Hello fellow Romance fans. I'm
Juliet Chastain here to explain my obsession with Gypsies.
I've always been very curious about
Gypsies—Roma or Romani,
as they call themselves. Those rather mysterious people came from India to
Europe about a thousand years ago and lived a wanderer's existence and kept to
their own ways for generations.
My fascination began when I
was a small child in Africa. One evening my dad was driving somewhere with me
and we passed a little Romani fair, a
few lights in the darkness, music, some horses, a little merry-go-round. Very
enticing to a small child who lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere. I
wanted desperately to go to the fair, but my dad said we couldn't and that he
believed Gypsies were thieves.
Indeed the next morning all
out chickens were gone, every single one and the dogs hadn't barked and no one
had heard a thing. If you know anything about chickens you know you can't just
pick them up and tiptoe away because they'd start squawking and pecking you
like mad. My parents were not pleased, but I was thrilled. It was often my job
to feed the chickens, and I was rather scared of them. But mostly I was awed.
How had the Gypsies done that? It seemed magical.
Now I am in the middle of
writing a series of short sexy stories featuring Gypsies during the Regency
period. There will be one coming out every month or two with Breathless Press. This is the
first story in the Gypsy Lover series.
Available from Breathless Press
Forced to become a proper
young lady, Lucy-Ann Spencer rebels against the rules of high society to claim
her freedom and her Gypsy lover.
Dragged off to London kicking
and screaming, Lucy-Ann Spencer refuses to become a proper young lady. Despite
her aunts' insistence, she spurns the suitably titled and wealthy men who court
her, longing instead for the Gypsy lad and the freedom she once loved.
Liberty Wood never forgot the girl he adored years
ago, but now that she has become a proper, silk-clad member of high society
while he lives by his wits, he knows that they can never breach the gulf
between them. Can Lucy-Ann convince him otherwise?
EXCERPT:
Lucy-Ann scrambled to the
window, tempted to climb out had the carriage not been moving so fast.
“Liberty,” she screamed. “Liberty,
help me!” She leaned out as far as she dared while her aunts cried out to her
to be careful. Aunt Emily took hold of her waist.
Lucy-Ann saw him, Liberty
Wood, on his brown mare with the white forelock, riding hard after the coach.
“Liberty,” she called, leaning
out yet a little farther, causing both aunts to shriek. Aunt Louisa took hold
of her legs and called to her to come back inside. Lucy-Ann watched Liberty
slowly close the distance between himself and the carriage.
“Halt!” she called to the
coachman. “Halt!” The coachman pulled on the reins, slowing the horses.
“No!” cried Aunt Louisa. She
stuck her head out of the opposite window. “No, “ she cried out. “Move on as
fast as you can, Elijah. You must outrun that highwayman or beat him off.”
The carriage picked up speed
again, swaying precariously, but Liberty had caught up. He’d always said the
mare was the fleetest thing on four feet.
Leaning on the neck of his
horse, his black hair flying behind him, Liberty smiled grimly at Lucy-Ann as
he passed the carriage. The mare pulled up beside the carriage horses. Lucy-Ann
realized his intention was to come up beside the lead horse, take hold of the
beast, and bring the carriage to a halt.
“Actually,” she heard Aunt
Emily say, her voice quivering, “I’d prefer to go more slowly. This is
dangerous.”
“You’ll have to beat him off,
Elijah,” Aunt Louisa ordered at the top of her voice. Lucy-Ann saw the coachman
nod and reach for his long whip.
“No!” Lucy-Ann screamed. “Please,
no.”
The coachman stood and,
holding onto the thong, swung the long handle of the whip, catching Liberty in
the face, causing him to somersault off the mare and into the mud at the side
of the road. The carriage almost careened off the road as the aunts screamed
and clutched each other. When it stabilized, Lucy-Ann tried to climb out of the
window, but her aunts held her back. Eventually she collapsed on the floor of
the carriage, weeping uncontrollably.
__________________________________
Juliet Chastain
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