Blurb:
Thrust together by chance. Bound together by
destiny. A disillusioned socialite and a special operations veteran find a way
to save a small town while healing themselves. A haunting read about the
journey to restore an abandoned 200-year-old mansion and the secrets it reveals
about a long-lost love.
Excerpt:
Turning
in a circle, Katie studied the room again. Faded wallpaper curled and peeled
above the dusty wainscoting, but the walls themselves appeared sturdy. On the
far side of the entryway, and dominating the wall, stood a mammoth fireplace
with an ornately carved hearth. Her attention was immediately drawn to a
painting of a woman in nineteenth century dress that hung prominently over the
mantel.
“Who
is she?”
The
sheriff turned to the dusty, sun-bleached portrait in the heavy carved guilt
frame. “One of the previous owners, they say.” He shrugged. “The family history
kind of got lost with the house. Everyone around here calls her the Widow of
Lacewood.”
Katie
stood spellbound. The woman was clothed completely in black, but the
magnificence of the gown gave the impression of sophistication and class. Her
chin was slightly elevated as if to project strength, yet there was more than a
hint of sorrow and pain in her eyes.
“She
looks so sad.” Katie spoke without removing her gaze. “And so young. How could
she be a widow?”
The
sheriff had already started to walk away, but he turned back and glanced at the
painting. “Not sure, but they say she never remarried.”
Katie’s
heart suddenly struggled to beat. The anguish in the woman’s eyes kept her
riveted. She could see the pain. Feel a heart ripped apart. Something was
missing that could never be replaced. Katie had felt such loss before. In a way
that’s why she was here.
“You
coming?”
Katie
heard the sheriff calling from the next room, and turned to follow. With one
quick glance back, she noticed particles of dust now swirled and danced in a
shaft of light, almost like a living thing. Her breath caught in her throat as
the dust seemed to materialize into the form of a woman, her eyes dull with the
same tortured despair and disbelief as the one in the portrait.
Katie
jerked her head around for a closer look and blinked. The woman was gone.
Don’t
forget to visit the other stops on the tour.
Author
Bio and Links:
Jessica
James believes in honor, duty, and true love—and that’s what she writes about
in her award-winning novels that span the ages from the Revolutionary War to
modern day.
She
is a two-time winner of the John Esten Cooke Award for Southern Fiction, and
has won more than a dozen other literary awards, including a Readers' Favorite
International Book Award and a Gold Medal from the Military Writers Society of
America. Her novels have been used in schools and are available in hundreds of
libraries including Harvard and the U.S. Naval Academy.
James
is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the Historical Novel Society,
and the Independent Book Publishers Association.
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Links:
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you for having me today! I'm really excited about this book. It is basically two complete love stories...one from this century and one from the 1800s. I hope readers enjoy the mix of history and mystery.
ReplyDeleteHow did you come up with the title for the book?
ReplyDeleteWould your book be better adapted to a tv show or movie?
ReplyDelete