Tag: Jan Selbourne

Perilous Love

by eileentroemel, posted in Book Tour, Writing

Jan Selbourne and I have become friends through our love of writing. I have to say, her writing and dedication to facts in her historical novels is impressive. Because of this I invited her to share a bit about what inspired her to write Perilous Love which I could not put down.

Thank you very much Eileen for inviting me to talk about my book Perilous Love

April 25 was Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand.

On the 25th of April 1915 the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps formed part of the allied expedition which landed at 5.30 am on the Gallipoli (Turkey) peninsula. These became known as Anzacs and the pride they took in that name continues.  

When WW1 began in 1914, Australia and New Zealand were part of the British Empire. We were young countries with populations of only 4.9 million and 1.1 million respectively. That didn’t stop our young men from lining up to join the fight 13,000 miles away. A grand adventure to teach the Germans a lesson and be home by Christmas. Some fretted the action would be over before they got there. They weren’t to know that four long brutal years later 62,000 Australians and 16,500 New Zealanders would never see home again.   

Each year, except for 2020, Australia and New Zealand hold dawn services in each city and town and again at 11.30am – 5.30am in Turkey – to remember the Anzacs and all those who served and who gave their lives in wars and conflicts and peacekeeping operations.  Each year an enormous crowd gathers at the Gallipoli Peninsula for an Anzac dawn service in harmony with the Turkish government and people.

My grandfather enlisted in early 1915 and served in Egypt and the battlefields of Belgium and France. It was at Etaples (France) Army Base Camp housing up to 100,000 British, Canadian, Scottish and Anzac forces that he actually bumped into his brother, whom he had not seen for six years. Both men returned home but the deaths and carnage and appalling conditions on the Western Front left a terrible mark on them.

I could see why when I visited those battlefields a few years ago. Miles of beautiful soft green countryside until our guide held up enlarged photos of blackened, smoky wasteland. Not just the huge craters and bodies of horses and soldiers and overturned cannons but the toll on local citizens whose towns and farms were destroyed, and lives lost.  I wanted to write about it but couldn’t put it together.

It was not long after I came home that I read an article on how a person’s true character is revealed when faced with extreme danger or a life-threatening situation. For instance, the tough chest beating he-man turns to water and runs. The shy introvert steps up to face the danger head on. I had my story.

Perilous Love begins in 1914 England with Europe on edge after the assassination of an archduke.

Here’s the blurb –

Gabrielle Bryce’s plan to leave her miserable empty marriage ends when her estranged husband Adrian announces he’ll accompany her and their two children on the annual trip to Belgium. She wasn’t to know the British government ordered Adrian to find proof her aristocratic uncle is secretly supporting the German Empire’s quest for war.

What Adrian finds pushes them into a nightmare of betrayal, forcing them to run for their lives as the German forces cross the border. With only a stolen horse and buggy to their name and facing danger, brutality, and painful truths about themselves, they reach safety as two different people. Waiting for them are charges of treason and a woman who’ll stop at nothing to see Adrian dead.

Buy Now

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14661584.Jan_Selbourne?from_search=true

http://twitter.com/JanSelbourne

https://www.facebook.com/jan.selbourne

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-selbourne-2817b6140/

The Remittance Man

by eileentroemel, posted in Book Tour

The Remittance Man by Jan Selbourne

(One of four stories in the Regency Romance Anthology, Gift From My Lady)

Blurb

Banished to the colony of New South Wales, Adam Stamford’s life is one of backbreaking work and few comforts until a letter from his father. The man who disowned him now begs him to come home, to stop the blackmailer before the honourable family name and estate are shamed and bankrupted.

Adam is not the man he was when he arrives home to England celebrating Bonaparte’s defeat at Waterloo, and the extortionist’s demands have doubled. It is beneath the aristocratic walls of his ancestral home that Adam discovers the depth of his brother’s treason and betrayal, but nothing makes sense, until Carolyn and the truth.

Excerpt

Adam pulled off his wet boots and coat and leaned against the door. After the cracking wild storms last night, the rain had eased to a steady drizzle. The barrels and buckets under the eaves were full and the dark sky promised more. He dipped a pitcher into the barrel beside the door and put it on the grate over the fire. Finally, a pot of tea with fresh rainwater.

Feet squelching in the mud made him turn around. Ben Gilmore from the main house, snake saver and now employer, stood at the doorway.

“Morning Adam.”

“Morning Ben,” Adam pointed to the pot on the stove. “Tea?”

“No thanks, just had one.” His thumb jerked over his shoulder. “Mud, beautiful mud.”  He handed Adam a thickly bound envelope. “Got back this morning. First chance I’ve had to come down here.”        

His eyebrows rose at Adam’s bemused expression. “Three ships were in the harbour. I checked the Gazette’s mail arrivals for the Bensons and myself and noticed your name on the list.” He grinned. “Cost me a shilling I might add.”

Adam’s eyes were on the envelope. “Take it out of my pay.”

Ben moved back to the door. “Finish your tea and your mail, then come up to the house. The storms made a mess of the barn roof.”

Adam waited until he was alone before cutting the twine from the first letter since he’d arrived in the colony. The familiar strong sloping handwriting looked back at him. Dated five months earlier, it began without salutation,

Adam,

You would not be receiving this letter, assuming it arrives after such a long journey if circumstances were not forcing my hand. The reasons why my son of twenty-seven years left England still bring me much shame. Even worse was your refusal to acknowledge the appalling behaviour or the fact it was your family name and money that got you out of England. A man of the lower classes would have hanged.’

Adam leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes. For God’s sake, it’s been three and a half years! I don’t need this. His fingers gripped the pages to tear them apart, but he didn’t.

One of the circumstances was my being informed by the magistrate that you were not responsible for Cranston’s death. While that does not excuse or forgive your many vices, I have no choice but to beg you to continue reading.

The cold winters and a severe leg injury have taken a toll on my health. My doctor strongly advised I hand the estate responsibilities to your brother. Unbeknown to any of us, he had led a double life. I cannot elaborate more in this letter except he’s being blackmailed. The threat and fear of exposure of this other life was so great he paid until there was no more, forcing him into the clutches of the money lenders. The reasons for banishing you from England pale beside the revelation of your brother’s folly and the horrific consequences if exposed. I have no one else to turn to but you. I ask, no beg, you to return to England to find and stop this despicable creature before he ruins our family and our good name and our home.

Adam skimmed through the next page. If he agreed, he was to approach the Colonial Secretary for assistance with the ship’s passage. His father would reimburse the War and Colonial Office in London.

Plain paper and no names, in case it fell into the wrong hands. Stunned, he stood up and not knowing what to do, sat down. Paul had lived a double life. A bigamist? A coachman or a Bow Street Runner? The thought of his pompous dandified brother running for a living made him chuckle then the smile faded. Horrific consequences? His father’s rubbing the salt into the old wounds told him a lot of pride had been swallowed to write this letter. But, papa, it is all about you and Paul and the 17th century home on four hundred acres of lush green English land. Not one word asking if I were still alive or buried six feet under in a penal colony thirteen thousand miles away.

Damn them. Paul can get out of his own mess. There was work to be done and the barn won’t fix itself. He got to his feet again and clutched the back of the chair as the pain of homesickness hit him like a brick. For the first time in years his eyes were stinging like hell.

Author’s note

A remittance man was usually the black sheep of a British upper- or middle-class family who was sent away from the United Kingdom to one of the colonies and paid to stay away. These men were often an embarrassment to their families and banished after disgraces at home.

The colony of New South Wales was established when the first fleet of convicts landed at Botany Bay in 1788.  By 1815, the penal colony, 13,000 miles from Britain, had grown and flourished, with many free settlers calling this new land home.  I am sure a lot of them left shady pasts behind and arrived with a new name.  I wanted my character to be one of them.

Buy link –

Gift From My Lady – Kindle edition by Guthrie, T. Elizabeth, Selbourne, Jan, Brett, Claire, Rose, Cerise. Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Author link

Website: https://nomadauthors.com/JanSelbourne/index.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jan.selbourne

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanSelbourne
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-selbourne-2817b6140/
https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Selbourne/e/B0184OSZ6E/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

A Gift from My Lady – Jan Selbourne

by eileentroemel, posted in Book Tour

Jan Selbourne – The Remittance Man
Banished to the colony of New South Wales, Adam Stamford’s life is one of backbreaking work and few comforts until a letter from his father. The man who disowned him now begs him to return, to stop the blackmailer before the honourable family name and estate are shamed and bankrupted. Adam arrives home to England celebrating Bonaparte’s defeat at Waterloo and the extortionist demanding more. It is beneath the aristocratic façade of his ancestral home that Adam discovers the depth of his brother’s treason and betrayal, but nothing makes sense, until Carolyn and the truth.

https://eileentroemel.com/a-gift-from-my-lady/

Full Circle

by eileentroemel, posted in Book Tour

by Jan Selbourne

Bio

Jan Selbourne was born and educated in Melbourne, Australia and her love of literature and history began as soon as she learned to read and hold a pen., After graduating from a Melbourne Business College her career began in the dusty world of ledgers and accounting, working in Victoria, Queensland and the United Kingdom. On the point of retiring she changed course to work as secretary of a large NSW historical society. Now retired Jan is enjoying her love of travelling and literature. She has two children, a stray live in cat and lives near Maitland, New South Wales.

A member of London’s upper echelons of society discovers his wealth, and the wealth of his business partner, currently in the colony of New South Wales, have been embezzled by their secretary-accountant, who has disappeared.  Desperate to avoid public humiliation, he begs  Metropolitan Police detective Lloyd Harrington to investigate privately. What Lloyd discovers takes him to the new thriving colony where a young woman, also from London, takes pleasure delivering the news to the other partner. Is she an accomplice to this carefully planned theft or does she have a deep very personal reason for bringing these two men to their knees?

Full Circle: An historical novel of mystery, intrigue, revenge, and love – Kindle edition by Selbourne, Jan. Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Finding a Christmas Miracle

by eileentroemel, posted in Book Tour, Writing

by Jan Selbourne & Anne Krist

Blurb

Two exceptional novellas featuring two men engulfed in a war no one understands or wants—Vietnam. They’re both hoping for a miracle with little expectation of finding it.

Jan Selbourne lends her award-winning writing talent to Miracle in the Outback. Nick Saunders is in a hurry to escape a family argument and also to return to his Army base in Wagga Wagga. He doesn’t need another complication. Rachel Garth is a woman with a broken down car, a small girl, a deadly snake, and a baby on the way. She needs Nick’s help. He doesn’t know it, but he needs hers, too.

In award-winning author Anne Krist’s The Miracle of Coming Home, Army PFC Tom Stabler wins a trip to his parents’ Nebraska farm for Christmas. He needs the time away from the war. Lately, he’s been feeling lost and too alone. Trouble is, being home is almost as bad. Then Susan Swensen arrives, just as sweet and pretty as he remembers. Can Susan help him find himself again, or will it take a miracle?

My review

Selbourne and Krist created two short stories to touch your heart and make you think of family. Selbourne’s story speaks to destiny. Her characters are real, harsh, and struggle with their lives. You want to reach into the book and help them both.

Krist’s story seems straight forward. Boy goes off to war and becomes lost in the viciousness of it. Girl worries for him and wants nothing more than a moment with him. There’s a twist which was unexpected – no spoilers don’t worry. This twist transformed the story from the expected to the extraordinary.

The writing of these two authors is stellar. They both have good pacing, good character building, and a good plot. This is a quick read which will be well worth your time.

Perilous Love – Review

by eileentroemel, posted in Uncategorized

by Jan Selbourne

Blurb

As the world rushes towards a war, the British government orders wealthy businessman, Adrian Bryce to leave his mistress and accompany his estranged wife, Gabrielle, to Belgium. They require proof Gabrielle’s uncle is supporting the German Empire. Adrian discovers secrets which plunge him and Gabrielle into a nightmare of betrayal. Forced to run for their lives as Germany invades, they must trust each other in the midst of danger, brutality, and injury.
Gabrielle enjoys her role of mother of their two children. Wanting only to be with her lover, and now fearful of exposure, she readies herself and her children for a difficult trip. With no way out, Gabrielle knows the visit with her aristocratic traditional family will be a trial, and Europe is on edge. She had no idea the danger she, Adrian and her children would be in.
Will Adrian and Gabrielle reach safety? If they do, are they out of danger or will the intrigue and treason follow them back to England?

