FEATURED AUTHOR: A.S. FENICHEL

ABOUT THE BOOK

Finishing school failed to turn them into proper society ladies. Now these four friends vow to remain single until they find suitors worthy of their love and devotion . . .
 


Betrothed to a man she has barely met, Lady Faith Landon calls upon her three best friends—the self-proclaimed Wallflowers of West Lane—to help uncover the secrets of her mysterious fiancé. Her suspicions are aroused when she learns that he has recently returned from France. Is he a traitor to his country? The truth is quite the opposite. Nicholas Ellsworth, Duke of Breckenridge, is a secret agent for the English Crown who has just completed a risky mission to infiltrate Napoleon’s spy network.
 


After his adventures, Nicholas craves the peace and quiet of the country and settling into domestic bliss with his bride. Until he discovers Faith’s deceptive investigation. How can he wed a woman who doesn’t trust him? But a powerful spark has ignited between Nicholas and Faith that could bring about a change of heart. Faith seizes her second chance to prove to Nicholas that they are a true love match but his past catches up with them when three French spies come to exact revenge. Surviving rather than wooing has become the order of the day.

Book Details:

Title: Misleading A Duke

Author: A.S. Fenichel

Genre: historical romance

Series: Wallflowers of West Lane

Publisher: Lyrical Press/Kensington Publishing Corp. (September 29, 2020)

Print length: 238 pages
On tour with: Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tours


LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH A.S. FENICHEL

A few of your favorite things: my husband, my cats—Molly Cat and Simon, my daily planners (I use several and am a bit of a planner freak), my books and even though there are too many, I’m probably never going to donate more of them. 

Things you need to throw out: I always keep clothes too long and really need to weed out my closet. The same goes for old paperwork and tax stuff. I got rid of a lot of shoes when we moved and I’m not going any further or there will be tears.

Things you need in order to write: my computer, my plotting planner, my computer glasses. 

Things that hamper your writing: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Simon (cat), and my phone. LOL

Things you love about writing: the escape into another world. I love the dreams about that world. I love to bring my stories to readers and to hear what they think of the stories. 

Things you hate about writing: it can be very solitary and isolating. But, I have a great life.

Easiest thing about being a writer: coming up with new things to write about. The world is full of inspiration. 

Hardest thing about being a writer: getting past the mental obstacles and plot holes. It can also be hard to carve out time when no one in the family needs me, but that’s getting easier.

Things you love about where you live: Southern Missouri is beautiful. The people here are really nice. The weather is mostly good. We built a new home and I adore it. We have good friends here. There are a lot of wonderful things to do (when there is no Covid-19).

Things that make you want to move: my mom lives back east, and she’s getting pretty old now. That is hard.



Things you never want to run out of: coffee, wine and mascara. 

Things you wish you’d never bought: those flip flops made from a yoga mat. LOL


Favorite foods: Italian food, spinach, cucumbers (I eat almost anything).

Things that make you want to throw up: tomatoes and beets.

Favorite beverage: Ginger Ale (usually as a mixer). 

Something that gives you a pickle face: tomato juice.

Favorite smell: lilacs.

Something that makes you hold your nose: mildew.

Something you’re really good at: I’m a good cook, and I am great at growing house plants. 

Something you’re really bad at: I have no sense of direction. NONE! I get lost all the time. Thank goodness for GPS.

Something you wish you could do: play a sport at the highest level or play a musical instrument well.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: clean stains in carpet. I’m really good at it and so I’m called upon quite often.  

Things you’d walk a mile for: a New York bagel with cream cheese and lox. 

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: anything with raw tomato.

Things you always put in your books: hope, love, strong women characters, men who are smart enough to love strong women, hard times, dark pasts.

Things you never put in your books: glorified violence, though some of my books do have violence, it is always to show the resilience of the character.

Things to say to an author: I loved your book.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I have a great story, you should write it. (Because, if you have a great story, YOU should write it.)

Things that make you happy: my cats, though I wish they would get along.

Things that drive you crazy: mean people. I never understand random malice.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I moved to the Netherlands by myself.

Something you chickened out from doing: two years earlier, I said no to moving to the Netherlands.

Book 1 in the Wallflowers of West Lane series:

The Earl Not Taken

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 



A.S. Fenichel (Andrea) gave up a successful IT career in New York City to pursue her lifelong dream of being a professional writer. She's never looked back.



Andrea adores writing stories filled with love, passion, desire, magic, and maybe a little mayhem tossed in for good measure. Books have always been her perfect escape, and she still relishes diving into one and staying up all night to finish a good story.



She is currently writing Regency romance for Kensington Publishing, and you can learn more about Andrea's books at http://asfenichel.com or visit her on her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/A.S.Fenichel.

, where she spends entirely too much time.

Originally from New York, she grew up in New Jersey, and now lives in Missouri with her real-life hero—her wonderful husband, and a fussy cat. When not reading or writing she enjoys cooking, travel, history, and puttering in her garden.



Connect with Andrea:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest  |  BookBub

Buy the book:
Amazon
 

FEATURED AUTHOR: R.L. BARTRAM

ABOUT THE BOOK

R. L. Bartram brings us a thrilling tale of espionage set in the American Civil War.

Barely fourteen, Ceci Prejean is a tomboy running wild in the hot Louisiana summer. After breaking the nose of a local boy, her father decides to enlist the aid of Hecubah, a beautiful Creole woman, with a secret past, who takes Ceci in hand and turns her into a lady.

Now, eighteen-year-old Ceci meets and falls passionately in love with a handsome young northerner, Trent Sinclaire. Trent is a cadet at the West Point military academy. He acts as if he knows Ceci. They begin a torrid affair, even as the southern states begin to secede from the Union.

Only weeks before their wedding, the Confederate army attacks Fort Sumter and the civil war begins. Trent is called to active service in the north, leaving Ceci heartbroken in the south.

Swearing vengeance on the union, after the untimely death of her family at the fall of New Orleans, Ceci meets with infamous spy master, Henry Doucet. He initiates her into the shadowy world of espionage.

After her failure to avert the catastrophe at Gettysburg, Ceci infiltrates the White House. There, she comes face to face with Abraham Lincoln, a man she’s sworn to kill. Forming a reckless alliance with the actor, John Wilkes Booth, she is drawn deeper into the plot to assassinate the President of the United States. A Confederate spy in love with a Union officer, her next decision will determine whether she lives or dies . . .

INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT BARTRAM

Robert, where’s home for you?
I live in a town called Hemel Hempstead, in the County of Hertfordshire, England.

Where did you grow up?  
I was born in Edmonton, London, but spent several of my formative years living in Cornwall, before finally moving to Hertfordshire. I’ve been here ever since.

What’s your favorite memory? 
There are many, but one of the most outstanding was having my first short story published. That’s something I’ll never forget.



