Excerpt from Historical Romance Novel The Bearwalker's Daughter

Excerpt From Chapter Five:

Autumn, 1784, the Allegheny Mountains of Western Virginia, the former McNeal homestead, a log cabin

Jack slowly withdrew his palm from Karin’s lips. Why did his light touch feel so right, his low voice stirring to her shivery center?  She was as heady as if she’d finished off that flask he’d pocketed. Maybe the fiery brew had affected her more than she realized?

No. These sensations went far beyond a few swallows of whiskey. Tumultuous cannons fired inside, tumbling her into an uncertain world of red moons and shooting stars, her universe exploding. And there was no one to hold onto, except him. She almost grabbed his hand, and thought better of it.

What, then? What should she do?

In stillness, she kept her eyes fastened on his, colored the hue of the woods in summer. She couldn’t look away. Then a quavery sigh escaped her. “Oh, Jack.”

Tenderness washed over his face. “Let me guide you.”

“I suppose I must.”

A smile lifted the corners of his masculine, deeply sensual, mouth. “Let’s begin with your mother. What else have you been told of her that might be of use? Let your mind journey back and the past flow through you.”

Rain drummed on the roof and wood sizzled in the hearth as Karin ferreted out every scrap she’d ever heard, weighing some, discarding others. Then a memory returned like the whiff of a nosegay long since forgotten. It might mean something.

“Neeley once said Mama sat curled by the fire much of the time in those last days, staring into the flames as if she saw something.”

Jack eyed the glowing hearth. “Not something. Someone.”

His insight took Karin aback. “You mean him?”

“Probably.”

She gestured at the bed built against the wall, its high back lovingly carved by her grandfather. “Neeley only just told me Mama died there where I was born.”

“That’s why the bed was left behind when they moved,” he said quietly.

She bit her lower lip. “I didn’t realize.”

“You were a child then. How could you?”

A red haze flashed through Karin like sparks set to dry leaves. “Someone might have told me sooner.”

He looked bemused. “What good would that have done?”

“I would know. And knowing matters.”

Jack held up his hands. “So, now you do.”

Crossing both arms over her chest, she said, “Of this I’m certain, Mama was kind and beautiful. Whatever she died of, ’twas a broken heart. Papa should have come to her, whoever he was. I would tell him so to his face if I could.”

“Whew.” Jack drew back as if at a sudden wind. “You’re not such a milksop after all.”

His exaggeration lessened Karin’s ire only slightly. “Well, it makes my blood boil. Why did he leave her to grieve herself to death?”

“If you want answers, begin by finding that necklace.”

She blew out her breath in frustration. “Neeley says she cleaned this cabin from top to bottom and never found anything out of the ordinary.”

“Maybe she wasn’t meant to.”

Karin sat up straight. “You think maybe I am?”~

***The Bearwalker’s Daughter is available in Amazon Kindle for .99

*Royalty free images

First Kiss~Ghostly Time Travel Romance Somewhere My Love--Beth Trissel

~Will blew the layer of dust from an ornate wooden box inlaid with ivory and lifted the lid. Inside were brass workings like the mechanism of a clock.  He wound a small gold key in the back until it would wind no more, and released it. 

The wheels and cogs turned and wonderful music flowed forth, the beautiful strains of a Viennese waltz, The Blue Danube.

Julia clapped her hands. “A music box.”

He bowed. “May I have this dance, sweet Julia?”

She gazed up into his velvet brown eyes, and he gazed back. She managed a nod and he drew her into his arms.

Around the attic he waltzed with her secure in his lead.  Everything fell away except this moment while the haunting melody played on, taking her back to that faintly remembered place. She didn’t even stumble, not once.  It was as if some inner memory guided her in the steps, even though ballroom dancing hadn’t been a part of her lessons.

The music picked up and he swung her around and around. Her dress swirled as he circled. With each turn, he was Will—then Cole, Will—then Cole, both men in rapid succession, separate and yet the same. Her heart pounded from far more than the whirling dance.

