It’s been seven years since Annette Blair left her administrative job at a New England prep school to become a full-time writer. She’s done well, to say the least, hitting the New York Times bestseller list with her fifth novel.
When her children were young, Annette jotted plot ideas on scrap paper and threw them into her nightstand. Finally, one day, she took one of her plot ideas and starting writing. She sold her first book in 1998. Recently she’s seen the eBook re-release of Jacob’s Return and Butterfly Garden, which she calls “sensual Amish historicals” set in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The books were written as straight historicals, and not for the Christian market which is so popular toiday.
Annette tops today’s Buffet with Undeniable Rogue, Book 1 in a four-part Regency romance series. Heartstrings called the book “a feel-good read that shines with warmth, wit and passion.”
Some of Annette’s favorite authors are: Ruth Cardello, Kristan Higgins, Hannah Howell, Nora Roberts, Janet Evanovich, Mary Balogh, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Madelyn Alt.
As usual, each book listed here has gone FREE within the past 24 hours. Warning: Kindle book promotions can end without notice, so before downloading click the link “See Kindle price at Amazon” to verify that the book is still free. (Prices and availability may differ outside USA.)
Undeniable Rogue (The Rogues Club, Book One)
Historical Romance
Author: Annette Blair
Aware that romance and matrimony aren’t always compatible, widow, Sabrina Whitcomb, nevertheless, needs a husband. While providing for her children is paramount, wedding a stranger—even a wealthy one like Gideon St. Goddard, Duke of Stanthorpe—is no light matter. So why did the shockingly handsome rogue agree to marry her? When Gideon flashes his wicked, seductive smile, the reason hardly matters.
Beauty and the beast trade places. After being reported dead, handsome as sin Bryceson Wakefield, Duke of Hawksworth, returns home scarred and beaten by war, only to find his hoyden of a wife blossomed into a beauty and set to wed another. Can Beauty seduce her unforgettable Beast? Will the beast ever come to consider himself worthy?
The Beauty Bride
Historical Romance
Author: Deborah Cooke, Claire Delacroix
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More cherished than gold are the Jewels of Kinfairlie, and only the worthiest may fight for their love…The Laird of Kinfairlie has unmarried sisters, each a gem in her own right. And he has no choice but to see them all wed in haste.
Lady Madeline’s heart is not for sale…especially not to a notorious outlaw like Rhys FitzHenry. Yet Madeline’s hand has been sold, to none other than this battle-weary warrior with a price on his head. A more dutiful maiden might cede to the Laird’s command and meekly accept her fate, but Madeline has never been obedient. She decides to run away, though she never dreams that Rhys will pursue her. She does not expect this taciturn man to woo her with fanciful stories, much less that each of his enthralling tales will reveal a scar upon his shielded soul. She never imagines that a man like Rhys could imperil her own heart while revealing so little of his own feelings. When Rhys’s past threatens his future, Madeline takes a leap of faith. She dares to believe him innocent — and risks her own life to pursue a passion more priceless than the rarest gem.
The Moghul
Historical Fiction
Author: Thomas Hoover
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(Doubleday, 1983)
Based on real people (ca. 1620) – an English “sea dog” shoots his way through Portuguese gallons and into an Indian port to open trade. Once on land, there’re tiger hunts, war elephants, sensual music, drugs, and sacred lovemaking.
Begins in a rip-roaring sea battle north of Bombay in which the vastly out-gunned adventurer, Brian Hawksworth, ship’s captain and emissary of King James, blows away a flotilla of Portuguese galleons to gain access to an Indian port. He’s come to open trade for “barbaric” England and squeeze out the Portuguese, who try to kill him at every turn. But once on land, he’s captive: the beauty and romance of the exquisite Moghul Empire seduce him from his material goals to a new quest – of supreme sensuality in music, visions, and sacred lovemaking.
India, ruled by the son of great Akbar, is about to pass to one of his sons. Hawksworth must choose sides, but will he choose right? The future of England, and of India, depend on it. Assailed by intrigue and assassination, tormented by a forbidden love, enthralled by a mystic poet, Hawksworth engages war elephants, tiger hunts, the harem of the Red Fort of Agra, the Rajput warriors at Udaipur, becomes intimate champion to Shah Jahan, (builder of the Taj Mahal), and, in his supreme test, plays the sitar with a touch that elicits from the great Shah – “Finally, my English friend – you understand.”
The Zen Experience
Religious Studies > Church & State
Author: Thomas Hoover
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(New American Library,1980)
“The best history of Zen ever written,” according to Library Journal.
