Forging Forgiveness

 Wild Women Authors’ focus today is on Forging Forgiveness, a contemporary romantic suspense, recently released by the Wild Rose Press, written by C. B. Clark.

 Blurb: When small-town college instructor Candace Cooper discovers bloody, bare footprints in the snow while running in a state park deep in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, it brings back the horrific nightmare of her past.

Detective Aiden Farrell is determined to redeem himself in his new position in Colorado, even if that means ignoring his growing feelings for the beautiful professor he meets during an investigation. His fear that the footprints she saw are connected to a recent spate of missing teens intensifies when Candace is assaulted on campus.

Aiden and Candace join forces, but as they start unraveling the truth, they get closer to each other—and to a killer who'll stop at nothing to achieve his nefarious goal. 

Caught between duty and love, Aiden fights in a race against time to save the woman he loves.

 Author’s Note:

There’s nothing more important than protecting our wilderness areas. That’s why in my most recent romantic suspense novel, Forging Forgiveness, I set the story in a state park. We are so fortunate in Canada and the United States to have access to countless beautiful wilderness areas that have been set aside as state, provincial, and national parks.

Studies show the importance to our mental health of getting out and interacting with nature. A walk in the forest, surrounded by the buzz of insects, birds chirping, and smelling the sweet scent of vegetation inspires my creativity and calms my anxiety. Escaping into the wild is even more important now with all the stress we face each day.

I’ve visited many parks, both in Canada and the US, and each time I leave filled with wonder at the natural beauty that surrounds us. Whether you camp, hike, bike, paddle, or cross-country ski, get out and enjoy our parks.

 About the Author: 

Forging Forgiveness is award-winning author, C.B. Clark’s eighth novel published by The Wild Rose Press. When she’s not busy traveling around the globe or hiking and camping in the wilderness near her home in northern British Columbia, she can be found in front of her laptop plotting her next story.

 To purchase Forging Forgiveness, go to:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ASuXim

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3Rc1Vje

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3U8zVzh

Apple/iTunes: https://apple.co/3BeiN3E

Google: https://bit.ly/3PSWbd3

 

To learn more about C.B. Clark, go to:  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbclarkauthor/

Blog: https://cbclarkauthor.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cbclarkauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cbclarkauthor/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15029617.C_B_Clark

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/C.-B.-Clark/e/B01BK61TQG/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/c-b-clark

 

Wrong Line, Right Connection

 Wild Women Authors welcomes author Karina Bartow as she celebrates the release of Wrong Line, Right Connection, a Vintage Rose romance, recently released by the Wild Rose Press. With Karina is phone operator Mabel Banks who will go first.

Good morning, Mabel. Thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with where you are from. Louisville, Kentucky.

Tell us a bit about Wrong Line, Right Connection. It’s the story of what started as one of my most humiliating experiences and ended as one of my best. I was working as a switchboard operator back in 1964, where an out-of-towner, Roy Stentz, rang up my station. He came to Louisville for business and needed me to connect him with the steel factory. His deep voice frazzled me so much that I connected him with the wrong place, not once but twice! I succeeded on my third attempt, and to my amazement, the fella asked me on a date to see if I was better at that than my job. 

What did you think the first time you saw Roy? He was tall and as handsome as I imagined.

What was your second thought? What if he’s married? In our three conversations, he never mentioned a wife, but how could I know he didn’t have one?

Do you feel it was love at first sight? I wouldn’t go that far, but I had a hunch I’d enjoy seeing him again if circumstances allowed.

What do you like most about Roy? His genuineness. He never hid anything from me, even though the way we met would’ve allowed him to. He’d probably say I’m the one who holds things close to the chest.

How would you describe him? He’s tall and handsome, as I said, but his inner qualities outshine his charm—which says a lot, believe me. He’s so accepting of people, and he’s made me a better person. 

How would Roy describe you? It depends on the day! He’ll be the first to tell you what a ditz I am, but I make him smile. I’m sure he’d call me stubborn, and he wouldn’t be wrong. I put him through his paces!

What made you choose to work as a switchboard operator? It was my first job out of high school, and I went back later in life when I fell on hard times. I enjoy interacting with people, especially in short spurts like that.

What is your biggest fear? Compromising who I am to please somebody else.

How do you relax? I love playing with my dog and spending time with my friends and family. 

Who is your favorite fictional character? Lucy Ricardo. She’s a spunky redhead like me, who doesn’t allow the man in her life to put her in a box.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? Create your own happiness.

We thank you for spending time with us. Now we’d like to chat with Karina.

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer?  The Wizard of Oz. Besides it being a classic movie and book, my mom heard years ago how long it took for L. Frank Baum to get it published, and she always used that to instill perseverance in me, even before I started shopping my books. I also love how imaginative it is and the message that we’re all lacking in something but have to find it for ourselves.

Is there an event in your private life that you were able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel? Wrong Line, Right Connection in its entirety was inspired by dear friends from my childhood, so of course, my memories of them influenced the story. I even used some of their old love letters to add authenticity, even though the premise is fictional. At the same time, I drew off of some of my personal feelings and reservations to sculpt Mabel’s inner struggles and make it my own.

Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them? I’d heard of The Wild Rose Press before and submitted to them in the past. Though nothing had materialized up to the point when I queried them about Wrong Line, Right Connection, I didn’t want to count them out because I thought we’d be a good fit someday. I’m so glad I didn’t, considering two of my submissions ended up being accepted within months of each other.

