Lauren Smith: What is Coinage of Commitment about?

Rob Costelloe: Coinage of Commitment is about two people, Wayne and Nancy, who grow up on opposite sides of the country, who are from very different backgrounds, but who share one thing in common that will attract them to each other. Each has matured wanting to experience romantic fulfillment that is superior to the relationships they see all around them. They not only want it, they actively pursue it and, in Nancy’s case, she turns her yearning into a study of ways a couple can achieve love at a higher level and sustain it for the duration. In 1968, they meet while he is attending blue collar Drexel, and she is at neighboring, Ivy League Penn. Although irresistibly drawn together for the transcendent love they sense they can attain in each other, they must overcome obstacles posed by the class, financial, and religious differences that separate them, as well as opposition from both families, and later, a twist of fate that will be the cruelest test of all.

Lauren Smith: When you talk about “love at a higher level” what do you mean by that?

Rob Costelloe: It means keeping the “magic” of a romantic commitment at an elevated level, over a long period of time, as the couple’s highest priority, in the context of leading an otherwise normal life. In the story, Nancy concludes that such a condition, if achieved, can only be sustained by intellectual effort and planning, in addition to the emotional commitment we normally associate with romantic love.

Lauren Smith: What was your inspiration for writing this book?

Rob Costelloe: I wrote earlier in life, including an unpublishable first novel, a love story, then I abandoned writing altogether. But I continued to study romantic love, and I enjoyed studying love stories in books and films. In 2005, I read an otherwise well written novel whose denouement was so suddenly despairing that I felt outrage on behalf of all the women readers who were disappointed by this disjointed outcome. Within twenty-four hours, I was writing Coinage of Commitment.

Lauren Smith: How long did it take you to write it?

Rob Costelloe: It took seventeen months from deciding to write to landing the first contract offer. The first draft took four months of nearly full-time effort. Since I was also holding a full-time day job, that meant that I got very little sleep. I queried awhile, then sat down and read the manuscript after not having looked at it for two months. I was shocked to discover that it was not the greatest love story ever written, and that it was suddenly important to me that it be that good. I know this sounds delusional, and it did to me even as I was thinking it, but it affected my actions in a major way. I pulled the manuscript off the market and went into what turned out to be seven months of editorial analyses, rewrites, and polishing revisions. I changed my writing style to be more in tune with the story’s artistic needs. After that, it was back to the tedious grind of querying. But this time I did hit gold, garnering three contract offers from royalty publishers.

Lauren Smith: What do you hope the reader “gets” from your book?

Rob Costelloe: I want my audience to find a variety of good things offered at different levels for their reading pleasure. I hope they enjoy the story proper, and that they thrill to the twist in the final chapter that peaks in a surprise ending. The book has artistic ambitions, and there were times when it felt as though I were sweating blood to make the prose as beautiful as I could so it would sing in the reader’s mind. The book delivers a message about what part romantic love can play in fulfilling people’s lives, and that is intended to be thought provoking. The story examines the theme of “the road not taken” in some of the decisions that Wayne and Nancy make early on that play out in dramatic ways.

Lauren Smith: The book doesn’t fall into the usual romance genre, was that intentional?

Rob Costelloe: Good question. On starting the project, all I knew was that I wanted to write a love story, and a good one at that. But once I got into it, I realized that I had the opportunity to write one unlike any other for the height that the lovers reach and show can be done. Everything that followed: the late nights, the endless queries, the multiple rewrites—all revolved around that opportunity to produce something unique and different.

Lauren Smith: Have you gotten any feedback on being a man, writing in this genre? It’s pretty unique!

Rob Costelloe: Having read Nicholas Sparks, I didn’t realize the uniqueness you mention until my publicist pointed it out. That is, I knew I was a minority by gender, but I was not the least bit uncomfortable with it. Since my book was written for women, I targeted women editors from the very start. Then, when I realized that women dominated my end of the publishing world, I was relieved. I had always admired and worked well with women, and I knew that if I was going to make it as a royalty published author, it would be with a woman editor or agent.

Lauren Smith: Can you tell us about your next book?

Rob Costelloe: I’d be delighted. My next novel, code named Cameo, is a contemporary love story about a group of characters who grow up in small town Hanover, PA, and go on to college at the University of Pennsylvania. Even though it will be written for women readers, it will give them a glimpse into the delicate issues arising from the weight loss ambitions of the male protagonist. It is shaping up to be a unique offering indeed, and it should be available by mid 2008.

Lauren Smith: What was your biggest challenge when writing this book?

Rob Costelloe: I’ve known the loneliness of the long distance runner. But it pales compared to being an unpublished writer trying to sell a different kind of love story. Apart from that, I think my biggest challenge was adapting my style to the artistic needs of the manuscript. I used an incremental revision process that took about eight separate passes through the manuscript, each requiring one-to-two weeks of part-time effort. It came down to a decision to hold up publication, and my publisher, Saga Books, was very understanding about needing to get the prose to where the story would be its best.

Lauren Smith: What has surprised you most about the publishing process?

Rob Costelloe: The oversupply of aspiring writers is amazing. A close second is the overall poverty of the industry compared to any other I have been close to. I have never seen so much artistic passion, and endless work hours, and enthusiasm, all chasing so few dollars. People in the publishing industry seem to work their hearts out for low pay at a time when fewer and fewer people are buying fiction, and all for the love of literature and books. It’s inspiring to be a part of it, but sometimes a little sad. I am encouraged, though, by the new breed of Internet royalty publishers. They are bringing in much needed fresh air, and they’re giving readers an artistic and viewpoint alternative to the standard fare offered by the New York publishing houses.

]]> http://romancereviewed.com/?feed=rss2&p=12 0 http://romancereviewed.com/?p=11 http://romancereviewed.com/?p=11#comments Mon, 10 Sep 2007 22:12:41 +0000 admin Interview with Lauren Sharman….

Lauren Smith: Tell us about your latest book, The Devil’s Candy.

Lauren Sharman: The Devil’s Candy is the second book in The McCassey Brother’s Trilogy, and was the #2 BESTSELLER at Whiskey Creek Press in both May and June 2007.

It’s the story of Blackie McCassey, the oldest of three wild, intimidating brothers in a large, close-knit family full of wild, intimidating men from Hagerstown, Maryland.

Known as, The Devil, Blackie is proud of the fact that his violent past has caused most people to be afraid of him. . .including women. He believes that they’re all more trouble than they’re worth. But when he decides to repay an old debt by marrying his friend’s sister, Angel, Blackie suddenly discovers what it’s been like for everyone who’s tried to keep him out of trouble over the years. Blackie’s convinced that Angel’s razor sharp tongue and fearless attitude are going to get her killed one day; forcing him to stay two steps behind her as she serves drinks in her brother’s uncivilized roadside bar.Never before afraid that his past would come back to haunt him, Blackie is suddenly forced to face it when a murder turns their lives upside down.

Lauren Smith: Tell us about this trilogy, how did you begin to develop the idea for these books?

Lauren Sharman: The McCassey Brother’s Trilogy follows Blackie, Judd, and Rebel McCassey, three brothers from Hagerstown, Maryland. Along with their tight-knit extended family, the boys are very unpopular in their small town. In fact, feared is more like it, as members of their family have been wreaking havoc in Washington County since before the Civil War.

The close family aspect is actually modeled after my own family. A lot of my cousins are my friends, too. I thought a story about such a tight-knit group would be appealing to readers. I threw in a little sibling rivalry, a handful of gun battles, and some romance just to keep things interesting, and figured that there was a little something in all the books for everyone!

No Worries, the first book in the series, was the #1 BESTSELLER at Whiskey Creek Press in December 2006, and is the story of Blackie’s youngest brother, Rebel.

