My Review of The Ransom + Winner Announcement

Here's a description of the book from the author's website:

"Port Royal, Jamaica 1692

Living in a city deemed the wickedest in the world is no easy task for Miss Juliana Dutton. To make matters worse, with an ailing father and a drunken fool for a brother, she is forced to take over the running of the family business in order to survive. When a meddlesome suitor threatens to discover her secret and cast them all onto the streets, she agrees to a spurious engagement with the town buffoon, Lord Munthrope. She only hopes the man is trustworthy.

Alexander Hyde, son of the infamous Captain Edmund Merrick Hyde, is the most feared pirate in Port Royal. Disillusioned with the religion of his parents and the pleasures of the world, Alex staves off his emptiness by leading a dual life as both the pretentious dandy, Lord Munthrope, and the feared Pirate Earl.

A long-time enemy is out to destroy Alex and take Juliana for his own. Yet could their problems be a Divine hand leading them down a path of escape? Or when an earthquake strikes, will they be doomed with the rest of Port Royal to be swallowed up by the sea?"

My Rating

Spring

My Review

I was so thrilled to learn that MaryLu Tyndall was writing a sequel for the "Legacy of the King's Pirates" series - the trilogy that introduced me to her work and made me fall in love with her writing. The Ransom is a great sequel to the series, as Tyndall never fails to pen engaging stories full of adventure and heart.

At the beginning, I confess I was a little put off by the dialogue. I'm not sure it's all that different from her first books, but for some reason it hit me the wrong way this time, like it was trying too hard to define itself as historical. But as the story moved along, I got caught up in the happenings, and the dialogue was no longer a big issue.

And what interesting happenings! Captain Merrick's son leads a very strange life as half-lord and half-pirate. I loved how he used both roles to woo Juliana, though - really rather cute, if buffoons and pirates can be called such! And his fascination with the sea - his longings to revive his father's ways and times - resonated with me. History is so romanticized for us historical-romance lovers, and there is a certain desire to bring back or visit "better," more exciting times.

As for Juliana, I really did like her character overall. She's sweet. She has a big heart. She takes care of her family and isn't afraid to stand up to others. I confess she did come across as rather foolish (in some of her actions) and rather naive (she seriously didn't get Alex's secret for that long?), but it all contributed to an intriguing plot, nonetheless.

The connections to the book of Ecclesiastes were thoughtful and well-suited for the characters. Love how Tyndall weaves Scripture into her stories. And the dramatic conclusion was fitting for the series. I do hope the way it all ended means there are more books about this family to come?? The Ransom is a must-read for Tyndall fans, although it can be enjoyed without having read the first three books in the series, as they're only loosely connected. Bring on more seafaring stories, MaryLu!

*With thanks to the author for providing me with an e-copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

Winner Announcement!

In honor of the official release of Bellflower and Fairy Slippers as a combo ebook, I gave away a bookmark. And the winner is...

Jan H!

Jan has been e-mailed and has responded. Congratulations, Jan!

If you really liked the looks of the bookmark, I hope you'll check out Belle on a Budget on Etsy. She has so many lovely pieces - from bookmarks to necklaces to earrings! I always enjoy shopping at her site. And don't forget that you can pick up an e-copy of Bellflower (+ Fairy Slippers) for only $.99 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords!

A St. Patrick's Day Surprise! (Fairy Slippers)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I don't have any four-leaf clovers for you...but I do have some fairy slippers, which are also a rare and lovely find. :) (Well, at least the flower is - hoping you'll find the story to be sweet, too!)

Yes, Fairy Slippers - the short-story sequel to Bleeding Heart featuring Zachary Taylor the cook - is now available! Instead of publishing it as a separate ebook, which was my plan earlier this year, I was inspired by my cover designer's latest project, Take a Picture. The way she so sweetly combined her two short stories made me want to do the same for "The Heart's Spring" short stories, especially since both stories are such quick reads (about 6K words for Bellflower and 5K for Fairy Slippers).

So the cover for Bellflower got a makeover - with a brighter background and a note at the bottom about the extra short story being included. And now the combo ebook is available for $.99 at the following sites!

Amazon (Kindle) | Barnes & Noble (Nook) | Smashwords

Here's some more information about the ebook...

