About the Book

Book: An Arrangement with the Heiress

Author: Lisa M. Prysock

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: September 24, 2024

She’s a wealthy debutante with the finest ancestry in Kentucky horseracing circles…

He’s a member of New York’s Gilded Age elite, yet on the brink of financial ruin…

Neither of them want an arranged marriage…or do they?

Veronica Lyndon has a plan for her life, and it doesn’t include being married off to a perfect stranger. After all, she is descended from generations of Kentucky horseracing royalty. She has no need for a marriage arranged solely to secure her place among the elite of Manhattan’s Gilded Age society. But that’s exactly what her parents expect of her. Determined to defy the arrangement, Veronica formulates a plan to drive her intended away. But when Edward arrives in anticipation of the match, she doesn’t expect to find him so attractive, nor can she deny the feelings he stirs in her heart, complicating her plans. Has true love galloped into her life by conventional means, or are her estimations mistaken?

Edward Beckett realizes the futility of avoiding the arranged marriage to Miss Lyndon. His family is already on the brink of financial ruin and Veronica’s dowry may be their best opportunity to recover. But he didn’t expect to fall for the Kentucky debutante so easily. He finds himself attracted to her natural beauty and vivacious spirit, free from the conventions of other ladies in his customary circles. In fact, he’s downright smitten after meeting Veronica. Unfortunately, Edward’s sisters don’t feel the same, and if their attempts to sabotage the relationship are successful, his whirlwind courtship to Veronica may be over before it’s really begun.

Saddle up for a clean romp filled with sweet romance, inspiration, and plenty of adventure along this course of obstacles and a glide through the splendor and opulence of the Gilded Age.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Lisa M. Prysock is a USA Today Bestselling Author who writes both Christian Historical Romance and Contemporary Christian Romance books—”Romance with a Dash of Food, Fashion, Faith, & Fun.” She writes both traditionally and indie published novels.

Kentucky inspires her writing and is home. Happily married to her husband of more than 24 years, she homeschooled two of their five children, now grown. When she isn’t writing, she likes to cross stitch, crochet, sew, scrapbook, read, swim, dance, take walks, travel, explore historical homes, garden, cook for her family, learn to play the piano and violin, and read great books.

More from Lisa

Q & A with Lisa M. Prysock…Writing Gilded Age Kentucky Romance!

1. What inspired you to write An Arrangement with the Heiress?
2. Residing here in beautiful Kentucky near many of the world’s finest horse farms, rolling hills, and rich culture, for years, I have longed to grasp hold of the inspiration around me to pen a historical story that had been mulling around in my mind.

Hence, I reached out to a dear author friend, Chautona Havig, to brainstorm and build upon what was in my head and heart thus far. She ran a hypothetical scenario by me with some conflict arising because of hypocrisy about the horseracing world…something that could stem from some possible characters. This fit perfectly with some of my research about the Gilded Age era in the horseracing world. My immediate reaction: Ooo, yes girl, yes! Imagine squealing and much chatter at this point. We writers can get a bit on the gabby side if left to ourselves. And because, well, my hero had two sisters; ideal candidates to become antagonists. Chautona and I were chuckling and laughing…and I was off and running like a horse out of the gate.

1. Were there any challenges you faced about including some history from horseracing in your writing process?
2. Yes! For starters, how to do it all justice? How to get the feel of it onto paper without writing it wrong? There was so much that had been written about the Kentucky Derby, Keeneland, and horseracing history in general. My deep dive into the Kentucky Derby alone could have held me captive for many months in research.

Knee deep in taking notes, I landed on a thesis paper from the 1940s that was steeped with everything that had put the Kentucky Derby and horseracing in Kentucky on the map. By the time I finished wading through the thesis and all of my other research, I had gobs of notes and a goldmine of historical tidbits to bring my story to life with some degree of accuracy. My story also takes readers to Manhattan and South Carolina. Imagine me turning my laptop sideways to study ancient theater seating charts (okay, well maybe not ancient, but some theaters from the 1900s no longer exist…) and maps for street names from Gilded Age Lexington and Manhattan, and beaches on the Carolinian coastline. All my story needed now was my imagination and a tour of a local horse farm.

1. Tell us about your tour of a local horse farm.
2. Feeling a little shaky about my knowledge of horses, on an ultra-super-hot day in July of 2023, my husband—who behaved like a trooper in agreeing to escort me toward the end of getting my horse facts straight—and I, set out to drive to Lexington from our rural suburban home on the edge of Louisville.

We’d decided to make a day of it. We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed touring Gainsborough Farm. It was sweltering hot, but by the time the tour ended, despite melting from the heat before, during, and after, I felt as though I understood more about horse farming better than before the tour.

