Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure
today to host Alix Rickloff and her new book, “Secrets of Nanreath Hall!” For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be sure to make it to the end of this post to
enter to win a digital copy of “Secrets of Nanreath Hall.” Also, come back daily to interact with Alix
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you lots of luck in this exciting
giveaway!
Secrets of
Nanreath Hall
by Alix Rickloff
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GENRE:
Historical Fiction
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BLURB:
Cornwall, 1940. Back in
England after the harrowing evacuation at Dunkirk, WWII Red Cross nurse Anna
Trenowyth finds herself unexpectedly assigned to Nanreath Hall-her dead
mother's childhood home. All Anna has left of her mother, Lady Katherine
Trenowyth, are vague memories that tease her with clues she can't unravel. Anna
knows this could be the chance for her to finally become acquainted with the
family she's never known-and to learn the truth about her past.
Cornwall, 1913. In the luxury of pre-WWI England, Lady Katherine Trenowyth is expected to do nothing more than make a smart marriage. When Simon Halliday, a bohemian painter, enters her world, Katherine begins to question the future that was so carefully laid out for her. Her choices soon lead her away from the stability of her home and family toward a wild existence of life, art, and love.
As Anna is drawn into her newfound family's lives and their tangled loyalties, she must decide if the secrets of the past are too dangerous to unearth…and if the family she's discovered is one she can keep.
Cornwall, 1913. In the luxury of pre-WWI England, Lady Katherine Trenowyth is expected to do nothing more than make a smart marriage. When Simon Halliday, a bohemian painter, enters her world, Katherine begins to question the future that was so carefully laid out for her. Her choices soon lead her away from the stability of her home and family toward a wild existence of life, art, and love.
As Anna is drawn into her newfound family's lives and their tangled loyalties, she must decide if the secrets of the past are too dangerous to unearth…and if the family she's discovered is one she can keep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT ONE:
"I
am dying.”
Prue puts
down her sewing and eyes me through her cheaters, but in no other way does she
reveal the shock she must be feeling at my news.
“Cancer,
so Mr. Porter tells me.” I blunder on before she can gather herself to speak.
“He suggests I put my affairs in order while my strength remains, but what’s
there to organize? The last payment I received for modeling was just enough to
pay the doctor’s consultation fee. By the time Andre returns from Biarritz or
San Remo or wherever he’s gone in search of lucrative commissions, I won’t be
in any position to pose for him or anyone else.”
We are
taking advantage of a mild winter’s afternoon to take the air in Prue’s small
back garden. Laundry flaps on the line, and in the corner by Graham’s potting
shed, the earth has been turned in preparation for planting cabbages and
cauliflower. My journal lies open in my lap where I have tried to capture the
poignant intimacy of the scene, but my mind won’t focus. Memories laced with
regret and grief simmer too close to the surface for me to concentrate on my
work.
I chose
my moment carefully. Graham is at the pub, leaving Prue and me alone in the
little house on Queen’s Crescent. I know I can no longer hide my illness from
her. She is far too observant and has already noticed my lack of appetite and
how quickly I grow tired from the least strenuous of activities. It’s just as
well. I need her counsel and her quiet common sense. She’ll not burden me with
useless sympathy. That isn’t her way. For good or ill, life must be faced head-
on. She has taught me that if nothing else.
“There’s
Anna,” she says simply, as if reading my thoughts. “You must make arrangements
for her.”
Anna. My
daughter. My dearest treasure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
I’m
coming up on a pretty big birthday. And while I won’t divulge my age, let’s
just say I ain’t gettin’ any younger.
Now
birthdays don’t usually bother me. After all, inside I feel an eternal fifteen.
You know that awkward age where you feel insecure, lacking in confidence and
constantly comparing yourself to everyone around you, imagining they have it
miraculously together while you wallow in self-doubt.
But I
digress.
As I
said, getting older has yet to hold too many fears. But this birthday did start
me thinking about those things still on my bucket list. That great lifelong
to-do. So I sat down to write them out. And sat. And stared. And sat some more.
Here’s what I finally came up with after much pondering and in no particular
order:
1)
Travel
(so many places I still want to visit)
2)
Finish
reading Wuthering Heights (what is up with Heathcliff anyway?)
3)
Live
abroad (no specified duration or place—just sounds fun)
4)
Learn
to fence (my inner Errol Flynn complex rearing its ugly head)
5)
Hit
the NYT list (a writer can dream, can’t she?)
6)
Remodel
my bathrooms (if this were on my husband’s bucket list, they might get
renovated faster!)
That
was it! Six measly items! Have I done it all? Hardly! But the more I thought,
the more I realized I’m comfortable with where I am and what I’ve accomplished
to this point in my life. Are there things that will be added to my bucket list
in the future? Sure, it’s a definite work in progress. As is my life. But right
now, ?? seems a pretty comfortable place to be.
Maybe
I’ve matured internally more than I thought. Maybe I’ve finally left inner
adolescence behind. Goodbye gawky fifteen! Hello wise and sensible twenty-one!
At
least on the inside!
How
about you? What’s on your bucket list? Or have you been there, done that, and
seen everything?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Alix Rickloff is a critically acclaimed author
of historical and paranormal romance. Her previous novels include the Bligh
Family series (Kensington, 2009), the Heirs of Kilronan trilogy (Pocket, 2011),
and, as Alexa Egan, the Imnada Brotherhood series (Pocket, 2014). She lives in
Maryland with her husband and three children.
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CONNECT WITH ALIX:
Website: www.alixrickloff.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alixrickloff
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/alixrickloff/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2aVpjzW
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Alix will be awarding a digital copy of Secrets of
Nanreath to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and
Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not
Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are
solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Thanks for hosting!
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