Please help me welcome today’s guest, Kara O’Neal…
My husband and I always go on a trip for our anniversary. I went hunting for our next getaway – I wanted a small town with antique shops – and I found Jefferson, Texas. This small town sits in the northeast corner of Texas, just a hop and a skip away from Louisiana.
When I discovered all the historic houses in this town, I flipped with excitement. I can’t even begin to tell you how many gorgeous homes have been turned into B&Bs. We ended up just strolling the streets to see them all.
Jefferson is small. Not a lot of people live there. But, at one time, it was a happening place. Reason being, there was this natural log jam, called a raft, on the Red River. It clogged up waterways, which forced all the steamboats to use Jefferson as a port.
Well, in 1873, the US Corp of Engineers said the raft was a hazard and cleared it up. That forced other waterways to open and the great steamboats started passing by Jefferson for other cities. (Like Houston.)
This caused Jefferson, once a very booming city, to become almost a ghost town. In an instant, people’s lives were changed.
And that got me to thinking…
What would a town do if their city was threatened with extinction?
Enter Millie Stewart, the heroine of SUNFLOWERS FOR HER. A young lady who isn’t used to carrying heavy burdens and discovers that an entire town is depending on her to get things right. And because she loves her neighbors, she’s going to do everything she can to be what they need.
Of course, she needs help. And John Fletcher, a mysterious, reserved, intelligent, grizzly bear of a man, is just the person she needs.
After a horrific storm rips through her hometown, Millie Stewart finds that her neighbors are in dire need of help. She sets out to do everything she can, but when her brother leaves her high and dry, she has to operate Stewart Mercantile on her own. The town is depending on her.
John Fletcher—smart, reserved, and mysterious—comes to town, sets up shop, and brings with him the knowledge needed to clear the log jam on the river, giving everyone a chance at survival.
John is a tad scary in Millie’s opinion. Never mind that he’s handsome. Never mind that he’s generous. He makes her feel things. He makes her heart skip a beat, and suddenly, with barely a warning, she’s in love. Only he doesn’t seem to return the sentiment.
Her brother returns, but only to rob her blind. A little too mad and a whole lot tougher, Millie sets out to find him and give him what-for. Little does she know, someone is chasing her.
John won’t let Millie go to battle alone, especially since she’s the reason his heart is beating again. Can he get to Millie in time? Or will her ne’er-do-well brother’s villainy take everything John holds dear?
Excerpt:
As Millie gathered her thoughts and tried to manage the hard pound of her heart, she studied John. He didn’t appear as if he’d also been tormented by their kiss throughout the day.
But it didn’t matter. She had to know, or she was going to lose her mind like she’d already lost her heart. “I have some questions,” she stated succinctly.
“All right.”
“Actually, I have two questions.”
“Two?”
“Yes.” She took in a deep breath, then said, “There was a painting of a field of sunflowers in the auction.”
He stilled and an arrested expression came over his face.
Hope surged within her. He had painted it! “Are you the artist?”
He didn’t immediately answer and swallowed hard.
She didn’t want to make him uncomfortable, but she had to know.
“Yes,” he said gruffly. “How’d you figure that out?”
Her cheeks flamed with heat, and she nibbled on her bottom lip. Her heart was pounding so hard. Why do I keep doing all of these scary things?
Before she could lose her nerve, she closed her eyes and said in a rush, “I was curious about your other desk and saw your drawings on it the night you tried to give back the bandages and medicine.”
After her confession, there was silence.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and found him rubbing his jaw.
“I’m sorry,” she said hastily.
He waved her off. “It’s all right.”
“I invaded your privacy.”
“Millie, it’s all right.” He lowered his arm. “What’s your other question?”
Oh, dear. Knots were forming in her stomach. What was she doing? She was being too forward. She was not herself. She was—
Enough!
All of her anxiety and agonizing had to end.
She lifted her chin. “You titled the painting “For Her”. Am I ‘her’?”
The lines of his face went instantly unreadable, and he blinked at her. “No.”
Kara O’Neal is an award-winning author of over thirty historical romances. Humor, family, love, and romance take center stage in her novels, and her characters have been touted as “real, complex, and down-to-earth”. Her books are available in print and ebook.
When not writing, she’s a teacher, but she’s always a mother to three talented children, and the wife of a man quite worthy of being called “hero”.
Telling stories is her passion, and she does so with memorable characters and unique plots certain to keep you reading late into the night!
What would really happen if a medieval knight landed in the 21st century? That was the question that prompted me to write this book. I had seen other media where a medieval knight shows up but there is no language barrier and he immediately understands modern conveniences. That’s now how it would be! I wanted to shout.
So I wrote my own story. When Thomas shows up in the modern day from the 14th century, he can barely make himself understood because the language is so different. I also wanted to capture how the frame through which people saw the world was different. For example, rather than understanding automobiles as mechanical inventions, he sees them through the medieval worldview of god vs. the devil. This of course sets up plenty of conflict between Thomas, the new world he finds himself in, and Ashley, our modern-day heroine.
Part of this idea stemmed from my fascination with the history of the English language. It’s not very often I get to name drop the Great Vowel Shift in a novel. I had a lot of fun writing this book. I hope you will have just as much fun reading it.
Blurb:
When Ashley’s conventional 21st century life falls apart, she returns to England to write the book she shelved years ago, determined to take control of her life.
Meanwhile, in 1377 Wiltshire, Thomas fights his family’s desire that he become a priest and plots to chase his dream of knighthood instead. While Ashley and Thomas search for answers, Thomas suddenly appears in the modern day.
Unable to communicate, his first encounter with Ashley ends with the police demanding his immigration papers. All Thomas wants is to return to the world he understands, but he and Ashley are drawn together again and again. How will they find the answers Thomas needs before the authorities close in without losing each other forever?
Excerpt:
Neither of them said a word. They stood in shock, each assessing the other.
Ashley stared at the young man’s strange clothes. He wore a long, blue shirt over—were those tights?—and oddly shapeless leather boots. Everything he wore appeared homemade. The leather crossbody bag he wore was the only thing he had of decent quality.
She lifted her gaze to his face. His eyes immediately captivated her. They were the most gorgeous shade of blue she had ever seen. His face wasn’t bad either. His hair was thick and a bit long. Even beneath the beard she could tell he had a strong jawline and fine cheekbones. He appeared her age or a bit younger.
Snapping back to herself, she took a few steps backward to put some distance between them. “Sorry,” she said nervously.
The man cocked his head at her like a curious cat trying to figure out what the game was.
“Are you all right?” she finally asked.
He said something that she couldn’t interpret. It was her turn to look confused.
“Are you going to Salisbury?” she asked, since he was headed in the opposite direction she was. Then tried again, “Salisbury?”
“Sarisbury,” he said firmly, correcting her. The middle sound held more of a “r” shape in his mouth instead of an “l.” She couldn’t tell where he was from. The words he had said to her sounded like nothing she had heard before.