What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned? 
It has to be patience and how to be patient. Never rush anything you don’t have to. Give it time and it’ll come.

What do you love about where you live? 
The area itself, only twenty-six miles from London and yet only a few minutes walking will take me into open countryside.



What’s one thing that you wish you knew as a teenager that you know now?  
The older you get the faster time goes by. ‘Time never runs so fast, as when it’s running out.’

Very true! What choices in life would you like to have a redo on?
For one, I wouldn’t have started smoking. In my youth everyone smoked, now it’s not so clever. Also, there are a couple of poor decisions I made about my writing career, I’d just love to put those right. I think we’d all like a second chance at some things in our lives. I prefer not to dwell on it. I’ll play the hand I’ve been dealt.


What makes you nervous?  
Any situation that’s affecting my life which I can’t control. In short, red tape and technology.


What makes you happy?  
A beautiful sunset, followed by a warm night full of stars.

Absolutely! Who are you?  
That’s a good question. It’s one that my heroin, Ceci Prejean, is asked in my novel. To be honest, I sometimes wonder myself. I’m a man, obviously. Like most people, my moods and fancies change depending on the situation. To be honest, perhaps I’m not the best of men, but every day, I try to be.

Would you rather be a lonely genius, or a sociable idiot?  
No contest. A lonely genius. That way, at least I’ll have the brains to entertain myself.

What’s one of your favorite quotes? 
That’s easy: Oscar Wilde. “I spent all day correcting the proofs of one of my manuscripts. In the morning, I took out a comma. In the afternoon, I put it back again.” I can really relate to that.

Boy can I, too! If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
To be frank, I don’t think I’d want to live anywhere in the world but England. My roots are in the heart of this country.

What would you like people to say about you after you die? 
I’d be glad if they talked about me at all. It wouldn’t matter what they said, I’d be past caring.

What’s your favorite line from a book? 
“We could not remember, because we were too far. We could not understand, because we were traveling in the night of the first ages. The ages that are past and leave no sign and no evidence.” -Joseph Conrad. Fabulous stuff.

What would your main character say about you?  
Hopefully, thank you for bringing me to life, and thanks for getting me out of all the scrapes you got me into.

How did you create the plot for Whippoorwill? 
The American Civil War is a subject that’s been heavily written about. I needed a new slant. I considered women soldiers. Yes, believe it or not, there were nearly a thousand women from both sides that disguised themselves as men and fought alongside the regular troops. However, further research proved that this had already been done. Then I thought of women spies. I discovered that most stories tended to concentrate on working class women or ex-slaves engaged in espionage for the Union. That’s when I decided to make my heroine a wealthy and privileged southern belle working for the Confederacy. Making her fall in love with a Union officer was an added twist. Everything flowed from there.

It sounds fascinating. Are any of your characters inspired by real people?
All my characters are a pastiche of men and women I’ve met over the years. The many and various quirks and foibles I’ve observed have all gone into the makeup of my characters. Hopefully, they are more realistic for that.

Is your book based on real events?  
Yes, in part. I have one unbreakable rule; my writing must be historically accurate. A good deal of research goes into making it so. I feel this gives the story a sense of credibility.

Are you like any of your characters?
Certainly. Just Like Ceci, when frustrated by events I can make some very irrational remarks. British politics usually does it for me. Also, just like Hecubah, my sense of humor can be a bit on the dry side.

Who are your favorite authors?  
There are so many. There are a lot of good writers out there. To name a few. Ray Bradbury. A.S. Byatt. Ernest Hemmingway, and Herman Melville.


Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?  
I always write at my dining room table. It looks out onto a large secluded garden. My muse lives out there. I prefer to write at night. It’s more peaceful then and you can hear yourself think. I usually write from 11pm to 3 am. I always write everything in long hand first. That way I can write as fast as I think without having to concentrate on what buttons I’m pressing. Nothing ever goes into the computer until the novel's finished and corrected.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
It has to be a private email I received from a reviewer who’d just finished my first novel Dance the Moon Down. She remarked ‘I don’t know what to say. I’m staggered. You’ve blown my mind.’  I can’t think of a bigger compliment than that.

What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing?
Again, this was from another reviewer about my first novel. She said she hadn’t finished it, because it didn’t engage her at all. Fair enough. We’re all different. Writing is a highly subjective medium. Everyone has a rite to their opinion.

I try to remember that "You can be the ripest, juiciest peach on the tree, but there will always be people who don't like peaches." Why did you decide to self-publish with Troubador?  
Simply because most agents are no longer taking on new authors. I recall one agent who sighed ‘Oh no, I’m too full’ and that was before he’d even heard what it was I had to offer. It might have been the next Harry Potter. Almost certainly, these days, if you want to get your book out there, you must do it yourself.

Are you happy with your decision to self-publish with Troubador?
Very much so. They are a highly professional, friendly, company, (beware, there’s a lot that aren’t). They have complete packages for authors. You can take as much or as little as you like. They take the manuscript through proof reading and type setting for both paperback and eBook formats. The finished product is as good as anything you’ll find in your local bookstore. It took about six months from start to finish, with a lot of interaction in between, but as far as I’m concerned, it was well worth it.

What steps to publication did you personally do, or did Troubador do it all?
Troubador covered it all. I personally, don’t have the computer skills to do very much. However, if you do, it will cut the costs down. The cover was my idea. I liaised with a graphic artist, and together we produced what I hope is an eye-catching piece of work.

It is! How did you find Troubador and how long did your query process take?  
I found Troubador on the internet. They’re also listed in the ‘Artists and Writers year book.’ My query was answered in a matter of days. A week later, we were working on the book. I can’t stress enough, at this point, I checked out several companies, looking for the best deal. It’s always wise to do so. One thing soon became very clear. There are a lot of rubbish companies out there. It’s certainly a case of ‘Buyer beware.’ So, do your homework before committing yourself.

What are you working on now?  
Nothing now. All my time’s taken up with promoting Whippoorwill. Nevertheless, new ideas are constantly seeping into my mind. Who knows what the future will bring?

EXCERPT FROM WHIPPOORWILL

Trent was lucky. The Confederate musket ball that was intended to kill him merely grazed his brow. He lurched violently back in his saddle. His horse reared wildly, throwing him, unconscious to the ground, directly into the path of his own cavalry advancing only yards behind him. At the far end of the field, Sergeant Nathanial Pike and his men, engaged in the hasty formation of a skirmish line, watched helplessly as the scene unfolded. As Trent hit the ground, a Confederate soldier appeared out of the shadows. Small and slight, little more than a boy, he lunged forwards, grabbed the officer by the lapels of his coat and dragged him out of the path of the galloping horses. Throwing himself across the man’s prone body, he shielded him from the pounding hooves. The cavalry thundered past oblivious, in the half-light, to the fate of their captain.