Illumines Zen as it was created and shaped by the personalities, perceptions, and actions of its masters over the centuries.
Beginning with the twin roots of Zen in Indian Buddhism and Chinese Taoism, we follow it through its initial flowering in China under the First Patriarch Bodhidharma; its division into schools of “gradual” and “sudden” enlightenment under Shen-hsui and Shen-hui; the ushering in of its golden age by Hui-neng; the development of “shock” enlightenment by Ma-tsu; its poetic greatness in the person of Han-shan; the perfection of the use of the koan by Ta-hui; the migration of Zen to Japan and its extraordinary growth there under a succession of towering Japanese spiritual leaders.
Rich in historical background, vivid in revealing anecdote and memorable quotation, this long-needed work succeeds admirably in taking Zen from the library shelves and restoring its living, human form.
Georgiana Darcy’s Diary: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice continued
Historical Fiction > Classics
Author: Anna Elliott, Laura Masselos
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The year is 1814, and it is springtime at Pemberley. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have married. But now a new romance is in the air, along with high fashion, elegant manners, scandal, deception, and the wonderful hope of a true and lasting love.
Shy Georgiana Darcy has been content to remain unmarried, living with her brother and his new bride. But Elizabeth and Darcy’s fairy-tale love reminds Georgiana daily that she has found no true love of her own. And perhaps never will, for she is convinced the one man she secretly cares for will never love her in return. Georgiana’s domineering aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, has determined that Georgiana shall marry, and has a list of eligible bachelors in mind. But which of the suitors are sincere, and which are merely interested in Georgiana’s fortune? Georgiana must learn to trust her heart–and rely on her courage–for she also faces the return of the man who could ruin her reputation and spoil a happy ending, just when it finally lies within her grasp.
The Book of Deacon
Fantasy > Sword & Sorcery
Author: Joseph Lallo
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Myranda is a young woman more interested in staying alive than being a hero. Orphaned by a continent-spanning war that has gone on for decades too long and shunned for failing to support it, she has been on the move since she was only a child. One can hardly blame her when she thinks that the chance discovery of a fallen soldier’s priceless cargo is the moment that will change her life. No one could predict just how great that change would be. It will lead her through an adventure of rebels and generals, of wizards and warriors, and of beasts both noble and monstrous. Each step of the way will take her closer to the truth of her potential, of the war, and of the fate of her world.
When God Whispers Loudly
Short Stories > Parenting > Morals & Responsibility
Author: Chris M. Hibbard
[SHORT STORY] When God whispers, the wise listen. In this short story, a busy husband and father fails to heed the quiet voice of the Lord. In doing so, he experiences the loving admonition of God whispering loudly.
Empire (In Her Name: Redemption, Book 1)
Science Fiction > Adventure
Author: Michael R. Hicks
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EMPIRE is the coming-of-age story of Reza Gard, a young boy of the Human Confederation who is swept up in the century-long war with the alien Kreelan Empire. Nightmarish female warriors with blue skin, fangs, and razor sharp talons, the Kreelans have technology that is millennia beyond that of the Confederation, yet they seek out close combat with sword and claw, fighting and dying to honor their god-like Empress.
Captured and enslaved, Reza must live like his enemies in a grand experiment to see if humans have souls, and if one may be the key to unlocking an ages old curse upon the Kreelan race. Enduring the brutal conditions of Kreelan life, Reza and a young warrior named Esah-Zhurah find themselves bound together by fate and a prophecy foretold millennia before they were born.
The Medium
Romance > Paranormal > Demons & Devils
Author: C.J. Archer
Seventeen year-old spirit medium Emily Chambers has a problem. Actually, she has several. As if seeing dead people isn’t a big enough social disadvantage, she also has to contend with an escaped demon and a handsome ghost with a secret past. And then there’s the question of her parentage. Being born an entire year after her father’s death (yes, a year) and without the pale skin of other respectable English ladies, Emily is as much a mystery as the dead boy assigned to her.
Jacob Beaufort’s spirit has been unable to crossover since his death. It might have something to do with the fact he was murdered. Or it might not. All he knows is, he has been assigned by the Otherworld’s administrators to a girl named Emily. A girl who can see and touch him. A girl who released a shape-shifting demon into the mortal realm. Together they must send the demon back before it wreaks havoc on London. It should be a simple assignment, but they soon learn there’s nothing simple when a live girl and a dead boy fall in love.
