"My Inconvenient Duke" is ready for its closeup

The author copies of My Inconvenient Duke arrived over the weekend, in all their misty purple glory, and bearing the wonderful new-book scent. Yes, I wrote the thing, and yes, I see the cover art (and put in my 2¢ about this and that), but it’s not real to me until I have the actual book in my hand.

Today—if all goes well and all the various editions are in the right place at the right time—you’ll be able to have the book in your hand, too, or else see it on your e-reader or phone or listen to Kate Reading give my characters voices, in her own remarkable way.

I hope you’ll enjoy Alice and Blackwood’s story and the visit to London in the early 1830s. This was a very short time before photography and before trains began replacing those often overworked horses for transportation. It was a time of ebullient women’s fashion: big sleeves and big hair and layers of petticoats to make big skirts in the days before crinoline.

Normally, my blog posts are rather infrequent. Sometimes months go by, and I am silent. This is because it strikes me as intelligent to shut up when I’ve nothing to say, and because an inbox flooded with emails from the same entity gets on my nerves, and I’d rather not get on my readers’ nerves. But a new book release means a flurry of chit-chat.

In other words, in the coming weeks, you can expect a series of blog posts (and other social media posts) related to the book. My Pinterest page, which has boards for each of my books, will show you some of the people, places, and events that come up in the story. This is my way of creating a sort of glossary and illustrated version.

Then I promise to quiet down.

Welcoming "My Inconvenient Duke" and celebrating "Lord of Scoundrels"

As has been proclaimed in various areas of my website, the third Difficult Dukes book, My Inconvenient Duke, will be released on 21 January. After all the frustration, and the fighting with characters (those strong and rather secretive personalities!) and delays and delays, Alice & Blackwood’s story will finally reach my readers.

It’s won some thumbs-up early reviews, including a starred advance review in Booklist in December, which included the following:

With the latest dazzling addition to her Difficult Dukes series (A Duke in Shining Armor, Ten Things I Hate About the Duke), readers will again revel in Chase’s buoyant yet deliciously sharp sense of wit and her ability to craft radiantly romantic love stories rendered with the meticulous attention to detail she pays to everything, from nuanced characterization to an expertly evoked historical setting. — John Charles

It’s will also get a party, at the Ashland Public Library, where we’ll celebrate the 30th anniversary of Lord of Scoundrels as well.

This is an actual, in-person event.

1-3PM ET 25 January 2025

Ashland Public Library (Schiesske Large Meeting Room)

66 Front St / Ashland Massachusetts 01721

Ph 508 881 0134 / Email: ashlandprograms@minlib.net

Further details here. Kindly register here.

Aesop’s Fable bookshop is once again providing the books, which you can pre-order here.

Also, we’re celebrating Lord of Scoundrels’ thirtieth anniversary with an eBook deal of $1.99 (through 31 January). If you haven’t yet met Jessica and Dain, this is an opportunity to do it for a couple of bucks. If you know their story already, it might make a suitable gift for somebody.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to hear me hold forth about My Inconvenient Duke as well as Lord of Scoundrels, you can listen to this podcast. Megan Zinn, Host of The Writers' Block on WHMP radio, Northampton, Massachusetts, is a superior interviewer, and the time (about 20 minutes) flew.

With a new book shortly to be released, and an older title being celebrated, you can expect a little flurry of blog posts and, very likely, an actual newsletter in the near future. Just warning you.

Signed by Author books and an updated French edition

Readers have asked how to get signed copies of my books. If you’re unable to attend one of my book events, you might want to get in touch with a bookstore affiliated with it. For instance, Aesop’s Fable in Holliston, Massachusetts, has supplied books for the Ashland Public Library RomCons, and will be at the book celebration tea party on 25 January 2025. They have signed copies of many of my books and will be able to provide signed copies of My Inconvenient Duke (if you preorder and let them know). You can find relevant information here.

Aesop’s isn’t the only bookshop. I recently signed copies of Lord of Scoundrels as well as bookplates at the Book Club Bar in Manhattan and at the Ripped Bodice bookstore in Brooklyn, NY. These are lovely bookshops, and if you’re in the New York area, you might want to drop in. Otherwise, you might want to give them a call for a signed copy or a bookplate.

If I’m invited to sign books elsewhere, I’ll update.

Lord of Scoundrels cover with “Signed by Author” sticker.

In international news:

It’s been years since I’ve received a print copy of one of my international editions. Apparently, they’re not doing that much anymore. However, my French publisher, J’ai Lu, recently sent me a lovely surprise—updated covers for the first Carsington Brothers book, Miss Wonderful. It’s so interesting to see the different interpretations and styles, and I think J’ai Lu does a beautiful job.

Cover of French edition of "Miss Wonderful"

Cover of French edition of “Miss Wonderful”