End of Blog Tour     

 

Anne Greene here. You’ve enjoyed six interviews about me, so I think you know me pretty well.

 

So, to end the Blog Tour, I want to tell you more about MARRIAGE BY ARRANGEMENT. I love this book.

                     A MARRIAGE COVENANT

                    Why does a handsome, powerful noble of the highest rank in England stoop to marry a mere Lady of Lowland Scotland?

 

                     A GREAT SECRET

                    Are the whispered stories about him true? With his shadowy past and strange behavior what awful secret does he hide? Each change of clothes transforms him into a different man.

                                                           

                     AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE

                    Can Lady Cailin keep her vow to make her marriage happy and successful, unlike that of her parents, or to save her unborn child, must she arrange for the Duke’s accidental death?

 

                
Here is an excerpt:

CHAPTER ONE

Castle Drummond, home of Lord and Lady MacMurry, near the Village of Kirkmichael in Lowland Scotland -– April 19, 1746

           “I won’t run.” A shudder skipped down Lady Cailin MacMurry’s spine, and she stared at her younger sister. “I’m committed.”

“It’s not too late. I heard another scandalous rumor about Duke Avondale.” Lady Megan MacMurry grasped Cailin’s arm.

          “I won’t listen to gossip.” Cailin pulled away from her sister and lifted her wedding bouquet to inhale the white rose fragrance. If only the sweet scent could overcome Megan’s words, and her own misgivings. Though most arranged marriages turned out badly, surely God would give her a loving one. After all, since her earliest years, she’d prayed for a happily-ever-after love.

          “Ask yourself why such a grand noble would stoop to marry a Scottish lass with but the title Lady? Why did he not choose an English Duchess or Marchioness or even a Countess?” Megan tilted her head and lifted elegant brows.

          Why indeed? Cailin clutched her enormous diamond engagement necklace. The thing felt heavy with responsibility. 

“The man’s an English duke. He owns palaces all over England.” Megan planted her hands on her slender, mossy-green silk covered hips. “Every noble lass in the land should be offering to give her right arm to be in your shoes. And yet they are not.”

New knots formed in the nape of Cailin’s neck. She held her finger to her lips. “Too late to turn back now. The wedding chorus has begun.” She forced her feet to take the first step and then began the slow glide from the stone castle’s rear archway through the garden toward the rose arbor.

With a jerk, Megan lifted and straightened Cailin’s cumbersome satin train. “In truth, beyond his wealth and titles, our family knows little about the English Duke.” She gathered up her own long skirts and ran ahead to lead Cailin down the flower-strewn path.

Seven bridesmaids stopped giggling and chatting and moved to their places in front of Megan to head the procession.

          Beneath her veil, Cailin smoothed her frown.

Papa had chosen to take this path in light of the violent upheaval following England’s latest battle with the Highlanders. Her marriage to the Duke would shelter her family with his great cloak of protection. Neither the English nor the Scots would dare invade a castle guarded by the powerful Duke’s Coat of Arms.

          More goosebump fingers shivered her spine. Surely jealousy fueled the flagrant tittle-tattle. She pulled in a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and took measured steps in time to the music toward the loch gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight. She would not let whispers spoil her wedding. She laid her hand lightly on her father’s offered arm.

          Their procession passed the scores of guests assembled on both sides of the flowered path. Ahead her groom stood beneath the rose bower, sunlight from the loch gleaming on him, the pastor, and his groomsman.

          Her heart fluttered.

The Duke looked the perfect picture of manhood. He towered above his shorter groomsman and the pastor. Sun glinting off his iceberg blue satin coat, heavily laced with gold, almost blinded her. His chocolate eyes gazed past the dazzling crowd of guests and focused on her. Beneath those beckoning eyes, the straight bridge of his nose above softly smiling lips formed the most handsome face she’d ever seen. Her pulse quickened. Butterflies flitted from her stomach to her heart and back. 

As she reached her groom and the chamber music died, her high-heeled slippers sunk into the grassy moor, but her foreboding dissolved like fog before the sunshine.   

The rose bower in the garden where she and the Duke stood together and promised their fidelity was pure romance with its lush greenery, heavy scent of roses, and panorama of softly rolling, newly green glen. Though she didn’t know the man she wed, she repeated with all her heart to love, honor, and obey him as long as she should live.

Marrying a man one had barely met happened more often than not to daughters of Lords. So why were her knees shaking? Her attractive groom, with his mahogany hair, wide shoulders, and square jaw, held her hand gently in his warm, strong grasp. Rumors were just rumors, and, truth be told, if he were not perfect, neither was she.

A breeze loosened strands of brown hair from the gold band that tied the thick mass neatly behind his muscular neck to dance around his face.

She was glad he had not powdered his hair. Her throat tightened. Loving him would be easy.

Oh God, please let him love me.

She would love him so greatly, with everything inside her heart. Surely he would love her in return. She would work hard to make certain her marriage turned out differently from Mums. There would be no coldness, nor violent arguments between her and her grand Duke. No sleeping in separate parts of the castle. No making their daughters’ lives miserable with the dislike they bore one another.

As the magnificent sunset painted him gold, the Duke’s chestnut eyes stared into hers with promise, his inviting lips tipped upwards at the corners, and his demeanor was affectionate and approving.

Joy burst through her chest, and she gave him a brilliant smile. Yes, her marriage would be happy. A storybook marriage like Cinderella’s.

The English parson the Duke had brought with him raised a hand in blessing. “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

She handed her heavy bouquet of roses and lilies to Megan and tipped her chin up.

The tall, lithe, young Duke stepped forward and lifted her expensive Brussels veil. She was so very fortunate he was not old.

She closed her eyes.

He touched his lips to hers.

Oh! Her eyes flew open. The bridal kiss had been so short…and disappointing. The pledge in his gaze had led her to expect so much more. She frowned. Their first kiss was like melding lips with someone on stage, acting a part. 

He dropped his arms and moved back.

She’d scarcely been around men, and the Duke was a stranger. She frowned. And his kiss had held so little promise.

A terrifying thought swirled through her brain like a ghost. Since Papa had betrothed Megan to a cruel man, what type of man had he selected for her? Were safety and titles and lands more important to Papa than both his daughters’ happiness?

She shivered.

                                                                                                    

 

I’m giving away three autographed copies of Marriage By Arrangement. For your chance to win, simply join my following. Three of you will win. Also leave a comment with your email address so I can contract you for your snail mail address when you win a book.

ANNE GREENE delights in writing about wounded heroes and gutsy heroines. Her second novel, a Scottish historical, Masquerade Marriage, won the New England Reader Choice award, the Laurel Wreath Award, and the Heart of Excellence Award. The sequel Marriage By Arrangement released November, 2013.  A Texas Christmas Mystery also won awards. She makes her home in McKinney, Texas. Tim LaHaye led her to the Lord when she was twenty-one and Chuck Swindoll is her Pastor. View Anne’s travel pictures and art work at http://www.AnneGreeneAuthor.com. Anne’s highest hope is that her stories transport the reader to an awesome new world and touch hearts to seek a deeper spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus. Buy Anne’s books at http://www.PelicanBookGroup.com. Or at http://www.Amazon.com. Talk with Anne on twitter at @TheAnneGreene. Visit Anne’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/AnneWGreeneAuthor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FEMALE ATTRACTION GESTURES

Anne Greene here:

In two weeks I'll share Male Attraction Gestures. But this week I'm concentrating on the female.

The Head Toss and Hair Flick:

This is usually the first display a woman uses when she meets a man she’s attracted to. The head is flicked back to toss the hair over the shoulder or away from the face. Even a woman with short hair will flick her hair.  

Pouting Mouth Slightly Open - Marilyn Monroe perfected this look. Lip gloss enhances it. 

Touching - A woman will touch her neck or throat when she’s attracted to a man.  

A Limp Wrist – This is attractive to men because it speaks of submission. 

Exposed Wrists – A woman will show her palms and expose her wrists when she’s attracted to a man. Men consider a woman’s wrists erotic. 

Sideways Glance – A sideways glance over a raised shoulder especially with lowered eyelids beguiles men. Also the sideways glance with the down-tilted head is a come-on gesture. 

Rolling Hips – When a woman walks away from a man and rolls her hips she’s using a centuries’ old courting gesture. 

Most men are afraid to touch a woman’s purse. But if a woman finds a man attractive, she will often caress the handle of her handbag. Placing her purse close to a man is a sign of acceptance. 

