As I’m writing my next book (which really needs a title!), picture me in a room surrounded by virtual papers flying around: Ooh regency balls! Ball gowns in 1815! Drawing room furniture! Great Regency gardens! Palladian architecture! The etiquette of dancing! What’s for supper? The evolution of a duchess’s dress!

Etc. etc. And while all these virtual papers are flying about my office, distractions do arise. A particularly notable one happened this afternoon, when I was researching Regency-era ballrooms. I was reading along and clicking on link that looked interesting. Before I knew it, I was on a page about fevers…I guess I was interested because my poor daughter is suffering from an especially brutal fever right now.

Regency medicine fascinates me! It was so bad! Over at the Historical & Regency Romance UK blog, they quoted the treatment for yellow fever in 1801:

“The men on admission were conducted to a wash house containing warm and
cold baths. They were instantly bled to the quantity from 16 to 20
ounces. They were, on revival from fainting, which generally occurred,
plunged into a warm bath in numbers of 4 to 6 together and confined in by
blankets fastened over the machine till about suffocated. From hence they
were dashed into cold baths and confined until apparently lifeless.
Immediately after, a strong emetic was administered, they were carried to bed,
and a dose of calomel and James’s powder given as a purge, which occasioned a
train of distressing symptoms for the relief of which they were bled again and
blistered from head to foot. They were bled a fourth and fifth time in the
space of 30 hours, and usually lost 60 to 70 ounces of blood.”

You gotta be kidding me! Those poor men. Rest assured, my daughter will NOT be receiving this treatment for her fever…

To celebrate the release of SECRETS OF AN ACCIDENTAL DUCHESS, I did a fun little thing–I created an online quiz so you can see which Donovan sister you most resemble!

Are you…

SERENA?

Serena Donovan is the oldest Donovan sister and the leader of the family since her twin died years ago. Impulsive and rebellious when she was younger, she’s now more serious and somber, and it takes a lot to earn her trust. She will do anything for those she loves and is very loyal.

OLIVIA?

Olivia Donovan is the most quiet and reserved of the Donovan sisters-a definite introvert. She’s small, and slight, pale and blonde–not the most beautiful of the sisters but striking in an understated way. Although she might come off as a wallflower at times, she is self-composed and confident.

PHOEBE?

When Phoebe Donovan makes a decision, she goes after it, and there’s no turning back. Her family tends to think of her as wild and a bit uncontrollable. However, Phoebe’s not much of one for caring what others think about her. She’s her own woman, and will forge her path to happiness through determination and will.

OR JESSICA?

Jessica Donovan is the youngest Donovan sister. Also the most beautiful, she captures peoples’ attention wherever she goes…and she likes it. She’s outspoken, honest, and above all, loyal to a fault. Her family would say she’s impetuous, and they worry about her, but above all, they adore her. Jessica is alluring to just about everyone… to know her is to love her!

Click here to go to the quiz and find out which Donovan sister you are! Once you’ve found out, you can enter my contest–I’m giving away a $100 Victoria’s Gift card and other fun prizes!

Soooo…which Donovan sister are you? I’m Serena–I don’t think that’s a big shocker to anyone who knows me!

I’m going to be all over the Internet…starting this week, actually, to promote SECRETS OF AN ACCIDENTAL DUCHESS and ONCE UPON A WICKED NIGHT. I’m going to be doing TONS of blogs and giveaways. Please come visit me! For a list of where I’ll be, please visit my APPEARANCES page at www.jenniferhaymore.com/bonus-features/appearances. For all of you who stop by here…I couldn’t do it without you. Thanks so much for your support!

Hugs,
Jennifer

The audiobook version of CONFESSIONS OF AN IMPROPER BRIDE is releasing on January 30th. This is so exciting for me–I am an avid audiobook listener, and I can’t wait to hear how the reader interpreted my story. And they came up with a beautiful new cover just for the audiobook version. I think she’s a perfect likeness of Serena. Yay!
Here’s a link to buy or read more:
Tantor Audio
It’s also available on Amazon and other book retail outlets!

When my editor offered me a chance to write a short story as a bridge between CONFESSIONS OF AN IMPROPER BRIDE and SECRETS OF AN ACCIDENTAL DUCHESS, I jumped at the chance! The idea came fairly quickly: I’d return Serena and Jonathan to the Dowager Duchess of Clayworth’s ball–the place where they lost all their dreams years ago. Serena and Jonathan still have a bit of healing to do, and where better than the place where it all happened?

Then, there’s Olivia, Serena’s younger sister, who’s just arrived in London and has never seen anything quite like the dowager’s ball. Naive Olivia gets herself into quite a terrible situation…but it’s a mistake that will ultimately lead to her meeting Max, the hero of SECRETS OF AN ACCIDENTAL DUCHESS.

The short story ONCE UPON A WICKED NIGHT is a little gift for my readers releasing on February 1 (the same day as the official release of SECRETS OF AN ACCIDENTAL DUCHESS). It’s $0.99 and available wherever ebooks are sold. I hope you’ll pick up a copy!

For more information and an excerpt, click here!

Hi All! I’m giving away a stack of books with one book by each of the Dangerous Women:

FORBIDDEN HIGHLANDER by Donna Grant

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL by Lisa Renee Jones

NEVER CRY WOLF by Cynthia Eden

A SEASON OF SEDUCTION by Jennifer Haymore

SINS OF THE FLESH by Caridad Pineiro

To enter, just sign up for freebies here on my site (if you don’t want freebies sent to you, just say so in the address fields of the form–I’ll enter you in the contest but won’t send the freebies).

For more about the Dangerous Women, please visit us at www.dangerwomenwriting.com or sign up for our readers group by clicking on the graphic below:

One person who signs up for Freebies from now through December 26 will be randomly selected to win the books!

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

***Update December 26: Thanks to all who entered! I hope you enjoy your freebies! Congrats to Ashley B., Who won the 5 Dangerous Women Books! Merry Christmas!

Jennifer

The DWW Authors want to play Secret Santa this year ~ we’d love to help out a family with children and make their Christmas as special as this year has been for us!

If you’d like to nominate a family, just send us an email at
DWWSanta
telling us why and how you think we can help this family out.

We’ll pick 5 families from the entries, and randomly draw our
Secret Santa recipient from those!

Entries must be received by the 14th so our recipient can be chosen in time for the holiday.

Happy Holidays!
Jennifer

Confessions of an Improper Bride is out! It’s available in bookstores, as well as in Target and Walmart. This book means a lot to me, because not only is it the start of a new series for me, but I wrote it during the toughest year of my life. I truly hope readers enjoy the first story of the Donovan sisters!

How cool is that? My publisher, Grand Central, is offering my first book, A HINT OF WICKED for $0.99 at just about all the ebook retailers out there for the month of July!

Here’s where to find it:
Amazon Kindle
Barnes and Noble
Borders
Sony eBook Store

Here we gooooo! Only four weeks left until the release of Confessions of an Improper Bride, the first book in my three-book series, The Donovan Sisters! I am so excited, but I’m also nail-bitingly nervous. I hope people enjoy this series as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please keep stopping by, because in the next few weeks, I’m going to be offering some great prizes here and over at Dangerous Women to celebrate this release! I’m looking forward to having some fun with everyone!

Ooh, one more thing! I did an interview over at The James Gang, talking about my first series (The James Family series) and the new series as well. Come check it out!