Saturday, July 28, 2018

Saturday Snippets: Matthew's Freedom & Polly's Family



Last week I shared two snippets from two guest authors who, along with me, wrote a novella for the nine-author anthology, 
Under a Mulberry Moon.
This week I am sharing two more snippets 
from two other books.

The following snippet is from Matthew's Freedom: Journey to Freedom, Book 2 by Cissie Patterson:


          His eyes sparkled as she shook his hand, trying to ignore the tingling feeling traveling up her arm. A smile stretched broadly across his lips as he winked at her.

          “A pleasure to meet you. My sister and I have traveled for several days and that stew was the best I’ve ever eaten. Please give my regards to the cook. I could use a woman who could cook like that.”
          Brenna laughed. “I’ll let old Bert know you’re interested. I think he’s been lonely since his wife passed years ago.”
          She saw the man’s face turn red and she chided herself for teasing him. “I’m sorry, Mr. Burchard. We like to poke a little fun around here from time to time. Life’s difficult enough as it is just getting up each day.”
          “No worries, Miss…” he let his voice trail off, as he waited for her last name.
          “It’s actually Mrs. Wayne.” She watched his face fall as she revealed her marital status. She hurriedly continued, “My husband, Amos, may God rest his soul, passed away in a mining accident two months ago.”
          She couldn’t tell if he was interested in her, but she wouldn’t blame him if he wasn’t. Some men didn’t want a widow. Not to mention she had a son that was in a difficult period of his life.
          “Well, no worries, Mrs. Wayne. I believe a man needs to take a little teasing at his own expense to keep life from becoming boring.” 


To follow Cissie Patterson on Facebook, please CLICK HERE, and remember to sign up for her newsletter HERE.
 

  
Now to share a snippet from A Family for Polly by Jacquie Rogers:

           But good morning? Hardly. The morning had been a trial. First she couldn't interpret Noah's hand gestures in his silent plea for whatever it was he wanted, and while she concentrated on that, little Evie had barfed pancakes all over the kitchen table, two of the chairs, and the floor. Once Polly had cleaned the kitchen and manage to find something that Noah would eat and Evie might keep down, Merry had announced that she had a visitor in the lobby.

          Polly remove the peppermint stick from her tea cup and licked it off before she put it on the saucer, all the while wishing that instead of receiving the visitor, she gone straight upstairs and back to bed. Mr. Ecclestone of the Children's Society had come to take Noah and Evie, and Mary's children, too, for the rules stated that all adoptive parents must be legally wed. If Polly and her sister didn't come up with a solution by the end of the week, he'd have no recourse but to remove all five children from their home.


To visit Jacquie Rogers' website and sign up for her newsletter, "Pickle Barrell Gazette", CLICK HERE.



Both these delightful stories may be found in
Under a Mulberry Moon 
which is now available and still at the pre-order price of 99 cents. Be sure to purchase it before it resumes its regular price of $2.99. 
To purchase, please CLICK HERE.

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Featured Book: THE UNEXPECTED WIFE by Caroline Warfield





















Today I am joining author Caroline Warfield 
in celebrating the launch of her latest historical romance, 
The Unexpected Wife

About The Unexpected Wife:


The Duke of Murnane expects work to heal him. He doesn’t expect to face his past and find his future in China


Charles Wheatly, Duke of Murnane, accepts an unofficial fact finding mission to the East India Company’s enclave in Canton, China on behalf of the queen. He anticipates intrigue, international tensions, and an outlet for his grief over the death of his young son. He isn’t entirely surprised when he also encounters the troublesome offspring of his mentor, the Duke of Sudbury, but the profound love he discovers for the determined young woman is unforeseen and untimely. Charles certainly doesn’t expect to also face his troubled marriage in such an exotic locale. The appearance of his estranged wife in the company of their enemy throws the entire enterprise into conflict, and tensions boil over when the woman he loves is put at risk by his wife’s scheming—and the beginnings of the First Opium War.

Zambak Hayden seethes with frustration. A woman her age has occupied the throne for over a year, yet the Duke of Sudbury’s line of succession still passes over her—his eldest—to land on a son with neither spine nor character. She follows her brother, the East India Company’s newest and least competent clerk, to Macau to protect him and to safeguard the family honor—if she also escapes the gossip and intrigues of London and the marriage mart, so much the better. She has no intention of being forced into some sort of dynastic marriage, and she may just refuse to marry at all. The greed and corruption she finds horrifies her, especially when her brother succumbs to the lure of opium. She determines to document the truth. When an old family friend arrives she assumes her father sent him. She isn’t about to bend to his dictates nor give up her quest. Her traitorous heart, however, can’t stop yearning for a man she can’t have.

As an epic historical drama unfolds around them, both Charles and Zambak must come to terms with a love that neither expected.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CQ9QWkqLvw

Purchase Links for An Unexpected Wife:


Giveaway:

To celebrate the launch, Caroline will give a copy of any of her books to one randomly selected person who comments between July 25th and 26th. They can choose from the books found here:



About Caroline Warfield:


Award winning author Caroline Warfield has been many things: traveler, librarian, poet, raiser of children, bird watcher, Internet and Web services manager, conference speaker, indexer, tech writer, genealogist—even a nun. She reckons she is on at least her third act, happily working in an office surrounded by windows where she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and the far-flung corners of the British Empire. She nudges them to explore the riskiest territory of all, the human heart.
Connect with Caroline Warfield: