Blues Along the River

Last week I posted about the release of my Love Inspired Suspense Dangerous Reunion. This week I want to let you know about a very different story of mine that has recently released from Barbour’s Heartsong Presents Romance line.

Blues Along the River is the third book in my Alabama Brides series. These books are set in the Black Belt of Alabama in the fictional town of Willow Bend in the years after the Civil War. The Columns of Cottonwood released last fall, and Dinner at the St. James released in January. Alabama Brides containing all three books will release in October.

Since my first published books were suspense, writing these historical romance stories has given me great pleasure. When I became an author, I intended to write historical romance but I got sidetracked. Now I’m thrilled that I’m getting to write the two genres I love the most.

Blues Along the River tells the story of Victoria Turner, a naïve young girl from Mobile, who arrives in Willow Bend, Alabama, sixteen years after the end of the Civil War. When she steps off the steamboat, the first person she meets is Marcus Raines, the handsome owner of Pembrook Plantation. Victoria who is unhappy over her move to the little river town sees in Marcus the chance to live a privileged life as the wife of a man she thinks will fulfill all her dreams. Unfortunately, she doesn’t look below the surface to see what hidden secrets may control her life in the plantation’s big house.

Here’s the back cover blurb from the book:

When Victoria Turner and Marcus Raines marry, they're both surprised to quickly discover they're not living happily ever after. Marcus continues to remember his late father's warnings about women betraying men, and he wonders if that is exactly what Victoria is doing when she refuses to abide by his wishes. Victoria is appalled that Marcus doesn't recognize how the South is changing after the war and that he can no longer treat his tenant farmers the way his father treated their slaves. Instead of being full of joy, their lives in their beautiful plantation home along the Alabama River reflect the blues sung by the workers.

Will Victoria and Marcus find answers they need by turning to the Author of their love? Or will the pain of their pasts and their unwillingness to forgive leave their hearts empty and their home filled with bitterness?

I posted two days this week on the Heartsong Connection Blog about Blues Along the River. To read those posts, click here.

I enjoyed researching this book and learning so much about the problems experienced in the South after the Civil War. The years following that great conflict were filled with uncertainty. It was a time when love of God, family, and the land were the only roads to a renewed future.

The Civil War, like so many others, took the lives of thousands who died to make sure all Americans have the freedom they deserve. This week as I celebrated the Fourth of July I thanked God to be living in a country where every member of society can experience the freedom afforded to us by those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

 What about you? As an Amerian, what are you thankful for?