Every great story begins with a “what-if?” What if the world were struck with a horrible plague that killed 99% of the population? (Stephen King’s The Stand) What if a boy was trapped in a rowboat with a tiger? (Yann Martel’s Life of Pi) What if a man was locked away for a crime he didn’t commit? (Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo) The dramatic “what-if,” whether it’s just an image or the heart of a conflict, is what propels a story forward and makes a novel memorable long after it’s over. As a fantasy writer, “what-if” is a staple of my trade. I’ve had a love affair with Ireland for as long as I remember: its landscape, its people, its music, history, and culture. But the idea of writing a historical novel set in Ireland, especially during the dark ages, that mythical time of heroic literature, was daunting. So I applied my “what-if” to a fantasy scenario: what if a land existed just like Ireland… but different? Divided by clan and religion, as the real island’s bloody history attests, but guided by a prophecy that held out hope for a united future? And what if all those stories…

With ice and snow everywhere I look this week, I suddenly appreciate a ‘holiday’ that celebrates love and romance with cheery perks like red roses, luscious chocolates, frilly cards, pink cupids…well, you get the picture. It kind of warms the heart. And sometimes—especially when life is stressful or disappointing or just plain cold—our hearts need a good warming. When I wrote my first Valentine’s novella, ONCE UPON A WINTER’S HEART, I had no idea that this particular Valentine’s Day would be such a bitterly freezing one. I just heard that this winter is the ‘worst on record for nearly 100 years.’ Now that’s cold. So in my new novella, I threw in some winter weather by creating a scene on ice that still makes me smile. My main character Emma is not unlike many young women these days—she’s grown somewhat cold-hearted toward love and romance. In fact, when her beloved grandfather, the last of the romantics, passes on Emma concludes that love is dead. And with Valentine’s Day around the corner, Emma proclaims herself the Valentine’s Day Scrooge. Naturally, that gets fixed by the end of the book. So how are you feeling about Valentine’s Day this year? Has the…

November 2013 On Sale: November 5, 2013 Featuring: Charlotte Rose Hill; Sam Wilder 304 pages ISBN: 1426733879 EAN: 9781426733871 Kindle: B00E0TN95K Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Inspirational Fiction Romance Buy at Amazon.com Second Chance Love can inspire A Marriage In Middlebury by Anita Higman Charlotte Rose Hill has been serving up country delicacies, uniquely blended teas, and matchmaking advice for her quirky but beloved customers for more than 10 years. But for her, marriage seems like an elusive butterfly, always out of reach. At 18, Charlotte fell in love with a young man, Sam Wilder, but his family convinced her to walk away from their relationship. She did, and then became engaged to another man, who later died before they were married. Now, more than a decade later, Charlotte finds that she still has feelings for her first love. Initially thrilled to learn that Sam has come home to Middlebury, Texas, Charlotte is devastated to learn that he’s brought someone with him: his fiancée. But all is not lost when the townsfolk decide to get involved. Will Charlotte and Sam find their way back to each other? Does Love Have a Second Chance? Excerpt Chapter One Charlotte Rose…