Guest Post | The Unquiet House by Ellie Thomas

October 27, 2024October 21, 2024 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 2 Comments

The lovely Ellie Thomas is back on the blog! Today, she’ll share a little about her latest release, The Unquiet House. Welcome, Ellie!

Thank you, lovely Ofelia, for having me as a guest on your blog again. I’m Ellie, I write Historical Romance novellas, and I’m here today to chat about my brand new Halloween release. The Unquiet House is the second novella in my Regency Paranormal series and the sequel to The Monk’s Lair, the first story to feature my couple Christian and Sam.

Like the first story, The Unquiet House is told from the point of view of Christian Maxwell, a rather delicate young man with uncertain health with an unusual psychic gift. When he touches organic material like stone or wood, he is able to perceive the history and events that the object or building has experienced.

In The Monk’s Lair, Christian’s gift leads to a dangerous adventure for him and his new acquaintance Sam near the atmospheric ruins of Tintern Abbey on the Welsh borders. So in The Unquiet House, my challenge was to find a different but equally compelling setting.

As readers of my stories already know, I like to have a familiarity with the settings of my stories. If I can see a place clearly in my mind’s eye, then hopefully, I’ll be able to transfer that to the reader through my words.

So when I was visualising Haverford House, the ancient haunted manor in the story that Christian and Sam are requested to investigate in The Unquiet House, it seemed natural to base the building and history on Littlecote House, near Hungerford, where I passed many a weekend afternoon on guided tours as a child.

After so many visits, I can still recall the main rooms of Littlecote House, so it was fun to tweak my memories for Christian’s impressions. Naturally, many of the details are embellishment or pure fiction, but the basic layout consisting of the Elizabethan Great Hall and the Georgian Chinese Drawing Room, plus the magnificent Red Staircase are borrowed directly from Littlecote. Not forgetting the secret passages behind the walls of the house.

That’s not all! Although The Unquiet House isn’t precisely a ghost story, I borrowed one of Littlecote’s most famous ghosts, the lady who resides in the Haunted Bedroom. I gave her a different backstory for the encounter with Christian, but the bedroom and the landing can be found at Littlecote. Although I’ve never encountered an unquiet spirit on my many visits, I can verify that the temperature in this part of the house is distinctly chilly, which dissipates as soon as you move onto the next room.

I wanted a vivid and atmospheric backdrop for the twists and turns of Christian and Sam’s paranormal investigation and the continuation of their love story, and for this particular adventure, Littlecote House fitted the bill perfectly.

Blurb:

theunquiethouse

After barely surviving their terrifying encounter with the spectre of the hooded monk during the previous autumn, Christian Maxwell and Sam Gillespie have consolidated their romantic relationship and are starting to gain a reputation for dealing with the unknown.

For this reason, they receive an invitation to Haverford House in Wiltshire during the spring of 1817. The owners of the historic haunted manor house, Mr. and Mrs. Huxley, are being afflicted by a series of inexplicable incidents.

With his sensitivity to atmosphere, Christian is immediately alerted to danger. Yet, despite their best efforts, neither he nor Sam can discern the cause, although their search brings them closer as a couple and as a team. As sinister events develop, can our devoted duo unmask the culprit without putting themselves in danger?

The Unquiet House Promo 3

Excerpt:

Christian regarded the stolid group of middle-aged people surrounding Sam, including the extra vicar, with a darker shade to his complexion from the Caribbean sun. Sam had already struck up an animated conversation with the colonel’s lady. His face, shaded by candlelight into fascinating planes and hollows, was alight with interest. Christian was so distracted that he lost the thread of Mrs. Huxley’s discourse.

“You’ve met my husband, of course.”

Christian dragged his attention away from Sam to regard his host. “And near to him is Ernest Bell, a distant relative of mine. It’s very good of him to support us in our endeavours since our son Gordon returned to university after the Christmas vacation. Of course, Ernest’s very fond of the place. He was a regular visitor in my Cousin Grenville’s day.”

Christian placed Mr. Bell in his early thirties, somewhat younger than the Huxleys. There was little or no family resemblance to the fair and even-featured Mrs. Huxley. The man was dark haired and had a strong craggy face. He seemed completely at ease, conversing easily as though taking his cue from his hosts.

