1871 . . . Worlds collide when American
Suffragette, Gertrude Finch, and titled Brit Blake Sanders meet in an explosive
encounter that may forever bind them together. Gertrude Finch escorts a young
relative to London and encounters the stuffy Duke of Wexford at his worst.
Cross the Ocean is the story of an undesired, yet undeniable attraction that
takes Blake and Gertrude across an ocean and into each other’s arms.
EXCERPT:
Blake went to the stables, had his horse saddled,
and rode to Anthony’s estate. Maybe
Elizabeth will ask me to stay for dinner, he thought. Then she’ll go to
bed, and Anthony and I can drink a bottle of brandy and get stewed. He could
stay there if he couldn’t ride home. A room was kept ready for him with a fresh
change of clothes. Blake smiled and felt better than he had in days.
As the butler escorted Blake down the hall of
Anthony’s home to the drawing room, he heard a loud but feminine . . . snort
and Elizabeth’s trill laughter in reply. Damn. He remembered now. A cousin of
Elizabeth’s from America, sent as an escort to another cousin, was staying with
them. Anthony had described and dreaded the arrival of Cousin Gertrude with
horror. A spinster remotely connected to Elizabeth’s father’s side, she was
big, bold and here for a month. Her arrival had curtailed Anthony’s visits.
Blake stopped and hissed at the butler. “Think
I’ve changed my mind, Jenkins. I don’t want to disturb their company.”
“Quite the coward are we, Your Grace? Leave your
life-long friend alone with this Amazon from America.” Jenkins stared as he
spoke. “In any case they saw you ride up the drive.”
Jenkins spoke his mind to all including Anthony
and Elizabeth. There’d be no expecting servile behavior for him. “I’m sure you
did not miss the opportunity to point out my arrival,” Blake said.
“Of course
not, Your Grace.” The butler opened the drawing room doors with a flourish.
“The Duke of Wexford.”
“Blake,” Anthony said and jumped to pump Blake’s
hand. “I am so very happy you are here.”
Blake watched the woman sitting beside Elizabeth
stand, and walk across the room to him. She was every inch as tall as he, and
Anthony made the introductions. She held out her hand. Blake grasped it and
bent to place a kiss there and was surprised when she began to shake it,
hitting him squarely in the nose. Blake covered his face with his hand.
“Oh, dear,” Miss Gertrude Finch exclaimed. She
threw a look at her cousin Elizabeth.
INTERVIEW:
- Do you ever wish you were
someone else? Who?
I never really wanted to be
someone else because I wouldn’t be me anymore, and I’m pretty happy with me.
But I’ve been envious or maybe just curious about what it would be like to be
someone suave and elegant like Jackie Kennedy. She certainly had her share of
tragedy but she managed to maintain her dignity, and she was a class act to the
end. And old school wealth and pedigree would bring a perspective to one’s life
that would be interesting.
2. What did you do on your last
birthday?
Hmmm . . . . I think the husband
and I had a drink or two and dinner at a lovely, little restaurant we
discovered last summer called Ciro’s. I don’t remember what I ate for dinner
but I always get the chocolate gelato for dessert!
3. Do you have any tattoos? Where? When did you get it/them? Where are they on your body?
No. Fads and styles are fun to
follow, especially when you’re young, but for me, something permanent like a
tattoo wouldn’t work. My view of myself and of the world has changed and grown
over time and as I enter and exit different phases of my life I intend to be
the result of the experience and time I have accumulated, not to be
overshadowed by what I thought was cool when I was twenty-two.
4. What are you working on right now?
I found a story I’d written years ago on my computer that I
never finished and had forgotten completely about. I know! How dumb is that? I
thought at first it would be a novella but I think it’s actually going to be
novel length. It is set in London, Victorian era, and is about a young woman
named Matilda Sheldon. She is the middle child of the Earl of Bissett and
uncommonly bright but a bit clumsy. She is beloved, however, by her rather daft
but beautiful siblings and parents. The only family member she can truly relate
to is her Grandmother, the Dowager. On the scene arrives the handsome,
man-about-town, the Duke of Thornsby, shopping for a wife and a guest at one of
the many Bissett parties. I’m thinking of calling it Charming the Duke. What do
you think?
5. Have you ever had an imaginary
friend?
No, I can’t say that I have although one of my daughters
did. But I think about the heroines in my books as real so maybe that qualifies
as an imaginary friend!
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Holly Bush was born in western Pennsylvania to two avid
readers. There was not a room in her home that did not hold a full bookcase.
She worked in the hospitality industry, owning a restaurant for twenty years
and recently worked as the sales and marketing director in the
hospitality/tourism industry and is credited with building traffic to capacity
for a local farm tour, bringing guests from twenty-two states, booked two years
out. Holly has been a marketing consultant to start-up businesses and has
done public speaking on the subject.
Holly has been writing all of her life and is a voracious
reader of a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, particularly political and
historical works. She has written four romance novels, all set in the U.S. West
in the mid 1800’s. She frequently attends writing conferences, and has always
been a member of a writer’s group.
Holly is a gardener, a news junkie, has been an active
member of her local library board and loves to spend time near the ocean. She
is the proud mother of two daughters and the wife of a man more than a few
years her junior.
@hollybushbooks
Amazon:
Itunes:
GIVEAWAY:
The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I think that for a writer the characters would count as imaginary friends.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I think that for a writer the characters would count as imaginary friends.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Morning Alisia! Thanks for having me! And yes, Mary, I'm glad to see you're on my side because my book characters are very real to me and I think that counts! LOL! Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and I hope your readers enjoy the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds very enjoyable. I'm getting a sense of 'hate-at-first-sight that turns to love' perhaps?
ReplyDeleteI like to call it a classic 'opposites attract' story, Estela. But there's a little hate there too! Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the interview and excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeleteKit3247(at)aol(dot)com
ReplyDeletereally enjoyed the excerpt. I found that it defined the characters perfectly.
Hi Rita and MomJane! Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the interview and the giveaway. Sounds like a great book. Amazon, please. evamillien at gmiail dot com
ReplyDeleteThanks for the excerpt and the interesting interview. Sounds like a good book. Amazon, please.
ReplyDeletekareninnc at gmail dot com