RECLAIMING THE SPY - Lorri Dudley - One Free Books

Welcome back to my blog, Lorri. As an author, I know it takes a lot of people to birth each book. Who were the people involved in the birthing of this book, and what were their contributions? It takes an army, and I couldn’t do it without such great people as the Wild Heart Books staff, my beta readers, and my launch team. It all starts with the Robins—my friend Robyn Hook does freelance editing and tells me if I’m on the right track and if my characters are likable. Then, my manuscript goes to Robin Patchen through Wild Heart Books, who deep dives into line edits, more feedback on the characters, and other tweaks. Meanwhile, Sarah Erredge is honing my back cover copy, coordinating with the amazing designer for the cover, and issuing galley copies. Sherri Johnson is setting up promotions, marketing, and blog tours. My beta readers and critique partners refine my writing further (big shout out to Lori, Megan, Barbara, and Tammy), and my incredible launch team spreads the word, posts reviews, and hypes the book on social media. I’m blessed to have all these people in my life. They’ve become my book family.

If you teach or speak, what’s coming up on your calendar? On November 17th, I will be at the Just Read Rendezvous in St. Louis, Missouri. It’s an excellent opportunity for readers and authors to meet and talk about our favorite subject—books! Details can be found here: https://rendezvous.justreadtours.com/2023-event/. I’d love to see you there.

If you had to completely start over in another place, where would you move, and why? I’d move to the outer banks of North Carolina. New England is beautiful and full of history, but the winters are long and brutal. Since I was five, until there were too many great-grandchildren to accommodate, my grandparents and relatives on my dad’s side rented a beach house in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. We’d stay for a week, where all the cousins would sleep in a big bunk room, and the adults would alternate making dinners. Vacationing together kept us tight as a family, and I have some of my best memories from that area—walking on the beach, jumping waves, swimming in the ocean until my skin shriveled, catching sand fiddlers, and eating lunch at the Dockside.

If you could only tell aspiring novelists one thing, what would it be? Always be learning. There is so much to the craft of writing and so many great resources out there. I have bookshelves full of craft books from plotting to editing and everything in between. Some of my favorites are Writing with Emotion, Tension, and Conflict by Cheryl St. John, Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson, The Story Equation by Susan May Warren, The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt, and Super Structure by James Scott Bell. I also listen to podcasts on the rides to pick up my kids: Your Best Writing Life by Linda Goldfarb, Novel Marketing by Thomas Umstattd Jr., Helping Writers Become Authors by K.M. Weiland, and Fiction Writing Made Easy by Savannah Gilbo. And I’m always looking for more.

You’ve been asked to be in charge of a celebrity cruise. Who would you ask to take part, and why? (AS in what program, singers, etc. [it doesn’t have to be writing related]) I don’t think I have the patience for Hollywood celebrities. (God is still working on me in that area.) I’d love to run a cruise with inspirational women of God like Christine Caine, Lisa Bevere, Joyce Meyers, and Charlotte Gambill. Can you imagine what amazing conversations you’d have sunning on the top deck in beach chairs with those ladies or dining for full sit-down dinners? For entertainment, I’d have Kari Jobe, Rebecca St. James, Mandisa, Lauren Daigle, and Taya Smith bring the house down with some incredible worship.

I would be first in line to sign up for that cruise. Please tell us about the featured book. Reclaiming the Spy is a twist on the childhood sweetheart and Beauty and the Beast tropes. The book opens with Nicholas and Abby just married and madly in love, but Nick is pulled into the Napoleonic Wars and disappears for ten years. But Abby never gives up hope. She prays for her husband, even though he’s presumed dead. His return should be the happily ever after of fairy tales, but it becomes a nightmare when he coldly instructs her to forget she’d ever seen him. Abby refuses to let her beloved slip through her fingers again, and she’s willing to battle for his love, despite the walls he’s created to barricade his heart.

Nicholas Emerson’s time as a spy for the War Office has left physical and mental battle wounds. He can never be the charming, carefree man he once was—the man his wife deserves—but when a threat to Abby’s life returns him to their small Midland village, keeping her safe proves challenging. If only Abby would forget him and remarry, then he wouldn’t have to face the torment of all the tender, buried feelings she evokes. The consequence of his life as a spy mean he can never have her again…

Please give us the first page of the book.

Laurel House, Worcestershire, England 1807

Abigail Hartington Emerson’s new husband scooped her into his strong arms. Her petticoats flounced and her feet dangled in the air. Nicholas faltered a step and she shrieked, digging her nails into the thick wool of his overcoat. “I love you, Nicholas Emerson, but it’s bad portent to drop your new wife, especially before you cross the threshold.”

The glint in those mischievous hazel eyes revealed he was teasing her by pretending to trip. “I’m not going to let you fall. In fact, now that I’ve made you mine, my plan is to never let you out of my arms.”

She clung to his shoulders, buried her face in his neck, and breathed in his woodsy scent of newly cut cedar. The vibrations of Nick’s husky laughter tickled her nose. She lifted her head but didn’t relax her grip.

“Welcome to Laurel House, Mrs. Abigail Emerson.” Nicholas raised his gaze to the rustic two-story stone home that stretched along the bulrushes. Ivy climbed the exterior as if wrapping the house in a leafy embrace, and the primrose in full bloom burst with cheery color from each window box.

“Do you hear that?” He tilted his ear up.

Abby stilled but only heard a distant woodlark song.

“It’s the sound of our future children playing.”

“Truly?”

“I hear them as clearly as the clock tower.”

“I do hope you’re being prophetic and that I didn’t marry a man who’s as mad as a hatter.”

A crooked smile graced his lips.

His breath mingled with hers, tickling her mouth and cheeks.

“Either way, I don’t care. As long as you’re mine.” Public affection was considered improper, but on impulse she pressed her lips to his, savoring their velvety feel and his strong arms.

His mouth moved on hers with a slow, tantalizing kiss —just a taste of what the next forty or more years would hold.

The front door swung open.

Abby tore away with a gasp.

Mrs. Smith, the housekeeper, stepped aside and held the door to allow the newlyweds passage.

Heat spread through Abby’s cheeks quicker than a house fire. When was she going to learn to control her whims? She avoided the woman’s gaze as Nicholas swept her across the entranceway into the open foyer.

The setting sun spilled its golden rays through the mullioned window, illuminating the large bouquet of red roses, most likely freshly cut from his mother’s rose garden, that graced the pedestal table.

Her new home. Her grip on the lapel of his coat tightened. The reality of this momentous day sank in. She was Laurel Manor’s new mistress.

Where can we find you on the Internet?

Lorridudley.com

Amazon

BookBub

Goodreads

Wildheartbooks.org

Thank you for sharing Reclaiming the Spy with my blog readers and me.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=reclaiming+the+spy+lorri+dudley&i=stripbooks&crid=3RQP78VC9PMLK&sprefix=Reclaiming+the+Spy+%2Cstripbooks%2C102&ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_1_19

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