What's New?

It's new release day at Astraea Press. Check out the great releases we have for you today!

Price: $2.99

Buy it HERE.

What happens when a rebel meets a runaway?

He’s not looking for love...

Confirmed bachelor Theo Cavanagh is dashing and free-spirited. Not for him a career in the clergy, the military or politics - he’s more interested in wine and horses. But when Theo happens upon a pretty but thoroughly exasperating young fugitive, he soon finds himself caught up in her adventures, and in a passion that can’t be denied.

She has to search her heart...

Unconventional Sophie Devereux is more comfortable climbing trees than the social ladder. An audacious escape from scheming relatives is only the start of Sophie’s mission to achieve a long-held dream, but Sophie carries a secret that inspires hatred, envy and greed. She can’t outrun the danger that stalks her, or her powerful response to Theo which leaves Sophie shaken to the core and questioning her deepest, most enduring desire.

Price: $2.99

Buy it HERE.

Michael Drake, a part-time private investigator and part-time jazz club owner, starts the day as he has many others, doing a favor for a friend. In doing so, he falls right into the middle of a torrid affair. As Michael tries to decide whether or not to tell his friend of his wife's indiscretion, she is murdered.

Through no fault of his own, Michael is entangled in a murder plot that reaches back to his days in college. The problem lies in the fact that, in clearing himself, he may implicate the friend that he intended to help. That is only the beginning when murder and passion collide in a small south Louisiana town. When the true killer is revealed, Drake must deal with the consequences and the lives he helped destroy.

What’s Your Passion?

Written by Ruth Hartman

Everyone has a passion. And I’m not talking about your significant other, here. Everyone has something they’re passionate about. Art, writing, biking, sewing, saving the whales. You get the idea. Well, mine is cats.

Yes, cats.

My whole life, I’ve loved them. Every picture of me as a little kid shows me holding or trying to hold at least one cat. Grey, white, black, calico, it never mattered. If there was a cat in the vicinity, I wanted it. All these years later, nothing has really changed. You should see my house. Yes, I guess you could call it a cathouse, in a way. I have cat pictures, figurines, potholders, magnets, wall decorations, you name it. There’s a cat calendar on the wall in the dental office where I work. Lucky for me, my boss is a cat person, too. I even have some stuffed animals around my house that are cats. Okay, more than some. A lot. My husband gets me stuffed cats instead of flowers for my birthday and anniversary. Hey, at least the stuffed animals won’t be wilted in three or four days! So you see, cats truly are my passion.

We have two fat, spoiled cats, Maxwell and Roxy, who live with us inside. They sit on our laps when we read or are using our computers. They follow us around. Everywhere. It can be a tiny bit disconcerting to step out of the shower and have both cats sitting there, staring. It makes me a little self-conscious wondering what they think of me. A couple of times, I’d even swear they giggled. Now that sure makes a girl rethink her diet.

Several wild ones live in our shed. I put out food for them, and often set a live-trap to catch them. I’ve lost count of how many I’ve hauled into the vet’s office to be neutered or spayed. We live out in the country, and people find it amusing to dump their cats and kittens here. My husband thinks people have just heard about the crazy cat lady at the end of the road, and dump them by her shed. Well, yeah, okay.

My newest book release, “Better Than Catnip” is about a woman who runs a stray cat shelter. Hmmm. I’m sensing a theme here. She cares for, feeds, live-traps, and has neutered any and all cats who cross her path. This story is also a romance. Roxy, the heroine, meets Max, the hero. (Yes, they’re named after my cats. I just couldn’t resist!) Max’s son Derek must work at the shelter for community service after he gets in a fight at school. The main problem? Derek is terrified of cats.

Max and Roxy try to get to know each other better, but it’s hard when the man’s son is deathly afraid of anything feline, you know? How will they resolve their problem? Will they be able to help Derek over his fear, so they can be together?

Check out “Better Than Catnip” to answer those questions.

Behind the Scenes: Lizzie and the Guernsey Gang

An island occupied by Nazis makes life hazardous,

but for an adventurous nine-year-old girl
bent on escape, it could be deadly.

Lizzie and the Guernsey Gang might be a children's novel, but it has adults gushing with enthusiasm, as well. Steeped in WWII history, Lizzie's story is based on the life of my friend, Ruth Davies, who lived through the German occupation of Guernsey Island. Her life was an adventure before it had hardly begun, and it's those adventures I share with today's child, through the Channel Islands Resistance series.
To make things more fun, and to help kids keep the facts straight, Ruth and I have taken it upon ourselves to enlighten readers as to which parts of the book are real and which are make-believe.

We're traveling through the book chapter by chapter, chatting about her memories and bringing the past to life.