As the meal commenced, Mrs. Huxley was monopolised by the gentleman on her other side, allowing Christian to absorb the surrounding ambience. The candlelight flattered the diners and the ready supply of wine increased the merry flow of conversation.

The food is excellent, Christian thought, nibbling on a chicken leg. The dishes were removed by a small number of well-trained staff. The Huxleys clearly hadn’t stinted on the domestic sphere of their enterprise.

“Have you come far?”

A gruff male voice broke into Christian’s preoccupations.

“Not at all. Only the other side of the county,” he replied.

“We hail from Suffolk.”

Unprompted, the gentleman leaned over the lady sitting between them and launched into a treatise on the historic sights of that region. Thankfully, he required little in the way of a response. Without having to pay much attention, Christian simply interjected the occasional, “Oh really? How interesting.”

In such congenial surroundings, Christian almost forgot that he and Sam weren’t invited to enjoy the convivial atmosphere.

When the hair rose on the back of Christian’s neck, at first, he assumed it was due to a stray draught, understandable in such an ancient and large space. Rather than easing, the sensation continued to intensify. Christian felt his shoulders tense, as if braced for attack.

He felt a sudden burst of malice like a silent cackle of mocking laughter.

Again, he couldn’t place the source of ill-intent until a footman leaned between Christian and Mrs. Huxley to place a covered salver on the table.

As the servant reached across to lift the lid, Christian hissed, “Don’t!”

His voice was low, but his urgency transmitted to his hostess and the footman, who hesitated in mid-action.

Mrs. Huxley threw a startled glance towards Christian. However, her voice was calm as she said, “Take it away, please, Simon.”

The young server obeyed without question. Mrs. Huxley murmured, “Excuse me.” She accompanied the footman from the room without attracting any attention.

Christian’s collar felt constricting and the candlelight too bright for his strained nerves. He took a sip of wine to steady himself before he glanced around the table.

There was no discernible change in the level of chatter and general merriment. Christian attempted to focus in vain. He could no longer sense the slightest whiff of the ill-feeling that had vanished like a puff of smoke in a strong breeze.

He jumped at the light touch on his shoulder.

“May I borrow you for a moment?” Mrs. Huxley asked.

Christian turned to see that his hostess was pale, her eyes wide with alarm.

“Yes, of course.”

He rose to follow her, unnoticed except by Mr. Huxley, briefly hesitating in mid-comment, and Sam, who quickly looked up before resuming his discourse.

Christian followed the lady into the service region of the house. In a pantry, the silver salver sat alone on a shelf, guarded by the footman.

“I thought you ought to see this for yourself.”

Mrs. Huxley nodded to the footman, who lifted the lid without ceremony. Instead of the expected delicacy, on the gleaming silver platter lay a dead rat with a candied cherry in its mouth.

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Book Links:

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK6M9TPR/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1

Universal Book Link:

https://books2read.com/u/3RjvBx

Publisher:

https://www.jms-books.com/ellie-thomas-c-224_420/the-unquiet-house-p-5224.html

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220492048-the-unquiet-house

Add to Bookbub:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-unquiet-house-by-ellie-thomas

Bio:

Ellie Thomas lives by the sea. She comes from a teaching background and goes for long seaside walks where she daydreams about history. She is a voracious reader especially about anything historical. She mainly writes historical gay romance.

Ellie also writes historical erotic romance as L. E. Thomas.

Website: https://elliethomasromance.wordpress.com/

Facebook reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/8308047409266947

Twitter/X: @e_thomas_author

Bluesky: @elliethomas.bsky.social

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19835510.Ellie_Thomas

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ellie-thomas

Read Around the Rainbow | Regency Romance

September 27, 2024September 27, 2024 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 5 Comments

It’s Read Around the Rainbow time!!! If you’re new around here, we’re a bunch of queer romance authors who get together on the last Friday of every month and blog on the same topic. This month we’ll be chatting about historical romance, more specifically Regency.

I don’t write historical stories, and I rarely read them.

If you could see time passing in a blog post, you’d have noticed the several-minute pause between the last sentence and this one. I simply don’t know how to continue this post.

