COOKING WITH CLORIS--AUTHOR BARBARA PRONIN'S NEW WWII HISTORICAL NOVEL AND A RECIPE FOR CHALLAH

Brooklyn born Barbara Pronin is the author of nine novels acclaimed by such notables as Mary Higgins Clark, Tony Hillerman, and Faye Kellerman. Learn about this SoCal transplant and her books on her website.

Full disclosure: my newest novel, a WW II historical called Winter’s End, is not about a crafty killer. It is about three crafty killers, three amazing young women of the Dutch Resistance who learn to blow up trains and take out Nazi tyrants in their mission to help Jewish escapees and save their homeland from starvation in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. 

 

Led by young Evi Strobel, who, I swear, walked into my head one night and would not leave until I told her story, the three are as different as night and day, yet they work together like the tiles in a Rubik’s cube to outfox their Nazi enemies. 

 

Here is 16-yearold Evi, enticing Nazi officers from smoky taverns to their deaths until the fateful night when she is saved from rape by a downed American airman.

 

There is Dr. Zoe Visser, a veterinarian by trade, picking pockets for Dutch ID cards for use by escaping Jews, and leading frightened escapees to their border destinations in the dead of night. 

 

And here is Mila Brouwer, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy collaborator, passing secrets she learns at her father’s dinner table to waiting Resistance leaders.

 

Their stories evolve on several levels – as an unexpected love story, as a coming-of-age story, and as a tale of incredible bravery – a remarkable journey I fell in love with, from its beginnings in the cobblestoned streets of Amsterdam to its ending more than seventy years later and a world away, where one of these women learns to bake a delectable Sabbath challah from her Jewish-American mother-in-law.

 

Winter’s End will be published on May 15, but it is on pre-sale now at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com. While you wait for it, you may want to try your hand at making a golden loaf of homemade challah bread. (It takes a bit of work, but trust me, it’s worth it!)

 

Golden Challah

(makes one loaf)

 

Ingredients:

1 packet dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1 cup warm water

1 egg

1/4-cup honey

3 tbs canola oil

1 tsp salt

4 ½ cl. Flour, approximately

 

For the egg wash:

1 egg

2 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. vanilla

 

Directions:

Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/4-cup warm water in a medium-sized bowl. Let sit about 15 minutes until thick and frothy.

 

Add the egg, honey, oil, salt, remaining 3/4-cup of water, and 3 cups of the flour. Mix until a loose batter forms. Add the remainder of flour slowly. You may need all, less, or more flour, so use your hands to add it in slowly. The dough should be soft but not sticky. Once the dough has enough flour, knead it for a couple of minutes right in the bowl.

 

Cover the dough with a wet towel and put it in a warm place to rise for about 1—1-1/2 hours. Dough should double in size.

 

Punch the dough down and let it rest for 10 minutes.

 

Divide the dough into thirds and with your hands, roll each piece into a long (13-14 inch) piece. Attach the three pieces at one end, tuck the end under, and braid the dough as you would if it were Evi‘s hair. Tuck the second end under, place the braided loaf on a lightly greased cookie sheet, and let it rise for another 30-40 minutes.

 

Beat the egg with the honey and vanilla and gently brush over the loaf. Bake at 375° F for approximately 35-45 minutes. Loaf should be golden on top, and firm on the bottom.

 

Winter’s End

Luring Nazi officers from smoky taverns to their deaths was not what Evi Strobel bargained for when she agreed to join the Dutch Resistance. But that is what she did until that fateful night she was saved from rape by a downed American Airman.

 

Nor did Zoe Visser expect to be picking pockets for Dutch ID cards for use by escaping Jews, much less leading frightened enemies of the Reich toward uncertain treks to the Belgian border - nor did Mila Brouwer, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy German collaborator, expect to be passing secrets learned at her father's dinner table to help Resistance stalwarts blow up Nazi trains and meeting halls.

 

But four years into German occupation, with the Dutch surviving on boiled tulip bulbs, and Hitler tightening control ahead of advancing Allies, that is what they did. Follow them as Winter's End traces a harrowing journey from the cobblestoned streets of Nazi-occupied Holland to an astonishing finale seventy years later and a world away.

