Regan here. I'm so excited to tell you about my new release. If you are looking for an escape this holiday season, or if you're home alone and wish you were celebrating Christmas with a group of wonderful friends, I have the story for you!
My brand new release, A Secret Scottish Christmas, is a Regency set on the northeast coast of Scotland. Celebrate Christmas in Scotland with spies, Scots and shipmasters—and the Agents of the Crown!
“A bit of a love triangle, handsome spies, artistic heroines and secrets, traditions and romance all wrapped up with a big Christmas bow. Seasonally enchanting and romantically perfect!”
– Chicks, Rogues & Scandals
Scotland 1819
Twin brothers Nash and Robbie Powell of Powell & Sons Shipping, London, sail with their fellow Agents of the Crown to Scotland for a secret celebration of Christmastide, a holiday long frowned upon by the Scottish Kirk. But more than Christmas is being kept secret. The two brothers have accepted an assignment from the Home Secretary Lord Sidmouth to ferret out a fugitive fomenting rebellion among the Scots.
Aileen Stephen, the only daughter of an Aberdeen shipbuilder, had to be clever, devious and determined to gain her place in the family business. She succeeded to become a designer of highly coveted ships. One night, a man’s handsome face appears to her in a dream. When two men having that same face arrive on a ship full of Londoners, Ailie wonders what her second sight is telling her. Is the face she saw a portender of the future, a harbinger of danger, or both? And which of the two Englishmen is the one in her dream?
Two brothers vie for the affection of the Scottish lass but only one stirs her passion. Which one will it be? And what will she do when she learns they are spies?
Aileen Stephen, the only daughter of an Aberdeen shipbuilder, had to be clever, devious and determined to gain her place in the family business. She succeeded to become a designer of highly coveted ships. One night, a man’s handsome face appears to her in a dream. When two men having that same face arrive on a ship full of Londoners, Ailie wonders what her second sight is telling her. Is the face she saw a portender of the future, a harbinger of danger, or both? And which of the two Englishmen is the one in her dream?
Two brothers vie for the affection of the Scottish lass but only one stirs her passion. Which one will it be? And what will she do when she learns they are spies?
Read an excerpt and join Ailie and the Powell twins in the woods for a snowball fight:
After traveling for a while, Will had the groom stop in a wooded area where there was a stand of mature birch trees, the bark partially covered by snow. “Will’s been scouting the best trees for the Yule log,” Ailie explained.
Nick and Tara alighted from the sledge first. Nash climbed down and helped Ailie to the ground, Robbie right behind her.
They all gathered around Will, who pointed to the trees behind him. “There are some good choices for your Yule log behind me, but to save a lot of labor, I’ve spotted a few we can root out of the ground where they fell. The older ones are better for burning, too, the more knotted the better.” The groom handed Will a rope. “We’ve brought a sled to haul the log back when you’ve found the one you want.”
With that, Will released them to hunt for the log.
Ailie gazed into the forest. The carpet of snow made the woods appear lighter. She surveyed the birch trees within easy range, almost certain her brother had identified a log he liked. But Will would not deprive their guests of having a hand in selecting the one that would burn during the celebration of the English Christmastide.
Plunging into the woods, Nash cried, “Come on, Ailie, let’s find a good one.”
“Not without me,” said Robbie, taking her elbow and urging her forward.
Though it was low in the sky, the sun had not yet set as they entered the woods, their boots crunching on the ice-crusted snow.
A snowy owl, disturbed by the invaders, launched from its perch. Their English guests gasped as the huge bird with its five-foot wingspan flew over their heads.
“Never seen one of those before,” remarked Nick.
“Magnificent bird,” said Nash. “I’ve read about snowy owls.”
When the owl had gone, Hugh leaned up against the thick trunk of one birch, crossing his arms over his chest. Fixing his eyes on Will, he grinned. “Are you certain you don’t want to cut down this one?”
Before Will could respond, Mary pelted her husband with a snowball.
Hugh’s searching gaze found her, a teasing smile on her face. Looking highly offended, he said, “We’ll see about that!” Ailie could tell by his expression as he reached for the snow he was not offended at all, but excited. Forming his own snowball, he launched it into the air to hit Mary’s back just as she turned to run.
The fight was on.
Ailie joined up with Tara, who led the ladies in a battle of great proportions as snow flew all around them. “We shall bury you in snow,” Tara shouted to the men.
Nick tossed a snowball, hitting his wife’s head, thankfully covered with the hood of her cloak. “Not likely!”
Ailie threw a snowball at one twin and then the other. Everyone was so covered in snow she couldn’t tell one Powell twin from the other. She, too, was covered in white, panting for the effort at returning the many snowballs aimed at her. It was great fun.
After a blizzard of snowballs whizzing everywhere, Will called a halt to their battle. “My hands are frozen. Time to hunt the log before ’tis full dark.”
GIVEAWAY: Tell me why you’d like to spend Christmas in Scotland (in your mind, at least) and enter to win one of three copies of The Holly & The Thistle, the “prequel” to A Secret Scottish Christmas. It's the story of William Stephen, Scottish shipbuilder, and Lady Emily Picton, who host the Agents of the Crown for Christmastide.
A chance meeting at Berry’s wine shop, a misunderstanding and Christmastide all come together to allow the most handsome Scot in London to give Lady Emily Picton the best Christmas gift ever: a marriage not of convenience, but of love.
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