** Court and Marion have been pitted against each other by fate—can love twist them back together? The ProtectorSir William (“Court”) keenly feels his lack of status as a seneschal, running a castle that belongs to Kenshire. When one of the king’s regents offers to grant him both land and a title in exchange for storming a strategic castle in the borderlands, he quickly accepts. But before he can lead the attack, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to the enchanted fairy pools in Scotland, from which he takes a powerful stone. Though he knows naught about the stone’s legend, he senses it will help him. There’s one problem: the stone has an assigned protector who will do anything to retrieve it—and Court will find she’s not so easy to deny. The PromiseMarion has spent her life preparing to do her duty as the Stone of Scotland’s protector. She pledges to take it from the Englishman who’s stolen it, but he’s not at all what she expected. She certainly didn’t consider the possibility that she might fall in love with the handsome, confounding man. The Protector's Promise is the seventh book in a historical romance series set in 13th century Northumbria along the Anglo-Scottish border. If you like being transported to a time of knights and castles with ​steamy romance and strong female heroines, you’ll love the seventh installment of the Border Series.

    All she wants is to be his wife and spend the rest of her life at his side. Calum cannot not deny he has a fondness for young Ailsa, but his boyhood wish is to become a crusader knight, to fight alongside his brethren in the merciless heat of the Holy Land. When Calum is obliged to wed, he finds himself torn between staying with his wife and an enduring desire to fulfill his lifelong dream. Can a young wife’s love for her husband give her the strength to let him go? Will his token of eternal love be enough to sustain her faith in his safe return? Inspired by the real legend of the white heather, a miraculous event gives hope and comfort to a family at Christmastide. Previously published in the A Night of Angels anthology

    The barons are in revolt against King Henry III. Such times suit Roger Godberd, sergeant in the garrison at Nottingham Castle. After throwing in their lot with the barons who embark on a bloody campaign for control of England, Roger and his companions are betrayed and seek refuge in Sherwood Forest. There they begin their new lives as outlaws evading their old enemy, the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire.Yorkshire, 1320.Wrongfully accused of murder, young Robert Hood of Wakefield finds himself outlawed with only his bitter enemy Will Shacklock for company. Taking to the woods of Barnsdale, Robert and Will agree on an uneasy truce and begin recruiting a band of robbers fleeing the chaos of the Earl of Lancaster’s rebellion against King Edward II. Eventually drawing the attention of the king himself, Robert and his band are given a choice; be hanged as common criminals or enter the king’s service as agents of the crown…Blending real history with medieval ballads this is the entwined saga of two men, separated by a generation, united by legend, who inspired the tales of England’s famous hooded outlaw.

    The investigation is complicated by the Sheriff of York’s desire to use suspicion of the murders to arrest a thief and smuggler whom Cordwainer is certain is not the culprit, and it is hindered by Cordwainer’s advanced age and physical infirmities. When Cordwainer realizes that the Prioress of Clementhorpe will be the next victim and the Sheriff refuses to help, Cordwainer must call on every resource he can find to stop the killer.

    

    Traditionally, oppression by the land-holding gentry has been cited as a catalyst for rebellion. On the other hand, tensions between the merchants of the large towns such as Zurich, Basel and Geneva and the peasants in the countryside were equally important. Revolts against ‘foreign’ masters did not play as large a part as often assumed. After all, the Habsburg itself was built in today’s canton Aargau, and became incorporated into the Confederacy by 1415. In many ways the country’s geography has made Switzerland unique. Swiss geologists and engineers have devised a model of a public transportation system, overcoming incredible odds and challenges due to mountains, risk of erosion and avalanches, meandering waterways and thick forests. Politically the country has become the world’s foremost direct democracy, where enough signatures for a petition automatically trigger a referendum. A Short History of Switzerland attempts to capture the essence of the little country that could, from the perspective of someone who grew up there and went through the country’s school system. This short book makes the Swiss story accessible to readers with fluency in English. At the same time, the narrative does not shy away from controversial topics, including the war time experience or drug addiction problems. The work consists of six parts: 1. Before Homo Sapiens 2. The five periods of settlement and civilization 3. Language groups 4. Swiss accomplishments 5. Notable Swiss citizens 6. Conclusion No history written in the 21st century can be complete without examining the natural environment. Swiss civilization in the modern sense began with the Iron Age around 800 BC. Periods of foreign occupation followed before representatives from Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden concluded their eternal allegiance. Five hundred years of Swiss Confederacy followed, the most successful ever. The mountainous terrain made it possible to defend independence without central government. The Austrian and French monarchies officially recognized the Confederacy’s sovereignty in 1648. Napoleon I’s brief occupation in 1798 left a lasting legacy: federalism, which replaced the old Confederacy for good by 1848. The concept of armed neutrality has kept the country out of two world wars. Since 1945 the country has enjoyed nearly unparalleled prosperity, becoming the world’s chocolate producer, watchmaker, and banker. Switzerland is also the home of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and food producers. In 2002 the Swiss finally joined the UN, after decades of harboring UN offices in Geneva. It is an exciting story.