Review and Q&A - - Tiffany Girl: A Novel

Tiffany Girl: A Novel
By Deeanne Gist
Publisher: Howard Books
Release Date: May 5, 2015

In 1893, the United States prepared to welcome the world to the Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair. In New York City, Louis C. Tiffany's plan to create a stained glass mosaic chapel for the Fair was thrown into chaos when his male workforce went on strike. Desperate to finish the project in time, Tiffany made the controversial decision to hire female art students to replace the striking men.

The only child of a successful barber and seamstress, Flossie Jayne grew up happy, loved and assured of her place in the world. Flossie's parents adored, indulged and encouraged her in her artistic pursuits - perhaps a bit too much, as indulgent parents are wont to do. With that background, it should come as no surprise that when her father's betting losses mean Flossie will have to leave art school, it's a situation she does not accept gracefully. Talking her way into a job with Mr. Tiffany when he visits her art class, Flossie makes the bold decision to leave her father's home, move into a boarding house and claim her wages for her own. She becomes a New Woman.

Life as a New Woman is not as carefree or successful as Flossie anticipates. There are many potholes she must navigate and truths she must face if she wishes to remain an independent woman. Might the handsome but quiet boarder across the hall be the one to help Flossie find destiny's path?

Newspaperman, Reeve Wilder is a loner who likes his solitude. Raised by stern grandparents following his mother's death, Reeve has never learned the art of making friends or leading a well-rounded life. In fact, the only person he counts a friend is an elderly woman who also lives at Klausmeyer's Boarding House. When Flossie moves into the room across the hall, it's a bit like being hit upside the head with a Suzy-sunshine, chatterbox two-by-four. He's annoyed, then intrigued and, finally, reluctantly charmed. But he's had a lifetime of being alone. Does he possess the inner strength to step outside his self-imposed box and what will happen if he does?

In each of her Chicago World's Fair books, Deeanne Gist has created a sense of time and place that draws me into the world of her characters as if I'm traveling their journey with them. Her research is impeccable and it shows in the details sprinkled throughout. The characters are true to their time and I appreciate the intimate glimpses into their daily lives that show us how people actually lived in 1893 New York City. Another by-product of all that research. The secondary characters run the gamut from Flossie's parents to her co-workers at Tiffany's to angry, male strikers to her fellow boarders. Gist's method of revealing details about each of the boarders is clever and gives us insight into each of them without having to employ an "info dump." I found it delightful and wished Flossie had a question for me. Real people and fictional characters are interwoven seamlessly in this book, with the fictional characters being so well developed and realistic that, at times, I forgot which was which. Not mere window dressing, many of the secondary characters contribute significantly to the story and move the plot forward.

Some of you may associate Deeanne Gist with inspirational novels. The Chicago World's Fair books are not inspirational but they do fall on the sweet side of the fence. I would classify Tiffany Girl as historical fiction with a warm romance but no sex. That's not to say there isn't sexual tension and real emotion that left me a thoroughly satisfied romance reader along with all the wonderful details that satisfied my historical curiosity.

While we can't travel through time to visit the 1893 World's Fair, we can do the next best thing and experience it through the wonderful pages of Tiffany Girl as well as the two previous books in this series, It Happened at the Fair and Fair Play (stand-alone books). I highly recommend them all.

~PJ


Q&A with Deeanne Gist:

PJ: Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for me, Deeanne. I just finished reading TIFFANY GIRL and, once again, thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in the lives of your characters during this evolving time in history. What inspired you to set this series of books during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair?

Deeanne: I’d only planned to write one book about the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair (It Happened at the Fair), but by the time I’d done the research for that book, I was stunned at what a pivotal event it was for our country. Why it has been left out of our high school history classes, I don’t know, but it set the standard for architecture in the upcoming century. It introduced foreign cultures to our amazed population. It wowed the world with our scientific innovations, and it gave women their first official board position recognized and approved by an Act of Congress (all before we had the right to vote).

There was so much I wanted to include in that first book but didn’t have room. So I called the publisher and said, “Let’s make this a Chicago World’s Fair series.” And they said yes. The books can be read in any order, since the only character they have in common is the Fair.

Tiffany Girl is set around the all-mosaic chapel that Louis C. Tiffany exhibited at the Fair. It was his big debut in stained glass, and five months before the Fair his glass workers went on strike. In an act of desperation, he hired women art students to complete the exhibit, since females weren’t allowed to be members of the union. No one believed a set of young, inexperienced women could complete the project in time. But not only did they complete it, they became a permanent fixture within Tiffany’s studio and were given the name “Tiffany Girls.” I decided to fictionalize one of those girls.

Flossie Jayne, the heroine of this book, is one of those "Tiffany Girls" and might be considered a bit of a rebel for her time. What would you like readers to understand about this character?

When I start building the protagonist of a book, I make a fictional timeline of her life from birth to the first page of the book. That helps me know what baggage the heroine brings to the book. In order to build her backstory, I research women of the time who had the same profession as my heroine. In this case, women artists.

I read journals and books and newspaper articles from back in the day. One of those journals was written by a woman who was an only child and the apple of her parents’ eyes. So I decided to make Flossie Jayne an only child. From there, I read all kinds of books about what it was like to be an only child—the things they struggle with, the things they excel at, the characteristics that are common among them, etc.

With all of that under my belt, I found I had a vivacious and ambitious young woman bursting onto the first page of the book. She’d been told her entire life that she was extraordinarily talented (whether she was or not) and that she was a very special snowflake (whether she was or not). When she makes the bold move to leave home to become a working “New Woman” (a rather shocking thing for a single woman at the time), she suddenly discovers that life in the real world is not at all she’d been led to believe it would be.

I’m fascinated by the level of detail in this book and the intimate look into the private and professional lives of people in 1893 New York City. Are there other books or research sources you would recommend for readers who would like to learn more about this era?

Oh, golly. I read hundreds of books and articles during my research. There wasn’t any particular one that jumped out more than others. I wish there had been. It would have definitely made my job a lot easier! But as it was, I would read an entire book and only be able to use limited information from perhaps a chapter or two. The problem was, I didn’t know what information I would need without reading the entire book!

Still, I read about the social climate of New York City, the economic climate, the political climate, and even about the actual climate (as in weather). As for the actual Tiffany Girls, there was one book that did rise to the top. It is called A New Light on Tiffany, and it was written by the scholars who uncovered boxes of letters written by the head of Tiffany’s Women’s Department, Clara Driscoll. It provided a great overview. From there, I hunted down those same handwritten letters and found them in a historical society. I read all of the ones Clara had written during the 1890s. Those also gave me an intimate look at NYC at the turn of the century.

Have you ever attended a World’s Fair?  If so, what did you find most impressive?

Oh, I wish I had! I would LOVE to have gone to one. I can tell you this, though: when anyone ever asks me where I’d like to go if I could travel back in time, I now have an immediate and ready answer: “To the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition!”

Women made significant contributions at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, from management to all types of labor. Your World’s Fair books have included females in a variety of roles ranging from doctors to nurses to ceiling painters to Tiffany glass makers. If you could travel back in time and be part of this event, what role would you want to fill?

I honestly think I’d like to go as a guest. Is that cheating? But if I were to go back as a doctor, or nurse, or Tiffany Girl, I wouldn’t have the freedom that the guests do, and I’d definitely want the freedom to explore every inch of every building and all the grounds without any time restraints.

Not cheating at all! I think it would be wonderful fun to go as a guest!

What’s next? Will there be more World’s Fair books?

Alas, Tiffany Girl is the final book in the World’s Fair series, and I depart from the Fair with a bittersweet feeling—probably not all that different from those who actually waved goodbye to the Fair back then. I leave it with feelings of awe at what we, as a country, accomplished in the 400 years since Columbus’ discovery. With feelings of pride for all that America was and is. With feelings of excitement for the innovation of man in general and Americans in particular. And a feeling of nostalgia for a time when all the world could gather in one place in perfect peace and harmony.

As for what’s next, I have about five ideas rattling around in my head and have not quite decided which one I’m going to pursue. When I do, I’ll be sure to The Romance Dish readers know, though!

Thanks so much for having me. It’s been a joy!

Thank you, Deeanne! I'll be looking forward with anticipation to whatever comes next!

Readers, have you ever attended a World's Fair?

