Book Spotlight and Excerpt: AnaRose and the Templar's Quest by Mary Ann Bernal

 

A dangerous expedition. A precious artifact. A race against time.

 Museum curator and expert in antiquities AnaRose Preston accepts the challenge to find one of Christianity’s holy relics concealed in the hilt of a legendary dagger. Traveling throughout contemporary France, she rushes to solve a historical mystery. But members of a secret society stand in her way. AnaRose risks her life to locate the weapon before it falls into the wrong hands.

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 Excerpt 

AnaRose thanked Jeffrey for his generosity, promising to keep in touch as she entered the rented car. Frankie sat behind the wheel, chatting with Jo, who claimed the passenger seat. Smiles, waves, and more smiles ensued before Frankie stepped on the gas and drove out of the medieval village.

Having the rear seat all to herself suited AnaRose, preferring the solitude as she reviewed her emails and research material. She FaceTimed a call with Dr. Boucher, observing Damien in the background, taking notes of the discussion, documenting every detail, and highlighting inquiries needing immediate answers.

“We are in possession of a map, which may prove useful,” Dr. Boucher said. “Damien is sending a copy to your phone, but we sent the original via FedEx yesterday. It is waiting for you at your hotel in Richerenches.”

“To me, a map suggests something is buried. But it could also refer to the location of a chapel that probably no longer exists. In this case, it might lead us to the ruins,” AnaRose said.

“My thoughts exactly,” Dr. Boucher told her. “However, I don’t believe the dagger is in Richerenches. If I am right, the Templar knight headed to Bar-sur-Seine, where the trail ends. Something happened there, and my guess is the courier fell ill and died but not before making a map of his location.”

“We have a dozen or so commanderies to choose from. How did you narrow the playing field?”

“We have Damien to thank. A reference in the Annals of the Twelfth Century cited a Bishop of Langres visiting the Commandery of Avalleur and mentioned a Templar knight returning from Jerusalem after its fall.”

“An artist painted the portrait of Lord Balian sometime much later,” Damien interjected.

“If your premise is correct, the painting should verify your hypothesis,” AnaRose told him.

“Monsieur Travers’ request to see the original canvas is quite clever. It would seem the Templar knight hadn’t taken his secret to the grave after all,” Dr. Boucher said. “I have arranged for you to appraise the image tomorrow. You will solve the puzzle, AnaRose. But tread carefully. Others are interested, and your safety might be in peril.”

 

 Mary Ann Bernal

Mary Ann Bernal attended Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY, where she received a degree in Business Administration. Her literary aspirations were ultimately realized when the first book of The Briton and the Dane novels was published in 2009. In addition to writing historical fiction, Mary Ann has also authored a collection of contemporary short stories in the Scribbler Tales series and a science fiction/fantasy novel entitled Planetary Wars Rise of an Empire. Her recent work includes Crusader’s Path, a redemption story set against the backdrop of the First Crusade, Forgiving Nero, a novel of Ancient Rome, and AnaRose and the Templar’s Quest, a historical mystery adventure.

 Since Operation Desert Storm, Mary Ann has been a passionate supporter of the United States military, having been involved with letter-writing campaigns and other support programs. She appeared on The Morning Blend television show hosted by KMTV, the CBS television affiliate in Omaha, and was interviewed by the Omaha World-Herald for her volunteer work. She has been a featured author on various reader blogs and promotional sites.

 Mary Ann currently resides in Elkhorn, Nebraska.

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Book Spotlight: Under the Emerald Sky: A tale of love and betrayal in 19th century Ireland - The Irish Fortune Series Book 1 by Juliane Weber

 

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"Under the Emerald Sky reaches another level in storytelling, the kind where the characters remain with you long after you have closed the book." – The Historical Fiction Company

It’s 1843 and the Englishman Quinton Williams has come to Ireland to oversee the running of his father’s ailing estate and escape his painful past. There he meets the Irishwoman Alannah O’Neill, whose family is one of few to have retained ownership of their land, the rest having been supplanted by the English over the course of the country's bloody history. Seeing the injustices of Victorian Ireland, Alannah’s brother Kieran has learned to hate the English and imperialism. Aware of Kieran’s hostility towards the English, Alannah keeps her growing relationship with Quin a secret – but it's a secret that can't be kept for long from those plotting to end England’s oppression of the Irish people. As Quin and Alannah seek happiness in the face of hate and revenge, an action-packed romance ensues.

