Wickham directly after her stay at Netherfield Elizabeth was once again forced into the company of Mr. Darcy? Could this chance meeting lead the stubborn Elizabeth and arrogant Darcy down a path to friendship and eventually love without the obstacles of distance and misunderstanding they endured in the original? Although not without some pride and prejudice this story and its characters wend their way to a happy ending down a different road, encountering some new and some familiar difficulties.This approximately 49,000 word novella is low angst and true to the spirit of its inspiration.The second in my What if series, we are once again imagining what might happen if one detail from our beloved Pride and Prejudice were changed. How would this affect the rest of the story? Each book in the series is a stand alone

    Actually, Millie's relieved. She's happy to enjoy a man-free summer in Cornwall. But Orla has other ideas. She's determined that Millie should meet the man of her dreams. Trouble is, Millie's taste in men doesn't tally with Orla's. The one who really interests her is Hugh Emerson, and he's the man with whom Orla's adamant she mustn't get involved...

    He’s got a killer reputation, social status, unfathomable wealth, fast cars, and all the women he wants. Hell, he even has a video game character made in his likeness. Brother…But, he’s willing to pay the big bucks for my high-end escort services. If the boy needs a monster to prance around his annual Halloween Crawl of Horrors experience, then I’m his ghoul. The only real problem is that I’m terrified of things that go bump in the night. Halloween is NOT my holiday. But, I can swallow my fear for a month and play Barbie to his Ken. The main thing to keep in mind is that the man is a client. None of this is real. Not the wealth, the heat, the steamy moments where I want to give up all of my candies and stop being a trick… all fake. And he is completely off limits. The fact that he keeps making me feel so safe in the swirls of horror around us isn’t helping anything.He might be looking for a rich fake witch, but I’m starting to feel forever. Maybe I’ll just put a spell on him. ‘Cause then he’s mine… right?

    Obsessed with an irresistible fascination for the enigmatic Sarah, Charles is hurtled by a moment of consummated lust to the brink of the existential void. Duty dictates that his engagement to Tina must be broken as he goes forth once again to seek the woman who has captured his Victorian soul & gentleman's heart.

    Summer just got hotter...Polly has always been the high-flier of the family, with the glamorous city lifestyle to match. Clare is a single mum with two children, struggling to make ends meet in a ramshackle cottage. The two sisters are poles apart and barely on speaking terms.But then Polly’s fortunes change unexpectedly and her world comes crashing down. Left penniless and with nowhere else to go, she’s forced back to the village where she and Clare grew up, and the sisters find themselves living together for the first time in years. With an old flame reappearing for Polly, a blossoming new career for Clare and a long-buried family secret in the mix, sparks are sure to fly. Unless the two women have more in common than they first thought?

    On a summer evening in 1931, Lilly Blackwood glimpses circus lights from the grimy window of her attic bedroom. Lilly isn't allowed to explore the meadows around Blackwood Manor. She's never even ventured beyond her narrow room. Momma insists it's for Lilly's own protection, that people would be afraid if they saw her. But on this unforgettable night, Lilly is taken outside for the first time--and sold to the circus sideshow. More than two decades later, nineteen-year-old Julia Blackwood has inherited her parents' estate and horse farm. For Julia, home was an unhappy place full of strict rules and forbidden rooms, and she hopes that returning might erase those painful memories. Instead, she becomes immersed in a mystery involving a hidden attic room and photos of circus scenes featuring a striking young girl. At first, The Barlow Brothers' Circus is just another prison for Lilly. But in this rag-tag, sometimes brutal world, Lilly discovers strength, friendship, and a rare affinity for animals. Soon, thanks to elephants Pepper and JoJo and their handler, Cole, Lilly is no longer a sideshow spectacle but the circus's biggest attraction. . .until tragedy and cruelty collide. It will fall to Julia to learn the truth about Lilly's fate and her family's shocking betrayal, and find a way to make Blackwood Manor into a place of healing at last. Moving between Julia and Lilly's stories, Ellen Marie Wiseman portrays two extraordinary, very different women in a novel that, while tender and heartbreaking, offers moments of joy and indomitable hope.

    Truthful and tender, profoundly aware of the possibility of magic and the miraculous, these poems are beautiful, informed, and, even at their darkest moments, filled with courage and hope. Alongside old favorites, this edition will contain a selection of new, unpublished poems. This is a must for poetry lovers.

    Two young women step off the train in Stones Creek, Colorado at the same time. One is returning to the family and ranch she loves, the other starting a new life leaving the memories which haunt her behind. ˃˃˃ Leah, trying to flee her memories of the Civil War. She moves to Stones Creek, Colorado in 1867 following the death of her surgeon father. She had followed along as he treated Union soldiers in battle after battle. All she wants to do is forget, especially the handsome physician whose career she knew she had destroyed. ˃˃˃ Eli, rejected by his parents because of his scarred face and arm. He moved to Stones Creek following a war buddy and has found welcome. Eli is puzzled by the newcomer Leah's coldness and avoidance. ˃˃˃ Each wonders about the other. Why does this woman, who is friendly to everyone else in town, reject his offer of friendship? Why does she avoid looking at his face?How can she have peace knowing she is responsible for his scars? How could God have lead her to a town where the one person she wanted to forget lives, works and wants to be her friend? Scroll up and grab a copy today.

