Category: Romance

Fall into Romance

On By Betty OwensIn #amreading, Betty Thomason Owens, historical, RomanceLeave a comment

It’s that time of year, when I love to curl up beneath a blanket and read a really good book. What am I reading right now? The Heir’s Beloved, by Rhonda Dragomir. I highly recommend this book, which releases today. My full review of the book is coming soon. But for now, let me just say if you love action, adventure, and strong characters you will love this story. Rhonda Dragomir has a gift for infusing bleak situations with hope. Light penetrates the darkest moments.

Congratulations, Rhonda!

For twenty years, the wrong man has ruled Ravenwood. Now its rightful heir has come home.

Spirited across the English border as a child, Liam believes he is a true son of Scotland. But his birthright tells a different story. He is the Duke of Ravenwood, whose father’s steward murdered Liam’s family and stole his inheritance.

Now Liam has returned to England in disguise, determined to reclaim Ravenwood and avenge his family.

Ella is devoted to rescuing a ragged band of orphaned children. Believing their future is worth more than her own, she agrees to a marriage of convenience with the steward despite his vile reputation. If they wed, the steward’s hold on Ravenwood could become unbreakable.

Liam cannot reclaim his inheritance without confronting the man who destroyed his family. But rescuing Ella may cost him everything he came home to recover.

Only when Liam and Ella surrender their futures to God can He mend wounds that neither revenge nor sacrifice can heal.

Will rescuing Ella cost Liam the inheritance he vowed to reclaim—or will God redeem far more than Ravenwood?

Buy the Book

Rhonda Dragomir is a multimedia creative who treasures her fairy-tale life in Central Kentucky, and she insists her home is her castle, even if her prince refuses to dig a moat. She has published works in several anthologies and periodicals, and her debut novel, “When the Flames Ravaged,” was released by Barbour Publishing in March of 2024. In 2026, “The Heir’s Beloved,” her second novel, was published under her own imprint, Dragomir Group Publishing.

Rhonda has garnered numerous writing awards for both fiction and nonfiction, including her selection as 2019 Writer of the Year by Serious Writer, Inc. In 2020 and 2022, she was also a finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest in the historical romance category.

In all her writing, Rhonda answers the question most of us ask at one time or another: “Does God really love me?” Circumstances of life sometimes make us doubt His love or power. When her characters are forced into the crucible of decision, Rhonda allows them to wrestle with questions everyone asks in a crisis. Her ultimate goal—and joy—is to help readers strengthen their faith that God will never leave or forsake them.

Surrender to Peace, by Rose Allen McCauley

On By Betty OwensIn Romance, Rose McCauley, travel

website-photos-002-640x427I am honored to welcome to my blog, Rose Allen McCauley, a fellow Kentuckian and Christian writer, who has just released her novel, Surrender to Peace.

Rose McCauley has been writing for over ten years and was first published in several non-fiction anthologies and devotionals which are listed on her website/blog at www.rosemccauley.com . A retired schoolteacher who has been happily married to her college sweetheart for over four decades, she is also mother to three grown children and their spouses and grandmother to five lovely, lively kids! Although Rose grew up in the largest city in Kentucky, she has lived on a farm of almost four hundred acres for the past forty-two years, and last month moved to a small town in Kentucky. She loves to read and write small town stories. If you have a small town story you’d like to share, please stop by her website and leave a comment. She would love to hear from you. You can also reach her on twitter @RoseAMcCauley and Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1LrXNoS

In the Spotlight

Betty: Rose, you’ve written a beautiful, inspiring story. Where did you get the idea?

Rose: After brainstorming with some friends, one of them mentioned she was born in Puerto Rico, another said she grew up there as a child while her dad was stationed there in the service, and the third one said she’d enjoyed her stop there on a cruise. I said if I wrote a book set there I would have to visit! So, we decided to each write a story set in Puerto Rico. Although they didn’t work out as a series, that discussion is what gave me the original idea. And I did visit the Island after I had written most of the book, to make sure I got the details correct. I had to make a few changes when I saw certain places in person! One restaurant advertised as being on the waterfront had a small view of the water a block away!

Betty: Please tell us about your main character.

Rose: Joy Worth is a travel agent who had often set up lodging etc. for her clients, but had never visited Puerto Rico herself. When she gets engaged she decides to go there, but her fiancé breaks the engagement, and she ends up going on a honeymoon-for-one!