Review

This is a 4.5 star read for me. It’s a book where I was annoyed each time I was interrupted when readingBy it.

Set in the first world war, Perilous Love (which has a much better new cover) has been newly updated and rereleased with a new cover. The cover is much more fitting. The story takes right before the start of the war. The two main characters I didn’t like – Adrian and Gabrielle. They are rich and spoiled and obnoxious. They travel from England to Belgium for their annual visit to Gabrielle’s family (Belgium royalty). What occurs in Belgium forces these characters to look at themselves, their marriage, and each other.

Selbourne takes them through the hell of a country invaded and under siege. The violence and the horror of the time is handled beautifully by Selbourne. Instead of forcing the reader to go through horrific scenes of rape, debauchery, and violence, Selbourne has the reader experience it as the characters do. These keeps the horror of what were realistic events of the war from overwhelming the central story. Her characters are well researched and fit the time period she’s using. Her story line is well paced with a balance of fast paced OMG what will happen next to the moments when the characters connect and are real with each other.

I don’t typically read historical novels. Too often I find mistakes on word usage, setting, or items in the book being out of place or time. Selbourne clearly did her research when it came to all of these things. This is well written. It’s got depth and heart in it. When you read the book, you feel like you’re in the time period with the characters.

Cowboy Desire – Loving Jack

by eileentroemel, posted in Book Tour

Author Bio

Estelle Pettersen is an Australian author and former journalist whose romance stories explore empowerment, freedom, and finding one’s strength. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Journalism and Psychology, from the University of Queensland, Australia. Her second degree is an MBA from Queensland University of Technology, Australia. She is a member of Romance Writers of Australia and is passionate about history, languages, cultures, traveling, food, and wine. She is happily married and living in Norway these days.

Blurb

After five years of living in London, Olivia Bertrand returns home to Roma, in western Queensland, Australia, only to literally bump into sexy ex-football player Jack McCullen.

Close friends since early childhood, Olivia has always had a crush on Jack but was too shy to admit it. Having been through failed relationships and life changes, both realize that they want each other more than ever. Now, they’re only one step closer to taking their friendship to the next level.

Are Olivia and Jack ready to completely let go of the past for a wild ride ahead? Will they finally admit their love for each other, or will they go their own separate ways?  Find out in this sweet and sensual erotic romance of friends to lovers in an Australian country town.

Excerpt

I knew where we were heading when I recognized a large sign on the old road to the McCullens’ cattle farm about twenty minutes later. Jack parked in front of a magnificent, high-set Queenslander home. It was built of timber, raised off the ground, with a corrugated iron roof and a spacious veranda. The front lawn was a gardener’s delight, with outback flora and an old eucalyptus tree, where Jack and I had carved our initials when we were about nine years old.

“I haven’t been to your house for a while,” I commented as we walked up the steps. “I’ll get a chance to see your mum and dad and say hello.”

“They’re visiting some relatives in Toowoomba this weekend, so it’s just us tonight,” Jack replied, then cleared his throat. “Come over for dinner next Sunday arvo. They’d love to see you.”

“Sure,” I said, stealing a glance at Jack’s athletic physique. “Does that crazy bush turkey still visit your backyard?”

Jack released a light chuckle, then tilted his head and flashed his megawatt smile. “Did you miss Fred?”

“He was a real nutter, that one! Fred would’ve made a good Christmas meal.”

“Fred disappeared shortly after you nicked off to the other side of the world. He’s never come back.”

“Well, good riddance!” I smiled, feeling the warmth of Jack’s body as he stepped closer toward me.

“Ah, you miss him,” Jack murmured, cupping my face with his rough, warm hands. He was right. I missed that crazy, feathered bundle of insanity, who was part of the McCullen farm. However, it was Jack who I craved—I felt his warm, minty breath on my neck as we stood in front of the door in heated silence.

“Livvy, there’s something I’ve wanted to do with you for a long time,” he confessed, pulling me tightly into him.

“I wanted it too,” I whispered, inhaling his spiced, woody aftershave. My fingers trembled as they touched his tanned face and traced the tip of his aquiline nose, down to his soft lips.

