Author: Rose Lerner

2015 holiday mailing: now with Hanukkah!

cover of True Pretenses photoshopped so Lydia is holding a menorahHappy holidays, everyone! Would you like to see your pals from my books celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah? Well you can!

I’ve written three adorable Christmas mini-stories, one about Solomon and Serena from A Lily Among Thorns, one about Nev and Penny from In for a Penny, and one about Phoebe and Nick from Sweet Disorder.

And brand-new for this year, I’ve got a mini-story about Ash and Lydia from True Pretenses celebrating Hanukkah together! (SPOILER: Ash has a beard.)

I’ll mail you the scene of your choice along with a Listen to the Moon postcard that will give you a sneak peek at the first five chapters, so you can get started on the book before it releases January 5th.

(Listen to the Moon is my third Lively St. Lemeston book, about an impassive valet and a snarky maid who marry to get a plum of a job—Toogood and Sukey from Sweet Disorder, if you’ve read it. If you’d like to be notified when the book comes out, sign up for my newsletter. There’s an option for new release notification ONLY if that’s your preference.)

sweet disorder cover with holly borderHere is how to sign up for the mailing:

1. E-mail me at lerner.rose@gmail.com before December 1st.

2. Put “2015 holiday mailing” in the subject line.

3. Tell me your address and the name you want me to put on the envelope.

I will never use your address for anything else, ever. However, if you’d rather not share a physical address, I am happy to send your stuff via e-mail. Just ask!

4. Tell me which couple you want to see celebrating—Solomon and Serena, Nev and Penny, Nick and Phoebe, or Ash and Lydia.

5. If you want more than one story, no problem! For each additional story, just retweet my tweet about the mailing, reblog my tumblr post, share on facebook, or somehow link to this post on social media or your blog. lily among thorns cover with big mistletoe sprigLet me know in your email what you’ve done and which extra mini-storie(s) I should send. 🙂 All additional stories will be sent via e-mail to save mailing costs.

(Except for the new True Pretenses story, everything the same as last year, so if you’ve already read one, you don’t need to request it again.)

If you don’t use social media but want extra stories, feel free to come up with an alternative! The simplest would be telling a romance-reading friend about the mailing, but if that doesn’t work, here are a few other ideas: request your library buy one of my books; recommend or loan one of my books to someone you know; leave an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads. Anything goes, this is supposed to be fun!

in for a penny cover, there's a christmas tree in the background and nev wears a santa hat6. If you don’t get a confirmation email within 3 days, please comment on this post asking me to check my spam folder.

7. This is open internationally.

8. I won’t be posting these mini-stories online anywhere—I want this to be special.

9. I will add an ETA to the top of this post when all postcards have been mailed. If you don’t receive yours within a reasonable time, please let me know.

That’s it and that’s all! I can’t wait to hear from you.

All images used in adapting my covers are from Wikimedia Commons. The bow in the Lily Christmas cover is from this photo by Milad Mosapoor.

In for a Penny bibliography

This is just a partial bibliography of some of my favorite sources. If you have particular questions about any of my research, please e-mail me or comment! It’s a subject I never get tired of talking about.

1. Bread or Blood: a study of the agrarian riots in East Anglia in 1816, by A.J. Peacock. This book was an invaluable source on “what happened in ’16” and on the hardships of the English working class in the era. As E.P. Thompson says in his foreword, “Those who are interested in the history of the common people will read this book anyway. Those who sentimentalize Regency England need to read it most of all.” Got me on both counts!

Continue reading “In for a Penny bibliography”

IN FOR A PENNY short story

I have a tradition that every time I release a book, I celebrate by posting a free short story based on a suggestion from a reader about the characters from my previous book. This story was written for the release of A Lily Among Thorns, and it is for Jenni Simmons, who wanted to see more of Percy and Louisa’s love story. Continue reading “IN FOR A PENNY short story”

In for a Penny: Deleted Scene #3

This was my original ending. Leah, my editor, asked me to change it because it wasn’t fair that the poachers had to leave their homes. She was right, of course, and I think the new ending is much better. But pranks are always fun. (In this version, Amy did convince Edward that Penelope was in danger, so he witnessed the scene where Nev offers to free the prisoners if the poachers will help him save Penelope from Sir Jasper.) Continue reading “In for a Penny: Deleted Scene #3”

In for a Penny: Deleted Scene #2

This scene originally followed the one in Chapter 12 where Lady Bedlow suggests that Penelope must naturally feel more comfortable with Percy because he is so much nearer her own class. In my first draft Nev had a little brother, Charlie. In that version Sir Jasper had also had a son, Jamie. Charlie and Jamie were friends until Jamie (instead of Sir Jasper’s wife, who died of a fever or something) was killed by a spring-gun while the boys were out playing “Robin Hood.” Charlie was, understandably, rather traumatized by this experience.

Charlie didn’t serve much of a purpose beyond me really liking a couple of his scenes, so he was one of the first things to go in revisions. I kept the bit with Nev working in the fields, of course, and the last part of this excerpt led into a conversation between Penelope and Nev that now appears in Chapter 14, the scene where Nev reads to Penelope from the Morte d’Arthur. Continue reading “In for a Penny: Deleted Scene #2”

In for a Penny: Deleted Scene #1

This scene originally went between the end of Chapter 7 (Nev and Penelope’s meeting with Kedge and Snively and Nev’s explanation of the 1816 riot) and the beginning of Chapter 8. In it, Nev and Penelope visit the local village and meet Josie Cusher for the first time. It was one of the first things to go when I had to make major cuts (in fact, only one mention of the village remains in the final draft), but I always liked it. Note the original first appearance of Agnes Cusher’s satin ribbon, and also of the ribbon Penelope is wearing in the first scene in Chapter 8. Continue reading “In for a Penny: Deleted Scene #1”