Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Here's the 'Book Trade' story on winning Choc-Lit Publishing's Search for an Australian Star Competition which has just been announced - http://www.booktrade.info/index.php/showarticle/44774

As you can imagine, it's been a wild few days having learned the announcement and its ramifications. I went to a Toastmasters Dinner last night, made an impromptu speech, had a late night and am up early to continue working on my 1960s Lesotho-set diamond smuggling romantic thriller to have in some readable form by Friday.

In the meantime, I'll be posting my introduction on the Choc-Lit Blog. So it'll be a busy day (between school runs and taking my final class of lovely writing students at Caroline Springs Library).

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Choc-Lit's 'Search For An Australian Star' Win


Well, I really am floating on air right now, buoyed up by the exciting news that
I’m the winner of Choc-Lit's Search for An Australian Star.
The winning entry was for my Regency Romantic Intrigue, The Reluctant Bride, under my Beverley Gail Eikli name and I've signed the contract.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/V21K9Z

The book comes out in March 2014.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Short-listed for Choc-Lit's Search for an Australian Voice

Very excited!

I've been shortlisted for Choc-Lit's Search for An Australian Star competition for my Regency Intrigue, The Reluctant Bride under my Beverley Eikli name. It won the RW-NZ Single Title competition years ago, the second half has been rewritten numerous times, I've softened the heroine and upped the intrigue and now enough readers have liked it to get it shortlisted. The winner will be announced on Dec 17.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

My Saving Grace

Buy Here
Well here it is!

My long-awaited Pan Macmillan Momentum story Saving Grace is now up on Amazon and available for liking, tagging and even pre-ordering.

Here's the premise to tickle your taste buds:


It’s 1878 and London’s most beautiful and hard-hearted prostitute, Grace Fortune, is preparing for her next job. She’s the special initiation ‘gift’ procured by a mother in fashionable Mayfair for her son’s twenty-first birthday.


When Grace discovers she is to be servicing the man whose secret she’d guarded at the cost of her once-secure position as a housemaid and whose betrayal has plunged her into this hated life, she wants revenge.


That is, until the re-emergence of malevolent forces that destroyed the couple’s young love. Now David and Grace must reconcile the past and fight for a different kind of justice to salvage their dignity and find happiness.


This story is rated "Medium Hot" (3 out of 5 flames) and contains F/M pairings.


You can order it from Amazon here.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Bad Reviews - the Downside of Free Promotions


Buy here


In August, after I got back the rights to my first book Lady Sarah’s Redemption, I decided to enrol it in the Kindle Select program so that I could play around with the 5 free promotion days allowed me during the 3 months exclusivity I promised Amazon.

Initially the book sold well with mostly 4 star reviews. I was pleased to see it enjoy a new lease of life as it had been first published in hard cover so was an expensive product for a debut author to promote. It was available mostly in libraries in the UK and Commonwealth.

It's by no means my best book as the first half focused on the romance while the second half ramped up the suspense and intrigue. Writing it made me realise I was as much a writer of intrigue and suspense as I was of romance, and I've learned to balance the two more successfully in my subsequent Beverley Eikli and Beverley Oakley books. Here are a couple of the Amazon reviews for Lady Sarah's Redemption.

4.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing October 19, 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is quite a historical romance. I would have liked to see some sensual scenes in it, but it is full or action, scandal and quite a tumultuous love story. If you like historical fiction, this is the book for you. I was quite pleased with it.
4.0 out of 5 stars

Keeper November 7, 2012
Format:Kindle Edition
The beginning was a little confusing. After I figured out who was who, the story was wonderful with enough suspense to keep me reading to the end. The love story/ romance was clean and wholesome. The ending left you feeling warm and fuzzy.
4.0 out of 5 stars

Rachel Hyde (Myshelf Review) 
I enjoyed this twist on the old gothic novel standby plot of the governess in the mysterious household. This imaginative writer stands a lot of the expected clichés on their heads and treats the reader to something rather different and refreshing. Spoilt Lady Sarah has some lessons to learn, as does man-with-a-past Roland and his "ugly duckling" daughter Caro. There are some surprising turns in this novel and the characters find themselves in rather more peril than might be surmised by reading the above description. The ending is a bit far-fetched in some respects, but don't let that put you off diving into this talented new writer's debut novel. If you think standard Regencies need a bit of shaking up, then this might fit the bill.


