A marriage of convenience…full of inconvenient secrets. Jocelyn Townsend’s life as a courtesan bears no resemblance to the life she envisioned in girlish dreams. But it allows her and her eccentric mother to live in relative security—until her protector marries and no longer requires her services. Desperate to find a new benefactor, one kind enough to accept her mother’s increasingly mad flights of fancy, Jocelyn is nearly overwhelmed with uncertainty when a lifeline comes from an unexpected source. Leo Sherbourne’s requirements for a wife are few. She must mother his young daughter, run his household, and warm his bed. All in a calm, dignified manner with a full measure of common sense. After his late wife’s histrionics and infidelity, he craves a simpler, quieter life. As they embark on their arrangement, Leo and Jocelyn discover an attraction that heats their bedroom and a mutual admiration that warms their days. But it isn’t long before gossip regarding the fate of Leo’s first wife, and his frequent, unexplained absences, make Jocelyn wonder if the secrets of Merrivale Manor are rooted in murder… Warning: Contains mysterious incidents, a mad mother who screeches without provocation, scheming relatives, and a captivating husband who blows scorching hot and suspiciously cold. All is not as it seems…and isn’t that delicious?

A betrothal made without his permission… …the determined bride who refuses to renege. Who will win this battle? Lucien, Viscount Hastings, has no time for the English mouse his family has arranged for him to marry. He’s focused on locating the man responsible for the attack and murder of his wife and unborn child. Once he discovers their whereabouts, he’ll wreak revenge. Cursed with the sight and rumors of witchcraft, Rosalind’s only chance at an ordinary life is marriage to the viscount. She doesn’t expect love, only security, and children of her own. Life at Castle St. Clair is wrought with danger and secrets, and when Rosalind is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents, she turns to her husband for protection. Forced to keep Rosalind close, and tempted into passionate kisses, Lucien soon finds himself in grave danger of falling in love with his own wife… You’ll love this gothic romance with a marriage of convenience, second chances, and two lost lovers who learn their destiny is to live together rather than apart.

Did you know that the first named piece of writing was the work of a Sumerian woman in approximately 2085 BC, while the world’s first novel was written by a Japanese woman in the eleventh century? Or that Hildegard of Bingen, the great twelfth century Abbess, writer, and composer, defied the Church’s traditions by viewing feminine sexuality as a gift of God? Or that one of China’s most powerful Emperors was a woman? These are but a few examples of the facts in this autobiography with a difference, Woman Through the Ages. Author Ann Merivale, a deep-memory process therapist, has used previous lifetimes in her own history to illustrate the roles we all play in preparation for returning to the source whence we’ve come. Skilfully weaving her personal story into each area and time period covered, Merivale highlights the injustices wrought on women for centuries, as well as their many achievements. Woman Through the Ages gives a fascinating and comprehensive picture of womanhood through the ages and concludes that the time for equality and greater respect for feminine energy is finally arriving.

Unemployed mill worker Zoe Hart jumps at the opportunity to emigrate to British Columbia in 1863 to find a better life and be reunited with her brother, who fled from home after being accused of a crime. Pastor to miners in the mountains, Abe Merivale discovers an abandoned baby during a routine visit to Victoria and joins efforts with Zoe, one of the newly arrived bride-ship women, to care for the infant. While there, he's devastated by the news from his fiancee in England that she's marrying another man. With mounting pressure to find the baby a home, Zoe accepts a proposal from a miner of questionable character after he promises to help her locate her brother. Intent on protecting Zoe and frustrated by his failed engagement, Abe offers his own hand as groom. After a hasty wedding, they soon realize their marriage of convenience is not so convenient after all.