A WOMAN WHOSE HEART WAS AS FIERCE AS IT WAS FRAGILE….. AND THE MAN WHO BOUGHT HER TO WIN IT. The enigmatic Hurley Twins were selling her...and Miss Elspeth James had no choice but to accept. As governess to the Canvases, she prepared the girls to be sold as living art, prepared them to become legendary Painted Sisters to some of the world’s most influential and powerful men, The Collectors. She would have walkout out, left the Hurley twins, her beloved charges and the ridiculous proposal but the girls were in serious danger. There were whispers a diabolical outlawed sect, a Skinner...of secret bidding, astronomical prices for the beautiful tattooed skin minus the girl. If she accepted the deal to become his Painted Sister, the arrogant, cold and infuriatingly handsome Mr. Blackburn, she could do something to protect the girls, to protect her friends. That, was worth doing the unimaginable for. That was worth fighting the way he made her body feel even as he hated him. Mr Blackburn, a rudely wealthy self-made man, had connections at every level of society and he wanted more. Having a Painted Sister would rise him higher in the elite world of ‘The Collectors’, men who like him operated over and above the rules of society. Yet on meeting Miss James…. he wanted more. He pushed her to sign over her virtue as well as become his Painted Sister, pushed her to override her distaste for him and taste what passion felt like. The trouble was... she made him hunger for something he’d never wanted and never believed in … Could she love him? Would she ever reach out and touch him with the same need that thumped through his veins every moment of every day since the first time they met? THE HEART DOESN’T RESPOND TO THE MIND AS A MASTER TO A SERVANT, IT WALKS ITS OWN PATH….IT DEMANDS EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING A PERSON IS AND EVERYTHING THEY THOUGHT THEY’D LEFT BEHIND. NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This is a Beauty and the Beast story which happens to be my favorite fairytale. Being an incurable romantic I believe that the heart recognizes what the spirit needs and finds the love that will heal and enrich us. In The Painted Heart, Blackburn can't help himself but bite at Elspeth, showing her that he is totally unlovable; and at the same time pursues her ruthlessly, closing every possible exit she has to leave him. I worried that you might to love him because of his bites... I hope you do. It It is a Prequel to a new Series I am writing called The Painted Sisters; Book 1: Painted Trust is due out later in the year (2017). Sigh up to my newsletter, or follow me on FB / Amazon page to find out when it comes out. ForThe Veiled Heart: "Miriam and Lord Worthington are unconventional characters, and this sets the book apart, as they are superbly written and feel very real. Their relationship will have readers' hearts fluttering, and pining for the next book in the series." ~ RTBookReviews For The Bound Heart" "The second book in Holland's Velvet Basement series features two strong characters whose unconventional and passionate courtship will keep readers turning pages. Her incorporation of Shibari provides a unique, refreshing look at Victorian England and its interpretation of foreign cultures. This is no typical romance—readers should expect scenes involving BDSM—and Holland continues to surprise and delight."~ RTBookReviews 4 STARS SCORCHER \\All the books in The Velvet Basement Series are stand alone and can be read in any order.\\

A WOMAN RIPE WITH DARK, SENSUAL SECRETS FLEES FOR HER LIFE ... A BRILLIANT MAN ENCASED IN THE MACABRE WORLD OF THE DEAD AND DYING WHO WANTS HER ... A FLEDGLING KILLER TESTING HIS WINGS ... AND AN INSPECTOR WITH HIS UNLIKELY ASSISTANT WORKING TO HUNT THE KILLER DOWN. It is a dark, macabre and Gothic world that Miss Edith Appleby flees as a man who no longer wants her alive hires a groomed killer to do the job. But Edith has a plan, it requires a forged medical degree, one she plans on stealthily acquiring from the dangerously alluring Dr. Anthony Vaughn, Edinburgh's most eminent forensic surgeon. Never had a woman climbed under his skin and burrowed so deep as his new staff member, Miss Edith Appleby. She carried a light that banished the darkness creeping into his soul. It had been a long time since he thought he could trust someone, since he let anyone close, she clearly had secrets but how bad could they really be? Inspector Morrison and his newly acquired assistant, Master Brody, are assigned to a case officials fear is the Ripper returned or a copycat killer. Neither are surprised at the mode of killing, they have seen his tests and trials fished out of the Thames and know he's just getting started. Moreover, bigger powers are at play behind the killings; men of power with networks in every branch of public office, every political party and every prominent family tree; men who may be impossible to find and impossible to stop. 'Holland takes readers once again on a tantalizing tour through the darker side of Victorian England...' ~ RTBookReviews 4 STARS HOT for The Painted Heart prequel to PAINTED TRUST