If you could go back in time to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, what role would you want to fill? Guest? Glass maker? Female Doctor? Architect? Would you want a seat on the Women's Board? 

A character in Tiffany Girl builds a home from a Sears, Roebuck house kit. Have you ever constructed a building from a kit? How'd it go?

Heather Ashby Winner

The winner of a $10 Amazon gift card 

from Heather Ashby is:

Carol Post

Congratulations, Carol!

To claim your gift card, please send an email to us at:

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Review - - Garden of Lies

Garden of Lies

By Amanda Quick

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Release Date: April 21, 2015

Ursula Kern, proprietor of the Kern Secretarial Agency, refuses to accept the official conclusion that the death of her employee and friend Anne Clifton was due to either suicide or natural causes. A note clutched in the dead woman’s hand leads Ursula to believe that her friend was murdered. Since the police won’t investigate, Ursula decides to conduct her own investigation, and the logical place to begin, since Anne, like her employer, was an unmarried woman with no family, is with Anne’s last clients, Lord and Lady Fulbrooke. But first, Ursula must inform her own client, legendary archaeologist Slater Roxton, that another client’s work takes priority over cataloging antiquities for him.

Slater is not pleased with the news. The illegitimate son of actress Lily Lafontaine and wealthy aristocrat Edward Roxton, Slater is a legendary figure who miraculously survived being trapped in an ancient burial chamber and thus became a media sensation. Abandoned by his companions who thought he had been crushed to death beneath the falling stones, he lived for a year on Fever Island, thought to be uninhabited. The island was actually inhabited by a monastery belonging to the Order of the Three Paths, a philosophical rather than a religious order, whose ideas and meditative practices transformed Slater. Despite the fact that his father recognized him, provided him with a gentleman’s education, and even made Slater sole trustee of the Roxton fortune, Slater has never been at home in society. He senses in the heavily veiled Ursula a kindred spirit. Unhappy with Ursula’s decision to play detective and concerned about her safety, he insists on joining her investigation.

Ursula has mixed feelings about Slater’s role as co-investigator. She is aware that his background gives him access to his mother’s theatrical connections and to his father’s upper-crust world, access Ursula lacks. Also, she knows his experience recovering lost and stolen treasures could prove useful. But she is jealous of her independence and fears that he will not see her as an equal. Theirs is at times an uneasy alliance, but each brings something unique to the partnership.

Although superficially different from one another, Ursula and Slater are alike in fundamental ways. They are both proven survivors remade by experience. Ursula recreated herself when a disastrous marriage, a poverty-stricken widowhood, and an epic scandal made her former life impossible. Although Slater did not change his name and he does have some close family ties, he is a very different man from the young archaeologist who chased a myth. As each observes independently of the other, Ursula’s veil and Slater’s glasses serve the same purpose—to limit the view others have of them and to keep the larger world at a distance.

It is Slater who discovers that Lord Fulbrooke is connected to the Olympus Club, a mysterious private club that offers a hallucinogenic drug and the companionship of high-class courtesans to its wealthy members. Ursula uncovers a locked room in Lady Fulbrooke’s conservatory in which the melodramatic poet is growing the plant from which the drug is made. Together Ursula and Slater uncover a web of drug trafficking, blackmail, and murder that stretches from London to New York. Can they find the evidence they need before one of them becomes the next victim? Their courage to complete their quest is unquestioned, but is their courage strong enough to open their lives and their hearts to one another and to move beyond shared passion to commitment and love?

Garden of Lies is vintage Amanda Quick, a winning combination of breath-catching mystery and sigh-worthy romance with an independent, active, intelligent heroine and a hero who is a bit of a misfit with definite quirks. He matches her intelligence and is confident enough of his masculinity to support her independence, with occasional lapses due to his need to protect where he loves. This one is set in Victorian London at a time when advances in the typewriter were opening the world of work to women at an increasing rate. Quick uses this setting in interesting ways.

The early Amanda Quick novels such as Ravished, Mistress, and Dangerous remain some of my all-time favorite historical romances, and although I don’t rate this one quite on par with those classics, I did find it a solid read. Quick (aka Jayne Ann Krentz) can be depended on to give readers smart, unconventional characters, a real sense of period setting, and a balance of mystery and romance in which neither genre overpowers the other. For me, that is a winning combination. If you are a fan of Amanda Quick, I expect you will find Garden of Lies a thoroughly enjoyable read. If it has been a while since you read Quick or if you like historical romantic suspense but have never read Amanda Quick, I recommend you give this book a try. I think you will be glad you did.