As the danger passed, the rebel rose to his knees and appeared to search the unconscious man. “God damn thieving rebs,” Pike snatched his pistol from its holster, his thumb wrenching back the hammer. Before he could take aim, the rebel stopped searching. He leaned forwards and, cradling the officer’s face in his hands, bent down and kissed him, full on the lips, long and hard. Pike’s pistol, arm and jaw dropped simultaneously. Something, some noise, some movement, made the rebel look up and glance furtively around. He jumped to his feet and, with a final backwards glance at the fallen man, melted into the shadows, like a wraith. It was some moments before Pike’s jaw snapped shut, his teeth meeting with an audible click. He rounded on his men. “Did you see what I just saw?” he demanded. His question was answered with shrugs and scowls. Not one man there could swear he hadn’t dreamed it. Then suddenly, they heard it, far off, plaintive and eerie, the cry of a whippoorwill.

Other books by Robert Bartram:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

With Historical Romance as his preferred genre, Robert has continued to write for several years. Many of his short stories have appeared in various national periodicals and magazines.

His debut novel Dance the Moon Down, a story of love against adversity during the First World War, gained him considerable critical praise, being voted book of the month by “Wall to Wall books.”

His second novel Whippoorwill tells of a passionate affair between a young southern woman and a northern man at the beginning of the American Civil War.

He is single and lives and works in Hertfordshire.

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Connect with Robert:
Website  |  Blog

Buy the book:
Amazon 

FEATURED AUTHOR: GAELLE LEHRER KENNEDY

ABOUT THE BOOK

A bewitching love story that is also an extraordinary portrait of Jerusalem, its faith, spirituality, identity, and kaleidoscope of clashing beliefs, Night in Jerusalem is a novel of mystery, beauty, historical insight, and sexual passion.

David Bennett is invited to Jerusalem in 1967 by his cousin who, to the alarm of his aristocratic British family, has embraced Judaism. He introduces David to his mentor, Reb Eli, a revered sage in the orthodox community. Despite his resistance to religious teaching, David becomes enthralled by the rabbi’s wisdom and compassionate presence. When David discloses a sexual problem, Reb Eli unwittingly sets off a chain of events that transforms his life and the life of the mysterious prostitute, Tamar, who, in a reprise of an ancient biblical story, leads both men to an astonishing realization. As passions rise, the Six Day War erupts, reshaping the lives of everyone caught up in it.

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT INTERVIEW WITH GAELLE LEHRER KENNEDY

A few of your favorite things: 
I especially enjoy a painting of a beautiful woman by Zivanna Gojanovic which hangs in my bedroom. It’s painted on reverse glass and it resembles the paintings of Gustav Klimt, only with a luminous glow given by the glass. She has a Madonna quality about her, and a red ribbon flowing around her neck with  “Love Conquers All” written on it in Latin.
Things you need to throw out: 
I don’t really need to throw out anything just now as I don’t keep anything I don’t need - that would add cement to my wings. I’m definitely at the minimalist end of the spectrum. I’m very affected by the space I am in. When I discovered feng shui it was like finding a language I had been speaking my whole life, but didn’t know anyone else spoke.


Things you love about writing:
I love creating my characters and their world, and getting to know them as they reveal themselves. I love living with them, and understanding what makes them do the things they do and seeing how their lives unfold.
Things you hate about writing:
Worrying if what I’m writing is any good; feeling stuck, and not knowing what to do about it, and being alone with it.

Things you love about where you live:
I live in Ojai, a small town set in a valley with mountains on three sides, opening to the ocean. I love its serenity and natural beauty, and the people who have gathered here – ranchers, new agers, writers, artists, Hollywood refugees - and the amazing schools. It has all the amenity of a small town, plus a vibrant community.
Things that make you want to move:
I am drawn to water! I’d love to live by the sea, or a large body of water. I love John O’Donahue’s notion of “landscape as presence”  and there are places where I feel especially alive. For example, I’m strongly attracted to Devon and Cornwall in England.

Words that describe you: 
Dances to her own drum.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t:
Impatient,  opinionated, temperamental, and too forthright for her own good.

Favorite music:
I love Leonard Cohen,  I never tire of his songs,  like "I’m Your Man," "In My Secret Life," "Suzanne," "I’ll Take Berlin . . . "  I also love opera, especially Puccini, and Bizet. The Pearl Fishers is my favorite. It tugs at my heart.
Music that make your ears bleed:
I’ve never been a fan of hard rock and banging rhythms, and I’m pretty much allergic to country music.

Something you’re really good at:
I’m really good at creating beautiful  spaces to live in – homes for the soul.
Something you’re really bad at:
Ironing.


Something you wish you could do:
Paint beautiful landscapes.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do:
Cook.

People you consider as heroes:
Mother Teresa, Anwar Sadat, Martin Luther King. 

People with a big L on their foreheads: 
Actually, not a L but a T. Blowhards and bullies.



Last best thing you ate:
Clam linguine.

Last thing you regret eating:
Too much Tiramisu.

Things to say to an author:
I loved your book!! Can’t wait for the next one.
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:
I didn’t understand what you were trying to say.

Favorite places you’ve been:
The English countryside, Luxor, Jerusalem, and Big Sur.

Places you never want to go to again:
Mumbai.

People you’d like to invite to dinner:
Barack and Michelle Obama
.
People you’d cancel dinner on:
Trump.

Best thing you’ve ever done:
Giving birth to my daughter.

Biggest mistake:
Not having her earlier in life, and not having another child.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done:
Buying my first house while on unemployment.

Something you chickened out from doing:
Riding on a BMW motorcycle through Paris.

The last thing you did for the first time:
Change my mind after I was sure I had done the right thing.

Something you’ll never do again:
Spend time with anyone I don’t like.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gaelle Lehrer Kennedy lived in Israel in the 1960s, a naive twenty-year-old, hoping to find herself and her place in the world. The possibility of war was remote to her. She imagined the tensions in the region would somehow be resolved peacefully. Then, the Six Day War erupted and she experienced it firsthand in Jerusalem.

She has drawn Night in Jerusalem from her experiences during that time. The historical events portrayed in the novel are accurate. The characters are based on people Gaelle knew in the city. Like her, they were struggling to make sense of their lives, responding to inherited challenges they could not escape that shaped their destiny in ways they and the entire Middle East could not have imagined.

Gaelle has always been intrigued by the miraculous. How and where the soul’s journey leads and how it reveals its destiny. How two people who are destined, even under the threat of war and extinction, can find one another.

Israel’s Six Day War is not a fiction; neither was the miracle of its victory. What better time to discover love through intrigue, passion, and the miraculous.

Writing this story was in part Gaelle's reliving her history in Israel, in part a mystical adventure. She is grateful that so many who have read Night In Jerusalem have experienced this as well.

