Tag Archives: Follow Your Star Home

First Kiss Friday with guest Lizzi Tremayne

14 Friday Dec 2018

Posted by in 2018, First Kiss Friday

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Welcome to another First Kiss Friday, my lovelies! This week, I have fellow Bluestocking Belle Lizzi Tremayne as my guest who will give you her first kiss scene from her novella Somewhere Like Home in our holiday box set, Follow Your Star Home. Happy reading and enjoy!

Hello! Thanks for coming by today, and thank you, Sherry, for having me here!

We pick up our story as things are going from bad to worse for Rob and Sofia in the Scottish Highlands… and they haven’t even been cleared from their village yet.


Excerpt:

“Sofia.” Rob’s heart wrenched as he called her name from around the corner of the chapel the following morning, his fingers gripping the cut stones.

“Robbie,” she whispered. With a furtive look in all directions, she slipped into the shadows beside him and threw her arms around his neck.

“Are you going up to work at the castle?” He could barely get the words out. “Tell me Archibald was just torturing me,” he murmured, his lips against her kerchief.

“What do you mean?” She pulled her head back and their eyes locked.

“Archibald said a Sofia from the village is going up to work as a maid. You’re the only Sofia here.” He looked away and bit his lip, fearing what he’d see in her eyes.

She shook her head and her fair skin paled. “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” she breathed. “But Màthairwas screaming yesterday morning. She said I wasn’t to talk with you. Did ye ask for me?”

“Apparently, I’m not good enough fer the likes o’ye,” Rob said, his head about to explode, “and I’m to stay away.”

“Oh, Rob,” she said, burying her face in his shirt.

“Yer da was going to talk wi’ me today, but he’s been avoidin’ me,” Rob muttered. “And if I won’t be tacksman, me father’ll disown me. Doesn’t want to know me—ever.”

If she was pale before, she was a ghost now. “We’re both old enough. We can marry. Take me away wi’ ye.”

“If our parents naysay us, Father MacIvor might ha’ somethin’ to say about that, mo luaidh.”

“We can run away and get married.”

He gripped her to him tightly. “I want to, but I canna take ye wherever I might need to go without knowin’ if I could feed us.”

“I’ll wait for ye, then.”

He nodded and nearly smiled, though his heart was breaking. “I’ll find work and build something for us, mo chridhe, then return for you. I’ll show your da, if not your màthair, that I am ‘good enough’—if ye can wait.”

“Forever, Rob,” she said fervently, “forever I’ll wait fer ye, mo chridhe. We can write, thanks to yer teachin’ me to read an’ write.”

“I dinna ken where I’ll be yet.” He pulled her hard against him and leaned back against the wall, its roughness digging into his back beneath his shirt, while he searched his mind for a way they could exchange letters.

The stones of the chapel.

For the first time since he’d entered Sofia’s father’s house the previous morning, he drew a full breath and then another. Squeezing her to him once more, he tilted her chin up to his. “The priest. He’ll exchange letters for us.”

“Do ye think he will?”

“I’m sure he will.” His lips cracked into the first grin in days, and he took a deep breath. “He’ll be happier for that than marry us against our family’s wishes, anyway.”

“Rob,” she said, pulling her kerchief from her head and looping it into the beginnings of a knot, “this was my grandmother’s kerchief. That makes it more solemn. Shall we? If the priest won’t marry us, we can pledge our troths anyway and handfast ourselves. Seanairsaid it was done that way in the old days.”

He smiled and helped her tie the kerchief around their hands, joining left to left and then holding their right hands together over the top.

“I don’t know how they did it,” Sofia murmured, eyes shining, “but this should work.”

“Sofia,” Rob said, for her ears alone, “to you I pledge my troth. I will return to marry you and become your husband, for ever and ever.”

Sofia repeated the words, finishing with, “and become yer wife, fer ever and ever.” Their lips met to seal their joining. “I canna believe this will be our last kiss. Come home to me soon,” she whispered.

“When I return, we’ll have kisses anytime we will.”

“At least yer calmer now,” Sofia murmured. “Yer language reverts when ye’re upset.

Rob allowed himself to smile at that. He could only hold her as her tears fell wetly on his shirt, and his into her hair, until the sun rose and their dark sanctuary slipped away into the morning mist.

