The title of this book just makes me want to pick this book up and read it - I love anything supernatural. The exciting thing about this book is that it is FREE - that's right I said FREE - on #Kindle for a Limited Time.
She Sees Ghosts―The Story of a Woman Who Rescues Lost Souls
(Part of the Adirondack Spirit Series)
By David Fitz-Gerald
A blazing fire killed her family and devoured her home. A vengeful demon haunted her. Ghosts of the Revolutionary War needed help that only she could provide. A young woman languished, desperate to survive, and teetered on the edge of sanity.
Mehitable grew up in a freshly tamed town, carved from the primeval forest. Family, friends, and working at the mercantile filled her days and warmed her heart. For Mehitable, life was simple and safe, until tragedy struck. When her family perished in their burning home, she retreated into a world of her own making.
As a young girl, she had seen glimmers, glimpses, and flickers of the spirit world. She closed her eyes. She turned her back. She ignored the apparitions that she never spoke of, desperately hoping they would leave her in peace. She was mistaken.
Grief-stricken, Mehitable withdrew from the human world. Ghosts were everywhere. They became bolder. She could no longer turn her back on the spirit world. Her friends feared for her survival. Nobody understood her. She would have to find her own way.
Fans of TV’s Ghost Whisperer and Long Island Medium will especially love She Sees Ghosts. This historical novel features memorable characters and delivers bone-tingling, spine chilling goosebumps. It stands on its own and it is the next installment in the Adirondack Spirit Series by the award-winning author of Wanders Far―An Unlikely Hero’s Journey. David Fitz-Gerald delivers a historical novel with a bittersweet ending that you won’t see coming.
Would she save the spirits’ souls, or would they save her? Only time would tell.
Watch the book trailer - it really will make your day! I LOVE IT!!
"Now her family exists in a smokey swirl...!!" LOL!
Where to buy
I grabbed my copy from The Coffee Pot Book Club, as I am taking part in the blog tour for this book in January, but you can grab yours for FREE on Amazon.
David Fitz-Gerald writes fiction that is grounded in history and soars with the spirits. Dave enjoys getting lost in the settings he imagines and spending time with the characters he creates. Writing historical fiction is like making paintings of the past. He loves to weave fact and fiction together, stirring in action, adventure, romance, and a heavy dose of the supernatural with the hope of transporting the reader to another time and place. He is an Adirondack 46-er, which means that he has hiked all of the highest peaks in New York State, so it should not be surprising when Dave attempts to glorify hikers as swashbuckling superheroes in his writing. She Sees Ghosts―A Story of a Woman Who Rescues Lost Souls is the next instalment in the Adirondack Spirit Series.
I am taking part in another fabulous virtual blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club. You just have to read an excerpt of Restitution by Janet Lee Berg.
Restitution
By Janet Lee Berg
“Restitution” is the riveting, multigenerational story of Sylvie Rosenberg, a Holocaust survivor traumatized by the memory of her art dealer father forced to trade paintings with the Nazis in an attempt to save their large extended family. Sylvie’s adult life in 1970s New York is plagued by survivors’ guilt and bitterness. But when her self-destructive ways threaten to upend the life of her Vietnam-vet son, Sylvie finally needs to face her demons. She returns to Holland to confront her past and fight the Dutch judicial system for the return of the masterpieces, but the battle proves far more difficult than Sylvie imagined...
Weaving in tragic true events from her own family history, Berg offers a sensitive story of history, romance, and humor along with detail from the extensive research of Lynn H. Nicholas, the world’s leading expert on art pilfered during WWII. Over 80 years later, the real family still awaits justice and the return of artwork that continues to hang on museum walls, without noting their tragic history…
Michael blamed his mother for many things, including letting his father walk out on them. My father’s a stranger to me. I lost him the same day I lost my first tooth. Michael could still see his six-year old self in the mirror staring hard at the hole where the tooth had been, the toothbrush bristles against his sore gums. He remembered his tears running into his mouth, the salty taste mixed with blood. But he could hardly remember the back of his father’s head when he had slammed the front door and walked out without looking back. Maybe by the time a new tooth replaced the empty spot his father would be back. But he didn’t come back, not even long after Michael’s adult tooth emerged.