Witnessing her mother’s murder put a label on Gypsy Lance that few people overlooked. Raised in foster homes, she spent her childhood yearning for love and acceptance. Nearly penniless, Gypsy arrives in Hagerstown looking to put down roots and outrun a past she fears is about to catch up to her. Blue collar bad boy Rebel McCassey knows what its like to try and escape your past. No longer the hellion he once was, he’s never been able to shake his family’s bad reputation. When he finds Gypsy Lance lost in the woods, her unconditional trust and refusal to judge him by his infamous last name touch him in a place he didn’t know existed. . .his heart. When the demons chasing Gypsy are caught lurking in the shadows, Rebel vows to keep her safe, even if it means slipping back into his old ways.

The third book in the trilogy is Dusty Rose, which is Judd’s story, and will be available from Whiskey Creek Press January 1, 2008.

Dusty Zamora and her close-knit sisters were young—but far from innocent—when they abruptly left Hagerstown ten years ago. Now Dusty has returned. Alone. Judd has spent most of his thirty-six years side-by-side with his brothers and cousins. . .on the wrong side of the law. His one regret. . .being powerless to help the only woman he ever loved when she needed it most. Judd knows they’re headed for trouble when Dusty rides back into his life on a stolen outlaw biker’s motorcycle, and is shocked when she refuses his help. Finally realizing that hiding her deadly secrets are harming—not helping—the man she loves, Dusty opens up to Judd, dropping a bombshell that sends him reeling, and her fleeing. Not until Dusty vanishes does Judd discover her deception was well-intended. Now, he must find her before its too late for all of them.

Believe it or not, I never started out to write a trilogy! But as soon as Debi Womack, the owner of Whiskey Creek Press, read No Worries, she said she hoped I was writing the other two brother’s stories. I was completely humbled by her compliment, and got right to work on The Devil’s Candy!

Lauren Smith: What has surprised you the most about this process?

Lauren Sharman: Part of the reason I never considered writing a trilogy was because I thought for sure that I’d never be able to come up with such different stories about the same family and town. To my surprise, I had plenty to write about! Each brother has his own personality, views, and of course, issues. They’re all different in their own way, but when it comes down to it, they’d lay down their lives for one another.

Lauren Smith: How did you end up writing in the romantic-fiction genre, was it something you always enjoyed reading?

Lauren Sharman: Historical romance is actually my favorite genre to read. I love stories set during and after the Civil War, and in the old west. My first novel, Growing Up Little, was a mainstream fiction with romantic elements. When I began writing No Worries, I never set out for it to be a romance novel, but that’s just sort of the way the story developed. I ran with it, and wound up with a page-turning romantic suspense!

Lauren Smith: What’s next for you?

Lauren Sharman: Well, let’s just say that when the muse hits, it hits!

When Dusty Rose was complete, I set out to write a story completely different from The McCassey Brother’s Trilogy. But one night, I woke from a dream that seemed so life-like to me that it was actually eerie. The dream was about Blackie, Judd, and Rebel discovering that they have a younger, half-sister named Georgia. I sat down one day and plotted out most of the book with my critique partners, then pitched it to Debi Womack from Whiskey Creek Press. She was interested, so I set to work on the fourth book in the series. Tentatively titled, If Walls Could Talk, Georgia McCassey’s book is due to be released September 1, 2008.

]]> http://romancereviewed.com/?feed=rss2&p=11 0 http://romancereviewed.com/?p=10 http://romancereviewed.com/?p=10#comments Mon, 10 Sep 2007 21:37:04 +0000 admin An Interview with the Author…

Lauren Smith: What’s Midori by Moonlight about?

Wendy Tokunaga: The book is about Midori Saito, a young Japanese woman who has always felt like a stranger in her native land. So when she falls in love with Kevin, an American English teacher, she readily agrees to leave home and start a new life with him in San Francisco—as his fiancée. Kevin seems to be the perfect man for Midori. That is, until he dumps her for his blond ex, who Midori never even knew existed. With just a smattering of fractured English, not much cash, and a visa set to expire in sixty days, Midori realizes she’s in for quite a struggle. Unable to face the humiliation of telling her parents she’s been jilted, she decides to go it alone, surprising even herself as she proves she will do almost anything to hang on to her American Dream.