I had some knowledge of horses from growing up on a farm in Minnesota where my dad boarded horses for locals from time to time, but that had been a long time ago. I needed to brush up on the facts and try to imagine it as if I were living in the early 1900s. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many time machines around to satisfy my desire for temporary transportation to and from a working horseracing farm in 1908. My research, memories, books I’ve read, movies I’ve watched, and my own imagination would have to fill in the rest. It’s all part of being a fictional historical writer, right?

Hubby and me at Gainsborough Farm in 2023…it was so hot that day. My makeup was melting!

Interview with Lisa

Q. When did you write your first book and how old were you?

A. Hi Gina! Thank you for your fun questions. I was thrilled to see this one since I can remember being in kindergarten class at age five, making my own first book. It was during the free time portion of our day. I find this unusual that I didn’t prefer playing with the many toys in the classroom but wanted to write a little book instead. Even more so that I didn’t know how to spell many words yet. That didn’t seem to stop me from coloring the scenes on each page. I took my book to the teacher and asked if she would staple it together. I further prevailed upon her to write down sentences for each of my crayon illustrations. It is remarkable that she did so, allowing me to dictate these to her. In the end, I had a little book about the beloved Curious George, created from my own imagination when she finished helping me. Reflecting on this, I can see how God was grooming me from the earliest of ages with a love for books.

Q. What would you say is the most difficult part of writing a book?

A. I used to believe it was finding one’s way to the end, but I would now say after writing about 60 novels that it is writing the beginning, and in a way that doesn’t bog down the reader with too much backstory but pulls the reader instantly into the story and doesn’t let go. Sometimes, certain stories lend themselves to this from the start, but other times, not so much, and the writer must apply every skill available to them to write it well and accomplish this without knowing if they’ve done so until the book releases or when the writer receives some feedback from advance readers.

Q. What does your family think of your writing?

A. I think in the beginning, nearly everyone I know was surprised, but I also think it explained why my nose was always in a book. My family has been very supportive. A few of the ladies in the family like to read my books, but I never prevail upon them to do so. My Kentucky boys would never read a romance novel, but they all look at me with avid interest and intrigue in their eyes about my writing career. I think they’re very proud to have a mother who is a writer. My daughter tells me she purchases a copy of every book. I had no idea until after I’d written about thirty novels. The kids frequently ask what I’m writing now. The boys like to tell me their thoughts and advice about my action scenes. They know all things guns and such and eagerly fill me in with what I generally need to know about that sort of writing to make my details feel accurate.

Q.   Do you base your characters on real people?

A. There are a few books I’ve written with references to real-life people, but these are always fictionalized. In a very few instances, someone in real life inspired me as I have formed a character, but in general, I make it a rule not to base my characters on real people. Instead, I rely upon characteristics and behaviors I have seen in real-life folks.

Q. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

A. There were two surprising things. First, I learned that writing with an outline was best for me. I like my plots to be excellent in nature and that’s hard to do when shooting from the hip. I chuckled when one of the editors for An Arrangement of the Heiress noticed I have what she called “baked-in” plots. It’s also difficult to keep an entire book solely in one’s head and remember to include all of the feels that readers are going to want. It’s easy to become lost in meandering about and forget where one is going or end up down rabbit trails when the book may warrant something else altogether.

Secondly, I learned I cannot stick to one genre. I’m easily bored and hard to entertain. It seems I prefer a wide variety of time periods and genres. I’ve written many types of books: mysteries, western contemporary, royal romance, romcom, light romantic suspense, mail order bride, Christmas books, and a plethora of historical, everything from Regency, Civil War Era, Victorian pioneer and historical westerns, to Gilded Age and 1920s. I’ve even produced my own coloring book.

Readers can sign up for my newsletter and find all of my books at:  https://www.LisaPrysock.com. Thank you for having me on your excellent blog, Gina! Here’s my next Gilded Age release with lots of the Kentucky horseracing world and sweet, clean, Christian Romance. Readers can order it at their favorite retailer, here.

Blog Stops

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 15

Stories By Gina, October 16 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 16

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 17

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, October 18

Texas Book-aholic, October 19

Devoted To Hope, October 19

Simple Harvest Reads, October 20 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, October 21

For Him and My Family, October 22

lakesidelivingsite, October 23

Holly’s Book Corner, October 24

Pause for Tales, October 25

Karen Baney Reviews, October 26

Hannahbandanarama, October 26

Cover Lover Book Review, October 27

Labor Not in Vain, October 28

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, October 28

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Lisa is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5468