Spotlight on Follow Your Star Home and Paradise Regained

 

Released today.

Denmark 839

A Yule Love Story  by Nicole Zoltack

Life and love are never simple when a banished king must turn to a simple healing woman to survive

Kopet Dag Mountains, 1794

Paradise Regained by Jude Knight

In discovering the mysteries of the East, James has built a new life. Will unveiling the secrets in his wife’s heart destroy it?

Scotland, 1807

Somewhere Like Home by Lizzi Tremayne

Highlands to Waterloo—can love prevail over fate?

England, 1814

The Umbrella Chronicles: James and Annie’s Story by Amy Quinton

Prodigal duke seeks professional matchmaker for matrimonial assistance. Prefers foolproof plans in 10 parts. Magical solutions accepted. Missteps likely.

Scotland, 1869

A Wish for All Seasons:A MacKai Family Novella by Rue Allyn

The past keeps Caibre and Aisla apart. Only Love and forgiveness can give them a future.

Wales and France, 1919

The Last Post  by Caroline Warfield

The Great War is over, but how can they marry if he can’t find her?

San Francisco 1922

A Fine Chance  by Elizabeth Ellen Carter

All he needs is a fine chance.

Scotland, 1170 & USA Present Day

One Last Kiss: The Knights of Berwyck, A Quest Through Time Novella by  Sherry Ewing

Sometimes it takes a miracle to find your heart’s desire…

*Buy Links

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H4ZY517

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2y0SJbd

iBooks: https://apple.co/2ObkLLj

Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/nz/en/ebook/follow-your-star-home

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/894110

 

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07H4ZY517

Amazon BR: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B07H4ZY517

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07H4ZY517

Amazon DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07H4ZY517

Amazon ES: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B07H4ZY517

Amazon FR: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07H4ZY517

Amazon IN: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07H4ZY517

Amazon IT: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B07H4ZY517

Amazon JP: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B07H4ZY517

Amazon MX: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B07H4ZY517

Amazon NL: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B07H4ZY517

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07H4ZY517

Kissing on Sunday

I have three new releases in the next few weeks: House of Thorns on 26 October, Abbie’s Wish in Christmas Wishes on Main Street on 1 November, and Paradise Regained in Follow Your Star Home on 4 November. Here’s a kiss from each.

House of Thorns, with Bear and Rosa

He kissed her again, another butterfly touch of the lips, then put his hands on her waist and lifted her to sit on the dresser. Now her face was level with his.

“That is better,” he murmured against her mouth. Then his lips met hers again, not a mere brush this time, but a gentle and inexorable advance, setting her lips tingling and taking her breath. His hands slid behind her, pulling her against his chest, so he stood between her open knees, his body pressed tightly to hers.

No, just one hand hugged her, for the other came up behind her head, and tipped it slightly, holding it in place as his lips moved against hers and his tongue swept the seam of her shut mouth once, twice, and again. He hummed with satisfaction when she parted her lips a little, letting his tongue dart inside, and her whole body hummed with pleasure.

Pelman had subjected her to a kiss once; an awkward, embarrassing thing, with her twisting to escape and him boxing her into a corner and pawing her body while he slobbered on her face. The new Lord Hurley, who had also propositioned her when he first arrived at the Hall, had respected her refusal. In fact, he had rather avoided her, and had left again not long after the will was read.

Pelman laughed when she said ‘no’ and waylaid her when she was alone. It had, until now, been her only experience of the pastime, and she had not seen the appeal.

It was very different being the focus of Bear’s undivided attention, the recipient of his tender passion.

She lost herself in the new feelings, grasping his shoulders to bring herself closer to his body, trying her best to imitate the movements of his mouth and tongue.

He pulled away, and rested his forehead on hers, still holding her close. “We had best stop, Rosabel. You are to be my wife, and worthy of all respect, and I have no intention of tupping you on the kitchen dresser. At least, not until we are wed.”

Rosa reluctantly let him go, and he stepped back a little so he could lift her down to the floor. She was pleased to see he looked almost as dazed as she felt. “Would you call me Rosa?” she asked.

“If you wish, though Rosabel suits you. Beautiful rose. My beautiful Rosa.” He still held her waist, and he leaned forward to drop a kiss on her hair. “I will move to the village this afternoon, Rosa, and will ask the rector to post the banns tomorrow.”

On prerelease at 99c from Amazon

Abbie’s Wish, with Claudia and Ethan

Ethan squeezed Claudia’s hand, trying to lend her his strength. She squeezed back as she answered. “Just Carly and Trent. And their children.”

“Okay.” The voice sounded smug. “Don’t call the police. Just be waiting. Alone. One of your friends can drop you off but they had better be gone by the time I get there, or else. You and I are going to take a little trip.”

