Breaking
Ties
Lost
Colony Series
Book
One
Jo
Grafford
Genre: historical romance
Publisher: Astraea Press
Date of Publication: October 16,
2013
ISBN: 978-1-62135-219-8
ASIN: B00FYIYM7A
Number of pages: 404
Word Count: 121,390
Cover Artist: Mande Matthews
Book Description:
Intelligent and well ahead of her
times, ROSE PAYNE'S world is shattered after a secret betrothal to the duke’s
son costs her job as a clerk in his father's household. Without a letter of
recommendation, she becomes an easy target for recruiters to the Colonies.
Desperate for work, she signs up for a risky overseas venture and sails for the
New World, vowing never again fall for a wealthy gentleman.
Returning from a diplomatic tour
in London, CHIEF MANTEO is bewitched by the elusive, fiery-haired ship clerk
and determined to overcome her distrust. He contrives a daring plan to win her
heart – a plan he prays will protect her from a chilling conspiracy involving
murder, blood money, and a betrayal of their fledgling colony so terrifying it
can only be revealed in BREAKING TIES.
Special
Note: BREAKING TIES is the never-before-told rest of the story of the Lost
Colony.
Excerpt:
"You want my help."
'Twas an accusation.
"Aye."
His eyes darkened. "I save your life.
I give gifts. I offer marriage." He closed the remaining distance between
us, his eyes burning into mine.
I stumbled back.
"You give nothing in return," he
snarled. "You only ask for more."
"I would had I something to
offer," I whispered. "But I have nothing. I am nothing."
"Then what use are you to me?"
He wheeled away.
I sagged against the door, eyes stinging.
I blinked rapidly and pressed a hand to my stomach. Nausea rolled at the
thought of informing the others of my failure.
Manteo circled the cabin like a hawk
stalking its prey. 'Twas a fine room with ornately carved shelves lining one
wall. Bunks were built into the next wall. A generous desk jutted from the
third, overflowing with maps and navigational devices. I recognized the compass
and hourglass but could not identify the other instruments. I jerked in
surprise when Manteo swooped down upon me.
"I know our location." His arms
shot out and slapped the wall on either side of me, hemming me to the door.
"I could swim ashore from here."
"Then why do ye stay if ye can leave
and save yourself?"
"Governor White gave his word to
deliver me home."
"We are going to starve, Manteo. 'Tis
only a matter of days now."
"Nay. You alone starve. The others
eat."
"I have no appetite."
"You act as one already dead."
I straightened my back. "I accept
what I cannot change."
"And I change what I cannot
accept." He shifted his weight to the wall, one arm propped over my head.
He drew his fingertips down the side of my face in a feather-light caress.
I closed my eyes against the rush of
unbearable sweetness. He made me long for things forbidden. "'Tis within
your power to help us. I am begging you."
"Very well."
My eyes flew open. "Ye will do this
for us."
"For you." His voice was silken,
his features as hard as granite.
I smiled tremulously. "I thank thee,
Manteo. Chief Manteo, that is." The new title felt strange on my lips. I
beheld him with a mixture of awe and pride.
"I have yet to name my price."
I stared, confused.
He grunted in disgust. "You refuse me
as both husband and lover, so you are left with the hiring of my
services."
I worried my lower lip between my teeth.
At least he was willing to negotiate. His eyes flashed with lust as he followed
my movements.
"I will entreat the Dares for
payment."
"Nay. You are the one in my
debt."
I raised and dropped my hands helplessly.
"You serve this company, no? You can
serve my people, too."
"Ye would hire me as clerk?"
Hope leaped in my chest at the possibilities. I would not have to part from him
so soon.
"My people have no clerks." His
eyes narrowed. "We have slaves."
My breath hitched. "Ye wish to punish
me, humiliate me?"
"Nay, I only wish to marry you."
I briefly closed my eyes against the pain.
He already knew the reason for my refusal.
"Rose."
"Say no more. I will do it. 'Twill be
punishment enough to see you so often and—“ I clamped my lips.
Exultation flickered briefly across his
face. "You would give up your freedom to save your friends?"
"Without question."
"Swear it," he said grimly.
"I swear it."
His eyes flared with emotion. He bent
slowly 'til his breath stirred my lips. My eyelids fluttered closed. Heaven
help me, for I had no will left to resist him.
"Now you will eat," Manteo
commanded hoarsely. He stepped back, surveying me from head to feet.
"Eat?"
"I have no slaves so thin and weak.
Go. Collect your rations." He turned from me and bent to pore over a map
on the table.
I reached for the door handle,
disbelieving at the curt dismissal.
"And send for Anthony. I have need of
him."
I glared at his back. Faith, should I
press my face to the floor as well? "Aye, master." I bit the words
out and fled.
Trail
of Crosses
Lost
Colony Series
Book
Two
Jo
Grafford
Genre: historical romance
Publisher: Astraea Press
Word Count: 112,300
Cover Artist: Mande Matthews
Book Description:
Jane Mannering can shoot a rifle
and handle a knife as well as any Englishman. However, she is no match for the
red-painted warriors who ambush her section of a Colonial caravan the moment
she and her comrades reach the shores of Virginia.
Jane plots their escape during a
forced march inland, leaving a trail of maltese crosses carved on the trees –
their pre-agreed upon signal of distress. All the while, she fumes over what
interest their captors could possibly have in a twenty-three-year-old spinster
and a rugged band of brick masons, sawyers, and farmers.
