Guest Author/Review: Nicole Zoltack

Nicole Zoltak is a prolific young author I met through a mutual publisher. I’m amazed at her energy – it seems that every time I turn around she’s got a new release. With four young children underfoot it’s quite an accomplishment. Her books are mainly romances, but they cover a wide array of sub-genres: paranormal, fantasy, and regency are represented in her book list. Recently Nicole released a new Christmas regency and I snapped it right up – but not before asking her to share a bit about some of the research she had to do for this book. She graciously accepted, and I’m pleased to present Nicole’s post on Regency Era customs.

Regency Era Flirting
by Nicole Zoltack

In a time and era when you were never to be alone with a man unless he were a family member or unless you were wed, it was next to impossible to flirt. Yet ladies did find a way. Through their fan, they could communicate with potential suitors, including telling them to meet them somewhere!

One other occasion in which flirting might more easily be accomplished would be a masquerade ball. Depending on how detailed the mask was, your identity would be kept safe from those who might gossip about you. Who wouldn’t mind whispering into the ear of a handsome man whose face you cannot see? And if he should ask you to dance, why wouldn’t you say yes?

Even if you might be a handmaid whose lady insisting on you coming to said masquerade ball, as happens to Isabelle. Sorry to say, Isabelle falls for the masked man. Even worse, that same man happens to be promised to none other than her lady!

MASKED LOVE

Isabelle will do anything for her lady, even accompany her to a masquerade ball. Lady Theodosia needs extra support for tomorrow she will meet the man her parents have pledged her to.

Meeting an enchanting young man during the course of the evening makes Isabelle wish for a life she can never have. Imagine her shock when he shows up the next morning, announcing his claim on Lady Thedosia.

Torn between duty and desire, Isabelle hopes for something more this Christmas.

Buy Links: Masked Love is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and iBooks.

Bio: Nicole Zoltack loves to write in many genres, especially romance, whether fantasy, paranormal, or regency. She’s also an editor for MuseItUp Publishing and works as a freelance editor.

When she’s not writing about gentlemen and their ladies, knights, superheroes, or witches, she loves to spend time with her loving husband, three energetic young boys, and precious baby girl. She enjoys riding horses (pretending they’re unicorns, of course!) and going to the PA Renaissance Faire, dressed in garb. She’ll also read anything she can get her hands on. Her current favorite TV shows are The Walking Dead and Gotham.

To learn more about Nicole and her work, visit www.NicoleZoltack.com and sign up for her newsletter at http://www.tinyurl.com/NZnewsletter. She can be found on most any social media site under Nicole Zoltack. Stalk away!

My thoughts:
This is a lovely sweet regency romance, and its short length makes it perfect for a light reading. It’s set at Christmas time, but I enjoyed it in the summer heat! Class difference, the conflict Adrian and Isabella face, is one that is seen often in regency stories, but in Masked Love the solution to this conflict is quite unusual. I would love to see a follow-up to this story.