'I will try to be worthy of that honor, though I know I don't deserve it. ''You honor me,' Val said softly, his hand cradling her cheek. I will not share my affections with you and then offer them to others while we are yet intimate. “If matters between us… proceed” –she looked at their hands-“if they do, I will not trifle with you. They find companionship with each other and feel an attraction yet, neither enter an affair lightly.Įllen peered at him, frowning, and he could positively hear her gears whizzing. Ellen is happy when she sees Valentine again.Įllen directs Val to the local resources needed to rebuild. One of her memories includes being kissed by Valentine Windham a year ago. She lives in isolation, comforting herself with treasured memories at low moments. Lady Ellen Markham, widow of the former Baron Roxbury, lives on the property. After winning property from Baron Roxbury at a card game, he escapes to the country and throws himself into rebuilding Markham estate. Composing and playing music is his whole life, his reason for being, and now it is gone. Valentine Windham, youngest son of a duke and gifted pianist learns he may never be able to play the piano again. The some- kind-of-wonderful feeling turns into what-the-heck is happening.

Then, the plot deteriorates with critical revelations and nonsensical behavior. We’re given a delicious beta hero, a lovely widow, and a natural-feeling romance. To contact Grace, email her at stars or 3.5 The query letter that resulted in 'the call' started out: 'I am the buffoon in the bar at the RWA retreat who could not keep her heroines straight, could not look you in the eye, and could not stop blushing-and if that doesn't narrow down the possibilities, your job is even harder than I thought.' (The dear lady bought the book anyway.) Grace eventually got up the courage to start pitching her manuscripts to agents and editors. ('Mom, why doesn't anybody tell you being a grown-up is hard?') This aim was realized when Beloved Offspring struck out into the Big World a few years ago. While reading yet still more romance novels, Grace opened her own law practice, acquired a master's degree in Conflict Transformation (she had a teenage daughter by then) and started thinking about writing. It also left enough time to grab a law degree through an evening program, produce Beloved Offspring (only one, but she is a lion), and eventually move to the lovely Maryland countryside. Her first career was as a technical writer and editor in the Washington, DC, area, a busy job that nonetheless left enough time to read a lot of romance novels. Early in life she spent a lot of time reading romance novels and practicing the piano. She is the sixth out of seven children, raised in the rural surrounds of central Pennsylvania.

Grace Burrowes started writing as an antidote to empty nest and soon found it an antidote to life in general.

The virtuoso by grace burrowes