When the ruthless Chief Wanchese
intercepts them at the crossroads of the Great Trading Path, Jane is shaken to
discover their greatest enemy plans to keep her for himself. It’s a pity he’s
the only man on two continents who’s ever stirred her heart. Alas, she has an
entire colony to save, and capturing his attentions is not part of their escape
plan.
Special
Note: The Lost Colony Seires is the never-before-told rest of the story of the
Lost Colony on Roanoke Island.
Excerpts
EXCERPT #1
PREFACE
July 26, 1587 -
Roanoke Island
If it had not
been for the barking of the dogs and chattering of the lads who scampered at my
side, I might have heard the shot - the low vibration of the string as the
thin, wooden shaft released, the faint whistle of the arrow as it sliced an
invisible yet deadly path through the air, the scattering of wildlife as the
forest itself braced before the world's most fearsome predator. Instead, I
merely felt the gentle lifting of my late father's top hat as the arrowhead
sank into the aged leather and pinned it to the heart of the oak behind me.
The men assigned
to guard me fired their muskets wildly into the perimeter of trees. My ears
rang with their gunfire and frenzied oaths. Then the slow burn of anger took
over.
I pivoted to
yank the arrow, top hat and all, from the trunk. Separating the two, I jammed
the damaged hat back on my head and tapped the lone arrow against my gloved
hand. The miss was deliberate, meant as a taunt. Had the shadowy creature
intended to kill me, I would already be dead.
I glared over my
shoulder as the gunfire ceased. He remained out there, I was certain. Watching.
This was a reminder that he is the hunter. I am the hunted.
EXCERPT #2
My eyes drank in
the massive arms and broad chest that tapered down to a narrow torso. He was nothing
like the slender dandies in London who paraded about in excessive amounts of
clothing. Nay, this man required no starched shirts and ruffs or padded
doublets to enhance his frame. Silk hosiery and buckled shoes would have made a
mockery of such unfettered male strength. The sun-bleached buckskins and
well-worn moccasins were the only adornments a man of his ilk would ever
require.
“You take
pleasure in what you see, no?” He leaned towards me again. I backed up until
the wall of the cavern pressed into my shoulder blades.
Of course, I
liked what I saw, but ‘twould be unladylike in the extreme to admit it and
grossly conceited of him to question me in such a manner. I straightened and
returned stare for stare. The intensity of his gaze unsettled me. Though
unsmiling, a wealth of emotions radiated from him. Curiosity. Interest. Desire.
And ironclad determination.
“You mean to
take me for yourself,” I stated in a dull voice.
Wanchese placed
his hands against the wall on either side of me. “When I am ready, aye.”
I sniffed. “Then
you are no better than the rest of those savages who —”
“Heathen and
savage,” he corrected tersely. “A phrase I’ve heard oft enough in your own
Queen’s Court.”
I scowled at the
reference to his stint as a diplomat in my homeland. A fine time it was to rub
my nose in his superior social status. Born into a life of servitude, ’twas
ironic how my lot had not changed one whit on the other side of the world.
My chest heaved
with the effort to control my alarm. Too tired to fight him off, I searched his
face for any sign of compassion beneath the hard outer shell.
Humor deepened
the color of his eyes as he rolled to his back in one swift movement and
cradled his head in clasped hands. “You will come to me.”
“Indeed I will
not,” I gasped, both relieved at the distance between us and puzzled by the
game he played, a game for which I knew not the rules. “’Twould be unseemly.”
“Aye, you will,”
he retorted, clearly enjoying himself. “Beneath your…” He nodded at the
remnants of my gown. “… finery…is a passionate woman who is accustomed to
taking what she wants. ’Tis I, methinks, who will be taken by you and not the
other way around.”
About
the Author:
Jo is a mega reader of all genres
and loves to indulge in marathon showings of Big Bang Theory, NCIS, and Castle.
Her favorite books are rich in Colonial and Elizabethan history, romance,
strong women, alpha males, Native Americans, and creatures from the paranormal
- an occasional dragon, vampire, or time traveler.
From St. Louis, Missouri, Jo
moves a lot with her soldier husband. She has lived in the Midwest, the deep
South, and now resides in Bavaria. Jo holds an M.B.A. and has served as a
banker, college finance instructor, and high school business teacher. She is a
member of Romance Writers of America, From the Heart Romance Writers RWA
Chapter, and the Writers Group of Ansbach/Katterbach/Illesheim.
Twitter: @jografford
Tour
giveaway
2 dropcard gift cards with six
free eBooks on each card (including Breaking Ties)
1 grand prize – a reader’s tote
bag with a Lost Colony t-shirt, signed paperback of Breaking Ties, and signed
bookmark
code
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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T.M. Franklin started out her career writing non-fiction in a television newsroom. Graduating with a B.A. in Communications specializing in broadcast journalism and production, she worked for nine years as a major market television news producer, and garnered two regional Emmy Awards, before she resigned to be a full-time mom and part-time freelance writer. Her first published novel, MORE, was born during National Novel Writing month, a challenge to write a novel in thirty days. MORE was well-received, being selected as a finalist in the 2013 Kindle Book Review Best Indie Book Awards, as well as winning the Suspense/Thriller division of the Blogger Book Fair Reader’s Choice Awards.