Connect with Gaelle:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter 

Buy the book:
Amazon 

FEATURED AUTHOR: ANDREA KANE

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lady Alexandria Cassel scorned London's frivolous social whirl, seeking adventure as a stowaway aboard a merchant ship. Drake Barrett was the vessel's powerful captain—and a cynical duke who disdained a noble's shallow life. At sea he revealed neither his origins nor his wealth, and to Alexandria he was simply a man who made her cool reserve fly with the winds… whose desire for her was as wild as the ocean they sailed.

Caught in the crossfire of war, they were shipwrecked on an idyllic island, where they tasted perfect passion . . . and tenderness. But Drake dreaded the day of their rescue—when his love would discover that the virile man she adored was at the pinnacle of the aristocracy she despised. Hardly did they suspect the base treachery that would soon threaten them . . . and the dangers each would brave to join forever their hearts and lives!

ANDREA KANE ANSWERS FIVE FIVES

5 favorite possessions:
My laptap, my iPad, my cell phone, my Fitbit, and the ice cream in my fridge.

5 things you need in order to write:
Dead silence, a working outline, strong, well-developed characters, my writer’s muse, and a cup of coffee.

5 things about you or 5 words to describe you:
Perfectionist, soft-hearted, tenacious, determined, loving.

5 favorite foods:
Ice cream, pizza, filet mignon, chocolate fudge, seafood.

5 things you always put in your books:
Relationships, suspense, animals, red herrings, blood, sweat, and tears.

EXCERPT FROM MY HEART’S DESIRE

"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY CLOTHES?"

No storm could be as fierce as the one that raged in Alexandria’s flashing eyes as she faced Drake across the cabin. Her expression was murderous, her small hands clenched at her sides, her tone lethal.

Drake closed the door behind him with a firm click. “By ‘your clothes’ I presume you mean that dusty gown and shredded chemise you discarded on my cabin floor?” He leaned nonchalantly against the wall, regarding her with amusement.

Alex was too angry to be shocked at his casual mention of her undergarment. “You know damned well what clothes I mean!”

“Now, now . . . such language, my lady. I am truly shocked.”

She looked as though she might strike him.

“I demand that you return my things at once!”

His brows went up. “You demand? Careful, princess, your snobbish airs are showing. Remember, on this ship the only one who demands is me.” He crossed the room, ignoring her as if she were no more than an annoying child.

She stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

“Did you want something, my lady?” He paused, studying her livid expression. She was as transparent as glass, her anger and exasperation clearly evident on her beautiful face.

Drake grinned. “Your clothes are no longer with us.”

The color in her face deepened. “What?”

“They were torn from your adventure.”

“Liar!” she shot back. “There was no reason for you to discard them … at least not for the reason you just gave.”

Her accusing tone made him chuckle. “You are quite correct, princess. The real reason is that I cannot have you parading around in your finery. My men are already lusting after you quite openly. We wouldn’t want to further intoxicate their senses, now would we?”

“The only one on this ship who has treated me with any disrespect is you!” she retorted.

“Then be grateful that I have limited you to men’s attire. Perhaps you will be safe from my lecherous advances.”

Drake moved away, and Alex turned her back as he took off his shirt and tossed it carelessly onto the chair. Tossing his breeches next to his shirt, he put an end to her torment by climbing into his berth.

The cabin was silent. Drake could sense Alex’s presence nearby, and he knew instinctively that she was not in bed.

“Princess?”

He heard her jump. “What is it?”

He cleared his throat. “Is there some problem?”

“No . . . yes . . . ” She paused. “May I use your basin and some water to wash the dirt from my face?”

Drake smiled in the darkness. “Go right ahead. And, princess … if you can find your way around in the dark, help yourself to one of my shirts. They are clean and more than large enough to protect your modesty.”

Again, silence. Then, “Thank you, Captain.”

Her bare feet padded across the room. Drake listened to her opening the heavy chest, taking out one of his shirts, and slipping it on. Splashing sounds told him she was washing, followed by her soft footsteps as she returned to her cot. Then a thud and a cry of pain.

Drake was out of bed in an instant, moving toward the sound of her choked cry.

“Alexandria? What is it?”

“I walked into the cot,” she whimpered.

“Are you badly hurt?”

In truth she was not. It had been a sudden painful blow, yet already the pain was subsiding to a dull throb. But it was more than she could withstand after her emotionally taxing day. Hot tears filled her eyes, spilled down her cheeks. Try though she would, she could not control the sobs that shook her.

“I’m sorry,” she gasped. “I never cry … and it is not that bad a bruise . . . I just can’t . . . ” She shook her head helplessly, covering her eyes with trembling hands.

There was no forethought. Drake reacted instantly, pulling her into his arms.

“Shhh,” he soothed, pressing her head against his chest. He felt her tears drenching his bare skin, her narrow shoulders shaking. “It’s all right, sweetheart … don’t cry,” he murmured, raising her chin with his forefinger, wishing he could see her face. He stroked his other hand down her back, pressing her closer to him.

They became aware of each other at the same moment. He was totally naked. She was clad only in a thin white shirt. She needed comfort. He needed more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrea Kane is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-seven novels, including thirteen psychological thrillers and fourteen historical romantic suspense titles.

With her signature style, Kane creates unforgettable characters and confronts them with life-threatening danger. As a master of suspense, she weaves them into exciting, carefully-researched stories, pushing them to the edge—and keeping her readers up all night.

Kane’s beloved historical romantic suspense novels include My Heart’s Desire, Samantha, The Last Duke, and Wishes in the Wind.

With a worldwide following of passionate readers, her books have been published in more than twenty languages.

Kane lives in New Jersey with her husband and family. She’s an avid crossword puzzle solver and a diehard Yankees fan. Otherwise, she’s either writing or playing with her Pomeranian, Mischief, who does his best to keep her from writing.

Connect with Andrea:
Website  |  
Facebook  | 
 Twitter  |  Goodreads  

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble 


Book Details
Genre: Historical Romance

Published by: Bonnie Meadow Publishing LLC

Publication Date: September 20, 2016

Number of Pages: ~ 402

Series: Book 1 in "Barrett Family Series"


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FEATURED AUTHOR: JENNIE MARSLAND

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Rochelle McShannon moves with her father from Morgan County, Georgia to the Yorkshire Dales, she thinks she’s leaving behind everything that matters to her. Her mother has passed away, her twin brother is going west to avoid the looming Civil War, and her family’s unpopular views on slavery and secession have destroyed her relationship with the man she hoped to marry. If returning to her father's childhood home eases his grief, Chelle asks for nothing more.



Martin Rainnie understands grief. Since the loss of his wife in childbirth, he’s known little else, except anger. He’s retreated to his farm and turned his back on the world, including his baby daughter, who’s being fostered by Chelle’s relatives. With little Leah drawing them together, Martin begins to wonder if he can love again—and convince Chelle to do the same.