But they were getting somewhere. She pointed down the hill toward the city. “Sarisbury,” she said, mimicking him.
He nodded, satisfied. His gaze tracked in the direction she pointed. When his eyes lit on the city, he took a few inadvertent steps back and stumbled over a tree root. Once he was steady on his feet again, he glanced wildly along the horizon. Her eyes darted between him and the view, trying to guess what had surprised him so. Between them and the city, a stretch of highway trailed along the horizon. Nothing particularly remarkable about that. But the man turned pale and crossed himself. When that didn’t improve things in his mind, he pulled a necklace out from under his tunic—she had decided that was the best word for what he was wearing. The necklace was a simple leather cord holding a wooden cross. He rubbed the cross fervently and his lips formed a prayer she couldn’t interpret.
“Are you okay?” she asked again.
He glared at her before he turned and dashed back into the forest.
Ashley hesitated, then followed after him. Despite the fact that running into the woods after a potentially crazy man sounded like a setup for a horror movie, she had to make sure he was okay. She couldn’t just leave him here.
Beth Ford is a historical fiction author living in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. In addition to Love Between Times, she is the author of the novel In the Times of Spirits and the Cassie Woods, Reporter novella series. Her work has also appeared in a variety of literary journals.
I’m pleased to share this Regency anthology from nine authors…sounds like some great reads!
Under the Harvest Moon
As the village of Reabridge in Cheshire prepares for the first Harvest Festival following Waterloo, families are overjoyed to welcome back their loved ones from the war.
But excitement quickly turns to mystery when mere weeks before the festival, an orphaned child turns up in the town—a toddler born near Toulouse to an English mother who left clues that tie her to Reabridge.
With two prominent families feuding for generations and the central event of the Harvest Moon festival looming, tensions rise, and secrets begin to surface.
Nine award winning and bestselling authors have combined their talents to create this engaging and enchanting collection of interrelated tales. Under the Harvest Moon promises an unforgettable read for fans of Regency romance.
Moonlight Wishes and Midnight Kisses by Collette Cameron
A scarred veteran with no future, Courtland Marlow-Westbrook wants to be left alone. Scottish heiress Avery Levingtone never stopped loving him and is determined to win his love again. Will these former sweethearts find happiness together, or will the wounds of the past keep them apart?
A few favorite lines from your story:
A swiftly smothered gasp from across the store made him glance toward the other clerk and the woman, now completely visible.
No.
Don’t let it be her. Please.
Not Avery Levingtone.
The auburn-haired spitfire, with the slightest Scots accent, Cortland had hoped to make his bride—his countess, before everything had gone head over arse in his life, leaving him scarred and without the means to support a family.
But Fate wasn’t smiling kindly upon him today—hadn’t in a very long while.
It was Avery.
Even more impossibly beautiful than he remembered.
A fact about you or your story:
My hero and heroine were introduced in the last book in another series, before I knew they would get their own story in my Chronicles of the Westbrook Brides Series.
What was the most difficult thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors?
Coordinating all the little details and dates to ensure the stories didn’t conflict in any way was a bit tricky.
What was the best thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors?
The incredible attention to detail, sharing of information, and coordinating settings and characters was the best I’ve ever experienced.
Adam Wagner is meant to save lives, not take them. He is haunted by Waterloo. The horror of it keeps him from those he loves. Meg Barlow doesn’t understand how Adam could turn his back on her so thoroughly, but she isn’t about to let him get away with it.
A few favorite lines from your story:
His eyes widened when he noticed Meg, fixated as if drinking in the sight of her, in her new moss green and buttercup gown. She suspected he was seeking the strength to look away, but before he could a bundle of energy dressed in blue muslin threw herself at him.
“Papa, oh Papa, I missed you. You said you would come to visit but you didn’t, and I don’t want a visit, I want to come home, even though Lord Barlow said I could stay forever, and Miss Meg is all that is, kind and…”
A fact about you or your story:
My father suffered from PTSD from 1950 to the day he died. I understand my hero’s plight.
What was the most difficult thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors?
Sometimes I just need to go off on my own and let my story simmer, even if I know I’ll end up needing to alter details.
What was the best thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors?
Comradery, fun and a shared sense of accomplishment. And the final product is brilliant.
All the battles are over, or are they? When Captain Thom Owen is forced into a false engagement, he must escort his pseudo-fiancée home to meet his father. Can an English vicar’s son and a French Comte’s daughter find love despite their differences?
A few favorite lines from your story:
She stabbed the Thom’s father with a glare. “That is a child crying. You have a child in this house? Where?”
“I do have a charity case living here. The boy is not quite two and sleeps in the old nursery on the third floor.”
“And you left him alone?” She scolded. “Tell me his name.”
“Sam. His surname is yet to be determined.”
“Hmpf.” Charité stood, threw down her napkin, and swept out the door as fast as her skirts permitted.
“My word? Is she like that all the time?”
A fact about you or the story.
Language development in children varies widely from child to child. Sam, the child in our story, was only just beginning to speak, yet he had to struggle with two languages. Deciding what he did and didn’t know how to say was a challenge.
What was the most difficult thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors.
Being patient, we aren’t always ready at the same time.
What was the best thing about writing in conjunction with other authors.
The creativity and brainstorming. Each author, each story inspires and informs the other.
Home from Waterloo, Captain David Buckley contemplates settling down near his home town of Reabridge—only it is full of painful memories. The mysterious Lady Lorna falls literally into his arms, and he begin to understand the true meaning of love and home.
A few favorite lines from your story:
“Following her gaze, David saw a young woman at the top of the stairs. Her hair glowed like sunshine, and her face…was pale, her eyes unfocused. He knew the instant before she began to fall and bolted to the steps, leaping up them just in time to catch her tumbling person against his chest.”
A fun fact about you or the story:
It was Jude Knight who came up with the backstory for our feuding families which inspired my hero, David Buckley.
What was the most difficult thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors?
Having to keep track of each other’s characters!
What was the best thing about writing in conjunction with other authors?
Keeping track of each other’s characters :). Seriously, it was well worth the difficulty, because it was great fun learning about the depths and quirks of (to me) minor characters, especially Sherry Ewing’s heroine, who was at the other side of our feud,
Fleur Hardouin’s heart longs for Captain Gareth Ardleigh, but she needs an advantageous marriage. Gareth has promised to find Fleur—on behalf of another man. Now he must choose between honoring a promise and trying to win the hand of the woman he loves.
A few favorite lines from your story:
Gareth dipped his head her way and sniffed. “Mmm. Lilac?”
Her eyes turned a steely gray, and the slight wash of color creeping up her pale neck cheered him beyond reason. Fleur was a flower, but not a fragile one, and not one to blush easily at an importuning man’s flattery.
A fact about you or the story
This story sprang (or is it sprung?) from something I learned in an online class about Regency drinking habits. It all started with a bit of knowledge about the Veuve Clicquot, a French widow who invented the process of riddling and transformed the champagne industry during the Napoleonic era when France was at war.
