SWEET WATER is FREE and FEATURED on I'm A READER TODAY!!!!

  Sweet Water by Laurie Lewis College life could not heal the wounds an unstable home life inflicted upon programmer Olivia Morgan, until scholar Hudson Bauer welcomed her, introducing her to his friend, Jeff McAllister, with whom he was developing a college business.

Olivia joined the project, and while she and Hudson dreamed of using their success to improve the world, Jeff set his sights on fortunes and on Olivia. On the most important night of Hudson’s life, Olivia and Jeff eloped, and upon hearing the news, Hudson leaves town, along with the company's first big contract and Olivia and Jeff's dreams.

Olivia McAllister now holds billionaire entrepreneur Hudson Bauer responsible for all her losses, including her anemic marriage and the tragic accident that leaves her body battered, and her dreams of a family shattered. In desperate straits, she is forced to accept Hudson’s offer to recuperate at his parents’ empty house on Oregon’s Cannon Beach, but her return to the place where the three friends once summered casts new light on her hasty marriage, and on the enemy she once called friend.

When Hudson offers Olivia a job doing humanitarian work, hope reawakens in her, along with memories of what she and Hudson almost had. But guilt over Jeff’s death leaves Olivia stuck between grief and the possibility of new love, forcing her to decide if she can embrace a future with a man she’s learned to hate, before Hudson walks away for the final time. 

AMAZON

He stood and tucked the blanket roll under one arm while extending the other to Olivia. She accepted his offer, fitting into his support as if it was meant for her all along. She leaned on Hudson more heavily the further they went until he was bearing the majority of her weight by the time they reached the ancient cave. Two surfers in wetsuits were exiting the cavern and gathering up their boards as Hudson and Olivia arrived. They, too, had their eyes on the darkening sky, but they shifted their attention to the couple and down to Olivia’s legs.

“Sprain?” the taller of the two asked.

“More likely just muscle strain,” replied Hudson when Olivia failed to reply.

“After we get our boards loaded, we can head back down and help carry her out.”

Olivia stiffened at the thought of being hauled out by strangers like a sack of potatoes. Hudson made brief eye contact with her, evidently catching her mortification, and replied to their offer. “Thanks, but we’ve got it.”

The shorter surfer glanced back at the dark cave and offered Hudson a knowing chuckle. “Gotcha.”

In reply, Hudson shot him a look that ended his smirk, following up with a pseudo salute, effectually sending the dudes on their way.

Alone now on the beach, Hudson led Olivia to the cave, which bore the signs of frequent use. The sandy floor was clean and cleared of debris, except for the pile of rounded rocks in the rear, smoothed and carried in by the tides. Kindling and small branches were stacked near the cave’s mouth, a few feet from where the remnants of someone’s fire still sat in a charred circle.

Hudson untied the bedroll and several items fell onto the sand. Another good snap, and the blanket spread across the cave’s entrance. Hudson lowered her gently to the soft fabric. Relief filled her, and she leaned back and nestled into the soft sand. Her sigh brought the hint of a smile to Hudson’s beard-framed lips. It was short-lived. His face slackened as his dark, penetrating eyes fixed on her. His breathing seemed to stop, as did hers. Heat rose deep within her torso, spreading like fire through her face and neck from the intensity of his stare. A sheen of sweat broke out on her skin, and yet she shivered. She touched her face, expecting to feel the fire radiating there, but the motion seemed to break the moment. Without a word, Hudson took her empty water bottle and left, leaving her shaky and confused.

As he departed, she shifted to watch him pick his way through the primitive beauty of the area, around scrub brush, through the teeming tidal pools, to a glorious waterfall spilling from the rock wall.

Robinson Crusoe-esque with his rumpled clothes, his beard, and wild mop of tangled hair, Olivia was unable to tear her eyes from him. Gone was the shyness and gangly motions of his youth. The business titan who could buy or sell his own barrier reef or string of creature-filled islands now moved with confidence and care, as protective of a single mollusk or anemone as he had been as a beach-combing science student a decade ago. She wondered what made him that way. Clearly, the young man who had been everything to her back then was an even more splendid person now.

The all-too-frequent burn of tears hit her again. Pepper had been on the money. Olivia had loved Hudson in college. If only he had been the one to propose instead of… Guilt tore at her over the thought.

