Book Spotlight

I'm spotlighting TWO books this week, both of which I hope you will pick up and enjoy as much as I did...

The Irresistible Earl by Regina Scott ~ If Chase Dearborn, the powerful Earl of Allyndale, found Meredee Price's family in Scarborough, surely he'd continue his quest to challenge Meredee's stepbrother to a duel. Meredee is determined to avoid the earl at all costs. But saving a drowning young lady thwarts Meredee's plans when her act of heroism nets her the attention of the lady's brother and guardian—none other than Chase himself.

Meredee's gentle ways and tranquil beauty touch Chase's guarded heart from the moment he meets her. He's waited a lifetime for a worthy companion—someone he can trust with his deepest secrets. But then he discovers that Meredee has harbored a secret of her own, one that love may not overcome.

Regina Scott started writing novels in the third grade. Thankfully for literature as we know it, she didn't actually sell her first novel until she had learned a bit more about writing such as vocabulary, sentence structure, and plot. After numerous short stories and articles in magazines and trade journals, she got serious about her novel writing. The Unflappable Miss Fairchild was her first novel to be published (March 1998).

Besides her novels, Regina Scott has had published three Regency novellas ("The June Bride Conspiracy" in His Blushing Bride, "Sweeter Than Candy" in A Match for Mother, and "A Place by the Fire" in Mistletoe Kittens), which are now featured in electronic book form as Be My Bride. Her novels have been translated into Dutch, German, Italian, and Portuguese, and Lord Borin's Secret Love has been issued in a hardcover, large print edition. Many of her works are also available as electronic books through Belgrave House's Regency Reads line.

Regina Scott and her husband are the parents of two sons. They reside in southeast Washington State and are members of the Church of the Nazarene. Born in 1959 and raised in the Seattle area, Regina Scott is a graduate of the University of Washington. She comes by her writing talent naturally--both her parents were excellent writers in their vocations as teacher and electrical technician, now retired. Her mother envisioned the plot for "Sweeter Than Candy," the novella which was written as a tribute to her.

Regina Scott is a devout Christian and a decent fencer; owns a historical, fantasy, and science fiction costume collection that currently takes up over a third of her large closet; and has been known to impersonate an independent consultant specializing in risk communication.

Gravestone by Travis Thrasher ~

His Fear Will Soon Turn to Anger….

At first, Chris Buckley was simply warned. And watched. But as Chris unravels the haunting riddles of the town of Solitary, he finds that much more than the life of a town is at stake.

Whether facing a pastor with a house full of skeletons or a cousin he never knew existed, Chris is forced to choose between light and darkness, life and nightmarish death. Every choice he makes reminds him that the unthinkable has already happened—and if he trusts the wrong person, it may happen again.

This second book in the Solitary Tales continues Chris’s journey toward finding out who he is and what his own role is in the darkness suffocating his tiny new hometown. Filled with shocking twists, Gravestone is a tale of a teenager thrown into a battle over a town, a secret—and ultimately his own soul.

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

This quote from Stephen King’s novella, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, sums up the goal of every single one of Travis Thrasher’s novels: providing hope. As the novelist of twelve works of fiction, Travis has spent a decade fighting against being typecast and labeled.

“It’s a natural thing for novelists to be put into a box,” Travis says. “My goal has always been to tell stories about flawed characters who find redemption, whether it’s in a love story or a supernatural thriller.”

Having lived in places as diverse as Munich, Germany, and Sydney, Australia, during his youth, Travis moved to the Chicago area during his junior year of high school. That’s where he has remained.

After graduating from Trinity Christian College, Travis landed a job at Tyndale House Publishers as Author Relations Manager. He worked for over a decade in that position, acting as liaison between the publisher and the authors. But writing always came first, and Travis was fortunate to have his first novel published in 2000. It was THE PROMISE REMAINS, a sweet love story in the vein of Nicholas Sparks.

“I wrote six or seven dark, ambitious novels that went nowhere,” Travis says. “It was only after writing a simple love story about unrequited love that I got my first break.”

Getting that first book published was a dream come true, but Travis always saw himself having multiple books in print. Travis’s drive and imagination have allowed him to see a variety of books published: from love stories (THE WATERMARK; THREE ROADS HOME) to suspense (GUN LAKE; ADMISSION; BLINDED) to drama (THE SECOND THIEF; SKY BLUE) to supernatural thrillers (ISOLATION; GHOSTWRITER).

“I tell people this is not the way to build a writing career, but I’m thankful I’ve been able to build mine the way I wanted to. I want to entertain and surprise readers, and to continue to build a readership that will take journeys with me, whether they’re going to 1929 Brazil or current day Geneva, Illinois.”

2010 will mark a decade of publishing for Travis. It will also be a significant year with the release of BROKEN by Faithwords in May and SOLITARY by Cook in August.

“I’m excited about these two upcoming stories that will surely surprise and move readers,” Travis says. “BROKEN is about a young woman who is just that—broken and bruised by this world. SOLITARY is the first in a teen series that combines a love story with the supernatural. Both are powerful stories.”

His goal continues to be to tell powerful and moving stories that will reach fiction readers of all types. As a fulltime novelist for over two years, Travis feels he’s still just warming up.

“There are things I learn about the writing process and about myself with every novel. I believe my best stories are still in front of me, waiting to be discovered like a buried treasure. I’m thankful that I’m able to dig a little more every day.”

Travis lives with his wife and three-year-old daughter in a suburb of Chicago.

BB is giving away both The Irresistible Earl by Regina Scott and Gravestone by Travis Thrasher. Be sure to stop by The Borrowed Book on Friday for your chance to win!