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Here’s another First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books!  It’s a fun way to share good books and spread the love of words on the page.

I was given this book by a sweet friend who thought I’d love it because the story is about a writer. ❤ Why yes! I believe I shall! The book is The Mistletoe Inn by Richard Paul Evans.

About the book:

At thirty-two Kimberly Rossi, a finance officer at a Lexus car dealership, has had her heart broken more times than she wants to remember. With two failed engagements, a divorce and again alone with no prospects, she hardly seems the type to dream of being a published romance author. Dreading another holiday alone, she signs up for The Mistletoe Retreat, a nine-day writing retreat in Burlington, VT. Deep inside Kimberly knows she’s at a junction in her life and it’s time to either fulfill her dream or let it go. The other reason she decides to attend the conference is because famed romance writer, H.T. Cowell, once the best selling romance writer in America, and the author whose books instilled in her the desire to be a writer, will be speaking in public for the first time in more than a decade.

In one of her breakout sessions Kimberly meets another aspiring writer, and one of the few men at the conference, Zeke, an intelligent man with a wry wit who seems as interested in Kimberly as he is in the retreat. As Kimberly begins to open up to him about her stories and dreams, she inadvertently reveals her own troubled past. As Zeke helps her to discover why her books fail to live up to their potential she begins to wonder if he’s really talking more about her life than her literature. But as she grows closer to him, she realizes that Zeke has his own darkness, a past he’s unwilling to talk about.

The theme of The Mistletoe Inn is that like literature, relationships must be lived with passion and vulnerability to succeed.

First Line:

My mother attempted suicide four times before she finally succeeded.

Now it’s your turn! Grab the nearest book (or the book you are reading) and share the first line in the comments. Then head over to Hoarding Books and check out the linky with more First Line participants. 

Have a great weekend!

Here’s another First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books!  It’s a fun way to share good books and spread the love of words on the page.

My publisher has been releasing some great books! Mist O’er The Voyageur by Naomi Musch not only has a beautiful cover, but it also promises to be a great story!

About the book:

After her aunt’s death, Brigitte Marchal finds herself alone in Montreal. Desperate to flee a loathsome suitor and find her long-absent, fur-trader father, she disguises herself as a young man and travels west with the voyageurs’ brigade. But her inexperience and inhibitions soon betray her secret.

René Dufour yields to the unwelcome position of shielding Brigitte, but for how long? He cannot keep her true identity a secret forever. Torn between his obligations to the North West Company and his promise to honor his family’s legacy, René is forced to make a choice: one that may prove more painful than he imagined.

As Brigitte adjusts to life in the rugged frontier, she struggles to reconcile her feelings for René with her desire to find her father. Greater still is her crisis of faith when she encounters a type of mysticism found along the shores of Lake Superior.

First Line:

Brigitte Marchal gripped the handle of her wicker basket tighter, wishing to stall, but the nun beckoned her without looking back.

Now it’s your turn! Grab the nearest book (or the book you are reading) and share the first line in the comments. Then head over to Hoarding Books and check out the linky with more First Line participants. 

Have a great weekend!

Here’s another First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books!  It’s a fun way to share good books and spread the love of words on the page.

My publisher has been releasing some great books! A Heart for Freedom by Janet Grunst not only has a gorgeous cover, but it also promises to be a great story!

About the book:

Matthew Stewart wants only to farm, manage his rural Virginia inn, and protect his family from the tyranny of the Crown. But with tensions between the British Loyalists and Colonial Patriots mounting, he’s forced to choose sides.

While in Scotland Heather Stewart witnessed the devastation and political consequences of opposing the Crown. Now she wants only to avoid war and protect the family and peace she’s found in Virginia. When Matthew leaves for a short journey and doesn’t return, Heather begins to lose hope of seeing her husband again.

She’s seen the cost of fighting England and wants no part of it. He has a heart for freedom and is ready to die for liberty and those he loves.

First Line:

Matthew removed the three-cornered hat and wiped the sweat from his brow as he headed down the narrow alley just off King Street. Every step felt like a drumbeat accompanying Lucas Stephens’ remarks from the day before.