Mom forgot to put a quarter under my pillow that night. What did I know, a dumb little Jewish kid? I never enjoyed the splendor of the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus . . . no way was I ever going to believe in the tooth fairy. Or in my father. I kept that pain to myself. I guess we all collect our own little secrets.
Michael wasn’t just an only child. He was a lonely child. He didn’t have much of a family and he wondered why, trying to put the puzzle together: his famous grandfather, the world-renowned art dealer; his grandmother, the socialite who had the servants dress the four children in their best clothes. Michael envisioned them running through the three-story house in Holland all those years ago.
Michael heard a few obscure anecdotes about the once aristocratic family he’d never met; her siblings were still living in Europe. He could see the angst on his mother’s face as she told him, particularly when she mentioned Gretta’s name.
One thing his mother made perfectly clear was that people were not to be trusted, even family. “The ones you especially have to be leery about,” she had said, “are the ones that profess their love for you.”
He knew in the later years exactly who she was referring to. His mother wanted to be the only one in Michael’s life because she would never abandon him—not like his father had done. Never! And she had done everything in her power to keep her only Jewish son apart from that gentile girl named Angela.
After a night out drinking with the guys, Michael had become irrational. With a hangover, he had enlisted in the Army the next morning. He immediately knew he had made a grave mistake. Soon after, he and Angela separated. The girl was right all along—Michael wasn’t strong enough to stand up to his mother. Ironically, when Michael had lost his will to live, Sylvie reached out to his Christian girlfriend and told her where to find him. “Tell him the truth, Angela. Only you can. Tell him the secret his mother kept from him his entire life.”
Michael finally confronted her.
“How could you not tell me that I have a brother, Mom? You could have told me ten, fifteen years ago. He could have been part of our family after Dad walked out.”
“I’m sorry, Michael,” she had repeated over and over through the tears. “I know it was a terrible secret to keep from you. Believe me, I lived with the guilt.” She turned away. “I can’t talk about this right now. Please, don’t make me . . . I never could tell you because I wasn’t sure you’d forgive me. I wasn’t sure I had forgiven my own sin,” she whimpered.
“Stop! I don’t believe in sins. Being human means you’re allowed to make mistakes. And mistakes can be forgiven.”
Sylvie had covered her mouth in shame. “I was so young, Michael.”
“I would have understood,” he said.
Michael imagined his mother as a young girl who missed her father and who had only known about showy dresses and expensive jewelry back in her homeland. She had witnessed the suffering of others during the war and feared the same horror could befall her own family. Still, it was difficult for him to ignore her shallow lifestyle.
During college, Michael rebelled against Sylvie’s materialism. He practiced meditation, read Indian philosophy, and smoked a lot of weed. It wasn’t until the day he met Angela, when he shed his sandals on the beach and ran into the ocean waves to rescue the gentile girl, that he saved himself from going under.
*
I definitely what to read it after checking out that excerpt. If you are looking for that last minute xmas present for a family member or a friend that adores quality history fiction then this book might just be what you are looking for! Pick up your copy on Amazon UK • Amazon US • Barnes and Noble • Books-a-Million
Janet Lee Berg is a native New Yorker with a residence in Charleston, SC. She is also author of several other works of fiction and children’s books and has had her work featured in the local, regional, and national press. A journalist in the Hamptons, Janet Lee Berg has interviewed numerous celebrities and pursued an MFA in Creative Writing, under the direction of published professors including Frank McCourt, author of Angela’s Ashes.
I am loving being part of the virtual blog tours that The Coffee Pot Book Club organises - all the new books I am being introduced to, it is a bookaholic's heaven! Today, I am welcoming Elizabeth St.John and her fabulous book, By Love Divided on to my blog.
By Love Divided
(The Lydiard Chronicles Book 2)
By Elizabeth St.John
London, 1630.
Widowed and destitute, Lucy St.John is fighting for survival and makes a terrible choice to secure a future for her children. Worse still, her daughter Luce rejects the royal court and a wealthy arranged marriage, and falls in love with a charismatic soldier. As England tumbles toward bloody civil war, Luce’s beloved brother Allen chooses to fight for the king as a cavalier. Allen and Luce are swept up in the chaos of war as they defend their opposing causes and protect those they love.
Will war unite or divide them? And will they find love and a home to return to—if they survive the horror of civil war. In the dawn of England’s great rebellion, love is the final battleground.