But the war overseas has far-reaching consequences, even in a small English village. Can Martin and Chelle overcome danger, loss, and bitterness to make a home where the heart is?

INTERVIEW WITH JENNIE MARSLAND

Jennie, how did you get started writing?
I started writing when I was very young, eight or nine years old. I just felt the need to tell stories. By the time I was twelve, I had a binder full of short stories and poetry. Then, in a fit of adolescent angst, I decided it was all trash and threw it away. A few years went by, and I started again. I kept writing short pieces, but never dreamed I’d write a novel—until I did.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Getting a fresh new idea and plunging in, excited about the characters and the story. Middles are the most difficult part of writing for me. Plot becomes complicated, and as a pantser, I sometimes write myself into a dead end. When that happens I just have to trust that I’ll find my way out, but it isn’t easy.

What do you wish you’d done differently when you first started the publishing process?
I wish I had been more patient and done more research before submitting my first book. On my first attempt, a small independent publisher accepted my book the day after I sent it, which should have been a red flag. The company folded before the book could be published. The next small publisher I tried published the book and then closed under suspicious circumstances, leaving authors unpaid. I could have saved myself a lot of anguish by being more selective.

Boy, have I been there, done that! (See my blog post on that subject.) What’s more important—characters or plot?
All of my books are character-driven. The plot arises from the strengths and weaknesses of the characters. How do they change? How do they need to grow to achieve a happy ending? And I insist on happy endings.

What books do you currently have published?
Where The Heart Is, my upcoming release from Tirgearr Publishing, will be out on September 7. It’s the first in a series called Choices of the Heart. I have a soft spot for Martin because he’s a talented musician. My partner is also a musician—we met when I signed up to take guitar lessons from him. When he stopped charging me for the lessons, I knew I was in trouble.

The second book in the series, now under consideration by Tirgearr, features Chelle’s twin brother Trey, who lands in Colorado after the Civil War. I grew up reading my father’s Westerns, so the setting came naturally.

I have three other books currently in print, titled Shattered, Deliverance, and Flight. These books make up my Winds of War, Winds of Change series. They’re based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, my hometown, during and after the Great War. Many people aren’t aware that the greatest explosion prior to the atomic bomb took place on Halifax Harbour on December 6, 1917, when a ship loaded with explosives collided with another ship and blew up. Half the city was destroyed. It was one of the major disasters of the twentieth century. Shattered and Deliverance are set at the time of the explosion, while Flight takes place later.

What’s the oldest thing you own and still use?
I love old things. Probably the oldest item I have is a small silver box that belonged to my grandmother. It’s similar to boxes that were sent to soldiers as gifts during the Great War, so it may have been used for that purpose. I use it to hold a few pieces of jewelry.

Is writing your dream job?
Definitely. It isn’t always easy, but there’s nothing else I’d rather do. I can’t survive without a creative outlet. I’ve heard it said that if you can stop writing, you should, but I’ve never been able to stop.


What is the worst job you’ve ever had? What did it teach you?
Ten years ago, I lost my job as a high school teacher because I’d developed a hearing problem. Feeling scared and desperate, I took a job selling insurance, even though I knew it wasn’t really a good fit for me. It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. I learned that no matter how bad things look, it’s vital to stay true to yourself.

What do you love about where you live?
I love Halifax for its rich history—it’s one of Canada’s oldest cities, and it’s been a military port and seat of government since its inception. Then there’s the explosion, with its stories of tragedy and heroism. Then, Nova Scotia is just plain beautiful and the people are just plain nice.

What’s your favorite fast food?
Sushi, bar none. I love the stuff.




What are you working on now?
I’m working on book 3 in the Choices of the Heart series. It doesn’t have a title yet. It features a character from the second book that readers have told me intrigues them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennie Marsland is a teacher, an amateur musician, and for over thirty years, a writer. She fell in love with words at a very early age, and the affair has been life-long.

Jennie grew up reading Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey. She still has a soft spot for Westerns, and she draws further inspiration from her roots in rural Nova Scotia and stories of earlier times, passed down from her parents and grandparents. Glimpses of the past spark her imagination.

Jennie lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with her husband and their two rambunctious Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, Ceilidh and Echo. When she isn't teaching or writing, Jennie plays guitar, dabbles in watercolours, gardens, and caters to the whims of the four-footed tyrants of the household.



Connect with Jennie:

Website  |  Facebook  |  
Twitter  |  
Goodreads  

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Smashwords

FEATURED AUTHOR: KEN METZ

ABOUT THE BOOK

Founding Father is a historical fiction set in 1801's Richmond, Virginia, where one of the founding fathers of our young nation, George Wythe, finds his fine-woven, Old South existence starting to unravel at the hands of treacherous political enemies, conspiring in-laws and outlaws, and several seductive Southern belles.

It has been 25 years since Wythe was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and 13 years since he was a delegate to the United States Constitutional Convention. He, the mentor to two U.S. presidents (Jefferson and Monroe) and to the Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court (John Marshall}, has reached a point in his illustrious career where he can rest on his laurels. So, George and his wife retreat to the sanctum sanctorum of their manor house among the gentry in the genteel City on the James.

But Lady Luck and Lady Karma sling sand into the machine of Squire Walker's comfortable, Old South paradise. Throwing grit into his squiredom's ordinarily hum drum, friction-less machinery is a villainous arch-rival, who crosses swords with the "founding father," a no-account nephew, who manipulates his Uncle George's bank account, a dancing girl, who quickens George's pulse to a fever pitch, and a femme fatale, who tempts the founding father.

Upon the death of George's wife, the ravishing 23-year-old slave girl, Lydia, becomes the only female in Wythe's 5th and Grace Street mansion to do her master's bidding.

George wrestles with his desire to remain faithful to his deceased wife, to maintain his obedience to the code of the Old South, and to refrain from exploitation of the young Lydia, all of that versus his carnal desire for the girl.

Lydia struggles with her perceived subservient role versus her desire for the wealthy master to liberate her two young estranged sons from bondage.

Will George and Lydia lead each other into temptation? Can anyone deliver them from evil?





INTERVIEW WITH KEN METZ

Ken, you're not my husband, brother-in-law, or father-in-law. We're not related in any other way are we?
I live in Western Maryland, where I believe all of my Metz ancestors were born (as far back as my records go, at least).

Then it's highly doubtful we'd have any common ancestors. I believe my ex-husband's family came from Germany to Louisville, where his family stayed. Okay, with that out of the way, tell us how you got started writing?  
My grandson, Kade, who has a degree in literature and on his way to a degree in philosophy, was supposed to write this book, until he informed me that he did not want to write history or romance, but that I should. Well, I just laughed, laughed because I had never ever written a word of history or a word of dialog in my life. But after a period of laughing, my wife convinced me that if Kade was not going to do it then I should. Thus began my year of research.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Discovering – and  completely unexpectedly – that I began to care about my characters, imagining myself in their place, feeling their emotions. When they were sad, I worried about them, when they were glad, I smiled – even teared up once as I typed one short sentence delivered by my female protagonist.
 
