What do you do with two Castaway Hearts? "I smiled before...." #excerpt #quotes #snippits

 

Twice orphaned, Catherine Barrett arrives in Virginia a stranger to her closest kin and secretly engaged to the one man her family would disapprove of—her seafaring grandfather’s apprentice. Add to her troubles, the rich and intriguing older brother of her secret betrothed, Dawson Randolph, a plantation owner who is as heartless as he is handsome. Heartbroken when her intended sets sail for his maiden voyage, Catherine finds it difficult to adjust to her new life, hoping to befriend the one man who is, undoubtedly, the match her grandparents wish for her. Dawson’s distaste for her secret engagement to his brother makes it clear he has no designs for marriage to anyone. Especially her.

Ten years since the tragic loss of his young wife and infant son, Dawson Randolph is convinced love and marriage is a fool’s game and resents being pardon to his brother’s hidden engagement. Damned by his instant attraction and his own growing desire, Dawson vows to befriend her against his better judgment. Determined to bring her happiness in a time of fear and uncertainty, Dawson puts aside his animosity to become her confidant, only to realize Catherine holds the key to his heart. When tragedy strikes at sea, Catherine’s guilt pushes Dawson to the fringes of her life as madness consumes her.

Can his love save her before she drowns in her own grief? Or is he doomed to love her from a distance, always in the shadow of her love for his dead brother?

Taryn's Snippit Sundays~ You spied on me. #CastawayHearts #excerpt #ebook

“What do you like to do, Catherine?” He seemed to attempt small talk. “What are your interests?”

“Nothing I can enjoy here.” She tipped her head back toward the house and shrugged her shoulders, defeated. “Most of the things I enjoyed while I lived in England were things Grandmother Melanie has made it clear are improper.”

“Like what?” Dawson lowered his voice and leaned toward her. “Splashing in the ocean in the middle of the night?”

Catherine whipped her head back around, her heart thudding in her ears at the remark. A guilty smile brightened Dawson’s face.

Had he been there?

Had he been the presence she sensed the night before?

“You spied on me last night? How dare you.” Her skin crawled with deep crimson heat.

Taryn's Snippit Sundays #excerpt Far more than a figment of his imaginination~ CASTAWAY HEARTS

       When he looked back the image before him remained and his body responded to the nearly bare-skinned specter, so pale in the night. Dawson stared in silence, her body dancing, gyrating beneath the pale moon. The unwelcome tightening of his breeches made him well aware that this ghost was far more than a figment of his imagination. Her lengthy dark tresses trailed behind her, making him think of a mermaid’s tail. But her thin cotton nightgown revealed no signs of transformation as it clung to her shapely thighs. As she waded further into the water, a sharp gust of wind caught the top of her gown, billowing the wide neckline over her flesh. The moonlight caught her profile for a moment. The dainty nose and pouty lips seemed suddenly familiar, but they slipped into the shadows as his eyes fell to the rise and fall of her breasts again.

       That’s when it hit him.

       Catherine!

Taryn's Snippit Sundays~ CASTAWAY HEARTS~ #excerpt Don't dwell on this waif...

Twice orphaned, Catherine Barrett arrives in Virginia a stranger to her closest kin and secretly engaged to the one man her family would disapprove of—her seafaring grandfather’s apprentice. Add to her troubles, the rich and intriguing older brother of her secret betrothed, Dawson Randolph, a plantation owner who is as heartless as he is handsome. Heartbroken when her intended sets sail for his maiden voyage, Catherine finds it difficult to adjust to her new life, hoping to befriend the one man who is, undoubtedly, the match her grandparents wish for her. Dawson’s distaste for her secret engagement to his brother makes it clear he has no designs for marriage to anyone. Especially her.

Ten years since the tragic loss of his young wife and infant son, Dawson Randolph is convinced love and marriage is a fool’s game and resents being pardon to his brother’s hidden engagement. Damned by his instant attraction and his own growing desire, Dawson vows to befriend her against his better judgment. Determined to bring her happiness in a time of fear and uncertainty, Dawson puts aside his animosity to become her confidant, only to realize Catherine holds the key to his heart. When tragedy strikes at sea, Catherine’s guilt pushes Dawson to the fringes of her life as madness consumes her.

Can his love save her before she drowns in her own grief? Or is he doomed to love her from a distance, always in the shadow of her love for his dead brother?

****

Dawson gave the horse a good prod with his heels, and she took off. The wind whipped through his hair and the moonlight illuminated his way through the lush forest across the road from his home, down the embankment to the edge of the beach. Even in the dark, guided by the pale moonlight, his horse knew the way. This was not their first midnight ride.

As they reached the clearing, Dawson gave another prod. Gypsy opened up and flew across the sand. She sensed her master’s troubled heart and in turn mirrored his desire for freedom and wild abandon. Dawson let her run, her thunderous hooves muffled by the gritty sand beneath.

The horse galloped across the sand for a good quarter mile before Dawson gave her a nudge and pulled back on the reins to slow her to a halt. He stared out at the sea, the moon, the stars, and found he felt small, petty, and irritated still.

Aggravation crept into his heart as he looked out into the bay. Nathaniel knew what Dawson went through in his youth and yet his foolish little brother still wanted to take a bride.

Dawson threw a glance over his shoulder to the cliff-side home of Captain and Mrs. Barrett. The building housed the one idea he never imagined he could want.

Catherine.

Don’t dwell on this waif. She’s not yours to want after or worry about.

His brother was another story. Nathaniel had a great mind for sailing, but he had always been bohemian, never content to stay still for long.

Taryn's Snippit Sundays~ CASTAWAY HEARTS #historical #romance #excerpt

I'm going to be taking a break from sharing snippits from Love By Design, as I need to rethink and probably do more editing on it, and any other unpublished stories I have for the time being. I've been attempting to do some reassessing and taking note of what does or does not work for my novels.

Also- with summer vacation beginning for my kids, I'm certain to lose track and forget to post every Sunday, but I will try to remember when I can. It might not always be every Sunday and it will most likely be from my published debut historical romance- Castaway Hearts, which is available where most books are sold, in print or ebook.(follow link on image to Amazon or the buy links in the lefthand column here on my blog)

Here is the Blurb for CASTAWAY HEARTS-
Twice orphaned, Catherine Barrett arrives in Virginia a stranger to her closest kin and secretly engaged to the one man her family would disapprove of—her seafaring grandfather’s apprentice. Add to her troubles, the rich and intriguing older brother of her secret betrothed, Dawson Randolph, a plantation owner who is as heartless as he is handsome. Heartbroken when her intended sets sail for his maiden voyage, Catherine finds it difficult to adjust to her new life, hoping to befriend the one man who is, undoubtedly, the match her grandparents wish for her. Dawson’s distaste for her secret engagement to his brother makes it clear he has no designs for marriage to anyone. Especially her.

Ten years since the tragic loss of his young wife and infant son, Dawson Randolph is convinced love and marriage is a fool’s game and resents being pardon to his brother’s hidden engagement. Damned by his instant attraction and his own growing desire, Dawson vows to befriend her against his better judgment. Determined to bring her happiness in a time of fear and uncertainty, Dawson puts aside his animosity to become her confidant, only to realize Catherine holds the key to his heart. When tragedy strikes at sea, Catherine’s guilt pushes Dawson to the fringes of her life as madness consumes her.

Can his love save her before she drowns in her own grief? Or is he doomed to love her from a distance, always in the shadow of her love for his dead brother?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Today I'll leave you with a snippit from Dawson Randolph's POV after he discovers that his seafaring brother, Nathaniel, is secretly engaged to the young Catherine Barrett, the granddaughter of one of his closest companions. 

Marriage was an institute for tenderhearted fools. He might have been one himself years ago, but he would never be a fool again. Dawson stood and crossed to the windows and stared out across the fields full of tobacco.

At thirty, Dawson had his home and his crops and the occasional visits with friends. He had no mind to think of marriage and believed his younger brother would find it in his best interest not to think about it either. He would do what he could to dissuade Nathaniel from it. It would breed only heartache and sadness.

Dawson knew this fact very well.

Nevertheless, much as he believed it, the moment Catherine Barrett rounded the corner into the parlor of her grandparents’ house, Dawson could not take his eyes from her.

@magdalenascott Visits Tuesdays with Taryn #NewRelease #TMPress #LadiesofLegend

Tuesdays with Taryn

Magdalena Scott

Please help me in welcoming Magdalena Scott, one of the four fabulous authors who helped build Legend, Tennessee, bringing to life the fictional town wherein so many wonderful stories have been born.

Magdalena's back with a new release from Turquoise Morning Press and she is Building a Dream. Check it out~

What book(s) most influenced you as a writer?

The ones that didn’t have happy endings. I always rewrote them in my head.

What book do you read over and over again?

A Knight in Shining Armor, by Jude Deveraux

Cluny Brown, by Margery Sharp

Simple Abundance, by Sarah ban Breathnach

Simplify Your Life¸ by Elaine St James

Tuesday/Thursday Trio-

1)     Movie- Romancing the Stone

2)     Music- Tom Rasely’s Back in the Window CD

3)     Decadent Dessert- Chocolate truffle. Just one really big one. Mmmmm

What’s the most interesting or bizarre bit of trivia you’ve learned from researching for a novel? That I can learn to trust Wikipedia. Isn’t that interesting? And maybe a little scary?

Novel on your Nightstand:

Who/what are you currently reading? Simple Abundance in the morning and Temptation Ridge by Robyn Carr at night.

Whom would you cast as your Main Characters/Hero/Heroine if your book became a movie? Ooh! Fun… Years ago, the best would have been Meg Ryan as determined artist Chloe McClain and Harrison Ford as the stubborn but sexy Greg Andrews. Sigh

BUILDING A DREAM Blurb

Chloe McClain is an artist, so she’s used to creating something from nothing. This time, though, the project is bigger than her usual canvas—this time she’s bought a big dilapidated building to rehab into a classy art gallery. Should be easy enough; she’ll hire Greg Andrews and his construction crew. Greg’s work has gotten good reviews from everyone in Legend. Of course there is kind of a rush on the project…

Greg is a professional, and his professional opinion is that Chloe’s pile of bricks should be put out of its misery. There’s no way he can bring the place up to code by her deadline, let alone turn it into the showplace she has in mind. But Chloe’s a McClain, and besides a wide stubborn streak, that means deep pockets. Speaking of which, Greg can’t keep his eyes off the back pockets of Chloe’s jeans...

When you live in Legend, Tennessee, there are certain things to remember. People in Legend pull together. Community before self. And you never want to take a wrong step around a McClain—even the cute females.

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