Haley Whitehall...Civil War Valentine!

It is a real treat for me to welcome Haley Whitehall to my Room today. This is Haley's first visit, and after reading about her romantic, new book, I know we'll have to have her revisit soon!

Geoffrey Chaucer and Valentine’s Day

In “Civil War Valentine” Charlie Bristol sets up a display chronicling the history of Valentine’s Day. This display shows many heartfelt works of art as the old valentines were homemade. I love the art in the Victorian era and the valentines were beautiful. I remember making my own valentines for friends and family when I was a child. I’m not sure many people do that much any longer. It is so easy to just drive to the store and buy a box of valentines. In a sense the holiday has lost some of its sentimentality and magic. I wanted to remind people of the magic of the holiday and to remind them of simpler times. I hope I succeeded in my novella.

Valentine’s Day didn’t start as a commercial holiday. February 14^th became a day associated with love thanks to Geoffrey Chaucer. The author of Canterbury Tales wrote a poem in 1382 entitled “Parliament of Fowles,” about the day when birds choose their mates.  In the poem, an embodiment of Nature speaks to the birds:

Birds, take heed of what I say; and for your welfare and to further your needs I will hasten as fast as I can speak.  You well know how on Saint Valentine’s Day, by my statute and through my ordinance, you come to choose your mates, as I prick you with sweet pain, and then fly on your way.

Chaucer’s poem references a pre-existing belief, at least in medieval England, that February 14 is the day when birds choose their mates. So the mating day for birds transformed into a celebration of romantic love.

Blurb Love, Valentine Style (Civil War Valentine by Haley Whitehall)

Recently divorced museum curator Charlie Bristol comes to Seattle to set up a display at the Fine Art museum chronicling the history of Valentine’s Day. The director of the museum surprises her with a package of Civil War valentines from an anonymous donor. She reads the heartfelt messages and is touched by his words. Does such powerful love still exist?

During a nap she dreams she’s alive during the Civil War and meets Elliot Lowery, the author of the valentines who mistakes her for his fiancée Charlotte. She and Elliot negotiate the murky waters of wartime romance. When she wakes she’s still under the dream's spell and Valentine’s Day love is in the air, but Charlotte has no reason to celebrate. The man she loves died 150 years ago. Unless love works some miracle even time and death cannot overcome.

Excerpt

Blending patriotism and romance, that didn’t happen in today’s society. It was fitting for the Civil War though, and despite the gory words it touched her. Even the back of the valentine was a piece of art. It was embossed with an eagle on the top, a man dressed as a Revolutionary War soldier at the bottom left hand quarter and a drum surrounded by flowers in the bottom right hand corner.

“That’s funny,” Charlie mused. “This valentine is addressed to a Charlotte Adams. My maiden name is Adams.”

“Oh. What a coincidence. I didn’t look through all the valentines this morning, but it looks like all of them are to this Charlotte Adams from her beau, Elliot Lowery.”

A shiver rippled from her neck to her ankles. “Do you know anything about this Elliot Lowery?”

“No. I haven’t had time; the valentines just came in this morning. Based on one of the old envelopes, Charlotte lived in Illinois, so I’m guessing he was a Union soldier.”

“I see. Well, if I have time after setting up everything I’ll see if I can learn a bit more about the sweethearts. It would be fun to print up information on them to include with the display. People love to make the human connection.”

Maybe she’d even find a picture of this Elliot Lowery. This intriguing mystery would help distract her from her heartache. It was going to be a lonely Valentine’s Day. The first since the divorce became final. Perhaps she could pretend that these one hundred fifty year old valentines had actually been written for her.

Buy Links:

Available exclusively from Amazon

Amazon.com

Amazon.uk

Bio:

Haley Whitehall lives in Washington State where she enjoys all four seasons and the surrounding wildlife. She writes historical fiction and historical romance set in the 19th century U.S. When she is not researching or writing, she plays with her cats, watches the Western and History Channels, and goes antiquing. She is hoping to build a time machine so she can go in search of her prince charming. A good book, a cup of coffee, and a view of the mountains make her happy. Visit Haley’s website at http://haleywhitehall.com.

Haley loves to connect with readers. You can find her here:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/HaleyWhitehall

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LightonHistory

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5752677.Haley_Whitehall

Blog: http://haleywhitehall.com/blog/

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Haley-Whitehall/e/B0078EO6CE/

Newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/HaleyWhitehall

Tara Quan...Catching Red!

Today's an exciting day because I get to host pub sister Tara Quan! I'm a big fan of her story Tower in the Woods, and am so glad to see the series is continuing with Catching Red. For more on this hot new book, read on.

Tipping My Hat to Little Red Riding Hood

I’d like to extend a huge thanks to Rosanna for having me over. This is my second visit to her blog, and hopefully she’ll invite me here again sometime soon.

When one’s writing is inspired by a much-loved tale, there’s a certain pressure to stay true to the story. Setting my romance after a zombie apocalypse made this challenging, but below are the key elements of Little Red Riding Hood I managed to preserve. (Spoiler Alert!)

1.      Scarlet “Red” Ryding wears a red hood(ie).

2.      She’s little (i.e., not an inch over five feet)

3.      Her quest is to return to her grandmother (I took liberties on the “why”).

4.      The W.O.L.F. waylays her mid-journey.

5.      (Agent) Woodsman saves her life (on more than one occasion)

Curious about how all this combines into an erotic romance? Read on for the blurb and excerpt.

