Rose Lerner

New contest: "The Suffragette Scandal" by Courtney Milan

ETA: This contest is now closed. Kelly won the book!

Do I need to remind y’all how much I love The Suffragette Scandal? Well, if I do, here is my Goodreads review in its entirety: “Probably my favorite book in the series. A con artist/forger with no self-esteem and a suffragette reporter, what is not to love? Also I cried. A lot.”

The back cover copy:

An idealistic suffragette…

Miss Frederica “Free” Marshall has put her heart and soul into her newspaper, known for its outspoken support of women’s rights. Naturally, her enemies are intent on destroying her business and silencing her for good. Free refuses to be at the end of her rope…but she needs more rope, and she needs it now.

…a jaded scoundrel…

Edward Clark’s aristocratic family abandoned him to die in a war-torn land, so he survived the only way he could: by becoming a rogue and a first-class forger. When the same family that left him for dead vows to ruin Miss Marshall, he offers his help. So what if he has to lie to her? She’s only a pawn to use in his revenge.

…and a scandal seven years in the making.

But the irrepressible Miss Marshall soon enchants Edward. By the time he realizes that his cynical heart is hers, it’s too late. The only way to thwart her enemies is to reveal his scandalous past…and once the woman he loves realizes how much he’s lied to her, he’ll lose her forever.

I am not exaggerating. I cried A LOT. Of course, Courtney’s books always make me cry—

(THE SCENE: a restaurant where I am meeting Susanna Fraser for lunch. I am weeping openly as I scroll on my phone.

ENTER SUSANNA.

SUSANNA: Are you crying?
ME: It’s just allergies!
SUSANNA: So…you’re allergic to Courtney Milan?

YES. YES, I AM ALLERGIC TO COURTNEY MILAN)

—but this one made me cry even MORE. And also laugh, and make joyous squeaking noises, and flap my hands around, and, and, and.

Not only is this a lovely signed trade paperback, but I also scored you a limited edition thimble bookmark and a Huzzah! Suffragettes! button (here pictured with spokesmodel T-Rex, click on the picture to see it larger).

I only wish I could also send you the cake pop Courtney gave me when I bought it, but alas, I ate it. I can assure you it was delicious though, and a beautiful sparkly blue, and, IIRC, red velvet on the inside.

The rules:

1. Comment on this post to enter.
2. The winner will be chosen at random using random.org.
3. US and Canada only.
4. Open for entries through December 24th.
5. I got this book signed at a conference. Courtney isn’t involved in the giveaway.

If you’d like to be alerted when new contests go up (wait till you see the gift basket I’m getting ready for the release of True Pretenses!), you can sign up for my newsletter.

Good luck!

Sweet Disorder 30% off this week!

Sweet Disorder is a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2014.

Huzzah! I really can’t articulate how thrilled I am by this. To be one of only 6 romances chosen, in a year full of such wonderful romances (although aren’t they all?)…it’s really an honor.

To celebrate, Sweet Disorder is on sale in the Samhain store for 30% off (this week only)! That’s right, just $3.85!

2014 holiday mailing!

ETA (12/8/14): all postcards have been mailed. If you don’t receive yours within a reasonable amount of time, please let me know! My email is lerner.rose@gmail.com.

Happy holidays, everyone! Would you like to see your pals from my books celebrating Christmas? Well you can!

I’ve written three brand-new adorable Christmas snippets, 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 this holiday season, I’ll mail you the scene of your choice along with a True Pretenses postcard that will give you a sneak peek at the book’s first five chapters!

(Remember, True Pretenses is my second Lively St. Lemeston book, about a marriage of convenience between a philanthropist heiress and a Jewish con artist, coming out in January. 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.)

Here is how to sign up for the mailing:

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

2. Put “2014 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. I cannot emphasize this enough. However, if you don’t feel comfortable sharing a physical address, I am happy to send your gift via e-mail. Just ask!

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

5. If you want more than one snippet, no problem! For each additional snippet, 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. Let me know in your email what you’ve done and which extra snippet(s) I should put in your envelope. 🙂

6. 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. To keep the envelope under one ounce, international folks may receive some or all of their snippets via e-mail.

8. I won’t be posting these snippets 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.

New contest: "A Shocking Delight" by Jo Beverley

ETA: This contest is now closed. Virginia won the book!

When I asked what authors you’d like to see me give away signed books by, of you requested Jo Beverley. So here is a signed copy of A Shocking Delight!

The man she shouldn’t want. The woman he shouldn’t marry…

David Kerslake, smuggling master from The Dragon’s Bride, is now Earl of Wyvern and must survive the ton as well as the Preventive Officers.

Lucy Potter, daughter of a wealthy merchant, is more interested in trade than in the men after her dowry. When forced to have a London season, she sets out to enjoy herself rather than to find a husband. But once she meets the notorious Earl of Wyvern, her resolve weakens, and when they kiss, it dissolves—even though her instincts warn he’s dangerous.

Wyvern has a dark secret, which means he must win a rich bride. Lucinda Potter seems ideal. Not for her beauty and her lively charm, but because at first meeting she seems unlikely to realize the truth.

As he comes to know her, however, as they spar and kiss, he realizes she’s too clever and honest by far. Marrying Lucy would mean living a lie with the woman he has come to love…

This book looks AWESOME, y’all. The rules:

1. Comment on this post to enter.
2. The winner will be chosen at random using random.org.
3. US and Canada only.
4. Open for entries through November 20th.
5. I got this book signed at a conference. Ms. Beverley isn’t involved in the giveaway. So if you want to tell her how much you love her books, visit her website. (But here you CAN tell ME how much you love them!)

If you’d like to be alerted when new contests go up (wait till you see the gift basket I’m getting ready for the release of True Pretenses!), you can sign up for my newsletter.

Good luck!

Leveragérables: There's a new world for the winning

x-posted from my tumblr.

I have been thinking of nothing but a Leverage/Les Misérables mash-up for DAYS.

The scene opens in a French galley. A prisoner about to be released is brought to see the guard.

Nate in a jail cell with gold buttons photoshopped onto his coat to make him look like Javert

NATE: You are a thief!
SOPHIE: I stole a loaf of bread!

Sophie in a striped shirt with "24601" photoshopped onto the shoulder
Continue reading “Leveragérables: There's a new world for the winning”

New contest: Theresa Romain's Holiday Pleasures series

ETA: This contest is now closed. Bonnie won the books!

Hi everyone! The contest this time is really special. The fourth and final book in Theresa Romain’s Holiday Pleasures series is coming out in a couple of weeks (Season for Desire, I’ve read it, it’s awesome, you can read my goodreads rec here, and to celebrate, I’m giving away the first THREE books in the series. Not only that, but since Theresa was my roommate at RWA14, I was able to give her the books to sign and ship, which means she will personalize them for you!

Season for Temptation. This book absolutely floored me when it came out, and I think it’s still one of the funniest, freshest historicals I’ve ever read. Continue reading “New contest: Theresa Romain's Holiday Pleasures series”

EXT. PARIS – SUNSET

Warning: here be spoilers.

***

ETA: I wrote more about these guys after all! The newest version of Lily, the one with this cover:

has a brand-new epilogue set in Paris, in which René and Elijah prepare for a visit from Solomon and Serena.

A lot of people have asked me whether I’ll ever write a story about what happens in a certain gay secondary romance after the end of A Lily Among Thorns. The truth is, I probably won’t, because to me, their story is over. Their conflict is resolved. In fact, there’s no doubt in my mind that their next meeting will go something like this…

Funny search terms Jan.-Aug. 2014

I think I need to start doing semi-regular posts about search terms people use to find my site! Some of my favorites from August:

what mean henry with a man aint nothing but a man [it’s like poetry]
let s see paul allen s card [Wooo only the best scene in American Psycho!]
how can you live with yourself lucius gift [I assume that last person actually meant to type “gif” but I quite like the name “Lucius Gift.” I may have to use that one of these days.]

July:

gout funny quotes [Nothing funnier than gout, amirite?]
ivanhoe parody [THERE ARE SO MANY]
the art of governing a wife [Was this person actually searching for my post? Or do they…want to know about the art of governing a wife? Or what?]
voldemort slaps lucius [seriously, hilarious Harry Potter searches were always the best on my fanfiction site too. What is it about Harry Potter that makes for such amazing google searches?]
of course she is my favorite aunt she is freaking awesome [I don’t really want context honestly]
harlequin covers fabio [hard to see how my site could even have been in the first ten pages of results for this? how in depth was this person’s search?]

April:

heroine interview sex stories [what is this person looking for? is the heroine a reporter? is the sex story in the form of an interview?]
historical romance with blond hero [awww]

March:

tumblr logan echolls meta [why does it have to be on tumblr??]
roselerner penn badgley [this person legit appears to be looking for some post I made on tumblr about Penn Badgley!! I have never been so flattered!]
rebecca stronger than rowena [hey hey the ladies don’t have to be in competition]
when a husband would sell his wife would she wear a halter [!!!!!! WELL THERE’S A FAMOUS ROWLANDSON ILLUSTRATION BUT I DON’T THINK IT WAS A REQUIREMENT]

February:

roger moore cocktail glass [this search term describes my sexuality to a T]
philosemite creepy [you get me, googler]
corinthians/aliens [?]
which sonnet says my love is nothing like a rose [I’m impressed this person actually clicked through to something on my site because I assume they want “My mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun” and it’s the first hit for this search]
a man aint nothing but a man mean [okay is this the same person months earlier, or is this a common concern?]

January:

holy roman emperor frederick 111 and gingerbread
romance novels giving women unrealistic expectations [FUCK YOU]
she trapped him under her skirt and smother him [???????]
death by hounds [!!!!!!!]

Con Movie Watchalong Wednesdays!

Announcing Con Movie Watchalong Wednesdays! A series of nine classic con films, hosted by the BFF (@Sonia_P_L) and me (@RoseLerner) on Twitter. Most of these are movies I haven’t seen and I’m super excited to discover them with you! We’ll be watching every other Wednesday starting September 17th and ending when my con artist book True Pretenses releases in January. We’ve staggered the times so hopefully folks on both coasts will have an opportunity to join in.

Watch the movies along with us and chat about them on Twitter using hashtag #cmwaw.

Schedule (summaries from imdb.com):

9/17/14, 3:30PM Pacific/6:30PM Eastern: “The Music Man” (1962). A con man comes to a Midwestern town with a scam using a boy’s marching band program, but things don’t go according to plan. Trailer

10/1/14, 6:30PM Pacific/9:30PM Eastern: “Catch Me If You Can” (2002), starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars’ worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. Trailer

10/15/14, 3:30PM Pacific: “Anastasia” (1997), with the voices of Meg Ryan and John Cusack. The last surviving child of the Russian Royal Family hooks up with two con men to reunite with her grandmother, the Dowager Empress, while the undead Rasputin seeks her death. I feel like this is misleading because it doesn’t make it sound like a con! And also be prepared for me to rant a lot about the Romanovs. But whatever. The point is, DMITRI. I fell so hard for Dmitri when I saw this in theaters. That nose! Trailer

10/29, 6:30PM Pacific: “White Men Can’t Jump” (1992), starring Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, and Rosie Perez. Black and white basketball hustlers join forces to double their chances. Trailer

11/12, 3:30PM Pacific: “The Rainmaker” (1956), starring Katherine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster. Lizzie Curry is on the verge of becoming a hopeless old maid. Her wit and intelligence and skills as a homemaker can’t make up for the fact that she’s just plain plain! Even the town sheriff, File, for whom she harbors a secrect yen, won’t take a chance—until the town suffers a drought and into the lives of Lizzie and her brothers and father comes one Bill Starbuck…profession: Rainmaker! Yes, please! Trailer

11/26 (Thanksgiving Wednesday!), 6:30PM Pacific: “The Grifters” (1990), a Martin Scorsese-produced thriller starring Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, and Annette Bening. A small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend—both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play. Trailer

12/10, 3:30PM Pacific: “Six Degrees of Separation” (1993), starring Will Smith, Stockard Channing, and Donald Sutherland. “An affluent New York couple find their lives touched, intruded upon, and compelled by a mysterious young black man who is never quite who he says he is.” Um, okay. Way to leave out the best part which is that Will Smith is passing himself off as Sidney Poitier’s son! Trailer

(One list that we used as a resource while planning this series remarked: “My high school staged a production of the play in which ‘Sidney Poiter’s son’ was played by a pale red head. Didn’t quite work.” I totally recommend reading the list. The compiler evaluates each movie based on the verisimilitude of the cons portrayed.)

12/24 (Christmas Eve!), 6:30PM Pacific: “The Brothers Bloom” (2008), starring Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo, Adrian Brody, and Rinko Kikuchi. The Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they’ve decided to take on one last job—showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.

This movie was the direct inspiration for True Pretenses because I loved it but I HATED the ending. I knew it was coming for the whole film, it was obviously the only thing that could happen, and I still desperately didn’t want it to happen. Trailer

And wrapping up on 1/14/15, 3:30PM Pacific with “The Sting” (1973), starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. In 1930s Chicago, a young con man seeking revenge for his murdered partner teams up with a master of the big con to win a fortune from a criminal banker. I haven’t seen this but David Maurer, author of The Big Con (another book I drew on while writing Pretenses) sued Warner Brothers for $10 million dollars, claiming that they plagiarized his book in the screenplay. (Apparently the suit was settled out of court for $350k.) Trailer

New contest: A LILY AMONG THORNS e-books, and a gift basket!

ETA: This contest is now closed! The winner of the basket is Susan, and the e-book winners are: Kim, Rebe, Julie N., Joye, and Katie. Congratulations!

My second book, A Lily Among Thorns, re-releases on September 2nd!

Lady Serena Ravenshaw is one of London’s most prosperous women, but she’s never forgotten the misery that set her on the path to success. Nor has she forgotten the drunken young gentleman who gave her the means to start her long, tortuous climb out of the gutter. When he knocks on the door of the Ravenshaw Arms to ask her help in retrieving a stolen family heirloom, she readily agrees to help, and to let him stay rent-free. After all, Serena prefers debts to fall in her favor.

Still grieving the death of his twin brother, Solomon Hathaway just wants to be left alone in his dye-making shop—until his highborn uncle sends him to the infamous Lady Serena to scour London’s underworld for the missing bauble. He’s shocked to discover she’s the same bedraggled waif to whom he once gave his entire quarterly allowance. Yet as they delicately tread common ground, they must negotiate a treacherous world of crime, espionage and betrayal before they can learn to trust—and love—again.

You can read the first chapter here.

The book was in and out of print pretty quickly because of the Dorchester disaster, and I’m thrilled that it can be read again! To celebrate, I’m giving away 5 Lily e-books and a fantabulous gift basket (not literally. There is no actual basket)!
Continue reading “New contest: A LILY AMONG THORNS e-books, and a gift basket!”