“I’ll return for you, mo nighean ruadh, mo chridhe, my heart.” They untied the scarf and held fast to each other again. “Now go,” Rob said against her hair.

“Wait, Rob, gi’ me yer dirk,” she said and reached for one of the tendrils of hair curling around her face. “And the locket from your màthair.”

He drew his blade and carefully cut the lock Sofia held out, then handed it to her. Opening the golden heart, she placed the curl inside, sealed it shut, and kissed it.

“Keep it by yer heart,” she murmured.

“Until the day I die,” Rob said, watching her glowing eyes. “I love you. Now off with you before you’re seen.” He kissed her one last time and gave her a gentle push.

Not looking back, she turned and ran for home.

Now back to the real world… or is it?

You don’t even have to enter a drawing to get a free book today! I’m giving away a free sampler of my stories, just for becoming one of my VIP members!

Get yours here at https://lizzitremayne.com/VIP

Follow Your Star Home:
A Bluestocking Belles Collection
On sale through December 15th for $0.99!

Be sure to grab Follow Your Star Home while it’s still on sale.

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.

25% of the proceeds benefit our mutual charity the Malala Fund.

Amazon US  |  iBooks |  Kobo |  Nook | Smashwords

Amazon AU | Amazon BR  | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon ES | Amazon FR | Amazon IN | Amazon IT | Amazon JP | Amazon MX | Amazon NL | Amazon UK

Belles’ Blog Hop on now!

Come join our blog hop to see the interlinking stories between all eight of the stories in our new Follow Your Star Home!

It’s here: https://lizzitremayne.com/holiday/

Be the first to know about new releases, special offers, and news by signing up for Lizzi Tremayne’s Newsletter and get a copy of her Lizzi Tremayne Sampler for free! It’s here: https://lizzitremayne.com/signupsampler/

Author Bio:

Lizzi writes about the Old West, Russia, and Colonial New Zealand, as well as veterinary fiction and non-fiction—all with a horsey flair. She’s also one of the newest members of the Bluestocking Belles!

She grew up riding wild in the Santa Cruz Mountain redwoods, became an equine veterinarian at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and practiced in the California Pony Express and Gold Country before emigrating to New Zealand.

Lizzi has two wonderful, grown-up boys, a new grandbaby, and an awesome partner in this sea of green. When she’s not writing, she’s swinging a rapier or shooting a bow in medieval garb, riding, driving a carriage or playing on her hobby farm, singing, or working as an equine veterinarian or science teacher. She’s multiply published and awarded in fiction, special interest magazines and veterinary periodicals.

Sign up for Lizzi Tremayne’s Newsletter and get a copy of her Lizzi Tremayne Sampler for free. Be the first to know about new releases, special offers, and news here:  https://lizzitremayne.com/signupsampler/

Connect with Lizzi:

Lizzi’s Website :   http://www.lizzitremayne.com
Facebook:   www.facebook.com/lizzitremayneauthor
Amazon:   www.amzn.to/16VVn1
Goodreads:   www.goodreads.com/LizziTremayne
Instagram:   www.instagram.com/lizzitremayne/
Pinterest:   https://nz.pinterest.com/lizzitremayne/
Twitter:   www.twitter.com/LizziTremayne/
YouTube:   www.youtube.com/user/lizzikiwi
Newsletter signup:   https://lizzitremayne.com/signupsampler/
Google Plus: Google +: https://plus.google.com/+LizziTremayneAuthorandElizabethThompsonDVM

Thanks for coming by! Great to meet you!

Lizzi

First Kiss Friday with Nicole Zoltack

07 Friday Dec 2018

Posted by in 2018, First Kiss Friday

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Welcome to another First Kiss Friday, my lovelies! This week, I have fellow Bluestocking Belle Nicole Zoltack as my guest who will give you her first kiss scene from her novella A Yule Love Story in our holiday box set, Follow Your Star Home. Happy reading and enjoy!

Excerpt:

“One winter,” Anoundus said as they climbed into his longship, “Gunni and I had been riding horses. We were chasing after a beautiful white-tailed doe, the likes of which I never saw before.”

“You were hunting her instead of letting her live to produce more beautiful does.” Sonja shook her head sadly.

He laughed. “She got away, I will have you know. And we wouldn’t have killed her for sport. We were going to feast on her. As I was saying, we chased her for hours. Hours! We worked up a healthy sweat and found a pond. While our horses drank, we stripped and jumped into the pond. We swam and splashed each other and enjoyed the peacefulness. It wasn’t until we returned back home, shivering, our teeth chattering, that we realized how stupid we had been. Although we enjoyed the coldness of the waters since our bodies had felt so hot, our bodies did not take well to the temperature.”

“You still have all ten fingers and toes?” she asked.

“I have every part of me,” he assured her.

As before, she gathered them food, and he poured them wine. They talked and laughed and drank and ate.

By the light of the moon, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

She was sitting on a bench facing him. Normally, they sat on the floor and used the bench between them to hold their food. This time, the plate sat beside her. All he had to do was lean forward, and he would be able to press his lips against hers.

So that was precisely what he did.

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?

Follow Your Star Home:

A Bluestocking Belles Collection

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.

The Bluestocking Belles are proud to present eight never before published novellas in their latest Holiday collection. As always, we will donate some of the proceeds of the box set to a cause dear to the hearts of the Bluestocking Belles, women’s education. 25% of all proceeds will be donated to the Malala Fund.

Eight original stories, more than 600 pages of diverse characters, complex relationships, and happily ever afters.

Follow Your Star Home is currently on sale for just $0.99! Hurry while the sale lasts.

Buy Links:

Amazon US  |  iBooks |  Kobo |  Nook | Smashwords

Amazon AU | Amazon BR  | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon ES | Amazon FR | Amazon IN | Amazon IT | Amazon JP | Amazon MX | Amazon NL | Amazon UK

Bio:

Nicole Zoltack is a USA Today bestselling author whose first love is epic fantasy. When she’s not writing about knights, superheroes, or witches, she enjoys spending time with her loving husband, three energetic young boys, and precious baby girl. She enjoys riding horses (pretending they’re unicorns, of course!) and going to the PA Renaissance Faire dressed in garb. She’ll also read anything she can get her hands on. Her current favorite TV shows are The Walking Dead and Stranger Things.

Social Media:

Website: www.NicoleZoltack.com
Author newsletter: http://www.subscribepage.com/m0k3l8
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PpYUI0
FB Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/authorNicoleZoltack
FB Street Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NicolesRockinReviewCrew/
Blog: http://nicolezoltack.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NicoleZoltack
Authorgraph: http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/NicoleZoltack
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nicole-zoltack

 

Happy Holidays from the Bluestocking Belles & a giveaway!

04 Tuesday Dec 2018

Posted by in 2018

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Happy holidays, my lovelies! I would like to extend the very best to you and your families for this holiday season from the Bluestocking Belles. Welcome to our blog hop in celebration of our holiday box set, Follow Your Star Home. My gift to you is a short story of what happened to the ring after Thomas returned it to his father.

If you’ve read my novella in the set, One Last Kiss, you’ll certainly remember Jade Calloway’s friend, Zoe.

Zoe & the ring

Zoe’s breath hitched. She must be dreaming. How else could she possibly be walking through an ancient hall in a medieval castle? She moved forward, or more like floated, so she knew she must have been sleeping.

She watched the scene play out before her as though she watched it on a flickering movie screen. She smiled when she saw her friend Jade conversing with a knight at the raised dais. The name Thomas skimmed across her mind and Zoe knew her friend had found her soul mate whether Jade knew it yet or not. But how was any of this possible?

A feeling of being watched washed over her and she suddenly turned as though a force beyond her control made her do so. Startled, she came face to face with a handsome stranger. A knight of olden days to make any fair maiden lose her heart in the instant their glances met. Tall with black hair that fell below his broad shoulders, the knight continued to watch her with sparkling blue eyes as though he knew some secret she was not privy to.

“Mademoiselle,” the knight murmured before taking her hand and raising it to his lips. His eyes searched hers until they assessed her clothing… her very modern day clothing.

Zoe suddenly felt out of place. “Sir…” she allowed her unfinished words to linger in the air between them.

“Morgan… at your service,” he replied. He looked around the room before he took her arm and placed it in the crook of his arm.  A jolt of heat raced up her hand at the contact. “You appear lost. Mayhap you are one of the new ladies come here to attend the Lady Amiria?”

Zoe’s eyes widened. “Lady Amiria? As in the lady of Berwyck Castle?”

“Is there any other who could measure up to such a name?” he chuckled. “Let me escort you to her. She will be able to ensure you are properly attired. You must have traveled a long way in order to be here.”

“Sir Morgan, I need you to take me to Kenna. Is she here?” she asked quietly. Kenna would be able to explain everything… after all… the woman was her great-grandmother, several generations removed that is.

“She must still be outside. We had several men who were injured in the lists this day. Come, I can take you to her hut,” Morgan said, as he began ushering Zoe from the hall.

He grabbed at a cloak thrust into his hand by a servant and placed it upon her shoulders. She shivered when he closed the clasp at her neck. “Thank you,” she murmured, suddenly feeling shy in the presence of this very handsome knight.

“You are most welcome, Lady…” he gave her this lopsided grin that completely transformed his rugged face making him appear several years younger.

Zoe laughed realizing she had not given her name. “Zoe. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Morgan,” she answered him as she thrust her hand forward for him to take.

He looked at her offering oddly before taking her hand in his calloused one. Warm heat seared straight to her heart and Zoe watched his eyes widen at their contact. He raised her hand once more towards his lips but instead kissed the inside of her wrist. Her toes curled and she swore such a sensation had never before consumed her of this magnitude.

“The pleasure is mine, dear lady. Perchance once you have concluded your business with our healer, you would allow me to accompany you to the table to break your fast.”

Zoe smiled. “I would love to, kind sir,” she said. I could get used to this kind of treatment.

He opened the door of the hall and Zoe walked outside only to stare in wonder at what she saw: snow falling upon a full-blown medieval castle in all its glory. She should have been watching where she was going but she was so preoccupied with the view and her companion that she completely missed the steps in front of her. She began to tumble forward while a scream tore from her lips.

Arms of steel wrapped around her to break her fall and her arms automatically went around his neck as though holding onto Morgan was the only thing that kept reality and her dream from colliding. His lips parted and she watched when his head began to bend forward to steal a kiss. She had never wanted anything more in her entire life.

“Zoe!”

Their lips were but a breath away. Quickly they broke apart but Zoe still clung to Morgan’s arm, afraid that if she were to let go she would lose him to Time.

“Zoe… you must needs go home!” Kenna’s voice rang out in the inner bailey.

Morgan pulled her close, even while Zoe knew she was beginning to return to her own place in time. “Stay with me…” he murmured against her ear. “I just found you and cannot let you leave me so easily.”

Zoe reached up to cup his cheek, rubbing her thumb against his five o’clock shadow. “I would stay if I could,” she whispered. “Remember me…”

“Always.” He took her hand and once more placed a gentle kiss into her palm. “Come back to me, Zoe,” he said before leaning forward to kiss her.

It was everything she would ever want in a first kiss and as she tightened her arms around this handsome knight she gave herself into the moment… that was until her eyes snapped open and she found herself staring up at the ceiling in her apartment. A sob tore from her throat while she flung off the covers to sit at the edge of her bed.

“Why!” she yelled out in frustration only to see a vague vision of Kenna standing before her. “Why? Why would you show me him and then not let me stay?”

“Dearest granddaughter… I showed you nothing other than what you desire but you are not finished with your work in this time and until you are, you must stay here.”

“But what about Morgan?” she asked while tears ran down her face.

“You will know when it is the right time and place for you to find each other again. He will be waiting for you to come home…”

Zoe reached out for the woman who had been a constant in her life yet lived century’s ago. Before her grandmother faded from view, a soft golden glow began shimmering in her hand. She blew a kiss and a twinkling trail like starlight went towards Zoe’s bedside table. Zoe stared in wonder when a golden ring took shape. She reached over to clasp the ring to her chest and smiled knowing she would one day see Morgan again.

***

And in another place in time, Morgan awoke to still feel the lips of Zoe upon his own. He reached up to feel them still tingling from the contact. He began to dress to seek out Berwyck’s healer knowing Kenna would have the answers he stood in need of. He needed to find Zoe no matter the cost. Even Time itself would not keep them apart!

The Holiday Blog Hop Giveaway!

Did you enjoy Zoe & Morgan’s dream together? I sure have an idea for a full story for them after I take care of a few other characters who are vying for my attention. Be sure to leave me a comment here and to follow the Viking star ring to each of the Belles’ websites to be in the running for our giveaway. You can learn more about it here at the Belles’ website along with the sale we’re running until December 15th: https://bluestockingbelles.net/follow-your-star-blog-hop/. The more you comment on each site, the better your chances to win!

