I want to thank Alexis for having me here today to talk about my book that was released on July 15, 2011.It's called Redemption for the Devil and is a historical set in 1920.
The devil in the title refers to the hero, Liam Cormac, a member of the Irish Republican Army fighting for freedom for Ireland from the oppression of the English. He's done some things in the fight for his country that he regrets. He's a soldier, though, and as such, he follows orders. His family has disowned him as they don't believe in his cause. He agrees to a suicide mission. A mission that will cause great harm to the English side.
Peg, the heroine, is an Irish Catholic lass who leaves home when her father is missing and presumed dead. Her odious cousin appears to take over the family business and decides he'll take her, too. She flees and boards a ship to a new life in America.
Peg and Liam meet on the ship and the sparks fly. Liam is torn between his duty and his desire.
Excerpt:
The two men Rena talked about noticed them and crossed the floor to where Peg and Rena stood. The taller one said, "I'm Devlin Cosgrove and this is me mate, Liam Cormac. And you ladies are..."
"Ooh, Peg, they's from your homeland. Hear that accent?" Rena said with glee.
Peg made eye contact with the two men. "Where do ye live?"
Devlin sketched a bow. "We hail from Dublin, Miss Peg. You?"
She said, "Cork."
Liam lifted one eyebrow and said, with a leer, "Let me guess. Your friend called you Peg. But you're really Miss Mary Margaret Whatever, nice Irish Catholic girl, go by Peg to seem informal but wouldn't open your legs for a man without a wedding ring, right? That sum it up?"
Peg gasped, stunned that a man she'd just met made such a statement. She wasn't so shocked as to be paralyzed, though, and she smacked him across the mouth, the sound carrying a bit even in the loud room. "How rude you are. You're not a nice man."
"Never said I was, did I ma'am? I can tell by the dress you have on, the thick stockings and the long hair braided on top of your head that you're wound tighter than the ropes holding this ship to its berth. I've been around the Catholics enough to know how rigid the women can be. Good luck to the man that tries to pull your dress over your head." With that last comment, Liam bowed at them, stalked off across the room and straight to a girl with bobbed hair and in a flapper-style dress.
"Well, Gor! What an ass your friend is," Rena said to Devlin.
Devlin said, "Ignore him, he's a bit uncouth. He's back in society after a three or four year break. Forgot how to talk to women. Especially the Catholic ones, Protestant yob that he is."
"Was he in prison?" Rena asked in a whisper.
"Not for me to say," Devlin replied with a shrug. "Now, what's your name?"
"I'm Rena Comstock."
"Rena, will you dance with me?" asked Devlin.
"Sure I'll dance. I love the Charleston." She turned to Peg. "You don't mind, do ye?"
"No," Peg said. "Go, have fun."
Peg headed to the bar and ordered a straight Paddy's Irish whisky, neat. She leaned on the wall near the bar to enjoy the drink. Taking a deep breath, she savored the smell of the liquor. Her da's favorite brand.
As she savored her first sip of the elixir, Liam walked over. "You must really be from Cork to be drinking Paddy Flaherty's whisky. Straight." He indicated her glass. "It'll grow hair on your chest."
"Did ya think I was lying about where I lived?" Peg snarled at the man she'd smacked just a few minutes prior, stunned at his audacity in approaching her again. Her hand itched to make contact with his face again.
"Can't trust many folks these days, Mary Margaret."
"Why are you here? You dismissed me as not worth your time. Why are you talking to me now?"
"I merely came over for a refill, Mary Margaret. Can't I be neighborly while I wait for my drink?" He leaned his elbows on the bar.
"Ooh, Peg, they's from your homeland. Hear that accent?" Rena said with glee.
Peg made eye contact with the two men. "Where do ye live?"
Devlin sketched a bow. "We hail from Dublin, Miss Peg. You?"
She said, "Cork."
Liam lifted one eyebrow and said, with a leer, "Let me guess. Your friend called you Peg. But you're really Miss Mary Margaret Whatever, nice Irish Catholic girl, go by Peg to seem informal but wouldn't open your legs for a man without a wedding ring, right? That sum it up?"
Peg gasped, stunned that a man she'd just met made such a statement. She wasn't so shocked as to be paralyzed, though, and she smacked him across the mouth, the sound carrying a bit even in the loud room. "How rude you are. You're not a nice man."
"Never said I was, did I ma'am? I can tell by the dress you have on, the thick stockings and the long hair braided on top of your head that you're wound tighter than the ropes holding this ship to its berth. I've been around the Catholics enough to know how rigid the women can be. Good luck to the man that tries to pull your dress over your head." With that last comment, Liam bowed at them, stalked off across the room and straight to a girl with bobbed hair and in a flapper-style dress.
"Well, Gor! What an ass your friend is," Rena said to Devlin.