I'd written my first romance at the age of 17, so 23 years later when Lady Sarah's Redemption was published the the elation I felt at seeing it in print was overwhelming at the time. I really was like a new mother.

Obviously time and distance mutes these feelings while the thick skin we develop through countless rejections during our unpublished years stands us in good stead if or when we get less than favourable reviews, later.

Bad reviews can sting but they’re inevitable and one can’t afford to be a delicate little petal when confronted with screaming headlines which proclaim our hard work as ‘Dull and Boring’. After checking out my latest Amazon reviews, this was the last thing I read before I closed my computer to go to sleep last night. Rather than drift off thinking about how much someone disliked my book I was more interested in mulling over the curious phenomenon of people who publicly revile a ‘free purchase’ they’d never have bought in the first place.

So, this is by my dissatisfied reader who admits she never got beyond the first few pages; who admits, also, it wasn’t the kind of book she’d pay for, yet somehow feels justified in posting the following review.

1.0 out of 5 stars
Dull and boring November 10, 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
If I cannot get interested in a book in the first two or three pages, I don't continue reading in the hopes that the plot will pick up. Such was the case with Lady Sarah's Redemption. From the start the author was overly descriptive with things that didn't really contribute to moving the plot along. The first few pages were so dull and boring, I knew I had no interest at all in finishing this book. Luckily it was free. I would have been very disappointed had I paid for it. There are so many books out there waiting to be sampled/read that I won't waste time on one that doesn't hold my interest from the start. This was a 'Kindle- delete'!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?

Readers who indulge in free downloads of books only because they’re free are often the first to denounce them in a public forum.

People who pay money for a kindle download have usually decided it’s worth the price tag on the basis of the first chapter which is provided free.

So while free promotions can be great, first-time authors enrolled in Kindle Select must beware. Not all their readers will write a review with the respect and discernment generally displayed by those who’ve paid for it.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Ellora's Cave Cover Art

It's always exciting to receive the cover art of one's next book. I've been particularly spoiled, with two covers in three weeks. Here's the latest from the first in my new series for Ellora's Cave. The series is about a viscount's legitimate family - his wife of 20 years and their two daughters - and his illegitimate family, which includes a son and two daughters. The children obviously have very different experiences and expectations on account of which side of the blanket they were born.

Book One - Her Gilded Prison - has the following premise: 

The lovely Lady Sybil’s 20-year marriage has not produced an heir - which is hardly surprising since her husband cannot bear to be parted from his long-term mistress.

When heir-apparent, handsome cousin Stephen arrives at Grange Hall to be briefed on his duties as the next Viscount Partington, he sets many feminine hearts a-flutter, including those of Sybil’s two daughters: plain, dumpy Hetty and fiery, exquisite Araminta.

Then a unwelcome contender for the viscountancy emerges. Presumed dead, Edgar turns out not to have died on the battlefield - but nor has he distinguished himself there, either.

In order that mutton-headed Edgar never inherit what her husband has spent his lifetime creating, Lady Sybil devises an extraordinary plan...

In his wildest dreams, Cousin Stephen never expected his duties would be so diverse.

I don't yet have a release date but I'm hoping the book will be out in time for next year's Romantic Times Convention which I'll be attending in Kansas City in early May.

Eivind will fly me over and the plan is then to go on a 10-day motorcycle ride through California and Nevada before Eivind flies back to Australia while I attend the 5-day conference. He'll then return to LA with the girls to meet me and and we'll take them for a week's holiday to Disneyland.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Hot Down Under releases first 5

Pan Macmillan's new digital imprint, Momentum, will release the first 5 erotic short stories in its Hot Down Under series on November 1st. The second four will be released December 1 and the next five - of which Saving Grace is one - will be released January 1.

Read more about the innovative, exciting, sexy new series at http://tinyurl.com/cy9trep

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Saving Grace cover

Ta da!! Here's the cover for my January release - Saving Grace - written under my Beverley Oakley name. It is one of fourteen short stories and novellas which Pan Macmillan Momentum will be publishing in November, December and January and I'm now allowed to reveal it to the world. I'm delighted with it!
     Set in 1874 during the early years of photography it's about a rich man's hobby and a poor girl's road to ruin.
     You can read about the story behind the story on the Hot Down Under blog, here.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Free download of Lady Sarah's Redemption


After a fantastic holiday throughout South Australia - Adelaide and Clare Valley - as well as Naracoorte Caves and then by a beautiful lake near the Murrumbidgee in New South Wales, I'm home. Although I was laid low for a while in the midst of my travels, I'm now back in the saddle and delighted with the way my Kindle sales for A Little Deception are going.

