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Sebastian’s Lady
Spy
Secrets & Seduction # 5
Secrets & Seduction # 5
By: Sharon Cullen
Releasing March 31st, 2015
Loveswept
Seduction
abounds in Sharon Cullen’s steamy historical romance! For the Crown’s top
agents, love is a hazard best avoided—until an unforgettable affair exposes
their undercover hearts.
Sebastian Addison has a powerful secret. To society
he is the Earl of Claybrook, the patriarch who raised his siblings after the
death of their parents. But to the king, Sebastian is Britain’s top spy—a
position that has taken an emotional toll on him. Contessa Gabrielle Marciano
has also been living a lie, her title a cover devised by the Office of
Intelligence. The femme fatale was plucked from a life of crime and
prostitution and trained to restrain her passionate nature. Until she meets the
earl.
For three deeply sensual days and nights, Sebastian
and Gabrielle drop their masks, indulging in pleasures that seem too good to be
true. Then the lovers go their separate ways. Seven months later they reunite
when inside sources report that an English aristocrat has been aiding France in
a plot to topple the Crown. Their objective: to find the turncoat. Their
greatest challenge: to keep their wild, wounded hearts from derailing a mission
of life and death.
“Your
partner.”
His partner, who had yet to step around
the door, said something to the footman, then laughed. The sound sliced through
him as precisely and painfully as a saber. He’d had that feeling only one other
time. Seven months ago, to be precise.
She
stepped into his line of sight, and Sebastian’s stomach twisted into a knot.
Her smile
was wide, her dark, dark eyes sparkling. All that black hair was piled atop her
head with tendrils escaping and curling around her face and down her neck.
Sebastian’s entire body clenched in memory as his gaze swept over her,
cataloging everything from the tops of her creamy breasts to her waist, which
he could span with his hand, to her navy blue shoes that peeked out from the
hem of her navy blue gown. She executed a quick, almost impertinent curtsy.
Just the way he remembered.
“My lord.”
For a long
moment Sebastian couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak. All he could do was
withstand the tidal wave of emotions and memories breaking over him. Emotions
he’d fought so hard to overcome.
Sebastian
spun on his heel and pierced Atwater with a glare. “What is the meaning of
this?”
“I would like
to introduce—”
Sebastian
slashed his hand through the air, cutting off Atwater’s words before they
formed. He didn’t want to hear her name. He didn’t want to hear her voice, and
he certainly was not going to work with her. It
had taken him seven months—seven months—to get her out of his
system. He would not allow Atwater to ruin his hard work. What were the chances
that when they finally decided he should partner, it would be with her? Why her? She wasn’t even an
operative, damn it.
“If for
some reason I did decide to partner with someone—which I would never do—that
person would be an operative.” And never a woman. The words were left unsaid
but resonated through the room.
“Yes,
well.” Atwater darted a quick glance at her. “As I was saying, Lord Claybrook,
may I introduce Contessa Gabrielle Marciano. The contessa is an operative for
the crown.”
It took
all of Sebastian’s effort not to reveal his shock. She didn’t appear to be
nearly as surprised as he felt, which led him to believe that she’d known he
was an operative and played him for a fool all those months ago. Or maybe she
was just as good as he was at hiding thoughts.
“As I
said”—he infused his voice with disdain, refusing to reveal either the shock of
this revelation or the tumultuous excitement and regret and even fear upon
seeing her again—“find someone else.” He headed toward the door.
She was
blocking his way, and he advanced on her, silently challenging her. She should
have stepped out of his way. Any other woman would have. Hell, any man would have.
But as he had learned in Venice, this was no ordinary woman. She stood her
ground and met his furious growl with a cool look. Her insolent chin tilted up,
and God help him, he wanted to take that chin in his hands and kiss her
senseless.
He jerked
his head in a poor semblance of a nod. “Good day, my lady.”
My Very Non-Glamorous Life as a Writer
I came across this picture the other day and it
made me laugh so much that I had to post it to my Facebook page. I don’t drink
coffee but I like how glamorous she looks sitting there “working”.
I know people have long since given
up the image of a writer with a boa around her neck and bon bons at her side
while she pecks out her novel on a manual typewriter. I think anyone who
follows any author on social media knows that this life is not glamorous at
all. Well, except when you can “lunch” with your agent or editor. I’ve never
done that. My agent is on the east coast, my editor in the Midwest. The closest
I’ve come to “lunching” with them is a phone call to discuss a contract or a
book I’m writing. Very non-glamorous.
I’m a night person. I don’t normally
speak to anyone until at least 11am. In fact, I don’t get up until 11am most
days. I do stumble out of bed at 7am to take my youngest to school but I
stumble right back to bed as soon as I get home. So I’m up at 11am. I check
email, answer any writing related emails that might have come through that
morning. As well as writing, and working outside the home I also create the
practice schedules for our local recreational soccer organization. So this time
of the year it’s like having another 40 hour a week job. Lots of emails from
frantic, sometimes angry coaches who didn’t get the practice they wanted.
Like I said I work outside the home
in the beauty industry. I sell makeup. That’s not as glamorous as you might
think either but it is fun getting to play with all the makeup. So I’ll go to
work if I have to that day (I work part time). My youngest is the only one
still in school and she’s active in sports so I’m usually ferrying her to a
practice, or from a practice, or to or from a soccer game or track meet.
There’s dinner that I sometimes make. Sometimes I make them forage on their
own.
In the evening (if I’m not working.
I do work evenings sometimes), I finally sit down to write. But first there’s THINGS
I have to do. Like write blog posts, answer more emails, work on revisions or
edits, etc.
I usually start writing around 9pm.
Actually that’s kind of early for me. If I work the close shift, I don’t start
writing until 10:30-11pm. I try to write every single day and my word goal is
2000 words a day. A lot of times I do more.
I usually close up shop about 1am
and start heading to bed, which means I pack youngest’s lunch, put dishes away,
wash my face, etc.
The next day I do it all over again
until the book is finished. And then I start another book.
Oh, and I don’t wear that kind of
dress when I write. That would get annoying to have to change into that every
time I wanted to write something. I just wear my yoga pants and oversized
sweatshirt and usually you’ll find me under a blanket with a Diet Dr. Pepper at
my side.
Sebastian’s
Lady Spy was written in exactly this way. It’s not every author’s way to
write but it’s mine and it works for me. I’ve tried writing in the morning and
it just doesn’t work. My mind isn’t awake enough and there are too many
distractions. What I have found is that it doesn’t matter what one wears
because once that Word document is open I’m transported to another time and
place with characters who are very
glamorous and exciting and that’s all that matters.
Sharon Cullen is the author of the
historical romances The Notorious Lady Anne, Loving the Earl, and Pleasing the
Pirate, as well as many novels of romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and
contemporary romance. If you’d like to find out more about the author and her
books, you can visit her blog or her website. She is addicted to social
networking so you can find her on Facebook and Twitter. Friend her! Like her! Follow
her! She’d love to hang out with you and talk about her passion: books.
Thank you for hosting Sharon today!
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