Spotlight on Jane Ashford + Giveaway

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Before you go, leave a comment on today’s guest post for five contest entries. Be sure to include your email address in your comment!

Spotlight on Jane Ashford

In my younger days, I used to devour the old Signet, Zebra, Candlelight, etc. Regencies by the dozens, and still have quite a collection on my TBR shelves. Jane Ashford was one of my favorites. I’m glad to see that she is making some of these available in digital form so that they can be enjoyed by the younger Regency readers.

The more I learned about Jane Ashford (whose real name is Jane LeCompte), the more I realized how much we have in common. She discovered Georgette Heyer in junior high school, while I discovered Heyer’s magic in ninth grade, but both of us were entranced with “the glittering world and witty language of Regency England.” She studied English literature in college. I have an English minor. She traveled widely in Britain and Europe. I studied abroad in Spain, France and Mexico, lived in Ecuador for three years, and have traveled around Europe, Central and South America. She was born in Ohio and lived in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. As for me, I’ve always lived in Ohio, except for the three years in Quito, Ecuador. She started writing at a younger age, but her career was interrupted by various life events. I read voraciously during my teaching career and began writing seriously afterward.

At the moment I’m reading The Impetuous Heiress, which features a strong, self-confident society lady labeled an “ice queen” because she’s turned down so many offers of marriage. But when she meets a tall flame-haired Scotsman who isn’t impressed by her popularity or beauty, she falls hard. This time, though, she is the one who gets turned down, and oddly enough, it only seems to make him more attractive to her. Will the Scotsman see through her social veneer to the sweet, generous girl beneath, or will his first impression of her as a rather “fast” society lady make a love match between them extremely unlikely?

Which of Jane’s Regencies have you read? Do you miss the shorter Regencies as much as I do?

Giveaway#2: One randomly chosen commenter will receive the following SIX vintage Jane Ashford Regencies*:

• The Repentant Rebel (1984)
• The Irresolute Rivals (1985)
• Meddlesome Miranda (1988)
• Gwendeline (1980)
• A Radical Arrangement (1983)
• The Impetuous Heiress (1984)

*These are used books in relatively good condition.

Jane’s new historical release is Once Again a Bride:

Pushed by her dying father into a marriage with one of his friends, Charlotte Rutherford Wylde finds herself bound to an old man who disdains and ignores her. Miserable, furious, she determines to take drastic action, but before she can confront him, her husband is murdered in the dark London streets. From the moment Charlotte hears this upsetting news, she is subject to shock after shock. Her dead husband has spent the fortune she brought him, leaving her nearly penniless. His will reflects his obsession with the artifacts of ancient Rome, turning her home into a museum. And most astonishing of all, he had an entire family that he never mentioned.

The fashionable Wyldes are as surprised to hear of Charlotte’s existence as she is of theirs. To the charismatic Alex she is, at first, just another obligation in his overburdened life. He has to grapple with his dead relative’s shady business dealings, an attempted robbery, and a suspicious Bow Street Runner. But it’s not long before Alec realizes that there is nothing he would rather do than cherish the entrancing Widow Wylde.

Jane discusses marriage laws in Regency England on the Historical Hussies blog.

Historical romances by Jane Ashford include:

• Once Again a Bride (Sourcebooks – February 2013)
• The Marriage Wager (Sourcebooks re-issue in September 2013)
• The Bargain (Bantam Books)
• Charmed and Dangerous (Bantam Books_
• Bride to Be (Bantam Books)

Regency romances by Jane Ashford include:

• Gwendeline (Warner Books)
• Bluestocking (Warner Books)
• Man of Honour (Sourcebooks re-issue in August 2013)
• Rivals of Fortune (Warner Books)
• The Three Graces (Sourcebooks re-issue in October 2013)
• The Marchington Scandal (NAL/Signet)
• The Headstrong Ward (NAL/Signet)
• A Radical Arrangement (NAL/Signet)
• First Season (NAL/Signet)
• The Impetuous Heiress (NAL/Signet)
• The Repentant Rebel (NAL/Signet)
• The Irresolute Rivals (NAL/Signet)
• The Reluctant Rake (NAL/Signet)
• Meddlesome Miranda (NAL/Signet)

Jane Ashford’s Web Site