Once Upon a Gothic - current work in progress

A gothic time-travel with a Jane Eyre twist.

More to come.

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Fire of the Dragon
2010 Marlene Contest finalist
1st place 2009 Merritt Contest *full requested*
1st place 2008 Hold Me, Thrill Me! Contest
2nd place 2008 Beacon Contest
3rd place 2009 TARA Contest
3rd place 2008 On The Far Side Contest

Being sent back in time to the Middle Ages wouldn't be so bad if the knight in shining armor who comes to your rescue didn't swoop down in the form of a fire-breathing dragon. Unfortunately for Jill Donahue, that's just the way things have been going in her life lately.

      Through the magical power of a musty old dragon tapestry fragment found in a vintage clothing store, Jill gets sucked back in time. She awakens to find herself in an ancient medieval town where the villagers decide to sacrifice her to the local dragon. As if the threat of being eaten alive by a giant flying lizard wasn't bad enough, she learns there is a curse surrounding the tapestry and she has to break it in order to get back to her time. But she isn't the only one whose fate is tied to the ancient weaving.
      Baelin of Gosforth, a knight whose literal interpretation of the code of chivalry is what got him in trouble in the first place, has been cursed by a vindictive witch to live as a dragon for eleven months out of each year. Now he has thirty days to break the curse or he turns back into a fire-breathing beast and -- as much as he hates to admit it -- he needs Jill's help to do it.
      Forced to face many challenges along the way, both from the harsh world they travel through and from a fiery passion they both try to deny, each is determined to break the curse so the other can get their happily-ever-after. And it just might work -- if Jill can manage to overlook the fire-breathing, bat-winged remnants of Baelin's dragon half long enough to see the man beneath the beast and get the job done.

click here to read an excerpt

click here to read an interview with heroine Jill Donahue

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Ashes in the Wind
2004 Golden Pen finalist
2003 Finally a Bride finalist
1998 Award of Excellence finalist

      David and Sera are soul mates destined to be together, if only their bumbling guardian angels could do their job right. First united in Pompeii A.D. 79 as a young Roman girl and a slave gladiator, their young love is cut short when Vesuvius unexpectedly erupts. After several botched attempts, their angels get one final chance to bring the couple together and personally escort them back to war-torn Italy, nearly two thousand years later.
      Sera is now an archeologist excavating the ruins of Pompeii and David is an American soldier masquerading as an Italian, sent to spy on the Germans camped near the ruins. With the help of their earth-bound angels, David and Sera must overcome deception, heartbreak and the forgotten tragedy of their past lives. Working side by side in the ruins where they died centuries ago in each other's arms, David and Sera's relationship grows from a guarded friendship to explosive passion as they excavate their own bodies and, in doing so, unearth the love of a lifetime.

click here to read an excerpt

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The Highland Wife
1998 Heart of the Rockies finalist

An eye for an eye. Clancy McDonell is on a quest for revenge and he intends to use his enemy's daughter as his pawn. When she is injured being captured and wakes up with no memory, he seizes the chance and tells her she's his wife. What better way to send her back to his enemy in disgrace than to have her give herself willingly to him? Unfortunately, Lass McKenzie is every bit the Highlander herself, having grown up among the warriors of her clan. How can she be a wife to a stranger when she never knew how to act like a woman before? And what happens when a Highlander falls in love with a wife who isn't really his?

click here to read an excerpt