Constance Kent is on the move!

This is the last year on the Writewood Creations Publishing blog. Constance Kent is moving on and we are moving with her.  

Click the link to subscribe to Miss Kent's gossipy newsletter and receive The Widowed Bride as a gift. 

👉 Miss Kent's Salon

And please visit Miss Kent at

👉 Constant Kent Historical Romance

to learn more about Ravenswood Hall, her exciting new series launching April 2023.

 A decaying mansion. A feuding family. A dark secret that forces them together and drives them apart.

The Widowed Bride is the novella-length prequel to Constance Kent's Ravenswood Hall Series, introducing the wealthy and powerful Coleridge family before their fall.

Aubrey Eliot arrives at the Hall and stumbles across a dark secret that sets the stage for the bitter feud that will divide the Coleridge sons decades later. A feud that leads to moral decay, insanity, and even murder.

Plunge into the shadowy seductive world of the Coleridge family and discover the lengths a family will go to protect their secrets.

This blog will remain up but in semi-retirement until December 31, 2023. Thank you for following along with us for the past nine years! 

Happy Holidays and all the best for the New Year!

Cover Refresh and Read An Ebook Week March 6 - 12!

 

Hello lovely people!

We had no idea how much we liked seeing people until we couldn't see people by order of the Health Department.

It is snowing heavily outside our window and it's hard to believe spring will ever return - or normal life - or peace on Earth - but it will. In the meantime, we have books to read. 

Much of this month was spent pondering the direction of romance cover art and consequently, we took a bold move in redesigning the covers for Constance Kent's Victorian Villains Saga. They have a broody gothic vibe that is fresh and right for a contemporary readership. Check them out on the Victorian Villains page and please let us know what you think! 

We were influenced by some change-makers in the genre, Julia Quinn's covers being one, to take the leap away from the style of forty years ago and into the present. Every series got a refresh and we're pretty happy with the result. 

The other exciting event on the horizon is Read An Ebook Week on Smashwords from March 6 to March 12, 2022.

This incredible sale of ebooks in every genre and sub-genre imaginable attracts thousands of readers each year from all over the globe. 

Evelyn Ellis has enrolled Forbidden, Passion, Obsession and Cherry Pop into the sale. Get your copies for free using the coupon Smashwords provides at the checkout. 

Constance Kent has enrolled new titles this time around. Come, Let Me Hold You and Come Let Me Love You is contemporary New Adult romance. Click on the American Gothic Contemporary Romance tab in the header to learn more about this new series of standalone fiction. 

Two of the three titles in Miss Kent's new medieval erotic romance, Mortain and Bedwyr Novella Trilogy are enrolled. Hidden in the Shadows and Whispers in the Fog are free with a coupon. But you'll have to buy the third novella, Revealed in the Mist to see how it all works out. Hah! We're evil.

Hey, it's a BOGO plus one!  Buy One, Get Two Free.  

Bookmark this page to return on March 6 and conveniently claim your freebies: Links to Smashword's pages are here:

Forbidden, Passion, Obsession - Erotica

Cherry Pop - Erotica

Come, Let Me Love You - New Adult contemporary romance

Come, Let Me Hold You - New Adult contemporary romance

Hidden in the Shadows - Medieval Erotic Romance Novella

Whispers in the Fog - Medieval Erotic Romance Novella

See you there and happy reading!

Erotic Medieval Romance available for Pre-order!

 Mortain and Bedwyr Book Two

Whispers in the Fog

Release Date: September 20,2021

Available for Pre-Order Now on Amazon

The shifter knight, Bedwyr, will risk everything to keep Isabelle Grey from harm, a passion that has tragic consequences for his alter ego, Sir Edryd Mortain. 

To protect his children, the noble knight drives his ward from the castle and from all hope of securing his love. At the home of Sir Hugo Blackwell, Isabelle tries to forget Mortain and his seductive darker self until Sir Hugo requests her assistance to open a mysterious casket from a dead monk. 

The monster that is released has an evil plan in mind for Isabelle, never realizing that Isabelle has a monster of her own.

Set in 1209 Wales, Whispers in the Fog is the second novella in a steamy trilogy about the noble Welsh knight, Sir Edryd Mortain and his alter ego, the depraved shifter Bedwyr, and their forbidden love for one girl. 