"The Heart's Spring" Short-Story Combo eBook 

BELLFLOWER: Short Story Prequel to Forget Me Not 

Spring 1880 

Annabelle knows only one way of life. Jacob knows only one way to feel secure. When their paths cross in a Western mining town, can they find a way for love to bloom? Discover the story behind two hurting hearts in this short but sweet retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

FAIRY SLIPPERS: Bonus Short Story Companion to Bleeding Heart 

Spring 1888 

Margaret is fragile. Zachary is tough. Both are lonely. Will a dance in a redwood lumber town bring them together—or drive them apart forever? Discover the continuing story of the cook from Bleeding Heart in this short but sweet retelling of Cinderella. 

• Visit the page for both short stories on The Heart's Spring blog.
• Add the book on Goodreads. (I ended up combining Bellflower & Fairy Slippers there to reflect the new ebook format - I apologize to those of you who had only marked Fairy Slippers as "to-read"!)
• View character/setting images and more on the Fairy Slippers Pinterest board. (There's also one for Bellflower.)

If you've already read Bellflower because you subscribe to my newsletter or you got it for free on Smashwords, I hope you'll still find Fairy Slippers to be an encouraging little afternoon diversion for a buck. :)

***

To celebrate the official ebook release day, I've got a couple of special offers for you!

Forget Me Not is Free for Kindle!

Today (March 17th) through Friday (March 21st), Forget Me Not is FREE in Kindle format! Click HERE to pick up your copy. Bellflower is the prequel to Forget Me Not, so this is the perfect chance to read both together for only $.99! You can actually read the whole series (minus Book 3 - Morning Glory - which should hopefully be released this summer) for less than $4!! The paperback versions of Forget Me Not and Bleeding Heart are also both available now for only $8.99 each.

All that to say... If you've been waiting to pick up your copies of these books and dive into "The Heart's Spring" series, now is the time! ;)

A Cinderella Giveaway!

I've been holding onto this horse & carriage beaded bookmark from Belle on a Budget for a few months now, waiting to use it for a Fairy Slippers giveaway - isn't it just darling? Even though there are no horses or carriages mentioned in Fairy Slippers, I think it's perfect to celebrate a Cinderella-themed story. I hope you agree! This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only, and you can enter via the Rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 ***

St. Patrick's Day Spotlight Participants

Check out these super sweet bloggers who are helping me spread the word about all this bookish news today!

• A BookLover's Heart
• Bluerose's Heart
• Christian Bookshelf Reviews
• Christian Novels
• Fictionally
• Inspiring Daring
• Labor Not in Vain
• Literary and Lace
• My Favorite Pastime
• The Curried Nut
• The Wonderings of One Person
• To Be A Person

One last note: If you're interested in learning more about fairy slippers (the flower) or the setting for Fairy Slippers (the story), be sure to visit The Heart's Spring series blog today! I'm sharing a little bit of the story behind the story in honor of release day, and I've got some neat YouTube videos for you to check out. :)

What do you think of the updated combo cover? Do you enjoy getting to learn about secondary characters in a series through short stories?

Bookish and Writerly Questions

The Liebster award has been floating around the blogosphere, and I've been blessed to be included in its wanderings! I was nominated to receive it by Miranda of To Be A Person, Rebeka of The Other World, Rel of Relz Reviewz, and Shannah of Book Reviews by Shannah. And I was mentioned by Crystal of Just Another Book Lovin' Girl and Rissi of Dreaming Under the Same Moon in their posts - such dear, sweet friends, who are also an inspiration to me!

Once upon a time I had a page for the blog awards I've received, but I decided to delete it because my list of pages (top right of the sidebar) got rather long... If you ever do want to see my awards posts (what I wrote about, who I nominated, etc.), you can click the "blog award" link in the labels section of the sidebar (titled "From Days Gone By...").

Anyway, I haven't been doing much with blog awards as of late, but I'm feeling the pressure this time around, LOL. Bloggers have been asking some great questions of each other, and I can't resist weighing in on some of them! Since I was nominated by four different bloggers with their own sets of questions, I decided to just pick and choose which questions I wanted to answer instead of answering all of them:

Question: If you had to choose one author to have a face-to-face chat with, who would it be and why?

Answer: Laura Frantz. (Although there are others I would love to meet, too!) Based on what I've heard and what I've experienced through her e-mails and blog posts and books, Laura is such a sweet person with a kind heart - not to mention a wonderful talent for penning gorgeous historical romances. It would be such a treat to be able to talk to her face-to-face about our stories and anything at all, really!

Question: If you were asked to pick one book you believe should be adapted into a movie, which would it be?

