At the end of the year, I have two releases coming. They are new and yet they aren’t. They are the revival of two of my now OUT OF PRINT titles from By Grace Publishing who went out of business at the end of last year.
In November, Snow Kissed will release with White Rose Publishing. This was first published in the BG anthology, Winter Wonders, as a short sweet romance. I rewrote it, doubling the length, and turned it into an Inspirational.
In December, my very first ever published book, The Spirit of Christmas, will release brand spanking new as All I Want for Christmas from Champagne Books. I tirelessly rewrote this book from word choices, sentence structure, deeping POV, adding a character and twisting the plot. It is almost a new book.
I’m very excited about these two winter releases. I’ll share more about them as we move closer to release.
Take care and Happy July the 1st!
After you’ve read the review of Linore’s wonderful book, come on by my blog later today to see the spotlight on her latest release. See you there.
Before the Season Ends
By Linore Rose Burkard
Publisher Description:
In her debut novel of what she calls “spirited romance for the Jane Austen soul,” author Linore Rose Burkard tells the intriguing story of Miss Ariana Forsythe, a young woman caught between her love for a man who doesn’t share her faith and her resolution to marry only a fellow believer in Christ.
Trouble at home sends the young woman to her aunt’s townhome in the fashionable Mayfair district of London. There she finds worse troubles than those that prompted her flight from home. Ariana is soon neck–deep in high society and at odds with Mr. Phillip Mornay, London’s current darling rogue. Then a scandal changes Ariana forever. Her heart, her faith, and her future are all at stake in an unexpected adventure that gains even the Prince Regent’s attention.
Will Ariana’s faith survive this test? And what about her heart? For it’s Ariana’s heart that most threatens to betray the truths she has always believed in. When she finds herself backed against a wall, betrothed to the wrong young man, how can it ever turn out right?
Jane Austen readers and fans of Regency romances everywhere will love Before the Season Ends.
Review:
Jane Austen fans beware. You will not be able to put this book down. Before the Season Ends is one of those books with a permanent place on my bookshelf that I intend to read over again.
Ms. Burkard is a talented author. Her writing style is that which pulls you in and doesn’t let go until you’ve reached the end. And even then you wish there to be more. Thank goodness there’s a sequel. Indeed, I was quite astounded at the aptitude of the author not that I discounted Ms. Burkard before reading, but that she is just so very good at writing Regency. You might even believe you’re reading a period novel. Her writing stays in tune with the time period to the extent as to even match the spelling of certain words like–connexion– for connection. The same way Jane Austen spelled it.
The writing does resemble that of Jane Austen if not in style than in technicalities. Just like Jane the POV (point of view) does switch from head to head in certain places within a scene while primarily staying with the heroine. There is even a hint of the narrator just like Jane at times. For those certain comments could not come from the heroine but an all-knowing narrator.
The author’s description of Regency England and especially London is so detailed that you would have thought she slipped back in time to take down notes. There are also such stunning descriptions of places and homes and the things within the home. Being a historian myself, I appreciated this side of her book as well. Very well researched. As one who loves classic literature of the Regency and Victorian era, I thought her book fit right in with the likes of Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens.
The heroine, Ariana Forsythe, starts out seeming quite young and naive at the onset of the book. As we aren’t allowed into her POV much in the 1st 3 chapters, I wasn’t quite sure of want kind of character she would turn out to be. She is a young woman of great moral fiber who loves God and in following His commandments receives the desires of her heart. Ariana is such an endearing character. I enjoyed her very much. What an example she is to all young women even today in their Christian walks. The reasons that the unattainable Mr. Mornay falls in love with her are the very same reasons you will find her delightful.
Mr. Philip Mornay is called the Paragon. Every lady wishes to attract him and every man tends to emulate him. From fashion, wealth, and society he is at the peak of the swell. He’s very proud and at times seems angry. He can be brusque and rude and everyone allows it because he is the Paragon. Then he meets Arianna and his heart and behavior begin to change. For every action there is a reaction and Ariana soon learns the reasons for the behaviors in the man she has come to love.
My one qualm with the book is that I wish there had been more time spent in the POV of the hero, Mornay. Of course, the same could be said of Jane Austen which of course has resulted in all those modern written spin off novels.
Before the Season Ends was simply enchanting from the first page to the last. It is very romantic and yes even passionate at times. Such a sweet romance and one that got my heart to pounding to see these characters get together. The Christian message is quite transparent from the very first chapter. No watered down Christianity here. It was wonderful to see the plan God had in the lives of these two people. I look forward to reading the sequel.