Whispers in the Fog

Retiring from Romance Adieu!

I'll begin by saying a heartfelt thank you to the amazingly vibrant romance reading community. Thank you for the years of feedback, messages, reviews (good and bad), steady sales, and the room to explore a world of dark and troubled lovers.

After a fun, hectic and adventurous five years, I'm retiring. Romance is a joy to write but to remain in the black, an author has to produce a lot of books in a short space of time.

I was mulling over my next series idea when I realized I wasn't interested in writing it. When I don't care about my subject, writing becomes a chore. Cranking out books for the sake of sales isn't for me. I thought the joy would come back, but so far it hasn't. My last romance (The Earl's Son) was published in December 2018.

Catherine Lloyd is my pen name. Unfortunately, it is the real name of a mystery author in the UK. I'm sure she was as dismayed by the mix-up as I was. Retiring is the right thing to do for that reason alone. 

It's bittersweet saying good-bye to this genre. It has given me so much in the past five years and that's because of the readers. You have renewed my confidence in my writing, provided me with a small income to keep writing and offered critical feedback. No wonder romance readers are the engine of the publishing world. 

I love you all. I thank you all. Good bye and God bless!

Catherine Lloyd

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, folks--that's the end of Writewood Creations. We will be closing up shop. Evelyn Ellis retired in 2017 and with Catherine Lloyd sailing off into the sunset, we are going to do the same.

It's been a blast. Thank you to Kindle Direct Publishing, Kobo, Smashwords, and Google Play for creating platforms for small publishers to reach readers. 

We had the time of our lives and we owe it all to you....

Writewood Creations

Will the real Catherine Lloyd please stand up...

Romance author, Catherine Lloyd shares the same name as mystery author, Catherine Lloyd (Kurland St. Mary Mystery Series) But they are NOT the same person.

By sheer fluke (and prior to the awesomeness that is Google for research) "Catherine Lloyd" chose her pen name to write romances by amalgamating the first names of her two favorite people, never realizing the name was already taken. But as the style, voice and subject matter of the two authors are completely different, it seemed unlikely there would be any confusion.

Until poor Windemere Hall was released. A reader was disappointed to find it was not at all the book she was expecting from Catherine Lloyd, mystery author. If we wanted a traditional British mystery and we got a brooding, dark anti-hero romance, we would be irked too.

(However, we quibble with the reviewer's comment that the heroine, Clara, is a dimwit. Given the status and power of women in the Victorian Age, her choices are not gloriously abundant. She makes the best one she can in her circumstance. How this terrible choice changes her and develops her strengths is the theme of the story. How the villain, Branson, matures into a man she admires is the heart of the story. But we digress...)

The reviews of the trilogy installments (Betrothed, Betrayed, Beguiled) indicate the story is not at fault, only confusion in authorship. Catherine Lloyd regrets the trouble her pen name has caused. For romance readers who crave a darker, suspenseful historical romance (and can comprehend that women were not emancipated from fathers or husbands in 1867) Windemere Hall  will (we hope!) satisfy that craving.

Own Windemere Hall for $2.99

Borrow it through Kindle Unlimited until October 30, 2016

Print Edition is available through CreateSpace Book Store, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other independent sellers.

Why do we love romance novels?

It's a regular question that comes up in the book industry and it really, really bugs us. Why does no one ask why Penthouse is popular? Or where did Hustler find its market? Or what's up with all those military thrillers?

What is the big deal if millions and millions of women love to read romance novels? And we're just as bad, enabling the unspoken criticism by making excuses to justify our reading habits. "I don't want to think after a hard day." "I just like a good story." "I have enough worries, I want to live a fantasy for awhile."

You know what? This is the only answer anyone needs to hear: WE LIKE IT. We read it because we like it. As a literary genre, it is a way of understanding our world, our relationships and ourselves. Romance can be a safe place to delve into some dark issues and see there is light at the end of the tunnel. Falling in love is fun and terrible. It is endlessly fascinating as a theme. Oh, and we like happy endings! We could go on and on but the short answer is: WE LIKE IT. Now let's put a fork in that query and get back to reading what we love.

Glory, August is HOT! Bundled Releases in Victorian Villains Saga coming at you just in time for the dog days of summer. 

