Win a Free Download of Having Patience by Debra Glass - Now Available at Ellora's Cave

Debra Glass with 'name in a book' winner, Tewanda Hardy

at the Heart of Dixie Reader's Luncheon

Tewanda Hardy has luck on her side. I've never been to a reader's luncheon where Tewanda didn't go home with door prizes, author baskets, and several 'name in a book' wins. I believe Having Patience is the 13th or 14th book in which Tewanda's name appears.

When I drew Tewanda's name in 2009, I was working on a 4th installment of the Phantom Lovers series and planned to give her the character of a voodoo priestess. (I might yet!) But I shifted focus to my first love - historical romance. Because I write historicals, I changed Tewanda to Wanda and gave her a role as the heroine's servant, who has a  well-deserved reputation for reading risque romance novels.

Here's an excerpt from Having Patience:

“What’s this?” Patience asked. She couldn’t imagine.
James lifted the lid off one of the boxes before withdrawing a book.
“What on earth?” she began but James thrust the book into her hand.
Her gaze dropped to the title. The Rose and the Rapier. “What is this?” she demanded.
“A romantic novel.”
“A what?” she inquired but she knew very well what it was. Her handmaiden, Wanda, read novels such as these all the time. Patience did not see the benefit of reading such trite writing. Why had James brought her these? Surely he knew she preferred the philosophical musings of the ancients to this drivel.
“My lord, you insult me,” she said, wagging the book at him in an effort to get him to take it back.
He cocked an eyebrow and for a split second, Patience forgot about the book. She had agreed to call him by his given name. “James,” she said softly. Something warm and liquid swirled within her at the intimate utterance of his name. The fact that he’d practically commanded her to use his name instead of some other formal address only added to the mysterious feelings churning inside her.
“My gift is not intended as an insult,” he told her.
“We have…known each other for nearly a year now. Have I ever given you the notion that I would read…this? For heaven’s sake, James, The Rose and the Rapier?”
One corner of his mouth pulled into a partial smile.
“What then?” Patience was confused. “Are these for Wanda?”
 “Of course they’re not for Wanda. They’re for you.”
“I don’t understand.”
James folded his arms over his chest. “I think perhaps that you did not get a good education from your governess.”
Patience suddenly comprehended the meaning of the books. A torrid blush infused her cheeks. Anger knotted her stomach. “Are you insinuating that I might learn how to…how to submit to you by reading this…this twaddle?”
His shoulders rose and dropped with a sharp breath. “Not in the least. I’m not insinuating anything. I only hope to learn what pleases you.”
Patience laughed and the high pitched, almost hysterical sound of it seemed as if it were coming from someone else. She shook her head. “There’s surely nothing in those books that would please me.”
His dark eyes narrowed into vicious slits. He gestured to the book. “Well I suggest you find something in there that does.”
She realized she was shaking. And yet, this was the very opportunity for which she had yearned. Here and now, she could make him angry enough to take her, to claim her.
Something clenched inside her—something between her thighs. She summoned courage. “No. I’ll not do it.”
Two steps closed the distance between them. She gasped as James hauled her against him. All at once she was aware of the heat of his body, the sinister gleam in his eyes, the cruel twist of his lips, the hard feel of every unyielding inch of his chest, his thick, powerful thighs, the spicy, male scent of him and the warmth of his breath fanning her face.
Oh do it now! Make me. Please, make me.
But instead, he glared. “You will read each and every one of these books and you will take a pen and underline what piques your interest.”
He snatched the book from her hand and opened it at random. “Here,” he said and began to read. “Rose yielded as Sir John pressed a kiss to her breast—”
“Stop!” Patience wailed. What was she saying? She really wanted to beg him to do just that right now. Where was her pen and ink?

Leave a comment and tell me what sort of character you would like to be if you were to win a name in a book contest. One lucky commenter will be entered in a drawing to win a free download of my newest release, Having Patience! (comments are moderated and may not appear immediately) The winner will be announced on Wednesday, June 9.

To read the first chapter or buy Having Patience by Debra Glass from Ellora's Cave, click HERE.

Watch the trailer: