Logan’s Time #EggcerptExchange by Dayna Leigh Cheser #historicalromance,

Logan’s Time 

Book Blurb

Set in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands, this 19^th century historical romance looks at the life and loves of Logan, the Duke of Muileach, beginning when he’s seven years old. Grandson of the old Duke, Logan hides in his mother’s room to witness his brother’s birth. Confused, he watches as his mother, Annella, abandons the newborn, flees to the South Tower, locking herself and her entourage inside.

After eight self-sequestered years in the South Tower, Annella disappears, leaving a family with too many questions.  Later, Logan and Daniel lose their beloved grandfather, followed too soon by their grandmother.

Logan travels to England to attend school, where he meets Richard Grayson—the youngest son of an English duke. After graduation, a celebratory trip to Paris results in tragedy. Minuet, the love of Logan’s life, may be dead, while Richard, his best friend, leaves Paris without notice.

Peadair, Logan’s father, then the duke, renounces his title and leaves Muileach, to face an uncertain future in southern France with his long-missing wife who despises him. Logan, at age twenty-five, becomes the Duke of Muileach.

Believing Richard had betrayed him with Minuet, Logan needs to square things with his former friend. Learning Richard now lives in America, he sets sail to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He arrives just in time to crash Richard and Janelle’s wedding. That same day, he meets, and takes a wife. 

Too long absent from Muileach, Logan returns to Muileach with his family to discover Seanna, a childhood friend, and sometimes lover, has birthed his first-born son. Later, Seanna reveals her plans to make sure her son is the next duke.

Come live in Victorian Scotland while you read the
fourth book of Dayna Leigh Cheser’s TIME Series.

Excerpt

“While Peadair searched for Annella, Logan took long walks alone, usually in the evening. Sometimes Daniel or a friend walked with him at least part of the way, but often, he was alone.

One of the friends was Seanna. She understood he needed peace and quiet, with time to think, so she walked with him, silently. She’d appear out of nowhere, as she often did, take his hand, and match his stride. Then, without having said a word, she’d squeeze his hand and vanish into the gathering dusk. Sometimes, he wondered if she’d really been there. He found himself thinking about her. The distraction seemed to help.

It was on one of his lonely walks that he happened across a stone circle in a field. Because it wasn’t far from the castle, he couldn’t imagine how he’d missed seeing it in his wanderings over the years. Walking around the outside of the circle, studying it from every angle, he wondered its purpose.

When he stepped inside the circle, he became aware of a low-pitched sound. It puzzled him as he felt it more than heard it. When he approached the largest of the stones, the sound’s intensity increased in volume and pitch. Now, it was loud. The closer he moved to the stone, the stronger the sound vibrations.

‘Do I dare touch the stone?’ Reaching out with his fingers stretched, the stone seemed to draw him closer. Almost trancelike, he moved forward, until just before making contact, he found himself flying through the air, landing hard on his back. ‘What was that?’ The wind knocked out of him, he shook his head and sat up. After a moment, he scrambled to his feet, and ran, not stopping until he was inside the castle walls. Stopping, he leaned over, hands on his knees, panting hard.”

Other books in the Time Series

Janelle’s Time (2^nd Edition) – Available soon
Moria’s Time  —  Adelle’s Time  —  Logan’s Time
Clarissa’s Time (for release in 2018)

Free Chapter

http://bit.ly/DLC-LT-Free

Sales Links

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2dnbYiN  —  Amazon UK:  http://amzn.to/2fV2iOl  
Barnes & Noble:  http://bit.ly/2bZKOgF  —  Books-A-Million:  http://bit.ly/2fgj0Ha   
Kobo:  http://bit.ly/2c9uHC3

Author Bio

Currently residing in Central Florida with my husband, Pete, I’m a lifelong reader. Starting before kindergarten, I devoured anything with words. In grade school, I was a regular at the local library.

Then, I discovered her mother’s ‘naughty’ books – and was hooked on romance. Soon after, I started writing short stories to entertain my peers. 

‘Logan’s Time’, is book 4 of the TIME Series, precluded by ‘Moria’s Time’, and ‘Adelle’s Time’.  Janelle’s Time, 2^nd Edition available soon.  Coming in 2018, ‘Clarissa’s Time’.

Please visit my website: DaynaLCheser.com, or email me: Dayna@DaynaLCheser.com. Also, (Twitter) @Writers_Cafe, and (Facebook) Author Dayna Leigh Cheser.

Thanks for sharing,

Tina

An #EggcerptExchange by @DianaLRubino From Here to 14th Street #historicalromance

answers to character's questions Vita Caputo McGlory, the heroine of FROM HERE TO FOURTEENTH STREET

Job – I started out as a sweatshop worker sewing ‘shirtwaistes’ (blouses), and now I’m a committeewoman, with a view to being New York City’s first female mayor.

Level of schooling – I left school at 16 to go to work in a lampshade factory.

Birthplace – Sassano, Italy, near Naples.

Currently residing in...Greenwich Village, in a brownstone on East 14^th Street.

Favorite Pet – They’re all favorites, two mongrel pups, Charlie and Shirley, two cats Romeo and Juliet, and assorted goldfish whose names we can’t keep up with!

Favorite place to visit – Coney Island, to sit on the beach, frolic in the ocean, eat those delicious hot dogs and fried dough, and stroll the boardwalk!

Significant other – My husband Tom McGlory, who stuck with me as we overcame astronomical odds to stay together.

Most important goal – To see my three children become successful, respectable citizens. Doing all right so far—my daughter Assunta (Susan) owns a clothing store, my son Virgilio (Billy) writes Broadway musicals and my youngest Teresa (Tessie) wants to be a baby doctor.

Worst fear or nightmare – That the stock market will crash again or some other disaster will plunge us back into poverty.

Favorite food – My homemade lasagna with my grandmother’s sauce recipe (it’s a secret)

Wealthy, poor, or somewhere in between? – We’re finally members of the solid middle class.

Secret desire or fantasy – To sing in one of my son’s musicals.

What would you do if you won the lottery? – Buy my own airplane and give the rest to charity.

- blurb –

 

It's 1894 on New York's Lower East Side. Irish cop Tom McGlory and Italian immigrant Vita Caputo fall in love despite their different upbringings. Vita goes from sweatshop laborer to respected bank clerk to reformer, helping elect a mayor to beat the Tammany machine. While Tom works undercover to help Ted Roosevelt purge police corruption, Vita's father arranges a marriage between her and a man she despises. As Vita and Tom work together against time and prejudice to clear her brother and father of a murder they didn't commit, they know their love can survive poverty, hatred, and corruption. Vita is based on my great grandmother, who left third grade to become a self-made businesswoman and politician, wife and mother.

 

 

- excerpt -

As Vita gathered her soap and towel, Madame Branchard tapped on her door. "You have a gentleman caller, Vita. A policeman."

"Tom?" His name lingered on her lips as she repeated it. She dropped her things and crossed the room.

"No, hon, not him. Another policeman. Theodore something, I think he said."

No. There can't be anything wrong. "Thanks," she whispered,  nudging Madame Branchard aside. She descended the steps, gripping the banister to support her wobbly legs. Stay calm! she warned herself. But of course it was no use; staying calm just wasn't her nature.

“Theodore something” stood before the closed parlor door. He’s a policeman? She looked him up and down with curious intent. Tall and hefty, a bold pink shirt peeking out of a buttoned waistcoat and fitted jacket, he looked way out of place against the dainty patterned wallpaper.

He removed his hat. "Miss Caputo." He strained to keep his voice soft as he held out a piece of paper. “I’m police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt.”

"Yes?" Her voice shook.

"I have a summons for you, Miss Caputo." He held it out to her. But she stood rooted to that spot.

He stepped closer and she took it from him, unfolding it with icy fingers. Why would she be served with a summons? Was someone arresting her now for something she didn't do?

A shot of anger tore through her at this system, at everything she wanted to change. It eclipsed her fear, making her blood boil. She flipped it open and saw the word "Summons" in fancy script at the top. Her eyes widened with each sentence as she read. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”

I hereby order Miss Vita Caputo to enter into holy matrimony with Mr. Thomas McGlory immediately following service of this summons.

Signed and witnessed, it looked very official. She looked up at Theodore. He flashed her a toothy smile.

"He's pazzo, he's just nuts!" She read it again and again, laughing, her eyes filled with tears of relief and happiness.

“Deeee-lightful, isn’t it, Miss Caputo?” The door opened and he stepped aside. There stood Tom in the doorway. Teddy Roosevelt cuffed him on the chin and vanished.

"I would have arrested you, but I was afraid you would resist." He gave her a playful grin.

She leapt forward and embraced him with every bit of strength she had left, crushing the paper between them.

"You are just crazy!" was all she could think to say. Still dizzy from the shock, the fright, and the anger that blanketed it all, she juggled a new jumble of titillating emotions.

"You're the one who should be crazy, crazy enough to marry me, that is."

All her doubts vanished at that instant. “Oh, yes, together we are stronger than any force that would dare keep us apart.” 

In a guarded tone she asked, "You don't mean tonight, do you?" Jadwiga's one-word suggestion flashed through her mind. “Elope.” She wondered if the two of them had planned a slick coup. Was a priest in the parlor waiting to officiate?

He laughed, a halo around his head from the lamp’s glow. "Any night you want. Tonight, tomorrow, next week, just don't make me wait too long."

"How long were you sitting in there?"

"A few hours. I figured you were with your family. Your landlady was nice enough to let me wait. I told her I wanted to surprise you, and I think she figured out what it was. So she didn't interfere. Teddy there, who considerately left us alone, is our commish, and the jokester on the force. He'd have to be, to have gone along with this!"

