A.S. Fenichel gave up a successful IT career in New York City to follow her husband to Texas and pursue her lifelong dream of being a professional writer. She’s never looked back.
A.S. adores writing stories filled with love, passion, desire, magic and maybe a little mayhem tossed in for good measure. Books have always been her perfect escape and she still relishes diving into one and staying up all night to finish a good story.
Originally from New York, she grew up in New Jersey, and now lives in Missouri with her real life hero, her wonderful husband. When not reading or writing she enjoys cooking, travel, history, and puttering in her garden.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS
Website: http://asfenichel.com
Blog: http://asfenichel.com/blog
Twitter: https://twitter.com/asfenichel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/A.S.Fenichel
Other Books by A.S. Fenichel
The Wallflowers of West Lane
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The Everton Domestic Society
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Forever Brides Series
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The Demon Hunter Series
MORE HERE!
Thanks for this interview, Andie. Congratulations on your new book! Would you say it’s been a rocky road for you in regards to getting your book written and published or pretty much smooth sailing? Can you tell us about your journey?
Thanks very much. I’m excited about Capturing The Earl.
It took me seventeen years to get my first book published in 2011. I’ve had a great many books since then with other publishers and self-published. I’d say it’s been an education.
Publishing is not for the fait of heart. It’s hard to make any money doing this and it’s heartbreaking to put books out and have no one see them. However, when they do and they love the story, it’s worth it.
If you were to pen your own autobiography, what might the title be?
Intrepid
When not writing, what do you like to do for relaxation
and/or fun?
Play with my two cats, garden, cook, read and travel when it’s possible.
What makes your book stand out from the rest?
I write empowered women no matter the time period. When I’m writing historical, I make sure my female characters have choices. No shrinking violets in my Wallflowers.
Can you give us the very first page of your book so that we can get a glimpse inside?
Prologue
Mercedes Heath shook her head. She must have heard him
wrong. After all, why would Wesley Renshaw, the Earl of Castlewick, want to
dance with her?
The ballroom
was loud and awash with
activity. The
Duke of Breckenridge lived in one of the largest townhouses in London, but
it was still enough of a crush that she might have misunderstood the
charming earl.
“Miss Heath?”
Wesley’s light brown
eyes sparkled with some amusement only he understood.
“I beg your pardon, my lord?” Mercy tried to be polite,
but it came out sharper than she’d planned.
Mercy was tall for a woman, but the earl was still a few
inches taller, with the broadest shoulders she’d
ever encountered. She had a fleeting thought about what he must do to stay
so muscular, but brushed the
wayward notion aside. His dark blond curls fell over the golden tan of his forehead,
but his bright eyes glinted
with browns and golds, or at least she imagined they did. Mercy spent so much
time admiring him, that once again,
she had missed what he said.
Her aunt Phyllis
had urged her to put her spectacles in her reticule
and stop hiding her pretty face. She had done so to appease her only
living blood relative, but found herself out of
sorts with her vision blurred.
However, she saw well enough to note his offered arm,
indicating he did indeed wish to dance with her.
As she had missed the opportunity to give some random excuse for why she couldn’t possibly dance with him, she placed her hand on his arm and they joined the other dancers.
The conductor tapped his wand and a waltz began. Mercy
tried not to notice the missed notes and
out of tune second violin, but the sound grated on her nerves.
Wesley placed a hand at the small of her back a bit more
firmly than was strictly necessary.
Turning her attention to him, she asked. “Have I been
rude?”
His smile sent a shot of
attraction from Mercy’s head
to her toes and it stopped in a few interesting places along the way. “Not at all. You are seemingly distracted. Is the music not to your liking?”
It would be more polite to say nothing or deny any issues
with the orchestra, but Mercy didn’t
care about such customs and she had no reason to
attempt small talk with this earl. He was nothing
to her. She looked from the ornate arch ceiling with its
frescoes to her aunt Phyllis, who watched from
the furthest corner of the ballroom before
settling her attention back on the handsome man whirling her around the room. “The
second violin is out of tune, the
pianoforte is being played by a complete oaf, and the flutist has missed no
less than two notes of every eight.”
“I see.” He grinned as if perhaps
he did actually understand, but perhaps
he was just amused by her in general. That could explain his desire to dance
with a girl of no means and few relations.
