar with that list.

A wild era indeed.

So yep, that's about it for today! Thanks for visiting! :)

Hey guys! Welcome to today's blog tour! Sorry this is so late, I just got home. Crazy day, I say. So yep. Presenting... Almost Perfect! Oh! One really important thing to note! All proceeds for Almost Perfect for the month of May will be going to Relay for Life! So you see, get the book now!

Almost Perfect by Jenna Jaxon

Pamela Kimball’s birthday present, a 1Night Stand adventure, promises jump-start her life, put a new man in her bed, and help her forget her past. Unfortunately, movie-buff Pam’s Pirates of the Caribbean fantasy takes an alarming wrong turn when she’s abandoned on a not quite deserted island—with ex-husband Roger Ware.
Forced by hunger to accept Roger’s offer of dinner, Pam realizes the geek she married has transformed into one of the most charming, sexiest men she’s ever met. His newfound confidence—and hot body—re-kindles old fires. A simple kiss leads Roger to challenges her to discover how much his lovemaking skills have improved, leaving Pam torn between self-preservation and burning desire.
With time running out before they’re rescued, Pam must decide if her heart can survive the consequences of becoming Roger’s “almost” perfect 1Night Stand.

Buy it from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Decadent Publishing | All Romance Ebooks

Jenna Jaxon

Jenna Jaxon is a multi-published author of historical and contemporary romance who has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, Jenna has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own writing.
Jenna lives in Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets. When not reading or writing, she indulges her passion for the theatre, working with local theatres as a director. She often feels she is directing her characters on their own private stage.
She has equated her writing to an addiction to chocolate because once she starts she just can’t stop.

Website | Facebook

Time for a short excerpt!

She inched into the lapping surf, searching for movement. Reflection off the water made this task harder than expected. Wasn’t the Caribbean supposed to be teeming with fish? Now that’s something she’d had a lot of instruction in. Almost every marooned-on-an-island movie had a scene where the heroine learned to catch fish. Six Days, Father Goose, Blue Lagoon. All you needed was your hands and patience. She could do this.
Pam waded out further then stopped just before the water hit her now dry shorts. “Not gonna to have a damp crotch all night.” The words reminded her of exactly what she had hoped for tonight. “But not from wet shorts!” She headed back to shore to remove and drape them next to her shirt. The bandeau was a different story. Still damp, even after several hours, and uncomfortable. Might dry better if not next to her skin anyway. “Screw it! Live dangerously.”
Standing as good as naked on the deserted beach, Pam smiled as the warm breeze caressed her bare body. The sense of being slightly naughty added to her delight in the sensual feel of the air as it dried her breasts. Her nipples peaked as the wind cooled them. She strutted down to the water’s edge to sink her toes in the sand, the salty tang in the air adding to the perfect moment.
“If you’re skinny dipping, you forgot to remove one very important piece of clothing.”
Pam whirled around. Roger stood on the beach behind her, a green bottle of Perrier in one hand. His gaze played up and down her naked torso and his salacious grin widened. “Mind if I join you?”

And now, let's welcome Jenna to the blog!

Different Strokes: When A Relationship Comes Apart

It always happens. You’re in a committed relationship, everything is sunshine and roses (especially in a romance novel) and then something happens. It might be a big something (like cheating) or it might be a little something (realizing he likes action films and she likes romantic comedies) but usually there comes a time when a couple begins to realize they might not be meant for each other. In one of my previous blog posts, I talked about the process of relationships coming together and specifically about memorable meetings. Today I’d like to explore the flip side to that, and take a look at what happens when a relationship begins to come apart.

According to Mark Knapp, there are five stages of a relationship coming apart, just as there wee five stages of coming together. The first stage of the coming apart process is called differentiating. During this stage, couples begin to realize the honeymoon is over. They begin to emphasize a focus on “I” rather than “we.” They spend more time focused on individual pursuits and prefer to have their “own space.” Whereas in the early stages of coming together they focused on things in common, now they can only see how they are different. As this stage progresses, the couple must address the underlying problems in the relationship if they are to keep it from advancing to the next step.