The music faded and Will slowly stopped revolving. They stood, his arms circled at her back and waist, eyes locked on each other.

His brow furrowed. “Julia, you look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

She ran the tip of her tongue over her lips. “You may be the ghost.”

He tightened his mouth in an impatient line. “Don’t try to make me into Cole again.”

“Will, listen to me. I know it sounds crazy, but I think somehow you already are.”

He dropped his hands, turning away. “Only because you insist I am.”

She grabbed his arm. “No. It’s what I saw while we danced. You must believe me.”

“Believing doesn’t make it any easier,” he said flatly.

“That’s because you think I’m misled.”

He swiveled his head at her. Exasperation flared in his eyes. “There’s a simple reason for my laboring under that assumption. You are.”

“Don’t be angry. I hate that I’ve spoiled such a lovely moment.”

“You’ve a talent for that.” He turned and strode across the floor. His footsteps echoed on the boards with a hollow sound, just as her heart would beat if he left.

She ran behind him and reached out, catching his plush shoulder. “Consider me balmy, if you must, but don’t walk away. Please Will.”

He stayed as he was. “What do you want me to do, Julia?”

“I don’t know.” She wasn’t strong enough to turn him and dashed in front instead, grasping his upper arms and twisting the fabric in her fingers. “Something—anything.”

He smiled faintly. “Never say those words to a man.”

Cupping her face between his hands, he bent his head and closed his lips over hers in an all consuming kiss…so swiftly she hardly knew what had happened. Even if he hadn’t cupped her cheeks, she wouldn’t have moved. The compelling press of his mouth bound her in place. If possible, Julia’s heart thudded even faster than it had before. The surging pulse drummed through her entire being, reverberating in places she didn’t even know she had. From what she could remember of her dream with Cole, her feelings had been poignant but tender. The sensations coursing through her now weren’t entirely that. An exhilarating passion was sweeping her up in a shocking tide.

“Who am I now?” Will whispered against her mouth.

She loosened her grip on his jacket in speechless surprise, too breathless to tell him she didn’t care.~

***For now, Somewhere My love is only .99 at Amazon kindle.

Super New Reviews for Time Travel Romance Somewhere My Love--Beth Trissel

From Author Caroline Clemmons’ lovely blog:  
A Writer’s Life

Caroline gave Somewhere My Love a wonderful write-up and introduced my ‘Somewhere in Time’ series.  Here’s a snippet, but I urge you to visit her blog for the full post.

“Do you enjoy reading a good romance, a good mystery? Do you believe in soul mates for whom each of us is destined? Do you believe in reincarnation? In living again and again until we get it right? Then  the Somewhere In Time series is for you! And SOMEWHERE MY LOVE is a great start to the series.

In SOMEWHERE MY LOVE, Julia Morrow is a young English woman who comes to work as a tour guide at Foxleigh, a centuries old house near the James River. Sad that owners of wonderful historic homes are forced to have guided torus, isn’t it? But it’s lucky for those of us who want to visit them. And it’s lucky for Julia because it brought her to Virginia to complete her destiny.

Julia is amazed when she realizes that William Wentworth, who is Foxleigh’s current owner, bears an uncanny resemblance to an old portrait. The large painting is of the very handsome Cole Wentworth, who is William’s ancestor. Julia can’t explain why she’s drawn to Cole’s portrait or the eerie feeling that she knows both Cole and William. How could she have when she’s only just come to Virginia?

I don’t want to give away too much, because you will want to read this book for yourself. This beautiful story is a combination of historical romance and mystery combined with contemporary romance. Included are mystical paranormal elements. The exquisite descriptions plunge readers into the story with page-turning twists and surprises.”

From a reader at Amazon:

“Normally, I much prefer historical to contemporary romance, but ‘Somewhere, My Love’, the first in Ms. Trissel’s paranormal ‘Somewhere In Time’ series, with its echoes of a genteel and elegant past, caught and held my attention from the very first paragraph.

