The Widow's Christmas Surprise by Jenna Jaxon 💕 Behind the Scenes, Book Tour and $20 Gift Card Giveaway 💕 (Historical Romance)

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The greatest Christmas gift is the magic of true love . . .

The death of her husband has thrown Lady Maria Kersey’s future into doubt—and her heart into the arms of a man she cannot have. But Christmas with the Widows’ Club will bring choices—and surprises--that may change all her holidays to come . . .

Maria just gave birth to her first child, a beautiful daughter—but the event is shrouded in sorrow. A month earlier, Maria’s husband, Lord Kersey, was killed in a duel under compromising circumstances. Worse, Maria’s failure to provide a male heir has stripped her of any hope of an inheritance. Scorned by the ton, one of her few allies is her late husband’s steward, Hugh Granger. Hugh is everything her husband was not—warm, charming—and penniless. . . .

Hugh has fallen desperately in love with Maria, but has little to offer but comfort. As their attraction becomes impossible to resist, Maria flees to London to spend Christmas with her dearest friends, a group of widows who lost their own husbands in the Battle of Waterloo. Little does she know the holidays will reveal a twist of fate she never expected—proving that the greatest Christmas gift is the magic of true love . . .

For today’s post I thought I’d give you some fun “behind the scenes” facts about my historical romance novel The Widow’s Christmas Surprise.

The first fun/unknown fact is that Maria’s story was never supposed to be written. Her character wasn’t part of the original Widows’ Club introduced in the first book of the series. She was invited to the house party by Lady Stephen Tarkington because the sixteen-year-old widow was still grieving her young husband’s death. Maria became an integral part of that book’s plot, and at the end she kind of rides off into the sunset, supremely happy. Except I knew that the man she rode off with would not make her happy. I kept thinking about her and finally knew I had to give her her real story with a true happy ending.

Fun fact number two: As I was writing The Widow’s Christmas Surprise, I became stuck for something for the widows/ex-widows to do at Maria’s house party. They were there to comfort Maria, but I had no idea how they might do that. It was late at night (probably 2:00 in the morning), I was extremely tired as I was trying to invent something and somehow it came to me that the widows could, one by one, come up to Maria’s room one night bringing comfort food for her to snack on until all the ladies were there eating and talking, having what my mother would have called a “hen party.” Even as I was writing this scene I kept thinking, “This is awful. My editor is going to hate this. I hate this.” But I kept writing. And low and behold, my editor (and fans who have read the book) loved the scene! For which I am very, very grateful.

And fun fact number three: This book was actually very hard to make Christmasy, mostly because of the circumstances behind the opening scenes (how Maria came to be a widow again), and the fact that in November 1817 (when the novel takes place), Princess Charlotte, heir to the throne of England, died in childbirth. The nation went into mourning so close to Christmas I didn’t think anyone would be having a very merry holiday. So, I had to come up with small ways the Widows’ Club and Maria could celebrate the season and end up with her HEA despite all the darkness in the world. And I think, in the end, everyone did have a very merry Christmas—especially Maria.

“Shall I have the carriage brought around?”

She wrinkled her brow, an eagerness in her face and an excited tension in her slim body. “Oooh, I would love to ride, but my cousin might prefer the carriage. Let me return to the house and ask her.” A gleeful smile spread across her lips and she placed a small hand on his arm. “Thank you so much, Mr. Granger.”

Their eyes met and Hugh had the sensation of falling into dark pools that might be fathoms deep. To have made this lovely woman happy seemed now to be his greatest accomplishment. “You are most welcome, my lady.”

She picked up her skirts and scampered up the steps, outdistancing him in moments.

Mouth dry and heart beating a painful tattoo in his chest, Hugh let her go. As he had said, he knew better than to borrow trouble, but he knew it when it came knocking at his door. Nothing could come of these unexpectedly tender feelings for Lady Kersey. He was a gentleman, to be sure, but his prospects were as uncertain as the lady’s own future, and both dependent on the next Lord Kersey’s goodwill. On which neither of them could count to any degree at all.  Best to treat this budding tendre as nothing more than a fleeting notion that was not to be pursued.

