Sealed With a Kiss:Elise Rome + Giveaway

Elise Rome

Elise Rome has never forgiven Margaret Mitchell for making her fall in love with Scarlett and Rhett in Gone with the Wind and then not giving them a happy ending. She likes to think that she makes up for the injustice done to them with each romance novel she writes. When she isn't telling stories about sexy, headstrong heroes and intelligent, independent heroines, Elise stays busy chasing after her two young daughters, semi-attempting to do housework, and hiking in the beautiful foothills of Colorado.

Find Elise Online:  Website | The Jaunty Quills | Facebook | Twitter

Happy early Valentine’s Day! I’m so thrilled to have been invited to be a part of the Sealed with a Kiss event (thank you, Dani and Rita!), and am also excited to share with you the love letters from the hero and heroine of my upcoming novella, THE SINNING HOUR (which will, incidentally, first be published on Valentine’s Day).

Although the story of THE SINNING HOUR novella takes place after the heroine leaves the hero’s employ, the following love letters—or lust letters, as the case may be—were written during the time she served him as maid.

Simon Astley and Miranda Post are from two different worlds, although they both live in 1851 London. Distantly related to the aristocracy, Simon has made a name and career for himself as not merely a portraitist, but a nude portraitist. In an era when the comparative moral freedom of the Regency has waned, Simon’s work is highly esteemed among some; most, however, view him with the sober, disdainful eye of the overly righteous. Simon, of course, does as he pleases and, as long as he is being paid for his work, cares not what anyone else thinks. Until, that is, Miranda Post comes along…

Though born of the middle class, Miranda is forced by circumstances to find work as a maid in Simon’s small household. She knows her role and duties well and, unlike Simon, safeguards her reputation carefully. He is her employer, she is his maid. She knows there can never be anything between them. And yet…

The Love Letter:

Unread, burned
Two weeks before he fires her

Dear Miss Post,

Actually, I believe I shall call you Miranda. After all, that is the way I think of you. Miranda, Miranda… And what shall I do with you, I wonder? I have had various thoughts on the matter, none of which you would consider seemly.

Tonight, for example, as you helped me put away my paints—an exercise you have dutifully continued for these last few months, although I know you dislike the camaraderie that has resulted—I imagined kissing you. Perhaps you would expect my fantasies to be filled with much more lurid things, and I assure you that some of them are, and yet to kiss you…I have every confidence it would be one of the most erotic acts I have ever experienced.

For what is a kiss but the portal to that darker, shadowed world of more explicit caresses? I would very much like to taste the sweet, reserved innocence of your kiss, to breathe the same breath you breathe, to feel the hitch in your chest against mine when you realize just how mad I’ve become.

Mad, for wanting you. Mad, for thinking of you when naked, beautiful women are displayed before my eyes day after day. Mad, because the knowledge that I caused the curve of your lips today makes me feel not as a mere man, but rather an immortal, omnipotent king.

Yet if I kissed you, would you look at me the same way you do now—with a wary sort of fascination—or would you despise me? Would you slap me? Run away? Or…would you kiss me in return?

The answer to that question haunts me like a demon, threatens to swallow my soul.

I am not one to— 
Unfinished, ripped into shreds, and thrown into the fire

###

I hope you enjoyed Simon’s letter to Miranda! Have you ever written a love letter to someone whose feelings you were unsure of? Did you send it or throw it away? What would you rather receive for Valentine’s Day—chocolate or a love letter of your own?

Check out Simon and Miranda's love story in: 
THE SINNING HOUR
Coming Valentine's Day! February 14th, 2012

A man accustomed to having whatever he wishes…
A year ago, the last thing portraitist Simon Astley expected was to become fascinated with his new housemaid. Although Miranda Post was no great beauty, he found his attraction for her continuing to grow until—rather than giving in to his wicked inclinations—he sent her away. No man could have regretted this momentary indulgence of conscience more. 

A woman whose wishes have never come true… 
Now a maid at London’s most exclusive gaming hell, Miranda has no time for either bitterness or the soothing of her bruised heart. She works hard and struggles to care for her dependent father, forbidding herself to dwell on either her dreams of the future or her memories of Simon.

At night all they need is one another…
Yet both her dreams and memories collide when Simon is commissioned to paint the portraits of the hell’s owners. Determined to right his mistakes, he offers to pay Miranda for the pleasure of painting her, too—but only in the privacy of his studio. She agrees to take his coin, even while knowing that every moment in his presence once again decimates her defenses…and threatens her heart.

Releasing February 14th, 2012 to an ebook retailer near you!

**Giveaway**

Elise is giving away a digital copy of THE SINNING HOUR, to 1 lucky commenter (Open Internationally) So make sure you leave a comment on this post (preferably answering Elise's question(s) below the letter) AND fill out the rafflecopter for your chance to win!

And don't forget to head over to Ramblings From This Chick blog, check out Miranda's letter to Simon, and comment/enter that giveaway as well! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Swing by the special Sealed with a Kiss event page to get extra entries for the GRAND PRIZE!!!