Virtual Tour + #Giveaway: To Entice an Earl by Naomi Boom @NaomiMBoom @GoddessFish

To Entice an Earl

by Naomi Boom

GENRE: Regency Romance

BLURB:

Miss Alexandra Farris lost her heart to her older brother's friend, Lord Maxon Collins, long, long ago. Despite her girlhood attempts to win him, he never noticed her. Now that her first season is underway, she understands why. He prefers willowy blondes, not curvaceous maidens with darker coloring like herself. Rather than wallow in self-pity, she forgets love and focuses on something more attainable—an advantageous match.

Lord Collins is plagued by an uncomfortable feeling whenever he goes near Miss Farris. One of annoyance. And yet, he can’t seem to stop thinking of her, touching her, kissing her...He must act in her brother’s stead, which means he has to approve her suitor and ensure her safety. Unfortunately, he can’t seem to find a worthy gentleman.

Wedding her off should be a simple task, but not if he can’t let her go.

Excerpt:

She inhaled and stepped up to him. He was so tall, at least five inches taller than her, yet she would not allow him to intimidate her, not this gentleman she used to pester as a little girl. She peered up at him and planted her fists on her hips. “You cannot possibly imagine I would listen to you, can you?”

His eyes narrowed, and he straightened from his position against the wall which brought him that much closer to her. “I don’t only imagine. I know you will listen to me. You have no other options.”

“Of course I do.”

“No, you do not.”

Their gazes locked, and everything around Alexa faded away, except for the brilliant blue eyes which held her riveted in place. She brought her palm to her

chest to make sure her heart still beat.

It did, just barely.

She finally broke away and whispered, “I have not given him a response yet.”

His responding smile lacked warmth, and he appeared to gloat as he said, “Excellent. I never have liked Lord Edwin and cannot fathom why you do.”

“I happen to be very much in love with him.” She colored. She had just told Lord Collins she loved Lord Edwin. Where was her fan when she needed it most? Next to Miss Cannis where she had forgotten it. And now, she had to endure a most frustrating conversation where she admitted a falsehood. Not a simple falsehood, either. One which competed with the largest untruths of her life.

Her rushed denial teetered on her lips as a stronger gust of wind tore through her hair, causing several more strands to dislodge. She muttered a curse and reached

up to repair the damage the wind had made.

His large, warm hand shot out and stopped her. The humid night air could not compare to the warmth of his hand on hers, nor could it compete with the spasmodic tingles breaking out throughout her body.

The contact was too unexpected.

Too intimate.

Too much.

She darted a hesitant glance his way where he quickly masked a warm look and took a step away from her. “Leave your hair.”

She swayed from the loss of his touch and the lack of warmth in his tone.

“Are you quite all right?” he asked with a sneer, as if to erase all touches of warmth with harshness. It hadn’t worked, though. She knew better.

Whatever strange demon had overtaken him tonight was not normal and was, quite frankly, vexing to deal with. “I see you can choose to employ good manners when you wish.”

His countenance darkened and he lifted a brow. “You evidently are just fine.”

Interview with Naomi Boom

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in To Entice an Earl?

I would love to. Alexa, the heroine, is generally well-liked with one notable exception - the hero, Maxon. She has rebellious hair that causes problems and a penchant for gardening. The sad part of her story? She used to love Maxon but he broke her heart.

In Maxon’s defense, he never realized she had feelings for him. Mostly because she felt more like a sister than an actual marriageable female. But now that she has entered the marriage mart, she seems a bit more appealing. Although she still irritates Maxon, he can almost imagine something more with her.

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?

I am currently working on the next book in the series, which follows a couple of side characters seen throughout both this novel and the previous two. It’s a fun story, so I’m pretty excited.

Once I finish with that one, I plan to start a spin-off series. I can’t wait!

How long would you say it takes you to write a book?

My writing process usually takes about eight months. I’m not the fastest writer but it seems to work for me.

What is your favorite childhood book?

I loved, loved, loved The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. I remember carrying it around with me as a small child so I could open it randomly and stare at the pretty shiny scales. The story was good too, but those scales. Man.

If you could spend the day with one of the characters from To Entice an Earl who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.

I would spend time with Alexa, the heroine, and what would we do? Garden. She loves to garden, as do I, and then we could talk about her unfortunate love for Maxon.

What was the hardest scene from To Entice an Earl to write?

Most definitely the ending. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the ending right. The problem was, the story wasn’t quite right but once I fixed the story the ending flowed out. Now, the ending is my favorite part.

What made you want to become a writer?

I never considered myself a writer, never even contemplated the idea. So how did I start writing? I needed a hobby and writing a romance novel sounded like fun. Turns out, it’s partially fun and partially a lot of work, but it seemed to stick and now I’m hooked on writing.

Just for fun

(a Favorite song: Noise and Kisses by The Used

(b Favorite book: Never Trust a Rake by Annie Burrows

(c Favorite movie: You’ve Got Mail

(d Favorite tv show: Are You the One?

(e Favorite Food: Anything Mexican.

(f Favorite drink: Miller Lite

(g Favorite website: Does Facebook count?

Thanks so much for visiting with us today!

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Naomi Boom never expected to love writing. Her inspiration struck while searching for the perfect historical romance novel to read. Nothing sounded appealing, so she decided to write her own. That one novel has morphed into a series, and hopefully many, many more.

She resides in her home state of South Dakota with her husband and toddler. Her dream is to someday find an acreage where she can raise chickens and, naturally, continue her writing.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

Buy Links:

The Wild Rose Press ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble

Giveaway:

$10 Amazon or B/N GC

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.