A true story based on surviving memoirs, court papers, and letters of Elizabeth St.John's family, By Love Divided tells of the war-time experiences of Lucy St.John, the Lady of the Tower. This powerfully emotional novel tells of England's great divide and the heart-wrenching choices one family faces.
Have you ever had that feeling when you pick up a new book and you somehow just know it is going to be absurdly brilliant? Brothers in arms and a family torn apart by a brutal civil war - the blurb and that amazing cover were all I needed to convince me that I had to read this book.
I have composed some top tips that you need to follow to the letter if you want to get the most enjoyment from this book. They are as follows:
• hot chocolate on tap
• enough food close to hand, so you do not need to get up
• at least a couple of hours of utter peace and quiet
- as if that was going to happen at my house!
Nevertheless, I bravely battled on, snatching moments to read this book whenever I could. But Oh, how I longed for just a few hours so I could sit and read without any interruptions because this story really did deserve all of my attention.
The story is so heartbreakingly tragic, especially when I realised it was based on a real family and real events. How absolutely awful for Lucy Apsley as she was forced to watch her family torn apart by something as ugly as politics. So very sad. However, Lucy's determination to not let their political beliefs divide them is heartwarming and just goes to show that there is always a way, even when opinions differ, to stay together.
I thought this novel was really really good. It is the kind of book that I will read again and again just because it is so beautifully written and the story is so very beguiling. This book is definitely a keeper.
*Add it to your Xmas list and maybe Santa will bring it in your stocking!
Elizabeth St.John spends her time between California, England, and the past. An acclaimed author, historian, and genealogist, she has tracked down family papers and residences from Lydiard Park and Nottingham Castle to Richmond Palace and the Tower of London to inspire her novels. Although the family sold a few country homes along the way (it's hard to keep a good castle going these days), Elizabeth's family still occupy them-- in the form of portraits, memoirs, and gardens that carry their legacy. And the occasional ghost. But that's a different story.
Having spent a significant part of her life with her seventeenth-century family while writing The Lydiard Chronicles trilogy and Counterpoint series, Elizabeth St.John is now discovering new family stories with her fifteenth-century namesake Elysabeth St.John Scrope, and her half-sister, Margaret Beaufort. A new medieval short story featuring these women, Road to the Tower, is within the recently-published Historical Fiction anthology Betrayal.
I am very excited to be a part of The Coffee Pot Book Club's virtual blog tour for Christine Hancock's new book, Bright Helm.
Separated by anger and unanswered questions, Byrhtnoth and Saewynn are brought together by a tragic death.
Re-united, they set out on an epic voyage to discover the final truth about his father.
The journey takes them far to the north, to Orkney, swathed in the mists of treachery, and to Dublin’s slave markets where Byrhtnoth faces a fateful decision.
How far will he go, to save those he cares for?
Last summer, I died. I remember it vividly. The exhaustion of a hard-fought battle, the despair as my axe slipped from my hand in the torrential rain. I can still feel the impact of my enemy’s weapon as it struck my helmet, but strangely no pain. I still taste the mud that filled my mouth as my body fell to the ground. I even hear the triumphant shout of victory and the screams as other men died. There is an overwhelming smell of blood, and if I close my eyes, I can see it, my blood, soaking into the sodden soil. And then? Nothing.
I woke up. Time had passed. When I died it was the height of summer; now it is the depths of winter, and I am home, lying in my own bed. How did I get here? They say I survived the battle, how? They have shown me my ruined helmet; how could anyone survive that blow? I raise my hand to my head; the hair is freshly grown, and beneath the stubble is a scar.
What happened in the time between my death and my awakening? They say that someone rescued me. Who? I entered the river which washed me far downstream. People not knowing who I was cared for me. Why? Who were they? Then my wife came with the others and rescued me, brought me back by ship. They thought I would die. I didn’t.
It is so difficult, not knowing what happened. Sometimes a memory floats just out of reach. When I try to catch it, it disappears. Was it even there?