I think it’s amazing how people have the patience to sit down and write a historical story. I fear I’d never finish another story if I were forced to write historical. The amount of research would have me screaming. This, of course, have to do with my complete lack of interest in history.

It’s important! Don’t get me wrong. Everyone should have a grasp of history. But I read to escape, and I’m not keen on escaping into a world where there’s a war on women and queer people. We’ve fought long and hard to get to the point we’re at today, and we still have a long way to go, but I find little joy in reading stories where people like me are murdered simply because they’re like me. Or I have it easy. I’m married to a man. I would’ve floated under the radar. I’d only have to amputate part of myself, not destroy it completely. So yay.

And I know it’s hypocritical since I have no problem reading about vampires, werewolves, and magic users murdering each other. I even enjoy a good murder, but vampires and werewolves aren’t real. Women and LGBTQIA2S+ people are, and they lived through it…or most of them lived through it, at least. Only a portion died.

That being said. A good character is a good character no matter what world or era they’re in. So we’re talking Regency, and I had to google. Officially, the Regency only lasted nine years. Feels insane that we have a name for such a short time, but it also said that the Regency era of British history is commonly understood as the years between 1795 and 1837, and I know absolutely nothing about it. It was when we had the Gustavian era here. Wars and other boring stuff LOL.

But scrolling an MM Romance Regency list on Goodreads told me I have read some Regency books. The Doomsday Books by K.J. Charles were listed, and it’s not too long ago I read those. I enjoyed them. As I said above, a well-crafted character is captivating no matter what era they appear in.

If you’re a fan of Regency books, check out what the others have to say! I’m sure you get a lot more out of it than you did my post 😅

Ellie Thomas

K.L. Noone

A.L. Lester

Guest Post | Town Bronze Regency Box Set by Ellie Thomas

August 11, 2024August 7, 2024 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 1 Comment

Today, the amazing Ellie Thomas is back on the blog to tell us about her new Town Bronze Box Set. welcome, Ellie!

Thank you, lovely Ofelia, for having me as a guest on your blog again. I’m Ellie, I write Historical Romance novellas, and I’m here today to chat about the release of my Town Bronze Regency Box Set.

When I started writing Town Bronze for the JMS Books Silver Foxes submission call, it was intended as a one-off story. I got halfway through Jasper and Mortimer’s romance and realised that Jasper’s two friends, Barney and Julian, also young men about town, were available to make their own romantic matches.

In Town Bronze, the character of Barney, Jasper’s London roommate, is played for laughs. He’s quite bossy and overly keen to pass on his limited experience to Jasper. He also seems protective of his unofficial place as second in command to golden boy Julian.

So, in Pantaloons and Petticoats, it was fun to explore the reasons behind Barney’s pugnacious attitude. He might be wealthy, but his family’s fortune comes from trade, which means he’s not quite accepted by London high society. Like any wealthy young man, he enjoys all the fun that London can offer. However, despite his extravagance, at heart Barney is sensible, practical and loyal.

When he meets Rose in a Covent Garden tavern and soon discovers she was not born female, this triggers his sense of chivalry as well as his desire.

Rose was a wonderful challenge to write as a non-binary person in the Georgian era. There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence of cross-dressing in London’s molly houses and so Rose is not merely an imaginative invention. Unlike some ebullient characters, as described in books and plays about the infamous Mother Clap’s Molly House, Rose is careful and cautious because she lives a double life as Ross, a clerk at Coutts Bank, and also has a disabled mother to support.

Rose is independent, smart and kind. It was wonderful to describe how she flourishes when she is entirely accepted by Barney. These two might have challenges to face in order to be together, but they are strong and determined, united in their love.

Blurb:

townbronzeboxset

All three novellas in Ellie Thomas’ Regency Town Bronze series are gathered together in this box set. A trio of young gentlemen, former university friends, Jasper, Barney and Julian, are set loose in Regency London to pursue carefree pleasure. Instead, they find unexpected romance and follow their individual paths to true love. Contains the stories:

Town Bronze: In 1812, Jasper Goodhew departs from sleepy Somerset for his first London season, anticipating fun, frolics and drunken debauchery. But to his consternation, he finds that a spanking from the firm hand of a particular older man sets him ablaze.

