Spotlight & Giveaway: Uncovering the Merchant’s Secret by Elisabeth Hobbes

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Elisabeth Hobbes to HJ!

Hi Elisabeth and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Uncovering the Merchant’s Secret!

 
Thank you
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Jack Langdon is an English spy posing as a merchant in France. He left his home and threw himself into his work after the death of his wife, which has left him unwilling and unable to share affection towards any woman. After a shipwreck on the coast of Brittany he wakes with no memory of who or what he is but the knowledge that the man known as the Sea Wolf is responsible for his predicament.
Blanche Tanet leads a double life as the respectable widow owner of Fort Carouel and the Sea Wolf: a pirate set on vengeance against the French who executed her husband during the Breton War of Succession.
When Blanche rescues Jack and gives him sanctuary both of them must face up to their intense attraction. As Jack tries to uncover the secrets and mysteries surrounding his past and Blanche tries to keep hers hidden from him the stage is set for a confrontation.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

‘Why are you standing there doing nothing?’ she asked. The worry that she had misjudged him reared up. She could not have been so wrong in her appraisal of him, surely?
Jack spread his hands wide and curled his lips into a teasing smile. ‘You once told me never to touch you without permission.’
Relief flooded over Blanche, followed immediately by a swell of desire. She gave a gentle laugh, then held her hands out.
‘Jack, you most certainly have my permission.’

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• My heroine Blanche is based on a real life Breton pirate known as The Lioness of Brittany. She wrought havoc against the French after the execution of her husband then married an English captain and vanished from history.
• Like the cause of Jack’s shipwreck, Breton villagers really did light fires in the church to lure ships onto the rocks.
• I came up with the idea for this book while I was on holiday with friends in Brittany but Jack and Blanche had to wait their turn. I finished editing it on a different holiday in Brittany two years later.
• The company of wine merchants Jack is working for as cover for being in France is called Fortin and Rudhale. Will Rudhale was the hero from my second book A Wager for the Widow who wanted to earn enough to invest in Master Fortin’s wine business. Clearly he managed it.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Blanche is attracted by Jack’s courage and resilience. He wakes after the shipwreck injured and in an unfamiliar place. He’s surrounded by dangerous men but refuses to be intimidated. He’s also a natural protector, coming to Blanche’s aid when he sees her being threatened. It has been so long that anyone has bothered to defend her and he intrigues her.

Jack is attracted by Blanche’s self -possession. She’s an older woman who is confident in her sexuality and a strong leader. He believes she is under the control of the Sea Wolf, the pirate who Jack believes wrecked his ship- not knowing that Blanche and the man he hates are the same person.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

I enjoyed writing the scene where Jack comes to Blanche’s aid when he intervenes in an argument between her and one of her guests. The scene was inspired by a medieval engraving of a cat stealing a penis. It was such a strange image that I was determined to slip it into a book somewhere.

