On Tour with Prism Book Tours.
by Catherine Lanigan
Adult Historical Romance
ebook, 462 pages
June 4th 2016 by Cat Nolan PublishingA Passion she could not deny—A lie she could never escape—
From the depths of a London slum, Amanda Granger created an illusion of wealth and breeding that became her passport into New York society. With her dazzling beauty and the ease with which she lived her lie, Amanda captivated an adoring public and drove men to bold and dangerous passions.
But for all her fierce ambition, all her daring dreams, Amanda Granger knew that her heart’s desires were held together by the fragile threads of deception and secrets. Triumph would always be elusive until she escaped from her web of deceit.
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Excerpt:
Excerpt:
CHAPTER ONE, PART III
Amanda watched as Georgia fried sausages, scrambled eggs, buttered muffins and dished up fruit with a skill that could only be evolved from forty years as cook and the well-kept secret that she was ambidextrous and had grown eyes in the back of her head.
Amanda quickly donned a stiff white apron and cap. She plucked an early May rose from the basket resting on the drain-board, placed it in a silver bud vase, and picked up the tray.
“You won’t tattle on me, will you, Georgia?”
Georgia whirled around, hands on hips, lips pursed tightly. One look at Amanda’s smiling face and her anger melted.
“Go on with you. Miss Eloise didn’t sleep at all last night. She’s been ringing since dawn.”
Amanda pecked Georgia on the cheek and dashed up the steps before the older woman could growl at her for showing her affection, something Georgia never wanted the other servants to see. “Morning, Elrod,” Amanda purred to the dour-faced butler as she passed him on the back staircase. He harrumphed as usual, paying her no mind. Elrod had been in a bad mood since the day Lord Kent had announced he was “automating” the household.
Every day for the past five months, carpenters, plumbers, and electricians had been scurrying in and out of Kent Manor, gearing up the two-hundred-year-old house to enter the new century.
The last of Lady Barbara’s Waterford chandeliers had been electrified. An automatic dumbwaiter and an elevator had been installed. The new bathrooms were finished: lavish ceramic baths replaced the old copper tubs; porcelain commodes, bidets, and gold-edged oval sinks occupied every floor. Lord Kent had scoured Germany for the fixtures, Portugal for the hand-painted tiles for four new shower stalls, and gone to Vienna and Paris for the Art Nouveau mirrors and electric wall sconces. There was an intercom system built into the walls and a telephone on each floor, plus the study and the library.
However, for the past three days, amid debut preparations, gown fittings, deliveries from the florist, and an avalanche of invitations, when Lady Barbara could have put every invention and innovation to good use, everything. . . had broken down.
Amanda gently rapped on the mahogany door to Eloise’s room and entered.
Eloise was sitting ramrod straight in bed, not allowing herself the comfort of three rows of lace-edged, down-filled pillows. She was gazing into a hand mirror. There was no sign of delight or girlish giddiness about her as Amanda had expected. Instead, Amanda saw a tightness to her mouth, a strain around her eyes. Arnanda remained silent while she placed the tray in front of Eloise. Eloise didn’t move a muscle, nor did she acknowledge Amanda’s presence. Amanda placed the box from Mrs. Bird next to the tray. Eloise still said nothing.
Calmly, Eloise placed the mirror on the bed and looked at her food. Normally ravenous in the mornings, Eloise moved the tray aside.
Amanda watched as Georgia fried sausages, scrambled eggs, buttered muffins and dished up fruit with a skill that could only be evolved from forty years as cook and the well-kept secret that she was ambidextrous and had grown eyes in the back of her head.
Amanda quickly donned a stiff white apron and cap. She plucked an early May rose from the basket resting on the drain-board, placed it in a silver bud vase, and picked up the tray.
“You won’t tattle on me, will you, Georgia?”
Georgia whirled around, hands on hips, lips pursed tightly. One look at Amanda’s smiling face and her anger melted.
“Go on with you. Miss Eloise didn’t sleep at all last night. She’s been ringing since dawn.”
Amanda pecked Georgia on the cheek and dashed up the steps before the older woman could growl at her for showing her affection, something Georgia never wanted the other servants to see. “Morning, Elrod,” Amanda purred to the dour-faced butler as she passed him on the back staircase. He harrumphed as usual, paying her no mind. Elrod had been in a bad mood since the day Lord Kent had announced he was “automating” the household.
