Nowadays, with the internet, with Twitter and Facebook and all the other social
media, someone’s reputation can be destroyed in an instant. On the other hand,
with skillful managing by handlers or internet-savvy friends, it can often be
quickly rehabilitated. That hasn’t always been the case, particularly for women.
As Downton Abbey fans know, when Edith wrote the letter to the Turkish
Embassy, telling of her sister’s midnight assignation with Mr. Pamuk, it wasn’t
just a sister’s spiteful little prank. Such a move had devastating consequences
that Downton barely touched upon.
Were Lady Mary Crawley a real person, the ruin of her reputation by her sister
would have been much more devastating and would probably have cost her entire
future, which is one of many reasons why I just can’t be on Team Edith, no
matter what, and always come down totally on Team Mary, but I digress. In real
life, a woman faced with Mary’s situation would probably never have been able to
marry, at least not someone of her own ranks (a huge mark of shame with vast
consequences back in those days). She would have been cut off from society, her
own friends would not have been able to see her without being tainted by
association, and her life would have become one of isolation and loneliness.
Think about it: no friends, no parties, no social life at all. Just living
forever with your parents, doing good works, being a spinster (i.e. loser), and
walking around for the rest of your life with a big, metaphorical SLUT tattoo on
your forehead. What a nightmare.
The reason I bring all this up is that a woman’s reputation lies at the heart of
my new book, CATCH A FALLING HEIRESS. Here, we meet Linnet Holland, a
Knickerbocker heiress with oodles of American cash, but she’s no Consuelo
Vanderbilt. Unlike her own real-life counterpart, Linnet has no intention of
allowing her ambitious parents to decide who she marries. And when Jack, the
Earl of Featherstone, comes to America to destroy a villain, also destroying
Linnet’s reputation in the process, he knows he’s the one who has to save it.
Jack, however, has his own reputation: he’s the brother and the son of scheming
British fortune hunters. And Linnet has no intention of being the Featherstone
family’s next bank deposit. She decides to save her own reputation and tells
Jack to go pound sand. How she does it, I won’t reveal, but Jack refuses to
accept her solution to her problem. Being a hero, he knows he’s the one who has
to save her. He caused the heiress to fall, and he knows damn well it’s his job
to catch her.
What about you? If your reputation was ruined and you were facing a lifetime of
shame, but if the stranger responsible could also save you by marrying you,
would you let him? Yeah, he’s handsome, he’s hot, but you’re sure he did it all
to get his hands on your money and you could never get a divorce if things
didn’t work out. Would you take the “easy” way out and marry him? Or would you
say, “Hell, no!” and, like both Linnet and Lady Mary, find your own solution?
About CATCH A FALLING HEIRESS
She's an American heiress. He's a devilish earl. When these two collide, the
sparks ignite a shocking scandal in USA Today bestselling author Laura Lee
Guhrke's unforgettable Victorian-era romance.
Linnet Holland wants nothing to do with fortune hunters. No, she's determined to
marry a man who loves her. But just as she's about to accept the perfect
marriage proposal from the man she wants, the rakish Earl of Featherstone
interrupts and ruins everything, including her reputation, with his smoldering
kiss . . .
Jack Featherstone knows all about Linnet's "intended," and he's determined she
won't fall prey to that villain as other women have in the past. But when his
attempt to save Linnet ruins her instead, he knows he has to make things right.
So he sets out to win this golden beauty . . . and prove to her that being
ruined by him was the best thing that could have happened to her.
About Laura Lee Guhrke
Laura Lee
Guhrke spent seven years in advertising, had a successful catering business,
and managed a construction company before she decided writing novels was more
fun. A USA Today bestselling author, Laura has penned over
twenty historical romances. Her books have received many award nominations, and
she is the recipient of romance fiction’s highest honor: the Romance Writers of
America RITA Award. She lives with her husband in the Northwest, along with two
diva cats and a Golden Retriever happy to be their slave. Laura loves hearing
from readers, and you can contact her via her website or visit her
author page on Facebook.
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