Stand and Deliver!

I’m back with another Quarter Days post!

Smugglers, Ghosts, and Highwaymen

The Bluestocking Belles and Friends have put together a collection of interrelated stories set near Brighton, England in 1817, and what fun we had researching and developing these tales. From the Devil’s Dyke to Brighton, love and adventure are in the air.

When Principal Officer Robert Pierce, of the Bow Street Magistrate Court sets out on the Brighton road he encounters more than the notorious thief he’s hunting:

From the casebook of Robert Pierce

It seems that I am off to the seaside. Larcenous Lucy, as some of the wits here at
the Office have taken to calling her, is working the London to Brighton road.
I’ve been told to look into a highwayman problem while I am there. There’s
someone plaguing both the main highway and some of the lesser roads. The local
dignitaries have posted a reward, so that would be a nice bonus.
My colleagues have also been joking that smugglers and ghosts abound in the
region, and that I might collect some of those while I am there. I told them, I
shall leave the smugglers to the excise officers and ghosts to the duly authorized
ministers of the church.

Love’s Perilous Road, a Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends

Travel, houseparties, smugglers, spies, a ghost–and a mysterious highwayman. Who is the infamous Captain Moonlight? And how many lives will he change–for good or for ill?

It’s the autumn of 1817 and Sir Peter Somerville and his lady are hosting a house party at their estate near Brighton, while a pesky highwayman plagues the surrounding byways.

Love’s Perilous Road features stories by Jude Knight, Sherry Ewing, Carolyn Warfield, Cerise Deland, Rue Allyn, Elizabeth Ellen Carter, Alina K. Field, and friends of the Bluestocking Belles Mary Lancaster, Meara Platt, and Barbara Monajem. 

My contribution to the collection is Sir Westcott Steals a Heart

Sir Westcott Twisden didn’t know he wanted to marry until the tallest lady he’d ever met crossed his path. Unfortunately, the lady in question shrugs off his overtures. Curious when a local smuggler shows up to visit her, Wes follows her into trouble.

Sybil Dunsford will do almost anything to protect her brothers and their home, even disguise herself as one of her brothers to fend off demands from the local smuggling boss who holds her mortgage. But when her night of shifting contraband goes awry, and Sir Westcott appears to rescue her, they’re locked in together. Will romance follow?

Release Day is October 31, 2025

Pre-order your copy here: https://books2read.com/u/mqx0W6

Happy Reading! I’ll be back on December 28th with another Quarter Days post!