I thought the book well-written and well-paced, and Ms. Trissel expertly built the story’s suspense to a dramatic and climactic ending (and while late in the story I thought I knew the identity of the murderer, I could not be sure until the very end.) The tender, haunting scenes from Cole and Julia’s past were pure magic. 

The descriptions of the Foxleigh house and grounds were visually stunning. I wished I could go there to live for a while.

As for the negative feedback about Julia as a helpless female, I must disagree. We live in a day when ridiculously superhero females are held up as the norm, and women are expected to be uber everything, but such expectations are both simplistic and unrealistic. 

While I enjoy a spirited, feisty heroine, I also find heroines from the opposite end of the spectrum just as captivating, as well as refreshing. Julia is ultra-feminine to Will/Cole’s healthy masculinity and her gentle, quiet demeanor immediately sparks his protective instincts. That, IMO, is no bad thing in a romance.

I found ‘Somewhere My Love’ a delightful read, and look forward with anticipation to the next installment in the series.”

Story Blurb:

Fated lovers have a rare chance to reclaim the love cruelly denied them in the past, but can they grasp this brief window in time before it’s too late?

Two hundred years ago Captain Cole Wentworth, the master of an elegant Virginian home, was murdered in his chamber where his portrait still hangs. Presently the estate is a family owned museum run by Will Wentworth, a man so uncannily identical to his ancestor that spirit-sensitive tour guide Julia Morrow has trouble recognizing Cole and Will as separate. As Julia begins to remember the events of Cole’s death, she must convince Will that history is repeating, and this time he has the starring role in the tragedy. The blade is about to fall.

***For now, Somewhere My love is only .99 at Amazon kindle.

Ghostly Romance Novel Somewhere My Love

Excerpt From Chapter Five: Will and Julia in rehearsal for Hamlet (Yes, Somewhere My Love has Hamlet parallels, plus Hamlet features a rather famous ghost)

Julia (as Ophelia) looked pained. “‘You are merry, my lord.’”

“‘Oh, God. What should a man do but be merry?’”

Will rose to heap condemnation on the queen for wedding his uncle so soon after the king’s death. It was a stretch, to say the least, to envision his elderly grandmother as the seductive beauty who’d  captivated his evil uncle, played by the sweating, ill at ease Douglas. But Will stabbed a finger in Nora’s direction. “‘For look you how cheerfully my mother does, and my father died within two hours.’”

“‘Nay, it’s twice two months, my lord,’” Julia corrected.

Will answered with Hamlet’s sarcasm. “‘So long?  O heavens, die two months ago and not forgotten  yet? There’s hope a great man’s memory may outlive  his life half a year.’”

Cole’s had outlived his by two centuries.

Will gentled his voice and bent back over Julia, cupping her sweet face between his hands. He loved the feel of her smooth skin. “‘Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? It were better my mother had not born me.’”

She gazed at him in convincing bewilderment.

He wore on. “‘I am proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offenses at my beck than I have thoughts  to put them in or time to act them. What should  such fellows as I do crawling between earth and  heaven? Believe none of us. We are errant knaves,  all. To a nunnery, go. And quickly, too,’” he urged,  and covered her lips in a hard kiss.

The taste of her was intoxicating and he drew out the feel of her mouth as long as he dared. Angry and hurt she might be, but she had no choice other  than to kiss him now. His grandmother was also obligated to indulge him. For a moment.

Heart pounding, he straightened and smoothed Julia’s soft cheek. “‘Farewell.’”

It was only a part and he merely an actor in a play, but Will recoiled at the finality of that word.~

***Somewhere my Love is available in print and at a reduced rate in eBook at Amazon Kindle, The Wild Rose Press, and  Barnes & Noble.

