If you’ve ever read a Regency romance, you’ve probably seen it—the heroine stepping into her second Season, determined this time will be different. But beneath the glittering ballrooms and elegant dances, there was a quiet, ticking pressure most people don’t realize. During England's Regency era (1811–1820), upper-class families descended on London each spring for “the Season,” a glittering parade of balls, concerts, dinner parties, and carefully choreographed social events. Because the Season wasn’t just social—it was a deadline. For a young woman making her debut, it was exciting, terrifying, and loaded with expectation. The unspoken goal was to capture find a husband before summer arrived and everyone retreated to the countryside. Most girls entered society between the ages of seventeen and nineteen. They'd be formally presented at court, then escorted to event after event by a watchful mother or chaperone. A ball wasn't just an evening of dancing—it was an au...

Full excerpt + character images below. Mr. Drydale studied Michael’s face. “I’ve known for months that I need more help than just the two of us, but it has been difficult finding people to trust. I was hoping you might join us in pursuing this group, but you seem reluctant.” Michael didn’t blame his job, but when he was focused on a mission, he rearranged his priorities and discarded what should be most important to him. He knew he couldn’t regain what he had lost, but he didn’t want to go back to being an agent again. “I quit my work for the government because I wanted to find Richard’s murderer, not uncover a plot for treason. I have been working toward that goal for the past year.” Perhaps he was so focused on Richard’s murderer because he didn’t want to face a future so completely the opposite of what he had thought his life would be. Or maybe he was so focused on the murderer because he didn’t want to face the fact that, if he had handled the situation better, his brother wo...

Michael Coulton-Jones — master of disguises and reluctant heir. My character, Mr. Michael Coulton-Jones, is a man who laughs easily, moves confidently, and seems untouchable … until you discover what he carries alone. Michael isn’t tormented in the obvious way. He doesn’t brood in corners or glare across rooms. He smiles. He jokes. He adapts. But beneath every disguise is a man who believes he failed the one person who trusted him most. This is a story about espionage, about secret societies hidden beneath Regency society. But it’s also a story about guilt, and whether a man who cannot forgive himself can ever believe that God might. The Spy Who Laughs At first glance, Michael is exactly the sort of Regency gentleman who should not be trusted. He is broad-shouldered and deceptively relaxed. His coffee-brown hair falls longer than fashion dictates, often into glass-green eyes that seem to be laughing at a joke no one else has heard. He speaks French like a commoner from the c...

The man he was waiting for opened the door to the study with barely a click of the door latch. His silhouette was partially outlined in the dim light from the candle he held, and he was far enough away that he shouldn’t have seen the predator in the shadows, but he grew still for a moment. Then he continued into the darkened room, although he did not head toward his desk, as might be expected. Instead, he set the candle on the mantle of the fireplace, with his back to his desk and the stranger waiting for him. —from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 1: Archer Read the first few chapters free online.

As he waited in the darkened room for his quarry to appear, he felt like the shadows were loving arms clasped around his shoulders. He was comfortable in the dark—it blurred his many disguises, and it somehow made his emotions rest in slumber. Everything that felt messy inside of him was hidden by the dark so that he could pretend he was whole and without pain. —from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 1: Archer Read the first few chapters free online.