~Janga

Today's Special - - Heather Ashby and Christopher Bergeron

PJ here. It is with immense pleasure that I welcome Heather Ashby and Christopher Bergeron to The Romance Dish today. Co-authors of the newly released contemporary military romance, UNFORGETTABLE, Ashby and Bergeron have the backgrounds that bring authenticity to their characters and the journeys they travel. If you're looking for intelligent writing, fast-paced stories, edge-of-your-seat action, and deeply emotional relationships all wrapped up in duty, honor and service then look no further than the books of the "Love in the Fleet" series.  I highly recommend them!

HEATHER ASHBY  

Award winning author, Heather Ashby is a Navy veteran who taught school and raised a family while accompanying her Navy husband around the United States, Japan, and the Middle East. In gratitude for their Army son’s safe return from Afghanistan and Iraq, she now writes military romance novels, donating half her royalties to Fisher House Foundation in support of wounded warriors and their families. Her son serves as her cover model, helping to raise money for Fisher Houses around the world. Heather lives in Atlantic Beach, Florida with her retired Navy husband. Unforgettable is the fourth and final book in the “Love in the Fleet” series.

CHRISTOPHER BERGERON  

Christopher Bergeron is a retired Major in the United States Marine Corps, with twenty-four years of service. His ten deployments include combat tours in Desert Shield/Desert Storm; Somalia; Kosovo; Haiti; Fallujah, Iraq; and Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Chris’s travels have covered the globe, including more than twenty countries. He lives with his wife and son in Rockford, Michigan, where he is currently a Communications/Marketing student at Grand Valley State University. Unforgettable is his first novel.

On Love – and Broccoli

by Heather Ashby

Thanks for inviting me today, PJ. I always enjoy chatting with your readers. I’d like to share a lesson I learned about ten years ago that has strengthened not only my marriage, but my friendships, as well.

My husband chews loudly. Seriously, you can hear him eat potato chips in the next room. And he sniffs. Instead of finding a tissue or taking a Sudafed, he sniffs. Repeatedly. I've come close to losing my mind during allergy season.

And, he buys too much broccoli.

My retired Navy husband is an awesome man, nicknamed Commander Integrity because he exemplifies an officer and a gentleman. He’s also an awesome husband—when not chewing or sniffling. Since he’s fully retired, he takes care of everything in our house, yard, and lives, so I can teach school by day and write books at night. I try not to complain about anything, yet that’s just what I used to do.

He does the food shopping and all the cooking. My job is to write the weekly menu and put the food away when he returns from the grocery store. Without fail, he buys too much broccoli. I mean, Army sized rations of broccoli. If it’s on the menu for one night that week, he buys enough for three nights. I used to roll my eyes, shake my head, and explain to him how much is in a serving of broccoli for two people. I don’t do that anymore. I simply love him.

One day about ten years ago, I was putting the groceries away—and rolling my eyes at the volume of broccoli—when God hit me with a spiritual two-by-four. It came to me that someday Commander Integrity could be gone from my life. I saw myself wandering the produce aisle of a grocery store and having an emotional meltdown in front of the broccoli. I then chastised myself for obsessing over something so stupid when I should have simply been appreciating having this wonderful man in my life. And the fact that he does the shopping. And the cooking. And all the other wonderful things he does for me.

I sat on the floor in front of the vegetable bin of my refrigerator and had a good cry that day. Then I took a vow that every time my husband does something unimportant that annoys me, I will focus on one of the fabulous things he does for me. Did I mention that he scoops and cleans the cat boxes? And cleans house now that I’m teaching again? How about car maintenance? He takes care of all that to ensure that I’m safe on the road, with exactly the right tire pressure. He not only pays the bills, but pays them with his money. And does all the yard work. (It’s true. I sleep with my yard boy.) And he checks Metric Junkie every morning and evening to track my book sales.

And did I mention that he puts up with me? Commander Integrity is a quiet, left-brained engineer. I am a right-brained, zany, impulsive, talkative, ADHD, creative person who is either doing five things at once or sound asleep when work needs to be done. Just tolerating living with me is a full-time job, I’m sure. And he excels at it.