Answer: Does every author harbor a secret dream to have one of their books made into a movie? ;) At the risk of sounding incredibly vain, I had always thought it would be such a dream come true to have Michael Landon Jr. take on one of my books for a movie project! I'm not sure Bleeding Heart would make an ideal movie... Lots of traveling, violence and difficult topics, and just a lot going on - a movie version would probably have to change things up, and it might be hard to find the right audience without taking away from the story, you know? But Forget Me Not... I think there's potential! =)

Question: How would you describe your personal style?

Answer: I'm going to focus on my writing style - there's not much to say about my taste in clothes and whatnot, anyway, LOL. I'd say my writing style is atmospheric, thematic, and character-driven. I set the mood more than the scene, in the sense that I try to convey emotions more than I try to ground the reader with details. I keep things focused on the theme(s) of the story. And I pour my heart into my characters and their feelings. If you'd describe my writing differently, I'd be curious to here your thoughts! Hoping I'm not too self-deluded about my style. ;)

Question: Please share a snippet of your current work-in-progress.

Answer: Here's a snippet from the first draft of Fairy Slippers, a short story featuring Zachary Taylor (a secondary character from Bleeding Heart) that I'm planning on entering in Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Five Glass Slippers Creative Writing Contest. Zachary is in the middle of berating the proprietor of the general store for the lack of supplies, when he notices someone...

Turning, he spotted Margaret – the plain, quiet server who worked in the lumber camp cookhouse closer to the logging site. She appeared to be doing her best to blend into the shelves on the other side of the store. 

Something very much like butter clogged up his airway while simultaneously warming up his blood. She wasn’t the prettiest of Gertrude’s three assistants, but there was something about Margaret that softened him. Her long blond braid drew his eye down to her waist, where an apron she must have forgotten to remove hugged her hips. It was speckled with flour and grease stains. He almost smiled but caught himself in time before he ruined his stance in the argument with Lewis. 
 

Question: What is the name of the most recent book you have finished and loved?

Answer: A Spark Unseen by Sharon Cameron, YA historical fiction and sequel to one of my fave books of 2012, The Dark Unwinding. You can read my review HERE.

Question: What is the 17th line of the 125th page of the book you are currently reading?

Answer: I'm going to do this (approximately) for two books - one I'm re-reading (Watercrossing by Krissi Dallas) and one I'm reading for review, which I should have finished over a week ago (On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin). (I'm so behind on my reading, and I need to catch up and be a more responsible reviewer. *sigh*)

Watercrossing - "...then you're just going back to how you were, Amelia...and this whole summer was pointless!"

On Distant Shores - "The asphalt burned her backside. Her breath trotted at a steady pace."

Question: What is your genre of choice? Why?

Answer: I enjoy a variety of genres, at times. There are some contemporary romances I've liked, some fantasy, some dystopian, some mystery, some Amish... But the one I often enjoy reading and the one I've taken to writing in at this time is historical romance. I love the things it can teach you, the reality mixed with imagination, the challenges found in each era, the interesting facts and the adventures through the past. I love the uniqueness of the romance and yet its timeless nature. History fascinates me, and I love how historical fiction works like a puzzle where you have to search for all the hidden pieces.

Question: If you had to swap lives with a character, who would it be and why?

Answer: Maybe Savannah from My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison, or Casey from Clockwise by Elle Strauss, or Whitnee from the "Phantom Island" series by Krissi Dallas. Being transported into a fairy tale, time travel to the Civil War era, or trips to a magical island - all with cute and protective boys? Mmmmhmmm!

Question: Do you alphabetise your books by author or title, on your bookshelves?

Answer: Author - last name! That way you can group an author's books together and find titles fairly easily.

Question: What is your favorite spot to read?

Answer: Probably my bed, because it's quiet at night and I can generally read the most when I'm there all cozy and undistracted. However, I'm not quite sure that's really my ultimate/only favorite spot... I love the memories you make when reading a book - how you can remember reading certain scenes in a certain location. I can pretty much be found with a book wherever I go, and I've loved the times I've read at my grandparents' house, at the airport, all over the place at college, etc.

How would you answer these questions? Would love to hear your responses!

Conclusion of the Bleeding Heart Blog Tour!

Well, these past two weeks have been awesome, if you don't mind me saying so! A little crazy, but definitely in a good way. ;) And today I have lots of exciting things to share as we bring the Bleeding Heart blog tour to a close - so do get comfortable! (But not too comfortable, so you can quickly jump up and dance around the room should the need arise! Yes, I'm a big dreamer, LOL.)