Lauren Smith: Where did you get the idea for this book?

Wendy Tokunaga: My husband, like Midori, is also from Japan and always felt like he never fit in there. He came to the United States to attend college, but never returned home. I wanted to explore this theme of why people might feel at odds in their native country and want to make an escape.

Lauren Smith: Why do you feel people want to trade who they are (trading their native culture) for a “better” version of themselves?

Wendy Tokunaga: I feel that some people latch on to different cultures for attributes that are lacking in their own. Japan, for a lot of people, can be a stifling society when it comes to the personal freedom to live your life the way you want. Roles, in general, are dictated a lot along gender lines. On the other hand, there are a number of Westerners seeking a new cultural identity who fall in love with Japan and either end up staying there forever or feel lost in translation when they return home.

Lauren Smith: How much of this book is based on real life experiences?

Wendy Tokunaga: I have met a number of young Japanese women who have felt the need to leave Japan’s “straitjacket society” and make their way to the United States for greater fulfillment in both their personal and professional lives. I also did language exchange practice with a couple of Japanese women who came to the U.S. because their husbands were transferred here. A lot of their humorous struggles with English are depicted in MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT.

Lauren Smith: What was it like living in Tokyo? How long did you live there?

Wendy Tokunaga: Tokyo is an amazing place and I fell in love with it immediately the first time I went, which was when I won a prize in a songwriting contest sponsored by JVC Victor. I love the vibrancy, the pop culture exuded on every corner, the energy. You can be in the middle of the biggest crowd of people you have ever experienced (Manhattan pales in comparison), but then can walk only a few blocks and find a quiet temple garden where you can meditate. Elderly women donning kimonos ride alongside Harajuku Lolita Goth girls on the train and no one bats an eye. I lived in Tokyo for about a year, but I have taken about 25 trips to Japan, mainly staying in Tokyo and also Osaka, which is where my in-laws live.

Lauren Smith: So you got a two book deal, what’s your next book? Can you tell us about it?

Wendy Tokunaga: My next book will be about an American woman who unexpectedly finds herself in Tokyo and ends up discovering a family secret.

Lauren Smith: You started out as a self-published author, didn’t you? What’s the most surprising piece about this (publishing) process?

Wendy Tokunaga: I did self-publish a novel called “No Kidding” in 2000 that still sells a few copies here and there. But it is a completely different experience to have a large publishing company behind you, especially on the distribution front, although I am still employing techniques of self-marketing for MIDORI BY MOONLIGHT that I honed when I was promoting my self-published book.

]]> http://romancereviewed.com/?feed=rss2&p=10 0 http://romancereviewed.com/?p=9 http://romancereviewed.com/?p=9#comments Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:04:58 +0000 admin An Interview with Jim Therrian – Author of Dance of the Heart

Lauren Smith: What is your book about?

Jim Therrian: “Dance of the Heart” is a story about attractions and how they can make us do things that they normally wouldn’t do.

Lauren Smith: Why did you write it?

Jim Therrian: Originally I wrote “Dance of the Heart” as a writing exercise and enjoyed the concept and story enough that I rewrote it into a novel.

Lauren Smith: Your book features a gay man who falls for a woman. What inspired you to take this unique turn in your story?

Jim Therrian: A more common story in life is for women to fall in love with gay men. I basically put a twist on a familiar story. I wanted to show that no matter who we are, attractions can take us by surprise and sometimes make us question who we are and what we want.

Lauren Smith: What are your plans for the future? Do you have any other books planned?

Jim Therrian: In addition to the work involved in promoting your own book, I am currently enrolled in a Playwriting Workshop with a local theatre, which includes writing a 10 minute play and will be professionally directed and acted on stage. I have plans for a new book about self publishing and how to succeed or at least survive the process.