Then there are the dreams: the dream in which I kill my father. I am there and yet I cannot see, blinded by a bright shining light. My hands are around a man’s neck. I know it is my father and that I hate him, hate him more than I have hated anyone. Because he lied to me? My hands tighten. I feel the brush of a beard and the heaving muscles of his neck. I smell his breath, sour and stinking of fish. I hate fish. Fingers tear at mine, but I am stronger. There are voices, shouting, I cannot hear the words. He fights for breath, horrible rasping gasps. I lift him, feet off the ground. He is smaller than me; I thought he would be taller. He kicks feebly and then it ceases. I drop the dead weight and wake, exhausted and sweating.
One night I woke to find my hands about my wife’s neck. Although too weak to cause harm, I have banished her from our bed. I am lonely, but I cannot risk her life. I tell them I can’t remember the dream, if it is a dream. They think it is a memory of the battle. Is it a memory? It can’t be, how could I meet my father? Why would I want to kill him? Is it a prophecy, a warning of what is to come? If I meet my father, am I fated to murder him? Always I have desired to find the truth about him; perhaps it is better not to take that risk.
I resist any talk of what will happen when I recover. I am afraid. What might I do when my strength returns? Perhaps the dream will have faded by then, and everything will be as it used to be.
Or it might get worse. There is another dream, a feeling. It comes at night and sometimes during the day. I cannot see, I cannot move. Something imprisons me, someone, and then he laughs.
Christine Hancock was born in Essex and moved to Rugby, Warwickshire when she married. She and her husband have two sons and two lovely grandchildren.
She is a long-term family historian, leader of the local history group and town guide.
Christine had never thought of becoming an author - She just wanted to write about some of her ancestors. In 2013 she joined a writing class. The class turned out to be about writing fiction. Before she knew it, she was writing a novel.
Byrhtnoth was a real warrior who died in the 991 Battle of Maldon, made famous by the Anglo-Saxon poem of that name. Growing up in Essex, Christine visited Maldon often, and attended the 1000 year anniversary of the battle in 1991.
She wanted to find out what made Byrhtnoth such a famous warrior.
She finished the book but discovered it had become a series - how long, she has yet to find out.
I am really excited to be taking part in The Coffee Pot Book Club's virtual blog tour for Discovery (The Orphan Train Saga, Book One). Today, I am hosting an excerpt post, so have a read of the blurb and the excerpt and if you are interested in picking up a copy of this book you can find it on Amazon's #KindleUnlimited - I know how popular that subscription is with my readers! Anyway, I am going to shut up now - I hope you enjoy the excerpt!
While most use their summer breaks for pleasure, third grade teacher Cindy Moore is using her summer vacation to tie up some loose ends concerning her grandmother’s estate. When Cindy enters the storage unit that holds her grandmother’s belongings, she is merely looking for items she can sell to recoup some of the rental fees she’s spent paying for the unit.
Instead, what she finds are secrets her grandmother has taken to the grave with her. The more Cindy uncovers, the more she wants to know. Why was her grandmother abandoned by her own mother? Why hadn’t she told Cindy she’d lived in an orphanage? And how come her grandmother never mentioned she’d made history as one of the children who rode the Orphan Trains?
Join Cindy as she uncovers her grandmother’s hidden past and discovers the life that stole her grandmother’s love.
Mileta followed behind Clara, who had come to collect her and the two other girls, both of which stood sobbing as they ran their hands through their hair. Her new shoes pinched her toes, but she didn’t care. She loved the way they clicked on the tile floor with each step. She’d never had shoes that clicked before. She followed the girls; she didn’t know their names, as no one had introduced them. No one in this building seemed to care about being polite, something that her papa had always insisted on. Papa would not approve of me being here.
The girls appeared to be close to her age and both sported short, choppy black hair, which made them look more like boys than girls. Mileta ran a hand across her head. Gone were the long locks her mother used to braid before bed each night. She swallowed hard, realizing that she too now looked very much like a boy.
Mama’s going to be mad at them for cutting my hair. Mileta looked over her shoulder, wondering when her mother would return. The procession stopped at the door, and Clara turned to address them.
“It is meal time. You are to get in line, get your tray, and find a seat at the table. There is to be no talking. If you are talking, you can’t eat. If you do not eat, they will take your food away. Understand?” the girl asked glancing at each girl in turn.
Mileta wondered who “they” were, then remembered the lady who took her dress, and nodded her head.
