October, 2000

Excerpt

It all began innocently enough. 

Margaret is a proper widow, living penuriously and quietly in the Downs until she is forced to sell one of three scandalous books she discovered.  Michael is the Earl of Moncrief, forced by circumstances and a profligate family to marry for money. When the two meet, the attraction is mutual and alarming for both of them.

Add a mystery involving the lurid Journals of Augustin X, a meddling mother, three sisters looking for husbands, a starchy, disapproving butler, and the plot is complete.  Except, of course, for the bargain that Michael proposes, After the Kiss.

I have to confess that I had a wonderful time writing After the Kiss.  Michael was a wonderful character, a man who was willing to give up everything for the woman he loved. 

If you'd like to order a copy click here.

Oh, and to answer the questions - yes, I will be writing Elizabeth's story in the future. 

REVIEWS

 USA Today Bestseller

Romantic Times:

4-1/2 Stars, Top Pick

K.I.S.S. Award

Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award Nominee  Historical Romance of the Year

After the Kiss - Tinged with erotica, this highly sensual love story is riveting from first page to last as Ms. Ranney lures readers into a maze full of unexpected twists, and holds them enthralled to the very end by the skillful way she merges passion with mystery.   4-1/2 Stars - Top Pick - Romantic Times, 10/00 Issue

After the Kiss has a lovely romance, wonderful love scenes, a great hero and heroine, and just the right amount of suspense and danger. It is a most enjoyable book and I recommend it enthusiastically. Jean Mason - The Romance Reader

Dear Margaret and Michael - two honorable, intelligent people who just can't be anything but right for each other. After The Kiss is toe-curlingly sensual, but best of all, it is a powerfully emotional, complex story of two people falling in love no matter how hard they try to fight it. It's not always pretty, and sometimes these characters don't do nice things like giggling and adopting cute Pampers babies while getting compromised in moonlit gardens. But they are more real for it, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Mrs. Giggles/ Rating - 98

I can't honestly think of another book I've read lately where there was so much depth to the writing that I actually felt what the characters felt. Talk about getting immersed in a story! Margaret and Michael are drawn together instantly, finding themselves in an attraction that neither can stop. Ranney takes you along on that runaway train and makes you privy to their thoughts, emotions, and conflicts; she bares their souls, if you will. When they inevitably come together it's not done with your usual descriptive narrative sex scenes. They are scenes filled with so much emotion that if you've ever experienced true passion before, this is probably the best real-life description you'll ever read. Besides sensual and erotic, they are emotional, passionate, poignant and tender. She made me sigh, took my breath away, and tingled me right to my toes. Nancy Davis, Addicted2Romancebooks reviews