Chapter 8

- Dance of the Heart

A Break in the Force

That weekend Michael spent the day packing while David went into the office. Sitting at a large table with several piles of paper stacked on each side, David sat back in his chair and sighed while rubbing his face. Peter Dugan, a handsome twenty-eight year old associate sat across from him. David looked over and saw Peter staring at him.

“What?”

“Nothing,” said Peter. “I just needed a break, my eyes are tired,” said the dark haired young man with a smile.

“Well if we don’t get through this, we will be here all night, again. I could use a break though, now that you mention it. Want to go grab some dinner at the Metro?” asked David. “Hey, if we can take a break, I’ll buy dinner,” said Peter.

“Deal, but right afterwards, we have to come back and finish. I’m out of here Wednesday, come hell or high water.”

The two men left the room and walked down the hall to the elevator. As the two men ate their late night dinner at the Metro, an all night diner, Michael was at home in bed tossing and turning. He was dreaming about dancing with Elizabeth again. He picked her up and held her in the air. When he put her down, they were eye to eye. They kissed passionately. When they finished kissing, he looked across the stage and saw David standing there. Michael woke up with a start. Max barked at him at the side of the bed. Michael picked him up and hugged him. “I know Max, I know, it was just a bad dream. What am I going to do?”

Two days later Michael and David were in the kitchen of the new house unpacking boxes.

“What do you think about having the housewarming party on the 22^nd?” asked David. “Sure,” responded Michael.

“I talked to my mother this morning and she will be here around noon tomorrow. That should give us enough time to get things arranged where we want them before she arrives.”

“Great,” said Michael.

“Great? Are you sure you’re okay? Usually news of my mother coming gets more of a rise out of you,” said David.

“You told me she was coming weeks ago.”

“I know, and all you said then was ‘fine’,” replied David.

“I’ll be fine. I asked Reed for some valium,” Michael said with a smile.

“You did? For you or for her?” David said, smiling back at Michael.

“Well that depends. Besides, she was one of the reasons we decided on four bedrooms with the guest rooms on the opposite side of the house from ours. We could all be in the house for days and not see each other,” Michael said with an even bigger smile.

“We are talking about the same person aren’t we? Pushy, in your face, mother of all Jewish mothers, Stella Silverman? Are you sure you’re all right?”

There was a knock on the door. Max ran to the door barking. It was Jack with a plant in hand and an overnight bag over his shoulder. Michael and David met him at the door and let him in.

”Hello happy homeowners! I’m from the neighborhood Welcome Wagon!” he said, handing David the plant. “Or should I say happy homo-owners?”

David and Michael looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

“So, where’s my room?” Jack said, not missing a beat.

“Well, you will have to flip a coin with Stella,” said Michael.

“Stella! I knew I felt a break in the force!” said Jack, looking up at the ceiling.

“Jack, remember I told you, no Stella bashing in front of David.”

“Sorry David,” Jack said in a little boy voice.

“That’s okay Jack,” said David, “you should hear what she says about you.”

“Is she here now?” whispered Jack.

“Relax, Jack, she won’t be here until tomorrow morning,” said Michael with a laugh.

“So when were you going to tell me Mrs. Vader was going to be here? And what does she say about me anyway?” said Jack.

“We weren’t going to mention it because Michael thought you wouldn’t come over if you knew. Stella thinks the world of you, Jack. I was just kidding,” said David.

“Right, her and the Christian coalition,” quipped Jack.

“Let’s just say she would never say anything bad about anyone,” said David.

“Not to their face anyway,” responded Jack.

“Exactly,” Michael and David said together.

Michael grabbed Jack’s bag and arm and started walking toward the hall.

“Come on Jack, you can have first pick of the guest rooms. You even get to make your own bed!”

“Work? You want me to work after driving all day to get here?” said Jack.

“You need to get out of the city more, it only takes 30 minutes. Did you get lost?” said Michael.