 

Preorder (available 5/15/25)

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--A FRENCH REVOLUTION ROMANCE AND LENTIL SOUP RECIPE FROM AUTHOR DEBRA BORCHERT

 

Image used under license from Shutterstock.com

Debra Borchert is the author of the Château de Verzat series that follows headstrong and independent women and the four-hundred loyal families who protect a Loire Valley château and vineyard and its legacy of producing the finest wines in France during the French Revolution. Learn more about Debra and her books at her website. 

 

A Soup-aholic Confesses

I am a soup-aholic. If it grows, oinks, pecks or swims, I find a way to incorporate it in a soup. I also own eight slow cookers, which I use not to make soups but to serve them. My holiday traditions center around an annual Soup Party where I serve eight soups and ask guests to bring bread or a dessert. So popular is this event, requests for the date of the next party roll in around Labor Day. 

 

While researching the French Revolution, I discovered that many families living in Paris could afford only single-room lodgings. Because those homes often lacked a fireplace, people had no heat or cooking facilities.

 

Enterprising cooks who had fireplaces and a cauldron, often simmered a batch of soup and brought the steaming pot out onto the street where they sold hot servings in wooden bowls with wooden spoons, recycling those bowls and spoons for the next customers. Soup might be the first form of fast food.

 

During the 18^th century, the French believed broths and bouillons were restoratifs, restoratives. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word restaurant was initially used to describe a variety of rich, meat-based bouillons. Since soups were a main culinary staple, I developed recipes for my characters. 

 

The soups I created gave me an opportunity to reveal characters’ personalities.

 

In my historical romance, Her Own Revolution, Geneviève, the daughter of the public prosecutor, rescues a fallen noble, Louis LaGarde, a man she thought she hated, from the guillotine. Prison has changed the once arrogant bully into a caring man who transforms his château into an orphanage. The orphans claim the soup tastes like chamber-pot slops, so Louis creates a new soup, including all the things he enjoyed eating as a child. And, when the cook is not looking, he adds a few splashes of wine. To encourage the children to eat it, he claims he used magic. Although skeptical, the children devour the soup. 

 

As Geneviève witnesses the children’s love and adoration for Louis, she sees him in a new light and is disturbed by the fondness she feels for him—a key ingredient in a recipe for romance.

 

I include my recipes in my books and newsletters. I also print them on postcards, featuring my book covers, and distribute them as I would business cards and bookmarks. I am currently working on a cookbook I’ll use as a promotion. Not only am I sharing my stories, but also my love for soups.

 

Bon Appetit! 

 

Uncle Louis’s Lentil Soup featured in Her Own Revolution

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup diced parsnips

1/2 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced red pepper

1/2 cup diced yellow pepper

2 sliced leeks, white part only

1 small onion, chopped

A few splashes of extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb. turkey or chicken sausage, sliced into bite-size pieces (optional)

1-1/2-2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups lentils, rinsed and picked over 

1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)

4 cups chopped fresh kale or baby spinach

Sea salt & pepper

Dash cayenne pepper 

 

Wash, peel, and dice the first 6 vegetables. Allow them to dry on a towel.

 

In a large stock pot and over low to medium heat, sauté batches of first 5 vegetables in olive oil for about 5 minutes, do not brown. As they begin to soften, remove from pot, and add more vegetables. Add leeks and chopped onion, do not brown. Cook all vegetables until they are soft.

 

If you are using sausage, remove vegetables from pot, add a bit more olive oil and sauté sausage slices until lightly browned. 

 

Return all cooked vegetables to pot. Add the stock and cook on low for about 10-15 minutes.

 

Add lentils and cook for 15 minutes, until lentils are soft but not mushy. 

Add wine. Simmer for 5 minutes.

 

Add kale or spinach and more stock if needed. Cook on low until greens wilt.

 

Add cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper to taste. 

 

Her Own Revolution

The Château de Verzat Series, Book 2

 

A Woman Forges a Treacherous Path to Save Hundreds from the Guillotine

 

If Geneviève Fouquier-Tinville had the same rights as a man, she wouldn’t have to dress like one. She risks facing the guillotine herself when she replaces names of those she believes innocent on the list scheduled for the guillotine with names of those already dead. Her compassion for innocent people leads to both loss and love. 

 

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AN INTERVIEW WITH GEORGIA WEBER FROM ROMANCE AUTHOR JACQUOLYN McMURRAY'S SHELTERED FROM LOVE

Today we sit down for a chat with Georgia Weber from romance author Jacquolyn McMurray’s Sheltered for Love. 

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings? 