Now it’s your turn! Grab the nearest book (or the book you are reading) and share the first line in the comments. Then head over to Hoarding Books and check out the linky with more First Line participants. 

Have a great weekend!

Here’s another First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books!  It’s a fun way to share good books and spread the love of words on the page.

I got a new book in the mail! The Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides Collection, featuring novellas by  Lena Nelson Dooley, Rebecca Jepson, Carrie Fancett Pagels, Candice Sule Papperson, Kathleen Rouser, Pegg Thomas, and Marilyn Turk.

About the book:

Lighthouses have long been the symbol of salvation, warning sailors away from dangerous rocks and shallow waters.
Along the Great Lakes, America’s inland seas, lighthouses played a vital role in the growth of our nation. They shepherded settlers traveling by water to places that had no roads. These beacons of light required constant tending even in remote and often dangerous places. Brave men and women battled the elements and loneliness to keep the lights shining. Their sacrifice kept goods and immigrants moving. Seven romances set between 1883 and 1911 bring hope to these lonely keepers and love to weary hearts.

First Lines

Anna’s Tower by Pegg Thomas: The wail of a ship’s whistle jerked Anna Wilson from sleep despite the cotton wadding she’d shoved in her ears before bed. 

Beneath a Michigan Moon by Candice Sue Patterson: Ava Ryan walked the shoreline of Lake Huron, enjoying the most beautiful day of the year – until she crossed paths with the devil.

Safe Haven by Rebecca Jepson: Rose Miller tried to silence her grandfather’s warning, but it kept whispering in her mind, an echo that seemed to fill her wintery world with peril.

Love’s Beacon by Carrie Fancett Pagels: Standing alone in the Island Pharmacy, Valerie’s hands shook as she removed the scrap of paper from her reticule.  

The Last Memory by Kathleen Rouser: She struggled to maintain her grip on the splintered wood plank, the only thing keeping her from drowning beneath the roiling waters of Lake Huron. 

The Disappearing Ship by Lena Nelson Dooley: Defeated. The word drummed through Norma Kimbell’s head as she gazed out at the pine forest rushing by the window in a blur.

The Wrong Survivor by Marily Turk: Pausing from her daily lens polishing, Lydia Palmer peered through the windows of the lantern room high above the sapphire-blue water of Lake Superior at the boat heading toward the dock below.

Now it’s your turn! Grab the nearest book (or the book you are reading) and share the first line in the comments. Then head over to Hoarding Books and check out the linky with more First Line participants. 

Have a great weekend!

Here’s another First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books!  It’s a fun way to share good books and spread the love of words on the page.

I got a new book in the mail! Hearts Entwined, featuring novellas by Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy, Regina Jennings, and Melissa Jagers.

About the book:

Four top historical romance novelists team up in this new collection to offer stories of love and romance with a twist of humor. In Karen Witemeyer’s “The Love Knot,” Claire Nevin gets the surprise of her life awaiting her sister’s arrival by train. Mary Connealy’s “The Tangled Ties That Bind” offers the story of two former best friends who are reunited while escaping a stampede. Regina Jennings offers “Bound and Determined,” where a most unusual trip across barren Oklahoma plains is filled with adventure, romance, and . . . camels? And Melissa Jagears’ “Tied and True” entertains with a tale of two hearts from different social classes who become entwined at a cotton thread factory.

First Line

The Love Knot by Karen Witemeyer: Claire Nevin frowned at the cheerful white clouds frolicking across the blue sky and tried to close her ears against the melodies the birds insisted on singing in response to the deceptively fine morning. Ignorant creatures.

The Tangled Ties that Bind by Mary Connealy: Home. One more hour on the trail and Connor Kincaid would be home for the first time in five years.

Bound and Determined by Regina Jennings: I don’t want to die on an empty stomach.

Tied and True by Melissa Jagears: The pounding of hammers above them ceased. 

Now it’s your turn! Grab the nearest book (or the book you are reading) and share the first line in the comments. Then head over to Hoarding Books and check out the linky with more First Line participants. 

Have a great weekend!