I decided I did not want to be an elderly widow, standing in the produce section, saying, “Why wasn’t I nicer? Why did I complain over the silly, little things he did that annoyed me. I would give anything for him to be here right now, chewing loudly, sniffing repeatedly, and buying too much broccoli. If only I had the past forty years back so I could focus on all the good things he did for me, instead of complaining.”

Thank you, God, for giving me those forty years to do just that. It’s never too late to make this decision. We all do annoying things. And we all love people who do annoying things. If they are unimportant things, this is a way to tune them out and focus on a person’s good qualities instead.

I have a lovely British reader, award-winning, international author, Carrie King (www.joni-pip.com). She lost her husband unexpectedly in an industrial accident. He sounds like he was the perfect husband—and human being. When help arrived at the scene, he directed medical personnel away from him so they could care for those with more urgent needs. Carrie had kissed her husband good-bye and sent him off to work that day. He never returned. Fortunately, Carrie says she has no regrets, only happy memories. She appreciated all he did for her and their family and told him often. Think about the lives lost on 9/11. More than three thousand people went to work and did not go home at the end of the day. Now is the time to appreciate everything about our loved ones.

Now, when my husband comes home with too much broccoli, I just smile and appreciate that I have him—and remember all the wonderful things he does for me. And I plan another meal or two with broccoli.

What annoying habit does your loved one have? And what positive trait of theirs can you focus on instead when they do that irritating thing? I have a $10 Amazon gift card for one lucky commenter.

The 9/11 spirits aboard USS New York are back! Their mission: help Adam, Gwyn, Mike, and Cate find their happily ever afters—and stay alive. As the only person who can see them, Lieutenant Gwyn Pritchard tries to help the spirits move on to the light. That is, when she’s not helping Gunnery Sergeant Adam Connor heal from his PTSD—or falling madly in love with him.

Captain Cate Hawkins, has run from her unconventional childhood by becoming a Marine Corps pilot. But when a mission in East Africa goes awry, she finds herself in a race for her life. After burying the hatchet with Cate, Navy pilot Mike Nikolopoulos wants nothing more than to rescue his new love. If the spirits help him save her, they’ll finally be free to move on. But can Mike overcome a sudden fear of flying to find his way to Cate before terrorists repeat “Black Hawk Down”—with a female American pilot this time?

www.heatherashby.com

Twitter: www.@HAshbyAuthor

Facebook: Heather Ashby Author

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PAHVCj

Nook: http://bit.ly/1FACsDv

Review - - The Snow Globe

The Snow Globe

By Judith Kinghorn

Publisher: NAL

Release Date: March 3, 2015

It is December 1926, and all of England is abuzz over the mysterious disappearance of celebrated mystery writer Agatha Christie. Speculation is rife, with some suspecting a publicity stunt, others convinced the novelist has drowned herself in the Silent Pool, a natural spring near where her abandoned car was discovered, and still others pointing to the possibility that she was murdered by her adulterous husband, Archie Christie. Eighteen-year-old Daisy Forbes, youngest of the three daughters of Howard Forbes, a wealthy industrialist, and his wife, Mabel, is among the volunteer searchers. Judith Kinghorn uses the search theme and the image of the unfaithful husband to connect the larger world of post-World War I England with the private world of the Forbes family.

The first part of the novel takes place as the family gathers for Christmas at Eden Hall, the grand home Howard Forbes had built shortly after his marriage. The safe, secure world of the family has already been changed by war. Of the four employees who left for military service, only one returned and he is a different person from the one who left. “The war still hung over them all, young and old. Like an ever-present but reticent guest, it stood alone, lingering in a shadowy corner.” Iris, the eldest Forbes daughter, has embraced the new world, flaunting her independence, declaring that she will never marry, and celebrating her life as the owner of a smart shop and a habitué of equally smart clubs where she and her friends drink and dance. Lily, the newly married middle daughter, clings to the remnants of a vanishing world, and Daisy, unformed and uncertain, is still enough of a child to half-believe in the power of wishes.