“No, I just thought whining might get me out of having to do any work.”

“You just need some motivation. You make the bed and I’ll make us drinks,” said Michael.

“Now you’re talking!” said Jack as he skipped down the hall towards the bedrooms.

From Publishers Weekly
Set in 18th-century England and the Carpathian Mountains, Abé’s lively sequel to The Smoke Thief continues the saga of the drákon (or “dragon-people”), “magnificent, terrifying creatures who have the ability to exist as humans but may transform into dragons at will, especially at night.” Zane, a handsome thief, and the Lady Amalia “Lia” Langford, who can see the future, join forces to search for the lost Draumr, a dangerous jewel that can control the drákon. Zane, a delicious anti-hero, finds himself captivated by the delightful Lia, who has been dreaming precognitively about him for years, certain that Zane is her destiny, though he might cause future problems for the drákon. When Lia finally “Turns,” first into smoke, then into full drákon power, their passion for each other is tested in an exciting, fire-breathing resolution. Paranormal romance fans will be well rewarded.  Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In her first novel, Hot Water, Kathryn Jordan depicts a woman who takes wants to escape her abusive marriage for a weekend retreat in a luxury spa. So, she hires a gorgeous man through the Internet as her escort, buys sexy lingerie, and leases a red Lamborghini Murcielago to complete her fantasy. While at the resort, she goes by the name Julia Reeves and names her escort William.

The Hidden Springs Spa is a place of privacy and intimacy for its guests. For Julia and William, Hidden Springs opens and heals old wounds. Their intended encounter was supposed to be only sexual. However, their sexual, emotional and intellectual interaction leaves them questioning the possibilities of the future.

Kathryn Jordan is a talented writer. One of her strongest points is her descriptive ability. Readers are transformed into the moment. Throughout Hot Water, Jordan gives amazing descriptive images of Hidden Springs. Readers are easily taken on a beautiful journey into a world of waves, sand, water, trees, and plush living. While the backdrop is glorious, the characters needed a little more highlighting. Jordan’s sporadic philosophic conversations between Julia and William begin to highlight their mental strengths. I was hoping for more conversational characterization development. Overall, her novel is provocative, intriguing, and a worthwhile read. I hope to see more novels by Kathryn Jordan in the future.

Hot Water is a gloriously poetic novel that begins in the style of Contemporary Chick Lit but rapidly branches out into philosophy and metaphysics, and into allegory and metaphor.  Hot Water truly has the capacity to melt the most jaded, cynical, ice-block heart.  Hot Water is a glorious precious gem of a story, one which transforms ugly routine reality into a faceted diamond catching the light. No reader, male nor female, is going to resist this one; it fully deserves best-seller status.
A tired, invisible, empty-nest housewife from Minnesota and a lover of books in all their aspects and fantasy in its most imaginative, treats herself to a weekend away, alone. And why not? Her loving hubby, owner of a heavy-equipment fleet, has just recently purchased a half-million dollar hunting lodge in the upstate Minnesota woods; a fact which he has kept completely concealed. With the collaboration of her sister, Lucile, she books a weekend getaway at a luxurious, magical, health spa in the upper California desert, hidden away and very expensive, and she, who’s never driven a sports car in her life, leases a red Lamborghini for the weekend.  She plans this to the be the weekend to build memories to last her a lifetime, so she also selects a male escort on the Internet, and chooses to identify herself as Julia, and him as William.
William is at the end of three years in his field and wants desperately to enter graduate school to begin work on his Ph.D.  He just needs a little more in his savings, just a few more jobs, and a weekend with Julia from Minnesota will pay for most of the remainder needed. Neither Julia nor William could possibly entertain the notion that the weekend getaway will change them both, and those close to them, in ways they could not have conceived of, even in fantasy.
Hot Water is the kind of story one reads the first time for the sheer joy and pleasure of it; but it is also a novel that finds its way immediately to the keeper shelf. It will be reread over and over again, each time the reader is in need of a dose of Hope.  There is not one factor at fault in this book. The plot, the characters, the gorgeous setting, the philosophy and metaphor: every aspect of this book shines, and the reader comes away looking at herself or himself for traces of faery dust glow. This book is that good. Kathryn Jordan is a debut novelist, but I hope this is only the first in a long line of outstanding stories from this gifted author.