“I realize I am likely the only one to notice such things and that the
duke and his sister have hired one of
the most popular orchestras in
London.” Mercy shrugged as she also
knew no one cared what she thought of the music.
A robust couple bounded across the dance floor laughing
and smiling as if they were part of a circus. Neither seemed capable of
waltzing but neither did they care as they pushed several couples out of their
way and headed directly for Mercy.
In one graceful move, Wesley lifted Mercy from her feet and out of harm’s way. Her body crushed to his with an embrace that felt almost tender before he released her and in the same instant fell back into the perfectly balanced steps of the waltz. “You are a musician then.”
If your book was put in the holiday section of the store, what holiday would that be and why?
Maybe Easter because it’s about new starts and change.
Would you consider turning your book into a series or has that already been done?
This is book three in The Wallflowers of West Lane series.
When you were young, did you ever see writing as a career or full-time profession?
Nope. I wanted to be an actress.
Did any of your books get rejected by publishers?
Hundreds of times for years and years. I still see rejections. It’s part of the business. Not everyone will love what you write when you write it.
What is your view on co-authoring books; have you done any?
I haven’t. I’d really have to trust my partner, but I’m not apposed to the idea.
What’s next for you?
Wallflowers of West Lane #4, Not Even For A Duke will be out later this year. I’m still finishing that up. I have a secret project that I hope to have news on soon, which is not Historical Romance. I’m super excited about that and can’t wait until I can tell you all about it. I also have just received the rights back on my Demon Hunters series. It’s a Historical Paranormal Romance and when the ink is dry, I’ll rerelease them and maybe write more books in that fun series where lords and ladies fight demons on the streets of London.
Title: CAPTURING THE EARL
Author: A.S. Fenichel
Publisher: Kensington
Pages: 250
Genre: Regency Romance
BOOK BLURB:
The friendship of four young ladies has created an indestructible bond to protect one another from the perils of love and marriage . . .
After the demise of her friend’s disastrous marriage, Mercedes Parsons isn’t about to let the widowed Wallflower of West Lane, Lady Aurora Radcliff, undertake another perilous trip to the altar. At least, not before the bridegroom-to-be is thoroughly investigated. If only Mercy could stop her uncharacteristic daydreaming about Wesley Renshaw’s charm, his intellect, his dashing good looks. After all, the earl has already set his sights on her best friend! She must keep her wits about her and avoid giving into temptation.
Wesley is both irritated and intrigued by the machinations of Mercy—He cannot let her cleverness and beauty distract him. He needs to marry her friend, Aurora, so he can reclaim his family’s ancestral home. A wrong he has hoped to right his entire life. Besides, who is penniless spinster Mercedes Parsons to decide whom he can and cannot marry? Yet while he admires her unwavering loyalty to her friends, he decides it’s high time the misguided woman had a dose of her own medicine. Two can play at this spying game. But they are both embarked on a dangerous charade. And it won’t be merely Mercy’s reputation at risk—or her heart on the line—as Wesley comes to the inescapable conclusion that he has found the right woman at exactly the wrong time.
Praise:
“A pair of lovers must decide whether to listen to their heads or to their hearts in Fenichel’s delightful third Wallflowers of West Lane Regency romance (after The Earl Not Taken). Mercy Heath is an untitled orphan living in a West Lane townhouse with her friend Lady Aurora Radcliff, a young widow. As such, she’s surprised when Wesley Renshaw, Earl of Castlewick, asks her to dance at a ball. Though Wesley is attracted to Mercy, he feels a familial obligation to persuade Aurora to marry him as she owns Whickette Park, a property that once belonged to Wesley’s grandfather and that the Renshaws wish to regain. Aurora has no desire to marry again, but her mother insists that she allow Wesley to court her. His pursuit of Aurora leads him to spend much time with Mercy as well, marveling at her sweetness and musical talent. As the relationship between Mercy and Wesley evolves from platonic friendship into romance, Wesley must decide whether his sense of duty outweighs his desire for happiness. Fenichel makes the high stakes of Regency era marriage apparent, adding intensity to the forbidden love story between Wesley and Mercy. Fans of historical romance will be enchanted.”
ORDER YOUR COPY
Amazon → https://amzn.to/3bbrq2h
Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/398BHcF
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