Coming Soon: A LADY AND A SPY

I have to be honest with you guys. After the first few weeks A CONTEMPTIBLE AFFECTION was on sale and I remembered to go check my stats, the number of copies it had sold astounded me. It was awesome to think that so many people wanted to read my novella!

The idea for A LADY AND A SPY had been kicking around in my head for sometime and I thought, "This means it's time to get to work." So I did. With a new baby and all it took me a lot longer than I wanted, but I'm now working on edits and confident that A LADY AND A SPY will be released in Spring 2013. (Way to be specific ... right? I figure that gives me anywhere from March to June -- and the way life is going right now, anything could happen!)

How about a peek at the cover. I'm not absolutely positive this will be final, so how about giving your opinion?

Image (c)  YuriyZhuravov  Cover Design (c) Ranee` S. Clark

As Jolene can attest, I went through a lot of versions before I came to this -- thank heavens for her wisdom! (Though one of the earlier versions might still end up on the paperback ... we'll see!)

And of course, you all need some back-cover love:

Blanche Audley's old-fashioned grandfather cut off her mother after she married Thomas Audley and his millions of "new money," and for the last ten years since her parents' deaths, Blanche has lived under the gloom of his disappointment. So when she recklessly loses a thousand dollars to Etta Channing in a game of baccarat, she will do anything to keep her foolish actions from him. Except he oversees every penny she spends of the wealth her father left her, leaving her no way of paying the debt without his knowledge.

Until Etta offers her a deal. Alexander Whealdon, one of the most eligible bachelors in town, needs a companion to shepherd his younger sister through her first season. Etta wants Blanche to take the position and use it to infiltrate the household and pass along information that will help Etta get her hooks into the reserved Mr. Whealdon. It seems like an easy way to pay off the debt and save face at the same time. But the more Blanche sees of Mr. Whealdon's playful side, not to mention his surprising generosity, the less she wants to help Etta win him over.

Backing out means humiliating herself and disappointing both her grandfather and Mr. Whealdon, not to mention losing Miss Whealdon's trust and friendship, but if she goes through with her promise to Etta, she will lose what might be her last chance for love.

AND that's not all the love I'm giving out. Have you reviewed A CONTEMPTIBLE AFFECTION either on your blog, Amazon, or Goodreads? (Are you going to do it right now...? :) If the answer is yes, comment on this post (with a link) and I'll give you an early-release copy of A LADY AND A SPY. No drawing. No random pick. Just you get one if you've reviewed it.