Happy Release Day: Guest Post w/ Elizabeth Hoyt: Notorious Pleasures; & Int. Giveaway of SIGNED copy

I'm so excited to have Ms. Elizabeth Hoyt here today on the blog! Notorious Pleasures is one of those books that I've have been anxiously awaiting for the time when I can finally access my pre-ordered download! I fell in the love with the characters of the Maiden Lane series when Elizabeth introduced them to me in the first installment, Wicked Intentions. And now today, I can finally indulge myself with a little "pleasure"! :)

Without further ado, help me welcome Ms. Elizabeth Hoyt to Among the Muses!

~*~Book Blurb~*

Their lives were perfect . . .
 

Lady Hero Batten, the impeccable sister of the Duke of Wakefield has everything a woman could want, including the perfect fiancé. True, the Marquis of Mandeville is a trifle dull and has no sense of humor, but that doesn’t bother Hero. Until she meets his notorious brother . . .

Until they met each other.
 

Griffin Remmington, Lord Reading is far from perfect—and he likes it that way. How he spends his days is a mystery, but all London knows he engages in the worst sorts of drunken revelry at night. Hero takes an instant dislike to him, and Griffin thinks that Hero, with her charities and faultless manners, much too perfect for society, let alone his brother. Yet their near-constant battle of wits soon sparks desire—desire which causes their carefully constructed worlds to come tumbling down. As Hero’s wedding nears, and Griffin’s enemies lay plans to end their dreams forever, can two imperfect people find perfect true love?

~*~ Guest Post ~*~

So, my final semester of college I had my life all planned. I was going to graduate—on time!—join the Peace Corp, and spend two years in Africa before I had to come up with a more permanent plan for my life. I’d already collected the required letters of recommendation for the Peace Corp, filled out the forms, got myself fingerprinted (!) and gone through the first round of interviews. Life looked good! I’d always liked traveling and while the probability of coming home from Africa with an intestinal parasite was near 100%, I was pretty psyched.

And then I started seeing this guy by the name of Mr. Hoyt who had no money, a car with holes in the floorboard, and what he said were only two years left to finish his Ph.D. but in reality took more like five. Yes! Love totally took my life plan down, and to this day I’m sadly free of intestinal parasites. I do have two lovely children and twenty-two years of generally blissful marriage, but I digress.

What does this have to do with my newest book, Notorious Pleasures? Well, my heroine, Lady Hero Batten, also has her life completely planned. She’s newly engaged to the Marquess of Mandeville. Mandeville is handsome, rich, aristocratic (of course!) and the political ally of Hero’s brother. He’s the perfect match for her and Hero is quite…pleased…to become his fiancée. And then, on the very night she’s becomes engaged she meets another man. This man (Lord Griffin Reading) is rude, he’s an unrepentant rake, it’s rumored that he seduced his brother’s first wife, and, oh, yeah, when Hero first meets him, he’s shagging another women—a married woman.

We’re all on board with this, yes? Griffin is not right for Hero. Her brother can see that, her Cousin Bathilda can see that, her sister can see that, heck, even Hero can see that. So why is she attracted to this patently non-perfect guy? You’ll have to read Notorious Pleasures to find out the answer to that—although Griffin’s sense of humor does play a part. What I’m interested in is the choice that Hero suddenly finds herself with: to do what everyone expects of her or to let her life take a different direction than the one she’d planned. It seems like an easy choice—of course you’d go with love and the rakish hero—but what if there are real consequences to that choice? What if taking that path changes everything in your life? It takes courage to change course—especially if you’re the type of person who is cautious about life decisions as Hero is.

I hope you enjoy Griffin and Hero’s story and the choice Hero eventually makes, and in the meantime you can tell me about unexpected turns your life has taken. I’m giving away a signed copy of Notorious Pleasures to one lucky commenter!


 

~*~ Special Sneak Peak ~*~

The moment Griffin entered the third room he knew Lady Hero was here. It might have been the faint scent of a woman, or perhaps he heard a low gasp. Or perhaps he simply knew on a level below his senses and skin, a level as deep as his soul: She was here. He closed the door behind him, enclosing them both in near darkness. A single candle flickered, abandoned, on a side table.

Griffin glanced about the room. It seemed to be a small library or retiring room. A trio of chairs was by the fireplace on the far side, facing away from the door. Two settees were nearer to him, at right angles around a low table in the center of the room. One of the settees had its back to him, but the trio of chairs was the more obvious choice.

He smiled slightly, feeling his pulse spike, and walked slowly toward the fireplace.

She waited until he was bent over the nearest chair. There was a scuffling and a sudden flurry, but he was watching.

Griffin whirled and made it to the door before she did.

Hero halted, panting, inches from his chest.

He cocked his head, smiling not at all nicely. “Going somewhere, my Lady Perfect?”

“Let me out,” she said. Any other woman would’ve pleaded.

She demanded.

He took a step toward her, forcing her to step back or let him run into her. “No.”

She flung back her head, regal and palely beautiful. The diamonds in her red hair glittered. “I’ve told you I won’t marry you.”

“So you have,” he agreed pleasantly. “But I’m not looking for marriage at the moment.”

Her lips parted, and he saw the delicate skin on her throat flutter under her heartbeat. He’d bedded her only this morning. She’d been an innocent, she’d still be sore. They were in a public gathering, for Christ’s sake.

None of it mattered.

He was ragingly hard for her.

“Come here,” he whispered.

“Griffin.”

He half closed his eyes at her murmur. “You say my name like a lover, so soft, so sweet. I want to lick the word from your lips, sip the exhaled breath from your mouth. I want to possess you utterly. Right now. Right here.”

She darted then, a hart flushed from cover, and tried to leap around him. He caught her by her waist and flung her up against the closed door.

Then he bent his head and looked her in her brilliant diamond-gray eyes. “What will it be, madam?”

~*~ Elizabeth Hoyt & Notorious Pleasures ~*~

Elizabeth's Website

Notorious Pleasures @ Amazon

Notorious Pleasures @ Book Depository

Giveaway:

• Ms. Hoyt has so generously offered up one signed copy of Notorious Pleasures to one very lucky commenter!!

• Open Internationally

• Winner will be selected via random.org and be notified through email.

• Contest runs Feb.1 - Feb.5

You Must:

• Comment on Elizabeth's post by answering: Tell me about unexpected turns your life has taken.

• Leave your email addy with your comment.

Good Luck, and thank you for coming out to support Elizabeth and her newest release! 

If you haven't started the Maiden Lane series... I highly recommend you do! :)