What’s a man to do when his father orders him a bride?

Rebecca Sullivan has been “Becky” all her life, a real hoyden. Her childhood sweetheart taught her to ride bareback and shoot a rifle, but then he chose a “perfect lady” for a wife—a real Southern belle, who’s now expecting a baby. Heartbroken, Becky signs up to be a mail-order bride to a Seattle man, sight unseen. She resolves to squelch her hoydenish ways and become a “perfect lady” for her future husband.

If logging-operation owner Isaac Jessup had wanted a bride, he’d have chosen a sturdy frontier woman, not some fragile lady from back East. Ready to explain the mistake, honorable Isaac takes one look into Rebecca’s vulnerable eyes...and knows he’ll marry her, even though this delicate waif is obviously unsuited for wild Seattle.

Could an unexpected marriage be a match made in heaven?

Sweet Historical Romance / Western Romance

A Mail-Order Bride Novel

THE BRIDES SERIES

The Unexpected Bride
Sleigh Bells & Mistletoe
The Bartered Bride
Only the Heart Knows

COLORADO 1880
Jem Wheeler has always been a survivor. He just wants to make a fresh start in Colorado Springs after the loss of his wife. But then he happens upon a young mute woman being sold off to the highest bidder. He wasn't looking for a mail-order bride. He wasn't looking to rescue anyone either. But desperate circumstances can drive a good man to do things he hadn't planned on doing... 

When Jem steps into Annie's life, she's not expecting anyone to save her. Mute from birth, she's just using all her wits to survive. All she's ever really wanted is a family of her own. For someone to see her. To look at her long enough to hear the things she can't say.

Can Annie finally break through the silence to win Jem's heart?

Sweet Historical Western Romance
A Mail-Order Bride Novel

Each book in The Brides Series can be read as a stand-alone novel, but reading in order will provide a more complete reading experience.

THE BRIDES SERIES

The Unexpected Bride
Sleigh Bells & Mistletoe
The Bartered Bride
Only the Heart Knows

Excerpt

Jem took the apple core from his daughter and passed her one of the remaining crackers with a piece of cheese on it. Mae munched that down and looked to him immediately for another, the last one.

He gave it to her, then showed her his empty hands.

She frowned. "More?"

"No more," Jem said, and showed her his empty hands again, making a bigger gesture out of it, as if the little girl was accusing him of hiding some.

If Annie weren't so intent on eating her share of cheese and crackers she might have smiled at the sight of them, one of the most dangerous men she'd ever seen sitting side by side with that tiny little girl. They made quite a mismatched pair.

Mae looked over at Annie, at the last cracker in her hand and the last bit of cheese.

Annie gulped down the mouthful she was chewing. She looked down at the last of her meal and back at the little girl. To her shame, she didn't want to give up her last cracker. She could barely remember the last meal she'd eaten.

"That's Annie's food," Jem admonished the little girl. "You've had yours."

Mae bit her lip. She glanced down at her lap, then back at Annie again.

I can share, Annie attempted to tell Mae with her eyes alone. She snapped her cracker in half--simply unable to bear parting with the whole thing--and passed it across to the little girl. Mae took it and popped the whole thing in her mouth, making Annie smile.

"Mae!" her father said.

She looked at him wide-eyed, her mouth full of cracker. "Whaf dafdda?" she said, muffled, spraying a few cracker crumbs onto his trousers.

He closed his eyes briefly and brushed them off. "You didn't have to give her any," he said to Annie, "but thanks."

Annie grunted, her way of saying she didn't mind that much. She looked down quickly and finished her last bit of food. The crackers had been crispy and the cheese silky and smooth. They'd tasted like heaven.

"You must be thirsty," he said. "Do you mind sharing?"

She shook her head and automatically lifted two fingers.

"Two's no?" he asked.

She nodded, pleased, and lifted one finger. She'd grown up sending signals through the floor of the Ruskins' house, one stomp for yes, two for no. It came natural as rain now.

"And one's yes," he said, catching on quick.

Annie drank deep when he passed her the flask of water, amazed he'd let her drink from it. She tried her best to pour it down her throat without touching her lips to the flask, so he wouldn't regret giving it to someone so dirty. She wished she could tell him thanks, but after Mae had her fill and he took his own swallow, he was back under his hat, likely going over the events of the day.

How he'd stuck himself with her.

How he probably regretted even stepping off the train at the last stop.

She couldn't say she blamed him.

She hadn't much wanted to marry a stranger herself.

***

 What's a wife to do when her Christmas plans fall apart?

Join Becky and Isaac from The Unexpected Bride in a romantic short story complete with sleigh bells, mistletoe, and sweet holiday surprises.

It's Christmas Eve, and smoke isn't just rising from the chimney—it's pouring from the stove due to yet another batch of burnt biscuits. Becky wants everything to be perfect for her family, but a ruined meal spells disaster for all her high hopes. Will the night end in despair...or with a happy Christmas dream?

Reconnect with your favorite characters from Book 1 of "The Brides" series in Sleigh B ells &Mistletoe. 

*Includes an excerpt from The Bartered Bride, Jem's Story.