Madame Tanet rounded the spiral staircase, closely followed by Ronec. Even if Jack had not overheard the angry exchange, the look of ferocity on her face would have been enough indication that she was extremely angry. Ronec seized her by the arm, halting her descent.
‘Hear me out,’ he growled.
‘Take your hands off me,’ Madame Tanet exclaimed. ‘In my house, with my servants around, you dare do this!’
She was furious, but Jack sensed fear beneath the anger and had no doubt Ronec noticed it, too, as he appeared to have no intention of obeying her. Jack’s hackles rose. He’d already taken a dislike to Ronec and this confirmed his hatred was well founded. He stepped forward.
‘I believe Madam Tanet asked you to release her.’
Both Blanche and Ronec turned. Jack kept his body purposefully relaxed, though temper was surging inside him, keen to be freed.
‘Do as she says,’ Jack said softly. He bunched his fists. If Ronec decided to fight, Jack knew he would lose, but he would give it his best. He hoped Ronec would not realise how weak he still felt.
Ronec slowly released his hand from Madame Tanet’s arm, glaring at Jack all the while. He dusted his hands down his front as if wiping away grime from a journey and stared into Madame Tanet’s eyes.
‘Think on what I said.’
Madame Tanet drew herself up straight and glared at Ronec.
‘I warn you, Jagu, touch me again without my permission and I will tear your member off and feed it to my cats!’
Ronec cast her a look of contempt, which he then turned on Jack and stalked away, leaving the building. Madame Tanet watched until he was gone, then rounded on Jack.
‘There was no need for that,’ she said. She could have been rebuking a child for throwing stones at apples. ‘I would have got rid of him by myself before long.’
‘There is always a need to assist.’ Jack frowned and decided not to mention that he had seen relief flash in her expressive eyes when she had seen he was there. Jack’s presence and intervention had clearly helped restore her poise and he was glad he had intervened. He stepped closer and folded his arms across his chest to indicate he was not intending to touch her.
‘Why reject assistance if it is available?’
‘Because it rarely is,’ Madame Tanet said crisply. ‘It is not wise to grow to rely on other people. I must remember to start wearing my dagger when I am in his company.’
‘That sounds like a way to ensure you are hurt,’ Jack snapped. He furrowed his brow, wondering why he was speaking with such rudeness to his hostess and why the thought of her in peril alarmed him so much.
‘I can defend myself,’ she snapped back. ‘You know nothing of me.’
She clamped her mouth shut, as if regretting her words, and lowered her head. ‘I was rude to rebuff you, though. I apologise. And thank you.’
Jack’s eyes followed in Ronec’s direction. ‘What did he want?’
‘What all men will try take, if they see an opportunity.’ Madame Tanet rolled her eyes. ‘He drank too much and forgot himself. He won’t try it again.’
‘Not if he wants to keep his manhood becoming cat food,’ Jack said, giving her a grin.
‘It would be a meagre meal,’ Madame Tanet sneered. She smiled at Jack. ‘I don’t actually have a cat.’
‘You should. They’re pleasant companions,’ Jack said.
‘Do you like them?’
‘I suppose I must.’ He raised his eyebrows in surprise and gave a delighted laugh. ‘That’s something new I have learned about myself. Thank you, Madame Tanet.’
She held a hand out. ‘Please, call me Blanche.’

Readers should read this book….

For an older woman/younger man second chance at love romance. Also if they want a kick-ass female pirate, an amnesiac hero and hot clifftop sex.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

My next book with Harlequin will be out later this year. It’s a departure for me because is my first Victorian story. It is a marriage of convenience romance between a silk mill owner and the daughter of a baronet.

I’m also very excited because I’ve recently signed a two book contract with One More Chapter books. I’m currently writing a love triangle set in Occupied France with a female secret agent.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I’m giving away a signed copy of Uncovering the Merchant’s Secret anywhere in the world.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Brittany is one f my favourite holiday destinations that I return to over and over. Is there anywhere you love going back to or do you prefer a new place each time you travel?

 
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Excerpt from Uncovering the Merchant’s Secret:

The cellars beneath the castle were cold and smelled of decay. Blanche hated them. She spent a fruitless morning searching through the boxes and piles of detritus that had been salvaged from wrecks over years and had been considered too worthless or useless to take. Anything of value had been taken and shared and the cellar was a memorial to lives lost at the wreckers’ hands. It sickened her to see the evidence of the villagers’ grisly efforts.
She retained her composure up until the point when she discovered a child’s doll. It was missing a leg and had been tossed among piles of mismatched shoes and rags and left to fester. It reminded her of Maelle’s favourite doll and for a horrible moment Blanche had an image of her daughter sinking to the bottom of the sea. Her throat filled with bitter acid and she sat cross-legged on the floor, clutching the doll and weeping silently, reminding herself that Maelle was safe in the care of the sisters at the convent.
Had there been children on Jack’s vessel? Did he once have a family now lost to the wreckers? He was older than both Mael and Yann had been when they became fathers. The thought caused her such pain, she had a terrible understanding of what torture Jack must be enduring. Would it be better never to discover the truth than to unearth such horrors?
She swore, sitting in the shadows and candlelight, that there would be no more beacons lit in the church at Plomarc’h, however much she angered the villagers and Ronec. It had used to happen rarely in peacetime when the land provided what people needed, but they had done it three times in the past two years.
When the lamp began to splutter and dim she stirred. It was time to give up her search. If the satchel had been here, she would have found it. With a heavy heart she admitted she would have to go speak to Ronec.
She made her way out, blinking in the bleak sunlight. She made her way round to the door, intending to go to her room until her emotions were more stable, but heard her name. Jack was hailing her from the other side of the courtyard. He had been chopping logs into firewood, but laid down his axe and strode towards her.
‘Good morning, Blanche.’
He had been working hard and a sheen of perspiration covered his brow and cheeks, but rather than the sickly pallor of his fever, this gave him a ruddy glow.
His tunic was loose at the neck, but clinging where his broad chest was sweat-damp. Her stomach coiled with longing and her fingers tingled with the urge to feel the slickness of his firm muscles. He looked more at ease than Blanche had seen him before. He ran his fingers through his ruffled hair in an attempt to smooth the disorder. His eyes took in her appearance and he raised his brows.
‘You look as dishevelled as me! What on earth have you been doing?’
‘I was in the cellars, searching for…for…’ She shook her head and her mouth wobbled.
Jack’s smile dropped, replaced with concern. ‘Something’s wrong!’
After the dark thoughts that had assailed her in the cellar, he was the last person she could face without guilt searing her soul.
‘How do you bear it?’ she whispered. Her eyes blurred. She blinked and felt her cheeks grow damp. ‘Not knowing who you are. What you’ve forgotten.’
‘Are you crying for me?’
He sounded incredulous. He moved towards her, taking her face in his palm. He ran his thumb over the curve of her cheek to wipe the tear away. There was a gentleness emanating from him and such tenderness was unnerving. It had been so many years since anyone had cared to comfort Blanche and she found it infinitely more appealing than any attempt at seduction or show of strength he might have tried.
His eyes were soft and brimming with grief. The steely determination and despair with which he had begged for death had vanished and she realised that a trace of moisture was glinting above the thick lashes of his lower lids. Such visible pain made her want to weep for him. She covered his hand with hers and laced her fingers between his.
‘You shouldn’t be comforting me when you have lost so much,’ she murmured.
‘Why can’t we comfort each other?’ Jack asked.
Their eyes met and something bloomed in the air between them. A sense that this was right. That this was inevitable. An attraction so vibrant that it almost took on a life of its own, demanding to be acknowledged and obeyed.
‘Hold me,’ she whispered.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

A man with no past…

…could she hold the key to his future?

Shipwrecked merchant Jack Langdon wakes with no memory and steals a kiss from a beautiful stranger―widow Blanche Tanet. As he recovers in her castle, passion flares between them. Jack’s fascinated by her independence and courage but, after discovering his identity is not what it seems, he must uncover the secrets of his past if they’re to have a future together…
Book Links:  Amazon | B&N | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Elisabeth’s writing career began when she finished in third place in Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write contest in 2013. She was offered a two-book contract and hasn’t looked back. Since then she has published eight Medieval romances with Harlequin Mills & Boon and doesn’t have any plans to stop!
Elisabeth works as a Primary teacher but she’d rather be writing full time because unlike five year olds, her characters generally do what she tells them. When she isn’t writing, she spends most of her spare time reading and is a pro at cooking one-handed while holding a book. She loves historical fiction and has a fondness for dark haired, bearded heroes.
Elisabeth enjoys skiing, singing, and exploring tourist attractions with her family. Her children are resigned to spending their weekends visiting the past. She loves hot and sour soup and espresso martinis – but not at the same time!
She lives in Cheshire because the car broke down there in 1999 and she never left.
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