Do you have a writing routine?
No – only that I write about any time that food is not on the table. While at the keyboard, I can be alone or surrounded by wife, children, and/or grandchildren. In the wee morning hours my wife sometimes would come to the computer room asking when I was coming to bed. My answer was always something like, "When they stop talking to me." Surprisingly, the dialog was the easiest of all of the things I had to do.

What do you think is hardest aspect of writing a book?
Finding ways to smoothly transition from sentence to sentence, from paragraph to paragraph, from chapter to chapter.

What’s more important – characters or plot?
For my historical novel it was the plot. It was the first thing to jump out at me from my research and formed the foundation of my starting outline. Although, early on it was clear about the basic roles of my male and female protagonists, their character traits seemed to evolve from whatever path that the plot was taking them.  
 
How often do you read?
During most of my adult life, I have read almost exclusively non-fiction, in particular science non-fiction related to my high school biology and earth science teaching. I have read very little fiction, for which I am glad because I believe that has prevented me from inadvertently "borrowing" from other authors.
 
What is your writing style?
Third person narrative, with as much dialog as I can incorporate.

What do you think makes a good story?
Because I have written nothing but historical fiction, I try to insure that the reader become familiar enough with the actual history in my story to be able to follow the plot but then to be surprised when the fictional deviates from the historical.

What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
To review and edit my work from a printed hard copy, not just from a computer monitor. Mistakes that I missed on that screen jumped out at me when I saw them on paper. 

Very true. Do you have any secret talents?
In everyday life, I cannot resist using silly plays on words and simple puns -- much to the chagrin of friends and family. But that "talent" allowed me to interject some humor into Founding Father. Whatever degree of humor that was, it was merely tangential to whatever was going on in the story and almost as an afterthought. Five female readers, however, have told me that they laughed in several places in the story.

Incidentally, those same five women said that they also cried in other places. 

Is writing your dream job?
No, my dream job is after the writing is done, namely in promoting the book. By  promoting I do not mean marketing, I simply mean telling other people about my research, my writing, my characters, my story. 


Do you have any marketing tips you could pass on to indie authors?
Although I have met hundreds of people from "touring" to Richmond, Virginia, where my story takes place and to Wytheville, Virginia (named after my male protagonist, George Wythe),I have been able to promote my book to an equal number of people locally. So, don’t forget to make yourself available to libraries, schools, book clubs, etc. closer to home.

For what would you like to be remembered?
It doesn’t matter – I just do not want to be forgotten.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
It comes from one of George Wythe's law students, Patrick Henry, in his speech at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia on March 23, 1775: "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
 
Do you have a favorite book?
Jared Diamond's Pulitzer winning Guns Germs, And Steel, a discourse on how the advantages and disadvantages of local geography and local biology have shaped human history. 


What are you working on now?
Historical fiction titled If This be Treason: Benedict Arnold And George Washington's Spies. The novel sheds light on The Culper Spy Ring's role in foiling the infamous treasonous conspiracy by Benedict Arnold, Peggy Arnold, and Britain's Major John Andre. If This Be Treason should appeal to fans of the American Movie Classics Channel's series, called TURN.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ken was born 1940 and holds a B.S. degree in biology and an M.S. degree in geology. He's a retired high school science teacher, father of three, grandfather of seven, great-grandfather of one. Ken had not written a word of history or dialog until this, his first novel. Even more than his love of the year of researching and the year of writing Founding Father is his love of promoting the book and telling people about the story.  


Connect with Ken: 

Website  |  
Facebook 

Buy the book:
The Founding Father

Featured Author: Sarah Mallery

One reviewer called Sarah Mallery's historical romance novel, Unexpected Gifts, "A history lesson with a surprise ending." I'm happy to welcome her here today to tell us about her debut novel, published by Mockingbird Lane Press.

About the book:

Can we learn from our ancestral past? Do our relatives behaviors help mold our own? In Unexpected Gifts, that is precisely what happens to Sonia, a confused college student, forever choosing the wrong man. Searching for answers, she begins to read her family’s diaries and journals from America’s past: the Vietnam War, Woodstock, and Timothy Leary era; Tupperware parties, McCarthyism, and Black Power; the Great Depression, dance marathons, and Eleanor Roosevelt; the immigrant experience and the Suffragists. Back and forth the book journeys, weaving yesteryear with modern life until finally, she gains enough clarity to make the right choices.

Praise for Unexpected Gifts:

“…a rich and involving book, the author has written a gem.” (Dorothy Salisbury Davis, author);  “…an impressive, wonderfully thought out and well-told first novel.” (Carla Davidson, former Sr. Editor, American Heritage);  “…In S. R. Mallery’s fine first novel, a dozen vibrant, real characters leap out…as the author adroitly rewinds and replays the greatest hits of American history…” (Dan Vining, author)

Interview with Sarah Mallery:

How long have you been writing, and how did you start?

I didn’t become a writer early like a lot of authors. At the time ‘It Happened’(about ten years ago), I was already a matured wife and mother. I remember hoping two very significant people in my life would become professional writers––basically, so I could stand back and live vicariously through them. But neither one of them complied, so before I knew it, I had sat myself down one day and taken a stab at it. It was like a drug and I have never stopped since.

What do you like best about writing?

I love having the ability to get lost in a separate world and to say to myself that it’s okay to read a book for research or enjoyment in the middle of the day because this is a part of my profession. I also enjoy the editing process a lot. It’s my way of getting a second, third, fourth, or even firth chance to make it better.


What’s your least favorite thing?

My least favorite thing is waiting for that special click in my head, when I know it’s an Ah-Ha moment, and when that doesn’t come readily, being tempted to eat out of frustration or futz with something that doesn’t need futzing. Also, getting too swept up in the social media game and ignoring my writing and my historical research.

Oh my, is that easy to do, or what?! Do you have another job outside of writing?

Yes. I am an adult English As a Second Language Teacher and an essay-writing teacher. And I have to say, they are the most wonderful students in the world!

How did you create the plot for this book?

Many moons ago, while I was lying in bed with my daughter who was three at the time, I was reading a short story my mother had written years before that. As I looked down at my sleeping child, I suddenly thought, ‘There are three generations in this bed tonight.’  That thought stuck with me somehow and years later, when I decided to write a book, I thought about that special night and how powerful it had been for me. I also realized it could be a great vehicle for getting different U.S. time periods in.

Your book sounds fascinating. Do you outline, write by the seat of your pants, or let your characters tell you what to write?

