Friday, December 21, 2012

Introducing Cynthia Woolf's "Capital Bride"

Introducing Cynthia Woolf's 
CAPITAL BRIDE
Unexpectedly homeless, un-wed mother Sarah Johnson has few options.  They could go live with her cousin William, but Sara believes there’s something untoward about his offer and it leaves her feeling uncomfortable.  She's qualified to be a governess, but no one will have her because she wasn't married when she had her precious MaryAnn.  Matchmaker & Co could be her salvation as mail-order-bride to Mr. John Atwood.

Single father, John Atwood, is raising his daughter the best he can in the wilds of the Colorado Territory but knows he needs help.  No woman he knows wants to take on the raising of his daughter who hasn't spoken since she saw her mother brutally murdered during a bank robbery.  Can Sarah, John and their two daughters overcome their pasts and find happiness together?


An Excerpt from Capital Bride
New York City    April 10, 1867
On the other side of the door was her last resort.  Either this or prostitution and prostitution was not a choice.  She couldn’t raise MaryAnn in that environment, nor if truth be told, could she lower herself to live like that.  At least this way there would be some stability in her little girl’s life.
    Sarah took a deep breath, turned the knob, and walked through the door to a better future for her daughter and, if she were lucky, for herself.
    The office was small and precisely kept.  A single desk with a straight, high backed wooden chair, one in front and one behind, sat in the middle of the room.   She’d noticed the flowered curtains were open on the way in, curtains tied to the side.  The small area was flooded with dazzling afternoon light.  The walls were whitewashed and the desk well organized.  There were several tables with neat piles of files along one wall.  The other wall held several rows of pictures of women and men.  None smiling, as that was the way pictures were taken, but all appeared to be wedding pictures.  Below each picture was a small brass place with the names of the bride and groom and the date of the wedding.
     A small, woman in her late thirties with fiery red hair, sat behind the desk.  When Sarah got closer she saw gorgeous dark blue eyes behind the wire rimmed glasses perched on the end of her nose.  Her eyes were so dark a blue they could almost be called violet.  They were striking and clear, honesty shone from them along with a “no nonsense” attitude.
    “May I help you?” the woman asked.
    “Um.  Yes.  My name is Sarah Johnson.  I saw your advertisement for mail order brides.”
    The woman looked Sarah over, taking in her clothes, her hands clasped in front of her and ending at her face.
“First, let me introduce myself.  I’m Margaret Selby and I own Matchmaker & Company.  Please, sit down.  You’re older than the women we usually have.  You’re also better dressed and don’t appear to be hungry.  What would bring someone like you to my door?”
    “I’ve been living with my great aunt.  She passed away suddenly two weeks ago and the lawyer says I need to find other lodgings.  My cousin, William, has inherited everything except a small stipend she left for me.  William is selling everything.  MaryAnn and I have nowhere else to go.”
    “MaryAnn?”
    “My daughter.”
    “So, you are a widow?”
    Now was not the time to be less than truthful, if she wanted this woman’s help.  “No.”
    “I see.  How old are you, Miss Johnson?”
    “I’m twenty-eight.”
    “And your daughter?”
    “MaryAnn is five.”
    “Tell me, Miss Johnson, how did you come to find yourself with child at age twenty-two without being married?  Surely you knew how those things happened by that age.”

Meet the Author
Cynthia Woolf was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in the mountains west of Golden.  She spent her early years running wild around the mountain side with her friends. She worked her way through college and went to work full time straight after graduation and there was little time to write.  Then in 1990 she and two friends started a round robin writing a story about pirates.  She found that she missed the writing and kept on with other stories.  In 1992 she joined Colorado Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America.

In 2001, she saw an ad in the paper for a writers conference being put on by CRW and decided she'd attend.  One of her favorite authors, Catherine Coulter, was the keynote speaker.  Cynthia was lucky enough to have a seat at Ms. Coulter's table at the luncheon and after talking with her, decided she needed to get back to her writing.  She rejoined both CRW and RWA that day and hasn't looked back.