Available at Amazon and booksellers everywhere.
I will be in the Book Roast all day today. This time I’ll be roasted over my sweet Inspirational historical—Dilemma of the Heart. This is how it works:
We slice and serve one author a day for fun and prizes and a good, old fashioned roasting. First, we whet your appetite with a short excerpt from the author’s book, followed by a question loosely related to the passage. Some questions are silly, others are straightforward and the rest are plain crunchy. For dessert, the author picks the winner who answers the question correctly – or the most creatively. We like spice, but some authors prefer things sweet, which makes Book Roast deliciously unpredictable.
The prize: a free copy of the author’s book (and an occasional surprise!)
Best of all, authors will pop into the blog throughout the day to answer questions, share a laugh and toss out some insider tidbits.
http://bookroast.blogspot.com/
So make sure to visit me at the Book Roast today.
I’d like to invite all my readers to a Live Chat at the Romance Junkies tomorrow 4/7/09. This will be a fun Historical chat. I will be joined by three other White Rose Publishing authors:
Laurean Brooks, Ashley Ludwig, Janelle Ashley
Please join us at 9 pm EST in the Chat Room at The Romance Junkies. The chat will be one hour and each one of us will be giving away one of our historical titles.
http://www.romancejunkies.com/chat.html
Hope to see you there!
I’m pleased to say that my out of print short sweet story–Snow Kissed–has been contracted by White Rose Publishing (the new imprint of The Wild Rose Press). I rewrote the story as an Inspirational and doubled the length.
Today is one of those days Logan Reilly wished he’d stayed in bed. Not only does he have to deal with the annoying Winter Wonderland Carnival but his close friend, that whimsical lover of snow, Holly Armstrong, is leaving town forever. The question is why didn’t she tell him and why today, of all days, does he realize she might be more than a friend?
Holly can no longer stay in town knowing the man she loves only sees her as a friend. It’s time to move on; besides she has other career prospects.
As the carnival unfolds, watch God work in amazing ways. Can He change Holly’s mind and make her stay? Can He help Logan see beyond the friendship? Only time can tell.
Click on the link to the left to read an excerpt
I’m on a roll with making book trailers. After having had so much fun making one for NovelTea Next Door, I decided to make another one for Dilemma of the Heart. It was the first time I’ve attempted to make one for a historical. It is definitely more challenging getting the right images but the video came together fairly nice. Well, you tell me what you think. Thanks.
Want to win a free book today? Then stop by The Romance Studio. I’ll be giving away a copy of my short historical western, The Heart Never Lies to one person who enters the Book-A-Day-Giveaway. http://www.theromancestudio.com/
Here is a book trailer for the 2nd book in my NovelTea series: NovelTea Next Door. Available at The Wild Rose Press: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/novel… Stop by the NovelTea Blog to find out more about this series: http://novelteaseries.blogspot.com/
Second in the NovelTea Series: Government agent Grant Gerard knows hes cocky. Its the reason he can do this job day after day. Hes always kept his life simple and uncomplicateduntil destiny took a turn when he met bookstore/tea shop owner Juliet Truesdale.
Armed with a new lead pertaining to known criminal spook, Alexis Guthrie, Grant enlists Juliet to aid the investigation which ends up at the door of her neighbor, Adam Trudeau. This investment banker neighbor of hers seems harmless enough despite his annoying interest in Juliet. Will this turn of events only usher in more dangerous or even deadly situations for the duo? Can Grant allow Juliet into his heart and keep her safe from the danger looming in the distance?
You can read an excerpt from the book in the ‘My Books’ Section.
Seriously, I’m being roasted—at the Book Roast today! http://bookroast.blogspot.com/ I need to see some friendly faces.
We slice and serve one author a day for fun and prizes and a good, old fashioned roasting. First, we whet your appetite with a short excerpt from the author’s book, followed by a question loosely related to the passage. Some questions are silly, others are straightforward and the rest are plain crunchy. For dessert, the author picks the winner who answers the question correctly – or the most creatively. We like spice, but some authors prefer things sweet, which makes Book Roast deliciously unpredictable.
The prize: a free copy of the author’s book (and an occasional surprise!)
Best of all, authors will pop into the blog throughout the day to answer questions, share a laugh and toss out some insider tidbits.
At the end of the day, I’ll even give away a copy of my Champagne title–a historical western, The Heart Never Lies.