Probably from being a quilter for so many years, when I started preparing for my novel, I put any ideas, character developments, traits, etc onto little slips of paper then tossed them in a large folder. I also read a LOT of historical books, underlining, and notating in them like crazy, then jotting down specific pages numbers on little paper pieces as well before placing them in The Folder. Once I had a lot of slips piling up, I took them all out, and started sorting them––some for basic historic events, some for characters, some for objects that the characters left behind. I started little envelopes with each character’s name, and for historical events. The more I did this method, the more the basic plot was developing in my head.

From there I made a very, very broad outline. Then, as I divvied everything up into chapters, I would outline each chapter, based on those little slips of papers, with scene ideas, where to get authentic details, etc. 

Did you have any say in your covert art? 

The cover art person is Jamie Johnson. She is a vital part of Mockingbird Lane Press and is a joy to work with. She read the book to get the flavor of its various components, and after listening to me suggest that maybe it should involve an attic and a trunk, came up with the basic artwork. We went back and forth for quite a while ironing everything out, with her trying to please me at every step of the way. I consider myself very fortunate because I had read how some publishers really don’t give the author much choice in the matter.

What is your favorite line from a book?

The opening line from Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

Which character did you most enjoy writing?

I really enjoyed writing the chapter involving my heroine’s great grandmother, Daria from Ireland. I enjoyed reading all about Ireland (those DK Eye Witness travel books are fantastic!), and learning the Irish grammar. In fact, as I invented her and her experiences, I was constantly saying the words out loud with an Irish lilt, and I believe because of that, the character really stayed in me.

I’m constantly on the lookout for new names. How do you name your characters?

I have a couple of ways: 1) I mostly use Google to look up names from whatever time period I’m working on. I get a lot of good sites on that. 2) I picked up a little book at CVS called, Baby Names by Bruce Lansky. It has 15,000 names with their origins. 

How do you handle criticism of your work?

The truth? Inwardly, not well. Outwardly, much better. I ruminate about it for a while, then as I gradually calm down, I start to sort out what is probably true and what is their opinion only. It is a process. 

Do you have a routine for writing?  Do you work better at night, in the afternoon, or in the morning?

I notice I tend to be more alert in the early morning, but sometimes I do write at night.  Basically, whenever I can fit it in.

Is there anything in particular that you do to help the writing flow?  Music?  Acting out the scene?  Long showers?

Definitely music! When I worked on Unexpected Gifts, I compiled CD’s of the various time periods. That helped me so much. As I listened, I would jot down ideas about scenes, character motivations, traits, plots.

And funny you should mention the shower. That seems to be a place where as I lather up, I suddenly think of something that happens to one of my characters, or the fact that a character wouldn’t say this or that. I guess I’m in good company––I remember reading that Agatha Christie claimed she got her best ideas while doing the dishes...

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I like to teach ESL, but I also love watching films on Netflix and TV––classics, new films, Indie films, BBC series, American series, you name it! I get a lot of ideas for my books by watching the plots and character development.

If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you
go? (Don’t worry about the money.  Your publisher is paying).

I would love to spend a long summer in the British Isles with my husband, going from one cottage to another in England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Sounds wonderful. Can I go too? What are you working on now?

I am slowly doing historical research for a Civil War mystery.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about it!

Book Trailer

Excerpt from Unexpected Gifts:

Chapter 1: Discoveries

    “….[at her parents’ house] Sonia stood over her father. Once her hero, she looked down at him now, thinking how old and fragile he seemed.  Just a mass of angry words….She glanced past him to his hospital bedside table and saw what he must have been reading earlier, before the outrage and drink overtook him.  The Agent Orange Aftermath was about two and a half inches thick, bloated from dog-eared and alcohol-stained pages….”

    “….Sonia stirred her tea. “Here’s the thing. I think I’m––I’m lost.”

    “…She watched her mom scrunch up her face….“Maybe you should…explore other things… There are quite a lot of old family diaries and objects up in the attic...Who knows?  They might even give you some answers…..”

    “…there was an old steamer trunk at the far end of the room, rusty, threadbare, and artistically draped with a cobweb or two over its corner edges.….”

    “…when Sam’s [Sonia’s father] box was exposed, Sonia gasped.  A cornucopia of the Vietnam experience flooded her senses and…left a slight dread.  Did she really want to unleash all their secrets?”

From the author: 

I have worn various hats in my life. Starting out as a classical/pop singer/composer, I worked in small clubs/churches and composed for educational filmstrips. From there, I moved on to having my own calligraphy company, a twenty-year quilting and craft business, and teaching ESL/Reading. Finally, I tried my hand at fiction writing and it was like an all-consuming drug. I’ve been happily writing ever since.

I have had eleven short fiction pieces published in descant 2008, Snowy Egret, Transcendent Visions, The Storyteller, and Down In The Dirt. Several of my stories have appeared in different anthologies through Scars Publications. Before that, I had articles published in Traditional Quiltworks by Chitra Publications, and Quilt World by House of White Birches when I was a professional quilt designer/quilt teacher.


Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Amazon 
| Kindle

Featured Book: River of Love

River of Love {Book 3 ~ Savage Destiny Series}

Zeke Monroe will do anything to protect his Abbie and make sure she is happy, which is why he opts to settle into ranching and build his Abbie-girl a home of her own where they can begin raising a family on the plains of Colorado along the Arkansas River. But the encroachment of white settlers and its affect on Zeke’s Cheyenne brothers begins to threaten his and his family’s safety, and the paradise he and Abbie find is short-lived.  Still, nothing can kill the devotion these two share toward each other, and it’s love that holds them together through heartbreaking adversity outside their private world.

Excerpt

“Come back to bed, Zeke,” Abbie told him softly. “You know how I hate storms. Come and hold me.”



The rain started pelting the roof then, and he came back beside her. Both were naked, for that was the way they always slept. 

She pulled the buffalo robe over them, snuggling close to him, finding perfect shelter from the storm that frightened her. She was afraid of nothing when Zeke was beside her.  He was like a rock, indestructible, strong, hard, never afraid. She lifted her face to his. Then his lips covered hers and she had no defense against the way he had of enticing her, as if his manliness and his touch were not enough.

About Roseanne Bittner

I've been writing for nearly thirty years and to date have had 57 novels published, all about the American West of the 1800's and Native Americans. I write romance, but not the typical bodice-ripping adventures. My stories are deep love stories, often family sagas told as a series. It is the hero and heroine's love that holds them together through the trials and tribulations of settling America's western frontiers. I absolutely love the Rockies, the Tetons, the Sierras, and the wide-open plains, prairies and desert land west of the Mississippi. In my books, I strive to tell the truth about the settling of the West and how it affected our American Indians, as well as the gritty depth of what our brave pioneers suffered in their search for free land and a better life. 

