The Heart's Stronghold

Book excerpt: Love on the Edge of the Unknown Join four brave women making their mark on history at Colonial forts. Faced with tragedy and distrust they will fight to bring civility, family, and love to the frontier. Virginia Company Bride by Gabrielle Meyer James Fort at Jamestown, Virginia, 1608 In September 1608, Anne Burras is the only woman in Jamestown when her mistress dies upon arrival. Laborer John Layton is one of only thirty-eight colonists who survived the first year in the colony. Both want Anne on the supply ship returning to England in three months, but neither foresee the difficulties they will face just to stay alive—or the painful sacrifices they will make to stay together. Embers of Hope by Kimberley Woodhouse Castle Island, Massachusetts, 1674 Castle William (which would eventually become Fort Independence) With Castle William burned to ashes, a stone mason’s daughter is the only woman on an island of soldiers. But superstitions and rumors abound that she is bad luck for the island. The captain finds himself falling in love with her, but disaster seems to strike every time they make headway. Can these two find love and hope in the midst of the ashes? A Treaty of Tulips by Angie Dicken Fort Burnet in Upstate New York, 1740 Daughter of a Dutch trader, Sabine Van Der Berg is loyal to their land at the trading post and also to her friends, the native Iroquois. When a British lieutenant arrives to expand the post to a fort, not only is Sabine key in keeping the peace for British-Iroquois trade, but she must protect her heart from a man who threatens the only way of life she’s ever known. A Promise for Tomorrow by Amanda Barratt Fort Boonesborough, Kentucky, 1778 Pregnant widow Rosina Whiting seeks shelter at Fort Boonesborough after a harrowing journey. She doesn’t expect her heart to be swayed by enigmatic frontiersman Captain Silas Longridge. But will the dangers that await sever their newfound love?