The Black Sheep and
the Rotten Apple is the kind of book that just needed to be
written, despite our already tight schedule. The idea first came to
us when we watched a documentary about highwaymen, but we promised
ourselves to wait. And then we went to Cornwall for a month, and
initial plans collapsed. As we walked through the woods, watching the
lush nature and the old stone cottages peppered on both sides of a
valley where we were staying, the characters and story steadily came
to us. Our aim was to write a historical book that provides as much
excitement as readers learned to expect from our contemporary
romance.
RELEASE
DATE: 7th February 2017
If you
want to see our inspiration photos for this book, check out the
‘Black Sheep and the Rotten Apple’ Pinterest board:
https://uk.pinterest.com/KAMerikan/the-black-sheep-and-the-rotten-apple/
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Black Sheep and
the Rotten Apple is our baby. It’s been a year since we started
working on this book, and to celebrate its release, we’re
organizing a quiz for readers who follow The Black Sheep and the
Rotten Apple blog tour. Answers to all questions will be provided
in the blog posts, and we will then randomly pick the lucky winners.
You can win:
- a signed paperback of The Black Sheep and the Rotten Apple + a selection of Cornish treats (main prize - for one person)
- 3 ebooks of choice from our backlist + a surprise treat from Cornwall (will go to 3 more people)
For a chance to win,
follow the instructions in blog posts and solve the quiz, which will
be published on our website on 1st
February 2017. Please, send answers to
kamerikan@gmail.com
with ‘Black Sheep Quiz’ in the subject line of the email.
Winners
will be randomly chosen from readers who sent us correct answers by
17th February 2017.
LINKS TO
ALL POSTS:
02/01 THE
QUIZ
02/06 We
Three Queens
02/07 Boy
Meets Boy Reviews
02/08 Prism
Book Alliance
02/09 The
Novel Approach
02/09 Joyfully
Jay
02/10 The
Zipper Rippers
02/10 The
Book Bella
02/11 Divine
Magazine
02/12 Bayou
Book Junkie
***
Dick Turpin was
arguably the most famous of all highwaymen. Unlike Duval, the
original gentleman robber, Turpin and the men he associated with did
not stray from violence. The Essex Gang, with whom Turpin started his
serious criminal career was involved in everything from poaching to
rape and murder.
It was only after the
gang disintegrated that Turpin turned to highway robbery, and
considering that only then he became known as “Turpin the Butcher”,
his involvement with the Essex Gang couldn’t have been the only
source of his grim reputation.
After many successful
robberies, Turpin disappeared, possibly even traveling the continent
before he eventually settled in Yorkshire, far away from his past
haunts. And he could have died an old, content man if it wasn’t for
his temper. During an argument with a neighbor, Turpin used threats,
which started the locals wondering who the newcomer to their town
was, and what exactly was his source of income.
In the end, Turpin was
identified based on a letter he himself wrote to a relative. But hey,
he had it coming.
“How does one start a relationship with another man when it is
forbidden?”
“One needs to decide that the other man is worth dying for.”
Cornwall,
1785
Sir
Evan Penhart. Baronet. Highwayman. Scoundrel.
Julian
Reece. Writer. Wastrel. Penniless.
No one forces Julian
Reece to marry. Not his father, not his brother. No one.
When he is thrust into
a carriage heading for London to meet his future bride, his way out
comes in the form of an imposing highwayman, riding a horse as
black as night. Julian makes a deal with the criminal, but what
he doesn’t expect is that despite the title of baronet, the robber
turns out to be no gentleman.
Sir Evan Penhart
is pushed into crime out of desperation, but the pact with a
pretty, young merchant’s son turns out to have disastrous
consequences. Not only is Evan left broke, but worse yet, Julian
opens up a Pandora’s box of passions that are dark, needy, and
too wild to tame. With no way to lock them back in, rash
decisions and greedy desire lead to a tide that wrecks everything in
its way.
But
Julian might actually like all the sinful, carnal passion
unleashed on him. How can he admit this though, even to himself, when
a taste of the forbidden fruit could have him end up with a noose
around his neck? And with highway robbery being a hanging offense
and the local constable on their back, Julian could lose Evan before
he can decide anything about the nature of his desires.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
Themes: highwayman, abduction,
ransom, forbidden love, self-discovery, danger, crime,
Genre: Dark romance, historical
Erotic content: Explicit scenes
Length: ~140,000 words (standalone
novel)
About
the author
K.
A. Merikan is the pen name for Kat and Agnes Merikan, a team of
writers, who are mistaken for sisters with surprising regularity.
Kat’s the mean sergeant and survival specialist of the duo, never
hesitating to kick Agnes’s ass when she’s slacking off. Her
memory works like an easy-access catalogue, which allows her to keep
up with both book details and social media. Also works as the
emergency GPS. Agnes is the Merikan nitpicker, usually found busy
with formatting and research. Her attention tends to be scattered,
and despite pushing thirty, she needs to apply makeup to buy alcohol.
Self-proclaimed queen of the roads.
They
love the weird and wonderful, stepping out of the box, and bending
stereotypes both in life and books. When you pick up a Merikan book,
there’s one thing you can be sure of - it will be full of
surprises.
e-mail:
kamerikan@gmail.com
More
information about ongoing projects, works in progress and publishing
at:
K.A.
Merikan’s author page: http://kamerikan.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/KAMerikan
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/KA_Merikan
Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/KAMerikan/
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