GIVEAWAY: "Janelle's Time" by Dayna Leigh Cheser (VBT presented by CBLS Promotions)

Title: Janelle's Time (TIME Series, Book 1)

Author: Dayna Leigh Cheser

Publisher: All Things That Matter Press

Length: 98,600 words

Genres: Historical Romance (ADULT with a little time travel)

Heat Level: Steamy

AVAILABLE AT:

Amazon (Paperback) | Amazon (Kindle) 
Barnes and Noble | Amazon UK

BLURB:

Janelle’s Time is the story of the great love between a New Hampshire farmer’s daughter and the younger son of an English Duke.

From her father’s death to the birth of twin daughters, Janelle makes it difficult for Richard to keep her safe.

Unaware of Janelle’s maternal-line powers, the couple time-travel to 14^th century England, where they meet Richard’s ancestors - and discover some startling truths about his aristocratic family.

Logan Conor, the Scots Duke of Muileach, crashes Richard and Janelle’s wedding, bent on revenge, but finds his own true love instead.

On their wedding trip, a madman attempts to kidnap Janelle - twice.

Later, Richard unknowingly betrays Janelle who strands him in England. Richard finally arrives home, but fate separates them again – and he misses the birth of his son. Will they ever make a life together?

Filled with unexpected twists and turns, their love story spans two continents, and hundreds of years. But, can their love survive their very different backgrounds and the endless obstacles life throws at them?

EXCERPT

“Oh, Maura, it’s beautiful!” Janelle stood, touching the exquisite dress reverently. The warm ivory silk was perfect for her coloring, and the design of the dress showed off her petite figure to its best. The upper parts of the sleeves were full, but not as puffy as the popular leg-o-mutton creations Janelle disliked. The sleeves from the elbow to the wrist were tight, fitted to her forearms, and were encrusted with seed pearls and tiny diamonds. The skirt was long and full, brushing the floor as she walked. It was longer in the back to create a short train. Richard had nearly come to blows with Miss Abbott over the scandalously low neckline. In the end it’d stayed, the only concession being a short, lace, sleeveless jacket that buttoned in the front with tiny mother-of-pearl buttons, covering the exposed skin, but still allowing the neckline as originally designed. Her veil was large and multilayered, made of ivory lace attached to a simple head covering. The veil covered her head and shoulders and fell down past her fingertips. Sewn into the veil were hundreds of tiny pearls and diamonds, identical to those on her sleeves. The dress’s design was simple yet elegant, which Janelle preferred to the often overblown styles of the day.

 

 Wedding dress designs change over the years. White wedding gowns, while traditionally indicating the ‘pureness’ of the bride, are more a choice than a requirement. Janelle’s choice is to have an ivory gown as it suits her coloring better than the starkness of white, and, in the candle-lit hall downstairs, the white would appear to be to be ivory anyway.

The couple spent much of the winter working out all the details, including visits to Miss Abbott, the professional seamstress in the next town, for fittings of the specially designed gown.

In the meantime, there were the usual preparations for their wedding. Invitations went out to family, friends, and neighbors – two-hundred people. Plans for the hall decorations took shape. The carpenter built the raised platform where the wedding would take place. The kitchen staff, aided by Maura and Janelle, as well as many of the ladies in the neighborhood, made plans for the feast after the ceremony. The flowers, probably the trickiest part of it all, needing to be fresh and perfect for the ceremony had to be ordered at just the right time – both for decorations and for the bouquets the women carried.

The wedding party was all family – Janelle’s siblings and Richard’s brothers – plus Maura. Janelle sisters each made their dresses from material Janelle sent them. The men would all wear black pants and swallowtail coats with the ivory shirts the LeDuc Farm seamstresses made for them.

