It’s always exciting, and nerve wracking, when I start a new series. Will readers like my characters? Will they love the stories, tropes and premises?
My new series, Sisterhood Of Scandal has been a long time in the making. It’s an idea I had back in 2019 and then life got in the way!
This is a 8-10 book series about a group of ladies who refuse to be passengers in their life journeys. They want to have a voice and have that voice heard. For instance, they can make decisions on who and when they marry. They just have to convince their male counterparts, fathers, brothers, guardians of that.
Here’s a chart of the cast…

To launch the series, I’ve written a short story which is FREE on my website. The first story starts with Serena and her dream of having a voice heard.Ā Here is a teaser….
Chapter One
England, January 1807
Of all the ways Lord Julian Montague imagined ending up lying next to Miss Serena Fancot, it was not in the cramped roof space of the House of Lords, so she could listen through the ventilation shaft to the proceedings below.
Julianās father, the Marquess of Lorne, was in the chamber arguing for the bill, which made Julian very proud. As an elected member of parliament, Julian had also supported the anti-trade slaving bill in the lower house.
Thankfully, it had also made Serena a constant visitor to their London town house. His father was very patient with her, namely because he knew that Julian, his second son, was madly in love with their beautiful next-door neighbor, and had been since they were children.
His father suggested Julian simply tell Serena how he felt, but that was a step too far. Not yet. He felt certain that Serena wasnāt ready for marriage yet, but when she was, Julian was determined to be first in line.
Given heād been indulging Serena ever since sheād thrown mud at him when they were five years of age, heād continued that practice today, by supporting her urgent need to be the first to learn if the anti-slave trading bill would pass its final reading in the House of Lords.
āDo stop wriggling, Julian,ā she whispered sharply. āI can hardly hear Lord Grenville. I wish heād speak up.ā
With a breath of indignation he hissed, āWriggling? Pot. Kettle. Black. Your foot is kicking my leg.ā
She lightly kicked him again. āSometimes I wonder if you really understand my dreams.ā
āHow can I not? Youāve told me almost every day since you were a young girl that you wanted to enter politics.ā Julian inwardly grimaced. He understood he was living the dream she craved. He was an honored member of parliament and it irked him that Serenaās dream, of women in politics, would never happenānot in his lifetime, anyway. Even his father would not indulge that thinking.
She rolled over onto her back, for once the talk below forgotten. āSometimes, I donāt know how you put up with me. Even my brother thinks Iām mad. But I have good ideas. Some of my ideas even your father has supported. If only I had a voice.ā
āI listen to you, and your friends listen to you. Is that not enough?ā
āNo. I want my ideas to be taken seriously, and to get society thinking and commenting.ā
āMr. John Walter, the editor of the Times, he pushes for the truth to be heard. Didnāt he express his opposition to the administration of William Pitt the Younger and look at what happened to him?ā stated Julian quietly.
She sighed. āYes. Father was livid with the Times. Swore heād never buy it again, but he does. It cost Walter his government advertisements and he lost his appointment as printer to the Customs, but he is still in business and still printing the truth no matter what. Thatās what Iād like to do.ā
āEven Mr. Walter might object to a lady writing for his paper.ā
Frowning, Serena muttered, āI could always ask.ā
Her sigh, which resonated with defeat, made him long to pull her into his arms and tell her he would listen and follow her until they both left this world, but he just knew those thoughts would be rejected. āYou can share your ideas with me and I can help you find a voice.ā
She rolled to face him, her beautiful face smiling, her emerald eyes twinkling, and he barely stopped himself from leaning forward and kissing those succulent lips. Lips he had dreamed about more frequently over the past year. She was a woman sent to tempt and exasperate him in equal measure. Julian was thankful for the exasperation, as it kept her suitors to a small, manageable number. Less competition for him.
āWhat if you and I donāt agree? I want my voice to be heard.ā
āOne day perhaps women will have a voice, but you know what will happen to you if you go down this path. Society will ostracize you. Think of your brother. As a Viscount he doesnāt have enough status to protect you. And then there is your sister, Valora. Youāll ruin her chances of a good marriage, too.ā At her raised eyebrows, he added, āI know you donāt see marriage as an enticing institution, but Valora does. Youād regret harming her dream, wouldnāt you?ā
āYes. Bother it. Valora is desperate to marry, but sheāll only consider one man, Lord Marlowe. And as we both know, he is most definitely not the marrying kind.ā
āAll men have to marry at some point, and Lord Marlowe needs an heir.ā
Ā āWill you marry?ā She asked, as if that thought had never occurred to her.
āOf course. In fact, the Prime Minister has been making hints I should marry soon. Itās not the done thing to have bachelor politicians. He likes the respectable family look.ā
That got her attention. She sat up and bit her bottom lip. How Julian wished it was his lip her dainty teeth were biting. Serena asked, āIf you marry, will we still be friends? I suspect a wife would not like you spending private time alone with meālike we are now.ā
Before he could reply that heād only marry her, there was much clapping and hear, hear noises from below. They both looked down and saw Lord Grenville waving his arms in victory.
If you’d like to read Serena and Julian’s story – GRAB IT HERE