Minerva's Match

A Stolen Identity. A Shared Success. A Scandal Waiting to Explode.

She lied. A tiny fib of omission, but a world of difference. M.E. Wright, the brilliant mind behind the groundbreaking research in agronomy, was no man.

He, J.A. Lathrop, the esteemed professor, championed her work. He saw its brilliance, unaware of the secret hidden behind the pen. Now, he's presenting their work at a prestigious conference, their future resting on his words.

James Lathrop, Earl of Lansford, hides a secret life. By day, a dedicated professor, by birthright, an Earl burdened by his family's past. He sees hope in M.E. Wright, a chance to finally make a difference. But one truth remains hidden: M.E. Wright happens to be the self-same woman who gives him fits.

As their success hangs in the balance, a shocking revelation threatens to shatter everything. Will their shared triumph be exposed as a web of deceit?

This captivating novel explores ambition, identity, and the power of a lie.

Sometimes enemies make for the best lovers!

What others have to say about the book:

"One moment I was laughing at Minerva's antics. Next I was yelling at her to "go girl" when she was defending herself, and then there were moments when I wanted to strangle her because she wouldn't admit her feelings for James."

"The third "Heiress" story is more emotional than the first two, but still as witty and endearing."

This steamy regency romantic comedy series will delight you if you are the type to laugh out loud at the antics of a "talking" dog, or cheer on difficult women, or scowl at men being nobcocks. This series is not for the women looking for Georgette Heyer or Jane Austen. As amazing as they are, I have no wish to write like them, though I am not above borrowing a trope or two. If you are the type to quibble about a social faux pas you won't be happy with this series. In short, this is not your mother's Regency. These girls are rebels who cross class lines like they skewer men's hearts. Oh but these men! It takes a strong man to love a difficult woman.

Author Interview:

Why Regency Romance if you aren't going to write it "correctly"?

Because as much as I love Regency tropes the actual language and social customs are torturous. Have you read dear Jane? I mean all credit to her, she invented the novel as we know it but to sit down and read one of her stories now is onerous. We don't speak like that anymore and there are hours of nothing to do. I love Regency love stories for the tension that the social mores of that time yield. But I also love a good laugh. These books give me the tropes I love, laughter, and women I can see myself and my friends in. These are women you can imagine hatching plans with and enjoying a good laugh at how it all turned out afterwards.

If the women aren't related how are they the "Heiresses of Eris"?

One of the Regency tropes I love is the informal "club", usually men bound together over a common distrust of women or some such nonsense which in the end they all get over. Eris is the Greek goddess of chaos. She's the one who started the Trojan War by tossing an apple into a group of goddesses that said "to the fairest". These girls cause their own sort of mayhem. None of them were comfortable in the roles society assigned them. All of them decided to take matters into their own hands. That they all met was fate. When they did, they dubbed themselves the Heiresses of Eris.