On Kindle Unlimited by Barbara Edwards

I’m so excited!

My publisher Books by Wings Epress has put my two historical romances on Kindle Unlimited.

If you already have this service from Amazon, here is your chance to enjoy both novels. I’m plotting sequels to both and would love to know which one you’d like first.

Another Love 

by Barbara Edwards 

http://www.books-by-wings-epress.com/another-love

Some promises are made to be broken.

Caught in a web of political intrigue, graft and threats to a beloved child, Meg Warren and Drew Larkin hunt the men threatening the downfall of President Cleveland and the economic fabric of America. From a poor farm to the ostentatious world of New York’s elite, they sift lies, discover trust and an attraction they cannot resist. The last thing they expect to find is a love worth more than gold.

Susan E. Falk "apckrfan" reviewed Another Love

 1890s Romantic Suspense December 13

Set in the US East Coast in 1893, ANOTHER LOVE is a historical romance with a suspenseful plot. We are introduced to a loving, independent Meg who takes unwanted orphans into her home.

To clear her name of Drew's accusations as to her involvement in his nephew's kidnapping Meg reluctantly agrees to help the boy's uncle, Drew, reveal the people responsible for the kidnapping of his nephew.

"A real page-turner with wonderful characters and a unique plot. You can't miss with this one."-­Award-winning author Patricia Potter

Review from Romantic Times Magazine **** 1/2 (four and one-half stars)

Another Love 

by Barbara Edwards 

Buy Link: http://a.co/9jlgTjt

Annie’s Heart

http://www.books-by-wings-epress.com/annies-heart

Annie’s Heart was the result of a dream I had about living on the Kansas plains after the Civil War ended. I researched the area and found the hardships settlers faced to be overwhelming. I was surprised so many not only survived, but thrived. Annie is a strong woman with too many problems, but she is a survivor.

I hope you take this opportunity to read about her.

Blurb:

Only two coins and a gold pendant heart separate widowed ANNIE MOSS from disaster. The fields need to be plowed, the barn repaired and food stored for the winter, but she is alone and afraid. Her dream of a home for her children hangs from the promise of a wandering man to keep moving on, a man she has no reason to trust.

TRACE RANDOLPH has lost everything except his honor, so when a desperate ANNIE saves his life he knows he must pay his debt, even if it means marrying her. The only promise he makes is to leave before the winter snows. A promise he finds impossible to keep.

Excerpt:

Trace wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and hefted another bundle of shingles onto his shoulder. The sweat dripped off him and he knew he smelled like an old goat. He wondered if Annie had noticed, or if he were the only one suffering from this itch. His mouth was parched and he made a note to purchase more mints when he visited town. A blister burned on his heel. And work shoes. His high-heeled boots weren’t designed for doing farm chores.

He planned on taking a quick dip in the creek later to wash away his ripe odor. The scent of lavender, light and delicate as the woman herself, filled his head. Annie stood behind him. He turned. She smiled and held out a dripping glass of water. Nodding his thanks, he swallowed the drink with pleasure. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and her blue eyes flicked from his fingers to his mouth.

"When do you expect to be done?"

A longing to touch her seared him like a hot poker. Trace jerked his gaze from her mouth to eye the rising sun and gathering clouds. He gauged the daylight hours left.

"Maybe by tonight. It looks like rain, and I hope to have it completed so you won’t be inconvenienced again."

Her fingers trembled slightly when she held out her hand for the empty glass. His gaze darted to her face. She blushed at his bold stare and stepped back.

"I’m sure I never implied--"

"No, you didn’t, but I have eyes in my head. You need your privacy. I intend to get Digger’s bunk ready as well as my own."

She blushed a color reminiscent of the climbing roses in his mother’s garden. He realized she was embarrassed by his reference to sleeping arrangements. He was enchanted by her sweet reaction. A woman so innocent shouldn’t be the mother of two children.

Her gaze dropped to the ground as she hugged the glass to her breasts. The dripping condensation soaked into the fabric. She didn’t notice the wet material clinging to her soft outline, but he did. Heat pulsed low in his groin. He longed to trace the outline of dampness with his mouth.

"I need to go into town. Would you like to come?" Trace didn’t know where the suggestion sprang from, but Annie’s eyes sparkled with anticipation, then dimmed.

"But we have chores to…"

"Let Digger do them," he interrupted.

She hesitated. Cackling laughter followed by a whoop of excitement broke the silence stretching between them. Annie gave him a shaky nod before heading back toward the house.

Trace cursed under his breath as he watched the sweet sway of her hips when she climbed the shallow steps to the porch. Annie was soft and curvy in all the right places. She cast him a quick glance before darting inside.

Review:

”... Barbara Edwards creates a romance that proves life is about surviving disaster. Growing back stronger, and most of all, the courage to love." **** (four stars), Gerry Benninger, Romantic Times Magazine

Annie's Heart 

by Barbara Edwards 

Buy Link: http://a.co/hPkbKry

Bio:

 I’m Barbara Edwards and a native New Englander. I’m a graduate of the University of Hartford with a Master’s degree in Public Administration. I write poetry for myself and novels when I need to tell a longer tale. I’m fascinated by the past so naturally turned to writing historical romance. The dark paranormal stories evolve from nightmares. The romance comes from my belief in people’s basic goodness and longing for love. 

I lived in Florida for several years and am past president of the Central Florida Romance Writers and a member of Romance Writers of America.