I chose to look at the differentiating stage, because it is so often apparent in relationships in romance novels. Often, novels open at the point where the relationship has started to go sour. Or the lovers meet, fall in love and marry, only to have second thoughts later in the book. A good romance novel will mirror the back and forth nature of the relationship stages. These stages aren’t achieved in a precise march toward the inevitable. Couples in the differentiating stage may stay there for a while, jockeying for a position in the relationship where they can be both themselves and part of the couple and so reverse the trend downward. If one or the other of the pair, however, is unwilling to negotiate things like personal time and space, then the couple may descend to the lower levels of termination model.

At the beginning of my novella, Almost Perfect, the couple has already achieved the termination stage and divorced two years before. During the course of the book the reader finds out how their relationship slid down that slippery slope. And readers see first hand how the couple’s personalities and circumstances helped bring about the demise of the marriage. Here’s an excerpt of one of their early meetings on the island that illustrates some of their differences:

Excerpt from Almost Perfect:

“So what’ve you been up to the past two years?” The question, on the heels of those carnal thoughts, made her scowl. Staying celibate, that’s what. But she wouldn’t admit it.
“I tried teaching for a while.” Not one of her successes.
“You didn’t like it?”
“Not really. I substituted at an elementary school. Thought I might pursue a Masters so I could teach full time, but it didn’t seem right for me.” She shrugged. “Then I worked at an advertising agency.”
His prolonged silence irked her. Was he waiting for a confession of some sort?
“Why advertising?” His eyes never left hers. Jesus, was he going to give her the third degree?
“I thought it would be fun. And there was this guy.…” Now that was an excellent way to lead him to the wrong conclusion. Her friend Greg, from high school, needed an assistant after his previous one quit. She filled in for six months, until the initially exciting and fast-paced job wasn’t so exciting anymore. “Unfortunately, that didn’t work out.” Let him think she meant the guy, not the job. For some reason she didn’t want him to know about her lack of boyfriends.
“You’ve just had all the bad luck with jobs, haven’t you?”
She raised her chin. “I haven’t had to struggle to make ends meet.”
“Thanks to the alimony I deposit into your account each month.” He picked up her water-stained sandal, pointedly staring at the name emblazoned down the middle. “Gloria Vanderbilt? I do remember some of the designers you used to frequent.”
She sprang onto her knees and snatched the shoe out of his hands. “What I do with my money is my damned business. You wanted out of the marriage bad enough to pay substantially for it.”
“I think any man would want out of a marriage where his wife compares him to a lukewarm Pee-wee Herman, then likens his lovemaking skills to ‘Pee-wee’s Big Top Adventure with the good bits taken out.’” Spoken in a soft, even tone, the words made her squirm. But there was no way to deny it—those were her exact words the night he’d thrown her out.
“I just called it as I saw it.”
“And you saw it so infrequently I’m surprised you remembered.”
“You can’t put it all on me! You were at the damned office all day and half the night. Can I help it if I was too exhausted to stay awake to ‘service’ you when you got in at 3 am?”
“Why were you so exhausted, Pam? You didn’t work. You sat around and watched those damned movies all day long. How tiring is that? Unless there were additional ‘coming’ attractions in between show times?” The mild manner of his voice suggested disinterest, but his eyes focused on her face, alert for any hint of guilt.

Is there any wonder these two got a divorce? They didn’t just slide down the slope, they galloped! And seem willing to take termination to a new low now. But, as I said above, these stages can go forward or reverse and given the right circumstances (as so often happens in romance novels) even a lost cause can be given a new chance at love.

So yep, that's about it for today! Go here to check out the other tour stops! You'll find loads of awesome stuff on the other tour sites too! :D Remember, the proceeds for this book is going to Relay for Life for the month of May! I know the month is ending but there's still time! Look at it this way. You get to read a great book at the same time doing your little bit for charity. What's not to love? ;)