Every day for the past five months, carpenters, plumbers, and electricians had been scurrying in and out of Kent Manor, gearing up the two-hundred-year-old house to enter the new century.
The last of Lady Barbara’s Waterford chandeliers had been electrified. An automatic dumbwaiter and an elevator had been installed. The new bathrooms were finished: lavish ceramic baths replaced the old copper tubs; porcelain commodes, bidets, and gold-edged oval sinks occupied every floor. Lord Kent had scoured Germany for the fixtures, Portugal for the hand-painted tiles for four new shower stalls, and gone to Vienna and Paris for the Art Nouveau mirrors and electric wall sconces. There was an intercom system built into the walls and a telephone on each floor, plus the study and the library.
However, for the past three days, amid debut preparations, gown fittings, deliveries from the florist, and an avalanche of invitations, when Lady Barbara could have put every invention and innovation to good use, everything. . . had broken down.
Amanda gently rapped on the mahogany door to Eloise’s room and entered.
Eloise was sitting ramrod straight in bed, not allowing herself the comfort of three rows of lace-edged, down-filled pillows. She was gazing into a hand mirror. There was no sign of delight or girlish giddiness about her as Amanda had expected. Instead, Amanda saw a tightness to her mouth, a strain around her eyes. Arnanda remained silent while she placed the tray in front of Eloise. Eloise didn’t move a muscle, nor did she acknowledge Amanda’s presence. Amanda placed the box from Mrs. Bird next to the tray. Eloise still said nothing.
Calmly, Eloise placed the mirror on the bed and looked at her food. Normally ravenous in the mornings, Eloise moved the tray aside.
Catherine Lanigan is the international bestselling and award-winning author of forty published titles in both fiction and non-fiction, including the novelizations of Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile, as well as over half a dozen anthologies, including “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living your Dream”, “Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul”, and more. Ms. Lanigan’s novels have been translated into dozens of languages including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese. Ms. Lanigan’s novels are also available in E-books on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com, Apple Store, Mobi and Kobo. Several of her titles have been chosen for The Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Clubs. Her Vietnam war-based novel, The Christmas Star, won the Gold Medal Award Top Pick from Romantic Times Magazine and has also won Book of the Year Romance Gold Award from ForeWord Magazine as well as Book of the Year Romance from Reader’s Preference.
Lanigan is the author of a trilogy of non- fiction books regarding angelic intervention in human life: Angel Watch, Divine Nudges and Angel Tales published by HCI and Cedar Fort.
Skyhorse published Lanigan’s “how-to” book on writing: Writing the Great American Romance Novel.
Lanigan was tasked by the NotMYkid Foundation to write a non-fiction book addressing teen addictions. Ms. Lanigan’s first Young Adult adventure novel, The Adventures of Lillie and Zane: The Golden Flute, was published by Cedar Fort.
Currently, she has published six novels in the Shores of Indian Lake series for Harlequin Heartwarming: Love Shadows, Heart’s Desire, A Fine Year for Love, Katia’s Promise and Fear of Falling. Sophie’s Path pubs July, 2016. She has recently contracted for three more in the series: Danger Zone, Wedding for Isabelle and A Bride for Mica.
As a cancer survivor, Ms. Lanigan is a frequent speaker at literary functions and book conventions as well as inspiring audiences with her real stories of angelic intervention from her Angel Tales series of books. She is an outspoken advocate for domestic violence and abuse and was honored by The National Domestic Violence Hotline in Washington, D.C. (THE EVOLVING WOMAN). She has been a guest on numerous radio programs including “Coast to Coast” and on television interview and talk show programs as well as blogs, podcasts and online radio interview programs.
Tour Schedule
September 6th: Launch
September 7th: Falling Leaves
September 8th: Bloomfield of thoughts
September 9th: underneath the covers
September 11th: Rockin' Book Reviews
September 12th: Nicole's Book Musings
September 13th: The Silver Dagger Scriptorium
September 14th: Mel's Shelves
September 15th: Wishful Endings
September 16th: Becky on Books
September 18th: Colorimetry
September 20th: Thoughts of a Blonde
September 19th: My Devotional Thoughts
September 21th: EskieMama Reads
September 22nd: Book Lover in Florida
September 23rd: Sylv all about books and films
September 25th: Harlie's Books
September 26th: Grand Finale
Tour Giveaway
Open internationally
Ends October 1st
Ends October 1st
Thanks for hosting me, Nicole!!
ReplyDeleteYou're so welcome :) Thank you for visiting!
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