I am a member of the Nebraska and Oklahoma Historical Societies, my local southwest Michigan historical society, Women Writing the West, Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America (treasurer) and the national RWA, and a local charity group called the Coloma Lioness Club. I help run a family business and love doing things with my three young grandsons. If you visit my web site atwww.rosannebittner.com, where all my titles are listed as well as a page that lists all my many writing awards; or you can visit me on Facebook. At either site you will learn news of new books to come as well as reprints of many of my past titles soon to be published in trade paperback and as e-books! I also have an author site at Amazon.com.


Rosanne's Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads /  Amazon

Featured author: Tracy Brogan

Tracy Brogan is my guest today on A Blue Million Books. I'm happy to share her guest post, "Writing Rituals" and an excerpt from her historical romance, Highland Surrender.

About the author:

Tracy Brogan is a two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist who writes funny contemporary stories about ordinary people finding extraordinary love, and also stirring historical romance full of political intrigue, damsels causing distress, and the occasional man in a kilt. Her first two books, Crazy Little Thing, and Highland Surrender, both earned a 4-Star review from RT magazine and have hit the Amazon Best Selling Books list. 

Tracy lives in Michigan with her bemused husband, her perpetually exasperated children, and two dogs, who would probably behave better if they could understand sarcasm.

Guest post:

Writing Rituals
By Tracy Brogan

Writers lean toward the eccentric, perhaps a byproduct of spending more time in virtual worlds than with living, breathing human beings. It’s sort of a chicken versus the egg conundrum. Are we like this because we are often left to our own solitary entertainment? Or do we seek solitude because we know we can imagine a world more engaging than the one physically surrounding us?

Either way, I know I am decidedly eccentric. And perhaps a teensy bit superstitious/OCD. I have several rituals to put me in the mood (for writing, that is). First, I buy myself a venti-sugar-free-caramel-no-whip-soymilk-decaf-latte. It has to be this drink exactly. Venti because I need a big one. Sugar-free and no-whip because I’m always watching calories (usually watching myself devour them). Soymilk because no cows should suffer just because I need my fix. And decaf because I am irritable by nature and caffeine just makes me that much more hostile.

With beverage ready, I clear away the debris littering my desk. School papers from my above-average children, a reminder from Honda that it’s been two years since my last oil change, and copious notes to myself with Pulitzer-Prize-quality story ideas that I didn’t want to forget, which now make little sense to me at all. One simply reads, “Narcoleptic mattress salesman.” Not sure where I was headed with that.

Next, I gather my trinkets. A Jane Austin action figure l next to my computer screen stares at me with benign indifference, in much the same way she was once perused by Mr. Darcy. The irony is lost on her. Probably because she’s plastic. At her feet lies a metal disk bearing the likeness of Poseidon, an ancient coin from the coffers of an Atlantian nobleman. (Okay, so it’s from the Atlantis casino in the Bahamas. Close enough.) My bulletin board is covered with inspirational items: quips from successful writers, photos from a trip to Scotland, magazine pictures of yummy celebrities who have no idea I’ve cast them in a mental movie version of my books, and a Post-it note from my daughter. She left it for me when I was under a particularly difficult deadline. It says simply, “Mom, I believe in you.”

I also have a note from my publisher which I received just today congratulating me on the successful launch of Highland Surrender. It proclaims in big, bold letters that I’ve sold 30,000 copies in just six weeks. What an honor and a thrill. And next to that, I have a note bearing the worst review I’ve received (thus far :D) which reminds me that I’ll never please all of the people all of the time.

In this tiny corner of my house, I begin to write. The emerald green walls of my home office fall away, the drone of the washing machine fades, and my characters begin to speak. Sometimes slow and soft, sometimes shouting and animated. But they always have something to say. I like it here, in this room. They like it here, too. It’s a reunion of sorts, and like a typical family, sometimes they annoy me. Sometimes they make me cry. But always, I am happy that they’ve come to visit.

See, I told you... Writers are a little eccentric.

About the book:

Defiant Highland beauty Fiona Sinclair is shocked by her brothers’ treachery. To seal a fragile truce, they have traded her hand in marriage to their sworn enemy, a man she has never met, a man she was raised to despise. With no choice but to wed, Fiona makes her own private vow: though she may surrender her freedom, she will never surrender her heart.



Commanded by his king, Myles Campbell is no more willing than his reluctant bride. Still, she is a rare beauty, passionate enough to warm even the coldest marriage bed. Buy Myles quickly realizes Fiona Sinclair is no common wench. She has a warrior’s spirit and a fierce pride that only a fool would try to tame. And Myles Campbell is no fool. Their marriage was meant to unite warring clans. They never imagined it would ignite a once-in-a-lifetime love…

Excerpt:



Scottish Highlands, 1537



Fiona Sinclair could not reconcile the irony of nature’s twisted humor. For today of all wretched days the sky should be burdened with clouds as dark and dismal as her mood. But the morning dawned soft and fair, mild as a Highland calf, and she knew that God himself mocked her. At any moment, Myles Campbell and his father, the Earl of Argyll, would pass through the gates of Sinclair Hall, unwelcome, yet unhindered by her clan. Soon after that, she must stand upon the chapel steps and marry a man she had never met, and yet had hated for all of her life.



Through her narrow bedchamber window, sounds from the bailey filtered up. The smithy’s hammer tapped a mellow cadence as if this day were just like any other. Perhaps he shaped a horseshoe or a pointed pike. She smiled at the latter and imaged the heaviness of that same pike in her hand. Oh, that she had the courage to plunge it deep into the earl’s heart, if indeed he had one.



She rose from the threadbare cushion on the bench and moved without purpose toward the stone fireplace. A low fire burned, warding off the spring morning’s chill. From habit, Fiona slipped her hand into the leather pouch around her waist. She squeezed tight the silver brooch inside, its design and inscription etched as clearly in her memory as on the pin itself. A boar’s head, symbol of Clan Campbell, with words chosen by the king himself.



To Cedric Campbell, a true friend is worth a king’s ransom. James V.



The brooch had been a gift to the Campbell chief, the man about to become her father-in-law. But he had left it behind nearly seven years earlier, pierced into the flesh of Fiona’s mother so that all the world might know he had dishonored her. The priest found Aislinn Sinclair’s lifeless body in a secluded glen outside the village, stripped bare and broken, marked by Cedric’s lust and spite. Thus a feud, long simmering at the edges, boiled over.



But today the king thought to put an end to it with this farce of a marriage between a Sinclair lass and a Campbell son. It would not work.



Fiona paced to the window, restless and melancholy. She leaned out to breathe fresh spring air, hoping it might lighten her spirits. The too-sweet scent of hyacinth clung to the breeze, along with the ever-present brine of Moray Firth. Along the west curtain wall, more hammering sounded as masons worked to bolster the steps leading to the main keep. As if precarious stairs alone might halt the Campbell men from gaining entrance. But nothing would. Her fate as a Campbell bride had been declared the very day she drew in her first breath, and sealed when her father blew out his last.

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