Learn more about the author at:  ​www.cynthiawoolf.com​.


Crazy for Cowboy: Book Tour Wrap-Up


We're wrapping up Roxy Boroughs' "Crazy for Cowboy" tour, but we're going to miss Roxy and all the fun we had with her along the way. Thank you to our tour hosts and all those who joined us during the tour. 
In case you missed it . . . 
She’s through with cowboys. But this one’s the ‘reel’ deal.

Equine veterinarian, Emily Grant, has had her share of cowboys, and they always break her heart. After vowing to give them up forever, Brandon Hollister strides into her life.
He’s a different kind of cowboy, one that works on the silver screen. But is he just playing the part when it comes to love? Or can this sexy hunk get past a case of mistaken identity to become the man to win Emily’s heart.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon

See you next time!

 





Sound of the Heart: Book Tour Wrap-Up

We're wrapping up a great tour with author Genevieve Graham! We've had a wonderful time and would like to thank all of those who stopped in and joined us. A big thank you to the tour hosts who participated! 

Congratulations to our tour giveaway winner!
 Melissa Mason

In case you missed it . . . 
Dougal MacDonnell, a fierce warrior from the Highlands of Scotland, is able to hear the thoughts of other men and dream how the future will unfold. Devastated by the loss of his family during the Battle of Culloden in 1746, he fosters a deep hatred for the English. But when Glenna, the love of his life and a Scottish outlaw, is captured and shipped overseas, Dougal is forced to join an English army made of vanquished Scots. Now fighting on the side of his sworn enemies, he embarks on a journey that will take him across the seas to the colonies. There he will risk everything for the chance to find his true love.

 

Angel's Assassin: Book Blast Wrap-Up


Angel's Assassin Book Blast is coming to a close, but we're gearing up for the full tour next month! Thank you to the participating tour hosts for all you've done, and thank you to the readers for joining us!

In case you missed it . . . 
Damien is an assassin, a man with no home and a tortured past. Sold into slavery as a young boy, he is trained to kill with cold calculation, without remorse. As a reward for his ruthless success, he is given a chance to earn his freedom from his cruel master. One last mission. One final person to slay…

Lady Aurora of Acquitaine is the epitome of purity and goodness, beloved by all her people. She lives her life trying to atone for her mother’s cruelty by being a fair and just ruler. Secretly she fears that one day her mother’s murderer will return for her.

When Damien enters Aurora’s life, tempting her with promises of dark passion and forbidden lust, he threatens to tear her peaceful world apart.

Can Aurora’s light heal Damien’s dark spirit or will his evil consume her? The eternal battle of good versus evil, love versus hate, dark versus light, all come to a shattering climax in this historical romance set in medieval England.


Don't forget to
 Join the full tour in January!
 

Friday, December 14, 2012

Angel's Assassin: A Medieval Romance


Introducing Laurel O’Donnell 's
ANGEL'S ASSASSIN
Damien is an assassin, a man with no home and a tortured past. Sold into slavery as a young boy, he is trained to kill with cold calculation, without remorse. As a reward for his ruthless success, he is given a chance to earn his freedom from his cruel master. One last mission. One final person to slay…

Lady Aurora of Acquitaine is the epitome of purity and goodness, beloved by all her people. She lives her life trying to atone for her mother’s cruelty by being a fair and just ruler. Secretly she fears that one day her mother’s murderer will return for her.

When Damien enters Aurora’s life, tempting her with promises of dark passion and forbidden lust, he threatens to tear her peaceful world apart.

Can Aurora’s light heal Damien’s dark spirit or will his evil consume her? The eternal battle of good versus evil, love versus hate, dark versus light, all come to a shattering climax in this historical romance set in medieval England.

 

Enjoy an excerpt from Angel's Assassin
Aurora interposed herself before Damien, almost as if protecting him.  “Damien’s skills are very adequate.  I have seen them in action.”

“But the rest of us have not,” Harold exclaimed.  He opened his arms to the group of knights who stood about them now, the armored men looking like the bars of a cage, intent on keeping Damien confined within their perimeter.  “Isn’t that right?  How many would like to see Damien’s sword skills?”