“And you’ll let Abbie go?” Claudia asked.

“Abbie will be fine. As long as you follow instructions.”

Beep. He had ended the call. Claudia turned to Ethan, her eyes huge and swimming in a face drained of color, . Her own arms hugging him as if he was the one solid rock in a stormy world reassured him, and he dropped a kiss on her hair.

“We’ll get her back, Claudia,” he vowed.

(Waiting for links. Watch this space.)

Paradise Regained, with James and Mahzad

She was avoiding his eyes, bending over her weapons, putting the arrows neatly away into the quiver and unstringing the bow. “They said you refused to go and that you told your father’s men that you would not leave your wife.” She whirled back to face him, snarling in her turn. “I say little difference if you did, since you are never here anyway and spend no time with me when you are.”

James was reeling from her dozen blows, some of which had got completely under his guard, but this last remark matched so closely to his own feelings about Mahzad that he struck back.

“You’re the one who is always busy and who never has time for me. You are too busy being katan and mother and friend to everyone in the valley. You’ve made it more than clear you don’t need me, and you don’t want me around.” He took a step closer toward her, crowding her against the table. “But this is my valley. They are my children. You are my wife. It’s about time you remembered that.”

He seized her and forced his mouth down on hers, intending a punishing kiss that overwhelmed her defenses and reminded her he was master in this area as in others, but she met his force with her own passion, softening under his invasion, molding her body to his as she clutched his head to pull him closer. His original intent forgotten, he poured all his longing into the kiss, trying to communicate his love and his frustration, losing himself in the touch and smell and sound of this one woman who was to him above all others.

Until she broke the kiss and shoved him away. “I cannot believe you blame me for all this,” she said. “Just like a man.”

And she stalked away, leaving him alone.

Follow Your Star Home, preorder links on the Belle’s website

Tea with Caibre MacFearran, a cowboy in a kilt

 

Today, the Duchess of Haverford is having tea with Caibre MacFearann: Hero of A Wish for All Seasons (and by the way he’s a cowboy in a kilt). A Wish for All Seasons is a historical romance novella by Rue Allyn. Eleanor has consented to interview Mr. MacFearann for readers of historical romance everywhere.

I am glad you could join me, Mr. MacFearann! Please tell us about the story your author wrote. Ms. Allyn’s wee story is titled A Wish for All Seasons. I believe you ladies would call the story a historical romance. While adult ladies are Ms. Allyn’s intended audience, any young person, age 13 or above could read the tale without risk of traumatizing their young minds. While I find such doings a tad embarassin’, I know Ms. Allyn would want us to share a thing she calls a blurb with your readers. So here ’tis: The last thing Caibre MacFearann wants is to return to Scotland let alone be forced to stay there. But the chance to rekindle the lost love of his youth is too tempting to resist. However, Aisla MacKai refuses to listen until her clan’s fate and a royal decree force Aisla to give him a chance.

Please tell us about yourself. I am a mon of twenty-eight years. I was born at Castle MacFearann on the northeast coast of Scotland. I’m a ranch owner in Wyoming territory. While I live in and love Wyoming, I’ll fore’re be a Scotsman true.

Will you tell our readers what you look like?  I’m a fair height and lean. I’d guess I weigh about 13 stone. My hair is reddish brown, and I have blue eyes. My face is square. Some say I’ve a determined chin, others have accused me of being made o’ rock.  That picture Ms. Allyn provides is somewhat misleading. It was painted when I was a young mon before I left Scotland. It doesna show anything of what’s happened to me since I left. I dinna wear a kilt verra often now days.

Who is the significant other in your life?  Significant other? ’Tis a bit of an odd term that, but I’m supposin’ you mean Aisla MacKai, the only woman I’ve ever loved.

How do you dress? I wear practical clothes for work and weather—trousers, shirt, chaps, boots, shearling jacket and a Stetson hat. I clean up fairly well. I only wear my tartan and kilt in Scotland and for special occasions.

If we could only hear your voice (but not see you) what characteristic would identify you? Steady.

What is your viewpoint on wealth? Wealth is nae to be sneered at. It is convenient to have. The lack of wealth forced me to leave Scotland and the woman I love. I was too puir a mon to support Aisla when I left. I thought never to return, but fate has seen differently, and I now have the means to keep my love in comfort.

What kinds of things do you always carry (in pockets or purse)? Oiled paper, flint and steel for starting a fire. Kindling is nae always easy to find.

What is your family like? I have one older brother, Eric. He’s laird of clan MacFearann now that our father has been laid to rest. We’re verra close and determined to return honor to the name MacFearann.