“Be wary then; best safety lies in fear.” ~ Hamlet

FREE KINDLE--Historical-Paranormal Romance The Bearwalker's Daughter

The Bearwalker’s Daughter is Free from Sept. 9th –Sept. 11th at Amazon kindle

Description: Timid by nature–or so she thinks–Karin McNeal hasn’t grasped who she really is or her fierce birthright. A tragic secret from the past haunts the young Scots-Irish woman longing to learn more of her mother’s death and the mysterious father no one will name. The elusive voices she hears in the wind hint at the dramatic changes soon to unfold in the mist-shrouded Alleghenies in Autumn, 1784.

Jack McCray, the wounded stranger who staggers through the door on the eve of her twentieth birthday and anniversary of her mother’s death, holds the key to unlock the past. Will Karin let this handsome frontiersman lead her to the truth and into his arms, or seek the shelter of her fiercely possessive kinsmen? Is it only her imagination or does someone, or something, wait beyond the brooding ridges–for her?

The Bearwalker’s Daughter is a historical romance novel interwoven with an intriguing paranormal thread, set among the clannish Scots in the mist-shrouded Alleghenies. The story is similar to others of mine with a colonial frontier flavor and also features Native American characters. My passion for the past, and some of the accounts I’ve come across while researching my early American ancestors and the Shawnee Indians, is at the heart of the inspiration behind this novel.

Amazon Reader Review: The Bearwalker’s Daughter is one of the best western novels I have ever read. It’s packed with action, drama, and romance. Beth Trissel transports you into a world of cowboys and Indians, with a subtle touch of paranormal. Her amazing characters grab you from the first page. The charming Karin is the perfect historical heroine, with the right amount of sweetness and boldness. Jack is honorable, generous, ready to protect the woman he loves. Ms. Trissel is a master story-teller. She kept me hooked to her story with her excellent writing style and her appropriate descriptions. I highly recommend this book and I’m looking for the author’s other books now.

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If You Like Haunting Reincarnation Love Stories--Beth Trissel

Award-winning Historical-paranormal romance novel Somewhere My love~

Blurb: Star-crossed lovers have a rare chance to reclaim the love cruelly denied them in the past, but can they grasp this brief window in time before it is too late?

Newly arrived at Foxleigh, the gracious old Wentworth home in Virginia, British born Julia Morrow is excited at the prospect of a summer working as a guide in the stately house and herb garden. She quickly discovers the historic plantation holds far more. She becomes obsessed with the portrait of handsome Cole Wentworth, killed in a quarrel over the lovely English lady, Julia Maury, two hundred years ago. Then she meets his double, William, the only remaining Wentworth heir.

Somehow, Julia must persuade Will that their fates are entwined with those of Cole Wentworth and Julia Maury, and that the man who killed his ancestor has returned to enact the deadly cycle again, or she will lose him twice. The blade is about to fall.

Excerpt From Chapter Three:

Julia stood trembling in the hall illuminated by the light he’d left on at the landing. Her eyes were red and puffy, hair disheveled with bits of grass stuck in the tumble, feet bare and dirty; she must’ve slipped on the wet lawn as she ran to the house because her legs and dress were muddy and grass stained. She clasped sodden tissues in one hand, bedraggled lilies in the other. Pollen from the orange pistols smeared her tear-stained face and her dress.

“Julia, what on earth?”

“Did you give me these?” she gasped.

“Yes. I won’t do it again if it upsets you.”

She flung herself at him. “I’m sorry. I know you have rules—I’m probably breaking one being here now—but I saw him. I saw Cole. He gave me a lily and said to watch out. He’s going to die all over again if I can’t stop it.”

This time Will didn’t hold Julia lightly, but fastened his arms around her. She trembled all over. Holding her more tightly, he clutched her to his bare chest. “Cole can’t die twice. It was a dream. That’s all.”

“No. It was so real, as if I were with him. He picked up the pearl button from my glove and kissed my fingers.”