After her father’s death over a year ago, everyone wanted this day to be perfect for Janelle. It was shaping up to be the ‘Event of the Year’ in the Lake Galloway community. Little did they know …

 

VBT Schedule:

Aug 20: Brianna's Bookshelf (Character Interview)
Aug 21: Holly Adair (Author Interview)
Aug 22: whoopeeyoo! :D
Aug 23: Lindsay's Scribblings
Aug 24: Coffee Beans & Love Scenes
Aug 27: Aspired Writer
Aug 28: Rachel Brimble Romance (Author Interview)
Aug 30: Bookalicious Travel Addict
Sept 3: Guilty Indulgence Book Club
Sept 4: Storm Goddess Book Reviews & More (Author Interview)
Sept 5: The Bunny's Review
Sept 6: Close Encounters with the Night Kind (Author Interview)
Sept 7: The Book Connisseur
Sept 10: Carly Fall - Where Fantasy Meets Romance (Author Interview)
Sept 11: Reading with Holly (Author Interview)
Sept 12: Black Hippie Chick's Take on Books & The World (Character Interview/Review)
Sept 13: Tamaria Soana (Author Interview)
Sept 14: Reviews By Molly (Review)

Tour-Wide Giveaway:
Follow this VBT to enter the contest at each participating stop for a chance to win one of fifteen (15) eBook copies and one of five (5) print copies of "Janelle's Time". More entries = more chances to win!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Writing ‘runs in the family.’ My mother is a multi-published non-fiction author, and my two brothers make a living writing, one as a newspaperman, the other as a copywriter. My sister edits her church newsletter.

My father was a school teacher/reading specialist (later an elementary school principal) when I was little. During story-time one night when I was about four years old, I stopped him and asked how he said the same thing every time he read that story to me. That night, he started teaching me to read. It began a life-long love affair between books and me – for that, I am grateful.

In junior high, I wrote short stories to entertain classmates. In high school, one English assignment was to write my autobiography. In the teacher-specified chapter entitled ‘Future Plans,’ being a published writer topped the list.

After a college professor told me I ‘couldn’t write my way out of a paper bag,’ I stopped writing for many years. Then, in the late 1970s, I wrote an article for “World Radio News” (San Diego, CA) about our amateur radio club providing communications for a March of Dimes Walkathon. The ‘WRN’ editor used my article word-for-word.

In early 2002, between jobs and wanting to write, I sought a third-shift position and used the ‘free time’ to write what became ‘Janelle’s Time.’ When it was complete, I shelved it. In 2009, the WIP came off the shelf. By August 2011, it was ready – at last - for submission.

In 2009, I started a Twitter account, @Writers_Cafe. I feel as if I’ve earned a degree in ‘book publishing’ since then! You can learn so much from over 14,000 followers. 

I penned an article about @RileyCarney, a Colorado teen, and very prolific YA fantasy author, who heads her own non-profit literacy project. Never officially published, countless people have seen it, thanks to Twitter retweets and some carefully chosen email inboxes.

On New Year’s Day, 2010, I went ‘live’ with my blog. It has evolved into a combination of chronicling my writing journey and hopefully helpful posts on publishing industry topics.

In the fall of 2011, I added ‘DIY Interviews’ to my blog (see the left column of my blog for details on doing your own interview). Several authors have submitted ‘interviews’ to date.

Janelle’s Time is Book 1 of my TIME Series. Book 2, ‘Moria’s Time’ was my NaNoWriMo project for 2011. I reached 51,000 words on November 26! Now, I have to finish that book, and three more in the series: ‘Adelle’s Time,’ ‘Logan’s Time,’ and ‘Clarissa’s Time.’

Moving into 2012, I’m very excited about the release of ‘Janelle’s Time.’ It’s the culmination of a life-long dream – and is only the beginning of my retirement career. I’m working on “Moria’s Time,” book 2 of the Time Series.

My husband, Pete, and I have been married over forty-three years – no children. We lived in Massachusetts for thirteen years, and then moved to New Hampshire for eleven years. In 1992, we moved to Florida.

Find me on Twitter and Facebook:

@Writers_Cafe

Author Dayna Leigh Cheser