Dad's beautiful view in the Clare Valley
I enrolled the re-edited, updated version into the Kindle Select program and had such a great response that I decided to enrol Lady Sarah's Redemption, which meant unpublishing it from Smashwords for the 90 days of the Kindle program.

Hence, Lady Sarah's Redemption is now available on October 9th and 10th (US time) as a free download here.

And now it's time to return to writing Book 2 of my Ellora's Cave upcoming release.

Last night I got the cover rough for my Pan MacMillan Momentum 10K story - Saving Grace. It's beautiful and once it's approved (though it is by me!) I'll post it here.


Friday, September 21, 2012

Revisions are so Hard!!

BTW - I'm introducing myself as Beverley Oakley at the Hot Down Under site together with my fabulous 13 fellow authors whose upcoming titles will be released by Pan Macmillan Momentum in November, December and January.

I'm also at Manic Readers discussing managing risk and taking care are school holidays are upon me and so is the pressure to finalise revisions for A Little Deception. (There's also an extract there.)

Anyway, the intrigue is so multi-layered that it's a huge task to stay on top of how much the innocent heroine knows as opposed to the sister-in-law and her lover who've gone to such lengths to blacken her name, as opposed to the heroine and sister-in-law's grasping cousin who's been lured into the scheme with the promise of sexual favours as opposed to the hero who must sort all this out before realising the wife who deceived him into marriage is innocent of all but loving him. (Sigh....)

No, there are no spoilers here. It's all in the intrigue and the sexual tension - and getting it all just right. The book was published in hard cover two years ago but I'd had to cut 15,000 words and a plot tangent  to fulfil the publisher's word count. Now I can add that necessary extra layer.

It should have been on Amazon a week ago and it definitely will have to be before I go camping next week! I've made too many promises and this is one I just have to keep.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Self Publishing Re-releases

The other week, while checking out what my writer friends were doing, I stumbled upon Zee Mondee's blog. Well, that's where I'll be on the 12th, talking about my experiment with self publishing my earlier releases which have reverted to me.

Zee is from Mauritius, that beautiful island to the west of southern Africa. I've never been there but my parents honeymooned there in 1961 before it became a tourist paradise.

Anyway, if you want to pop over there and hear about what I'm doing with Kindle Select, Smashwords and CreateSpace, I'd love to see you.

The following day - September 13th - I'll be blogging over at my old friend, Ivy Truitt's Manic Readers - about Getting My Rights Back and the decisions to be made. Especially with my latest release, A Little Deception, which I'm currently reworking and upping the heat level - as per my readers' requests.

So, hopefully you'll join me...

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Hot Down Under Cover Art - and new Amazon release

The first mock-up of proposed cover art in the Hot Down Under erotic short stories has just hit our inboxes with Mel Teshco's 'Under the Light of the Silver Moon'.

Joel Naoum, Momentum's publisher, is asking for input - a refreshing change when as an author one usually has little say.

I had a dream the other night I got the cover art back for Her Gilded Prison, my forthcoming release with Ellora's Cave. The previous evening I'd sent off the Author Art Information in which it makes it quite clear that once the author has provided the essential details to the artist, that's where communication regarding the cover ceases.

Well, my dream was that I received the cover art for my erotic Regency Romance and it featured ... yes, wait for it ... a woman sharing a sleeping bag with three men in the back of a fighter jet.

What turned it from dream to nightmare was 'knowing' that I couldn't change it as the fault 'obviously' lay with me in failing to communicate the essential details.

And now it really is time to wrap up the evening. Mel's cover is looking absolutely fabulous with its Hot Down Under Momentum branding - the red stripe down the side. And I know my Ellora's Cave cover is going to look great too - and be true to the period. (So, no, I'm really not worried.)

I had a great day's teaching Short Story at Vic Uni today, and now I must prepare myself for a busy day editing and preparing to upload to Amazon my previously hard cover Regency Romance, A Little Deception.