But all the while, disaster looms – the Great Famine that would forever change the course of Ireland’s history. With repeated failure of the potato harvest upon which most Irish families depend, thousands will go hungry, with sickness and starvation sweeping through Irish farms, decimating poor populations for years to come.

Can Quin and Alannah find happiness in a land teetering on the brink of disaster? 

 

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*Under the Emerald Sky, Book 1, ebook is on offer at 0.99.*

This series is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

 

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Beneath the Darkening Clouds: https://books2read.com/u/3kYwLK

 Amazon UK:

Book 1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08LSC6HN3

Book 2: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BK6CLCD4

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Juliane Weber

Juliane Weber is a scientist turned historical fiction writer, and author of the Irish Fortune Series. Her stories take readers on action-packed romantic adventures amid the captivating scenery and folklore of 19th century Ireland.

Under the Emerald Sky, the first book in the Irish Fortune Series, was awarded bronze medals in The Historical Fiction Company 2021 Book of the Year Contest and The Coffee Pot Book Club 2022 Book of the Year Contest. The second book in the series, Beneath the Darkening Clouds, was awarded a bronze medal in The Historical Fiction Company 2022 Book the Year Contest.

Juliane spent most of her life in South Africa, but now lives with her husband and two sons in Hamelin, Germany, the town made famous by the story of the Pied Piper.

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21207265.Juliane_Weber

 

Audiobook Spotlight and Snippet: The Godmother’s Secret by Elizabeth St.John Audiobook, narrated by Elizabeth St.John

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"An extremely well-written book with depth and complexity to the main characters. The author says she wanted to write a book about family love and tolerance, and a woman's loyalty and courage. She has done so. This is the best book I've read in ages!"

The Ricardian Bulletin, Richard III Society

"The authenticity and historical research displayed within this story is immense and exquisite. Ms. St. John is sure to be a newfound favorite for fans of not only this fractious time in English history, but of all historical fans who adore rich, immersive prose."

Historical Fiction Company 2022 Book of the Year

"A very enjoyable read. The historical veracity is impeccable, and Elysabeth is a likeable, admirable character who faces interesting dilemmas with love and courage."
Historical Novel Society

If you knew the fate of the Princes in the Tower, would you tell? Or forever keep the secret?

May 1483: The Tower of London. When King Edward IV dies and Lady Elysabeth Scrope delivers her young godson, Edward V, into the Tower of London to prepare for his coronation, she is engulfed in political turmoil. Within months, the prince and his brother have disappeared, Richard III is declared king, and Elysabeth’s sister Margaret Beaufort conspires with her son Henry Tudor to invade England and claim the throne.

Desperate to protect her godson, Elysabeth battles the intrigue, betrayal, and power of the last medieval court, defying her Yorkist husband and her Lancastrian sister under her godmother’s sacred oath to keep Prince Edward safe. Bound by blood and rent by honour, Elysabeth is torn between King Richard and Margaret Beaufort, knowing that if her loyalty is questioned, she is in peril of losing everything—including her life.

Were the princes murdered by their uncle, Richard III? Did Margaret Beaufort mastermind their disappearance to usher in the Tudor dynasty? Or did the young boys vanish for their own safety? Of anyone at the royal court, Elysabeth has the most to lose–and the most to gain–by keeping secret the fate of the Princes in the Tower.

Inspired by England’s most enduring historical mystery, Elizabeth St.John blends her family history with known facts and centuries of speculation to create an intriguing story about what happened to the Princes in the Tower.

 

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Autumn 1470 | Westminster Sanctuary

A secret has been conceived . . .

“Entry, in the name of God and King Henry!” My guard clouts the iron-clad door of Cheyneygates, challenging the sanctuary of Westminster Abbey. “The Lady Elysabeth Scrope demands entry!”

A murther of crows startles from the gables, cawing and whirling around my head and circling up into the clouded heavens. I join three fingers in the holy trinity and cross myself; head, chest, sinister and dexter. These ancient purveyors of death do not disturb me, for I have not survived this war to be hindered by a superstition. If there were a crow for every dead soldier, England would be a huge raucous rookery. But it never hurts to invoke God’s protection. The crows swoop and squabble and alight singly among the gargoyles on the parapets of the soot-stained Abbey. Like the granite tors of my Yorkshire home, these walls are impenetrable and inaccessible. And just as hostile. God offers protection to all who claim sanctuary. And men erect walls to keep them safe.

No stirring from within. I sigh. Not unexpected. “Knock again,” I command the guard. “Let them know their visitors will not leave.”

The waning October afternoon trickles shadows into the well of the courtyard. I pull my cloak closer, thankful I had chosen my finest weave to keep the warmth in and the damp out. The sun had shone golden when we rode out from London, but upon reaching Westminster we collided with the rain clouds streaming in from the west.

Fallen mulberry leaves clog the stone steps rising before me, rotting unswept in the hollows. Someone isn’t taking care of the abbot’s house. It is clear that no one has left nor entered for a while. The guard’s hammering is unanswered, and yet to the right of the door a candle flame glimmers through a browed window and a shadow flits elusively.

I push back my hood, and a spatter of rain needles my face. Here, gatekeeper. Here's reassurance I bear your fugitive no threat. I am of middling age, graceful, fair of face, my countenance pleasing, I’ve heard say. Hardly a threat.

The rain unfurls in sheets. I raise my voice. “I am not asking the queen to break sanctuary.” God knows the wretched woman would make it easier on all of us if she did. I motion the guard aside and edge up the slippery steps to the door. “I am here to join her.”

Elizabeth St.John

Elizabeth St.John’s critically acclaimed historical fiction novels tell the stories of her ancestors: extraordinary women whose intriguing kinship with England's kings and queens brings an intimately unique perspective to Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times.

Inspired by family archives and residences from Lydiard Park to the Tower of London, Elizabeth spends much of her time exploring ancestral portraits, diaries, and lost gardens. And encountering the occasional ghost. But that’s another story.

Living between California, England, and the past, Elizabeth is the International Ambassador for The Friends of Lydiard Park, an English charity dedicated to conserving and enhancing this beautiful centuries-old country house and park. As a curator for The Lydiard Archives, she is constantly looking for an undiscovered treasure to inspire her next novel.

Elizabeth's books include her trilogy, The Lydiard Chronicles, set in 17th Century England during the Civil War, and her newest release, The Godmother's Secret, which explores the medieval mystery of the missing Princes in the Tower of London.

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Book Spotlight and Excerpt: Life and Death in Ephesus by Finlay McQuade

 

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For over a thousand years, Ephesus, on the Aegean coast of what is now Turkey, was a thriving city. It was the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Wonders of the World, and a destination for religious pilgrimage long before the advent of Christianity. In the first century CE, St. John and St. Paul introduced Christianity to Ephesus, where it survived its turbulent beginnings and, in the fifth century CE, hosted the God-defining Council of Ephesus.

Life and Death in Ephesus is a collection of stories about major events in the history of Ephesus. Characters appearing in these stories include Herostratus, first to commit a “herostratic crime”; Alexander, the warrior king; Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, both lovers of Cleopatra; Heraclitus, the philosopher who said, “You can’t put your foot in the same river twice”; St. Paul, persona non grata in Ephesus; Nestorius, whose characterization of Jesus split the Eastern and Western church, and others, also important, whose names I have had to make up.

Hilke Thür, a leading archeologist, has said of these stories, “Life and Death in Ephesus will be a delightful and enjoyable accompaniment to the many available guidebooks. Not just tourists, but anyone interested in history will benefit from reading them.”

 

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 EXCERPT

 

From “Arsinoe’s Story.”

