Spotlight & Giveaway: Wicked with the Scoundrel by Elizabeth Bright

Posted February 15th, 2019 by in Blog, Spotlight / 63 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Elizabeth Bright to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Elizabeth and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Wicked with the Scoundrel!

 
Hello everyone! I’m so happy to be here.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Lady Claire is bored. For the daughter of a marquess, life is a parade of balls and parties–and because she has an eidetic memory, she remembers every single second of it. She falls in love at first sight with Colin, the adventuring illegitimate son of a viscount. Unfortunately, he doesn’t feel the same way! But she convinces him to take her on a treasure hunt for the Cleopatra Emerald and does her very best to seduce him along the way.
 

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

In Wicked with the Scoundrel, Lady Claire is certain they will find the treasure, but Colin has his doubts. Then she tells him:

“My mother was of the opinion that fresh air was deadly for children. I had reached my second birthday before I saw a bird. Before that, it had never occurred to me that flight was a possibility. Imagine my astonishment when I discovered it was not only possible, but positively commonplace. Birds always existed for you, so you don’t see the miracle. But I do. I remember so many first times, Mr. Smith, which means I also remember the times before they existed. I haven’t seen a mermaid yet, but I might see one tomorrow. If a bird can fly, anything is possible.”

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

Unlike my previous books, Wicked with the Scoundrel takes place in Bath, England. It was so much fun researching! One thing I learned is that when the Roman baths were first discovered, no one really cared. They covered them up and built the pump room on top. It wasn’t until a century later that they tried to preserve the Roman baths. Rather ironic, since Britain was so interested in the antiquities of other countries.

 

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

I love this question, because Claire falls in love with Colin at first sight, but it’s more because of what he represents than who he really is. She gets him all wrong, and it’s not until after she understands him more that she truly falls in love. Colin is attracted to Claire’s optimism and determination…which also happens to be what annoys him the most!

 

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

I love the scene where they first dance together. Colin grew up poor–he doesn’t know how to dance like a gentleman. It’s sweet and funny at the same time.

He didn’t answer. His lips quirked. His gaze locked with hers, and in the depths of his smoky blue-gray eyes a challenge glimmered. “Brace yourself, my lady. This is going to be dreadful.”
She found herself caught in his arms and whirled with dizzying speed. His movements were all wrong. The dance called for mincing steps and no physical contact other than the barest touch of fingertips to fingertips.
He was not supposed to have a hand on her waist.
She was not supposed to grasp his arms and hold on for dear life.
She should be humiliated.
But all she felt was joy.

 

Readers should read this book….

If you like light-hearted, funny romance with an emotional kick, Wicked with the Scoundrel is for you!

 

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

The fourth book in the Wicked Secrets Series is The Duke’s Wicked Wife. It’s due out this August. I can’t wait to share Wessex and Eliza’s story with you!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: $25 Amazon gift card
ebook Wicked with the Scoundrel

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Do you believe in love at first sight?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Excerpt from Wicked with the Scoundrel:

The scene where Claire sees Colin for the first time is one of my favorites:

“Have you ever seen a common green lizard in your garden, Lord Dunkirk?” a male voice asked.
Claire had seen thirteen such lizards. They held no interest for her and so she turned her attention to the scroll. Most of the symbols in the neat lines of text were unfamiliar, but two she recognized. Once her father purchased the scrolls, he would want her to copy them, to ensure the writings survived even if the original papyrus crumbled to dust in the damp English climate. She was quite good at copying, for it required an eye for detail but no true artistic skill.
“Imagine that, instead of being the length of your finger, the lizard was twice the length of myself,” the man continued.
She glanced sideways to take his measure. From the top of his golden head to the bottom of his brown boots, he was perhaps not quite six feet in height. None of the thirteen lizards she had seen were more than five inches.
“Now, instead of smooth skin, imagine it wears an armor of dragon scales, with rows of pointed ridges along its back.”
She gingerly rolled the scroll up and set it on the table.
“The beast had rows of teeth just like the one in my hand. See how large it is? So large, in fact, that the teeth do not fit inside its snout and instead curve outside it, like the creature is grinning.”
She turned and saw the speaker fully for the first time.
So, this was Mr. Smith, then. How remarkable.
He looked exactly like the sort of man who had spent the last decade on one adventure after another. The hot sun of exotic lands had lightened his hair and darkened his face. His hands were likewise browned and reminded her of a farmer’s, strong and weathered. His nose had likely been straight once, but now it was not. His eyes were a deep blue-gray, pretty but in no way remarkable.
No, what was truly remarkable was his mouth, with its full lips and the fantastical words that fell from them.
She stepped closer, pulled by the sound of his deep voice.
“And that, my lord, is a crocodile. We saw the monsters frequently as we sailed the Nile,” Mr. Smith said. “They could often be spotted basking in the sun along the riverbanks, for they are generally lazy creatures. But when they attack, they move with the speed of a lion—a remarkable feat, considering their stumpy legs.”
Claire clasped her hands to her bosom and gazed, awestruck, at the man before her. We, he had said. Of course, he referred to Riya and her brother. Riya had been a part of their journeys and discoveries. How incredible that Mr. Smith had allowed a woman to join them! He must be exactly the sort of man a woman would wish to have for a friend. The kind of man who never said “no” or “wait here” or “stop fidgeting.”
And this beast he spoke of, this crocodile! How intriguing.
Claire had never heard of a crocodile. In all her twenty-one years, she’d had three hundred and nine conversations on horses, one hundred thirty-seven on cats, a scarce half dozen on mice, and three on hedgehogs. Not one conversation had ever been about crocodiles.
Until now.
She took another step forward.
“A crocodile once stole a goat right off our boat. I was grateful it didn’t take my leg.” As though compelled by her gaze, Mr. Smith turned from Lord Dunkirk and surveyed the small crowd that had formed around him.
Their eyes met. A thrill shot through her.
He smiled, white teeth flashing. “It was a great adventure.”
And that was the precise moment Claire fell hopelessly, desperately, irretrievably in love with Mr. Colin Smith.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