The Brides Series #2, A Short Story

Sweet Historical Western Romance / Inspirational Romance

THE BRIDES SERIES

The Unexpected Bride
Sleigh Bells & Mistletoe
The Bartered Bride
Only the Heart Knows

When an advice columnist falls for a handsome rancher, she fears he'll never forgive her once he learns he's actually been sharing his secrets with a woman!

COLORADO 1880

Mandy MacKenna is secretly the voice behind Ask Mack, an advice column for men, addressing all matters ranching-related. And she's secretly in love with "Banks," one of her most devoted correspondents. But whenever she's around him, she can barely bring herself to make eye-contact with the man.

Adam Booker is a banker-turned-rancher, who's struggling to make his way after he inherits his uncle's place. If not for Ask Mack, he would have surely floundered by now. But the ranch is only one of his problems, because Mandy MacKenna - daughter of the region's wealthiest rancher - is far beyond his reach.

A lighthearted, sweet historical romance.

Only the Heart Knows is a standalone novel in The Brides Series.

THE BRIDES SERIES

The Unexpected Bride
Sleigh Bells & Mistletoe
The Bartered Bride
Only the Heart Knows

EXCERPT 

A look of alarm crossed the postmistress's face. "Miss Amanda! Behind you!"

Mandy spun around, expecting to find a crate on the boardwalk behind her.

What she collided with instead was a wall of chest. A man. Strong arms fastened around her, preventing her from tumbling backward off the boardwalk into the street. He set her back a bit without releasing her.

"I'm so sorry..." she said. Her words stumbled to a stop as she found her bearings and met the man's eyes. A pair of piercing blue eyes that reminded her of the deepest blue sky.

Those eyes.

Adam Booker's eyes.

He stood before her, so close. His face oh-so familiar. Freshly shaven, it looked like. Handsome. Refined. And yet entirely masculine. The ends of his dark, richly brown hair curling to just above his collar. Broad shoulders. That brown Stetson. A bright blue chambray shirt. A pair of nicely worn denims. Polished boots.

A banker in rancher's duds.

Lordy.

All Mandy's breath hitched up in her chest, making her lightheaded.

"Miss MacKenna," he said. She wondered if he was aware that he was idly smoothing his hands down her sleeves in a most familiar fashion. As if checking her for damage. Leaving a trail of tingles wherever he touched.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She shivered. Not from cold. For she wasn't cold. Not in the least.

"I'm fine, sir. I mean, Mr. Booker. Sir." Oh, why had she said that? She'd called him sir. Twice. She sounded a fool, all breathless and overwhelmed with his closeness.

Mandy felt Miss Judith's curious gaze resting on them from the post office doorway. Miss Judith, who knew Mandy's secret. That she was the real face behind Ask Mack. Mandy had never revealed that Adam was Banks, but Miss Judith may well have figured it out.

Mandy answered Adam privately these days. And they'd become friends through their letters. A treasure she didn't wish to share with all of Cross Creek.

And here she was, Mack, standing with Banks on the boardwalk.

With his hands clasping her shoulders. Which felt so...right.

Something shifted inside Mandy. The usual butterflies danced inside her stomach, as they always did whenever she saw him, but this time she also felt the tiniest of clicks. Like something broken coming together. And with it came a rush of awareness that just yesterday she'd felt something missing in her life.

Was it this? That she belonged with him, Banks? A rather romantic notion. Especially since they'd only shared a few lovely dances. Adam couldn't possibly know when she looked at him, she saw a dear friend. And she could hardly expect him to view her with the same deep regard. Adam Booker didn't see her as a dear friend. How could he? He was possibly no more interested in Miss Amanda MacKenna than he was in a grasshopper hopping down the middle of Main Street.

He certainly didn't know she was Mack.

Not that she wanted him to know. He'd feel betrayed. Duped.

By her.

A fast-paced tale of adventure and soul-stirring romance that will leave you breathless.

Solena trespasses into hostile territory to search for a rare herb to cure the grandfather she loves. When a young enemy soldier captures her and she's accused of being a spy, Solena discovers just how much she's risked.

As a soldier, Rundan struggles to please his father, a ruthless army commander. When his father orders him to take the beautiful trespasser to the royal courts, where she'll surely be tried and executed, Rundan is plagued by an inconvenient desire to protect her.

The handsome young soldier confuses Solena. First, he cruelly captures her, and then treats her with uncommon kindness. When he risks his life to save hers, she fears she may have risked more than her life on her journey…she may have lost her heart.

"...fantasy with a side of sigh-worthy romance." --The Fiction Enthusiast

"The perfect tiny romantic escape." — Tales of Whimsy

Novella

A startling discovery leads to a journey of self-discovery...and trouble for one boy growing up in rural Tennessee in 1909.

One blazing hot summer, twelve-year-old Joel lands himself in a stinking pile of trouble with his pa. He has to dig himself out—he has to—because, when it comes to winning back his father's love, failure's simply not an option. After making an extraordinary discovery in the family cornfield—the find of a lifetime—Joel hopes to finally redeem himself in his father's eyes. But, as Joel's about to discover, matters of redemption are rarely straightforward.

