A Bargained-For Bride by Marcia Lynn McClure (Novella)

Excerpt!

“You’re the sweetest girl in Mourning Dove Creek, you know?” Jack mumbled as he paused in kissing Jilly a moment.

Jilly smiled. “And you’re the handsomest man in Mourning Dove Creek, you know,” she flirted in return.

Jack smiled. “I do know,” he said.

Jilly giggled. Jack Taylor was so predictable—and a little conceited. He really did think he was the handsomest man in Mourning Dove—and he was, for the most part.

Secretly, however, if Jilly ever allowed herself to be completely honest about it (which she tried to avoid), there was one other man in Mourning Dove who always crossed her mind when the subject of the handsomest man in town arose. Yet there was no lingering on thinking of that man—no sirree! Not for a moment! Not for any reason—ever. And so Jilly just kept telling Jack that he was the handsomest man in Mourning Dove Creek. Besides, it was almost true—being that the other man lived outside of town and not right in town the way Jack did

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Of Angels and Orphans by Barbara T. Cerny

Audra Markham is a ten-year-old girl born into privilege, but only in the sense of wealth. The granddaughter of a Viscount, Audra is the object of ridicule in her spoiled and spiteful family. Alone and unloved, Audra seeks solace in the comfort of food.

In another part of London thirteen-year-old Nathaniel Abbot lives a wretched life, forced to steal food in order to survive. Living in squalid conditions at the local orphanage, Nathaniel and three of his friends are spared further suffering when Audra “rescues” them from their plight.

Two lost souls that cannot find their place in the word suddenly find a place in each other’s hearts. Follow the lives of Audra and Nate as they grow from loyal childhood companions to inseparable young lovers, struggling through the perils of their own lives and facing difficult decisions that threaten to keep them apart.

 

Amazon

Genre: Historical Romance

Excerpt! 

 

At midnight, Audra finally felt the house settled enough that she arose from the bed, put on her clothes (God forbid if she was caught in her nightgown), and silently walked down the hallway to the stairs. Her knees were a little shaky but she couldn’t tell if that was from fear or from weakness. Not willing to take chances, she sat down on the top step and moved down the stairs one at a time on her butt, scooting slowly down to the bottom. So far, so good. All those years of sneaking food and clothing for the boys were paying off!

The back staircase emptied out into the breezeway. If she went straight, she’d end up in the stables; if she turned around, she would go back into the kitchens. Glancing around to make sure she was alone, she began her trek across the breezeway and into the stables. The door seemed heavier than usual, and she struggled to keep silent. Once through the door, she stood on the other side of it to catch her breath. Her legs were very shaky now but she was too close to stop. Ahead of her were the narrow stairs up to the loft area and Nate’s room.

This time, she crawled on her hands and knees up the stairs, hiking her skirts up so they wouldn’t be caught. This would the worst place to be seen with her bare legs showing and her skirt hitched up around her waist! She grinned at the picture she must make from the bottom of the stairs—at least her undergarments were clean!

Audra finally made it to the top and had to stop for a minute to catch her breath. Then she stood up and went to Nate’s room. Like before, Calvin had moved out to keep from disturbing Nate with his horrible snoring. Audra confirmed this with a glance to the empty bed and swiftly moved to Nate’s side. The chair was on the opposite side of the bed this time as his back was facing the door.

Audra went around the bed and kneeled next to his head. He lay there with both arms on his pillow, keeping them from touching the wounds on his side. Even in his sleep, his brow was furrowed in pain, his eyes tightly shut, his breathing ragged and shallow. His mouth was slightly open and he was making those little mewling noises she remembered from last time, as if he labored through his breathing and the movement hurt him.

She reached out and brushed his hair away from his forehead and checked his temperature by putting the back of her hand to his temple. He seemed okay. She stared at his face in the dark trying to make out each of his handsome features in the inky blackness. A little light came from the window over his bed, but the moon was in quarter and not much help. She was afraid to light a candle and draw attention to the room.