Before we jump into chapter one, here's a little about the book:

Lizzie Browning loves nothing more than her tiny, island-home of Guernsey, but when German bombs drop on her crystal beach, her peaceful world is shattered. For months, the big war on the continent has been nothing more than stories in the paper, but as the enemy takes over Guernsey, the war rushes to her doorstep. For Lizzie, younger brother Andre, and cousin James, the time to escape is now, and they know just how to do it.

Phillip Seifert, the odd boy from down the street, has all the markings of a genuine Nazi-lover. Lizzie knows better than to trust him, but he somehow manages to weasel his way into James’ good graces. Phillip joins the gang in their audacious escape plan, and Lizzie can do little more than pray he doesn’t get them all shot. But Lizzie soon learns that God doesn’t always answer prayers in the way she expects. He might actually plan for them to live under Nazi rule…forever.

Beware! If you haven't read the book yet, there might be spoilers. You can solve that problem by purchasing your copy of Lizzie and the Guernsey Gang today.

Amazon Paperback

Amazon Kindle

Barnes and Noble Nook

Ruth, tell us about your younger the brother, the one six year-old Andre Browning is modeled after. What's his real name? Do you have any other brothers and sisters? And what sort of relationship did you have with them?
I have two younger brothers; Les (Leslie) is the one nearer Andre’s age. My baby brother – Clarence (Clar) is 4-1/2 years younger than I, he is the one who had the mass of blonde curls. We were very close as brothers and sister, I always remember having my baby brother with me everywhere I went (wonder if I was the baby sitter??). I can remember lots about the things we did and games we played. When the 3 of us got into one bed, I told them bedtime stories, I feel quite ashamed because they were not bedtime Bible stories but Hans Christian Anderson. Every night they would ask for Hansel and Gretel, and the wicked witch who was going to eat them, my voice matching that of a really wicked witch. They liked the frights, at least – that is my story.

Did you have a cousin like James that you liked to play with?
There were several cousins who lived within minutes of our house, the two boys Paul (James in the book), and Ken were very friendly with my two brothers. Ken is still alive and Les still visits him about once a month. Ken’s Dad, my uncle, was killed during the war, 6 children in the family who never really knew their Dad. There were/are other cousins, but these were the ones we were with every day, went to the same school too, always on the beach together after school.

Suffolk Beach

Before the Germans came, what did the beach mean to you? How close was it to your house and how often did you play there?
Before the Germans came, beach was our second home, we went swimming every day, in fact, we hardly came out of the water, we were fortunate to live just a few minutes’ walk away. What we did then would not be allowed today, because we were all diving off the rocks, diving off the sea wall when the tide was in, and our mothers were home and dads were at work, not one of us drowned, there were always older people on the beaches and that was considered a sufficient safety measure. More often than not our Mom would have to come to get us off the beach; we had no watches and were quite oblivious of the time. Sadly this didn’t last long, I can’t remember exactly when they mined all the beaches and coastline, In my estimation that was the most cruel thing the Germans did – no swimming for almost 5 years (and no soap), don’t think absence of soap bothered us too much at that age.

London, 2009

What did you think of the possibility of being sent away to England?
When we heard about evacuating the Island in May 1940, most of us were very excited at the prospect of going to the UK, none of us realised that our parents may not be travelling with us, no men were leaving the Island, so definitely no fathers or elder brothers (over 16). Quite a few mothers did travel but were separated from their children almost immediately. I had visions of staying with an Aunt, Uncle and cousin in London, not realising that London was a more dangerous place to be. I think arrangements had been made for us to stay with my Grandparents near the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire, I had been there once before just 9 or 10 months previous, which was my first time out of the Island. At the time of the evacuation nobody ever mentioned the likelihood of German occupation, I think the main reason was the difficulty which could arise in obtaining food and other essential supplies, seeing the Islands were so close to France and the enemy at that time was also very close to France. The thought of bombing raids was the furthest thing from most minds.

Author April W Gardner lives in Georgia with her computer nerd Air Force husband, ten year-old bookworm son, and eight year-old art-loving daughter. The Gardners enjoy watching nature shows, visiting national parks, and eating popcorn and chocolate every Friday during family night. April writes her Lizzie stories for God, her precious children, and every other kiddo who loves a good adventure. She is also the author of the Creek Country Saga, an inspirational historical romance series for moms.

Recent Reviews

Tifferz Reviews

 Life and 100 Books

 Sizzling Hot Books

Book Eternity

 Reviews R Mine

Author Recipe: Kim's Concoction

Written by Kim Bowman

My writing partner, Kay Springsteen, will not be surprised to hear that I cook like I write—by the seat of my pants! Yes, I am cookpantser! And I’m happy to say most of the meals I “invent” end up being family favorites. (We won’t talk about the crock pot cheesecake incident.)

