title: Valeria's Last Stand: A Novel
author:  Marc Fitten 
description: <strong>Amazon Best of the Month, May 2009</strong>: Set in the fictional town of Zivatar (by all appearances, a sleepy Hungarian village of the post-Communist era that time--and capitalism--forgot), <em>Valeria's Last Stand</em> is full of the kind of colorful, Chaucerian characters you'd expect to find in a fable. There's Ibolya, the bawdy, hot-tempered tavern owner who taunts patrons with her ample bosom and cheap beer; a greedy, glad-handing mayor, desperate for rich foreign investors to put the town on the map; and there's even a trickster in the form of a chimney sweep, a misanthropic scoundrel who arrives just in time to bring a brewing scandal to full-tilt. At the center of it all is Valeria, a feisty spinster who thrives on her neighbors' scorn until the day she finds herself unexpectedly smitten with the local potter. Theirs is a tempestuous attraction, igniting a vicious rumor mill that reveals--with no shortage of humor or wisdom--the pride and prejudice plaguing the town. As in any fable, there's a lesson to be learned here, but there's nothing heavy-handed about it: Marc Fitten deftly warms these characters to the notion that change, though inevitable, can do them good. --<em>Anne Bartholomew</em>
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  She shrugged.  
  “The ton can believe what it likes.”
  
  His changeable eyes alerted, their sparkle intensifying. Slowly he scanned
  her, lingering at her breasts before returning to focus on her lips. Heat
  scoured Valeria in the wake of that glance.
  
  “Is it sure you are?” he murmured.
  
  “Certainly,” she lied. “You will conduct yourself as the perfect gentleman I
  have pronounced you to be.”
  
  He raised his teacup to her in salute. “A bargain it is, Lady Arnold.”
  
  With a calm Valeria was far from feeling, she held out her hand. “Until
  tomorrow then, Mr. Fitzwilliams.”
  
  He came over and kissed it. “Until tomorrow.”
  
  Scarcely breathing, Valeria watched him walk out, her fingers burning where he
  had held them, her hand tingling where he had kissed it. Legs turning shaky,
  she collapsed back into her chair.
  
  Oh, my, this was definitely not wise. And she was going to do it anyway…!
  
  My Lady’s Pleasure  
  Harlequin Historical
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Acclaim for Julia Justiss’s recent books
  
  The 