The crowd around them exploded with applause and “ayes.”

Harold slid from his horse with an easy dismount.  He ducked the fence to stand before Damien.  “After all, you are protecting Acquitaine’s greatest treasure.  I would be betraying my oath to Acquitaine if I demanded any less.  I would like to know your skills are impeccable.  What do you say, bodyguard?  Care to share your secrets with the rest of us?”

The men around them mumbled in agreement; some sneered with open hostility.
Every one of Damien’s senses demanded he attack.  His self-preservation instincts told him this knight was a threat.  The beast inside him burned through his veins, demanding release, demanding action.  But Damien had learned long ago when to keep the beast reined.  Now was not the time, nor the place.  He placed his hand on Aurora’s back and began to steer her away, moving through the crowd.
The crowd opened grudgingly before them.
Harold dogged their steps, taunting, “Coward.  What kind of bodyguard are you to turn your back on a good fight?”
Aurora stopped and spun on Harold.  “That is quite enough, Sir Harold.”
“My apologies, my lady,” he said, bowing.  His judgmental stare remained fixed with acrimony on Damien.  “But I believe we do not need an outsider to protect you.  We are able knights, worthy of first consideration.”  He stepped past her to Damien.  “Tell me why he is afraid to fight me, if he is so good.  Tell me why he will not raise a sword to prove his worth.”
Aurora opened her mouth to reply, but Damien answered instead, “Because I would kill you.”
Hatred glared from Harold’s eyes.  Damien had seen the look many, many times before.  He stood still, his body relaxed, ready for anything.
Aurora’s hand surrounded Damien’s.  Tingles shot up his arm, replacing his readiness to battle with something warm and soft and… dangerous.  Dangerous because he should be concentrating on the menace before him.  Her tiny tug moved him forward because he let it.
“We must go,” she said.
Damien remained still for a moment longer, facing down his adversary.  He would have loved to show Harold just how capable he was.  Aurora’s insistent tugs begged him to leave.  He chanced a look at her.  Her eyes were wide with concern, her lovely brow creased with worry as she stared at Harold.  Damien couldn’t stand seeing her so frightened.  She looked at him then with imploring eyes, and Damien knew exactly what he was going to do.  Nothing.  The anguish on Aurora’s face was not worth the price.  He wasn’t here to fight this conceited knight.  He wasn’t here to prove himself to these people.
He saw movement out of the corner of his eye.  Harold’s punch landed hard against Damien’s jaw, rocking his head, forcing him to take a step back.
Damien never once relinquished his hold on Aurora’s hand.
“Damien!” Aurora called in alarm.
Damien pulled her behind him, rage swirling inside him.  The coppery taste of blood seeped into his mouth, but he ignored it.
“An adequate bodyguard would have seen that coming,” Harold mocked.
“Damien,” Aurora repeated, half begging, half gasping.
Damien spared her a glance.  The tears in her eyes only fed the stirring beast inside him, demanding revenge.  “Stay here,” Damien commanded.
With no indication, he suddenly rushed Harold, catching his tunic in curved fists, and slamming him hard into the fence.  The wooden post bent beneath the impact, but Damien didn’t let go as he pushed himself close to Harold.  “An adequate bodyguard would never have risked hurting Aurora like you just did.  Had I ducked, you would have hit her.”
Harold pushed forward, but Damien smashed him back against the fence again, holding him immobile.  “Aurora is my responsibility.  Go near her again and you will not live to see the sun set.”
  

Meet the Author
Laurel O’Donnell has won numerous awards for her works, including the Holt Medallion for A Knight of Honor, the Happily Ever After contest for Angel’s Assassin, and the Indiana’s Golden Opportunity contest for Immortal Death. The Angel and the Prince was nominated by the Romance Writers of America for their prestigious Golden Heart award. O’Donnell lives in Illinois with her four cherished children, her beloved husband and her five cats. She finds precious time every day to escape into the medieval world and bring her characters to life in her writing.