Cozy Guest Friday: Jennifer Ann Coffeen + Giveaway

Welcome to this week’s edition of Cozy Guest Friday! Today we’re rolling out the guest carpet for author Jennifer Ann Coffeen, author of Priceless Deception, now available from The Wild Rose Press….

"The French Blue diamond must be destroyed.”

Haunted by the words of her dying father, Lady Madeline Sinclair arrives for the London Season with more than parties and the latest fashion on her mind. She has sworn a vow, and the beautifully headstrong and fearless Madeline will allow nothing to distract her…until she meets the infamous Lord Colin, Duke of Douglas, a man known for his scandalous past engagement. With a dark grin and stormy eyes, he threatens to make her forget her duty, along with her manners.

Bound together by the mysterious diamond, Madeline and Colin soon succumb to the passion raging between them, even as the diamond eludes their grasp. But the true threat lies in the hands of an enemy whose dangerous obsession with the past has the power to destroy them both.

Stay tuned for a sneak peek into Priceless Deception! Now we go to Tink, who is having a drink onboard the Black Pearl with Captain Jack and his merry crew of swashbuckling pirates somewhere in the Caribbean. Take it away, Tink….

*sailors singing "Jolly Sailor Bold"*

Tink: Welcome to the Black Pearl, Jennifer! Thanks to yours truly, Jack and the boys have installed a wet bar here on the Pearl. If you were a mixed drink what would you be and why? We’ll have Gibbs bring us a round….

Jennifer: I would like to say I would be Champagne combined with an old fashioned beverage. Like Champagne and Pomegranate juice, a Pomosa? The truth is I would probably be a giant stein full of mead. 

Tink: Jack says there’s nothing wrong with that. If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring only one of each of the following…what would they be? Person?Song?Book?

Jennifer: Person! I’m the kind of person who needs to talk a lot. I fear if I was by myself I would end up having conversations with coconuts.

Tink: What would be the name of your pet gourd?

Jennifer: That’s a tough one, if I had two pet gourds I would name them Moulder and Scully or Darcy and Elizabeth. One pet gourd? Probably Sir Gourdington.

Tink: Now for a few questions about your book. What are the first words your hero speaks to your heroine (or vice versa)?

Jennifer: “Let go of me!” Though Lady Madeline only has herself to blame for the manhandling. She did break into his house after all!

Tink: Does your hero prefer to wear boxers, briefs, a kilt? Or commando? ;)

Jennifer: Hmmm.. I can’t say he didn’t occasionally go commando though most of the time Regency gentlemen wore “drawers” under their breeches, kind of like a thin pair of shorts with tie strings and flaps. Perhaps these were the first boxers?

Tink: What is your favorite thing about each character?

Jennifer: I love Madeline’s courage and quick mind. She had a mission to accomplish and will do whatever it takes including sneaking around with a priceless diamond in her reticule. I enjoy Colin the most when he’s struggling to do what’s right. He has many things on his plate, a scandal, a jealous ex fiancée, and Madeline’s refusal to ever tell him the truth.

Tink: More seriously, what was your biggest challenge crafting this story or these characters?

Jennifer: I spent a lot of time on the structure of this story. Since it was my first novel I was starting from scratch and learning as I went along. At least ten drafts have been thrown away!

Tink: Now for a more in-depth look at the author… I will now ask you a round of nosy and nonsensical questions developed by Bernard Peevo and used by James Lipton on Inside the Actor’s Studio…. Brace yourself J What’s your favorite word? Least favorite?

Jennifer: Lately my favorite word is “Lud!” An exclamation they often used in Regency times. I’m trying to find a way to fit it into my own conversations. I don’t think I have a least favorite word! They are all useful in some way.

Tink: What sound or noise do you love? Hate?

Jennifer: I love the sound of water. Lakes, oceans, even the bathtub is soothing to me. I really hate the sound of a television being on too loud.

Tink: What’s your favorite curse word?

Jennifer: Truthfully? Goddamn it to hell. (It’s not a nice one.)

