"An Enchanting Holiday Read by three gifted authors"
Tales to warm your heart and give you goose bumps! Written
by three gifted authors, this anthology will delight
readers and put them in the Halloween mood. Highly
recommended for holiday reading. "Haunted Honeymoon" by Linda Devlin Alabama 1889 Though it is nearly 1890, Tessa and John Travis find
themselves arriving at their new home following an arranged
marriage. The arrangement had made sense at the time. Old
family friends, Tessa's kin possessed an old respected name
but had been reduced to genteel poverty by the War Between
the States, while John's family had acquired a fortune in
steel and finances but lacked stature. Love had not entered
into it. John's elder brother had rejected an arrangement,
marrying for love, and was now miserable. Tessa's mother
had assured her that women who married men who made their
hearts go pitter patter soon forgot about stability and
security. For that reason Tessa neglected to mention that
John sometimes made her heart go pitter, just a little. But
anxiety soon sets in as she faces a life with a man who
doesn't care for her. John too is a bit daunted by the fear
in his bride's eyes. Didn't she know he'd never hurt her?
Neither stops to think that either of them could have
refused the arrangement, or what it means that they had not. The pair find their home dusty and in disrepair in spite of
her mother's assurances that she'd paid well to have it
prepared. There are signs that the task had been begun and
abandoned in short order. The house was said to be haunted,
by the spirit of Tessa's Great-aunt Nell, a woman who had
loved unwisely, and died of a broken heart. Strange things
happen every time the two attempt to begin their wedding
night. Though this isn't quite what he signed up for, John
isn't about to give up on his dream of becoming a gentleman
farmer, or on the wife he wants more by the minute. Tessa
isn't about to give up either. Trepidation turns to
exasperation, and then to desperation as days pass. What
must they do to rid themselves of the meddling specter? Why
won't she leave them in peace? This novella is light, romantic, and quite humorous. "Bewitching" by Sandy Moffett Salem, Massachusetts 1790 Constance Sedgewick, along with her two aunts, runs the
Salem Academy for Young Ladies. No one is yet aware that
the three are also witches. Such knowledge would be
disastrous. Now they risk exposure as Constance's powers
become more erratic daily. Her twenty first birthday, on
All Hallow Eve approaches, and if she doesn't soon find a
man to bed her, she will lose her powers. Constance has no
wish to mate without love. Not ones to sit idly by, the
aunts set their sights on Stefan Davenport, a young man
recently arrived from Boston to assist his ailing uncle
with the running of his shop. Poor Stefan doesn't know what
hit him, quite literally! He'd been left alone with
Constance and had turned to take his leave, when
he "accidentally" trips over a chair and injures his head.
Poor Constance is certain her erratic powers are
responsible. She had quickly come to care for him, and he
had asked just asked permission to court her. It was a
promising start. But could she make him fall in love with
her before her birthday, a mere three weeks away? Without
her aunts' interference? Without using too much magic to
bewitch and beguile him? How had she fallen for him so
fast? Was she falling under her own spell, or did Stefan
perhaps possess a magic all his own? This one is sweetly sensual, and full of surprises! "Citizen Daisy" by Deb Stover Crooked Creek 2002 United States Congressman Jack McCullough was the golden
boy of his party, a man destined for the White House. His
was also a man with many regrets, which were no doubt the
reason for his blinding headache. He should have stayed
home instead of attending a Halloween Party at the country
club in his hometown of Crooked Creek, but his re-election
was only days away, and he couldn't afford not to
socialize. Pain consumed him, and as the paramedics
prepared to life flight him to the nearest hospital he told
himself he couldn't die, he had too many things to fix. And
one he couldn't. Nothing short of a miracle could bring
back Bryan. He'd been too busy to help his best friend when
he needed him most. It was his fault that Bryan was dead,
worse luck that Bryan's father, Dr. Randall was the doctor
who met him at the emergency room. Inside an MRI unit his
pain became intense. His own scream was the last thing he
remembered. Crooked Creek 1890 "Oh please bring my true love to me, for I will wed none
other." A number of strange coincidences surrounding
her birth had caused Daisy Mae Peabody to be labeled a
witch.
Though bright and beautiful, no men had come courting her.
They were all afraid of her. She suspected that Adam
Randall wanted her father's gold mine more than he wanted
her. She would not marry the man, no matter what her papa
promised him. She would marry her own true love or no one,
she thought as she closed her eyes and wished with all her
might. A brilliant flash heralded the arrival of a strange
buzzing silver tube. Inside was the most handsome man Daisy
had ever seen. Was he her own true love? Had she wished him
here? Was she a witch after all, or was it merely
wishcraft? Only Jack could answer those questions.
Why had
he been sent back in time, to right the wrongs of his
past, or to find his future? A delightful novella, by the author of MULLIGAN STEW. Deb
Stover, the queen of time travel romance, invents yet
another unique form of transportation to travel the road of
love. This story was enchanting.
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted October 16, 2002
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