I was happily married. My husband and I took early retirement to live in our dream home in Hawai‘i. I spent most days volunteering at the local animal shelter. Before Jacquolyn killed off my husband, my life was predictable and full, and I was content.

 

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself? 

I think of myself as a caring person. I’m especially concerned about the welfare of animals since they rely on humans to protect them. 

 

What do you like least about yourself? 

I’m overly emotional and cry easily. 

 

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you? She defined my occupation as a retired emergency room nurse and then made me freeze when my husband collapsed. Talk about losing your confidence!

 

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about? 

I wanted to have more children in the story, but Jacquolyn said it wouldn’t add any value. She, of course, won that battle.

 

What is your greatest fear? 

Ever since my husband died on my watch, I’m afraid I can’t be trusted to care for someone.

 

What makes you happy?  

Having pets to keep me company, seeing my grown daughter, spending time with my best friend, and being with Romel (even though our budding relationship scares me).

 

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why? 

I would maybe spend more time developing the dogs’ personalities. I feel like the birds, Bert and Trudy, stole the limelight.

 

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why? Harriet, my best friend’s mother, is always making snide comments about me. I shouldn’t let her bother me, but she does.

 

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why? 

Romel. He exudes confidence and is clear what he wants.

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?

Jacquolyn McMurray is published in both contemporary and historical romance and enjoys teaching writing classes and mentoring new writers. She and her husband live on a macadamia nut farm on the island of Hawai'i where they feed a chowder of cats and a flock of hodgepodge chickens. When she's not doing writerly things, Jacquolyn loves spending time with family and friends, sewing, and watching reruns of Monk. Learn more about her and her books and sign up for her newsletter at her website. 

 

What's next for you? 

I’ll be settling into the new me and continuing my work at the animal shelter.

 

Sheltered from Love (available September 20th)

Paradise, pies, and possibilities. Will Georgia give love a second chance?

 

Her husband died on her watch. It should never have happened. As a registered nurse, Georgia knew what needed to be done. Will she relive her failure for the rest of her life and deprive herself of the life she deserves? 

 

Georgia lives in her dream home in Hawai‘i, but she’s lonely. And as much as she’d love to have a couple of pets, and maybe even a male companion, she can’t be responsible for another living thing. Not after she froze when her husband collapsed.

 

She fills her lonely days volunteering at the animal shelter and roams around her empty house at night. Until the day a pie-baking house painter talks her into one supper, and then another. 

HISTORICAL AUTHOR ALYSSA ROBERTS CHANNELS HER LOVE OF SAILING IN HER REGENCY ROMANCE

*Photo 1

Alyssa Roberts writes historical fiction and historical romance. Her historical romances to date are set in Regency England and Wales, and in American Revolutionary War Vermont. Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

I’ve always heard you should write what you know. Naturally, that can’t always happen, but sometimes it works out. A lot of us have some entertaining interests, and one of the things my husband and I love is sailing. 

 

My recently released historical romance Duchess Deceived includes sailing scenes inspired by the adventures I have had with my very competent sailor husband. We have raced over the frothy waves to beat a dark, thundering storm behind us. We have battled tides and winds for exhilarating, unexpected rides into safe harbors.

*Photo 2

Duchess Deceived includes a wild sail across the Bristol Channel as our hero and heroine race against time. The Bristol Channel’s tides can be compared to the similarly huge tides in the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia where within hours boats go from bobbing peacefully on the water to being moored on the sand! I have been lucky enough to see the strength of the Bay of Fundy tide as it comes in—and goes out. The moving water held me spellbound, just staring as it came in fast enough to cover a stone in minutes. It inspired me so much, I was determined to capture that power in my debut romance.

 

Our heroine in Duchess Deceived, Juliana, does not want to go anywhere near the Bristol Channel because, as the result of an event in her childhood, she fears the water. The wild ride in this book helps Juliana overcome that fear. That result might sound unlikely, but when I faced my first storm on a sailboat, I was pretty scared. I found, though, that riding out a storm with someone who knows what they are doing, is careful and attentive about it, and actually enjoys themselves while doing it helped me overcome my fear. Later, when we raced ahead of a different storm, we ended up having a rollicking good time. 

 

In writing this book, I used what I saw of the Bay of Fundy (although I did not sail there), but I would love to also see the Bristol Channel. Has anyone been to the Bristol Channel? To the Bay of Fundy? Both? Do you have any great stories about either—or both?