My better half often clips recipes from the paper he wants me to try. Here a few months ago he brought home one called “Cheesy Baked Lentils, Rice and Turkey Casserole” and ask me if I could make it that night. “Sure,” I said enthusiastically.

Now…the title alone should have made me say no because, well, I don’t readily keep lentils or turkey on hand…ahem, cookpantser. So…I go searching the pantry and fridge. Here is the conversation I had with myself:

“No turkey, so I’ll use hamburger. No onions or spinach…I’ll use cabbage and French fried onions. Brown rice…brown rice…nope, guess I’ll use this box of instance wild rice. Hmmm…I don’t have any lentils or lentil soup either. Oh! I have some tortilla soup. I’ll use that. I don’t have Swiss or sharp cheddar cheese. I think it’ll be ok with shredded Colby-jack. Oooooo, I bet this would be good with some of the corn we froze from our garden.”

So of the listed ingredients, the only one I used was ¼ cup of water. Yeah, I live like I write—by the seat of my pants!

Kim’s Cheese Casserole

1 Can of Tortilla soup (or lentil soup, or Chicken mushroom soup…)

1 Box of long grain and wild rice (don’t cook)

8 oz hamburger

1 Cup (or two) French fried onions

1 or 2 Cups shredded cabbage

½ pkg (4 oz or 6 or 8) shredded cheese (I used Colby-jack, but use your favorite)

1 Cup corn

¼ to ½ Cup water

Brown the hamburger. Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients except the cheese in a casserole dish, cover, and bake for 40 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Uncover and sprinkle the cheese on top and bake an additional 5 minutes. YUM-MY!

Price: $2.99

Buy it HERE.

Ladies’ maid, Juliet Baines has gotten herself into a pickle by agreeing to go to London and taking the place of her mistress and best friend, Annabella Price, stepsister to the Duke of Wyndham. After all, what does a servant know about being a lady? But Juliet soon finds that pretending to be a lady isn’t nearly as hard as guarding her heart against the folly of wanting a man who’s completely out of reach.

Graeme "Grey" Roland Dominick Markwythe, Sixth Duke of Wyndham, approaches his duties as a nobleman with great dedication and meticulous care. And he’s a man who is not easily fooled...except when he tries to convince himself he's not utterly and madly in love with the beautiful imposter who has turned his life upside down. Will society and his responsibilities to his noble status keep him from opening his heart to the woman he loves?

Excerpt:

Grey glanced about. Lady Rossington and her ridiculously giddy debutante daughter had halted their walk along Newport Street and stared enraptured at the sight. He bit off a curse. The whole of London will be laughing about the scandalous scene by nightfall.

He stepped forward only to be stopped again when a young girl darted from the rear of the carriage. Presumably this was Annabella, though she’d grown some since their last encounter. Her yellow and cream traveling gown swirled about her legs with each step, and she tugged a short dark green jacket into place as she walked. Golden curls peeked from beneath a green bonnet decorated with flowers and cascaded over her shoulders.

With quick movements, she grasped the dog’s collar and gave it a yank, tugging against the massive brute. Grey’s stomach twisted into a tight knot. He’d soon have two injured people on his hands.

He opened his mouth to tell her to get back when the animal let out a high-pitched yelp and the girl stood, dragging the dog up with her.

“You naughty boy, that’s quite enough.” She spoke sharply, her tone brooking no argument.

The dog jerked its head around and snapped at her.

She simply thumped him on the nose and he let out a shocked yap. “You mind your manners.”

The dog growled and wheezed and showed his teeth; all the while the rest of his body wiggled and his tail wagged wildly.

Wonder if she could do that with Lucien.

What's New?

It's release day at Astraea Pres and we have some great books for you today! Check them out!

Price: $0.99

Buy it HERE.

Blurb:

The Season has only just begun, but already Ambrose Benson Earl of Hawthorne is bored. That is, until his brother offers him a challenge. Something worthy of his particular talents.

The object: The girl hiding behind the potted plants: the one in the horrible dress.

The Goal: Turn her into the envy of the ton. A lady suitable for a duke.

But there is just something about the lady. In spite of all her social misgivings, something inexplicably draws him in, making him want to waltz with the wallflower.

Price: $2.99

Buy it HERE.

Blurb:

hillip Crawford, the eighth Earl of Rawlings and notorious rake of the ton, has come to the end of his rope. Out of money, out of favor, and out of luck, he wanders the streets of London in the rain, hoping to be hit by inspiration...or a runaway carriage. Something has to give. It is his father's final cruel trick to hold his inheritance just out of reach, requiring him to marry by his next birthday in order to claim his full rights as earl. His step-mother refuses to offer him any more support. With no money, no prospects and no other place to turn, he has only two options:

Marriage or debtor's prison.

