“And if it is not a happy ending?”

Elizabeth Krall grew up in Canada and lived in London, England, for many years. She has now settled in Sydney, Australia.

Most of her career was spent as an editor, but now she works as a print and digital graphic designer. An unexpected side-effect of leaving editing was the resurgence of an interest in writing. Her first novel, Ship to Shore, was published in February 2012; her second, Too Close, in January 2013.

She is also the author of an occasional series of short stories themed around holidays, called Holiday Romances. Elizabeth’s interests include travel, tall ship sailing and cocktails.

Why I Wrote Rescue Ben? To Change Attitudes Towards Animals
by Rosemarie Smith

When I started writing Rescue Ben I had a young child’s book in mind, with the theme ‘be kind to animals, as they will always be loving and loyal to you’.

After a short pause, her mother explained, "Detective Grove called me. He already spoke to your father."

Clare's heart skipped a beat. "Detective Grove?" The picture of a tall lean man in a rumpled suit flashed in her mind—the man who had taken over Lynnie's investigation after the patrol officers' first visit.

"Do you remember him?" her mother asked gently—too gently—and Clare had a shivery premonition of what could be coming.

"Didn't he retire?" she asked her mom, her heart racing now.

"Yes, he did. But he's not really keen on retirement and he's been...working a few cold cases." Her mother's voice was edgier than usual and a little wobbly, too.

"What are you trying to tell me, Mom?" Clare's hands became sweaty as she thought about all the possibilities. Lynnie's face at three and a half was still so vivid in her mind—the face they'd used on posters...the face she'd envisioned floating in a river...the face on the body in nightmares that had been buried in a ditch. The not knowing had always been worse than knowing. The not knowing is what had torn them all apart. Clare really believed that if the police had found Lynnie's body somewhere, maybe they could have gone on as a family.

Maybe.

"He wants to meet with us tomorrow morning. You, me and your dad. He thinks he has a lead."

June 25, 2013 by William Morrow

I am so happy to be here at Tina's Book Reviews so I can introduce you to Sera and Andrew, the main characters of Rosethorn, a breathtaking new contemporary romance of love lost and found again that culminates in stunning end you won't soon forget.

Andrew is based on a real person who for some strange reason doesn't want his real face and identity to be known. (Privacy, shmivacy.) So I always had a very clear image of him as I was writing Rosethorn. I'll do the next best thing and present to you Paul Bettany who, although he resembles my inspiration and is nothing to sneeze at, I can assure you doesn't compare to the real Andrew.



Sera, I had a little more trouble finding until I saw the cast for last season's The Bachelor. The moment I saw Catherine Guidici, I knew I found my Sera.



They make a beautiful couple don't they?

For more pictures of Sera and Andrew and other characters from Rosethorn, please visit my Pinterest board.

Excerpt:

She said nothing as Andrew walked towards her, unhurried, gleaming with sweat, disheveled and unreal. She saw at once that he had grown taller, if that was possible, and wondered if there existed in the world a pair of shoes with heels high enough so that she could one day be eye level with him.

It seemed an eternity that he walked toward her, silent as she was silent, with that steady gaze, head tilted slightly so that she saw the full measure of his deep blue eyes.

With all her power she tried to summon just an ounce of the cool and imperious demeanor she had perfected in college, fueling her courage with how she must appear to him, in her black dress and high heels, her sunglasses and hair upswept in an elegant chignon. She liked to think that her worldliness would have made her unrecognizable to anyone who knew her back in the day.

That Andrew had seen through it all was a fluke. In a moment she’ll realize how boorish he’s become, perhaps how boorish he had always been, and she will finally be rid of the past.

As he came closer to where she was still standing, unmoving, Sera noticed without wanting to that Andrew had finally grown into his body. He was lean and muscled, his bare chest reddened by the sun. The way he moved showed no trace of the gangly boy he had been. No longer self-conscious of his height, he strode with an economy of grace. He wore old blue jeans with dried paint splatters and a tool belt slung low on his hips, his long torso rising above it, reminding her of Bernini’s David released. A marble statue come to life.

She saw all this in a moment for suddenly he was standing two feet in front of her. It was hard for her to breathe.....................

In my childhood, I used to ride water buffaloes and wade in swamps. When I discovered books, I would go adventuring with Anne of Green Gables, the Pevensies, Bilbo Baggins, or Alanna of Trebond. I incurred my mother's displeasure for reading too many romance novels, so I learned to hide them and read underneath covers with a flashlight late at night. Nowadays, I travel and write dark fairy tales and romantic novels about adventurous women. And I still stay up too late reading, even though I don't get in trouble for it anymore.

April 2, 2013 by William Morrow
Paperback, 304 Pages
Adult- Contemporary
Review Copy/TLC book tour
Warning: Violence, depression era poverty
5/5 Stars- (17&Up)

Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood and adolescence of hard labor and servitude? As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was one such child, sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future a world away. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine, the memories of her upbringing rendered a hazy blur. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer knows that a community-service position helping an elderly widow clean out her attic is the only thing keeping her out of juvenile hall. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they appear. A Penobscot Indian who has spent her youth in and out of foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past.

Starfall