New Release — Summer Smoke (Gold Camp Dreams Book 2) by Vella Munn

 

Nothing means more to Katharine Beechman than her two beloved daughters, Mary and Sally. At ages five and three, they are her world—her reason for being. After her harsh past, she doesn’t need or want a man in her life. She knows better than to trust one. 

As manager of the Eagle Canyon’s Yuba gold mine Daniel Harman’s life is marked by the ultimate responsibility for every miner’s safety. The success—or failure—of the Yuba mine rests solely on Daniel’s shoulders. Determined to be the man everyone depends on, as he has been since his difficult childhood, he refuses to show any weakness. And there’s certainly no room in his heart for a woman, let alone a family.

But he never intended to fall in love with Katharine’s sweet and innocent daughters. He melts every time they laugh or smile. As for their serious, independent mother—she has awakened a need deep in him he has always denied. Can he risk telling her that he recognizes the loneliness in her? A loneliness he understands all too well.

As Katharine and Daniel take a chance on revealing their emotions, the past she has fought so hard to put behind her returns with a vengeance. There’s no escaping the danger in the SUMMER SMOKE...

EXCERPT:

“He has black lung. Miner’s consumption.”

Her own breath suddenly gone, she pressed a cool wet fist to her forehead. “I was afraid it was something like that. How do you know? You said you weren’t the one to ask.”

He spun toward her. A sense of isolation slipped over her. It was just the two of them, a couple of crazy people looking for a dog that wanted nothing to do with them. Getting to know each other. Maybe learning things about themselves.

“Dr. Piper told me,” he said.

“I shouldn’t be surprised. There isn’t much in the way of secrets here.”

“Like Dwight saying something he shouldn’t have.”

There it was. Another lesson acknowledged. “So you heard.”

“It was impossible not to. I’m sorry.”

“So am I. Like we agree, secrets don’t exist here.”

“Such as accusations of murder.”

     

Norman Lord, Saxon Lady by Lynna Banning

 

England, Late Summer 1067

The Normans have arrived at the Saxon castle of Belven. Faced with the proof that her home and lands have been granted to Norman knight Alain de Chalus, Saxon Lady Edra of Belven knows she must surrender for the good of her people. On his deathbed, Lady Edra’s father startles her by encouraging her to work with the interlopers rather than offer resistance. Has he gone mad? How can he suggest such a thing?

Norman knight Alain de Chalus is proud of his standing as the new lord—but how will he be able to force the Saxons to work with him? The key, he realizes, is Edra—he must win her over, and that will be no easy feat. But time passes and love flares between them—and then the day comes when Alain’s bride, Henriette, arrives unexpectedly.

How can Alain remain faithful to the child-bride he barely knew before he left for war? How can Edra turn her back on the young woman who only wants a friend in this place that is foreign to her? When Edra is kidnapped by a beast of a man, Alain only knows he must save her—no matter what. Can there be a happy ending for this NORMAN LORD, SAXON LADY?

EXCERPT

England, Late Summer 1067

 

Something dark was moving between the field of wheat and the village turnstile. A man. Edra sucked in a breath and stood motionless, watching. In the bailey behind her a motherless baby goat butted her hand and bleated for the soft leather teat she had been using to feed it. Now it leaked whey over her fingers, but she paid no attention. She stepped forward, brushed the kid out of her path and squinted at the dark figure in her field.

When she heard the scream, she hiked up her kirtle and began to run. The woman screamed again, and now Edra saw why. The man had her beneath him, was yanking up her kirtle.

“Stop!” Edra flew toward them through the tasseled wheat, her throat tight with fear. “Stop!” She threw herself onto the man’s broad back, and when he twisted away, the woman rolled free. It was Egitha, the shoemaker’s wife.

Edra pounded the man’s shoulders with both fists. She would kill him! No matter that he was armored in chain mail, she would grip his throat and strangle the last bit of life out of him. The iron links cut into the skin of her hands.

“My lady!” Egitha’s hoarse voice penetrated her maddened haze, but Edra did not stop her pummeling.

“Egitha, run!” she shouted. “Get help!” She grabbed the wooden pitchfork the older woman had dropped and plunged the sharp prongs into the man’s mail-covered chest. The blow knocked him flat, and she raised the pitchfork to stab him again.