Studies show that women and men prefer mates that are pretty much as attractive as they are. Most people are skeptical about beautiful people. They prefer a partner of equal attractiveness to themselves.

These are all interesting facts. A writer is challenged to convert these facts to paper and use them on their characters. Good luck in your writing.

 

Some of these gestures are unconscious and some are probably deliberate. Which do you think are deliberate? Do you have any favorite gestures you use in your writing that you would like to share with us? 

Please leave a comment to win a copy of A Texas Christmas Mystery just in time for Christmas! Please leave your email address when you comment. I’d love for you to join my community by becoming a follower.                  

Anne Greene’s Scottish historical romance, Marriage By Arrangement, a sequel to Masquerade Marriage, just released and is available at http://www.amazon.com, Anne Greene author, or at http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com or wherever you love to shop online.

 

Some of Anne's interesting information was inspired by the book, BODY LANGUAGE, by Allan and Barbara Pease.

 

 

                     THE CRUCIAL FIRST CHAPTER

                   

Anne Greene, here. Welcome to my writing class.

Down through the years of writing and being a charter member of ACFW when it was ACRW, I’ve learned so much of the craft of writing that God is nudging me to share all that valuable information. I believe my new writing class will cut five years off the learning curve to writing award-winning Christian fiction.

So, let’s get started!

Open that fresh-idea book with an exceptional hook that grabs the reader and keeps her reading the next sentence…and the next…and the next. Dig deep into your imagination and find the first exciting, action-filled scene and plunk the reader into the middle of that movement. The first sentence should also point to the book’s theme.

 

Skipping to the end of that first crucial chapter, leave your reader with a cliffhanger. Just as the opening line must hook the reader, the end of the chapter must grab the reader and entice her to keep reading. Never tie up your chapter’s loose ends here. Instead, have your hero/heroine make a decision for further action or have him/her pose a new story question. 

 

After your opening hook, the main characters must be introduced. The first time each character is mentioned, their entire name must be revealed. The reader needs to picture the main characters in their minds as early as possible. Perhaps have the hero describe the heroine and vise verse. And, of course, no hero or heroine describes themselves. Don’t introduce too many characters in the first chapter. When you do introduce a new character, give the reader of picture of him/her. Each character deserves an introduction.

 

Introduce the main characters' utmost desire and the obstacles keeping them from attaining what they would just about die to get. Be strong bringing in each character’s motivation. The main characters should have a flaw which will allow a character arc to build during the story.

 

Introduce a character’s faith or lack thereof. (This is good for contests that drop points if you don’t have this part covered early in your story). Other than for contests, the faith element may be introduced in a later chapter. When you do introduce the faith problems, drop in tidbits of his/her faith need through the way the character reacts to various circumstances in their lives.

 

Develop the character and his/her emotions. I’ll discuss this in more detail at my writing school. Be sure to keep checking the ACFW loop for details.

 

Make the hero and heroine vivid, likeable characters. Give them some quirk to make them come alive. Give the character room to change and grow.

 

Make the secondary characters believable. Add them only to provide a valid addition to the story. Don’t let your secondary characters take over the story. Tell them to wait for their own story. Please don’t have too many secondary characters. This can be confusing to the reader.

 

Read my next article on Make Your Manuscript Sparkle, and climb inside the character’s skin. Write only what the POV character can see, think, feel, taste and know. This draws your reader into totally relating to your character. Of course, SHOWING is different. I’ll have a lesson on that interesting subject as well. 

 

Set the dialogue first in a paragraph. Don’t bury it at the end. Make what the characters say real and relevant. Listen to your characters. For me and many other writers, the characters lead the action and write the story. Take time to listen to them.  

 

Check each fact for accuracy. Give details. This makes the story authentic. I know this slows your writing, but it is soo important. One wrong reference can make a reader disbelieve your entire story. If she’s like me, she will throw the book against the wall and never pick it up again.

 

Give the reader a sense of where the characters are at all times. Descriptions of rooms, sense of space and flow are all important. No talking heads. Vividly-written action supplies mood as well.

 

The first chapter is important. Don’t let the reader down. So, now I just made writing that first chapter easier. I wish I had known all these tips when I started writing! Go with God and write the excellent Christian fiction book He wants you to write. And don’t forget to look for this blog with the free writing classes.

 

Has this class helped you? Leave a comment and one reader will receive an autographed copy of my book, Masquerade Marriage.