(I'm including some quote pics from Bleeding Heart throughout the post. The pics are ones I took in Northern California or Oregon and edited via PicMonkey. If you're read Bleeding Heart, do feel free to share a favorite quote in the comments section, if you have one! I'd love to hear what lines stood out to you.)

Winners!

I have 2 winners to announce today!

The first is the winner of the Bleeding Heart "Journey to the West" prize pack, which includes a signed coy of Bleeding Heart when it's available, a copy of Falk's Claim: The Life and Death of a Redwood Lumber Town by Jon Humboldt Gates, a redwood bookmark, Pacific Northwest playing cards, and a wooden train whistle from Virginia City, Nevada. And the winner is...

AMY C!

Congratulations!! Be on the lookout for my e-mail! I hope you enjoy your "Journey to the West" via these items. =)

Now for the winner of the $10 Amazon.com gift card! I included the names of those who guessed the correct title of the sequel to Bleeding Heart (which I'll announce in a moment), as well as the names of those who suggested an actor to portray Zachary Taylor (I'll announce my choice for that in a moment, too!). And the winner is...

MARISSA!

Congratulations!! I appreciate you and all those who participated in the series-extras games. Hope they were fun! I enjoyed reading all of your guesses and suggestions. =)

As for the other book giveaways at other blog tour stops, they'll be announcing their own winners, so be sure to check in with them!

News!

So...anyone curious about that title and actor??

Sequel 

There were actually 7 people who guessed the correct title for the sequel to Bleeding Heart (assuming I don't change it between now and when I actually write it, LOL). And that title is Morning Glory! I love what Julie said as an explanation for her guess:

It sounds so spiritual and uplifting after the tragedies that have befallen the characters. 

I thought so, too! We've got the first title, Forget Me Not, which connotes feelings of longing, wistfulness, and fear. It's an uncertain thing, but also full of tremulous hope. Then we've got the sequel (the first published book), Bleeding Heart. Very dramatic, sorrowful, and poignant, suggesting tragedy but also hinting that a heart that can bleed is also a heart that can be healed. And finally, there's the third in the series - Morning Glory. I've already heard about a potential "Myghal petition" to make sure he gets an HEA. ;) While I can't guarantee what will happen to the characters in that book (I'm generally a "pantser" who likes to see where the story goes and how I grow during the writing process), I really do hope that a third book will be one that that has a dawning hope - an embracing of joy after trials, and an eye-opening perspective on life and eternity. We'll see what happens!

Short Story

In case you missed the update, my current writing project is Fairy Slippers, a companion short story featuring Zachary Taylor (the cook) from Bleeding Heart. You can learn more in a previous post. In that post I asked for some suggestions to help me give a fact to Taylor - and of those suggestions, I decided to go with Richard Armitage, suggested by Jaguar Hero. (Surprise, surprise, given my love of North & South!) But I had to find just the right picture to kind of suggest darker looks, a fuller face, a piercing gaze, a strength born of experiences and self-confidence, but also a depth - a well of gentleness beneath it all. Take a look at the pic I found:

Fairy Slippers Pinterest Board

What do you think?? It might not be a perfect likeness, but I think the "feeling" might be right. Would love to hear your thoughts! 

I'm looking forward to finishing this Cinderella-themed story within the next few weeks, hopefully. It's been fun so far! After that, I plan to move on to Forget Me Not...

Prequel

If you haven't already seen the links I've splashed all over Twitter, you can learn more about Forget Me Not on the new site (my cover designer made me a new header, which is so pretty!). You can also check out the Pinterest board and add the book on Goodreads.

And here's a super exciting update: Lena Goldfinch has already started on the cover design! SQUEE!! (Such a FUN part of the process!) Poor Lena... I found a few pins to add to our secret board on Pinterest the other night, mainly for reference, and Lena promptly got sucked into the cover-design process. We were planning on working on the cover design in November, haha! As it is, I'm absolutely in love with where the design is going, and I can tell you that, as far as it looks now, it will be an absolutely beautiful companion and complement to the cover of Bleeding Heart!

So here's a potential schedule for Forget Me Not stuff:

~ Mid-October: cover reveal!
~ Late November/early December: e-ARCs sent out to reviewers
~ January: e-book release and blog tour
~ February: paperback release (oooh, maybe a Valentine's Day release??)

If you're interested in being part of the cover reveal, do let me know!

Bleeding Heart

I still have some news about Bleeding Heart, too!