Tink: Yes, Jack likes you very much. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

Jennifer: A stage actress.

Tink: What profession would you not like to participate in?

Jennifer: Anything in an office.

Tink: Now for a sneak peak from Priceless Deception….

"I promise not to hit you again,” she replied, forcing a light tone. “If you promise not to throw me to the ground and—”

“And?” One eyebrow shot up.

“Provoke me.”

He laughed then, a full, rich sound that seemed to drop the tension from his face. He was more recognizable now, and Madeline felt her shoulders relax.

“I am sorry,” she added. “My behavior that day was unforgivable. I do hope we can start over as friends, Lord Douglas.”

She held out her hand, the small warning bell in her head quickly silenced.

“It would be my pleasure.” He took the offered fingers, bending slightly to press them against his lips. Not a trace of impropriety, but a sigh caught in her throat all the same, and she held it there, no longer breathing.

In the back of her mind she knew this was not a good idea. She knew perfectly well she should invent some excuse, run straight back into the ballroom and discuss Lady Farris’s flowers. She didn’t move.

“And since we are already intimately acquainted, I must insist you call me Colin.”

“Colin,” she said, finally exhaling so the name rushed out in a breathless tone. She wildly searched her mind for something else to say but never managed a word.

Colin pulled her to him, the kiss as much a surprise as her own response to it.

Madeline’s body instantly betrayed her, melting against the strong arms that held her until she had lost all sense of her earlier outrage. The world fell away, leaving nothing but Colin’s searing lips blistering her own—and the faint smell of lilacs.

Tink: And the final questions the pirates have been waiting all day to ask…. If you could choose anyone (real or fictional) to be the captain of your, er, ship…who would it be? 

Jennifer: Hmmm… these days? Daniel Craig.

Tink: Lovely choice! Which savvy piece of the Caribbean would you most like to take home – the Black Pearl, the Dead Man’s Chest, or the Fountain of Youth?

Jennifer: I admit it, probably the Fountain of Youth.

Tink: Would you rather take your chances with a zombie, a mermaid, or Blackbeard?

Jennifer: Zombie! I have lots of experience, my husband and I met while acting in a Zombie play.

Tink: Thank you for answering all our nonsensical questions, Jennifer! Readers, scroll down to see how to win a book from Jennifer’s backlist. This is Tink and Jack signing off….

Jennifer Ann Coffeen is a published author currently living in Chicago. Her novel Priceless Deception and novella Lover's Gamble are both available now from The Wild Rose Press. Her work has been featured regularly at the kates, a group of women solo performers who perform the last Saturday of every month at the Book Cellar in Lincoln Square. Jennifer is currently working on a novella series detailing the intersecting stories of three couples at London’s Twelfth Night ball. Visit her on Facebook!

Cozies, Jennifer has kindly offer to give away today. Comment to the end of this post by midnight EST tomorrow and you will be entered to win a copy of her novella, Lover’s Gamble. The winner will be chosen by the True Random Number Generator at Random.org and announced here on the blog Sunday so be sure to check back to see if you have won. (Chances of winning depend on the number of entries; you must be 18 years or older to enter.) Good luck!

PRICELESS DECEPTION by Jennifer Ann Coffeen

Hi readers! Jennifer Ann Coffeen is back today with an excerpt from her new romance, Priceless Deception, available now at The Wild Rose Press....


“The French Blue Diamond must be destroyed.”

Haunted by the words of her dying father, Lady Madeline Sinclair arrives for the London Season with much more than parties and the latest fashion on her mind. She has sworn a vow, and the beautifully headstrong and fearless Madeline will allow nothing to distract her… until she meets the infamously jilted Lord Colin, Duke of Douglas, whose dark grin and stormy eyes threaten to make her forget her duty, along with her manners.

Bound together by the mysterious diamond, Madeline and Colin soon succumb to the passion raging between them, even as the diamond eludes their grasp. But the true threat lies in the hands of Lord Rockford, whose dangerous obsession with the past has the power to destroy them both. Madeline and her Duke must make the choice to finally trust one another or lose their hearts… and their lives.


