There are two fictional perfumes mentioned in my Lady Wynwood’s Spies prequel novelette, “Bidding on Treason,” and I actually had a lot of fun figuring out what they were. Mrs. Whichard’s expensive French perfume Enchanté Nocturne is based off of Christian Dior Poison. It has the following notes: Top Notes: Plum, wild berries, anise Middle Notes: Jasmine, incense, cinnamon, honey, rose Base Notes: Vetiver, musk, sandalwood, cedar, amber Mrs. Whichard’s perfume is obviously much less complex, but it still has the plum, cinnamon, and cedarwood notes from Poison. The perfume Melinda suggests for Lena, Sauge Marine (Marine Sage) is based off of Jo Malone London's Wood Sage & Sea Salt. It has the following notes: Top notes: Ambrette Seeds, Sea Salt Middle note: Sage Base notes: Red Algae, Grapefruit I liked how it evoked the wildness of the sea, the quiet of the wilderness, and the freshness of grapefruit, reflecting Lena’s connection to nature and her desire for free...

Here’s a couple Easter Eggs for you in the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series: There are two trainers in the Ramparts who are mentioned in the books, Mr. Alex Armstrong and Mr. Levi Ackerman. From Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 4: Betrayer : Mr. Drydale had been taking Miss Sauber and Miss Gardinier to the Ramparts in the mornings to be privately trained by Mr. Alex Armstrong, who trained agents for both the Alien Office and the Foreign Office. A giant of a man, with muscles the size of headstones and a very impressive blond mustache, he often flashed his gleaming white teeth in a ready smile, which was nearly as blinding as the light reflecting from his balding pate. He was cheerfully relentless in training the two women in the many methods by which they could incapacitate an opponent using only their fists or weapons of opportunity. From Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster : So Lena told stories about her training under the swordmaster at the Ramparts, Mr. Levi Ackerman, but...

  Here’s a snippet of the Lady Wynwood novella I’m posting on Patreon at the moment: “If you will follow me?” the butler said and led the way up the staircase. ​ The first floor hallway was long and sumptuous, with paintings on the wall and small statues on spindly tables next to elegant Chinese faces. The sound of music was slightly louder, but still muffled, and Laura could hear no voices at all. ​ On the second floor, after traversing a narrower hallway with closed doors on either side, the butler knocked at a door at the end. A deep, smoky voice bade them enter. ​ The room was dim but for the roaring fireplace and a few well-placed but low-burning lamps. The furniture looked comfortable and was upholstered in shades of burgundy and hunter green, and although the light did not reach the heavy curtains, she assumed they were the same colors. ​ From the far corner approached a woman who had been standing behind the heavy wooden desk situated there. She was dressed in a dark burgu...

One of the perks of Tier 2 and higher in my Patreon is that they get a bonus short story twice a year. They voted to read about how Laura met the Senhora and so I worked on “Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain” at the end of November and I’m just about finishing it up right now. When outlining this story, because it was so intertwined with how Laura meets Aya, I ended up writing a short story about how they met, which became the prologue. (And then the story of how Laura meets the Senhora exploded into a novella instead. I’m not sure exactly how. I just kept writing and writing and writing …) Anyway, as a Christmas gift, I decided to give my patrons the prologue of “Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain” because it’s a complete short story about how she met Aya, which I think some of you might like to read. (In order to see the post, you may need to register for a free Patreon account and then Follow my page for free). Enjoy! “Lady Wynwood’s Encounter” (how Laura met Aya)

Curious about what my writing is like? Here’s a list of all my free books and the free short stories, novellas, and novels that you can read here on my blog. I’ll update this post as I add more free reads. Christian Romantic Suspense: Necessary Proof (Sonoma series #4.1, novella) Click here to buy the FREE ebook on all retailers Alex Villa became a Christian in prison, and because of his efforts to help stop a gang producing meth in Sonoma, he has been set up for the death of a cop. Can computer expert Jane Lawton find the evidence that will prove his innocence before the gang eliminates them both? Fantasy short stories: Pixies in a Garden in Kyoto There were pixies in the garden. Since she was in Kyoto, she was certain they were not called pixies, but she didn't know what they would be called in Japanese, and they certainly looked like what she imagined pixies would look like. The King’s Daughter The trees in the King's garden were full of colored pixie lights. The...