It was nominated Favourite Historical Romance in 2011 by ARRA (Australian Romance Readers Association) however now that I have the rights back I'm going to up the heat level. I had so many readers complain that they got left behind at the bedroom door. It was one of the reasons I moved on to writing for Ellora's Cave and Total-E-Bound. However, my neat little experiment is that the hard cover will be for 'your elderly aunt' while 'you' can read the e-book and paperback version with all the heat and steam between hero and heroine which some readers felt was missing.

Then you can discuss the plot surrounding the diamond heist and the dastardly plotting sister-in-law with auntie rather than the heat level. That way, hopefully everyone's happy and I, too, will have had a little extra fun.

So look out for it. It'll be upon Amazon in the next few days.


Monday, August 27, 2012

Friday, August 24, 2012

New Corsets and Contracts

Here's the beautiful corset I wore for the Harlequin 'Diamonds are Forever' cocktail party last Friday at Romance Writers of Australia's conference on the Gold Coast.




The highlight, however, was my new contract with Pan MacMillan Momentum and the breakfast (right) I enjoyed with our new editor, Joel Naoum, and the other Hot Down Under erotic romance authors at the QT Hotel.

The collection will have short stories released in November, December and January. My short historical romance, Saving Grace, is about a prostitute whose hated way of life is thrust upon her as a result of her safeguarding the secret of the man she loved and whom she believes betrayed her. Here's a link about the Hot Down Under venture from Bookseller and Publisher.

Here's the Momentum Press Release about the collection: • Commencing in November, Momentum, the new digital-only imprint of Pan Macmillan Australia will be releasing a series of 13 erotic short stories by new and established Australian romance writers • Contributing authors include Rhyll Biest, Rhian Cahill, Kasey Channing, Cate Ellink, C.T. Green, S.E. Gilchrist, Keziah Hill, Shona Husk, Beverley Oakley, Kylie Scott, Tracie Sommers, Mel Teshco and Marianne Theresa. • Each volume will be competitively priced and available globally Hot Down Under – 13 red hot stories by 13 talented Aussie authors guaranteed to make you sizzle.

Each story has an Australian setting. Some are rural, some are fantasy and some even have zombies. Announced just ahead of the Romance Writers of Australia Conference (August 16–19), the project was the brainchild of Tracey O’Hara, who will be contributing a story under the name Tracie Sommers.

‘I have loved being part of the Hot Down Under project. It originally started out as a way to help mentor new writers and soon became much more. We were all extremely thrilled when Momentum came on board. Erotic fiction has been huge long beforeFifty Shades of Grey came along. Erotic romance has been selling like hotcakes in the US for many years now and I published my first erotic short story in 2009. It is great to see an Australian publishing company supporting some great genre fiction.’ – Tracey O’Hara

Five of the authors are previously unpublished and were mentored by the established authors during the writing process. The resulting stories combine a fresh approach with years of experience. ‘Tracey O’Hara invited me to contribute and I loved the idea of being part of a solely home grown erotic romance anthology. It also gave me a great excuse to revisit the Australian post-zombie-apocalypse world of Flesh [due out from Momentum in October], only toying with the lives and loves of a different set of characters this time.’ – Kylie Scott ‘We had always planned to publish extensively in genres like romance and erotic romance when we first launched Momentum. However, we weren’t expecting such a gifted collection of new and established authors to approach us with such an accomplished project.

More than anything, this proves that there is a vibrant and talented community of genre writers in this country who are looking for support from their local publishers. We can’t wait to get this project up and running and to help connect these stories and their writers with their audience.’ – Joel Naoum, publisher at Momentum

For any further information about the series, register interest in obtaining review copies, or to arrange an interview with the publisher or one of the authors, please contact Mark Harding, Digital Marketing Executive, Momentum. mark.harding@momentumbooks.com.au +612 8021 0705

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Couture Corsets and Publishing Books

Today I published Lady Sarah's Redemption on Smashwords and bought the beautiful couture vintage corset, below - on impulse.

For months I'd been eyeing out the beautiful range of boned corsets at What Katie Did but as they cost around the two hundred (UK) pounds mark, I confined my corset envy to admiration from afar.

Now, it just so happens that my publisher, Total-E-Bound, is sponsoring a competition where they are contributing 100 pounds towards a Couture Corset for readers who are entered into the draw when they buy a copy of one of four books in the Bodices & Boudoirs collection. This includes my erotic English Civil War romance The Cavalier (details on my Beverley Oakley Books page).