Audra put her hands in-between and over his, content to just kneel there and hold his hands. His breathing changed slightly, seeming to calm a bit for the next few minutes. As she lifted her hand to stroke his hair again, Nate opened his eyes.

“I knew you were here,” he whispered, pain coming through his voice, “I could feel you.”

Studio Relations by Georgie Lee

Vivien Howard hasn’t forgiven Weston Holmes for almost derailing her career five years ago. Female directors in 1930s Hollywood are few and far between, and a man who coasts by on his good looks and family connections can’t possibly appreciate what it took for her to get to where she is. But when the studio head puts Weston in charge of overseeing Vivien’s ambitious Civil War film, she realizes she has a choice: make nice with her charismatic new boss or watch a replacement director destroy her dream.

Weston Holmes doesn’t know much about making movies, but he knows plenty about money. And thanks to the Depression, ticket sales are dangerously low. The studio can’t afford a flop—or bad press, which is exactly what threatens to unfold when an innocent encounter between Weston and Vivien is misconstrued by the gossip rags. The only solution? A marriage of convenience that will force the bickering duo into an unlikely alliance—and guide them to their own happy Hollywood ending.

 Amazon

Book Genre: Historical Romance

Excerpt!

"Earl tossed the paper with the photograph on his desk. “It’s one thing for a single woman to direct a film, and quite another for her to spend the night at a single man’s house.”

“I was only there because I was sick.” Vivien sank down on the couch, dropping her head in her hands. “I can’t believe this is happening. What am I going to do?”

“I know what you’ll do.” Earl sat back, a proud smile on his pudgy face. “You’ll get married.”

“What?” Vivien’s head popped up. “To whom?”

“To Weston, of course.”

Weston and Vivien exchanged horrified looks.

“Are you mad?” Vivien jumped to her feet. “We’ll kill each other.”

“Well, you’d better learn to live with each another because I don’t see how you’re going to come out of this with your reputation intact unless you get married.”

“Now, wait just a minute, Uncle Earl. Let’s not do anything hasty,” Weston cautioned, but Earl shook his head.

“You got her into this mess; you can get her out.” Earl picked up the phone. “Jenny, get me Eve in wardrobe and Ben in props. I’ll also need Lou from publicity. Get them on the phone at once.”

“We can’t get married,” Vivien protested, realizing Earl was serious.

“It won’t be a real marriage. Judge Paxton, he’s a friend of mine. We golf together and he owes me a favor.” Earl picked up the phone. “Hotel 550,” he said to the operator. He kept the phone loosely pressed to his ear as he waited for Judge Paxton and continued to explain his harebrained scheme. “He’ll give us a wedding license and do the ceremony today. Only we’ll have him date it for yesterday. Once the movie is finished shooting and it’s a hit at the box office, we’ll get Judge Paxton to get you a nice, tidy annulment.”

Weston took a deep breath, responding in a measured tone. “Earl, it isn’t that simple. My mother has expectations. My lawyers have expectations.”

“Are you saying I’m not good enough to marry?” Vivien demanded, insulted.

“I’m saying I can’t get married on a whim.”

“This time you’ll have to or it’ll be your reputation on the line too.” Earl pointed a fat finger at Weston. “What do you think the Hays Office will say about morality in Hollywood if the people in charge are seen to have lax morals?”

“The Hays Office isn’t worried about me,” Weston scoffed.

“Come here.” Earl hung up the phone and waved Weston forward, then threw one arm around his shoulders and led him to the window. “Think about Vivien,” he said in a low voice that Vivien strained to hear. “If you don’t do this, you’ll walk away with only a few little problems but it’ll ruin Vivien’s life. Not only will she lose her livelihood, but society will knock her down faster than you can spit. Now, the three of us know what happened last night and we can tell the press all about it, but it won’t matter to women like Mabel McGrath. So think about that before you say no.”"