A huge welcome to Best-selling author Jenna Jaxon!
I met Jenna through my online writing and critique group,
Rom-Critters, and we’ve been friends ever since.
Among the genres Jenna writes is Historical Romance and
here’s her latest release!
EXCERPT:
Heart in her throat, Jenny stepped up to the
imaginary line. A peep at Lord Somersby had been the wrong choice.
He stood relaxed, confident. Taking what looked to
be a runner’s stance, he nodded to her.
“Are you ready, Miss Crowley?” Uncle Marbury asked,
an eyebrow raised.
Excitement surged through her veins. Ignoring it,
she collected her wits and nodded. Clasping her skirts in a death grip, she
concentrated on listening for her uncle’s signal. She still had no idea if she
could best Lord Somersby or whether she would allow him to snare her and claim
his kiss. She took deep breaths, ready for the shout.
“Go!”
Jenny leaped forward, so intent on running her feet
tangled together. She stumbled to a halt not a yard from Lord Somersby’s tall
figure. Another awkward step and she would have sprawled at his feet.
His face lit up in a self-satisfied grin. He nodded
almost imperceptibly, as if acknowledging a signal.
Did he think she had done that on purpose? That she
wanted him to catch her? She had, in fact, set out to be caught, but that smug
smile changed everything. Determination fired her spirit. She’d show him she
had a mind of her own. Springing forward, she raced away just before Somersby
launched himself at her.
Jenny squealed and pounded through the clearing,
kicking up tufts of wet, dead leaves as she fled for the far side of the
circle. She could hear her pursuer’s soft laugh as he drew closer to her. He’d
have her arm in moments. Why not slow her stride and show him she wanted to be
captured? Wanted his kiss?
Her steps faltered. How would it feel to have his
body close to hers, closer even than in their waltz, his warm lips grazing her
cheek? Anticipation stirred deep within. She slowed her pace and turned to face
him.
The grin that lit Somersby’s handsome face spread
so wide the lines alongside his cheeks deepened. His eyes flashed with a
triumphant gleam and he stopped several paces in front of her then crooked his
finger, beckoning her back to him.
She stood panting, suddenly unsure as her body
trembled. The shouts and encouragements of the crowd blended with the roaring
in her ears.
Somersby raised an eyebrow and stalked toward her.
“You should have made it more of a challenge, Miss Crowley,” he said as he drew
near. “Although I’m flattered you’re that eager for another kiss from me.” He
reached for her to claim his prize.
Entranced, as though she were a mouse confronted by
a snake, Jenny could only stand there, heart pounding with an insistent beat,
watching him close the distance between them. In another moment he would take
her arm, then his kiss.
A sharp movement to her side drew her attention to
Alec, standing beside Celinda. He’d crossed his arms over his chest, his face
puckered into a frown that somehow bespoke not only anger but sadness.
Is one kiss ever enough?
BLURB:
Jenny
Crowley has been duped! At her eighteenth birthday celebration her parents
announce that instead of having the London Season she’s dreamed of for years,
Jenny has been betrothed from birth to Alexander Isley, son of family friends
and heir to a title. A distraught Jenny refuses point-blank to marry Alec, and
when her aunt offers to whisk her away to a Christmas house party, complete
with many eligible young bachelors, Jenny jumps at the chance to enjoy a
variety of entertainments, be courted, and perhaps fall in love.
Alec
Isley is between a rock and a hard place. He desires a marriage with Jenny no
more than she does, but when his family’s dire financial status is revealed, he
follows Jenny to the house party in hopes of convincing her to marry him after
all. When he discovers who else is courting her there, Alec is frantic to keep
her from making a dreadful mistake. Struggling with new-found feelings for his
childhood friend, can Alec convince her of his love in time to save her from
being ruined under the mistletoe?
A Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe is
available at
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Jenna Jaxon is a
multi-published author of historical and contemporary romance. She has been reading and writing historical
romance since she was a teenager. A
romantic herself, she has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist,
suspense, a surprise. She tries to
incorporate all of these elements into her own stories. She lives in Virginia
with her family and a small menagerie of pets.
When not reading or writing, she indulges her passion for the theatre,
working with local theatres as a director. She often feels she is directing her
characters on their own private stage.
Jenna is a PAN member
of Romance Writers of America as well as President of Chesapeake Romance
Writers, her local chapter of RWA.
She has equated her
writing to an addiction to chocolate because once she starts she just can’t
stop.
Find Jenna Jaxon
online:
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Jenna_Jaxon