Buy now for a chance to win
a Couture Corset
BUY
So there I was, preparing my blog about the release of The Cavalier and the Couture Corset competition for my August 9th slot at The Romance Studios and was checking the link to What Katie Did when, lo and behold, I discovered they were holding a fantastic sale with some lingerie reduced to nearly a third of the price, including the beautiful 'Antoinette' corset, below, and above, right that I'd fallen in love with. It was all the impetus I needed to click the Buy button.
So, with a competition like the B&B's Couture Corsets, why not do the same!

  Sale Showgirl Velvet Antoinette Corset
The link below will take you to the full collection...
Half price clearance sale - now just £75!
This breathtakingly beautiful steel boned corset could be the piece-de-resistance of our Showgirl collection. Or, the icing on the cake, if you'll pardon the pun!
The base for the design is our Antoinette overbust corset once again, but the resulting creation is anything but standard. The fabric is scarlet satin, overlaid with black floral flocking, which is echoed in the rich black velvet overboning and modesty panel. Opulent, decadent, just like the Dauphine herself, the Velvet Antoinette features a balconette bustline for gently uplifted and firmly supported breasts, and gored hips for a ravishingly wasp-waisted silhouette.
It's suitable for most shapes, and for seasoned and inexperienced corset-wearers alike as it's easy to wear and comfortable despite allowing a greater waist reduction than our non-gored versions. Wear it on a night out and you'll be stopping traffic... wear it on a night in and you might have the same effect on hearts!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

I was delighted when the rights to my first three Regency Historical Intrigues reverted to me a couple of weeks ago.

To celebrate, I'm offering for a short time the kindle edition of LADY SARAH'S REDEMPTION for an introductory price of only 99c at Amazon: http://tiny.cc/wht6hw

Here's the blurb:

When spoiled heiress Lady Sarah Miles assumes the identity of a drowned governess to escape marriage to her best friend, James, she thinks her troubles will be over within the fortnight.

Arriving at the grand estate of reformist MP Roland Hawthorne to take charge of the tortured widower's rebellious sixteen-year-old daughter, Caro, Sarah unexpectedly forms a strong attachment to the occupants of her new household.

But when Sarah’s deceit plays into the hands of an unexpected adversary who uses Caro as a pawn in a high stakes game of revenge, Sarah must risk everything she holds dear - including her love for Roland - to redeem herself.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Me in my wedding dress and why I want a corset

Yesterday I posted in a blog at lovermaoncepassion about the fabulous competition to win a Couture Corset my publisher Total-E-Bound is sponsoring.

All you have to do to be in the draw is buy one of the four novellas from the Bodices and Boudoirs collection, of which my novella, The Cavalier, is one. (See details here.)


The Cavalier is a poignant tale of blighted love - and renewed hope - set during the English Civil War in 1648. Normally I write Regencies but I couldn't resist the opportunity to write about a time in history when the conflict was so raw. Brother could be fighting brother or, in this case, a Puritan woman is faced with her lost love - who turns out to be second-in-command of the King's Men currently besieging her castle.


Eight years before, Elizabeth had married the brutal Puritan, Silas Drummond, against her will. Nevertheless, she's been a dutiful and obedient wife.
Then Charles Trethveyan marches into her life offering her a bargain that will save her hated husband's life.
A bargain she can't resist until she learns it's based on a lie.
Not knowing that Charles is acting to save her life, Elizabeth succumbs to her husband's demands that she make the ultimate sacrifice - for the sake of honour.
Death is imminent unless the truth can be revealed in time.
Fortunately I married under a lot less duress than poor Elizabeth and got my Happy Ever After without the angst she suffered. I've posted a picture at of me at www.loveromancepassion.com running through fields of purple Salvation Jane in the middle of the Clare Valley wearing the 1961 French-designed wedding gown my mum wore, and which I was able to squeeze into 30 years later. However, since I'm thinking of wearing the dress to a Fancy Dress you can see why I'd be contemplating a corset.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Read a Steamy Historical and Win a Couture Corset


Read a steamy historical and be in the draw to win US$155 towards a Couture Corset.
More competition details at  Love, Romance, Passion where I’m blogging on corset envy.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Win a Couture Corset

I've always wanted to own a beautifully-made lace-up corset. There are some fantastic ones at www.whatkatiedid.com in the UK.