One of the Forbes’s Christmas traditions involves the display of a snow globe that belongs to Daisy:

Inside the glass orb were tiny pine trees, a replica of Eden Hall in miniature and hand-painted gold stars—each one studded with a tiny diamond at its center. A present to Daisy from her father when she was no more than five years old, the snow globe was brought out each year and placed in the same spot, its limited appearance making it a veritable treasure of Christmas. And Daisy continued to be mesmerized by it. She imagined them all—herself and her family—inside the miniature house: tiny people with giant souls and infinite love in their hearts, safe and warm beneath the glass, beneath those diamonds and gold stars.

Christmas 1926 will shatter Daisy’s illusions about her family. Overhearing a conversation between two long-time servants, she learns that her father has had a mistress for years. Her faith in her adored father’s integrity shattered, she is filled with sympathy for her mother, only to discover that not only is her mother aware of Howard’s infidelity but she has inexplicably invited his mistress, the actress Margot Vincent, and Margot’s son to Eden Hall for Christmas. As if these revelations were not enough for Daisy to deal with, she is also faced with shifts in her relationship with Stephen Jessop, the son of Eden Hall’s cook and gardener and Daisy’s best friend throughout their childhood. She is also uncertain about her feelings for Benedict Gifford, a young man from her father’s company who is clearly interested in marrying her. The presence of the charming and handsome Valentine Vincent, Margot’s son, adds to Daisy’s confusion. Given his connection with her father’s mistress, Daisy feels she should loathe Val, and yet it is he with whom she shares her first kiss.

The holiday ends with the guests returning to their homes and members of the Forbes family scattering. Mabel leaves with her husband’s spinster sister for an extended stay in Italy and France, Daisy joins Iris in London, and Howard is left to care for Eden Hall and his mother-in-law in Mabel’s absence. Stephen too leaves, ostensibly for New Zealand. Before leaving for London, in a gesture heavy with symbolism, Daisy throws away her snow globe.

The second part of the novel takes place in the summer of 1927 as the Forbes family and most of their guests reunite at Eden Hall to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Mabel and Howard. Although the novel is classified as historical fiction, the resolutions of the storylines in this section are generally of the sort that will have romance readers sighing happily, despite a brief period of dismay when Daisy, piecing pieces of a puzzle together without all the parts, concludes that Stephen is her half-brother.

Kinghorn shows her readers a world caught up in the changes that followed WW I, most obviously in the characters of Stephen and Iris. The former suggests that the barriers between classes were becoming less rigid, and the latter exemplifies the greater freedom young women enjoyed in the era of bobbed hair, rising hemlines, and the early stages of the sexual revolution. Mabel and Howard’s story holds equal interest because they are tied to the values of an older generation but find their lives shaped by the new world as well. Howard’s business is changed radically by the decline of the British Empire, and only his acumen and his willingness to embrace change save the family from great financial losses. Reared to accept her husband’s behavior without protest and to find her purpose in the domestic realm, Mabel refuses to conform. Early in the book, she is described as a “Henry James heroine, one of those formidable women whose sense of duty left them unable to breathe properly,” but unlike those Henry James heroines, Mabel casts off the duties that had defined her and learns to breathe freely.

I would have rated this book more generously had it been billed as the first of a series with the reader reasonably able to suppose a second book would offer fuller development of Iris’s character and a look at what happens to Valentine. Read as a standalone, I found Iris’s character a confusing mix of compassion, anger, and shallowness. Valentine too, although depth is suggested in spots, comes across as essentially shallow. The combination suggests that those who belong to the emerging world are pleasure-seekers of little substance. I found this bothersome.

Nevertheless, Kinghorn gives readers a fascinating look at one family and those around them, and she does so in lucid prose that sometimes possesses a wonderful lyricism.  The historical setting feels authentic, and Daisy’s youthful vulnerability and growth are endearing. I recommend this one to fans of light historical fiction and to fans of 20^th-century historical romance.

~Janga

Sneak Peek - - His First and Last

Terri Osburn's debut Anchor Island series is one of my favorite contemporary, small-town romance series of the past few years. Now that she's left the island after guiding four couples to their respective HEAs, I've been excited to see where this talented author takes us next. The wait ends on April 21st with the publication of His First and Last, the first book in Osburn's new series set in the small Tennessee town of Ardent Springs. Montlake Romance has offered us a sneak peek excerpt today to tide you over until the full book is available in just eight days as well as a chance to win a copy of your very own!