    Four weddings... Four unforgettable stories...A BROODING BEAUTYOnce darlings of the Ton, Marcus and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Kensington, have been estranged for over three years. Secrets and miscommunication tore them apart. Will their love be strong enough to bring them back together? Find out in A Brooding Beauty, the first novella in the Wedded Women Quartet! A RAVISHING REDHEADThe last time Margaret saw her husband was on the day of their wedding. He arrived drunk and ran off with her dowry, leaving her stuck at his rundown estate without a shilling to her name. Now he has returned, and while their sizzling chemistry is undeniable, will their differences prove to be too difficult to overcome?A LASCIVIOUS LADYJosephine never wanted to be with Traverson. In love with a Duke, she had dreams of grandeur that did not include marrying a lowly Earl. But when fate forces husband and wife together again and Josephine finally realizes her heart belongs to Traverson, will her efforts to win him back be too little, too late? A GENTLE GRACEGrace has been in love with Stephen from the first moment they met. When he disappeared mere weeks before their wedding, she was left heartbroken and alone. Now he has returned, and he wants her back... But can Grace love the man who left her, and can Stephen trust her with his darkest secret? Find out in A Gentle Grace, the anticipated conclusion to the Wedded Women Quartet! [This is the complete series of the Wedded Women Quartet novellas, all previously published and available individually on Amazon. The novellas range from 75 - 110 pages in length.]

    He finds himself swept off of his feet and married to her, bringing her with him to live in his family home. She is his erotic dream come true; she does everything she can to bind him to her and join him in his comfortable life.Soon, however, odd things begin to happen. Things in the house are strangely damp with what looks like seawater, bodies appear under the water that aren't really there. It all winds up to a horrifying conclusion.

    After her mother’s death, penniless May Kimble lives a lonely life until an aunt she didn’t know existed summons her to San Francisco. There she’s welcomed into the wealthy Sullivan family and their social circle.Initially overwhelmed by the opulence of her new life, May soon senses that dark mysteries lurk in the shadows of the Sullivan mansion. Her glamorous cousin often disappears in the night. Her aunt wanders about in a laudanum fog. And a maid keeps hinting that May is in danger. Trapped by betrayal, madness, and murder, May stands to lose everything, including her freedom, at the hands of those she trusts most.Then, on an early April morning, San Francisco comes tumbling down. Out of the smoldering ruins, May embarks on a harrowing road to reclaim what is hers. This tragic twist of fate, along with the help of an intrepid and charismatic journalist, puts vengeance within May’s reach. But will she take it?

    After the tragic death of her father, Bryony returns from abroad to find that his estate is to become the responsibility of her cousin Emory. Her family's estate with its load of debt is no longer her worry. Still, her father's final, dire warning about a terrible family curse haunts her days and her dreams. And there is something odd about her father's sudden death... Bryony has inherited the Ashley 'Sight' and so has one of the Ashleys. Since childhood the two have communicated through thought patterns, though Bryony has no idea of his identity. Devastated, she believes, that the mysterious stranger is her destiny... the lover-to-be who waits for her now at Ashley Court. Now she is determined to find him. But passion is not all that will greet Bryony upon her return -- for the crumbling walls of the old mansion guard dark secrets, tragic memories... and inescapable peril.

    It’s been four years since Rudy’s brother Edgar went missing in war-torn France. Still deep in mourning and grappling with unanswered questions, Rudy and his mother struggle to move on. When the enigmatic Mariette arrives unexpectedly at the family’s manor claiming to be Edgar’s widow, and the mother of his child, Rudy urges her to stay, hoping she’ll shed light on the missing pieces.Captivated by Mariette, Rudy finds that their mutual loss and grief bind them…as does the possibility of new love. But Mariette’s revelations bring more questions than answers about Edgar’s death. Suspicions threaten to divide Rudy’s already fractured family, setting him on a quest for the truth that takes him from England to France and beyond.In his search, Rudy is forced to confront the tragedies of war and the realities of the brother he’s lost and the woman he’s found. Will the truth set him free to find peace, or will it forever shadow his future?

    The only thing she has to do is convince her parents that the man she has chosen is a good match for her. That seems like a trifle until her mother enlists her help to get the new Duke of Somerset ready for the Season as well. Ever the dutiful daughter, she agrees to give him etiquette lessons but only if he agrees to help her with her own plans as well. Will their unusual deal pave the way for them to grow true feelings for each other? In order to keep him safe from his brother, Thomas's mother took him and fled to America. Now that his brother is dead Thomas must return to England to claim his birthright and become the Duke of Somerset. Raised an American and suddenly thrown into English society, Thomas has no one to turn to except perhaps the same woman who had once helped his American mother assimilate. Will he be willing to let her beautiful daughter teach him the British ways?When matters of the heart are concerned, the future can never be predictable. In undertaking a bizarre, yet fascinating task, will Anne and Thomas be able to see that what they need is right in front of them? Will love blossom in a most unusual place?"Her Duke in the Making" is a historical romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

    Anne von Korvacs watches in horror as Hitler's tanks roll through the streets of Vienna, amid crowds of cheering supporters. Her embittered ex-husband, now a fervent member of the Nazi cause, is among the cavalcade - he is burning with hatred for Anne, seeing her as a symbol of the old Austrian empire he once served. A chance encounter with a British journalist leaves Anne with a secret that must be smuggled out of the country, and Anne knows that she must forsake her beloved Vienna and with her children flee to Britain.In a thrilling journey that will separate sisters and brothers, parents and children, Anne and her family escape to freedom, to dream of a reunion in far-away London.Mary Jane Staples introduces a cast of gloriously warm characters in this wartime romantic adventure.