Guest Post & Giveaway: The Autumn Bride by Anne Gracie

Please welcome Anne Gracie to the blog today! She’s talking all about heroes and specifically her hero Max in Anne’s new release The Autumn Bride. She’s also giving away a copy of The Autumn Bride to one commenter on this post. Details on that are below, but first, here’s Anne!

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Enter the hero. . .
I love that moment in a romance when the hero arrives and has that all-important first meeting with the heroine. Will it be the coup de foudre (love at first sight) or maybe lust at first sight, will they not even recognize they are made for each other or will it be conflict from the get-go?

In my book, THE AUTUMN BRIDE the hero takes rather a long time to arrive on the scene but when he does, he makes an impact. He's been away in the Far East for the last nine years and he's fresh off his ship. He arrives at an unreasonably early hour, refuses to give his name — it's his aunt's house after all, and he knows it's been taken over by impostors claiming to be her nieces. She has no nieces; he's her only living relative.

So he shoves aside the butler and starts up the stairs, two at a time. Our heroine, Abby, not knowing who this tall, dark ruffian is, jumps in front of him and orders him to stop. Amazingly he does. . . for a moment.

His jaw was unshaven, rough with dark bristles; his thick, dark hair was unfashionably long and caught back carelessly with a strip of leather. Gray eyes glittered in a tanned face.

A dark Viking—surely no Englishman would have skin that dark, burnished by years under a foreign sun.

“Who’s going to stop me?” He moved up one step.

She didn’t move. “I am.”

The angle of his high, hint-of-Viking cheekbones was underscored by a thin scar on his left cheek. It gleamed pale against his tan. His eyes drifted over her in a leisurely masculine examination that scorched her to her skin even though she was wearing one of her thick gray governess gowns that morning.

A shiver ran down her spine.

He looked like a man who knew exactly who he was, who knew what he wanted and took it, without apology.

“Really? You?” He seemed amused. He moved up another step. A step closer. A step taller.

“Y-yes. Me.” Just one step remained between them. Abby braced herself. She was shaking; she refused to let him see how intimidating she found him. She would not retreat. Lady Beatrice was counting on her.

She thought she could see a lurking smile in the gray eyes, as if he were amused that she thought she could stop him. There was brazen masculine challenge there as well.

He took another step. Now they were almost touching.

But while Max is perfectly at home commanding a ship full of men and ruling a huge business empire, he's about to discover that controlling five determined (and occasionally devious) women, one of which is his aunt, is quite another matter. . .

I loved writing The Autumn Bride. It's a rags-to-riches, feel-good, fun story with a dark undertow. But mostly it's about the joy of friendship, second chances, sisterhood — and love. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for hosting me on Happily Ever After - Reads, Jess.

Valentine's Day is coming up and I'd like to ask this question: if you could have a Valentine's date with any hero (real or fictional) who would it be and where would you go? I'll give a copy of THE AUTUMN BRIDE to someone who leaves a comment.

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Governess Abigail Chantry will do anything to save her sister and two dearest friends from destitution, even if it means breaking into an empty mansion in the hope of finding something to sell. Instead of treasures, though, she finds the owner, Lady Beatrice Davenham, bedridden and neglected. Appalled, Abby rousts Lady Beatrice's predatory servants and—with Lady Beatrice's eager cooperation—the four young ladies become her “nieces,” neatly eliminating the threat of disaster for all concerned! It's the perfect situation, until Lady Beatrice’s dashing and arrogant nephew, Max, Lord Davenham, returns from the Orient—and discovers an impostor running his household… A romantic entanglement was never the plan for these stubborn, passionate opponents—but falling in love may be as inevitable as the falling of autumn leaves...

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Thanks to Anne for stopping by and giving away a copy of The Autumn Bride. To be entered, just comment below (please include your email address) and answer’s Anne’s question above. The giveaway is open to all and will run through 2/18/13. Good Luck!