Although born in the Ohio Valley, Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Terri Osburn found her true home between the covers of her favorite books. Classics like The Wizard of Oz and Little Women filled her childhood, and the genre of romance beckoned during her teen years. While Osburn went on to gain a degree in business administration, she couldn’t shelve her love of love stories. In 2007, she put pen to paper to write her own. Just five years later, she was named a 2012 finalist for the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award. The author of the Anchor Island contemporary romance series, Osburn resides in Virginia with her daughter, an assortment of pets, and her bookshelves full of keepers.

Social Networking Links

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Exclusive Excerpt from HIS FIRST AND LAST

by Terri Osburn

“Spencer,” she said, cutting him off. “I appreciate what you’re doing, but listen to me. I have to stand up against whatever this town throws my way. How they feel about me is my own fault.”

“That was years ago. You were a kid.”

“A hateful kid with a chip on her shoulder and a burr up her butt.” Spencer couldn’t argue with the description. “I told them where to shove it, and they have every right to tell me the same thing. But if I’m going to be here for a while—not that I’m staying forever,” she added, “I can’t keep cowering behind other people.”

“I’m all for you fighting your own battles,” he said. “And I’m glad to see a little of the old Lorelei coming through.”

She shot him a droll look. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” he asked, holding back a smile.

“That,” she said, poking him in the arm. “Yes, I’m saying that you were right earlier. Don’t let it go to your head.”

“I wouldn’t think of it.” Spencer slowed to make the turn into the driveway. “But, Lorelei?”

“What,” she mumbled, shifting from side to side as he rolled through the potholes.

“I’ve got your back.”

Lorelei reached for the door handle as he put the truck in park. “And my front if I’d let you.” Hopping out, she straightened her skirt, tugging it down with little success. “We’re not going there, so you can get the idea right out of your head.”

That wasn’t what he’d meant, and the fact that she dismissed his support as some kind of sexual play ticked him off. Spencer dropped onto the gravel and met her as she rounded the truck. “How do you know what ideas are in my head?”

“You’re awake and you’re breathing,” she said, marching past him without so much as a glance.

Spencer watched her sashay across the yard. If she walked any faster, she’d be running. Then it hit him. She was running. If she didn’t have the same ideas in her head, why as she in such a hurry to get away?

“I see there’s one thing that hasn’t changed,” he said, catching up to her as she reached the bottom step. “You still want me.”

“You’re delusional, Boyd,” she said, picking up the pace.

“Admit it, Lorelei.” They stomped onto the porch at the same time. Spencer knew he was playing with fire, but without a push, she’d never admit the truth. “You still feel it.”

“The only thing I feel right now is annoyed.” She reached for the screen, but he slammed it shut, cornering her against the door. “Spencer don’t do this.”

“Don’t do what?” he asked, lost in the heat coming off her body. Lost in the headiness of being so close to the woman he’d never stopped wanting. “Don’t stand so close? Don’t smell so good?” His voice dropped when she licked her lips. “Don’t kiss you right now?”

She made a noise somewhere between a plea and a purr. Though he was well into her space, she didn’t push him away.

“I’ve missed you, too, Lorelei,” he said before leaning in, turning his head left, then right, leaving nothing but a breath between them. He wanted her to come to him, and she did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: His First and Last

Author: Terri Osburn

Release Date: April 21, 2015

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Genre: Contemporary Romance

At eighteen, Lorelei Pratchett couldn’t wait to get out of her hometown. Twelve years later, her Hollywood dreams have fizzled and she’s back—temporarily, she thinks. Though she throws herself into saving the old theater and starting a baking business, small towns have long memories, and Lorelei’s wild past still haunts her. It doesn’t help that her ex-boyfriend, Spencer Boyd, is even hotter, smarter, and more distracting than before.

The fiery Lorelei that Spencer knew years ago may have become closed off and cautious, but their chemistry hasn’t faded one bit. Losing her a second time is unthinkable to him, yet Lorelei is convinced she doesn’t belong in Ardent Springs. Somehow, Spencer needs to show her that everything she needs is right here: family, friendship, new beginnings…and a man who’s never stopped loving her.

