Read an Extract: Angel Of The Lost Treasure by Marie Laval

The scene I chose takes place in a village inn where Marie-Ange and Saintclair have stopped for the night on their way to the chateau of Beauregard, where Marie-Ange hopes to receive an inheritance from a relative. Sparks have been flying between Marie-Ange and fiery-tempered Hugo Saintclair ever since they first met, and if they come from very different backgrounds, the young woman can’t deny that she is attracted to him...

***

‘Good morning, Madame,’ he said, his eyes skimming over her body. A slow, seductive smile appeared on his lips. ‘There is nothing like a beautiful woman in her nightshirt before breakfast to put me in a good mood.’

He stood up and towered over her. The room was suddenly very small.

‘G-g-good morning,’ she stammered, crossing her arms over her chest. She couldn’t get Christopher’s dressing gown to cover herself with because Saintclair stood between her and the bed. The fireplace behind her didn’t allow the possibility of stepping back either.

Saintclair lifted a hand and gently brushed a curl off her forehead. Her breath caught in her throat. His touch burned her skin and sent shivers through her at the same time.

‘Whatever are you doing, Capitaine? You forget your place,’ she snapped, shocked by his gesture but more so by the way her body had responded.

‘And where would that be, Madame Norton? Of course, I forgot. The stables,’ he said, shooting an amused glance at her before turning away. ‘Don’t worry, I’m going,’ he added before she could answer. He rubbed his chin. ‘I need a wash and a shave. I’ll ask the landlord to have a pail of hot water brought up to you at once.’

Grabbing his boots in one hand, he unbarred the door and went out.

She stood for a moment in the middle of the room, annoyed with the man and at her reaction to him. Around him she sounded snooty and disagreeable, when she had never paid much attention to the issues of class or status. Heavens, how could she ever think she was superior to him, or to anyone else, just because her mother was a Beauregard and her husband a member of the English gentry? She lived in a run-down manor house and the only reason she was travelling across France was to collect an inheritance to enable her to fix a leaky roof.

She didn’t feel superior to Saintclair at all, but it was true she didn’t like him and despised his manners. However she would have to put up with him until they reached Beauregard. After that, she did not plan to ever lay eyes on the man again.

Angel Of The Lost Treasure

An ancient secret hidden within a mother’s song ...

When young widow, Marie-Ange Norton is invited to Beauregard in France by the mysterious Monsieur Malleval to collect an inheritance, she has no choice but to accept.

But when she embarks on the voyage with her fiery-tempered travelling companion Capitaine Hugo Saintclair, little does she know what waits for her across the sea in turbulent nineteenth-century France on the eve of Napoleon’s return from exile. When she arrives, she is taken aback by Malleval’s fascination with her family – seemingly inspired by his belief they are connected to a sacred relic he’s read about in coded manuscripts by the Knights Templar.

As it becomes clear that Malleval’s obsession has driven him to madness, Marie-Ange is horrified to realise she is more the man’s prisoner than his guest. Not only that, but Hugo is the only person who might be able to help her, and he could represent a different kind of danger .

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Angel-Lost-Treasure-captivating-romantic-ebook/dp/B08TX52MWK/ref

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/angel-of-the-lost-treasure

Originally from Lyon in France, Marie has lived in the Rossendale Valley in Lancashire for the past few years. She writes both contemporary and historical romance. Her novels include best selling contemporary romantic suspense novels LITTLE PINK TAXI and ESCAPE TO THE LITTLE CHATEAU, which was shortlisted for the 2021 RNA Jackie Collins Romantic Suspense Awards, as well as A PARIS FAIRY TALE and BLUEBELL'S CHRISTMAS MAGIC. Her latest novel, ANGEL OF THE LOST TREASURE, was released in February 2021. Marie also contributes to the best selling Miss Moonshine's Emporium anthologies together with eight author friends from Authors on the Edge.

https://www.facebook.com/marie.laval.9/

https://twitter.com/MarieLaval1

Book Cover Reveal: The Road From Cromer Pier By Martin Gore

The Road from Cromer Pier by Martin Gore

It’s ten years on from The Road to Cromer Pier, and Summertime Special Show Director Karen Wells has two potential headliners, but both have issues. Dare she take the risk? And Karen herself is at a crossroads. Will her mother Janet ever retire and allow her to run the pier theatre?

Meanwhile Janet’s nemesis, businessman Lionel Pemrose still has designs on the pier theatre, but he is facing growing financial problems. Bank manager Peter Hodson is haunted by a past indiscretion, and calls in recently widowed turnaround expert Tom Stanley. Can he keep the indiscretion a secret?

Tom is bereaved and has recently been made redundant from his own firm. He is too young to retire, and after years of long hours, suddenly finds himself unemployed. He pours his energies into the assignment, which could be his last hurrah.
Old enmities, loyalties and past mistakes surface as the future of the pier theatre is once again under threat, and those involved must deal with unresolved issues in their lives.

Amazon UK                Amazon US 

Publication Date: 17^th July 2021

I am a 63 year old Accountant who semi-retired to explore my love of creative writing. In my career I held Board level jobs for over twenty five years, in private, public and third sector organisations. I was born in Coventry, a city then dominated by the car industry and high volume manufacturing. Jaguar, Triumph, Talbot, Rolls Royce, Courtaulds, Massey Ferguson were the major employers, to name but a few.

When I was nine year’s old I told my long suffering mother that as I liked English composition and drama I was going to be a Playwright. She told me that I should work hard at school and get a proper job. She was right of course.

I started as an Office Junior at Jaguar in 1973 at eleven pounds sixty four a week. I thus grew up in the strike torn, class divided seventies. My first career ended in 2015, when I semi retired as Director of Corporate services at Humberside Probation. My second career, as a Non Executive Director, is great as it has allowed me free time to travel and indulge my passion for writing, both in novels and for theatre.

The opportunity to rekindle my interest in writing came in 2009, when I wrote my first pantomime, Cinderella, for my home group, the Walkington Pantomime Players. I have now written eight. I love theatre, particularly musical theatre, and completed the Hull Truck Theatre Playwrite course in 2010. My first play, a comedy called He's Behind You, is now available on: https://www.silverbirchingtonplays.com/product-page/he-s-behind-you-by-martin-gore

Pen Pals was my first novel, and a second, The Road to Cromer Pier, is now available in all three formats. It was. officially launched on Cromer Pier itself, coinciding with the new season of the Summertime Special Show.

I'm active on twitter @authorgore and on facebook martin gore author. My website is http://www.martingore.co.uk.

I’m an old fashioned writer I guess. I want you to laugh and to cry. I want you to believe in my characters, and feel that my stories have a beginning, a middle, and a satisfactory ending.