What was the most difficult thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors
Probably getting the time chronology right. My characters went to pay a call on Rue Allyn’s characters. Getting the date of that visit and the participants sorted was probably the trickiest thing.
What was the best thing about writing in conjunction with other authors
It’s wonderful to take on a project with folks who share a passion for historical details and who are also very supportive. The skilled beta reading of other authors is invaluable.
Widowed at Waterloo, where she also nursed the wounded, Veronica Petersham promised a dying man to bring his effects to a family in Reabridge. She falls ill just short of her goal, in the milking shed of kind and stoic Martin Bromelton.
Perhaps there is hope for the future after all and the opportunity to find love once more.
A few favorite lines from your story
He was spreading himself thin and knew it. He did what needed to be done—and there was so much that needed to be done—for the farm and those who relied on him.
The hard-won success of his freehold had not come without cost. To his regret, it was a sight his father had never lived to see. Even now, Martin recalled the days when the farm couldn’t even manage to feed the family, let alone bring in an income.
There had been more than one night in his youth that he’d gone to bed hungry. He didn’t intend to do it again as an adult.
A fun fact about you or the story
The town of Reabridge in Under the Harvest Moon is located in Cheshire, and it so happens that my favourite cheese is Cheshire Cheese. By that, I mean the real stuff from Cheshire you used to buy at northern markets and take home wrapped in paper. A lovely tangy taste and crumbly texture.
What was the most difficult thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors
Writing a tale that’s closely interwoven with a set of stories from other authors poses a particular set of challenges. I know from involvement in relatively ‘disconnected’ anthologies, it’s somewhat easier when what you’re doing is, having agreed on a time and perhaps also a location, you’re then writing completely separately with no reference to others’ characters.
In the case of Under the Harvest Moon and other Bluestocking Belles anthologies, there’s a lot of referring back and forth between the group, negotiation on getting characters in particular places at specific times, and moving your own story towards a mutual climactic scene. It adds a significant extra degree of difficulty, but I believe it also creates a deeper ‘world’ for the reader to become immersed in.
What was the best thing about writing in conjunction with other authors
The camaraderie and willing ‘give and take’ of all the authors involved is simply the best!
Eight years ago, Hannah Pownall had her heart broken by a young lord.
Captain Brandon Worthington returns to the town of Reabridge to recover from the war and finds the girl he once loved still unwed. Can love at first sight be reborn after heartbreak, proving a second chance is all you need?
A few favorite lines from your story
Today he was dressed as the young lord he was and always would be.
Those hypnotic amber eyes melted Hannah’s heart like they had the very first moment she had seen him.
“Don’t you dare say your goodbyes, Hannah Pownall. I will return to Reabridge and to you.”
A fun fact about you or the story
It may seem crazy but I love Disneyland and embracing my inner child whenever I can go down to the park.
What was the most difficult thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors?
The most difficult thing about writing an interconnecting story is ensuring that the dialogue matches. I had to rewrite several scenes because of this issue.
What was the best thing about writing in conjunction with other authors?
I always enjoy that the Bluestocking Belles’ boxsets are interconnected. I love seeing the characters from each story making their way through the whole set. I think its what sets our boxsets apart from others.
The new Earl Barlow returns home from Waterloo, intending to live by his own rules. The woman he loved and lost years ago visits for the Harvest festival—and he plans to offer Vicky Wright what they both want. Can a lady who has lived by the rules throw them all away to seize her last chance for happiness?
A few favorite lines from your story:
She grabbed her courage to blurt out the truth. “He had affairs. He told me the night before our wedding.” After I had given you up. After I had lashed myself to my duty to marry him as Papa’s agreements demanded. “He informed me that he would not change his life for me. In fact, if I wished to jilt him, I could.”
“But you didn’t.” He put a hand with his rough calloused fingertips to turn her face toward him, and smiled in sorrow at her. “Why not?”
A fun fact about you or the story:
About Cerise: I did my master’s degree in Chinese and Japanese History and have taught college courses in both!
What was the most difficult thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors:
The challenge in writing these coordinated sets is to include other authors’ characters in the most natural time in one’s story and in the most natural scenes. To accomplish this, we read each others’ works to ensure continuity.
What was the best thing about writing in conjunction with other authors:
The most fun here in these sets comes from the knowledge that what you have written is not only a superbly crafted story which fits into others’ stories well, but that each of your colleagues has taken the time and care to help you produce the best fiction you can!
The Battle of Waterloo lost Jack Wrath the use of one arm and ended his career in the cavalry. He has no place to go and nothing to offer. Gwen Hughes has a business to run and no time for romance. Under the harvest moon, two people who believe romance has passed them finally reach their season for love.
A few favorite lines from your story:
Jack listened, absorbed as the preacher spoke of building things up, and all things in their season, and something in his heart shifted. He had had his fill of war, of killing, of tearing down and mourning.
For everything there is a season. He could do this. His harvest for all those years in the army was peace and all that came with peace. He could be Gwen’s husband and the father of her children. It is my season for love.
A fun fact about you or the story:
My Jack’s given name and those of his mentors was based on a tradition common among English puritans. They saw common names as too worldly, so named their children after virtues or religious slogans. Praise-God Barebone gave his name to the Barebones Parliament, but he is also remembered for naming his son If-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned. Other historical names include Joy-in-Sorrow, Sorry-for-Sin, Humiliation, Make-Peace, and Kill-sin.
Apparently, Damned Barebone grew up to take the name Nicolas Barbon. Just as, in my story, Refrain-from-Anger-and-Forsake-Wrath Thursday renamed himself Jack Wrath when he enlisted in the army.
What was the most difficult thing about writing in conjunction with the other authors:
Two virtues are needed. Patience, and patience. We all write a different paces, and use different processes. Yet, to truly intermesh our stories, we needed to share what we were doing and fid out what the others were doing. Sometimes, when I needed to know something that happened in another story, I just had to wait. It was worth it, though.
What was the best thing about writing in conjunction with other authors:
The tremendous support and camaraderie is important, but I think the best thing is a final product. It is a superb. I know I say this every year, but I think it might be the best we’ve done.
Please help me welcome author Fil Reid who is sharing a bit about herself and her latest release…
Hello Fil and welcome! Please tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a British writer living in the South of England in a canal boat, which is where I do all my writing. I have five children but they’re all grown up now and have left home, so its just me, my husband, our rescue dog and our elderly cat on board our boat.
Where did you get the idea for the Guinevere series from?
About 25 years ago my husband and I went for the day to visit Glastonbury. We parked around the back and set off across the field to walk up there. He stopped with his tripod and took four photos of the hill on motordrive using infrared film. We kept on going, visited the summit and the ruined church tower up there and went home. That night he developed the film. In the first photo you can see the hill with the tower on top, in the second one the tower only is fading, in the third the tower has vanished and in the fourth it’s back again, clear as anything. We had no explanation for this, but I wondered if the fast shutter speed and infrared film had captured a momentary flashback in time to when the tower wasn’t on top of the hill. Then I wondered what would have happened had we been inside the tower when that happened… so the kernel of the idea for the Guinevere series was born. Took me a while to get round to writing it though.