They went into the parlor and she closed the door, quivering in naughty delight. As she sat on the sofa, he dropped to one knee. He slid his hand into his pocket and brought out a sparkling ring, took her hand and slipped it onto the third finger of her left hand. “Vita, will you marry me?”

“Oh, Tom…” She held it at arm's length, turning her hand this way and that. It glittered in the lamp’s glow.

She would have eloped with him at this minute if he’d asked. If a priest stood in this room, they would have been married by now. She threw her arms around his neck, dizzy with happiness, dizzily in love. “Of course I’ll marry you! Tonight, tomorrow, whenever you want! Oh, how I love you!” 

He sat beside her and she pulled the pins from her bun. Her hair tumbled to her waist, and he stroked it lovingly as she nestled against his chest. Their lips met and parted. Her mind raced . . . we need to set a date!

 

- Purchase links

 

 

The Wild Rose Press

 

Amazon Kindle

 

Amazon Paperback

 

- author bio –

 

My passion for history and travel has taken me to every locale of my stories, set in Medieval and Renaissance England, Egypt, the Mediterranean, colonial Virginia, New England, and New York. My urban fantasy romance, FAKIN’ IT, won a Top Pick award from Romantic Times. I’m a member of Romance Writers of America, the Richard III Society and the Aaron Burr Association. I live on Cape Cod with my husband Chris. In my spare time, I bicycle, golf, play my piano and devour books of any genre.

 

 

- author links

Visit me at www.dianarubino.com,
www.DianaRubinoAuthor.blogspot.com, https://www.facebook.com/DianaRubinoAuthor,
and on Twitter @DianaLRubino.

-

Heather Boyd's Miss Merton's Last Hope #historicalromance

 MISS MERTON'S LAST HOPE by Heather Boyd

Book Three, Miss Mayhem Series

Release Date: October 13, 2015

Genre: Regency Historical Romance

Length: 40,000 words novella

Heat Rating: Sizzling

Over the years, Melanie Merton has used every trick and ruse to repel overeager gentlemen callers without ever revealing the real reason she won’t say yes to an offer of marriage. When neighbor Walter George jumps to her defense against slurs cast by suitor number twelve, he also pries into her past—uncovering the circumstances around a tragic loss in her childhood and her aversion to being touched by anyone. But even protective Walter must be kept at a distance for his own good, because despite a growing attraction between them, Melanie must deny him too.

Unlike other men his age in Brighton, Walter George hadn’t considered Melanie Merton for a wife because he was convinced he’d never have a chance to impress his haughty neighbor. But that was before he understood her better, before he uncovered why she kept friends and suitors alike at bay. The right husband could restore the woman he sees into some semblance of the fun-loving child of his memory, but would Walter stand a chance or become just another unlucky suitor?                           

Read an Excerpt

Melanie Merton hated her life. She hated the clothes she wore. The house she lived in that was no longer hers to manage. The smiles she had to bestow upon her brother’s friends while overlooking their scowls. Even without the responsibilities she’d always enjoyed, and the hours on her own, she never had a moment’s peace. She just wanted a quiet morning, and that never seemed to happen lately unless she confined herself to her bedchamber.

Today, she was entertaining Mr. Linus Radley until his sister, Julia, her new sister-in-law, came down that morning. The forms of proper behavior that had been drilled into her head since she was a young girl made it impossible for her to say what was really on her mind, even when she wanted to. She was too polite to ask Mr. Radley to go away until a more reasonable hour of the day, and had ordered tea and cake to fill the endless minutes until Julia relieved her of this duty.

“It looks to be a lovely day for a stroll,” Mr. Radley said suddenly. “Might I entice you to venture out with me to look upon the sea? With your maid, of course.”

Melanie sighed with what she hoped sounded like regret and not irritation. She would not go out walking with Linus Radley, with or without a suitable chaperone. She had seen enough of him in the past weeks not to want anything more to do with him than she absolutely had to. He was a bully. “Unfortunately, I am otherwise engaged today.”

“Oh?”

Dear God, the man wants particulars.

Links 

Amazon |         iBooks |         Kobo |         Nook  |         Add to Goodreads Shelf

About Heather Boyd

Bestselling historical author Heather Boyd believes every character she creates deserves their own happily-ever-after, no matter how much trouble she puts them through. With that goal in mind, she writes sizzling regency romance stories that skirt the boundaries of propriety to keep readers enthralled until the wee hours of the morning. Heather has published over twenty novels and shorter works. Catch her latest news        www.heather-boyd.com. She lives north of Sydney, Australia, and does her best to wrangle her testosterone-fuelled family (including cat Morpheus) into submission.

Connect with Heather:         Website |         Twitter |         Facebook Page |         Mailing list                             

***Enter the $25 Amazon.com Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway