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Friday, July 4, 2014

A Perfect Secret by Donna Hatch Blog Tour & Giveaway

A themed book tour through Prism Book Tours.

A Perfect Secret  (Rogue Hearts, #3)
A Perfect Secret
(Rogue Hearts #3)
by Donna Hatch

Adult Historical Romance
Paperback, 348 Pages
December 14 2013              

Desperate to protect her father from trial and death, Genevieve breaks off her engagement with Christian Amesbury and marries a blackmailer. After a year of marriage, she flees her husband's violent domination only to have fate bring her back to Christian. Just when she thinks she's started a new life of safety and solitude, her husband tracks her down, stalks her, and threatens everyone she loves.

Still brokenhearted over Genevieve's betrayal a year ago, Christian can't believe she's come back into his life--and worse, that she's done it on the anniversary of his brother's death, a death that haunts him. Though tempted to throw her back into the river where he found her, he can't leave her at the mercy of the terrifying man she married.

When her husband torments Genevieve and puts his family in danger, Christian will do anything to protect those he loves...anything except give Genevieve another chance to break his heart.

My passion for writing began at the tender age of 8 and I’ve been hooked ever since. Of course, I also wanted to be an actress and a ballerina, but one out of three isn’t bad, right?

In between caring for six children, (7 counting my husband), my day job, my free lance editing and copy writing, and my many volunteer positions, I manage to carve out time to indulge in my writing obsession. After all, it IS an obsession. My family is more patient and supportive than I deserve.


Tour-Wide Giveaway


- Grand Prize: $20 Amazon gift card and an ebook (INT) or print copy (US Only) of A Perfect Secret OR The Stranger She Married (winner's choice)
- 5 ebooks of A Perfect Secret
- Open Internationally
- Ends July 20th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest post


The Regency era brought dramatic changes in women's fashion. Those huge hoop skirts and pinched waistlines popular in the Elizabethan Era disappeared in favor of the Roman style gown with high waistlines and lighter fabrics.

Ladies of the Beau Monde changed her clothing at least three different times a day depending on the time of day and her activities. Because the aristocracy and upper crust were so steeped in tradition and manners, they had no trouble following the rules. However, I have no doubt that arrivistes and the rising middle class found this custom bewildering.

The term Undress, or dishabille, was the more casual or simpler style of gown worn at home usually in the morning. These were loose, comfortable gowns made with warmer fabrics and had higher necklines than gowns worn later in the day. Ladies often wore a cap in the morning, too. Ladies wore Undress gowns all morning until noon, depending on scheduled outings or visitors. On a quiet day, a lady might wear Undress until four or five in the afternoon. Sometimes undress gowns were quite decorative. I’ve noticed in Jane Austen movies that the actresses playing the Dashwood women often wore an apron or pinafore over their dresses when picking herbs or working in the kitchen. I don't know how accurate this is, or if they only did so because they were not overly wealthy and had to be very careful with their clothing.

Mornings were a time for solitude and tending to the house. For the lady of the house, her morning activities were fairly regimented. After rising, dressing, and eating breakfast, she consulted with her cook and housekeeper, and caught up on her correspondence.

Young ladies such as Jane Austen often practiced the pianoforte first thing in the morning. Ladies also read, sewed, wrote letters, made preserves, and oversaw the gardens. All of these activities were done wearing “undress.”

When I'm staying home, I like pajama pants or stretch pants and a big soft T-shirt. (My favorite writing attire) Of course, if I were to tell my husband I planned to wear undress today, he'd imagine something entirely different ;-)

Other times ladies wore specific clothing was: riding habits, carriage dress, walking dress, evening dress, ball gowns, and court dress. Pictured here is an evening gown from 1816.


Each of these kinds of dress were as different as the activities in which they participated. It almost sounds dizzying to think of all of the different kinds of clothing they wore. But when we consider of the different kinds of clothing we wear today based on our activities—exercise clothing, jeans or shorts for casual wear, swim suits and cover ups for beach or pool, professional attire for the office, slightly more dress up for an evening out, a tea length dress for semi-formal occasions and dances, long gowns for formal black tie affairs, and, something I’ve never attended, a white tie affair where only the finest designer gowns are worn, it starts to put it all into perspective, doesn’t it? 

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