The better choice seems clear enough, but with his name and reputation being attacked daily in the society papers, there's not a proper lady in all of London desperate enough to accept him. It isn't going to be easy, even if the reports of his exploits and rakish lifestyle are greatly exaggerated.

On the other hand, debtor's prison does start to look much more appealing when the only friends he has left decide to help him in his search for the perfect bride. Matters become much more complicated when the only woman who shows an interest in him just happens to be the young sister-in-law of the Duke of Tempest; the same man who, just months ago, had been tempted to kill him.

One thing is for certain, as the Season draws to an end, Lord Rawlings will have to decide once and for all, if his wicked ways are enough to bring him contentment in life, or if a leopard really can change his spots. Or in Phillip's case—can a devil truly be redeemed?

Author Recipe: Chocolate Cherry Cake

Written by: Delaney Diamond

Chocolate Cherry Cake

Ingredients:

1 box of chocolate cake mix (any brand you like)

1 21-oz. can of cherry pie filling

1 container of chocolate icing

Prepare the cake according to the instructions, but omit the oil and use the pie filling instead. Mix it to blend well. Pour the mixture into two pans, and bake per instructions on the box. Remove the cakes and once they've cooled, add icing and stack to make a two-layer cake.

Why I like this dish

I love to cook, but my strength is not in baking. Whenever I find a simple baking recipe, I'm ecstatic. I’ve been making this cake for a long time. I found the recipe in a recipe book I bought back in high school which had a slew of simple recipes in it. I no longer have the book, but thankfully, I remembered how to make this cake. It’s been a hit every time I have.

Years ago, I took it to work and jokingly told my co-workers that this cake will get me a proposal one day. One of my male co-workers, after having a slice, ended up proposing to me that afternoon. Lol.

I like the recipe for two reasons: 1) It’s easy. 2) It’s delicious! It comes out moist and tasty every single time. Give it a try. Who knows, you might get a proposal out of it!

Buy links: Astraea Press, All Romance Ebooks, Amazon, B&N, Smashwords

Blurb:

Julia Newman doesn’t have time for love. Been there, done that, and she’s got the scars to prove it. Instead, she’s focused on her career. For the past few years, she has been living the life she wants. She drives a silver Mercedes, just purchased a four bedroom house in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, and she’s on her way to becoming the youngest female partner in the history of the venture capitalist firm where she works. Life couldn’t be better. Or so she thought.

Frederico “Freddie” Mendoza is the owner of Mendoza Construction. He hasn’t given up on love, but he is fed up with women who are fascinated by the fantasy of being with a blue collar man and then relegate him to a certain part of their lives. His newest customer, Julia Newman, is the kind of woman he’s decided he’ll avoid from now on. He needs to work on expanding his business. Besides, she’s not his type. Or so he thought.

Excerpt:

His long, lean fingers held a single red rose, which he extended to her.

“Buenas noches,” he said softly, smiling a sexy smile that must have broken down the inhibitions of legions of women since the day he hit puberty. The lapse into Spanish was a pleasant surprise, creating more tingling from the top of her head to the toes of high-heeled sandaled feet.

“Buenas noches,” Julia repeated, lifting the flower from his hand. She felt like she had nineteen years ago when she went on her first date at sixteen: shy, nervous, anxious, and ready for anything.

When Julia locked the front door, Freddie extended the crook of his arm. Any reason to touch her, because she looked so touchable tonight. When she hooked her arm through his and allowed her soft fingers to reach up and brush his biceps, his chest muscles contracted. He didn’t know what possessed him to invite her out dancing when he should have been distancing himself from her, but he was glad he did.

She looked stunning tonight. Without the air of aloofness and the cool confidence she usually exhibited, she appeared softer, more feminine, and more approachable. The neckline of her pretty, feminine top dipped low enough to tease him with a hint of cleavage. The A-line skirt swirled around her knees and permitted him a good view of slender, toned calves in sandals.

Her dark hair was styled so it fell across her brow at a teasing angle—inviting him to reach up and brush the strands back from her face so they wouldn’t block her vision. The auburn highlights he’d noticed the first night were more noticeable now and made him want to delve his fingers into the shiny depths of her hair.

As he helped her into the newly cleaned truck, Freddie couldn’t resist leaning down while she was turned away and getting a whiff of her feminine scent. He got a double whammy. The perfume stirred his senses, and the smell of her hair made his gut contract with the desire to drag her close and bury his face in the fresh, vanilla-scented tresses.

She smiled at him as he closed the passenger side door. The wine-colored lipstick made her full lips look even fuller and inviting. More than anything he wanted to keep her smiling. He wanted to keep her safe and protect her against any further emotional harm. No woman of his—whoa.

Where had that come from?