Betty: What is her most intriguing or interesting characteristic?

Rose: Her mom died when Joy was 10, and her dad is a loner, so she is very independent.

Betty: Can you give us a sort of “snapshot” (brief description) of the young man she meets in Puerto Rico?

Rose: Benigno Cook considers himself 100% Puerto Rican although his father was an American who left Ben and his mom when Ben was only two. He is a strong Christian and very kind and dependable, just the kind of man Joy always wanted! But now, she is afraid to trust him and to trust her own discernment, after the mess she made with her first engagement.

Betty: Okay, I have to ask, did you do all the things your character did in the book? Are you the adventurer, or do you live these adventures through your characters?

Rose: I do some of both. My husband and I were only in Puerto Rico for 4 days, but we did go to both forts, and took the hike to La Mina Falls in El Yunque National Rainforest, We also ate at several places on the Flavors of San Juan tour. We did not have time to do the zip lining in Puerto Rico, but we had done that in Costa Rica a few years ago, so I used that experience to write that scene which one of my critique partners told me was very realistic. Hope you thought so too. My husband and I also walked the Promenade de la Princessa and saw the Raices fountain and other sites and took pictures, of course. A beautiful country, with very friendly people.

Betty: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about this story?

Rose: The spiritual message. Like most books I write, Joy learned a lesson God has been impressing on me—to be still in His Presence and learn to hear and discern His voice. Hope my readers take that away, too, and that if we are following Him, He can work things out much better than we could have asked or imagined! To Him be the glory! (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Betty: I love that. As a Christian, I am very aware God often uses the circumstances, the results of our personal choices to teach us and draw us back into His perfect will for our lives. Now, what’s up next for you?

Rose: I recently was asked to join a Christmas boxed set with six other authors set to come out in November—working title Joy to the World, but that may change. Then the day after I returned from Puerto Rico, my agent, Tamela Hancock Murray, called with the great news that my novella idea I had submitted many months ago had been contracted by Barbour Publishing to be part of their Courageous Brides collection. That is the story I am working on right now, as it is due by December 1st, and will be out next July, 2016! I’m very excited about the story as the heroine is named for my granddaughter who lives in a pre-Civil War home in Cynthiana, just like in the story! I hope I can tell your readers about it next year! Thanks so much for having me, Betty. I always enjoy our visits, whether they are in person or cyber-visits! God’s blessings on you and your readers!

And you and your readers are the first to know that I am starting a new weekly blog day today—Tuesday’s Travelogues. For the next few weeks I will be blogging about photos I took in Puerto Rico to help my readers enjoy the reading experience even more! Please stop by and let me know if you enjoy them. And I have many more countries I have visited that I will be featuring if the interest is great enough! www.rosemccauley.com

Betty: Thanks so much, Rose. It’s always a pleasure to talk with you. I’m excited about your newest release and wish you continued success!

Surrender to Peace - minus logo (2)Surrender to Peace – Now Available!

Joy Worth arrives in Puerto Rico on her honeymoon trip–without her ex-fiancé. On a tour, she meets Park Ranger Benigno Arroyo.

On several more outings, he shows her the joy of living through the beauty of his beloved island. She begins to hear God’s voice again.

Joy so loves the island she decides to stay. Benigno falls in love with Joy but realizes her pain is still fresh. Joy loves him but doubts her judgment.

On a hike, Joy falls and is knocked unconscious. At her bedside, thinking she is still unconscious, Benigno proposes. Opening her eyes, she accepts. They make plans to marry on an island cruise a month later.

Buy Link at Amazon: http://amzn.to/1fsTxcG

More books by Rose Allen McCauley: Christmas Belles of Georgia and Christmas Grace (both available in print and in e-book).

Another Meet-Cute Adventure

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens, Romance3 Comments

MomandDad
My Mom & Dad

After I posted Book o’ My Heart, with the story about my parents (pictured here), I received a comment from a friend telling me of her parents’ similar experience. This involves someone who was very important in my life–my pastor during my teens and early adulthood. He presided over my wedding and witnessed many important events in my and my parents’ lives. He and his first wife and my parents had a lot in common. I wanted to share it with you as a follow-up to the earlier post.