Warm, sexy, and laugh-out-loud funny, His First and Last is an irresistible story of first love and second chances.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24602229-his-first-and-last

Buy Link: http://bit.ly/HisFirstAndLast

Do you enjoy second chance romances?

Have you read Terri Osburn's Anchor Island series?

Do you enjoy stories that make you laugh...and sigh...and sometimes cry?

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Review - - This Heart of Mine

This Heart of Mine

By Brenda Novak

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA

Release Date: March 31, 2015

Phoenix Fuller is returning to Whiskey Creek after seventeen years in prison for vehicular homicide, a crime of which she was innocent. Growing up as trailer trash in a fatherless household with a reclusive, morbidly obese, hoarding mother, Phoenix was a misfit in high school. She could hardly believe it when popular Riley Stinson asked her out. She was devastated when Riley yielded to parental pressure and broke up with her. Unhappy and pregnant, she resorted to foolish behavior such as phone hang-ups and drive-bys, but it was not Phoenix who aimed a car toward Riley’s new girlfriend. However, when the real culprit lied, all of Whiskey Creek, including Riley, was ready to believe Phoenix guilty. But that is behind her now. She is free and what Phoenix wants above all else is to establish a real relationship with Jacob, her sixteen-year-old son who has been brought up by his father. Since Jacob is in Whiskey Creek and so is her mother toward whom she feels some responsibility, Phoenix is there too, hoping to earn enough from the leather jewelry business she began in prison to support herself and rebuild her life.

Riley Stinson was only eighteen when he became a single father. With some help from his parents, he has reared his son, nurturing him, encouraging him, and limiting his contact with the boy’s mother. Now his son is almost a man, a good kid with a promising future. Riley has protected Jake by ensuring that contacts with his mother were minimal, and he is uneasy with Phoenix’s return and her hope for an increased role in Jake’s life. But when a friend displays the compassion for Phoenix that Riley hasn’t allowed himself to feel, he looks at Phoenix through a different lens and remembers why he fell for her all those years ago. He finds himself wanting to help her even if it means standing against those who want her out of their town. As Riley opens his life to Phoenix, he discovers a woman who has the power to change his world and offer him more than he dreamed--if she dares to risk her heart again.

This Heart of Mine is the eighth book in Brenda Novak’s Whiskey Creek series, and this one just may be the most emotionally riveting in the bunch. From the start, Novak has given readers characters different from those who inhabit most small-town romances, including a hero and heroine from the wrong side of town (When the Snow Falls, #2), a heroine in need of a liver transplant (When Summer Comes, #3), a hero struggling with the revelation that his life-long best friend is gay and in love with him (Home to Whiskey Creek, #4), and a heroine who is a former drug addict (Come Home to Me, #6) along with the more common protagonists such as the celebrity, the rape victim, and the abused wife. Riley has been part of the group of high-school friends who remain close as adults throughout the series, and references to Phoenix in prison have been frequent. I have been eager to see what Novak would do with their story.

What she has done is give readers a compelling, original reunion story. Humble is not a word one often associates with romance heroines, but it is an accurate description of Phoenix as the story opens. She indeed has a low estimate of her importance and worth. Such self-abnegation would ordinarily signal a weak heroine, but Phoenix is not weak. To have survived her childhood and her unjust imprisonment and emerged without bitterness and with the will to work toward her goals required a stubborn strength. Most readers will respond to her with sympathy and will find it rewarding to see her triumph in ways that match her name. Riley too may seem weak to have given in to parental pressure, but he was very young at the time. His insistence on being the parent rather than allowing his parents to assume responsibility for his child demonstrates his strength, and the kind of kid Jake turns out to be—kind, responsible, and independent—is a testament to Riley’s character. And when he does see Phoenix clearly, he fights for her against those who condemn her.

If you are a reader who loves small-town romances but would like to see one that expands what that sub-genre can be, I definitely recommend This Heart of Mine. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself so invested in Whiskey Creek that you seek out the earlier books. I am eagerly awaiting A Winter Wedding (October 27, 2015), the ninth book in the series in which Kyle Houseman, a man who, through his own mistake, lost the woman he loved to his step-brother in When We Touch, the novella that introduced the series, finally gets his HEA.

~Janga

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