The Not So Secret Emails Of Coco Pinchard
Romantic Comedy
Author: Robert Bryndza
Coco Pinchard was never a single thirty something, she married young, had a son, and put her dream to be a writer on hold. Now her first novel is published and husband Daniel has greyed nicely into a sliver fox. It should be time to enjoy life…
That is, until the annual family christmas when her hideous mother-in-law Ethel comes to stay, and Coco opens her gift from Daniel. It’s not the jewellery she chose – its an iPhone. This marks the start of Daniel’s mid life crisis and she catches him in bed with a younger woman.
The iPhone becomes a confessional of sorts through emails to her friend Chris, an ageing trustafarian and Marika, a slightly alcoholic school teacher Coco documents her seemingly endless (and often entertaining!) run of bad luck.
Then she meets the hunky Adam, and she’s back in the world of dating as a single forty something…
Read the emails that tell the hilarious tale of Coco picking up the pieces, in this fun, feel good Romantic Comedy.
The Pied Piper of the Undead
Genre Fiction > Horror > Occult
Author: Michael Whetzel
Peter is 13 years old. He is also the only survivor in his hometown, Rockville, of the zombie apocalypse. With the streets overrun by undead residents, Peter has taken refuge on the town’s water tower. Safe from the hungry zombies, he passes time playing video games and eating junk food.
But as the familiar citizens become more fixated on young Peter, he finds he will have to make a choice that could change his life for better or worse.
The Lady Astronomer
Teens > Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author: Katy O’Dowd
Lucretia’s life as an astronomer is quickly turned on its head by her eldest brother when he is commanded by the king to build the grandest telescope in the land. Her nights spent on rooftops gazing at the stars are replaced by adventure as the family move to be nearer the king. In a race to build the Forty-foot telescope on time, misfortunes take their toll. The lady astronomer finds court life to be more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. Can she find the strength inside to overcome the obstacles threatening her destiny? Only the stars will tell.
Creative Photography Techniques – 20 Tips for Stronger Images
Photography > Equipment, Techniques & Reference
Author: Dan Bailey
Written by professional outdoor, adventure and travel photographer Dan Bailey, this is a collection of 20 simple tips that will help you break out of that creative rut and throw some new excitement into your photography. They’re designed to get you thinking actively about your image making process, because making powerful photographs should never be a passive activity.
These 20 tips are all short, concise and easy to remember, and they clearly outline necessary elements that are needed to produce a great image. They’re not meant to be hard set rules, they’re meant as ideas to help inspire you to begin experimenting with your own photography.
Each technique is illustrated with three image examples that let you see how it can be applied to a subject. Topics covered include light, color, composition, vantage points, using different lenses and many more.
Chasing Justice
Romantic Suspense
Author: Danielle Stewart
Piper Anderson has been given a fresh start in the picturesque town of Edenville, North Carolina. But her plans of settling into a normal life are derailed when she witnesses a prominent judge in her community committing a violent assault. Running from her own past and fueled by a passion to make the judge answer for his crimes, Piper is forced to decide if she’ll play by the rules or achieve justice in her own way.
Complicating things further, Piper finds herself fighting a powerful attraction to rookie cop, Bobby Wright. Although she’s increasingly enamored with Bobby, his staunch belief in the justice system is in stark contrast to her own. She may not share his opinions about the effectiveness of the law, but she certainly can’t deny how safe she feels when she’s in his arms or how every kiss leaves her desperate for more.
Call of the Herald
Fantasy > Epic > Coming of Age
Author: Brian Rathbone
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Echoes of the ancients’ power are distant memories, tattered and faded by the passage of eons, but that is about to change. A new dawn has arrived. Latent abilities, harbored in mankind’s deepest fibers, wait to be unleashed. Ancient evils awaken, and old fears ignite the fires of war. When a Catrin Volker, a teenage horse trainer, inadvertently fulfills the prophecy of the destroyer, she becomes the most feared and hunted person on all of Godsland. With the help of her friends, she must convince the world that she wants only peace.
Murder Passes the Buck : A Gertie Johnson Murder Mystery
Mystery > Women Sleuths
Author: Deb Baker
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When her neighbor is shot and killed, sixty-six-year-old widow Gertie Johnson seizes the opportunity to move on with her life by investigating his death. Gertie is abetted (and hindered) by her grandson Little Donny, man-hungry best friend Cora Mae, and word-of-the-day challenger, Kitty. It doesn’t help that the death has been ruled an accident by the sheriff of this backwoods community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Or that Sheriff Blaze Johnson happens to be Gertie’s son.
Whether it’s interrogating neighbors, spying, or impersonating the FBI—not to mention staying one step ahead of Blaze—Gertie will do whatever it takes to solve the case, even when the killer takes aim at her.
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks and the Kindle Daily Deal here on page 2