What is the most difficult thing about writing a book?
I didn’t find anything at all difficult about writing the Guinevere series. I loved every moment of it and was profoundly sad when I wrote the last word of book six. I’ve just been writing a four book Regency series called The Cornish Ladies, due out from June next year, and that was harder to write. I didn’t know the world as well as I do the Dark Ages, I wasn’t quite as in love with my characters as I was with Arthur and Gwen. But I loved it nevertheless. There’s nothing hard about writing – the hard bit comes after when you have to do the publicity!
What was your first job?
My first job was working with horses. I’d been teaching children to ride on my sister’s old pony and someone told me about a weekend job at a local riding school. I did Saturdays and Sundays for some time and loved every minute of it. Horses were my other love, along with all things Arthurian, and I’ve done a lot of different horsey related jobs. My first full time job was on a Thoroughbred stud, but that involved no riding so I moved on to working as a stablegirl in a flat racing yard. I loved that too. I looked after four horses and got to ride out on the gallops twice a day and take the horses I cared for to race meetings. I was young and thin and brave. I wouldn’t do it now and they wouldn’t let me – too heavy and not nearly so brave!
What do you want readers to come away with after they read The Quest for Excalibur?
I’d like them to have a better understanding of Arthurian legend. I soon found out when I was writing these books that most people only seem to know about Lancelot and he wasn’t even contemporary. On top of that, he was French! Not a chance that I’d allow him to stick his nose into my books. I’d also like to think I’ve inspired them enough with my descriptions to go and visit some of the real places in my books – Vindolanda and Hadrian’s Wall, South Cadbury Castle, Tintagel, Glastonbury to name but a few. Almost all the places named in the books are real and can be visited.
If you were stranded on a deserted island and you could have 3 (inanimate) objects, what would they be?
I’d have a really useful knife – that’s what explorers always have. And I’d have a large box of matches which I’d keep perfectly dry but also never let the fire go out so I could conserve them. And maybe an axe for chopping up wood for the fire. Got to be practical things, I think, to help with survival.
What celebrity would you most like to be stranded on an island with?
Ray Mears for sure. If not him, then Bear Grylls, but I think Ray Mears would be altogether a nicer companion, and every bit as capable as Bear Grylls but not such a show off.
Have you written any other books that are not published?
I have, with the four coming out next year. But I’ve also got some children’s and YA books that I’d like to get published at some point. Fingers crossed. I like writing for children.
What do your friends and family think of your writing?
My husband is very supportive, and I often read aloud bits I’ve written or ask his advice about something I’m not sure of. He’s a human encyclopaedia and was very useful for all things ship related in my Cornish Ladies series. My daughter has been funny – she’s only just read the earlier Guinevere books. “Eww, Mum, I can’t read a book you’ve written if it’s got sex in it!” She seems to have got over that now, or she’s skipping those bits – they’re not very long. My sons are very impressed I think that their mum is now a published writer. The youngest is a writer himself – short stories for Dungeons and Dragons websites and magazines – but he never lets me see them! I’ve offered to proofread for him but he won’t let me.
Who is the most famous person you have ever met?
I met Princess Anne once, to do with Riding for the Disabled, and I met Alan Carr (a British comedian) while walking along the canal, but only realized who he was afterwards.
How much of the book is realistic?
Well, she travels in time, so that’s not realistic is it? And of course, there’s a bit of magic in the stories. You can’t avoid that with an Arthurian story. But apart from that I’ve tried to make everything as realistic and historical as possible. The Dark Ages is dangerous, dirty, a bit smelly, and full of inqualities Gwen can do nothing about. It’s not a safe place to live, and I make that obvious. The battles are not glorious events where the heroes win – they’re terrible things where even the winners suffer badly. I’ve made sure not to glorify them in any way. I like to think I’ve rendered a realistic picture of what it might have been like fifteen hundred years ago.
BLURB
Book Five of the award-winning historical romance series based on Arthurian legend.
Twelve years ago, 21st-century librarian Gwen decided to remain in the Dark Ages with the man she loves above all else – a man around whom endless well-known tales of legend and magic have been spun. King Arthur. Over the years, she’s carved a life for herself by her husband’s side, gently steering him in the direction she wants him to go, but always with an awareness that he’s a Dark Age king with a Dark Age view of the world.
Equipped with her prior knowledge of Arthurian legend, Gwen’s sole aim has long been to save her husband from the legendary fate she dreads hangs over him. But always, at the back of her mind, is the nagging doubt that whatever she does is already set in stone, and nothing she can do will change his future which is already her past.
Now, in book five of the Guinevere series, she’s all too aware that time is marching on, and that this fate might well be drawing closer to the man she gave up everything for.
Danger lurks in the most unexpected places, and long-hidden secrets threaten to rise to the surface. After a long, cold winter in their hilltop fortress, Gwen’s pleased to welcome traveling players to Din Cadan. But these players are hiding secrets of their own, and one of them has come with black deeds in mind. Gwen will have to fight harder than she’s ever done to save herself and thus her husband. And all evidence points to the hand of Morgana, Arthur’s wicked sister, manipulating everything from afar.
Throughout all of this, simmering in the background, is young Medraut, Arthur’s nephew. Unnoticed, despite still being only a boy, he’s been exerting his malignant influence over those around him, in particular, Gwen and Arthur’s son and heir. The wedge he succeeds in driving between Arthur and his son will carry forward into the cataclysmic events of the final book, The Road To Avalon.
But even Morgana can’t prevent Gwen discovering the truth behind the story of Excalibur and setting the legendary sword in her husband’s hands.
Excerpt: (Merlin is showing Gwen where Excalibur comes from)
The younger man reached for the sword with reluctance, his stubbly cheeks tear-stained, eyes anguished. Filthy fingers closed around the hilt. “My Lord, I will not rest until this sword lies in the hands of your wife.” His head bowed in supplication.
The dragon ring winked at me in the raw daylight, as the Emperor laid a hand on the young soldier’s bare, short-cropped head in benediction. Withdrawing his hand, the Emperor fumbled at the ring with awkward, bandaged fingers as the young man rose wearily to his feet, and slid the sword into the scabbard by his side.
The Emperor, his own cheeks wet with tears, held out the ring, gripped between finger and thumb. “Take this as well. It was my wife’s.”
It fell into the soldier’s open hand, and the young man turned it over, so the dragon rested uppermost on the filthy palm.
An overwhelming urge to reach out and snatch it washed over me, but the vision vanished. My eyes flicked open.
I was back on the wall-walk again, with Merlin still holding my hands and the dragon ring on my finger glinting in the afternoon sunlight.