Catching Red (Undead Fairy Tales Book 2)

Scarlet “Red” Ryding is on a mission. To prevent mass suicide, she must fulfill her grandmother’s evil wishes and return posthaste. With knives in hand, she dives headfirst into an abandoned hospital full of zombies. But after getting trapped within, she is forced to accept help from the world’s most dangerous predator—a man.

Covert Agent Marcus Woodsman received strict instructions against interfering in the affairs of nomads. As a spy for the Federal Military Agency, his mandate is to observe and report. But when he finds a little redhead caught in the center of a brain-eater swarm, conscience compels him to put his ax to good use. By the time he realizes this smart-ass scout comes equipped with a world of trouble, it’s too late—he would do anything to keep her safe.

As Red and her Woodsman work together to survive undead, brave a snowstorm, and bring down an evil cult, they learn to laugh, love, and fight for happiness. The second book in Tara Quan’s Undead Fairy Tales series, Catching Red is a post-apocalyptic thriller with a happily ever after.

Consolidated Buy Links: http://www.taraquan.com/catchingred

 

Excerpt

Scarlet woke to the delicious smell of charred venison and cooking fruit. The rusty feeling between her joints was gone. She rubbed her crusted eyes as she curled into a sitting position. For the first time in months, she felt energized and rested.

Her bed ended where the kitchen area began. Marcus stood in front of the wood-burning stove, his back facing her. Even with his neck bent and spine curved, his blond head grazed the low ceiling. He wrapped a thick cloth around his hand, lifted the cast-iron skillet, and turned in place. He plunked it down on the circular stone tray at the center of her small rickety table. Her first and only attempt at carpentry creaked but didn’t fall apart.

She lifted an eyebrow as she scrutinized the skillet’s contents—seared smoked venison covered with slices of dried apple. It was an interesting meal choice.

Perhaps in reaction to her quizzical expression, he turned his palms up and defended his creation. “The food store in your basement is a mess. This was all I could scrounge up.”

She frowned. “I packed and stacked everything in alphabetical order.”

His broad shoulders rose and fell. “Your system didn’t make any sense. You’ll have to explain it sometime. Either way, this beats the MREs I fed you during the snowstorm. Come on. Your breakfast is getting cold.”

She grabbed the worn quilt and wrapped it over her shoulders. She was about to lower her feet to the cold floor when she saw him shake his head.

He walked over to the foot of her bed. The length of his torso and arms easily spanned the small area separating the cottage’s sleeping and eating spaces. He leaned forward and grabbed the edge of the table with both hands. When he brought his elbows into his body, the piece of furniture with all its contents slid as if on wheels. It stopped a few inches away from the bottom edge of the mattress. He stepped around it, then pulled up the only chair, and sat.

Scooting over, she sniffed the food. The smell made her mouth water. “Why are you being so nice?”

“I’ve always been nice.” He used his knife to spear a piece of seared meat and raised it to his mouth.

Scooting over, she sniffed the food. “You only did it to get me to have sex with you.”

 

About the Tara Quan

Globetrotter, lover of languages, and romance author, Tara Quan has an addiction for crafting tales with a pinch of spice and a smidgen of kink. Inspired by her travels, Tara enjoys tossing her kick-ass heroines and alpha males into exotic contemporary locales, fantasy worlds, and post-apocalyptic futures. Armed with magical powers or conventional weapons, her characters are guaranteed a suspenseful and sensual ride, as well as their own happily ever after. Learn more at www.taraquan.com

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Pirates exist, and not just the dishy ones from the romance books.

Some time ago, there was a wonderful ground swell against book pirates. It was gratifying as an author to see so many in our community rally together in support of authors. It was almost easy to think we'd accomplished something and that book pirates somehow drifted into the seas of oblivion.

They haven't. And just when one pirate goes down with his ship, it seems another hoists the flag. The abuse doesn't seem to stop.

We all know stealing is bad. It's one of the first things our parents teach us when we are kids. It ranks right up there with not cussing and respecting your teachers. You just don't do it. And yet somehow it's become acceptable to sit back and download a free book from some shifty site. After all, authors make tons of money, right? Surely, we're all rolling in it. Well, that's not usually the case.

I don't know too many indie or small-press authors who write full-time. The lucky ones have been able to make it a full-time job, but most of us work elsewhere to pay the bills. And frankly, I got into writing for pleasure, not money, anyway.

So why am I ticked off when someone illegally downloads my books? Because they are worth something. Like any work of art, like any craft, they took time (read: months) to create. And not only do they reflect my work, they reflect the labors of others: editors, graphic artists, cover models, photographers, and so many people who work in the publishing field. If one steals from me, one steals from many.

What do you do to combat this evil? Oh, and I'm not being melodramatic. This is evil. Well, firstly, tell the author in question. We can then send take down notices or have our publishers do so. Can you report pirates? Well, it certainly doesn't hurt to try. I know many who've reported them to sites such as Google and Paypal. It always helps to hit them where it hurts: their chest of gold coin. And most importantly, we must resist downloading from pirate sites.

Chances are, your favorite author already has freebie books out there. Most of us take part in regular giveaways and sales. So even if one doesn't want to pay full price, there are often options. I know I have two freebie anthologies on the market, ones I am happy to share without a cost attached.

Thank you to everyone who has made legal purchases of my books. Because of your support, I can continue to write and bring you more stories filled with adventure, action and romance.

Heck, one of these days, I might even write a pirate hero. Just not today.