When I returned to Connecticut, I founded the Charter Oak Romance Writers, a Chapter of Romance Writers of America, along with several close friends
 My husband is a retired Police Sergeant. We share an interest Civil War re-enacting and travel the Eastern states to participate in events. I love visiting museums, galleries and battle sites, gathering information for my stories.

I taught Romance Writing at Manchester Community college for three years.

I’m fond of gardening and growing antique roses with limited success. 

Most of my exercise is when my Belgian Shepherd, Keeno, demands a walk.

Please follow, friend or like me. I love to hear from my readers.

 blog: http://barbaraedwardscomments.wordpress.com/

Website http://barbaraedwards.net

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraEdwards.Author

Twitter  https://www.twitter.com/Barb_ed

Amazon Author’s Page http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003F6ZK1A

GoodReads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/496095.Barbara_Edwards

PET PEEVES

If you’re an author, you read.  And if you read as an author, you’re bound to be more critical than Jane Doe who’s just picked up a book for enjoyment.  Or maybe not….  I’m not sure because I’ve taught English Language at university level, been an editor, and worked for Simon and Schuster so being critical is really ingrained in me.  You can probably therefore guess that my pet peeves include bad grammar and lousy punctuation.  Over the years, I’ve loosened up on the amount of commas necessary in a sentence for clarity, but I remain fairly strict.  I’ve been told that in fiction we should use emdashes instead of semi-colons, but that doesn’t sit well with me:  an emdash is for an interrupted thought; a semi-colon is for a secondary idea of the same thought expressed in the sentence.  Yup, it gets complicated.

But now, I’ve got new pet peeves.  I hate, hate, hate anachronisms in historical books.  For me, it’s sloppy research and there’s no excuse for it.  When writing an historical book I work with the on-line etymological dictionary.  Of course, you have to think, ‘does this word need to be looked up?’ and mistakes happen.  But did someone really think a woman would refer to a man’s abs in the 1880s?  Or discuss accessorizing a dress? And then there’s referring to a song in the 1860s when the song wasn’t written until the 1920s. But then maybe I shouldn’t be so annoyed about that; I’ve been watching the series, ‘Underground’ about the underground railway prior to the Civil War, and they keep playing ‘Summertime’ penned by Gershwin in 1935.

Someone once criticized a book of mine because I had a character briefly speak. like. this. We do it to emphasize what the character is saying and how he/she says it.  Personally, I don’t see a problem but this obviously annoyed my reader. My publisher has a stipulation that the hero and heroine should generally meet within the first four pages.  An author friend told me she disliked books where the h/h weren’t described early on, and another author wrote she hated reading about "a single tear" making its way. She demanded, 'who has a single tear?' And then we ask ourselves what’s the inner conflict?  What’s the goal/motivation/conflict of the story?  Is there character development? Does the story move along and make sense—is it properly constructed?  Goodness, there’s a minefield out there of things to dislike. And that’s before we even get to the love/sex scenes and how they’re described and their length (OF THE SCENE!)

But as I’ve learned from being in three anthologies now, some things will eat at one reader and not in the least bother the next, while the book will hit the wall in the room of yet another reader.

So what are your pet peeves?  What do you absolutely hate to find in a story when reading, whether it is in the basics of good English or the construction of the story itself.  And please let me know if any of them are in Bad Boy, Big Heart. 

I aim to please.

Available at https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Boy-Big-Heart-Book-ebook/dp/B072MKG48B/

 http://andreadowning.com   

           https://www.facebook.com/writerAndreaDowning     

Do you know the 5W tool? by Barbara Edwards

Do you know the 5W tool? by Barbara Edwards

At a recent meeting of Charter Oak Romance writers, we were discussing the difference between experienced writers and the newly minted.  

I mentioned that going over the basics is always useful and a short session we’re planning to add to our meeting.

How about the old 5W?

I was taught this simple tool in elementary school by a wonderful teacher named Hazel Robinson. 

The five Ws are Who, What, Where, When, Why.

These are basic questions to ask about every written article. The example my teacher used was the newspaper. The this day I ask if the article answers the five questions. Recently many news reports lack the When.

To use it for my work is pretty easy.

Who? the hero and Heroine.

What? the basic situation that draws them together.

Where? the local of the story.

When? today, last week, Medieval, Regency, whatever.

Why? This gets tricky. It involves the conflict, background, the characters goals.

The nicest plus is that it makes writing a synopsis easier.

Using an old tool makes my work better.

Do you have a method you use to keep your writing focused? Please share.

Check out Another Love, a historical romance 

http://www.books-by-wings-epress.com/another-love

Amazon Link: http://a.co/hLuj4tl

Some promises are made to be broken.

Caught in a web of political intrigue, graft and threats to a beloved child, Meg Warren and Drew Larkin hunt the men threatening the downfall of President Cleveland and the economic fabric of America. From a poor farm to the ostentatious world of New York’s elite, they sift lies, discover trust and an attraction they cannot resist. The last thing they expect to find is a love worth more than gold.

"Quote." – Pat Potter, award winning author calls Another Love…“A real page turner with wonderful characters and a unique plot. You can’t miss with this one.”

Review from Romantic Times Magazine **** 1/2 (four and one-half stars)

Please follow, friend or like me. I love to hear from my readers.

Blog http://barbaraedwardscomments.wordpress.com/

Website http://barbaraedwards.net

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraEdwards.Author

Twitter  https://www.twitter.com/Barb_ed

Amazon Author’s Page http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003F6ZK1A

GoodReads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/496095.Barbara_Edwards