1. If you haven't yet picked up a Kindle copy of the book, it's on sale for $.99 this weekend! Celebrate Labor Day weekend with an inexpensive trip to the Old West. =)

2. I've ordered my proof copy of Bleeding Heart, which should be arriving this next week or early the following week!!! SQUEE again!! I'm sure I'll share a picture of me and my first paperback! And as soon as I get my copy and approve it, it should hopefully be available for order on Amazon and CreateSpace! Huzzah! Links to come soon... 

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Melissa Tagg, Serena Chase, Diane Estrella, MaryLu Tyndall, Rissi, Julie Graves, Miranda Uyeh, Kara, Anne Elisabeth Stengl, Audrey, Ariel Wilson, Rachelle Rea, Jana Grissom, Renee Chaw, Lydia, Casey Herringshaw, Faye, Vince Mooney, Abbi Hart, Melanie, Kate, Michelle, Melanie B., Lena Nelson Dooley, Rebeka B., Sherida Stewart, Meagan Davenport, Rel Mollet, Carissa, Kav, Alyssa, Michelle Griep, Samantha Jo, Grace, Amber M., Rebekah Gyger, and Ganise. You all made my blog tour so epic - there would be no tour without you! Thank you so very much for your support, your posts, your tweets, your reviews, your time, and your encouragement. ♥

As you can hopefully tell from the "news" section above, the fun is far from over! Beyond my writing projects, I also have an "Autumn Bash" coming in late September featuring 6 fabulous authors - as well as some exciting publicity projects throughout the fall. So stay tuned, old followers and new! A new season is upon us. =)

Wanted: A Face for Zachary Taylor

I'm back with another series-extras post! I was planning on doing a "guess the scene" game to go along with the Bleeding Heart soundtrack, but since I'm currently working on that companion short story I keep mentioning, another idea has revealed itself. Hope you'll still find it fun!

Last week, I began a $10 Amazon.com gift card giveaway with a "guess the title" game. There's still time to enter if you haven't yet done so! Just leave a comment on that post with your guess for the title of Bleeding Heart's sequel. (More details HERE.)

Today you have a chance to get another entry in the drawing for the gift card (so this is not a new drawing, but a continuation of the one started last week)! Here are the rules (with a little background)...

I'm working on my contest entry for the Five Glass Slippers writing contest hosted by author Anne Elisabeth Stengl. I'm doing a Cinderella retelling called Fairy Slippers, set not long about a year after the end of Bleeding Heart in Falk, California in 1887 1888 (*I've already noticed a revision I have to make, LOL*). Rebeka of The Other World inspired me to consider writing a story about Zachary Taylor, one of Bleeding Heart's secondary characters...so, just so you all know, Zach is back!

I think this is a really fun writing prompt and an exciting contest, so I'm happy to give it a shot while telling a little more of Zachary Taylor's story. I hope you'll get to hear more about my entry in 2014 - either because it did all right in the contest (the top 5 entries will be published in a book titled Five Glass Slippers), or because it didn't make it, in which case I'd consider self-publishing it as a $.99 e-book or something. =)

Anywho, back to this contest! I got distracted by Pinterest again (what can I say?), and decided to create a board for this project. I have an actress in mind for the heroine, Margaret Richmond. But I'm having a tough time thinking of an actor who fits Zachary's looks and demeanor well. Here's a brief recap of his character:

~ Tall, dark hair, muscular
~ 42 years old
~ Served in the Confederate Army during the War Between the States (the Civil War)
~ Works as a cook in Falk, a redwood lumber town
~ Kind of gruff and doesn't say much, but a bit of a softy once you get to know him
~ Sings war ballads at the Saturday night dances

I would love your help in putting a face to Zachary Taylor! Gotta find that perfect pin for my Pinterst board, you know? ;)

So, here's how you can get another entry in the $10 Amazon.com gift card drawing:

• Leave a comment with the name of the actor you think fits Zachary's character well. A link to a pic would be even better! Please also include your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win. (If you know I know it, you don't have to include it, but otherwise please do, so your entry can be counted.)

• I kind of like more old-fashioned movies for actor pics, and I love to make a connection between a specific role the actor played and my character. (You can find examples of this on my Bleeding Heart and Forget Me Not boards.) However, you don't have to suggest the "winning" pic for your entry to be counted!

• The winner of this double-play (two chances to win) giveaway will be announced at the conclusion of the blog tour on Saturday, August 31st.

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions! Don't forget that there are more Bleeding Heart blog tour posts this week (you can find all the links HERE) - and please don't hesitate to ask me if you have any questions about this giveaway or the tour.