Devlin said, "Ignore him, he's a bit uncouth. He's back in society after a three or four year break. Forgot how to talk to women. Especially the Catholic ones, Protestant yob that he is."
"Was he in prison?" Rena asked in a whisper.
"Not for me to say," Devlin replied with a shrug. "Now, what's your name?"
"I'm Rena Comstock."
"Rena, will you dance with me?" asked Devlin.
"Sure I'll dance. I love the Charleston." She turned to Peg. "You don't mind, do ye?"
"No," Peg said. "Go, have fun."
Peg headed to the bar and ordered a straight Paddy's Irish whisky, neat. She leaned on the wall near the bar to enjoy the drink. Taking a deep breath, she savored the smell of the liquor. Her da's favorite brand.
As she savored her first sip of the elixir, Liam walked over. "You must really be from Cork to be drinking Paddy Flaherty's whisky. Straight." He indicated her glass. "It'll grow hair on your chest."
"Did ya think I was lying about where I lived?" Peg snarled at the man she'd smacked just a few minutes prior, stunned at his audacity in approaching her again. Her hand itched to make contact with his face again.
"Can't trust many folks these days, Mary Margaret."
"Why are you here? You dismissed me as not worth your time. Why are you talking to me now?"
"I merely came over for a refill, Mary Margaret. Can't I be neighborly while I wait for my drink?" He leaned his elbows on the bar.
BE SURE TO LEAVE A COMMENT FOR A CHANCE TO WIN AN E-COPY OF THE BOOK. One commenter will win.
Where to buy: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/StoreFront.bok
Where to find me on the web: www.jillianchantal.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JillianChantal
Thanks again for having me here, Alexis. I think this is a great place to hang out!
ReplyDeleteI love a good 1920s book. I'm from Canada, so Ireland is foreign and exotic to me :) Plus the cover is gorgeous :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post and excerpt Jillian, and best of luck with the book!
Thanks for coming by and commenting, Lindsay and for the good wishes with the book. Ireland is a magical place. And yes,the cover gods blessed me on this one. It's perfect.
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed Redemption for the Irish Devil and have, in fact, reviewed it (waiting for it to post on Amazon) so no need to enter me in the drawing.
ReplyDeleteThe cover is lovely and the setting one of great appeal since I'm interested in Irish history, particularly twentieth-century Irish history.
Jillian, it is a pleasure to have you. I too absolutely love your cover. Very classy :-)
ReplyDeleteJillian,
ReplyDeleteHi and welcome to HEAT! I ate up your excerpt! Liam is such a beast and I can't wait to find out how Peg tames him...or maybe she can't tame him but will let her braid loosen. Hee hee
Don't tell me, Don't tell me!
What made you pick the 1920's? It seems to be an era newly discovered and I've read a handful of recent books that were really great from that time.
Great excerpt, I'd love to read this book!
ReplyDeleteRobin D
robindpdx (at) yahoo (dot) com
Suzanne- I'm thrilled that you read it and that you liked it. That makes my day. This one was fun to write and I love Liam so much- glad you enjoyed him, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alexis. I was on cloud nine all day when I got this cover. It made my heart sing- it totally evoked what I wanted for this book.
ReplyDeleteDawn- I won't tell! LOL! But yeah, he's a beast. For sure. Glad you liked the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the early part of the 20th century, so it was natural for me to place a story there. When I wrote it in 2009, one of the members of my RWA chapter said I'd never sell it as it was an unusual time period. I was thrilled it found a home at Desert Breeze.
Robin- I'm glad you liked the excerpt. It has one of my favorite lines in the book in it. Guess which one? LOL!
ReplyDeleteQuite a catchy excerpt, you have there. Did you have to do a lot of research for the book?
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda. I had to fact-check. I'm a huge history buff and this era and Michael Collins, the leader of the Irish National Army was always interesting to me. I have some biographies of him I read and so a lot of the info was in my head already- so, I basically just looked up things to refresh my memory. I ALMOST messed up at one point til I remembered when they got to America, they would be in the middle of Prohibition and thus liquor was illegal. I save myself from that error due to my depth of knowledge of the era. WHEW!!
ReplyDeleteThat would be "saved" not "save" LOL! Someone was talking to me and I messed up!
ReplyDeleteJillian, I love the time and I'm really looking forward to reading the book. And with Alan Rickman as a visual for Liam... sigh... May you have many sales my friend!
ReplyDeleteSmiles
Steph
Steph- thanks always for your support- you're the best! Yep, young Alan was my Liam's inspiration!
ReplyDeleteHi Jillian,
ReplyDeleteLooks like an interesting book- loved Ireland and curious to see how it ends. Will your next book be in the early 1900s, or will you be trying a different era?
Ellyn E
Ellyn- thanks! I have several books out on submission now and one of them is set in 1937 and is on the Queen Mary - it's a voyage across the Atlantic back to Southampton and the hero is from New Orleans. The heroine is Irish.
ReplyDelete