Can Jasper and Sir Mortimer Cleverly overlook their unorthodox introduction to become friends? Or is Jasper unable to resist his deepest instincts?

Pantaloons and Petticoats: In the autumn of 1812, Barney Marshall is a carefree young man, able to afford every variety of entertainment in Regency London while remaining heart-whole and fancy-free. All that changes after a passionate encounter with Rose, who by day is Ross, a clerk at Coutts Bank. Can Barney persuade Rose to trust him? And might their connection blossom into love?

Impeccable Credentials: In the autumn of 1812, aristocrat Julian Buchanan faces a crisis. He must choose between the trappings of his privileged life or the man he loves. Will Julian submit to his father’s decree and marry to further the family name? Or can he find the strength to break free?

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Excerpt from Town Bronze:

The next part of Jasper’s evening passed in patchy coherence. The older gentlemen departed with dignity almost immediately after Jasper’s inadvertent blunder. With his wine glass replenished more than once by a luscious attendant, Jasper almost forgot about the impact of that searing gaze.

He was vaguely aware of some of his companions departing with young ladies. Others were content to remain, drink deep, and dandle a damsel on their laps. Minutes or hours progressed in a pleasant haze until Jasper reached the point where he had drunk himself sober.

Relatively clear-headed and suddenly thirsty, Jasper rose on remarkably steady legs to fetch a glass of water from the drinks tray on the capacious sideboard.

This gave him a clear view of the entrance hallway. The vestibule was empty, apart from the three gentlemen earlier expelled from the drawing room by an excess of wit.

The gentleman with the remarkable hair was shaking the hands of his companions with a few congenial words. In that instant of seeming sobriety, it was terribly important for Jasper to make amends. He couldn’t have fathomed if this was due to his basic good manners and general inoffensiveness when not as drunk as a wheelbarrow. Or perhaps he was prompted by the infinite unimaginable possibilities in those haunting eyes.

He entered the hall as the gentleman escorted his companions towards the exit. Jasper stood uncertainly in front of the central staircase, awaiting his opportunity. Once his companions had departed, the remaining gentleman approached a further another doorway off the hall.

“Excuse me,” Jasper said, belatedly adding, “Sir.”

The gentleman turned, raising an inquisitorial dark brow that made him no less forbidding.

During Jasper’s formal education, he occasionally got into trouble. To be fair, these incidents occurred either from absent-mindedness or when he tagged along in the wake of more exuberant and imaginative students. Any resulting discipline, a removal of privileges or corporal punishment, was a matter of course and not taken personally. His sporadic visits to the principal’s study were desultory and instantly forgotten by the disciplinarian and the culprit.

This charged confrontation was entirely different. Jasper was unnerved by the swooping feeling in his belly as he faced his unknown foe. The older man drew closer but remained silent, his face expressionless, that implacable glare holding a sense of threat and thrill.

“I think I was somewhat discourteous earlier, and I wanted to say I was sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. We were all getting rather carried away and had too much to drink. I know it was a bit much, and we were rather close to the mark concerning you and your friends. But I suppose you were young once too, eh?”

Jasper tried and failed to raise a placating smile. The gentleman didn’t move a muscle and stared at Jasper as though regarding a failed scientific experiment.

“I mean to say, I was a bit bosky, and I wasn’t thinking straight. Anyone with decent eyesight could tell that’s your natural hair. You’re nowhere near old enough to be wearing a wig. You’d have to be in your dotage. And you’re not. Naturally. No one would think you’re wearing a cauliflower of the wig variety, and it doesn’t remotely resemble an actual cauliflower. I don’t know why I said that. You have very nice hair.”

Jasper’s ramble stuttered to a stop. Without softening his expression, the gentleman said, “You were insolent.”

Jasper blinked. He suddenly grasped his opponent was slightly the taller and his lean build held latent strength. He felt paralysed, like a snake to its charmer, in thrall to the depths of that gaze.

“I think you deserve to be punished.”

Jasper gulped.

The gentleman’s voice was persuasive. “You’ve earned a good thrashing.”

In a husky tone Jasper didn’t recognise as his own, he said, “I’ll let you be the judge of that. I’ll do anything you require.”

That eyebrow rose again. A glint of humour lit those night-dark eyes.

“Anything?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.”

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