Neither is the journey from boy to young man. 

Come down home to the foothills of the Smoky Mountains and sink your soul into rich red Tennessee clay. You never know what you might unearth...

When a "reveal your secret crush" chain letter goes awry, Joy gets caught in the middle--possibly with the help from her first haunting. A short, lighthearted contemporary romance for teens and young adults.

A SHORT STORY
PREQUEL TO HAUNTING JOY

Includes a sneak peak at Haunting Joy: Book 1.

The Haunting Joy Series
Haunting Joy: Book 1
Haunting Joy: Book 2
Chain Reaction: A Short Story (Prequel to Haunting Joy: Book 1)

A soft, sliding kind of sigh wakes me up. It’s hardly a noise at all.

I blink to clear my sticky, early-morning vision. I know I heard a sound, an almost human-sounding sigh, coming from the corner of my room. As I slide my gaze that way, a chill slithers over me. My room feels creepy and strange.

I peer into the corner and the white dress is no longer heaped in a haphazard pile on my armchair. It’s laid out nice and neat, with the straps up over the back cushion and the skirt spread over the seat. The flip-flops are sitting side by side in front of the chair, toes pointed toward me.

Like there’s an empty girl, in an empty dress, looking right at me.

The ghost of Beth sweeps seventeen-year-old Joy into an extraordinary journey to complete some unfinished business...and challenges her to make some dangerous choices. Like calling Joy's high-school crush, Nick, for help.

"A sweet and charming ghost story that completely won me over." Lena Coakley, Witchlanders 

"A sweet, creative, mystical journey..." Marley Gibson, bestselling author of the Ghost Huntress series

The Haunting Joy Series
Haunting Joy: Book 1
Haunting Joy: Book 2
Chain Reaction: A Short Story (Prequel to Haunting Joy: Book 1) (Free ebook)

"...an original fantasy world inhabited by superstitious tribal nations and intriguingly developed characters." (USA TODAY)

Seventeen-year-old Kita can meld song into stone, a gift greatly honored in a culture with no written word. However, she must hide her ability from the powerful village sorcerer who enslaves her. Ostracized and alone, she longs to escape her miserable existence, but each day her master's magical hold tightens around her.

Then Pono, a young journeyman, arrives from the other side of the island. In him, Kita sees her one slim chance at freedom—and she’ll risk her life to take it.

The story of a girl who yearns for freedom and a boy determined to be more than what's expected of him. Their desperate journey will leave them both forever changed.

A twisty tale of island magic, tummy-tingling romance, and adventure, inspired by Māori folklore.

"Chivalry, complex world building, and poetic prose make Songstone a winning and unforgettable story." (Jennifer Cervantes, award-winning young adult author of Tortilla Sun)

 

"Songstone sings with characters who come to life, a story full of magic, heart and adventure, and a world that lets you smell the sea air and feel the tropical sun on your back." (Lisa Gail Green, author of The Binding Stone)

Excerpt

The stranger was taller than me—though that didn’t mean much since I was shorter than most of the villagers—and he was younger than I’d imagined a journeyman would be, perhaps only a year older than me.

Even though we were in the woods after sunset, there was just enough light so I could see his eyes were a warm nut brown. If I could see him, I realized, then he could see me. I drew up straight and prepared for his eyes to widen at the sight of my ugly pale skin, my straight, slippery red hair, and my green eyes.

Would he be afraid?

I was preparing to rush past him, when he spoke.

“I am Pono,” he said, surprising me so much that my feet stuck to the ground.

A tale of Legends reborn, royal intrigue, and an unforgettable, heart-melting romance that will sweep you away.


Annalisia is a seer, a princess with a courageous spirit--and a soft spot for Legends.


Jovanni is a Legend, a commoner with no patience for pampered royals.


Principessa Annalisia is stunned and conscience-stricken when an unknown enemy mistakenly abducts her maidservant. Determined to find the girl, Annalisia disguises herself as plain Anna and slips away from the palace. She tracks down Jovanni, her maidservant's daring older brother, and they soon begin to search together. As they uncover clues, Anna also discovers a kindred spirit in Jovanni.  But would he be so free with her if he knew who she really was? Doubtful. Even so, she reveals her secret gift of visions to him, and in so doing disobeys the orders of her beloved grandmother, the queen.


With Jovanni, Anna can almost imagine she's like any other seventeen year old girl, free to pursue the longings of her heart. When she learns that he also has a secret--he's a sentinel, an ancient shapeshifter who can take the form of a falcon--it seems as if they were destined to be together, as in the legends of il Sentiro. Though Anna is tempted to wish otherwise, she can't forget that she's a princess and it's her duty to marry another. Meanwhile, their hunt leads Anna ever closer to danger, for she herself is being hunted.


YOUNG ADULT HISTORICAL FANTASY ROMANCE

"Danger, magic, romance, and royal intrigue, AIRE is a must read!" NYT Bestselling Author JESSICA ANDERSEN

"Looking for something fresh and new to read? Try Lena Goldfinch's AIRE." SERENA CHASE, USA Today HEA