Here’s Chapter 1 of The Key with Hearts, available now at online distributors everywhere: Amazon / Kobo / B & N & many more.
Chapter 1
Friday, 3 September 1813 ~ Myers Buckland manor and estate in Wiltshire, England
The little dog nosed along the edge of the bricked planters. His white tail wagged, excitement quivering through his whole body. He sniffed at every speck, whether dirt or leaf or twig. Brightly colored ribbons, tied tightly together to create a long leash, trailed over his back and the terrace’s paving stones.
His sniffing increased. He growled. His short nose swept across the slate-colored pavers. He retreated several steps as he tracked the scent, then followed it back to the grass. The clipped grass tickled his nose. He strained against the ribbon leash as he dug at the stones, as if the pavers were the edge of a cairn hiding a vicious rodent. Then his head popped up. Ears pricked forward. Dark eyes stared at the high hedge with its thick branches of boxwoods.
He glanced behind him at the woman holding one end of his tether. They had ended their walk by traversing the maze. Throughout their tour of the garden, she seemed distracted, barely attending to his tugs on the leash. Now her gaze focused on the drive that swept from the parkland. The gravel turned into a gentle curve as it approached the manor’s forecourt. The little terrier sniffed the air. Then he lunged forward.
The leash held him back. He strained against it then lunged again, but his paws didn’t find grass beneath him. His claws scrabbled on the pavers. He barked.
Secrets of family. Secrets of hearts. Secrets of blood and pain.
Secrets can kill.
Maddy Whittaker, on the shelf for years, never expects the man of her dreams will be the one she once called a stick in the mud.
Banished from a country party so she won’t ruin her sisters’ chances in snaring husbands, Maddy is sent to visit a cousin named Simon Jespers, who is hosting his own Valentine’s party. She expects three weeks of boredom.
Gordon, Lord Musgrove, expects he will propose to a biddable lady and live unhappily ever after.
He escapes his mother’s country party (where the dowager Musgrove expects her only son to snare a wife) for one last bid at freedom. He decides to retreat to his friend Simon Jespers. Gordon never expects that his friend will be hosting a Valentine’s party. He does expect days and days of boredom.
On arrival at Jespers’ country manor, Maddy and Gordon meet for the first time. A quick flirtation finds them well matched in mind and soul, and the flirtation changes into romance.
Yet a secret from Maddy’s past threatens their future.
And a serial murderer threatens Maddy’s life.
Can Gordon overcome past secrets and present dangers to marry his perfect match?
The Dangers of Secrets is a romantic Regency suspense of approximately 56,000 words.
The character of Gordon, Lord Musgrove, was first introduced in A Game of Spies, published in the fall of 2015.
Warning: While the romance is sweet, the murders have been described as sordid. Unwanted memories of abuse may be triggered. Please be cautious.
Gordon, Lord Musgrove, returns from A Game of Spies. He’s escaped from his mother’s garden party, at which she planned to trap him into a betrothal. Imagine his surprise when he meets the woman of his dreams while escaping.
Imagine his shock when murder occurs.
Secrets of family. Secrets of hearts. Secrets of blood and pain.
Secrets can kill.
Maddy Whittaker, on the shelf for years, never expects the man of her dreams will be the one she once called a stick in the mud.
Banished from a country party so she won’t ruin her sisters’ chances in snaring husbands, Maddy is sent to visit a cousin named Simon Jespers, who is hosting his own Valentine’s party. She expects three weeks of boredom.
Gordon, Lord Musgrove, expects he will propose to a biddable lady and live unhappily ever after.
He escapes his mother’s country party (where the dowager Musgrove expects her only son to snare a wife) for one last bid at freedom. He decides to retreat to his friend Simon Jespers. Gordon never expects that his friend will be hosting a Valentine’s party. He does expect days and days of boredom.
Secrets of Hearts
On arrival at Jespers’ country manor, Maddy and Gordon meet for the first time. A quick flirtation finds them well matched in mind and soul, and the flirtation changes into romance.
Yet a secret from Maddy’s past threatens their future.
And a serial murderer threatens Maddy’s life.
Can Gordon overcome past secrets and present dangers to marry his perfect match?
The Dangers of Secrets is a romantic Regency suspense of approximately 56,000 words.
Warning: While the romance is sweet, the murders have been described as sordid. Unwanted memories of abuse may be triggered. Please be cautious.
Use these links for online distributors everywhere. The book is available as a paperback from Amazon.
Celebrate on the Second of September with The Hazard of Secrets
We celebrate not just the original publication of The Hazard of Secrets but also the fact that we completed a book that just kept expanding and expanding. The word count was intended to be around 70,000. M.A. Lee blew past 70,000 then 80,000 then 95,000 and kept going. The final book topped out at nearly 109,000 words when I published it on September 2, 2019.
Jem and Clarey face press gangs and murderers.
Two hearts with dangerous pasts ~ Can they keep their secrets, or will murder force them to reveal all?
Clarey Parton crosses the Atlantic to steal an inheritance. She hopes that no one discovers the rightful heir lies in a cold grave.
Jem Baxter returns to the England he fled three years before. He assumes the name James Axminster to conceal his past, one littered with misdeeds.
