ONLY A FEW MEDIVAL CODES ARE LEFT!
Amazon Bestselling Romance Author
Tag: ebook
When I visited Soriano last Christmas, I fell in love with the medieval city and its people and knew I’d have to write a novel based there.
Each fall, the residents hold a Renaissance fair to celebrate a fifteenth century battle. It was won in part, by the early warning of an old woman.
As I walked the cobblestone streets and stared up at the castle, I paused to wonder at it all.
What if it wasn’t an old woman that sounded the alarm? What if it was a young woman in disguise? What if she was in love with someone in the castle? Would she risk everything to save him?
Researching the battle and the times, I was thrust into a world where couples like Romeo and Juliet lived and breathed. It was a time when marriage joined powerful families and love had no say. It’s easy to imagine a tragic couple like Romeo and Juliet.
In such a place and time, how could I help Bernardo and Aurelia, a young couple from opposing families, find their happily ever after?
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…Stella is a recent discovery for me, and I’m just loving her books. The pace is fast, the sex is steamy without being crass, and she manages to mix wonderful descriptions in with a story that twists and turns…
…Alden’s gift for bringing to life the atmosphere and setting of medieval England’s wild countryside and challenges are equaled only by her ability to draw a feisty, strong female protagonists.
…has a way of writing that makes me lose hours in my day in her stories.
I can’t wait to read more from Stella!
1489 AD – just north of Rome
Aurelia Nardini dresses as an ancient hag, sneaks under the portcullis, and sounds the alarm. Tonight, her uncle plots to murder the whole Carvajal family and take the city. Worse yet, because of love for her, the eldest son is locked in the dungeon. She must take action.
What is it about this infuriating woman? Bernardo Carvajal rescues her from Borgia’s bed, from a well-armed neighbor, and her uncle’s fist. Despite admitting her love for him, the stunning beauty refuses to marry. She speaks too rationally, acts too boldly, and drives him mad. And he can’t go on without her.
Enjoy the fictionalized version of events that’s celebrated every year in Soriano’s ancient hazelnut festival.
My latest thoughts…
The year 1489 perhaps is on the cusp of the Renaissance in Italy. Some would insist the year is still Medieval. The world was still changing slowly. Fear of plague kept strangers at bay. Forks were only recently in use and only among the nobility. Benches were still more common than chairs.
My story takes place in the town I visited last Christmas, where my daughter’s fiance has a family residence, built into the tufa of the volcano. When I heard of their hazelnut festival, my imagination took off….
But did I want to start researching a whole new era, a new society, two hundred years later than my last trilogy?
The story screamed in my head. YES! YES! YES!
Why does the festival in Soriano celebrate an old woman who saved the town? Why, did the heroine haunt me, claiming to be a young woman in disguise?
Who do I see a dark Spanish hero, who fights off the evil plots of a greedy neighbor?
Review
D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
Given the fact that Stella Marie Alden’s prior medieval romance books in the series are winners, it’s a given that those who know her name will realize they’re in for a treat with How to Seduce a Queen, a new addition to the series – but it should also be emphasized that newcomers will have no difficulty entering Alden’s world if they start with this title, either.
Set in 1283, the prologue opens with a mad dash to his brother-in-law’s castle by one Nicholas, who has been shot with an arrow by the Lady Fay. In the mad rush to save his life, a twin sister and a host of characters are introduced in a vivid opener that compels readers to learn why a romantic interest with a long history could possibly lead to murder.
After setting the scene with an intriguing question, the first chapter goes back in time three months’ prior to introduce the politics and purposes of Nicholas, who is charged with the idea of kidnapping the royal Lady Fay.
There’s more than the seduction of a queen going on, here: readers will quickly be seduced not just by political cross-purposes and evolving romance, but the stormy relationships between families, political intentions, and arrogant suitors and fathers alike.
Alden’s gift for bringing to life the atmosphere and setting of medieval England’s wild countryside and challenges are equaled only by her ability to draw a feisty, strong female protagonist into the picture, who is more likely to get her way via arrow than wooing.
It’s refreshing to feel the tongue-in-cheek humor and delightful clashes and contrasts of personalities throughout a novel that takes as much time to create winning and different characters as it does to present a sense of the wildness and wilderness that was medieval England.
The fiery temperaments and encounters between the main characters, the blossoming and often-reluctant romance (“There would be no wedding banquet. Not while she lived and breathed.”), and the determination of a woman who will not “marry a monster” and who would rather kill than cuddle all lend to a rollicking, fun, action-packed story.
Romance readers with an affinity for historical settings, feisty characters, and medieval times will find How to Seduce a Queen engrossing and refreshingly different from the usual romance read.
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June 28th and Stella Here!
Thanks to an incredible response to a Bookbub promotion, ‘How To Train Your Knight’ is #1 in the Amazon ranking for Ancient Romances! Thank you everyone, so much.
June Madness is almost over, but there are two more wonderful events still to come!!
So what do I have for goodies?
Let’s see…. hmmm…
I just started this new game:
a new Kindle Fire 7 Rafflecopter giveaway
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Oh my God!
I am soooo friggin’ excited and happy!
Dark Vortex is #86 in ALL of the free books offered on Amazon in the US. Me? How did that happen?
My partner, Chantel, is a GENIUS at marketing, and a wonderful writer.
To Celebrate, here is what we have for you!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Dark Vortex
by Stella Marie Alden
Giveaway ends July 29, 2016.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
BUY IT NOW. Before you forget!
I can’t even BEGIN to tell you how thrilled I am that we are releasing our next in the series almost TWO MONTHS early! Chantel and I, together, are dynamite. The synergy between the couples literally explodes off every page. You won’t believe it.
Can you take the heat?
Terra’s survival depends on avoiding other witches. That includes hot sexy flame-throwing males. When her world shifts beneath her, literally, she’s forced into the arms of a man who ignites a lust that could destroy them both. She’s kept her distance, but every time she turns, he’s there. And now her enemies know where she is and they’ll stop at nothing to reclaim her and the potent dark power she hides.
Tormented by one fatal night, Jace Fialko wants nothing to do with finding a mate. He’s trouble for anyone, especially the stubborn, sinfully tempting little witch harboring dangerous secrets of her own.
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