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.

Amazon US  |  iBooks |  Kobo |  Nook | Smashwords

Amazon AU | Amazon BR  | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon ES | Amazon FR | Amazon IN | Amazon IT | Amazon JP | Amazon MX | Amazon NL | Amazon UK

First Kiss Friday with Sherry Ewing

09 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by in 2018, First Kiss Friday

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Today on First Kiss Friday, I’d like to give you an excerpt from my medieval/time travel, One Last Kiss: The Knights of Berwyck, A Quest Through Time Novella which is my contribution to Follow Your Star Home: A Bluestocking Belles Collection. When I had the opportunity to write a time travel for this year’s Belles anthology, I jumped at the chance because… you know… I love a good time travel, don’t you? Enjoy this first kiss scene with Jade, a modern day woman, and Thomas, one of my Knights of Berwyck. Happy reading!

Excerpt:

Jade was unsure what madness had overcome her to be kissing a man she barely knew, but, in many ways, she felt as though Thomas had always been a part of her. Crazy as it may seem to even have such thoughts, she gave in to the invisible energy surrounding and pulling them together.

The moment their lips touched, everything changed. Where before she felt as though she were being forced into something she didn’t want, now, it was as if this was where she was always meant to be. With Thomas… in his arms… kissing him with all the love she could muster up for another human being.

Their kiss ended just as quickly as it had started. Their breaths ragged, they could only stare into each other eyes. Thomas reached down to caress her cheek, and a sense of wonderment filled her, knowing she had truly crossed time. He gave her a half smile as though he had heard her thoughts before he leaned down to taste what she now freely offered. It was as though they were now in control of their destiny.

Thomas deepened their kiss, and she heard his moan of pleasure even as she held back one of her own. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been kissed before, but there was a reason she had remained single for so long and not married right out of high school like so many had done. No man had ever stepped into her life that seemed to be the other half of herself or just the piece of her that had been missing. She had sworn to herself she would never settle, but with Thomas, she had an instant connection she knew she would never find again in any other man. In an instant, the universe tilted as though they became as one, almost as though Zoe’s words pulled them together from across the centuries.

As though she watched the scene in a movie theater, his arm wrapped around her waist, and he held her even tighter, bending her over. He made her swoon as no other man had ever done before. Her hand reached up and took ahold of his hair. Gosh, she never wanted to let him go. Emptiness surrounded her when he abruptly tore his lips from hers and pushed away from her. The cooler air of the room coming into contact with her flushed skin caused her to shiver.

He muttered something, possibly in Gaelic, giving Jade the impression he was of Scottish descent. But whatever his words meant, Jade couldn’t understand any of them. He began to pace the room, much like she had done but moments before. She went to him and gently laid her hand upon his arm.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, almost afraid to hear his answer.

He stared at her hand for several minutes until his words exploded from his lips. “St. Michael’s wings! Where did you come by this?” he growled out before taking her hand and inspecting the ring she couldn’t seem to get off her finger. He began to pull at the shiny gold band, but it wouldn’t budge for him any more than it had moved for her.

Roughly, she tore her hand from his. “Stop that. You’re hurting me,” she shouted.

“I did not mean to cause you harm, but how came you by this ring?” he questioned again, his frown deepening.

Gazing down at the object of his concern, she held the ring close to her chest, hugging her hand as though it was wounded. If anything, the jewelry was her one way to return home, or so she guessed. She could not let him have it. Not at any cost, no matter the thoughts that had just gone through her head about the two of them belonging together.

His angry stance told her much, causing her thoughts to jumble around inside her head. She almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of her whole situation if it were to be believed. Time travel? Please… Yet how could she possibly wrap her head around the fact she appeared to be in some bedchamber in a medieval castle, let alone come to care for a complete stranger with just one kiss?

Follow Your Star Home:
A Bluestocking Belles Collection

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.

Blurb for One Last Kiss:

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

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?

Follow Your Star Home is available now. 25% of the proceeds benefit the Belles’ mutual charity the Malala Fund.

