EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
Valentine Gold
by Danielle Thorne
During February and March, we will be featuring 14 fabulous authors who write clean romance. Today we feature Danielle Thorne with Valentine Gold, ON SALE for only $0.99.
Description
When Natalie Boyd inherits an old cabin in the north Georgia mountains, she thinks it could be the answer to all of her problems. She’s ready to start over after a heart-breaking divorce, and the cabin on the banks of a river once mined for gold is the perfect hideaway for her new, reclusive life.
No sooner does she settle in, and Natalie realizes that living in the shadow of Good Hope Mountain isn’t what she expected. Her new neighbor, Jonathan Wilby, has plans for his property as soon as winter’s over, and that means noise, traffic, and people. To make things worse, he’s drop-dead gorgeous and could charm the skin off a snake.
Natalie braces herself to do battle over the land and to resist Wilby’s charms, but her healing heart, an incredible discovery, and unexpected friendships along the way bring a gold mine of change she never expected – and just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Excerpt
“Not all that glitters is gold.” Those were the last words of advice Aunt Polly gave Natalie right before the engagement was announced. It felt like a lifetime ago, but it’d only been seven years and now she was divorced. Aunt Polly had died just last summer, too late for Natalie to tell her that she’d been right. She’d been fooled by a man who promised her the moon, when in reality, he never gave Natalie anything but debt, headaches, and ultimately, a broken heart. And then he’d taken everything. Forgiveness.
Natalie forced herself to concentrate on navigating the winding mountain road to Aunt Polly’s cabin. It was tricky in the gloomy mid-January weather, but she finally spotted the turn. Two derelict mailboxes slumped over in one direction; a third leaned the other way. They were nothing more than faded and cracked plastic splinters now. Rumpled flyers hung from them like flags of surrender. She shook her head. Welcome to the gulch.
Her beloved aunt’s home rested on the lower knolls of Good Hope Mountain. A river ran through the gulch at the mountain’s base where gold had once been its lifeblood. In the nearby town of Good Hope, the gold had long run out, but the hearty, determined people of the lower Appalachians had stayed.
Natalie turned left off the north Georgia highway onto the gravel road. After all these years, there was still no street sign. Someone had planted a hand-painted post at the turn identifying it as Cabin Creek Lane, but that was it. It hadn’t been there last summer when she’d come to the funeral, but it was something.
“Well, this is what you wanted,” she mumbled. The gulch had always been her home away from home, but now it was her escape, a place to hide, to start over, and to work on the middle-grade novel she’d always dreamed about writing.
Without warning, a striking figure in bright red plaid darted out from the trees on the side of the road and crossed without looking. Natalie stomped the brakes with a gasp. The man froze like a buck caught in the crosshairs. Poles and some kind of scope jumbled around in his arms and then tumbled to the ground.
“Sorry!” Natalie cried, although he could not hear her. He grimaced at the car’s bumper only inches from taking him out at the knees. She raised her hands in frustration when he looked up at her and frowned. He’d been the one to dash out of the trees without looking.
Tall, dark, and unshaven, he heaved a sigh then bent down to pick up his stuff. Natalie glanced over to the side of the road from where he’d emerged. Beyond the trees were meadows that stretched several acres south to Aunt Polly’s property. Try as she might, she couldn’t remember the neighbors’ names, but they were an older couple.
The man straightened back up with an expression of forced but polite apology that she could barely see because of a crazy woolly hat. The goofy ear flaps were pulled low over his head. She nodded and waited for him to cross safely. She didn’t look sideways out the passenger window when she rolled past him, but from the corner of her eye, she could see him staring.
Whatever. That was what people did here. Everyone knew everyone in the gulch, so he probably wondered what business a stranger with city plates had gliding down Cabin Creek Lane.
She glanced back in her rearview mirror. The tall man in lumberjack plaid with slim shoulders watched her retreat. She shrugged it off. He was probably a county employee doing something for one of the other families that lived off the lane. She remembered the survey equipment he’d grappled with before dropping it all. Maybe she should be the one to ask what he was doing wandering around out here.
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
“This story reels you in from the beginning. Natalie and Jonathan’s story is relatable. The story was sweet and I couldn’t put it down! I highly recommend this book!” ~ J.Schock
“I liked how the author went beyond a mere romance. There's also the themes of forgiveness and the dangers of gossip.” ~ DMP
“A sweet romance that uplifts and helps you remember the nuances to falling in love ❤” ~ Keeley
About the Author
Danielle Thorne is the author of classic romance and adventures in several genres. She loves Jane Austen, pirates, beaches, cookies, antiques, cats, dogs, and long naps. She does not like phone calls or sushi. A graduate of BYU-Idaho, Danielle saw early work published by Every Day Fiction, Arts and Prose Magazine, Mississippi Crow, The Nantahala Review, StorySouth, and … you get the idea. Besides writing, Danielle has edited for both Solstice and Desert Breeze Publishing. Her growing blog, The Balanced Writer, focuses on writing, life, and the pursuit of peace and happiness. Currently, Danielle freelances as a non-fiction author while waiting to hear from readers like you through her website. During free time, which means when Netflix is down, she combs through feedback and offers virtual hugs for reviews. Her next historical romance is coming soon.
Also by Danielle Thorne:
Giveaway
Enter the blast-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card or PayPal cash.
Links
Amazon (Kindle Unlimited)
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