My breath came hard and fast. “Was that sword Excalibur?”
“I don’t know, but I think so. This is the clearest I’ve seen him. All I can tell you is that every time I look, I see this sword gripped in that hand. That hand with that ring. This ring.” He indicated the ring on my hand. “And I believe that what I’m seeing, what I’ve just shown you, is Macsen’s defeat by the Emperor Theodosius. I think he knew execution awaited him and wanted to send his sword back to Britain. Perhaps it was a British-made sword – even linked to the Princess Elen, his wife.”
Fil Reid has loved King Arthur and horses for as long as she can remember. She could talk about both all day long, but she keeps that under control so as not to bore her husband and family too much. She has late-diagnosed Asperger’s syndrome and thinks her obsessions are far more interesting than those of her two Aspie sons – the Titanic and bellringing. There’s such a thing as hearing enough of bells.
She’s owned horses most of her life, just not now. But if she still had horses, her books would probably never have been written as she’d have been too busy riding every day. One of her favourite things to do is to visit the places in her books so she can describe them better. A certain amount of imagination is required, as of course they’ve changed a lot in 1500 years.
With her Guinevere series finished this year, she’s got some Regency romances out next year from June onwards – The Cornish Ladies series – and she’s just begun work on the books to follow them.
Please help me welcome author D.V. Stone with an interview and her new release…
Hi, I’m D. V. Stone. Currently, I’m in Northern Florida living the life of a Snowbird in my 5th Wheel Camper with my husband of twenty-eight years, Pete, Hali, my doggo, and an almost twenty-year-old camp cat, Baby, who loves traveling and camping. We’ll be home in Northern New Jersey in April.
Sea Hunter is book four of The Mortar & Pestle Series. This is my first cooperative writing with six other amazing authors. It was a pleasure working with them. We are made up of international authors of different genres and vast backgrounds who came together and are offering this exciting, often humorous series. From world travelers, teachers, bloggers, magazine editors, and award winners, there’s something for everyone in this series. Paranormal to contemporary and various heat-levels, but we made it work.
Interview:
~Do you collect anything?
I have a parliament of owls. Yes, a flock of owls is a parliament. At home, in my camper, the décor is owlish. When choosing one to add to my collection, it’s all about the eyes. Sometimes they are just weird. My most recent addition is a mercury-glass owl who stands about a foot high. Small figurines that stand on a pile of books are my favorite. I’m always on the lookout.
~What was your first job?
I’ve worked at least one, if not two, paying jobs since I was sixteen. But I’m going to count before that. I lived on a dairy farm and milked cows and goats. Mucking out the barns. Feeding all the livestock. In the summer, we plowed, planted, harvested, mowed, baled, etc. Farming is hard work, and even little kids pitched in by feeding chickens and collecting eggs.
~ What do you want readers to come away with after they read [your book]?
I want readers to find hope and happiness in my work. Life is tough. If we can escape for a little while and enjoy a great story with a happy ending, I’ve done my job.
~ What is your favorite quote?
Your thoughts of God are too human. Martin Luther
~What celebrity would you most like to be stranded on an island with?
Lassie. She’d snuggle and help me out of bad situations.
~What do you want your tombstone to say?
Even when it was scary, she did it.
Or— She made a difference.
~How much of the book is realistic?
Sea Hunter is my first book set in historical reality. Post WWII. I did so much research and even traveled to Maine and Cape Cod to visit naval museums. I spent time on the computer reading about underwater archeology, diving, sea life, and the dangers of diving off the east coast due to mines. My favorite part was learning the vernacular popular in the post-war era.
GIVEAWAY:
I’m giving away a free sample of all the books in the Mortar & Pestle Series via Bookfunnel at https://dl.bookfunnel.com/b1ytv2r7nq no requirements
On the turbulent high seas, an archeologist must protect a historic shipwreck from treasure hunters—not fall for one.
Series Blurb
A wisp of smoke, a swirl of promise, a breath of destiny…a message within the Mortar & Pestle for those who want to believe. Throughout time people have sought their heart’s desire. But true love is often elusive. Carved with ancient Norse runes, the Mortar & Pestle shows paths to happily-ever-afters. Once you capture the Mortar & Pestle’s scent of magic, you’ll want to read all seven individual romances.
Sea Hunter: Blurb
Zahra Corbyn.
I’m a Sea Hunter. As an underwater archeologist and professor of antiquities, it is my duty to stop treasure hunters and looters from raiding Sea Wraith. But fate is a funny thing. Now I find myself working with Jack Alexander, a treasure hunter, to protect history from a known looter. Did my heart’s desire change?
Captain Jack Alexander.
I’ve been told women on a ship are unlucky, but this one has the two pieces of the map I need to finally claim Sea Wraith. Now I find myself in a deal that makes me one-third partner with her and a known scoundrel.
Can the two unlikely allies work together while safeguarding their hearts against the power of the Mortar and Pestle?
If you like Lara Croft and Indiana Jones, you’ll love Zahra Corbyn and Jack Alexander.
Excerpt:
Zahra flailed when he pitched her over the rail of the steamer.
The sneering smile got smaller, and he saluted before the frigid Atlantic water closed over her.
Splashing into the rough water, she suppressed her initial gasp. As an experienced diver, she understood the peril of aspirating saltwater. However, her heartbeat was out of control. When the disorienting shock of hitting the cold ocean in the darkness dissipated, she kicked toward the surface, following the bubbles up. Gasping and sputtering, she stared at the disappearing ship while treading water in its wake.
The fall hurt, but it hadn’t killed her, not like the cold water would. Already her arms and legs were becoming uncoordinated. Tingling along the nerves turned into stabs of pain. Her muscles contracted. Thinking became muddled.
In the distance, a lighthouse flashed a beacon before another wave swamped her.
Zahra kicked her way back to the surface, but a current dragged at her legs like a sea monster’s tendrils.
So close to home, and she would die out here. Alone. Killed by the elements she loved and researched. Maybe another underwater archaeologist would find and study pieces of her clothes and jewelry.
She’d survived two ocean crossings, a world war, and a stint working for the Office of Strategic Services.
Boston was only about fifty nautical miles away.
She’d read most deadly accidents happened close to home.
Stop and focus, Zahra.
Surfacing once more, she coughed and turned three hundred sixty degrees, looking for anything to help her. A buoy, a plank, floating garbage.
She wasn’t shivering anymore. Uh-oh, this was it. Her body was shutting down. Slowly, she descended below the surface. A flicker of light caught her attention. Was that a ship? Or rather the wreck of one? She must be hallucinating.
The depth of the water here wasn’t bad, considering. Only about twenty to thirty feet. Could it be Sea Wraith? Archeologists and fortune hunters had been searching for her for years. The figurehead poking from the sand and silt resembled a specter with its gaping maw and tendrils like an octopus. Spots developed in her vision. The last thing she saw was the shape of a man standing on the ship’s figurehead.
