A first love is never easily forgotten...
and coming face to face with that person again can be awkward when the heartstrings are still holding on to the &;what ifs.&;
In settings from 1865 to 1910, nine couples are thrown back on the same path by life&;s changes and challenges. A neighbor returns from law school. An heiress seeks a quick marriage. A soldier&;s homecoming is painful. A family needs help. A prodigal son returns. A rogue aeronaut drops from the sky. A runaway bridegroom comes home. A letter for aid is sent. A doctor needs a nurse. Can love rekindle despite the separation of time and space?
First Things First by Susanne Dietze
1877 &; South Texas: Texas rancher&;s daughter Georgie Bridge mourned when her first love, Ward Harper, left town to study the law, but now he&;s back&;as opposing counsel in a case against her father.
 
A Most Reluctant Bride by Cynthia Hickey
1880 &; Ozark foothill ranch: Maggie Spoonmore marries her father&;s former foreman, Zach Colton in order to salvage her reputation, yet struggles to believe he married her for love and not her inheritance.
 
Weeping Willow by Marcia Gruver
May of 1861 &; Port Royal, Virginia: In Civil War Virginia, tables are turned for Willow Bates when Julian Finney, her childhood crush and steadfast defender, returns from the war a broken man in need of rescue.
 
His Anchor by Carrie Fancett Pagels
1894 &; Mackinac Island, Michigan: Robert Swaine, a ship captain, returns to Mackinac Island where his first love, Sadie Duvall struggles to support her siblings. Will she anchor him to the island he has vowed to leave behind?
 
After the Ball by Martha Rogers
1910 &; Dallas, Texas: Chase Thornton, a wealthy oil man yearns for the life of a cowboy and his first love, Susannah King, but can she trust him to keep his word to leave the city and stay on the ranch?  
 
Lighter Than Air by Lorna Seilstad
1900 &; St. Louis, Missouri: After Titus Knott crashes his hot air balloon behind Ella Mason&;s boarding school, he must convince his former sweetheart that his words are true and not full of hot air.
 
In Due Season by Connie Stevens
1901 &; Whitley, Kansas: Leah Brown accepts her role of town spinster until Gareth Shepherd unexpectedly steps back into her life. Now she&;s faced with a choice. Can she forgive the man who jilted her?
 
Heartfelt Echoes by Jennifer Uhlarik
1875&;Virginia City, Nevada: A short, urgent letter mentioning his childhood love, Millie Gordon, forces deaf Travis McCaffrey to turn to his estranged birth father for help rescuing the woman he can&;t forget.
 
Prescription for Love by Erica Vestch
1905 &; New Orleans: Erstwhile fiancée Natalie Morrison is the last person Dr. Mackenzie wants as his new nurse, but when an epidemic hits, Phin finds she&;s come back into his life at the perfect time.
 
Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she's an award-winning, RWA RITAŽ-nominated author who's seen her work on the ECPA, Amazon, and Publisher's Weekly Bestseller Lists for Inspirational Fiction. Married to a pastor and the mom of two, Susanne lives in California and enjoys fancy-schmancy tea parties, genealogy, the beach, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama. To learn more, visit her website, https://link.edgepilot.com/s/d3080295/p0aguhhlsE6XP5PN5daEzw?u=http://www.susannedietze.com/.
Multi-published and best-selling author, Cynthia Hickey, has taught writing at many conferences and small writing retreats. She and her husband run the publishing press, Winged Publications, which includes some of the CBA's best well-known authors. They live in Arizona and Arkansas, becoming snowbirds with two dogs and one cat. They have ten grandchildren who them busy and tell everyone they know that "Nana is a writer."
Marcia Gruver’s southern roots lend touches of humor and threads of faith to her writing. Look for both in her Texas Fortunes and Backwoods Brides series. When she’s not perched behind a keyboard, you’ll find her clutching a game system controller or riding shotgun on long drives in the Texas Hill Country. Lifelong Texans, Marcia and her husband Lee have five children. Collectively, this motley crew has graced them with a dozen grandchildren and one great-granddaughter―so far.
ECPA-bestselling author Carrie Fancett Pagels, Ph.D., is the award-winning author of over a dozen Christian historical romances. Twenty-five years as a psychologist didn't "cure" her overactive imagination! A self-professed “history geek,” she resides with her family in the Historic Triangle of Virginia but grew up as a “Yooper” in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Carrie loves to read, bake, bead, and travel – but not all at the same time! You can connect with her at www.CarrieFancettPagels.com.
MARTHA ROGERS is a free-lance writer and the author of the
Winds Across the Prairie, Seasons of the Heart, and
The Homeward Journey series as well as the novella,
Key to Her Heart in
River Walk Christmas and
Not on the Menu in
Sugar and Grits. She was named Writer of the Year at the Texas Christian Writers Conference in 2009 and is a member of ACFW. She writes the weekly Verse of the Week for the ACFW Loop. ACFW awarded her the Volunteer of the Year in 2014. Her first electronic series from Winged Publications,
Love in the Bayou City of Texas, debuted in the spring of 2016. Martha is a frequent speaker for writing workshops and the Texas Christian Writers Conference. She is a retired teacher and lives in Houston with her husband, Rex. Their favorite pastime is spending time with their eleven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
www.marthawrogers.com