He started for the house, all too aware that what he thought with his head might not make a bit of difference to what had taken up lodging in his heart.

(Always double-check the price)

    

The war years are behind them.

The future is before them.

And one by one, the widows of Lyttlefield Park are getting restless . . .

Lady Charlotte Cavendish is still the spirited girl who tried to elope in the name of love. That dream was thwarted by her father who trapped her into a loveless, passionless marriage. But now widowed, Charlotte is free to reenter the giddy world of the ton—and pursue her desires. For hardly your typical widow, she remains innocent to the pleasures of the flesh. Yet her life is finally her own, and she intends to keep it that way . . .

Nash, the twelfth Earl of Wrotham, is beguiled by Charlotte at first sight—and the feeling is mutual. When he receives her intriguing invitation to a house party, the marriage-minded lord plans to further their acquaintance. But even he cannot sway her aversion to matrimony, and only with great restraint does he resist her most tempting offer. For unbeknownst to Charlotte, the misadventures of the past are revisiting them both, and bedding her could cost him everything—or give him everything he ever wanted . . .

    

Widowed by the Battle of Waterloo, the ladies of Lyttlefield Park are reentering London society, where they’ll learn how to live—and love—again . . .

Of all the widows of Lyttlefield Park, Elizabeth Easton seems least likely to remarry. Though many gentlemen would love to get to know the charming Mrs. Easton better, she is devoted to the memory of her late husband. Which is why she’s so shocked to be overtaken by passion during a harvest festival, succumbing to an unforgettable interlude with the handsome Lord Brack . . .

After enduring years of war, Jemmy, Lord Brack, plans to defer matrimony in favor of carefree pleasure. But who could resist a lifetime with Elizabeth Easton, a woman as marvelously sensual as she is sweet? Yet despite their mutual desire, she refuses to consider his proposal. With scandal looming, and their families bitterly opposed to the match, Jemmy must find a way to convince Elizabeth to risk her wary heart on him—and turn one infamous night into forever . . .

    

Widowed by the Battle of Waterloo, the ladies of Lyttlefield Park are returning to London society—with their futures in their own hands . . .

The widowed Lady Stephen Tarkington, Fanny to her friends, has finished mourning her cad of a husband and is ready to enjoy her freedom. The kind of freedom neither a gently bred miss nor a close-watched wife is permitted: dressing up as Aphrodite for a masquerade, drawing gentlemen away from the party, and hinting at late-night assignations with her dance partners. All is going pleasurably according to plan—until the Roman god Fanny kisses during a masquerade turns out to be Matthew, Lord Lathbury, whose proposal she refused years ago . . .

Lathbury is charming, passionate, inventive, everything Fanny wants in a lover—but unfortunately, he’s on the hunt for a wife. He’s more than willing to use all his wicked skills to persuade her back to the altar, but he can’t wait forever. And now Fanny’s position is more precarious than she once thought. If the tongues of the ton set to wagging, it’s possible no offer in the world will save her from ruin. But does she want to be saved? . . .

    

    

The Battle of Waterloo made them widows, but each has found new happiness. And Jane, Lady John Tarkington, intends to keep her freedom, even if love—and one particular gentleman—are determined to claim her heart . . .

It is a truth rarely acknowledged—at least in public—that a wealthy widow is free to pursue a great many adventures. For two years, Jane has privately enjoyed her independence. Why should she remarry, even when the gentleman proposing is as wonderful as Gareth, Lord Kinellan? She entreats him never to ask her again. But as her Widows’ Club friends—now all joyfully remarried—gather at Castle Kinellan, Jane begins to wonder if stubbornness has led her to make a terrible mistake . . .

Kinellan needs a wife to give him an heir, and he wants that wife to be Jane. They are perfect together in every way, yet she continually refuses him. Just as he is on the point of convincing her, a series of accidents befall Gareth and point to an enemy in their midst. He has promised Jane a passionate future filled with devotion, but can he keep them both alive long enough to secure it?

    

Jenna Jaxon is a best-selling author of historical romance, writing in a variety of time periods because she believes that passion is timeless. She has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, Jenna 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--including two vocal cats, one almost silent cat, two curious bunnies, and a Shar-pei beagle mix named Frenchie.

    

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