When a press gang sees two people traveling alone, they seize the opportunity for quick cash: they plan to sell Clarey to a brothel and impress Jem on a merchant ship. Fate brings these two lonely souls together. Chance helps them escape.
Yet escape traps them in another secret—one with murder as a bloody solution.
The Hazard of Secrets offers twists and turns as tight as knots. Can Clarey and Jem keep their secrets, or will murder force them to reveal all?
Fetch it here: https://books2read.com/u/4DWRJr
Celebrate Three Novels On the 10th of September
With A Trio of Hazards
Three novels bundled together, to help Survive in plague year 2020.
Book 1 in the Bundle, The Hazard of Secrets,details above.
View the trailer at this link: https://youtu.be/I1hb4d9wCOg
Coming Soon
Book 2 in the Bundle, The Hazard for Spies
Can Conrad discover the identity of the French spy mastermind? Will Phinney’s single-minded pursuit lead her into the murderer’s snare? Will three children be caught and sold into London’s underworld?
Can Conrad and Phinney discover the connection between past and present murders?
Or will two bullets allow the murderer and the French master spy to continue their work against the British government?
This book did exactly what it was supposed to do: story, length, everything. It concludes the spy narrative in the Hearts in Hazard trilogy, which also includes
A Game of Secrets ~ Lee’s first published book.
2. A Game of Spies ~ her second published book.
3. A Game of Hearts ~ 3rd in publication order.
4. The Danger for Spies
and 5. The Key for Spies
The three children introduced in The Hazard of Secrets above are secondary characters in this novel.
Hector Evans, first introduced in The Danger to Hearts and receiving his own story in The Key to Secrets, also makes an appearance in The Hazard of Secrets and The Hazard for Spies.
The Hazard for Spies originally published April 30 of 2020. For this ebook alone, try this link to purchase: https://books2read.com/u/4j2JEl
The Hazard with Heartscompletes the bundle, with the original Novel published August 24, 2020.
Vivienne Northrup agreed to a marriage of convenience to reap the benefits of becoming the Countess of Sheldrake. While she explores the ruins of Sheldrake Castle, a falling stone dislodged from a tower nearly kills her.
Only then does Vivienne discover that the earl’s previous two wives died tragically. The first had jumped to her death from that very tower.
Or had the woman been pushed? The way the stone nearly killed Vivienne?
I loved this book. At first I struggled with the heroine … until I changed her name. Then she came alive! To purchase this ebook alone, try this link: https://books2read.com/u/boEVg1
When I finished this novel and knew I was finished with the entire Hearts in Hazard series, I was saddened. The characters became part of my family, and moving on from the series was like moving far away from family. I know that I will want to return.
The bundle makes it look like we have more books available … and we do!
Individual novels are available in ebook and paperback. The bundles are only available on Amazon and in ebook format–although the bundles are a bargain!
We celebrate two More books for September: nonfiction guidebooks for writers.
In the summer of the Plague Year, 2020, M.A. Lee was highly prolific. These two guidebooks along with The Hazard with Heartsare the evidence. We can’t really count the bundle above. Bundling books together is actually very simple, requiring little creativity. Writing the books, whether fiction or nonfiction, that requires LOTS of creativity.
On September 22, We celebrate Discovering Characters.
Our job as writers is to find every detail of our characters then use snippets so our readers will see our characters as they drive through our books. We hint at the foundations while opening doors to their plans and purposes.
Discovering Characters is designed to help writers find the exteriors and interiors, public and private. We’ll dig around the foundations and climb to the roof. We’ll explore the open rooms and the storage closets. And we’ll peek into rooms inhabited by such characters as diverse as Elizabeth and Darcy, the Iron Man, Aragorn and Frodo, Travis McGee, Medea, Macbeth, and Nanny McPhee.
Five areas comprise this guidebook. Just as characters—and houses—are individual, this info is individual. You won’t need every bit. Dip in and out, skim around. When you reach locked rooms, come back and explore to discover the keys to your characters.
Starting Points ~ offering templates and character interviews
Classifications ~ common and uncommon ways of discovering characters
Relationships ~ couples, teams, allies, enemies, mentors, etc.
Special Touches ~ progressions, transgressions, and transitions for character arcs
Significant Lists ~ archetypal characters and much more
Discovering Characters, with 44,000-plus words, is the second book in the Discovering set, part of the Think like a Pro Writer series for writers new to the game as well as those wanting to up their game.
Fetch it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y7LYK19
Finally this month, on the very last day, we Celebrate Discovering Your Author Brand.
Discovering Your Author Brand understands that the browsing readers will only give a few nanoseconds to our books.
So, we explain the three main glances that hook the readers before they swim down the river. We also look at the keys to unlock those glances. With the right keys, the brand is revealed, and the door to the reader opens.
To help with the keys and glances, we have worksheets (charts!) to help you discover the brand for book, series, and your author persona—because the first leads to the last.
In addition to analyzing successful brands by writing greats from the last of the 20th century, we have information on how to develop a video book trailer. You can watch our own trailer for our book on Branding at this link: https://youtu.be/uthI5gEWic8
Fetch this guidebook at this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YL8GBM1
Coming later this Fall
We have the paperback version of Discovering Your Writing, which combines our books on Plot, Characters, Branding, and Sentence Craft, a real deal!
books. We hint at the foundations while opening doors to their plans and purposes.