Easy to read happy ever after holiday romance....
Title: On This Christmas, I Thee Wed
Author: Virginia Barlow
Publication Date: December 18, 2024
Pages: 280
Genre: Historical Holiday Romance
Bartered to Viscount Hudson Becker by her father, Lady Lavinia Holbrook escapes her arranged marriage and travels to her Godmother, the Duchess of Chauncy to seek asylum. Determined to put men and marriage behind her, she is unprepared for the duke’s interest or his heated kisses.
The Duke of Chauncy believes love is a weakness and refuses to take a bride despite his mother's scheming. When the duchess makes a wager he will marry by Christmas, he considers the matter a lark. Until Lavinia gets under his skin, and he rethinks his position on love and happy ever afters.
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Can you tell us when you started writing?
I began writing in 2018. I had a story in my head that needed to be told. I considered the idea several times over the last couple of years and in 2018, I made it happen. It took me most of the year from start to finish, but it was worth every second.
Can you tell me who or what the inspiration for the book was?
On This Christmas I Thee Wed is my sixteenth story. In a previous story, the groom left the bride at the altar, and I thought a Regency Romance where the bride left a very eligible groom at the altar would be a fun story to write.
Can you tell us how you came up with your title?
The title to this story incorporates the Christmas Theme with the wedding vows. I had to do a search to see how many books had similar titles before I settled on it.
Can you tell us a little about your main characters?
My heroine abhors the idea of being subjected to the whims of a man and runs away, hoping to make a different life. She refuses to live the life her mother and sisters do and takes matters into her own hands.
The duke has just as much reason to avoid marriage as my heroine but for different reasons. He has seen the devastation losing the love of your life can cause and avoids the situation at all costs because he believes love is a weakness.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?
I do suffer from writer's block and the way I deal with it is to go do something else for awhile. Usually the writer's block clears up within a day, and I am able to continue.
Where is this book set, and why did you choose that setting?
The book is set in Northern England in the 1700's. I love Regency romance and always have. The reason the story is set in Northern England is plot specific.
What’s next on your writing to-do list?
I am currently finishing up the fourth addition to Calhan Brides featuring the oldest Calhan brother, Connor. This series is my historical western romance series following the Calhan Family.
Can you tell me about your experiences finding a publisher for the book?
I write for The Wild Rose Press so finding a publisher for this story was simple. When I first started writing, I bought a copy of the Guide to Literary Agents and submitted to several who were open to submissions and printed romance. I signed with The Wild Rose Press not long after.
If you were going to hang out with one of your characters, who would that be?
I would hang out with the Duchess of Chauncy. She does not concern herself with the rules of society and has a great sense of humor. I believe everyone should have an eccentric lady in their family.
What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing?
I love to watch the ocean waves on the beach. Any ocean and any beach. I also sew, embroidery, crochet, and play with my grandchildren. That's pretty great in my opinion.
Book Excerpt
Nay. His mother had nothing to do but plot his matrimonial demise and design a nursery for his progeny.
God. Though he loved her with all his heart, why wouldn’t she accept his decision to remain a bachelor?
Lavinia’s voice played in his head.
There, neither Papa nor the viscount can order me
to do anything I don’t want to do.
He understood her frustration, but even Scotland wouldn’t save him from his mother. The woman had a tenacious streak to rival Satan’s.
And who the hell was the viscount? He knew of no scandal involving Lavinia. Her voice continued.
I refuse to be some man’s broodmare, impregnated and discarded…
Snorting, he wanted to add his discontent to being a…What would a man forced to sire a child be called, anyway? A brood sire?
He chuckled. Discarded like a settee in the parlor.
Forgotten until the lord required someplace to sit. The girl used amusing analogies, he thought. But if she were his, he wouldn’t be sitting on her. Nay, she would be atop
him. The memory of her soft body in his arms made him rigid.
Shifting in his seat to ease his ardor, he remembered her mentioning being abducted by a Scot and taken to the highlands to ravish. Then her voice went all dreamy and soft as if ravishment by a highlander were every girl’s fantasy.
His lips tightened as he swung his chair around to stare out the window, steepling his fingers in thought.
English lords were much better lovers and far superior in every other avenue. What the devil did she have against them?
Perhaps her parents were the answer. The Earl of Holbrook and his wife were the epitome of a marriage of convenience, and with their history, he could understand her reluctance to join the marital throng. He avoided the marriage noose for much the same reason. Thoughts of being tied to some of the ladies his mother paraded through the castle made him shudder with revulsion.
Good god, what a dreadful thought.
– Excerpted from On This Christmas, I Thee Wed by Virginia Barlow, The Wild Rose Press, 2024. Reprinted with permission.
Virginia Barlow has been a dreamer her whole life. She loves reading, traveling, and roses. She will dive headfirst into any romance she can get her hands on in any genre. Although her first love is Regency Romance and always will be. Something about the era calls to her soul like a siren’s song rising from the depths.
She loves to write steamy romances whether fantasy, historical, or contemporary, all are liberally spiced with adventure and sensual, seductive heroes. Her heroines are just as compelling with equal parts intelligence, sass, and backbone. They give as good as they get whether saving their man’s life or responding to his heated kisses, they’re all in.
The most important thing in Virginia’s life is her family, and spending time with them. When she is not bouncing a grandbaby in her arms or handing out popsicles, she is writing and dreaming up her next love story. Virginia has published fifteen romance novels with another two on the way and has half a dozen more circling around inside her head eager to make their debut.
Website & Social Media:
Website ➜ https://www.virginia-barlow.com/
X ➜ https://x.com/Virgini35142126
Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/groups/3046288755596817
Goodreads ➜ https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19838312.Virginia_Barlow