 

Antony spurned the one chair set out for him. He marched around the room like someone summoned to rearrange the furniture. He pulled a table into the middle of the room, set two more chairs on either side of it, walked back to the door as if about to leave, but stopped, clapped his hands, and stepped aside, grinning wickedly but saying nothing to me. In came a line of slaves carrying trays of fruit, sweetmeats, and beautifully decorated amphorae full of wine.

“Come, Arsinoe,” he said as he approached me. “Let us get to know one another. Forget Egypt. Forget Rome. Let’s eat and drink and have a good time, just you and me.” That’s when I could tell he was drunk. He was steady on his feet, his speech perfectly intelligible, but he had the thick-tongued lisp and self-satisfied grin of a man who had drunk away his inhibitions.

 I took his hand and sat beside him, just as later I took his hand and lay beside him. In my eyes, on that day, at least, Antony was magnificent. I gave myself entirely to him, enraptured by the wine, which he sweetened with hot water and honey, and by his even more intoxicating caresses, which soothed away all the doubts that persisted from my past and all the fears that otherwise might have cast a shadow on my future. We pledged our allegiance more than once. Antony would invade Egypt, eliminate Cleopatra, and summon me to Alexandria. I’d return in royal splendor to become Arsinoe IV, Pharaoh, Thea Philopator, Queen of Egypt, at last.

 

 

Finlay McQuade

Finlay McQuade is a retired educator. He was born in Ireland, went to high school in England and university in the USA. He has a BA in English from Pomona College, an MA in British and American literature from Harvard University, and a PhD in education from the University of Pittsburgh, where he also taught writing courses in the English department. He spent some happy years as a high school English teacher and soccer coach, but after co-authoring the book How to Make a Better School, he found himself in demand as a consultant to schools and school improvement projects in the USA and often, also, abroad. He ended his career in education when he retired from Bogazici University in Istanbul, where he had mentored young teachers in the school of education.

For eight years after retirement, he lived in Selcuk, Turkey, among the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus. The streets and squares of Ephesus became his neighborhood. His companions included archeologists, tour guides, and souvenir sellers. His curiosity about the people who had lived in those empty buildings for over a thousand years resulted in Life and Death in Ephesus, a collection of stories chronicling major events in the city’s history.

Now, back in the USA with time on his hands, he finds himself returning again and again to memories of his boyhood on the coast of Northern Ireland. The result of these forays into his past will be another collection of stories, part memoir, part fiction, called Growing Up in Ulster.

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The Coffee Pot Book Club: Sunday Snippet: Forgiving Nero by Mary Ann Bernal

 

The Coffee Pot Book Club: Sunday Snippet: Forgiving Nero by Mary Ann Bernal ...: Forgiving Nero by Mary Ann Bernal #SundaySnippet Publication Date: February 14th, 2021 Publisher: Whispering Legends Press Pages: 306 Genre:...

        #SundaySnippet

 

Publication Date: February 14th, 2021

Publisher: Whispering Legends Press

Pages: 306

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

2022 Chaucer Finalist for Early Historical Fiction

B.R.A.G. MEDALLION HONOREE

Gold Medal Winner 2021 Book of the Year Ancient World Coffee Pot Book Club

Silver Medal Winner Historical Fiction Reviewer’s Choice Awards 2021-2022 Reader Views

 

Rome. The jewel of the civilized world is no longer what it was. Strength has failed the Senate. Her legions are in disarray, and the Empire has fallen into Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus Nero’s hands. His reign begins under a cloud of scrutiny, for he is the depraved Emperor Caligula’s nephew. Nero is determined to overcome that stigma and carve a name of his own. One worthy of Rome’s illustrious history.

Politics and treachery threaten to end Nero’s reign before it begins, forcing him to turn to unexpected sources for friendship and help. Many of the Praetorian Guard have watched over Nero since he was a small child, and it is in Traian that the young Emperor places his trust, despite the inherent threat of reducing his mother’s influence. Traian is the father he never had and the one man who does not judge him.

When Traian secretly marries the hostage Vena, it sets in motion a collision of values as Traian comes to odds with his former charge. The whirlwind that follows will shake the very foundations of the greatest Empire the world has ever known, and survival is far from guaranteed.