D. V. Stone is an award-winning, multi-genre, traditionally and independently published author. She writes books people want to read. Whether romance or fantasy, contemporary or mid-grade, her stories are about the importance of friends and family. About overcoming obstacles while often with humor.
Around the Fire is a popular weekly blog where she introduces both established and new authors giving an insider’s look into their lives and books as well as tidbits about her own life.
Now retired, she is a full-time author and incorporates her life experiences into her books.
A former Emergency Medical Technician, she volunteered in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. At the same time, she worked as a professional EMT in a women’s state prison. She was the proprietor of a coffee shop, and a small restaurant/ice cream stand in the years that followed. The years following were as a manager in an animal emergency hospital, while her last position was in a human medical office.
When not behind the wheel of 2Hoots—a 41-foot long 13.2 feet high 5th Wheel camper, she rambles around town in Northern New Jersey in a white Camaro. She also loves travel and history.
D.V. is a wife to an amazing husband, mother to one son, and not your average grandma to three beautiful grands. A woman of faith, she believes and trusts in God.
“My greatest pleasures are spending time outside with friends and family, cooking over the open fire, sipping a glass of wine, and reading.”
Hali, her rescue dog, always reminds her to let readers know, “Woof, woof.” Which is loosely translated as support your local animal rescue.”
Please help me welcome today’s guest, Anastasia Abboud…
Thank you for joining me, Anastasia. Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?
We live in Texas! My husband and I have been married for over forty years. We have two sweet sons, one beloved daughter-in-heart, and two precious grandchildren. Our home is nestled in a suburb southwest of Houston, surrounded by family. Our younger son and his family, our brothers and their families, my husband’s sister and her husband, a nephew and his family, plus more extended family and close friends are all within a ten-minute drive or closer. It hasn’t always been the case and while I would love to live in a rural area, better still, in the mountains, I don’t know if I ever will – at least not full time. This is so much fun, not to mention convenient. Our younger son and his family are five minutes away. Our elder son just recently moved out of the neighborhood, but he still lives close by.
Where did you get the idea for Tremors Through Time? Why did you choose this genre (is it something you’ve written in before)?
I’ve always loved historical romance. Once I became acquainted (and in love) with time travel romance, I thought it might be fun to write one myself. But there are so many great stories out there. I decided to take a chance on a slightly different twist, having the hero fall forward in time rather than the heroine fall back. Lachlann’s not a typical hero, either – neither a chieftain nor warrior, possessing neither magical powers nor education. He’s a farmer, albeit a gorgeous one.
Was there anything unusual, any anecdote about this book, the characters, title, process, etc, you’d like to share?
I’m so glad you’ve asked! There are a couple of things I’m downright eager to share. The most important is about the ending. Dear Readers, it surprised me, too. The characters wrote it. It was the most startling feeling. They took over, and I honestly felt there could be no other way to end the story. At the same time, I count it as a happy ending. The main characters get their HEA. Trust me, there’s more coming, and I believe you will love it!
As for the process, I wrote the book before ever traveling to Scotland. I did sooo much research. So much! I like to say that I stopped jumping down rabbit holes and just tunneled from one to the next. When my husband and I visited that beautiful country for the first time this past fall, I was enormously pleased to see how accurate my research had been.
What is the most difficult thing about writing a book?
For me, delegating time to write is the very most difficult thing.
What was the most difficult thing about this one in particular?
Just time, nothing more, nothing less.
What’s your favorite book of all time and why?
I have a few, but if I’m going to name just one, it’s Quo Vadis by Henri Sienciwicz. It has history, romance, religious faith, and perfect symmetry.
What’s your favorite childhood book?
Again, there are a few options. Today, at any rate, I think I’ll go with Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
What do you want readers to come away with after they read [your book]?
I hope that they come away thinking about time, love, and the ties that bind, and that they care about the characters and want to spend more time with them.
What is your favorite quote?
Love never fails. – 1 Corinthians 13:8
If you could be a character in any of your books, who would you be?
I would be Deidre from Tremors Through Time. She loves gardening and the simple life, is a medieval history professor, and she’s in love with a delicious, medieval farmer who’s in love with her. She’s also tall and curvaceous, which I’d like to be one day (when I grow up).
What do your friends and family think of your writing?
They’ve shown me so much love, support, and encouragement. I am deeply grateful for them and to them.
How did you come up with the title?
It got a little hair-raising! It was funny, really. I originally called it simply Tremors — in reference to the earthquake that occurs in the story. When The Wild Rose Press picked it up, I was informed that I had to change it because there’s a movie by the same name. Apparently, the movie involves giant, omnivorous worms — not a good connect! But since I’d used the word “tremors” several times in the story (as a play on words in addition to seismic tremors), I wanted to keep it as part of the title. For a few weeks, there was a lot of Tremors this and Tremors that in my conversations and random phone calls to family and friends, and running through my head while I was driving, and, of course, as I tried to fall asleep at night.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Yes! There are a couple of themes that run through all my novels:
There is much more to a person than what you see on the surface.
Love conquers all.
And for Tremors Through Time in particular:
Time is more fluid than we might realize one might think and love is timeless.
In the infinite vastness of time – past, present, future, past – love prevails.
Excerpt:
Lachlann sauntered across Deidre’s driveway just as she was locking her front door. She turned toward him, smiling. He froze. She was wearing a saffron-colored leine, or tunic, underneath a blue, fitted surcoat. He should have known! She was a woman from his own time. His heart and head began to pound as he stared at her.
“Lachlann?” Deidre’s voice reached him, soft and hesitant. “Don’t you like my costume?”
Costume. Of course, it was a costume. He struggled to regain his voice as his heart rate calmed. “It’s great,” he managed, giving himself a mental shake. Fool!
“Thank you,” she replied, her voice still uncertain. She looked at him inquiringly. “I surprised you, didn’t I? I’m sorry. I should’ve warned you. I like to wear something fairly authentic in case I run into some of my students.”
“You do look authentic.” He managed a wink. “Bonnie as well.”
She blushed. “You’ve probably seen lots of costumes like this in Scotland.”
“Not so many, and none in Texas.”
It was a wonder to him that he was still standing. Her costume, as she called it, was perfect. She might have fallen through time like himself. It was an even greater wonder that he had not yet carried her off to bed. He’d never wanted anyone as he wanted her.
Now, dressed in such a familiar manner, she suddenly seemed more tangible than ever. She looked magnificent, the clothing emphasizing her generous breasts and hips, her deep red tresses flowing freely down her back.
His mouth went dry as he wondered how he might persuade her to dress like this more often.
For me, playing is the best — playing outdoors in nature or in my garden, experimenting in the kitchen, spending time with those I love. I also enjoy disappearing into a good book, attempting crafts, learning, writing, exploring, discovering. I especially like to mix it up and have yet to perfect any of it; and I’ve come to realize that perfection’s not the point. It’s all wonderfully fun. That’s the point!