Excerpt from Priceless Deception:

“Lady Madeline Sinclair.” The deep voice bolted straight out of the darkness, making her jump. “Or should I refer to you as the innocent young lady I assaulted for no reason?”

She recognized Lord Douglas’s voice the moment he spoke, unable to banish the dangerously seductive tone from her mind, but her heart leaped all the same. She searched the garden’s muted corners before spotting him in the darkness, walking towards her.

“It took no small amount of effort to find you, Madeline.” He was obviously quite proud of himself for uncovering her name. “My mistake,” he continued, setting a half filled bottle down at her feet, “was looking for a girl in grey serge when, plainly, that is not your normal attire.” He finished with a long heat filled gaze up the length of her gown, pausing briefly on the nonexistent neckline before ending on her red cheeks. “The color suits you.”

If her encounter with the Duke of Douglas had not been seared into her mind like a tattooed gypsy, Madeline might not have recognized him at all. A different man than the one she’d met a week before. Tall and handsome in his full dress clothes, he still retained a slightly dangerous, disheveled look that reminded her of their last encounter. His perfectly starched white cravat hung loosely around his neck, the black jacket and waistcoat simple, yet with an impeccable cut, one Mr. Banbury would certainly approve of, she thought wildly. Gone was any hint of the vulnerability she had seen on his face when he was sleeping, oblivious of her presence. A politely controlled mask of confidence had taken its place, and Madeline found herself more nervous than before. “How’s your shoulder?” she blurted out, desperate to take the attention off her dress, and it couldn’t hurt to give him a little reminder, she thought wickedly, of who came out the winner in the last fight.

“Much improved,” he replied, lifting the arm slightly as though to check. “Thanks to your remedy.”

“My what?” She was having trouble concentrating.

“Garlic and vinegar,” he reminded her. “Halbert was convinced you were trying to poison us with the smell.”

She smiled, unable to help herself. “It is rather awful, but my intentions were pure.”

“That’s what I told him,” Colin said. “I couldn’t imagine such a beauty could be deceitful.”

She looked away, suddenly uncomfortable under the intense gaze.

“I promise not to hit you again,” she replied, forcing a light tone. “If you promise not to throw me to the ground and - ”

“And?” One eyebrow shot up.

“Provoke me.”

He laughed then, a full rich sound that seemed to drop the tension from his face. More recognizable now, Madeline felt her shoulders relax.

“I am sorry,” she added. “My behavior that day was unforgivable. I do hope we can start over as friends Lord Douglas.”

She held out her hand, the small warning bell in her head quickly silenced.

“It would be my pleasure.” He took the offered fingers, bending slightly to press them against his lips. Not a trace of improperness, but a sigh caught in her throat all the same and she held it there, no longer breathing.

In the back of her mind she knew this was not a good idea. She knew perfectly well she should invent some excuse, run straight back into the ballroom and discuss Lady Farris’s flowers. She didn’t move.

“And since we are already intimately acquainted, I must insist you call me Colin.”

“Colin,” she said, finally exhaling so the name rushed out in a breathless tone. She wildly though of something else to say, but never managed a word.

Colin pulled her to him, the kiss as much of a surprise as her own response to it. Madeline’s body instantly betrayed her, melting against the strong arms that held her until she had lost all sense of her earlier outrage. The world fell away, leaving nothing behind but Colin’s searing lips blistering her own, and the faint smell of lilacs. She gave into the kiss, responding with equal passion, relishing the low growl of approval from Colin’s throat. He shifted against her, sliding his hands down her hips then lifting her from behind until she was pressed against him, more erotically than she ever thought possible. The feeling was overwhelming, jolts of pleasure made their way through her limbs as Madeline clung to him. He broke free of her mouth, dropping his lips to her neck, circling the white skin until he stumbled onto a most sensitive spot directly below her left ear. A giggling shriek followed the discovery and Madeline was swept away, all sense of fear vanishing in the newfound feelings.