Will wondered if his damnable cousin had kissed anything else. It was absurd to be jealous of a man dead for two centuries, but he was. Oh, how he was. He fought for control over this fiery emotion and reasoned gently. “Dreams seem real, Julia. And you’re more connected to the past than anyone I’ve ever known.” Unnervingly so, and he had no rational explanation for it.

Trying to think, he pressed his lips to the top of her soft head. “You have a heightened awareness of people and places, a sort of sixth sense. I’m sure that’s all it is.”

She heaved a shuddering breath. “Maybe I’m from the past somehow…with Cole.”

“You’re here right now with me, aren’t you? I gave you the lilies, sweetheart, and I’m telling you not to cry.”

“Did you just call me sweetheart, Will?”

“Did you just call me Will?”

“It’s your name, isn’t it?” she asked in a strangled voice.

“A long time ago, a schoolboy name. I’d say we could both do with a stiff drink. But first, a warm bath. You’re a mess.”

She lifted incredulous eyes. “You’re going to bathe me?”

He wished. “No. Usher you in that direction.”~

***Somewhere my Love is available in print and at a reduced rate in eBook at Amazon Kindle, The Wild Rose Press, and  Barnes & Noble.

New Excerpt from Light Paranormal Romance Somewhere My Love

Star-crossed lovers have a rare chance to reclaim the love cruelly denied them in the past, but can they grasp this brief window in time before it is too late?

Newly arrived at Foxleigh, the gracious old Wentworth home in Virginia, British born Julia Morrow is excited at the prospect of a summer working as a guide in the stately house and herb garden. She quickly discovers the historic plantation holds far more.~

Excerpt:

A wildly irrational hope pulsed inside Julia. She bit her lip, hoping Will wouldn’t think her balmy. “Is it possible we’ve met before?”

The spark of life in his eyes faded. “I don’t see how.”

Yet, like a distant melody growing stronger, she instinctively knew his voice…him. “I’m not familiar to you at all?”

“How could you be, Miss Morrow?”

That name sounded alien on his lips. “It’s Julia.”

His face tightened in an almost imperceptible wince. “I’d prefer we retained formal working titles. At least until we’re better acquainted.”

Disappointment washed through her. “Then you really don’t remember me?”

He ran long fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry.”

“I know you, somehow,” she persisted.

An inner struggle flickered in his eyes. Wariness won out and he set his jaw. “The mind sometimes plays tricks on us, especially when mixed with an active imagination.”

“It’s more than that…rather like waking from a sleep when you cannot clearly recall the dream, only feel it.”

For a moment, he seemed pensive, then that sardonic look returned to his eyes. His gaze narrowed. “You’re dreaming, all right. I expect you’ve joined the throng of women in love with the dashing Cole Wentworth.”

Julia felt a blush burning her cheeks. She couldn’t deny that possibility. The name alone ripped through her.

“Is this a problem with your working here?” he asked.

Mustering what dignity she had left, she drew herself up. “I’m fully capable of conducting myself with propriety, Mr. Wentworth. I’m British, for God’s sake.”

He frowned at her. “The Brits don’t have a monopoly on self-control. But I’ll allow you the benefit of the doubt in this instance.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Very good of you, I’m sure. I’ll endeavor not to put you out again.”

He made an impatient noise under his breath. “I’ve been all through this before, Miss Morrow.”

“Making allowances for Brits?”

“No. Admirers of my legendary cousin, superb horseman, exquisite artist, gallant nobleman struck down in his prime. Despite our similarities, I am not Cole Wentworth. There’s one glaring difference between us.”

“He’s more charming?” she suggested.

William shot her a sarcastic smile. “He’s dead. Do try to bear that in mind.”~

**If you’d like the opportunity to win the eBook of Somewhere My Love jump down to my Spook-A-Licious Blog Hop Tour post and leave me a comment.

***Somewhere My Love is available in print and or eBook formats from online booksellers large and small at a reduced price.