 WINDEMERE HALL

Shy, stammering Clara Hamilton is shocked when her father announces her betrothal to a cousin she barely knows. Her uncle’s stepson, Branson Hamilton is handsome, avaricious and rumoured to be unstable. Nineteen-year-old Clara, anxious for her father’s approval, agrees to the union unaware of what is at stake. A sinister family secret surfaces and Clara soon discovers that master of Windemere Hall has a dark revenge in store when she enters into his power.

Windemere Hall launches Catherine Lloyd’s Victorian Villains Saga. Four villainous men, cursed by their fathers, follow their legacy of greed, murder, lust and pride. Set in 1867 England, the saga is written in the classic gothic romance tradition of Victoria Holt and Phyllis A. Whitney. Originally released as a novella trilogy (“Betrothed” “Betrayed” “Beguiled”), the novel, Windemere Hall contains scenes, language and themes written for a mature audience.

Available in Kindle Unlimited and in Print

MARK OF CAINE

Laura Mayhew is the only witness to a sex scandal at Windsor Castle and is committed to Gateshead Insane Asylum to discredit her story. Tanner Caine, a cold, solitary and emotionally damaged ex-naval officer is tasked with silencing the girl permanently. Laura has the gift of second sight and she has been expecting an assassin for months but Tanner insists he’s only there to help. Haunted in her dreams by a baby’s cries, Laura decides to trust the dangerous Mr. Caine to escape the asylum and find the missing royal infant. When she is compelled into marriage to obtain her release, Laura discovers Tanner Caine is the one man whose thoughts she cannot read. And it is possible she has married her assassin.

Mark of Caine is the second novel in Catherine Lloyd’s Victorian Villains Saga. Four villainous men, cursed by their fathers, follow their legacy of greed, murder, lust and pride. Set in 1867 England, the saga is written in the classic gothic romance tradition of Victoria Holt and Phyllis A. Whitney. Originally published as a novella trilogy (“Hidden in the Shadows” “Whispers in the Fog” “Revealed in the Mist”) Mark of Caine contains scenes, language and themes written for a mature audience.

Available in Kindle Unlimited and in Print

Mark of Caine Book Two Released!

Whispers in the Fog is the second book in the Mark of Caine Trilogy.

Haunted by a curse and a dark past, Tanner Caine struggles to control his growing feelings for his mark, Laura Mayhew. Meanwhile, Laura is plagued by dreams of a sobbing child sealed up behind a brick wall and remains determined to find him. Dangerously drawn to the mysterious man she was compelled to marry, Laura succumbs to a night of heated passion in his bed--a night that pushes Caine to the brink, forcing him to make a hellish decision. 

Buy it for 0.99 or Borrow it through Kindle Unlimited!

Revealed in the Mist,  the third and final book in the trilogy will be released in early June. 

Dear readers, Mark of Caine will end the serial format of Victorian Villains. It has been fun but Catherine's Lloyd's "frozen shoulder" injury scared the pants off of us, wondering if she would be mobile enough to finish the serial.

 

Victorian Villains Saga will continue in July and August with two new releases that will be full books. They'll be priced at 3.99 and available through Kindle Unlimited. 

Thank you for reading!

Weight Loss and Romance

We here at Writewood Creations have been trying to lose ten pounds (each) for literally years and we've discovered a certain level of starvation is required to pull this off for inactive women in their fifties. We don't care what the diet gurus say--our research shows we lose weight when we are hungry. As in starving. So hungry that a lunch of vegetable soup tastes out of this world. (For instance, I'm really hungry now and I can't wait for my poached egg on whole grain toast. Can. Not. Wait.)

There's no other way. We don't like to exercise, especially in the winter. A collective shudder goes through the office when someone suggests a walk at noon. ("In this? Are you well?") So that's out. Hunger is the only way to whittle those pounds down. Our motto is: "If you are not hungry, you're doing it wrong."

But we've noticed an overall increase in our testiness since we started this thing. Publishing is a cranky business at the best of times. Lots of snark and general irritating nit-picky stuff to deal with. We used to console ourselves with vats of red wine and chocolate Easter bunnies. Cabbage soup doesn't have the same soothing effect as a good-old bag of Hershey's Kisses. And the worst thing is, this semi-starved state will have to be permanent. The new world order. We just can't eat like we did in our twenties.