“Will you kiss me?” Jack’s deep ocean eyes begged mine.

https://amzn.to/2LmdUhD

Cowboy Desire – Wyoming Way

by eileentroemel, posted in Book Tour

Author Bio

Nancy Golinski is an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer. She has a Master’s degree in Exercise Science and has been a college professor for over 15 years. She is passionate about health and fitness and empowers women to make healthy choices.  She is also a romantic at heart and writes romance fiction novels. She is married and lives in a small town in Ohio, close to Amish country. When she’s not writing, you can find her at the theatre or hiking one of Ohio’s many nature trails.

Blurb

When Jessica Thomas moves back home, sparks fly between her and childhood friend, Spencer Campbell.  Jess can easily see herself settling down with a man like Spencer, but he’s married, and she’s no home-wrecker.  She vows to keep her distance, but then an epic snowstorm throws them together.  Can their friendship survive?  More importantly, can they handle the consequences of that snowy night? 

https://amzn.to/2LmdUhD

Cowboy Desire – Space Cowboy

by eileentroemel, posted in Book Tour

Author bio

Alice lives in London, UK, with her husband and son. By day she’s a compliance manager for a pharmaceutical company. By night she writes fantasy romance about shape shifting mermen, water monsters and time-travelling witches. Her first book, “A Merman’s Choice,” was published in January 2019 by Black Velvet Seductions. It is the first book in a fantasy romance trilogy inspired by the landscapes and legends of Brittany and Wales. The second and third books, “Music for a Merman,” and “Mermaids Marry in Green,” are out now. Alice has also contributed short stories for the BVS anthologies “Mystic Desire” and “Desire Me Again,” both available now, and “Cowboy Desire,” on pre order now, release date 1 April. Alice loves reading and writing stories, and sharing them with anyone who’s interested!

Space Cowboy Blues

Josh is a space cowboy. His job? Taming alien species. But on the blue planet Albastra, the beautiful Melynas is more than a match for him. He’d love to get close to her… but everything on Albastra is lethal to humans. Including her!

https://amzn.to/2LmdUhD

Social Media

MERMAIDS MARRY IN GREEN – “Exciting, adventurous, swimming in passion…” Goodreads & Bookbub 5 STAR REVIEWSMUSIC FOR A MERMAN – 5 STAR REVIEWSA MERMAN’S CHOICE – 5 STAR REVIEWS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AliceRenaudAuthorRomance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alicerauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18670218.Alice_Renaud

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alice-renaud

Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Renaud/e/B07L52P17B

Website: https://nomadauthors.com/alicerenaud/alicebooks.html

Cowboy Desire – Craving Her Cowboys

by eileentroemel, posted in Book Tour

R.M. Olivia

Bio

R.M. Olivia likes her writing hot and her characters even hotter. In case you couldn’t guess, she writes erotica and erotic romance. Where does she get her ideas? She credits her muse for whispering in her ear and pouncing on her keyboard. She gives her utmost gratitude to this little vixen of creativity.
She believes in letting her passions be her guide and in throwing caution to the wind.
R.M. Olivia does not discriminate in her choice of characters or story lines.
Keep reading, keep loving, and keep dreaming.

Riva Stewart is living her very own nightmare when she flees her abusive boyfriend. In a twist of fate, a broken down car  places her in the path of two very hot cowboy mechanics. Now only question is which man does she want more? How about both?

Instagram:@rmoliviaTwitter @rmoliviawritesFacebook: https://m.facebook.com/RMOliviaEroticaPage/Tumblr: @rmoliviaWordpress: rmolivia.wordpress.com

Cowboy Desire

Cowboy Desire is an eclectic assortment of short stories.

It includes contemporary, historical, fantasy, and even outer space romance, Cowboy Desire offers fourteen stunning short stories.

These fourteen authors provide a range of sweet to sexy stories all with a Western cowboy theme. They feature strong men and women battling the weather and dangerous terrain, here on earth and in outer space.

The collection is as diverse as the authors who wrote them. Here’s a chance to discover new talented authors and the characters they create. Within these pages, there are blends of tender, often moving, thought-provoking and downright sexy stories.

https://amzn.to/2LmdUhD