“I’ll love you with all the madness in my soul…”

I announced a few months ago that I decided to self-publish the third book in The Mephisto Covenant series. Things are rocking along toward that goal and there will be a cover reveal for The Mephisto Mark on July 24th, so stay tuned for that. I think you’ll like it!

To learn the ropes of self-publishing – and there are a whole lotta ropes! – I decided to publish a historical romance. I’ve worked on this manuscript off and on for a few years, and I’m terribly proud of it. My first love in reading is historical romance. After all, my introduction to adult novels was Jane Eyre when I was 10 years old. I dropped all my fave horse books and never looked back. And now, finally, after so many years of wanting to publish my own historical romance, I recently released The Last Duchess. It’s very sexy – which means there’s a lot of sex, so don’t say I didn’t tell you – but it’s a book about family and respect and honor and recovery.

In my personal life, I’ve seen the effects of sexual assault, which we tend to think about in modern terms, but creepy douchebags have been assaulting women since the beginning of mankind. In Regency England, aristocratic women were very protected and sheltered, in part because they were a commodity to their family. A wellborn woman with assets would attract a wellborn man with assets, and joining two powerful, wealthy families was considered a very good thing. So a young woman was watched carefully to ensure she was virginal and pure when it came time for her to become betrothed, to protect her reputation. Just the hint of impropriety was as bad as if she actually did anything improper. So, all well and good, but I’m certain some of those women weren’t watched quite carefully enough, and they were victims of rape from those who should have been protecting them. The Last Duchess is the story of a young woman confident in herself, loved by her family, admired by her peers. Then, she’s assaulted, and her world changes.

I sincerely hope you’ll read The Last Duchess. It’s as much a story about redefining oneself as it is a story of trust and love. You can read more about it, including the blurb and an excerpt, here.