Clara opened the door and led them into a large, open room. The room split into two distinct sections, each side lined with rows of long wooden tables. Children of all ages sat at the tables: girls on one side, boys the other. The girls were all dressed the same as she, in gingham dresses with white aprons. The boys had black knickers that stopped at the knee, white shirts, and matching socks. Some of the children stopped to stare at the new arrivals. Others shoveled food as if they were afraid it would disappear. Mileta’s stomach rumbled as she caught a whiff of freshly baked bread. The yeasty aroma nearly reduced her to tears, the smell suddenly reminding her of her hunger. She followed the other girls and waited her turn, marveling as the woman behind the counter sat a metal tray containing mush along with the end piece of bread and a metal cup half full of milk in front of her. She thanked the woman, but the woman didn’t respond. Her stomach growled once more, reminding her it had been nearly two days since she’d eaten. Even then, all she’d had was a small hunk of cheese, an overly ripe apple, and three crackers. She had tried to share the crackers with her mom, but her mother kept coughing and told Mileta the dry crackers would only make her cough worse. Mileta wished her mother would have eaten some crackers, as her cough grew worse anyway.
Mileta turned and looked for the other girls, but they’d already found seats at a table without room for another. She scanned the room and saw an empty seat next to a blonde-haired girl that looked to be a few years older than she. The girl looked up, tilted her head in invitation, and gave the briefest of smiles. Slight as it might be, it was the first kind gesture she’d seen displayed since her arrival, so she hurried towards the girl. Sitting at the table, she folded her hands as Papa had taught her, and closed her eyes to say a quick prayer.
When she opened her eyes, her bread was gone.
Tears sprang to her eyes as she searched each plate looking for the missing loaf. Anger swept over her when she saw it on the plate of a girl at the far end of the table. Mileta started to get up, but the girl next to her grabbed her arm.
“Leave, and when you come back your mush will be gone too,” the girl whispered. “Eat before it too is taken.”
The girl who took it looked to be more than double her age. Her dark hair was pulled high atop her head and held in place with a wide blue bow. She stared at Mileta as she bit into the stolen bread.
Mileta now knew the “they” of which Clara warned. “Doesn’t she know I am hungry?”
“We are all hungry. It is never enough. Anastasia is the one who took your bread, but there are many others who will steal your food. Now hurry, eat before they take your mush too.”
Mileta shoveled the mush into her mouth so quickly, it was gone in mere moments. Papa would not like that she was eating like the dogs she’d seen on the city streets scrapping over a discarded bone. But Papa was not here, and she was hungry. Sitting down her spoon, she picked up the cup, draining her milk in four quick gulps.
“I’m Mary,” the girl next to her whispered after Mileta finished. “We are allowed to talk as long as we whisper. Remember, never speak until you are finished eating. You have seen what can happen if you do not.”
“Can we not tell on them?” Mileta asked, glaring at Anastasia.
Mary shook her head. “Not if you wish to live. What is your name?”
“Mileta.”
Mary’s blue eyes grew wide. “Listen, Mileta, the last thing you want is to be known as a snitch. That happens and having your bread stolen will be the least of your worries.
You can grab your #kindle paperback and hardback copy of this book over on Amazon UK & Amazon US - remember it is on #KindleUnlimited. Or, you can grab the paperback and hardback over on Barnes & Noble.
Check out the book trailer:
Born in Kentucky, Sherry A. Burton got her start in writing by pledging to write a happy ending to a good friend who was going through some really tough times. The story surprised her by taking over and practically writing itself. What started off as a way to make her friend smile started her on a journey that would forever change her life. Sherry readily admits to hearing voices and is convinced that being married to her best friend for thirty-eight plus years goes a long way in helping her write happily-ever-afters. Sherry is the author of The Orphan Train Saga novels, a planned eighteen book historical fiction saga that revolves around the historic orphan trains. Books in the saga include Discovery, Shameless, Treachery and Guardian. Loyal, the fifth in the saga, expected to release summer of 2021. Sherry resides in Michigan and spends most of her time writing from her home office, traveling to book signing events and giving lectures on the Orphan Trains.
The Coffee Pot Book Club strikes again! I am so pleased that I am a host as I am being introduced to so many fabulous books. Today, I am welcoming Thomas J. Berry and his fabulous book, Fire and Ash: Gifts of the Gods, Book 3 on to Oh look, another book!. But before we get to my review, let's check out the book!!