I am totally stunned at how much I loved this book. I pondered over the story for days--which I don't often do with this genre, and immediately started over to make sure I didn't miss anything and to enjoy the amazingly honorable Hudson. (Are there REALLY men like Hudson out there? One hopes, but ...) It is so refreshing to find a swoon-worthy clean romance! The mystery and characters gripped me from the very first page and held me captive till I devoured the book in one day. There were many levels of happy reading it! This is not the first book that I've read from this author( also known as L.C. Lewis), and let me say, she is a master at delivering powerful messages and pulling on the heart strings! Everything I've read of hers is AMAZING! Sweet Water touched me on so many levels, I really hope you’ll give it a read soon. I would not hesitate to recommend this story to any Romance reader. It’s deep, it’s touching and in many ways it’s real life.
 

Author Laurie Lewis

Laurie (L.C.) Lewis is Marylander—a weather-whining lover of crabs, American history, and the sea. Her women’s fiction novels, written as Laurie Lewis, include Unspoken (2004), The Dragons of Alsace Farm (2016) and Sweet Water (2017), books one and two in her SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE SERIES, and Love on a Limb (2017), book one in her new GREAT EXPECTATIONS LOVE STORIES SERIES.
   Using the pen name L.C. Lewis, she wrote the five volumes of her award-winning FREE MEN and DREAMERS historical fiction series: Dark Sky at Dawn (2007), Twilight’s Last Gleaming (2008), Dawn’s Early Light (2009), Oh, Say Can You See? (2010), and In God is Our Trust, (2011).
   Please watch for her upcoming release, a remake of Awakening Avery, book three in her SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE SERIES, scheduled for a July 2018 release.

 
   

  Giveaway Details Ends 7/4/18 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use money sent via Paypal or gift codes via Amazon.com. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. This giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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MEMORIAL DAY SALE ON FREE MEN and DREAMERS

I've wanted to do this for a long time, 

and finally, I can!

For the first time ever, and with a big thank you to the original publisher, every e-volume of my award-winning American historical fiction series, FREE MEN and DREAMERS, is discounted.

You can now download the entire series for under $10.00 for a limited time.

This eight-year labor of love takes six families--three American, two British, and one slave--through 40 years of tumultuous American history. Witness the second war of independence, the War of 1812, the war most historians credit with forging a loose confederation of states into one nation under God. Experience the Chesapeake campaign, the burning of Washington, the Battle of Baltimore, the Star- Spangled Banner story, and the first major test of the Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom.

Honor those who sacrificed everything to preserve a nation. http://bit.ly/2Ive5oc

I'm Hosting a Table at the 2018 UTAH READERS' LUNCHEON in OCTOBER!!!

I've never attended nor even heard about 

THE UTAH READERS' Luncheon, 

but once I did some research, I thought, "WOW!!! 

Attendees and authors chatting about books 

over scrumptious food?  

Swag bags? 

A book signing event? 

A fabulous keynote speaker? 

Count Me In!!!

SHARE A PATRIOTIC MEMORY AND GET A FREE BOOK!

From Memorial Day through Labor Day, my heart stirs at the flying of the red, white, and blue. Our small town flies a giant flag from a crane so all can see as they pass through.

As faithful readers know, I spent eight years researching and writing my award-winning Free Men and Dreamers series to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of The War of 1812, the writing of The Star-Spangled Banner, and the preservation of the freedoms we enjoy. We're about to give the end of the series a facelift. I only own the last three volumes, so those books are getting new covers so we can reach a new batch of patriotic readers.

 I can't control the price on the first two books still held by my publisher, but I'm offering the e-books of volumes 3-5, "Dawn's Early Light," "Oh, Say Can You See?" and "In God Is Our Trust," for $0.99 each this month. Read THE great reviews of these books on my author page.


Here's a former post I wrote about Key from the research I conducted on the series. I hope it adds to your love of the Star-Spangled Banner and the anthem it inspired.

SHARE AND GET A FREE BOOK!

Share a patriotic memory or a personal story about your love of the flag below and I'll send you a free ecopy of "Dawn's Early Light."

GETTING INSIDE OF KEY'S HEAD

There's so many beautiful, stirring details forgotten or never learned that surround Key's story. Most of us know he was on board a ship in the harbor overlooking Fort McHenry during the bombardment when the inspiration hit him. Fewer people recall that he was on a mission to save his Scottish friend, Dr. William Beanes, who had been dragged from his bed in the middle of the night by the British on charges of treason and murder. But there's so much more to the story.

