LoveReading Says
There is nothing like a little ghostly carrying on to make for an amusing, lighthearted, romantic read which this most certainly is. That the subject of a portrait should speak to Kayla, our heroine, makes you suspend your disbelief. That the artist is Gainsborough is even more incredible but settle into this bewitching tale for it is predictable, charming and well worth curling up with. Great fun.
Choc Lit, the publisher of this novel, was the 2012 Publisher of the Year as voted for by the Festival of Romance.
Sarah Broadhurst
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The Secret Kiss of Darkness Synopsis
Must forbidden love end in heartbreak? Kayla Sinclair knows she's in big trouble when she almost bankrupts herself to buy a life-size portrait of a mysterious eighteenth century man at an auction. Jago Kerswell, inn-keeper and smuggler, knows there is danger in those stolen moments with Lady Eliza Marcombe, but he'll take any risk to be with her. Over two centuries separate Kayla and Jago, but, when Kayla's jealous fiance presents her with an ultimatum, and Jago and Eliza's affair is tragically discovered, their lives become inextricably linked thanks to a gypsy's spell. Kayla finds herself on a quest that could heal the past, but what she cannot foresee is the danger in her own future. Will Kayla find heartache or happiness?
About This Edition
About Christina Courtenay
Christina Courtenay lives in Herefordshire and is married with two children. Although born in England she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden. In her teens, the family moved to Japan where she had the opportunity to travel extensively in the Far East.
Christina is vice chairman of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. In 2011, Christina’s first novel Trade Winds (September 2010) was short listed for The Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Award for Best Historical Fiction. Her second novel, The Scarlet Kimono, won the Big Red Reads Best Historical Fiction Award. In 2012, Highland Storms (November 2011) won the Best Historical Romantic Novel of the year award (RoNA). And The Silent Touch of Shadows (July 2012), Christina’s fourth novel, won the award for Best Historical Read at the Festival of Romance.
Christina was appointed as chair of the Romantic Novelists’s Association in 2013.
Below is a Q & A with this author.
Where and how do you write?
I can write anywhere with my laptop, but my favourite place is at my desk with a proper keyboard (so much easier to type on!). I don’t do much plotting beforehand, I just sit down and write until I get stuck, then I might try and make an outline plan of where the rest of the story is going.
Who do you base your characters on?
I almost always use a real person (actor, celebrity, rock star or similar) as the inspiration for my characters’ looks, then I invent a completely new personality for them. I love going to the cinema and finding new hero/heroine material!
What three things would you take if you were to be stranded on a desert island?
My iPad (loaded with as many books as it would hold), chocolate and a Swiss Army knife I think (the biggest kind with every gadget under the sun).
Author photo © Marte Lundby Rekaa
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