 

The sound of rumbling thunder caused Nero to rush to his bedchamber, where he shut the door behind him. He fell onto the bed, holding pillows over his ears and muffling the sounds that caused the hairs on his arms to stand. He closed his eyes tightly, not wishing to see the lightning striking across the blackened sky. His body stiffened when his garments moved. Nero screamed, believing a snake had slithered across his torso, as the bed hangings flapped in the wind.

 

Agrippina’s apparition appeared before him, close enough to touch. Nero stepped back, his fearful eyes gazing upon Octavia’s bloodied head with scorpions crawling out of her eye sockets. 

 

“Leave me be, begone; I command you!” Nero said.

 

The specters followed him, getting closer and closer. He felt his mother’s fingernails scratching the side of his face, her mouth close to his, spitting venom onto his tongue. Serpents slipped up his bare legs and wrapped themselves around his chest, constricting his breathing.

 

“Let go of me!”

 

Nero pulled the cloth away from his chest, his breathing quick and erratic. His heart beat rapidly, his skin wet and clammy. He fell to the floor, kicking his feet, his hands flying about. The Emperor hit his head against a nearby table, causing loss of consciousness as roaring thunder forcefully shook the earth.

 

 

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 Mary Ann Bernal       

Multi-genre award-winning author, Mary Ann Bernal, is a family-oriented community activist participating in programs supporting the United States military. A guest on The Morning Blend television show hosted by KMTV, the CBS affiliate in Omaha, Mary Ann was also interviewed by the Omaha World-Herald for her achievements. 

 

All of Mary Ann’s novels and short story collections are dedicated to fallen military heroes who gave their lives defending our freedom. A prolific writer originally hailing from New York, Mary Ann now resides in Elkhorn, Nebraska, and has traveled for pleasure and research to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, and Greece.

 Connect with Mary Ann:

 Website • Blog • Twitter 

Book Spotlight: Turning the World to Stone – The Life of Caterina Sforza Part One 1472 to 1488 by Kelly Evans

 

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Vilified by history, Caterina Sforza learned early that her life was not her own. Married at age ten, she was a pawn in the ever-changing political environment of Renaissance Italy.

Resigned to her life as a fifteenth-century wife, Caterina adapted to the role she was expected to play: raising and educating her children, helping the poor in her new home, and turning a blind eye to her husband’s increasingly shameful behaviour. But Fate had other plans for her, and soon Caterina’s path would be plagued by murder, betrayal, and heartbreak.

“Could I write all, the world would turn to stone.”

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SNIPPET

 

“Can you imagine a life with,” Luisa paused, “him?”

“Pope Sixtus IV’s nephew. Girolamo Riario. You may as well get used to saying it.” Caterina thought for a moment. As a Sforza, she had access to the famed Milanese library, only second to that of the Vatican, and had grown up on tales of knights and maidens and chivalry. None of them told the story of an overweight thirty-year-old with a permanent petulant look. She swallowed. “No, I can’t imagine my life from now on. But there’s nothing I can do, it’s my father’s decision.”

They were staring at each other helplessly when Caterina’s stepmother rushed in. Bona of Savoy, the duke’s second wife, had only been married for three years but was already admired and beloved by Milan for her kindness, humour, and love of music and food. A devout woman, she had treated Caterina, one of many of the duke’s illegitimate children, as her own, ensuring both the girl’s mind and soul were seen to.

“You’re here. Good. I must speak with you.” She sat on an elaborately carved wooden chair next to the fireplace and waited for Caterina to join her. Luisa bobbed her petite body before Bona and, with a sympathetic glance at her friend, hurried from the room.

Bona wasted no time getting to the point. As soon as Caterina was settled, she spoke. “You’re to be married.”

“I know.”

Keeping her surprise to herself, Bona merely replied, “How?”

“I was under the table in the study when father spoke about it.”

“Your spying will get you into trouble someday.” Seeing the girl’s face begin to crumble, she smiled gently. “I’ll forgive you this time.”