Does reading romance novels help us stay the course? Here are our completely unscientific results from the past month. We discovered:

1) Reading warm-to-hot love stories cheered us up and helped us unwind at the end of the day.
2) Romance novels are calorie-free. You burn calories reading a book!
3) Reading an engrossing romance distracted us from being hungry and kept us out of the fridge.
4) Romantic love stories made us more amorous with our husbands. Everyone knows sex burns calories.
5) We believe reading romance stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain and reduced our cravings.

Total weight lost: 7 pounds.

Craving a doughnut? Pick up a romance instead! The craving will pass and you'll be an hour or two closer to bedtime and another day done without blowing your diet. We've got this!

The KU Effect on a Small Publisher

Amazon announced a new royalty plan to its Kindle Unlimited/Select Program. Authors are paid for the number of pages a borrower reads. It's fair and reasonable for everyone, unless you write short fiction, in which case it's a scramble to adapt.

The nature of Erotica is that it does not write "long" but its writers are flexible and open to change. Evelyn Ellis's short stories have been bundled like chocolates on a rainy day into Forbidden Fruit - Five stories of taboo erotica. Simon Graystoke's Niece is now one novella and ditto for His Wife's Little Sister.

The good news is we won't break the bank on stock images for individual titles. The bad news is it will take a little longer to see a new release.

Catherine Lloyd's contemporary romance titles will be joining the Kindle Unlimited family in July while Traitor will be leaving it.

Personally, we like the new royalty structure. It's like boot camp for authors. We believe some overlooked gems will start making a living while some over-hyped tomes will waste away. At the end of the day, it'll likely put a stop to the flood of scamlets being published.

Due out at the end of June is Evelyn Ellis's Victorian Games.

Victorian parlour games take a taboo twist when disguises are the means to forbidden couplings, seduction and surrender. The Secret Society of Sensualists was introduced in Simon Graystoke’s Niece. Lord Carrington receives the shock of his life when a night of Viking role-playing opens the door to an erotic adventure with a mysterious young woman. The Secret Life of a Puritan introduces a young American husband to carnal delight with a surprising partner and Night of the Pantomime leads to a taboo night of bliss for one unlikely couple.

Have a great week!

Print Editions!

It's been a busy spring here at Writewood Creations. Evelyn Ellis has released two more titles of short erotic fiction in her Seduction and Surrender Series. His Wife's Little Sister is set in 1942 as America is getting into WWII. Jim, Ted and Tammy is set in 1955 at the end of the Korean War and Senator McCarthy is in the news. Full synopsis and links to buy or borrow through Kindle Unlimited are on the Historical Erotica Romance page.

Catherine Lloyd's titles have all been brought out in print now through Createspace, a company we adore. And her Dark Redeemer Historical Romance trio of stories have all got new covers. Check out Comedy Romance and Historical Romance for a peek. Links to buy or borrow through Kindle Unlimited are there.

A lot of action happens behind the scenes at this fledgling new company. No time for Facebook or Twitter, but we'll be posting here on a regular basis and join Evelyn Ellis's Newsletter for news of Sales, Discounts, Freebies and New Releases. The Sign Up link is to the right of this post.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful June!

Meet the Authors

CATHERINE LLOYD

Catherine Lloyd is a psychological suspense writer by day and a romance writer by night. Catherine has two grown children, three grandchildren and a cat named Harry. She loves reading first and foremost, writing second, red wine and a fire in the hearth are third. If she got all of the above, all at the same time, it would mean she was dead because that is heaven.

Visit her Author Page on Amazon

EVELYN ELLIS

Evelyn Ellis has had a passion for historical romance from an early age. She liked the spicy ones best, but they were never spiced in the right way to her taste, so she began writing her own. She particularly enjoys writing erotic short stories and novellas. The shorter format allows for deeper character examination over the course of a very hot erotic story. Her stories are all standalone shorter fiction with themes that explore taboo sexual subjects in time periods from Medieval to the Swinging Sixties with locations all over the world. Evelyn is retired, lives in the country with her long-suffering spouse who swears he is her inspiration. Subscribe to Evelyn Ellis's Newsletter to be informed of her latest releases.