     

New Release - Stella’s Time: A Time Travel Novel by Agnes Alexander

 

When Stella Hunt returns to the abandoned orphanage where she was raised for one last goodbye, she finds herself in the middle of a pouring rainstorm with a broken-down car and no gas. Homeless, with no job and no money, Stella has come for one final look at the only home she’s ever known before the beautiful old place is torn down to make way for progress.

Grieving the loss of one of the nuns who raised her here, as well as the impending destruction of the orphanage, Stella’s life takes an unexpected turn. As she explores a small closet, she suddenly finds herself thrown back in time to 1878—when the glorious old orphanage was the grandiose home of Trent Leighton, the owner of Leighton Ranch.

When Stella opens her eyes, she’s met with the none-too-friendly greeting of Mr. Leighton—a man who does not believe in nonsense like time travel. He’s certain she’s making up this wild tale—but why? Stella wants only to return to her own time, over 140 years in the future. But how can she convince Trent Leighton of that?

A jealous neighbor sets out to cause Stella and Trent trouble, but it’s the article in a newspaper from the future that lets Stella know what she has to do to make everything work out right to save the orphanage. Falling in love with a man from another time could be devastating—but if she wants to keep her heart from shattering, there might be no return back to STELLA’S TIME…

EXCERPT

Stella opened her eyes, then closed them quickly because the bright sunshine made her head hurt more than it already did. What was the matter with her? She never had headaches, but it was sure throbbing at this moment.

Coffee. That’s what she needed, but where in the world could she get a cup? Since she hadn’t had any in a while, she decided she might splurge and buy some this morning. It wouldn’t matter much if she spent a dollar, and surely, she could get a small cup for that if she used a fast-food drive-through.

Opening her eyes again, she glanced around and felt overcome with confusion. Where in the world was she? The last thing she remembered... What did she remember? Nothing.

She frowned and realized something else was wrong. Bad wrong. She was lying on a sofa wrapped in a knitted coverlet. It was comfortable and the cover felt good on her skin. Skin? Why was she not dressed? What happened to her clothes? She didn’t usually sleep in her underwear, but she was sure in it at this moment. How she got that way was a mystery.

Heavy footsteps outside the room reached her ears. Knowing there was nothing she could do but wait to see who it was, she froze in place.

     

New Release —WINTER SILENCE byVella Munn

If she could, Carrie Walsh would live anywhere except Eagle Canyon, an isolated gold mining camp deep in the mountains of California. Forced into marriage by her father to a brute of a man, she has no choice but to do as her husband, George, has commanded. Two things keep Carrie from feeling despondent in this desperate situation—the rough, quiet loner known only as Nevada, who is George’s business partner, and the tiny life inside her.

Under sudden, questionable circumstances, Carrie becomes a widow. But what can she do to survive? The harsh winter has them snowed in, and she’s trapped. Though Nevada is suspected of murdering George, Carrie is still drawn to him, and he has vowed to make sure she and the child to come have a roof over their heads.

But Nevada has secrets and a past that haunts him. Can he dare to love Carrie—or hope she might love him? The truth about George could destroy Carrie—and eventually, her child. Nevada should run while he can—if he’s locked up, he’ll die. But this new feeling of wanting to belong somewhere, to be accepted, is something he can’t put aside. Is that dream worth risking his freedom and heart for in this deadly WINTER SILENCE?

EXCERPT

  Carrie fell asleep curled in the rocker. A little after ten, she undressed, ran her fingers over the cover on the feather bed she shared with George, and tried to convince herself to get into it where smells and memories waited. Instead, she returned to the rocker and made herself as comfortable as possible. Despite the kink in her neck, she couldn't rouse herself enough to try to do anything about it. Neither could she talk herself into extinguishing the lantern and letting darkness surround her.

When she first heard the sound, she thought a strong gust had struck the door. Then, it was repeated, hard thuds that chased all sleep from her mind. She jumped to her feet, her hand going to her throat. "Who is it?" she called out, hating the fear in her voice.

"Carrie, it's me."

Nevada. She was halfway across the room before it dawned on her that George and he couldn't have walked all the way to and from Grass Valley in this amount of time, and she couldn’t imagine Nevada turning back once he'd started something. She opened the door and let him in along with a swirl of icy wind and snow. His face in the lantern light had a slightly bruised look. His eyes, nearly buried in their deep sockets, burned with something. She should look behind him for her husband but couldn't think how to free herself from Nevada's gaze. Not for the first time his expression held her; held, and refused to let go.

"What is it?" she asked.