Book Release - The Earl's Complete Surrender

The Earl's Complete Surrender is on sale today!!! It's the second book in the Secrets At Thorncliff Manor series. For tour dates and to enter the giveaway for a $25 ebook gift card, courtesy of Avon Books, please click HERE

To grab your copy today, please follow the buy links via my website at sophiebarnes.com

Pre-Sale Contest: The Earl's Complete Surrender

Enter for a chance to win a paperback copy of The Earl's Complete Surrender BEFORE it goes on sale December 29th!!!

Top Five CRAZIEST Facts I learned while researching for Historical Romances

1.       Female duelists

Apparently not as uncommon as one might think. I did quite a bit of research on this when I wrote Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure. One of the most notable accounts, is probably the incident where Princess Pauline Metternich and the Countess Kielmannsegg came to arms because of a disagreement regarding a floral arrangement. This duel achieved particular notoriety because both ladies fought topless due to the danger of minor wounds turning septic as a result of fabric being driven into the wounds with the point of the sword.

Artistic rendering of Lady Almeria Braddock and Mrs. Elphinstone dueling. The event took place after Mrs. Elphinstone accused Lady Almeria Braddock of lying about her age. You can read the reputed dialogue between them here - it's quite amusing.

2.       Women could be sold at market by their husbands

Turns out that during the Regency period, a husband who wanted to be rid of his wife, could in fact lead her to market and officially sell her. Oftentimes, the wife would be in agreement, but due to the high expense/scandal of divorce, a transaction of this nature was a much cheaper and simpler option, though there were many people who disapproved.

A contemporary French print of an English wife sale. The scene is set at a cattle market, which places it in the context of livestock sales and implies that the wife already has a lover, as the husband is shown apparently "wearing horns", a traditional symbol that he has been cuckolded. - From Wikipedia

3.       Men wore unmentionables but women wore…nothing

I pretty much knew this after all the fashion history classes I took in college, but I didn’t realize that few women prior to the Victorian era had a solution to ‘that time of the month’. Menstruation belts were worn after 1800, but many women, especially those from the lower classes, would just refrain from leaving the house.

4.       The flush toilet was an Elizabethan invention.

I’ve always thought that flushing toilets were invented during the Victorian era by George Jennings and somewhat later by Thomas Crapper, but apparently that’s not the case. The very first flushing toilet was invented by John Harrington in 1596, a prominent member of Queen Elizabeth I's court.

5.       Hang him!

When we read Regency romances, the fairy-tale setting and plot distract from the more unpleasant aspects of that day and age. In fact, I don’t recall ever reading a romance novel in which a public hanging was mentioned, and yet they continued to take place until 1868 when Michael Barrett was hanged for his part in the Clerkenwell bombing.

Originally posted on FOREVER BOOK LOVER, April 30th 2015

Tiaras and Ballrooms Romance 
Ebook Contest

Sophie Barnes

Enter to win 5 ebooks & $20 

Amazon gift card

One grand prize awarded will recieve the following ebooks:

Lady in Disguise by Wendy Vella

Lady Sarah's Sinful Desires by Sophie Barnes

Wicked by Cheryl Holt

A Heart Revealed by Josi S. Kilpack

Cast in Ice by Laura Landon 

Contest is open to all residents of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Canada (excluding Quebec) and must be the majority of age within the state/province they reside in. 

Contest runs from October 11, 2015 12am and ends October 17, 2015 at 11:59pm.

Lady Sarah's Sinful Desires

Welcome to Thorncliff Manor, where London’s elite mix, mingle, and may even find their heart’s desire . . .

There are thousands of things Christopher, Viscount Spencer, would rather do than hunt for a bride, especially since experience has taught him that women are not to be trusted. Then he finds the intriguing Lady Sarah scrambling around in Thorncliff’s conservatory and he is instantly charmed by her passionate nature. But why is she so intent on avoiding him?

Lady Sarah would make the perfect bride for a peer—if not for a tarnished past that she’s hiding from the ton. A stay at Thorncliff Manor was meant to help her plan for her future, not fall in love. Yet Christopher’s kisses are irresistible, his gallantry enticing. When her secret stands to be revealed, will the truth ruin their dreams of happiness? 

Get Lady Sarah's Sinful Desires for only $1.99 

for a LIMITED time:

Avon Authors Newsletter and Books On Sale

If you're following this blog, then you're probably a romantic at heart, which is why I thought I'd make you aware of the Avon Authors monthly newsletter. Signing up is easy and it will help you keep up to date on the latest romance releases from Avon as well as inform you of contests and signings. This newsletter is not sponsored by Avon but by the authors themselves and also offers information on how to get in touch with each of them online.

http://www.avonauthors.com/newsletter-2/


And since we are on the subject of romance novels, I thought I'd let you know about the following e-book offers:

Only $1.99

Amazon

B&N

FREE

Amazon

B&N

FREE

Amazon

B&N

One More Haunted Evening Release Party

Today I'll be participating in the One More Haunted Evening release party, courtesy of Ava Stone, Jerrica Knight-Catania and Jane Charles whose new novel goes on sale today - a spooky historical that will make your toes curl! So stop by the party for a fun-filled day of ghost stories and giveaways. I'll be there from 4:20 to 4:40pm EST with 2 $10 amazon gift cards and one book prize containing four of my books.

The lineup is fabulous - I'm including it below so you know when to stop by for a chance to hang out with your favorite authors.

1:00pm - 1:20pm Ava Stone

1:20pm - 1:40pm Julie Johnstone

1:40pm - 2:00pm Shana Galen

2:00pm - 2:20pm Rose Gordon

2:20pm - 2:40pm Jane Godman

2:40pm - 3:00pm Monica Burns

3:00pm - 3:20pm Christy Carlyle

3:20pm - 3:40pm Darcy Burke

3:40pm - 4:00pm Susan Gee Heino

4:00pm - 4:20pm Renee Bernard

4:20pm - 4:40pm Sophie Barnes

4:40pm - 5:00pm Aileen Fish

5:00pm - 5:20pm Jane Charles

5:20pm - 5:40pm Jerrica Knight-Catania

5:40pm - 6:00pm Samantha Grace

6:00pm - 6:20pm Sue London

6:20pm - 6:40pm Deb Marlowe

6:40pm - 7:00pm Erica Ridley

7:00pm - 7:20pm Valerie Bowman

7:20pm - 7:40pm Tracey Devlyn

7:40pm - 8:00pm Collette Cameron

8:00pm - 8:20pm Author Meara Platt

8:20pm - 8:40pm Katherine Bone

8:40pm - 9:00pm Christina McKnight

Singing a love story

It's been years since I heard Bill Morrissey's song "Birches" for the first time. I'm not sure what reminded me of it yesterday, but I found myself going to YouTube and searching for it. Turns out it's just as beautiful as I remembered it to be. The story he tells through song about an older couple whose relationship has lost the passion of young love, is incredibly moving. As they sit alone, the wife tries to reignite the spark, but the husband who's more practical dismisses her attempts in favor of what they have gained after so many years of marriage. Oak will burn as long and hot as a July afternoon, And birch will burn itself out by the rising of the moon. 
Still, after he goes off to bed, she dismisses his insistence to add oak to the fire and adds birch instead. The memories come flooding back and for a brief time, she is young again. And the shadows they saw nothing but a young girl on her honeymoon.
The last line brings everything into focus: She thought of heat. She thought of time. She called it an even trade.
Although the wife misses the way they once were, she also realizes that what she has now is lasting, that it is important, and that her husband's love for her will keep her warm through the cold winter nights.