I prefer authentic and natural, be it food, lifestyle, people. I passionately enjoy both history and science, and certainly sociology to a degree, and I am most truly a romantic.
My husband and I have been married for over forty years. We reside near Houston, Texas, surrounded by loved ones. We have a blast with our little grandchildren.
Welcome to my weekly feature where authors share about the hobbies, careers, or passions of their characters.
I’m pleased to introduce today’s guest, Barbara Bettis…
Emily and I Share a Fascination with Newspapers
When I decided to write a story for The Wild Rose Press series Wylder West, the choice of a major plot element was almost a given.
There was no question of what my heroine would do. Work at a newspaper of course. The fictional town of Wylder is set in 1870s Wyoming, some fifteen miles from Cheyenne.
Nearly every frontier town had a newspaper of one kind or another. Daily, weekly, twice-monthly—didn’t matter. Having news and information available to residents was considered almost a necessity. News reports from around the world that could be accessed by newspapers were sent via telegraph, although news organizations like The Associated Press charged a fee and contracted with only one paper per town (at that time). Formed May 22, 1846 by five New York newspapers, the AP is still in operation.
Back to frontier news—not every paper that came into existence lasted long. In fact, papers had a tendency to pop into existence and then out again fairly regularly. On the other hand, some produced both daily and weekly editions. Editors of course were influential.
In the1870s, real Cheyenne newspapers flourished. It seemed easy to have a weekly paper nearby. And of course, Emily should have a contact there—actually, her brother had just purchased the Wylder Sun a year or so before Emily decided to visit him and give him a hand with the operation.
She was a natural for the job. In Kansas City, where she lived with her parents, she periodically wrote an opinion column for the fledgling Kansas City Star. Of course, she published under her initials and last name so none would know the author was a female.
Respectable females didn’t write political comment that doubled as opinion columns. Respectable females would never allow their names to be used in such a manner. If they wrote at all, it might be a society piece that reflected a women’s place in the home. They all had pen names of some sort.
(You’ve undoubtedly heard the old saying that a lady’s name should appear in newspapers only three times during her life: birth, wedding, and death.)
Emily’s career as a columnist came a few years before the famous Nelly Bly went to work for the Pittsburgh Dispatch and ultimately did a tremendous job of enlarging the role of women in newspaper reporting and writing.
Emily, as my first Western heroine, was rather doomed to become a newspaper lady because that’s what I was every day of my life for twelve years before I went into teaching. And after that, every other summer during my teaching career. (Alternate summers I worked on my doctorate). Throughout the year, as a stringer, I occasionally did stories for the local daily news. I taught newspaper reporting and editing at an area four year college, and I firmly believed—and still do—the discipline demanded practice in order to keep up with the changes in the industry.
Yes, I am saddened at the demise of many newspapers now that technology makes television and internet news so available. But both have a place in the news business.
The ability of newspapers to do thorough, often lengthy, investigation into topics is one that most electronic organizations don’t duplicate.
Although retired, I still share with Emily a passion for getting accurate, objective, complete reports out to readers.
In Last Stop, Wylder, her passion for newspaper writing is central to her personal story. I hope you enjoy reading, as well, how it plays a part in her romance with Morgan.
A gunman’s word is his bond, and a lady’s heart can shatter.
Blurb:
Gunman Morgan Dodd is headed to a new life in California, where no one knows his name. Or his reputation. Just one last job to raise money for his fresh start—gunhand for a railroad agent in Wyoming. Easy enough. Until he meets the woman who could change everything.
After ending her engagement, Emily Martin longs for independence. She sets out for Wylder, Wyoming, to help her brother with his newspaper. But when she arrives, she finds he’s off investigating a story. Well, then! She’ll simply publish the paper herself until he returns. Emily’s prepared to face challenges, but not the dangerous stranger who ambushes her heart. The same man hired to destroy her livelihood.
When a common enemy threatens, Morgan and Emily must find a way to defeat danger and save their budding love. But a gunman’s word is his bond, and a lady’s trust can shatter.
Excerpt:
The stranger had winked, cool as you please. Should she be insulted? Angry? Oh! She’d neglected to thank him. Now she was embarrassed.
Her brother had much to explain. And I have a lot to learn. More than she’d imagined.
Tommy unwrapped the reins, unlocked the brake, and the horse clopped forward. “Where to, ma’am?”
She straightened her back, firmed her shoulders, and waved her hand in front of her nose to dispel engine fumes. “The newspaper office, please.”
The reins jerked and the horse stopped. The youth’s face beamed red again.
Multi-award-winning author Barbara Bettis can’t recall a time she didn’t love adventures of daring heroes and plucky heroines. A retired journalist and college English and journalism teacher, she lives in Missouri where she tries to keep her grandchildren supplied with cookies. When she’s not editing for others, she’s working on her own stories with heroines to die for– and heroes to live for.
Looking for something new and fabulous to read? Try these…
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Gunman Morgan Dodd is headed to a new life in California, where no one knows his name. Or his reputation. Just one last job to raise money for his fresh start—gunhand for a railroad agent in Wyoming. Easy enough. Until he meets the woman who could change everything.
After ending her engagement, Emily Martin longs for independence. She sets out for Wylder, Wyoming, to help her brother with his newspaper. But when she arrives, she finds he’s off investigating a story. Well, then. She’ll simply publish the paper herself until he returns. Emily’s prepared to face challenges, but not the dangerous stranger who ambushes her heart. The same man hired to destroy her livelihood.
When a common enemy threatens, Morgan and Emily must find a way to defeat danger and save their budding love. But a gunman’s word is his bond, and a lady’s trust can shatter.
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Unearthing artifacts in Colorado sounded like easy money to Ryker Landry. Then he met the woman who owned the land. Una MacLaren vows no fortune hunter will desecrate the ancient relics of Break Heart Canyon—even if the man is a handsome scoundrel. Fighting to keep her goat farm afloat as local cattlemen hatch deadly schemes to make sure she fails, Una has enough to worry about. Captivated by the courageous redhead, Ryker joins forces with Una and her deerhound, MacTavish. But what does he desire most—the woman or the artifacts? When the mythical white cougar again prowls the rocky cliffs, the legend of Break Heart Canyon draws them into a web of danger. Only daring and blind trust can save them.
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They each hit the trail solo in search of themselves…
Overworked entrepreneur Jules Martinez is sick and tired of men leaving her for their exes. Determined to wipe the giant, scarlet R for rebound off her forehead, she kicks off a yearlong vow of celibacy with five, blissful weeks backpacking her favorite trails through Washington State. Solo.
Out-of-work financial analyst Evan Davenport hasn’t been happy since camping in Scouts as a kid—before his wealthy parents and now ex-fiancé made all his major life decisions. Hoping to find joy and purpose, he buys all the latest ultralight backpacking gear, flies to Washington, and sets off alone on a weeklong speed hike through the wilderness.
Mother Nature has other plans, though, and keeps shoving Evan and Jules in each other’s paths. Usually naked. When sparks fly, can they find what they’re looking for in life together instead of apart?
