Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: The Widow's Christmas Surprise by Jenna Jaxon @Jenna_Jaxon @GoddessFish


The Widow's Christmas Surprise

by Jenna Jaxon

GENRE: Historical Romance


BLURB:


The death of her husband has thrown Lady Maria Kersey’s future into doubt—and her heart into the arms of a man she cannot have. But Christmas with the Widows’ Club will bring choices—and surprises--that may change all her holidays to come . . .



Maria just gave birth to her first child, a beautiful daughter—but the event is shrouded in sorrow. A month earlier, Maria’s husband, Lord Kersey, was killed in a duel under compromising circumstances. Worse, Maria’s failure to provide a male heir has stripped her of any hope of an inheritance. Scorned by the ton, one of her few allies is her late husband’s steward, Hugh Granger. Hugh is everything her husband was not—warm, charming—and penniless. . . .


Hugh has fallen desperately in love with Maria, but has little to offer but comfort. As their attraction becomes impossible to resist, Maria flees to London to spend Christmas with her dearest friends, a group of widows who lost their own husbands in the Battle of Waterloo. Little does she know the holidays will reveal a twist of fate she never expected—proving that the greatest Christmas gift is the magic of true love . . .


NOTE: The book is on sale for $0.99.


Purchase The Widow's Christmas Surprise on Amazon 


Excerpt:

Shall I have the carriage brought around?”

She wrinkled her brow, an eagerness in her face and an excited tension in her slim body. “Oooh, I would love to ride, but my cousin might prefer the carriage. Let me return to the house and ask her.” A gleeful smile spread across her lips and she placed a small hand on his arm. “Thank you so much, Mr. Granger.”

Their eyes met and Hugh had the sensation of falling into dark pools that might be fathoms deep. To have made this lovely woman happy seemed now to be his greatest accomplishment. “You are most welcome, my lady.”

She picked up her skirts and scampered up the steps, outdistancing him in moments.

Mouth dry and heart beating a painful tattoo in his chest, Hugh let her go. As he had said, he knew better than to borrow trouble, but he knew it when it came knocking at his door. Nothing could come of these unexpectedly tender feelings for Lady Kersey. He was a gentleman, to be sure, but his prospects were as uncertain as the lady’s own future, and both dependent on the next Lord Kersey’s goodwill. On which neither of them could count to any degree at all. Best to treat this budding tendre as nothing more than a fleeting notion that was not to be pursued.

He started for the house, all too aware that what he thought with his head might not make a bit of difference to what had taken up lodging in his heart.


Interview with Jenna Jaxon

    How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?

    The Widows’ Club series, of which The Widow’s Christmas Surprise is the fifth novel, came about because of the song “It’s Raining Men” by the Weather Girls. I heard the song one morning driving to work, began thinking about how it could “rain men” in Regency England where women couldn’t have sex until marriage, and came up with the idea that a group of widows might want to marry again and could have a house party to meet and enjoy the company of these men. Maria, the heroine of The Widow’s Christmas Surprise, was part of that original house party.


    What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?

    My goal for this book was to have Maria achieve a true “happy ever after.” After writing her marriage as part of the first book, it occurred to me that the gentleman she married would probably not make her happy at all. So, I added another book to the series, in which she could meet and marry the perfect man for her. And I think I pulled it off very well.


    What was the hardest part of writing this book?

    The hardest part of writing this book was making it be about Christmas. During the Regency people didn’t celebrate as much as we do today, so that was difficult in and of itself. Compound that handicap with the dark beginning of the book (how Maria becomes a widow again) and the tragic death of Princess Charlotte of England a little more than a month before Christmas in 1817, and you get a somber holiday atmosphere at best. However, I managed to find a few light-hearted ways to keep the spirit of Christmas in the book.



    AUTHOR Bio and Links:

    Jenna Jaxon is a best-selling author of historical romance, writing in a variety of time periods because she believes that passion is timeless. She has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, Jenna has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own stories.

    She lives in Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets--including two vocal cats, one almost silent cat, two curious bunnies, and a Shar-pei mix named Frenchie.


    Connect with Jenna Jaxon

    Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ TicTok




Giveaway:

$20 Amazon/BN GC 




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


8 comments:

Goddess Fish Promotions said...

Thanks for hosting!

Kim Kern said...

Sounds like a good story.

Jenna said...

Thank you so much, Kim!

Jenna said...

Thank you, Avid Reader, for hosting me and The Widow's Christmas Surprise today.

Stormy Vixen said...

I enjoyed the interview and the excerpt, The Widow's Christmas Surprise sounds like a wonderful book to read and enjoy! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a beautiful day!

Bea LaRocca said...

A lovely cover, synopsis and excerpt, The Widow's Christmas Surprise sounds like a wonderful story and I am looking forward to reading it myself. Thank you for sharing the author's interview, bio and book details

pippirose said...

The book sounds like a wonderful read. I love the cover!

Jenna said...

Thank you for coming by Sherry, Stormy, Bea, and Pippirose!