Five men and women in Ancient Greece are set on a dangerous journey of self-discovery during the bitter conflict of the Peloponnesian War.
While mighty Athens struggles to rebuild after a devastating campaign abroad, the feared warriors of Sparta prepare to deliver the final blow in a decades long war. No one is safe anymore as the conflict shifts across the Aegean to the shores of wealthy Persia. Old colonies, once loyal to Athens, are eager to rebel and the Great King is willing to pay anything to regain his control over them. These coastal plains set the stage for massive battles and heartbreaking defeats. This time there will be only one true victor.
The news coming out of Sicily ripples across the cities of Ancient Greece like a thunderbolt and it is left to the poor and desperate to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. One young mother is suddenly faced with a horrible tragedy and struggles against all odds to make a new life for her family. An eager boy looking for adventure enlists in the new Athenian ranks but finds life on campaign a lot more than he bargained for. A Spartan officer in the twilight of his years struggles to adapt to a young man's army and an exiled Athenian strives to earn his way back into the graces of his beloved city. The harem girls in a Persian court meet a handsome foreigner and one risks everything for a chance at love.
As the conflict between Athens and Sparta builds to a final showdown, five men and women struggle to come to terms with their changing world. What will they find in the ashes when peace finally comes?
Hands up, I will freely admit that the only thing I know about Ancient Greek History was taught to me by Brad Pitt in Troy, and to be fair, I wasn’t paying much attention to the storyline. And more recently I have sipped my cuppa while watching those Groovy Greeks from Horrible Histories – If you are a parent, you will know what I am going on about. But, this is an era that I felt that I should know more about and so, when I was offered the chance to read Fire and Ash: Gifts of the Gods, Book 3 by Thomas J Berry and having being assured that this book did standalone, I felt I had a duty to myself to read this book and hopefully learn a little about this period of history along the way.
What I learnt:
Spartan’s were great warriors.
Athenians were great sailors.
And this was a great annoyance to both sides.
The politicians were corrupt.
Some things never change.
Trade routes were really important. So important that whoever controlled them could actually cause the population of another nation to starve.
Executions were a long drawn out affair, and I quote “Immediate death was to be avoided at all costs, lest the men who passed the sentence be condemned as well.”Umm…if they were that worried they could have, you know, not executed anyone - just putting it out there!
If you don’t listen to master strategists, your side is pretty much guaranteed to lose. Just saying, if they had listened to Alcibiades…!
And ultimately, it was the ordinary citizens, especially the women and the children, who suffered.
So, yes, I learnt a lot, and it made me want to learn more. This book is a fascinating insight into the war between Sparta and Athens, but it is also a story about ordinary people and how they coped in such an uncertain time.
By using five very different points of view, the author has allowed the reader to have a foot in both camps. I marched with that Spartans, and I sailed with the Athenians. More importantly, there were characters that I really came to care about.
If you are like me and don’t know much about Ancient Greece, then please do not be put off by this book for it is a wonderfully written story that shined a light upon a period of history that for some reason has been overlooked. I really enjoyed this novel, and I will definitely be checking out the other books in the series.
Thomas Berry received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from St. Bonaventure University. He takes pleasure in extensively researching both historical fiction and non-fiction stories. In his spare time, he enjoys long distance running and has completed several marathons. He currently lives with his wife and children in New Jersey. You can learn more about Thomas and his historical novels at his website, www.thomas-berry.com. You can also find him on Twitter • Instagram • Goodreads
Please give a warm welcome to Anna DeForest who is on tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. Scroll down and check out the fabulous Giveaway
Simple Gifts
By Anna DeForest
Christmas promises to be anything but merry for Robin Matthews who is waging a losing battle to keep her ranch and her family together. So when rugged ex-Marshal Nathaniel Hollister grudgingly agrees to help her run the Rocking M temporarily, he appears to be the answer to her prayers. But with Christmas fast approaching, Robin is going to need a miracle to keep from losing everything, including her heart to this kind but bitter man.
Though his attraction to her is growing by the day, Nathaniel knows he is too world-weary for a decent young woman like Robin. Once the most infamous lawman in the West, he turned in his badge after a tragedy left him guilt stricken and disillusioned. And yet Nathaniel is about to discover that the magic of Christmas has a way of making the impossible possible… and turning wishes into simple gifts that can last a lifetime.
