Moonseed
Trilogy
Book
2
Judith
Ingram
Genre: paranormal romance
Publisher: Vinspire Publishing,
LLC
Date of Publication: May 31, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-9890632-4-1
ASIN: B00JD0H2ZE
Number of pages: 249 pages
Word Count: 73,300 (approx.)
Cover Artist: Elaina Lee/For the
Muse Designs
Book Description:
On the night of the new spring
moon, a near-fatal accident propelled Victoria Reeves-Ashton over a century
back in time to awaken in the body of Katherine Kamarov.
Now, after three months of
pretending to be Katherine and laboring to repair relationships damaged by
Katherine's brash and selfish personality, quiet and gentle Victoria finds that
her heart is putting down roots in Katherine's world, in her family
relationships, and especially in a deepening friendship with Katherine's
winsome cousin Michael.
Hidden letters reveal the story
of other moonseed-time travelers like herself-and Victoria realizes that she
and Katherine will likely be returned to their own times the following spring.
Tension mounts when a rich and handsome suitor applies to marry her, and
Victoria must choose whether to accept him for Katherine's sake or to follow
her own heart.
Ryan Ashton, the husband Victoria
left behind, is baffled by the woman his wife has suddenly become. Unwilling to
believe her story about an exchange in time, Ryan struggles to understand the
stark transformation of his timid, remote wife into a sexually aggressive and
captivating siren. Against his better judgment, he falls hard for this new
woman who is a perplexing mixture of cruelty, sensuality, and tenderness, a
woman who he suspects has the power to either break his heart or heal the
aching loneliness he has lived with all his life.
I bit my lip,
wanting to avoid any subject that could ruin the easy camaraderie of our
afternoons together. Michael had been friendly and funny, teasing me gently,
treating me with the easy affection of an older brother. Once or twice I'd
caught him watching me with a fierce intentness that made my heart skip. But
then he'd grin or offer a quip that made us both laugh, and the uncomfortable
moment would pass.
I enjoyed the
lightness of our friendship, grateful for the reprieve. In the rose garden at
Summerwood and later on the trip to San Francisco, I had felt the slow but
persistent budding of a new feeling that both thrilled and frightened me. The
lightest touch of Michael's hand pricked up hairs along my skin like electricity;
his boyish grin twisted a slow, sweet pain deep into my body. His clean, male
scent in close proximity could stun me with unexpected waves of need, often
forcing me to look away so he wouldn't see the flame in my eyes.
I couldn't allow
Michael to guess where my heart was taking me—because of Raymond.
Although many
things were unclear to me, one fact seemed certain—Katherine must marry Raymond
Delacroix and have at least one child with him. If I gave in to my new feelings
for Michael, and if I were cruel enough to let him see them, then I risked both
hurting him and ruining Katherine's chances with Raymond when she came back to
her own time.
And Katherine
would come back. I was convinced of it, all my desperate wishes to the
contrary. She would marry Raymond, give birth to Elise, and secure a future
that would eventually lead to her daughter painting a picture of Katherine and
me at the bridge over Two Trees Creek. By the same token, I would return to
life as a lingerie model and a cold marriage with Ryan Ashton. Ryan.
"What?"
Michael's voice made me jump and turn my head.
"What?"
"You said
'Ryan' again."
"I
did?"
Michael had
removed his glasses, and he blinked at me from only a foot away. God, he has
beautiful eyes, I thought. Soft gray-green depths that held me breathless,
fighting a slow, aching pull to be in his arms.
"He's…nobody,"
I said.
Michael was
studying me, his eyes so solemn and searching that I couldn't look away. He
didn't speak, but in that moment my heart yearned toward him, and he saw it.
His expression changed. His gaze moved slowly from my eyes to my mouth.
I turned my face
away and shut my eyes over a sudden sting of tears.
"Kat?"
he said softly.
His voice held a
new, cautious note of intimacy. A moment later his thumb brushed my wet cheek,
and the tenderness of his touch wrenched a low cry from me. I pushed his hand
away and struggled to sit upright.
"Don't
touch me!" Pain made my voice sharp. "You can't touch me,
Michael!"
But his hand was
already under my elbow, helping me to sit. He pushed a handkerchief into my
hand.
"Here. Take
it." He sounded bewildered and hurt. "Seems you'd rather do the job
yourself."
He watched me
wipe my eyes and blow my nose with his handkerchief. I couldn't look at him,
and after a moment he reached for his glasses and slipped them on.
In a tight voice
he asked, "Do you still want to visit Union Square?"
I pressed the
soggy handkerchief to my lips and nodded.
Michael pushed
himself to his feet and thrust out a hand to help me up. We folded the blanket
between us, careful not to touch each other's fingers, and he picked up the
hamper. As we crossed the grass in uneasy silence, a fresh roll of tears made
me reach into my handbag for a clean handkerchief. A flash of copper tumbled
into the grass.
I stopped quickly,
but Michael was quicker. He scooped up the coin, examined it briefly, and gave
it back to me.
"You still
carrying that thing around?"
I looked up at
him, my handkerchief arrested halfway to my face. "My coin? What do you
know about my coin?"
He squinted at
me and frowned. "You're kidding, right? I was with you when you paid a
nickel for that worthless thing at the county fair. You said it was good luck,
and you carried it around in your pocket for years." He stopped at my
look. "What is it?"
"Michael, are
you certain this is the same coin?"
I handed it back
to him. His gaze lingered on my face, puzzled, before he examined the coin. He
weighed it briefly on his palm, flipped it over, and gave it back to me.
"Of course
I'm certain." He pointed his finger at the familiar nick in the rim.
"There's where the wagon wheel ran over it, and you were so furious
because you thought the magic was ruined." He scr**ed up his eyes against
the sun and studied me. "What's the matter with you, Kat? You're looking
at me like I've got two heads."
I shook my head
in dazed wonder, suspended once again in that universe where Katherine's world
and mine overlapped and where it made perfect sense that her lucky coin should
have somehow come to me—twice.
About
the Author:
Judith Ingram weaves together her
love of romance and her training as a counselor to create stories and
characters for her novels. She also writes Christian nonfiction books and
enjoys speaking to groups on a variety of inspirational topics. She lives with
her husband in the San Francisco East Bay and makes frequent trips to
California's beautiful Sonoma County, where most of her fiction characters
reside. She confesses a love for chocolate, cheesecake, romantic suspense
novels, and all things feline.
Website, blog & free weekly
devotional: http://JudithIngram.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@judithingram20
Tour
giveaway
4 signed paperback copies of Borrowed
Promises with bookmarks.
4 ebook copies (.pdf or .epub) of
Borrowed Promises.
4 sets of Moonseed notecards;
each set of six cards features scenes from the story, sketched by artist Amy
Wong.
4 Amazon gift cards at $25 each.
4 coffee mugs featuring the book
cover for Borrowed Promises along with tagline, "The past isn't always
behind you…".
I love the cover of Borrowed Promises!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bev! Me, too! Best of luck with the giveaway!
Deleteawesome excerpt and giveaway
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words, Kara. Best of luck with the giveaway!
DeleteThanks for hosting my book, BORROWED PROMISES. I've enjoyed visiting your fun and interesting blog! --Judith Ingram
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed it, Rita. Good luck with the giveaway!
ReplyDeletethank you for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI love your cover design. Do you pick them out or does someone else pick them?
ReplyDeletethanks for the preview.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the chance :) I truly enjoyed the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great giveaway! I love the excerpt, the book looks really interesting!!
ReplyDelete