New Release, The Captain's Challenge

Ever since I watched Gone with the Wind for the first time I wanted to write my own civil war story, but what I was most interested in was the aftermath. So many mistakes were made by North and South. The hatred was even worse than during the war. If Lincoln had lived, things would probably have been different.

But history is what it is. The truth isn’t going to change by those who wish to rewrite the story.

My new release, The Captain’s Challenge, set in three major Georgia cities (modern-day Savannah pictured here) is my take on some of the conflicts experienced by those living in the post-civil war South. I’ve rewritten this story more times than any story I’ve written, but the central theme of love overcoming hate remains the same.

This is Book 3 in the Wolf Deceivers series, but it’s really a stand-alone story. Like Books 1 and 2, the hero and heroine must expose a wolf in sheep’s clothing. There is romance with a heavy dose of suspense. It’s my hope that everyone reading The Captain’s Challenge understands how God can bring enemies together and defeat hate with love.

To celebrate the STT Birthday Bash, I’m offering an e-book copy of The Captain’s Challenge. Any comment will win. To spur you on, tell us your favorite civil-war book or movie.

Gillian Carey has spent the last eight years studying music in England. During that time, the American civil war has claimed two brothers and her mother. Another brother is still missing. She returns to her Georgia home and a dangerous world with her family hiding secrets and her father a broken and brooding man. She turns to Alex Blaine, a union captain, rooming in her ancestral home, to find her missing brother, not realizing Alex is investigating her father for insurrection.

An army intelligence officer, Alex, is on a dangerous assignment to identify anarchists responsible for the unrest in post-civil war Georgia, and all clues lead to Gillian’s father. Alex is attracted to the spirited redhead, but he has secrets of his own other than his army mission. He may have been responsible for her missing brother’s death.

As Alex races against time to expose an enemy bent on starting another war, Gillian is torn between her loyalty to her family and her growing love for the handsome captain. Is he worthy of her trust, or will he betray her as others have?

***FREEBIE ALERT*** Book 1 of this series, The Chieftain's Choice, is free on Amazon now through Aug 19. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XP39G5D

Cover Reveal - The Captain's Challenge

Hello, lovey readers. I’m pleased to reveal the cover of my next release right here on STT.

Some covers are more difficult than others. For example, my mail-order bride series was easy-peasy. Readers’ expectations are pretty much set in stone for romance, and especially sub-genres like mail-order brides. Not so with mixed genres like my Wolf Deceivers series. Book 3, The Captain’s Challenge starts out in Savannah, one of the most romantic places in the world, in my humble opinion. But like the other books in this series, it’s a mix of historical, romance, and suspense.

I wanted a Southern background since the story is set in Reconstruction Georgia. Most of it takes place in Macon, Georgia, where the heroine’s family townhouse is located. I used the Hay House, a lovely antebellum house in Macon, as my model. I’d toured the house twice so I had a good feel for it, including those beautifully restored rooms.

Actually there are many antebellum houses in Central and South Georgia, and those further south have those moss draped live oaks I knew would create that sinister touch my story 

needed. However, the background can’t compete with the models representing the book’s characters. After finding the models that looked similar to my hero and heroine, I wisely left the rest up to my cover designer.

 Army Intelligence Officer, Alex Blaine, is tasked to uncover the ring-leader of an anarchist gang that’s endangering the residents and thwarting the new Georgia government. Gillian Carey has lived in England for the past eight years. Returning to her home in Reconstruction Georgia, she intends to search for her brother, still missing from the war. But Gillian is shocked to find a different world from the one she left as a twelve-year-old, her father a broken and brooding man. She turns to the handsome army captain to help her find her brother, not realizing her father is one of the suspects Alex is investigating. Or that he may have been responsible for her brother's death.

What’s the first thing you notice about a book cover?

Comment on any post now through July 1st to get your name in the drawing for Wedding Barter by Alice Aranz! Winner will be announced in the July 2nd issue of the WeeklyWindup.