After ten years of adventure, Colin Smith, the bastard son of a viscount, returns to the place he most despises ––London. But only until he can sell off some of his treasures. He has no use for the stifling rules of the ton, but he’s more than happy to play the game if it gets him what he wants.
Lady Claire, daughter of a marquess, is everything Colin loathes about the ton, but she is determined to win him over. Her life is a catalogue of dances and evening gowns, and thanks to an eidetic memory, she can remember every blasted, boring second of it. A treasure hunt for the Cleopatra Emerald promises adventure, but Claire wants more. If she can convince Colin Smith to take her with him as he travels the world, then she’ll have the life she’s always dreamed of. There’s just one problem, he doesn’t seem to like her much.
But Lady Claire loves a good challenge and the intellectual beauty may be on her way to the grandest adventure of all.
Book Links: Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Elizabeth Bright is the author of the Wicked Secrets Series with Entangled. She lives in Washington, DC with her two daughters. When she’s not writing,she can be found hiking in the Shenandoah or rock climbing at Great Falls.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |
 
 
 

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63 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Wicked with the Scoundrel by Elizabeth Bright”

  2. Didi

    Not in real life, no. Haven’t experienced or met someone who experienced it so far..

  4. Diana Tidlund

    If a person can fall in love with a baby at first sight why can’t a person fall in love with their parner at first sight ?! So yes !

  7. lorih824

    Maybe…I am a skeptic but my husband said he knew I was the one the first time he seen me. We also have some friends that have been married almost 30 years and her husband said he knew upon seeing her she was the only one for him.

  8. janinecatmom

    No, I don’t believe in love at first sight. Attraction, yes. But, you have to get to know someone before you can really fall in love with them.

  10. John Smith

    “Do you believe in love at first sight?” Instant infatuation that becomes love, yes.

  11. Heidi

    In real life? No, I don’t. I believe in attraction and/or just at first sight.

  13. hartfiction

    Love is something that grows inside. It takes a myriad of things to cause that initial seed (attraction, chemistry, etc.) to grow into love. So, no, I believe love takes time.

  14. Jennifer Shiflett

    I believe in attraction and lust at first sight, but real love takes time.

  16. Caro

    Not really. Attraction or even lust, but not love at first sight. I think you need time to get to that point.

  18. Joanne B

    I’m not sure. Lust at first sight, sure, but I don’t know about love.

  19. oaktreehill72

    I believe in connecting with another on a deeper level when first meeting that someone but to me love is grown over time and tried by the difficult times. I loved my kids before I ever saw them but men, not so much.

  25. Teresa Williams

    Yes I do .I knew when I met my husband .We’ve been married 46 years.

  28. Joye I

    I only think it works when you see a new pair of high heels or chocolates but with the opposite sex, no. I do think there is instant interest but not love. Love grows.

  30. suzannah0466061145

    Actually if it wasn’t for love at first sight I would never have been born. My grandparents were a love at first sight pair. My grandfather was an extremely handsome half Comanche half white 26 year old Baptist preacher. He had gorgeous eyes and high cheekbones. He was engaged to a lady who attended his church. One Sunday when he was preaching Pearl entered the church late. She was 18. The story goes that my grandfather – A.E. asked Pearl if he could drive her home in his buggy after the service. At some point he ditched his fiancee…Then 2 weeks later he proposed to Pearl on a Sunday evening after the service. He asked her if she would marry him on Wednesday of the upcoming week. She replied that she couldn’t possible get married til Friday. They were happily married for 49 years – until his death.

  41. Nicole (Nicky) Ortiz

    I want to but I’m too much of a skeptic.
    Thanks for the chance

  45. Patricia B.

    I believe in like or infatuation at first sight. I think love at first sight is possible. I knew my husband when we were in high school, but just sitting next to him in class was the extent of it. We met up again after 7 years and both felt the other was THE ONE after just going out to dinner with another couple. After that dinner and one other with the same couple, I didn’t see him for 5 months. He flew to the other side of the world to propose to me. It was right. We will celebrate our 47th wedding anniversary this June.

  48. Anita H.

    This isn’t something I’ve experience myself but I totally believe it is possible

  52. oaktreehill72

    I believe that we meet others with which we have a deeper connection but to me love grows over time. I loved my kids at first site or even before they were born but love with a partner is tried with experiences. I’ve already left a comment several days ago and I don’t know why it did not post.

  54. BookLady

    I believe in attraction at first sight, but true love really takes time to bloom.

  57. Lynne Brigman

    No, I believe that after a short time you can begin to have strong feelings for someone. Those feelings grow as time goes by and you learn more about each other.

  59. laurieg72

    I believe in lust/attraction at first sight. For me love takes time to develop. You must find out more about the person’s character, beliefs and actions. I want to know their likes and dislikes. I believe you need a compatible foundation for love to grow.