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Riddled with guilt and tormented by desire, Lucy Short keeps notes about newcomers to the village, but why? The misfit with the rescue dog has a mysterious past. She’s been biding her time, plotting and scheming, and now she’s determined to get what she deserves. It won’t be straight forward. Someone is sure to be watching her every move, and there seems to be something more sinister going on.
Looking for something new and fabulous to read? Try these…
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Otherworld evil is loose in the real world. Bram Farrell, Private Investigator, must track it down and destroy it before it destroys him.
Bram Farrell has starred in twenty bestselling novels by writer—and witch—Calista Amberson. Her fans love the tall, dark, and handsome PI who vanquishes supernatural bad guys using his magical powers. So, when Calista uses her magic to pull Bram from his fictional world into real-world, modern-day Detroit, she rocks both worlds.
Every supernatural being on Earth felt his arrival in this dimension. They don’t trust Calie’s intentions and Bram doesn’t either. When the supernatural community hands him the job of discovering who killed the beings in the real world that match those he killed in each volume of The Raven Tales, he takes on the task. It’s a job he’s done in twenty books—he’s up to the familiar challenge.
Bram’s investigation turns up a lot of suspicious characters grouchy bar-owning trolls, a thirsty vampire godfather, a couple of murderous x-cage fighters, a suspicious minister¬¬—and the Devil himself. Things are getting dicey: Bram could use some help with this job—but whom can he trust? Fans of Jim Butcher will fall hard for Bram and Raven’s Moon. J.B. Dane is a recovering romance writer with over two dozen titles under her belt. So when “Bram Farrell” walked into her office, she hired him on the spot. Together they kick Otherworlders’, er, nether regions, and write the second book in the Raven Tales series.
Unearthing artifacts in Colorado sounded like easy money to Ryker Landry. Then he met the woman who owned the land. Una MacLaren vows no fortune hunter will desecrate the ancient relics of Break Heart Canyon—even if the man is a handsome scoundrel. Fighting to keep her goat farm afloat as local cattlemen hatch deadly schemes to make sure she fails, Una has enough to worry about. Captivated by the courageous redhead, Ryker joins forces with Una and her deerhound, MacTavish. But what does he desire most—the woman or the artifacts? When the mythical white cougar again prowls the rocky cliffs, the legend of Break Heart Canyon draws them into a web of danger. Only daring and blind trust can save them.
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They each hit the trail solo in search of themselves…
Overworked entrepreneur Jules Martinez is sick and tired of men leaving her for their exes. Determined to wipe the giant, scarlet R for rebound off her forehead, she kicks off a yearlong vow of celibacy with five, blissful weeks backpacking her favorite trails through Washington State. Solo.
Out-of-work financial analyst Evan Davenport hasn’t been happy since camping in Scouts as a kid—before his wealthy parents and now ex-fiancé made all his major life decisions. Hoping to find joy and purpose, he buys all the latest ultralight backpacking gear, flies to Washington, and sets off alone on a weeklong speed hike through the wilderness.
Mother Nature has other plans, though, and keeps shoving Evan and Jules in each other’s paths. Usually naked. When sparks fly, can they find what they’re looking for in life together instead of apart?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Riddled with guilt and tormented by desire, Lucy Short keeps notes about newcomers to the village, but why? The misfit with the rescue dog has a mysterious past. She’s been biding her time, plotting and scheming, and now she’s determined to get what she deserves. It won’t be straight forward. Someone is sure to be watching her every move, and there seems to be something more sinister going on.
Looking for something new and fabulous to read? Try these…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They each hit the trail solo in search of themselves…
Overworked entrepreneur Jules Martinez is sick and tired of men leaving her for their exes. Determined to wipe the giant, scarlet R for rebound off her forehead, she kicks off a yearlong vow of celibacy with five, blissful weeks backpacking her favorite trails through Washington State. Solo.
Out-of-work financial analyst Evan Davenport hasn’t been happy since camping in Scouts as a kid—before his wealthy parents and now ex-fiancé made all his major life decisions. Hoping to find joy and purpose, he buys all the latest ultralight backpacking gear, flies to Washington, and sets off alone on a weeklong speed hike through the wilderness.
Mother Nature has other plans, though, and keeps shoving Evan and Jules in each other’s paths. Usually naked. When sparks fly, can they find what they’re looking for in life together instead of apart?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Secrets can protect what the truth will destroy.
Elidor MacKenzie has a gift she can’t return—the ability to absorb the joy, pain, and suffering of others. She’s spent her life running from what she considers her curse. Now, her best friend is dead, and she alone holds the key to an archaeological discovery that could destroy a culture. With newfound inner peace, Elidor has returned home to make amends and guard the secret revelation. But greed-driven scavengers have followed her. Once again, the energies of Joshua will stir the hurricane, with her at the deadly center.
Jules never got over Elidor. Twenty years and a famous journalism career later, he’s back in Joshua—and so is his first love. If his heart can stand the torture, he’ll risk reviving their relationship. But saving Elidor from herself and the secret she won’t give up may be the death of them both.
With Jules by her side, Elidor is determined to outrun the scavengers, guard the secret, and renew their love. But fate is coming after her, and there’s nowhere the couple can hide.
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No matter how you came to it, there was something about the idea of mixing a mystery story and a comedy tale together that intrigued you. Titillated your muse. Made you want to spin a story in this mystery subgenre yourself.
Welcome to the club!
Beth Daniels walks you through the twists and turns of putting some funny in your mystery to help you create a heart-stopping mystery that will also have your readers chuckling.
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Jordan Vasilakis is on the run, living under an assumed name. After a disastrous marriage to a notorious Greek business tycoon, she flees to the States and starts rebuilding her life. But her ruthless husband is determined to destroy her…once he finds her.
Michael Machau is drawn to the new singer at Jazz House restaurant, but the guarded woman is harboring dangerous secrets. The dedicated police officer may have to risk more than just his heart to forge a connection with the woman he knows as Madeline Cielo, especially when he discovers she’s living a lie.
Worlds collide. Lies entangle. Survival, much less love, is in question. They must quickly distinguish friends from enemies or risk losing everything—including a future together.
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Violetta Pelicani, massage therapist in Grado, Italy shortly after WWI, meets a young man at almost the same instant she learns her favorite uncle is dead. Suspicion of murder arises, and the two work together to prevent Vi from being accused. Though she has helped her uncle run his gelateria, she expects to gain nothing from his death, but she has already gained an admirer in John.
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Riddled with guilt and tormented by desire, Lucy Short keeps notes about newcomers to the village, but why? The misfit with the rescue dog has a mysterious past. She’s been biding her time, plotting and scheming, and now she’s determined to get what she deserves. It won’t be straight forward. Someone is sure to be watching her every move, and there seems to be something more sinister going on.
A gunman’s word is his bond, and a lady’s heart can shatter.
Author Alicia Dean 