When I read Betty’s blog recounting the “meet-cute” story of her parents’ relationship, it reminded me so much of my own parents’ story! My father was raised on a farm in middle Tennessee with no electricity or indoor plumbing. He always says they did have running water, because his mother would say, “Roy, run down to the creek and get some water!”

My mother was a small-town Kentucky girl. She was voted football queen, won state awards in Glee Club, and had a large group of girl and boy friends. After his military service, Dad attended Murray College to study to be a minister. One day he was walking across campus and saw my mother standing in a line. He says he knew at that moment she was his wife. He wasn’t sure how to meet her, but when he went to the mandatory chapel, his assigned seat for the year was next to hers. I don’t think Mother had the same “this is the one” feeling that he had, but they dated steadily that semester.

Her Mom & Dad
Her Mom & Dad

Dad drove her to her home at Christmas break and met her family. However, during the break, she dated several of her former beaus, and the boys gave her wonderful Christmas presents. She told Dad she wanted to make sure he was really the one she loved! When she got back to college, Dad must have convinced her that he was “the one,” because they went to Mississippi to elope on January 6th. When Mom called her family to tell them she had gotten married, they were shocked and didn’t get all the details. They had to phone her back to find out who she had married!

Mom and Dad ministered as pastor and pastor’s wife for many years in both Kentucky and Tennessee. They were married for nearly 57 years, until my mom’s death in 2009.

Dad told the story of seeing her for the first time and knowing she was ‘the one’ many times from the pulpit. Mom would always laugh and say, “Oh Roy, you did not!” I don’t know if she ever believed it, but I do; for my Dad, it was love at first sight. –Contributed by Teresa Stanulis

TeresaLamberthTeresa Stanulis is an artist who creates with a sewing machine, embroidery machine, and knitting needles. She has an Etsy site at Stitchin’ Gal, a place you really need to visit.

Teresa is a stay-at-home mom of two sons. She’s been sewing and knitting since she was about 9 years old, and she loves fabric and yarn. In business since 2001, she makes personalized gifts for babies and for the home.

Here are a few of her creations:

StichinGalQuilt StitchinGalKnit StitchinGalBibb

Stitchin’ Gal @ Etsy

Read the story–

Annabelle's Ruth FRONT final CoverNow available in paperback and on Kindle!

Annabelle’s Ruth, Book I Kinsman Redeemer Series

Click here to purchase.

Book o’ My Heart

On By Betty OwensIn fiction, Romance, Write Integrity Press11 Comments

oldtheaterMy mother and father had a “meet-cute” — an event that brings a “fated” couple together for the first time, usually in a cute, romantic way. She worked at the candy counter in a movie theater in Seattle. He was a cocky, slightly inebriated sailor, just in from Korea.

He flirted with Mom’s best friend, who already had a steady boyfriend, one who was due to walk through the door at any moment. Mom to the rescue. What are best friends for? She stepped over and distracted the handsome but too happy young sailor. Her mission accomplished, she felt pretty good. When the young sailor sobered up, he came back. Several times. And then they eloped.

They eloped all the way to Biloxi, Mississippi. At the end of Dad’s furlough, he left Mom with his family in West Tennessee. My dad was not totally honest and up front with his young bride (she was only seventeen, he was nineteen). He talked long about his home (as in long, tall tale). He told Mom that his mother and step-dad lived on a ranch in the rolling, green hills of West Tennessee. They had horses and cattle.

IMG_4622In actuality, they were sharecroppers who lived in a rickety house. The cows weren’t theirs, and the horses–work horses that pulled a plow. And that house–no indoor plumbing. A fireplace for heat. Bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Grandma cooked on a wood stove. And they raised cotton and corn and everything they needed to live. They worked hard all day long, every day.

No rolling, green hills either. Flat. Dirty. Muddy. Mosquitoes. Snakes. Yuck.

My Mom was from a broken home. She lived with her Mom in urban Seattle and spent summers at her Dad’s in urban L.A. They were middle class. She dressed well, ate well, and was popular in school.

Culture shock. Dad went back to the Navy. Mom stayed with his eldest sister and her husband and young daughter, in a slightly better abode closer to town. With summer came heat and humidity the likes of which, Mom had never experienced. And she was pregnant.