How do others perceive you based upon looks, and is this assumption accurate? A great many men think of me as a nancy boy when they first meet me. It’s because I bathe and wear clean clothes every chance I get. Those men discover quickly they are mistaken.

Do you care about what others assume about you? Only two people’s opinion of me matter. My brother Eric’s and my darling Aisla’s. The rest of the world can go hang.

Can you keep a secret? Why or why not? O’ course I can keep a secret. ’Tis only honorable, and I’d nae do anything lacking in honor.

What secrets do you know about people around you that you do NOT share? Well now, if I told you, they’d nae be secrets would they?

What would help you face hardship and meet any challenge? The love of Aisla MacKai and the hope of winning her.

If you could make any one thing happen, what would it be? I’d make Aisla’s life easier. She’s had a rough time of it w’ her brother being declared dead and all. The queen has even threatened to take the MacKai barony back if Aisla doesna marry in six months.

What would you like to tell your writer? I’d tell Ms. Allyn that she should give A Wish for All Seasons more words. Aisla’s story and mine is too important to squeeze into a short novella.

What would you like people who hear your story to know? That happiness will come your way, no matter your difficulties., just Follow Your Star Home.

Is there anything else you’d like us to know? Absolutely. On November 4th of this year, the Bluestocking Belles will hold a party in honor of the release of their boxset, Follow Your Star Home. Everyone is invited. Here is the location where you can get more information. I will attend as escort for both Ms. Allyn and my beloved Aisla. The party will include all the Belles, many guest authors, games and prizes. Attendees are encouraged to come attired in the dress of their favorite time period, since the stories in Follow Your Star Home span more than 1,000 years of history. I hope to see all of you there.

Where to buy Follow Your Star Home the boxset containing A Wish for All Seasons.

The book is available on pre-order until it is released November 4, 2018.

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Belles-Christmas-Title-Still-Under-ebook/dp/B07H4ZY517/

Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/894110

Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/nz/en/ebook/belles-christmas-2018-box-set-title-still-under-wraps/

About Ms. Allyn

Rue Allyn is the award-winning author of heart melting historical and contemporary romances. A USN veteran with a Ph.D. in medieval literature, Rue has retired south of the US border where she enjoys sunny days and heated inspiration. She continues to enjoy professional relationships in the Romance Writers of America, The Maumee Valley Romance Authors Inc. and the (in)famous Bluestocking Belles. She can be reached at any of the following locations.

*This interview format adapted with permission from that used on Romance Lives Forever.

Tea with a purpose

 

Her Grace looked around her living room with a smile of satisfaction. Her protégées, many of them her goddaughters, made a formidable fighting force, and a fight was exactly what they had on their hands.

In one corner, the Countess of Sutton (formerly Sophia Belvoir until she married the heir to the Duke of Winshire) was writing a series of letters to other Society ladies, with the help of her sister Lady Felicity and her sisters-in law, Ladies Ruth and Rosemary Winderfield. On the settee by the fire, the Countess of Chirbury and Selby, wife to the duchess’s nephew, was dictating a letter to the editor of the Teatime Tattler, penned by her cousin-in-law, Mrs Julius Redepenning. All around the room, those the duchess had summoned had sharpened their nibs and flown into the battle of words over the forthcoming box set by the Bluestocking Belles.

Every woman in this room, and the fictional worlds they inhabited, owed their lives, their loves, their very existence, to one or more of those mysterious women. And the attempts to close down their next set of Christmas stories could not be tolerated.

It began with a letter from one styling herself ‘A Concerned Society Matron’. Salacious scenes of seduction? The woman must have a mind like a pig pen.

Lady Hultinford of St Brendan’s Priory responded with a strong attack on the forces of censorship, and there it should have rested.

But no. The next shot was fired by a cleric on a campaign to signing himself The Right Honorable the Reverend Claudius Blowworthey, although in Her Grace’s opinion, he was not Honorable, not to be Revered, and certainly not Right.

Mrs Maud Goodbody, who described herself as a Christian and modestly well-educated, brought a cheer to the duchess’s lips with her sound rebuttal of Blowworthy’s opinion. Her Grace had immediately sent a donation to the Chapel of the Faithful, which Mrs Goodbody attended.

But just today, the ‘Concerned Society Matron’ burst into print again. While Mr Clemens was quite correct in allowing both sides to have their say, the duchess did think the latest letter was a waste of paper and ink.

Enough was enough. The Duchess of Haverford and her troops were going to war.

To find out what all the fuss is about, see the Bluestocking Belles’ latest joint project, Follow Your Star Home.

To join in the debate, comment on any of the Teatime Tattler posts in the links above, and watch for more to come.

Sunday Spotlight on Follow Your Star Home

 

Divided sweethearts seek love and forgiveness in this collection of seasonal novellas.