* Simple Gifts was originally published as A Cowboy for Christmas from Kensington (2000)
"If you hadn't been there, I could have handled things just fine on my own. I probably wouldn't have even been shot," Robin said defiantly. She was sitting upright in her bed now, the covers she had tucked so modestly under her arms long ago forgotten in the blaze of her anger. The well-worn fabric clung to the sweet swell of her breasts.
As he stared at her, his awareness of her as a woman came rushing back in a dangerous tide. Lord, Robin Matthews was pretty when she was in a temper. Her cheeks were flushed with color and her green eyes sparked fire. With that golden braid of hair falling over her shoulder, she looked soft and feminine and far too delectable for his peace of mind. He was painfully aware that he was alone with her in her bedroom, and that she was wearing just a nightgown and not much else. He remembered how good and soft she'd felt while he carried her home, and he could still remember clearly the way her hair had smelled of roses and lavender.
A part of him wanted to take her into his arms, sink back with her into that featherbed, and make her forget all about her precious ranch. He knew she wasn't indifferent to him. He saw the small looks she slanted his way when she thought he wasn't aware. It would be good between them. He'd help her turn some of that passion she felt for her ranch toward loving, and it would be better than good.
Giveaway
Check this out - Anna DeForest is giving away a $20.00 Amazon / B&N Gift-card to one lucky winner.
If you are, like me, desperate to get your hands on a copy of Simple Gifts then head over to Amazon.Smashwords.
Anna DeForest wrote her first book-length piece of fiction in fifth grade. She taught history at the Colorado Heritage Center and a Denver private school. She was thrilled when Leisure Books bought her first historical romance, Golden Dreams. She was actually watching Sesame Street with her four-year-old when she received the good news call from her agent, but she managed to tear herself away from Big Bird long enough to listen to the terms of her new contract.
Growing up in Colorado gave Anna a lifelong taste for outdoor activities such as hiking, riding and skiing. She also enjoys gardening, which is currently quite a challenge because armadillos keep rooting around in her garden in Dallas.
Anna has always tried to write the kind of romances she likes to read—stories about warm, caring people who pursue their lives and loves with passion. These days, Anna is excited about offering four of her previously published romances to her new readers, along with three romances that have never been published before. You can learn more about Anna and her books at www.annadeforest.com.
I don't know about you, but I am a little addicted to Netflix at the moment. During lockdown me and my partner have binged watch so many great shows in the evening once the children have gone to bed. I am currently watching The Last Kingdom which is brilliant, and I am loving it almost as much as I love the books - talking of books I have just picked up a copy of the Bernard Cornwell's latest book in the series in Tesco! So as soon as we have finished watching the series I am going to read the book - I will let you all know what I think as soon as I have read it.
In other news, I have found some tour companies that I would like to work with - I am so excited about this opportunity as I am hoping to discover some great books and authors.
When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella's side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward's version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun.
This unforgettable tale as told through Edward's eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward's past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?
In Midnight Sun, Stephenie Meyer transports us back to a world that has captivated millions of readers and brings us an epic novel about the profound pleasures and devastating consequences of immortal love.
Yes, I can hear you all groaning now, but it had to be done. I have to admit this is the only series where I watched the films first and then read the books, and it is also the only series where I thought the films were better. But, I became caught up in all the buzz about this book and I thought, oh why not? And as I was walking around Tesco, with a mask firmly over my nose and mouth I spotted the hardback version on the shelves, and so yes, it also ended up in the basket along with the garlic bread! Actually, this book was really rather good, and it was really interesting to read the story from Edward's perspective. Was it worth the 12 year wait? I would say yes it was for Stephenie Meyer's writing has really matured, if you know what I mean? If you enjoyed Twilight the first time around, I think you will adore this book.
I picked my copy up from Tesco, but you can grab your copy on Amazon.
No one could have predicted this - well, maybe they did but no one wanted to listen, but that is a story for another day. So, I am back, my little darling is finally going to bed at a decent time and sleeping through the night which means I have a lot more energy and I also have time to read a little in the evening, which is fabulous.
I really want to do more with this blog, so I am thinking of going some blog tour companies and take part in some virtual tours because that just sounds like a really cool thing to do. Watch this space!