For a limited time my publisher, Total-E-Bound is sponsoring a competition in which those who buy a copy of one of the four novellas in the Bodices & Boudoirs collection - which includes my sensual and dramatic story of lost love returning, The Cavalier - goes in the draw to win 100 pounds towards a beautiful corset.

So what are you waiting for? Click on the link and check out the four stories - all very different, very heartfelt, sensual and dramatic.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Why Not Drop By For a Chat?


Hi there - why not drop by for a chat? For the next 24 hours I'll be here:

http://www.theromancereviews.com/forum/

Under Events à Sizzling Summer Reads Party July 2012 à Author Chat: Beverley Oakley

I've been answering questions all day but am very happy to answer more.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

How I Could Have Cut 23 Years Off My Writing Apprenticeship


As part of my (exhausting but fun) Blog Tour I'm over at Romance Junkies today where I've made a list of do's and don't to cover what I learned in the 23-years between writing my first book and getting a contract.
How I Could Have Cut Years Off My 23-year Writing Apprenticeship!  @http://www.romancejunkies.com/rjblog/

Monday, July 16, 2012

The Cavalier Release Day!!


I’ve always adored historicals in all time periods. For a long time I’d been wanting to write this story: that of a virtuous, loyal wife confronted with the greatest conflict she could ever face – the return the one man she truly loved. I then thought, what would be the *only* way she might be disloyal to her husband? That’s when the setting came into play – a civil war and a scenario where she’s blackmailed into it in order to save her husband’s life.
It was a challenge to get the balance right and not tarnish the integrity of my hero or heroine. I tried to make the story as much about honour as it was about desire.
I also think this story might only have worked in the midst of war. Death was hanging over all my characters and I tried to juxtapose the brutality and revenge elements with a real and passionate love that the reader truly had to believe in if the story was to work.

This short novella begins on the eve of battle and ends twenty-four hours later with the occupation of Drummond Castle. In the interim a lot of lives are lost or irrevocably altered but at least someone gets their happy ending. Writing it made me feel that the pen really is mightier than the sword.
Here is the blurb:
Drummond Castle, home of staunch Puritan Silas Drummond and his beautiful wife, Elizabeth, has been besieged by Royalist forces. In a bargain to spare her husband’s life, Lady Elizabeth has agreed to spend the night with the commander of the hated King’s Men.
Second-in-command, Charles Trethveyan, has other ideas. He’s planned this moment since Elizabeth chose to marry Silas eight years before.
When Elizabeth discovers that her former Cavalier lover has taken the place of his superior, she must decide whether Charles is motivated by love or revenge.
Either way, her response will have devastating consequences.
*Note: The Cavalier is one of a collection of four historical novellas in Total-E-Bound’s Bodices and Boudoirs anthology.

You can read more by visiting my website or you can buy the book at Total-E-Bound.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

The 'Getting-Published' Tool-Kit

Most writing apprenticeships are a few years. I've heard 'ten' bandied around as a popular, general figure amongst my Romance Writers of Australia friends.

Since mine was 23 years - yes, 23! - I decided to name my blog I'm writing for Romance Junkies' on July 17th The 'Getting Published' Toolkit and list the five main reasons it took me so long to get published.

The blog post is also a celebration of the release of my 6th book - The Cavalier - an erotic English Civil War romantic novella which is due for release on July 16th. That's tomorrow!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Blogging topics - Where do they Come From?

With two back-to-back my releases - Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma and The Cavalier - over these past couple of weeks I decided to put together a blog tour. I'm a seat-of-the-pants writer and unfortunately this technique carries through into my business approach.

"Must Organise Blog Tour" became my mantra for a few frenzied days where, in ad hoc fashion I'd submit a few requests, here and there. Although I've been writing for years and my first book came out four years ago, it's only been since January with the release of my first e-book - Rake's Honour - that I've turned my attention to any kind of online promotion.

Prior to that it was all library and author chats for my expensive hard cover releases.

There are pros and cons to the new situation in which I find myself. Obviously the downside is that I'm starting from scratch, in a sense. And, boy, it's a steep learning curve. I've been trying to actually understand Twitter and work out how to discover interesting things that are happening using it. Everyone says it's so easy, but the whole protocol and format is alien. So that's another thing I have to really dedicate myself to getting better at. Yesterday I discovered I could actually condense URLs. I'm reasonably computer-savvy so why didn't I even know that was possible?