Reviewed by Mona Lisa Safai

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Not quite novel or novella, McEwan’s masterful 13th work of fiction most resembles a five-part classical drama rendered in prose. It opens on the anxious Dorset Coast wedding suite dinner of Edward Mayhew and the former Florence Ponting, married in the summer of 1963 at 23 and 22 respectively; the looming dramatic crisis is the marriage’s impending consummation, or lack of it. Edward is a rough-hewn but sweet student of history, son of an Oxfordshire primary school headmaster and a mother who was brain damaged in an accident when Edward was five. Florence, daughter of a businessman and (a rarity then) a female Oxford philosophy professor, is intense but warm and has founded a string quartet. Their fears about sex and their inability to discuss them form the story’s center. At the book’s midpoint, McEwan (Atonement, etc.) goes into forensic detail about their naïve and disastrous efforts on the marriage bed, and the final chapter presents the couple’s explosive postcoital confrontation on Chesil Beach. Staying very close to this marital trauma and the circumstances surrounding it (particularly class), McEwan’s flawless omniscient narration has a curious (and not unpleasantly condescending) fable-like quality, as if an older self were simultaneously disavowing and affirming a younger. The story itself isn’t arresting, but the narrator’s journey through it is. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Police Lieutenant Phoebe MacNamara found her calling at an early age when an unstable man broke into her family’s home, trapping and terrorizing them for hours. Now she’s Savannah’s top hostage negotiator, defusing powderkeg situations with a talent for knowing when to give in-and when to jump in and take action. It’s satisfying work-and sometimes those skills come in handy at home dealing with her agoraphobic mother, still traumatized by the break-in after all these years, and her precocious seven-year-old, Carly.

It’s exactly that heady combination of steely courage and sensitivity that first attracts Duncan Swift to Phoebe. After observing her coax one of his employees down from a roof ledge, he is committed to keeping this intriguing, take-charge woman in his life. She’s used to working solo, but Phoebe’s discovering that no amount of negotiation can keep Duncan at arm’s length.

And when she’s grabbed by a man who throws a hood over her head and brutally assaults her-in her own precinct house-Phoebe can’t help but be deeply shaken. Then threatening messages show up on her doorstep, and she’s not just alarmed but frustrated. How do you go face-to-face with an opponent who refuses to look you in the eye?

Now, with Duncan backing her up every step of the way, she must establish contact with the faceless tormentor who is determined to make her a hostage to fear . . . before she becomes the final showdown.

I absolutely adored all 896 pages of this book and rushed out to buy every book in the series!

Publishers Weekly wrote:

Absorbing and heartwarming, this first novel lavishly evokes the land and lore of Scotland, quickening both with realistic characters and a feisty, likable heroine. English nurse Claire Beauchamp Randall and husband Frank take a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands in 1945. When Claire walks through a cleft stone in an ancient henge, she’s somehow transported to 1743. She encounters Frank’s evil ancestor, British captain Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall, and is adopted by another clan. Claire nurses young soldier James Fraser, a gallant, merry redhead, and the two begin a romance, seeing each other through many perilous, swashbuckling adventures involving Black Jack. Scenes of the Highlanders’ daily life blend poignant emotions with Scottish wit and humor. Eventually Sassenach (outlander) Claire finds a chance to return to 1945, and must choose between distant memories of Frnak and her happy, uncomplicated existence with Jamie. Claire’s resourcefulness and intelligent sensitivity make the love-conquers-all, happily-ever-after ending seem a just reward. Doubleday Book Club main selection, Literary Guild alternate.

Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.