Buy Links:

Amazon US  |  iBooks |  Kobo |  Nook | Smashwords | Amazon AU | Amazon BR |  Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon ES | Amazon FR | Amazon IN | Amazon IT | Amazon JP | Amazon MX | Amazon NL | Amazon UK

An author’s interview with her characters

31 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by in 2018, New Releases

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Today I’d like to take a few moments to sit down with two very special people in my life, Thomas of Clan Kincaid and Jade Calloway from One Last Kiss in the Bluestocking Belles box set Follow Your Star Home. I’ve pulled them forward to the present to have a bit of a chat with your morning coffee. Since Time is fickle, we best right to it…

Sherry: You seem a little out of sorts, Thomas. What seems to be troubling you?

Thomas: You bring me to this futuristic world of yours, and you must needs ask why I appear cross? You of all people should know I do not care for this crossing Time business.

Jade: Don’t let his growl get to you, Ms. Ewing. Thomas just wants to return home, don’t you dear?

Thomas: Aye.

Sherry: I appreciate you indulging me and my whim, but my readers wanted to learn a little more about you.

Thomas: Readers? What nonsense are you spouting, my lady?”

Jade: She’s our author, my love. She created us.

Thomas: My father and mother would have to gain say you on that account.

Sherry: Tell us about the ring that brought Jade to you from across Time.

Thomas: I do not wish to discuss it. ’Tis been a source of contention for most of my life.

Sherry: But it’s the reason Jade is with you today.

Jade: It really was a miracle. I still can’t believe I now live in the 12th century.

Thomas: The ring may have brought my lady into the past but the love we share is what keeps us together. Time would not be so cruel as to take her from me.

Sherry: You seem to have adjusted well, Jade. Any regrets?

Jade: Considering the final result was to fall in love with his handsome knight, how could I possibly have any regrets? There really isn’t anything that I’ll miss in modern day, San Francisco other than maybe baseball. Tell me, did the Giant’s make it to the World Series this year?

Sherry: I’m afraid not.

Jade: Oh, that’s too bad.

Thomas: Base… ball?

Jade: I’ll tell you about it later.

Sherry: What about you, Thomas? Any regrets of not having a woman to love from your own place in time?

Thomas: If, as you say, you are the means by which I now have Jade in my life, then nay, I have no regrets. I would cross Time itself, if need be, to find her again. My lady means all to me, and I am forever thankful to have her to share my life.

And with his vow, I watched Thomas lean forward to kiss Jade before they faded from view to return to their own place in time. I believe I can honestly say that I’ve given them their happily ever after, don’t you?

If you’d like to read more about their story in One Last Kiss, be sure to pick up Follow Your Star Home and see for yourself how a ring forged from Viking ancestors brings couples together throughout time.

 

Follow Your Star Home
A Bluestocking Belles Collection
Release Date: November 4, 2018

Join our Facebook Release party on Sunday,
November 4th from 2:00 – 9:00 EDT here.

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.

25% of proceeds benefit our mutual charity the Malala Fund

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

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

Scotland, 1182: Banished from his homeland, Thomas of Clan Kincaid lives among distant relatives, reluctantly accepting he may never return home… until the castle’s healer tells him of a woman traveling across time…

Dare he believe the impossible?

Present Day, Michigan: Jade Calloway is used to being alone, and as Christmas approaches, she’s skeptical when told she’ll embark on an extraordinary journey. But when a ring magically appears, and she sees a ghostly man in her dreams…

Dare she believe in the possible?

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First Kiss Friday with guest Jude Knight

19 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by in 2018, First Kiss Friday

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Today on First Kiss Friday, I’d like to introduce fellow Bluestocking Belle Jude Knight and her characters from our joint box set, FOLLOW YOUR STAR HOME. We just know you’re going to love getting to know James and his wife Mahzad! Happy reading and take it away, Jude!

This excerpt is the first kiss for James and Mahzad in Paradise Regained, my contribution to the Bluestocking Belles’ 2018 holiday box set, Follow Your Star Home. My hero and heroine have been married for more than a decade, and have eight children, but they’ve been separated for months, and distant with one another for longer still.

James has arrived home to find a small army camped outside their gates demanding the heads of his in-laws, and Mahzad is horrified when a woman claiming to be his mistress turns up shortly afterwards. Their confrontation turns into something else in the following excerpt.

Excerpt:

“What?” He ignored the provocation of her description of Cecily. She was offended that he held the meeting without her? “I thought to take a burden off you when your father was so ill. I meant no insult, Mahzad. You should know that.”

