Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Unforgettable Love Event: Author Danielle Thorne- Freebie & Giveaway!

 





A Pirate at Pembroke by Danielle Thorne 

Keeping company with a reputed pirate is one thing, but falling in love with him could ruin the eccentric Crestwood family for good... Sophie Crestwood is never going to catch a husband. Her father is a gossip, her mother has her nose in a book, and little Jack has shamefully been dismissed from boarding school. Worst of all, a pirate moves next door into Pembroke Hall. When Sophie's sent to a matchmaking party at a neighboring estate, the pirate from Pembroke arrives and distracts everyone from the summer festivities. Unguarded, her feelings about the mysterious Captain Murdock bloom into a trusted friendship that Sophie fears may come to mean more than anyone would ever suspect. 





   

He held a handful of her shift in his fist. She had not snagged it after all. Rather, he had snagged her. She jerked in surprise, but his hold kept her from falling backward and tumbling down the stairs. His other hand trembled as it balanced precariously on a carved dragon head at the top of his cane.
 
“What do you think you are doing?”
 
“I… I heard music and followed it.”
 
His eyes blazed with accusation, and it unnerved her.
 
“I’m so sorry,” she said in a choking voice. Her nose tingled again. She touched it with her fingers to make it stop.
 
“It’s not possible you heard music from all the way down in your room.”
 
Sophie took a nervous breath. He stood there, one step above her like a giant, her bedclothes gripped in his hand so tight it shook. She hadn’t heard him shuffle down the hall after her. He moved as silent as a ghost when he wanted — even with a cane. She found the courage to meet his penetrating gaze. 

“I did hear something from my room. Then I was in the hall.”
 
Captain Murdock waited for a long pause, while the dust they had stirred up in the rugs pirouetted in the air and into Sophie’s eyes and nose. “You should not be out of bed,” he said.
 
Sophie swallowed down her frightened apprehension. She tried to beg his pardon, but her lungs failed her, and she coughed in reflex. She covered her mouth with her fingers. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated between them, her cheeks hot with humiliation. She stared at the fistful of her garments he’d snatched, aware his eyes examined her from her straight, waist-length hair down to her naked ankles. 

With a jerk, he dropped her shift like it burned his hand.
 
“Go to bed,” he said in a quiet voice.
 
Sophie’s nose had not quit tingling and itching. “Yes, sir,” she said at once, but not soon enough to keep a sneeze from erupting. It came so fast and without warning, she had no chance to catch it before it doused him with all her rejection.
 
Horrified, she stumbled down the next step, thankful the old handrail held fast. When she glanced back, he was wiping off his shirt with a look of disgust.

   





“There have been only a handful of times when a book truly blows me away. This is one of those times. It's full of emotions from laughter to tears and all in between.” –D. Pearson 

“This sweet romance will give you all the feels and keep you turning pages. Romance, mystery and a little humor made this an engaging and satisfying read.” –F. Brown    





Author Danielle Thorne 


Danielle Thorne is the author of classic romance and adventure in several genres. She loves Jane Austen, pirates, beaches, cookies, antiques, cats, dogs, and long naps. She does not like phone calls or sushi. A graduate of Ricks College and BYU-Idaho, Danielle saw early work published by Every Day Fiction, Arts and Prose Magazine, Mississippi Crow, The Nantahala Review, StorySouth, and… you get the idea. Besides writing, she’s edited for both Solstice and Desert Breeze Publishing. Her growing blog, The Balanced Writer, focuses on writing, life, and the pursuit of peace and happiness. Currently, Danielle freelances as a non-fiction author, copywriter, and editor, while waiting to hear from readers like you through her website. During free time, which means when Netflix is down, she combs through feedback and offers virtual hugs for reviews. 


 














Giveaway Details Ends 6/30/18 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use money sent via Paypal or gift codes via Amazon.com. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. This giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.   





Monday, June 4, 2018

Book Tour & Giveaway: The Whispering Winds of Spring by Robin E. Mason



https://amzn.to/2LPTqta

http://www.amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.comhttp://www.goodreads.com

Synopsis

Amidst the clamor of confusion, can she hear the whisper of her memories?

The southern town of Saisons lies at the crossroads between North and South, progressive and genteel antebellum life. Between East and West, between history and heritage, and new frontiers. Downton Abbey meets Gone With the Wind.

It’s 1912, in a world where slavery is dying and women’s rights are rising, and four young women who once shared a bond—and experienced a tragedy—question their own truths.

Simone Dubois’ life was unraveling. All she had known and held dear was gone from her. At ten, all she wanted was to escape beneath the black waters of the Edisto River. She couldn’t know her whole life would be stolen from her.

When she returns to Saisons sixteen years later, she has no memory of ever having been there. Not even that it was her birthplace. Enlisting the help of her childhood friend, Mercedes—whose name stayed with her, if in shadowy dreams only—Simone encounters misty memories, and stirs up more mystery than she started with.

About the Author

I’ve always had voices—er, stories in my head. I once said I should write them all down so someone could write them someday. I had no idea at the time that someone was me!

I have been writing since 1995, and began working in earnest on my debut novel, Tessa in 2013.  Meanwhile, I cranked out a few dozen poems, made countless notes for story ideas, and earned my BFA in Interior Design.  I lived with depression for many years, and the inherent feelings of worthlessness and invisibility; I didn’t want to be who I was and struggled with my own identity for many years.  My characters face many of these same demons.

I write stories of identity conflict. My characters encounter situations that force the question, “Who am I really?” For all who have ever wondered who you are or why you’re here, my stories will touch you in a very real—maybe too real—and a very deep way. I know, I write from experience.



Excerpt

I had heard, of course, rumors and scuttlebutt of Monsieur Fontaine as I scuttled about town. And as I knew him to be significant somehow to Lissette’s manipulations, I paid special attention whenever I heard his name mentioned.
He gambles, and evidently not very well; he loses more than he wins.
He has lost nearly everything he owned, and has suffered beatings and worse when he had nothing to offer as payment. How he came away with his life—on more than one occasion apparently—was a mystery and a miracle.
But the curiouser bits I heard were of days when he’d not been such the tyrant. When he had been an upstanding person in the community.
The vineyards had thrived then, producing a fine and abundant crop, and LeNuit wine, a wine I had had the pleasure of tasting on many occasions.
I heard the rumors of a ghost in the house, Bastille, and howling in the night. A woman traipsing about in her nightclothes, a woman who drove the horses in the ditch and burned the vineyards.
And I heard of a fire in the house, also at the hand of the woman.
But I never heard the name of the woman—and wondered had it been Lissette.
Was Fontaine the A.F. of her letters? Was he her brother? And what had happened to turn him from a happy man to the monster I now heard tell of?
More importantly, had it been from some deed at Lissette’s hand?

10 Behind the Scenes Facts About the Book

  1. Because of the aforementioned time crunch, and said time running short, I all but suspended my blog for the month of April. (paid off, too!)
  2.  I mostly “meet” my characters much as my readers do. When I get to the point in the story that they make their entrance, I see the visual image of them, and usually know their name (unless it’s a minor character, in which I’ll find a name that suits.) I write / include their quirks and characteristics pretty much as I learn them.
  3. There were two topics in this series that I tried (unsuccessfully) to talk with a live person for more info—midwifery and the Catawba / Chicora Indian Nation. Not sure why I couldn’t get a response on either, but Google sufficed and/or I wrote the bare minimum.
  4. Tag to #4, and part of why it wasn’t so critical to have exact information on the Indian heritage—the small village in this series, Quexo, it a band of people who separated from their ancestors for a couple of reasons: a) they were acting as guardians to a white man and his family, and when they fled, so, too did the Indians; and b) they further split when missionaries converted some of the tribe to Christian faith.
  5. The location is a mash-up of geography and topography. I’m not really sure there is so much coastal marshland as far inland as I placed my town. But it’s fictional AND I never specified exactly where it’s located… That’s okay, right???
  6. ALL | THE | NOTES!!! Because the series tells one overarching story and because Whispering Winds is the final story, I had to answer or address all the lingering bits from the first three! Which meant reading (skimming) through all of them to find the loose ends I needed to tie up. Which meant ALL | THE | NOTES!!! There were pages and pages of notes, which I culled through, separating out those on like topics i.e. Lissette, the Colonel, previous conversations, etc. As I pared the list down, I rewrote it til it was down to a single page.
  7. Early in the series, it was revealed that Simone was a) kidnapped; and b) that she had suffered amnesia. It wasn’t until February that I knew what caused the amnesia!
  8. I didn’t know who the villain was for the series until 20 April!!! I mean, seriously!! I was within the last 10K of the end when I made this discovery!!!
  9. When Simone was kidnapped, her captor didn’t call her by her true name—got a little dicey there keeping track of that a few times.
  10. Whispering Winds has three different time lines that show up—when she was kidnapped, current story year, and before she was kidnapped!

Giveaway

Prize package will include the following:
-China cup and saucer
-Sampler of Saisons Plantation Tea
-Journal, hand made (not pictured)
-Earrings (not pictured)
-Candy (not pictured)
-Book mark
-Signed copy of Whispering Winds


Giveaway is subject to policies HERE.

Tour Schedule




Review & Giveaway: Loving Lieutenant Lancaster by Sarah M. Eden




Book Four in The Lancaster Family series

Heidi Reads... Loving Lieutenant Lancaster by Sarah M. Eden

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

http://www.amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.comhttp://www.barnesandnoble.comhttps://deseretbook.com/p/romancing-daphne?autocomplete=true&variant_id=151796-paperbackhttp://www.goodreads.com

Synopsis

Orphaned as a child, Arabella Hampton was the unwanted and unloved charge of a cruel aunt and neglectful uncle. The only light in her young life was the kindness of the Jonquil family, and she clung to the childish dream of someday living with them at Lampton Park. Now, years later, that opportunity is presented to Arabella in a most unexpected way: she is to be the lady's companion to the dowager countess. As she takes up residence at the estate, the young woman soon finds that life at the Park is far more complicated than she imagined. The lines of her position are blurred, and she is neither family nor servant. So when the countess plans a grand house party, Arabella is content to hide in the shadows. But one gentleman sees her there.

Lieutenant Linus Lancaster has retired from the navy and is not looking for love, especially when he finds himself entangled in his sisters' scheme to trap him into finding a wife at a house party at Lampton Park. Yet amid the festivities, he's impossibly drawn to the dowager's quiet companion, Arabella. Their regard for each other is undeniable, but they are haunted by their pasts. Can the two find a way to bridge their two worlds?


My Review

Oh my heart! I loved this one! Arabella and Linus find something special in each other, but their quick friendship develops into something more so slowly that I was filled with anticipation the entire book. New readers might be a little overwhelmed by all the characters in the Jonquil and Hawthorne families and their connections, but fans of the author will absolutely love seeing more about all their favorites, and it's more than just cameo appearances. There are significant scenes and subplots with Adam and Persephone, Phillip and Sorrel, Mater, Artemis, and especially the youngest Jonquil brother, Charlie. Linus's compassion for Charlie and his genuine friendship with the struggling young man showed his admirable personality and he also benefited with a stronger sense of belonging and purpose. Arabella is also struggling to find her place in new circumstances, and Linus's friendship is like a ray of sunshine in a caring but busy family. Their banter was so natural and full of humor, it was a pleasure to read. I really connected with these characters and highly recommend the book!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)



Don't miss the previous books in The Lancaster Family series . . .

Book One
https://amzn.to/2Im0Q5k


http://www.amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.comhttp://www.barnesandnoble.comhttps://deseretbook.com/p/romancing-daphne?autocomplete=true&variant_id=151796-paperbackhttp://www.bookdepository.comhttp://www.goodreads.com

Synopsis

When Persephone Lancaster receives a marriage proposal from the ill-tempered Duke of Kielder, she refuses, and then reconsiders. The obscene sum of money he's offering Persephone would save her family from ruin. With her characteristic optimism, she travels to the far reaches of Northumberland to wed a greatly feared stranger. Lodged deep in a thick forest infested with wild dogs, the Duke's castle is as cold and forbidding as the Duke himself, a man with terrible scars on his body and his soul. But the Duke's steely determination to protect his heart at all costs is challenged by his growing attachment to his lovely and gentle bride. With caring persistence, Persephone attempts to pierce the Duke's armor and reach the man beneath. Yet he cannot tolerate such exposure, and his repeated rejections take their toll. But when grave danger arises, the Duke realizes he must face the risk of revealing his true feelings or lose the woman he cannot live without.

Book Two
https://amzn.to/2KlC4To


http://www.amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.comhttp://www.barnesandnoble.comhttps://deseretbook.com/p/romancing-daphne?autocomplete=true&variant_id=151796-paperbackhttp://www.bookdepository.comhttp://www.goodreads.com

Synopsis

Harry Windower adores blonde, green-eyes Athena Lancaster, but alas, a penniless man like himself has no hope of winning a young noblewoman's hand. To add insult to injury, Athena's brother-in-law and guardian, the Duke of Kielder, has asked Harry to assist Athena in finding a gentleman of her dreams. But the lovesick Harry is cunning as well: as the weeks pass, he introduces Athena to suitors who are horrifically boring, alarmingly attached to their mothers, downright rude, astoundingly self-absorbed, and utterly ridiculous.

Athena can't comprehend why she is having so little success meeting eligible and acceptable gentlemen. Indeed, her circle of admirers couldn't be be less admirable - nothing like the loyal, gentle friend she's found in Harry. But how long can Harry's scheme be hidden before it is discovered? And what will Athena do when she uncovers Harry's deception?

Book Three
Heidi Reads... Romancing Daphne by Sarah M. Eden


http://www.amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.comhttp://www.barnesandnoble.comhttps://deseretbook.com/p/romancing-daphne?autocomplete=true&variant_id=151796-paperbackhttp://www.bookdepository.comhttp://www.goodreads.com

Synopsis

As her first London Season looms before her, the thought of the impending social whirl fills Daphne Lancaster's timid heart with dread. She hasn't her sisters beauty nor their talent for conversing easily. Even her family's enviable connections may not be enough to prevent disaster.

But Daphne's misery turns to surprised delight when the first event of her Season brings an unexpected visitor to her door—James Tilburn, whose tender kindness stole her heart in her youth. When the handsome young gentleman expresses his desire to court her, Daphne is elated. Their feelings for each other quickly grow, and it appears that, much to Daphne s disbelief, her happily ever after is within reach.

Yet nothing is as it seems. The couple finds themselves caught in a tangled web of greed and deceit, leaving James and Daphne to determine whether they are willing to risk everything for true love.



Follow the blog tour . . .

June 8th
Min Reads and Reviews
I am a Reader
Why Not? Because I Said So 
Seeking With All Yur Heart 
Books Are Sanity