To fully understand the passion behind Key's story you must recall that three weeks prior to the bombardment, Key and his wife were secreting their children away from Georgetown, a suburb of Washington, to Key's parents' home in Frederick, Maryland. The British were expected to march on the Capital and the Key's were desperate to send them away to safety. Days later, while Polly remained near her husband in the home of friends, Key was horseback and on the battlefield with President Madison at Bladensburg, Maryland, when the American forces clashed with the British army. The fight became a humiliating rout sadly dubbed "The Bladensburg Races," a pitiful reference to the frightened American retreat that left the way open for the sacking of the President's House, the Capitol building, the government offices. As a result, very few mementos of our country's birth and infancy exist prior to 1814.

Key had also witnessed, firsthand, the brutality of the British military when crossed, and on September 13th, Baltimore was swollen with angry Americans poised to fight back. Worse yet, Key had family in the city. His brother-in-law, Judge Joseph Nicholson, was the second in command at Fort McHenry that day. And Nicholson's wife, sister to Key's wife Polly, was still in the city with their children. After all Key had done to protect his own family, his concerns for these loved ones pressed heavily on his mind.

During the negotiations with the British to secure Beanes release, Key and the Prison Exchange agent, John Skinner, were taken aboard the British admiral's flagship and treated as guests. But during the meals, the British officers discussed their plans to burn the city to the ground in front of their American "guests." Having been apprised of the British war plans, Key and Skinner became detainees of the British until after the battle's conclusion, unable to warn their people, and forced to watch the attack from afar, knowing the dire fate intended for Baltimore if the fort were to fall. Key's heart was deeply harrowed.

The twenty-five hour bombardment from September 13th into September 14th was unbearable, but Key had also seen thousands of British troops land fourteen miles south of Baltimore, poised to enter the city and subdue it once the fort fell. Knowing the atrocities committed in other cities that had opposed the British, he shuddered with fear. Days later, in a letter to a friend, John Randolph, Key expressed the anger and fear he felt while maintaining his hope that the prayers of the pious would be heard by God who would deliver the city.

The flag therefore, became more than a mere real estate marker, announcing the power that controlled the fort. It became the sign of life, that as long as she waved the fort had held and the British army and its destructive might had been held at bay.

He jotted his notes on the back of a letter during the final two days of his detainment, setting the entire poem, titled, "The Defense of Baltimore" on a sheet when he was back in the city in his room at the Indian Queen Hotel.

He took the poem to Judge Nicholson as a gift, and the judge was so moved he rushed it to a printers for duplication. Within hours, broadsheets of Key's poem could be found everywhere across the city. People were so starved for something positive and hopeful to cling to in these hours after the loss of their capital that soldiers in the fort wrote home about the poem, and copies began moving to other cities. It was first published in the Baltimore Patriot but soon it appeared in papers in Philadelphia and Boston and New York.

It was set to the tune of a popular melody of the day, "To Anacreon in Heaven," and performed as the finale in performances along the embattled coast where it received standing ovations.

After Washington, few symbols remained to proclaim that our nation and our government still existed. Britain had their king, their crown, their castles, their Parliament, but Britain had left us no home for our president, nor a house for our Congress. All America's citizenry had to hold on to were the ideals of their people, and a flag--a red, white and blue banner that stood defiantly between the enemy and them.

That's what Key saw that day. And this is what he knew--that buildings may burn, presidents may change, armies may march, and enemies may come, but as long as our people hold fast to the ideals upon which this nation was founded, and have access to a few scraps of fabric, the symbol of America cannot be extinguished.

Long may she wave. Proud may she wave!

BEHIND THE COMPUTER SCREEN

I haven't just blogged in a long time, ever since I got my newsletter up and running, so I'm taking a moment to say "hi," from back here behind the computer screen. Here's what's happening in my life.

My summer 2016 release, "The Dragons of Alsace Farm," won the New Apple Books Medallion for Inspirational Fiction, and is a finalist for a Whitney Award, and a semi-finalist for a Rone Award!

The Rones require a fan vote to weed the semi-finalists out from the finalists. I'll be coming back and asking for your support when my book's vote comes up. The Whitney winners will be announced at a banquet in May. I'll keep you informed.

My March release, "SWEET WATER," a romance for Gelato Books' "Destination Billionaires Romance Series, is in the middle of its book launch promo. It's doing great, but I have to say the romance web sites where "Sweet Water" is advertised can be pretty steamy. Whew! My book is a clean-read romance, and I think my cover is blushing.


Mom
For those of you who've been following a while, you know my mother and her fight with dementia was the inspiration for the character Agnes in my award-winning summer release "The Dragons of Alsace Farm."