*Photo 1: This is a picture taken near Brier Island, which is far south in the Bay of Fundy, so does not even experience the full extent of its tides, yet a boat is resting on the bottom – and the water is far out.

*Photo 2: This picture of a pier shows how high they must be built to accommodate the tides. Again, this is not even at the northern end of the Bay of Fundy! 

Duchess Deceived

Widowed duchess Juliana Barrington fears that men who covet her son’s title are trying to kill him. When greedy relatives discover her whereabouts, she flees her seaside hideout. Will she be running forever? 

Ransom Wolfe Hawkins, a Royal Navy officer in hiding, wants to protect Juliana and her son, but fears he'll lose her trust if she learns he's been accused of murder. Will he have to choose between clearing his name and protecting the woman he loves? 

Or will he deceive the Duchess?

 

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--HISTORICAL AUTHOR, CRAFTER, AND PROCRASTINATION SPECIALIST JEANNIE LIN

Silk Parachute Cord Knotted Bracelet

USA Today bestselling author Jeannie Lin writes groundbreaking historical romances set in imperial China as well as an Opium War steampunk series, the Gunpowder Chronicles. The Hidden Moon, a historical romance and murder mystery set in the pleasure district of the Tang Dynasty imperial capital will be available September 1, 2020 in digital and September 8, 2020 in print. Learn more about Jeannie and her books at her website. 

I’m not just a procrastinator. I’m a procrastination specialist. My procrastination efforts are an artform. 

Normally this comes with a lot of schedules and to-do lists to try to keep myself on track. And guilt. Oh, the guilt – why can’t I stay focused?!

But over the last months as I was writing The Hidden Moon, I tried something different. I tried to be a little kinder to myself.  

I realized that labeling myself as a procrastinator – as I did above there -- or saying that I’m too easily distracted….these are all negative judgment. It’s me telling myself that I need to be different. What I was doing was not good enough, not productive enough. 

I spent the last four years thinking I needed to cut things out of my schedule that were distractors. That I needed to focus and be more efficient. It led to me wanting to write, but not really writing. Yet still feeling guilty for it. 

It led to burnout at work. 

It led to a very sad me. 

Whenever I start writing a new book, I post a paper with a quote on the wall above my desk to give myself a little encouragement. 

My current quote is: “I hate writing. I love having written” along with a cute little stick drawing of the “Instant Gratification Monkey” from Tim Urban’s talk on Why Procrastinators Procrastinate.

There’s a reason for that monkey in my head. He’s not there to fight me…he’s there to tell me that all those “distractions”: googling trivial research, YouTubing craft tutorials, making cool swag that’s not really going to sell any more books …that was all more important to me than I realized. 

So I put up the sign, not only to remind myself to get to work, but to remember to let the monkey play. Which led to one late night when in the middle of writing, I wondered….hmm, what’s something my hero could make by hand that he ends up giving to the heroine? Which led to a YouTube journey on how to tie decorative knots. An hour and many videos later, I was ordering red paracord off the internet. 

Okay, Monkey, I said, you’ve had some time to play. We have some pretty red cord coming. Now I’m going to write, and I promise, I PROMISE when this draft is done, you’ll get to try it out. 

As a result, I developed a recurring motif in The Hidden Moon, created a neat little piece of swag to mail to readers, and had a fun craft project to reward myself with that I could do with my little girl once the draft was done. (see above)

My procrastination monkey is not there to hold me back. He’s there to tell me to remember the things that bring me joy. And that these inputs, this brain candy that I love, is there for a reason. They’re not needless distractions to be locked away. They are the fuel for my productivity and refill the well in little sips to keep me going. 

Confession: The silk bracelet wasn’t the only wandering I did with this last book, by far. Let me present to you the combination lock box I created out of cardboard and glue. I thought it would be fun to put together a mystery in a box adventure with games and puzzles for my readers since The Hidden Moon has a murder mystery! 

Combo box made out of cardboard with three cardboard dials.

Down, Monkey. Down. 

It was a lot of fun though. And a good six hours covered in glue.

What’s the brain candy that gives you joy and keeps you going? 

The Hidden Moon

A well-bred lady and lowly street hustler team up in a historical murder mystery set during China's glittering Tang Dynasty. Part of the best-selling Lotus Palace series.

Impetuous and well-educated, young Lady Bai has always been the forgotten daughter between two favored sons. However, when Wei-wei’s older brother is tasked with investigating a high-profile assassination, he turns to his clever younger sister for assistance.