I’ve wanted to tell this story for a long time. I’ve wanted to write it, but each time I tried, I failed. Not long ago, after I had finished re-reading the Book of Ruth, an idea popped into my head–a “what-if.” What if this happened in more modern times. What if I set it in West Tennessee…in the 1950’s? I could combine the two stories I loved so well.

I talked about it–a lot–to everyone I knew. Mom shared more memories. My older brother (the baby in the above narrative), helped me research it. I got excited about it then sat down and began to write.

Last week, it released. Annabelle’s Ruth is that book of my heart. Inspired by the biblical Book of Ruth, and also by my mother’s early experiences.

But wait–I don’t want to leave you with a negative idea of West Tennessee. Seen through Mom’s young eyes, it was not her favorite place, but she spent most of her life there and ended up loving it. My dad could never be far away from it, especially while his mother lived. And it’s roots are deep in my heart. I don’t live there anymore. I live in Kentucky with my husband of more than forty years. I love it here, but I still like to visit West Tennessee. I have family there, and it holds precious memories of Grandma, and the aunts, and numerous cousins.

It gets under the skin of my heroine in Annabelle’s Ruth, too. She finds a reason to love it, sets down roots, and stays.

I hope you’ll love the story I’ve woven from these two threads.

If you’d like the chance to win a free copy of Annabelle’s Ruth (Kindle or print — winner’s choice), then leave me a comment here, or on my Facebook author page (you can also enter the GoodReads contest on the right).

Annabelle's Ruth FRONT final Cover

 

Robin Lee Hatcher – Authorview

On By Betty OwensIn Authorview, award-winning, Romance

Award-winning, multi-published author and speaker–just a few of the words I found describing Robin Lee Hatcher. She has written many beautiful stories combining faith and romance, both historical and contemporary. I am honored to have her as a guest at Authorview.

Robin Lee Hatcher
Robin Lee Hatcher

I am a…Woman of faith who writes fiction.

You would like me when I’m…In a silly mood.

You wouldn’t like me when I’m…Suffering from too little sleep.

What qualities I like to see in others:    Generosity, great sense of humor, a love of worship.

Favorite way to spend an evening: Curled up with a great book.

Who I love to spend an evening with:  My husband, Jerry.

Am reading (or want to read): The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.

If I had a hammer…I’d hit the nail.

My favorite genre is: Inspirational romance (either historical or contemporary).

My work-in-progress: A new contemporary romance.

My favorite food is: Hard to choose. I love a perfectly cooked steak. Stir-fried peppers and onions with chicken that my husband prepares to perfection. Lemon-pound cake with a glaze frosting (and just about any other dessert).

I’m a collector of:    iPhone apps.

My favorite happily-ever-after:    Jerry’s and mine.

Betty: I love that, Robin!

Thank you so much for participating in Authorview.

Robin’s Bio:  Best-selling novelist Robin Lee Hatcher, author of more than 70 books, is known for her heartwarming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. Her 2015 releases are Whenever You Come Around (May 2015) and I Hope You Dance (June 2015). She and her husband make their home in Idaho where she enjoys spending time with her family, her high-maintenance Papillon, Poppet, and Princess Pinky, the DC (demon cat).

Whenever You Come Around (A Kings Meadow Romance)

Whenever You Come Around     Will writing a romance help this author find a real-life hero?

Charity Anderson turned her back on Kings Meadow years ago, with good reason, and has avoided visits to her hometown whenever possible. But with her house in Boise damaged by floodwaters and a book deadline bearing down, staying in her parents’ empty home seems her only option. However, being in Kings Meadow dredges up a painful secret, and old fears threaten to overwhelm her.

Charity’s former high school classmate Buck Malone never left town, instead sacrificing his dreams to take care of his family. Now he enjoys an uncomplicated life as a wilderness guide and confirmed bachelor. The last thing on his mind is settling down.

When Charity’s dog causes an accident that leaves Buck with a broken ankle and wrist at the start of prime tourist season, Charity has little choice but to render aid while he recuperates.  Soon Buck becomes the inspiration for Charity’s hero, both on the page and off. Can he also help her face and overcome her fears so they might find their own happily ever after?

Purchase links can be found on the book’s page on my web site:

Whenever You Come Around

Readers can learn more about Robin and her books at:

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