We recently went to the salon to get her spring haircut. She was pretty angry with me for allowing the stylist to cut her hair too short, but once she looked in the mirror, she was pleased with the results. She's beautiful, isn't she?

If you or a loved one are affected by this disease, find a support group, or read some books by others who are facing your challenges. It really helps. A group of authors called AlzAuthors write beautiful, compassionate books filled with hope. Each of us understand.



This next photo was taken the day I took Mom to visit her friend Michelle. We met Michelle soon after "Dragons" was released, and what a thrill it was. Michelle is another "Agnes."

Like my fictitious Agnes, Michelle actually survived the bombing of the Alsace Region of France during WWII. When only 12 years old, she served as a courier for General Patton, sneaking correspondence on her person to the Allies while she ran her little mail route. We're working on her memoirs. her story needs to be preserved.


Family Stuff
My husband recently had surgery. A quick 90-minute procedure with a 3-hour start to wake-up time frame turned into to eight hours on the table. It was a tender mercy. In our case, it was one of those times when God sets our attention on one thing to then help us find something else that otherwise might have gone unnoticed too long. Tom is doing well. He's sore and tired, but we're feeling blessed.

A grandson turned five last week. here's a silly shot from our breakfast date at iHop. The menu? Smiley pancakes and mac and cheese. He's a big eater.

Some people think we look a lot alike--same smile and nose. That would be pretty flattering because he is one cute little guy!

With so much going on, we're backing the schedule up a bit and delaying the release of the next book until later in the summer. I also had my rights returned on three other books, so we're kicking around a lot of possibilities, like new covers and re-releases, plus a new volume or two for "Free Men and Dreamers," and perhaps another stab at audios.

My newsletter is the best way to stay in touch with projects, my crazy life, special deals and contests, etc. Some offers are only for newsletter subscribers, so think about signing up!

I'm also still signing up beta readers for my "Willowsport Crew."  These readers get first and last crack at manuscripts before they head to the editors. Their comments, suggestions, and critiques make them an important part of my creative team, so if that sounds interesting, sign up for the newsletter and click the link to tell me you'd like to be part of "The Crew!" Here's how you sign up.

Thanks for listening! Really. Try the newsletter. It's awesome!!! Take a peek at April's and join us!

Beautiful Books, $.99 or Free for a Limited Time

Discover New Stories, Different places, True Loves 

Lucinda Whitney is launching her new book, "One Small Chance, A Love Story From Portugal," which is personally exciting for a few reasons.

First, a large part of my ancestry is Portuguese! My mother's family arrived from the Azores through Hawaii, so finding out that Lucinda is Portuguese and that her novels are stories form that region was a great treat. We did some quick genealogical traces and so far, we can't connect our ancestors, but I'm still working on that!

Secondly, she put together a great eleven-author promo of romantic clean-reads, and I'm proud to have "The Dragons of Alsace Farm" involved. Two Portuguese women authors in one promo! Pretty cool!

So, follow this link to find eleven beautiful, romantic, clean reads you can enjoy and feel safe passing along to family and friends. These are books that will inspire you, take you new places, and introduce you to wonderful authors.

Please share with your friends!

A Not-So-Funny-Thing Happened During Our Tour of the Capitol

Today's Capitol tour was more exciting than expected. After our tour, we hit the cafeteria with the kids. The sixteen of us lingered a bit past the 4:00 closing time. We were gathering up the trash and packing the kiddies, (seven adults and nine smidgeons) when an alarm started. A voice came over the PA announcing that the Capitol grounds were on lockdown, and the cafeteria staff flew into action. They were AMAZING. Hats off to them and probably everyone else, but I was immensely impressed with how they flew into action to protect us.

One worker commandeered one of the strollers, (we had two strollers and a wheelchair) and politely but firmly told us to follow quickly. Several other workers created an evacuation line to herd us to a secure place, assuring us we were safe as the alarm continued to sound. All the staff in there were equally calm, prepared, friendly, but in control of the situation as they moved us into the theater area. I was so proud and impressed.

Two school groups were searching for their students as we tried to get info. No one was saying much, but the Twitter feeds had the first report, then the news feeds started talking about a shooter outside.

We were fine and our containment only lasted about 45 minutes, but I felt safe and protected by the wonderful staff. Hats off to those cafeteria worker-turned-security people for jumping into action. Most of them spoke with accents and came here from other lands, but they placed themselves in front of us to keep us safe. PROUD AMERICANS ALL!!!

GOODREADS GIVEAWAY!!!!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Dragons of Alsace Farm

by Laurie L.C. Lewis

Giveaway ends August 11, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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