Why? Because it's hard enough snatching time to just write the damn book, My promotional abilities are only just now grinding into gear.

However, there is an upside and that's the range of really lovely people I've met online. I've loved blogging at Black Velvet Seductions and Manic Readers, in particular, because the hosts, Laurie and Ivy, are such friendly, communicative and enthusiastic people. It's a real pleasure to prepare something and have a chat with them along the way.

As for topics, they occur in the same ad hoc fashion.

I've had an exciting life both in my own right and tagging along as the 'trailing spouse' to a pilot whose work has taken us to 10 countries in 18 years. That's countries we've called home. I've blogged about that quite often, drawing the correlation between events or themes which have made their way into my work. At Black Velvet Seductions I'm in the middle of three blogging events in which I details events such as Being Locked up in French Guyana and The Hero Who Married My Sister as well as my upcoming blog on the 19th - Why Losing My Job was the Best Thing to Happen to My Writing Career.

Today I've just finished a blog for Manic Readers' July 13 slot. As I sat chewing my virtual pencil trying to think of a topic, I thought how much I was missing my husband who'd been away for five days.... and there I had it:

"In Praise of (Supportive) Husbands."

So drop into Manic Readers on Friday and you can read all about how wonderfully supportive of my writing my darling husband of 18 years has been. I'll be posting the exact address on the day.

Because, as usual, I simply cannot find the exact blog address. Supportive though my husband is of my writing, he does sometimes have a few less than complimentary words on the subject of my navigation skills and my response to that has become my mantra in life:

It might take me longer than most people, but I always get there in the end.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Book Giveaway - Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma

The lovely ladies at Booked Up Reviews have posted an in-depth interview with me about the differences between my two writing names and what's in the pipeline.

There's also a give-away of Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma to one commenter chosen at random so if you want to pop over there and say a word or two, you might just find yourself with an e-copy of Lady Lovett's Dilemma, which has the following blurb:


The eight—year marriage of the once mutually-adoring couple, Lord and Lady Lovett, is rejuvenated through the anonymous counsel of Lord Lovett’s former mistress.

Eight years of marriage has not dimmed Cressida, Lady Lovett’s, love for her husband, but the birth of five children has cooled her ardour.

Now rumours are circulating that the kind, dashing and seemingly ever—patient Justin, Lord Lovett, has returned to the arms of his former mistress and Cressida believes her choices are stark—welcome her husband back to the marital bed and risk a sixth pregnancy she fears will kill her, or lose him forever.

With the astonishing discovery that methods exist to enable the innocent Cressida to transform herself into the vixen of her husband’s dreams without expanding her nursery, she seeks to repay the woman responsible for her empowerment...only to discover her unlikely benefactress was, and perhaps still is, her husband’s mistress.

My last story featured a fiery, feisty heroine so this time it was fun to write about a sweet, passive, happily married heroine. As was normal 200 years ago, Cressida is not equipped with the vocabulary or knowledge to explain that while she wants to continue her loving relationship with her husband she can't bear to be intimate when she knows the consequences may well be another pregnancy. Prompted by her jealous, bullying cousin to discover the truth, Cressida stumbles upon the means to please both her husband and herself, as well as a 20-year-old mystery. It's now that she uses her sweet nature - and hidden determination - to secure someone else's happy ending as well as her own, showing surprising depths of courage, daring and spontaneity along the way.



Monday, July 9, 2012

First foray into Self Publishing


My first foray into self-publishing begins this week now that I have the rights back to my three Regency Romantic Intrigues published in hardcover by Robert Hale.

So far I've commissioned artist Lyn Taylor to do the lovely cover. I'm hoping that by the end of the week I'll have done the in-between bits and it'll be available on Amazon. Also, that the process will be started for paperback editions.

Others who've blazed the trail before me have been very helpful with their advice and my darling husband came back from his overseas trip two nights ago with a neat little book outlining tips and pitfalls.

I'm looking forward to beginning and am in the process of going through the book again and making a few changes, though the story line will remain the same as outlined below:
Lady Sarah's Redemption 
When spoiled heiress Lady Sarah Miles assumes the identity of a drowned governess to escape marriage to her best friend, James, she thinks her troubles will be over within the fortnight.