Gao is a street-wise scoundrel with a checkered past and a shady reputation. He knows better than to set his sights on the high-born Lady Bai, but when she asks for his help, he can’t refuse. 

As the unlikely pair chases down a conspiracy that reaches from the gutters of the capital to the imperial palace, Wei-wei is intent on seeing justice done, while Gao is determined to solve the mystery just for her – even if the attraction between them can never be more than a moment’s longing.

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--CIVIL WAR ROMANCE WITH AUTHOR GINA DANNA

After years of writing historical academic papers, USA Today bestselling author Gina Danna has found the time to write her own historical romance novels. Under the supervision of her dogs, she writes amid a library of research books, with her only true break spending time with her other lifelong dream, her Arabian horse. With him, her muse can play. Learn more about Gina and her books at her website. 

The Better Angels & The Civil War

The American Civil War – not quite the normal setting for an historical romance. But for a historian and Civil War reenactor/living historian, it has a huge array of possibilities for a book. So the result for me is my series Hearts Touched by Fire. My 4^th book in the series has just been released this summer and I’m thrilled to be able to tell you about it. It is titled, The Better Angels, the phrase pulled from Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address in March, 1861, when he says directly to the seceding South:

“…We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

This book is the story of Francois Fontaine of Louisiana and Ada Lorrance of Pennsylvania. Francois was introduced in book 1, The Wicked North, as Jack’s older brother. Francois is a bit of a scoundrel, and his character definitely needed to be saved so this book is his redemption story.

Ada is a doctor with the Union Army, though she serves as a nurse, because U.S. Army regulations refused any female physicians. In the 19^th century, few universities had medical schools with a slim number allowing women. Any woman doctor of the period was mostly refrained to treating women and children and that attitude applied to the Federal Army, despite their need for help. Wanting to aid the North as best she could, Ada signs on as a nurse, of Dorothea Dix’s nursing corps, and is assigned to help the field hospitals of General Meade in Virginia. There, at times, she finds a way to utilize her medical training in helping the wounded, though that brings many conflicts with the commanding surgeon. Ada is a very strong-minded lady, and her determination to help is her driving factor. 

She is also an abolitionist, hoping the Union wins to free the slaves. But Francois comes from a wealthy plantation in Louisiana, where they raise sugar, using slaves as their laborers. His family has done this for generations, and he saw no issues about it. But when he ends up wounded and under her care, the war takes on a new meaning, because to her, he stands for everything she hates….what will she do when he steals her heart?

  

Writing this series has been fabulous and involved. As a trained historian (I have my BA, MA and work towards my PhD in History), I want to craft a tale that is accurate and takes my reader back to that time. To get a glimpse into these people who went to war during the most pivotal time in U.S. history. These people are real – you meet the generals and politicians who went to war, both the North and South. Their lifestyles, thoughts are pulled from research books and time actually portraying them as a Living Historian. As an historian, it is the most fascinating time in defining this country, and in so many ways, has yet to be resolved.

So come back with me, to the time of Antebellum US and the War Between the States (the US Government’s official name of the rebellion), and explore how these people lived, their fears, their excitement and loss. And see if Francois can be redeemed!

The Living Historian's Creed

By Bruce Catton, Civil War Historian

• We are the people to whom the past is forever speaking.
• We listen to it because we cannot help ourselves, for the past speaks to us with many voices.
• Far out of that dark nowhere which is the time before we were born, men who were flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone went through fire and storm to break a path to the future. 
• We are part of that future they died for.
• They are part of the past that brought the future.
• What they did--the lives they lived, the sacrifices they made, the stories they told and the songs they sang and, finally, the deaths they died--make up a part of our own experience.
• We cannot cut ourselves off from it.
• It is as real as something that happened last week.
• It is a basic part of our heritage as Americans.

The Better Angels

Hearts Touched by Fire Series, Book 4

In 1864, Francois Fontaine has a life of leisure as part of the planter class in Louisiana.

Everything changes when the woman he loves marries another man. Heartbroken, he flees east to joining the army in an attempt to forget. But in Virginia, wounded and captured, he quickly discovers that an injured Confederate soldier faces a bleak future.

Dr. Ada Lorrance wants to help in the cause against Southern slavery, but the army medical department will not take a women doctor, yet they need nurses so she bites her lip and joins as one, soon to discover that when the surgeons are overwhelmed, she is left to doctor the prisoners. She finds herself attracted to a rebel, a man who stands for everything she despises, making her hope he rots, but her heart falls for him.