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict and The Art of Betrayal by Connie Berry.  

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves?While I’ve dipped my toes into love stories a bit, I primarily write mysteries. Earlier this year, my second installment of The Unde(a)feted Detective Series, Brother of Interest, came out, so I’ve been working on the follow-up to that. In the meantime, I’m writing a short story that’s a bridge between the two, which will be featured in a podcast sometime in 2023.     

To learn more about Karina Bartow and the stories she creates, go to:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads

 

To purchase Wrong Line, Right Connection, go to:

The Wild Rose Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |Books-a-Million 

 

 

A Very Modern Marriage by Rachel Brimble

 He needs a wife...

Manchester industrialist William Rose was a poor lad from the slums who pulled himself up by his bootstraps, but in order to achieve his greatest ambitions he must become the epitome of Victorian respectability: a family man.

She has a plan...
But the only woman who's caught his eye is sophisticated beauty Octavia Marshall, one of the notorious ladies of Carson Street. Though she was once born to great wealth and privilege, she's hardly respectable, but she's determined to invest her hard-earned fortune in Mr. Rose's mills and forge a new life as an entirely proper businesswoman.

They strike a deal that promises them both what they desire the most, but William's a fool if he thinks Octavia will be a conventional married woman, and she's very much mistaken if she thinks the lives they once led won't follow them wherever they go.

In the third installment of Rachel Brimble's exciting Victorian saga series, The Ladies of Carson Street will open the doors on a thoroughly modern marriage – and William is about to get a lot more than he bargained for...

 Wild Women Authors is pleased to feature A Very Modern Marriage, a historical romance by Rachel Brimble, released by Aria Fiction. First up is Octavia Marshall.

Good morning, Octavia. Thanks for spending time with us. Let’s begin with where you are from. Oxfordshire, England.

Please tell us a bit about A Very Modern Marriage. The book opens at the wedding of one of my best friends, Nancy – a woman I once thought would never marry. Ever. Then she met theatre manager Francis Carlyle and everything changed. Her marriage put me in a place where I had to look at my own future and what I want to happen.

A Very Modern Marriage follows my struggle and how I meet Manchester cotton mill owner, William Rose. William and I are soon in the messy process of negotiating a deal – one that could go very wrong for one of us…

What did you think the first time you saw William Rose?  I first saw William when he came to the Carson Street house – a house where I live and work as a prostitute. A high end prostitute. It was quite clear from the beginning that he was reluctant to be there but had been dragged along by a couple of his associates. We were sparring partners to begin with but soon a growing respect emerged, and I came to look at him in a different way…a very different way.

What was your second thought?  This is not the direction I wanted things between us to unfold.

Do you feel it was love at first sight? No, most definitely not – although I did notice his eyes and the way he had a certain way of looking at me…as though I was the most interesting person in the world.

What do you like most about William? His intelligence and passion – especially for his business and family. Both are equally as important to him.

How would you describe him? Hardworking, intelligent, canny, caring

How would he describe you? Surprising, strong, ambitious, loyal

What made you choose prostitution for a career? Hah! I wouldn’t say anyone chooses prostitution – it was a case of doing what I must to survive. I came from a privileged background and probably one of the most unlikely women to end up working in the sex trade – that’s why I will never take anyone or anything for granted ever again.

What is your biggest fear? Losing my best friends Louisa and Nancy – they mean everything to me.

How do you relax? I read – I am completely, entirely, proudly book obsessed!

Who is your favorite fictional character? Jane Eyre – such a wonderful character and story.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received? I can’t quote her exactly, but Nancy is forever telling me to relax more, take a leap of faith more often and believe in myself – such beautiful advice that I am battling to follow, but know I will get there in the end.

Thank you for spending time with us, Octavia. Now we’d like to chat with Rachel.

What movies or books have had an impact on your career as a writer? Rather than books, I’d say authors Nora Roberts and Jean Fullerton have influenced me the most as a writer – and rather than movies, I’d say British TV period dramas have impacted my love of writing historical novels rather than contemporary.

Is there an event in your private life that you were able to bring to this story and how do you feel it impacted the novel?  It wasn’t so much a private life event that I was able to write this story but more of how deeply I was affected by The Five by Hallie Rubenhold. It is a non-fiction about the five victims of Jack The Ripper. I found it truly moving and wanted to go back and talk to these women – tell them how I wish their lives had never led them to living in Whitechapel.

It was that which inspired me to write a trilogy about three prostitutes who I could give a happy ever after.

Tell us a bit about your publisher: how did you hear about them and what influenced your decision to submit to them?  I am published with Aria Fiction and was told about them by some fellow members of the Romantic Novelists Association. I now have seven books published with them and have worked with four different editors – I’ve loved them all!

What book[s] currently rest on your TBR pile? Far too many to name! My list is monstrous – the next two I will be reading are the third Bridgerton book An Offer From A Gentleman and self-development book The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks.

Lastly, what's up next and when can we expect to see it on the shelves? My next book, Victoria & Violet, published by the Wild Rose Press, and will be released on October 17 2022 – it is an historical romance set in the court of Queen Victoria. I am excited and nervous as it is the first book I have written where I have included real people and events. A long-held ambition of mine!

The best places to keep up with me and my books are:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelbrimbleauthor/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/home?lang=en-gb

Website: https://rachelbrimble.com/

Buy link: https://geni.us/xa9ln5