Arriving at the grand estate of reformist MP Roland Hawthorne to take charge of the tortured widower's rebellious sixteen-year-old daughter, Caro, Sarah is caught up in a web of deceit that goes far beyond her own charade.

As Sarah battles her conscience, her courage is tested to extremes when she risks her own reputation to save Caro's. What began as an attempt to win Roland's affections now has all their lives hanging in the balance. Even if Roland forgives her, it may be too late. 

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Pre-order for The Cavalier

In a change of policy, my publisher, Total-E-Bound has introduced big discounts for pre-orders - so it's a good time to check out, not just my English Civil War romantic novella, The Cavalier, but some of the other great stories on the site.

I've been very happy with TEB's attention to detail in creating a quality product, especially when it comes to copy edits. This is my third Beverley Oakley sensual historical romance and, like my other books, it's been copy edited five times.

I'm a freelance editor, myself, so I turn in a pretty clean product, but there are multiple editors who query everything from grammar points to whether a particular word used had entered the vocabulary of the day to whether the noise of cicadas or sparrows would be more appropriate to the setting. (This was queried in my very first paragraph.)

Here's the blurb and a bit about the novella in which:


A Puritan woman’s loyalties are tested when her husband is imprisoned by the Royalist lover she was forced to surrender through duty.

The Cavalier
by Beverley Oakley

Drummond Castle, home of staunch Puritan Silas Drummond and his beautiful wife, Elizabeth, has been besieged by Royalist forces. In a bargain to spare her husband’s life Lady Elizabeth has agreed to spend the night with the commander of the hated King’s Men.

Second-in-command, Charles Trethveyan, has other ideas. He’s planned this moment since Elizabeth chose to marry Silas eight years before.

When Elizabeth discovers that her former Cavalier lover has taken the place of his superior, she must decide whether Charles is motivated by love or revenge.

Either way, her response will have devastating consequences.


I usually write Regency Romances – either traditional under my Beverley Eikli name, or sensual or erotic under my pseudonym, Beverley Oakley. However this gritty, sometimes brutal story had been begging to be written for a long time. I love historical author Pamela Belle’s work. Her brilliant English Civil War Wintercombe series has resonated over decades with me.

I’ve also devoured everything I can find to do with seventeenth century diarist Samuel Pepys and his life. I feel comfortable with the time period. Honour and loyalty are two of my favourite themes and integral to a romance set against civil conflict when families and friends could be fighting on opposing sides. This short novella begins on the eve of battle and ends twenty-four hours later with the occupation of Drummond Castle. In the interim a lot of lives are lost or irrevocably altered but at least someone gets their happy ending. Writing it made me feel that the pen really is mightier than the sword.

You can read more by visiting my website or you can get the book here.




Sunday, July 1, 2012

Release Day for Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma

Release Day! It never loses its edge, the thrill of that day. My second sensual Regency Historical - Lady Lovett's Little Dilemma - comes out today with the following premise:

The eight—year marriage of the once mutually-adoring couple, Lord and Lady Lovett, is rejuvenated through the anonymous counsel of Lord Lovett’s former mistress.
Eight years of marriage has not dimmed Cressida, Lady Lovett’s, love for her husband, but the birth of five children has cooled her ardour.
Now rumours are circulating that the kind, dashing and seemingly ever—patient Justin, Lord Lovett, has returned to the arms of his former mistress and Cressida believes her choices are stark—welcome her husband back to the marital bed and risk a sixth pregnancy she fears will kill her, or lose him forever.
With the astonishing discovery that methods exist to enable the innocent Cressida to transform herself into the vixen of her husband’s dreams without expanding her nursery, she seeks to repay the woman responsible for her empowerment...only to discover her unlikely benefactress was, and perhaps still is, her husband’s mistress.
I loved writing this story as the main couple are so devoted yet they really are trapped by their nineteenth century upbringings. Cressida doesn't have the knowledge, let alone the vocabulary, to articulate her fears while Justin believes she's shifted her focus from loving him to loving only their children.
When Cressida stumbles upon a woman who can help her, she also stumbles upon a twenty-year-old mystery. Now there is someone weaker than herself who needs championing and this is where Cressida really finds the courage to stand up to society and society's strictures.
I hope you enjoy the story. You can buy it here at: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1718