Kelly Evans

Born in Canada of Scottish extraction, Kelly Evans graduated in History and English, then moved to England, where she worked in the financial sector. While in London, Kelly continued her studies in history, concentrating on Medieval History, and travelled extensively through Eastern and Western Europe.

Kelly is now back in Canada with her husband, Max, and a rescue cat. She writes full-time, focussing on illuminating little-known women in history with fascinating stories. When not working on her novels, Kelly writes Described Video scripts for visually impaired individuals, plays oboe, and enjoys old sci-fi movies.

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Book Spotlight and Excerpt: Under His Spell, The Rival Courts by Luv Lubker

 

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A beautiful love story between the Princess Royal Victoria and Fritz Wilhelm, Frederick III of Prussia

A lonely young man attends the first World’s Fair – the Great Exhibition of 1851 – and meets a family who changes his life forever.

Follow the young Prince Fritz – later Friedrich III – of Prussia and his wife, Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, Vicky, (parents of Kaiser Wilhelm II) through their courtship and the joys and struggles of their first four years of marriage.

Fritz and Vicky dream of a peaceful united Germany, but Fritz’s uncle Karl has his own dreams of power…

Discover often hinted at but unrevealed secrets of the Prussian Royal court…

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 EXCERPT

“It is Papa’s home… and yours.” She looked down, blushing slightly and speaking the last words more softly. “Shouldn’t we be going? Mama is probably waiting for us.” She looked around. “Here is Lady Flora Macdonald. She will be joining Mama. We should go on soon.”

“Vicky!” She had again been gazing at the heather-covered mountains, but turned to face him at the sound of his voice. It must have been strange, he thought; it hadn’t sounded like his own voice. He knelt, picking a bunch of white heather. “Would you like to go to Germany, always… always…?” He couldn’t speak any more, his throat had gone dry; his hands shook so much that he nearly dropped the flowers before he pressed them into her hand.

She looked at him, her eyes growing wider, her face turning bright red. “I didn’t say anything to offend you, did I, Vicky?”

She shook her head. “Would you like to come to Germany, with me?” She nodded, still blushing deeply, and buried her face in the bunch of heather. She pressed it to her heart, then, separating a few stems, kissed them, and held them out to him. Her hand trembled visibly, and her fingers felt hot as they touched his. She squeezed his fingers as he took the flowers back.

“Meine Vicky.” His voice wouldn’t come out above a whisper, as he held up his arms to help her dismount. She swung down gracefully and stood before him, her face still crimson, her eyes on the flowers on the ground.

He stepped closer. He gently put his right arm around her to draw her to him, but hesitated, letting her stand where she was. He put his hand on her shoulder; with the fingers of his left hand he touched her cheek for the first time, running his thumb over her lips. He stroked her chin, hoping she would look up at him.

She glanced up, and then down again, blushing more deeply than ever, then looked up to meet his eye, her lips parting slightly. The wind blew coldly, but he felt warmth flood through him as he closed his eyes and gently touched her lips with his.

He felt her hand on his chest. He opened his eyes. Several of the little heather-bells clung in her hair, and her face smelled sweet from the flowers. She was smiling, but looking down again. She stepped closer and hid her face against his chest. He felt her hand on his back; her arms were around him. He felt her shiver as the wind blew harder. Finally, the space between them had closed, and he embraced her tightly, kissing the top of her head.

“Vicky,” he whispered, as he stroked her cheek again. She raised her head, and he bent down to kiss her again. Their lips had barely touched, when she turned her head.

“Oh!” It was not really speech, but something between a sigh and a sob.

Luv Lubker

Luv Lubker has lived in the Victorian era half her life, making friends with the Brontë sisters and the extended family of Queen Victoria. Now she knows them quite as well as her own family.

Born in a cattle trough in the Appalachian mountains, Luv lives in Texas - when she comes to the modern world.

 

When she isn’t living in the Victorian era, she enjoys being with her family, making and eating delicious raw food, riding her bike (which she only learned to ride at 25, though she’d ridden a unicycle since she was 7), and watching animals - the passion of her childhood.

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