Thrown together by war, Francois and Ada find themselves battling over their beliefs and fighting against the growing affections that is fragile enough to pull them apart.

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--ROMANCE AUTHOR CATHLEEN ROSS ON ARRANGED MARRIAGES OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY

Multi-award-winning romance author, English teacher, and editor Cathleen Ross describes herself as a quirky writer living on Sydney Harbor who often gives psychic predictions to family and friends. Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

When I started my research for An Unsuitable Lady for a Lord, I read an excellent biography on Mary Wollstonecraft by Claire Tomalin and Mary’s own book, The Vindication of the Rights of Women. Although Mary Wollstonecraft passed away in 1797, both books helped me prepare for the mindset of being a woman in Regency times in 1811 in Scotland. Women had to toe the line in Regency times to be marriageable or risk being shunned socially. Arranged marriage was still the norm for wealthy aristocrats in order to keep property in the family.

Against this backdrop, I developed a heroine from an ancient Scottish line, whose father had passed away and who had enough money and independence to do what she wanted—an usual lady for the times. 

Lady Crystal Wilding is appalled by the lack of education for women in Scotland. Read between the lines here—I was appalled—most working class and lower middle class women couldn’t sign their own names on their marriage certificates, one of the most important days of their lives.

Lady Crystal sets about to change this, but she needs allies, which she finds in Lord Aaron Lyle, Marquis of Lomond. Aaron is in a difficult position, too. His father, the duke, is building the family seat and including every new innovation possible—something that will eventually bankrupt the family unless Aaron marries well.

I worked for an organization when I was younger and most of the adult students I interviewed were in arranged marriages. It’s hard to believe that this is still going on in modern times. Most of the women I interviewed said that they didn’t like their husbands, though it isn’t something that they would say publicly. Imagine that! Their comments have stayed with me, so it was easy to imagine the loathing that men and women must have felt when forced into marriage with someone they didn’t like in order to keep property in the family.

Something that is almost unimaginable today is that in Regency times, when a woman married, everything she had became the property of her husband. It seems to me that women had everything to lose and nothing to gain by marrying. This certainly is the attitude of Lady Crystal and it makes for an explosive, passionate book.

I hope you will enjoy reading An Unsuitable Lady for a Lord. 

An Unsuitable Lady for a Lord 

A Scottish Lords and Ladies Book

Lord Aaron Lyle has one hell of a choice: a bankrupt dukedom, or marriage to some simpering society miss so his spendthrift father can get his hands on her huge dowry. He won’t do it. He has a reputation to maintain, and besides, he’d rather run naked through the streets of London than marry anyone at all. Surely, there must be a third option.

Then Lady Crystal Wilding walks into his life, a bluestocking, full of subversive thoughts, who hates the notion of marriage even more than he does. He is intrigued...and suddenly he has an idea. He invites the totally unsuitable lady home on the pretext of presenting her as a possible match...but in truth, Aaron has something far more pleasurable in mind. For her part, Lady Crystal has her own reasons for going along with his harebrained scheme. 

Imagine their shock when his highly proper family loves her and starts planning the wedding. Good lord. Now what?

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AUTHOR CORNELIA AMIRI ON DRUIDS, UNICORNS & THE SUMMER SOLSTICE IN WINTER

Today we welcome back Cornelia Amiri who says her superpower is turning her imagination into thirty-seven published sci-fi/fantasy romance books. Learn more about Cornelia and her books at her website.

Experience The Summer Solstice In Winter

In many parts of the US and the world, it’s still bitterly cold, and what better way to warm up than to think of summer, specifically the Summer Solstice. This was an important day in ancient times. The Neolithic tribes and later the Bronze Age and Iron Age Celts lived off the land, so the sun's heat and light were vital to survival. The Neolithic British built monuments, such as Stonehenge, that framed the rising or setting of the Sun on the solstices. And, the Celts celebrated the sun’s movements on the shortest day of the year in winter and on the longest day of the year in summer with Solstice Festivals. 

The word Solstice comes from the Latin sol meaning sun and sisto which means to stand still. But Alban Hefin, the name the Druids gave to the Celtic Summer Solstice means the Light of the Shore or Light of Summer. The shore because it’s where the elements of land, water and sky meet, which the druids considered a place that’s in-between worlds, and the light of the summer because that’s when it shines at its broadest.