“How?” she demanded. “By mindreading? I have lost my magic abilities, oh inscrutable one. My genie is in retirement.” She turned away, her voice dropping. “I have no idea why you do the things you do, except that I know I am a burden to you. I am sorry to inconvenience you and your father by continuing to exist.”

Exasperating female. Would she stick to the point?

“What the devil do you mean now? What has my father got to do with it?”

“He wants you to come back to England,” Mahzad accused. “Your ‘oh so dear’ Cecily told me, and Peter and Yousef confirmed it.” She sniffed and tossed her head. “You will not go because I am an embarrassment to you.”

“Like hell you are,” James snapped. “Neither of them said that, and if they did, it isn’t true.”

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.

 

Jude’s novella, Paradise Regained, is set in the Kopet Dag mountains north of Iran. Silk Road routes skirted the mountains on both sides and snaked through them. The year is 1794, and though the Silk Roads had long been closed to Europe, trade and travel between the Middle East and the Far East was far from over. Jude’s hero and heroine have established a kingdom in the mountains and a business protecting caravans from bandits and marauding tribes.

Paradise Regained will be published in Follow Your Star Home [https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/follow-your-star-home/], the Bluestocking Belles’ holiday collection for 2019.

Paradise Regained

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.

About Jude Knight

Jude Knight’s writing goal is to transport readers to another time, another place, where they can enjoy adventure and romance, thrill to trials and challenges, uncover secrets and solve mysteries, delight in a happy ending, and return from their virtual holiday refreshed and ready for anything.

Jude writes everything from Hallmark to Regency Noir, in different eras and diverse places, short, medium and extra long. Expect decent men with wounded hearts, women who are stronger than they think, and villains you’ll want to smack or worse.and all with a leavening of humour.

Website and blog: http://judeknightauthor.com/

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Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Jude-Knight/e/B00RG3SG7I

First Kiss Friday with guest Caroline Warfield

05 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by in 2018, First Kiss Friday

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Welcome to another, First Kiss Friday! Today it’s my pleasure to welcome Caroline Warfield who will be sharing the first kiss scene in her novella, The Last Post, which is in the Bluestocking Belles’ 2018 box set, Follow Your Star Home. I just know you’re going to love this story. Happy reading and enjoy!

From “The Last Post,” one of the stories in Follow Your Star Home

Harry has come to search for her among the floating islands of Amiens with little hope. He is stunned to find her after days of searching.

Excerpt:

He stood bathed in the light of sunset, his eyes full of joy. “Rosemarie! Thank God. I was afraid some stranger—”

She cut off Harry’s words when she threw herself into his arms, stood on tiptoe, and covered his mouth with hers. His arms clamped around her, one hand slipped under her bottom, and he lifted her off the ground to deepen the kiss. When she pulled back to take a breath he let her slide to her feet but kept her in his arms. Still unable to speak, she ran her fingers over his face as if to verify he was her Harry. He kissed her fingers when they touched his lips.

“You’re here,” she breathed at last. “How?”

“I didn’t think you’d be here,” he said at the same time.

She pulled him in and shut the door, both of them talking at once. He hugged her again and kissed her thoroughly while her heart sang. Thank God, thank God, thank God.

When they moved to the rocker and he pulled her into his lap, they began to tell their separate stories of travel, confusion, and longing, with frequent interruptions for questions and repetition punctuated by kisses. Words gave way eventually, and kisses took their place.

 

 


Follow Your Star Home: A Bluestocking Belles Collection

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

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

About The Last Post

France 1919

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

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 unite before it is too late?

Buy Links – Special pre-order price of $2.99:

Amazon US  |  iBooks |  Kobo |  Nook | Smashwords | Amazon AU | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

About the Author

Traveler, would-be adventurer, former tech writer and library technology professional, Caroline Warfield has now retired to the urban wilds of Eastern Pennsylvania, and divides her time between writing and seeking adventures with her grandbuddy. In her newest series, Children of Empire, three cousins torn apart by lies find their way home from the far corners of the British Empire, finding love along the way.

She has works published by Soul Mate Publishing and also independently published works. In addition she has participated in five group anthologies, one not yet published.

For more about Follow Your Star Home, look here:

https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/follow-your-star-home/

For more about all of Caroline’s books, look here:

https://www.carolinewarfield.com/bookshelf/