What's Clover Been Doing? A Vintage Wedding Of Course

Hi everyone. It feels like I've hit and missed being here for the last couple of months. But I have a good excuse. My only daughter got married in December and being a first time Mother of the Bride, I wasn't sure what to expect.

It turned out beautiful though. My daughter, Alannah, has always loved being unique so she took us all back in time with her for a vintage 1920s-1930s type of feel.

 And funny thing, even though you'd expect planning a wedding to be stressful, I found myself more hopeful for the future, more able to look at my own life and plans I have for both my career and family, even finances, from a much less stressful viewpoint. Maybe it's the beginning of a new family or the promise of new love as I see my child look at her new husband with stars and hope in her eyes.

   

Maybe that's why we come back to romance novels over and over again. To recapture that feeling of new love, renewed hope, renewed everything ...

 So here's to romance and beautiful brides in every decade.

Debut Week for Simone St. James

IT'S PARTY TIME!!!

This week we're celebrating the release of THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE by our own Simone St. James!!   Is that a gorgeous cover or what??? I am so excited that this novel, published by NAL (Penguin), is finally hitting the shelves.

Sarah Piper’s lonely, threadbare existence changes when her temporary agency sends her to assist a ghost hunter. Alistair Gellis – rich, handsome, scarred by World War I, and obsessed with ghosts – has been summoned to investigate the spirit of nineteen-year-old Maddy Clare, who is haunting the barn where she committed suicide. Since Maddy hated men in life, it is Sarah’s task to confront her in death.

 

Soon Sarah is caught up in a desperate struggle. For Maddy’s ghost is real, she’s angry, and she has powers that defy all reason. Can Sarah and Alistair’s assistant, the rough, unsettling Matthew Ryder, discover who Maddy was, where she came from, and what is driving her desire for vengeance – before she destroys them all?

You don't need to just take my word that this is a fabulous book. Here's what others are saying:

“An atmospheric and resoundingly old-fashioned ghost story that pulls you in from the first pages… Recommended.”

-The Historical Novels Review

“The book’s spooky atmosphere and post-WWI setting are well developed… St. James is one to watch.”

-RT Book Review

"With a fresh, unique voice, Simone St. James creates an atmosphere that is deliciously creepy and a heroine you won't soon forget. The Haunting of Maddy Clare promises spooky thrills and it delivers. Read it, enjoy it - but don't turn out the lights!"

-Deanna Raybourn, author of the Julia Grey series

"Fast, fun, and gripping. Kept me up into the wee hours."

-C. S. Harris, author of the Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery series

"The Haunting of Maddy Clare is a compelling read. With a strong setting, vivid supporting characters and sympathetic protagonists, the book is a wonderful blend of romance, mystery, and pure creepiness. Simone St. James is a talent to watch."

-Anne Stuart, New York Times bestselling author of Shameless

"A compelling and beautifully written debut full of mystery, emotion and romance."

-Madeline Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of The Surrender of Miss Fairbourne

"The Haunting of Maddy Clare is a novel of chilling romantic suspense that evokes the lost era between the world wars that so wounded the lives of the young men and women of England, and adds to the mix an inventively dark, gothic ghost story. Read it with the lights on. Simply spellbinding."

-Susanna Kearsley , New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Winter Sea

RELEASE WEEK PARTY!!!!

We'll have more from Simone St. James -- more about her and more about THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE -- all week long. Stay tuned.

Simone is generously giving away two signed copies of THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE throughout the week to two lucky commenters. Come back and comment often.

Good luck!

And congratulations Simone!