The Druids saw the Summer Solstice as a time to open up a path towards light and abundance and banish evil spirits through the light of the sun. They’d pray for a good harvest, as it was halfway through the growing season. Also, as the Summer Solstice was seen as a time of change, nature, and new beginnings, it was associated with fertility. Feasting and dancing took place and bonfires were lit in celebration. And lovers traditionally clasped hands and leaped over bonfires. Some believed the higher the couple jumped, the higher their crops would grow. 

The ancient Celts also told and acted out the legend of the Oak King versus the Holly King. On the 21st of June the Oak King is at his strongest. But his power gradually weakens until the Winter Solstice on December 21 when the Holly King reins again.

In many regions (especially Europe), June 24 marks the midpoint of the growing season, halfway between planting and harvest, and is called Midsummer. People also have festivals for Midsummer where they feast, dance, and sing.

In 2020 the Summer Solstice takes place in the Northern Hemisphere on Saturday, June 20th at 5:44 eastern time. The Farmer’s Almanac has a sunrise and sunset calculator to calculate  how many hours of sunshine you’ll get in your location on the solstice.

My latest book, The Unicorn and the Druidess, is set in Iron Age Britain during the Summer Solstice. With it you can experience the Summer Solstice even now, in winter. 

The Unicorn and the Druidess

Dridry and the Beast, Book 4

At Summer Solstice people aren’t what they seem—they could be…a unicorn…a god…or someone you fall in love with.

Druidess Maelona pursues a unicorn into the woods and returns with a runaway slave boy she takes under her wing. Before she can go back to look for the unicorn, a handsome stranger ignites a fiery attraction within her. But she can tell he’s keeping something from her. She suspects that he may be a Roman spy.

God Epon’s blood burns at first sight of the gorgeous Druidess. Goaded by his desire for her he passes through the portal from the otherworld as a unicorn. Then he runs into the forest and she gives chase. There he shapeshifts into human form so he can get to know her better. Plus, to win her trust, he fights the Romans and saves her tribe. But even then, will he and Maelona be able to overcome the surmountable odds of a romance between a mortal and immortal being anything more than a summertime tryst?

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--FROM ESCAPE ROOM TO HISTORICAL ROMANCE WITH GUEST AUTHOR LESLIE HACHTEL

Bestselling historical, historical paranormal, and romantic suspense author Leslie Hachtel has been a gypsy most of her adult life. Her various jobs, including licensed veterinary technician, caterer, horseback riding instructor for the disabled, and advertising media buyer have given her a wealth of experiences. However, it has been writing that has consistently been her passion. Today she joins us to tell how an escape room experience spawned an historical romance series. Learn more about Leslie and her books at her website and blog.

People always ask me where I get my ideas. The answer when asked about this series is an easy one. I originally got the idea in the strangest way. I went to an ‘escape room’. If you’ve never heard of one, it’s a place where you go and they “lock” you in a room with a theme. You have an hour to put together all the clues and find your way out. (Note: You’re not really locked in and they will let you out at the end of the hour-win or lose).

Here was our theme: Our room was an old ship and the story was we had been shanghaied. If we could not solve the puzzles and free ourselves, we would be taken to wherever the captain decided we should go. And we would have to serve him forever. Sadly, we did not win but they did let us out anyway. And the idea for the books was born. 

Then came the research. I loved the feeling of going back in time in that escape room. So, I wanted my books to be historical and with an exotic locale. After much reading, I discovered Sultan Moulay of Morocco. He was known as ‘the bloodthirsty’ and is said to have been not only ruthless, but managed to father over 900 children. It is true that in the 1700’s (and even earlier), women disappeared from various countries all the time and were never heard from again. It was believed they were captured and taken to a harem far away. Now, if that wasn’t an intriguing beginning, I have no idea what would be. 

One story led to another and now there are three. I definitely enjoyed the research and this was an eye opening time in history. I also learned some words in Arabic and the customs were fascinating.

I love it if you’d go with me on my journeys through time and locations. And, I’d love to hear from you.

Freed From Morocco

Morocco Series, Book 3

Snatched from her home and hijacked to Morocco, Lady Olivia prays for someone to come and save her. Help appears in the form of Tristan, the man she loves. He disguises himself as an English ambassador in order to rescue her, but he is betrayed. Now, she must find a way to help him. Can they escape? And will they ever be free from the clutches of the sultan?

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