Hooked From Page One: The First Page & Interview: CAPTURING THE EARL by A.S. Fenichel

CAPTURING THE EARL

by A.S. Fenichel

The friendship of four young ladies has created an indestructible bond to protect one another from the perils of love and marriage . . .
After the demise of her friend’s disastrous marriage, Mercedes Parsons isn’t about to let the widowed Wallflower of West Lane, Lady Aurora Radcliff, undertake another perilous trip to the altar. At least, not before the bridegroom-to-be is thoroughly investigated. If only Mercy could stop her uncharacteristic daydreaming about Wesley Renshaw’s charm, his intellect, his dashing good looks. After all, the earl has already set his sights on her best friend! She must keep her wits about her and avoid giving into temptation.
Wesley is both irritated and intrigued by the machinations of Mercy—He cannot let her cleverness and beauty distract him. He needs to marry her friend, Aurora, so he can reclaim his family’s ancestral home. A wrong he has hoped to right his entire life. Besides, who is penniless spinster Mercedes Parsons to decide whom he can and cannot marry? Yet while he admires her unwavering loyalty to her friends, he decides it’s high time the misguided woman had a dose of her own medicine. Two can play at this spying game. But they are both embarked on a dangerous charade. And it won’t be merely Mercy’s reputation at risk—or her heart on the line—as Wesley comes to the inescapable conclusion that he has found the right woman at exactly the wrong time.

Praise:

“A pair of lovers must decide whether to listen to their heads or to their hearts in Fenichel’s delightful third Wallflowers of West Lane Regency romance (after The Earl Not Taken). Mercy Heath is an untitled orphan living in a West Lane townhouse with her friend Lady Aurora Radcliff, a young widow. As such, she’s surprised when Wesley Renshaw, Earl of Castlewick, asks her to dance at a ball. Though Wesley is attracted to Mercy, he feels a familial obligation to persuade Aurora to marry him as she owns Whickette Park, a property that once belonged to Wesley’s grandfather and that the Renshaws wish to regain. Aurora has no desire to marry again, but her mother insists that she allow Wesley to court her. His pursuit of Aurora leads him to spend much time with Mercy as well, marveling at her sweetness and musical talent. As the relationship between Mercy and Wesley evolves from platonic friendship into romance, Wesley must decide whether his sense of duty outweighs his desire for happiness. Fenichel makes the high stakes of Regency era marriage apparent, adding intensity to the forbidden love story between Wesley and Mercy. Fans of historical romance will be enchanted.”

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/3bbrq2h

Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/398BHcF

Mercedes Heath shook her head. She must have heard him wrong. After all, why would Wesley Renshaw, the Earl of Castlewick, want to dance with her?

The ballroom was loud and awash with activity. The Duke of Breckenridge lived in one of the largest townhouses in London, but it was still enough of a crush that she might have misunderstood the charming earl.

“Miss Heath?” Wesley’s light brown eyes sparkled with some amusement only he understood.

“I beg your pardon, my lord?” Mercy tried to be polite, but it came out sharper than she’d planned.

Mercy was tall for a woman, but the earl was still a few inches taller, with the broadest shoulders she’d ever encountered. She had a fleeting thought about what he must do to stay so muscular, but brushed the wayward notion aside. His dark blond curls fell over the golden tan of his forehead, but his bright eyes glinted with browns and golds, or at least she imagined they did. Mercy spent so much time admiring him, that once again, she had missed what he said.

Her aunt Phyllis had urged her to put her spectacles in her reticule and stop hiding her pretty face. She had done so to appease her only living blood relative, but found herself out of sorts with her vision blurred.

However, she saw well enough to note his offered arm, indicating he did indeed wish to dance with her.

As she had missed the opportunity to give some random excuse for why she couldn’t possibly dance with him, she placed her hand on his arm and they joined the other dancers.

The conductor tapped his wand and a waltz began. Mercy tried not to notice the missed notes and out of tune second violin, but the sound grated on her nerves.

Wesley placed a hand at the small of her back a bit more firmly than was strictly necessary.

Turning her attention to him, she asked. “Have I been rude?”

His smile sent a shot of attraction from Mercy’s head to her toes and it stopped in a few interesting places along the way. “Not at all. You are seemingly distracted. Is the music not to your liking?”

It would be more polite to say nothing or deny any issues with the orchestra, but Mercy didn’t care about such customs and she had no reason to attempt small talk with this earl. He was nothing to her. She looked from the ornate arch ceiling with its frescoes to her aunt Phyllis, who watched from the furthest corner of the ballroom before settling her attention back on the handsome man whirling her around the room. “The second violin is out of tune, the pianoforte is being played by a complete oaf, and the flutist has missed no less than two notes of every eight.”

“I see.” He grinned as if perhaps he did actually understand, but perhaps he was just amused by her in general. That could explain his desire to dance with a girl of no means and few relations.

“I realize I am likely the only one to notice such things and that the duke and his sister have hired one of the most popular orchestras in London.” Mercy shrugged as she also knew no one cared what she thought of the music.

A robust couple bounded across the dance floor laughing and smiling as if they were part of a circus. Neither seemed capable of waltzing but neither did they care as they pushed several couples out of their way and headed directly for Mercy.

In one graceful move, Wesley lifted Mercy from her feet and out of harm’s way. Her body crushed to his with an embrace that felt almost tender before he released her and in the same instant fell back into the perfectly balanced steps of the waltz. “You are a musician then.”

Welcome to the blog! The first page is perhaps one of the most important pages in the whole book. It’s what draws the reader into the story. Why did you choose to begin your book this way?

Thank you. I’m happy to be here.

In Misleading A Duke we see a moment at a ball where Wesley askes Mercy to dance. In that book we never see the result of that dance, so I thought it the perfect place to start. It’s the moment the two meet.

In the course of writing your book, how many times would you say that first page changed and for what reasons?

It never changed. I always intended to start the book there. Of course, it was edited many times, but the essence of the page never changed.

Was there ever a time after the book was published that you wished you had changed something on the first page?

No. I think it’s a great meet cute with two people attracted to each other even though Mercy can’t really see him.

What advice can you give to aspiring authors to stress how important the first page is?

I love the first page. I love reading a good one, and I love writing my own. There is nothing better than picking up a book and being drawn in from the first sentence. It wonderful and not easy to do. I say write and don’t let the blank page intimidate you. Think of it as an adventure with unlimited possibilities. The go forth and tell your story.

A.S. Fenichel gave up a successful IT career in New York City to follow her husband to Texas and pursue her lifelong dream of being a professional writer. She’s never looked back.

A.S. adores writing stories filled with love, passion, desire, magic and maybe a little mayhem tossed in for good measure. Books have always been her perfect escape and she still relishes diving into one and staying up all night to finish a good story.

Originally from New York, she grew up in New Jersey, and now lives in Missouri with her real life hero, her wonderful husband. When not reading or writing she enjoys cooking, travel, history, and puttering in her garden.