Not From Muse It Up Pub...yet!

I'm making a "pay it forward" gesture to a good friend and great author. Diane Scott Lewis isn't yet with Muse It Up Publishing, but she has more than enough talent to be here. Since I have a few vacant dates for Musing Through September, I decided to devote one to "pimping" Diane's release, The False Light. I've read it and loved it...and for someone who thought they'd hate the genre, I was pleasantly surprised. So, enjoy a little taste. 

 

Blurb:

Forced from France by her devious guardian on the eve of the French Revolution, Countess Bettina Jonquiere must deliver an important package to further the royalist cause.  In England, she discovers the package holds nothing more than blank pages. The address is false and she's penniless.  Stranded in a Cornish village, Bettina toils in a bawdy tavern and falls in love with a man who lives under the shadow of his missing wife.  

Excerpt:

“Trethewy isn’t going to be much help, I’m afraid. He never is, unless it benefits him. But he’s the only law in the area.” Everett assisted her into the curricle, his grip on her arm almost painful.

“I must agree.” The Justice bringing up Stephen upset her. But Everett had little reason to kill him and he’d been away, in London…hadn’t he? She rubbed a hand over her brow as if she could wipe away that thought.

The curricle and horses lurched up the steep grade to the main road. An edgy silence lingered between them. Bettina’s aggravation and confusion over the events boiled over. “I must find my horse. I planned to give him to—” 

"You have to be careful from now on.  You simply can't go off unescorted.  And never approach that man alone."  Everett snapped the reins and his team tossed their heads. "Trethewy should be reprimanded to do his duty."

"I am leaving here as soon as I can arrange it, so I will not be a burden to anyone."  She struggled to keep her voice firm and shifted on the hard bench.  "I wish that I had never come to Cornwall."

Everett glared at her.  "Don't start sounding like Miriam." 

"Stop this carriage at once!"  Bettina slid from the seat, forcing him to rein in the horses.  She jumped down and ran towards the cliffs, not wanting him to see her angry tears.

Everett leapt from the curricle and chased after her. He caught her arm and swung her around to face him. “I didn’t mean that, I'm sorry. You don’t understand everything.”

“I do not understand anything!” She thrashed to free herself, but he wrapped his arms around her and pressed her to his chest. She refused to look at him. “I wanted you to love me.”

Here's a review snippet from Historical Novel Reviews that I blogjacked.  :)

Diane Scott Lewis’s debut novel is wonderfully researched and the reader is taken right into the drawing rooms, kitchens and taverns of the dark days of late eighteenth century England. Her recipe for lemon puffs is mouth-watering, and I was quite disappointed when they ended up in a well.

The author’s talent for making everyday conversations interesting draws the reader in, as do Bettina’s longing for her homeland, lost to her through no fault of her own.

This is a historical romance, but so much more in that Ms Scott Lewis delves into her character’s souls and makes them jump out of the page. The story finishes on something of a question, so readers will be delighted to learn that the sequel, ‘Without Refuge’ is well on its way. I for one cannot wait to read that book too and find out what life has in store for Bettina and her family.

Find out more about the author on her website.