Forged for lovers, the Viking star ring is said to bring lovers together, no matter how far, no matter how hard.

In eight stories covering more than a thousand years, our heroes and heroines put this legend to the test. Watch the star work its magic as prodigals return home in the season of goodwill, uncertain of their welcome.

On preorder at 2.99USD. Published 4 Nov. Published price will be $3.99.

Barnes and Noble nook

Kobo

Amazon US

A Yule Love Story, by Nicole Zoltack

When Sonja stumbles upon fallen bodies littering her beach, she heals the lone survivor. After all, her late mother had been a healer.

Unbeknownst to Sonja, that survivor is none other than Anoundus. At one time, he ruled alongside his brother as co-kings of Sweden, but no longer. He has been banished.

What kind of life will he face here? What role will Sonja play? Can the two dare to find love this Yuletide?

Paradise Regained, by Jude Knight

James Winderfield yearns to end a long journey in the arms of his loving family. But his father’s agents offer the exiled prodigal forgiveness and a place in Society — if he abandons his foreign-born wife and children to return to England.

With her husband away, Mahzad faces revolt, invasion and betrayal in the mountain kingdom they built together. A queen without her king, she will not allow their dream and their family to be destroyed.

But the greatest threats to their marriage and their lives together is the widening distance between them. To win Paradise, they must face the truths in their hearts.

Somewhere Like Home, by Lizzi Tremayne

Things are heating up in the Scottish Highlands. When Robert refuses to become clan tacksman after his father, he is disowned and heads for the city to build a new life for himself and his beloved Sofia.

Sofia’s waiting turns to despair when her mother buys safety for herself and the remainder of the family during the clearance of their village—and leaves Sofia to the lusts of the laird’s degenerate son.

Rob emerges from the hell of Waterloo wanting only to see Sofia again…and his father.

But Sofia is dead, or is she?

A Wish for All Seasons, by Rue Allyn

The last thing Caibre MacFearann wants is to return to Scotland let alone be forced to stay there. But the chance to rekindle the lost love of his youth is too tempting to resist.

Losing Caibre MacFearann’s love once hurt so much that Aisla MacKai wants nothing to do with him when a blizzard brings the man to her doorstep. Kindness and human charity require that she give him shelter, no matter that her poor heart had never mended.

From the Umbrella Chronicles: James and Annie’s Story, by Amy Quinton

His Grace, James Quill, will not be a bachelor-in-poor-standing for very much longer. For I, Lady Harriett Ross of the Infamous Umbrella, have avowed to orchestrate his betrothal to his former best friend, Miss Annie Merryweather, whether either of them wishes it.

Surprisingly, His Grace has agreed to my proposed 10-step plan.

Not-so-surprisingly, Her Soon-to-be-Grace is determined to resist the notorious prodigal son.

Will they find love and forgiveness this holiday season?

Time will tell.

Lady Harriett Ross,

Self-proclaimed Motley Meddler * Mistress of Destiny * Wielder of the Infamous Umbrella

I’m just an old woman with opinions. On everything.

The Last Post, by Caroline Warfield

Love for Rosemarie Legrand gave Harry the will to go on during the horror of trench warfare. Now, army orders trap him in a camp awaiting repatriation. A bout of the Spanish flu lays him even lower, but he is determined not to leave without her. He’ll desert if he has to.

Rosemarie waits for word on her cousin’s farm where she took refuge when war reached the outskirts of Amiens. She wrote to tell him. Has he forgotten her? When the slimmest of information arrives, she sets out to find him.

Can these two lovers reunite before it is too late?

A Fine Chance, by Elizabeth Ellen Carter

Helen Watson arranged a job for an out-of-work former soldier at her workplace, unaware that she’s the miracle Robert Fairmont needed.

Robert has returned from the Great War a new man with a new name. A job in his father’s factory is the first step toward reconciliation.

Can Helen forgive him for hiding his true or will Robert end up losing his father and his one true love?

All he needs is a fine chance.

One Last Kiss: The Knights of Berwyck, A Quest Through Time novella, by Sherry Ewing

Banished from his homeland, Thomas of Clan Kincaid lives among distant relatives, reluctantly accepting he may never return home… Until an encounter with the castle’s healer tells him of a woman travelling across time—for him.

Dare he believe the impossible?

Jade Calloway is used to being alone, and as Christmas approaches, she’s skeptical when told she’ll embark on an extraordinary journey. How could a trip to San Francisco be anything but ordinary? But when a ring magically appears, and she sees a ghostly man in her dreams…

Dare she believe in the possible?

Thrust back in time, Jade encounters Thomas—her fantasy ghost. Talk about extraordinary. But as time works against them, they must learn to trust in miracles.

Can they accept impossible love before time interferes?